21 February 2018

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

President George Weah and Cabinet Yet to Declare Assets, Source: FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa reports that President George Weah and his cabinet are yet to declare their assets as required by the Code of Conduct (CoC). Section 10.2 of the CoC requires that every public official in the three branches of government must declare their assets. Over 30 of the appointed officials by President Weah have been confirmed. Notable amongst them are the ministers of finance, foreign affairs, state, defense, education, and public works amongst others…

Anti-corruption campaigners have stressed that the first step in fighting corruption is for public officials to declare their assets. Appearing on a local talk show, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) commissioner, Cllr. Augustine Toe said it is important that President Weah tells the Liberian people his financial worth. "When President Weah declares his assets, he will send a strong message to the Liberian people that he is committed to fighting corruption, Cllr. Toe stated. Read more

President Weah Congratulates South African Counterpart, Mr. Ramaphosa, Sources: Executive Mansion News and The INQUIRER

President George Weah has sent a congratulatory message to his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa. President Ramaphosa was recently confirmed by the South African Parliament following the resignation of former President Jacob Zuma. “On behalf of the Government and People of Liberia and in my own name, I am pleased to extend sincere congratulations to you on the occasion of your confirmation as President of the Republic of South Africa,” President Weah. The Liberian leader assured Mr. Ramaphosa of the Liberian government’s determination to continue strengthening the cordial relations subsisting between Liberia and South Africa. Read more

Weah is French in Heart and Spirit, Sources: New DEMOCRAT and The New Dawn

The media reports that sports along with politics are on the menu this week when Liberia’s President George Weah makes his first official trip outside Africa, since his inauguration. President Weah is not visiting the United States, which has a long special relationship with Liberia, but France, where Mr. Weah as a professional footballer, star for French clubs AS Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, and Olympique Marseille. Many French football fans know the new Liberian leader simply as “Monsieur George”. “George is French in heart and spirit,” a former French Ambassador told the weekly Journal du Dimanche.

This week, it is President Weah who returns to his former home, less than a month after his election. Weah’s four-day visit to France is the last leg of a trip that also took him to Senegal and Morocco.  On Wednesday President Weah will meet with President Emmanuel Macron and top sports personalities. According to news reports, the discussions may focus on launching a fund dedicated to sports in Africa. While French-Liberian ties have strong for a number of years, analysts say, Weah’s trip to France also underscores a broader shift in France’s Africa policy.

Liberian Senate to Make President Salary and Benefits Public, Source: FrontPage Africa

In keeping with article 60 of the Liberian constitution, Senator Jonathan Kaipay has written the Senate plenary to discuss issues surrounding the setting of salary and benefits for a Liberian president. Article 60: “The President and Vice President shall receive salaries which shall be determined by the Legislature and be paid by the Republic. Such salaries shall be subject to taxes as defined by law and shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which the President and the Vice-President shall have been elected.”

Kaipay’s communication was met with mix view as some senators including Senator Varney Sherman who taught there was no need to give the letter attention as the matter was not before the legislature. He argued that as a matter of legislative proceeding it is incumbent upon President Weah to present to the legislature the amendment he so request in a form of a communication of draft act. In his communication, the Grand Bassa lawmaker requested his colleague’s carry out their function in line with Article 60. Read more

Lawmakers Start 3-Day Legislature Orientation Session -Newbies to learn ‘the ropes’, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Thirty-nine new members of the House of Representatives are expected to start the first of the three-day orientation session on basic concentration on legislative functions – representation, lawmaking, and oversight. The orientation session, which starts today, Wednesday will school freshman representatives on the duties of a lawmaker, including the kinds and functions of Committees, Joint Committees, Caucuses, and Blocs, as well as legislative jargon, and the House’s Rules and Procedures versus the 1986 Constitution. The three-day orientation session is organized and sponsored by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in collaboration with USAID… According to the organizers, lawmakers attending the training will be accommodated at the Farmington Hotel in Unification Town, Margibi County, where the sessions are to be held. Read more

House’s 70th Member Takes Oath -61 males to 9 females; 3 seats still empty, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Nimba County Representative Roger Domah has been admitted as a member of the House of Representatives of the 54th Legislature through an Oath of Affirmation administered by Speaker Bhofal Chambers on Thursday during the House’s 11th day sitting. The acceptance and induction of Representative Domah was based on a letter from the National Elections Commission (NEC) informing the House that it has given him a certificate and declared him the winner of the October 10, 2017 Representative Election in District #7, Nimba County, after the final determination of the district’s electoral dispute. The Nimba lawmaker becomes the 70th member of the House of Representatives, with three seats still empty, including Bong Districts #4 and 7 and Nimba District #4. Read more

Supreme Court Ends October Term - Cites Election Cases for Delays, Source: FrontPage Africa

Chief Justice Francis Korkpor has ordered the October Term of the Supreme Court closed to party litigants on Tuesday, February 22. Unlike the lower circuit courts which operate on a four-term basis - February, May, August and November - with a 42-day sitting, the Supreme Court operates on a two-term basis yearly - March and October. The high court should have closed at the end of its March Term of Court, but Chief Justice Korkpor said the closure was delayed due to the conduct of the October 2017 elections. “We paid attention to election cases in order to move our country forward because if there have been any chaos you won’t have come out here for other cases,” the Chief Justice told lawyers and party litigants present at the closing ceremony. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is to open its March 2018 Term of Court to party litigants on the second Monday of March in the next two weeks. Read more

Cllr. Kruah Vows to Number Homes for Mail Delivery, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and The INQUIRER

The minister of post and telecommunications-designate has told Senators that he will prioritize the numbering of homes in the country to make the delivery of mail and packages as easy as it is done in other African countries. Cllr. Cooper Kruah said that even though technology has advanced and there has been high teledensity the courier service is valuable and is widely used to counter security threats that involve hacking. Cllr. Kruah told the Senate Committee on Post and Telecommunications that if confirmed, the pilot phase of his plan will be initiated in one year. Kruah said the ministry’s research on how to impose a tariff on every package brought into the country by DHL and FedEx will make the government’s Expedited Mail System (EMS) comparable to others and generate revenue. The post and telecommunications minister-designate also said if confirmed, he would reopen mailboxes by reintroducing the ‘Lock Box System’ in each of the 15 counties and ensure a functional ministry. Read more

Police Loot While Stores Burn, Source: New DEMOCRAT

“They are carrying our things from the warehouse, we do not expect the police to do this to us,” lamented a Lebanese storeowner who was amongst those affected by the fire outbreak on Randall Street Thursday. According to the New Democrat, it’s reporter on the scene saw several police officers giving the looted items, including air conditioners and other electrical appliances, to some unidentified person to take away. “Who are you?” a police officer asked our reporter. Without a response, he said “no photo taking here. In fact, go outside the warehouse. No journalist is allowed here. Please go outside the warehouse.” When a pickup containing electrical appliances arrived before a group of dejected Lebanese merchants, they demanded that the police chiefs go to the warehouse to ascertain the allegation of looting. But the officers remained on the main street; positioning the police fire truck to control the fire that had gutted several commercial stores.

GSA Boss Allegedly Auctioning Government Vehicles despite Presidential Moratorium, Source: FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa is alleging that the director-general of the General Services Agency (GSA), Mary Broh, has sold government vehicles to several individuals despite a government mandate halting the sale of all scrap vehicles under the GSA. According to FrontPage Africa, Ms. Broh’s decision to auction vehicles contravenes instructions by the government, violates public procurement regulations, and further drains government’s vehicles assets. News of Broh’s action comes amid lingering concerns that the new administration has inherited a broke government and would struggle to manage existing resources. The FrontPage Africa probe also comes on the heels of a recent mandate by President George Weah urging former public officials to turn over government vehicles by February 9 – a deadline that has already elapsed.  Ahead of the transitional period, which ushered in the Presidency of Mr. Weah, the Cabinet, under the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, ordered the preservation of “all state assets under the ambit of the GSA” until a review process is conducted by the GSA, Public Procurement Concession Commission (PPCC), and the Governance Commission. Read more

LEC Assures Caldwell Residents, Others of Electricity, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FrontPage Africa, New DEMOCRAT, and The INQUIRER

Following a one-day protest by residents of Caldwell Township, the management of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has promised to provide their homes with electricity in the shortest possible time. The management said materials for the connection of Caldwell and other communities in Monrovia are already scheduled to arrive in the country in five weeks. The aggrieved residents staged their protest on Monday because of the lack of electricity in the township. During the meeting, the residents indicated the insecurity and hardship they are facing due to the lack of electricity in the area and expressed frustration, indicating that although Caldwell is the main corridor leading to the Mt. Coffee Hydro Power Plant, yet not a single home is connected to the LEC’s power distribution network. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

France: Weah Says Liberia Is Broke, to Hold Talks with Macron, Source: Telesurtv

Weah also said another top priority was to provide education for young people who make up 60% of Liberia's 4.7 million people. Liberia President George Weah will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron for his first official at the Palace of Élysée. On Tuesday, the Liberian president promised to fight corruption despite inheriting a “broke country.” Weah made the remarks on the first day of an official visit to Paris. "I inherited a country that is very broke, depleted by political malfeasance. We have to make sure that the things that happened will not happen again," Weah said. "I ordered a complete audit to make sure that what belongs to the government goes to the government." Weah also said another top priority was to provide education for young people who make up 60% of Liberia's 4.7 million people. He disclosed that he inherited a broke nation, which had suffered through civil wars (1989-1996 and 1999-2003) and an Ebola crisis. Read more

Sirleaf Handed Me ‘A Broke Country,’ George Weah Laments, Source: The Whistler

Football legend and newly elected Liberian President, George Weah, has lamented how his predecessor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, handed him “a very broke country”. Speaking with journalists in Paris, France, on Tuesday, Weah decried alleged sordid corruption that preceded his administration. The former footballer had taken over power from Sirleaf on January 22, 2018, after emerging winner of the October 10, 2017, presidential election that held in the country. He equally decried the economic scourge that befell Liberia after a long-lasting Ebola outbreak in the country. “I inherited a country that is very broke, depleted by political malfeasance. We have to make sure that the things that happened will not happen again,” Weah was quoted as telling journalists in Paris. “I ordered a complete audit to make sure that what belongs to the government goes to the government.” Speaking of his plans to give the country a facelift, Weah said his administration will focus on providing quality education for young Librarians who constitute about 60 percent of the country’s 4.7 million population. 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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