The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2017

News of the Liberian Government’s issuance of its latest guidelines for missing ECOWAS Biometric Passports, the extension of the contract for the issuance of the Liberian ECOWAS Biometric Passports by the Government of Liberia and Buck Press Limited and the Governments of Liberia and Togo expression of gratitude to the ECOWAS Parliament for its fight against counterfeit medical products and expired drugs in the sub-region are among stories dominating today’s edition of our summary of the local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES

MOFA Issues New Guidelines For Recovering Missing Passports

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Bureau of Passports and Visas has issued its latest guidelines to Liberians whose passports are reported lost or stolen (missing) and are desirous of applying for new Liberian ECOWAS Biometric Passports. Liberians facing this situation are strongly advised to visit the Bureau of Passports and Visas to get acquainted with the procedures associated with obtaining a new passport. This new procedure governing missing passports will come into effect on Monday, April 17, 2017. Before this time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will no longer be receiving applications for missing passports. For further information please check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website: www.mofa.gov.lr, reports the New Dawn newspaper.

Related Captions: Foreign Ministry Issues Procedures for Obtaining Missing Passports (Daily Observer), Gov’t Release New Procedures (INSIGHT), Foreign Ministry Issues Guidelines On Missing Passports (Heritage)

GoL Extends Biometric Passport Contract

The Government of Liberia and Buck Press Limited have extended the contract for the issuance of the Liberian ECOWAS Biometric Passports which will transition into e-Passports by August this year. According to a Foreign Affairs Ministry release, the extended Restated Biometric Passport Contract was signed at the Foreign Ministry’s conference room on last Tuesday. The managing director, Mr. Eric Kofi Buckman; technical director, Mr. Charles K. Boakye; and general manager, Mr. Francis Nyanin signed on behalf of Buck Press Limited while the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Madam Marjon V. Kamara, Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr. Boima Kamara and the Deputy Commissioner General for Operations/Technical Services at the Liberia Revenue Authority, Mrs. Dekontee King-Sackie, signed on behalf of the Liberian government. The contract was attested to by the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Frederick D. Cherue, reports the Daily Observer.

Related Captions: Gov’t Extends Biometric Passport Contract With Buck Press Ltd. – New ePassports In four Months (FOCUS), As Gov’t Extends Contract With Buck Press: New ePassports In 4 Months (Heritage)

Presidents Sirleaf, Gnassingbé Hail ECOWAS Parliament

According to Daily Observer, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Togolese counterpart, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, have expressed gratitude to the ECOWAS Parliament for its fight against counterfeit medical products and expired drugs in the sub-region. The two presidents, who visited the ongoing meeting of the Joint Committee on Health and Social Services, Trade, Customs and Free Movement of the ECOWAS Parliament in Monrovia, made separate remarks on Wednesday, April 12, which marked the 3rd day of the meeting. President Sirleaf said she and President Gnassingbé, who is also the Coordinator of the ECOWAS Post Ebola Agenda that is visiting the country, discussed the post Ebola recovery programs of the three countries worst hit by the Ebola outbreak, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. President Sirleaf will step down as the chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and Governments on June 4, while President Gnassingbé will take over. Gnassingbé thanked President Sirleaf for her level of contribution to ECOWAS over the years.

Related Captions: Ellen Bags Praises From Togolese President (In Profile), and President Sirleaf Acknowledges MRU Achievements amid Ebola (FrontPage Africa)

ACBF Reaffirms Support To Support For Women In Agriculture

FrontPage Africa newspaper, reports that the Head of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), Professor Emmanuel Nnadozie, has reaffirmed the ACBF’s support to Liberia particularly focusing on empowering women in agriculture, supporting macroeconomic forecasting capacity of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and providing support for the revitalization of the Liberia Macroeconomic Policy Analysis Center (LIMPAC) to become a robust and independent research think tank in Liberia. According to a Ministry of Finance and Development Planning release, as the head of a three-man ACBF delegation to Liberia, the ACBF boss lauded the leadership of President Sirleaf and made specific mention of her leadership in fostering growth and development in Liberia, development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fighting Ebola in Liberia, as well as her recent role in mediating an amicable solution to the post-electoral crisis in the Gambia as Chairperson of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of States and Governments.

Related Captions: ACBF Reaffirms Support To Liberia – Pledges Support For Women In Agriculture, Revitalization Of LIMPAC (In Profile Daily and FOCUS), High-Level Delegations Meet EJS (INSIGHT)

PUL Awards Entries Submission Begins

The In Profile Daily says the Press Union Liberia (PUL) 2016/2017 Awards Committee has announced the start of entries submission for the annual awards program. The annual awards program is intended to identify and honor the work of journalists and media institutions performing with distinction during the period: May 1 – April. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, at the PUL Headquarters in Monrovia, to mark the beginning of the entries submission, the Chairperson of the Committee, M. Ade Wede Kerkuleh, called on journalists and media institutions to follow guidelines for the process. Awards will be presented in several categories, as arbitrated by a carefully selected panel of judges comprised of experience and knowledgeable journalists.

Related Caption: PUL Announces 2017 Awards – Calls for Entries (FOCUS), PUL Announces 2017 Annual Awards Call For Entries (INSIGHT), PUL Announces 2017 Annual Awards Call For Entries (The INQUIRER)

BYC Departs For South Africa Today

A high-power delegation of the champions of Liberia Football Association (LFA), Barrack Young Controllers (BYC), has departed the country for South Africa to honor the second leg of the Confederation of African  Football (CAF), Cup with Super Sports United. According to the INQUIRER newspaper, the 28-man delegation is headed by Kaetu Smith of the Technical Department at the LFA

Related Caption: BYC Ready To Sale Gbamy Upon Return From Suspension (FOCUS), BYC In South Africa For Top Confederation Cup Tie (INSIGHT)

OTHER STORIES

Commerce Ministry Testing Commodities

The Director of the National Standard Laboratory (NSL) at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Stephen Y. Mambu, says test is being conducted on five different commodities’ in the country to know the nutritional content each of them has in the human body. He says one of the commodities being tested presently is farina, adding that his department is also engaged in health, environmental, agricultural, water and food testing. Director Mambu told a one-day gathering of farmers and production entities in Monrovia sponsored by a local Liberian Non-Governmental Organization LADA/USAID and the Ministry of Commerce recently to work along with the ministry to ensure that goods produced by Liberian farmers are of standard, reports the New Dawn newspaper.

2 Jail Break Escapees Re-arrested – As Bong Police Launch Dragnet

According to the FOCUS newspaper, two of the 21 inmates, who recently escaped from the Gbarnga Central Prison in Bong County, have been rearrested by the local police detachment. Bong County Police Chief of Crime Services John Kelenso Flomo name the two as Abu Konneh and Stanley Macon. Inspector Flomo told the Liberia News Agency that Konneh was caught on April in the Ganta parking area in Gbarnga, while Maco was apprehended on April 11 in Gbekon, Kokoyah Statutory District, Bong County. He said the two were rearrested during the night after a tipoff by residents of the communities. Inspector Flomo said Konneh was detained for armed robbery while Stanley was facing the charge of burglary.

VP Boakai Launches US7000.00 High School League

The INSGHT newspaper reads that Vice President Joseph N. Boakai has launched a national high school kickball and football tournament in Monrovia. The tournament named and styled “The National High School Football and Kickball Championship” is being held under the theme “Promoting Sports and Education”. According to the daily, the winner of the football category of the tournament will pocket a cash prize of US$7000.00 plus a round trip to Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast or Sierra Leone.

Govt. Launches National Quality Award

According to the New Dawn newspaper, the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched the inaugural edition of the National Quality Award, which aims to encourage business entities to prioritize quality products that will meet global market standards. Speaking at the launch recently in Monrovia, Commerce Minister, Axel Addy, says the award is another clear indication that Government is committed to addressing problems associated with poor quality products on the market. He says the National Quality Award will serve as a promotion tool by encouraging business owners to prioritize quality, which will boost market value as well as give them added advantage to export their products easily on the international market.