24 January 2018

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

‘No Quick Fix’ …Weah Urges Liberians To Lower Expectations, Source: The NEWS

President George Weah has said he has not promised any quick fix to the problems confronting Liberia. In his inaugural address Monday, President Weah said Liberians need to lower their expectations as his government strives to develop and improve the lives of the people.

The Liberian leader said, “we must also learn the virtue of patience, and learn to lower our expectations, for I do not promise you quick fixes or miracles.” However, he said his administration will make steady and deliberate progress towards achieving the hopes and aspirations that “you cherish in your heart for Mama Liberia.”

“My greatest contribution to this country as President may not lie in the eloquence of my speeches, but will definitely lie in the quality of the decisions that I will make over the next six years to advance the lives of poor Liberians,” President Weah noted. Read more

Liberia’s New Leaders Spend Over USD300K on Refurbishing Office, Home, Source: FrontPage Africa

A FrontPage Africa investigation has uncovered that the cost of refurbishing President George Weah’s office at the Foreign Ministry and that of his wife, Clar is USD39,500. Documents in the possession of this paper also show that USD286,450 has been cashed out by the Finance Ministry to the Ministry of State for the replacement of iron rails at the Foreign Ministry and the refurbishment of the home of Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor. The General Services Agency (GSA) through the Ministry of State from the Finance Ministry requested the amounts, but sources within the Foreign Ministry hinted FrontPage Africa that the GSA request was upon the instruction of President Weah when he was still president-elect. Read more

Liberian Senate Strengthens Guidelines for Confirmation Hearing, Sources: FrontPage Africa, The New Dawn, and The NEWS

The Liberian Senate says it has seen the need to review its rules governing confirmation and will shortly begin the confirmation proceedings of government officials as soon as the list of nominees is submitted to the Senate.

In pursuance of its constitutional mandate, the Senate in its second sitting of the first session of the 54th Legislature on Thursday, January 18, approved guidelines to guide the process. In the revised guidelines the Senate announced that all costs associated with confirmation process shall be borne by them and warned against offers or attempts to offer gift(s) to committee member will automatically disqualify the said nominee. The Senate has also warned that testimonies given by a nominee should be factual as misstatement or falsification of the truth shall be deemed perjury and prosecutable under the laws of Liberia.

“The confirmation process consists of several parts to include background checks of nominees, be it credential, experience, performance in previous areas of works, behavior in community and or society and etc.., accordingly, the Senate is requesting the public to send in any pertinent information of any nominee to the Office of the Secretary of the Senate for onward submission to the vetting committee prior to the confirmation of that nominee.” Read more

Speaker Chambers Finally Names Chairman on Ways, Means and Finance, Source: FrontPage Africa

House Speaker Bhofal Chambers Tuesday made additional appointments to Statutory and Standing Committees of the House of Representatives. Speaker Chambers made the appointments on the fourth-day sitting of the august body. Those appointed are Thomas Fallah, chair, Committee on Ways, Means, Finance, and Development Planning; Jay Nagbe Sloh, chair, Committee on Information, Broadcasting, and Tourism; Hans Barchue, chair, Committee on  Modernization; and Julie Fatorma Wiah, chair, Committee on Gender and Child Development. At the same time, Hans Barchue,  Alex Grant, and Julie Fatorma Wiah have been named to represent Liberia at the Pan African Parliamentary Union.

Recently, Speaker Chambers in consultation with Deputy Speaker Prince Moye appointed Munah Pelham Youngblood, chair, Committee on the Executive; J. Fonati Koffa, chair, Committee on the Judiciary; Edwin Snowe, chair, Committee on Foreign Affairs; Alfred Koiwood, chair, Committee on National Security; Edward Karfiah, chair, Committee on Public Accounts and Expenditures amongst others. Read more

President Weah Appoints Attorney General with Questionable Integrity, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa says court records in its possession show that President George Weah’s justice minister-designate, Cllr. Charles Gibson recently completed the payment of the client’s funds he misapplied and petitioned the Supreme Court to allow him to resume active law practice again in the country. Cllr. Gibson filed his petition with the high court sometime this month, but the t court is yet to lift his suspension. This means, as long as the suspension remains in place, the justice minister-designate is banned from practicing law in the length and breadth of Liberia until as such time.

Gibson reportedly made the payment on 6 January 2018 at the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) almost a year since he was sanctioned from practicing his profession. Following the completion of the payment, he filed a petition to restore his status as a Counsellor-at-Law of the Supreme Court Bar to enable him to resume his law practice in the country. Read more

Transparency International, CENTAL Urge President Weah to Tackle Corruption, Source: FrontPage Africa

Transparency International (TI) and the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) have called on the administration of President George Weah to “clean up government and tackle corruption.” CENTAL, TI’s chapter in Liberia, issued a series of reform and policy recommendations ahead of the inauguration of President Weah on Monday. “Liberia has a protracted history of corruption and bad governance, which have consistently undermined sustainable development and effectiveness and efficiency in public service,” Anderson Miamen, executive director of CENTAL, is quoted as saying in a press release. Continued Miamen: “Stakeholders in Liberia and around the world are eagerly waiting to see whether the new administration will break away from the ugly past and robustly attack corruption, or whether impunity and the shielding of allegedly corrupt officials will persist.” Read more

Liberians Evaluate President George Weah’s First Appointments, Source: FrontPage Africa

According to FrontPage Africa, many Liberians have expressed early disappointment in President George Weah’s decision to retain some government officials as first members of his cabinet. The appointments have sparked huge debate among Liberians with many rejecting some of the names being nominated by President Weah. Some are also concern about the records of the appointees and how they would perform. They told FrontPage Africa that they want the new Liberian leader to withdraw the nomination of some officials - education minister George Werner, information minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe, and foreign minister Milton Gbehzohngar Findley. They believe maintaining these officials prove that former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is still in charge of the government. Read more

President Weah Cautions Liberians against Alienating the First Lady, Source: FrontPage Africa

President George Weah has called on Liberians to avoid alienating his wife, Clar Duncan Weah, who according to reports is a naturalized American citizen that was born to Jamaican parents. President Weah’s comment comes amid mix reactions from his compatriots about the nationality of the country’s First Lady. The president making remarks at the inaugural ball for diaspora partisans of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) at the Monrovia City Hall Monday said even though his wife is a Jamaican, she’s an African. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Liberia’s new president George Weah praises UN contribution, Sources: The New York Bulletins and UN Web TV

George Weah was inaugurated on Monday as the new President of Liberia, where the United Nations is set to close its peacekeeping mission in a few weeks after a successful 15-year presence in the West African country. In his inaugural speech, President Weah thanked the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) for its efforts in reestablishing peace and security in a country that experienced two civil wars spanning over 14 years between 1989 and 2003.

Speaker Chambers Unveils Mission, Sources: All Africa and The New Republic

A week after his unopposed election as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Bhofal Chambers has unveiled his mission is about fulfilling the Liberian dream of prosperity, good citizenship, the pursuit of justice and building of prospects. Re-elected by his constituents for the third time in last October polls, Speaker Chambers told this paper last weekend he did not come to the post for self-glorification but to help enhance the wishes of Liberians. "My mission is to fulfill the Liberian dream, the aspirations of the Liberian people, build prospects for them, for us to together transform the country politically, economically, legislatively and socially." Read more

Canada congratulates new president of Liberia, Source: Mareeg

Canada congratulates the new president of Liberia, George Weah, on his inauguration and the Liberian people for holding peaceful elections. The election of President Weah is a historic moment in the first democratic transition in more than seven decades for Liberia. Canada thanks and salutes outgoing president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for all she has accomplished with the Liberian people over the past 12 years—and for her efforts to ensure a peaceful transition of power. Read more

His Highness the Amir congratulates Liberia's President on new post, Source: Kuwait News Agency

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of congratulations on Tuesday to Liberia President George Weah for assuming the new post as president, wishing him prosperity, good health, and more development and progress to relations between the two countries. His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah sent similar cables on the occasion.

Liberia's youth betting on Weah economic miracle, Sources: AFP and Daily Mail

New President George Weah is nothing less than revered among Liberia's youth, who view his rise from the slums to stellar success in European football as proof he can also turn around their fragile economy. In his inaugural address on Monday, Weah thanked young voters for propelling him to power, telling them: "This is your government." But depressed commodity prices, an inexperienced administration and a straitened budget could cloud their dreams and stir resentment, experts caution. "We know that change will come," said Peter Forkpah, an unemployed man in his early 20s who spends his days kicking his heels in the rural county of Bomi. "I trust this government that the price of rice will come down, the exchange rate will come down." 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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