The Bureau of Public Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 Monrovia, Liberia

DAILY NEWS SUMMARY FOR FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017

News of President Sirleaf’s concern over recent attempts by some members of the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings against majority members of the Supreme Court, The Central Bank of Liberia’s assertion that the ongoing implementation of the capital requirements for all licensed insurance companies operating in Liberia remains on course and the Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission’s ruling in the cases filed against Rep. Edwin Melvin Snowe by Sen. Sando Dazoe Johnson and Rep. Samuel Gayah Karmo of Bomi County are stories highlighted in today’s edition of our summary of the local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES  

Ellen Expresses Concern Over Impeachment Proceedings; Says Executive Branch Will Not Support Any Unconstitutional Maneuverings 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has expressed serious concern over recent attempts by some members of the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings against majority members of the Supreme Court. “This move is clearly in violation of Article 73 of the Constitution of Liberia,” she emphasized. According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf, in a special statement, said in light of unfolding impeachment proceedings. She said the Executive Branch of Government is not prepared and will not support any unconstitutional maneuvering from any of the institutions of Government, the Heritagenewspaper reads.

Related Captions: A Clear Violation: High Court Impeachment Proceeding Concerns Liberian President(FrontPage Africa), Lawmakers Anger Ellen– President Sides With Justices In Impeachment Debacle(Daily Observer)  

For Licensed Insurance Companies CBL Outlines New Capital Requirements 

The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has stated that the ongoing implementation of the capital requirements for all licensed insurance companies operating in Liberia remains on course and in line with the CBL regulation issued in 2015 and amended in 2016. The regulation sets the capital requirement for each class of insurance business, and requires each insurance company to maintain a minimum capital requirement based on the category of insurance activity being undertaken by a company. Under the regulation, General/Non-Life Insurance Business must maintain a minimum capital requirement of US$1,500,000 (One million five hundred thousand U.S. dollars); Life Insurance Business, a minimum capital requirement of US$750,000 (Seven hundred fifty thousand U.S. dollars); and Reinsurance, a minimum capital requirement of US$5,000,000 (Five million U.S. dollars). According to the INSIGHT newspaper, the implementation of the capital requirements is part of the reform agenda of the CBL aimed at strengthening the insurance sector by ensuring safety and soundness of the industry through adequate capitalization, strong corporate governance, adequate risk management and reinsurance arrangements, among others.

Related Captions: New Capital Requirements for Licensed Insurance Companies(Daily Observer), New Capital Requirements For Licensed Insurance Companies(FrontPage Africa), New Capital Requirements for Licensed Insurance Companies(The INQUIRER)   

NEC Board Rules In Favor Of Snowe; Johnson, Karmo Head To Supreme Court 

The Daily Observer says the Board of Commissioners (BOC) of the National Elections Commission (NEC) Thursday declared Rep. Edwin Melvin Snowe winner in the election cases filed against him by Sen. Sando Dazoe Johnson and Rep. Samuel Gayah Karmo, both lawmakers of Bomi County. The ruling of the BOC came after Rep. Snowe’s counsel appealed to it upon receiving an unfavorable ruling from the NEC’s chief hearing officer, Cllr. Muna S. Ville, on July 31. The counsel, headed by Cllr. Benedict Sannoh, appealed that Cllr. Ville’s ruling was unconstitutional and alien to any elections law. Rep. Karmo, who also filed a complaint to Mr. Washington V. Farmah, the election magistrate in Bomi, lost the hearing and took an appeal to the NEC Board of Commissioners, but said he was sad to note that he, like Johnson, regrets the BOC’s decision yesterday, August 10. Rep. Snowe is the current lawmaker for Montserrado County Electoral District #6 and is receiving all benefits in its name at the House of Representatives, but has selected to seek election for the same post in the 54th National Legislature for Senjeh, Bomi Electoral District #1. Reading the ruling in the Snowe-Karmo case, Cllr. Sarah Toe said Rep. Karmo has failed to cite any clear law except Sections 3.3 and 4.2 of the NEC threshold regulations which does not constitute any ground to deny the respondent the right to contest the ensuing elections. The daily says the two counsels, Cllr. Matthias Omejia of Sen. Johnson and Karmo, who represented himself, took appeals to the Supreme Court in order to seek the wisdom of that final arbiter of justice in the country.

Related Caption: Snowe Survives-Appeal against Liberian Lawmaker Denied(FrontPage Africa), NEC Clears Edwin Snowe(The INQUIRER)

OTHER STORIES  

Agreement Signed To Support Government National Health Financing Plan 

The Ministry of Health and its partners on Thursday, August 10, 2017 signed an agreement in which they committed themselves to supporting the Government of Liberia (GOL) National Health Financing Plan. Making remarks at the close of a three-day Nation Health Financing Conference on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Health Minister, Dr. Bernice Dahn, stated that the signing is a commitment that the ministry and its partners will all align to the government’s plan. The conference, which took place at the Monrovia City Hall, brought together key stakeholders from the National Legislature, private, development partners, political parties, NGOs and local government authorities to dialogue on how to design and implement health financing reform intended to move Liberia towards the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in line with the Sustainable Development Goal number three to endure healthy life, the Heritage newspaper reads.

Related Caption: Ministry of Health Signs International Health Partnership Country Compact(FrontPage Africa) 

Petroleum Product Prices Increase

The Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) has announced with immediate effect an increase of two and four United States cents in the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel respectively. According to a petroleum price circular issued by the government, the retail pump price for a gallon of gasoline has increased from US$3.05 to US$3.07 or its Liberian Dollar equivalent of LRD$350.00 while the retail pump price for a gallon of diesel fuel has also increased from US$3.01 to US$3.05 or its Liberian dollar equivalent of LRD$350.00. The prices in Liberian dollars were calculated using the Central Bank approved exchange rate of 1 USD to LRD $114.56 the INQUIRER newspaper reads.

Related Caption: Prices Of Gasoline & Diesel Fuel Up(INSIGHT)  

LRA Assistant Commissioner Accredited As WCO Training Expert 

The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Assistant Customs Commissioner for Policy and Technical Operations, William L. Buku, has been accredited as a World Customs Organization (WCO) Mercator Program Advisor (MPA) in the area of Trade Facilitation.  A release from the LRA says the Mercator Program, launched at the WCO Council in June 2014, is a strategic initiative to support the sustainable and effective implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. With his accreditation, Mr. Buku joins the WCO experts’ pool in order to support WCO members with the implementation of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). According to the FrontPage Africa newspaper, Mr. Buku was accredited in July after the LRA nominated him to participate in the WCO MPA Accreditation Workshop, held in Pretoria, South Africa in February 2016.During the workshop, which marked the first phase of the accreditation process, Mr. Buku successfully demonstrated his knowledge and skills in the field of TFA, according to a communication to the LRA signed by WCO Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya.  

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Ends Three Days Anti-Fraud Training Workshop 

In an effort to promote the fight against corruption in the country, the Liberia Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has concluded a three-day capacity building workshop on Anti-Fraud Training. The training which was held at the Liberia Chamber of Commerce on Capitol-Hill brought together financial examiners from several institutions in government. The theme of the workshop was strengthening fraud prevention detection and control.  ACFE is the world's largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education. Speaking at the end of the three days training, the Chief of Party of Liberia Legal Professional Development and Anti-Corruption Program Gerald Meyerman said the program which is a five years program seeks to address the issue of corruptions both in the private and public sector, reads the FrontPage Africa newspaper.  

“Laboratory Investigation is Critical Link To Any Effective Public Health System;” Says NPHIL Boss 

According to the Heritage newspaper, a three–day strategic implementation and system building meeting designed to strengthen linkages of public health diagnostic laboratories opened Thursday, August 10, 2017 in Monrovia. The meeting is organized and hosted by the National Public Health Institute of Liberia in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The event is fully sponsored by the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. The specific objective of the implementation and system building meeting is to revise the current National Laboratory Diagnostic Policy, to reflect the on-going health sector reforms, through synergies between the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) and the Ministry of Health. In his opening remarks, the Director General of the NPHIL, Mr. Tolbert G. Nyenswah, said, “Laboratory investigation is the critical link to any effective public health system.

5 FDA Staff Return From INBAR Seminar In China

According to the Daily Observer, five middle level staff members of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) recently returned from Beijing, China where they participated in a seminar conducted by the International Network of Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) aimed at building the human capacity of developing countries that are implementing programs in the bamboo and rattan forest sector. The daily quoting a FDA release reads that the goal of the seminar was to promote sustainability and enhance the capacity of beneficiary countries by improving their methods of production in order to create a green economy and mitigate the high risk of climate change.