September 8, 2003

Gyude Bryant, the Chairman-elect of the National Transitional Government of Liberian (NTGL), has appointed a 30-member transitional committee. Chairman Gyude Bryant was selected by the Liberian warring factions to head the interim government of Liberia.

According to the press release issued on September 6, 2003, by Mr. Bryant's Media Relations Office, the team will “work closely with the authorities of ECOWAS, the ICGL, the Interposition Force (IF), the present Government of Liberia, LURD, MODEL, leaders of political parties and civil society organizations to facilitate a smooth and orderly transfer of power on October 14, 2003.”

The press release further stated that the thirty-man committee “includes representatives of parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, technocrats and eminent citizens from a cross section of grass-roots and community-based organizations, is chaired by Professor Willie Belleh, formerly Dean of the College of Business and Public Administration, University of Liberia and also member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Liberia. Professor Belleh brings to this task a wealth of professional and practical expertise.” The release did not, however, name the rest of the members of the committee.

Eight of the transitional committee’s members headed by Mr. Belleh were departed for Monrovia yesterday to “initiate discussions on the transition process and to manage the process of selection of representatives to the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA).”

In another development, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative to Liberia, Mr. Jacques Paul Klein, says extortion hinders EU’s efforts to electrify Monrovia. The UN News Center quoted Mr. Klein as saying: “Electricity is almost down to the bridge now. But we have a problem here. Some government officials are trying to extort money from the European Union through higher than normal customs fees for fuel to run the generators. These are criminal acts that the government must address.”