The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2017

The adjustment by the National Elections Commission of the 2017 voter registration updates; the Supreme Court’s rejection of Abu Kamara to contest as a representative aspirant for Montserrado County Electoral District#15 in the upcoming October elections and the hosting today of the first ever national revenue symposium by the LRA are stories dominating today’s local dailies selected for our summary.   

DOMINANT STORIES

NEC Adjusts Election Timetable

According to the Daily Observer, in an effort to produce a credible and reliable voter roll for the 2017 elections, the National Elections Commission (NEC) has adjusted the dates of final voter registration figures and the replacement of lost and damaged voter cards, a press release said yesterday. Accordingly, the new date for the publication of the final figure of the final voter roll is now scheduled for July 28, while the replacement of lost and damaged cards will now run from August 7-12.,Originally, the release of final voter registration figures was scheduled on July 15, while the replacement of lost and damaged voter cards should have taken place from July 17-22.mIn a release, Monday NEC said it recently embarked on a physical verification of the provisional voter roll to certify the final figures, a process that is now in its closing stages. Also, the NEC said it has hired the services of a professional international software outfit, SuperTech of Ghana, to assess and validate the voter roll.

Related Captions: NEC Adjusts Electoral Timetable (New Dawn), NEC Releases Progressive Provisional Candidates Listing (Insight), Adjustments In Election Timetable (In Profile Daily) and NEC Makes Adjustments In Its Election Timetable (FrontPage Africa)

CoC Disqualifies Kamara

According to the Daily Observer, the Supreme Court yesterday unanimously confirmed the National Elections Commission’s (NEC) rejection of Abu Kamara to contest as a representative aspirant for Montserrado County Electoral District#15 in the October presidential and legislative elections. NEC recently rejected Kamara’s application to contest the pending elections on grounds that he committed an egregious and flagrant violation of the Code of Conduct (CoC) by still serving as assistant minister, claiming he intends to use government resources to canvass and contest in the elections. However, Kamara had contended that the NEC, without any legal basis and support consistent with the process, denied and rejected his application on grounds that he is prohibited from contesting for public office as outlined in the controversial CoC, admitting that he currently serves as assistant minister for administration at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. In their unanimous opinion yesterday, the court declared that “since the decision of the NEC rejecting Kamara’s application was a final result from that administrative forum, the available course to him (Kamara) was to come directly to the Supreme Court by regular appeal and not by prohibition. The alternative writ of prohibition issued is ordered quashed and the peremptory asked to be issued by the court is denied.”

Related Captions: Aspirant Kamara’s Prohibition Denied (In Profile Daily), and Rejected Supreme Court Confirms NEC Decision on Abu Kamara (FrontPage Africa)

LRA Hosts 1st National Revenue Symposium Tuesday

The Daily Observer reports that the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) will host on Tuesday (July 18) Liberia’s first-ever National Revenue Symposium, to engage with taxpayers and other stakeholders. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is expected to deliver an opening statement and also serve as a moderator at the symposium, held in Monrovia. According to an LRA press release, the pending symposium aims to: Raise awareness on the importance of Domestic Resource Mobilization; engage with stakeholders on a Domestic Resource Mobilization strategy; and gather taxpayer’s feedback on revenue administration in the country. The symposium also will bring together major stakeholders from across the country as well as representatives of international partners and multilateral bodies including the UN, World Bank, ECOWAS, African Development Bank, USAID, EU and the African Tax Administrative, among several others. The LRA and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), with support from the United Nations DEVELOPMENT Program (UNDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will host the one-day National Revenue Symposium at the City Hall of Liberia under the theme “Domestic Revenue Mobilization.” The National Revenue Symposium is an opportunity to hear what the people are saying about tax administration in Liberia and to put forth suggestions for the domestic resource mobilization strategy for the country.

Related Captions: President Sirleaf Addresses Nat’l Revenue Symposium Today (INSIGHT) and President Sirleaf Addresses Nat’l Revenue Symposium Today (FrontPage Africa)

OTHER STORIES

French Ambassador, Minister Kamara Wish Liberia Peaceful Elections

French Ambassador to Liberia Joël Godeau has called on Liberians to prove France’s confidence in their abilities to conduct free, fair and transparent elections come October. Amb. Godeau’s call for peaceful and transparent elections was contained in his keynote address at a program marking the celebration of the French national day, Bastille Day, observed on July 14, where he acknowledged the government and people of Liberia for their commitment to peace and stability. He stressed that nothing would have been possible without the collective support of the people of Liberia to the peace, which according to him, is the most precious common good. The diplomat said his country is poised to support the remarkable work of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) until March 31, 2018, and will maintain the friendly relations with the country as they both share common values. Liberia’s Foreign Minister, Marjon Kamara, also acknowledged France for its peaceful democratic transition that led President Emmanuel Macron to power. She hoped and prayed that similar activity takes place in Liberia as the country moves closer to elections, pens the Daily Observer.

30 Midwives Receive Master Mentors Training

The Liberia Prevention of Maternal Mortality (LPMM) in collaboration with the Liberia Midwifery Association (LMA) has completed a Master Mentor Training Programme for 30 midwives in Monrovia. According to a press release, the training programme supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with funding from Johnson and Johnson and the World Bank is intended to create a pool of competent senior midwives as mentors, who will in turn provide on the spot coaching for junior midwives in practice to improve quality of care for women and adolescents during pregnancy, labor, childbirth and post-delivery and their newborns. LPMM Programme Manager, Mrs. Anna K. Gbe, says the training workshop helped to sharpen the skills of the “Master Mentors” who will be used as trainers of key health staff at the county level, reports the New Dawn newspaper.

EPA Trains Refrigeration Technicians

In a bid to protect the Ozone Layer from depletion, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has begun a three-day training forum for refrigeration and air-conditioned technicians in the country. EPA is the principle authority for implementing the national environmental policy and sustainable management law for the protection of natural resources in Liberia. Speaking to reporters at the start of the training, the Focal Point for Montreal Protocol on Substances depleting the Ozone Layer, Mr. Sete F. Marshall, says the exercise is in fulfillment of the EPA’s duty of protecting the environment for the betterment of all. According to him, the training brings together refrigeration technicians under the banners of National Refrigeration Union of Liberia. He stated that the training is about how to handle hydro carbon, and their usages, including the working of the substance, write the New Dawn newspaper.

NOBEL Liberia, FABRAR To Export Liberian Country Rice

According to the In Profile Daily, In its bid to help in the promotion of Liberian businesses locally and internationally, and to empower farmers throughout the Country, the management of NOBEL Liberia recently formed a partnership with the Fabrar Liberia Incorporated importer of red Liberian country rice to the to the United States for distribution. Two executives of Fabrar Liberia Incorporated, Mrs. Jeanine Cooper; Founder and the Chief Executive, Mr. Fabio E. Lavelanet in their meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of NOBEL Liberia, Mr. Jallah Kesselly for a possible business deal said they were excited to begin the exportation of the Liberian Country Rice, tagged as the LoneStar  to the United States aimed at supplying Liberians and other Afro-Americans to have the taste of Liberian home-produced rice.

Intensive Gold Exploration To Begin

Turkish owned Gold Exploration Mining Company, MNG Gold-Liberia, is at the verge of intensifying its exploration exercises in the country with the company over the weekend bringing in country high-tech exploratory equipment worth over US$3million. The equipment was brought in country by a huge Turkish cargo aircraft owned by the owner and CEO of MNG. MNG-Liberia Logistics Manager, ED Backhouse told newsmen upon the arrival of the equipment at the Roberts International Airport that the equipment will help “enhance current production levels in our mining efforts as well as carryout further explorations.” The company has 25 years Mineral; development Agreement/Contract (MDA/MDC) with the government of Liberia, reports the FrontPage Africa newspaper.

 NGO To Feed ‘Under Privileged’ Launched

According to the In Profile Daily, a local NGO, named and styled Jehovah Jireh Feeding Center has been launched in Monrovia.  The founder, a young Liberian businessman said the center is to ensure that no child, elderly or disabled persons go to bed hungry.  Mr. Bill Pee Gartey asserted that due to lack of food kids are in the streets everyday while the young girls have engaged into prostitution as well as the boys who have become armed robbers, noting that it is all because they do not have food to eat their various homes.