THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

Representatives from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire meeting in Freetown to agree on methods to control and prevent disease outbreaks in the border areas and the Golden Veroleum Liberia’s donation of US$100,000.00 cheque to the Ministry of Agriculture for scholarship are dominant stories in today’s local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES

UN On Ebola Surveillance…In Border Towns

Representatives of the Governments of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire yesterday began meeting in Freetown, under the umbrella of the Mano River Union, a sub-regional political grouping comprising the four countries, to agree on methods to control and prevent disease outbreaks in the border areas. According to Amadu Kamara, Crisis Manager for the UN Mission Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in Sierra Leone, the gathering in Sierra Leone include Ebola Response administrators, medical officers, technical and operational planning experts from all four countries that Ebola could not be defeated without "addressing its regional dimensions”.  The high-level meeting is sponsored by the African Development Bank (AFDB).  The recurring theme at the opening ceremony was the need to get to zero case. Monty Jones, an adviser to Sierra Leone's President Ernest Koroma, emphasized that Ebola will be defeated when all the affected countries register zero cases and there is no transmission after 42 days. "If Liberia completes 42 days and Sierra Leone still has Ebola, Liberia is not considered safe," corroborated Paolo Conteh, Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Leone's National Ebola Response Centre, reports the News newspaper.

Related Captions: UN Stresses Need For Ebola Surveillance In Border Towns(FrontPage Africa), UN Stresses Ebola Surveillance in Border Towns(In Profile Daily)

GVL Donates US$100k In Scholarships To Agri Students

Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL), has provided US$100,000.00 to ensure that these students’ fees are paid. The agriculture company, which is involved in oil palm production, made the donation last Friday at the Ministry of Agriculture.  According to the Daily Observer, the company has been donating scholarship money to agriculture students ever since it signed a concessional agreement with the government of Liberia in 2010. Students studying agriculture from the four universities, the University of Liberia (UL), United Methodist University (UMU), Cuttington University (CU) and the William V. S. Tubman University (TU) in Maryland, will be the beneficiaries. The donation is a part of the company’s commitment and in compliance with its Social Responsibility to the Liberian people, especially residents of its concessional areas. The symbolic cheque presentation was made to the Agriculture Minister, Dr. Florence Chenoweth by GVL’s Manager for Compliance, K. Emmanuel Yarkpazuo, on behalf of the company.

Related Caption: GVL Presents Us$100,000 Cheque To MOA(The New Dawn)

OTHER STORIES

No New Ebola Case In Cape Mount-Nyensuah Discloses

The Assistant Minister for Preventive Services at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOH & SW) and head of theEbola Interim Management Team, Tolbert Nyensuah says Grand CPE Mount County has gone for 12 days without reporting any new case of Ebola throughout the county. Speaking at the Ministry of Information daily Ebola Update Tuesday, he said only one case is presently undergoing treatment at the newly constructed ETU in Sinja noting htat all other ETUs in the County are now empty, according to the In Profile Daily.

Related Caption: 14 Counties To Be Declared Ebola Free Soon (Heritage)

MCC Donates 11 Bikes ...To Commissioners

The Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) in collaboration with UNICEF has donated 11 motorbikes to commissioners and community leaders in Monrovia.  Presenting the bikes Tuesday, Monrovia City Mayor Clara Doe Mvogo said the bikes are intended to enhance the works of commissioners and community leaders as they create awareness about the Ebola virus in their communities.  She said MCC considers commissioners and community leaders critical to the eradication of Ebola for which they have provided training for several of them to lead the campaign in making Liberia free of Ebola. UNICEF's Communication for Development Specialist said if Ebola must be eradicated from Liberia, communities' engagement must be prioritized. He assured MCC of UNICEF's continuous support and collaboration in the eradication of Ebola, reports the News newspaper.

Public Policy Institution Launched

An institution intended to accommodate experts to research, study and make sound public policies has been launched in Monrovia. The Center for Policy Studies (CERPS), as the nomenclature indicates, is a policy research institution independent of government, prepared to rigorously investigate policy issues critical to the development of the country and important to the West African region. Launched on Thursday, January 22, with members of civil society, government, the business community and international partners in attendance, the primary purpose of CERPS is to identify and analyze the development situation of the country through research. CERPS works along with the global organization, Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP).  CERPS which is a sub organization to follow Think Tank’s footstep in Liberia is comprised of members and staff with decades of research experience in several policy fields and expertise in Economics, Political Science, conflict, land issues and development. Its members have worked in government, with research organizations, academic institutions and civil society both nationally and internationally, writes the Daily Observer.

Over 3,000 Pupils Recruited For Vacation Job

According to the New Dawn newspaper, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has recruited 3,000 students across Montserrado County for its annual vacation job program. The program, which should have kicked off last year, was suspended due to the deadly Ebola outbreak and subsequent closure of schools. The Ministry of Youth and Sports Communications Director, Macaulay Paykua, said the exercise is expected to bring together over 3,000 young people to participate in a week long activity. He said the beneficiaries will have an opportunity to serve their country in different capacities at various government ministries, agencies, public corporations, including community service. Mr. Paykua said at least 38 communities are being targeted in what is being dubbed as ‘Special Project’ to help needy parents with their kids’ education. The exercise which is recruiting students from grades 6th to 12th with ages between 15 and 21 from various communities started on Monday, 26 January, runs up to Friday, January 30th.

Sime Darby Employees Get Modern Estate

More than 500 employees at Sime Darby Plantation Liberia (SDPL) are currently moving into the company’s newly completed modern housing complex, in Grand Cape Mount County. Head of Media and Communication, David Kolleh, said the initiative is geared towards closing down most of the old camps within its current operation area which have already outlived their usefulness. The New Dawn newspaper writes that the completion of modern housing units for plantation workers in Grand Cape Mount County, is in fulfillment of the Concession Agreement that was signed in 2009 with the Liberian Government.