THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

Today’s summary of the selected local dailies highlights President Johnson Sirleaf’s meeting with Liberian entrepreneurs recognizing some of their short comings and how government can provide support for them to excel and the United Nation Development Program installation of autoclave at the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town, including the arrival in Liberia of a Japanese delegation for the first Liberia-Japan Political Dialogue.

DOMINANAT STORIES

PresidentSirleaf Meets With Liberian Entrepreneurs

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has held a meeting with Liberian entrepreneurs recognizing some of their short comings and how government can provide support for them to excel. “Government understands some of the issues and will give you the needed support to be able to succeed,” she promised.  According to an Executive Mansion release, the meeting was held at the C. Cecil Dennis Auditorium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, September 4, 2015.  She indicated that a major problem hampering the development of Liberian entrepreneurs is the economy largely dominated by foreigners. The Liberian President stressed that both government and entrepreneurs lack capital; but more importantly highlighted that some entrepreneurs’ lack management skills, markets, technology, enhancement, and integrity. “We recognize those shortcomings on both sides,” the Liberian leader said, urging them to work with government to address those issues so that they can have a bigger space in the market. According to the FrontPage Africa newspaper, a frank and candid interactive forum ensued with the Liberian entrepreneurs advancing a number of recommendations to government; while a follow-up meeting is expected to convene shortly.

Related Captions: EJS Meets With Liberian Entrepreneurs(The News), Liberian Businesses In Difficulty-Ellen Meets With SMEs(The New Dawn), Ellen Meets Liberian Entrepreneurs-Recognizes Shortcoming(Public Agenda)

Redemption Hospital Gets Autoclave

The Newsnewspaper says United Nation Development Program (UNDP) has installed autoclave at the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town, on the Bushrod Island in Monrovia. The autoclave, procured by UNDP is environmentally-friendly sterilizing equipment that will help in the disposal of contaminated and infectious medical and non-medical wastes generated in the hospital.  UNDP Autoclave Technician Shane Taylor says the steam equipment presents an alternative to burning wastes in open pits, barrels, or inexpensive incinerators without air pollution control equipment, which produce dangerous smoke and expose workers to flames. “This is an eco-friendly machine that is very easy to use and very easy to maintain with seven simple steps in its operations,” Shane said.

Related Captions: Redemption Hospital Gets AutoClave(In Profile Daily), Redemption Hospital Gets AutoClave(The Analyst), Redemption Hospital Gets Autoclave(Public Agenda)

OTHER STORIES

Liberia, Japanese Dialogue On Economic Ties

The first Liberia-Japan Political Dialogue is set to get underway today, Monday, September 7, 2015, when H.E. Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Liberia, hosts H.E. Norio Maruyama, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Director General of the African Affairs Department. The New Democrat newspaper quotes a Foreign Ministry release as saying that His Excellency Maruyama and delegation, including their Ambassador to Liberia, the First Secretary and Assistant for African Affairs, will hold discussions with senior officials of Government and follow-up on issues agreed on in the Joint Statement published in Tokyo by H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on August 27, 2015, on the sideline of the Second Word Assembly for Women (WAW).  

Related Caption:Japanese Delegation Arrive for Talks Serious bilateral Engagements Resume In Monrovia Today (The Analyst)

MOH Highlights 7-Year Investment Plan

The Minister of Health of the Republic of Liberia Dr. Bernice Dahn, has highlighted a seven-year investment plan for the health sector of Liberia. Minister Dahn said the first two years of the plan involves renovation and upgrading of the Redemption Hospital in Monrovia, Montserrado County; the J.J. Dossen Memorial Hospital in Harper City, Maryland County and the Phebe Hospital in Bong County, respectively. Dr. Dahn spoke Thursday, 3 September at the New Incident Management System Center in Congo Town outside Monrovia when she received Liberia’s second Ebola-freed certificate from the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) after 42 days countdown. She said in the first two years of the plan, the Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town on Bushrod Island will be relocated to Caldwell Township on three acres of land, and expanded to a 300-bedroom hospital, adding that formal ground breaking is underway. The Minister added that the J.J. Dossen Hospital in Harper will also be upgraded and the Phebe Hospital will be renovated and upgraded with improved facilities.  The minister said all three hospitals after renovation and expansion will have isolation centers to specifically handle future outbreaks. The Ministry of Health is in close collaboration with the National Housing Authority (N.H.A) to secure housing units for health care workers in the country at affordable rentals, while advocating for improved salary for health care workers and place those health workers not receiving salary on the payroll, according to the New Dawn newspaper.

LRA Launches Compliant Trader Program

The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has officially launched the Compliant Traders Program (CTP) to provide better business opportunities and services to large importers and exporters with strong tax compliance. Speaking during the launching ceremony at the LRA Headquarters in Paynesville, the Deputy Commissioner General for Technical Affairs, Mrs. Decontee King-Sackie, noted that the program was in recognition of traders, importers’ compliance, as well as to promote voluntary self-compliance, further indicating that the CTP was consistent with the LRA’s strategic objectives to facilitate legitimate trade and collect lawful revenue. Mrs. Sackie also noted that the program was intended to provide trade facilitation benefits to importers and taxpayers with strong history of compliant behavior, through the ASYCUDA Selectivity Program. ASYCUDA is a computerized customs management system which covers most foreign trade procedures. The system handles manifests and customs declarations, accounting procedures, and generates trade data that can be used for statistical economic analysis. At least 43 companies were selected to commence the program. They include 25 of the largest importers and 18 concessionaires. The launch was attended by the major importers and exporters, as well as top business entrepreneurs, reports the New Dawn newspaper.

Related Caption: Large Importers To Benefit From Tax Compliance(Daily Observer)

120 Ebola Survivors Undergo Intensive Training

In continuation of efforts aim to further enhance its engagement with Ebola survivors across the country to motivate and encourage them into the ongoing Ebola Natural History Study, and the Partnership on Research for Ebola Vaccine in Liberia (PREVAIL III) at the weekend embarked on an intensive training and capacity building of 120 Ebola Survivors. One of the facilitators of the training, Dr. Khalipha Bility, told reporters that training would give better insight and understanding to the survivors on the work they about to undertake, the New Republic newspaper reports.