THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2016

Today, the summary highlights News of Vice President Joseph N. Boakai declaration of support for dual citizenship in Liberia, the signing of a US$5 million cooperation agreement between Sweden and the United Nations Population Fund and the Liberia National Elections Commission persuasion for an electoral threshold for the smooth conduct of the pending 2017 General and Presidential Elections.

The summary also includes President Johnson Sirleaf’s message of congratulations to the Government and people of the Arab Republic of Egypt on the occasion of their 64th National Day.

DOMINANT STORIES  

VP Supports Dual Citizenship…Opposes Christian State 

According to the New Democrat newspaper, Vice President Joseph N. Boakai says he supports dual citizenship in Liberia, but opposes the proposition to make Liberia a Christian state. Last year, the Constitution Review Committee (CRC) met in Gbargna, Bong County where it held weeklong deliberations to advent recommendations on several propositions it had gathered nationwide to amend the Liberian Constitution. Christianizing Liberia and dual citizenship were part of over two dozen recommendations for a national referendum. According to the Vice President, dual citizenship is practiced in most places in the global community, saying that approving it for practice in Liberia will not be a peculiar thing to do, but will bring economic advantage and development to the country.

Related Captions: Boakai Supports Dual Citizenship …Opposes Christian State(The NEWS), and VP Boakai Wants Dual Citizenship(FOCUS)

Swedish Embassy, UNFPA Empower Youth

The Swedish Embassy near Monrovia and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Liberia have signed a US$5 million cooperation agreement that is expected to benefit Liberian youth between the ages of 10 and 19. The agreement, which is expected to be a four-year project aimed at increasing the knowledge and skills of young people, is about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. It will be implemented in four counties in the southeast, including Maryland, Grand Kru, River Gee and Grand Gedeh, reports the Daily Observer.

Related Captions: UNAIDS Regional Director Visits Liberia(New Democrat), and UNAIDS Regional Director Expected In Liberia(The NEWS)

NEC Seeks New Election Threshold

According to the New Republic newspaper, Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) has written the House of Representative seeking an electoral threshold to be set up for the smooth conduct of the pending 2017 general and presidential elections in the country.  According to a communication sent by the NEC which was read in plenary of the House of Representatives during Thursday’s regular session, indicated that in August of 2010 a joint resolution, LEG-002 was passed by the Legislature for the conduct of the 2011 elections. NEC in its communication disclosed that in order for the commission to conduct the pending 2017 general and presidential elections in the country, a new threshold set up by the legislature would be necessary, noting that the joint resolution LEG-002 was limited to the 2011 elections, reports the newspaper.

Related Captions: NEC Launches Strategic Plan…Ahead Of 2017 Elections (The NEWS), NEC Launches Revised Strategic Plan Ahead of 2017 Elections (FrontPage Africa)

OTHER STORIES

Ellen Congratulates Egypt On National Day

The In Profile Daily quotes a Foreign Ministry release: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a message of congratulations to the Government and people of the Arab Republic of Egypt on the occasion marking their 64th National Day. According to a Foreign Ministry release, in her message to His Excellency Mr. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Liberian leader noted that the Government of Egypt continues to lend support to the human resource gap and many areas: particularly, in the Post-Ebola Economic Stabilization Plan. She stated further that Liberia continues to recognize Egypt’s role in shaping human history and being the harbinger of modern civilization.

Legislature Vows To Enact ‘Upright’ Budget…Expenditure component starts August 3

According to the Daily Observer, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning, Rep. Moses Y. Kollie, has said the Legislature is keen and certain to pass an upright fiscal budget. The Lofa County District #5 Representative said the budget will not be manipulated as being rumored. Rep. Kollie said the Joint Budget Committee, comprising of 37 Legislators (15 Senators and 22 Representatives), exerts every fiscal effort to scrutinize the 2016/2017 Draft Fiscal Budget so as to enact a highly regarded budget. The Legislative Joint Budget Committee is made-up of the Senate’s Ways, Means, Finance and Budget and the House’s Committees on Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning and Public Accounts. Rep. Kollie made the remarks Thursday Capitol Building.

UNAIDS Regional Director Visits Liberia

The Regional Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for West and Central Africa, Dr. Djibril Diallo, is expected to arrive in Liberia on Monday, July 25, for a four-day visit. According to a press release, while in Liberia, Dr. Diallo will meet with the President and Chairperson of ECOWAS, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and other key actors of the HIV response in the country. The New Democrat newspaper reports that  Dr. Diallo will brief them on the implications of the newly-adopted political declaration on HIV/AIDS and will present to them the emergency plan for the West and Central Africa region the UNAIDS is developing, reports the.

President Sirleaf Urges Support For Women In Agriculture

According to the Daily Observer, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says the lack of access to finance for women in agriculture remains a constraint which must be addressed if women are to become more productive in Africa’s agricultural transformation. According to a dispatch from Kagili, President Sirleaf made the State when she chaired a high level breakfast forum of the Empowering Women in Agriculture (EWA) initiative in Kigali on Saturday July 16, 2016. President Sirleaf who has since returned home from Kigali called on African leaders to support the initiative adding “EWA has the potential of lifting women farmers out of poverty through enhancement of their productivity.”

Pres. Sirleaf Visits Niger

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Thursday, July 21, 2016 paid a one-day working visit to the West African nation of Niger. According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf and President Issoufou Mahamadou held face-to-face conversation in a brotherly climate followed by a working session extended to the delegations accompanying them. The working session focused on in depth review of bilateral relations between the two countries and exchange of view on African and other international issues. The Heads of State reviewed the various fields of cooperation between the two countries, in particular the issues of security, economic cooperation and regional and sub-regional integration, the ANALYST newspaper writes.

Related Caption: President Sirleaf Pays One-Day Visit to Niger(FrontPage Africa)

France Appreciates Consolation by Liberia

French Ambassador to Liberia, Joël Gpdeai has praised the Liberian Government and People for the solidarity that they have shown the French Government and People since the barbaric, terrorist attack in Nice, France. On Thursday, July 14, 2016 as French and other nationals enjoyed the celebrations including fireworks on Bastille Day in Nice, France, a man, identified by French authorities as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, ramped a lorry he was driving into the crowd. At least 84 persons, including10 children, were left dead and more than 200 persons wounded, some very critical, theINSIGHT newspaper reports.

Related caption:NEC Seeks Threshold for 2017 Elections (Insight)

GVL Gives 109 UMU Students Vacation Jobs in Sinoe and Grand Kru

According to theFOCUS newspaper, a group of 109 students from the Agricultural College of the United Methodist University in Gbazon Town, Juarzon Statutory District, Sinoe County are currently benefitting from vacation jobs provided by Golden Veroleum Liberia over a period of two moths in Sinoe and Grand Kru Counties. The students are assigned to suitable job roles in Butaw, Kpanyan Tarjuowon, Tartweh and Nitrain in Sinoe and in Sorroken, Wadabo and Garraway in Gran Kru Country.

Related Caption: GVL Gives 109 UMU Students Vacation Jobs(News)

2,891 Receive Cash Transfer in Bong

Over 2,000 residents of Bong County who are suffering the aftermath of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), Thursday received cash payments as part of the Ebola Emergency Response Safety Net Program. The program is aimed at alleviating extreme poverty, especially among the population that was adversely affected by the EVD. Each household received L$9,500.00 (USD100) as two months payment. This payment completes the six month safety net project, reports the FOCUS newspaper.