Fund
Raising Event For President Sirleaf’s LET Generated $1 million
and A Historical Gift
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf attended a fund raising
meeting to raise funds for the Liberian Educational Trust (LET), a
charitable organization supported by the president to undertake projects
in the area of education.
George Bush and Liberia
(By Joseph Kweedy Solo)
“ Charles Taylor needs to leave Liberia for the Liberian people
to have peace and spare them blood share”. This was George Bush
speaking before the former Liberian dictator, an international pariah
and former warlord left Liberia for Nigeria in disgrace. Because of
that one statement which came in the wake of the invasion of Iraq
and the overthrown of Saddam Hussein, Liberians tend to have a special
place in their hearts for George Bush.
Dollars
and Sense in Special Education and Rehabilitation
(
By Sakui W. G. Malakpa)
A close approximation of the number of people with disabilities (PWDs) in Liberia is difficult to reach because of several reasons. Many live in remote areas where they may not be reached to be included in any census while others are hidden by their families because of the stigma attached to disabilities and people with disabilities.
“LEADERSHIP TO END
WORLD HUNGER”
(Remarks by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
President of Liberia on the Occasion of Receiving 2006 Africa Prize
for Leadership Awarded by the Hunger Project)
I am most grateful to be honored today as recipient of the Africa Prize for Leadership by The Hunger Project. Indeed, I am extremely honored to join the ranks of the sterling group of persons who have received this award including Heads of State such as Nelson Mandela, as well as educators, scientists, women activists, and grassroots organizers.
2006 Africa Prize for
Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger
(Address by Joan Holmes President of The Hunger Project)
From 1989 to 2003, civil war devastated the country. Thousands of
men, women and children were victims of murder, abduction, torture,
forced labor, displacement, sexual assault and rape. Children as young
as nine were forced to become soldiers. The country’s infrastructure
was completely destroyed. Corruption was widespread. Life expectancy
dropped to less than 40 years.
President
Sirleaf Receiving the Africa Prize for The Eradication of hunger Award
(
By Abdoulaye W. Dukulé)
When she walks up the podium on Saturday evening, October 21, 2006
to receive the Africa Prize for the Eradication of Hunger Award, President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will be joining a coterie of African leaders
who have greatly impacted the lives of their compatriots in the past
many decades. The first recipient of the prize was none other than
Mr. Abdou Diouf, former President of Senegal, an icon of democracy
in Africa.
Opposition Parties: Benefits
and Challenges in Building Sustainable Democracy
(By Emmanuel Dolo)
How do opposition political parties benefit transitional societies
such as Liberia in achieving democracy? There are many answers to
this question, each with its own implications for how governance takes
shape in specific social, political, and economic contexts. The nation
building debate in post-conflict Liberia has tended to focus on the
conduct of the ruling government and the non-governmental sector.
President
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's Speech at Georgetown University
Nine months ago, I became Africa’s first elected woman president.
That moment was seen, around the world, as one of hope and possibility
for Liberia. Our people, in a free and fair election, gave my government
the greatest opportunity that can come to any leader: the chance to
rebuild a nation on the ruins of war. We are moving resolutely forward
toward the achievement of this goal. At the same time, we are grateful
for the inspiration of our history.
President
Sirleaf Speaks At Georgetown University: “We Delivered on Our
150-Day Promises … But Time Is Not on our Side.”
(By Abdoulaye W. Dukulé)
Introducing her at the Sachs Goodman lecture at Georgetown University
in Washington, DC, Dr. Chester Crocker noted President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf’s reputation for directness. Indeed, the audience of
foreign policy students, faculty, and lawmakers did not have to wait
for long to hear a new type of speech, a frank assessment by President
Sirleaf of the challenges that Liberia faces, and considerable departure
from her buoyant optimism before the joint session of Congress months
ago.
Are
The Likes Of Taylor's Allies To Own The Liberian Electricity Corporation,
National Port Authority, Etc?
(By J. Yanqui Zaza )
Would the likes of Charles Taylor's allies become the new owners of
utility companies such as the Liberian Electricity Corporations now
that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has promised to sell government-owned
entities? (The Analyst, October 5, 2006). A new purchase of another
utility asset would add on to the Cell phone (Lone Star Communications)
business owned by Emmanuel Shaw, Benoni Urey, etc. Predictably, wouldn’t
they also acquire Liberia natural resources such as gold, diamond,
iron ore, etc?
Liberia:
‘War Crime Tribunal Is Needed’- David Cane
(By: Jefferson F Cooper)
The former head and chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra
Leone, David Cane says Liberia needs a war crime tribunal to bring
about truth, justice and sustainable peace for victims in that troubled
West African state.
In the Wake of Freezone Corruption
Saga: ULAA's Former Prexy Charged
(By Obadiah Karnah, II)
The Judge of the Monrovia City Court, Milton D. Taylor, has issued
writ of arrest for former President of the Union of Liberian Association
in the Americas, Sam Mohammed Kromah and his former Comptroller of
the Liberian Industrial Freezone Authority Michael Fortune.
We Want Our Building -CNDRA
(By: Lewis K. Glay)
Authorities at the Center for National Documents, Records and Archives
have bluntly insisted that they want to immediately take over their
facilities on 12th Street, Sinkor without delay.
Ideas,
Not Money, Alleviate Poverty
(By Philip Emeagwali)
I once believed that capital was another word for money, the accumulated
wealth of a country or its people. Surely, I thought, wealth is determined
by the money or property in one's possession. Then I saw a Deutsche
Bank advertisement in the Wall Street Journal that proclaimed: "Ideas
are capital. The rest is just money."
Teaching
Lessons in Deliberative Democracy and the Theology of Social Justice:
A Response to Mr. Paul Jeebah Albert
(By Emmanuel Dolo)
Mr. Paul Jeebah Albert criticized my July 25th 2006 article which
focused on ethnically, culturally, and religiously intolerant statements
attributed to the Director of Police. In his rejoinder, two months
later, dated October 3, 2006, entitled: Tolerance and respect must
always be maintained in our national dialogue, Mr. Albert made at
least three arguments. First, he argued that my article was “fraught
with unsubstantiated accusations and vilification.”
Is
Economic Injustice New In Liberia? No, It Is Rooted In Our Economic
System
(By J. Yanqui Zaza)
A debate in the future on economic issues might dwarf the
current dispute of economic injustice which was articulated in a report
published by Aloysius Toe, the Director of a Human Rights Group. He
had argued that officials budgeted U.S. $1,000.00 and plus a month
for government officials, and allocated U.S. $30.00 a month for ordinary
government employees.
President
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Signs New Forestry Law
(Press Release)
President Ellen-Johnson-Sirleaf says the new forestry law
provides a unique opportunity for the people to reap the benefits
of their resources. “The land belongs to the people and the
provision of resources from the land will not be discretionary,”
President Sirleaf emphasized.
Liberia
Has No Capacity To Absorb “TPS” Returnees
(By Wynfred N. Russell)
For over 16 years, nearly 20 thousand Liberians fleeing a vicious
civil war benefited from an American government hospitality program
called “Temporary Protected Status” (TPS). This stopgap
immigration measure granted to eligible nationals, gave Liberians
the legal permission to live and work in the United States as long
as conditions in their homeland remain unsafe to return.
Tolerance and respect
must always be maintained in our national dialogue
(
By Paul Jeebah Albert)
The purpose of my article is to make some brief comments on a recent
article written by Dr. Emmanuel Dolo, which was published on July
25, 2006 by The Perspective. The title of that article is, “The
Danger of Arming a Possible Bigot: Allegations or Fact.”
Mittal Steel’s
US$900 million deal in Liberia is inequitable, says new Global Witness
report
(Global Witness Press Release)
A $900 million mining deal between the world's largest steel company,
Mittal Steel, and the Government of Liberia is heavily weighted against
the interests of that war-torn and impoverished West African country
and it should be substantially re-negotiated, according to an in-depth
analysis of the contract published in a new report, ‘Heavy Mittal?’,
released by Global Witness (1) today.
The
decision of the US to end temporary Protected Status for Liberians
(
By Jackie Sayegh)
The decision of the US Homeland Security to terminate Liberians as
deserving of Temporary Protected Status seems to be the practical
thing to do in light of the recent developments in Liberia. However,
the practical thing does not always mean that it is right or morally
defensible. In order to fully understand the outrage and betrayal
Liberians now feel upon this termination, a bit of history is in order.
Reshaping
our Foreign Policy: the conduit for Development and Security
(By Plingloh Emmanuel Munyeneh)
Our Country has always lived under a false assumption, or for lack
of better description, a willful dodging of the reality of diplomacy
which is based on shifting alliances. Successive Liberian governments
have therefore built the country’s foreign policy around a simple
mentality that the United States of America is Liberia’s traditional
ally with which Liberia must have an unchanging relationship.
Computer Labs for Govt.
Schools
(Forum)
(By: Obadiah Karnah, II)
Education Minister Dr. Joseph Koto says his government has embarked
on program aimed at introducing computer literacy education in every
leeward county of Liberia.
China to Rehabilitate UL
(Forum)
The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is said to be contemplating on
rehabilitating the University of Liberia Fendall campus to accommodate
at least 15,000 students.
NO PRISON FACILITIES IN
BONG
(Forum)
(By Jefferson Massah)
The Stipendiary Magistrate assigned at Gbarnga Magisterial Court,
Alfred Manigbolor, recently informed reporters that the absence of
prison facilities in Gbarnga seriously impedes the active function
of the court in the area.
Liberian Media Needs Capacity
Building -FORUM Boss
(Forum)
FORUM’s Managing Editor, Augustus Fallah, says the Liberian
Media like other sectors of the society is in transition following
years of civil conflict.
