TOP

STORIES

POLITICS

pg 6

UREY CAMP
DEMANDS CLARITY

OVER LRA, COURT TAX

EVASION CLAIMS

LEGISLATIVE BEAT

pg 5

NO WATER;
NO FOOD;
NO JUSTICE

POVERTY ISSUES

pg 6

MASSIVE
POVERTY

After twelve years of

peace, Liberia Ranks fifth
poorest country in Africa

FrontPage
Girls from Lebanon Explain plight,
government neglect to lawmawmakers

www.frontpageafricaonline.com

VOL 9 NO.130

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2015

PRICE L$40

GOVERNMENT TO BLAME FOR NOCAL DOWNFALL

WOODS POINTS

THE FINGER

The leadership of this country is fully responsible and must take responsibility of whats happening
at NOCAL. All the things they are talking about giving them severance pay is not correct, me, giving
those guys money is not adequate, it is sufficient and is limited. You cannot talk about an oil company
collapsing and you are talking about retiring the head of the entity and giving him severance pay,
how can you give people money at an Oil Company that has collapsed? Samuel Kofi Woods

Governance Issues- pg. 5

CENTRAL BANK OF LIBERIA

MARKET BUYING AND SELLING RATES

LIBERIAN DOLLARS PER US DOLLAR

BUYING

SELLING

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

L$88.00/US$1

L$89.00/US$1

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2015

L$88.00/US$1

L$89.00/US$1

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015

L$88.00/US$1

L$89.00/US$1

These are indicative rates based on results of daily surveys of the foreign exchange market
in Monrovia and its environs. The rates are collected from the Forex Bureaux and the
commercials banks. The rates are not set by the Central Bank of Liberia.
Source: Research, Policy and Planning Department, Central Bank Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia

FROM PAGE 1

Page 2 | Frontpage

Judge Melvin Johnson

W
Monrovia -

hen reports surfaced this week that Judge

Melvin Johnson, the fianc of Ellen Corkrum,
the fugitive former Managing Director of the
Liberia Airport Authority(LAA) was recently
arrested in the U.S. state of Georgia, eyebrows immediately
turned to the pending efforts by the government of Liberia
to extradite the pair from the U.S. in a bid for them to
answer allegations of corruption and theft of public funds.
FrontPageAfrica, quoting an unnamed senior Liberian
government official reported this week that the arrest was
unrelated to the Liberia case.
Less than 48 hours after the FPA publication, Ms. Corkrum
contacted the FPA Publisher to alert that she had visited Mr.
Johnson in his incarceration facility and he had jotted down a
full explanation as to why he is currently behind bars.
In his response, Judge Johnson continues to describe himself
as a sacrificial lamb as he nails down the genesis of his ordeal
in America while revealing that an issue of forgery may be at
the center of his arrest. Because of legal reasons, including
the fact that I am still imprisoned interstate, and the matter
is pending in the courts in the State of Alabama, I hereby
detour for later more detailed explanation, and provide that
the publicized Forgery charge stems from the accusation
by the powers-that-be in the State of Alabama that I used the
lawyers name and info to fight against the system, to fight for
the young woman, for my mother, for my two daughters and
others, without the lawyers acquiescence (consent). Truth is
that, I am imprisoned because I have accepted the call, (and
by the way, would do it again a thousand times more.).
BELOW IS THE FULL, UNEDITED EXPLANATION OF
JUDGE JOHNSON IN HIS OWN WORDS AS SENT TO
FRONTPAGEAFRICA.

Anytime one hails from the humble dirt and swamp roads of
Lakpazee to become consistently national news worthy, God
is involved! Anytime one hails from the worst public schools
in one of the poorest countries worldwide; rises up from
homelessness in the United States to become the youngest
judge; the first black judge; the first African judge and the
first Liberian Judge, those who have eyes will see and those
with proper hearing will hear and begin to understand what
God is doing! I praise God for the privilege to be chosen to
endure much suffering for his prized creation (Humanity);
for my ultimate God and for his glory, Halleluiah!
IMPRISONMENT

To my brethrens from Liberia, exercise your God given wisdom

and take heed that the path of greatness, great people are
often paved with the hardship of prison. Reflect on and be
reminded by Hebrews Chapter 11. During our dispensation,
relatively recent characters have all traveled the difficult, but
ultimately rewarding path from the prison to the palace. I
praise Almighty God for selecting the only child of a market
woman to walk this path. Great men like Mandela and Martin
Luther King Jr. were imprisoned numerous times. Great
women like Rosa Parks and others also tasted this cup. Many
who know me would be surprised to learn that this isnt my
first or second taste of the cup. I have traveled this road as
a younger man many years ago and I locked arms and came
into agreement with freedom/civil rights marchers. As we
marched and protested against the KKK in Forsyth county,

just north of Atlanta GA, I again traveled this road relatively

recently for other stances, in speaking for those who were
unable to speak and standing for those unable to stand. I
counted it all joy then and of course now. Even now, I jubilate
in prison. To God be the Glory!
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FORGERY CHARGE

Over a year ago, whilst I was on duty, serving the people,

I received an anonymous call from the state of Alabama.
On the other end was the voice of a hurting and nearly
bewildered mother. She explained events that sounded like a
scene from a horror movie. She described how her only child,
a beautiful, talented and God fearing young lady had been
violently raped and how thus far, the police, the authorities,
and even the local lawyers had declined to intervene. In fact,
the young lady was a 20-year-old honor college student, who
was a virgin and had taken a vow of chastity before marriage
and unto the Lord.
She explained further how, as a consequence of this malicious
violation, her young and promising daughter immediately
experienced a total physical, mental and nervous breakdown.
She described how the young lady had to be sedated. In fact
they woman later never recovered. As a consequence, the
state of Alabama has since declared her to be mentally and
legally incompetent; legally crazy! The mother was honest to
enlighten and cautioned me about the lay of the land in the
state of Alabama. She explained in depth their experienced
realities of present day southern good ole boy system. She
described how lawyer after lawyer, not only declined to help,
but refused to be black listed. As one who challenged the
established system, she described how the police not only
failed to make an arrest, but to even prepare the appropriate
reports. The phone call ended with me greatly lamenting,
sharing her grief, and a word of prayer. I assured her that I
would pray about it and further conduct some due diligence
and get back to her. I lost all appetite and sleep for 2 days.
I reflected on my mother, my two princesses (daughters)
and other female family and loved ones. Long story made
shorter, the Lord led me to accept the case. I accepted the
case, knowing there would be no pecuniary motivation.
Alabamas law significantly limits any potential recovery and
the medical, professional,
travel, and other expenses
meant that I would expend
my saved resources to
fight for the now declared
legally crazy young woman.
I also accepted the case
knowing and remembering
the
other
attributable
costs experienced with
fighting the powers that
be. In the south, especially
as a foreigner, I traveled
down
memory
lane
reflecting on the pains of
previous imprisonments;
physical attacks, death
threats, vandalisms, etc.
that had been endured.
But I accepted the fight!
I accepted the fight,
knowing God was with

Friday, August 28, 2015

me! I remembered that my bible said that when God be for
me, who (no one) can be against me. It reminded me that
greater is he who is in me, than he that is in the world. I
pulled on my personal and often espoused creed that one
who hasnt found a God involved cause to fight and die for, if
necessary, has not started living. And so yes, I accepted.
I flew to Alabama, met the family members and even
met the precious young woman. She was beautiful, quiet
and possessed a big dog. Apparently after numerous
psychological and psychiatric diagnosis and treatments, it
was determined that she needed a guard dog to protect
her and keep the bad people away. How was this once
promising young woman dependant on a guard dog for
some comfort and peace of mind? There was also the battery
of required medications.
I met an equally impressive young man. He was the young
womans boyfriend/fianc. He was also an honor student
at the same college. He had agreed and signed up that upon
graduation, he would join the United States military as an
officer. Best of all, he was a believer in the life giving and
sustaining blood and works of Jesus Christ. He had come to
an agreement with his fianc and the Lord, to remain holy
and take a vow of chastity. He explained that he wanted
God to bless his future marriage and subsequent family.
I had already agreed to the fight, but was now even more
impressed and encouraged by the young man. I also visited
the scene of the tragedy and local hospital, and one of the
largest employers in that part of Alabama. I talked to a
couple of local lawyers, policemen and others. I had sized up
the battlefield!
I learned that the young woman was challenged with
Crohns disease. Its a malady that attacks and inflames the
abdominal/reproductive area, in the case of females. On the
day in question, pains and complications from the disease
forced the young woman into the local hospitals emergency
room. In the emergency room is where the rape, and horrific
tragedy occurred.
The family and the young woman introduced me to a local
lawyer. I was told that the lawyer had agreed to assist the
family on a limited basis. Specifically, the lawyer had agreed
to work with me in helping the family.
Because of legal reasons, including the fact that I am still
imprisoned interstate, and the matter is pending in the
courts in the State of Alabama, I hereby detour for later
more detailed explanation, and provide that the publicized
Forgery charge stems from the accusation by the powersthat-be in the State of Alabama that I used the lawyers name
and info to fight against the system, to fight for the young
woman, for my mother, for my two daughters and others,
without the lawyers acquiescence (consent). Truth is that, I
am imprisoned because I have accepted the call, (and by the
way, would do it again a thousand times more.).
CONCLUSION

Allow me to conclude by saying to my enemies, hold on, this

battle is the Lords! To my family, well-wishers and loved
ones, yes I have been imprisoned! Yes I am suffering; the
food is bad; the conditions are harsh. Due to problems/
altercations, I have been relocated twice, within the prison.
I have been injured and am currently receiving medications.
My every moment monitored and controlled. Handcuffs,
chains and armed guards facilitate my movements.
Notwithstanding, weeping may endure for a night, (and yes
the night can be very long), but my joy, your joy comes in the
morning. The bible is on point that many are the afflictions
of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of all. So keep
the faith, take solace in knowing that God is in total control!
Please pray for my family and me. During this course of
the last such fight, my father, amidst the harassment and
ordeal dropped and died in Liberia. I was unable to attend
his festivities, despite being his oldest child and son. Also,
please pray for those foot soldiers that have gone ahead to
spread the word to commence talks with the local NAACP,
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), churches,
civic and community leaders. This battle is not mine; it is the
Lords! Good bye for now..

Friday, August 28, 2015

FrontPage
EDITORIAL
v

LIBERIA 85%
POVERTY LEVEL
STAGGERING
Genuine Actions Needed to
Rescue Dying People

LIBERIA IS A resource rich country blessed with

deposits of iron ore, gold and having vast natural
rain forest.
THE POPULATION IS far lower than many countries
on the continent, with less than four million people,
it is one of the least populated in West Africa and
Africa as whole, falling far below its neighbors
Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast.
ABOUT 12 YEARS after the civil war, the country is
yet to show improvement in many areas including
living standard. Unemployment is still very high
and a large number of the small population lives on
begging and transitory income.
IN A LATEST report which is based on data from
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Liberia is
ranked as the 5th poorest country in Africa with
a GDP per Capita of $454. The report states that
about 85% of the population lives below $1. This
is clearly a paradoxical situation for the resources
the country has and the level of investment it has
attracted since 2005.
LIBERIAS NEIGHBOR SIERRA Leone, which also
suffered years of civil war, is ranked 11th amongst
the first twelve poorest countries, which is a little
better comparing the difficult situations the two
countries encountered in the recent past.
AFTER SIGNING SEVERAL concession agreements
said to be in the neighborhood of US$16 billion,
to be rated the 5th poorest country on the African
continent is quite astonishing and needs urgent
attention from state actors.
THE COUNTRY HAS proven very good at putting
together policy papers which are not implemented
in many instances. The Poverty reduction Strategy
which was prepared in 2008, was described as one
of the best way forward for improving the living
conditions of Liberians and putting the country on
the right path of development.
WITH PILLARS INCLUDING consolidating Peace and
Security, Revitalizing the economy, strengthening
Governance and the Rule of Law; Rehabilitating
Infrastructure and Delivering Basic Services, the
PRS, according to the Government of Liberia, was
designed to reduce poverty and ensure improved
standard of living for the population.
THE PRS WAS bound for failure from the very
beginning after the craters attached a huge cost
estimate of US$1.61 billion over three years with
bulk of money estimated to be provided through
donors funding.
THE COUNTRY HAS never really shown the
willingness to design its policy and implement
without relying heavily on donors for support.
OUT OF THE US$1.61 billion the Government
of Liberia indicated that it could only generate
approximately $510 million in revenues that can be
dedicated to PRS-related activities, leaving a gross
financing gap of approximately US $1.1 billion over
the PRS period (about US$400 million per year).
THIS WAS A clear sign that the government was
not serious in reducing poverty for its people. By
merely expressing that it could only generate 510
million in three years meant the PRS could only
survive based on donors support.
THERE IS NO known program developed by Liberia

Frontpage

Page 3

COMMENTARY

TRANSITIONING THE LIBERIAN FLAG FROM

EMBLEMATIC SYMBOL TO PATRIOTIC CITIZENS

By: Stephen B. Lavalah, Contributing Writer

iberians from all walks of life commemorate National Flag Day

in different forms and manners. The state usually organizes
a parade of students in front of the Centennial Memorial
Pavilion with the Commander-in-Chief alongside an array of
government officials and thousands of onlookers rise to the occasion
to pay homage to statehood and sometimes sing patriotic songs.
Some citizens place the Flag on vehicles and other transport facilities,
while several raise it on homes and offices. Still many display it in
the public domain, while employee of the Monrovia City Corporation
and General Service Agency intermittently whitewash street corners
and some public buildings even though the heavy down pour of
rain is capable of taking away the whitewash. Scores of Liberians
decorate their homes and businesses with red, white, and blue as
well as wear national colors to depict patriotism and nationalism.
During each Independence Anniversary, national sporting festivities
and state-owned programs a good number of Liberians charm to such
ceremonies with picturesque scenery of the Flag and state attire to
portray nationhood and national identity. As a matter of fact, every
morning during school days, students across the country assemble to
pledge allegiance to the flag. Besides, it is mandatory that all citizens
and foreigners alike be attentive and at standstill in the course of
hoisting and dropping the Flag.
All the more so, from time immemorial the Government expends
thousand of taxpayers dollars to festoon public facilities with national
colors, undertake and dedicate variety of projects, and also deliver all
sorts of thought-provoking, motivational and patriotic speeches in
order to venerate the day. All too often, the most exciting, amazing
and fascinating component is the parade of students and perhaps
military and paramilitary personnel throughout the principal streets.
In spite of all the glamorous outlook of homes, office, and public
facilities with state-owned hues as well as grandiloquent and silvertongue speeches resounding loyalty to the flag emanating from state
actors and stakeholders, there remain more questions than answers
in transitioning the Liberian Flag from a mere emblematic symbol to
patriotic citizens.
For too long, some prominent statesmen have argued to change the
Flag to reflect indigenous emblems. Furthermore, Liberian historians
continue to recount the inherent contradictions and falsehood about
the historicity of the Flag. Consequently, lots of Liberians have since
begun pondering on the essence of the Flag. Around street corners and
university campuses, where people from the fountain of knowledge
and young intelligentsias meet to flex intellectual muscles they ask
each others: What difference will it make by changing the color and
symbol on the Flag? Will it further divide or unite Liberians? What is
the motive behind honoring a flag without a true spirit of patriotism?
Why most Liberians are united only for a relatively short span of time
and divided consistently on the basis of petty jealousy, recrimination,
religion, tribe, social status, and location? How come the founding
fathers hoisted another flag on the day of Independence? Where the
warlords and architects of the 14 years of brutal and barbaric civil
crisis ever conscious of the Flag being an icon of unity, national pride
and freedom? With all these questions on mind and many more yet
unanswered, a number of people are still wondering when Liberian
will exhibit a true sense of patriotism and nationalism.
Beyond the Emblem
The Flag is not just a mere emblem or cloth with colors that someone
is required by law to respect and honor. It is not about how long
the Flag will keep flying on vehicles and transport facilities. It is not
the beautification of buildings and streets with red, white and blue
or eloquent speeches. Instead, it is an obligation, dedication and
conviction to serve the country selflessly, tirelessly, and fearlessly
beyond personal aggrandizement. It is a mark of good citizenship
and loyalty to country, founding documents and respect for fellow
citizens and constituted authorities. No matter what colors or
symbols, the Flag should and must create a sense of hope, cultivate
unity in diversity and foster pride and values among citizens. So, the
argument about changing the Flag really does not hold water, because
it is not the color or symbol on the Flag that matters most, it is the
mindset of Liberians towards their own country and its people.
Liberians must begin to demonstrate a special affection for their
country, nurture a sense of personal identification and learn to seek the
well-being of the country and as well adopt the spirit of willingness to
sacrifice for the common good of the country. The people across this
great land and those in the Diaspora should now begin to envision a
New Liberia that is greater than religion confessed, dialect spoken,
county of origin, place of birth or family name. Liberians have got to
understand that the country is bigger than the sum of their individual
ambition or greed for power or wealth. The time for reform is upon
this country and there should be absolutely no moment for Native
or Indigene versus Congo or Americo-Liberian. In the same vein,
recommendation from the Constitution Review Committee regarding
dual citizenship and nationality status to people of only Negro
descent as expressed in the 1986 Constitution should be carefully
reexamined, before the proposed National Referendum.
v

in the instance the country will not rely on donors

support and in some instances, these foreign
supports are unaccounted for during projects
implementation.
IT IS VERY staggering to be ranked the 5th poorest
country on a continent of 54 countries, especially
when you are the oldest independent country.

Patriotic Liberians who voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of

Liberia, the Liberia National Police, the Bureau of Immigration &
Naturalization, the National Fire Service, the Executive Protection
Service, the National Service Agency alongside other security
apparatus carrying the Flag of this Republic on their right arms
should be treated with dignity and respect and given all due
courtesy in a timely, and unique manner. The children and even
those outside the family of the gallant men and women serving the
security sector should and must appreciate that it is honorable to be
a soldier, respectable to be a police officer, and admirable to serve
the country. Therefore, the Government should provide appropriate
accommodation, logistics and better incentive to commensurate with
present-day realities. The hoaxes and empty promises have got to
stop and the welfare of the valiant and astute state security personnel
must be highly prioritized. Moreover, civil servants who keep the
wheels of government turning deserve better living conditions and
an environment conducive for working. The threats and humiliation
emanating from presidential appointees and well-connected
supervisors can no longer be tolerated and need to immediately end.
The younger generation of Liberia should be taught to give back to
their communities in whatever positive virtue. As a replacement
for the US$3 as stipend to young people to clean street corners,
the Government must change to introduce Service Learning in the
national curriculum at the secondary and tertiary levels. Then, the
amount allotted for compensation could be utilized to reduce tuition,
build public libraries, construct and upgrade laboratories, provide
up-to-date textbooks and enhance research activities so as to ensure
the publication of more contextualized Liberian textbooks.
Patriotism should and must not be only through the usual flamboyant
utterances and cosmetic fanfares. It should contain a great meaning
with a deep sense of loyalty, peace, love and the eagerness to make
Liberia the best nation on Earth. It is not an exaggeration or illusion;
this is achievable if Liberians begin to start thinking clearly for the
common good of all.
Liberians must begin to harness or reap their God given and
inalienable right to possess and enjoy their wealth instead of a
few elites and higher-ups. The people have got to stop begging for
handout, bailout or rescue package, rather they should wakeup,
shakeup and standup to acquire what belong to them. This should
not be done through the use of vehement force or antagonistic attack
to gain political capital; however, it must emulate and assimilate a
nonviolent approach of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin
Luther King, Jr. and lately the Egyptians in Tahrir Square. Liberians
must be willing to call their government to change the status quo of
nepotism, sectionalism, favoritism, tribalism and partisan posture
to being a government for all Liberians irrespective of creed, status,
tribe, religion and background.
Liberians have got to espouse a posture of strategic thinking and do
away with politicizing everything, perpetually criticizing without any
industrious venture, badmouthing campaign for little or nothing and
singing everlasting praises to the power that be. While Liberians are
quite busy with all sorts of trivial issues, the foreigners are making
use of every single opportunity to enrich themselves at the detriment
of the already penury Liberians. Though Liberia needs more
Socrates and Plato to deliver all types grandiloquent speeches
and masquerade the corridor of the majority as activist or down
trodden, but the challenges before the country is voluminous and
require sober, mature and dedicated people to drive the change
through hard work, perseverance, integrity and honesty. Liberians
must be willing to take up the task at hand and many more ahead,
not through proliferation of intellectual forums or regular calling
or texting on famous radio talk show or constant creation of civil
society organizations, but with the formation of think-tank of young
Liberians and older folks cluster in community strategizing to move
Liberia forward. The think-tank would produce engineers to compete
with the Chinese, entrepreneurs to surpass the Lebanese, Fulani,
Nigerians and Ghanaians. Furthermore, doctors, nurses, economists,
environmentalists and other professionals would be nurtured and
equipped to perform any assigned duties in their areas of specialties.
As the country struggles to transition from conflict to tranquility and
from Ebola to recovery, every Liberian needs to rethink, restrategize
and remake the broken fabrics of a country torn apart by war, poverty,
disease, and human suffering. Liberians should begin to celebrate
and appreciate their own country, culture, music, arts, and clothes.
Nowadays, setting a day aside for flag adoration has become obsolete
in many countries. Accordingly, the Government should alter Flag
Day celebration to initiatives that foster patriotism and nationalism
in every nook and cranny of this country. The Constitution must
be taught in all institutions of learning as enshrined in the 1986
Constitution of this Republic. Likewise, civic education and
community sensitization regarding the importance of being patriotic
should be carried out.
About the author: Mr. Stephen B. Lavalah is an advocate

THE LATEST REPORT should serve as a wakeup call

to state actors in Liberia to work to reduce poverty
for the Liberian people.
Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who was highly
regarded as a savior in the eyes of the Liberian
people should not leave office leaving the country at
the bottom of the poverty index in Africa.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Page 4 | Frontpage

FrontPage

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

ABOUT OUR STORIES ON THE
WORLDWIDE WEB

COMMENTS FROM
FPA ONLINE

TAX EVASION OR

POLITRICKS? BENONI UREYS

PROPERTY ORDERED CLOSED
STANF BUSHCHICKEN PEAB PORTFOLIO MANAGER AT
GROW LIBERIA: FACILITATING INCLUSIVE MARKETS
All Liberians with real estate should be made to pay their
taxes. All those with vacant lots, hundreds of acres lying in
the country side should be made to pay their taxes. All the
barber shops, wine shops, beer shops, old and dilapidated
transport cars, trucks; people selling gas on the streets,
markets should pay their fair share of taxes.
ANSU OPA DUALU COALITION OF CONCERNED
LIBERIANS
Agree 5000%!!! But there is one problem: Government
officials and those with connection to the establishment
won't pay and there is no consequence. How do u convince
regular folks of such law's equitability?
HARRY PAPA MASON METROPOLITAN STATE
UNIVERSITY
...Provided paying taxes will be used to improve the quality
of life of the poor masses and develop the country.
SAYKU KROMAH WORKS AT RETIRED
This is the type of man who wants to be President? Mr.
Urey must be dreaming that his Lord and mentor, General
Charles Taylor is still at the helm. "One who comes to equity,
must come with clean hands." A tax evader satisfied to
register a political party? I tell people that we Liberians are
the strangest creations of God. Common sense should have
prevailed among his so-called brain trusts to have asked Mr.
Urey if his taxes were in order. But maybe Liberia under Mr.
Urey will be a tax free country. Well, Mr. Urey, if you cannot
even pay your real estate taxes who will put you in charge of
a county not to mention country? Think again!
NYEMADE WANI UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA, MONROVIA,
LIBERIA CAMPUS
So what about the millions wasted by the sons of the soil,
McClain and Cooper and Sirleaf at NOCAL? What about the
LTA wasteful spending? What happened to the case against
Gayflor at Gender? I do not know Urey but this smacks of
selective prosecution.
BOIMA PASSAWE HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
From 2010 Taxes have not been paid, why now???
JESSE FAHNGON METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY
When "policymakers/administrators are confused, it
negatively impact citizens' activities and or actions.
HARRY PAPA MASON METROPOLITAN STATE
UNIVERSITY
If a person knows what he/she is doing and stumbles, it is
said he/she is confused. But when he/she does not know
what he/she is doing, then he/she is said to be ignorant.
JOHN-LORD BAXTER II DAMANSARA, KUALA LUMPUR,
MALAYSIA
I am not a member of Urey's political party, neither do I
know this man in person. However true it may be that he
owes back taxes on his property leading to its closure. The
government through the LRA has every right to ensure
that its taxes are paid or there will be consequence such
as is the case with Urey's property closure. However, what
I find troubling and without a shadow of a doubt is the
closure on Urey's property could be a case of SELECTIVE
JUSTICE which this government is known for as they would
do anything to frustrate or destroy those considered as
ENEMIES. It wouldn't surprise me if a forensic audit is to
be carried out to determine the number of senior officials
in the current government indebted to government in back
taxes that the result will be alarming to know that those
running the country in all three branches of government
are also indebted to government in back taxes without the
same consequence as applied on Urey's property of having
their properties shut down too. In my view, the closure
of Urey's property at this time when he has formulated
a political party and declared his intention to run for the
presidency come 2017 is nothing more than a witch-hunt
by EJS government.

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YOU WRITE; WE PUBLISH; THEY READ!

LTA

me? Do you have no shame, ma'am??" If she rolls her

eyes at you, give her the middle finger salute and walk
away! You should do the same thing to the other LTA
Commissioners!
Don't you think these commissioners deserve the
middle finger for screwing the Liberian people? I do.
But I'm still waiting for our President to show some
spine! ....Madame President, it's time to get rid of
these born rogues! Their criminals acts are making
our people poorer and poorer!

A CRIMINAL
ENTERPRISE

The Editor,

Martin Scott
Former West Point Resident
Atlanta, Georgia

sn't it time to admit that LTA (Liberia

Telecommunication Authority) is a criminal
enterprise? I wish the President would go on
EBLC and say, "My fellow citizens! Our LTA
commissioners are nothing but born rogues! Effective
immediately, I'm firing their asses!!"
But do you think she'd do that? Please...You ever hear
Fanti woman say her fish is rotten?? (Re "LIBERIA'S
INTERNATIONAL CALL RATES UP WITH NEW LTA
ORDER")
According to the aforementioned article, by the
stroke of a pen, these criminals, oops, I mean
LTA Commissioners have jacked up the price of
international call rates to line their pockets again!
And you know what that means, right? It means that
my free loading family in Liberia would have to spend
more money call America to beg for money!! But
more importantly, it means that the Liberian people
are getting screwed!!
For God's sake, when will these LTA Commissioners
ever stop telling the Liberian people to BEND OVER?
1) Aren't these the same plunderers (LTA
commissioners) who were under investigation,
waaaay back, for "reckless plunder of revenue
generated from the telecommunication sector"
??? (Re "Citing Unapproved Plunder of Millions,
Liberia Legislature Orders Investigation of LTA,
Frontpageafrica Online)
2) Aren't these the same sleazeballs who got busted
for spending other people's hard-earned money to
buy flashy cars for their non-essential government
jobs? (Re "Flashy Cars Amid Abject Poverty: LTA
Ignores Excessive Waste, in Rants at FPA)
3) Aren't these the same criminals who have arbitrary
power to jack up prices (phone calls) and use that
money to buy themselves fancy cars and flat screen
t.v for their air-conditioned offices? (Re "LIBERIA'S
INTERNATIONAL CALL RATES UP WITH NEW LTA
ORDER")
The next you see Angelooter Weeks (LTA Chair), in
her tainted SUV, say "Hey, you born rogue! When
will you people stop stealing from a poor man like

LRA, NEC MUST

COME CLEAN
ON TAX ISSUES

The Editor,

he (Liberia Revenue Authority) and the NEC

(National Elections Commission) both need to
come clean. You would think individuals and the
businesses they own/operate would meet their
tax obligations to the government before running for
public office. So the NEC violated the law when it certified
Urey as a presidential candidate? Some citizens need to sue
the NEC and Urey.
The same applies to all public officials (appointed and
elected). Has President Sirleaf paid all her taxes (income
and property), as well as the taxes on the money she
received from winning the Nobel Peace Prize? Under the
Table Mountain (Freedom of Information law), we call
on the PUL (Press Union of Liberia) to go to court and
request the payment information of the President, Vice
President, Lawmakers, Cabinet Ministers and all appointed
office holders, and all judges and Justices of the Supreme
Court of Liberia. US President Barrack Obama's taxes are
public information each year but not Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
of Liberia. I guess Liberian democracy is different from
American democracy.
Let the LRA boss Elfreda Tamba-Stewart take the lead and
make public all of tax records, both income and property.
Elfreda was part of the illegal money laundering triangle
of 2009 along with President Sirleaf and former Deputy
Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia that siphoned
off over "$10 million" of tax payers money into Ellen's
unauthorized illegal private "development agenda account"
at ECOBANK. But their judgement day is coming.
Jerry Wehtee Wion,
Journalist and Political Commentator,
Washington, DC, USA

EDITORIAL TEAM

Rodney D. Sieh, Managing Editor, 0886-738-666;

077-936-138, editor@FrontPageAfricaonline.com;
rodney.sieh@FrontPageAfricaonline.com
Samwar S. Fallah, News Desk Chief, 0886-527
541, samwar.fallah@frontpageafricaonline.com
Gboko Stewart, Copy Editor 0886 484974
gboko.stewart@frontpageafricaonline.con
Danesius Marteh, Sports Editor, danesius.
marteh@frontpageafricaonline.com, 0886236528
James-Emmanuel D. Cole, Jr, Graphics Designer
& Layout Editor, echange4life@gmail.com;
0886 211 390, 0777 027 030
Henry Karmo, Reporter, henry.karmo@
frontpageafricaonline.com
Bettie Johnson, Reporter, , / betty.johnson@
frontpageafricaonline.com/0886971922

Al-varney Rogers, Reporter, al.rogers@

frontpageafricaonline.com, 0886-304498
Kennedy L. Yangian, Reporter, kennedy.yangian@
frontpageafricaonline.com 0777296781
A. Macaulay Sombai, Sports Reporter, macaulay.sombai@
FrontpageAfricaonline.com, 077217428
COUNTY NEWS TEAM
Grand Bassa, Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, 0777432042
Bong County, Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@
frontpageafricaonline.com, 0886-484666
BUSINESS/ADVERTISING
Kadi Coleman Porte, 0886-304-178/ 0777832753,
advertise@frontpageafricaonline.com

Friday, August 28, 2015

Monroviaormer Public Works

Minister, Atty. Samuel
Kofi
Woods
says
the leadership of
President Ellen Johnson is fully
responsible for the collapsing
of the National Oil Company of
Liberia (NOCAL).
Atty. Woods said government
was in the know that the
NOCAL was going to collapse
but did nothing to prevent the
current situating facing the
entity.
The leadership of this country
is fully responsible and must
take responsibility of whats
happening at NOCAL, all the
things they are talking about
giving them severance pay is
not correct, me, giving those
guys money is not adequate,
it is sufficient and is limited
you cannot talk about an oil
company collapsing and you
are talking about retiring the
head of the entity and giving
him severance pay, how can
you give people money at an Oil
Company that has collapsed?
he asked.
President
Ellen
Johnson
Sirleaf few days ago endorsed
the National Oil Company
of Liberia (NOCAL) Boards
approved Sustainability Action
Plan (SAP) aimed at ensuring
the viability of the entity so
that it continues to pursue its
mission to develop Liberias
hydrocarbon
resources
effectively in the best interest
of the nation.
The Liberian leader was
speaking in a nationwide
address delivered from her
Foreign Ministry office on
Tuesday, August 25, 2015.
She said the Boards Action
Plan calls for drastic steps to
bring costs under control and
put NOCAL on a more viable
financial footing, adding that
these would include significant
staff cuts, a reconstitution of
the Board, and retirement/
replacement of the senior
executive leadership. Madam
Sirleaf described the steps
as necessary to ensure that

Frontpage

GOVERNMENT TO BLAME FOR NOCAL DOWNFALL

WOODS POINTS THE FINGER

The leadership of this country is fully responsible and must take responsibility of whats happening at NOCAL. All the things
they are talking about giving them severance pay is not correct, me, giving those guys money is not adequate, it is sufficient and
is limited. You cannot talk about an oil company collapsing and you are talking about retiring the head of the entity and giving
him severance pay, how can you give people money at an Oil Company that has collapsed? Samuel Kofi Woods

By Edwin G. Genoway, Jr(231886458910)-edwin.genoway@frontpageonline.com

NOCAL can perform its duties

to manage and develop
Liberias oil resources, and to
rectify recent mistakes in its
performance.
The Liberian Chief Executive
recalled
the
caliber
of
companies that were attracted
to Liberias acreage to pursue
exploration activities as also
high, with major exploration
deals struck between NOCAL
and the worlds top oil
companies (Chevron and
Exxon Mobil) as well as the
largest signature bonus (US$50
million) ever for a Frontier
country such as Liberia.
She underscored that the
execution
of
Production
Sharing Contracts (PSCs)
with super majors and other
reputable international oil
companies also resulted in
significant interest in Liberias
hydrocarbon
sector
with
record licensing of seismic

data and related revenue;

noting that during this period,
average revenue generated,
US$30.5 million, compared
to average annual revenue
of US$4.5 million in prior
years.
This, according to
her, translated into US$10.6
million annual payments to the
Governments
Consolidated
Fund. The average annual
revenue for the sale of seismic
data/component for the period
20102013
was
US$15.6
million - a 300 percent increase
when compared to annual
seismic revenue generated for
earlier periods, she indicated.
President Sirleaf stressed
that it was regrettable that,
commencing in the fourth
quarter of 2013, NOCALs
revenue for seismic data sale
began a precipitous decline,
during which total seismic
revenue fell by 29 percent
from the prior fiscal year and

was compounded by the Ebola

virus disease of 2014 that
led to a reduction in investor
interest across all economic
sectors for the impacted West
African region.
Atty. Woods called on the
Liberian leader to order a
thorough investigation of
the activities of the Board of
Directors of the National Oil
Company of Liberia (NOCAL)
headed by Mr. Seward Cooper
in order to establish the actual
facts surrounding what he
termed as mismanagement of
funds at that oil company. This
devil must be prayed to hell,
he told the women group.
He demystified those he said
were his detractors who only
want glory at the detriment
of others, making reference
during his tenure as Minister

at the Ministry of Public Works

where he said his services at
that entity proved well after
being audited twice followed
his resignation.
Speaking further, Att. Woods
called
on
the
Liberian
Government
to
institute
an auditing system for all
cabinet ministers following
their departure from their
respective positions.
He said injustices have been put
on innocent people, especially
those who were detained in
Sinoe County without trial
making them to endlessly be
behind bars without trial.
Earlier, the Advocacy Officer
of the organization Madam,
Bernice Freeman welcomed
Atty. Woods and his delegation
to the WIPNET Hub, and
outlined their role in helping
to expose ills in the Liberian
society.
For her part, an official of

is my responsibility to listen
to the plight of Liberians. It is a
common knowledge that these
girls were not swiftly been
attended to by government
through the executive branch.
He claimed that as a result
of a visit made to the girls
he was able to gather that
an
international
group
International
Organization
for Migration has undertaken
the initiative to follow the
case of the girls. They said
for days now they have been
without electricity and food is
finished and they needed some
intervention, Representative
Chambers said.
Representative
Chambers
promised that as lawmaker he
will elevate the issues of the
girls in the legislature to focus
attention on the needs of the
girls.
It is a blessing for us that this
government is headed by a
woman. It is a blessing to think
that a mother will be concern
about that which concern her
children it is sad to say that
her excellency has placed the
issues of these girls on the back
burner, he claimed.
The Maryland lawmaker called

on the country international

partners to ensure that other
girls who are still in other
countries in similar situation
be brought back to their
homes. What we are asking
her is for her to exercise her
constitutional responsibilities.
The girls while at the Capitol
Building Thursday also visited
the office of Senator Geraldine
Doe-Sheriff (CDC-Montserrado
County) with similar message
calling for their issues to be
taken serious and justice be
brought to them.
The Ministry of Gender,
Children and Social Protection
in June said, it is considering
plan-B in dealing with the
situation of the 14 Liberian
girls who were brought home
from Lebanon. Since the girls
returned the government has
been keeping them in witness
protection in an unknown
location in Kakata preventing
relatives and the public
from interacting with them.
According to the government,
the action was taken to avoid
endangering the prosecution
of the case as the girls will be
needed to testify in the court
of Law.

INVESTIGATE ACTIVITIES

NO
WATER,
NO,
FOOD,
NO
JUSTICE
Girls from Lebanon Explain Plight
Henry Karmo (0886522495) henrykarmo@frontpageafricaonline.com

Monroviaome Liberians girls

believe
to
have
been
trafficked
to
Lebanon
and
returned
home
recently
through the intervention of
the Government of Liberia
Thursday visited the Capitol

Page 5

Building upon the invitation

of
Representative
Bhofal
Chambers
(CDC-District#2
Maryland County) to explain
to members of the legislature
their current plights.
In an interview with reporters
Representative
Chambers
criticized the level of slow

pace in addressing the issues

facing the girls and called for
a concerted approach to deal
with the situation.
Representative Chambers said:
However it is not yet late they
have come from Kakata to
make their case known to this
legislature and as legislator it

WIPNET,
Madam
Cecelia
Danuweli thanked Atty. Woods
for his visit at the WIPNET
Hub, and praised him for his
initial contribution in the
construction of the WIPNET
Hub, and also lauded him for
his advocacy over the years.
Over two hundred women from
various religious organizations
who are part of WIPNET
Liberia turned out to listen to
Attorney Woods during the
interactive program.
The women in their numbers
sang and danced to traditional
religious songs as they
expressed their thanks and
appreciation to Atty. Woods
and his delegation.
The WIPNET Programme was
launched in November 2001
with the aim of building the
capacity of women to enhance
their roles in peacebuilding and
post conflict reconstruction in
West Africa. WANEP through
WIPNET seeks to increase the
number of trained women
practitioners in peacebuilding
as
trainers,
researchers,
mediators and advocates.
Through
community
mobilization
and
other
innovative platforms, WANEP
strives to provide a forum
for women at the grassroots
to amplify their voices on
issues of peace and human
security. Under the WIPNET
programme, WANEP promotes
mainstreaming
gender
perspective into peacebuilding
and
conflict
prevention
frameworks at community,
national and regional level.
In late 2014 the girls began
complaining
that
their
employers were subjecting
them to inhumane treatment
and have seized their travel
documents to prevent them
from leaving the country.
Liberian officials, including the
Minister of Labour and others
from the Liberian national
Police traveled to Lebanon to
seek the release of the girls. Ten
of the girls have accordingly
being brought home, but they
are yet to be seen in the public
with the government of Liberia
claiming that the girls are
victims of abuse and need to
be rehabilitated before being
united with their families.
After the first batch were
brought back to Liberia,
Mr. Ezzat N. Eid, President,
World
Lebanese
Cultural
Union described the situation
involving
the
girls
as
embarrassing and promised
that he is working along with
Lebanese officials to ensure
the return of all Liberian girls
in Lebanon. This situation is
damaging to the many good
Lebanese in this country, and
we all express grave concern
with the Liberian government
and want all these girls to
be brought back home with
dignity, said Eid.

Page 6 | Frontpage

Friday, August 28, 2015

MASSIVE POVERTY

AFTER TWELVE YEARS OF PEACE, LIBERIA RANKS FIFTH POOREST COUNTRY IN AFRICA

Monrovian 2008, three years into

a new post war regime
lead by Africas first
democratically
elected
female President, Madam
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the post
war country developed an
ambitious plan known as the
poverty Reduction Strategy
with a three year lifespan
(from April 2008 through June
2011).
With
pillars
including
consolidating
Peace
and
Security, Revitalizing the
economy,
strengthening
Governance and the Rule
of
Law;
Rehabilitating
Infrastructure and Delivering
Basic Services, the PRS
according to the Government
of Liberia was designed to
reduce poverty and ensure
improved standard of living for
the population.
In
cost
estimate
the
government purposed a huge
budget of over US$1 billion to
achieve the three year plan.
Based on this analysis, the
estimated total costs for fully
implementing the PRS over
the next three years will
be US$1.61 billion. On the
financing side, the Government
estimates that it will be able to
generate approximately $510
million in revenues that can
be dedicated to PRS-related
activities, leaving a gross
financing gap of approximately
US $1.1 billion over the PRS
period (about US$400 million

Report released based on International Monetary fund (IMF)

data states that about 85% of the population live below $1.

per year), before taking

into account financing from
development partners or
the private sector, the PRS
documents stated.
According to the Government,
a significant portion of the
gross financing gap will
be filled by funds already
committed by development
partners to finance ongoing
activities, but the size of
current commitments cannot
be estimated precisely due to
a paucity of complete data,
indicating that the gross
financing gap clearly exceeds

current commitments.
From 2008 to 2011, the
government failed to achieve
what was anticipated in
the PRS document and the
nomenclature
was
again
changed to from Poverty
reduction Strategy to the
Agenda for Transformation.
In spite of these policy papers,
the situation in the country
has not really changed as cost
of living remains high, huge
unemployment
associated
with other difficult life
situations.
In a recent report published

based on data from the

International Monetary Fund
(IMF), it is indicated that
Liberia continues to perform
poorly with the country ranked
the fifth poorest country in
Africa at the moment.
The report stated that
while Africa is growing and
developing some countries
are still poorly badly with the
citizenry living abject poverty.
Africa is developing fast
but there are less than just a
handful of countries that are
making global impact whose
economy is actually growing.

TAX PAYMENT DEAL MONROVIA LIQUOR

CONSUMMATED-LRA STORE OPENS
CLARIFIES UREY TAX EVASION

Monroviahe Liberia Revenue

Authority has clarified
that
the
entity
has
consummated
an installment plan with
businessman
and
2017
presidential hopeful Benoni
Urey for the payment of taxes
for his property located on
10th Street, Sinkor.
Commissioner Elfreida Tamba
head of the LRA told FPA that
Urey made some payments and
entered an arrangement to pay
the remaining by installment
until November this year.
He made some payments
and entered an installment
arrangement for the balance
which ends November, said
Tamba
She admitted that the LRA
obtained Closure Orders on
several properties from the
tax court including that of
Urey, something she disclosed
led to the consummation of a
payment by installment plan.
Said Commissioner Tamba
LRA did go to the tax court
and obtain closure orders on
several properties including
his. It is against said closure
order that partial payment was
made and the installment plan
consummated.
Commissioner
Tamba
comments come after the camp
of the presidential hopeful
Thursday demanded clarity
from the Liberia Revenue
Authority and Tax Court over
a closure order against the
property belonging to Urey.
In a Closure Orders from
the tax court obtained by

FrontPageAfrica the court

acting on a petition against
several businesses ordered
the closure of the Benoni Urey
property located on 10th street
in Sinkor.
Closure Orders from the
Tax Court for Montserrado
County against Benoni Urey
property stated By virtue of
respondents failure to pay
taxes assessed under real
estate tax demand notice No.:
004468238, 004468022 and
0048668030,
004468080,
and 004473782, and for
failure to comply with 72
hour warning notice posted
on the respondents premises
on July 21, 2015, you are
hereby commanded to have
the property of Benoni Urey
located on 10th Street, Sinkor,
City of Monrovia, Liberia,
temporarily closed for not
more than seven (7) days
to permit the petitioner to
conduct the procedures set
forth in the Revenue Code
(2000) sec. 1042(d).
A source from the LRA later
told FrontPageAfrica that Urey
has already made a payment of
US$20,000 out of the total debt
of US$52,539.19 in unpaid
taxes over the five years period.
The camp of the presidential
hopeful
Thursday
stated
that Urey has made some
payments against the taxes
and it is demanding clarity
from the revenue regulatory
body, the LRA and the Tax
Court describing the unfolding
events as an attempt to smear
the image of Urey.

ONE STOP- SHOP

Monroviane of the leading liquor dealers in the country, Monrovia

Liquor Store, is due to officially open its one stop shop
store today at 10a.m. on 5th Street in Sinkor.
Michael Samukai, manager of the Monrovia Liquor
Store, said it has been more than two years since they began and
they are now operating in two counties, Monsterrado and Grand
Bassa.
Samukai said they have decided to close down the two branches
that have been operating on Broad Street and 15th Street to have
one big store in Monrovia.
He said they are two young Liberian entrepreneurs who seek to
empower fellow Liberians through employment.
He revealed the MLS has more than ten employees and more will
be recruited subsequently as the business expands.
Samukai said the public is invited tomorrow to the grand opening
which will consist of wine tasting while discounts with be offered
on all sales at the opening.
He said their wine and other spirits are imported from Europe,
America and some parts of Africa.

Some African countries are still

regarded amongst the poorest
countries in the world today.
A large number of citizens in
most countries in the largest
populous black continent still
live in abject poverty with
only a few people being able to
afford to live above the poverty
line. Political insecurity and
war has made some of these
nations difficult to live in. The
classification below is based on
International Monetary Funds
gross domestic product per
capita (GDP per capita) which
is a measure of purchasing

power in the international

market, the report stated.
According to the report, Liberia
GDP per Capita is $454.
Currently, the report states
that about 85% of the
population live below $1. The
period of war and political
instability was among the
major contributors to the poor
state of economy in Liberia,
the report indicated.
Next door neighbor Sierra
Leone
performed
better
coming 11 amongst the 12
poorest African countries.
The report ranked Malawi
as the poorest country in the
world with a GDP of $226.
Other
countries
amongst
the top 12 poorest countries
includes- Burundi (GDP Per
Capita $267); Central African
Republic (GDP Per Capita
$333); Niger (GDP per Capita
$415); Liberia (GDP per Capita
-$454); Democratic Republic
of Congo (GDP Per Capita$
484); Madagascar (GDP per
Capita $463); Ethiopia (GDP
per Capita $505); Eritrea (GDP
Per Capita $544); Togo (GDP
Per Capita $636); Sierra Leone
(GDP per Capita $679) and
Mali (GDP Per Capita $715)
The report blames corruption
as some of the reasons for
poverty in these countries.

MEMORIAL
SERVICE

A memorial service remembering the life

of the late Reverend Napoleon Nathaniel
Brathwaite IIIl will be held on Saturday,
September 12th at the Peaceful Baptist
Church in Flahn town Battery factory, lower
New Georgia; at 10:00 o'clock a.m. The late
Reverend Napoleon N. Brathwaite was the
Special Assistant to the Chief medical Officer,
Mrs Bernice Dahn. He was also the Pastor of
Peaceful Baptist Church. Reverend Brathwaite
was born on December 25th, 1959 in Gbarnga,
Bong County unto the union of Napoleon
Nathaniel Brathwaite and his consort Esther.
He died in his 54th year on September 24th,
2015. He was buried at the Tinker town
cemetery off the Robertsfield highway.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Frontpage

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

Page 7

- AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE WOMENS RIGHTS

W
Monrovia -

omen in Liberia
will
have
an
excellent
opportunity to
make their voices heard when
a referendum on constitutional
reform is held next year,
said Counselor Gloria Musu
Scott, who chairs Liberias
Constitutional
Review
Committee (CRC).
Just
recently,
Counselor
Scott
presented
the
recommendations
of
the
National
Constitution
Conference to the Liberian
President,
Ellen
Johnson
Sirleaf,
following
many
months of consultation with
a wide range of community
representatives
throughout
the country.
The constitutional review
process, supported by UNDP
and other key development
partners such as UNMIL,
USAID and UN Peace-Building
Fund, was due to take place last
year, but had to be postponed
because of the Ebola crisis.
CRCs public consultations
with Liberians were not only
intensive, but also of enormous
range and depth.
During the conduct of the
CRC review process, a team
of Commissioners led by Cllr
Scott, reached15 Counties
and 73 electoral districts,
the Diaspora (Ghana &USA),
and hosted meetings and
conferences with many other
national role players and sector
groupings including, but not
limited to Political Parties, Civil
Society& the Media, Elders &
Traditional Leaders, Women,
Youth, People with Disabilities,
the Religious Community,
Business Community, Security
Sector etc.
Other than formal meetings
and consultations, Liberians
from all walks of life were
also inspire to participate
through radio call-in, toll free
call-in, visitation to CRC head
offices, etc. After all these
engagements, the Committee
had interacted with more
than 45,000 participants,
with 18,424 (11,768 males &
6656 females) participants
recorded from meetings in
15 counties and 73 electoral

districts which amounted to at

least 56,729 (36,976 males &
19,753 female) suggestions.
The
participants
were
representatives
of
sector
groupings whose membership
range from at least one
hundred to several thousands
thereby creating a multiplier
effect of more than a million
participants.
Because of the postponement
caused by Ebola, a referendum
on proposed constitutional
changes is now likely to be
held in 2016, explained Cllr
Scott, Just one year ahead of
the next national election.
It is a good opportunity for
women to make some noise,
she added. If men seeking
office dont support womens
rights, they wont be able to
count on their votes in the
2017 election.
There are currently only 11
women representatives in the
Liberian parliament out of a
total of 103. So we will need
male legislators to be womenfriendly, if reforms are to be
passed into law, said Cllr Scott.
Enacting a law that would give
equal status to traditional
marriage is one example
of
constitutional
reform
recommended by the CRC.
Under existing law, women
in
traditional
marriages,
generally living in rural areas,
have no right to own property.
In practice, this means that if
a womans husband dies, her
brother-in-law may take over
her property, and may even
take her as his wife intimated
Counselor Scott.
The right to share in proceeds
from minerals resources found
on individual and customary

land is one of the most

prevalent views recorded at
almost every single meeting
held by the CRC.
The
current
Liberian
constitution
holds
that
private property rights should
not extend to any mineral
resources on or beneath
their land or under the sea.
These mineral resources shall
belong to the republic, says the
constitution.
Following
the
year-long
public consultation process
supported by UNDP, the CRC
recommends an amendment
to the natural resources
provision, which entitles the
owner to a percentage of the
income generated by such
resources.
For instance, a Canadianregistered company, Aureus
Mining, is currently building
Liberias first gold mine in
Grand Cape Mount.
People want to know what
the benefit of this excavation
will be to the community, said
Cllr Scott. Projects like these
can have an impact on security
and farmers may lose their
land. People want to know
how they will be compensated.
There is a feeling that taxes are
paid to Monrovia and nothing
comes back. If people are
blessed with natural resources,
let them feel the difference.
Despite the heated debates
generated during the CRC
consultations,
Delegates
voted on all 25 proposals with
majority voting for example, on
the reduction of Presidential
tenure from six to a four year
term; Senatorial tenure from 9
to 6 years; Representatives 6 to
4 years.

FORMER NPA MD PARKER

$1.2M BOND BACKFIRESPROSECUTION CHALLENGES
Kennedy L. Yangian kennedylyangian@frontpageafricaonline.com 0777296781

Monroviarosecution
lawyers
not happy with the
ruling by the lower
court to grant a US$
1.2m bail bond for the indicted
suspended Managing Director
of the National Port Authority
(NPA) Matilda Parker and
Comptroller Christina Kpabar
Paelay
have
reportedly
challenged the decision at the
Supreme Court.
Associate Justice Kabineh
Janeh, in his capacity as JusticeIn Chamber, will be hearing
the writ of certiorari, a source
closed to the prosecution told
FrontPageAfrica.
A writ of certiorari is a writ
filed by party to a case to
the high court Justice for the
review of ruling made by
judges of the lower courts. The
high court will rule to either
dismiss the ruling or uphold it
if it is in consonance with the
law.
According to the source, the
case against the two senior
former NPA officials on the
docket of the Criminal Court
C could not be heard during
the just started August term of
court due to the pending writ
of certiorari against the judge

that will preside over the case.

When contacted on the matter,
another source close to the
Criminal Court C confirmed
the prosecutions move but
claimed that it was the right
of the prosecution under the
law to file the writ of certiorari
against any judges ruling.
The prosecutions writ of
certiorari will now give the
high court the opportunity
to hear the argument and
determine the fate of the bond
which has been marred by
brouhaha between the state
and defense lawyers.
Both Parker and Paelay were
indicted during the May Term
of Court on three counts of
economic
sabotage,
theft
of property and criminal
conspiracy
for
allegedly
awarding over US$800,000
contract to a bogus company to
dredge the port.
State lawyers have been
contending that the Family
Dollar Insurance Company
which filed the US$1.2m
insurance bond on behalf of
the pair did not have the assets
to file such a big bond.
You told us that you have the
assets to file a US$1.2m bond;
show us the proof to convince

us, said lead prosecution

lawyer Cllr. Daku Mulbah.
In a counter argument, defense
lawyer Cllr. Federick Cherue,
told the court not to honor the
prosecutions request as the
insurance company has met
all requisite requirements set
by the CBL as a duly qualified
insurance company to operate
in the country.
This company has met
requirement set up by the
Central Bank of Liberia
(CBL), US$400, 000, 00 cash,
US$350,000.000 worth of
properties and US$750,000.00
re-assurance surety, Cllr.
Cherue claimed.
In the wake of the argument
pro and cons, presiding Judge
Peter Gbeneweleh ruled two
weeks ago to approve the bond
of the two defendants claiming
that the insurance company
did meet the requirements and
has the asset to grant the bond.
However, prosecution lawyer
took exception to the ruling
that the judge was in error
because
the
insurance
company did not show the
court any evidence to convince
the court that it has the assets
in question.

NO WRONG DOING
Outgoing NOCAL VP for Public Affairs says no impropriety in Severance Payment
Henry Karmo (0886522495) henrykarmo@frontpageafricaonline.com

Monroviautgoing
NOCAL
Vice President for
Public Affairs, Prof.
Lamini
Waritay,
has vehemently rejected any
insinuation to the effect that
his severance from NOCAL is
as a result of any wrongdoing
or impropriety at the entity for

which he should either resign

or be dismissed.
According to him he has been
in the employ of NOCAL for
only the last 18 months and
during this period, he had no
significant influence on policy
and management matters
beyond public affairs.
Waritay said he is challenging

anyone to prove any scintilla of

wrongdoing on his part while
in the service of NOCAL for the
past one and half years.
The outgoing NOCAL Vice
President noted that the
problem at NOCAL is far bigger
than him as an individual.
He disclosed that in all his
professional sojourn, including
being President of the Press
Union of Liberia during the
dark days of the military
regime, and as Minister
of Information during the
civil crisis in the 1990s, he
considers his brief service at
the oil company as his most
challenging and nightmarish
Public Relations experience
ever.
He also noted that throughout

his short stay at NOCAL, he

only travelled once, and that
was when the outgoing CEO
asked him to deputize for him
at an oil and gas stakeholders
meeting in Ghana early last
year.
Waritay added that throughout
his short stay at NOCAL, the
record is clear that the only
financial benefit he got was his
monthly salary and benefits
and nothing more.
He said he welcomes his
departure from the oil
company in the spirit of
the company-wide ongoing
restructuring exercise which
he and his colleagues and
other stakeholders have been
working on for the past several
months.

Waritay says he does so

because he is fully aware that
public offices, from the highest
positions to the lowest, are,
in the words of Shakespeare,
borrowed robes, which no
one should cling.
The
former
Information
Minister said the clarification
has become necessary in light of
numerous concerns expressed
by family members, friends
and colleagues at NOCAL who
dont feel comfortable over the
perception created by certain
aspects of the announcement
relating to his departure from
the oil company.
The Executive Mansion during
the week confirmed that
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
has endorsed the NOCAL layoff

plan which she said is aimed

at ensuring the viability of
the entity so that it continues
to pursue its mission to
develop Liberias hydrocarbon
resources effectively in the
best interest of the nation.
In a nationwide address
delivered from her Foreign
Ministry office on Tuesday,
August 25, 2015, President
Sirleaf said the Boards Action
Plan calls for drastic steps to
bring costs under control and
put NOCAL on a more viable
financial footing, adding that
these would include significant
staff cuts, a reconstitution of
the Board, and retirement/
replacement of the senior
executive leadership.

Page 8 | Frontpage

ne
day
in
November, 2008,
two rival groups of
mining executives
convened for a meeting in
a black office tower on the
southern tip of Manhattan.
They represented two of the
largest mining companies in
the world: Brazils Vale, and its
Anglo-Australian competitor,
Rio Tinto. Vale was interested
in acquiring a stake in one
of Rio Tintos most prized
projects: a mountain range in
the tiny west African nation
of Guinea, which contained
the planets richest deposit
of untapped iron ore and was
known as Simandou.
When they met that day,
executives from Rio Tinto
acknowledged that their legal
claim to Simandou was under
threat. In the summer of 2008,
the government of Guinea had
rescinded its right to develop
the concession, and a new
player had emerged on the
scene: an Israeli billionaire
named Beny Steinmetz, who
had made his name in the
diamond trade and now had
designs on Simandou.
The negotiations between Vale
and Rio Tinto eventually fell
apart, but Rio Tintos concerns
turned out to be well founded.
Guinea granted Steinmetzs
company,
B.S.G.R.,
exploration rights to half of
the Simandou deposit. Then, in
2010, B.S.G.R. announced that
it was forming a joint venture
to develop the orewith Vale.
The leadership at Rio Tinto
was incensed: not only had
they lost half of their precious
asset to Steinmetz but he had
then gone into business with
their chief competitor, with
whom they had only recently
been negotiating a joint venture
themselves.
Last year, I wrote a long account
for the magazine about what
happened next: Guinea elected
a new President, Alpha Cond,
in 2010, and his government
began to investigate the
manner in which Steinmetz, a
relatively small operator who
had no experience mining
iron ore, had acquired his
rights to Simandou. Guinea
has a long legacy of predatory
political corruption, and the
Cond government came to
suspect that Steinmetz had
succeeded in winning the
prize chiefly through the
liberal distribution of bribes.
Steinmetz has fiercely disputed
any charges of corruption,
but this spring Guineas
government concluded its
investigation, maintaining that
B.S.G.R. did indeed secure
the claim through bribery, and
Guinea proceded to strip both
Steinmetz and Vale of their
stake in Simandou.
When a multibillion-dollar
deal collapses, the ensuing
recriminations
can
get
spectacularly ugly. B.S.G.R.
condemned the process in
Guinea as illegitimatean
effort to expropriate its
asset. The company has vowed
to pursue arbitration against
Guinea. Vale, meanwhile,
initiated its own legal action
against B.S.G.R. this month,
on the theory that Steinmetz
had duped it into purchasing

Friday, August 28, 2015

TWO MINING BEHEMOTHS

BATTLE AN ISRAELI BILLIONAIRE

what the government of

Guinea now maintains was,
effectively, a stolen good.
Vale had committed to pay
Steinmetz $2.5 billion for half
of his share in Simandou; the
company is seeking to recoup
an initial payment to B.S.G.R.
of five hundred million dollars,
plus the further investments it
made in the project, for a total
of over a billion dollars.
President Cond has said that
Vale is not to blame for the
allegedly crooked dealings
of its partner, and when the

portion of the deposit that has

been taken from Steinmetz
and Vale is put up for bidding
again, Vale is welcome to make

an offer.
But, while I was reporting my
story, I often wondered how a
major, publicly traded mining
company like Vale could have
been so nave as to enter into
the deal with Steinmetz without
looking into the manner in
which he came by the mineral
rights. A recent investigation
by the Brazilian magazine
Revista Piaupresses precisely

this question. Roger Agnelli,

who was Vales C.E.O. at the
time and engineered the deal
with B.S.G.R., insisted in an
interview that he had no whiff
of suspicion. Vale did what
it had to do, and at the time
there was nothing to discredit
Beny, he said. He added, more
colorfully, A guy can marry
a former hooker and only
discover years later that his
wife used to be a prostitute.
But Rio Tinto begs to differ.
Several weeks ago, the
company filed a lawsuit in
New York, contending that
Vale knowingly colluded with
Steinmetz in a racketeering
conspiracy to misappropriate
Rio Tintos rights to Simandou.
The complaint is a heck of a
read, bristling with allegations
of corporate intrigue: according
to Rio Tinto, Vale strung Rio
along about the possibility of
a joint venture while at the
same time commencing secret
negotiations with Steinmetz.
Rio Tinto claims that it made
available to the Brazilians a
trove of documents about the
geology of Simandou and
about the exploration that they
had already conductedwhich
Vale proceeded to share, in
violation of a confidentiality
agreement, with Steinmetz.
(Vale declined to comment for
this post, but is expected to fight
the lawsuit. Its C.E.O., Murilo

Ferreira,
observedrecently,
on a call with the press about
the companys earnings, that
Guineas investigation did not
implicate his company, and that
Rio Tinto should offer evidence
to back up any allegations,
because otherwise they could
be accused of bad faith. A
spokesman for B.S.G.R. did
not respond to my request for
comment about the case.)
Reading the interview with
Agnelli and the Rio Tinto
complaint, I was struck by the
degree to which this case has
always turned not on Beny
Steinmetz but on the zero-sum
grudge match between Vale
and Rio Tinto. As these two
corporate giants snapped up the
worlds remaining reserves of
high-grade iron ore, Simandou
may have simply been too
lucrative to resist. According
toRevista Piau, there was
internal discord at Vale about
the terms of the deal with
B.S.G.R., and the companys
board may not have grasped
the details of the Simandou
transaction before approving
it. Though no one says so
explicitly, current and former
Vale executives seem to imply
that, when Steinmetz secured
his concession, Vale felt that it
had little choice but to rush into
business with him. In the Piau
interview, Agnelli hints at a
revealing explanation: It was
strategically important for Vale
not to leave Rio Tinto alone
with all that ore.
Last week, President Cond
announced a new deal with Rio
Tinto, a twenty-billion-dollar
investment
framework,
in which Rio and a Chinese
partner, Chinalco, will make
substantial
infrastructural
investments in order to access
and export the iron ore at
Simandou. This is ground
for celebration. Poor African
countries have too often
traded away the rights to their
precious natural resources to
foreign investors at bargainbasement prices. When I
interviewed Cond last year,
he was adamant that a more
equitable share of the profits
should stay in Guinea, and

that infrastructure would be a

precondition for any deal.
That
twenty-billion-dollar
figure covers only half of
the Simandou deposit. The
remaining
halfwhich
Steinmetz had obtained for an
investment of only a hundred
and sixty million dollars
could fetch a similar sum.
Vale will likely be one of the
bidders. A cynic would say
that Cond has absolved Vale
of corruption, not because he
believes that the companys
role in the Steinmetz affair was
beyond reproach but because
there are only so many mining
companies with the experience
and the resources to exploit
a site like Simandou, and it
would be bad business for
Guinea to disqualify an eligible
bidder. But then, a cynic might
also say that Rio Tintos
lawsuit against Vale has less to
do with settling old scores over
the Steinmetz deal and than to
do with premptively muscling
out a key competitor for the
remaining rights to Simandou.
As these two titans fight another
round, what will become
of Beny Steinmetz? He is
reportedly under investigation
in Guinea, France, Switzerland,
the United Kingdom, Guernsey
and the United States. Last fall,
his private jet, along with his
home in Geneva, was raided by
Swiss authorities. This spring,
one of his key facilitators in
the Guinea deal, a Frenchman
named Frdric Cilins, pled
guiltyin New York to criminal
charges related to an attempted
coverup of the bribery scheme.
The Department of Justice is
often criticized for failing to
prosecute the C.E.O.s when
banks or major corporations
are implicated in significant
wrongdoing. The standard
defense by prosecutors is
that thick layers of corporate
insulation generally separate a
chief executive from the rankand-file malefactors who carry
out the crimes. But one oddity
of the flat management style
favored by Beny Steinmetz is
that he enjoyed no such buffers.
He was always a hands-on,
bureaucracy-averse executive,
a quality that allowed him
to be more nimble than his
competitorsbut one that now
may leave him exposed.
Prior to his arrest in Florida,
last year, Cilins was recorded
secretly by the F.B.I. as
he offered bribes of up to
eleven million dollars to the
widow of Guineas former
President. According to the
F.B.I. transcripts, Cilins made
clear that his authorization
to dispense the bribes had
come not from some middlemanagement paymaster or
attorney but from the head
of the company himself:
Everything that I tell you is
directly from Beny.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Frontpage

Page 9

CAVALLA RUBBER PRESENTS OVER

$ 356K TO TWO UNIVERSITIES
A
Monrovia-

s part of its
Corporate Social
Responsibility
to
the
local
communities, the Cavalla
Rubber Plantations Company
located in Maryland County has
contributed over US 356,666
to two higher institutions of
learning.
The company has made
two separate payments of
US$268,333 to the William
V.S. Tubman University and
US$88,333 to the United
Methodist University.
According to the CRC, the
payments are in fulfillment of
section 13.2 of the Concession
Agreement signed between
the Government of Liberia,
Cavalla Rubber Corporation
and Maryland Oil Palm
Plantation;
The Management of Cavalla
Rubber
Corporation
&
Maryland Oil Palm Plantation
presented a check of USD268,
333.00 to the President and
Faculty of William V.S.
Tubman
University
for
Scholarship and support to
students originating from the
developed area.
The presentation was done on
August 26, 2015 at the William

V.S. Tubman University main

campus.
During the Presentation the
Managing Director of CRC &
MOPP Mr. Philippe Carty said
US$180,000.00 was presented
on behalf of MOPP while
US$88, 333.00 was presented

on behalf of CRC.
Mr. Carty further stated that
an amount of US$88, 333.00
is been transferred into the
accounts of United Methodist
University by CRC for
scholarship and support to
students originating from the

developed area as stipulated in

the Concession Agreement.
He called on the leadership
of the various surrounding
affected communities and the
local authorities of Maryland
County to encourage their
children to take advantage of

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT:

FOR THE POSITION OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE INDEPENDENT

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS OF LIBERIA (INCHR)
BACKGROUND:
In 2005, the National Transitional Legislature repealed the Act of 1997 creating the Liberia Commission
on Human rights and also established the Independent National Commission on Human Rights of
Liberia (INCHR). The core mandate of the INCHR is to promote and protect human rights in Liberia.
Currently there are vacancies for Commissioners of the INCHR. The Independent Committee of Experts
established by His Honor Francis Korkpor, the Chief Justice of the Republic of Liberia is seeking
applications from qualified Liberians to fill these positions.
THE COMMISSIONERS SHALL:
Hold office for (5) years
Not hold any other public or Government Office upon incumbency;
Not engage in any other occupation, business or profession or any other activities for which he or she
is paid;
Not hold any position incompatible with the proper performance of the commissioners official duties.
ELIGIBILITY:
Must be a Liberian National
Must have acquired at least a Bachelors Degree. A Masters Degree is an added advantage.
Must be at least 40 years of age
Must not have been convicted by a court for any criminal offence involving moral turpitude
Must demonstrate commitment as a human rights advocate.

COMPETENCIES:
Demonstrate experience in human rights monitoring, investigation and documentation;
Demonstrate working knowledge of the Paris Principle in the protection and promotion of human
rights;
Experience in advocacy and working with diverse actors involved in the promotion and protection of
human rights;
Proven record of independence, impartiality, and high degree of integrity;
Demonstrate ability to work with vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly, the disabled,
refugees, internally displaced, detainees, and others who risk being victims of abuses.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates shall send applications accompanied by Cvs with all relevant documents to
confirm qualification as well as the names of two references.
Hard copies of required documents should be addressed to:
COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS
The Independent National Commission on Human Rights
C/O Search for Common Ground
Off Tubman Boulevard
Vamoma House Traffic Light
Sinkor Airfield

Electronic and scanned documents can also be sent to committeeof_experts@yahoo.com

Deadline for submission of applications: August 28, 2015 at 5 PM

Only shortlisted candidates will be called by phone or emailed for interview on September 1-2, 2015

this opportunity.
The CRC & MOPP Tubman
University Scholars program
is open to all colleges but
beneficiaries have to maintain
a grade point average of 2.5
percent.
For her part in receiving the

scholarship fund the President

of Tubman University Dr.
Elizabeth Davies Russell
thanked the Management of
CRC & MOPP for fulfilling
its commitment in support to
higher education in Liberia.

VEGA Liberia DCA Program

Statement of Work: IBEX Enterprise Development Specialist
Position:
Program:
Location:
Duration:
Target Start Date:

IBEX Enterprise Development Specialist

Liberia Investing for Business Expansion (IBEX) Program
Monrovia, Liberia
7 months
Sept 15, 2015 to April 2016

IESC the International Executive Service Corps is a US based not-for-profit with a focus on supporting
private enterprise in developing countries. We have worked in partnership with local people in 130
countries - mainly with the generous support of USAID - designing, implementing, managing, and
evaluating a wide range of market driven solutions along the entire value chain of a company or industry.
We are proud that we have helped create more than one million jobs throughout the world, leaving behind
a legacy of increased economic stability and skills, burgeoning private businesses, and strengthened public
and private institutions where they are needed most.
In Liberia, IESC implements the Investing for Business Expansion (IBEX) program. This four-year program
is funded by USAID through a Leader with Associate Award under the Volunteers for Economic Growth
Alliance (VEGA). The program works with commercial banks and SMEs to facilitate increased access to
commercial finance. Under this program, IBEX is seeking an Enterprise Development Specialist (EDS). This
is a full-time position based in Monrovia and anticipated to last through the end of May 2016.

Under the supervision of the Chief of Party (COP), the Enterprise Development Specialist will work with
organizations and enterprises from eight (8) sectors; Agribusiness, infrastructure, construction, general
merchandise/Trade, transportation, Healthcare, Energy, and hospitality. The EDS will conduct outreach
to educate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the role of credit in growing businesses and cultivate
a pipeline of SMEs that would benefit from debt or equity financing. Working with these SMEs, the EDS
will provide counseling and technical assistance to improve their credit readiness and develop their loan
application and supporting documentation.

The Enterprise Development Specialist will be responsible for keeping accurate records of their activities
and reporting them to the programs Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. The EDS will also follow up with
IBEX clients through periodic visits to their business to assess progress and identify potential impediments.
The EDS will work closely with the component 2 team.
Qualifications
Fluency in English;
At least five years of professional work experience in one or more of the following sectors: Agribusiness,
Energy, Healthcare, infrastructure, construction, general merchandise/Trade, transportation, and
hospitality;
At least two years of business management experience;
University degree in business management, accounting, finance or related field;
Previous experience conducting training or capacity building;
Strong organizational, writing and communications skills; Financial analysis skills;
Proficiency with Microsoft Office programs;
Ability to work as part of a team, to prioritize work, and handle multiple tasks under tight deadlines;
Credit Analysis, documentation loan review, and packaging;
Ability to travel throughout Liberia;
Prior experience working on a donor-funded development programsespecially USAIDwould be a
plus.
How to Apply: Please submit a detailed resume and a brief message summarizing your interest and
qualifications to IBEXCOP@gmail.com with IBEX Enterprise Development Specialist in the subject
line.
Closing date: Monday, August 31, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
Only finalists will be contacted.
No phone calls please.
IESC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: AUGUST 31, 2015

HTTP://WWW.WORLDBANK.ORG/AFRICA-RECRUITMENT

of development projects.

the identification, preparation, appraisal and supervision

of development, from policy and strategic advice to

developing countries around the world, and in all areas

civil society groups, the private sector, and others in

problems. Bank Group staff work with governments,

contribute to solving some of the worlds most pressing

individuals with a passion for international development to

A career with us offers a unique opportunity for qualified

WBG Recruitment Drive

for African Nationals

Very good writing & communications

skills

Fluent in English

Ability to discuss relevant development

policies and priorities

A demonstrated capacity for strategic

thinking

Interested candidates should apply at

http://www.worldbank.org/africa-recruitment.
All Applications must be received by
August 31, 2015. Qualified candidates
will be interviewed at the beginning of
September 2015 in various locations in
Africa and Europe. Applications received
after the closing date will not be considered.

Employment opportunities will be available in various

technical areas and professional streams for talented young
professionals and mid-career professionals to contribute
and grow their skills. Positions may be based in
Washington, DC, or in a country office.

Expanding the diversity of our workforce is an important strategic objective for the World Bank
Group, and to this end, we are launching a recruitment drive
aimed at increasing the number of Sub-Saharan African staff.
This effort reflects the commitment of Bank Group leadership
to building a more diverse and inclusive workforce, in which
nationals of Sub-Saharan African countries can play a key
role in achieving the Bank Groups twin goals of ending
extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

We are accepting applications for Specialists in the following areas: Agriculture; Education;
Energy and Extractives; Environment and Natural Resources; Finance and Markets;
Governance; Health, Nutrition, and Population; Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management;
Poverty; Social Protection and Labor; Trade and Competitiveness; Transport and Information
Technology; Urban, Rural, and Social Development; and Water. There are also opportunities for
Investment Officers, and Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) experts.

MID-YEAR CAREER PROFESSIONALS:

Advanced Degree (Masters or PhD)
plus 8 years of relevant professional
experience

ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS: Advanced

Degree (Masters or PhD) with 5 years
relevant experience

QUALIFICATIONS

Page 10 | Frontpage
Friday, August 28, 2015

Friday, August 28, 2015

Frontpage

Page 11

BONG COUNTY TECHNICAL COLLEGE (BCTC)

INVITATION TO BID
Bong County Technical College (BCTC) has received budgetary appropriation from the FY 2015/2016 National Budget for the
procurement of scratch cards, petroleum product and stationaries and supplies. The below listed lots are divided into section,
you are encourage to go for anyone.
Bidding will be conducted through the National competitive bidding procedures enshrined in the 2010 PPCC Act.
SCHEDULE OF REQUIREMENT
Lot 1:
No.

Description

Quantity

Delivery Time

Any GSM Company eligible to supply

will do in the following quantity:

$5.00 USD
Cards 10.00
USD Cards

1.

Scratch
Cards

Lot 2:

Any GSM Company eligible to supply

will do in the following quantity:

No.

Description

Quantity
Diesel

134,880

Gasoline

134,880

1.

Lot 3:

No.
1.

Petroleum Products

Description

Stationery &
Supplies

Quantity

Details in the Bidding

Document

$5.00 USD
Cards 10.00
USD Cards

Two weeks
after signing of
contract

Delivery Time

Coupon/Thumb
Card

Coupon/Thumb
Card

Two weeks
after signing of
contract

Delivery Time

Two weeks after signing of

contract

Detailed technical specification of supplies will be found in the Bidding Document

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT INCLUDE:
I.
Valid Business Registration Certificate
II. Valid Tax Clearance
III. Relevant Bid Security
IV. Three years performance reports.

You may obtain copy of the bidding document from the Procurement Unit of the National Commission on Higher Education on
the SD Cooper Road for a non-refundable fee of US$50.00, beginning August 25, 2015 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM daily.
All Bids must be accompanied by a B id Security from a reputable bank and bid must be valid for 60 days after the deadline
for submission.
Sealed bids must be delivered to the Procurement Unit of the national Commission on Higher Education on SD Cooper Road
no later than 2:00 PM on September 16, 2015. Late bids will be rejected and returned unopened. Bids will be open in the
presence of bidders who choose to attend or their representatives on September 16, 2015 at 2:00 PM in the Unit of the
National Commission on Higher Education.
The address referred is: Procurement Unit National Commission on Higher Education, SD Cooper Road. Tel: 0886550111/0
886537243/0777537243.

Page 12 | Frontpage

Friday, August 28, 2015

Friday, August 28, 2015

Frontpage

Page 13

Page 14 | Frontpage

PAGE

RONT

WORLD NEWS

Friday, August 28, 2015

IRAN MAY HAVE BUILT EXTENSION AT

DISPUTED SITE: U.N. NUCLEAR WATCHDOG

VIENNA (Reuters) ran appears to have built an extension to part of its Parchin
military site since May, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in
a report on Thursday, as part of its inquiry into possible
military dimensions of Tehran's past nuclear activity.
A resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency's
Parchin file, which includes a demand for fresh IAEA access to
the site, is a symbolically important issue that could help make
or break Tehran's July 14 nuclear deal with six world powers.
The confidential IAEA report, obtained by Reuters, said:
"Since (our) previous report (in May), at a particular location at
the Parchin site, the agency has continued to observe, through
satellite imagery, the presence of vehicles, equipment, and
probable construction materials. In addition, a small extension
to an existing building" appeared to have been built.

GREEK JUDGE APPOINTED

CARETAKER PM UP TO ELECTIONS

ATHENS (Reuters) reece's top Supreme Court judge was named caretaker
prime minister on Thursday to lead the country
to elections next month, ending a week of political
deadlock after leftist leader Alexis Tsipras resigned.
Vassiliki Thanou, an anti-austerity advocate who has argued
against wage cuts for judges and court officials, will be sworn in
as the country's first female prime minister at 8 p.m. local (1700
GMT). Her administration will take office on Friday, when Sept.
20 is expected to be set as the election date.
Her appointment ends a week of fruitless negotiations as top
opposition party leaders took turns in attempting to form a
government, exercising a constitutional right that takes effect if
a prime minister resigns within a year of being elected.

YOUNG HOPEFULS IN RACE TO BE

FIRST BLACK AFRICAN IN SPACE

Lagos (AFP) n half a century of space travel more than 500 people have
glimpsed the Earth from the unique vantage point of the
cosmos, yet no black African has been among them.
Now a Nigerian and two South Africans are in a race to
become the first after being shortlisted in a global talent search
to send a "young icon of the future" into the heavens.
The winner will undergo intense training, experiencing extreme
G-forces and weightlessness before taking off in American
developer XCOR's Lynx spacecraft, on a voyage loosely envisaged
for next year.
Among the three is Freeman Osonuga, who is competing with
30 hopefuls shortlisted for the Rising Star Programme run by
talent agency Kruger Cowne and the One Young World charity,
both based in London.
"It feels great, being on the verge of making history. And to be
in a position to inspire a generation and the continent," said
Osonuga, a doctor at a teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria's
largest city.

TRUCK OF MIGRANT CORPSES, NEW BOAT SINKING

INTENSIFY EUROPE'S CRISIS

PARNDORF, Austria (Reuters) s many as 50 refugees

were found dead in
a parked truck in
Austria on Thursday,
and another migrant ship sank
off Libya, deepening a crisis
that is overwhelming Europe
and throwing up new tragedies
by the day.
The abandoned refrigerated
truck was found by an Austrian
motorway patrol near the
Hungarian border, with fluids
from the decomposing bodies
seeping from its back door.
"One can maybe assume that
the deaths occurred one-anda-half to two days ago," Hans
Peter Doskozil, police chief in
the province of Burgenland,
told a news conference, adding
that "many things" indicated
they were already dead when
they crossed the border.
Police said it could take until
Friday to count the exact
number of victims, which
they thought would be more
than 20 and could be as many
as 50. They suspected those
responsible were already out
of the country.
German Chancellor Angela

Merkel said at a summit on the

West Balkans in Vienna: "We
are of course all shaken by the
appalling news. This reminds
us that we must tackle quickly
the issue of immigration and in
a European spirit - that means
in a spirit of solidarity - and
find solutions."
A security official in the Libyan
city of Zuwara said several
hundred people had been
on board a boat that sank off
the coast on Thursday. Some
appeared to have been trapped
in the hold when it capsized.
"Some 100 illegal migrants
have survived," the official said,
adding that rescue operations
were continuing. Those on
board had been from subSaharan Africa, Pakistan, Syria,
Morocco and Bangladesh, he
added.
Another local official and a
journalist based in Zuwara
confirmed the sinking but had
no information on casualties.
Even before the latest incidents,
the International Organization
for Migration estimated 2,373
people had died so far this year
while trying to reach Europe
by sea, and 3,573 in the past 12

months.
On Wednesday, rescuers saved
about 3,000 migrants but
found more than 50 dead on
boats near the coast of Libya,
the Italian coastguard said.
Hundreds
of
thousands,
many fleeing war in countries
such as Syria and Libya, have
made it into the European
Union. Germany alone expects
800,000 asylum-seekers this
year; Hungary is building a
barbed wire fence along its
border with Serbia.
SMELL OF CORPSES
Investigations were launched
in Austria and Hungary after
the bodies in the truck were
discovered. The truck had
Hungarian number plates, a
Hungarian official said.
Helmut Marban, press officer
for Burgenland police, said a
highway patrol had spotted
the truck and at first thought it

governor Jeb Bush, Senator

Ted Cruz and Senator Marco
Rubio, each with seven
percent.
Wisconsin Governor Scott
Walker was next with
six percent, and Ohio
Governor John Kasich and
businesswoman
Carly
Fiorina each registered five
percent.
"Other GOP hopefuls seem to

disappear. Trump proves you

don't have to be loved to be
the leader," said Quinnipiac
poll assistant director Tim
Malloy.
Trump's
abrasive
style,
including his caustic criticism
of rivals, has led some
observers to say he does
not have the temperament
to be president, but he
has dominated the race

TRUMP LEAD GROWS,

CLINTON SLIPS: POLL

Washington (AFP) illionaire

Donald
Trump
extended
his lead yet again
atop the Republican
presidential field, with frontrunning Democrat Hillary
Clinton slipping and Vice
President Joe Biden faring
better than her against
Republicans, poll results
revealed Thursday.
Trump, the combative real
estate mogul, leads the 16
other Republican candidates
with 28 percent support
among registered voters
nationwide, up from 20
percent in a similar July
30 survey by Quinnipiac
University.
Thursday's
lead
marks
the widest margin for any
Republican so far in the
election cycle, the survey
said.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben
Carson placed a distant
second with 12 percent,
followed by former Florida

was damaged or had been in an

accident.
"When they checked they
found it had no driver and
blood was dripping out of the
vehicle and there was a smell
of dead bodies," he said.
Janos Lazar, Prime Minister
Viktor Orban's chief of staff,
said a Romanian citizen had
registered the number plate in
the eastern Hungarian town of
Kecskemet.
Police limited motorway traffic
to one lane while forensic
experts checked over the truck
parked on the hard shoulder.
Austrian Chancellor Werner
Faymann told the summit in
Vienna: "The refugees who
died today wanted to save
their own lives by fleeing, but
instead lost their lives at the
hands of traffickers."
EU foreign policy chief Federica
Mogherini said she hoped the
tragedy would push member
states to "take decisions and
responsibility".
European
Commissioner Johannes Hahn
reiterated that Brussels would
propose within weeks a fresh
look at the situation, with a
view to sharing responsibility
between countries.
"We will have another go
at quotas. I hope that in
the light of the most recent
developments now there is
a readiness among all the 28
(member states) to agree on
this," he said.
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica
Dacic put the onus on EU
countries to find a better way
to handle the influx of refugees.
"So you have a problem but
you are asking us, Serbia, to
come up with the action plan
for migrants. You should come
up with an action plan first."

essentially since he declared

his candidacy in June.
On the Democratic side,
Clinton's support has shrunk,
to 45 percent now compared
with 55 percent on July 30,
while her main rival Senator
Bernie Sanders is polling at
his highest level, 22 percent.
Biden, who is not a declared
candidate but is mulling
jumping into the race,
earned 18 percent in the
poll. Significantly, Biden "has
the best appeal in general
election matchups against
top Republicans," Malloy
said.
Biden beats Trump by eight
points, Bush by six points,
and Rubio by three points.
Clinton beats them too but
by smaller numbers: four
points, two points and one
point respectively.
Despite Trump's Republican
lead, he has the highest
negative
favorability
numbers in the field, at 36
percent to 54 percent. Bush
is underwater as well, at 3241, while Clinton's negative
39-51 matches her worst
favorability rating ever.
Biden's favorability rating
was positive, at 48-39, while
Rubio's was 41-27 and
Sanders 32-28.

Friday, August 28, 2015

iberia head coach

James
Salinsa
Debbahs whereabouts
have been a key
concern for football followers,
who have been phoning our
sports editor, with days to a
crucial match.
Liberia is due to take on
Tunisia in a 2017 Africa Cup of
Nations qualifier on
September 5 at the Antoinette
Tubman Stadium, which has
been undergoing its fifth
renovation in two years since
March.
FrontPageAfrica has gathered
that Debbah is in Accra,
Ghana to secure a visa for a
month long coach seminar in
Germany.
Debbah is due to undergo
the training along with
deputy coach Kelvin Sebwe,
who was last seen at the
renaming ceremony of the
Alpha Oldtimers sports pitch
to the Willis D. Knuckle, Jr.
sports pitch in Zubah Town in
Paynesville on August 25.
According to an eyewitness,
Debbah was last seen in
Monrovia at the Flocee
Restaurant on August 19 but
a close friend decline to speak
about the coach whereabouts.
Before his departure, Debbah
submitted a list of 28 foreignbased players, which was
leaked to the media, that
contains clubless goalie Melvin
King, defenders Raymond
Fanciah
and
Adolphus
Marshall and midfielders
George Weah Junior and Sekou
Jabateh-Oliseh, who hasnt
played a competitive match
on December 6, 2014 before
recently joining Al Gharafa in
Qatar.
But Debbah denied Weah
Juniors inclusion, according
to a facebook post by former
Sports Writers Association
of Liberia (Swal) president
Numennie Williams on August

Frontpage

Sports

Page 15

WHERE IS THE
MIRACLE MAN? T

SPORTS

BARNSLEY 3-5 EVERTON (AET):

LUKAKU NETS TWICE AS

TOFFEES SURVIVE SCARE

James Debbahs absence from Monrovia draws

comparison to Ghanas Avram Grant
Danesius Marteh, danesius.marteh@frontpageafricaonline.com

Ghana head coach Avram Grant

18.
With less than a week to
the match, Debbahs list is
yet to be made public as the
Liberia Football Association
(LFA) struggles to name
a goalkeeping coach with
FC Fassell chief executive
officer and LFA vice president
for operations Cassell A.
Kuoh keen to get his club
goalkeeping coach, Eric Glasco,
into Debbahs backroom staff.
Full training is yet to resume

Liberia head coach James Salinsa Debbah

as the technical staff awaits

the foreign based players but
LFA communications director
Henry Flomo said the team will
train in the absence of the head
coach and his deputy.
Debbahs
absence
draws
comparison to Ghanaian fans,
who appear to be asking one
question - where is Avram
Grant?
The Ghana national team
manager has been accused in
the nation's media of going on

a two-month holiday.
Ghana Football Association
is said to be angry that Grant,
who led the country to this
year's Africa Cup of Nations
final, is really committed to the
job as he is rarely seen in the
country.
But his agent, Saif Rubie, told
the BBCs John Bennett that
Grant has been in Europe
scouting
for
unknown
Ghanaian talents.
And Grant Thursday included

uncapped Godfred Donsah

in a 24-man squad to face
Rwanda in a 2017 Africa Cup
of Nations qualifier in Kigali on
September 6.
The 19-year-old midfielder
recently joined Italian Serie A
side Bologna.
Swansea midfielder Andre
Ayew was recalled after
missing the win over Mauritius
in June.
Ghana and Rwanda have three
points respectively in Group H.

A.
Macaulay
Sombai,
sombaifrontpageafricaonline.
com 0777217428

with the football house when

it comes to our obligations as
referees.
He stressed that both the
association and the LFA are
obligated to one another and
the LIFRA is not prepared to
compromise its function for
the satisfaction of the LFA or
another institution.
The LIFRA boss articulated
that the obligation of the
LIFRA is to always ensure
that its members carry on
their functions according to
the rules of the game without
fear or favor from any team.
He challenged those that are
accusing some members of his
association of poor officiating
to prove their allegations.
My office has not yet received
any complaint from the LFA or
any member club against any
member of my association; but
those who are saying that some
members of LIFRA are always
in the practice of officiating
poorly against their teams
dont know the rules of the
game and I will like for them to
try and learn more about the

game or else they will continue

to complain about referees
performances.
He explained that it was the
LFA that suspended the league
until after Lone Star versus
Tunisia match scheduled for
September 5, 2015 at the
ATS saying it not because his
association has problem with
LFA.
Atty. Kollie revealed that
one of their members, Isaac
Montgomery,
has
been
suspended by the Referee
Standing
Committee
for
three
month
for
gross
insubordination
against
committee members.
Montgomery
was
not
suspended
because
the
association is against him but
because of improper conduct
against
the
association
committee members and we
see it necessary to punish him
just as we did to others that
went against the rules of the
association.

A BLATANT LIE- LIFRA PRESIDENT

RUBBISHES STRIKE RUMORS

Monroviahe president of the

Liberia
Referee
Association
(LIFRA) has termed
rumors that members of the
association are on strike as a
blatant lie.
Atty. Joseph Kollie said since
the resumption of the 2015
national league, there has
been no misunderstanding or
conflicts of interest between
members of the association
and the football association.
Said Atty. Kollie: I dont know
who is giving such rumor
that members of LIFRA are
currently on strike against
the LFA because the football
house owes its members huge
amount of money. But let me
make this clear here to the
people who are disseminating
such rumor that my association
is no where in any conflict with
the football house, and that
we are working hand in hand

he
Belgium
international hit
a superb brace
in a pulsating
League Cup encounter,
with Roberto Martinez's
side coming back from 2-0
down to earn an excellent
victory
Romelu Lukaku scored a
superb brace as Everton
survived an early scare to
beat Barnsley 5-3 in their
League Cup tie at Oakwell
on Wednesday.
With
John
Stones'
reported transfer request
dominating the headlines
and sections of the visiting
fans at Oakwell displaying
banners
calling
for
chairman Bill Kenwright
to sell up, Everton were in
need of a strong secondround showing to send the
supporters home happy.

MANCHESTER CITY
NEARING DE BRUYNE DEAL

anchester City
are finally close
to
agreeing
a deal with
Wolfsburg for Kevin De
Bruyne, Goal has learned.
Reports in Germany on
Wednesday evening claim
the terms of the transfer
have already been agreed,
but Goal understands that
while the saga is close to an
end, nothing has yet been
finalised.

VAN GAAL: ROONEY & MAN

UTD HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO

anchester
United manager
Louis van Gaal
believes Wayne
Rooney proved his ability to
bounce back from criticism, but
insists the striker and his teammates have a "long way to go"
this season.
Rooney netted a hat-trick as
United beat Club Brugge 4-0 on
the night and 7-1 on aggregate
to qualify for the Champions
League proper.
Those were the first goals of a
difficult campaign to date for
the England striker, who has
come under fire for some of his
early season performances, but
Van Gaal says he has the right
mindset to recover.

'AFRICAS FUTURE
Page 16
8a | Frontpage

BELONGS
TO
AFRICANS'
Says President Sirleaf during Meeting with
African Ambassadors in Tokyo, Japan

TOKYO, JAPAN
resident
Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf has
held discussions with
Ambassadors of the
African Diplomatic Community
in Tokyo, Japan at a special
breakfast meeting organized
by the Liberian Embassy in
Japan in collaboration with the
African Diplomatic Corps in
Japan.
According to a dispatch from
Tokyo, at the meeting which
took place at the Imperial
Hotel on Thursday, August 27,
the Liberian leader thanked
the African Ambassadors
for honoring her with their
presence and acknowledged
the sizable number of women
Ambassadors serving the
African continent in Japan.
She informed the African
diplomats that 2014 was

a tough year for the three

west
African
countries
worse affected by the deadly
Ebola virus disease as they
confronted an unknown enemy
with no prior capacity or skills
to manage such situation and
recognized that the African
continent took the lead and
intervened before the rest of
the world could act.
The Liberian Chief Executive
particularly
thanked
the
African
countries
that
deployed their citizens to help
combat the spread of the virus
and commended the Kingdom
of Morocco for not abandoning
Liberia by refusing to suspend
Royal Air Maroc flights to the
country during the entire
period of the Ebola crisis.
She called on the diplomats to
observe a moment of silence
for the over 10,000 victims that

succumbed to the Ebola virus

disease - nearly 50 percent of
whom she said died in Liberia
- as well as fellow Africans and
others who died while helping.
President Sirleaf said that
the many terrible predictions
made by experts during the
crisis brought the country
together through leadership
and community actions to
contain the spread of the virus.
After a re-emergence of the
virus, Liberia will once more
be declared Ebola free in just
a few days for the second time.
Guinean and Sierra Leone
are also making real progress
and all this will enable the
three countries to resume
the interrupted development
and reconstruction processes.
Already, there exists a Regional
Recovery Plan for the three
most affected countries that

VP BOAKAI FETES ACTOR ARTUS FRANK,

will drive the process, the

Liberian chief executive told
the African envoys.
President Sirleaf also used the
occasion to update the African
Ambassadors on the process
leading to the Post-2015
Development Agenda which
will result to the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs)
as the new global agenda
replacing the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs)
which expires shortly.
She assured the Ambassadors
that the perspective of the
African continent will be
captured as reflected in the
Common African Position
adopted by the African Union.
The Sustainable Development
Goals, we hope, will address
most of the continents
problems. That is why special
summits on Development

Friday, August 28, 2015

Financing were held recently
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to
ensure
commitment
and
support to financing the SDGs,
President Sirleaf indicated,
adding, All this will advance
Africas Vision 2063 program
launched by the African Union
under the strong leadership
of Madam Nkosazana Dlamini
Zuma of the African Union
Commission.
The
Liberian
leader
acknowledged Japans effort
in
promoting
womens
empowerment and pointed
out that the World Assembly
for Women is a part of Japans
policy to allow women to
shine, adding that Japan has
been a strong partner to Africa.
Speaking
earlier,
the
Ambassador of the State of
Eritrea to Japan and Dean of
the African Diplomatic Corps,
His Excellency Mr. Estifanos
Afeworki thanked President
Sirleaf for meeting with the
African
Ambassadors
in
Japan and described her as
an esteemed daughter of the
African continent.
We are all very proud of your
successful career and the Prime
Minister of Japans invitation
to you as the Keynote Speaker
for the Womens Assembly in
Tokyo is a clear testimony of
your greatness Ambassador
Estifanos said.
He praised President Sirleaf
as well as the leaders of
Guinea and Sierra Leone for
their excellent leadership that
helped contain the further
spread of the Ebola virus
disease in the three most
affected countries.
Ambassador
Estifanos
reiterated that social and
economic change in Japan sets
womens empowerment as a
key element, an example that
the African continent could
emulate.
Earlier, Liberias Ambassador
to Japan, Ms. Youngor Telewoda
welcomed
the
African
diplomats to the breakfast
meeting with President Sirleaf
and praised them for their
solidarity during the entire
period of the Ebola crisis. All
of you stood with Liberia and

did not stigmatize us during

the Ebola crisis, she disclosed.
She also reflected on the
Liberian
Presidents
first
meeting with the African
Diplomatic Corps when she
visited Japan in 2012.
During
an
interactive
discussion, many of the
envoys, particularly female
Ambassadors
expressed
admiration
for
President
Sirleaf and her leadership.
You are a great leader both in
your country and on the global
stage whos very committed to
the most vulnerable segments
of society - the women and
children of the world, they
said, adding, You inherited a
country destroyed by war and
conflict and it is amazing to
know how successful you have
performed, the Ambassadors
commented.
Those who honored the
Liberian Embassys invitation
at the well-attended meeting
included
Ambassadors
from Angola, Benin, Congo
Brazzaville, Cote dIvoire, DR
Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon,
Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi,
Mali,
Morocco,
Namibia,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, South Africa,
Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and
Zimbabwe,
among
many
others.
A
memorial
service
remembering the life of the late
Reverend Napoleon Nathaniel
Brathwaite IIIl will be held on
Saturday, September 12th at
the Peaceful Baptist Church
in Flahn town Battery factory,
lower New Georgia; at 10:00
o'clock a.m. The late Reverend
Napoleon N. Brathwaite was
the Special Assistant to the
Chief medical Officer, Mrs
Bernice Dahn. He was also
the Pastor of Peaceful Baptist
Church. Reverend Brathwaite
was born on December 25th,
1959 in Gbarnga, Bong County
unto the union of Napoleon
Nathaniel Brathwaite and his
consort Esther. He died in his
54th year on September 24th,
2015. He was buried at the
Tinker town cemetery off the
Robertsfield highway.

Liberia to be lifted; stardom

can be achieved right here
in Liberia, Artus said. In this
direction the Liberia Movie
Union has spoken of plans to
restructure the Union and also
decentralize its activities to
other parts of the Country.
Earlier, Vice President Boakai
said he has initiated talks with
the Ministry of Information,
Culture and Tourism for
the reactivation of the
National Cultural Center as
promised during the launch

of the Balawala International

Foundation recently.
Artus was gowned by the
Liberia Movie Industry and
certificated by Vice President
Boakai for bringing honor to
Liberia through the production
of movies that have received
international awards. Vice
President Boakai was also
gowned by the Liberia Movie
Union for his support to the
organization, a release from
the Office of the Vice President
said.

REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO DEVELOP YOUTHS

Monrovia ice
President
Joseph N. Boakai
has
reaffirmed
Governments
commitment
to
the
development and support of
youth programs and stressed
that Liberian youths got the
talents to excel in fields that
could bring pride and dignity
to the nation.
He said young Liberians

need the support required to

achieve their full potentials
and it is about time that
priority be directed to areas
that could highlight Liberian
culture and spoke of the many
achievements Liberians have
made outside of the country.
Vice President Boakai was
speaking Thursday evening in
Sinkor at a dinner he hosted in
honor of Gregory Artus Frank,
a Liberian Movie Actor and

winner of Face of Africa Award

based in Ghana and Nigeria,
according to a release from the
Office of the Vice President.
Artus, a Liberian, is an
internationally
acclaimed
movie star who has received
many
awards
for
his
contributions to the African
film industry and humanitarian
work. During the outbreak
of the Ebola crisis in Liberia
Artus passed out bottles of
hand sanitizer, water, gloves,
buckets and other supplies.
Vice President Boakai praised
the movie actor for the high
level of patriotism shown to
his motherland, something the
Vice President said has brought
pride to the country and could
inspired
other
Liberians
to enter the entertainment
industry. Artus returned home
to Liberia with the awards he
received as a mark of respect
for his country.
He pointed out that many
others who have succeeded in
their careers passed through
Liberia and they are making
history outside
of the country,

adding young people should

be encouraged and given
opportunities to improve their
lives including employment.
Responding to the honor,
Gregory Artus Frank thanked
the Vice President for the
honor bestowed on him and
called on the Government
to look into the issue of the
Liberian
entertainment
industry and said the world
could know Liberia through
Liberian Movies. He noted that
Liberians do not have to leave

Friday, August 28, 2015

Frontpage

Page 8a
17

AU DIPLOMAT WANTS ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED

LIBERIAN AMBASSADORS ESTABLISHED

MONROVIA,
careered
African
Diplomat and Special
Representative
of
the
Chairperson
of
the
African
Union
Commission,
Ambassador
Harrison Oluwatoyin Solaja,
has called for the formation
of an Association of Retired
Liberian Ambassadors.
Ambassador Solaja said this
association could serve as a
think-tank and a consulting
firm on diplomacy and
international affairs.
His call was contained in
remarks he delivered on
Wednesday, August 26, when
he served as Guest Lecturer
at the sixth Ambassadorial
Lecture Forum of the Gabriel
L. Dennis Foreign Service
Institute of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
According to a Foreign Ministry
release, Amb. Solaja lectured
on the theme, Regional
Integration: Prospects for a
Better Liberia.
Paying special tribute to the
honoree of the day, veteran
Liberian diplomat E. Sumo
Jones, he urged the Liberian
Government to give recognition
to careered ambassadors after
their service to the nation.
According to him, diplomats,
like careered military officers,
are an expensive investment
by any nation benefitting from
various professional trainings
thereby becoming a repository
of knowledge and experience
as they face retirement.
Commenting on protocol
services, he stressed that
Liberian protocol officers need
training opportunities to be
more effective on their duties
and responsibilities.

Bettie
K.
Johnson/
b e t t y. j o h n s o n @
frontpageafricaonline.com

Monrovialocal women group,

Women of Liberia
Peace
Network
(WOLPNET) and its
partners, have embarked on a
campaign aimed at ensuring
that an anti-Female Genital
Mutilation bill is proposed to
the National Legislature.
The bill is aimed at halting
negative
cultural
and
traditional practices in Liberia.
At a one day consensus
building forum with the media
and Anti FGM taskforce, the
Policy officer of WOLPNET,
Tamba Johnson disclosed
that the forum is to develop
an advocacy strategy and
action plan to campaign for

While
congratulating
the
honoree for his landmark
achievements in public service,
the AU Diplomat wished for
Ambassador Jones all the best
in his endeavors as Liberian
transitions from the peace
building stage to the statebuilding phase.
He called on Liberia never
to return to civil conflict,
but to reinforce the prudent
mechanism
of
conflict
prevention, upholding the
rule of law and calling for
the enhancement of regional
integration especially within
the context of the Mano River
Union, ECOWAS, and the
African Union
Speaking
earlier,
Foreign
Minister Augustine Kpehe
Ngafuan thanked the Director
General of the Foreign Service
Institute, Dr. Augustine Konneh
and instructors for preparing
young diplomat trainees to
serve their nation.
As the Liberian Foreign
Minister noted, Service to your
country is good, but the key
is wherever you are, whether
you are in Grand Gedeh,
whether you are in Nimba, no
matter what you do, be a good
diplomat, a representative for
Liberia.
We will try within the scope
of available resources, to
ensure that your dream of
entering the Foreign Service
will come to past. In the
interim, what will you be doing
with the education that these
professors have inculcated in
you? Would you allow your
education to waste? Can you
only be good diplomats in
London or Washington D.C.?
Be good diplomats in Monrovia
first, the Liberian Foreign

Minister urged the prospective

graduates of the Institute.
He further told them to be good
diplomats on Broad Street,
emulating good examples by
doing things for Liberia, and
by refusing to do certain things
against the nation.
For her part, Former Foreign
Minister
Olubanke
KingAkerele expressed delight
over the ceremony as she
paid special tribute to the
honoree for his dedicated
service to the nation especially
during his tenure as Liberias
Ambassador to the Republic
of Guinea where he ably
represented Liberia in that
sisterly country during which
time Madam King-Akerele was
in charge as Foreign Minister.
She hailed his role in cementing
Liberia-Guinea relations and
for his numerous support and
guidance to the development

diplomat training programs

in which he helped to nurture
some of its trainees at the
Liberian
Embassy,
near
Conakry.
Dr.
Augustine
Konneh,
Director-General
of
the
Foreign Service Institute, who
gave an overview of the Forum,
expressed
gratitude
and
appreciation to Madam KingAkerele for endorsing the
launch of the Ambassadorial
Lecture Forum at the G.
L. Dennis Foreign Service
Institute.
While applauding Foreign
Minister Ngafuan for the
support to the institute, Dr.
Konneh asserted that the
Forum is a discourse that gives
recognition to one of Liberias
former Ambassadors, who
has distinguished himself or
herself in the discharge of his
or her duty while in service.

According to him, the Lecture

Forum is also intended
to enable an experienced
Ambassador to share his or
her thoughts with new breed
of Liberian diplomat trainees,
who are being prepared to
enter the Foreign Service.
He praised Ambassador E.
Sumo Jones for distinguishing
himself as a public servants
and a careered diplomat.
In his brief remarks at the
ceremony, Ambassador Jones
applauded Foreign Minister
Ngafuan and the Director
General of the institute for the
honor bestowed upon him he
also added that honor came as
a great surprise to him, stating
that Liberias public officials
are usually forgotten about
after retirement.
He particularly applauded
former
Liberian
Foreign
Minister King-Akerele for the

recognition and support he

received as Ambassador to
Guinea, especially during her
administration as Foreign
Minister.
He further admonished the
young trainees or graduates
to take their career seriously,
saying, Anything you wish to
do in life, you should put in
all your efforts, and do it with
dedication, commitment and
perseverance. He also stressed
that hard work; discipline and
loyalty are the hallmark of a
careered diplomat.
He hailed Madam Akerele
and Minister Ngafuan for the
support and interest in running
the institute, particularly the
grooming of young Liberian
development diplomats who
will take on the Liberian
diplomacy.

a law against FGM as well as

introducing an Act.
He
disclosed
that
the
involvement of the media is to
create a wider awareness to the
public following resolutions
that were signed by Zoes
in Lofa and Bomi Counties
respectively.
On Feb 19 2013 in Bolahun
[Lofa] and Feb 17 2015 in
Tubmanburg, Zoes from 10
counties resolved and affixed
their signatures stating that
FGM practice or Sande Bush
practices should be turned over
to male zoes and all cultural
practices be abolished while
health ones be promoted, said
Johnson.
The Tubmanburg National
Dialogue conference with
100 Sande Zoes from 10
sande practicing counties
recommended
that
the

each county establish a

district taskforce to monitor
adherence and enforcement of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs
mandate against the opening
of Sande bushes and grooves.
The Zoes furthered that the
National Government and
its Development partners
should invest and support the
economic income generating
and livelihood of Zoes.
That WOLPNET and the
Ministry of Internal Affairs
should lead in monitoring and
coordination of the district
traditional Zoe taskforce,
also that each county and
county seat be identified and
construct a school for zoes to
conduct traditional activities
through teaching, training,
mentoring of girls and women
in 10 counties, he added.
It can be recalled former
Internal Affairs Minister Blamo
Nelson underscored the need
for a modernization of some
of Liberias cultural practices
including those found within
the Sande and Poro Societies.
He stressed that there is a
need to make these practices
compatible with present day
realities.
Yes, modernize them. So

we are on the trajectory

to modernize our cultural
practices to make them
compatible with 21st century
perception. Yesteryears, we did
not know people used to get
syphilis, gonorrhea, and they
thought that it was witchcraft
until somebody came and
invented penicillin, he said.
So there are lots of things
that we used to do yesterday
that we cannot continue to do
today. What we need to do is
modernize the practice; the
one we used to do in the past,
put that in the museum.
Dont throw it away and forget
about it. Just put it in a museum
so every now and then you can
look at it and say this is what
we used to do before.
He said parents must make
the right decision to send their
children to school instead of
compelling them to be in the
traditional sande schools.
He said when parents refuse
to make the right decision
to secure the future of their
children, they should be ready
for the consequences that
follow.
your child will be illiterate.
Your child will never be
minister. Is that what you want

mother? The child has no voice

right now, you the mother,
the whole world is moving
forward and you are talking
about moving backwards.
Despite Liberias international
obligations to protect girls from
genital mutilation, the practice
is wide-spread. According
to the Liberian Childrens
Law passed February 2012,
Article 6 Section 4 guaranteed
that children should not be
subjected to any unnecessary
or
uncultured
practice
that may inflict physical,
psychosocial, or emotional
pain to the child or otherwise
violate or endanger her or his
bodily integrity, life, health,
dignity, education, welfare or
holistic development.
The Amnesty International
years back expressed concern
that the ambiguous wording
of unnecessary or uncultured
practice has the potential to
prove ineffective in ending the
practice of FGM.
According to Demographic and
Health Survey in 2007, 58.2%
of girls between the ages of 15
and 49 are subjected to FGM in
Liberia. Amnesty International
has heard reports of girls
between the ages of eight

and 18, some as young as

three, forced to undergo the
procedure without anesthesia
or sterile equipment.
Female genital mutilation is
a taboo subject in other parts
of Africa, too. In 2010 in the
Gambia, authorities arrested
women's rights activist and
journalist
Amie
BojangSissoho and Dr. Isatou Touray
with the Gambia Committee
on
Traditional
Harmful
Practices, an organization
that campaigns against female
genital mutilation and other
discriminatory practices.
They were freed only after
international media drew
attention to their case but they
remain on trial on trumpedup charges of embezzlement,
according to the World
Organization against Torture.
In February 2009, four female
journalists were taken hostage
in Kanema, Sierra Leone,
by members of a traditional
female group called the Bondo
Society,
reported
Media
Foundation for West Africa
(MFWA). The group contested
the journalists' reporting of
female genital mutilation
practices in the county.

ACTIVISTS CRAVE ANTI-FGM LAW

New Arrivals,
Same Brand,
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Monrovia Liquor Store moves to New Location, 5th
Street Tubman Boulevard (Old Delta Airline Office)

Monrovia Liquor Store moves to New Location, 5th Street Tubman Boulevard (Old Delta Airline Office) - Coming Soon!!