THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s visit to Senegal, Dakar, the reintroduction of the “B” Certificate Program for teachers’ training and Vice President Joseph N. Boakai’s praises to ECOWAS for peacekeeping role are the dominant stories in today’s selected papers.

Dominant Stories  

Ellen Gets Red-carpet Welcome In Dakar 

According to the Analyst newspaper, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Monday, April 11, 2016, received a Red Carpet welcome during a one-day consultative working visit to Dakar, Senegal where she held discussions with her Senegalese counterpart, His Excellency Macky Sall, President of Senegal and Chairman of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf was met on arrival at the Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport by President Sall, who was accompanied by senior government ministers and was accorded a Red Carpet welcome. The Liberian leader said she was pleased to accept President Macky Sall’s invitation to discuss issues focusing on bilateral and regional cooperation aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries and as well as improving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the potential of exploring possibilities of mutual interests in the two countries. President Sirleaf was accompanied to Dakar by Liberia’s Foreign Minister, H. E. Marjon V. Kamara, Dr. Edward B. McClain, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Hon. Isaac Jackson, Deputy Information Minister for Public Affairs, amongst others. President Sirleaf and delegation returned home following a successful one-day consultative working visit.

Related Captions:Ellen, Sall Hold Bilateral, ECOWAS Talks (Heritage), Pres. Sirleaf Gets Red Carpet Welcome Amid One-Day Consultative Working Visit to Senegal(Insight), President Sirleaf Gets Red Carpet Welcome In Senegal (FOCUS), and Ellen Gets Red Carpet Welcome(The News)

“B” Certificate Teacher Training Programs To Be Reintroduced

According to the Women Voices newspaper, The Government of Liberia and the European Union will launch the "B" Certificate Teacher Training Program for Junior High teachers on 15th April 2016. The launch will take place at the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute (KRTTI), in the presence of the Vice President and the EU Ambassador. The reactivation of the "B" Certificate is a milestone on the path of strengthening the quality of teacher’s education in Liberia as there has been no active teacher training program for junior high school teachers since the civil war. One hundred teachers, from all fifteen counties of Liberia, will benefit from the in-service training opportunity, including 25 women. It is hoped that in the future more teachers will benefit from the program. In line with the Agenda for Transformation and international education standards, the updated curriculum now includes cross cutting elements, such as conflict sensitivity, promotion of gender equality, principles of inclusive education and good governance.  The new curriculum also addresses critical issues such as early marriage, teenage pregnancy, corporal punishment and stigmatization of Ebola victims. All teachers will also be trained on the Teacher Code of Conduct. The "B" Certificate curriculum is a two year program designed to train Junior High School teachers with subject area specialization, ensuring classrooms are filled with more qualified teachers. The pilot reactivation was made possible through close collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the European Union. Between 2014 and 2015 the European Union supported the Ministry of Education with Technical Assistance to review the curriculum. 

Related Captions:GOL, EU Revive “B” Certificate For Teachers(Inquirer), “B” Certificate Teacher Training Revived (Capitol Times), GOL, EU Revive “B” Certificate Teacher Training Program (Heritage), GOL To Resume “B” Certificate Program For Teachers(FOCUS), and EU, GOL Revive “B” Certificate Teacher Training Program (The News)  

VP Boakai Lauds ECOWAS 

Vice President Joseph N. Boakai has commended the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), for its role in the prevention of crisis in the sub region and said that a regional approach to the resolution of ECOWAS problems especially with the advent of the new threat of terrorism is important.  Vice President Boakai said ECOWAS has been forthcoming in many ways including the intervention of the regional body in crisis in Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast among others, something that has brought peace and stability to the region. Vice president Boakai was speaking Tuesday on Capitol Hill when he received Mr. Valdemar Vrey, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for Rule of Law during a courtesy visit, the New Dawn newspaper reports.

Related Caption:VP Boakai Commends ECOWAS for Peace Keeping Role(Analyst), VP Hails ECOWAS For Peacekeeping Role (Insight), and Boakai Commends ECOWAS (The News)

Other Stories  

NEC Holds Security Coordinating Workshop…Ahead of 2017 

The National Elections Commission (NEC) in collaboration with the European Union and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, begin a two-day Election Security Coordination Workshop in Monrovia. The workshop is aimed at addressing the challenges and importance of elections security management within the context of creating a sense of national ownership for the 2017 elections as well as ensuring that decision makers are fully abreast of issues associated with elections security and the guiding principles that would lead to the attainment of free, fair and transparent elections in 2017. A release from NEC said the workshop will also ensure that decision makers are fully committed to ensuring the timely approval of funds for elections in order to accord the Liberia National Police and other security actors the needed time to plan, organize and implement their operations for deployment during elections.The workshop will bring together 40 participants from the Liberia National Police, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Fire service.  

World Bank Wants Liberia Reduce Aid Dependence 

FOCUS newspaperreports that the World Bank has recommended that the Government of Liberia takes advantage of many other untapped revenue-raising possibilities to reduce her dependence on development aid and better equip itself, for “any future exogenous shocks.” Untapped resources such as financial services, travel and tourism, mining and minerals, energy and other economic activities are not dependent on outside resources and could empower the government without increasing debt according to a World Bank report.

CNFA Launches USAID Feed The Future

Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) has announced the launch of the USAID Feed The Future, Liberia Agribusiness Development Activity (LADA) to increase private sector investment in the Liberian agribusiness sector. A US$20 million  activity funded by the US Agency for International Development as part of Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, LADA, will expand access to quality agriculture inputs, financing, mechanization, extension services and markets to strengthen the food security and increase incomes for Liberian smallholder farmers. CNFA will pair investment facilitation grants with technical assistance to generate increases in private sector investment in agribusinesses, agricultural input system, post-harvest handling support, storage packaging, transport, marketing, and auxiliary services, writes the Analyst newspaper.

Related Caption:CNFA Launches USAID Feed The future Program(FOCUS)  

Commerce Begins Mobile Business Registration 

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and the National Social Security and Welfare Cooperation (NASSCORP) will lead the first Mobile Money Business Registration exercise in Robertsports, Grand Cape Mount County. The exercise will run from April 15-22, 2016 and is intended to provide the business community the opportunity to easily register their businesses and also benefit from business opportunities being created by the Government of Liberia. The Mobile Money Business registration is expected to cover the entire country and will assist in boosting the generation of revenue and improving the business climate. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is therefore calling on all business owners operating in Grand Cape Mount to give the team their fullest support in making the above mentioned activity a successful one, reports the Capitol Times newspaper.

Liberia Diplomat Cautions Local Artists To Promote Liberia songs

A Liberian Ambassador, Robert Y. Lormia, has called on Liberian musical artists to promote their country and themselves through songs, which depict the nation’s rich cultural heritage. Ambassador Lormia, who is also former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Public Affairs also cautioned Liberian artists not to imitate Western or other foreign musicians but to sing typical Liberian songs whether secular of religious music through Liberian languages. He, however, lauded local artists for their good performance in the country, pens the Insight newspaper.

Gov’t Should Help Sime Darby; Women Group Appeals to President

At a well-attended meeting held in Sinjeh Town, Bomi County on Monday, rural women group, represented by their leader appealed to the government to help beef up security at, Gba Jekeh, especially to the place where criminals have taken to be their hide out. They said if this is not done, the company will continue to experience destruction from criminal in the areas. Madam Mary G. Varney, the president of Rural women in Bomi County said the actions by the alleged perpetrators will make their children who are benefiting from the company to suffer seriously, the New Dawn newspaper writes.     

NTAL Threatens Nationwide Strike If… 

The Heritage newspaper also pans that the National Teachers Association of Liberia (NTAL) has threatened a nationwide strike action against the Ministry of Education (MOE), if the Ministry fails to adhere to its (NTAL) demand to suspend the public private partnership (PPP) initiative with bridge international academic (BIA), a private education service provider. It can be recalled that in early January of 2016, MOE invited select stakeholders to an event dubbed ‘’collaborative meeting’’ at the Bella Casa Hotel in Sinkor. At that meeting, predominantly graced by international development partners, the ministry of education presented its Plan to establish the PPP in education with BIA. Under the proposed PPP, the Ministry intends to outsource public basic and primary schools to privates in order to improve learning outcomes especially.