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EDITION

EDITORIALPlease Thrill the

Triplets with Your Touch!

LOCAL NEWSLiberian Boy

Needs Lifesaving Surgery

EDUCATIONLand Commission

Conducts Education

Training for Journalists

BUSINESS Ghana Trade Fair

Hits Liberia

COMMENTARY“It Makes Sense”

SPORTSWAFU Cup: Lone Star

in a Crunch Match against Senegal

See Pg. 4

See Pg. 3

See Pg. 11

See Pg. 17

See Pg. 4

See Pg. 19

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-December 2013 Graduation in Limbo

Following Violent Student Demonstration

UL Shut Down ‘Indefinitely’ By Joaquin Sendolo

The UL admin-istration, with the consent of the Board of Trustees, has i n d e f i n i t e l y

suspended all academic activi-ties at the state run university. The decision comes amid vio-lent protest by students and the “go-slow” action of instruc-

tors. Both instructors and students

have been calling for the Vice President for Academic Af-fairs & Provost of the Univer-sity of Liberia, Dr. Wede Elliot Brownell, to resign.

This latest decision by the administration puts the De-cember 18 scheduled gradua-tion in limbo, as the adminis-tration could not comment on a timeline that would give pro-

spective graduates some level of hope.

According to a statement from the University’s Admin-istration, “All activities are suspended until otherwise or-dered, and all those concerned are to stay away from the insti-tution’s premises while a full investigation into the unfolded events is being conducted.”

Cont’d on pg. 17

LCC Calls for Calm over Banning of Christian Activities in Malawu

By Judoemue Mohmoh Kollie

Even though the Liberia Coun-cil of Churches (LCC) said it does not sup-port the ban

on all Christian activities in Malawu Town, the acting president has urged Christians to be calm.

LCC Acting president Rev.

Cont’d on pg. 17The Acting President of LCC, Rev. Kortu Brown

-Launches SAPEC Project in 12 Counties, Assures Farmers of Support, Empowerment

Gov’t Strives to End HungerBy William Q. Harmon

The Liberian Government, through the Ministry of A g r i c u l t u r e (MOA), has

launched an agricultural proj-ect — Smallholder Agricul-tural Productivity Enhance-ment and Commercialization

Cont’d on pg. 17Minister Florence Chenoweth speaking at the launch of

the SAPEC Project

‘Rest in Peace’-Mourners Tell Fallen Deputy CBL Governor Theo Bettie

UL President Dr. Dennis

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, VOL, No.25.indd 2 11/26/13 12:59 AM

Daily Observer Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Foreign Briefs

Page 2World News Nigeria Raid: Suspected

Boko Haram Gunmen Kill 12(BBC) - Suspected Boko

Haram Islamists have killed 12 people in a raid on a village in north-east Nigeria, police say.

Police said about 30 gunmen also burnt houses and stole cars in the village of Sandiya, in Borno state.

One resident, quoted by the AFP news agency, said Boko Haram accused villagers of collaborating with the security forces to track them down.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in parts of north-east Nigeria in May.

A resident of Sandiya, Modu Judum, told the Reuters news agency that about 30 armed men, travelling in a convoy of pick-up trucks and motorcycles “stormed the Sandiya village and started chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ [God is great], before opening fire on the helpless”.

‘Revenge’“Hoodlums invaded the

community and killed 12 people,” said Borno state

police commissioner Lawal Tanko in a statement.

He said the gunmen burnt scores of houses and stole several vehicles in Thursday’s raid on the village, which is about 85km (53 miles) from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

The Nigerian government imposed a state of emergency

in Borno and two other areas of northeast Nigeria in May, to try to combat Boko Haram.

In recent months, the Islamist group has carried out a series of raids in remote north-eastern areas of Nigeria, killing hundreds of civilians.

“The gunmen were on a revenge mission,” Sandiya resident Sabitu Ali told AFP.

“They are accusing us of collaborating with security men in tracking them.”

Boko Haram, which was declared a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States earlier this month, is fighting to create an Islamic state in the north of Nigeria, where Muslims are in the majority.

 

Libya Army in Benghazi Clashes with Ansar al-Sharia

(BBC) - Nine people have been killed in clashes between the Libyan army and an Islamist militia in the restive city of Benghazi, officials say.

Gunfire could be heard from the early hours of the morning and smoke was seen rising in part of the city.

Casualties were reported among both the army and Ansar al-Sharia, an armed Islamist group suspected of killing US ambassador Christopher Stevens in 2012.

The government has struggled to contain militias in control of parts of Libya.

The BBC’s Rana Jawad in Tripoli says the latest fighting is seen as one of the most serious and direct confrontations between official forces and this militia.

Ten days ago, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan called on all militias to leave the capital, Tripoli, after fatal clashes between militiamen and protesters.

The militias took part in the uprising that led to the fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but have been told by the interim government to disband or join the army by the end of

the year.Reports from Libya’s second

city early on Monday spoke of explosions and gunfire in the Ras Obeida area.

The fighting erupted after a civilian was stopped at a checkpoint manned by Ansar al-Sharia because he was carrying a weapon, a military source told the BBC. The man was allegedly beaten, prompting a special forces unit to move in.

Acting Interior Minister Sidiq Abdel-Karim told Libyan TV that nine people had been killed and another 49 wounded in the clashes.

The injured were taken to Jala hospital and several civilians were said to be among those hurt.

“The latest events show the urgent need to implement law 53 to disband all [illegally] armed groups. The army and all its forces are carrying out its legal duties,” Mr Abdel-Karim said.

He warned the army was a “red line” not to be crossed.

Heavy but intermittent clashes began at about 02:00 local time (midnight GMT)

and continued until late morning in various areas of the city. “This is the end of Ansar al-Sharia,” a military source told the BBC.

The army has been driving around Benghazi urging residents to stay at home. An urgent appeal has been broadcast for blood donors in the city, reports say.

“People are going about their business but schools are closed and the university has suspended classes until things settle down,” Benghazi resident Adam Jhani-Stephens told the BBC.

Local TV said officials had begun a meeting in an attempt to bring the violence to an end.

Benghazi, one of Libya’s most volatile areas, was where the uprising of Col Gaddafi began. It was also where the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed in an attack on the US consulate on 11 September 2012.

Ansar al-Sharia, which is believed to have ties with foreign Islamist groups, has been linked to a series of attacks in eastern Libya.

Several Islamist groups have

formed from the anti-Gaddafi rebels and they have been blamed for recent murders in nearby Derna. A judge, two traffic police and a tribal chief have died in the port city east of Benghazi in just over a week.

Last month, Prime Minister Zeidan was abducted and held for several hours by militiamen in a Tripoli hotel.

After talks in London on Sunday with US Secretary of State John Kerry and UK Foreign Minister William Hague, Mr Zeidan said Libya had done a great deal “to get rid of the militias”.

Mr Kerry told reporters that Libya had gone through great turmoil, particularly in recent weeks, but spoke of a moment of opportunity.

“The prime minister informed us of a transformation that he believes is beginning to take place and could take place because the people of Libya have spoken out and pushed back against the militias,” he said.

 The bbC’s rana Jawad “The street battle... raged for hours”

 John Kerry, speaking on sunday: “This is a moment of opportunity”

Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla

Home: South African

Papers Defy Photo Ban

(BBC) - South African newspapers have published images of President Jacob Zuma’s residence, defying a government warning that this would break security laws.

Mr Zuma’s Nkandla residence is at the centre of a row after it emerged that the government had used $20m (£12m) of taxpayers’ money to refurbish it.

Cabinet ministers on Thursday said anyone who published images or footage of the estate would face arrest.

A group of South African editors described the warning as “absurd”.

The Times newspaper has the headline “So, arrest us”, above a picture of the luxury thatched-roof compound.

“Look away! What ministers don’t want you to see”.

The upgrades to Mr Zuma’s private residence include a helipad and an underground bunker, which the government says are needed for security reasons.

Awkward for ANCFollowing the publication of

the photos, the government has issued a statement, saying that newspapers are within their rights to publish photos of the estate but “zooming into safety and security features... is a challenge as it compromises national security”.

The newspaper editors say the public paid for the upgrades and have a right to see how their money was spent.

The warning has created public outrage, with many expressing their dissatisfaction on Twitter and also posting pictures of the home.

The main opposition has lambasted the upgrade and called for investigations into why so much was spent and whether Mr. Zuma was aware of the cost burden to the state.

The Democratic Alliance has always insisted that the upgrade was not only morally wrong and unjustifiable given the country’s social needs, but that it is also possibly illegal.

Other opposition parties have called it an abuse of state funds.

They also want to know why Mr. Zuma’s home was classified as a place of national security, despite being a private residence.

BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says the issue is an awkward one for the governing African National Congress (ANC), with elections approaching next year.

He says it also touches on deeper concerns about the undermining of South Africa’s young, but vital, democratic institutions.

(BBC) - Syrian peace talks planned for January are the “best opportunity” to form a transitional government, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said. He was speaking shortly after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that Syria’s government and opposition would meet on 22 January in Geneva. The UN, US and Russia have been trying for months to get both sides to agree a political solution to the conflict. But there have been disputes over who should attend the talks in Switzerland.

Syria

(BBC) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has defended his move to put on hold a historic deal with the EU, amid continuing mass protest rallies. He said he was forced by economic necessity and the desire to protect those “most vulnerable”. The EU has accused Russia of exerting heavy economic pressure on Ukraine. Clashes between protesters and police continued on Monday. Meanwhile, jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko announced an indefinite hunger strike.

Ukraine

(BBC) - An Indian couple have been convicted of murdering their daughter Aarushi Talwar and their Nepalese servant, Hemraj. The 14-year-old only daughter of dentists Rajesh and Nupur Talwar was found dead at home in May 2008 with her throat slit and a fatal head injury. Suspicion initially fell on Hemraj until his bludgeoned body was found on the Talwars’ roof just one day later. They denied murder, destroying evidence and misleading investigators in a sensational case that gripped India.

India

(BBC) - The Thai prime minister has invoked special powers in Bangkok and elsewhere after anti-government protesters forced their way into two key ministries. Yingluck Shinawatra was responding to a second day of demonstrations in Bangkok by tens of thousands of people calling for her government to resign. Her decision to enforce the Internal Security Act enables officials to impose curfews and seal roads. The protests have been triggered by a controversial political amnesty bill.

Thailand

Daily Observer Monday, November 25, 2013 Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 3

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liberian Boy Needs lifesaving surgery

by renee banot, rbanot@twelve.tv

Ni n e - m o n t h - o l d Zachary Jeneka is suffering from a potentially deadly

neurological condition called hydrocephalus. That is the buildup of fluid in the brain. If left untreated, it could cause intellectual and physical disability. The good news is, it can be treated with surgery. The problem in Zachary’s case is he is in Liberia without access to proper medical care.” The doctors have tried to do their best under the circumstances,” said Zachary’s Uncle, Isaac Mitchell, who lives in Brooklyn Park, “but with the kind of expertise and the kind of medical facility that we have in Liberia, it is not as adequate as possible to be able to provide a complete remedy.” Doctors say hydrocephalus is usually fixed at birth. Sadly, the only thing doctors can do in Liberia is drain the fluid from Zachary’s brain when it builds up, which usually is about every two to three days. Isaac said the side effects of the condition are incredibly painful for the baby and the process of draining fluid from his head takes a toll on the boy.

Isaac does not know if Zachary was born with the

condition or if it was caused by a fall the boy suffered when his mom was in labor, but what he does know is Zachary needs surgery soon before he suffers irreparable brain damage or dies. “I know that here in the U.S. we have the medical equipment

and tools and doctors and specialists that can help this child,” said family friend Georgette Gray. Through her connections with the nonprofit Ajenia Enterprises, Georgette is helping Isaac find a way to get Zachary the surgery he needs here in Minnesota.

Five years ago, the group was instrumental in bringing a baby named Emmanuel Johnson to Minnesota from Liberia for surgery. She is hoping to be able to do the same for Zachary. She has connected with a neurosurgeon at Fairview Hospital who said he is willing to help, but needs the hospital’s approval to go forward with treatment. A spokeswoman from Fairview Hospital confirmed it is in touch with Georgette, but, for privacy reasons, said she could not elaborate on discussions with her. Georgette said she and Isaac are putting out a plea to any doctors or medical facilities that might be able to help to give them a call. In addition to searching for medical assistance, Georgette is also trying to find an airline willing to fly Zachary’s family to Minnesota. Round-trip airfare for one person from Liberia is about $2,400. “We know that there are a lot of other kids, but this one is in our radar, and if we can help him we will be saving a life and that is what we want,” said Georgette. If you or someone you know might be able to help Zachary and his family, call Isaac at 651-274-1526 or Georgette at 612-251-2139.

little Zachary needs surgery against hydrocephalus

Man, 53, dies under ‘Mysterious

Circumstances’

by edwin M. Fayia iii

After allegedly being employed for 25-years at Super Petroleum

Gas Station in Battery Factory, Gardnerville, Mr. Daniel Hoover, 53, a tanker truck driver reportedly died under “mysterious circumstances.”

Over the weekend Hoover’s grieving family members told the Daily Observer that the deceased left his Lakpazee, Airfield residence April 6, 2013 for work and did not return. He was found dead two days later in an old tanker behind the S.P. Gas station.

The family stated that Hoovers’ remains had several body parts missing.

The confirmation of the death of Hoover was revealed to them by a woman known as Ma Tenneh; one of the customers of S.P. Gas station’s Battery Factory branch.

They revealed that when Daniel Hoover left for work that fateful Saturday morning and did not return, the S.P. Gas station management was contacted several times, but declined to comment on the whereabouts of their missing relative.

“Our son and husband’s body was also noticed to be bound and showed signs of having been beaten for reasons that remain unexplained,” the family lamented.

They also pointed out that when Hoover’s immediate boss (only known as Konneh) was contacted following an extensive search of the various police depots in the

Gardnerville area, he declined to comment on the strange circumstances of the death.

Hoover’s relatives said he had his home to distribute petroleum products to customers, who did not serve the day before.

They disclosed that S.P. Gas Station management told them that they would be responsible funeral expenses, since the Homicide Division of the Liberian National Police (LNP) has not acknowledged any foul play Hoover’s death.

The Hoovers explained that they were not a part of, nor did they have any access to the autopsy report that the S.P. Gas Station management claimed to have initiated a few months ago.

The report was not authorized by any member of Hoover’s family, they explained: “We are confused, because the management of the S.P. Gas station is asking us to take the body of Daniel Hoover when we were not part of any arrangement that landed the body at the Abraham Roberts’ Funeral Home in Gardnerville,” the family stressed.

The Hoover family is appealing to rights organizations to join them and fight for true justice and bring the alleged perpetrators to book.

Meanwhile, when the management of Super Petroleum was contacted over the weekend for comment, officials declined to comment owing to the sensitive nature of Daniel Hoover’s demise.

The late Daniel Hoover before his death in an old tanker at battery Factory

147 Women Benefit from WIN Project-Promise to Utilize Acquired Skills to Benefit Families and Nationby William Q. Harmon

Considering women’s e m p o w e r m e n t as one of the f u n d a m e n t a l

aspects of the attainment of a vibrant and sustainable economy in Liberia, the Liberian National Red Cross Society (LNRCS) and the Women’s Training and Integration Project (WIN) at the weekend graduated 147 women from a skills training program.

The graduation was the 3rd cycle in a series of training for women in vulnerable communities, where those taking part have benefitted from being taught various skill disciplines under the WIN project. 79 of the 3rd cycle graduates were certificated for their achievement in food nutrition and catering, while 68 will get their certificates in cosmetology.

The Red Cross WIN project has also been empowering vulnerable women through psychosocial counseling, vocational training, literacy, and business education for economic empowerment and

community development.The graduation exercise was

held at the New Kru Town Hall on the Bushrod Island and the beneficiaries were mostly from the surrounding communities of Logan Town, Clara Town, and New Kru Town.

Serving as guest speaker at the ceremony was Gender and Development Minister, Julia Duncan-Cassell.

Minister Duncan-Cassell said that the empowerment of women for self sustainability is one of the best ways for the nation to develop, because it will help eliminate family suffering and poverty.

She stressed the need for the protection of women and children, citing economic empowerment as one way to bring an end to many of the problems that come their way.

She lauded the WIN project coordinator and the LNRCS family, whom she described as the “vanguard” (front-runner) for the protection of women during the civil crisis, for such a unique opportunity provided to these women, many of whom are young girls.

She called on the graduates to use their newly acquired

talents for the benefit of their families and the Liberian society.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Secretary General of LNRCS, Morris Gbesagee, noted that women’s empowerment is one of the top priorities of the Liberian National Red Cross Society’s programs. Gbesagee said they do that by the reduction of human suffering and promoting women’s economic sustainability, so that they have a peaceful coexistence with their partners and contribute to national development.

Mr. Gbesagee stated “The empowerment of women, many of whom are single mothers, is one way to help reduce the suffering that women and their children endure on a daily basis.”

According to the acting project coordinator, Joyous Momoh, WIN provides women with the opportunity to participate in activities that would improve their lives and help to reduce domestic violence, and the negative effects of single motherhood among other benefits.

The WIN project focuses on

war affected women including single mothers, commercial sex workers, drug users, economically vulnerable women, and those who experienced extreme violence like rape during the war.

This second phase of the third cycle closes the four-year project with a total of 628 women benefiting from the Logan Town, Clara Town, and New Kru Town Communities. The LNRCS is extending the project to other vulnerable communities where the project is needed.

The WIN project is funded by the Spanish and Canadian branches of the Red Cross, while ICRC provides start-up kits for all the beneficiaries to start their own businesses after their reintegration into the community.

The project first started in 2009 with psychosocial intervention and building the skills of vulnerable women in the areas of tailoring, cosmetology, food nutrition & catering, as well as adult literacy, and business education.

Daily Observer Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 4Tuesday, November 5, 2013

OBSERVER CARTOON WITH A. Leslie Lumeh E-mail: leslie@leslielumeh.com www.leslielumeh.com

Published by Liberian Observer CorporationP.O. Box 1858, Monrovia

Liberia’s First Independent Daily

0886812888, 0886472772www.liberianobserver.com

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

“If you have done it to one of the least of these,

my brethren, you have done it unto me.”

- J. Christ

Please Thrill the Triplets with Your

Touch!Women and girls, beware November 13! That was the

date on which, exactly two years ago, Madam Esther Tokpa, wife of Firestone tapper Jerry Tokpa, both of Bong County, gave birth to triplets, a boy and two girls, in Firestone. And little over a week ago, on Wednesday, the same November 13, a 17-year-old girl gave the nation two sons and a girl at once!

Princess Mulbah’s triplets arrived by Caesarean birth at the Catholic Hospital, but within the hour the mother and her kids had to be rushed to the John F. Kennedy Medical Center to be placed in incubators, because they were somehow premature.

We are grateful to God and to the doctors and nurses of St. Joseph Catholic Hospital for their efficiency and care in ensuring the children’s safe delivery and the timely decision to dispatch them immediately after birth to the Japanese Friendship Hospital (JFH) at the JFK to be placed in the incubators. Thanks are also due to the doctors and nurses at the JFK for receiving and caring for the two young gentlemen and a lady, and their teenage mother.

The hospitals have thankfully done their part. Now it is our time—time for us, the ordinary citizens and residents of Liberia—to reach out to this teenage mom whom the good Lord, for reasons known only to Himself, has in this extraordinary way blessed. She told our Acting Editor, Alaskai Moore Johnson, that she is not working, and neither is her boyfriend, who is most likely also in his late teens.

We are sure that the mother will do her best to breastfeed her children; however, with three hungry mouths, she may need milk supplements; plus diapers and money to feed herself in order to produce the breast milk.

Breastfeeding the three will make Dr. Walter Gwenigale very happy. The Minister of Health and Social Welfare is one of the nation’s most passionate fans of breast feeding. He thinks it is “just the thing for growing boys and girls!” But we appeal to this Ministry especially, to reach out quickly to Princess and her triplet and give them as much social support as possible to set them on their feet. We pray that the Health and Social Welfare Ministry will be magnanimous enough to help them also with proper accommodation, at least for the next six to 12 months, to get them on their feet. And please remember to supply them with mosquito nets.

There are other needs: beds with mattresses and beddings for the mom and her triplets; and clothes.

We appeal to all philanthropic organizations and individuals, as well as intergovernmental organizations, including UNICEF, and non-governmental organizations, such as Save the Children, to come forward soonest and help.

And we learned on Sunday, November 24, the national body of the Episcopal Church Women (ECM) has decided to reach out to the triplets and their mom. It is not known what they will do, but whatever it is will be most welcome.

All who do thus can be sure that the good Lord will richly reward all of you who take the bold step to reach out to these beautiful, promising two little boys and girl and their parents.

It would be great, too, if somebody could offer the triplets’ father a job.

Always remember the New Testament dictum, “It is more blessed to give than to receive;” and Jesus’ own admonition: “If you have done it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.”

Who could be lesser than these teenage parents and their three little kids who, thanks be to God, came all at once!

“It Makes Sense”by Wetiwe

It is easy to sit on the sidelines and oc-casionally voice out discontent about the ills in our society. It is a whole different thing to be moved by such ills and actual-ly do something about them. It is from this backdrop that I present “It Makes Sense.”

Beginning with this article and others to follow, I would present various areas of concern and possible solutions that hope-fully may yield the intended results or, at the least, become points of discussion. We don’t have to be reminded of the ‘ills in our society,’ but we need to know the right possible solutions to apply. The blind should not continuously lead the blind.

A Case in Point-The Tourism Sector

One of the many ways a country makes its money is through tourism. It is almost like free money coming into the country. Well, let us make it “Planned Money” coming into the country by creating and developing a master plan for our tourism sector. There are countries around the world whose economies rely solely on tourism. They go all out to create opportu-nities for themselves.

With the help of Mother Nature’s gift to our landscape, as well as planned and

targeted development, we can and must develop our tourism sector. The public must see and have a chance to react to this plan. Our leaders must be judged by the plan execution within the given timelines.

Specific whole scale developmental plans must be put in place for our known and little known sites such as Blue Lake, Kpatawe and others. But we must not stop there. Full scale plans should include the total tourism industry-from the general Liberian mindset to personnel, transport, housing, food service, commerce and sup-port services. Safety and security is also a must for tourism sector development.

In order to move along with the “planned money” coming into the country through tourism, the establishment of the “Mar-shall National Park” should be a major part of this “planned money” coming into Liberia. The entire Marshall peninsula should be purchased from all the current land owners with rights reserved for their future earnings from the park as well.

A commission must be set up to plan and execute this venture with proposals for park operation and maintenance. Such proposal for operation could include regu-lations that would limit what type of park of housing/hotels (for which I would not like to see any in the park itself); vegeta-tion/trees (for which I would like to see

all the various types of trees that grow in Liberia planted in the park itself) and but not limited to beach activities, walkways or trails for hiking and some types of rides to get tourist around the park.

Imagine the Marshall National Park be-ing development next to a modern airport complex with Liberia’s mall (or Liberia Small-No-Taste Mall) and perhaps a con-necting bridge someday from Charlesville to Marshall. Let’s dream big!

The Marshall scenery is so spectacular and breath-taking that it would attract tourist from around the world without a thought. Three rivers, the Farmington, the Du and the Gbaigay connect at a single point called the junk which empties into the Atlantic Ocean just on the southern pit of Marshall’s Peninsular. National Pride and National Interest must take prece-dence over personal wealth and property for this to become a reality.

Some would say that it is all well and good but, where is the money? I would ask, what is the plan and where is the will? Maybe we can replace our expensive 40, 50, 60 and 70 thousand dollar-vehicles/gas guzzlers…, oh! Well, we all like them but we can’t afford them at this time.

Watch out for the next article of “It Makes Sense” which will present ways to develop Monrovia’s Road Network.

Liberia’s Lost War On Drugs Can Still Be Wonby Gboko stewart

Seeing an old classmate from Cathedral School looking haggard and lost to drugs during the evening hours at a local bar the other day made me cringe. This individ-ual was one of the most brilliant students in the classroom.

He excelled in mathematics and the sci-ences and would probably have become one of Liberia’s few chemical engineers. But it is gone. Gone to something that is slowly invading our nation. Drugs. As I stared into my friend’s eyes as we greeted one another, I wondered where did it all go wrong.

I began to think why did I abandon my fight against drugs. When I came out of high school, I joined force with a police friend reporting on drugs, its dealers and how deadly its dealers and how deadly it was becoming to the country’s youth.

Often times I was threatened but I

wouldn’t budge because I ALWAYS wanted to be like that great Irish journal-ist, Veronica Guerin, who was gunned down whilst she exposed drug lords and their activities. I had read about Ms. Guerin when I was in 7th grade at the Ca-thedral Catholic School. Her murder at a traffic light in Dublin caused an outrage in Ireland, leading to the establishment of the Crime Asset Bureau.

However, my fight got punctuated when I began to realize that I wasn’t heading anywhere because those that should have been augmenting my efforts were actu-ally making it a losing battle. A losing battle because dealers sometimes told you they got the blessings of the above.

And so about a fortnight ago when a police officer, Perry Dolo, head of the presidential escort, was caught with a consignment of marijuana valued at $4 million United states Dollars when he successfully smuggled it from Sierra-

Leone to Liberia, I reflected on what a dealer told me years ago: they have the blessings of the above and I was fighting a losing battle.

That a high ranking officer of the Libe-ria National Police, one who is assigned to the President of Liberia, is engaged in the lucrative trade of drug trafficking means that the fight to salvage Liberia and its youthful population like my for-mer classmate from these harmful sub-stances hasn’t even begun. It also means that the security of the President is at risk due to the mere fact that one of her secu-rity details was caught pants down.

Last week Justice Minister, Christiana Tah, at a press conference, intimated her apprehension that Liberia is becoming/will be vulnerable when UNMIL draws down.

What the minister failed to realize is the

Cont’t on page 5

Daily Observer Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 4Tuesday, November 5, 2013Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Ugandan Uni. Makes Offer to Liberian Uni.

by innocent anguyo (http://www.newvision.

co.ug/news/649658-makerere-offers-dons-to-

liberia.html)

Makerere Uni-versity has of-fered to give her teach-

ing staff to help Liberia start courses in Women and Gender Studies.

Makerere University’s School of Women and Gen-der Studies, famous for being one of the best on the African continent, has pledged to sup-port Grand Bassa Community College in Liberia to get their Gender Studies courses roll-ing.

Started in 2008, Grand Bassa recently established a Gender Studies Unit but rolling-out the courses has since proved a challenge to the Liberian Uni-versity, the reason she is seek-ing Makerere’s help.

The Makerere School of Women and Gender Studies, established in 1991 as a De-partment of Women Studies, has evolved into the multi-disciplinary unit that is today known for graduating more PHDs and Masters students than any other institution in the world.

The offer was made during a video-conference dialogue between the two institutions hosted by the United States

embassies in Monrovia, Libe-ria and Kampala.

‘A lot of hard work’The dialogue was moderated

by Dr Robin Chandler, a visit-ing scholar of African Studies at Northeastern University in the United States.

Dr Consolata Kabonesa, the Dean of the School of Women and Gender Studies made the offer and was quick to note that the school would equally put her research and wealth of information at the disposal of Grand Bassa Community Col-lege.

“We know how challeng-ing it can be to start courses in Gender Studies and for us to become what we are today; it took a lot of hard work, re-search, and collaboration with other institutions. Since we got this knowledge from the world, we want to share it with you,” said Kabonesa.

Under the arrangement to help the Liberian University, Dr Kabonesa suggested that Makerere staff would travel to Grand Bassa to teach specific modules, give exams and mark the scripts before returning to Uganda.

This, Kabonesa said was one way Makerere would share her experience of nurturing Gender Studies from humble beginnings to a unit that to-day commands distinction in the global world with Granda

Bassa, helping the latter to at-tain a similar feat.

“Our Doctorate students can also go and teach at Grand Bassa until you develop a full capacity to run the courses on your own,” reiterated Dr Ka-bonesa.

Dr Levi Zangai, the Presi-dent of the Grand Bassa Com-munity College accepted the offer of dons from Makerere but said the two institutions should mobilise the necessary resources required to make the collaboration come to fruition.

The resources would cover costs of-travel, accommoda-tion, upkeep, research, and al-lowances among others.

Zangai disclosed that despite having developed a curricu-lum, the execution of Gender Studies Courses had proved a daunting task for Grand Bassa Community College.

Zangai noted that Liberia needed Gender Studies to sustain the status-quo created during the civil war that saw women become bread winners as men were either killed or on the front-line.

Other scholars who partici-pated in the dialogue included Dr Deborah Kasente, Dr Sarah Ssali, Ammon Ashaba and Ruth Nsibirano, all of Mak-erere School of Women and Gender Studies. The other was Dr. Thelma Awori from the Embassy of Liberia.

 

Page 5

country is already vulnerable, not what she thinks it would be when UNMIL draws down. That a police officer can go across the border and smuggle huge quantity of marijuana in his official assigned vehicle says a lot about the vulner-ability of the state.

The minster’s apprehension is the same shared by every Liberian: Liberia will return to war when UNMIL goes. Ours will be a colony of gang-

sters and thieves marauding, rummaging and pillaging the state. Lest we forget that there is no honor among thieves, much less junkies. And in-stead of babbling about vul-nerability, the minister should instead tell us what mecha-nisms are being put into place in the wake of UNMIL’s draw down.

Perry Dolo’s involvement is just a tip of the iceberg. If one were to do an in depth in-

Liberia’s Lost War On Drugsvestigation report on the mat-ter, more names would arise. From immigration to NSA, I can safely bet that most, if not all, security officers in one way or another are involved in the lucrative trade. How sure are we that the huge consign-ment of marijuana was actual-ly burnt? Rumors have it that some security officers love the “good stuff”.

If nothing is done to salvage our precious jewels from this creeping madness that is in-vading like Adolf’s Hitler’s Blitzkrieg...

The Liberian Agricultural Company (LAC) located in District #3, Grand Bassa County has vacancy for DIVISION TRAINEE SUPERVISOR at its Plantation.

REQUIRED COMPETENCE:1. Must have a B.Sc. Degree in any Science Discipline from a

recognized University. A B. Sc. Degree in Agriculture will be an added advantage.

2. Technical knowledge in Rubber Culture will be an added advan-tage.

3. Must have the ability to control, direct, check and correct daily work of Overseers and Headmen.

4. Must be computer literate.5. Must exhibit good human relations with employees and locals.

WORKING EXPERIENCE:Prior working experience in similar capacity will be considered as added advantage.

Application, Resume and Supporting Documents including contact cell phone numbers should be submitted to the:

HUMAN RESOURCE ASSISTANT MANAGERLIBERIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY (LAC)LAC HEAD OFFICE, COMPOUND #3, DISTRICT #3, GRAND BASSA COUNTY, LIBERIA

ONLY SHORT LISTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED FOR AN INTERVIEW OR OTHERWISE.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION IS DECEMBER 6, 2013.

JOB VACANCY

HISTORY AND USDaily Observer’s New Weekly Column

All Invited to Contribute!

This Thursday, the eve of President William V. S. Tub-man’s 118th birth anniversary, the Daily Observer newspaper will launch a new History Column called

“HISTORY AND US.”

In that column, we will portray old, historic photographs con-necting Liberia’s past with the present and today’s generation.

We appeal to all Liberians and friends of Liberia who have in their possession or have access to people who may have, old photographs of Liberia and Liberians that may be useful in telling the great story of our country to ourselves and to the world.

We invite the public in general to contribute to this History Column, which coincides with the Government’s own History Project aimed at rewriting the History of our country, to make it the most inclusive history of Liberia ever written.

Watch out Thursday ensuing first edition of this column and dig deep into your archives to find old pictures that will enrich this column for the good of our country and ourselves.

Thank you!

DAILY OBSERVER Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 6

CHINA & AFRICASponsored by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China

Cont’d on page 15

“Pictorial for the Art Exhibition Held at the Chinese Embassy Compound (November 16, 2013) “

Daily Observer Page 8 Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The City Government of Monrovia calls on all residents in the City of Monrovia to paint the exterior houses and businesses in accordance with City Ordinance #1 sec-

tion 6.

City Ordinance #1 Section 6 sates: Owners or lessees of resi-dences, businesses, schools, churches, government agencies and mosque within the city limits of Monrovia are required to the paint exterior of their properties by December 15, and every 12 months thereafter.

The City Government of Monrovia expects strict compliance to the City Ordinance as a Municipal fine not less than $100.00 and not more than $250.00 will be levied on would be violator(s).

Let it be made emphatically cleared that the December 15 painting regulation has nothing to do with the observance of any religious holiday.

City Hall, Tubman BoulevardP.O. Box 9029

Sinkor, 1000 Monrovia, 10 Liberia

Municipal Bulletin 0127-11-19-2013

MAK Group Inc6th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia

Liberia

JOB VACANCY

The MAK Group Inc is seeking for qualified Liberian to moccupy the following positions:

1. Accountant-01 (Female)

2. Special Assistant-01

3. Clerk-01

4. Qualifications a. Accountant: Must have BA degree in Accounting. Candi-dates with experience in accounting with reputed company will be preferable. b. Special Assistant: Must have BA degree in public adminis-tration. Candidates with experience will be preferable. c. Clerk: Must be a high school graduate with certificate in Secretary Science .Candidates with experience will be prefer-able.

All candidate should come with application including origi-nal certificates and 2 copies of passport size photograph for interview to management, MAk Group Inc, 6th street, Sinkor, Monrovia on Saturday, 30 November, 2013 at 10-00 AM. Cell-0776042474.

7

Daily Observer Page 12 Tuesday, November 26, 2013 8

(Continued on page 13

(l-r) Defense Minister brownie samukai, Cbl executive Governor J. Mills Jones and vice President Joseph boakai

Central bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor Makes a tribute

veep boakai makes brief remarks

Fraternity brothers of the late bettie

Mr. Clemenceau Urey with former Governor David vintonFriends of the late Theo bettie

Cbl Deputy Governor for Operations Charles sirleaf (front) and others

The aFl band

Pictorial of the Funeral Service over the Remains of the Late Deputy CBL Governor Theophilus Bettie

Daily Observer Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 4Tuesday, November 5, 2013 Page 9Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Asst. Health Minister Calls for Multi-sectorial Approach to Reducing Maternal, Neonatal Deaths

-as UNFPa liberia representative says Family Planning Helps

Assistant Health and Social Welfare Minister for Pre-ventive Services

at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mr. Tolbert Nyenswah, has called for a multi-stakeholders’ approach in responding to maternal, neonatal and other deaths in the country.

Asst. Min. Nyenswah stated that the collaborative efforts of all the key stakeholders, in-cluding the Ministries of Pub-lic Works, Education, Justice, Gender and Development and Information, will greatly re-duce maternal and new-born deaths in the country.

He also cited Transport and Youth and Sports Ministries as critical in the campaign to pro-mote and sustain reproductive health practices.

He spoke Saturday, Novem-ber 23, at the Phebe Hospital, Bong County, at the gradu-ation ceremony of 16 fistula survivors from the Liberia Fistula Program’s Fistula Re-habilitation and Reintegration Center.

He argued: “We can have the best health facilities with the best healthcare providers, once there are no good roads connecting those centers with

the communities; we have not done anything yet.”

Asst. Min. Nyenswah, who is also Liberia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO), further stated that the Gov-ernment of Liberia remains committed to working with partners in ensuring that preg-nant women have easy access to obstetric care services; thus reducing maternal deaths and preventing fistula.

Speaking earlier, the Resi-dent Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Liberia, Ms. Ratidzai Ndhlovu, has said the provision of family planning services for women and girls offers the answer to reducing maternal and newborn deaths including the prevention of obstetric fistula in Liberia.

Ms. Ndhlovu said access to family planning is an essen-tial human right that deliv-ers immeasurable rewards to women, families and the com-munities.

The UNFPA Resident Rep-resentative disclosed that fis-tula has all but disappeared in countries where women experiencing complicated de-liveries have access to timely emergency obstetric care.

She added: “the most ef-

fective way to prevent fistula is to ensure access to quality maternal health care services, including family planning, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care. Skilled attendance at birth, including swift surgical inter-vention if obstructed labor oc-curs, can prevent a fistula.”

She noted that “prolonged obstructed labor puts a woman at risk for fistula and other serious injuries, including death.”

Ms. Ndhlovu warned that unless women with delivery complication receive prompt medical treatment - usually a

Caesarean section - the lack of blood flow can cause soft tis-sues to die, leaving a fistula, or hole, in her bladder or bowel.

Using the occasion to reaf-firm UNFPA’s commitment to the provision of family planning services as a strat-egy to end fistula and reduce maternal mortality in Liberia, she maintained that “because women with fistula endure enormous psychological and social trauma; empowering them to reclaim their place in society is a major goal of the UNFPA End Fistula Cam-paign.”

She lauded the fistula sur-

vivors for their resilience and urged them to share the infor-mation on how to prevent fis-tula or get treatment.

“To you my sisters and daughters; please do not keep this new found joy to yourself. While we celebrate your lives today, let us not forget that there are many more of our sisters and daughters who have fistula out there and they need information and the assurance that they too can be successful, respected members of their families and communities. You are ambassadors and role models for those who have not gotten the courage and oppor-

tunities to seek help. You are great heroines of Liberia in the fight against fistula. You have all the reasons to be happy and proud;” Ms. Ndhlovu pointed out.

The Liberia Fistula Project was launched in 2007 by the Liberian Government through the Ministry of Health and So-cial Welfare with funding from UNFPA. Since its launch the program has treated more than 1000 women and girls free of charge.

The project also runs a Fis-tula Rehabilitation and Re-integration Center in Phebe, Bong County to ensure that there is proper follow-up and development of vocational skills to assist patients easily reintegrate in the communities after treatment. The Center provides space for emotional healing and support services including counseling; trains women and girls in life skills, income-generating activities/business skills training. All of these help fistula survivors to reintegrate in their communi-ties after treatment. The rehab center has since trained at least 250 girls and women, who have chosen to go through the rehabilitation center.

MCC Official Blames Monrovia Filthiness on ‘Big Hands’by Joaquin sendolo

The Director for En-vironmental Health and Safety Depart-ment of the Monro-

via City Corporation (MCC) said the filthiness of Monro-via and challenge in keeping it clean, it can be attributed to “big hands.”

Ms Carolyn E. Page, speak-ing in an exclusive interview to the Daily Observer on November 25, indicated that much awareness has been made on City Ordinance and many people know what ought to be done, but are refusing to comply because the lawmak-ers come in defense of certain group of people when MCC wants to enforce the policy.

“Liberians do not want to see Monrovia clean. They have refused to abide by the City Ordinance rule. Our people in the interior are not told to clean their environment, but clean it because the need ex-ists. But in Monrovia, people have just refused to abide by the City Ordinance Law,” she stressed.

“Those people who refuse to abide despite the massive awareness feel that they have ‘big hands’ out there that are protecting them. When we go

out to enforce the City Ordi-nance rule, these ‘big hands’ come out to say leave my peo-ple. This is the attitude of our people, and it is seriously ham-pering our work at the MCC,” she added.

She further stated that MCC has observed over the years that when street vendors are made to leave the streets with their market, or garage own-ers are told to get off the main street because of the effect of their operations under the City Ordinance Law, those from the Legislature come out to stop the process on the grounds that those affected are their people.

“You will see that people selling palm-nuts, food, and other items are told to leave the streets. The higher-ups come to say that’s their people, and mind you, the ‘higher-ups’ are the same who travel to

other people’s countries and praise them for being clean and beautiful. I wonder how we can make our country as clean and beautiful as others are when we continue to allow others to do the wrong thing with the notion that they are our people,” Ms Page asserted.

She noted that those clean countries Liberians praise when they visit them, have city ordinance laws and peo-ple abide by them, and that if Liberians do not want to do same, then, “We will go no-where.”

While the challenge is grave as a result of the impediment caused by the “big hands,” Ms Page said they are in com-munication with them to help MCC receive the enforcement power to take some steps that will halt people from making the city dirty.

She cited Benson, Mechlin, Broad, and Randall Streets as areas in the heart of the city they once attempted to get sellers out of. Unfortunately, some lawmakers came in to politicize the issue, which caused them not to implement the action.

The moderate but assertively speaking Director indicated that until Liberians can devel-op a positive attitude towards making the city clean and powerful outside influences stop the advocacy for doing the wrong thing, Monrovia will not be clean.

Sections 2 and 3 of the City Ordinance Law of Monrovia prohibit the sale of food and littering of solid waste in the streets. Even though billboards and stickers carrying messages of keeping the city clean are in the streets, not much is done to

cooperate with the message.Sanitation companies such

as Zoom Lion and NC Sanitor are also operating in Monro-via, but their impact is limited. Their employees are often seen sweeping in vain, be-cause an hour later the streets are once again filled with dirt.

A woman working with Zoom Lion who spoke to this paper on the Capital By-pass stressed that they were find-ing it difficult to contend with cleaning the city because Li-berians already have the at-titude that sweepers and gov-ernment are here to work for them, and therefore they (Li-berians) deliberately drop dirt in the streets without observ-ing the trash boxes placed for their use.

She said people do this with the saying, “You and govern-ment have to justify the money you earn and taxes we pay.”

One main commodity that seriously aids in the filthi-ness of Monrovia is the empty plastic bag left after the water has been drunken from it. Al-though a help to the huge pop-ulation of Monrovia as water scarcity is a major issue, water companies have increased and the plastic in which the water is contained are dropped in the streets almost every second af-ter drinking.

Ms Page commenting on this issue said they are in touch

with water companies to re-cycle their plastics or devise other means to carry on their business if the plastics are not recycled.

A recent tour around the city indicated, drainages and sew-age lines have been clotted with water plastics and other solid wastes, and most of the time this results in flooding during the rainy season in some parts of Monrovia in-cluding Clara Town and Soni-wein.

Most of the drainages and lines are opened.

The Capitol Bypass is also in poor sanitary condition, especially where people were evicted from houses and de-molished structures are used for defecation, causing offen-sive odors to disturb passing pedestrians.

The wall separating the Na-tional Police Headquarters from the main road serves as a makeshift restroom for men to urinate, this causes people not to use the walkway during the evening hour, but the main road intended for vehicles.

Moreover, many people build shanty houses without toilets and there are very few public toilets in Monrovia; therefore, they use the black plastic bags to defecate in their houses and throw them over the roofs of other nearby houses at night.

 

 

Ms Page (left) and an opened drainage used as dumpsite (right): “liberians do not just want Monrovia to be clean and big hands are under it.”

Asst. Health and Social Welfare Minister for Preventive Services presented certificates to the 16 fistula survivor graduates from the Fistula Rehabilitation Center in Phebe

Daily Observer Page 10 Tuesday, November 26, 2013 10

(Continued on page 11

Republic of Liberia

Board of Tax Appeals

Daily Observer Page 11 Tuesday, November 26, 2013 11

Republic of Liberia

Board of Tax Appeals

Daily Observer Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 4Tuesday, November 5, 2013 Page 12Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Land Commission Conducts Education Training for JournalistsRepresentatives from

community radio stations in five of Liberia’s 15 coun-

ties, including Monrovia-based journalists and other media practitioners have ben-efited from a three-day inten-sive refresher training work-shop.

The five counties included Nimba, Bong, Lofa, Maryland and Margibi, but also in Mont-serrado County.

The training was conducted by the Land Commission (LC) and Land Conflict Resolution Project (LCRP) for over 35 journalists and media practi-tioners from November 19-21, at a local resort in Ganta, Nimba County.

The training was made suc-cessful with funding from the United States Agency for In-ternational Development (US-AID) through LCRP.

Earlier, the Chairman of LC, Dr. Cecil Brandy told his audi-ence that the entity was estab-lished on August 4, 2009, by an Act of the National Legis-lature and officially launched on March 11, 2010, by Vice

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr.

According Dr. Brandy, since the LC’s establishment it has continued the implementation of programs and projects in consonance with its mandate and objectives.

The general mandate and purpose of the LC, he said, is to propose, advocate and coor-dinate reforms of land policy, laws and programs across the country.

Interestingly, the LC has no adjudicatory or implementa-tion role, but its mandate ex-tends to all land and land based natural resources, including

both urban and rural land, pri-vate and public land and land devoted to residential, agricul-tural, industrial, commercial, forestry, conservation and any other purposes.

As such, and in line with its advocacy role, selected rep-resentatives from 35 commu-nity radio stations, Monrovia-based journalists, other media practitioners, gathered and trained them in their Education and Outreach program, which is headed by Commissioner Suzana G. Vaye (Mrs.)

Mrs. Vaye told the trainees that the Education, Outreach Program is charged with

the responsibilities to create public awareness, sensitize the public about the LC and land issues, and galvanize in-creased support from govern-ment and other partners for the Commission through its public awareness activities.

She further said the training was part of the activities of LC’s outreach and education program, primarily intended to inform and educate the people on activities of the Commis-sion.

The training for the journal-

ists was aimed at providing community radio broadcast-ers/reporters skills in develop-ing programs containing peace messages for transmission through the radio to host com-munities and other parts of the country.

“In September this year, we had a successful training workshop on Behavior Change Communication (BCC) for Land Commissioners Coordi-nating Centers (LCCCs) coun-ty coordinators and County Education and Outreach As-

sistants in Ganta. During that meeting, it became clear that the holding of a training work-shop for journalists and media practitioners be done.”

According to her, LC be-lieves that dissemination of its activities is in the hands of the media; so the primary objec-tive was to establish a working relationship with journalists and media practitioners in or-der to help raise awareness on the activities of the LC.

Topics discussed included, “The Role, Functions and Achievements and Challenges of the LCC; the Media Strat-egy of the Commission, and or messages developed by LC/LCRP.” Others were “Primer on Land Issues in Liberia; Brief History; Policies; Laws and Related Matters as well as the Style of Reporting on Land Issues, and How its Af-fect People’s Behavior,” etc.

Meanwhile, the participants resolved to forge a media part-nership with the LC through direct partnership with media institutions across the country.

Commissioner vaye reads from a statement, while lCrP Chief of Party, laurie Cooper listens

 

Facilitator Matthew Brown presents certificate to one of the trainees, David a. yates

‘Keep Moving Forward and Remain Fearless’Clergyman Challenges aMeU Graduates

The Presiding Bish-op of Philadelphia Church Ministries International, Inc,

Rt. Rev. Dr. George Donald Harris, on Sunday admonished the over 400 prospective grad-uates of the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) to keep moving forward in pursuit of their education.

The clergy challenged the graduating seniors to press forward with vigor, rather than being complacent with the first degree they are to shortly ob-tain from that institution.

The AMEU will Wednesday, November 27, hold her 14th Commencement Convocation at the S.K.D. Sport Complex, Paynesville, outside Monro-via.

But at the 14th baccalaureate service held at the Executive Pavilion, Ashmun Street on Sunday, Bishop Harris offered

special prayer for the gradu-ates to prosper in their indi-vidual academic sojourn. He also urged them to keep mov-ing forward fearlessly in their quest for academic excellence.

The Philadelphia Church clergyman preached from the text Philippians 3:4 and on the theme: “Keep Moving For-ward.”

“We applaud your efforts and or strives made in the academ-ic environment to reach gradu-ation, because in that journey, there are lots of challenges and frustrations, therefore, you must continue pressing for-ward, but with vision,” Bishop Harris told the prospective graduates to a long round of applause.

He also called on them to remain steadfast, and not com-placent, but to consider their graduation as the beginning.

“While pressing forward,

you must look back with posi-tive mind that would allow one to press forward and achieve by fulfilling your successes with vision,” he reiterated to the graduating class.

The preacher told the gradu-ates that there was the time where the 8th and 12th grade classes were considered high-er education in Liberia, but today, the story has changed

to the extent that almost ev-eryone graduate from high schools now aspires for ter-tiary education.

According to him, the gradu-ates must change with the pre-vailing situation, “because the country has suffered a brain drain and the government is striving to write the wrong.”

Among other things, he chal-lenged them to be disciplined

in their daily interactions, “be-cause when one applies self-discipline, the end result is to achieve your goal.”

However, the Presiding Bishop urged the graduating seniors not to let any unpleas-ant environment make them do things otherwise, but to re-main potentially positive.

AMEU was established in 1995, and now has the cur-

rent enrollment of about 3,000 collegians pursuing courses in 10 academic programs across three colleges.

Dr. Joseph Tele Isaac, the president of the institution, said Sunday’s ceremony and all other pending programs at the institution are always based on the university’s mot-to: “…Pursuit of Excellence.”

 

some members of aMeU 2013 graduating seniors at the baccalaureate service

‘Support Youth Education to Breed Future Leaders’alFaliT international boss Urges liberian leaders

by edwin M. Fayia iii

Dr. Joseph Milton, ALFALIT Interna-tional vice presi-dent, has urged Li-

beria’s Ministry of Education to give support to adult and youth education in the country.

The ALFALIT’s official made the statement last Wednesday in Monrovia in an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer after touring several ALFALIT’s operated and supported schools in the country.

Dr. Milton pointed out that support to such a critical sec-tor of the society would indeed breed and ensure that adults and youths living in Liberia are assured of a brighter, se-cured and great country.

“As partners in the education sector of the nation,” he ex-plained, “are there to buttress the Liberian Government’s ef-forts in the provision of sound and quality education.”

Asked about the United States Agency for Internation-al Development’s (USAID) cut back support to ALFALIT,

Dr. Milton indicated that strat-egies are being put into place with other global support part-ners to ensure the continuity of the adult literacy initiative in the country.

“We are committed and dedi-cated to ensure that Liberians are 100 percent literate with the support of President El-len Johnson Sirleaf as a major player in the adult literacy pro-gram in the country,” Dr. Mil-ton emphasized.

He then disclosed that con-crete discussions were recent-ly held with the Bill Clinton’s

Global Initiative in prepara-tion to fill in the funding gap created by the cut in funding from USAID.

Dr. Milton, however, noted that former US President Bill Clinton spoke highly of Presi-dent Sirleaf’s good intention for Liberia.

Throwing light about the op-erations of the ALFALIT In-ternational’s school system in Liberia, Dr. Milton intimated that considerable progress is being made by the executive director, teachers, principals and staff in ensuring qual-ity instructions and solid stan-dards in the country.

“I’m exceptionally pleased with the steady and quality progress of the adult literacy learners as many of them are now able to read dan-gerous signs, hospital cards (records), speak moderately, give speeches and write some simple sentences,” Dr. Milton asserted.

Commenting on vocational and technical education for ALFALIT students, Dr. Mil-ton disclosed that the adult lit-eracy outfit is already involved

in the initiative and would in the coming years step up focus in that critical direction in Li-beria.

On whether the adult literacy books could be modeled to re-flect local contents, Dr. Milton indicated that the books being used in Liberia have some lo-cal contents and in fact some stories were written by Libe-rian authors.

Questioned whether AL-FALIT could consider the need to support a media entity to produce and publish the most simpler contents for adult lit-eracy learners, Dr. Milton re-sponded in the affirmative but noted that such initiative must be discussed with ALFALIT-Liberia’s executive director.

It may be recalled that the Daily Observer started the ini-tiative in the 1980s.

In a related development, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, some prominent Liberians established the ‘New Day Magazine’ with the contents in a very simplified version that circulated a staggering figure of 25,000 copies that attracted wide readership in the country.

 Dr. Joseph Milton

Daily Observer Page 13 Tuesday, November 26, 2013 13

liberia business association President Maxwell Kemayah and others at the funeral

liberia bankers assocaition President John Davies makes a tribute of behalf of the association

st. simon baptist Church Choir

some members of the bereaved family tears

Mrs. bettie and her Daugther in tears

Mrs. enid bettie with daughter Masaweh bettie

Mrs. enid bettie with daughter Masaweh bettie

some students of the University of liberia

Pictorial of the Funeral Service over the Remains of the Late Deputy CBL Governor Theophilus Bettie

Daily Observer Page 9 Tuesday, November 26, 2013 14

EOI NO: CSA/SG/CS/12/13IDA GRANT ID: FT 010792

Assignment Title: Request for expression of interest-: Drafting the Civil Service Communication (information and Dissemination) Strategy

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REOI)(Communication Specialist)

The Government of Liberia (GoL) through the Civil Service Agency (CSA) has received a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) for Strengthening Governance-Civil Service Reforms and Capacity Building Project (CSRCBP). The Civil Service Agency intends to apply part of the

proceeds of this grant to eligible payments under the contract for hiring a Communica-tions Specialist to draft the Civil Service Reform Communication (Information and Dissemination) Strategy.

The objectives of the assignment are as follows:• Conduct a communication analysis of the Civil Service Reform Project from

its inception and cataloguing various reform initiatives and achievements;• Developafive-yearcommunication(informationanddissemination)strategy;• Build into the strategy, sensitization and public awareness initiatives.

The duration of the assignment:The timescale of the assignment is for a period of three (3) staff months (90 working days) over three (3) calendar months and should start upon the signing of the contract. The duty station shall be Civil Service Agency – Monrovia, Liberia. However, a por-tion of this assignment could be undertaken away from Monrovia.

The Civil Service Agency now invites eligible Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested consultants must provide information in-dicatingthattheyarequalifiedtoperformtheservicesbysubmittingtheirdetailedin-formation (CV, brochures, past performance records, references of similar assignments executed in the recent past). They must also provide description of work experience bothgeneralandonsimilarassignments.SpecificexperienceonWorldBankfundedprojectwillbeanaddedadvantage.Selectionwillbebasedonqualificationsandex-perience stipulated below.

Consulting firms are allowed to propose individuals for this assignment. However,onlytheexperienceandqualificationsofindividualsshallbeusedintheselectionpro-cess, and corporate experience shall not be taken into account and the contract would be signed with the proposed individual.

Qualifications and Experience:• Master’s Degree in Mass Communication/Public Relations/Advertising/Com-

munication Analysis & Planning/Marketing;• He/she must have minimum of ten (10) years relevant work experience;• The consultant must have experience in conducting communications needs

analysis and strategic design as well as in managing communication cam-paigns;

• Must have experience conducting communication for large reform programs, especially related to the public sector;

• Must have practical work experience with new media platforms, including twitter, facebook and other online applications;

• Must demonstrate practical and relevant experience dealing with difficultconstituencies such as unions, legislatures, consumer groups and other stakeholders.

TheattentionofinterestedConsultantsisdrawntoparagraph1.9oftheWorldBank’sGuidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits&GrantsbyWorldBankBorrowers(January2011).(“ConsultantGuidelines),settingforththeWorldBank’spolicyonconflictofinterest.

An Individual Consultant will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in theWorldBank’sGuidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants by World Bank Borrowers” dates January 2011.

Interested Individual Consultants may obtained further information at the address be-lowduringofficehoursfrom09:00and17:00hours,MondaystoFridays.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written from clearly marked: “Ref: Communication Specialist of the CSRCBP”, at the address below in person or by mail or by email) on or before Monday, December 2, 2013 at 16:00hours.

The Consultant/Project CoordinatorCivil Service Reform and Capacity Building ProjectCivil Service Agency63 Carey Street, Monrovia, Liberia Email: yaidooshy11@gmail.com

Attention: The Consultant/Project Coordinator-CSRCBP

OFFICE OF THEDIRECTOR GENERAL

Republic of LiberiaCivil Service Reform and Capacituy Building Project

Civil Service Agency

1. INTRODUCTION AND INVITATIONWithconsentofCentralGovernment,on22July2013,NimbaCounty,byandthroughthe County Administration, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML), by which all old unused structures and scrap presently located in AML’s Concession area have been turned over to Nimba County. The County has decided to sell this scrap at fair market value and to use the proceeds for the benefit of the entire County.

The County therefore invites prospective bidders with requisite technical & financial qualifications and capabilities, to bid for the Purchase, Removal and Disposal of the said unused structures and scrap metals currently located within the Concession area of AML and within Nimba County.

Bidding will be conducted through the International Competitive Bidding (ICB) method ofprocurementspecifiedinthePublicProcurement&ConcessionActs(PPCA)andap-proved by the Public Procurement & Concession Commission (PPCC) and is open to all eligible bidders.

2. THE STOCKThe Stock of Scrap includes all old unused structures and abandoned equipment, parts and metals, situated within the Concession Area of ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML); and is to be disposed of as is where is. Provisional/Tentative inventory shall be provided in the Tender Documents; however, bidders are required to conduct their own assessment to determine the exact locations, categories, quantities and qualities of the stock.

3. DIRECT FISCAL BENEFITS TO CENTRAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM THE SALEProceedsfromthesaleshallbeappliedtoandusedforthebenefitoftheentireCountyof Nimba. Appropriate taxes shall be paid to Central Government. And the buyer shall be expected to assist the County through sustainable added value creation, job creation, project linkage opportunities, social projects etc.

4. BUYER’S QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTSThe successful bidder must (a) be a recognized local and/or regional and/or international entity with requisite experience in the steel industry to include the purchase, removal and disposalofscrap(b)haveverifiabletechnicalandmanagerialcompetencetoundertakethe above activities (c) have previous successful investment and management of similar operationsforatleastfiveyears,(d)haveproofofrequisitefinancialresourcestounder-take the above described operations, (e) have a good record of corporate social respon-sibility and must be willing to adhere to and support Liberia’s Local Content Policies and regulations, and (f) if foreign, have a locally registered and licensed scrapbrokeranddealercompanyasitssubsidiary,associateoraffiliate.

5. TENDER DOCUMENTSTender Documents for the purchase, removal and disposal of the said unused structures and scrap metals currently located within the Concession area of AML and may be obtainedfromtheProcurementOfficer,OfficeoftheSuperintendentofNimbaCounty,SanniquellieCityattheaddressbelow,fromWednesday20thofNovember2013,duringofficialworkinghours,onpaymentofa non-refundable bid fee of US$5,000.00, payable by Manager’s Check to: “THE NIMBA COUNTY OPERATIONAL ACCOUNT”

6. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF BIDSDeadline for the submission of SEALED BIDS is Tuesday 31st December, 2013 at 1400 hoursGMT.AllBidsmustbedeliveredanddepositedintheTenderBoxattheOfficeof theProcurementOfficer,Superintendent’sOffice,SanniquellieCity,NimbaCounty,before the said deadline. All late Bids will be rejected outright. Bids will be opened at 15:00pm on Tuesday 31st December, 2013. All bidders or their representatives are asked to be present.

7. ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONa. Information contained in this Invitation to Bid is indicative only and will be confirmedandamplifiedintheBidDocuments.b. Interestedfirmsmayobtainfurther informationfromtheProcurementOffice,Administrative Building, Sanniquellie City, Nimba County, Republic of Liberia from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Mondays through Fridays (except public holidays); or call Contact Numbers: +231 886 405120 or +231 886493075 or +231 777 405120

Signed:_______________________________________ Secretary of the Procurement Committee Nimba County

Approved: ____________________________________ Chairperson of the Procurement Committee Nimba County

 Office of the County Superintendent

INVITATION TO BIDFOR THE PURCHASE, REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF OLD UNUSED STRUCTURES AND SCRAP METALS

November 18, 2013

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIAMINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

Nimba County

DAILY OBSERVER Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 15

Sponsored by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China. Please send your comments to the following email: chinaemb_lr@mfa.gov.cn

Daily Observer Monday, November 25, 2013 Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 16

Ghana Trade Fair Hits Liberiaamb. Wadee Promises stronger business linkages by Keith Morris

The Ghana Trade Fair, also known as Solo Exhibition, is in

Liberia for the second time with a new quest to expand and promote partnership with Liberian businesses, Ghanaian Ambassador to Liberia Mr. Kodjo A. Wadee announced.

The second Solo Exhibition of made-in-Ghana products and services are expected in Liberia from November 28th to 4th December, 2013.

The exhibitioners are back in the country as a result of a successful trade fare they had in 2012 when they firstly came to do business

in Liberia.“I am happy to announce

that the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries will organize the second edition of the

Solo Exhibition of Made-in-Ghana products and services at the Monrovia City Hall.

“The Exhibition will provide a platform for the exhibitors to interact with the business community

in Liberia with the aim of building long-term partnerships,” Amb. Wadee pointed out.

The Ghanaian envoy intoned, as a member of ECOWAS, the exhibition will affirm the determination

(l-r) solo exhibition lead campaigner Gifty Otto & amb. Wadee

of Accra and Monrovia to promote regional economic integration through trade.

In this regard, he said, “Only two weeks ago, Ghana hosted the 7th ECOWAS Trade Fair under the theme ‘Regional Integration through Trade.’ That sought to promote economic integration and trade among citizens in member states, especially industrialists, investors, manufacturers, commercial operators and buyers.”

According to Amb. Wadee, business linkages between Ghanaian and Liberian businesses will be strengthened through this exhibition, and as such, encouraged Liberian owned businesses to engage this process for the enhancement of their respective partnership.

The Ghanaian

Ambassador used the occasion to highlight the long-standing relationship between Accra and Monrovia.

“These relations date back to the political collaboration between Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Liberia’s William V.S. Tubman that eventually led to the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now African Union (AU) and extend to the contributions by Ghana to the restoration of peace in Liberia.

“At the people-to-people level, Ghana and Liberia accord hospitality to each other’s citizens and there are strong family ties that unite the peoples,” Amb. Wadee indicated.

Nimba Credit Union Commend CBL Governor

by David a. yates

The president of the Nimba Credit Union (NCU), Amos N.G.

Suah, has commended the Central Bank of Liberia Governor, Dr. J. Mills Jones, and the Bank’s staff for empowering Liberian businesses.

The commendation, according to Suah, is in recognition of the Bank’s loan extension program to the Nimba Business Association (NBA).

Suah spoke with the Daily Observer Thursday, November 21, in an exclusive interview at his office in Ganta, Nimba County.

According to him, the Central Bank is not just giving loan to big businesses but it was also looking at small businesses in several parts of the country in order to ensure that the country’s economy is balanced.

“The CBL wants Liberians to take over their economy so that is one of the reasons why the Bank is empowering small businesses all over the country,” Suah added.

He disclosed that the

Bank recently gave NBA a loan of L$10, 000,000 at an interest rate of 3% per annum. He said they were making progress in the payment.

Adding, the Nimba Credit Union president, said that the loan is for three years and they have just made the second payment to the Bank.

“We want to say thanks to CBL for empowering us and we are trying to do our best to give back the Bank’s money,” Suah stated.

The credit union boss underscored that the government through the CBL is committed to assisting all Liberians in creating ways for Liberians to help themselves by

providing loan for them.The ongoing loan

extension program, the NCU president explains that the loan is helping women to engage into small businesses, and thereby creating a balanced economy.

Borrowing a word from the CBL Governor, the NCU boss said “If we say we will fight poverty, we must fight poverty where poverty is, and poverty is at the lowest income level.”

However, Mr. Suah added that the Nimba Credit Union would also be a saving point for business entrepreneurs in the county and others who would like to save some for future use.

Cbl Governor Dr. J. Mills Jones

African IT Entrepreneurs should Think Globally,

Advises a Google Africa Headby Kate Douglas (Cour-

tesy: www.Howwemadeiti-nafrica.com)

African IT e n t r e p r e n e u r s s hould look at targeting

the global market, advises Google’s head of new products for sub-Saharan Africa, Brett St Clair. St Clair has a history of tech entrepreneurship with a focus on mobile. Before joining Google, he headed up AdMob’s operations in South Africa – a Silicon Valley-based mobile advertising platform – before the company was sold to Google for US$750m in 2009. Today he is responsible for looking after Google’s commercial businesses in mobile, YouTube, social and display media across sub-Saharan Africa (and Greece and Israel too).

In an interview with How we made it in Africa, St Clair pointed out that the local African online community is still small and in order for entrepreneurs to create a tech company of scale, they should think about targeting the global audience. “There is no reason why the next Bill Gates shouldn’t come from Africa.”

He said that while the African online community is seeing growth through mobile technology and improving data access, local entrepreneurs do not have to limit themselves to the African market for

opportunities. Furthermore, nothing grabs an investor’s attention quite like targeting a global, scalable market.

“For the guys that are starting out, it’s very important to focus on global markets,” continued St Clair. “Solve African problems if you can solve African problems and make a lot of money out of it, but if you want to do the big, scalable thing – [think] global markets.”

He added that African tech entrepreneurs generally do not have the same access to a supportive ecosystem of investors, like in Silicon Valley. For this reason he also advises local entrepreneurs to look at building solutions and companies that can produce money from the start.

“Don’t try and get into an ad-funded or a free model or a freemium model – it’s not viable, you are not going to make enough cash,” St Clair said, explaining that this something he wished he realised when he was an entrepreneur. “I look at it as if I was going in… If you look at very successful businessmen, what they do is they go after where they make the most money. There are so many opportunities in Africa to go after those areas and industries where you make the most money. But we are not going after it as tech guys.”

He added that the continent’s tech entrepreneurs and

companies should be collaborating to come up with innovative ideas on how to get more Africans online and grow the local market.

“We are not taking technology and making it more efficient, making it simpler and reducing the costs. We have got the ability to build this technology and develop solutions or services to be able to enable that, but we are not grasping it. We kind of want to be the next Silicon Valley – to do all these crazy and amazing things – but we are not in Silicon Valley. The reality is that we need to take tech and apply normal business practices and standards.”

brett st Clair, Google’s head of new products for

sub-saharan africa

Daily Observer Page 17Tuesday, November 26, 2013

It can be recalled that stu-dents and faculty members took separate decisions re-cently to force the Provost to resign, and this approach that began with peaceful protest took a violent trend when stu-dents began throwing stones at the administration building on November 22, which led to one of the university’s security to sustain an injury while the Provost escaped under maxi-mum anti-riot police protec-tion.

The administration con-firmed that it received a press statement from ULFA on No-vember 22. The statement called for, among other things,

the immediate resignation of Dr. Brownell, while ULSU also sent a position statement listing a number of concerns.

ULFA also called for disen-gagement of the faculty from all teaching activities on the four campuses of the Univer-sity of Liberia until their de-mands are met.

The UL’s statement also notes that without looking up to administration and other stakeholders to act on the de-mands put forward, the Uni-versity was being engulfed in unprecedented violence perpe-trated by students. A situation that has not been experienced for the last five years since Dr.

UL Shut Down Emmet A. Dennis took over as president.

“In view of the forth going, the Administration has re-solved to suspend all activities until calm can be restored on all of its campuses. Therefore, UL requests the cooperation and understanding of the fac-ulty, staff and students as well as the general public while it endeavors through consulta-tion with the leaderships of ULFA, ULSU, and other con-cerned parties to restore civil-ity and serenity to the institu-tion,” the statement says.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) has expressed dismay over the manner and forms the standoff at the University of Liberia (UL) was addressed by both

the faculty and students.At a news conference Mon-

day, November 25, in Mon-rovia, the Director General of the Commission, Dr. Mi-chael P. Slawon, frowned on the channels used by the ag-grieved parties to voice out their respective concerns.

Dr. Slawon told reporters that there are several options before the faculty to address whatever grievances but not to join a strike action to delay learning activities at the UL.

“Academia should be where rational discourse takes place. Education is not just the ave-nue by which students can get well-paying jobs. Education should endow students with the desire, ability, and willing-ness to solve problem through

reasoning and debate relying on critical thinking and, yes, compromise to arrive at work-able solutions.

“Violence should be resisted and should certainly not be the first or even second option,” the Commission said.

Dr. Slawon: “Leaving the classroom with the threat to stay away ‘until our demands are met’ is contrary to the delivery of quality educa-tion that Liberia needs. It also suggests rigidity in thought that does not reflect the spirit of academia in general. I call upon the faculty to return to classroom while endeavoring to find solutions to their griev-ances. Both students and fac-ulty should exhaust all options available to find solutions and

not resort to the perhaps easier options of strike or civil distur-bances or violence.”

The Commission in collabo-ration with the Association of Liberian Universities (ALU) encouraged the students and faculty to use the right channel when there are issues relating to their wellbeing.

ALU and the Commission expressed criticism over stu-dents parading a symbolic cas-ket around the main campus of UL claiming that they (the students) “shot and killed [the provost] intellectually.”

The two institutions called for calm and encouraged the students to reject violence and obey the laws of Liberia.

Kortu Brown clarified that the LCC is not in support of the decision banning of Christian activities in Malawu Town, Zorzor District, Lofa County.

The ban was recently im-posed on the Christian Revival Church (CRC) by the govern-ment, through the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

This latest comment by Rev. Brown is against the backdrop of a conflict that erupted in October when zoes in Malawu

Town reportedly arrested, foot cuffed, and detained some Christians and forcefully closed down the building used as a worshiping center over al-leged violation of “traditional norms.”

Rev. Brown made the clari-fication to the Daily Observer over the weekend at his Brew-erville residence.

The Minister of Internal Af-fairs, Morris Dukuly, who had recently travelled to that part

LCC Calls of Liberia to mediate between the Christians and traditional leaders, banned the church from carrying out public wor-ship in Malawu, during a mass meeting called to resolve the conflict.

According to Minister Duku-ly, the moratorium will remain in place until a lasting solution can be found to the conflict that would serve as a way of restoring calm to the town.

However, Rev. Brown dis-closed that the LCC was work-ing with the government to en-

sure that a lasting solution is reached among the contending parties.

“The Council of Churches is concerned about the mora-torium, and is hoping to hold a meeting with the MIA and parties involved in the conflict as soon as possible,” he stated.

He, however, clarified that the decision taken by govern-ment was meant to enhance reconciliation among the resi-dents and not to deny Chris-tians their right to worship their God.

“We believe that the govern-ment does not intend to de-liberately stop the Christians from assembling together to praise God at all, even though it may appear so. It was intend-ed to preserve public safety to allow the process of engage-ment and dialogue to continue among the parties; so they can agree upon a lasting solution to the problem,” he said.

“The Malawu situation is seen like a “family” issue, per-haps that is why the Minister’s approach was on the basis of

tradition,” the LCC Acting head observed.

He said that LCC was work-ing behind the scene to solve the matter.

“Since the inception of the palaver, we as church leaders have been fully involved. All that we want to see is a way found to solve the problem. As people of the church, we do not want to further inflame the situation. Therefore, we are calling on all Christians in Malawu to remain calm,” he concluded.

(SAPEC) Project, which in-tends to benefit farmers of all categories, including physi-cally challenged Liberians.

MOA said the SAPEC proj-ect is aimed at addressing Li-beria’s fragility following 14 years of civil conflict.

Addressing the audience at the launch of the project last week, Agriculture Minister, Dr. Florence Chenoweth not-ed that the project promotes pro-poor growth by investing in smallholder agriculture to reduce food insecurity. She said it would foster equity and inclusiveness by ensuring the participation of women, the youth, and the physically-challenged in agricultural activities. These activities in-clude agro-processing to facil-itate the decentralized delivery of basic social and economic services by using counties as key entry points.

She said when Liberians take

advantage of the project; it would help reduce the nation’s dependency syndrome on importation. This would con-tribute to the peace and state-building goals of the country as it transitions from conflict and fragility to recovery and resilience.

She noted that the overall objective of the project is to reduce rural poverty and household food insecurity. “The specific objective is to increase the income of small-holder farmers and rural entre-preneurs. The project is also aimed at improving technol-ogy adoption at farm levels and building the capacity of Liberian agriculture sector,” the Agriculture Minister said.

She indicated that the SAPEC was birthed as a re-sult of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), which is a multi-lateral mechanism set up by

the World Bank Group to as-sist in the implementation of pledges made by the G20 at the L’Aquila Summit in Italy in July 2009.

In June 2011, a grant of US$46.5 million for Libe-ria was approved from the GAFSP Trust Fund in support of the “Smallholder Agricul-tural Productivity Enhance-ment and Commercialization (SAPEC) Project”.

Serving as launcher of the project, VP Joseph N. Boakai said, “To make Liberia self sufficient, economically sus-tainable, productive, and food secured, this generation of young people should engage themselves in the various ag-ricultural disciplines. This will curtail the huge importation of food from other countries into Liberia.”

VP Boakai said that he is always baffled when he hears people saying that Liberians do not spend much on agricul-ture; adding: “It’s just that Li-

berians spend more on foreign agricultural sectors than their own through the huge costs of importation.”

According to the MOA, when completed the project will directly benefit an esti-mated 110,000 households; increase household incomes by 300% ; generate more than 10,000 jobs for youths that will become service providers for the agriculture sector after their training in vocational schools for the maintenance of agricultural and processing equipment and in equipment operation.

Through the SAPEC initia-tive, about 180 Km of feeder roads will be constructed in addition to rehabilitating an-other 180 km; it will enhance value addition in the construc-tion of 12 market centers and 12 agro-processing centers equipped with crop processing machines that are annexed to the markets.

The project will work in

partnership with two regional research institutions – the In-ternational Institute of Tropi-cal Agriculture (IITA), and the Africa Rice Centre, to provide technical assistance to the MOA, farmer’s groups, pri-vate sector actors, and NGOs.

The project is expected to be implemented in: Bomi, Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Maryland, Montserrado, Margibi, Rivercess, River Gee, and Sinoe.

The project will scale-up the ongoing African Development Bank (AfDB)/International Fund for Agricultural Devel-opment (IFAD)-supported Ag-riculture Sector Rehabilitation Project (ASRP) being imple-mented.

SAPEC will be implemented over a period of five years: from May 2013 to April 2017. The total cost of the project is estimated at US$54.4 million. The African Development Bank serves as the Supervis-

ing Entity for both the GAFSP grant and loan.

The project consists of four major components: Sustain-able Crop Production Inten-sification, that is aimed at the adoption of improved tech-nologies, integrated soil, crop, and water management and production modernization; Value Addition and Market-ing, aimed at enhancing the market competitiveness of smallholder’s farm products and family income on the overall; and capacity building and institutional strengthen-ing, a component that would address the acute shortage of skilled manpower for planning and supervision for sector de-velopment activities; and Proj-ect Management that will pro-vide resources for the effective coordination and management of project implementation, including timely execution of activities and reporting

Gov’t Strives

by George D. Kennedy

The late Theophi lus Totee Bet-tie will be missed by many people,

including his family, co-workers, and colleagues from the field of academia. He will be remembered for his as-tuteness and proficiency.

But it is God, who giveth life and taketh away, says the Bible. The Deputy Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Gov-ernor for Economic Policy died on Friday, November 8, 2013 at the Saint Nicholas Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, while attending the Bi-an-

nual Conference of the West African Institute for Finance and Economic Management (WAIFEM).

Hence, his demise has cre-ated a vacuum at the CBL where he served his country with distinction. His remains were laid to rest at the John-sonville Cemetery outside Monrovia on Saturday.

Vice President Joseph N. Boakai led several govern-ment officials to the funeral of the late Totee Bettie where they were joined by hundreds of mourners from the CBL and across the country to console the bereaved family. Vice President Boakai urged the Bettie Family to take courage in the Lord during this time of bereavement.

Rest in Peace He noted that “the death of Mr. Bettie remains an upset to many, not only to the CBL family, as evidenced by the turnout here today.”

“The late Bettie will be highly remembered because of his role in helping to re-vamp our economy,” VP Boakai said.

Mr. Boakai further observed that it was unfortunate that “we continue to lose some of our best when we are trying to recruit good people.”

“One of the difficulties we are faced with is the recruit-ment of competent people. So, his death is a big blow for our country,” he stressed.

In the mind of Vice Presi-dent Boakai, Bettie was one of the best minds Liberia had.

He urged the bereaved fam-ily to take courage because

the government is with them during this time of mourning.

Consoling the family, CBL Executive Governor Dr. Jo-seph Mills Jones described as ‘a surprise’ the sudden death of Theophilus Totee Bettie.

“It is also a surprise to the CBL family,” he said.

According to Governor Jones, Bettie was in good health when he departed for Nigeria where he died.

He informed the mourners about the Central Bank of Ni-geria’s role (CBN) in helping to take Mr. Bettie to the best hospital in Lagos.

The CBL boss also ex-plained that the CBN had planned to fly Mr. Bettie to Europe for advanced medical treatment, but unfortunately, he did not recover.

“His death is the will of

the God; that is something no one can question. But, for us at CBL, it is a great loss. We have lost a good economist who we could count on.”

“We say to his wife Enid Bettie and his daughter, take encourage during this time of bereavement, “Jones noted as his voice trembled.

The late Bettie was a Ful-bright Scholar from Yale University in the United States.

He joined the CBL in 2008 as advisor to the Governor on Economic Policy, before be-ing elevated to Deputy Gov-ernor for Economic Policy.

In her intervention, the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Enid Bettie, thanked the gov-ernment and CBL Governor Jones as well as those who stood by the family.

She urged them to pray for the Bettie Family espe-cially his daughter as they go through this time of mourn-ing.

The deputy governors of the central banks of Nigeria and the Gambia were part of the funeral ceremony and paid tributes to the late Bet-tie.

Also paying tributes were several institutions includ-ing: the University of Libe-ria, Liberia Business Asso-ciation, the Liberia Bankers Association, Friends of Theo, Traditional Council of Libe-ria, WAIFEM, Saint Simon Baptist Church, and the Lib-erty Party, amongst others.

SudokuPlace a number from 1 to 9 in every empty cell so

that each row, each column and each 3x3 box con-taining all the numbers from 1 to 9. No number can appear twice in a row, column or 3x3 box. Do not guess you can work it out by process of elimination.

GOOD LUCK!

Last week’s results:

With Fumbah Kromah & BSG

Daily Observer Tuesday, November 26, 2013 The Other Page

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Daily Observer Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Page 4Tuesday, November 5, 2013 Page 19For

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

WAFU Cup: Lone Star in a Crunch Match against Senegal

by Omari Jackson

The local home-base players of the na-tional soccer team, Lone Star, will

go into this afternoon game against Senegal at Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Ghana.

The Lone Star drew their first match with Niger (1-1) and played a 10-man team against defending champions, Togo, and lost to an incredible score of 4-0.

Despite the high score mar-gin, Lone Star’s goalkeeper, Mulbah Urey was the man of the match on the Liberian side as he was the Rock of Gri-bralter, preventing more goals from entering into the net.

TV commentators heaped praises on Goalkeeper Urey as the last in the defense counted

on his flexibility and goalkeep-ing talents to defend a broken team.

Reports said after a Lone Star player got a red card, the midfield became vulnerable as the Togolese penetrated the defense at will.

And perhaps Acting Coach Thomas Kojo was considering his chances when the Togolese began to unleash their venom, putting in four goals against nothing by Lone Star.

The Kumasi Stadium is be-coming notorious of teams receiving more than one goal. It was on the same field that on August 19 the Egyptian national team, The Pharaohs, conceded a humiliating 6-1 against the Black Stars in the first leg of their 2014 Brazil World Cup.

Lone Star will be going into today’s game with all their cards. Winning will increase

the respect they have gained so far among soccer fans and for the Senegalese even in a draw will take them to the finals.

Though the Lone Star is yet to take command of their game, and it was practically due to their hurried arrival in Kumasi, the day of the tour-nament and drew 1-1 against Niger the following day. The team’s performance impressed the organizers and soccer fans that Mohammed Varney earned an impressive award.

Senegal, who defeated Niger 2-0 last Sunday at the Baba Yara Stadium for a hundred percent record of six points through Richard Sagna and Sidy Sarr now need a draw against Liberia today to reach the final.

Acting Coach Kojo will therefore will be going into the game to demand respect for Liberian football.

lone star and the Terenga lions of senegal who meet this afternoon in Kumasi

Six for Peace & Unity Tournament Dec. 26-30

At least six soccer teams are expect-ed to take part in the Peace & Unity

through Sports tournament Dec. 26-30.

According to Mr. Joseph Reeves, a member of the orga-nizing committee in Atlanta,

Ga, USA, the teams are Satel-lite FC of Guinea, Freetown FC of Sierra Leone and Li-beria Diaspora International, (Liberian pros abroad).

The rest, he said are Sr. Pro, otherwise known as George Weah X1, BYC and LISCR FC.

Reeves said arrangement

with the Liberia Football As-

sociation is favorable for the

competition. The tournament

was last held in 2012 at the

Antoinette Tubman Stadium

in Monrovia.

Qualified Candidates for LAF’s Elections Released-as Table Tennis elections Postponed

by leroy M. sonpon, iii

The Liberia Athletics Federation (LAF) ad-hoc elections commission has

released the names of “quali-fied candidates” for Friday, November 29’s election at the headquarters of the Liberia National Olympic Committees (LNOC) on Benson Street.

Current President Mulbah Z. Zayzay and Christopher Sayeh were qualified to contest the presidency, after his club, Fast Track, won the protest for qualification to the elections.

The incumbent vice presi-dent for administration, Mad-am Gbour Wilson will rerun unopposed as well as the for-mer treasurer and a coach, Frederick B. Krah, for the post of vice president for technical affairs. Former financial sec-retary, Kokolo Roberts is ex-pected to be elected treasurer.

“There is no applicant for fi-nancial secretary, and after the elections, it lies in the purview of the Executive Committee to decide,” Cllr. Rennie, the elec-tions chairman, said.

He announced that after the protest of disqualified clubs and candidates, the Commis-sion has only reconsidered its decision on the Fast Track Club, and henceforth declared it qualified for the elections, along with Conquerors.

Cllr. Rennie said five clubs, including Success 2000, Zoyah, Liberty, Fast Spikes and Ndolor have been barred from the elections due to be-ing inactive over the years as.

Other ineligible voters are John Henries, the Chairman on Veteran Committee, Mad-am Carmella Smallwood, the Women’s Commission Chair-lady, Assistant Secretary Gen-eral James W.S. Wrokpoh and member Roland Barclay.

Eligible voters include presi-dent Mulbah Zaza, vice presi-dent for administration Gbour S. Wilson, secretary general D. Winston Cole, I and treasurer Frederick Krah.

Others are financial secre-tary Korkulo Roberts; Cllr. Sylvester Rennie, arbitra-tion chairman; protocol John T. Pettiquoi; public relations chairman Horatio B. Willie, medical committee chair-man Morris S. Dukuly and the chairman for the technical committee, Kesselee Kanneth, Daniel Forkpa, chairman on membership, coach Massaquoi president, coaches association and representatives from Ath-letes’ Commission and ISSA.

Meanwhile, the elections for the Liberia National Table Tennis Association (LNTTA) which was slated for Saturday, November 30, 2013, has been postponed to Saturday, the 1st of February, 2014, the Chair-man of the LNTTA Ad-hoc elections commission, Charles Collin said.

Egypt Will Not Retain Bob Bradley

Egyptian Football Association chair-man Gamal Allam has announced

they will not renew the con-tract of their head coach Bob Bradley.

Pharaohs did not qualify to Brazil World Cup after they lost their play off matches 7 -3 in aggregate against Ghana.

“Bob Bradley’s contract end-ed this night, and we will not renew it, we will start a search for a new coach,” Gamal said after the match on November 19.

“I think Bradley will not ac-cept to stay here following all the criticism from the media after the first match in Kumasi. We did not talk with him about staying and we will not do so,” Allam added.

“We won against Ghana but we did not qualify. We signed Bradley to take the team to World Cup but he failed so we

will search for new coach, and we wish him good luck”.

“We will sign an Egyptian coach, but now I will not re-veal who we have in mind but we will definitely not sign an-other foreign coach”. Bradley took the charge of Egyptian National team two-years ago after the former coach Hassan Shehata left the team.

Bradley apologized to Egyp-tian fans after the Pharaohs failed to qualify for Brazil 2014 World Cup.

Egypt won their second leg match of World Cup play off against Ghana 2-1 in Cairo but

it was not enough to overturn a crushing 6-1 defeat in the first leg match in Kumasi last month.

“I am sorry for all the Egyp-tian fans. I came here to get to the World Cup but we could not qualify. I am sad because I wanted to make the fans happy especially with the problems that they are currently facing,” said Bradley after that match.

“In the World Cup qualifiers, we played eight matches, won seven and lost only one but that was not enough to go to Brazil. We did our best but the first match made it an impos-sible task for us.”

“The players however showed to all of Africa that they are good players with their performance in this match and I’m proud of them.”

“Now it’s the time to say goodbye for the fans, my play-ers and Egypt, my contract expired tonight since I failed to qualify for the World Cup,” Bradley added.

Coach bradley

Former Egyptian Striker Sentenced to 6 years

An Egyptian court sentenced former Egypt striker Mo-hamed Zidan in

absentia on Wednesday to six years in prison after he was convicted of issuing three bad cheques to an Egyptian real estate company.

Arab Company for Projects and Urban Development ini-tiated the suit against Zidan, who is believed to be abroad, earlier this year.

The 31-year-old has been out of action since leaving United

Arab Emirates club Baniyas last January. He now works as a television pundit for Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera Sports, although he hasn’t formally announced his retirement from the game.

Zidan helped Egypt win two African Cup of Nations titles, in 2008 and 2010. However, his spell with the Pharaohs was marred by consistent dis-ciplinary problems and accu-sations of feigning injury.

Mohammed Zidan

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...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethen, ye have

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Dr. Owl’s Biblical Guest

By Abednego Davis

Mr. Dan-iel Kan-n e h , defense c o u n -s e l ’ s

first witness in the ongoing armed robbery case of Eco-

bank’s branch, in Zwedru City, Grand Gedeh County, alleged that three members of the Se-gal Guard Service assisted them (the defendants) in an at-tempt to rob the bank.

Segal Guard Service is the security firm that is protecting the bank’s facility in Zwedru.

Testifying under oath on

Monday, November 25, at Criminal Court ‘D’, defen-dant Kanneh explained that on November 14, 2012, he was introduced to one Mohamed Fred Baforee, believed to be a shift commander at Ecobank’s Zwedru City branch, and two others guards, including Cho-loplay Quayee and Junior Do-

soe by defendants James Phil-ips Toe in the County.

“After that, defendant Toe informed me that the guards were seriously hunting for people who would assist them in doing what they wanted to do,” Kanneh alleged.

According to him, Toe did not say what the men wanted

Witness Links Segal’s Guards to Ecobank Robberythe individuals to do for them.

Kanneh went on to explain in the packed courtroom that dur-ing the evening of November 14, between 7p.m. to 8p.m. Toe, the other two defendants, and Kanneh himself, decided to walk to a nightclub opposite the bank’s premises named Moonlight.

“At approximately 11p.m. while we were at the club, Toe told us that he received a call from Mohammed, and he later left us in the club and went to him (Mohammed). Later, Toe called me and the other two defendants to meet him at the bank,” Kanneh claimed.

According to him, when they arrived at the bank they met Mohammed and he told them “gentlemen, you are pleased to come in.”

“After that, one of the guards, Quayee, came and opened the gate, this is how we managed to enter the bank’s premises,” Kanneh explained.

“After we entered the bank,” defendant Kanneh claimed, “Mohammed, Toe, and Quay-ee took us to the back of it.

There Mohammed told us that we should not worry, because somebody who worked within the bank is aware of you being here.”

He continued, “From there Mohammed entered the gen-erator room and brought a bundle of keys and informed us that one of the keys can open the padlock.”

“I did not really know what was in their minds, after he showed us the keys we opened the padlock, then Quayee asked whether we had finished opening the door, and we an-swered yes,”Mr. Kanneh con-firmed.

“That was how we locked it back, but less than two min-utes later, the entire compound was surrounded by officers of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the Liberian Nation-al Police (LNP), and this was how we were arrested,” Kan-neh narrated.

“They laid us down and used their pepper spray on us. We were actually manhandled by the police,” Kanneh wept bit-terly in open court.

Youth Consultation on ‘Post 2015 Development Agenda’ Begins in Zwedru

The Liberian Government, through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, dis-

closed the process to develop a common youth position for Liberia on the ‘Post 2015 Development Agenda’ has in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh Coun-ty.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports Acting Deputy Minis-ter for Youth Development, Saah N’Tow, said: “16 youths from each of the selected five Southeastern counties, will converge at Zwedru for the one-day consultative meet-ing to flag their priorities as the youth common position to compliment the national con-sultations on the ‘Post 2015 Development Agenda’

The consultation will con-tinue in Gbarnga, Bong Coun-ty, on Wednesday, November 27, were another set of 80 youths from five counties are expected to be in attendance.

On Saturday, November 30, youths from the final five

counties will meet in Kakata, Margibi Counties to ensure their voices are also heard on the ‘Post 2015 Development Agenda.’

“As the processes on the global and continental stages proceed, Liberian youth are interested in shaping the dy-namics on the local scene and the need to develop the

Liberia youth common posi-tion on the Post 2015 Devel-opment Agenda emerged with deep interest in contextual-izing the challenges from a post-conflict country perspec-tive,” Acting Deputy Minister for Youth Development Mr. N’Tow said.

He added: “The Ministry of Youth and Sports remain

committed in ensuring that the lives of our young people improve and we lime to use medium to call on all young persons to support and con-tribute to the development of the Liberian Youth Common Position on the ‘Post 2015 Development Agenda.”

Mr. N’Tow, right, said it is critical that Liberian youths’ voices be heard as UNFPA-Liberia Resident Representative listens

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, VOL, No.25.indd 1 11/26/13 12:59 AM