5 February 2018

  • UN Envoy Pushes President Weah To Appoint More Women, Source: FrontPage Africa

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

UN Envoy Pushes President Weah To Appoint More Women, Source: FrontPage Africa

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Rule of Law of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), Mr. Waldemar Vrey has called on President George Weah to appoint more women to his cabinet in order to reflect significant women’s participation in the public space in Liberia.  Mr. Vrey said: “We are noting the appointments that the president is making, and while we welcome the number of females that he has appointed in positions, I do think that he is not quite reaching the 30 percent level at this time.” The top UNMIL official spoke last Friday in Monrovia at the launch of a report on media reporting gender and women in the 2017 elections. 

Hezbollah Link in Liberia? Trump Administration Issues New Sanctions, Source: FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa has learned that a Sierra Leonean-owned company with a branch at the Red Light is one of those linked to new sanctions on the terror group, Hezbollah, imposed by the Donald Trump administration last Friday. The United States announced Friday that it was slapping fresh sanctions on Hezbollah-linked individuals and businesses in Africa and the Middle East, a move to limit not only the operations of the terrorist group, but also Iran’s influence in the region. The Treasury Department announced that it is targeting a network of companies and individuals in Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, and other countries linked to Hezbollah financier Adham Tabaja. According to the Associated Press, the sanctions freeze assets in the United States and prevent Americans from doing business with any of the six individuals and seven companies. The United States has designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization that also plays a major political role in Lebanon. Read more

IAB Report Blames Shoniyin, Nyanplu for Loss of $227,140,65 Japanese Grant, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and The New Dawn

A confidential forensic audit report carried out by the Internal Audit Bureau (IAB) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ International Economic Cooperation and Integration (IECI) Department on the Japanese Grant Project for the period June 1, 2014 to July 31, 2015, discovered that the amount of LRD19,079,815 (USD227,140,65 at the exchange rate of 84) was misappropriated.

The report found out that only a single signature was required to withdraw from the project account. The audit also revealed that signature specimen prepared to effect a withdrawal from the project accounts at the Afriland First Bank indicates that two of the signatories, in the persons of deputy foreign minister Elias Shoniyin and project manager Augustine Nyanplu, had the exclusive power to singly approve checks for encashment.

Shoniyin informed the auditors that he was not aware of any of the signatories possessing exclusive rights to approve checks singly, as this was never the intent of the project, according to the report. However, documents in the position of the auditors showed that Mr. Shoniyin was fully aware of the exclusive power of single signatory right to withdraw from the project account.

This information refutes a Daily Observer report that quoted Mr. Shoniyin as saying that Thomas Kaydor, a short-term former deputy minister for the IECI Department, and Mr. Nyanplu, manager of the project, were in charge of managing the fund. Documents in the possession of the Daily Observer link Shoniyin and Nyanplu for the losses to the government. Read more

Mayor Koijee Pushes for More Jobs, Source: New DEMOCRAT

Monrovia City Mayor-designate Jefferson Koijee told city hall employees Friday that the municipal government under his administration would focus on creating more jobs and raising revenue that will make the capital a better place to live. Speaking at his welcome program at the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC), Mr. Koijee said President George Weah’s decision to appoint him as Mayor was not intended to take away people’s jobs, but to bring new ideas and innovation in the city. “I have come to say to you as your Mayor, I will only be the carrier of the title (Mayor) but you are the mayors in your capacities because without you I wouldn’t achieve, “ he said. “If anyone ever whispered in your ear and say you will be dismissed because of your interactions during the elections, tell that person that is a lie.”

Millions Lost: Liberia Short-changed Over Oil Seismic Data Money, Source: FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa has reliably learned that the US-based seismic data company, TGS NOPEC, has been financing the cash-strapped National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) for the last three years from money reportedly owed the Liberian government.

Multiple sources and documents in possession of FrontPage Africa confirm that an international auditing firm uncovered that TGS NOPEC owed tens of millions of United States Dollars to the government, but that NOCAL settled for a fraction of the amount in question.

Over the last decade or more, Liberia has been negotiating down on contract terms between NOCAL and TGS. When the first contract was signed during the Charles Taylor-led government, FPA has learned it was a 50/50 revenue split. But each new NOCAL head in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led former government signed horrible contracts with TGS that they themselves could not read. TGS first acquired regional multi-client 2D data in Liberia in 2001 and has since held a number of successful bid rounds. Read more

Pro-Democracy Group Backs Moses Kollie Nomination As Labor Minister, Source: FrontPage Africa

The pro-democracy group, Democratic Watch Forum (DWF) has hailed the decision of President George Weah to appoint former Lofa County Representative Moses Kollie as labor minister. DWF believes Kollie’s appointment testifies to President Weah’s desire to transform the labor sector of the country and ensure that the government addresses disadvantages and other unfavorable conditions in the employment sector. DWF stressed that Mr. Kollie as founding member of the Civil Servants Association of Liberia and a major player himself in the agriculture sector will be an efficient agent in furthering the president’s pro-poor agenda. Read more

Outgoing Education Minister Meets Ansu Sonii, Education Minister-Designate, Source: FrontPage Africa

Outgoing education minister George Werner has met with Prof. D. Ansu Sonii, the newly appointed education minister, and pledged his support to Liberia’s education system after he has left office. Wednesday’s meeting ahead of Prof. Sonii’s still-unscheduled confirmation hearing focused on ensuring a smooth transition from the outgoing minister to the incoming minister. The meeting further allowed Mr. Werner to present Prof. Sonii with an overview of the challenges and the opportunities of the education sector. Topics discussed included the important challenge of ensuring access to education for all of Liberia’s children, especially the 118,000 primary school-aged children who are out of school. The conversation also covered the importance of enshrining the right to free early childhood education into law, as the 2011 Education Reform Act currently prescribes free and compulsory education for only grades 1-6. Read more

Government Assures UL of Solving Perennial Registration Problem, Source: New DEMOCRAT

The Liberian government has assured the University of Liberia (UL) of its readiness to solve the institution’s registration problem which led to student protest last Friday on two campuses of the university. The assurance to digitize and automate the university’s entire registration system and provide resources to upgrade the university’s ICT infrastructure to enable students and faculty to perform regular academic functions digitally was made Saturday at an emergency meeting of the UL Board of Trustees. Senior government officials including the minister of state for presidential affairs/chief of staff, Nathaniel McGill; finance minister, Samuel Tweah Jr.; presidential legal advisor, Cllr. Archibald Bernard; and education minister-designate, Prof. D. Ansu Sonii attended the meeting as special guests.

Police Took Backseat during UL Protests?, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa

The Daily Observer reports that last Friday’s protests on both campuses of the University of Liberia (UL) were staged by aggrieved students disrupting normal activities at the university.  The protests also obstructed the free movement of vehicles, while many business centers were closed. The protests were intended to draw the attention of the Liberian government and to demand the immediate resignation of the university president, Dr. Ophelia Weeks.

At the university’s Fendell campus, the students set roadblocks preventing vehicles from plying the highway from Kakata to Monrovia. During the commotion at least four officers from the Liberia National Party (LNP) paid a short visit and left; however, the presence of officers of the Police Support Unit (PSU) and Emergency Response Unit (ERU) was not felt as during previous demonstrations at the state-run university. But LNP spokesperson,  Sam Collins said sometimes the security strategy changes as the situation unfolds, adding that the Police’s short visit was intended to engage with the student leaders and the UL administration on the main campus. Read more

5-County Reconciliation Plan Underway, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The head of Search for Common Ground Liberia says his organization in collaboration with stakeholders has embarked on an intensive five counties reconciliation plan.  Aaron Weah said the draft plans are now available to the five counties that form part of the reconciliation plan. He named the counties as Grand Cape Mount, Lofa, Nimba, River Cess, and Sinoe. Mr. Weah said the five counties are currently preparing to review the draft plans after which the project will comprise of the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), the office of the Peace Ambassador, the Liberia Peace Building Office (PBO), and the Liberia National Police (LNP) among other institutions that are going to review and validate the plans in preparation for the national conference scheduled for March this year. He made the disclosure recently in an interview with UNMIL Radio. Read more

New Narrative Report Claims Media Portrayed Women Negatively During Elections, Source: New DEMOCRAT

New Narrative says the Liberian media was gender blind and portrayed a negative picture of women in the 2017 elections compared to their male counterparts. The organization’s statement was contained in a report launch in review of the Liberian media’s portrayal of women in the 2017 elections. Ms. Lisa Kindervater releasing the report on behalf of New Narrative over the weekend said women are severely underrepresented in politics and there are real socio-cultural, economic, and political barriers to women’s equal political participation.

Chinese Man Gets 1 Year Imprisonment – Banned from leaving the country; ordered to pay over USD17K, Source: daily OBSERVER

A Chinese national, Jingcan Yang was on Friday sentenced to one year in prison by Criminal Court ‘C’ at the Temple of Justice.  Judge Blamo Dixon also banned Jingcan from leaving the country, while he awaits the Supreme Court to hear and decide his appeal against Judge Dixon’s judgment that found him guilty of misapplication of entrusted property. The judge further ordered the Chinese man to restitute USD17,764 he misapplied from another Chinese national and further fined him USD300 to be deposited into the government revenue. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Prez George Weah To Face Serious Challenges - Islamic Cleric Predicts, Source: Peace FM online

An Islamic cleric, numerologist, philosopher and acclaimed spiritual hacker, Mallam Sham Una Ustaz Jibreel says Liberian President George Weah will not have a smooth governance. The soothsayer predicted that “Security and economy will be a major challenge for the new president.”

Liberians witnessed the swearing-in of George Weah as the new president of Liberia, at a packed stadium on the outskirts of Monrovia. A former international football legend, George Weah replaces Africa’s first elected female Head of State, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

According to Mallam Sham Una Ustaz Jibreel, “Based on my spiritual calculations and research, the star of the president, George Weah, tallies with the destiny of the country, Liberia. Thus, he will perform beyond expectation. However, he will get it tough struggling with the security affairs of the nation and a serious economic challenge for one and a half year.” 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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