29 December 2017

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

George Weah elected Liberian president, Sources: ABC, Al Jazeera, BBC News, Bleacher Report, CBC News, CGTN, CNN, Capital FM, Daily OBSERVER, eNCA, Euro News, Financial Times, Football Italia, Fox Sports, FrontPage Africa, Ghana Web, NPR, News Public Trust, Punch, RTE, Reuters, Sky News, Soccer America, The Bush Chicken, The New York Times, The NEWS, The Sun, The Wall Street Journal, Tribune Online, US News & World Report, USA Today, VOA News, WBIR, and Yahoo News

Former football star George Weah has been elected as Liberia's president. With nearly all ballots from Tuesday's runoff vote counted, Mr. Weah is well ahead of opponent Joseph Boakai with more than 60% of the vote. As news of Mr. Weah's victory emerged, his supporters began celebrating in the capital Monrovia. He will succeed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president, in Liberia's first democratic handover in decades.

"My fellow Liberians, I deeply feel the emotion of all the nation," Mr. Weah wrote on Twitter after the results were announced. "I measure the importance and the responsibility of the immense task which I embrace today. Change is on." Read more PRELIMINARY RESULTS REPORT

President Sirleaf Freezes All Payments, Bonuses To Some Of Her Officials, Sources: FrontPage Africa and News Public Trust

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has put a freeze on all payment of bonuses, severance allowance and incentives to her officials of state agencies, due to the poor state of the country’s economy.

“Given the current financial and economic situation of the Country, all payments of bonuses, severance allowance, and incentives to members of the Board of Directors, Managing Directors, Deputy Managing Directors, and all other Officials of similar standing, in the employ of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Commissions, and other Autonomous Agencies of the Government of Liberia (GOL), are hereby suspended with immediate effect,” an Executive Mansion press release said on Thursday.

“Additionally, all expenditures, save for salaries and allowances, for the daily operations of all Government Ministries and the above-mentioned institutions, in the amount Ten Thousand United States (USD10,000) Dollars and above must be approved by the Office of the President,” the release said. Read more

NDI Delegation Issues Post-Election Preliminary Statement, Congratulates People of Liberia, Sources: FrontPage Africa and News Public Trust

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has released its preliminary statement of findings and recommendations from its international election observation mission to Liberia's presidential runoff election on December 26. The NDI Liberia international election observer delegation included 36 political and civic leaders, elections experts, and regional specialists from 18 countries across Africa, Europe, and North America.

“I am proud of Liberians, who have come from crisis to democracy and have shown themselves to be a model of peace and stability in the region,” said President Goodluck Jonathan, a member of the delegation’s leadership. “Democracy goes beyond election day, and if Liberia succeeds, West Africa succeeds, Africa succeeds, and the world succeeds."

“The NDI delegation would like to congratulate the people of Liberia for exercising their right to vote and for making a historic step towards the consolidation of democracy in their country,” President Atifete Jahjaga, another member of the delegation’s leadership said. Read more

African NGOs Observers Mission Terms Runoff Credible, Source: FrontPage Africa

The African NGOs Observer Mission has termed Tuesday’s presidential runoff election in Liberia as a “peaceful and fair election with a relative participation of voters.”

In line with other missions that observed the conduct of Liberia’s runoff presidential election, these NGOs under the banner, International Mission of African Civil Society for Peace, Democracy and Good Governance (IMACS PDGG) also praised the voters for the peaceful manner in which they conducted themselves before and after the polls. According to the IMACS PDGG’s preliminary declaration on the runoff, the election marked the end of the electoral process in Liberia and signaled the closeness of the end of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s tenure. Read more

Education Ministry Welcomes USD11.9M Grant …..From Global Partnership for Education, Source: The NEWS

The Education Ministry has welcomed the approval of USD11.9 million grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) for Liberia. The grant, according to an Education Ministry release, will support the reform process of the country’s education program. The release said the funds will be used to improve access to quality education in targeted disadvantaged counties and to strengthen national school accountability systems. Read more

LRA, LIBA Sign MoU To Boost Tax Education Among Businesses, Sources: FrontPage Africa and The NEWS

The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and the Liberia Business Association (LIBA) last Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing tax compliance among businesses in the country. The partnership agreement, among other things, highlights the implementation of tax education and outreach activities among LIBA members.

The MoU seeks to facilitate continuous engagement with the domestic private sector through the LIBA, being the umbrella organization for all Liberian-owned businesses in order to ensure the expansion of the tax net and foster collection of domestic revenues. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Legacy of UN Mission in Liberia tied to former President Johnson Sirleaf, says senior UN official, Sources: PM News and UN News Centre

The legacy of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the outgoing President of Liberia, is connected to the legacy of the United Nations Mission in the country (UNMIL), which will wind down in March after 15 years of operations, a senior UN official said. In an interview with UN News, Farid Zarif, the head of UNMIL, said that UN peacekeepers, working with national authorities, managed to bring peace and stability to the country, to help it rebuild and to pave the way for renewed economic growth.

“We are very confident that with the departure of UNMIL Liberia will be in a far better situation to meet the challenges of the future,” Under-Secretary-General Zarif said, despite continued vulnerabilities and fragilities.

Liberia is a very rich country endowed with many natural resources, he added. With improved management of those resources, along with a diversification of the macroeconomy and support from the international community, the country has the potential.

“[Ms.] Sirleaf should be credited for providing a vision for the future of Liberia. And if elements of that vision are implemented, Liberia will soon become a self-sustaining society,” Mr. Zarif said. “Her legacy is very much connected to the legacy of the UN mission in Liberia.” Read more

‘I’m ready to handover’ – Johnson Sirleaf praises Ghana for Liberia’s peace, Source: My Joy Online

Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has demonstrated her readiness to handover to any of the two candidates that will be declared as the winner of the December 26 presidential runoff. “I will be leaving the presidency and respecting the constitution of our country,” Africa’s first elected female president told a gathering in Accra Thursday. 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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