THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia  

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016 

News of the United States Government’s US$27 million to Liberian “Girl Child” education; Liberia’s acceptance to be the 163rd member of the World Trade Organization and Lebanese Bishops’ commitment to support Liberia’s drug programs are among stories highlighted in today’s edition of the summary of the local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES  

US$27 Million Pumped Into Rural Girls Education On U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to Liberia 

The office of the United States First Lady Michelle Obama has announced an investment of US$27 million into rural girls and women’s education in Liberia. According to the Daily Observer, the amount will be provided by USAID to the Peace Corps Volunteers initiating educational programs for girls under the umbrella of “Girls Leading Our World” (GLOW) to provide quality education for rural girls and women in post-Ebola Liberia and to help fight gender-based violence. It will also address training opportunities for teachers and curriculum development that will create the conditions for girls to have the needed quality education. In her opening statement to the girls, the First Lady said she felt the constraints women and girls “are facing around the world. I always like to travel with my two daughters and my mother to see and know the world. About 62 million girls across the world are not in school, and how can we sit by in the United States with all the resources and not attend to the educational needs of the suffering women and girls? We have to change the culture that girls should not go to school,” Mrs. Obama insisted. She urged the girls to pursue secondary and university education, noting, “Keep going to school and don’t drop.”

Related Captions: Mrs. Obama Joins GLOW Camp In Liberia-Interacts with local girls, Peace Corps Volunteer, & Trainees  (The New Dawn), American Lady Restores Hope to Liberian Girls, USAID Commits New  $27 Million You’re Worthy Of Education (FrontPage Africa), Teenage Pregnancy, Science Lab Plea Dominate FLOTUS Discussion With Liberian Girls(FrontPage Africa), Michelle Finally Makes Historic Visit To Liberia…Holds Closed-Door Meeting With Ellen(Heritage), Michelle’s Euphoria Takes Kak City By Storm (The NEWS), Michelle Announces US$27M For Girls’ Education(The INQUIRER)

Liberia Becomes 163rd Member of WTO

After completing the accession process to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Liberia will become the 163^rd member of the world body with the hoisting of its flag at the WTO Building on 14^th July 2016. Commerce and Industry Minister, Axel Addy said, “Only two weeks ago, on 14 June 2016, the National Legislature ratified our Protocol of Accession. Amazingly, we were able to deposit the ‘Instrument of Acceptance’ at the WTO on the same day”. Minister Addy expressed satisfaction that with this deposit, Liberia’s final hurdle for full-fledged WTO Membership is removed and the country is now poised to become the 163^rd member of the World Trade Organization, the INQUIRER news daily reports.

Related Captions: MOCI, LRA, Partners Commence Liberia’s WTO Post Accession Strategy - Liberia to finally hoist flag at WTO Building on July 14, 2016(Daily Observer), Liberia’s WTO Berth Will Ensure More Prosperous Nation-Commerce Minister Addy(The NEWS)  

Lebanese Bishops Agree to Support Liberia’s Drug Rehabilitation Programs

Bishops in Lebanon have agreed to support the prevention, use, abuse and rehabilitation of drugs in Liberia. The Bishops reiterated their commitment recently when Attorney Samuel Kofi Woods, II of the Liberia Law Society (LLS) visited Lebanon to follow up and consult on the drug rehabilitation programs in Lebanon. It can be recalled that in November 2015, the Auxiliary Bishop of Lebanon and President of the organization, Om El  Nour, His Eminence the Patriarchal Vicar of Lebanon, Bishop Guy Paul Noujaim, visited Liberia to discuss the possible establishment of a drug rehabilitation center in Liberia, the Heritage writes.

Related Captions: Lebanese Bishops To Support Drug Rehab Program(The NEWS), Lebanese Bishops Agree To Support Liberia’s Drug Rehabilitation Programs(The INQUIRER)

JSJP Donates To Gbarnga Region Hub

The NEWSnewspaper reports that the Justice and Security Joint Program (JSJP) has donated an eighteen (18) seater minibus to the Judiciary specifically intended to serve the courts of Bong County, but assigned at the Gbarnga Regional Hub. The hub in Gbarnga is a one-stop-shop     facility that provides security, human rights, judicial and legal services to the people of Bong, Nimba and Lofa counties with support from the Government of Liberia and UN Peacebuilding Fund. Deputy Program Manager of the Program Management Unit (PMU) of JSJP, Robert Nyahn handed over the keys of the over thirty-thousand (30,000.00) United States dollars vehicle, committing the PMU to always doing all it can to provide the necessary logistics to facilitate the smooth implementation of the Pilot Magistrate Sitting Program in Bong County. Receiving the keys on behalf of the Judiciary, Assistant Court Administrator of the Supreme Court of Liberia, Counsellor Ernestine Morgan-Awar thanked the JSJP for the gift, and assured that the vehicle will be used and managed for the purposed intended.

Related Captions: JSJP Donates To Regional Justice Hub(The New Dawn), JSJP Donates 18 Seater Bus To Judiciary in Gbarnga(Heritage)

OTHER STORIES  

MOCI, Others Brainstorm On Tourism Sector----Will Increase Access to Finance and Contribute to National Goals for Poverty Alleviation 

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports recently engaged stakeholders on the improvement and marketing of Liberia’s tourism sector. The meeting, according to the Daily Observer was intended to encourage relevant government institutions to work together with the International Trade Center (ITC) to promote tourism as a means of boosting economic growth and job creation. Deputy Commerce Minister for Trade, Stephen Towain Marvie Jr., who spoke on behalf of Minister Axel Addy, welcomed the effort as a strong signal of Liberia’s commitment to smaller enterprises that play a crucial role in rebuilding livelihoods and ensuring economic stability.

Breaking Barriers To Girls’ Education - Bridge Launches Partnership with J.W. Pearson

The FrontPage Africa newspaper reports that Bridge Partnership Schools has announced the partnership plan in improving the learning condition of the J.W. Pearson Elementary School. Bridge Partnership Schools Chief Strategy Officer, Madam Shannon May, said US First Lady, Michelle Obama’s visit to Liberia in support of girls’ education is a process the government has already begun with the Bridge Partnership Schools program. “Today the First Lady of the United States of America, Her Excellency Michelle Obama, descends on Liberia to show support for girls’ education,” she said. “It is an effort already begun by the Government of Liberia to bridge the gap in male and female enrollment, and improve the quality of education for our children”, Madam May said.

Transport Minister Calls for Support among RFIR Members

Liberia’s Transport Minister Angela Bush Cassell has called for cooperation amongst members of the Roberts Flight Information Region (RFIR). She said as the group strives to monitor and ensure worthiness of the upper airspace of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, there is a need for strong cooperation among member countries. Speaking at the induction ceremony of the new secretary General Badara Talawary from Sierra Leone, she said, in fulfillment of Article II of the Aeronautical Accord of the 1975 it requires that the position of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General for technical Affairs should rotate between the Republics of Sierra Leone and Guinea every three years whereas the position for Deputy Secretary General for administrative Affairs be held permanently by the Republic of Liberia. Roberts Flight Information Region was originally established as a cooperative effort between Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea to provide en-route air traffic services to overflying aircrafts in the common flight information region in West Africa, reports the FrontPage Africanewspaper.

Maritime Authority Extols Seafarers

The authorities of the Liberia Maritime Authority (LiMA) have applauded seafarers globally for their immense contribution to international shipping. This pronouncement was made on behalf of LiMA by Mr. Joseph N. Boakai, Jr. Director of Corporate Strategy at the Liberia Maritime Authority and also the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Ambassador to Liberia. He praised the gallantry exhibited by men and women who brave rough seas and stormy weathers to ensure the global shipping thrives, the New Democrat reports.

Related Caption: Liberia Maritime Authority Extols Seafarers(Heritage)

BWI Dedicates Several Projects

The Booker Washington Institute or BWI has dedicated several finished projects in Kakata, Margibi County as part of its 87^th gala. BWI is a technical and vocational institution established by the Government of Liberia and named in honor of the late African-American Booker Taliaferro Washington, who dedicated his entire life to the attainment of education emancipation from slavery. He was the foremost black educator of the late 19^th and 20^th centuries. The dedicatory ceremony was held Friday, 24 June to kick off the 87^th gala which lasted for three days, ending on Sunday, 26 June with a chapel service, the New Dawn writes.

MOH, UNDP Give West Point Facelift

The Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNDP and the Montserrado County Community Based Initiative Saturday launched a cleaning up campaign in the township of West Point to encourage cleanliness in the society. The exercise is also part of the official honoring and certification for all active contact tracers and Ebola survivors who fought tirelessly to eradicate the deadly Ebola Virus Disease from the country, the New Democrat newspaper reports.

Related Caption: MOH, Partners Launch Cleaning Up Exercise In West Point(Heritage)

2 BIN Officers Guilty of Robbery

Two officers of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization in Grand Kru County have been found guilty of robbery. Officers Jackson Gaye and Benedict Sarr were recently arrested, charged and sent to court by the police for prosecution after they reportedly wounded and robbed a businessman Augustine Paye of 280,000 Liberian Dollars, writes the New Dawn newspaper.