The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014

Stories dominating our summary of the selected local dailies today include the participation of Liberia in the 2^nd African Youth Games in Botswana, health workers in Grand Bassa 5-day workshop on quality services provision and the construction of public latrines for the people of Zwedru.

dominant stories

LNOC Delegation In Gaborone For 2^nd African youth Games

 A 13-man Liberian Olympics delegation is in Gaborone, Botswana to participate in the 2^nd African youth Games. The Liberian delegation is headed by the LNOC President, Philibert Brown and includes the Chef de Mission, Boye Corvah, six athletes, four coaches and a medic. The young Liberians will compete in athletics, swimming, boxing and table tennis. Organized by the Association of National Olympic Committees in Africa, ANOCA, the competition, for most of the young athletes, will be the springboard of a hopefully fulfilling career in sports. The games are expected to take place at the University of Botswana which will serve as the  Games Village, while the following disciplines will feature of the Games schedule; athletics, badminton, canoeing, basketball, boxing, cycling fencing, football, golf, judo, karate, netball, rowing, rugby, swimming, table tennis, tackwondo, lawn tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling, the Heritage writes.

Related Caption: LNOC Participates in 2^nd Africa Youth Games(The Analyst), Liberian Olympics Delegation Off To Botwana (The News), LNOC Delegation Off To Gabon(FOCUS)

Health Workers End 5-Day W/Shop On Service Provision

About 45 health workers from around Grand Bassa County have ended a health and service workshop with a call to use the lessons learned to provide quality services to the people. The workshop ran from May 12-16, 2014 at the Youth and Sports Conference hall at the Fair Ground in Buchanan. It was organized by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, with support from the H-14 Agency. According to the Liberia News Agency, the workshop reviewed and updated protocols that are used to maintain new health service. At the end of the Workshop, H-14 Coordinator, Bento Denokwi, cautioned participants to take good care of documents provided during the workshop in order to reference them in the performance of their duties, IN PROFILE DAILY reports.

Related Caption:  Health Workers End 5-Day Workshop On Service Provision (Heritage)

Zwedru Public Latrines Underway

Grand Gedeh County Development Superintendent, Abraham T. Gbeway, has said the location of public latrines in strategic points in Zwedru is a trial for future project planning. He said the way the facilities will be used when completed will help shape decision makers plan on the way forward. Gbeway’s remarks come after an inspection of four of the latrine project and in the wake of concerns and inquiries from the public on the criteria used to select sites for the latrines under construction, IN PROFILE DAILY reports.

Related Caption: Zwedru Public Latrines Underway (Heritage), Zwedru Public Latrines Underway (The News)

OTHER STORIES

Ambassador Rudolf Von Ballmoos Presents Letters Of Credence

The FrontPage Africa newspaper quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying that the Liberian Ambassador accredited to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta His Excellency Ambassador Rudolf von Ballmoos has presented his Letters of Credence to the Holy Father, Pope Francis at the Vatican City and the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, His Eminence Fra' Matthew Festing at the Magisterial Palace in Rome, Italy. In separate statements at the two ceremonies, Ambassador Rudolf von Ballmoos extended special thanks on behalf of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta for the enormous support provided Liberia over the years in the areas of education, health and humanitarian services in support of government's effort to eradicate poverty and consolidate the peace process. He made a specific request to the Holy See to support a regional education and awareness campaign with specific focus on religious tolerance, noting that "with the spread of different religious beliefs across the continent of Africa, it is prudent for people of different faith to coexist peacefully and tolerate one another". On the Global scene, Ambassador von Ballmoos noted that "Liberia will continue to support dialogue and non-violence in the resolution of internal conflicts. He said, Liberia is pursuing a long-term national development agenda, The Liberia Rising Vision 2030, which aims to propel Liberia into a middle-income country capable of meeting and sustaining its own development aspirations by the year 2030.  Towards, this end, we encourage Foreign Direct Investment in the vast resource based of the country, including the Agriculture and Mining sectors". In response, the Holy Father, Pope Francis said" the proliferation of weapons of every type leads in the opposite direction of peace that we all speak about. The arms trade has the effect of complicating and distancing us from a solution to conflicts, all the more so since it takes place to a great extent outside the boundaries of the law.

NPP Suspension Lifted

The National Elections Commission (NEC) has lifted a suspension placed on the former ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP). The NEC is the body responsible for the conduct of all electoral matters in the country. It could be recalled that on December 13, 2013, the Commission suspended all dealings with the NPP due to what it called the failure of the Cllr. Theophilus Gould leadership of the party to conduct a Biennial Convention to elect officials of the Secretariat. However, it latest letter to the NPP, the NEC said it has lifted the suspension placed on the party due to its (NPP) compliance to the mandate of the NEC. “On February 5, 2014, the NPP under your signature informed the Commission of plans to hold the Biennial Convention, which had been the subject of the suspension. The convention was held on February 13, 2014 and witnessed by a representative of the Commission,” said the letter addressed to the NPP, Heritage reports.

Maryland Gets Electricity

According to the News Newspaper, Saturday, May 17, 2014 was a joyous day for citizens of Maryland County especially residents of Harper City when the West African Power Pool (WAPP) began the supply of electricity in that part of Liberia. Senator Dan Morias said residents of Harper were elated to see parts of their city electrified for the first time in about 30 years. The Maryland County Senator made the disclosure Monday via mobile phone on the Truth Breakfast Show on Truth FM. Hon. Morias said, technicians from WAPP and Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) informed him that Maryland County will receive 30 megawatts of electricity from WAPP through Ivory Coast.

Peacekeepers Poised For Deployment

Barely 48 hours after Ivorian Government troops regained control a village on its southwestern border with Liberia which about 13 people, including civilians were killed, there are reports that troops from Niger will be deployed shortly near the border with Liberia. Some 868 Nigerien soldiers are expected to join UN peacekeepers in Ivory Coast, a neighbor of Liberia that is recovering from decade of armed conflict, triggered by post-election violence in 2010, reports the News Newspaper.

Liberian Professional Form Partnership

A conglomeration of professional Liberians during the weekend formed a partnership geared towards institutional capacity building and human resource development. The professionals, under the banner ‘Liberian Australian Alumni Association (LAAA), seek to provide guidance for young professionals who are benefitting from the Australian Awards Scholarships, a bilateral agreement between the Government of Commonwealth Republic of Australia and Liberia. Speaking at the ceremony, LAAA Interim President Eric Nagbe expressed the need for Government to provide budgetary support to enhance Liberians capacity building and development, pens the News Newspaper.

 Liberia Leads In Global Life Expectancy

Average life expectancy has risen globally to 73 years for a girl born in 2012 and 68 for a boy following successes in fighting diseases and child mortality, the World Health Organization said on May 15, 2014. But Liberia is said to be the fastest country, according to Ties Boerma, Chief of statistics and information systems at the WHO. He said, many countries, especially those recovering from conflict, have also shown that it is possible to make big gains fast, writes the New Democrat Newspaper.

Aliens to pay US$1,000 for residence permit

The House of Representatives has endorsed a Bill to amend section 6.1 (5) Titles 4 of the Liberian Code of Laws Revised, regarding permits of Residence, a provision of the country’s Aliens and Nationality Law. In line with the proposed amendment by the House, aliens in the country with an investment of US$5million and above are given the privilege to pay an amount of US$1000.00 yearly in order to obtain a permanent residence permit. Such permit is subject to renewal after 10 years. The amendment also prevents Aliens with such permit from living out of Liberia for more than a year. The amendment according to the House, does exclude Citizens in the ECOWAS Sub-region or ECOWAS Citizens. The Plenary had earlier contemplated an amount of US$250 as annual payment, but an amendment from Grand Gedeh County District #1 Representative Zoe Emmanuel Pennoh called for said amount to be stepped-up to US$1,000.00. In a short debate before the passage of the bill, majority Lawmakers backed the bill, noting that the proposed Law creates a safety for aliens to increase their investment in the country, reports the INSIGHT newspaper.

Weah Hosts Peace Luncheon

According to the New Dawn newspaper, Liberia’s Peace and Reconciliation Ambassador George Weah has disclosed that reconciliation between the people of Grand Gedeh and Nimba Counties, including the entire country is a difficult task, but achievable provided every Liberian is willing to work in maintaining peace and stability by putting aside all differences experienced during the civil war. Speaking at the luncheon of the Liberia Peace Initiative Monday in Keneja outside Monrovia, between the people of Nimba and Grand Gedeh Counties, Ambassador Weah expressed gratitude to elders of both counties, who are leading the initiative. “Make no mistake, this is no easy task; this will not be a quick task, but this may certainly be one of the most important tasks you will undertake for our country. What we are able to do by coming together will change the trajectory of Liberia towards a unified, and a prosperous country we all want,” he told the people. The ceremony, attended by several personalities, including the United States Ambassador to Liberia, Madam Deborah Malac, the Resident Ambassador of the European Union, the Guinean Ambassador to Liberia, citizens of both Nimba and Grand Gedeh and senior government officials, was characterized by the people of the two counties sharing meals and having fun.

UL Physics Department Receives Equipment

The New Dawnnewspaper writes that presentation of lab equipment has been made to the Physics Department at the Fendell Campus of the State-run University of Liberia (UL). Among items presented were assorted books, paper cutter, Capacitor Inductor Analyzer, Spectrophotometer Oscilloscope, Triple Beam Balance, Cole Palmer and Temperature Guage. Other item unveiled were glass funnel, Evaporating Dishes Frequency Standard and audio Oscillator respectively.