THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015

The re-instatement of Burkina Faso's Interim President to power, the hosting of PUL, UNDP's social good summit, confirmation of ExxonMobil drilling schedule and the joint training of African Peacekeepers by US and India are the stories on today's newsstand.

Burkina Faso President Back In Power

Burkina Faso’s Interim President Michel Kafando says he is back in power, exactly one week after he was detained by members of the presidential guard, who staged a coup. Earlier Wednesday, members of the presidential guard agreed to return to their barracks in a deal made after the Presidents of Senegal, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria traveled to the capital, Ouagadougou, to negotiate, INPROFILE DAILY reports.

Related Captions:ECOWAS Restores Burkina Faso Interim Leaders(New Democrat), Back In Power ECOWAS Restores Burkina Faso Interim Leader (FrontPage Africa), ECOWAS Heads Restore Burkina Leader (Daily Observer) and ECOWAS Heads of State Restore Burkina Faso (Heritage)

PUL, UNDP Host Social Good Summit

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Liberian in collaboration with the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), is to host its first Social Good Summit to highlight the ways in which new technology was harnessed to help tackle the Ebola outbreak in some of country’s most disadvantaged communities. Dr. Moska Fallah will lead a panel on technology and public health in the Liberian capital, Monrovia on September 28^th, 10 a.m, at the West Point Administration Building to discuss how technology was used to collect and share Ebola related Data, FOCUS reports.

Related Captions:PUL, UNDP Host Social Good Summit(In Profile Daily), PUL UNDP Host Social Good Summit (FrontPage Africa), and PUL, UNDP To Host Social Good Summit (The News), PUL, UNDP Host Social Good Summit (Daily Observer), and PUL, UNDP Host Social Good Summit (Heritage)

ExxonMobil Confirms Drill Schedule

According to the New Democrat newspaper, Canadian Overseas Petroleum has revealed that the ExxonMobile operated well offshore Liberia has been confirmed in the American major's budget for 2016. The well, Mesurado-1, which had previously been delayed amid last year's Ebola crisis in West Africa, is scheduled for late 2016 to early 2017. Mesurado's primary goal is to prove commercial volumes of hydrocarbons.

Related Caption:New Drill Schedule For Oil Block LB-13 Confirmed(The News)

ASEOWA Trains Over 7,000 To Fight Ebola – Amb. Solaja Discloses, Pays Farewell Visit To VP Boakai

The Special Representative of the chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission to Liberia, Ambassador H. Oluwatoyin Solajah as disclosed that African Union Support to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA), has operated a hundred-bed hospital and trained over seven thousand personnel to fight Ebola and capacity building. Ambassador Solaja said they were grateful to the Liberian Government for the level of cooperation received while in the country, including the provision of an office space in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out their functions. In remarks, Vice President Joseph N. Boakai pointed out that the role of the African Union Support to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) is a clear demonstration that Africans must look within the continent for solution to the continent’s problems, INSIGHT reports.

UNFPA, MOP Officials Stress Youth Empowerment For Peace

Dr. Philderald Pratt, Assistant Representative of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) in Liberia, has underscored the key role youth empowerment plays in ensuring peace in any nation.  In a related development, the Executive Director of the local volunteer youth organization, Messengers of Peace (MOP), has described young people as agents of change capable of countering violence through diverse approaches. Gwendolyn Myers named the participation in formal peace processes to non-formal peer-to-peer education programs, as some of the means through which youth can achieve global change, INSIGHT writes.

USAID-GEMS Empowers LRA

The United States Agency for International Development, through its Governance and Economic Management Support (GEMS) project, continues to empower the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) in its tax collection expansion drive. USAID-GEMS, on Wednesday, donated another consignment of furniture and office equipment to the LRA. Making the presentation during a brief ceremony held at the LRA head office, at the ELWA Junction in Paynesville outside Monrovia, USAID/GEMS Chief of Party, Victoria Cooper-Enchia, said the donation is in continuation of her group’s support to improving Liberia revenue collection. Madam Cooper-Enchia put the cost of the items at more than US$100,000 (one hundred thousand United States dollars), naming them as IT/ICT equipment office furniture, computers, air conditioners, generators and desks among others. For her part, LRA Commissioner General, Alfrieda Stewart-Tamba, commended USAID-GEMS’ for the donation, which she said will greatly assist in the decentralization of revenue collection, INPROFILE DAILY reports.

Related Caption:USAID-Gems Boosts LRA Logistical Strength(Heritage)

MoE Scrutinizes Teachers’ Payroll – Hopes To Raid It Of Unqualified Teachers

The Ministry of Education (MOE) in collaboration with the Liberia Teacher Training Program (LTTP) has begun reforming its pay system.  The process is concomitant with a verification teacher serving the education reform act. According to information released from the Ministry Education, it has the largest payroll within the GoL sector; that is over 20,000 teachers and administrators, INSIGHT reports.

NTA Empowered With New Buses…As Thousands Of Monrovians Get Transport Relief Soon

Thousands of residents of Monrovia and its environs would shortly get transport relief as the state-owned National Transit Authority (NTA) has been provided several buses for public transport. The Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) Tuesday turned over 20 buses donated to it by the Turkish Government to the NTA and other government institutions at the NTA headquarters in Monrovia. The 20 buses were donated to the MCC through Turkey’s Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to help ease the transportation problem in Monrovia and its environs, Liberia News Agency said. Presenting the keys to the buses to the NTA Managing Director, Tarnue Jeke, Monrovia City Mayor, Clara Doe Mvogo, thanked the Turkish Government for the donation, and hoped the buses will be used wisely to benefit the Liberian people, INSIGHT reports.

US, India Will Jointly Train African Peacekeepers

The United States and India on Tuesday agreed to train troops in six African countries before they are deployed to U.N Peacekeeping Missions, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. He spoke after meetings at the State Department with his Indian counterpart, Shushma Swaraj, on economic and security issues. “We agreed on a joint initiative to train troops in six African countries before they deploy to U.N. peacekeeping mission,” Kerry told reporters without specifying which African countries would be involved. “This responds to a growing need for effective, professional, international peacekeeping in regions of conflict”, he said at the end of a two-day U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, INPROFILE DAILY reports.