Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2013

Today’s dominant story captured from the local dailies amongst other stories is the news of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s congratulatory message sent to Kenya on their Golden Jubilee. 

 Dominant Story

President Sirleaf Congratulates Kenya On National Independence Celebration

An inside top lead story of the Daily Observer newspaper asserts that the President of the Republic of Liberia, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has congratulated the Government and People of the Republic of Kenya on the occasion commemorating that country’s 50^thIndependence Anniversary. In her message to the President of Kenyan, His Excellency Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta President Johnson Sirleaf on behalf of the Government and People of Liberia extended heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to the Government and People of Kenyan as Kenya celebrates its 50^th Independence. The Liberian leader further entertained the hope that as the people of Kenya celebrate this historic event, the relations between the two countries and peoples will be further strengthened. President Johnson Sirleaf then prayed that the Almighty God will endow President Kenyatta with abundant wisdom and strength as he leads his compatriots to greater prosperity.

Related Caption: Liberia Congratulates Kenya On Golden Jubilee (INSIGHT)

Other Stories

IMF Board Concludes Review ...Under Extended Credit Arrangement

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Thursday completed the second review under the three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Liberia. The completion of the review enables the disbursement of an amount equivalent to SDR 7.382 million (about US$11.4 million), bringing the total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 22.146 million (about US$34.2 million). In completing the review, the Board approved the  waiver for the non-observance of the performance criteria (on the floor) on revenue collection of the central government, the ceiling on Central Bank of Liberia’s gross direct credit to the government, and the floor on foreign reserves of the CBL. The NEWS newspaper continues that following the Executive Board’s discussion, Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued the following statement: “Liberia’s economic growth remains strong and the medium-term outlook is positive, provided new projects in the mining and plantation sectors come on stream. Non-resource real GDP growth is expected to continue to press ahead with the implementation of large energy and road infrastructure projects, in line with their Agenda for Transformation,” a release from the Finance Ministry indicated.

Liberia Retains Eligibility For Millennium Challenge

The Government of Liberia welcomes the decision of the board of Directors of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to reselect Liberia as a compact eligible country. MCC’s governance benchmarks are in alignment with the Government governance reform policies and national aspirations. The Government of Liberia will exert all efforts to improve its governance performance and also continue to scale up its commitment of the requisite resources. The Government’s performance on major governance indicators has been monitored and supervised by a Steering Committee comprised of several ministries and agencies, as well as some of our development partners. The committee is chaired by Amara Konneh, Minister of Finance, the New Democrat newspaper reports.

Another Chinese Co.  Coming

China’s Wuhan Iron and Steel Group – is planning to renew its bid to sell shares on the Hong Kong stock market for a subsidiary at the center of a mining project in Liberia, as headway will be made in the project next year, according to Shanghai’s China Business News. The subsidiary is planning to speed up its IPO preparations after an earlier application was turned down by the Hong Kong stock Exchange last year, the New Democrat newspaper says. The renewed efforts for a public listing arose as the project to mine iron ore in Liberia’s Bong County is scheduled to progress to the second stage next year. The project, worth over US$2 billion, is expected to provide the company with 10 million metric tons of high-quality iron ore every year following its completion, while mass production will begin in 2017. The mine covers an area of 78.47 square kilometers, with resources totaling 4.09 billion metric tons. The initial stage of the project was completed at the end of July, providing 1 million metric tons of iron ore every year.

YWCA To Build Multi-Purpose Hall For Youth

The National Secretary General of the Liberia Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Mr. E. Edward Gboe, has disclosed that his organization has made plans to build a state-of-the-art multi-purpose hall for youth in the country. Mr. Gboe made the disclosure to journalists on Wednesday, December 11, at his YMCA’s office in Monrovia. The Daily Observer newspaper quotes him as saying “The facility would enable Liberia’s YMCA to increase its work with local groups and develop strategies to promote employment and community integration.

20 Journalists Shortlisted

Twenty journalists have been shortlisted as finalists in the $1 million African Story Challenge, a programme of reporting grants to encourage innovative multi-media storytelling aimed at improving the health and prosperity of Africans. In all, over 200 entries from across the continent were screened by a technical review panel that evaluated which ideas have the best potential  to become top-quality stories on health; the second of five themed categories covered by the challenge. Other contest categories include business and technology. The Story Challenge is supported by an $800,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The programme also has support from the African Development Bank and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), the Daily Observer newspaper reports.

NHA To Dedicate 58 Housing Units

The National Housing Authority (NHA) will shortly dedicate about 58 housing units built at the newly established housing estate in Brewersville, on the outskirts of Monrovia. NHA’s Deputy Managing Director Alexander Kromah told the Liberia News Agency that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently visited the site when finishing touches on the units were being done. According to theINSIGHT newspaper, Kromah could not confirm or deny if the new units would be for low income earners, but pointed that the units were built with funds from financial institutions which must be paid back in time.

Nat’l County Meet Begins Saturday – As G/Bassa Entertains Bomi In Tourney Opener

The NEWS newspaper reveals that the city of Buchanan will come alive tomorrow when the National County Sports Meet kicks-off. An array of government officials including the Chief patron of sports President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf are expected to be in attendance for the formal opening ceremony of the sports event. This year’s event according to the Ministry of youth and Sports will be held under the theme: “Celebrating Ten Years of peace Through Sports”. Liberia’s 15 counties will participate in all the tournament’s five disciplines including football, Kickball, basketball, volleyball and athletics.