THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016

News of President Sirleaf’s approval and signing of the 2016/2017 National Budget, the issuance of a Presidential Proclamation declaring Thursday, November 3 as Thanksgiving Day and the discovery by the Labor Minister of falsified payment receipts issued to applicants for the ECOWAS Biometric ID Cards are among stories dominating today’s edition of the summary of the dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES  

Pres. Sirleaf Signs L$57B Annual Budget -Security Sector Takes Lion’s Share  

The Daily Observer quotes the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) as saying that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has signed into law the National Budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2016/2017 of US$600,204,076, which equivalent to L$57,319,450,867. According to the MFDP, for this fiscal budget resource envelope of US$600.2 million, US$524.9 million will be raised from domestic sources (taxes and non-tax revenues); US$50.2 million in grants from external resources while unspent revenue from the last budget year comprises US$2 million. The MFDP disclosed that key government sectors which received substantial portions of the national cake include Security — US$94.8 million, Education — US$86.2 million, Health — US$77.4 million, Infrastructure — US$42.2 million and Agriculture — US$11.9 million. The Ministry disclosed that in order to ensure a smooth transition with the holding of free, fair and transparent Presidential and Legislative Elections in 2017, US$20 million has been appropriated as government’s direct support to the National Elections Commission (NEC).

Related Captions: Ellen Approves Over US$600M National Budget…Security, Education, Health, Others Top(Heritage), President Sirleaf Approves Over US$600,000,000 For 2016/17 Budge(FrontPage Africa), President Sirleaf Approves FY2016/2017 National Budget(The INQUIRER), US$600M Nat’l Budget Approved…Security, Education, Health Receive Highest(In Profile Daily),Ellen Finally Signs Budget(The New Dawn)

Thursday Is Thanksgiving Day

The Daily Observer quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has by Proclamation declared Thursday, November 3, as National Thanksgiving Day. It is to be observed throughout the Republic as a National Holiday. The Proclamation calls on all Liberians and foreign residents, priests, imams, bishops, pastors, clergies and all religious organizations in Liberia to gather together in their various places of worship to give thanks and praises to the Almighty God that His blessings and mercies may continuously rest upon the nation and its people. The Proclamation is in consonance with an Act of the National Legislature which enacted a statute in 1883 declaring the first Thursday in the month of November of each year as National Thanksgiving Day.

Related Captions: Nov. 3^rd Declared Nat’l Holiday to observe National Thanksgiving(In Profile), President Sirleaf Declares Thursday Thanksgiving Day(Focus)

Pres. Sirleaf Says Economic Diversity Key To Sustainable Growth

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says ongoing efforts to diversify the Liberian economy from its traditional reliance on export of primary commodities to value addition through manufacturing and agriculture is the key to strong and sustainable growth and development. A dispatch says President Sirleaf made the comments in Pretoria, South Africa during a working luncheon tendered by NEC, a Fortune 500 firm exploring possibilities for investing in Liberia in areas of energy and communication technology. According to the New Dawn newspaper, the Liberian leader recounted Liberia’s steady growth, which peaked at 7.8 percent before being assailed by the twin menaces of the steep decline in global commodity prices and the Ebola pandemic. Also speaking, the Deputy CEO of NEC Africa expressed his Company’s strong desire to invest in Liberia. He said NEC is strongly positioned to contribute to Liberia’s reconstruction drive through direct private investment into key sectors of the economy.

Related Captions: Ellen:Economic Diversity Is Key To Sustainable Growth(Heritage), Fortune 500 Firm NEC Eyes Investment In Liberia-President Sirleaf: “Diversified Economy Key to Sustainable Growth”(Daily Observer)

Several ECOWAS Citizens Falsified Biometric ID Card…Labor Ministry Discloses

The Ministry of Labor says her attention has been drawn to the falsification of the ECOWAS Biometric Identification Cards payment receipts by some members of the ECOWAS Community in Liberia. The Ministry said that it has discovered with dismay the falsification of the official Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), payment receipts issued to applicants for Biometric of the ID Cards. The Ministry of Labor has turned over for investigation and prosecution of those involved in scandal by the Liberia National Police (LNP). The Ministry informed Focus that Mohammed Barry, Mohammed Wura, and Ebirme Jallow have been caught to have allegedly falsifying the official Government of Liberia (GOL), ECOWAS Biometric receipt in Monrovia, the FOCUS newspaper reads.

Related Captions: Police Charge Four For ‘Falsifying’ ECOWAS’ Biometric Work Permit, (Daily Observer), Four Guineans Charged For Fraud(The INQUIRER)

Gender Minister Appeals For Budgetary Support For EPAG Program

The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) Julia Duncan-Cassell has appealed to the National Government to make the appropriate allotment in its coming budget to support the continuation of the Empowerment of Adolescent Girls & Young Women Project (EPAG). Minister Duncan-Cassell made the appeal recently in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, when she delivered a statement at the Round 4 Graduation Ceremony of EPAG, a donor funded project. Acknowledging the role of the World Bank, European Union (EU) and the Swedish Government for their immeasurable support to the EPAG project over the years, Madam Duncan-Cassell indicated that EPAG has raised the hopes and also helped in advancing the livelihood of thousands of adolescent girls and young women across the country. She urged graduates to professionally execute their roles and responsibilities in the society. The Round #4 of the EPAG project empowered trainees from Grand Bassa, Montserrado and Margibi Counties. The training brings together 1,200 trainees, of which 200 are young men, according to the Daily Observer.

Related Captions: Gender Minister Appeals For Budgetary Support To EPAG Program(Heritage), Gender Minister Appeals for Budgetary Support to EPAG Program(In Profile Daily)

Judiciary Conducts Orientation Exercise for Prospective Jurors

In adherence to the new jury law, the Department of Jury Management at the Judiciary, on Friday, October 28, 2016 conducted its sixth orientation exercise for prospective jurors, for the 2016 November Term of Courts. Speaking at the well attended program, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, His Honor Francis Korkpor, said the Supreme Court attaches great importance to the jury program. He briefed the prospective jurors of their civic duty as citizens and the important role they play as ordinary citizens in the dispensation of Justice, the In Profile Daily newspaper reads.

Related Captions: Judiciary Conducts Sixth Orientation Exercise for Prospective Jurors(FOCUS), Judiciary Conducts Sixth Orientation Exercise For Prospective Jurors(Heritage)

Liberia’s Permanent Mission to UN Extols Abu Kamara

Colleagues at Liberia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations have commended former Minister Counselor for Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Abu Kamara, for dedicated services to the Mission and the country at large. According to a dispatch from New York, at a brief farewell ceremony at the weekend, they described Mr. Kamara as “hardworking and friendly with proven ability to discharge his duties with commitment and efficiency, while showing great appreciation for ethics, professionalism and the spirit of teamwork”. Speaking earlier, Mr. Lewis Garseedah Brown, II, admonished Mr. Kamara to remain committed to his new assignment and to ensure that he justifies the confidence reposed in him by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Responding, Mr. Kamara expressed gratitude to his colleagues for the honor and cordiality which exists among the staff of the Mission, reports the FrontPage Africa newspaper.

Related Captions: Colleagues Praise Parting Co-Worker For ‘Dedicated Services’ To Mission And Country(Heritage), Colleagues Praise Parting Co-Worker for ‘Dedicated Services’ to Mission and Country(Focus), Liberian Mission in US Extols Ex-Counselor(In Profile)

NEC, Partners Completes Election Complaints Resolution Training

The National Elections Commission (NEC) with support of the European Union and the UNDP Election Project has concluded a two-week training for 19 Elections Magistrates focusing on the NEC’s election complaints resolution mechanism. The training which took place in Gbargna, Bong County, from 17^th to 28^th October, 2016, was held in 2 phases and attended by 10 and 9 Magistrates respectively. The sessions were geared at training the Magistrates to build their capacity for effective hearing of complaints that would evolve following the upcoming Presidential and Legislative elections in 2017, reports the INQUIRER newspaper.

Related Captions: NEC, Partners Completes Election Complaints Resolution Training(The INQUIRER), EU, UNDP Support Election Complaints Resolution Training(Heritage), EU AND UNDP Support Election Complaints Resolution Training(The New Dawn)

 OTHER STORIES

VP Calls for Tripartite Bond for Worker Rights

Vice President Joseph Boakai says the establishment of a tripartite relationship between the labor force, employers, and the government is key to fostering industrial harmony, social dialogue and fundamental workers’ rights. The Vice President says such a relationship will help to promote state-society relations, something which, he noted, is crucial to enforcing the social contract between government and citizens. He emphasized that the government is ready to do its part within the tripartite arrangement to ensure the application of international labor standards. The Vice President remarks were contained in a speech he delivered over the weekend at the Founding Congress of the Agricultural, Agro-processing & Industrial Workers’ Union of Liberia in Harbel, Margibi County, the FOCUS newspaper reports.

Vice President Boakai Encourages Talented Youths in Liberia Launches State National Mass Choir

The Vice President of Liberia, Hon. Joseph Nyumah Boakai is encouraging the Liberian youth to make good of their talents in order to become useful and productive citizens in the near future. Vice President Boakai noted that if there is someone who can embrace the young people and harness their talents, they can be useful for such important purpose, the FOCUS newspaper reads.

Laudable Establishment! Canadian Envoy on Gola Peace Park, Extols SCNL Effort

Canadian Ambassador accredited to Liberia and Ivory Coast, Mme Patricia McCullagh, during a courtesy visit at the Society for the Conservation of Nature Liberia (SCNL), termed as commendable, effort by SCNL to ensure the establishment of the Gola National Park on the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia. Ambassador McCullagh+ said the establishment of the park is a right step for the conservation of nature as well As for protection of the environment and endangered species, the In Profile Daily reads.

House To Host ‘Image’ Retreat

The leadership of the House of Representatives, in its regular Monday executive meeting, has unanimously approved the holding of a three-day Legislative ‘Image Retreat’ to be held in Ganta, Nimba County, from Wednesday, November 2 to Friday, November 4. According to the Daily Observer, the ‘image retreat’ aims to get rid of the displeasure that has lingered after more than four months of internal wrangling in the Lower House as of the result of the efforts to remove former Speaker J. Alex Tyler and the subsequent election of Speaker J. Emmanuel Nuquay. The in-House political crisis caused ‘deep’ divisions among members of the House of Representatives, writes the Daily Observer.

LDEA, LNP Graduate 201 Officers

The Liberia National Police (LNP) and the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) over the weekend graduated 201 men and women as part of the training of officers the government initiated to augment the strength of the nation’s security sector ahead of the 2017 Presidential and Legislative elections. Of the 201 graduates, 104 go to the LNP, with the remaining 97 going to the LDEA. Guest speaker and Deputy Justice Minister for Administration Cllr. Wheatonia Y. Dixon Barnes admonished the graduates to serve as ambassadors of peace at their respective assignments and in their communities. The graduation, Minister Barnes said, is a major step towards achieving the government’s target to increase the numerical strength of security forces until they reach the desired benchmarks. According to Minister Barnes, providing training, equipping the personnel and overseeing the appropriate deployment of additional LNP and LDEA officers in specific areas are some of the challenges facing the government. Also speaking, Police Director Gregory O. W. Coleman reminded graduates to honor and respect the Constitution of Liberia as they move from being civilians to security personnel who serve the people, and not the other way around, reports the Daily Observer.

PUL Releases Election Guidelines

According to the INQUIRER newspaper, the Elections Committee constituted by the Leadership of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) to conduct its leadership elections released the guidelines and Elections Timetable. The elections are scheduled for November 12, 2016 in Ganta, Nimba County. A release from the PUL Elections Committee said all PUL members desirous of contesting any position within the Union are urged to forward their applications effective Friday, October 28, 2016 through Thursday, November 5^, 2016 at 4pm at the PUL office on Clay Street in Monrovia. The release noted that each applicant will sit an interview on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 2pm at the union’s headquarters on Clay Street to determine his or her qualification. Meanwhile, the Committee is urging all PUL members to read the local dailies for the full details of the guidelines.

LMHRA Needs US$2.5 To Regulate Unwholesome Medical Supplies

The Managing Director of the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory authority (LMHRA) said USD2.5M is the minimum needed to set up a Laboratory if Liberia is to gain accreditation from ISO. The Heritage newspaper says Mr. David Sumo made the assertion when he spoke at a one-day dissemination stakeholders meeting on the fight against counterfeit and substandard medicines and the strive to attain ISO accreditation. He said an ISO accreditation will strengthen the country’s post Ebola resilient health system. He said the need to differentiate, which drugs on the Liberian market, is fit for consumption or for treatment begs the need for the establishment of a Laboratory as per the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17025.