BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

CAPITOL HILL, MONROVIA

NEWS SUMMARY, Friday, JUNE 16, 2019

Today’s edition of our daily summary captures stories about President Weah’s decision to  suspend tariffs on agriculture products thereby issuing Executive Order #97; news about EPA and  UNDP taken a joint position calling for a National Budgetary support towards Climate Change Activities; and the commendation and request made by the female Dux of the Sime Darby Central High School to President Weah for support to Students after they successfully passed the 1018/2019 West African Secondary School Certificate Exam (WASSCE.  

Other topics highlighted today include news concerning the tribute paid by the LCP Boss to outgoing UN Resident Coordinator as well as the gratitude expressed by Old Road residents to President Weah for the reconstruction of market structure in that party of the city. Other headlines making news today include the holding of a Planning Workshop for local communities and partners among others.  

DOMINANT STORIES:  

EPA, UNDP Want Climate Change Captured In Nat’I Budget For Climate Change Activities 

A two-day technical working session on practical tools and methods to incorporate Climate change Adaptation(CCA) into planning and budgeting processes got underway on Thursday August 15, 20019 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa county, a release has said. According to the release the meeting is organized by the environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA), the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with support from the National Adaptation plans (NAP) Project, which is bankrolled by the Green Climate Fund, the Daily Observe newspaper writes.

 Related Caption: EPA, UNDP Want Gov’t Allow money In Budget for Climate Change Activities (The News newspaper)

India celebrates 73 Independence Day-Reflects on freedom from colonialrule  

The Indian Government has remembered with gratitude the countless freedom fighters and revolutionaries who struggled, strived and made heroic sacrifices to win the people of India freedom from colonial rule. In India’s Independence Day Message read by Mr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva on Thursday, August 15, 2019 at the India House in Monrovia on behalf of the Hon’ble President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, On the Eve of India’s 73rd Independence Day, Sachdeva read: “I offer you my greetings on the eve of our 73rd Independence Day. This is a happy and emotional day for all children of Mother India, whether living at home or abroad. We remember with gratitude the countless freedom fighters and revolutionaries who struggled, strived and made heroic sacrifices to win us our freedom from colonial rule. “We complete 72 years as a free nation at a very special juncture. In a few weeks from now, on October 2nd, we will celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, the guiding light of our successful effort to liberate our nation and of our continuing effort to reform our society of all inequities,” says the Independence Day Message Contemporary India, according to the message, is very different from the India in which Mahatma Gandhi lived and worked. Even so, Gandhiji remains extremely relevant. In his advocacy of sustainability, ecological sensitivity and living in harmony with nature, he anticipated pressing challenges of our times The New Dawn newspaper says.

 Related Caption: India Turns 73-Reflects On Freedom From Colonia Rule(The Heritage)

Lonestar Cell MTN launches Y’ello Scholars

Lonestar Cell MTN has launched Y’ello Scholars, an internship and graduate trainee program that offers participants the opportunity to acquire practical work experience at Lonestar Cell MTN. In a release issued Thursday, the company said through the program, five talented students from three universities across Liberia are being nurtured and developed into highly skilled professionals, ready to lead in their fields of employment. There are two interns and three graduate trainees participating in the program. The interns (sophomore and junior students) will undergo an intense three-month training. Three graduate trainees (university seniors) will rotate across all departments of the company over a 12-18 months period to get a 360-degree experience, The New Dawn newspaper asserts.Related Caption: Lonestar Cell MIM launches Y’ello   Scholars(The Heritage)

West Pointers Asked To Leave As Gov’t Scouts For US$40m To Erect coastal Defence

The Government of Liberia has finally resolved to evacuate residents if the township of West Point amidst imminent threats pose by the Atlantic Ocean. Several homes were washed under the ocean a fortnight ago in the slum, thus causing residents to stage a protest on Tuesday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the President office is situated. The decision for the resident to relocate was made public on Wednesday, 13 August 2019 by the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr. Nathaniel T. Blama during a meeting with citizens’ representatives and advocacy group at the EPA office on 4^th street, Sinkor, the News newspaper pens.

 Related Caption:Gov’t Holds Talks With West Point Sea Erosion Victims(The Heritage),Gov’t Ask Residents to Evacuate West Point As EPA Seeks US$40M funding to erect Coastal Defense  (DailyObserver).

VP Taylor Frowns on MTM Closure Assures Graduates of School’s Re-opening

The Vice President of the Republic of Liberia Chief Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor, has assured the graduates and administrators of the More Than Me (MTM) Academy that she is leading the charge to ensure the reopening of the Institution in the country. The assurance by the Vice President, according to a release from the office of the Vice President, followed a decision by the Institution’s Board of Directors of the charity organization on the closure of the organization’s operations which took effect June 30, 2019.The MTM Board, in a statement issued recently said the decision to shut down its operations in Liberia was reached as a result of the huge financial burden on the organization due to the MTM’s inability to raise funds as well as its consideration of the recommendations from the McLane Middleton and independent panel report. VP Howard-Taylor however views the School as a public institution that needs and deserves regular public support to keep it operational, The News newspaper explains.

Related Caption: VP Taylor Frowns on More Than Me Closure Says School Will Reopen (The New Dawn)

Other Stories

Amidst “Successful’ WASSCE: Female Dux Hails President Weah For Support To Students

The Dux of the Sime Darby Central High School, student Rebecca David, has hailed President George Manneh Weah for the investing in preparing Liberian students for the 1018/2019 West African Secondary School Certificate Exam (WASSCE) through tutorial classes administered by the Ministry of Education. Speaking at the Sime Darby School graduation program recently, student David said their early preparation for the just-ended WESSCE exam by the government led to “positive results for students across the country”. “This is nothing about politics, but government deserves to be praised, and all us Liberians must be thankful to the President”, she pointed out. Student David, at he same time commended President Weah for paying their fees for the WASSCE examination, relieving parents and guardians of the financial burden  that could have deprived some of the candidates from sitting the exams, the Heritage writes.

LCP Boss Pays Tribute to outgoing UN Resident Coordinator

As the Liberian adage indicates “Give a Man His Flowers While He is Alive” so it was on Wednesday, August 14,2019 when the Liberia Crusaders for eace (LCP) recognized, gowned sash the outgoing United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Resident Coordinator for Liberia Mr. Yacoub El Hillo for his immense contributions to the sustainability of peace in Liberia. According to the Heritagenewspaper, the program held at the LCP Headquarters on the Capital Bye-pass in Monrovia, was attended by predominantly traditional leaders and supporters who at the occasion gave the out-going UN envoy a traditional name called ‘Kandakai’ which in the Vai vernacular means a chief that always makes things happen. In a statement of appreciation, the Executive Director of the LCP, Amb. Juli Endee, nattated that for the past four years, the relationship between her organization and the United Nations has been passionate as they both share views and perspective on peace, security and development issues in Liberia including the role of women in these areas. In response, Mr. Hillo thanked the LCP and the traditional leaders of Liberia for the honor and said the robes he was gowned with will remind him about his tenure in Liberia each time he wears it.

For Reconstruction Of Market: Old Road Resident Lauds President Weah

The Heritage newspapersays, the leader of the Joe T. McCritty Market has lauded President George Manneh Weah for the reconstruction of one of the two markets on the Old road. The Joe T. McCritty Market is located in Zeekorgbor, located on the Old Road, Joe Bar in Elector District #10 of Montserrado County. According to Mr. Daniel Swee, who hails from Upper Margbi County, the market project is one of the first of its kind. Swee, who has resided on the Old Road for the past 40 years, hoped and prayed that such development will be taken to others parts of the country. He said the construction or rehabilitation of market is one of such development initiative the people are long been yearning for, nothing the Liberian leader must be commended for that.

Peacebuilding Fund Partners Hold Community- Based Participatory Planning Workshop

The Stakeholders of the Liberia Multi- Partner Trust Fund (LMPTF) sustaining peace project has embarked on the two-day intensive and interactive training of trainers session in Gbarnga, Bong County to acquaint and prepare forty (40) participants on the processes of Community- Based Participatory Planning (CBPP). The overarching object of the workshop is “to create a shared understand of CBPP tools and value-adding elements” as well as “to develop a plan to conduct the actual CBPP process in the project’s joint programmer communities”. The project is being implemented by the Government of Liberia and participating United Nations Agencies including Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Labour Organization (ILO), and the World Food Programme (WFP). Salala District (Bong County) Commissioner Hon. Daniels S. Tubman urged beneficiaries “to seize this new opportunity and take this activity seriously as the Counties that have been selected for this project are not better than other counties, asserts the Heritagenewspaper.

Weah Suspends Tariffs On Agriculture Products Issues Executive Order #97

President Dr. George Manneh Weah has issued Executive Order #97, suspending tariffs on 40 agriculture products, an Executive Mansion release said. The Executive Order, which takes effect as of the date of issuance, August 14, 2019 is aimed at enabling key market players overcome constraints in the agriculture sector and fully maximize farmers’ potential contribute to the sector. Accordingly, the Executive Order notes that tariffs associated with agriculture inputs are high, thus adversely affecting the agriculture sector and poor rural farmers who rely predominantly on agriculture for their livelihood. The 40 affected agriculture products include ‘Live bovine animal breeding, all types of agriculture seeds of cereals including rice for sewing under chapters 10 and of the Harmonized Coding System (Customs Tariff), animals or vegetable fertilizer, whether mixed together or chemically treated; fertilizer produced by mixed or chemical treatment, among others, the News newspaper explains.

Senator Dillon: “I Will Only Accept US$5K As Salary

The newly inducted Senator of Montserrado County, Abraham Darius Dillon, in line with some of his by-election campaign pledges, on Thursday, August 15, 2019, announced before Senate plenary and family members, including his wife and mother, that he will only accept a salary in full sum of US$5,000 as Senator. “As a first sign of our commitment to our pledges, I want to publicly announce that considering the current economic situation the country is faced with, I Senator Abraham Darius Dillon of Montserrado County, will only accept a salary in full sum of US$5,000, and any amount over this, will be deposited in an escrow account to go toward social development programs, the Daily observer newspaper writes.                                                                

Ebola Drugs Trial Shows 90% Survival Rate

Ebola may soon be a preventable and treatable disease after a trial of two drugs showed significantly improved survival rates, scientists have said. Four drugs were trilled on patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there is a major outbreak of the virus. According to the News newspaper, more than 90% of infected people can survive if treated early with the most effective drugs, the research showed. The drugs will now be used to treat all patients with the disease in DR Congo, according to health officials.