20 December 2017

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Successor government will be held accountable, Source: The New Dawn

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says the successor government will be held responsible and accountable to finish projects that her government started but did not finish, and for the maintenance of those ones that are finished. “Well simple, we are going to hold the successor government responsible and accountable to finish those things we’ve started and left with them and to maintain those things we have finished,” she said Tuesday at the dedication of the National Drug Service (NDS) Warehouse at Kpelle Town, Upper Caldwell. The over USD5 million NDS warehouse project is supported both by the government and its partners including USAID, Global Fund, and GAVI, a public-private global health partnership.

President Sirleaf says she is quite sure people are asking “what the President is doing” when they see her in these last few days going around dedicating, breaking grounds and opening places. She says her government is taking note of all those things that are being done and the transition committee will have them discussed with the successor government. Read more

Go your way, Source: The New Dawn

Ahead of the December 26 presidential runoff election, the opposition Liberty Party (LP) political leader, Cllr. Charles Brumskine says the party officially supports neither side going for the runoff but partisans are free to support either Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP) or Senator George Weah of the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). Tuesday’s decision followed the controversy that greeted move by three senior LP officials – chairman Ben Sanvee, former vice standard bearer Harrison Karnwea, and campaign CEO Musa Bility to endorse the CDC.

Addressing a news conference Tuesday at the party headquarters in Congo Town, Cllr. Brumskine says following the ruling from the Supreme Court, the leadership and some stakeholders of the party conducted a nationwide consultation on which way to go, disclosing that they reached four cardinal points. The LP political leader says they advanced that the party could remain natural or support UP’s Boakai or CDC’s Weah or better still, look up to him (Brumskine) for guidance.

According to him, the LP leadership eventually concluded that the best option is for the party to remain neutral but allow its partisans to choose between the two political parties that are in the runoff. Brumskine further intimated that it is the right of every Liberian, including LP partisans to vote their choice and that such right cannot be tampered with by anyone in the LP, something which he as a political leader, respects. Read more

LP women to endorse Boakai, Source: The New Dawn

The women auxiliary of the opposition Liberty Party (LP) are poised to endorse the candidacy of the ruling Unity Party standard bearer, Vice President Joseph Boakai for the December 26 runoff election. According to LP insiders, the women reached the decision on Monday in a meeting chaired by their political leader, Cllr. Charles Brumskine at the party headquarters in Congo Town. The women planned to come public after Cllr. Brumskine officially states which way the LP was going in the runoff. Brumskine declared at a news conference Tuesday that the LP officially remains neutral but partisans may go their way. Read more

UPP denies endorsing UP, Source: The New Dawn

The opposition United People's Party (UPP) has denied ever endorsing the ruling Unity Party (UP) presidential candidate, Vice President Joseph Boakai. The UPP in a Tuesday press statement says reports circulating that the party has given its support to the UP in the upcoming runoff election are false, misleading and deceptive.

The UPP further said that the pronouncement made Tuesday by a few former officers and non-partisans of the party including Dr. Marcus Dahn, vice standard bearer of the Liberian People’s Party (LPP), Prof. Edwin Tetteh, and Ambassador Wesley Johnson of the Governance Commission suggesting that the UPP has endorsed the UP in the runoff is criminal, diabolical, and an act of desperation. Read more

Phoenix to Implement UNMIL’s Human Rights Agenda, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Phoenix, a media consultancy in Paynesville, over the weekend held a one-day workshop with key actors to acquire skills to preach the message of eliminating gender-based violence across the country.

It has also been mandated by the Human Rights Section (HRS) of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to establish structures in the counties its employees and contractors will visit to ensure that the residents of those places have respect for the rule of law and avoid violating and abusing the rights of women and children. Read more

Finance Minister Highlights the Economic Benefits of Sustainable Forest Management, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Finance Minister Boima Kamara has told graduates of the Forestry Training Institute (FTI) in Tubmanburg, Bomi County that proper management of the country’s forest resources would provide a significant boost to the country’s economic development. Minister Kamara, who served as keynote speaker at the 7th Commencement Convocation of the FTI last Friday, informed the gathering that 40 percent of the remaining rain-forest in West Africa is found in Liberia, something which he described as “a blessing and tremendously important for our country.” He said forest sustainability is very important for the survival and preservation of any nation and it is tied to the concept of sustainable development.

The finance minister highlighted that sustainable forest management promotes sustainable development by keeping the balance between ecological, economic and socio-cultural pillars. He emphasized that by successfully achieving sustainable forest management some of the benefits to be derived will include safeguarding local livelihoods, protecting the biodiversity and ecosystems provided by forests, reducing rural poverty and mitigating some of the effects of climate change. Read more

Forgiveness key to nation building, Source: The New Dawn

The newly inducted president of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC), Rev. Dr. Kortu Brown has underlined forgiveness as a pedestal upon which effective nation building is achievable. “Forgiveness is key to nation building, if we must improve and move forward as a nation, forgiveness must be practiced in every corner of our society”, Rev. Dr. Brown stressed. Speaking at his induction over the weekend at the Eliza Turner AME Church in Monrovia, Rev. Dr. Brown emphasized that the church is not an empty talker but rather an institution that people look up to in times of decision making when there is a situation, saying the church is a place that promotes Christian unity. “As we take over the mantle of leadership in the LCC, we want to call on the Christian community to recommit itself to the core values, unity, and service building, strengthening our Christian faith, and promoting Christ through service”, he said. Read more

19 Liberians Repatriated From Libya, Source: IN PROFILE DAILY

The deputy foreign minister B. Elias Shoniyin, in a conversation with Concerned Liberians for Justice Monday, said 19 Liberians have been repatriated from Libya through Sierra Leone. Minister Shoniyin said the ministry is working in its possible best way to get Liberians back from Libya through engagement and collaboration with the Libyan Embassy in Liberia, and with the Liberians Association in Libya.

The deputy foreign minister maintained that the 19 Liberians came through Sierra Leone and through dialogue with the Sierra Leonean government. He explained that another Liberian woman has been identified among Nigerians who were repatriated through the Nigerian government, noting that the lady has two kids and is now under the care of the Liberian Embassy in Nigeria and that their ticket has been arranged to return to Liberia. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

UN Envoy Praises Nigerian Peacekeepers In Liberia, Sources: PM News and Vanguard

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Farid Zarif, has praised the Nigerian peacekeepers for their long service in Liberia. Zarif, who is also Head of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), said in New York that the Government of Liberia was also grateful to Nigeria.

The UN envoy said: “Our last military contingent is that from Nigeria, NICOY, and we are now planning to have it repatriated by the end of January. Because of the lost timelines in the elections, we had to postpone their departure by a month. Nigeria also continues to provide a Formed Police Unit, as does China. The only other peacekeeping contingents that now remain are a Ukrainian Aviation Unit and a Pakistani Medical Unit who are supporting the UN presence”.

The UNMIL chief expressed a special “thank you” to Nigeria while expressing gratitude for all the contributors to the peace operations in Liberia. 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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