Monday, 26 February 2018

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Ex-Government Officials Risk Weah’s Wrath, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FrontPage Africa, and The New Dawn

Some former government officials who did not heed the order of President George Weah to return government vehicles that were assigned to them could face his wrath after his two weeks’ ultimatum expires. Though President Weah did not indicate how many vehicles are involved, he said some former officials of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led administration are still in possession of vehicles assigned to them while serving in government. He warned them to turn over those vehicles, an order he had stated prior to his inauguration. The president spoke after he returned from France.

Speaking at an intercessory service held at the Dominion Church in the Monrovia suburb of Congo town, President Weah said, “Our government is having a problem and these are just simple problems. People who worked with the former government are hiding and scrapping vehicles they used in the past government. They are stealing all the cars leaving this new government with the burden to buy new vehicles. What is a car that you cannot be honorable enough to leave behind? All of you who took government properties, you have two weeks to bring them back. If not, we will come for them. You have two weeks.” Read more

Submission of Recast Budget Delayed As possible budget shortfall looms, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The recast of the 2017/2018 budget to perhaps tackle quick-impact development and empowerment in the pro-poor policy of the Coalition for Democratic Change-led government is gradually elapsing with the delay of its submission which should have been since Thursday, 15 February. The 2017/2018 fiscal period would finally end on 30 June 2018. The chairman of the House Committee on Ways, Means, Finance, and Development Planning, Thomas Fallah, said the recast budget is yet to be received by the House of Representatives and the continued delay would entangle it with the 2018/2019 budget, whose submission is scheduled for the 30th of April, according to the Public Financial Management Law.

Speaking recently during the three-day orientation retreat of members of the House of Representatives in Margibi County, Representative Fallah urged the Finance Ministry to act accordingly. “The recast budget should have been submitted since the 15th of February, but now it has been delayed for eight days (Thursday),” Fallah said. “If the recast budget continues to be rescheduled, I am afraid that the submission of the 2018/2019 Budget would be a problem.”  Read more

Revision not cancellation, Source: The New Dawn

The chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa says the revision of all concession agreements as requested by President George Weah does not in any way suggest that those agreements will be canceled by the government as being perceived by many Liberians. Speaking to reporters Sunday in Paynesville, Cllr. Koffa said the decision by the president is just intended to give full understanding and establish whether these concession agreements are adhered to by the terms and conditions of the laws of Liberia. According to him, the best practice for any succeeding administration is to review contracts and agreements. The president recently ordered a review of concessions entered into by previous administrations. Read more

“Traits of Despotism” In the Making in Liberia?  -PUL, Source: News Public Trust

The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has called for the immediate release of Alfred Cheeks, a staff of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) who is being investigated by the National Security Agency (NSA), a PUL press statement said at the weekend. Cheeks is in detention after the CBL confirmed it has investigated what it calls the breach of its fidelity and confidentiality policy governing the conduct of its employees. According to the CBL, after its “preliminary investigation including a careful review of its CCTV video, a staff was seen on camera pocketing a photocopy of a document” bearing the travel transaction of President George Weah’s first official trip.

The PUL in the press statement said disgustingly, the CBL disclosed that it suspended Mr. Cheeks with immediate effect and turned him over to the NSA. The Union says it sees the arrest and detention of Cheeks by the NSA as scaring and shows traits of despotism by some elements within the Weah administration. The arrest of Cheeks for releasing public information to taxpayers violates the Whistleblower Act, which separates information in private and public categories. Read more

Health Minister-Designate’s USD6M Wrongful Death Case Postponed, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The long-awaited USD6 million damages for wrongful death lawsuit brought by family members of the late Desiree Fahnbulleh against health minister-designate Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah could not take place Friday because Dr. Jallah’s legal team changed mind to have the matter determined by Civil Law Court ‘B’ at the Temple of Justice. Initially, Cllr. Johnny Momoh, the lead lawyer for Dr. Jallah, filed a motion asking for a change of venue, claiming that if the matter were to be decided in Monrovia, especially at the Civil Law Court, he feared that it would be manipulated with what is considered “local prejudice,” and would deny his client of justice.

Desiree, who was a pastor, died on 8 December 2016, at Jallah’s private hospital, Hope for Women International Incorporated, for which the victim’s family, especially her husband Larry Fahnbulleh, is now claiming USD6 million “for his wife’s wrongful death.” Read more

Montserrado Electoral District #5 Citizens Want Meeting on Landownership Proposal, Source: Daily OBSERVER

A group known as the Concerned Citizens of Montserrado Electoral District #5 has called on Representative Thomas Fallah to hold urgent consultations regarding the Citizens Amendment Proposal to give land ownership to non-Negro descendants. Speaking in an interview recently, the group’s spokesperson, Mr. Steve Doito said residents of the district are concerned about their representative’s sponsorship of the resolution aimed to remove the “Negro Clause.” Doito said what is even more important is that the House of Representatives has begun reviewing four resolutions seeking to amend certain provisions of the Liberian Constitution, including citizenship and land ownership through two separate joint committees for revision and subsequently report to the House plenary on Thursday, March 1. Read more

Margibians Vex with Senator Cooper, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer reports that some Margibians have expressed disappointment in Senator Oscar Cooper’s opposition to former House Speaker, J. Emmanuel Nuquay’s confirmation by the Senate as director-general of the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA). Cooper recently wrote the Senate plenary protesting the confirmation of Mr. Nuquay that he is not suitable to occupy the post citing the Act that created the LCAA, which calls for the director-general to have an expertise in civil aviation. But callers on a local radio station in the county said they were disappointed in Senator Cooper’s opposition to Mr. Nuquay, which they said has the propensity to thwart the county’s post-election reconciliation drive. Read more

Female Lawyers Launches Program to Protect Women, Children Rights, Source: FrontPage Africa

The Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) Friday launched a project “promoting and protecting the Rights of women, children and indigent person” through its legal aid clinics. The launching was held at AFELL sub-office in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, with sponsorship from the UN development agency UNDP and the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)

Atty. Philomena Tugbe Williams, the chairperson of the launching committee, said the project is targeting Grand Bassa Montserrado counties at the cost of USD100,000. "Under our implementation arrangement, it is expected that two legal aid clinics are functional in Montserrado and Grand Bassa Counties with an objective of at least 250 mediation cases documented and resolved, at least 15 cases resolved at the court level and at least 10 project staff trained", Atty. Williams noted. Read more

‘Appoint Maritime Professionals in Maritime Sector’ –WMUAAL President, Source: FrontPage Africa

The president of the World Maritime University Alumni Association Liberia (WMUAAL) Chapter, Mohamed Lavalie, has underscored the need for Liberia to fully explore its maritime potentials by allowing individuals with expertise in maritime to run the sector. Lavalie made the call in his acceptance speech after he was elected as the first president of WMUAA Liberia Chapter on February 17.

While appreciating President George Weah for appointing youthful maritime professionals and technocrats at the Fisheries authority, Lavalie lamented “a scaring and haunted past awaits Liberia’s maritime cluster at the National Port Authority, Gateway to the nation’s Economy, where the first two appointments made by President Weah so far are non-maritime technocrats at the posts of deputies managing director for administration and operations.” Read more

Sawyer Leads ECOWAS Observer Mission for Sierra Leone March 7 Presidential Polls, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and News Public Trust

An ECOWAS Mission of 15 Long-Term Observers (LTOs) is in Sierra Leone for the country’s March 7 presidential, parliamentary, and local council elections. The team is part of a larger 55-member ECOWAS Observation Mission led by Liberia’s former Interim President, Prof. Amos Sawyer, who will be arriving along with the short-term observers, a press release said Sunday.

The regional observers will be deployed across Sierra Leone’s 16 administrative districts for the elections being contested by 16 presidential candidates, including two women, and more than 700 contenders for the 144-seat unicameral parliament. One hundred and thirty-two of the lawmakers will be elected directly complemented by 12 slots for Paramount Chief Members of Parliament. Read more

South Africa Invites Liberian Scientist & Inventor To Share Research, Lecture at Regional Biomedical Conference, Source: News Public Trust

Liberian medical scientist and inventor, Dr. Dougbeh Nyan has been invited to speak at the Southern Africa Network for Biosciences (SANBio) annual biomedical conference in Pretoria, South Africa. SANBio is an agency flagship of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the economic development program of the African Union (AU).

Dr. Nyan’s groundbreaking invention of the test that detects 3-7 infections in 10-40 minutes has continued to draw the interest of other African countries. The test can detect HIV, Hepatitis Viruses, Dengue, West Nile, Yellow Fever, Ebola, Typhus, Malaria, and other infections under less than an hour. A press release issued on Sunday said the biomedical conference will run from 26-28 February and will provide a shared research, development and innovation platform for collaborative research in biosciences, health, and nutrition. 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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