THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairsvv

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016

Dominating today’s headlines include stories on ECOWAS assistance to Liberia for the 2017 general and presidential elections, ECOWAS’ decision to enforce elections result in The Gambia and the launch of Med View airlines to fly from Nigeria to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Dominant Stories  

ECOWAS TO ASSIST LIBERIA FOR 2017 ELECTIONS 

According the New Dawnnewspaper, the heads of state and governments of the sub-regional grouping ECOWAS have directed that body’s commission to ensure that Liberia is in conformity with the relevant provisions of its Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance as the country heads toward presidential and Legislative elections in 2017. A dispatch from Abuja, Nigeria said, the sub-regional Heads of State and Government took the decision during the 50th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel - Abuja on Saturday, December 17, 2016. In the communiqué read by Liberia’s Foreign Minister and Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, Madam Marjon V. Kamara, at the end of the Meeting, the Authority also decided that in order to promote human rights and inclusive governance mainly with regards to women and youths, set aside January 16th of every year as the ECOWAS Human Rights day. The day is symbolic in the region as it marks the ascension to power of Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as President of Liberia and the first African Woman Head of State.

Related Captions: ECOWAS To Assist Liberia’s Elections in 2017 (Daily Observer), and ECOWAS To Assist Liberia’s Elections In 2017(Heritage)

ECOWAS VOW TO ENFORCE ELECTIONS RESULT IN GAMBIA

According New Dawnnewspaper, the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS has vowed to undertake all necessary actions to enforce the December 1, 2016 election result in Gambia.  In a Communique issued in Abuja, Nigeria at its 50th Ordinary Session, the sub-regional body asked that President Yahya Jammeh reconsiders his decision to reject the results of the presidential election of December 1st, 2016 which had resulted in the election of Mr. Adama Barrow as the president-elect of The Gambia. The region bloc called on Jammeh to accept the result of the polls and refrain from any action likely to compromise the transition and peaceful transfer of power to the President-elect. ECOWAS leaders agreed to “undertake all necessary actions” to enforce the result of the election.

Related Caption:ECOWAS Concludes Session With A 67-Count Communiqué(FOCUS) and ECOWAs Concludes 50^th Ordinary Session Of The Authority Of Heads Of State And Government (Inquirer)

Med View Airline Begins Flights To Liberia, Sierra Leone

Med-View Airline, a private Nigerian aviation firm, launches its maiden flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to the Roberts International Airport (RIA), Liberia, today, Tuesday, December 20. Med-View Airline will be operating a regular flight to Accra, Ghana, Monrovia, Liberia, and Freetown, Sierra Leone, respectively, a dispatch from the Liberian Embassy in Abuja has said. In a letter to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, also Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the management of Med-View Airline says the historic arrival of its maiden flight Number VL0203 is part of its efforts to support the President’s agenda aimed at facilitating free movement of trade and services within the ECOWAS region. “Madam President, we are very delighted with your sterling and inspiring leadership both at the national and international levels, reports the Daily Observer.

Related Caption: Med View Airline Begins Flights To Liberia, Sierra Leone(FOCUS),Nigerian Airline Begins Flights To Liberia, S. Leone Today(Inquirer)andMed View Airline Begins Flights To Liberia, Sierra Leone(Heritage)

 Other Stories  

Journalists Attend Gathering Classified Information Workshop Police 

The Liberia National Law Enforcement Association (LINLEA) has concluded a two-day workshop which is intended to educate journalists on several persuasive methods on how to access classified information from the police. Speaking at the workshop, the Direct for Center for Criminal Justice Research and Education, Cecil B. Griffiths, who also served as one of the lecturers, told journalists that some of the best ways to access information from the police is by engaging its authorities peacefully with demands, noting that they should also learn to show their relevant institutions’ identities, reports the In Profile Daily.

ALCOD Names V.P. Boakai “Diaspora Person Of The Year 2016”

The All-Liberian Conference on Dual Citizenship (ALCOD) representing over 500,000 Liberians in the Diaspora has resolved to name Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai as “Diaspora Person of the Year 2016”. A letter from the All-Liberian Conference on Dual Citizenship (ALCOD) to V.P. Boakai, a copy of which is in possession of this newspaper, said the decision was due to his acknowledgement of his concern and meaningful support for dual citizenship for those born as Liberians and of Liberian parentage. “We take note of your effort to protect the Liberian citizenship of Diaspora Liberians with dual nationality,” said the letter signed by Emmanuel S. Wettee, Chairman, The All Liberian Conference on Dual Citizenship, and approved by President Wilmot W. Kunney of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA), reports the Daily Observer.

Nimba Senator Clarifies Road Project Dilemma

As doubts brew over the fate of a stretch of road from Ganta to Yekepa, Nimba County Senator Thomas S. Grupee has clarified that there is still hope for its pavement. Senator Grupee, in an interview with the Daily Observer on December 17 in Sanniquellie during the second graduation convocation of the Nimba County Community College (NCCC), said he is disappointed about the delay of the pavement of the road. However, he told the Daily Observer that things have been worked out and there’s hope that the project will recommence very soon, writes Daily Observer.  

350 Voter Registration Kits Arrive 

As voter registration for the upcoming presidential and representative elections begins early next year, the National Elections Commission (NEC) announced the arrival of 350 Voter Registration Kits (VRKs) into the country today. The VRKs, according to a release issued by the NEC, contain solar panels, cameras, and accessories. “These items were brought in from Europe through the auspices of the European Union (EU),” the release said. With the arrival of the kits, the NEC is at the verge of swinging into full gear to commence the electoral exercises. According to the NEC electoral timetable, the Civil Voter Education (CVE) will be officially launched on January 4, while the voter registration exercise begins on February 1 and runs until March 24. The voter registration consignment is part of the larger batch of 1,350 kits the EU has procured through funding from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The remaining consignment of 1,000 voter registration kits is expected early next year. The NEC said a portion of the kits that will arrive today will be used for the training of the estimated 8,320 registration staff that will commence the process early January, according to the Daily Observer.

Related Caption: NEC Receives VR Kits Today(Inquirer)

Ellen Fetes Disabled Community

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf yesterday began her traditional festivity gift giving mainly to the less fortunate people across the country. From the courtyard of the Executive Mansion where the President presented several 25kg bags of rice and cartons of mackerel fish to each of the physically challenged persons, she then proceeded to do a similar gesture to patients at the TB Annex in Congo Town, near the Ministry of Health. Toe Wesseh, Coordinator of Logistics in the President’s office, headed yesterday’s distribution team. He said the items were distributed by the President with the intent to put smiles on the faces of the less fortunate so that they and their families too can feel a part of the festive celebration. Wesseh said in 2005, President Sirleaf committed herself to providing gifts to the less fortunate and health related institutions that cater to physically challenged persons during the festive season, reports the Daily Observer.

Internal Affairs Minister Receives Accolade For Excellence Performance

The old adage that says ‘give a man his flower while alive to enable him smell the excellent fragrance of it” was demonstrated at the weekend in Monrovia when a prodemocracy group, the Progressive Alliance Movement of Liberia (PAML) named the Minister of Internal Affairs Dr. Henrique Flomo Tokpa as minister of the year 2016. Speaking at the honoring program, the National Chairman of the Progressive Alliance Movement of Liberia, K. Mamadee Keita, said since his appointment by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Minister Tokpa has and continued to excellently perform his responsibility in serving his country and people, reports the Heritage newspaper.

INCHR To Host High Level Meeting Today

The Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) will convene a High Level Ministerial and Agency Meeting at the C.C. Dennis Auditorium in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, Tuesday, December 20, from 9:00am to 2:00pm. According to a press release, this high level meeting will focus on the discussion of the Status of Implementation of the then Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) recommendations. The five hour meeting will include presentations on the background of the TRC recommendations, the mandate of the INCHR and an update on the status of implementation of the TRC recommendations by the responsible Ministries and Agencies,” reports Daily Observer.

LRA Freeport Offices Still Open

The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) says it Freeport of Monrovia and all customs and tax offices across the country remain opened to the public for normal business contrary to rumors that activities at the Freeport have been shut down. The LRA also said that the European Union is not conducting any customs inspection services at the Freeport of Monrovia or at any other customs offices in Iberia as has been claimed in the media by few importers. The European Union, at the request of the Government of Liberia, is providing the LRA Customs Department technical assistance worth over two million euros through a private consulting firm, according to LRA release, reports the FOCUS newspaper.  

Malaria Program Recommends Doses For Pregnant Women 

According to the FOCUS newspaper, National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) has recommended at least two plus doses of Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) for women during pregnancy to reduce the risk posed to mothers, fetuses and the unborn. According to the 2015/2016 Fiscal Year Report of the Ministry of Health released recently, the doses will reduce maternal malarial episode, maternal and fetal anemia, low birth rate.

Related Caption:Malaria Program Recommends Doses For Pregnant Women(Heritage)

MCC Proud to Contribute to Liberia’s Hydro Project – Nancy Lee

The Deputy Chief Executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Nancy Lee, says she is proud that as part of its $257 million compact with Liberia, the MCC joined international partners as a contributor to the ambitious Mount Coffee Hydro Power Project. She recalled that five years ago under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s leadership, the government of Liberia launched a far-sighted plan to restore the hydro power plant, reports the FOCUS newspaper.

Police Nabs 3 Hardened Criminals

According the Inquirer newspaper, the officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) in Monrovia have arrested three (3) alleged criminals believed to be members of the notorious “GARSU” criminal network network operating the Old Road Community. Police said the GARSU group is criminal organization comprised of notorious criminals living in the country, especially in Monrovia and its surrounding raining havoc on communities and inhabitants. Displaying the suspected criminals at the headquarters of the Liberia National Police yesterday, police spokesman Sam Collins said the suspects have been terrorizing several communities including banking institutions and other businesses in Monrovia.