The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018

President George Manneh Weah’s congratulatory messages to the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Lesotho and his endorsement of a US$22.1m Road Safety Action Plan; the election of Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemaya as the Chair for the Fourth United Nations Committee as well as the signing of an agreement between Mercy Corps and the Government of Liberia are dominating stories selected for today’s media summary.

Dominant Story  

Liberia Receives US$41.58M Loan, Grants to Improve Roads, Others 

According to the Daily Observer, Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel Tweah and African Development Bank (AfDB) Liberia Country Director Orison M. Amu, on Wednesday, October 3, signed a loan and grant agreements totaling US$41.58 million for the Mano River Union (MRU) Road Project. The ceremony was held at the Ministry of Finance and was attended by Public Works Minister Mobutu Nyenpan, Deputy Finance Minister for Economic Management Augustus J. Flomo, Deputy Finance Minister for Budget Tanneh Brunson, and representatives from the AfDB. The agreement signed in Monrovia is a continuation of the AfDB’s support to the regional integration of the Mano River Member States (Liberia, La Cote D’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Guinea) as well as in support of the Liberian government’s Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development. According to the agreement, the AfDB’s support is also intended to consolidate ongoing roads construction by the Government of Liberia to boost economic recovery.

Related Caption: GoL Signs US$41.58 For Road Programme(In Profile Daily), In Support of Road Development: Liberia, AFDB Pen US$41.5M Financing Agreements(Heritage), Finance, AFDB Sign USD 41.58m Grant For Roads(Inquirer)  and Gov’t Signs US$41.58 Million MRU Road Agreement (Hot Pepper)

Other Stories  

Pres. Weah extols Germany 

The New Dawn newspaper quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying PresidentGeorge Manneh Weah has congratulated the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the occasion commemorating German Unity Day. The Federal Republic of Germany Wednesday, October 3, commemorated German Unity Day, a Public holiday that commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990, when the goal of the United Germany, which originated in the middle of the 19TH Century, was fulfilled again. In his message to Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, President George Manneh Weah, on behalf of Liberia, extends heartfelt congratulations to the German leader, and through him, to the Government and people of Germany, as they commemorate this historic landmark in their national existence. According to a Foreign Ministry release, President Weah also expresses confidence that as Liberians join the people of Germany in this memorable celebration, the two leaders will reflect on the resilience of the human spirit demonstrated by the German people as they withstood the aftermath of World War II, which separated families and friends and artificially divided Germany. The Liberian leader further recounts that despite the historical calamities, the world witnessed the restoration of a unified Germany, the landmark event of November 9, 1989, “which brought down the Berlin Wall and subsequently led to the Unification of Germany”.

Related Caption: President Weah Extols Germany On ‘’German Unity Day’’ Observance

(Inquirer)

President Weah Applauds Lesotho on 52ND Independence Observance

The Heritage newspaper quotes a Foreign Ministry release: President George Manneh Weah has congratulated the Government and people of the Kingdom of Lesotho on the occasion commemorating the 52nd Independence Anniversary of that country. The Kingdom of Lesotho observes its 52nd Independence Anniversary Thursday, October 4 2018.  The Present Lesotho, then called Basutoland, emerged as a single polity under King Moshoeshoe I, in 1822. Basutoland gained its independence from Britain and became the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1966. According to a Foreign Ministry release, in his message to His Excellency Tom Thabane, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, President George Manneh Weah, on behalf of the Government and people of Liberia, and in his own name, extended heartfelt felicitations and best wishes.President Weah then prayed that the Almighty God will continue to endow His Excellency Tom Thabane with abundant wisdom and strength as he steers the affairs of the Kingdom of Lesothoto the Government and people of Lesotho, following the official observance of that country’s 52nd independence anniversary.

President Weah Endorses US$22.1m Road Safety Action Plan

President George Manneh Weah has given his administration’s endorsement for the implementation of a five-pillar Road Safety Action Plan developed by the Ministry of Transport and relevant agencies and partners. According to an Executive Mansion release, the rather ambitious US$22.1 million lives-saving and accidents-minimizing project was Wednesday, October 3, unveiled by the Ministry of Transport at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill. The launch of the project comes on the heels of sporadic road accidents, many fatal, and massive ongoing nationwide roads construction and pavement efforts by the government. Speaking at the launching ceremonies, President Weah thanked the Ministry of Transport and its partners for developing the plan, describing it as a giant step toward his government’s ‘Pro-Poor Development Agenda’ rooted in road connectivity, reports the FrontPage Africa newspaper.

Related Caption: Pres. Weah Endorses US$22.1M Road Safety Action Plan(Daily Observer)

Amb. Kemayah to be Elected Chair of UN 4th Committee

The Fourth Committee, one of six main committees of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), will today, Thursday, October 4, commence its work for the 73rd Session of the UNGA, with Liberia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative to the United Nations seeking to be elected as chair, a dispatch from New York has said. Formally endorsed by the African Group of Ambassadors to the United Nations, Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr., is expected to be formally elected, unopposed by the entire membership of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during the opening of the main session of the Fourth Committee, which is formally referred to as the Special Political and Decolonization Committee. According to the dispatch Ambassador Kemayah will then lead the Committee in consideration of a broad range of global issues including decolonization, review of peacekeeping operations and special political missions; relief for Palestinian refugees, atomic radiation, assistance in mine action as well as the peaceful uses of outer space, reports the Daily Observer.

Related Caption: Ambassador Kemayah To Be Elected Chair Of UN Fourth Committee(In Profile Daily)

Media Round Table Conference On Transparence and Accountability

The In Profile Daily pens that the Liberia Media Center (LMC) will this Friday, October 5, 2018, host a Media Round Table Conference on Transparency and Accountability in Monrovia. The conference will bring together representatives from the print, electronic and social media and is intended to discuss socio-economic and political issues trending in the country. In recent times, debates have ensured around corruption and allegations of corruption in the public sector, with key members of the current government providing varying views on the issue. The one-day media engagement is being organized against the backdrop that the press plays a pivotal role in shaping national discourse and setting the agenda on critical national issues.

Related Caption: LMC Holds Media Round Table Conference On Transparency, Accountability   Friday (Inquirer)

Mercy Ships, GOL Sign Agreement

The Government of Liberia and Mercy Ships yesterday held one-day stakeholders’ consultation and signing ceremony for the general protocol agreement. According to the Inquirer newspaper the general stakeholders’   consultation and signing ceremony for the general protocol agreement between Mercy Ships and the government took place at the Millennium Guest House, Tubman Boulevard. Speaking at the occasion on Wednesday, Health Minister Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah said the last visit the ships made to Liberia was In February 2008 with tens of free specialized field services including specialized surgeries, developmental assistance and educational programs benefiting thousands of individuals and many communities in Liberia recounting some of the many contributions.

Health Minister Recounts Key Contributions of Mercy Ships(Heritage)

Smart Valleys Rice Project Flourishes in Gbartala

Experts have hailed the Gbartala Production of the Japanese-funded Smart Valleys Project (SVP) as one of the outstanding low lands rice production fields not just in Liberia, but in all the West African Countries where the project is being implemented. According to AfricaRice Country Representative, Dr. Innousa Akintayo, the field, which is being farmed by the Gbartala Development Association, a farming group, has recorded one of the highest outputs — yield per hectare — making Gbartala the silver lining of the project. “This is the most productive field I have seen so far,” he said at the first harvest of the rice field recently. Though farmers in Benin and Togo, who have adopted the Smart Valleys approach, have seen rice yields under rain fed conditions increased from 1.5-2 tons per hectare to 3.5-4.5 tons per hectare, the Gbartala production field, Dr. Akintayo noted, will produce a mammoth 7.5-8 tons per hectare, asserts the Daily Observer.  

Defense Lawyer Sues GT Bank for Damages in the Tone of US$1.5 Million 

The FrontPage Africa newspaper pens that Lawyer representing Sie Edward Freeman has filed a US$1.5 million in damages against the Guarantee Trust Bank and its suspended manager for injury resulting from an assault. Cllr. Arthur Johnson filed the suit against the GT Bank and its former Managing Director Ayodeji Bejide at the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court on behalf of his client at the Civil Law Court on Tuesday, October 2, 2018, citing 21 counts in the writ entitled “Action of Damages for Wrong.” The writ states that the injury caused to the client based on the negligence of the employee (Ayodeji Bejide) is tantamount to the employer (GT Bank) if the relationship of principle-agent exists at the time of the act and in respect to the transaction out of which the injury arose. “Plaintiff says the injuries, humiliation and embarrassments caused by 2nd defendant Bejide were done during the normal course of duty to the 1st defendant GT Bank. Bejide was engaged in an assignment on the Bank’s premise and said meeting was proper, necessary, usual and incidental to accomplishing the aims of 1st defendant GT Bank,” states the Action of Damage for Wrong.

Ministry of Health Conducts Training for County Health Stakeholders

As part of efforts to strengthen the health sector, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Performance Based Financing (PBF) is conducting a two-day orientation for counties level stakeholders in Bopolu, Gbarpolu County. The training workshop in Bopolu followed training from Rivercess and Sinoe in which several health workers benefited immensely. According to the Ministry of Health, the training workshop is intended to increase the understanding of health workers on the theoretical concepts of PBF’s implantations as a strategy for the health system. Also, the training is centered on strengthening stakeholders’ practical issues including the implementing framework and determining performance information and reward system. In remarks, the lead facilitator of the training workshop Madame Vera Mussah encouraged health workers to put smiles on their faces as they go about their health duties (saving lives), writes the FrontPage Africa newspaper.

Gender and Security Sector National Taskforce Appeals for Government Supports

Participants at a one-day Inter-Ministerial workshop for the Gender and Security Sector National Taskforce (GSSNT) have recommended to the government of Liberia to provide adequate logistics and financial support to enhance the operations of the Taskforce. The over 35 participants at the workshop held on Wednesday, October 3, at the Ministry of National Defense were drawn from several security institutions in the country. Gender and Security Sector National Taskforce is essential to Liberia’s Security Sector Reform process. It is aimed at enhancing the security sector knowledge about the need to respond to the need of men and women of the sector. In an effort to facilitate the implementation of the UN SCR 1325 and the Liberia National Action Plan (LNAP), the Taskforce serves as a major coordination forum for members of security sector to discuss and develop joint programs with specific objectives that promote women’s inclusion, develop mechanisms that help prevent and respond to cases of SGBVs, reports the FrontPage Africa newspaper.

World Bank Admonishes Liberia to Invest in Trading Sector to Curb Inflation

According the FrontPage Africa newspaper, the World Bank has cautioned the Government of Liberia to institute both long and short-term strategies in order to tackle its growing inflation rate. n its October 2018 issue of Africa Pulse, the World Bank pointed out that Liberia and Sierra Leone continue to experience ten percent inflation as their currencies depreciated rapidly against the US dollar amid falling export. Africa Pulse is the bi-annual analysis of the state of African economies by the World Bank. According to Cesar Calderon, World Bank Lead Economist and Lead author of the report, the short-term measure should include “robust monitoring of the exchange rate by doing fiscal cushion and hefty amount of research.” The long-term strategy, he said, should involve the acceleration of growth in the trading sector, especially the industrial sector.

MVTC To Enroll Over 1,800 – MYS Boss Min. D. Zeogar Wison “The First Class”

According to the In Profile Daily, the Minister of Youth and Sports Minister D. Zeogar Wilson admonished the newly accepted students of the Monrovia Vocational Training Center MVTC to be focused and build up their capacity through Vocational Training as learning is the best way forward and constructive engagement is the best way. Speaking Monday October 1, 2018, at the orientation of over 1,800 enrolled students of MVTC, trainees are up to 90% high school graduates comprising of gross youthful population.

Police Arrest 2 for attempted kidnap in Bong.

Police in Bong County have arrested two suspects for allegedly attempting to kidnap a daycare student in Gbarnga Bong County. According to the regional and commander of the Woman and Children and Protection Section ( WAEPS) of the Liberia National Police in Bong County Jerri Holder , suspects Peter Kollie was arrested on Monday 1 October when he went to kidnap little Courage Flomo from the New Born Christian Daycare School. Peter Kollie a resident of Gbalatuah, Zota District allegedly admitted of going for little Courage Flomo, but says he was sent by a man, who is commonly known as @ Kermue Jaie@. Suspect Kollie believed to be 18 years old, notes that he was in route to the LMPC Community when he was asked by Andrew Paye get Courage Flomo from the Daycare School. Instructors at the school discovered it when they interrogated suspect Kollie during his alleged attempt kidnaping of Little Courage Flomo, reads the New Dawn newspaper.

PUL President Off To The USA

The Inquirer newspaper reports that the President of the Press Union Of Liberia , Charles B. Coffey, Jr. has departed the country for the Association of Liberian Journalist in the Americas (ALJA) National convention which will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, beginning Thursday,4” October through Sunday, 7th October  2018. Several local and diaspora based Liberian Journalists, American Media Development Organizations and other partners of the Liberian Media will from part of the international stakeholder’s conference under the theme ‘’improved Media and Government Relationship: Recipe for a stable and Peaceful Liberia’’. Delegates to the convention will deliberate on the prevailing political situation in Liberia, with particular focus on President George M. Weah and the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) administration’s government of the country.

Major Reshuffle In 90 Days Says LIS Deputy Commissioner General for Operations

With just a few months after her confirmation by the Liberia Senate, the new Deputy Commissioner General for Operations at the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), Colonel Abigail N. Wisseh, is said to be making headways at the LIS Colonel Wisseh, has disclosed that, within the period of 90 days at the Operation Department of the LIS, she will embark on a major reshuffle for officers under her division. According to her, the decision to carry out the reshuffle at the operation division of the LIS is due to the fact that some officers at the division have been in one position for many years. She said the longer on spends in one’s position will help compromise the interest of the institution. She made the statement on October 2, 2018 at the LIS headquarters in Sinkor during an exclusive interview with the Hot Pepper newspaper.