18 January 2018

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

President Sirleaf Delivers Final Farewell Message to Nation, Source: FrontPage Africa, News Public Trust, The New Dawn, and The NEWS

Outgoing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has delivered her farewell message to the nation. She recounted: “12 years ago, on the 26th of January, 2006, I had the privilege to address you, the people of Liberia, for the first time as your President. We were a nation exhausted from three decades of conflict. We were starting from zero, with the complete destruction of our national infrastructure, a collapsed economy, and a State incapable of providing services to its people. Our collective faith and resolve were put to the test, as they have been many times over in our 170 years of independence.”

According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf who spoke on Wednesday in the Cabinet Room at the Foreign Ministry recalled the heavy burden her government inherited, and the painful past carried together. “Never did you lose hope in yourselves, pride in our nation, or the determination to persevere,” – she said enthusiastically.

The outgoing president further said: ”It was your energy that lifted her up each day; Motivated her; Gave her the drive to exhaust all possibilities for the benefit of our beloved Liberia; As I speak my last words to you as President, they are simply to say — Thank You for the honor to serve.”  Read more

Weah Unveils Plans for Destitute Citizens, Source: The NEWS

President-elect George Weah Wednesday unveiled plans for street boys and car loaders, who are referred to as ‘zogos.’ He said the ‘zogos’ are also members of the Liberian society, as such, they also have right to proper living conditions. President-elect Weah said his administration will create a rehabilitation center where zogos will voluntarily be placed and trained in various disciplines in order to make them productive citizens. He also disclosed a plan to build a factory for the ‘zogos,’ as a way of encouraging them to abandon street life.

According to the president-elect, the integration and the rehabilitation of the zogos will depend on their own consent, stressing that they will not be forced, as it will be in their best interest.  Weah made the statement at the Slipway Sports Pitch in Monrovia at program marking the birth anniversary celebration of the Vice President-elect, Jewel Howard Taylor.  Read more

Wilson Tarpeh Denies Sour Relationship With President-elect Weah, Source: FrontPage Africa

A close ally to President-elect George Weah has vehemently denied claims that he has fallen apart with the incoming president. According to Prof. Wilson Tarpeh, those perpetrating such news are only trying to create a distraction for Mr. Weah.

It was widely speculated on social media that the former University of Liberia (UL) vice president and lecturer who served as advisor on the campaign team of the president-elect was shunned by Mr. Weah due to his failure to account for some USD62,000 intended to pay the  poll workers of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) across Liberia.

Prof. Tarpeh described the social media reports as blatant lie concocted by not only his distractors but also those of the incoming president who wanted to narrow their chances of winning the election. “These social media reports are mere propaganda being orchestrated by individuals, who are bitter about a George Weah presidency,” Tarpeh said.  Read more

LiNCSA, Others Validate Firearms, Ammunition Control Act, Source: Daily OBSERVER

A three-day validation workshop on the Liberia Firearms and Ammunition Control Act, sponsored by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) in collaboration with the Liberia National Commission on Small Arms (LiNCSA) has ended in Monrovia. The Act is intended to regulate the possession and use of small arms and light weapons in Liberia, as well as promote accountability and transparency by state parties.

The workshop, which brought together ECOWAS, UNMIL, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Defense as well as the Liberia National Police (LNP) was held at the conference room of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) from January 15-17.

LiNCSA chairman James Fromayan in remarks underscored the need to validate the draft regulations as giving the Act teeth to bite. Read more

Rev. Tolbert to Job Seekers: ‘Come With Skills, Talents’, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer reports that in the face of public concerns about the growing number of individuals trooping to the headquarters of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) daily in illusive search of almost non-existent jobs, Peace Ambassador William Tolbert, III has called on them to come along with skills and competence. Ambassador Tolbert told reporters Wednesday in Monrovia that inasmuch as many of those seeking jobs in the new government may not all have academic qualifications, they should not downplay the need of having talents and interest in learning.

“Considering that Ambassador George Manneh Weah was overwhelmingly elected by the majority of our country’s population on the need to see a change in all aspects of governance, we all have to help him succeed by seeking jobs at the right places we think we will be able to serve,” the peace ambassador noted.

According to him, everyone cannot be a minister or director of a particular government agency, but everyone can contribute to change by being fair in seeking what is right and expressing the willingness to improve through learning.  Read more

“Prioritize Fixing ‘Messy’ Education,” NTAL urges President-elect, Source: Daily OBSERVER

 

Even though President-elect George Weah has already promised that his government will take ‘giant steps’ to revamp the country’s education sector, the leadership of the National Teachers Association of Liberia (NTAL) has called on him to keep that promise by considering the sector as one of his foremost priorities.

A recent NTAL statement said the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)-led government should put education at the top of its agenda to ensure that the quality of the sector takes precedence over other agendas of the government. “We will work with you to improve the education system and the poor working condition of the teachers,” the NTAL statement said. The statement also emphasized the need for more support to the sector that will spread throughout the country. Read more

Angry UL Students Besiege Dr. Weeks for 7 Hours, Source: Daily OBSERVER

According to the Daily Observer, students of the state-owned University of Liberia (UL) Wednesday barricaded their president, Dr. Ophelia Weeks, in the auditorium of the Capitol Hill campus for nearly seven hours for ignoring their call to let the registration process continue.

Dr. Weeks, who was in a faculty meeting with heads of the business college, was taken by surprise when nearly 200 students locked the doors of the auditorium and stood before it, chanting battle cries and demanding her immediate response to allow the registration process continues.

Speaking to his colleagues while Dr. Weeks was still locked in the auditorium, University of Liberia Student Union (ULSU) president Mawolo Flomo said unless the registration process resumes and accommodates all those students who have already begun the process, the UL president and her faculty will not realize peace, neither will they see normal activities on campus.

Flomo said until the UL Administration can adhere to the student leadership’s call and reconsider the decision to extend the ongoing registration process; there will be no peace or normal academic activity on the campus. The student leader said he and his colleagues are ready to make sacrifices. Read more

Liberia Electricity Corporation Turns Over Management to Foreign Company, Source: FrontPage Africa

A FrontPage Africa investigation has uncovered that the incoming Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)-led government of George Weah is on the verge of inheriting a three-year Management Service Contract with a two-year renewal option for the management of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) by a company recently rejected by the Ghanaian government because of the firm’s unrealistic demands. LEC and the Ireland-based ESBI Engineering and Facility Management Limited consummated the contract on 8 November 2017 to allow the private firm assumes full responsibility for managing all aspects of Liberia’s energy sector. Read more

Former Culture Minister: ‘Liberia’s Cultural Heritage in Extinction Crisis’, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Former assistant information minister for culture Louise McMillian Siaway says the deliberate neglect of the country’s cultural heritage, especially over the past 12 years, has put it in a serious extinction crisis, which now put the country at risk of losing its unique cultural and traditional values. Mrs. Siaway said there is an urgent need for investment in cultural and traditional values by the incoming George Weah government in order to preserve them for generations.

The former culture minister explained that during her tenure at the Information Ministry, she observed that traditional languages, spoken or written, are fast dying off as most people seem not to care to speak their dialects (mostly youth), with parents or old folks not caring about teaching them to the youth. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Liberia’s President-elect and the Task Ahead, Source: The Independent

Former World Football of the Year and Liberian ex-international, Mr. George Weah will on 22nd January 2018 assume office as a democratically elected president of Liberia. Weah, who is the first and only African to have been named World Footballer of the Year emerged victorious following a peaceful but tortuous election that led to the defeat of his closest rival and Vice President Joseph Boakai. Since the victory of the football legend in the second ballot that held on December 26, 2017 election, Liberians, particularly the youths have been in celebration mood with great expectation about the future ahead.

There is no doubt, the emergence of Weah as the new president of Liberia opens a new chapter in the political history of a country that is yet to fully recover from the ruins of the decade-long devastation of civil war. However, for the ex-footballer-turned-politician, governance, especially at the apex level of the presidency of his country, presents a different ballgame in the eyes of the world that had adored his exploits in the round leather game. Read more

Disclaimer
 

This media summary consists of selected local media articles for the information of UN personnel. The public distribution of this media summary is a courtesy service extended by UNMIL on the understanding that the choice of articles included is exclusive, and the contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership. The inclusion of articles in this summary does not imply endorsement by UNMIL.

 

 

 

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