The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 Monrovia, Liberia

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017

The dominant story in today’s Media Summary is the Liberia Telecommunications Authority’s donation of US$130,000 worth of Information Communications Technology hardware and software to the Judiciary. Other stories include the Foreign Service Institution’s graduation ceremony slated for Friday, January 19, the launch of ECOWAS human capital, travel management systems, and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s acceptance of Public Procurement and Concessions Commission.

Dominant Story  

LTA DONATES US$130,000 EQUIPMENT TO JUDICIARY 

The New Dawnnewspaper reports that the Liberia’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority or LTA has presented ICT hardware and software valued over one hundred thirty thousand US dollars (US$130,000.00) to the Judicial Branch of Government to jump-start plans to fully automate the Justice system here. “Mr. Chief Justice, the Board of Commissioners of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority is pleased this afternoon, to deliver on its part of the collaborative effort with the IFC, by turning over to Your Honor, ICT hardware and software valued at over US$130,000. The equipment includes computer servers, desktops and tablets, network switches and routers, enterprise scanners, printers and photocopiers, projectors and large screen LCD displays, wireless access points, operating software, anti-virus applications, and network fiber cable, among other equipment. It is our hope, that when all this equipment is installed and functioning, the LTA will be invited back to see e-Justice in action”, said Angelique Weeks, Chairperson of the LTA Board of Commissioners. Speaking during the presentation at the Temple of Justice, Wednesday, 18 January Chairperson Weeks stated how happy the LTA was to make the donation to Liberia’s Justice System.

Related Captions: LTA Donates Over US$130,00o Equipment To Judiciary(Inquirer), LTA Equips Court With US$130K ICT Equipment (Daily Observer), LTA Donates US$130K Electronic Hardware To Judiciary (INSIGHT), and Chief Justice Receives US$130,000 Worth Of ICT Equipment From LTA (Heritage)

Other Stories  

FSI To Graduate 28 Tomorrow 

TheHeritage newspaper quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying that the Ministry’s Gabriel L. Dennis Foreign Service Institute (FSI) will graduate 28 students, who have acquired adequate knowledge and skills in the field of international relations with emphasis in “development diplomacy” on Friday, January 20, 2017. The graduation ceremonies take place at the Ministry’s C. Cecil Dennis Auditorium. According to a Foreign Ministry release, the 28 emerging diplomats have successfully completed nine months of intensive post-graduate diploma training in diplomacy and international relations. The United States Ambassador accredited to Liberia, Her Excellency Christine Elders, will serve as keynote speaker, while the ceremony will be graced by Foreign Minister Marjon Kamara and senior staff of the Ministry, other high ranking officials of government, members of the diplomatic and consular corps accredited near Monrovia as well as friends and well-wishers. The FSI, established in 1951 as a professional training and research unit of the Foreign Ministry, was named in honor of one of Liberia’s foreign ministers, Honorable Gabriel L. Dennis, who served under the administration of President William V.S. Tubman from 1944-1954.

Related Caption: FSI Graduate 28 Emerging Diplomats Tomorrow(FOCUS)

ECOWAS Launches Human Capital, Travel Management Systems

According to the Inquirer newspaper, in continuation of its drive for best practices in the utilization of its human and capital resources, ECOWAS launched the Human Capital Management (HCM) and Travel Management (AVM) systems on the 16th of January 2017. The Go Live of the modules would impact directly on all staff of the ECOWAS Institutions superintending the interface between them, their managers, Human Resources Department as well as the Department of General Administration, conference and Protocol. Being more effective, user friendly and part the efforts to modernize the tools and human resources management system of ECOWAS, the newly launched HCM and AVM of System Applications and Products (SAP), replaces all existing manual processes at both the ECOWAS Commission and Institutions. Launching the modules at the ECOWAS Commission main hall, the Vice president of the ECOWAS Commission Edward Singhatey disclosed that the desire to keep to the best international standards as well as the concerns raised by donors and development partners led to the present situation where a complete modernization of the reporting systems of the institutions has to be actualized.  

EllenSirleaf Accepts PPCC Board Chair’s Resignation 

According to the Heritage newspaper, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has accepted the resignation of the Board Chairman of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC), Professor Willie Belleh. According to a PPCC press release issued in Monrovia on Tuesday, President Sirleaf took the decision to allow the PPCC official answer to charges levied against him for his alleged role in the Sable Mining corruption scam as claimed in a Global Witness.  Prof. Belleh, who is currently on post-surgery consultations in the United States, has been included in the second batch of persons indicted for their alleged roles in the Sable Mining bribery saga by the Special Presidential Task Force probing the Global Witness report. The release disclosed that in August 2016 and January 2017, Mr. Belleh offered to voluntarily and temporarily step aside as Chairman of the PPCC Board of Commissioners to allow him face the Task Force to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, the Commission has assured all institutions and the public that it will continue to effectively and efficiently discharge its mandate in the interest of the Liberian people.  

‘Heavy Fines, Imprisonment’ For Power Theft 

According to the Daily Observer, in an effort to tackle power theft, which has resulted into the loss of millions of United States dollars in potential revenue from the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has alerted the Legislature that there “shall be” heavy fines and imprisonment for those convicted of power theft. In a letter to Speaker J. Emmanuel Nuquay and members of the House of Representatives, which was read yesterday in the House’s Plenary, the President said she has already instructed the Minister of Lands, Mines and Energy, Patrick Sendolo, to promulgate stronger regulations to impose higher fines and prison terms pursuant to the Electricity Law of 2015 as amended, in order to mitigate the constant abuse of the country’s limited resources. “I see this illegal action as economic sabotage, holding back our overall national development and the growth of our economy,” the President wrote. The President said Liberia ranks among one of the highest in the world in terms of losses in the power sector, amounting to 47 percent, of which 33 percent is attributed to power theft.

NEC To Reject Parties Without 30% Women Submission

The National Elections Commission (NEC) says it will reject political parties that may fail to submit thirty percent women aspirants in their proposal to the commission for the forthcoming Presidential and Legislative Elections. According to Madam Sarah Toe, the submission of the 30% women representation should be done after political party’s primary; something which the NEC commissioner said is enshrined in the commission’s guideline. Speaking at a one-day Strategic Dialogue on Women’s Political Leadership yesterday at the Monrovia City Hall, Commissioner Toe who did not espouse on her statement, mandated that the issue of women 30% participation should be accepted and implemented by all registered political parties in the country, reports the Inquirer newspaper.  

Two License Plate Processors In Operation At MOT 

According to the Daily Observer, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) on Monday, January 9, announced the arrival of two license plate processors in the country. This means license plates will no longer be processed abroad as used to be the case. Transport Minister Sam Wlue told journalists during a brief display that the ministry will not accept any excuses from vehicle owners who ply the streets without license plates. “It is only lawful that you ply the streets with your car bearing its license plates. Any car moving through the streets without a license plate is illegal and for such offense, the police will pull you over and you will have to pay a fine,” he warned. Minister Wlue said drivers with license plates on their cars as well those licensed to drive are okay for security purposes. He added that Union Strong Group, a solar power renewable energy distributor and integrator now operating in Liberia, is MOT’s partner for processing the plates. Transport Deputy Minister for Rail Juanita Traub Bropleh said information purported by many people that there are no plates at the Ministry must now be put aside.  

56 Attorneys-At-Law Sit Bar Exams 

Fifty six Attorneys-at-Law yesterday began a four-day Supreme Court Bar Exam in Monrovia. Successful candidates will qualify to practice as Counselors-at-Law in the country. According to Cllr. Oswald Tweh, chairperson of the National Board of Examiners (NBE), each candidate paid US$1,200 for the examination. Tweh said the fee covered feeding, stationery and other resource materials. Previous examination fees were between US$800 and US$900. He said the NBE in consultation with the Supreme Court set the fees for the examination. All 56 candidates have practiced law in the country for more than five years, along with meeting NBE’s moral and ethical standards. Cllr. Tweh said besides the 56 Attorneys-at-Law, the NBE in consultation with the Supreme Court gave a “dispensation” to other Attorneys-at-Law that he did not name because of their status in government. The dispensation, he noted, automatically qualified them as Counselors-at-Law, even though they did not sit the examination as required by Judicial Law, reports the Daily Observer.

Police, NHA Sign Housing Agreement

The New Dawnnewspaper reports that Authorities of the Liberia National Police or LNP and the National Housing Authority or NHA have signed an agreement aimed at helping officers gain access to owning housing units constructed at the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation or NASSCORP Village in Brewerville City, Montserrado County. Police Inspector General Col. Gregory Coleman told journalists at the LNP Headquarters on Capitol Hill where signing took place on Wednesday, 18 January that NHA had allotted 33 housing units exclusively for the LNP at NASSCORP Village. The NHA says the housing units are available for US$20,000 each, and that following the mortgage payment of US$343, officers will be required to make monthly payment of rent at an affordable rate until full payment is made. Col. Coleman thanked the authorities of NHA for affording the LNP the opportunity that will enable officers to own housing units, recalling those years back, it was only a dream for a police officer to own a house. Col. Coleman says following the LNP’s negotiation with NHA, the move today by the housing authority has made such a dream become a reality. Col. Coleman hopes that officers from patrol level and others should be able to afford taking advantage of such opportunity, saying the LNP is concerned about the welfare of officers, thus making his administration to seek ways to make life bearable for officers.  

$2.2b Needed To Connect All Capitals 

Public Works Minister Gyude Moore says Liberia needs US$2.2 billion to connect all county capitals here, as he faces legislative inquiry over the deplorable road conditions in Southeastern Liberia. He proposed to members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, 17 January while honoring an invitation to that august body that to connect one county to the other by roads, there should be five regional hubs. He however reported that the Zewdru to Fish Town road project in the southeast was underway and will be funded by the United States Agency for International Development or USAID. Mr. Moore said the road from Brewerville to Bopolu, Gbarpolu County was also underway, and that the processing of the contractor pay was in progress to start the project. Concerning road development in Monrovia and its surroundings, he said 78 alleys will be opened from the ELWA Junction in Paynesville to Marshall, Margibi County. The Public Works Minister added that most of the roads fail because they are not solid, on grounds that they were clay.  Mr. Moore appeared before the House after River Gee County District #1Representative Mr. Johnson Toe Chea wrote Plenary on 11 January to draw his colleagues’ attention on bad road conditions in the country, reports New Dawnnewspaper.

Charity To Extend Teen Services To 4 Counties

The international charity Young-Life, a non-profit organization Monrovia, has disclosed plans to extend its services to four counties in July this year to build the education capacities of teen mothers. Regional Director James Davies named Margibi, Grand Bassa, Nimba and Bong as counties targeted for the expansion.  Making the disclosure on the UNMIL Radio “Coffee Break” Monday, Davies said the organization has been working in Monsterrado County since its inception a few years ago building hope for the future of would-be pregnant teens and teenage mothers by encouraging them to go back in school. He indicated that a one-day workshop under the auspices of the group was held in Monrovia over the weekend with 80 young girls from across Montserrado County participating, reports the Heritage newspaper.  

20 African Countries To Hold Elections 

According to the New Dawnnewspaper, the year 2017 is said to be very crucial to several African countries that are preparing to hold presidential, legislative, parliamentary, municipal and regional elections, respectively. Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) has set October 10 as date for the conduct of presidential and representative elections. Reports named other African countries’ going to presidential elections as Rwanda, Somaliland and Sierra Leone respectively, while those expected to hold legislative elections are Algeria, Angola, Chadian, Republic of Congo, Gambia (in election dispute), Kenya, Malagasy, Senegal, and Tunisia, among others. International partners in these countries are worried over the conduct of elections especially, at the time that some of them are going through extreme financial crisis. The United Nations Security Council has predicted that there would be political unrest and other electoral-related problems if steps are not taken by government to ensure security for the elections. It is against this backdrop that an official of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), who spoke at a recent occasion outside Monrovia, said that if Liberia’s elections must be peaceful, youth who are first time voters need to resist violence and other vices that could stall the process.