31 January 2018

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

President Weah Administration Meets USD155M in Government’s Coffers, Source: FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa reports that President George Weah’s administration is poised to face a rough beginning in the face of a deteriorating economy compounded by a looming budget shortfall and the lowest foreign reserves in the last five years. According to the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), the current foreign reserve President Weah’s administration has inherited is USD155.1 million. And with the prevailing economic situation, generating more revenue would be a daunting task that would require massive stimulus plan.

The president is not ignorant of what he has signed up to. In his maiden Annual Message at Legislature on Monday, Weah said the obvious: “…It is possible to inform you that the state of the economy that my administration has inherited leaves a lot to be desired. This is plain for all to see, for we are all affected by it.  Our economy is broken, our government is broke, our currency is in free-fall, inflation is rising, unemployment is at an unprecedented high, and our foreign reserves are at an all-time low.” The CBL notes that the country, in 2017, experienced a sharp increase in inflation from 8.8 percent in 2016 to 12.4 percent.  Read more

Weah Targets Poverty Reduction, Source: The NEWS

President George Weah says his government will prioritize poverty reduction in order to improve the lives of Liberians. He said his immediate strategy for reducing poverty, increasing youth empowerment through job creation and training, and improving the productivity of the economy, is to embark upon a comprehensive road and highway construction program that will link all county capitals with all-weather paved primary roads. President Weah who made the statement Monday when he delivered his first State of the Nation address at the Legislature said the roads will be built to the highest international standards and linked to paved secondary farm-to-market roads that will enhance agriculture, trade, and tourism in Liberia. Read more

President Weah Announces 2018 WASSCE Fees Waiver at All Schools, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FrontPage Africa, and The Bush Chicken

President George Weah has announced that fees for the 2018 West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) will be waived for 12th graders at private and public schools. President Weah in his State of the Nation address on Monday, President Weah said he had previously made a promise that the “government will absorb the WASSCE fees for all 12th graders” and remains committed to that promise. “My government has already started to disburse these fees by committing an initial amount of US$200, 000,” the president said. Accordingly, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in consultation with the Education Ministry has extended the deadline for registration for the 2018 exams 13 February. Read more

Gibson, Others Face Senate for Confirmation Hearing Today, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and The NEWS

Three senior officials nominated by President George Weah will today Wednesday appear before the Liberian Senate to justify why they should be confirmed. They include justice minister-designate Cllr. Charles Gibson; defense minister-designate Retired Maj/Gen. Daniel Ziankahn; and the chief of staff-designate of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), Brig/Gen. Prince Johnson. The three men were among seven individuals nominated by the president on Tuesday, 23 January a day after his inauguration. Read more

Liberian Senators Divided Over President Weah’s Call For Dual Citizenship Law, Sources: FrontPage Africa and The New Dawn

Liberian Senators are providing contrary opinions on calls by President George Weah to revisit laws on citizenship, property ownership, and law to make people of non-Negro decent citizens of Liberia. In an off-the-agenda discussion while the law is yet to be presented to the Legislature by the president, lawmakers Tuesday argued particularly over that very sticky issue of dual citizenship, which President Weah highlighted in his State of the Nation address on Monday. Some of the lawmakers supported the idea of making “white people” citizens of Liberia, while others kicked against the idea. But those of them who were seen supporting a white person citizenship disagreed with the proposal to give white people rights to own property. Read more

House of Representatives Investigate Claims Against APM Terminals, BIVAC, Sources: FrontPage Africa and The New Dawn

The House Committees on Ways, Means, Finance and Development Planning, Judiciary, Banking and Currency, including Commerce and Industry have been mandated to probe accusations bordering on the refusal of several business entities operating in the country to accept the local currency (Liberian Dollar) toward payment of goods and services as reported by Representative Edwin Snowe. The Bomi lawmaker accused the APM Terminals and BIVAC of deliberately refusing the Liberian dollars (LRD) in exchange of goods and services, thereby resulting into a high demand for the United States dollars (USD), which he said is the only acceptable currency as per the standard of these entities. According to Snowe, this situation has caused high exchange rate changes that are unrelated to the underlying pattern of trade as well as instability and uncertainty for struggling Liberian businesses and consumers, who trade largely in Liberian dollars. Read more

Representative Koffa Submits Bill to Empower Liberian Businesses, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FrontPage Africa, and The NEWS

Representative J. Fonati Koffa has presented the first bill since the commencement of the 54th Legislature, seeking the reinforcement of protection of Liberian businesses as well as the empowerment of local entrepreneurs. The Bill dubbed Liberian Business and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 is also intended to provide criminal penalties for violators of the 1973 Investment Act and also seeks to create a fund to ensure that Liberian businesses in the subject category succeed. The Bill, according to Representative Koffa, was necessitated by the finding of the Legislature that the “Liberianization” has minimally achieved its objectives due to circumvention and limited access to capital by Liberians. Read more

Liberia's Chief Justice Alarms Over Multiple Death Threats Aim At Him, Source: FrontPage Africa

Chief Justice Francis Korkpor says he has been receiving text messages containing death threats against him and his family. “Yesterday and today, I received text messages with a threat to kill me and my family. This is a bad thing. We are two citizens of Nimba County on this bench and each of us on this bench has one vote,” chief justice Korkpor said.  He continued: “When it comes to any decision and that some of these decisions are decided strictly on a legal basis.” Chief Justice Korkpor further said as justices they will not see white and turned it black as anything short of that will hunt them.

He then pointed accusing fingers at some university students for the death threats text messages, adding, “They think we don’t know them, but we know some are from the University of Liberia (UL) and the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU).” 

Tuesday’s revelation by the chief justice, which he emphasized for about five minutes in open court, came at the time justices of the Supreme Court were seated for an appeal hearing from an election despite case from Nimba County Electoral District #4. Read more

Justice Kaba Gets Vice President Post At ECOWAS Court, Sources: FrontPage Africa, GNN Liberia, The New Dawn, and The NEWS

The media reports that Justice Yussif Kaba has been appointed the vice president at the ECOWAS Court of Justice. According to a release from the Liberian Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, the Liberian judge ascended to the post within two weeks of his official resumption as one of seven judges at the regional court. He replaced his compatriot, Justice Wilkins Micah Wright whose last capacity at the regional court was also the post of vice president. Read more

Red Flag Hangs Over Appointment of New Internal Audit Director, Source: FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa reports that the newly appointed director-general-designate of the Internal Audit Authority (IAA), Barten Nyeswa is not a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a credential requires for one to head such integrity entity. But Mr. Nyeswa has argued that the law doesn’t specify that in order to head the IAA one must hold a CPA.  A provision of the IAA Act says the director-general shall be a professionally qualified accountant and a member of a national accountancy body that is a member of the International Federation of Accountants. Meanwhile, audit experts say the law doesn’t mention CPA, but rather International Federation of Accountants, adding that to be a part of IFAC one must have earned a CPA, a credential Mr. Nyeswa does not have. Read more

ALJA Urges President Weah to Rescind Justice Minister-designate Nomination, Source: FrontPage Africa

The Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) is urging President George Weah to revoke with immediacy the nomination of Cllr. Charles Gibson as justice minister-designate. ALJA said Cllr. Gibson lacks the moral rectitude to serve as attorney general and chief prosecutor in the new Liberia which President Weah envisioned when he took the oath of office as the nation’s 24th President. ALJA in a press release said if President Weah’s professed claim of ending corruption in public offices is to come to fruition then he must begin with the withdrawal of Gibson’s appointment. The United States-based Liberian media group maintained that the president cannot afford to hire and retain an attorney general who has a shady past.  Read more

Liberia ranked 94 in world rule of law index, Source: The New Dawn

Liberia has been ranked 94 out of 113 countries on the latest World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2017-2018. The WJP Index measures rule of law adherence in 113 countries worldwide based on more than 110,000 household and 3,000 expert surveys. The WJP Index features primary data. It measures countries’ rule of law performance across eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental Rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice, and Criminal Justice. In a release issued Tuesday, WJP said Liberia’s overall rule of law score places it at 11 out of 18 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and seven out of 12 among low-income countries. Significant trends included an improvement in Criminal Justice. Read more

Partner Liberia, Dr. Oniyama Open First Specialist Hospital in Liberia, Source: FrontPage Africa

Partner Liberia country director, Joe Daweah, has announced that his entity has entered into an agreement with Dr. Nelson Oniyama to open the first medical specialist hospital in Liberia. Making the disclosure to FrontPage Africa on Monday, Mr. Daweah said that the Oniyama Specialist and Teaching Hospital (OSTH) is an initial 50 beds medical center that will “provide unmatched healthcare delivery in a seamless, professional and affordable manner.” The center located at the old Island Clinic in Bushrod Island is staffed by highly skilled medical specialists from Cuba trained in diverse areas of medical specializations which are lacking in most medical facilities in West Africa.

“Our medical specialists include Internists, Orthopedic Surgeons, Urology Surgeons, Obstetric Gynecologists, Otorhinolaryngologists (ENT), Cardiologists, Pediatricians, Clinical Pathologists, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians and respiratory therapists. Respiratory diseases are one of the leading causes of death in Liberia. The Liberian Respiratory Health Care Institute training center will be based at OSTH,” Daweah stated. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Parliament congratulates Liberia, Weah on smooth transfer of power, Source: Ghana Web

Parliament on Tuesday praised Liberia on its historic democratic transfer of power and congratulated President George Weah for the tenacity that propelled him into the highest political office of that country. “I wish to congratulate the people of Liberia and the President in particular, for this enviable democratic feat achieved and to use this opportunity to admonish the youth of this country to emulate HE President George Weah’s example and be assured that irrespective of wherever you find yourself, with patience, humility, perseverance, dedication, and respect, you can achieve whatever you aspire to do in this world,” Mr. Patrick Boamah, MP for Okaikwei Central, said in a statement on the floor of the House. 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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