THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Today’s summary of our selected local dailies highlights the National Elections Commission’s pronouncement of the start campaign for the Special Senatorial Elections and the United Nations Development Program’s donation valued US$150,000 to the Internal Affairs Ministry to assist fight against the Ebola virus in rural Liberia.

DOMINANT STORIES

Campaign Starts Thursday

The FrontPage Africa newspaper reports that the Chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC) Jerome Korkoya has revealed that official campaign activities for the ensuing Special Senatorial Elections will begin on Thursday November 20, 2014 despite the deadly Ebola outbreak. Speaking at the launch of the civic and voter education program at the NEC headquarters, the NEC boss said the commission has certified 139 candidates to contest the election throughout the country. “In keeping with the revised timeline for the 2014 Special Senatorial Election, the Commission is pleased to announce that political campaign will commence on Thursday, November 20, 2014 and end 24 hours before Polling Day,” he said.

Related Captions: Campaign Starts Thursday(The New Dawn), Campaign Date Set(New Democrat), Campaign Starts Thursday(In Profile Daily), Campaigning Begins In Two Days(The Inquirer)

UNDP Provides US450,000

United Nations Development Program County Director, Dr. Kamil Kamaluddeen last Friday donated several motor cycles and other items valued at US$150,000 to the Ministry of Internal affairs toward fighting the Ebola virus disease in the rural areas. Dr. Kamaluddeen said the UNDP’s support to the Ministry of Internal Affairs is intended for county administrations to prevent and control transmission of the Ebola virus disease in the various counties. Internal Affair Minister Morris Dukuly said the UNDP donation is a manifest testimony of decentralization, adding: “decentralization is not about workshops, but about local capacity building or making, the people take ownership”. “Decentralization is sustained overtime by our ability to understand what fiscal decentralization is, New Democrat reports.

Related Caption: UNDP Wants Shift In Ebola Fight(The News), UNDP Empowers County Superintendents…Donates Motor-Bike And Other Items To Fight Ebola(The Inquirer)

OTHER STORIES

Govt Threatens Demolition Without Compensation

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says government will not hesitate to demolish all structures built over drainages or in alley-ways without compensation if they were built there illegally. “Any structure that is on the drainage that is preventing a road from being fixed will be destroyed. All those structures that fall in that category better begin to move right now,” she cautioned. The INSIGHT newspaper quotes an Executive Mansion release as saying that the Liberia leader issued the warning near Clara Town, when she inspected ongoing rehabilitation work on deplorable roads on Bushrod Island and Gardnersville. She was accompanied by outgoing Public Works Minister, Dr. Antoinette Weeks, Public Works Minister-designate, Mr. Gyude Moore, and Public Works Deputy Minister for Technical Services Claude Langley, respectively.  The Liberian President toured UN Drive up to the St. Paul’s Bridge, and later Somalia Drive from Freeport to 72nd Junction and on to S.K. Doe Boulevard.

Related Caption: Ellen Tours Deplorable Roads On Bushhrod Island, Gardnersville---Threatens To Demolish All Structures Built Over Drainages And In Alley-Ways (The Inquirer)

Ebola May be Contained in 2 Months Expert Predicts

An international health expert, Hans Rosling said the deadly Ebola virus needs about two months more to reach its zero point in Liberia. However, the expert was quick to point out that Liberians should not be complacent in taking the precautionary measures as prescribed by the Ministry of Health as to enhance Liberia’s standing on the Ebola index which is currently impressive. Mr. Rosling who is a professor of International Health is currently on an assignment in Liberia said it is a shame that there has been enough research to curtail the Ebola virus as evidenced of the fact that it has no vaccine. Professor Rosling, speaking at the Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism daily Ebola news conference in Monrovia yesterday also noted that the construction of the many Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) in Liberia is belated as the disease would not have claimed more lives, had these ETUs being in place from the beginning Inquirer reports.

Monrovia’s Ebola Cases Drop To 25

The New Dawn newspaper reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) says while the number of Ebola cases appears to be declining, with reported cases in Monrovia falling from 75 to 25 daily, a mixed picture emerges in different counties across the country. The head of the Ebola Response team at the WHO Dr. Bruce Aylward, paid a four- day visit to Liberia to get a better understanding of the Ebola response activities on the ground. In a press statement, WHO says the transmission of Ebola virus disease is consistently high in Montserrado County while there are declines in Lofa County where zero cases have been reported for more than a week, according to Dr. Aylward. WHO report as of 8 November says Liberia reported a total of 6,822 cases including 2,836 deaths.  It warns that despite the expressed optimism, the latest observation does not mean that Ebola is under control in Liberia, noting that the virus has the potential to appear in waves, which can be mistaken for declining cases. According to the daily, the Government of Liberia is fighting toward zero infection by December, 2014.

700 More US Soldiers Expected

The U.S. Defense Secretary has ordered 700 Minnesota Army National Guard Soldiers to mobilize to West Africa in 2015 to support military efforts against the Ebola virus. The Minnesota National Guard announced Sunday the specific duties of the soldiers…to synchronize the operations, logistics, personnel and resources of the U.S. military forces assigned to the area. It has been made clear that the Red Bulls will not be responsible for treating Ebola patients. “Our mission will be to coordinate all of the Department of Defense resources in Liberia to support USAID and the government of Liberia to contain the Ebola virus, and ultimately save lives”, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Nash, the Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard, said, according to the New Democrat.

EU Announces Additional $21m For Ebola Fight

The European Union (EU) Ebola Coordinator and Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides has announced additional US$21 million towards the fight against the deadly Ebola virus. Speaking over the weekend, at the EU office in Monrovia, Mr. Stylianides was not specific if the US$21 million is for the three affected countries or for Liberia alone. He said the nature of the epidemic is changing. He stated that over 1.2 billion dollars have been committed in the battle to stop the spread of the disease and admonished Liberians not to let their guards down because Ebola remains a clear and present danger, Inquirer reports.

IFC Supports Small &Medium Enterprises To Cope With Ebola

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, yesterday delivered hygiene and educational materials to Access Bank Liberia as part of the partners' wider efforts to help Liberian private sector to combat the health and financial risks posed by the Ebola outbreak. The materials were made available through IFC's Conflict Affected States in Africa Initiative (CASA) and consist of hundreds of Veronica Buckets, soap, boxes of bleach, medical thermometers, and educational posters, all to help control the spread of the Ebola, which has killed about 2,800 people in Liberia and taken a toll on its economy, according to the Daily Observer.

Related Caption: IFC Supports Small & Medium Enterprises To Cope With Ebola(INSIGHT)