25 October 2017

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

President Sirleaf Warns Education Minister on Social Media Posts, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FAAPA, LINA, and The New Dawn

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has told education minister George Werner that his recent statement on social media is “unbecoming and inconsistent” with his position as a senior official of government. According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf made the statement on Monday during a conversation with the education minister.

The Liberian leader indicated further that the minister’s social media statement is also “a contradiction to and undermines her recent Special Statement on vulgarity, abuse and spread of hate messages” by some Liberians during the electoral process. The president concluded by accordingly warning Minister Werner and all other officials of government to stop such attitude and act in ways consistent with their status as public officials.

President Sirleaf Submits Gbarnga-Salayea Road Accord For Ratification, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FAAPA, and LINA

A loan agreement amounting to about USD17 million to finance the Gbarnga-Salayea Road Project was submitted Tuesday by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for ratification by the Legislature. The agreement, signed on 21 March 2016, between the Liberian government and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, will support government’s effort to construct an all-weather asphalt road in the area. The road, according to a communication attached to the loan agreement, is about 81 kilometres in length and 7.5 metres in width.

The project, according to President Sirleaf, will enhance the economic and social development of the central region of Liberia, and at the same time link Liberia with its neighbors, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

As per the agreement, the president said in her communication, interest rate is one percent per annum of the principal amount, and other charges of the loan shall be payable semi-annually on March 1st and September 1st in each year. According to her, the Public Works Ministry shall be entrusted with the execution and maintenance of the project. Read more

 ‘Police Chief’s Resignation Rumor Is False’ – Spokesman, Sources: FAAPA and LINA

The Liberian National Police (LNP) has termed as false and malicious rumors circulating in Monrovia that Inspector General (IG) Gregory Coleman has resigned his post. Making the clarification on a local radio in Monrovia on Tuesday, Police spokesman Sam Collins said the rumor is intended to distract the police from the crucial November 7 presidential runoff election.

He noted that though the LNP does not know the basis of the rumor, no amount of distraction will remove the Police from its main focus and commitment to provide security before, during and after the runoff. Collins stressed that IG Coleman has no intention of resigning his post in the wake of this crucial national undertaking. Read more

Association of South-eastern University Students Endorses VP Boakai, Source: FrontPage Africa

Ahead of the November 7 Presidential runoff between the ruling Unity Party (UP) and the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), the South-eastern University Students Association (SUSA) has endorsed the candidacy of Vice President Joseph Boakai.

SUSA in a press statement released on Tuesday noted that the decision to support Mr. Boakai in the upcoming presidential runoff election is based on the inexperience of the opposition party’s candidate for the runoff election.

“We are aware that the Liberian presidency is not a place for try and error or a position where an inexperienced candidate, who does not have any tangible working history can be given an opportunity to serve our beloved country that is gradually undergoing improvement in all sectors,” the press statement stated.

SUSA declared in their press statement that Mr. Boakai is best suited than any other candidate to replace President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the next president of Liberia because of his experience in government over the years. Read more

RDC, All Political Parties Youth Leagues Pledge Support to CDC, Source: FrontPage Africa

Support for the second round bid of the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is gradually increasing following separate endorsements from two political institutions in Liberia. On Tuesday, the opposition Redemption Democratic Congress (RDC) of George Dweh and the Association of Opposition Political Parties Youth Leagues in Liberia pledged their support for the presidential bid of Senator George Weah.

Speaking at a news conference at the CDC headquarters in Congo Town, RDC chairman, Victor Saylee, said their scrutiny of CDC shows that the party can make a difference if the chance is given it to head the Liberian presidency. Saylee said it was prudent that the RDC along with all opposition political parties joins forces with the CDC for a second-round victory. “Hon. George Dweh is calling on all opposition political parties to put aside individual interests and support Amb. Weah and the Coalition to win this election,” Saylee said. Read more

Simeon Freeman pursues lawsuit, Source: The New Dawn

Opposition Movement for Progressive Change (MPC) political leader Simeon Freeman is being pursued with a lawsuit by Deepening Democracy Coalition (DDC), a group he is reported to have accused during the campaign season of soliciting money from him in order to participate in a presidential debate.

Appearing on a talk show on Tuesday, the executive director of the Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP), Mr. Malcolm Joseph said the DDC would pursue the case to ensure that the MPC political leader proves his false assertions made against DDC's leadership. “We will follow up our case to a logical conclusion at the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court to ensure that the MPC political leader proves his false assertions made against the organizers of the presidential debate”, Mr. Joseph says.

Also speaking on the talk show, DDC official Atty. Lamii Kpargoi vowed that “Mr. Freeman will be made to realize that you don’t just say things to people when they are false”. The group says it has already filed a lawsuit before the Civil Law Court at the Temple of Justice on Capitol Hill against Mr. Freeman. Read more

Montserrado representative-elect blasts LNP, Source: The New Dawn

Montserrado County Electoral District #10 Representative-elect Yekeh Kolubah has expressed dissatisfaction over the alleged purchasing of luxurious vehicles by authorities at the Liberia National Police (LNP) while officers there are allegedly yet to receive their stipend for the elections. Appearing on a local radio station Tuesday, Mr. Kolubah expressed frustration over claims of luxurious vehicles purchase by LNP authorities.

Mr. Kolubah wonders why will LNP Inspector General (IG) Gregory Coleman and his deputy Abraham Kromah allegedly decide to purchase additional vehicles that cost USD70,000 why police officers are not getting their stipend. But when contacted, police spokesperson Sam Collins clarified that the LNP is not responsible for the payment of police officers.

According to Mr. Collins, the role of the LNP regarding payment of police officers' stipend is to submit their names and their bank identification numbers to UNDP which then makes payment in officers' respective accounts. Read more

UP claims opposition status, Source: The New Dawn

The ruling Unity Party (UP) is claiming an opposition status here as it rallies the remaining about 32 percent of voters who did not vote for either the UP or the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) ahead of the November 7 presidential runoff between the two parties.

UP new campaign mobilizer, Representative Edwin Snowe, Tuesday refers to his party as an opposition party while referring to the CDC as the now ruling party while appearing on a local radio talk show.

Snowe’s comment comes barely a day after UP’s standard bearer Vice President Joseph Boakai told journalists here on Monday that he is in solidarity with opposition parties claiming irregularities in the just-ended October 10 polls. Mr. Boakai said he is putting together a legal team to advise him on further actions. But he fell short of saying if he will pull out of the runoff should he find out that the alleged fraud and irregularities are grave. Read more

LCC wants electoral complaints probed, Source: The New Dawn

Precisely 15 days following the October 10 elections and five days after the announcement of final results, the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) releases a statement on the polls, calling on the National Elections Commission (NEC) to expeditiously investigate all complaints of election irregularities brought before it by aggrieved parties.

The LCC also calls on the NEC to put in place a proper mechanism to avoid a repeat of those discrepancies that happened during the 10 October polls in the November 7 runoff. The main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of Senator George Weah, which receives 38 percent of the votes and the governing Unity Party (UP) of Vice President Joseph Boakai with 29 percent of the total votes cast in the first round of polling, are in the faceoff for next month.

In a five-count findings captioned, “Unappreciable Findings” the LCC notes among others that during the polls, voters encountered extreme difficulties in identifying the right queue at the polling centers thereby resulting to over crowdedness and confusion at voting places. It says there were difficulties in identifying voters’ names in the roster, which sometimes took longer times. Read more

Senator Wesseh urges candidates to accept election result, Source: The New Dawn

River Gee Senator Conmany Wesseh is calling on the four candidates that are left in the presidential election to start accepting the result now. Delivering an oration on Tuesday at programs marking the United Nations Day, Senator Wesseh said it may be difficult to accept but there will only be two people that will be elected on November 7 as Liberia's next president and vice president respectively. He urges the two that will be elected to be prepared to move on. He notes that the four candidates that are still in the race for president and vice president must know their fates on November 7 and need even more prayers. Read more

PATEL Welcomes Ellen’s Executive Order No. 89, but…, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Patriotic Entrepreneurs of Liberia (PATEL) has commended President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Executive Order No. 89. The Executive Order contains intrinsic policy measures that are intended to stimulate economic growth, with emphasis on reducing administrative or compliance cost, business process requirements on concessionaires, including small and medium-sized businesses and the manufacturing sector.

Caesar Morris, PATEL IT consultant and chief communications officer said though the organization is in serious crisis, they have succeeded to a large extent in the organization’s advocacy. “You saw the president’s Executive Order 89 that was just issued a few days ago; I mean, to some extent, we have succeeded in our economic fight. Some of the things that we wanted to be changed by the government in our advocacy, the Executive Order has already initiated a change for that. Though the Executive Order did not address all of our concerns, but I think we are making headway in our organization,” Morris said. 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.

 

 

 

Online Headlines