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Tag: Liberia

  • 2.3m to vote in Liberia poll

    2.3m to vote in Liberia poll

    The West African Elders Forum (WAEF) Election Mission to Liberia has advised political actors and other stakeholders in today’s polls to shun violence and commit to peaceful elections.

    Its Head of Mission and former President Goodluck Jonathan and Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Kadrie Ouedrago, who is a former Prime Minister of Burkinabo Faso, in a statement enjoined candidates to abide by the peace accord, urging the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the security agencies to exercise their mandate in accordance with the nation’s laws to build trust and guarantee the integrity of the polls.

    President George Weah, who is going for re-election is being challenged by opposition coalitions.

    No fewer than 2.3 million voter are registered to participate in the voting. 

    The WAEF statement added: “We note that Liberia has, in the last two decades, established a striking culture of peaceful elections and seamless transitions, for which we urge all stakeholders to strive to maintain this tradition by working to make today’s elections transparent, free, and fair.

    “We urge the candidates and voters to be law-abiding and avoid actions that could have a negative impact on the elections and threaten the peace and stability the country has witnessed since the end of the civil war.

    “We note the commitment to a non-violent, free, fair, and transparent electoral process, as demonstrated by the signing of the Farmington River Declaration, and urge all candidates to abide by the dictates of the peace accord.”

    It noted that it was deeply concerned by the recent reports of violent clashes in some parts of the country that led to the alleged death of two-party supporters in Lofa County.

    The statement said, “WAEF condemns the unfortunate incident and urges the concerned authorities to conduct diligent investigations with a view to preventing such acts of violence from happening during and after the elections.

     ”In this regard, we encourage them, as they close their campaigns, to appeal to their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully and maintain law and order during and after the elections to promote progressive politics devoid of hate speech, personal attacks, incendiary rhetoric, and violence.

    “It is imperative that the candidates and their supporters commit to repeating the exemplary milestone achieved in 2017 when similar peace pledges were made and strictly adhered to in the interest of peace, progress, and sustainable democracy.”

    It praised Liberians for their abiding faith in the nation’s democracy as exemplified in the mass participation in the 2023 electioneering activities, which culminated in the spirited closing campaigns of various parties on Sunday.

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    This is the first time Liberia is running a national election without the support of international partners, including the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) security forces, since civil war ended in 2003.

    Security concerns have been raised In Liberia following the deaths of at least two people in pre-election violence. Political watchers say campaign messaging has deepened political divides, and are calling on the national police to be more proactive during the presidential and legislative elections set for Tuesday.

    On the streets of Monrovia, university students chanted, “We want peace, Liberia is our only country; we want peace,” as they distributed peace-branded handbills to commuters, urging voters to desist from violence.

    Grace Yeah Yeaney, a student leader at the University of Liberia, said the deaths of two people due to electoral violence in Lofa County on September 29 is alarming.

    Liberia’s Peace Building Office, which develops policies for conflict resolution, says data collected around the country shows that campaign messaging has deepened political divides.

    Edward Mulbah, the group’s executive director, said six of Liberia’s 15 counties are hot spots for potential violence.

    “This election is going to be very much challenging. There are going to be sporadic tensions, some sporadic violence, but we think that the violence will be intensive, but may not be widespread,” Mulbah said.

  • 2.4m voters for Liberia polls Tuesday

    2.4m voters for Liberia polls Tuesday

    Tomorrow, over 2.4 million Liberians will head to the polls to elect a president and members of their legislature.

    Currently, there are 19 candidates hoping to replace incumbent President George Weah of the Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC), who is seeking a second six-year term.

    The two main challengers are former vice president Joseph Nyuma Boakai and businessman Alexander Cummings.

    Both men were previously in a four-party opposition alliance, the Coalition of Political Parties (CPP). However, despite initial success, the coalition has since broken up after reported disagreements over who gets the presidential ticket in this election cycle.

    Also in the running is Liberian People’s Party’s Tiawan Gongloe, a renowned human rights lawyer and professor of law who served as the country’s solicitor general during the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf administration.

    The former president became Africa’s first elected female leader in 2006, but inclusivity in politics is still a mirage in many parts of the continent, including her native Liberia. Only two of the 20 contenders in tomorrow’s presidential vote are women, one of whom is Sara Nyanti, a former deputy special representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

    Weah, who is running for a second term, has boasted that he will secure outright victory in the first round of elections. He has been in office since 2017.

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    CDC’s Weah has kept current vice president, Jewel Howard-Taylor, as his running mate. Howard-Taylor is the ex-wife of former president Charles Taylor, who is serving a 50-year sentence for crimes against humanity committed in neighbouring Sierra Leone, in a British prison.

    Weah, 57, has said his performance will be enough to secure re-election. He counts as achievement a free tuition scheme for undergraduates of public universities that was instituted in 2018. Weah’s government also pays the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) fees for 9th and 12th graders in public schools.

    Furthermore, the government has increased electricity access and reduced costs from 38 cents per kilowatt to an average of 15 cents per kilowatt. The administration has also embarked on several road construction projects around the country.

    Despite these, critics say corruption has been widespread under Weah. They also point to the state of the economy and rising food prices which led to protests in December last year and in June of 2019 as as indicative of government failure.

    In his manifesto, Weah has promised to reduce out-of-pocket payment for medical expenses through a compulsory social health insurance scheme and has also promised to provide off-the-grid solar energy for public hospitals and secondary schools.

    The streets of Monrovia were yesterday filled with supporters of Weah.

    Defying the rain which started in the early hours of yesterday, supporters of the “dynamic black president”, as Agnes Mahm likes to describe him, marched out of different corners of Montserrado county with Weah’s face printed on their blue shirts headed for the party headquarters where the grand finale of the campaign rally held.

    As stipulated by the National Elections Commission (NEC) Liberia’s election management body, campaigns for general elections end at midnight yesterday.

  • ‘Our expectations from Liberia polls’

    ‘Our expectations from Liberia polls’

    A violence-free, fair, and transparent election will cement the nation’s democratic gains, secure national peace and ongoing reconciliation, the Alliance for Transitional Justice-Liberia, a conglomeration of 16 civil society organisations said yesterday.

    The alliance’s call, coming days before this year’s presidential and legislative elections, raises concern over a shortfall in the money paid to the National Elections Commission after being approved by the National Legislature.

    Read Also: DTAC deploys 16 Nigerian volunteer teachers to Liberia

    The alliance’s founder, Jeremiah S. Swen, said the 2023 general elections mark a historic turning point in Liberia’s democratic journey. As such, a credible election would uplift Liberia as a powerful model to be emulated by any post-war country and restore Africa’s current declining political image.

    As Liberians prepare to go to polls on October 10, there have been reports of violence in which two people were reported killed in Foya Lofa county.

    President George Weah has condemned the killings.

  • DTAC deploys 16 Nigerian volunteer teachers to Liberia

    DTAC deploys 16 Nigerian volunteer teachers to Liberia

    • DG vows to reposition agency for broader, better relevance

    No fewer than 16 Nigerian teachers will be departing for Liberia under the country’s volunteer scheme.

    The 16 teachers who will be departing the shores of Nigeria tomorrow are going under the Technical Aid Corps and at the request of the Liberian government.

    This is as the Director- General of the Directorate of Technical Aid Corps, Yusuf Buba Yakub, vowed to reposition the agency for better and broader relevance in the affairs of the country.

    Yakub stressed the need to sustain the programme, which he said has been helpful in international diplomacy.

    Read Also: Agency deploys 16 Nigerian volunteers teachers to Liberia

    Speaking at the pre-departure programme for the volunteers who are mainly teachers, Yakub said: “We have an agenda and we are going to pursue it. We will reorganise and energise DTAC and as you have seen this morning, we are deploying volunteers to Liberia.

    “It is an instrument of soft power diplomacy where we deliver services to humanity through deploying professionals as volunteers to Africa Caribbean and the Pacific nations.

     “So, I want to assure Nigerians that the DTAC will henceforth continue to deploy Nigerians to these countries, to make sure that Nigeria occupy her place of leadership among the comity of nations.”

    He also hinted that another batch of volunteers will be deployed in the next two weeks.

    As according to him, there are lots of request on the table from African, Carribean and Pacific countries asking for volunteers from Nigeria.

    On the teachers deployed to Liberia, he said they were picked after a rigorous and painstaking processes.

  • Agency deploys 16 Nigerian volunteers teachers to Liberia

    Agency deploys 16 Nigerian volunteers teachers to Liberia

    No fewer than 16 Nigerian teachers would be departing for Liberia under the country’s volunteer scheme. 

    The 16 teachers who will be departing the shores of Nigeria on Friday, September 22, are going under the Technical Aid Corps and at the request of the Liberian government. 

    This is as the director-general of the Directorate of Technical.Aid Corps, Yusuf Buba Yakub, vowed to reposition the agency for better and broader relevance in the affairs of the country. 

    Yakub stressed the need to sustain the programme  which he said has been helpful in international diplomacy. 

    Speaking at the pre-departure programme for the volunteers who are mainly teachers, Yakub said: “We have an agenda and we are going to pursue it. We will reorganise and energise DTAC and as you have seen this morning, we are deploying volunteers to Liberia. 

    “It is an instrument of soft power diplomacy where we deliver services to humanity through deploying professionals as volunteers to Africa Caribbean and the Pacific nations.

    “So, I want to assure Nigerians that the DTAC will henceforth continue to deploy Nigerians to these countries, to make sure that Nigeria occupy her place of leadership among the comity of nations.”

    He also hinted that another batch of volunteers will be deployed in the next two weeks.

    Read Also: Morocco vs Liberia postponed after earthquake

    As according to him, there are lots of request on the table from African, Carribean and Pacific countries asking for volunteers from Nigeria. 

    On the teachers deployed to Liberia, he said they were picked after a rigorous and painstaking processes.

    The DG therefore congratulated all the volunteers, charging them to be good ambassadors of the country. 

    He also charged the volunteers to show great commitment and patriotism in their conducts. 

    He added: “Stick, therefore with all you have been told and you will never put a foot wrong.”

  • Snakes sacks Ballon d’Or winner Weah from Presidential office

     

    Call it different strokes for different fellows and you will be absolutely right.  While Sudan President Omar al-Bashir was recently forced out of office following a military coup, Liberian President and three- time African footballer of the year George Weah has been forced out of his office by Snakes.

    The 1995 FIFA world player of the year is reportedly working from home after two snakes were found in the building where his office is located.

    The black snakes were seen this week briefly emerging from a hole in a wall of the reception area of the building in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital.

    Deputy press secretary Smith Toby said the President who was one of the dignitaries at this Africa footballer of the year award held in Senegal with Mohammed Salah emerging winner, was advised to stay away until the Foreign Affairs building is properly fumigated.

    The president’s office has been located in Ministry of Foreign Affairs since a fire gutted the presidential mansion in 2006.

    The deputy press secretary said his office has opened an inquiry on the matter and a fumigation process has begun to take care of ‘crawling and creeping things.’

    It is less than a month since the building was last closed for fumigation between 29 March and 1 April.

    ‘The snakes were never killed,’ Mr Toby said. ‘There was a little hole somewhere… they made their way back.’

    The Executive Protection Service was unable to kill the snakes as they vanished back through the same passage from which they first appeared, a source told FrontPageAfrica.

    ‘That building’s been there for years now, and [because of] the drainage system, the possibility of having things like snakes crawling in that building was high,’ Mr Toby said.

    Liberia is home to poisonous snakes – including black mambas and cobras and officials are not taking chances in ensuring that the 51 year old President and Ballon d’Or winner is not harmed in anyway.

    Weah, who played for AC Milan, PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City in the course of his soccer career, was sworn in as Liberian president in January 2018.  The President and his immediate staff are hopefully expected to return to office on Monday.

    President Weah is however not the only one to have been forced to vacate his office temporarily because of “unwanted visitors”. In 2017 Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari had to vacate his office for about 81 days after rodents reportedly invaded Aso Rock with Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu confirming that the rodents damaged furniture and air conditioning fittings in the office forcing the President to work from home.

  • 21 bodies recovered from Liberian gold mine

    Liberian authorities on Thursday confirmed 21 bodies have been recovered from a gold mine where a mudslide buried some miners two months ago.

    The authorities said up to 45 miners were thought to have been trapped after the mudslide at the Gbanepea Mine in the lower Nimba County in central Liberia on Feb. 9.

    Dorr Cooper, the Nimba County superintendent, said only 21 bodies were found and that rescue operations had been brought to a close while speaking to newsmen.

    “Additional 13 bodies were recovered few days ahead of the end of the entire rescue operation, apart from the eight bodies that were earlier.

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    “This means that we were able to recover more than 20 bodies during the entire process,’’ Cooper said.

    He also announced the closure of the mining site and suspension of all mining activities at the place until further notice.

    Cooper called on the locals of the area to adhere to the government’s order on the closure of the site.

    `The government remains firm on its decision to suspend all mining activities in the area until all necessary measures are put in place.

    `The Liberian government is working to ensure that all the necessary mechanisms are put in place to allow qualified individuals and organisations interested in exploration to start operating in the area very soon,’’ he added. (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Flavour opens school for the blind in Liberia

    AFRO highlife singer Flavour N’abania has opened a school for the blind in Liberia.

    It was a fulfilment of a promise made to Semah G. Weifur, the blind boy whom Flavour met two years ago in Liberia during a visit. The school building is named after Semah.

    He was accompanied for the launch of the school by ace music producer, Masterkraft.

    And to honour Semah on his recent visit to Liberia, Flavour uploaded the picture of the school on Instagram and captioned the picture, “Semah’s School in Liberia.”

    Flavour first connection with Semah was reported in 2017 after he was impressed by the youngster’s rendition of his iconic single, ‘Mama’ at a peace concert organised by Liberian singer, Juli Endee.

    Read also: Flavour shuts down Anambra

    Flavour then featured him on ‘Most High,’ a gospel track off his album, ‘Ijele the Traveller,’ in the same year.

  • Mauritius, Liberia, in EU’s blacklist of tax havens

    Three major African countries have topped the list of non-cooperative tax jurisdiction in the world.

    It may be recalled that the European Union had last Wednesday published its first list of international tax havens, tagged: ‘named and shamed” 30 territories on list of international tax havens.

    EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told a news conference that “we are today publishing the top 30 non-cooperative jurisdictions consisting of those countries or territories that feature on at least 10 member states’ blacklists.”

    The full list is: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Guernsey, Monaco, Mauritius, Liberia, Seychelles, Brunei, Hong Kong, Maldives, Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, Panama, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos, US Virgin Islands.

    On the list were three African countries namely: Liberia, Mauritius and Seychelles. This current list follows a previous list released by the EU in December 2017 of so-called non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Countries on the list are deemed by the EU not to meet its set criteria for transparency because they do not comply with international standards on the exchange of information, have harmful tax regimes which result in unfair tax competition and have not committed to implement the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) minimum standards.

    Namibia was the only African country among the 17 countries listed in Annex 1, comprising of countries regarded by the EU as being non-cooperative.

    Botswana, Eswatini, Mauritius, Morocco and Seychelles were listed in Annex 2. i.e. countries which are cooperative and have undertaken to successfully deliver the commitments they have made to align with the EU criteria within a set period.

    Apparently worried about this development, The Nation learnt that the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) is reportedly in so in discussions with the EU about the listings. The ATAF Executive Secretary Logan Wort said: “ATAF has met with EU representatives and strongly rejected the EU listings which do not provide a fair picture as countries such as Namibia do not provide fertile grounds for tax avoidance. We informed them that the listings are bullying on the part of the EU.”

    Countries on the list could be subjected to a range of sanctions by EU members. These could include, amongst others, being deprived of development aid and being subjected to stricter reporting requirements for multinationals with activities in listed jurisdictions

  • Deadly Ebola virus found in bat

    The deadly Ebola virus has been found in a bat in Liberia, researchers and the health ministry said on Thursday.

    National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) director general Tolbert Nyenswah told newsmen in the capital Monrovia that scientists of Liberia’s health ministry and NPHIL detected the Zaire Ebola virus in one bat.

    “To date, all other bats have tested negative. The finding was nonetheless significant, as researchers believe it suggests that bats may be a natural host for Ebola.

    “Researchers believe it was likely that bats in other parts of Africa were also carrying the Ebola virus,’’ Nyenswah said.

    Read Also: 24 patients flee Ebola treatment center

    According to the director general, ongoing studies will examine whether more bats are infected and how bats spread the virus.

    Ebola, a highly infectious disease that causes a fever, often leads to massive internal bleeding and fatalities.

    During the last major Ebola outbreak in 2014, 11,000 people died when the virus spread across the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.