The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2018

News of a Chinese business delegation meeting with President George Manneh Weah; the Minister of Finance and Development Planning terming the planned By-Elections for Bong and Montserrado Counties as ‘unnecessary’ and Education Minister getting an Honorary degree are among stories topping today’s local dailies in Monrovia.

Chinese Rubber Wood Furniture Company Meets Weah

According to the New Dawn newspaper, a Chinese delegation from the Shangyou Wood Industries has met with Liberia’s President George Manneh Weah in Monrovia, seeking to explore the possibility for the construction of a rubber wood furniture plant in Liberia.  An Executive Mansion release says the visit took place on 16 March at Mr. Weah’s Foreign Ministry Office. The Chinese delegation was led by its Chairman Liu Hong. President Weah welcomed the Chinese delegation and commended them for their interest in investing in Liberia, expressing hope that such investment would create jobs for Liberians and serve as a catalyst to his pro-poor agenda. He informed the Chinese delegation that while his government remains opened to foreign investments, the well-being of Liberians and the need for fair labor practice remain cardinal to his pro-poor initiatives. The head of the Chinese delegation Liu Hong said after thorough assessment, they believe rubber wood could play an active role in promoting economic and trade cooperation between China and Liberia.

Related Caption: Chinese Delegation To Invest In Rubber Wood Industry (The INQUIRER)  

Finance Ministry Rejects NEC US$3.9M Request 

The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has rejected the National Elections Commission’s request for US$3.9 million, to conduct the Montserrado and Bong counties’ Senatorial by-election. Responding to NEC’s request over the weekend at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism’s (MICAT’s) weekly press briefings, MFDP Minister Samuel Tweah said Government does not have such a huge amount to spend on the election of two senators who will be expected to end the unfinished tenures of President George M. Weah and Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor, who both held the respective positions. He said MFDP can make available US$1.5 million for the senatorial by-elections in both counties, writes the Daily Observer newspaper.

Related Caption:“Elections Are Not Necessary”-Min. Tweh (The New Dawn), For Montserrado & Bong By-elections: Gov’t Slices US3.9m Budget (INSIGHT). In a related development, the INQUIRER newspaper reads under the caption “Civil Servants To Take Pay 25^th of Every Month…Says Finance Minister; Accuses NEC Of Inflicting Figures” that the Government of Liberia (GOL) has announced that it will ensure that civil Servants throughout the country will be paid by the 25^th of every month beginning March, 2018.  Speaking at the MICAT press briefing in Friday, Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel D. Tweh said for this to be a reality, Comptrollers of government ministries and agencies must have their payroll ready before the 25^th of every month to make the process smooth and void of any problem.

US-Based NGO Commit to Transforming Education in Liberia

The CEO and founder of US-based educational NGO More Than ME (MTM) says her organization’s priority in Liberia is to help the government improve the education sector of the country. According to theFrontpage Africalocal daily, Katie Meyler made the pronouncement Thursday, March 15 at a quizzing competition organized by MTM in Golodee town, Bomi County. “More Than Me wants to transform the entire primary education of the country. We are going to work with the Ministry of Education to strengthen the educational system from the foundation so that the people and the economy will be strong,” Meyler said. 

Fish Farmers Brainstorm On Productivity

In order to enhance productivity in the fishery sector, the National Fish Farmers Union of Liberia or NAFFUL has brainstormed to enable members overcome challenges confronting the fishing industry. A one-day forum was held on Friday, 16 March at the YMCA in Monrovia under the theme: “Enhancing conflict prevention and peace consolidation through increased food security in the fishery sector,” with support from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The head of NAFFUL, Madam Kona S. Kollie, says the forum was intended to educate Liberians fish farmers on key preservation methods. She noted that the meeting was also aimed at teaching members of the three cooperatives under NAFFUL to manage three storage facilities that were constructed by the organization in Buchanan, New Kru Town and West Point, respectively through the support of UNMIL, reads the New Dawn newspaper.

ECOWAS Study Group Visits ICC

An ECOWAS study group of Ambassadors, Special Representatives, and Officials have visited the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, the Liberian Mission in Abuja, Nigeria says.  A dispatch from the Liberian Mission notes that visit on 13 March at the Hague is part of a regional capacity building program on negotiation and mediation as instruments for conflict resolution at the Clingendael Institute of International Relations. It says at the ICC, the relevant authorities made presentations on the history, structure, mandate of the court, the trust fund for victims, the registry, and the work of the office of the prosecutor. The Delegates, including Liberia’s Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Prof. Al-Hassan Conteh and Madam Vabah Gayflor, the Special Representative of the ECOWAS President to The Gambia, discussed various strategies and proposals on how to get the word out about the mission and vision of the ICC.

Widow of Ebola Victim, Mother of Five Cries For Assistance

Thirty-one-year-old Ebola survivor Shianeh Beyan now lives as a single mother of five kids. Her story is probably more mind grappling than some of the famous stories told about the ugly impact left behind by the world’s worst deadly Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, including Liberia in 2014. Liberia became the worst affected with more than 5000 deaths. For Shianeh, every year Decoration Day, a national holiday, is a time for reflection of what the disease caused her. She goes to the Disco Hill Cemetery, along the Roberts International Airport highway, to cry profusely for her entire family who fell prey to Ebola. Her husband, his brothers and some of hers and her sisters and other relatives perished at the sting of the virus, which tore through many families in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. What hurts her most, she stated as she wept, is that all of them were cremated with no special graves to decorate on this memorable day, which falls on the second Wednesday of March annually, reports the Frontpage Africa newspaper.

“Food Sovereignty”: Liberians Learning to Build Rice Mills

Liberia’s quest to become a food-secure nation is gradually gaining momentum with the introduction of technologies and other innovative means that will help enhance productivity, especially in the area of the country’s staple food, rice. With the help of partners such as AfricaRice, African Development Bank (AfDB) and others, Liberia has in recent years made steady progress in the sector, especially in the areas of production, value addition, empowerment of farmers and marketing. The introductions of new technologies have, in fact, been the crux of these partners’ efforts in the country. The latest of these is the fabrication of rice mills, which is currently on-going in Gbarnga, Bong County. Artisans have been drawn from across the country and are being trained in rice mill fabrication; inserts the Daily Observer.

ECONEC Nudges NEC Sierra Leone on Peaceful, Credible Election

The INSIGHT newspaper reports that ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEFC) has lauded the national Electoral Commission (NEC) Sierra Leone for its professionalism during the march 7, general elections and urged it to sustain the exemplary conduct through the completion of the presidential Run- off vote schedule for March 27. Conducting four election in one day (presidential, parliamentary, district and local council) is not a mean feat, and in spite of minor hitches reported by election observers, Sierra Leone’s political stakeholders, the electorate, government and security agencies, civil society and NEC, deserve commendation for the3 responsible conduct and patriotism exhibited during the first phase of the electoral process said Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, President of the ECONEC governing board and chair of Nigeria’s Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

Prof Sonii Awarded Honorary Doctorate Degree

According to the Inquirer newspaper, Prof Dao Ansu Sonii, Liberia’s Minister of Education has been awarded an honorary Doctor Humane Letters Degree. The award was conferred on Prof. Sonii by the College Council of Starz College of Science and Technology, where he served as the commencement speaker at the second annual graduation ceremony. “The College Council, Board of governors and faculty in making this award, noted the enormous contributions made by Prof. D. Ansu Sonii to humanity and empowerment of youth,” the College Council’s citation read.

Related: Prof. Sonii Awarded Honorary Doctorate Degree(INSIGHT)

President Weah Congratulates Ireland on Saint Patrick’s Day

President George Manneh Weah has sent a message of congratulations to the government and people of the republic of Ireland on the occasion commemorating Saint Patrick’s Day and the National Day. Saint Patrick’s Day, or the feast of Saint Patrick “the day of the festival of Saint Patrick”, is a cultural and religious celebration on held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (C. AD.385-461) the foremost patron Saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick Day was made an official feast day in the early 17 Century, and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion( especially the Church of Ireland) the eastern orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church, according to the INSIGHT.

EU Funded NGO Begins Training for Liberia’s Cocoa Farmers

The Frontpage Africa newspaper writes thatcocoa farmers in three of Liberia’s 15 counties will shortly benefit from a three-week training workshop aimed at improving and building their capacity. According to a press release signed the Country Representative of Solidaridad, MacArthur Pay-Bayee, the workshop intends to provide additional knowledge on cocoa production for local farmers in Bong, Nimba and Lofa Counties. “Through the training, Solidaridad seeks to provide insights on good cocoa production practices for proper transfer of know-how to 51 farmers field school communities across Bong, Nimba and Lofa counties,” the release said.