• Widows of Deceased AFL Soldiers Protest for Death Benefits, Sources: FrontPage Africa, The New Dawn, and The NEWS
• Civil servants might not get pay, Source: The New Dawn
• Senate Debates Status of Tenured and Non-Tenured Personnel Act Today, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• Ghana’s Prelate: Jewel Suffered Intimidation As Wife to Charles Taylor, Sources: FrontPage Africa and GNN Liberia
• Beware of corrupt individuals, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and The New Dawn
• CSO Platform Reminds Incoming Government to Uphold Human Rights, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• 15,000 Youths to be Recruited for a USD10M Agriculture Project, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• Skin Disease Infection Hits Over 3,500 Cases -Public Health Confirms Scabies, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, The New Dawn, and The NEWS
• Health Crisis Looms in Grand Kru?, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Widows of Deceased AFL Soldiers Protest for Death Benefits, Sources: FrontPage Africa, The New Dawn, and The NEWS

The media reports that just a day after wives of soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), blocked the highway leading to the Roberts International Airport (RIA) in Margibi County, widows of deceased AFL soldiers stormed the Capitol Hill Foreign Ministry offices of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to also demand benefits of their late husbands. At the Foreign Ministry, the women displayed placards bearing inscriptions: “AFL widows are dying. Please pay our husbands’ benefits, Madam President. Madam President, why are you treating us like this?” Most of the women prostrated themselves on the main road just at the entrance of the Foreign Ministry. “We are the AFL widows; we are protesting for our husbands’ benefits of USD3,000. My husband joined the army in 1969, since he is dead now, I am entitled to his benefits,” said Esther Myers, head of the AFL Widows. Read more

Civil servants might not get pay, Source: The New Dawn

A stalwart of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Dr. Lester Tenny has cautioned Liberians, particularly CDC partisans that President-elect George Weah is going to inherit a broken system after the inauguration on 22 January, and the new government might not be able to pay civil servants for some time. “We need to go back to the fundamentals, Mr. Weah is not going to make magic to make things happen, so we will have to explain to the people on the current state of the economy,” Dr. Tenny said. He said the expectation of Liberians that the incoming Weah administration will start to turn things around immediately should not be high because according to him, there is nothing in the national coffers for the new government to start with. “The President-elect will handle a broken system…”, Dr. Tenny said on a local radio station Paynesville on Wednesday.  Read more

Senate Debates Status of Tenured and Non-Tenured Personnel Act Today, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Liberian Senate will today Thursday hold a debate on an Act Regulating the Status of Tenured and Non-Tenured Personnel of the government upon the inauguration of a new President of Liberia. The Act submitted to the Senate plenary by Senator Varney Sherman basically addresses the status of tenured and non-tenured presidential appointees in the event of a transition from one democratically elected President of Liberia to another democratically elected President of Liberia.

A similar Act was sent to the Senate by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf sometime last year under the title; Presidential Transition Act but due to public outcry and suspicion that it was purposely intended to provide her immunity, she withdrew the Act. The Senate, however, produced its own “Presidential Transition Act,” referred to as the “Senate’s Presidential Transition Act,” which was voted upon by the Liberian Senate and sent to the House of Representatives for concurrence but the Lower House failed to vote on it. Read more

Ghana’s Prelate: Jewel Suffered Intimidation As Wife to Charles Taylor, Sources: FrontPage Africa and GNN Liberia

The Archbishop of the Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM) in Accra, Ghana, Nicholas Duncan Williams says the Vice President-elect of Liberia, Senator Jewel Howard Taylor endured intimidation as First Lady of Liberia, adding that the international community misinterpreted her situation. Senator Taylor recently attended the CAFM while visiting Ghana where she openly expressed gratitude for prayers the church rendered on her behalf during the fiercely contested 2017 presidential election in Liberia. At the start of the service, she broke down in tears appreciating and begging God for mercy.

Archbishop Williams and his congregation offered Senator Taylor prayers and said she had also suffered the atrocity of her former husband – jailed Liberian leader Charles Taylor – although she played a low profile and kept quiet. Read more  

Beware of corrupt individuals, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and The New Dawn

The Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) has cautioned President-elect George Weah not to employ corrupt individuals in his administration. “Liberians are looking forward to a government that will stand up for, and institute social justice and root out corruption. The expectations among Liberians particularly, the young people in creating job and wealth and responding to huge poverty and inequality within our society is huge,” a press statement issued by IREDD said.

Addressing a news conference in Monrovia Wednesday, the institution also warned Mr. Weah not to allow outgoing officials who have caused serious financial lost and perpetuated economic crimes against the state to go with impunity. “The President, His Excellency, George Manneh Weah must demonstrate his commitment and seriousness to fight against corruption by setting up a fast-track economic crimes court to trial officials of government and all individuals, who have embezzled state funds, committed economic crimes and caused financial lost to the state”, the IREDD press statement said. Read more

CSO Platform Reminds Incoming Government to Uphold Human Rights, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform has cautioned the incoming government of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) to conduct its affairs with respect for human rights and the rule of law. The organization in a statement says it concern is against the backdrop of past regimes that conducted state affairs without respect for the rights of others. The group has recommended the maintenance of a safe and enabling environment for CSOs based on good practices and lessons learned from past administrations. Read more

15,000 Youths to be Recruited for a USD10M Agriculture Project, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The technical team manager of the Youth Opportunity Project (YOP) at the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE) has disclosed that the agency has begun the recruitment of 15,000 young people to benefit from job opportunities across the country. Mr. Mohammed Nasser told the Daily Observer recently that the recruitment exercise which started on January 9 will come to an end when the target of 15,000 candidates is reached. Mr. Nasser said the YOP is a five-year program with a USD10 million loan from the World Bank through the Liberian government in collaboration with LACE to provide young people with job opportunities. Read more

Skin Disease Infection Hits Over 3,500 Cases -Public Health Confirms Scabies, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, The New Dawn, and The NEWS

Liberian health authorities disclosed on Wednesday that 3,576 people are now infected with a skin disease that has sparked widespread health concern in the country, confirming that the disease is scabies. Officials of the National Public Health Institute (NPHIL) and the Health Ministry had earlier expressed uncertainties over the identity of the skin infection although they said most of the signs and symptoms patients were showing resemble scabies – an itchy and highly contagious skin disease caused by an infestation by the itch mite known as Sarcoptes scabiei. Read more

Health Crisis Looms in Grand Kru?, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer quoting the state-owned ELBC Radio reports that the lack of a health facility in Forpoh Parluken District has raised serious concern in Grand Kru County that a health crisis is imminent if nothing is done to address the situation. The district superintendent, Francis Ylatwen, said because of the unavailability of a health center, residents including pregnant women and sick children usually travel miles over rough roads to access health services in other catchment communities. Read more