HE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, JULY 25, 2016

Today’s Summary highlights News of Liberia’s Ambassador to Nigeria one-year action plan recommendation to the ECOWAS Commission, government’s pronouncement on the death of Dr. Edward B. McClain Jr., Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the exchange of gunfire between officers of the Liberia National Police and some armed robbers.

DOMINANT STORIES

One-Year Action Plan Proposed For ECOWAS

Liberia’s Ambassador to Nigeria has recommended to the ECOWAS Commission a one-year action plan with key implementable projects that are achievable during the tenure of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the Chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Governments. Prof. Al-Hassan Conteh said the one-year action plan would be very helpful for the implementation of President Sirleaf’s priorities, as outlined in her acceptance speech on June 4, 2016 at the 49th Ordinary Summit of the authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, in Dakar, Senegal. Chairing a meeting of Permanent Representatives of ECOWAS and the President of the ECOWAS Commission and his management team on Friday, July 22, Ambassador Conteh reminded the Commission of President Sirleaf’s Four-Point Agenda. According to the dispatch, the meeting, which will now be held bi-monthly, was called by President Marcel de Souza to, among other things, brief the Permanent Representatives on the key conclusions of the 49th Ordinary Session, the Community Development Program (CDP) Priority Projects and the Status of the ECOWAS Community Levy, reports theDaily Observer.

Related Captions: Amb. Conteh Recommends One-Year Action Plan At ECOWAS-Permanent Reps Meeting(The ANALYST), Ambassador Conteh Recommends One-Year Action Plan During ECOWAS-Permanent Meeting In Abuja (New DEMOCRAT), Ambassador Conteh Recommends One-Year Development Plan For ECOWAS (INSIGHT)

Dr. Edward B. McClain Dies Minister of State for Presidential Affairs; Chief of Staff to President Sirleaf; Psychiatrist

According to the Daily Observer, the government of Liberia has announced the death of Dr. Edward B. McClain Jr., Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Dr. McClain died on Saturday, July 23, 2016 at 2:55 a.m. at the Wilgers Life Hospital in Lynwood, Pretoria, South Africa. He was in his 72nd year.

Related Captions: Minister of State Is Dead (FrontPage Africa), Liberia’s Minister Of State Dies (The New Dawn), Minister McClain Dies In South Africa (INSIGHT), Govt Saddened By Minister McClains Death (Heritage), Pres. Sirleaf’s Chief Of Office Staff Dies-Executive Mansion Issues Statement, Liberians Express Condolences (The ANALYST), President Mourns Chief Of Staff (New DEMOCRAT)

Police, Armed Robbers In Gun Battle-1 killed, 4 wounded

According to the New Dawn newspaper, the Liberia National Police has exchanged fire with 10 suspected armed robbers, killing one instantly and wounding four others in a robbery attack on Ecobank Liberia Limited branch in Kakata, Margibi County. A statement issued by the police on Sundayafternoon says officers of the Liberia National Police or LNP have secured the Ecobank’s premises in the county, after it was attacked by gang of men armed with single barrel guns and other deadly weapons early Sunday, 24 July. The daily reports that the suspects went into a shootout against police after they had entered the bank, resulting to four sustaining injuries. The wounded are said to be undergoing medical treatment at the C. H. Rennie Hospital in Margibi County. Police further detailed that the robbers allegedly damaged the bank’s CCTV Camera and its ATM server during the attack to hinder police investigation.

Related Captions: Robber Killed In Ecobank Attack, 4 others sustained bullet wounds; SEGAL guards implicated (Daily Observer), One Suspect Dead, Four Wounded in Thwarted Bank Robbery (FrontPage Africa), Police Gun Down One In Ecobank Robbery (New DEMOCRAT)

OTHER STORIES

Several Citizens, Personalities Honored

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf last Friday, July 22, 2016, conferred distinctions on several Liberians and other prominent individuals for their invaluable services to the development of Liberia and humanity as part of programs marking the celebration of Liberia’s 169th Independence. The conferral of distinctions took place at a Special Investiture Ceremony in the C. Cecil Dennis Auditorium at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill in Monrovia. The New Dawn newspaper quotes an Executive Mansion release as saying that during the ceremony, about 29 personalities were recognized and honored to include Liberians, Ghanaians, Guineans, Ethiopians, German, as well as a Pilipino among others. The honorees were also drawn from the traditional settings of Liberia, career farmers, marketers, businessmen and women, Diplomats, Educators, a clergyman and women, as well as other humanitarians and philanthropists.

Related Caption: Pres. Sirleaf Confers Distinction On Several Citizens And Distinguished Personalities(INSIGHT).

Also as a part of the ceremonies commemorating the Independence Day activities, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara says no nation should shy away from corporate social responsibility to its citizens or else, they would live in perpetual abject poverty. According to him, the responsibility of any democratic government is to respond to the needs of its people, by building modernized hospitals, providing quality education, safe drinking water, adding that these are basic social services many people in Africa lack. Minister Kamara spoke over the weekend at the Monrovia City Hall in Sinkor during the Golden Image Award program hosted under the auspices of the National Secretariat of the Golden Image Award in collaboration with the Liberia Crusader for Peace, reportsthe New Dawn newspaper under the caption “Several Receive Golden Awards”.

Labor Ministry Launches Human Trafficking Hotline

The Ministry of Labor, in collaboration with World Hope International, has officially launched the National Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce hotline in Liberia. The launch of the hot line is the first of its kind in Liberia. The New Dawn newspaper quotes the National Coordinator of Anti-human Trafficking Secretariat, Adolphus G. Satiah, as saying that the purpose of the hotline is to allow the general public report suspected cases of human trafficking from their various communities for prompt redress. He said the secretariat of the National Anti-Human trafficking Task Force of Liberia was committed to the multilateral interregional cooperation agreement to combat trafficking in persons. He also noted that on October 27, 2006, since President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf constituted the anti-human trafficking taskforce, it has been actively engaged in series of activities aimed at eradicating the crime in the country and the sub region, according to the New Dawn newspaper.

Related Caption: Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce Hotline Launched (The New Republic)

UL Holds 2nd Dialogue On Natural Resource Management

The second dialogue on Natural Resource Management has taken place at the University of Liberia’s (UL) Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation (KAICT), in collaboration with the Natural Resource Research Initiative (NRRI). Its objective was to explore opportunities for improved management of Liberia’s natural resources. The Daily Observer quotes a release from the University of Liberia as saying that the theme of this year’s dialogue was, “Well-managed Natural Resources-A Brighter Future.” The discussion was intended to revitalize the debate on issues in natural resource governance to create awareness among stakeholders and the public.

Liberia Establishes National Working Group To Stop Illegal Fishing

Liberia has taken the first step through a consolidated effort to stop illegal fishing within its territorial waters, involving the West Africa Task Force (WATF) to establish its National Working Group (NWG) during a one-day workshop held in Monrovia on 21^stJuly 2016. The WAFT brings together the six member countries of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) namely Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria and is hosted by the FCWC. The regional Task Force comes along with the project “Fisheries Intelligence and MCS support in West Africa” to tackle illegal fishing and fisheries crime and is supported by a Technical Team including  Mat Tracking (TMT), Stop Illegal Fishing and NFDS with funding from Norad. In this project, member States will be able to actively cooperate, through information sharing and by establishing interagency working groups, and Liberia is not an exception, reports the FrontPage Africa.

Related Caption: Liberia To Reduce Illegal Fishing…Moves One Step Forward (In Profile Daily)

Liberian CEOs Encouraged To Attend TICAD-VI Business Summit - Minister Counselor to Japan, David J. Saryee, describes TICAD-VI Kenyan Forum as “From Decisions to Actions’

The ambassadors of Liberia and Kenya to Japan have sounded passionate pleas for full participation of business executives from Liberia in the Sixth Tokyo International Conference for Africa Development (TICAD-VI) summit from August 27 to 28 in Nairobi, Kenya. According to the Daily Observer, in separate interviews on Wednesday, July 13 with a host of African journalists, Liberia Minister Counselor David J. Saryee and Kenya Ambassador Solomon Karanja Maina, described the forum as “from decision to action.” The diplomats said the conference would afford African CEOs the opportunity to interact with their Japanese counterparts on a wide range of possible investments on the continent.

UL President Lauds USAID As Law School Gets Support

According to the ANALYST newspaper, since becoming President of the University of Liberia in 2008, Dr. Emmet A. Dennis has split his time between running the institution and finding external support from partners and donors to close the funding gap often left behind by Government’s limited budgetary subsidy. Now, thanks to Dr. Dennis’ leadership, another external support has come to the university. As with two previous ones, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under its Legal Professional Development and Anti-Corruption Project (LPAC) has entered a Memorandum of Corporation with University of Liberia to support the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, has admonished Africans leaders to ensure that they basic needs and better healthcare delivery systems straighten the activities of any nation and most holistically supported by all nations. He said it is the binding responsibility of each and every government to ensure providing the right type of healthcare system for its people. Serving as Keynote Speaker at the 6^th Edition of the 2016 Golden Image Award ceremony, which was held under the theme, “Strengthening the Health System through Communities” over the weekend, Kamara lamented that it is very painful to note that successful individuals travel abroad to seek medical treatments, while their citizens rot and die from poor healthcare, reports the In Profile Daily.

18 Communities Connected To LEC Ellen Dedicates Omega Market, Others

As part of activities marking Liberia’s 169^th Independence Anniversary, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Saturday dedicated several projects in Montserrado County. Late Saturday evening, Madam Sirleaf also dedicated a US$5 million electrification project in 72^nd Paynesville. The project is intended to connect 18 communities in Monrovia and its environs. Elaborating on the electrification projects, Mr. Joseph Myers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) statistics shows that the project was implemented from the original project known as the Liberia Electricity Project, the INQUIRERnewspaper writes.

Nigerian Troops Head for Liberia

At least 700 Nigerian military personnel would be deployed to Liberia for peacekeeping operations, the country’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai said Friday. The deployment was being undertaken by the Nigerian Army Peace Keeping Center (NAPKC) in northern city of Jaji in Kaduna, Buratai said during the Graduation Ceremony of Nigerian Army Battalion (NIBATT) 38 United Nations Mission in Liberia, (UNMIL). The Army Chief warned the officers and soldiers to avoid untoward incidents that could tarnish the image of the Nigerian Army in particular and that of the nation in general. He said the Nigerian Army in particular and that of the nation in general. He said the Nigerian Army would not accept any situation where its troops were seen as soft targets or conducting themselves in unprofessional manner such as engagement in dealing with illicit substances, the INSIGHT writes.

Related Caption: 700 Nigerian Troops For Liberia (New DEMOCRAT)