THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2014

News of the admittance of the departing Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Head of Delegation, European Union, H.E. Attilio Pacifici into the Order of the Star of Africa,   the African Union Ebola Envoy warning to Liberians to avoid the sources of the Ebola virus and President Johnson Sirleaf’s request to the Liberian Senate to pass into law the Land Acquisition Act are among stories dominating today’s local dailies as captured in the Bureau’s news summary.

DOMINANT STORIES

Liberia Honors DepartingEU Head, Pacifici

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has admitted the departing Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Head of Delegation, European Union (EU), His Excellency Attilio Pacifici, into the Order of the Star of Africa with the Grade of Grand Commander. According to an Executive Mansion release, the Investiture Ceremony and Farewell Reception, which took place in the Foreign Ministry’s C. Cecil Dennis, Jr. Auditorium on Thursday, November 27, was presided over by the President, in her capacity as Grand Master of the Orders of Distinction. Among those present at the well-attended program were: Vice President Joseph N. Boakai; Cabinet Ministers and other senior officials of Government; the Doyen and members of the Diplomatic Corps; and traditional leaders, among others. In her remarks, before the conferral of the distinction upon Ambassador Pacifici, President Sirleaf told him that his tenure comes to an end when they should have been celebrating the tremendous achievements made over the last five years of collaboration; but the unwelcome intrusion of the deadly Ebola virus outbreak has muted the national mood for celebrations. “We would have preferred therefore were you to stay on a little longer with us,” she pleaded. Ambassador Pacifici noted that his mission here, by definition, remains largely unaccomplished as few things have been done but far more are still pending. He urged President Sirleaf to accord the same treatment to his successor, Ambassador-designate, EU Head of Delegation, Ms. Tiina Intelmann. Before the reading of the Citation and Conferral of the Distinction, the Minister of Internal Affairs gowned Ambassador Pacifici, presented him with a staff of authority, and named him Paramount Chief of Tehr District, Bomi County, the newest district in the country. Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Development Planning, National Elections Commission, General Auditing Commission, Liberia Refugee, Repatriation and Resettlement Commission, Liberia Electricity Corporation, among others presented gifts to Ambassador Pacifici, thanking him for initiatives through which most of these entities benefited.  President Sirleaf proffered a toast, to which the Ambassador responded. A farewell reception followed FrontPage Africa reports

Related Caption: EU Diplomat Gets National Honor -Ellen Calls Him ‘Great European Diplomat’(Daily Observer)

AU Warns Liberians

The Head of Mission of the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa Maj. General Dr. Julius Oketta Thursday warned Liberians to avoid the sources of Ebola deadly virus. “The sources of the virus must be avoided during this time of campaign and called on Liberian to avoid crowded areas  including beaches that could lead to someone contracted the virus at the detriment of the entire country,” He pointed out.  The AU EBOLA envoy made the statement at the Liberia National Police where he praised the resilience of the people of Liberia in their endeavors to fight the deadly Ebola virus.  For his part, Police Inspector General Clarence Massaquoi praised the intervention of the AU in the fight against Ebola, New Democrat reports.

Related Captions: AU Ebola Mission Cautions Against Complacency…Lauds LNP For Efforts(The Inquirer), Envoy Warns Against Complacency(The News)

Pass Land Rights Act Into Law-Ellen Demands Senate

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has requested the Liberian Senate to pass into law the Land Acquisition Act. In her communication to the Senate, the Liberian leader demanded that the August body pass into law the act so as to protect the acquisition of land in the country and to set up the legal framework that will guarantee the ownership of land in Liberia. She stressed that there have been serious bottlenecks and contending obstacles that are associated with the acquisition of land in the country.. President Sirleaf informed Plenary of the importance of the act and as such, it should pass it into law in order to setup a concise framework that guides land in the country, New Republic reports.

Related Captions: Ellen Seeks Protection For Land(Heritage), Ellen Seeks  Senate’s Endorsement Of Land Rights Act(In Profile Daily)

Liberia Government Denounces Election Violence, CampaignHeads Will Be Responsible For Misconduct Of Supporters

The Government of Liberia says campaign heads will be held responsible for any misconduct their supporters exhibit during campaign rallies. “Heads of the campaign team will be held responsible for any misconduct. We should cast our votes and not intimidate other people”, Information Minister Lewis Brown told journalists Thursday at the Ministry’s weekly press briefing. According to the FrontPage Africa, the government’s statement comes in the wake of violence clashes Wednesday between members of football legend George Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change and members from the camp of Robert Sirleaf, who is running as an independent candidate in the upcoming race. Information Minister Lewis Brown said Liberia is no longer the place where people should put fear in people for wanting to exercise their rights.

Related Captions: You Will Be Held Responsible If…Gov’t Warns Campaign Leaders(Heritage), Gov’t Cautions Campaign Managers Against Violence(In Profile Daily), Gov’t Threatens Campaign Managers…For Any Violent Act By Their Supporters (The Inquirer)

High Hope for New Ebola Vaccine

The New Dawn newspaper reports that a group of Ebola vaccine researchers say they are 'encouraged' by the results of an initial clinical trial, in which volunteers developed antibodies needed to fight the virus. But the end product is still sometimes away.  According to the researchers, the Interim findings from a Phase 1 trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine showed it caused no serious side effects, and produced an immune response in participants within four weeks. The update said the tests began in September and were conducted on 20 healthy adults, who were injected with a higher or lower dose of the vaccine.  It continued that the results showed a significantly better immune response with a higher dose of vaccine - meaning those volunteers receiving a higher dose produced more antibodies than those on a lower dose.

Related Captions: Ebola Vaccine Seen As Safe In Initial Tests(In Profile Daily), Ebola Researchers Hopeful After Promising Vaccine Results(FOCUS)

Gender Gets US$300,000 Anti-Ebola Items...From UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Thursday donated US$300,000 anti-Ebola materials to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social & Protection to enhance the fight against the killer virus. Presenting the items, UNFPA-Liberia Officer-in-Charge, Dr. Remi Sogunro said the items would be distributed to Ebola Treatment Units (ETU) and communities in nine counties. He said some of the items would be given to Ebola survivors to help them begin their livelihood.  He assured the Ministry of UNFPA's continuous support in other areas.  In response, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social & Protection, Julia Duncan Cassell, lauded UNFPA for its continuous support to the Ministry. She said funds for the items were provided by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) through a joint program that will expire at the end of this year. Minister Cassell said the items were requested by the communities during consultative meetings relative to what they needed to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.  The items include rice, mattresses, clorax, buckets, among others, writes the News newspaper.

Related Captions: UNFPA Presents Assorted Items To Gender Ministry(The New Dawn),

UNFPA Donates US$300,000 Items To MOGD(The Inquirer)

OTHER STORIES

House-To-House Search In Bomi

New Democrat newspaper says the Bomi County health Team (CHT) in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has launched a house-to-house search for sick people in communities in the county. The Acting Health Officer of Bomi County, Dr. Gorbee Logan, disclosed that the exercise launched Wednesday is part of measures to contain the further spread of the Ebola disease in the county. Dr. Logan said sick people discovered during the exercise will be taken to medical facilities for further examination and treatment as a means of eradicating the Ebola virus from the county. According to Dr. Logan, the attention of local health workers, the C.D.C and World Health organization Technical assistants have been drawn to Suehn Mecca, Klay and Dewein Districts where pockets of new cases are still being reported. He said Senjeh District, which hosts Tubmanburg City, has not reported any new Ebola cases for two months now, New Democrat reports.

BIN Chief Suggests Revisit Of Alien, Nationality Law

The Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization (BIN), Colonel Lemuel Reeves, is calling for a revisit of the Alien and Nationality Act to reflect current day realities. Reeves said provisions of the Alien and Nationality Act, especially those regarding fees paid by aliens to process documents are low and must be adjusted to meet current day realities. He assured that BIN is committed to working with the Liberia National Police and UNMIL to provide security in the upcoming senatorial elections. Meanwhile, Commissioner Reeves has disclosed that BIN is working with authorities of the Civil Service Agency on plans to honorably retire over 600 BIN officers who have reached or exceeded the retirement age, Heritage writes.

Internal affairs Ministry Begins High-Level Consultation

The Ministry of Internal Affairs Ministry has begun high-level consultation to rationalize local administrative structures in Southeastern Liberia. In Greenville, Sinoe County, a weeklong consultation and sensitization exercise aimed at rationalizing the administrative structures of local government got underway Wednesday, November 26, 2014 in southeast Liberia. According to statistics, there are 141 Cities, 244 Townships, 129 Districts, 240 Chiefdoms, 580 Clans and 1198 General Towns. The exercise is bringing together legislators, political parties, civil society organizations and heads of sub-national administrative structures from River Gee, Maryland, Grand Kru and Sinoe counties, FOCUS reports.