Monday, 19 March 2018

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Finance Ministry Rejects NEC USD3.9M Request, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FrontPage Africa, The New Dawn, and The NEWS

The Finance Ministry has rejected the National Elections Commission’s (NEC) request for USD3.9 million to conduct the Bong and Montserrado counties’ senatorial by-elections. Finance minister Samuel Tweah told the Information Ministry weekly press briefing that the government does not have such a huge amount to spend on the election of two senators. Minister Tweah’s response came following NEC authorities recent pleas that President George Weah ensures that the money is given for the conduct of the pending senatorial by-elections in the two counties. Read more

“No Journalist Will Be Arrested” - Information Minister Assures, Source: FrontPage Africa

The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) led government has announced that no journalist will be sued or arrested during the course of its stewardship of Liberia, over the next six years. This is the first time in more than 170 years that a sitting government has committed to protecting free speech and freedom of the press in Liberia - announcing the placement of ban on arresting journalists.

Liberia’s information minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe speaking at a weekly press briefing said, the government is committed to protecting free speech and freedom of the press, because they are vital tools in strengthening democracy, and building a better society. Minister Nagbe said the government is focused more on building a strong economy - opening more schools, building more roads, providing affordable healthcare for poor families, creating jobs and reconciling the country after more than two decades of civil strife.

The information minister said journalists can rest assure the new administration will support any move that will protect them in line with their duties. Nagbe himself a veteran journalist said there is a direct link between freedom of speech and vibrant democracy.  Read more

Dual Citizenship, Land Ownership Bills Delayed before Committees, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer reports that a permissible campaign to recall the Citizenship and Land Ownership Resolutions from committees’ rooms has intensified in the Legislature with a credible political will of the resolutions at the edge of passage. Besides the heat-up in the Legislature, the controversy has also deepened among the student populace in the form of ‘intellectual debates.’ The resolutions are among four that have been in committees’ rooms for over 30 days, since 8 February 2018 and that the proposition has sparked intense debates across the country.

The Resolution on the Property Amendment was forwarded to the House’s Joint Committee on Judiciary, Claims & Petition; Lands, Mines & Energy; and  Ways, Means, Finance & Development Planning; while the Resolutions on Citizenship Amendment, Qualification I Amendment and Qualification II Amendment were sent to the Joint Committee on Judiciary, Claims & Petitions and Ways, Means, Finance & Development Planning . They were to report after two weeks, but the resolutions are delayed. Read more

Liberia's First Lady Arrives in New York to Advocate for Women Empowerment, Sources: FrontPage Africa, News Public Trust, and The NEWS

Liberia's first lady, Ambassador Clar Weah has pledged her commitment to represent Liberia the best way possible at all times. Ambassador Weah said her commitment was based on the warm reception and support Liberians at home and abroad continue to accord her. “Whatever I have to do and wherever I have to go to represent the women and people of Liberia, it will be done,” said the first lady. She was speaking Thursday during a reception in her honor at the Liberian Embassy in New York. The first lady emphasized that there was nowhere too far or too close that she would not be able to go in the interest of Liberia but asked for continue prayers upon her and President George Weah. Read more

Don’t undermine Weah, Source: The New Dawn

Senator Prince Johnson has cautioned politicians and religious leaders not to undermine the George Weah presidency by calling for the establishment of a War Crimes Court in Liberia. Speaking to The New Dawn at his Christ Chapel Church on Sunday, Senator Johnson said some officials of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) are calling for the establishment of a War Crimes Court under the Weah Administration, noting that the call is just intended to undermine peace and stability here, especially against the young administration of President Weah that is lobbying for support to construct roads, improve the education and health sectors, while others are calling for retroactive justice is divisive.

The Nimba County lawmaker himself recommended by the former Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (TRC) for prosecution in connection with his role in the country’s civil crisis further said that during the 1989 hostility, the LCC leadership reportedly prayed over weapons of the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to unseat former President Charles Taylor.

According to Johnson, if such a court were to be established here, those LCC leaders should also be prosecuted. Prior to coming to active politics, the Nimba lawmaker headed the dreaded rebel group, Independent National Patriotic Front Liberia (INPFL), which captured and killed President Samuel Doe in September 1990. Read more

Corruption Fight: ALJA Appalled By President Weah’s ‘Inconsistency’, Source: News Public Trust

The Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) says President George Weah is inconsistent in fulfilling his recent declaration of war on ending corruption in the country’s public sector. In a press statement issued over the weekend, ALJA recalled that on 22 January 2018, when Mr. Weah took over the mantle of Liberia as president, he vowed to go after the corrupt and the dishonest in public service. Then President Weah asserted “my mandate is to end corruption and I promised to deliver on this mandate.” But ALJA says the president’s statement may become mere political rhetoric if corrective measures are not taken.

ALJA says President Weah’s recent nominations of some individuals with shady characters to positions of trust in the government speak volumes about his unpreparedness to match his words with concrete actions relative to minimizing corruption, or as he recently put it “ending corruption in public offices”.

The US-based Liberian group further noted that the president’s preferment of the former national chairman of the opposition Liberty Party (LP), Israel Akinsanya, as commissioner-designate for government and consumer affairs at the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA); Moseray Momoh, deputy managing director for administration-designate at the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC), among other appointees, who have public records of dishonesty manifests a serious contradiction in his professed quest to eradicate corruption in the public sector. Read more

Lawyers Frown at Chief Justice’s Priority on Banks’ Interest Cases, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer reports that a decision by the Supreme Court of Liberia to give priority to cases before it in which commercial banks are plaintiffs did not go down well with several lawyers, whose cases against some of the very banking institutions are lingering on the shelves of the high court. Some of these cases include the over USD16 million ‘Action of Damages for Wrong’ lawsuit, filed by Mamawa and Son, a Liberian-owned business, against the United Bank of Africa (UBA). The case, on appeal before the high court, has been undecided since 2016. Another case is Milad R. Hage Business Complex vs Ecobank-Liberia. The Hage Business Complex has accused the bank of forging signatures of its tenants and making withdrawals in their names, resulting in the disappearance of over USD153,220.00 and LRD219,000. But the bank has denied the claims. That case is also pending at the high court on the Writ of Certiorari, filed by the bank since 2012. Read more

Chinese to Set up Furniture Plant, Promising 1,200 Liberian Jobs -President Weah Meets Shangyou Wood Industries delegation, Sources: Executive Mansion News, News Public Trust, and The NEWS

President George Weah has met with a visiting delegation of Shangyou Wood Industries. The visit, which took place at the Foreign Ministry at the weekend, is geared towards exploring the possibility for the construction of a rubber wood furniture plant in Liberia, according to an Executive Mansion press release. When completed, the plant will produce close to 1,200 jobs for Liberians within the first phase of the project. 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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