Writt
en by Nat Nyuan Bayjay
Source: Frontpage africa
Monrovia, Liberia
A number of incomplete projects highlighted in the annual report of the Ministry of National Defense is hovering dark clouds over Minister Brownie Samukai, with a little more than a million dollars worth of expenditures either unaccounted or unexplained. The Minister has also found himself entangled in allegations that he has inserted key members of his family in the inner circle of the Ministry.
The Ministry of National Defense is constitutionally mandated with the responsibility of protecting and providing external security for the nation, ensuring the safety of all residents, businesses and properties within the borders of Liberia.
Amidst all of the resources pouring into that direction, information available to FrontPageAfrica suggests that funds intended for various projects of the Ministry of Defense have been exhausted, though most of the projects have not been completed.
Source:
Frontpage Africa
The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy
Jonathan Hicks, a senior fellow at the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College and former political reporter for The New York Times, has received funding from the Ford Foundation to travel to Liberia to conduct a symposium on political and election reporting in advance of that country’s 2011 presidential election.
The journalism symposium, “Preparing for 2011,” will take place between November 22 and December 2 of this year. It will be anchored at the University of Liberia in a partnership with the DuBois Bunche Center and the Press Union of Liberia. It is designed to bring together working journalists and mass communications students in Liberia to hear presentations from experts on election coverage and to interact with political leaders and elections officials within Liberia. The symposium on election reporting comes in less than a year before what is considered a pivotal election for Liberia.
Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)
On December 1, 2009, Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) issued its final report detailing its findings on the causes and impact of that country's social turmoil between 1979 and 2003. The TRC's report represents a major undertaking on the part of the commission to expose the abuses committed against civilians during Liberia's two devastating armed conflicts, which lasted from 1989 to 1996 and 1999 to 2003.One of the key recommendations included in the final report is the establishment of an internationalized domestic criminal court to ensure justice for the worst crimes committed. Human Rights Watch fully supports the use of a hybrid international-national accountability mechanism to hold perpetrators of past crimes in Liberia to account. Prosecutions for serious crimes in violation of international law-including war crimes and crimes against humanity-are crucial to ensuring redress for the countless victims of Liberia's brutal armed conflicts.
Winston W. Parley
Source:
allafrica.com
A Liberian based in the United States, Mrs. Rosaline Kingston Bonsi, has expressed a pathetic condition surrounding the learning environment of Liberian students and has called partnership with already existing schools and orphanage homes to help them grow into more sustainable lives.
Madam Bonsi, upon her arrival at the Robert International Air Port (RIA) on Friday (August 27th) said Liberian schools need better facilities and good learning environment.
Source: allafrica.com
All-time politician, Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh, sharing his thoughts on the much revered BHP Billiton Agreement which the government says stands to benefit the country, said the concession , as it is, is out-of-date, and that it is not promotive of Liberalization.
His statement comes amidst the commencement of Public Hearings in the National Legislature on the ratification of several concession agreements, including that of the BHP Billiton Mineral Development Agreement.
Because of his belief that the agreement is not promotive of liberalization, Tipoteh called on the National Legislature not to give any credence in terms of ratifying it, and also urged them to respect the constitution of Liberia.
H. McCarey Marshall
Source:
allafrica.com
 |
| Ambassador Barnes |
When recalled Liberia’s Ambassador to the United States of America arrived home, those who followed developments regarding the manner in which the President took the decision briefed a sigh of relief that they would have gotten the true story and clarity that did not happened as the recalled Ambassador sounded on unclear on why the president humiliated him.
Source:
allafrica.com
The Government of Liberia (“GoL”) and Golden VerOleum (Liberia) Inc. (“GVL”) Thursday, September 2, announced a partnership for the cultivation of sustainable palm oil by the company and by Liberian smallholders and farmers, mill processing and value-added manufacturing. The investment is expected to total US$1.6 billion, creating more than 35,000 direct jobs and building a whole new economic sector in Liberia’s southeastern counties.
Source:
allafrica.com
Notwithstanding the current infrastructurally cramped conditions of Roberts International Airport (RIA), Liberia in the days of old was the epic center of international air traffic in West Africa, with the likes of KLM, Pan Am, etc., plying daily schedules. But the golden days suddenly eclipsed; courtesy of long years of civil conflict which left the heretofore first class airport of RIA in total ruins and triggered the exodus of international aviation giants.
Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)
On December 1, 2009, Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) issued its final report detailing its findings on the causes and impact of that country's social turmoil between 1979 and 2003. The TRC's report represents a major undertaking on the part of the commission to expose the abuses committed against civilians during Liberia's two devastating armed conflicts, which lasted from 1989 to 1996 and 1999 to 2003.
One of the key recommendations included in the final report is the establishment of an internationalized domestic criminal court to ensure justice for the worst crimes committed. Human Rights Watch fully supports the use of a hybrid international-national accountability mechanism to hold perpetrators of past crimes in Liberia to account. Prosecutions for serious crimes in violation of international law-including war crimes and crimes against humanity-are crucial to ensuring redress for the countless victims of Liberia's brutal armed conflicts.
Written by Bruce Boweh
Source:Star Radio Liberia
Striking workers at the Liberia Agriculture Company, LAC Wednesday reportedly burned a generator at the main gate of the plantation.
Written by Charles Gbollie
Source: Star Radio Liberia
|
| Ambassador Barnes |
Liberia’s recalled Ambassador to the United States Nathaniel Barnes has broken silence.
Ambassador Barnes disclosed he was recalled by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in line with her constitutional rights and nothing else.
Ambassador Barnes told reporters the President has the right to recall, dismiss or re-assign any of her appointees because they serve at her will and pleasure.
- Alpha Sesay
Source: allafrica.com
 |
| Charles Taylor |
Charles Taylor's 20th defense witness, a former radio operator first in the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) rebel group and then in the Special Security Service (SSS) unit of Mr. Taylor's government, today disputed the evidence of several Revolutionary United Front (RUF) radio operators, who in 2008 testified before the Special Court for Sierra Leone about radio communications that took place between the RUF and Mr. Taylor's government in Liberia.
- Clara K. Malla, with additional reporting from Mae Azango
Source: FrontPage Africa
Monrovia -
By day, the infamous Anthony’s Provision Shop at the Lapazee, Airfield Community in Monrovia sells soap, creams and candies. By night, children use it to sell sex.
“I have been on the street for so many years. Seven years on the street. I was just a baby. My parents are all dead and they left me alone. I am the only person that left.”
Massa, which is not her real name, is 17 years old. She left her home in Grand Bassa County after her parents died in the war. She was 10 and has been on the streets ever since. “I can meet 4 or 5 men sometimes [in a day]. Some of them give me 70 [Liberian Dollars], some of them give me a 100. We can go right behind the shop or in their cars. We don’t use condom we just do it like that,” she says.
Written by Charles Gbollie
Source:
Star Radio Liberia
Government has charged the Monrovia Bible College for what it calls academic crime in the country.
The Director General of the National Commission on Higher Education alleged the college was caught offering misleading admission documentation to its students.
Written by Bruce Boweh
Source:
Star Radio Liberia
The Human Rights Court of Ghana has declared as reckless, the autopsy report that formed the basis of the death sentence against Hans and Mardea Williams.
Written by Moses Wenyou
Source: Star Radio Liberia
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has made new appointments in Government subject to confirmation, where applicable.
Ora Garway
Source:
allafrica.com
Monrovia — Meriam Dukumue, like the majority of women in her country, cannot read and write. Having suffered through years of conflict and now the breadwinner of her family, she is giving her children and husband what she never had – an education.
Source:
allafrica.com
Marcus Zoleh
The National Elections Commission (NEC) has disclosed that it is targeting 2.1 million people to register in the forth coming general and presidential Elections.
Making the disclosure Friday at NEC's headquarters at the formal launch of the voter registration exercise, NEC Chairman, James Fromayan said that the launching ceremony is in line with the recent guidelines released by the Commission for next year's elections.
Source: allafrica.com
The Liberian Cabinet is working twenty-four around the clock to make sure that development, as it is unfolding at a full-scale level, remains its foremost focus far beyond 2011.
By this time, the Cabinet, which is supporting progress being made on two of the most significant issues for the future development of Liberia beyond 2011 including local Governance, Decentralization and the development of a new national Vision, is not leaving any stone unturned.
Source: allafrica.com
ANALYSIS
Liberia via the seat of Government, for the first time in its 163 years of existence as an independent nation and even including the colonial days, announced an agreement with a transnational company to carry out an exploration for the possible mining of crude oil in Liberian waters.
Some US$10b has already been assured for implementing the agreement. The Executive Mansion's announcement this year crystallizes longtime suspicion that the list of Liberia's natural resources is incomplete without oil, one of the world's most lucrative sources of economic boom though others thought it was a remote possibility. But the history of oil economy in the developing world, particularly Africa, is an amalgam of incessant woes and limitless treasuries. As the Executive Branch passes on the Oil Exploration Agreement to the Legislature for rectification, questions are being raised from many quarters bordering not only on the good and evil of oil economy in Liberia, but also on the integrity and transparency of the selection process that has thrust the American Company, Chevron, on high for the deal. The Analyst reports.
Everyone is a genius
Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein
Drawing the line in Liberia
Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause
They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.
If Liberia must move forward ...
If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah
What do I think should be done?
The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Solving problems in the absence of war talks
As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah
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