• Speaker Chambers confirms Liberia is broke, Source: The New Dawn
• UN Women and Swedish Embassy Launch #WikiGap Campaign, Source: FrontPage Africa
• “Motorcyclists Reappearance Has Health Implications” -Senator Coleman warns, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• ‘Fight Corruption With Sincerity’- Rights Activist Cautions Government, Source: FrontPage Africa
• LISGIS On National Census, Source: The NEWS
• UNCTAD Certificates LRA Staff As International Trade Facilitation Trainer, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and GNN Liberia
• Several Nigerian Teachers Failed Primary Test -Will Some of them form part of the contingent to Liberia?, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• Recreation is key to corrections process, Source: The New Dawn

Speaker Chambers confirms Liberia is broke, Source: The New Dawn

House Speaker Bhofal Chambers has joined President George Weah in claiming the country is broke despite disclosure last week of USD17 million in the national coffers by the Finance Ministry. Speaker Chambers on Friday confirmed to reporters at the Capitol Building that Liberia is broke, a day after the House of Representatives invited state financial institutions, including the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and the Finance Ministry to give an account of the country’s financial standing. He maintains the country has a money problem, noting that presently a recast budget is ongoing. Chambers says President Weah did not make any mistake when he said the country was broke during his first State of the Nation Address. Read more

UN Women and Swedish Embassy Launch #WikiGap Campaign, Source: FrontPage Africa

UN Women and the Swedish Embassy in Monrovia have launched a campaign aimed at closing the gaps on women content on Wikipedia. The campaign title #WikiGap was launched Wednesday when students of the Starz College of Technology, the president of Rural Women Kebeh Monger and River Cess Representative Rosanna Shaack, shared experience on their early life, challenges, and key milestone. Monger and Shaack outlined how they became activists and urged younger women to compete with their male counterparts in getting to the top. The Rural Women president called on women to avoid oppressing one another, adding that it undermines the growth of women. She disclosed that she is expected to introduce the Liberian culture, so as to help younger ones understand the country’s culture. For Representative Shaack “it’s time that women close the gaps and avoid men categorizing them.” On their parts, the Swedish Ambassador, Ingrid Wetterqvist said if the women contents were placed on Wikipedia it would be a great resource for the world on the Liberian women. UN Women Representative, Marie Goreth Nizigama, said the #WikiGap campaign is important to document women because it will help in developing self-confidence. Read more

“Motorcyclists Reappearance Has Health Implications” -Senator Coleman warns, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Senator Peter Coleman has warned that motorcyclists plying the streets of Monrovia amidst intense traffic has serious public health implications.  Senator Coleman’s warning was contained in his statement on Tuesday during the Senate plenary’s debate on two separate communications from two of his colleagues on the reemergence of motorcyclists on the principal streets of Monrovia, once regulated as ‘No Go Zones.’ The Grand Kru lawmaker, who quoted the most recent statistics released by the Liberia Medical and Dental Association as well as other studies that have been carried out by the Surgery Department at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, said that the preponderance of motorcycle-related accidents has increased the level of disability among the populace. Read more

‘Fight Corruption With Sincerity’- Rights Activist Cautions Government, Source: FrontPage Africa

The head of the Regional Watch for Human Rights, Tola Thompson Adebayor, has called on the President George Weah to fight corruption with all sincerity. “Fight corruption with all sincerity without any form of bias by putting the nation Liberia above groups or individuals interest seeing corruption as an epidemic or cancerous disease that has ravaged the national economy since its inception in 1847 thus rendering it moribund and background,” said Adebayor. On appointments in government, the rights activist called on the Coalition for Democratic Change-led government to consider people of integrity and good reputation in its government rather than appointing individuals with tainted reputation. Adebayor, in a FrontPage Africa interview, stressed the need for the government to respect human rights.  Read more

LISGIS On National Census, Source: The NEWS

The Liberia Institute for Statistic and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) has expressed optimism about the conduct of the 2018 National Census. LISGIS deputy director-general for statistics and data processing, Alex Williams said the institution is engaged with the Legislature to ensure that the issue of census does not run into a constitutional crisis since the call for a census is a constitutional matter. Mr. Williams said LISGIS is also making the necessary preparations to meet with the timeline for the conduct of the census, though he did not state a specific time. The deputy LISGIS boss made spoke Tuesday in Monrovia at program marking the official launch of media awareness on the dissemination of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES). Read more

UNCTAD Certificates LRA Staff As International Trade Facilitation Trainer, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and GNN Liberia

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has awarded a professional certificate to Zechariah Geedehgar Munford of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) as an International Trade Facilitator Trainer. Mr. Munford, a senior valuation officer received the global recognition following the completion of a two-year intensive international trade facilitation training program… “With the level of training acquired from the [program], I am well placed to make vital contributions to quality trade reform initiatives in Liberia,” Munford said. Read more

Several Nigerian Teachers Failed Primary Test -Will Some of them form part of the contingent to Liberia?, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer reports that in the wake of President George Weah’s request for Nigeria to send 6000 teachers to Liberia, Nigeria’s Punch Newspaper has reported that out of 33,000 teachers 21,780 failed the primary four test administered to analyze the teachers’ competence by the Kaduna State government. Following his request for 6000 Nigerian teachers to come to Liberia, President Weah on Monday said a political change was meaningless without development, prosperity, and growth; therefore, the coming of the teachers was necessary to fill the ‘educational void.’ The Liberian leader made the statement while addressing State House correspondents following the end of a meeting he had with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Read more

Recreation is key to corrections process, Source: The New Dawn

Liberia’s assistant justice minister for corrections and rehabilitation, Eddie Tarawali says recreational activities are important to corrections as prisoners at the Monrovia Central Prison begin a week and a half sports recreation activities. Mr. Tarawali speaking Wednesday during the official kick-off of the league underlined the importance of recreations in any prison facility. According to him, those kinds of interactions among prisoners will help reduce their stress level and make them feel a part of society despite the actions that led them to prison. Read more