The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018

The appointments and nominations of more government officials by President George Manneh Weah, the arrival of Women of Grace in Liberia to honor Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor and First Lady Clar Weah, UNMIL’s donation of DNA Machine to JFK Hospital are among selected stories for today’s media summary.

Weah Makes Further Appointments in Gov’t

According to the Heritage newspaper, President George Manneh Weah has made further nominations and appointments in government affecting the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Health.    Those nominated include Rev. Dr. William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberia Peace Ambassador, Ministry of Internal Affairs; C. Sanford Wesseh, Assistant Minister for Vital Statistics; Mr. George Jacob, Assistant Minister for Planning and Dr. Catherine T. Cooper, Assistant Minister for Curative Services Ministry of Health. The daily reads that the nominations and appointments are subject to confirmation by the Honorable Liberian Senate where applicable.

Related Caption: President Weah Makes Further Appointments(Daily Observer)

‘Women Of Grace’ Arrives in Liberia From U.S. to Honor VP Taylor and First Lady Clar Weah

Members of the Women of Grace, a US-based Liberian Christian women group are expected to arrive in Liberia this week as guest of the Liberia First Lady, Clar Marie Weah and the Vice President of Liberia, Madam Jewel Howard Taylor for their ascendancy and manifest commitment to facilitate change in the Liberian society. According to a dispatch, during their stay in the County, the two Liberian distinguished ladies will be honored for their commitment to women and children issues since becoming First Lady and Vice President respectively, and VP Taylor for being the first woman democratically elected vice president of Liberia. The dispatch quoting the President of the group, Felicia Q. Garlo said while in the Country several visits will be made to organizations that are catering to the welfare of children, and other humanitarian NGOs, reads the FrontPage Africa newspaper. 

Related Caption: To Honor VP Taylor And First Lady Clar Weah: ‘Women Of Grace’ Head For Liberia From U.S.(INSIGHT)

ECOWAS Election Assistance Improving Polls With Integrity West Africa

A book on “A Decade of ECOWAS Electoral Assistance in West Africa” has been unveiled in Abuja with an official of the German Development Agency, GIZ, which provided funding for the publication commending ECOWAS’ electoral assistance for adding value to elections in the region. “With ECOWAS Electoral Assistance, elections in recent past in the region have seen great improvement and the German Government will continue to support this laudable initiative,” declared Ludwig Kirchner, Head of GIZ Support Programme to the ECOWAS Commission. The INSIGHT newspaper says he spoke during the presentation of the book published by ECOWAS Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security at the on-going Abuja International conference on Opportunities and Challenges in the use of Technology in Elections.

Related Captions: ECOWAS Election Assistance Improving Polls With Integrity In West Africa(Heritage), ECOWAS Election Assistance Improving Polls with Integrity in West Africa(Daily Observer)

UNMIL Donates DNA Machine To JFK

The INSIGHT newspaper says the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, 10 April received a deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA machine from the United Nations Mission in Liberia. Turning the machine over to the new JFK administration in Monrovia, the Country Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Liberia, Uchenna Emelony, notes that as defined under Security Council Resolution 2239 (2015) Sexual Gender Based Violence is part of UNMIL’s operative to strengthening government’s efforts in combating impunity for perpetrators of such crime. Country Rep. Emelony says UNMIL provides the DNA testing machine to the Government of Liberia to ensure more expedited and cost effective investigations and efficient prosecution of SGBV and related crimes. According to the daily, DNA is an acid in the chromosomes in the center of the cells of living things that determines the particular structure and functions of every cell and is responsible for characteristics being passed on from parents to their children. In short, it is the carrier of genetic information.

Chinese Envoy Assures Strengthened Partnership With Liberian Media

The new Chinese Ambassador to Liberia, Mr. Fu Jijun has vowed to further strengthen the partnership between the Embassy and the Liberian Media. Amb. Fu said China recognizes the importance of the media and so he will continue to work with the Liberian media as was done by his predecessor. According to the In Profile Daily, the Chinese Ambassador made the remark on Tuesday, April 10, during a meeting with Press Union of Liberia (PUL) President, Mr. Charles Coffey at the Embassy in Monrovia. The Chinese Envoy assured of the Embassy’s continuous relationship with the PUL, as well as efforts in empowering Liberian journalists by sending some of them to China for media and cultural exchange programs, scholarships and other training opportunities.

Liberia To Benefit From ‘Largest Steel Plant In West Africa’

According to the FrontPage Africa newspaper, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sethi Brothers Incorporated, Mr. Paul Sethi said the construction of what is expected to be the largest steel plant in West Africa to begin the production of steel from local scrap materials has begun in the Chicken Soup Factory Community in Montserrado County. According to Sethi, who owns a chain construction-material stores in and around Monrovia, the construction of the plant was based on the request of the Government of Liberia under the leadership of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to boost the country’s industrial sector. He noted that upon its completion in the next four months, the US$22 million plant will provide employment opportunities for over 1000. He assured that the company will provide high-quality steel products such as squared pipes, steel round pipes, reinforcement steel bars and angle steels and services to meet the demand on the Liberian market and the West African sub-region.

Liberia Revenue Authority Validates Draft Domestic Resource Mobilizations Strategy

The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has commenced the final validation of the country’s draft Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) Strategy. The first phase of the validation kicked off over the weekend in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, with key stakeholders from ten counties participating in a two-day event. According to the FrontPage Africa newspaper, the validation exercise provides an opportunity for stakeholders at the county level to review and make final inputs into the draft DRM strategy with the aim to harmonize a genuine national strategy to drive Liberia’s domestic resource mobilization agenda. The daily says in 2016, the Addis Tax Initiative attended by African countries and representatives of the International donor community, proclaimed domestic resource mobilization and its effective use as the crux of a common pursuit of sustainable development and achieving the SDGs. It indicates an international consensus in forming a consolidated position on DRM as the fulcrum for financing development.

NHA Encourages the Formation of Real Estate Association of Liberia Holds first meeting with Real Estate developers/home builders in the country

The Managing Director of the National Housing Authority Duannah Siryon Friday, April 5, 2018, held an important meeting with few representatives of the Liberia Builders Association. Those in attendance at the end of a one-week public announcement included Mr. Bangale Kaba of the Regional Construction Company (RCC), Stephen G. Tolbert, Sr., of the Blue Star Cont. & Engineering Service Inc., Francis Lahai of the Millennium World Incorporated and Mr. Amara Donzo, a housing development expert with extensive knowledge in low-cost housing. Mr. Siryon encouraged those in attendance to be responsible and bring maximum benefits to their entities and increase the development quota of the NHA, reports the Daily Observer.