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VOL. 16. NO. 115 THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014 PRICE: LD 40

V ISIT OUR

WEBSITE

AT WWW .LIBERIANOBSERVER .

COM TODAY !

-Ellen Calls for Concerted Effort to see MoreWomen in Leadership

www.liberianobserver.com

I NSI DE THI SEDI TI ON

EDITORIAL

A Prayer for DivineIntervention

COMMENTARY

Better Safe thanSorry

A Few Lessons toLearn from theEmerging Ebola

Virus Threat

LOCAL NEWS

Nigerians Want Ambassador Out

BUSINESS

New InsuranceCompany to Invest

US$1M Here

FARMER

USAID/FED, Partnersto Boost Livestock

Production

SPORTS

From Brazil withLove: Team Liberia

Arrives Today

See Pg. 8

See Pg. 9

See Pg. 3

See Pg. 11

See Pg. 4

See Pg. 4

-Commends Ministry of Healths Task Force, Partners, Health Workers for Efforts Thus Far

Ellen Pays Homage toEbola Victims

President Sirleaf extended her condolences to families whohave lost loved ones to the Ebola virus

By William Q. Harmon

President EllenJohnson Sirleafhas paid homageto Liberians whohave lost theirlives as a result of

the Ebola virus disease (EVD)that was recently confrmed in

the country. She expressed con-dolences to the bereaved fami-lies and those affected by theEbola virus while at the sametime showed appreciation to allwho continue to address this se-rious health problem.

On behalf of the Liberian people, we want to say to thetask force, thank you so much

for all that you have done, shesaid, urging all Liberians andforeigners within our bordersto work together to contain thesituation.

President Sirleaf made thecomments when she visited theMinistry of Health and Social

Contd on pg. 10

-As Shooter Allegedly Said I Do not Want to See Americans!

4 Liberians Shot in Turkey

Severe gunshot wounds on one of four Liberians, whowere shot in Istanbul, Turkey (Photo By Lawrence

Jackson, a Liberian in Turkey)

By Joaquin Sendolo,Observer Diplomatic

Correspondent

The LiberianGo v ern men t ,through theMinistry of For-eign Affairs, isseeking expla-

nation from the Turkish Gov-ernment, following the shootingof four Liberians in Istanbul,Turkey on April 4, 2014.

The four Liberians were re- portedly shot by an unknown

Contd on pg. 10

GOL SeeksUS$300M from

World Bank -To Pave Ganta-Zwedru Road

See Pg. 10

See Pg. 10

Womens PoliticalForum Launched

April 10, 2014-edition.indd 3 4/9/14 11:53 PM

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DAILY OBSERVER Wednesday, April 09, 2014 Thursday, April 10, 2014 Page 2World News

US: Iran UN Envoy Hamid Aboutalebi Not Viable

LA Police Station GunmanHad AK-47 in His Car

(BBC) - Daniel Yealu, 29,entered the lobby on Mondaynight, said he had a complaint,and then began shooting, policesaid.

He hit one of cer severaltimes before he was woundedin the ensuing shootout, policesaid.

The suspected gunman is incritical condition in hospitalwhile the wounded of cer isexpected to recover.

Los Angeles Police ChiefCharlie Beck said Mr. Yealu hadleft an AK-47 ri e in his vehicle

parked outside the station.By the grace of God, the

suspect did not come in withthe assault weapons that he hashad access to, one of which I

believe was in his vehicle, MrBeck said, according to the LosAngeles Times.

Of cials also foundammunition and several

weapons including two assault-style ri es, a shotgun and twohandguns at Mr Yealus home.

Records showed he had beenlicensed to work as a security

guard since 2005 and to carry arearm since 2007.Police say the shooting began

shortly after 20:00 local time onMonday (03:00 GMT Tuesday),when a gunman entered thestations small lobby andapproached its front desk.

The gunman said I have acomplaint, before he beganshooting at the of cers, CdrAndrew Smith said.

Despite one of them beingwounded, both were able toreturn re, hitting the suspectseveral times. No-one else was injured in the

shooting and police say theyknow of no motive yet for theattack.

A gunman who opened re inside a Los Angeles police

station, wounding an of cer, left a powerful assaultri e in his car outside, police have said.

Oscar Pistorius: Reeva DiedWhile I was Holding Her(BBC) - During his emotional

testimony he said Ms Steenkampdied before the ambulancearrived while he was holdingher.

He said he tried to help her breathe and stem the bleedingfrom her hip.

The athlete denies deliberatelyshooting dead Ms Steenkampon Valentines Day last year,arguing he mistook her for anintruder.

Prosecutors contend heintentionally killed her in thetoilet of his bathroom after arow.

The 27-year-old Olympicand Paralympic sprinter, whois a double amputee, faces lifeimprisonment if convicted ofmurder.

On Tuesday, he broke downin tears whilst describing theevents leading up to the shootingand the actual event.

If acquitted, South African lawstipulates that the court mustconsider the separate, lessercharge of culpable homicide,or manslaughter, for which hecould receive between six and15 years in prison.

Mr Pistorius also faces charges

of illegally ring a gun in publicand of illegally possessingammunition, both of which hedenies.

There are no juries at trials inSouth Africa, and his fate willultimately be decided by the

judge, assisted by two assessors.On his third day on the stand,

Mr Pistorius described themoments after paramedics hadarrived at the scene.

They asked for some spaceto work so I stood up. Reevahad already died whilst Iwas holding her before theambulance arrived. So, I knewthere was nothing they could dofor her, he told the court.

He also described his distressas police and other of cialsarrived at the house.

I asked a policeman if I couldwash my hands because thesmell of the blood was makingme throw up, he said.

His lawyer Barry Roux alsoasked him to demonstrate howhe would swing a cricket bat.

Mr Pistorius said he was onhis prosthetic legs when he usedthe cricket bat to break down thetoilet door.

He said the three sounds heard

by witnesses at 03:17 local timewas the cricket bat hitting thedoor - about ve minutes afterhe shot at the toilet door.

He said he was on his stumps,when he shot at the door.

I can barely stand on mystumps, he said.

During his questioning, MrRoux also mentioned statementsfrom close neighbours who werelisted by the state but not called

by the prosecution.He said the statement from

Kenny Motshoanes housedescribed hearing crying and

not a woman screaming, asmentioned by other witnesses.

Another woman living nearbyalso says she heard loud cryingand not a woman screaming, MrRoux said.

Before Mr Roux endedhis questioning he asked MrPistorius if he had intentionallykilled Ms Steenkamp.

I did not intend to kill Reevaor anybody else for that matter,he replied.

On Tuesday, the athlete

described how the couple hadspent a quiet evening togetheron 13 February, Ms Steenkampdoing some yoga as he spoke tohis cousin on the phone.

He had then watched TV in bed with his head resting onher stomach and she wouldoccasionally show him photosof cars she was looking at on her

phone, he said. He said that theyhad bought Valentines Day giftsfor each other.

Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-oldmodel, reality TV celebrity andlaw graduate, was hit by at leastthree bullets while in the toiletcubicle of Mr Pistoriuss homein Pretoria.

South African athleteOscar Pistorius is back incourt in Pretoria describ -ing events after shooting

his girlfriend Reeva Steen -kamp in his home.

(BBC) - White Housespokesman Jay Carney called

the potential nomination ofHamid Aboutalebi extremelytroubling.

Mr Aboutalebi was a partof the Muslim student groupthat seized the US embassy inTehran in 1979.

On Monday, the US Senateunanimously passed a bill thatwould bar him from entering thecountry.

The legislation passed bythe Senate underscores just

how troubling this potentialnomination would be, Mr

Carney told reporters.The House of Representatives

is also expected to pass themeasure barring him fromentering the US. It wouldthen require President BarackObamas signature to becomelaw.

Mr Carney declined tocomment on whether Mr Obamawould sign it.

Senator Ted Cruz, the TexasRepublican who introduced the

legislation in the US Senate,said his chamber is not goingto just ignore this most recentinsult.

This nomination is partof Irans clear and consistent

pattern of virulent anti-Americanism that has de nedtheir foreign policy since 1979,he said.

The 52 Americans were heldfor 444 days during the crisis.

Sources familiar with MrAboutalebi tell the BBC that heis one of the closest diplomats toMr Rouhani.

In an interview with an Iraniannews site, Mr Aboutalebi saidhe was not part of the group thattook over US embassy and wasonly later asked to translate forthe students.

BBC Persians BahmanKalbasi says EbrahimAsgharzadeh, a knownmember of the core group ofhostage-takers, corroboratedMr Aboutalebis account in aninterview.

Occupying the embassywas the idea of ve people,then expanded to 15, MrAsgharzadeh said.

After the embassy takeover,we invited close to 150 to 200students to help us with differenttasks of running the place. Someof the students would onlycommit to a few hours.

I dont remember MrAboutalebi from those days butif he was, must have been oneof those guys who was askedto help translate for reporteror a delegation. Calling him ahostage-taker is simply wrong.

The son of another member ofthe group of ve students whotook over the embassy also toldthe BBC: The names of the rstve and the 10 that joined toexecute the takeover are publicand there is no doubt that MrAboutalebi was not in any waya major player in planning orexecution of the hostage takingof US embassy staff in Tehran.

The Obama administration has told the Iranian government its choice of a one-time student

revolutionary to be UN ambassador is not viable.

Toyota to eRcall6.4 Million Vehicles

(BBC) - Some 3.5 millionvehicles are being recalled toreplace a spiral cable attached tothe drivers side airbag.

It may be damaged when thesteering wheel is turned andresult in the airbag not beingdeployed in a crash.

Other issues include problemswith seat rails, steering columns,windscreen wipers and a glitchwith the engine starters that

poses a re risk.Toyota said it was not aware

of any vehicle crashes, injuriesor fatalities caused by theseconditions.

However, it said it hadreceived two reports of resin connection with the enginestarter problem.

The carmaker said that dueto inef ciencies in the design ofthe starter motor relays, metallic

particles might accumulate onthe contacts within the relay.

It said that if the relayscontinued to be used, the

particles could come off andenter the relays circuitry and inthe worst case, this could leadto the starter relays catchingre.

Approximately 20,000vehicles involving six Toyotamodels and the Subaru Treziaare being recalled to replace

both engine starter relays andthe engine starter motor.

The latest recall, which affects27 different models, is the fthmajor one that the company hasissued in recent months.

In February, it called back1.9 million of its top-sellingPrius hybrid cars because ofa software fault that mightcause the vehicle to slow downsuddenly.

In the latter half of last year, itissued separate recalls affectingmore than 2.2 million vehicles.

Overall, the company hasrecalled more than 25 millionvehicles over the past two-and-a-half years.

That is far more than thenumber it called back in 2009and 2010 - widely seen as theworst years in terms of damageto its reputation.

Toyotas sales had sufferedin the aftermath of thoserecalls, which were prompted

by problems with accelerator pedals becoming trapped underoor mats.

The recalls had also triggereda criminal investigation againstthe carmaker in the US.

Earlier this year, the rmagreed a $1.2bn (720m)

settlement with US regulatorsafter a four-year inquiry into itsreporting of safety issues.

Recalls are not uncommonin the industry. For example,General Motors is in the middleof recalling millions of vehiclesas well.

However, there are concernsthat Toyotas current troublesmay hurt its efforts to rebuild itsreputation, which was damaged

by the 2010 recall asco.

Toyota is recalling 6.4million vehicles globally,including 35,124 in theUK, over ve separate

issues.

(BBC) - Iran has begun anew round of talks with world

powers in Vienna as they seekto reach a comprehensive dealon Tehrans nuclear programme.

The international communitywants Iran to scale back itsenrichment of uranium, whichthey fear could be used to makea nuclear bomb.

Iran says its nuclear workis purely peaceful and hopesto agree a deal in return for alifting of sanctions.

An interim agreement thatcame into effect in January endsin July.

Iran and the six powersinvolved - the US, Russia,China, Britain, France andGermany - are keen to startdrafting the terms of a new deal

by May, but correspondents saythey are still some way apart.

Iran

(BBC) - A Dutch priest wellknown for refusing to leave the

besieged Syrian city of Homs

has been shot dead by a gunman.Frans van der Lugt, who was in

his 70s, had become a renownedgure in the rebel-held areathat has been blockaded bygovernment forces for nearlytwo years.

He had refused to be evacuated,saying he would not leave Homswhile there were still Christiansin the city.

The motive behind Fr van derLugts killing is unclear.

The Syrian Observatory forHuman Rights, a UK-basedactivist group, said he was shottwice in the head.

Jan Stuyt, secretary of theDutch Jesuit Order, con rmed

to AFP news agency that Fr vander Lugt had been killed.

Syria

(BBC) - The Venezuelangovernment and a coalition ofopposition parties have agreedto enter into formal talks toend weeks of anti-government

protests.At least 39 people, both

opponents and supporters ofthe government, have died in

protest-related violence.Venezuelan Vice-President

Jorge Arreaza said the two sideshad agreed to hold talks in

public.The opposition coalition had

demanded that any negotiations be broadcast live on televisionand radio.

Following preliminary talkson Tuesday, the oppositionDemocratic Unity coalition(MUD) and the governmentsaid they would meet moreformally under the mediation ofrepresentatives from the Vaticanand regional body Unasur.

Venezuela

(BBC) - A court in Argentinahas sentenced 10 peopleto up to 22 years in jail forthe kidnapping and sexualexploitation of a young woman,

Marita Veron.The defendants were all

cleared of abducting her in 2012, but a new trial was ordered afterher mother, Susana Trimarco,appealed.

She said justice has beendone.

The case shone a light on sextraf cking in Argentina after MsTrimarco rescued many womenin the search for her daughter.

Argentina

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DAILY OBSERVER Page 3Thursday, April 10, 2014

-Observed Week-long Fast and Prayer for Her Recall; After Blockade Embassy Entrance, as Police Arrest one

Nigerians Want Ambassador Out By William Q. Harmon

While Nigerianst h r o u g h o u t

the world mayhave been re-

joicing over the news thattheir country now has the big-gest economy in Africa, thesituation in Liberia was totallydifferent, as local Nigerianswere staging a demonstrationcalling on President GoodluckJonathan to have AmbassadorChigozie F-Obi Nnadozie re-called.

The Nigerians, who alleg-edly came from every partof Liberia for the protest in-stigated by the leadership ofthe Nigerian Community andDescendants Union of Libe-

ria (NCDUL), on Wednesday,April 8, converged on the

Nigerian Embassy in a pro-test intended to prevail on thegovernment of Nigeria to haveAmbassador Obi Nnadozierecalled for what they termedas a lack of respect and out-right disdain for the welfare of

NCDUL members.The protesters said Ambas-

sador Nnadozies continuedstay in Liberia is not only un-favorable to the welfare, safetyand security of all people of

Nigeria and t heir descendantsin Liberia, but harmful to the

supreme interest of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria as a sover-eign state.

The Liberian National Po-

lice, upon getting hints of thesituation, barricaded the Ni-gerian Embassy to ensure theAmbassadors protection. TheLNP arrested the organizers ofthe protest upon noticing thesituation was beginning to getout of hand. They pushed thecrowd away from the Embassyentrance until they had movedacross the street.

The Secretary General ofthe Nigerian association, Rev.Vincent Abuka, cataloguedseveral grievances that the or-ganization has against Ambas-sador Nnadozie.

Rev. Abuka said the Ambas-

sador has shown a clear lack ofrespect, if not outright disdain,for their organization, whichwas founded in 1948-a timewhen she was not yet born.

He said she seeks to destroythe organization by forming arival organization made pre-dominantly of a handful per-son from her state of origin.According to him, this hascaused her to sideline the ma-

jority of Nigerians and theirdescendants.

The NCDUL stalwart said,The Ambassador has on sev-eral occasions expelled from

the premises of the Embassy,the NCDULs president andother prominent elders she in-vited to the Embassy for meet-ings.

She also reported NCDULsPresident to the Justice Minis-try accusing him of obstructing

her functions as Ambassador.She instigated the detentionof NCDUL president ElderFelix U. Ebeku. This is totallyagainst the fraternity that weshare as Nigerians.

He accused the Ambassadorof denying and obstructing thereturn of corpses of deceased

Nigerians back home for buri-al as custom demands, saying,Her actions often compoundthe sorrows of relatives. Be-fore her arrival this behaviorwas unheard of in Liberia.

He alleged that Ambassador Nnadozie is extorting money

from her compatriots as reg-istration fees at the Embassy;something they used to do freeof charge.

The NCDUL Secretarysaid: Without any evidence,our Ambassador collectively

branded Nigerians and their

descendants in Liberia as ter-rorists and Boko-Haram insur-gents, thereby threatening oursecurity in the country. Thisis unacceptable; her neweststatement against us supportsrecent claims by a top Liberiansecurity operative that Nigeri-an businessmen in the countryare Boko-Haram operatives.

When contacted for com-ments or reactions to theclaims of the NCDUL leaders,Ambassador Nnadozie afteranswering unceremoniously,cut-off her phone. When thisreporter called back a male

voice answered the phone andstarted insulting him.

Why you people are not in-terested in promoting a goodimage of Nigeria and onlychoose to publish negativethings about this country. Theman, who was speaking for theAmbassador, said that she had,at the time of the protest, goneto the launch of a new Nige-rian business; something hesaid would promote better re-lations between the two coun-tries rather than giving heed tosomething unnecessary.

The NCDUL leadership told journalists that its membershave begun to observe a weekof fasting and prayer to seekdivine intervention for the re-call of the Ambassador, whothey said has been very in-

sensitive to the plights of thelarger Nigerian community inLiberia.

It is alleged that the protest-ers are all naturalized Libe-rians that should, thus, havenothing to do with Nigeria. Itis rumored the protesters haveyet to denounce their Nigeriannationality of cially or legal -ly. Rev. Vincent Abuka deniedthe claims saying they had nosubstance.

When issues like this comeup, you become aware allkinds of people are willingto use propaganda. I can tellyou that 99 percent of us hereat the Embassy today are notnaturalized and will continueto be Nigerians, Rev. Abukaconcluded.

Says SRSG Karin LandgrenSecurity Situation Remains Generally Stable By Gloria T.Tamba

The Special Repre-sentative of the UNSecretary General,Madam Karin Land-

gren, has said that the securitysituation in Liberia remainsgenerally stable.

When I say we welcomethe news, this means that sincethe last report to the Secre-tary General, security withinthe country has been gener-ally stable without any majoroutbreaks of violence. We arenot saying the situation is rosyin terms of the types of vio-lence that I have mentioned.UNMIL works with the gov-ernment to monitor what ishappening around the countryin terms of security. Both interms of incidence of violencein concessionaire areas, indemonstrations and issues likesexual and gender based vio-lence, where we work to main-tain statistics of cases that arereported.

The SRSG made the disclo-

sure recently when she ad-dressed the 72nd summit ofthe United Nations.

According to Madam Land-gren, during her visits tovarious bases of the Liberia

National Police (LNP) and Bu-reau of Immigration and Natu-ralization (BIN) throughoutthe country, she noticed one ofthe challenges which UNMILhas raised many times is that

a vast majority of the LNP isin the capital. As a result, thereis not an even spread of policecovering the rest of the coun-try.

When I visited them in thecounty capitals, I always ndthey have inadequate logistics.A majority of their cars are

broken, they have dif cultygetting fuel, they have nocommunications equipmentand sometimes they donthave furniture or uniforms.Their numbers are usually far

below the numbers they aresupposed to have of cially.I heard about how little theyearned and how dif cult it is to

be stationed i n some of these

more remote locations. This iswhy we are advocating strong-ly for greater support to theLNP and BIN. However, forthat to be effective, these se-curity agencies also need wellfunctioning internal systems,the SRSG explained.

She said UNMIL has beensharing their expertise on howto manage budgets and humanresources. They have taughtmembers of the LNP and BINhow to better maintain ve-hicles and their facilities sothey dont fall apart immedi-ately, since these are some ofthe systems that need to bestrengthened.

Madam Landgren mentionedGhana has been supportingthis by bringing groups ofLNP of cers for training at theGhana Institute of Manage-ment and Public Administra-tion. She said strengtheninghow these actors manage theirown resources is a big part ofmaking them more effective.

Let me turn to the Secu-rity Sector--- in particular, thePolice. As you know, someimportant steps were agreedupon at a security sector re-form retreat last September.These steps included profes-sionalizing the police by ap-

pointing senior of cials fromwithin their ranks and increas-ing transparency in tenure and

promotion systems.The LNP and BIN have been

working to become more ef-fective institutions. So it has

been frustrating to see the fa-cilities vacated by UNMIL in

Foya standing empty for overa year, waiting to become aBIN training center; and tosee a new LNP training cen-tre in Harper, inaugurated lastSeptember, still standing idle.Over the past few months, theGovernment has made signi -cant commitments to strength-ening the security sector,Madam Landgren said.

In efforts to have the LNPand BIN equipped to take overthe country she said, the Min-ister of Finance has been per-sonally involved in trying tomake it easier for funds relatedto UNMIL security transitionto be disbursed to the police,the immigration service andother agencies.

I am not sure this has hadmeasurable success yet, butwe look forward to goodnews. The police trainingacademy has over a thousandrecruits waiting to start train-ing and over 250 people readyto graduate.

The President herself hascommitted to activating moretraining resources and prom-ised better use of facilities fortraining. President Sirleaf hascommitted to having a better

balance in the 2014-15 na-tional budgets between invest-ments in infrastructure, andinvestments in national secu-rity, she concluded.

Madam Landgren assuredLiberia of UNMILs continuedsupport and promised to workwith their many partners bycontributing to the LNP andBIN.

By Keith Morris

Support for BenoniUreys quest for the

presidency has begunrising; with several

prominent personalities joiningthe struggle.

Mr. Urey, former commis-sioner of the Bureau of Mari-time Affairs in the governmentof former President Charles

Taylor, announced his intentto stand in the race to replacePresident Sirleaf after her ten-ure expires in 2017.

Since that pronouncementwas made, there has beenmixed reactions from the Li-

berian public. Some expressedsupport for his bid, while others

believe Urey is similar to hisformer employer, Charles Tay-lor, and as such electing him(Urey) means a return to theregime of Charles Taylor.

The latest of Ureys support-ers is Constitutional lawyerCllr. Pearl Brown-Bull. In herassertion on a local radio talkshow Wednesday, April 9, inMonrovia, Cllr. Bull declaredher support for Urey, statingthat Urey seems to be the right

person for the job.The intent of her statement is

based on a recent war of words between Mr. Urey and a mem- ber of President Ellen JohnsonSirleafs government, PressSecretary Jerolinmek Piah.

Urey had earlier criticizedMadam Sirleaf for leaving thecountry without addressing the

problem of the Ebola Virus af-fecting Liberia.

Reacting to said comment,Presidential Press SecretaryPiah was quick to condemn Mr.

Ureys assertion.Mr. Ureys comments re ecta serious lack of governance,

political ineptitude and na-ivety on the part of a politicalnobody, who has allowed hisquest for the presidency to ren-der him mischievous and disin-genuous, Piah said.

Piah continued: Mr. Urey ar-gues that President Sirleaf hasno interest in Liberia and its

people simply because she de-

parted the country to participatein the 4th EU-Africa Summit atthe time an outbreak of Ebolawas reported in the country.

If this statement came from just anybody, we would nothave been surprised at all; butcoming from a man who sayshe has his eyes on the Presiden-cy, we are not only surprised

but ashamed of him.Urey angrily reacted to Piah

and the President, saying:when substantial issues areraised against the presidency,they unleash their dogs to comeafter you.

Based on these exchanges,Cllr. Bull intoned those re-sponses from the Presidentsof ce are immature and unnec -essary.

Judging from commentsmade by these people the Presi-dent has around her, Cllr. Bullsaid, Makes me strongly sup-

port Mr. Urey for the presi-dency.

I never wanted to do so be-fore, but the people the Presi-dent has around her have forcedme to support Mr. Urey, sheasserted.

Cllr. Bull is a signatory to the

1986 Liberian Constitution anda former commissioner of theTruth and Reconciliation Com-mission (TRC). Though shemay not be as well known orin uential as many politiciansin the country, such a statementfrom a seasoned lawyer couldserve as a political plus for Mr.Ureys ambition for the presi-dency, a political analyst toldthe Daily Observer.

Ureys SupportSwells

One of the protesters carrying a casket, while otherdisplay placards

SRSG Karin Landgren

Mr. Benoni Urey

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DAILY OBSERVER Wednesday, April 09, 2014 Thursday, April 10, 2014

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

Liberias First Independent Daily0886812888, 0886472772

www.liberianobserver.com

Page 4

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

A Prayer for DivineIntervention

This weeks Proclamation by the President calls on all the people of Liberia to assemble in their places of worship, theirhomes or wherever they may be tomorrow, the second Fridayin April, which for over a century has been designated as Fastand Prayer Day. It is a time to petition our common Creator inthanksgiving, fast and prayer, for the wellbeing of the Liberiannation and people.

This is a timely call, which the President makes once a year, toremind our people of their utter dependence on God.

We would like to remind our people that, as Jesus didwhenever He faced a serious challenge, such as feeding the5000 and raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus rst gave thanksto His Father, God.

The nation today is saddled with many, many challenges,some of our own making, some by the making of our leaders in all branches of government.

Those of our own making include our lack of patriotismweseldom show in our daily interactions and activities, that wetruly love our country and people.

This lack of patriotism is often manifested in the way wework. We lack work ethic. Few of us realize why Japan is sosuccessful as an agricultural and industrial power. The Japaneseworkers have for a very long time worked with the mindset thatthey are working, not for themselves, but for Japan, so thatit may become the worlds number one nation. Too many ofus Liberians spend our timeor so we thinkworking forourselveswhether it is doing a carpentry or plumbing job, orcollecting government taxes, or undertaking an inspection on

behalf of the government. We often forget about country and put ourselves rst, ready and willing to accept anything we a reoffered to compromise our of cial functiononly to end up

being laughed at and scorned by the very foreign businesspeoplewho bribe us.

In many government of ces we hear the workers say, Thething that J.J. Roberts started in 1847 is what you want me tonish today?Then there are our leadersin all branches of government,

who have failed to curb corruption and its twin sister, nepotism,and these have caused the people, sadly, to heap scorn and evenrebellion upon them.

The public is still crying for justice, even though the ChiefJustice is striving to improve the situation.

Look how our elected of cials in the Legislature behavesosel shly as though that is why the people elected themNO!They were elected to SERVE THE PEOPLEnot themselves.

Our educational system is in decline, from primary touniversity, including the highest, the University of Liberia.

Our productive sectors, especially Agriculture, are foundseriously wanting. The farmers are not being helped andwe continue to import most of what we eat, including meat,vegetables and our staple, rice.

There are serious nancial problems, and everybody particularly the students and workersis feeling the pinchthrough the diminishing purchasing power of our Liberiandollar.

Then there is the Ebola crisis, which the World HealthOrganization says is the most serious problem it has everfaced. Thankfully, only 10 Liberians have so far died fromit. But the Health Ministry is monitoring it very closely andinforming the public of preventive measures.

All of the problems, unfortunately, rest on the head of ourPresident. As the old poem says in joyful escape: Im glad Imnot a president; and very glad Im not a king. Theres somethinggrand about them, but theyre blamed for everything.

Yet, in spite of problems, we do have some things for which toThank God tomorrow. The road construction is moving aheadand the Mount Coffee Hydro-electric Plant is on stream. Thecoffer dams, to protect the building from rainwater, are almostcomplete. The turbines and generators are being purchased andwill be installed on schedule in the rst three quarters of 2015;and by December will be ready for test runs, to go full blast.

On this Fast and Pray Day tomorrow, let us approach thethrown of grace with Thanksgiving for our peace and stability,and fervent Prayer that the Almighty will grant us His divineintervention, continuing to steer our ship of state in peace, and

bring us good governance and prosperity.

Better Safe than Sorry By Magdalene Matthews

In the past weeks, the deadlyEbola virus which was practicallyunknown and unheard of by theaverage Liberian has rapidly becomea national issue of dread, discussionand debate.

Everywhere you turn, fromsupermarkets to commercial banks,customer-care service providerswho literally interact with nearlya hundred people each day, areencouraging their staff to takenecessary precautions toward

prevention and self-protection. Withstories ranging from initial rumors tocon rmed reports of cases and liveslost by the Ministry of Health and

Social Welfare, one thing is evident:the Ebola virus is one nightmare ourrecovering nation is not ready tograpple with.

With enough hearsay circulatingon the issue and enough ngers

being pointed here and there, theaim of this article is not to contributeto the ongoing elusive blame-game

but rather to take a retrospectiveand prospective look from anenvironmental health standpointand identify a few pertinent lessonsthat can be learnt from the currentsituation as it unfolds.

LESSON 1: INCREASED

NATIONAL FOCUS ON PUBLICHEALTH & PREVENTIVEMEDICINE

To us as a NATION, the emergingthreat of the Ebola virus withindomestic boundaries is a resoundingreminder of the age-old adage thatprevention is better than cure andto be safe as a people, is always betterthan to be sorry. It is a magni erthe multiple underlying challenges

being faced by of our emerginghealth sector.

More forward looking, the factthat Ebola walked out of our publichealth text books and into our dailylives is a call for a more balancedand increasingly holistic approach tothe health care delivery in Liberia. Itis an appeal for the tilt of the scaleslightly more in favor of preventivemedicine as opposed to the currentfocus on curative. Dont get mewrong, while curative medicine tendsto be capital intensive indevelopingnations such as ours, research has

proven time and again that increasedfocus on public health and preventivemedicine always lessens the national

burden of disease and enhances theeffectiveness of the broader healthcare delivery system in the long run.

LESSON 2: PUBLIC HEALTH

AND INFECTIOUS DISEASECONTROL AS AN INDIVIDUALRESPONSIBILITY

To us as INDIVIDUALS, thegreatest lesson we learn from theemerging Ebola threat is that ofRESPONSIBILITY. Responsibilitynot just for our lives and health

but that of those we love. Withthe possibility of contracting andsharing the disease with our lovedones through the basic exchangesof everyday life such as an amicablehandshake, a warm hug, by sharingspoons during mealsor anythingand everything involving someexchange of body uidscomes theincreased consciousness that in thefragile national public health puzzle,we too play major roles by the thingswe do or fail to. Its time we begintaking responsibility for our lives,health and future and that of thosewe love. Remember to wash yourhands. Take personal precaution.Practice good personal hygiene,knowing that what you do or fail tohave far-reaching effects on your

personal health and well-being andthat of those dear to you.

Lastly, as the nation approachesyet another National Fast and Prayer

Day on Friday, April 11, 2014, nowwould also be a good time to pray forour nation Liberia and the safety ofits people. God bless us all. Magdalene Matthews holds a MSc

Environmental Health from the Harvard School of Public HealthCyprus International Instituteand is a Member, Society for Risk

Analysis

A Few Lessons to Learn from the Emerging Ebola Virus Threat

BEHOLD! AS WE RUB SHOULDERSAND ELBOWS IN BROTHERHOOD,WE PRAY THAT EBOLA WILL NOT

ROB US OF OUR LIVES. AMEN!

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MESSENGERS OF PEACE Volunteering For Peace By Gwendolyn S. Myers,

Executive Director-Mes-sengers of Peace-Liberia(MOP)

When in 2012,during a womencohort groupdiscussion session

at the Wulki Farm, outsideMonrovia, I mentioned to myEastern Mennonites Universitycolleagues that there is no heartstronger than that of a volunteer,it generated lots of discussions.While most of my colleaguesfrom Fiji, Solomon Islands, USA,Kenya, Somalia and Liberia tendto agree with this assertion, somefrom other countries needed moreinformation to be convinced. Ianticipate that this weeks topicon volunteering for peace anddevelopment would do the same.

In simple terms, volunteerismcan be de ned as doing workwithout the expectation ofremuneration. According toMarjorie Moore, Volunteering is the ultimateexercise in democracy. You votein elections once a year, but whenyou volunteer, you vote everydayabout the kind of community youwant to live in. In the opinion ofCandice Witzkoske, Volunteersare somebody! Somebody whocares, somebody who devotestime without pay

In the words of Ban Ki-Moon,United Nations SecretaryGeneral, Volunteerismis a fundamental source ofcommunity strength, resilience,solidarity and social cohesion.It can help effect positive socialchange by fostering inclusivesocieties that respect diversity,equality and the participation ofall.

While the words of importantleaders might hold true onthe de nitions and bene ts ofvolunteering for peace, we havecome to notice in Africa andother con ict zones of the worldthat people, especially young

people, are quick to volunteerfor mob violence and most oftenmob justice. In most instances,

young persons have been co-opted into wars as child soldiers

but never as volunteers for peace.As you are aware, Messengers

of Peace-Liberia is a local non-governmental organization that

promotes volunteerism to support peace throughout the country.

With over 20 peace clubs inschools and communities andover a thousand youth volunteers,MOP-Liberia rmly believesthat volunteerism can transform

the pace of and nature of peaceconsolidation. We contribute to peace advocacy in Liberia byadvocating for volunteer peaceadvocates, encouraging partnersto support as well as integratevolunteerism into their programs.

As peace volunteers, we haveextraordinary opportunity tocreate bene cial change and havea positive impact on peopleslives. Volunteering is not merelyabout providing human resourcesor lling gaps but assisting anduplifting communities so that

people can aspire for a bettertomorrow.

Data generated by the JohnsHopkins Center for Civil SocietyStudies in 37 countries (Liberia

not included) revealed that atleast 12 percent of the adult

populations in those countriesare volunteers. They presentedthe equivalent of 20.8 millionfull-time workers, and made aUS400 billion contribution to theeconomy.

We, young Liberians, canovercome con ict and consolidate

peace in Liberia throughempowerment for change in thenations big challenges related tothe use of our natural resources,environment, education, health,gender equality, governance andcorruption.

We applaud the fact that someyoung Liberians are working involunteer roles in development

programs in the counties, throughthe National Youth VolunteerProgram and the Liberia YouthEmployment Program (LYEP).

MOP-Liberia will like towelcome more volunteers to

peace building and consolidationinitiatives in Liberia. The role

of volunteers will be critical tothe implementation of the peacehubs in Liberia. A volunteeraction can have a long termimpact and achieve a rippleeffect that extends far beyondthe immediate bene ciaries ofour efforts. Besides the addedvalue of volunteerism, voluntaryactions can also inspire othersto volunteer and to believe they,too, can make a difference thatcontributes to peace.

In the words of Douglas Pagels,The more youre bothered bysomething thats wrong, the moreyoure empowered to changethings and make them right. Themore we follow that philosophyas individuals, the easier it will

be to brighten our horizons

outward from there, taking inour communities, our cultures,our countries and the commonground we stand on. The crucibleof peace and good will is far tooempty, and each of us must- insome way-help to ll it.

As a young person growingup in mama Liberia, where doyou stand? What do you takeresponsibility for? And whatdo you not take responsibilityfor? Let us read from you. Weencourage you to note thatintergenerational initiatives alsoaddress national development

priorities. They counteractinequality and exclusion,encourage active citizenshipand even improve publicinfrastructure developmentthrough community-based

projects.Our MOP-Liberia Facebook

page provides an opportunity forall those individuals and like-minded organizations, whichare already doing somethingabout peace consolidation toshare their experiences andencourage each other inspire toa broader community to followour footprint. Contribute yourthoughts-as well as your photos.

I will like to end this articlewith an inspiring quote fromMartin Luther King, Jr. when hesaid: Everybody can be great...

because anybody can serve. You

dont have to have a collegedegree to serve. You dont haveto make your subject and verbagree to serve. You only needa heart full of grace. A soulgenerated by love

Until next week, Peace, aboveall, Peace First, Let Peace Prevail.

Ebola Where is yourstain?

By Charles G. Tiah-LAW charlestiah@yahoo.com/0880-677551

Oh you deadly Hemorrhagic, Ebola!Voyaged from way Central Africa,

Pour quoi tous est la?So early 10 lives your strange death had escortedFor what job done are you now hailing yourself?

No matter how resolved with your plot you areagainst us,

Very soon you no more again will toil this death bell

Ebola, do you even think you can quit ourhandshakes?

Or away take our communal friendship as theirmyth say?

Firmly our sts are xed against you.If our medicine fails our prayer wont doUntil no longer will your stain a soul hate

For in Him secured is our fate----Pour quoi tous est la: In French means why are

you here?

My Transformation By Kenny Best Jr.

This is the story of my transformation:

Ive been transformed from normal to newbornto new man, its my emancipation.From slave to liberator, the blood of the Savior

pressed upon me and paved a new path to freedom- I shook The Mans plantation.

I gave it all up for a just cause just because, justas Christ gave His life and paid the price for a

chosen nation,He chose me to be a soldier in this war against

the esh and the spirit - until its over Ill give my best, not for merit or standing ovation.

See, I was wrong for going off and on, weak andtorn, full of sin,

Wavering to and fro in the wind, raging like anocean;

Now uplifted from the lowly, marching slowlyto glory - Im telling you a true story but no, this

isnt my promotion.Its the Most High working thru Messiah,

working thru me.Im being tried in the ery furnace of adversity;

The wicked may persecute, but that which Iseek is my Fathers will, love, law, wisdom and

intimate mercy.With His Hands, He formed me from clay to

gold to an eternally living soul, to perfectly t inHis mold before His oven turns cold.

I look on as He holds in His power the globe,and measures the deeds of all the righteous and the

noise of His foes;He holds in His balance all the woes of the

meek and the commotion in the streets as tares aresevered from wheat.

He doesnt cultivate fear - this road is achallenge for those who truly seek a companion oradvocacy, but many seeds get entangled in thorns

or dry up in the heat.But Im embalmed by the earth thats under my

feet; His Word is the pasture where I can rest and

freely graze like a sheep.I extend from the roots of this powerful tree;in my palms are the fruits of His knowledge and

peace.And that warm bread of life is what I live on; its

my food, re and sword, a handy shield that I slipon to stop wicked darts.

Yes, it consumes, que nches, and pours salvati onupon sickened hearts and hordes of dry bones in

the valley of Kidron that lie among rocks...Our people call themselves following God, but

follow doctrines that got them stuck in boxes, notknowing who they are, or were, and will be in theend when Messiah again calls Jacob His friend;They will be the recompense if they truly repent

and put off the lthy garments that were given tothem.

But rst they must go before Him and atone fortheir sins, make amends, and return to His holy

laws and commandments.And now its time for new robes, new minds,

and new roles;We all play a different part, but have the ultimate

goal.Seeing all the signs and waking up from

your doze requires willingness and patience totransform as a whole.

So...how do we go, and where do we stand? Isthere map in the sand to guide us back to our land?

No...but theres a light in our hearts to shine bright in our inner parts so we can project it

outwardly and be lamps in the dark.Though this light is transparent, it needs to

cleave through the evil and cant be hid under bushel as to not reach all of our people.

This way of life is inherent as is our conscienceand bearing, or like the fog that disperses when

you come into a clearing,Where the lion is sleeping but hes not in a

jungle - and though its not night time, instead ofroaring, he mumbles

But when it is game time, he better hope hedont stumble, or that the crown which he runs for

is not solely corruptible.We run a race for that which is truly eternal, and

will guide us to light;So with temperance, subjection and humility, wedo ght, avoiding with all prudence the in nite

grip of inferno.And as always, we give the Father all praise for

His salvation immortal, and heed His righteousways cause angels write our journals;They take our thoughts, prayers, and all

conceptions internal, and He intercepts anddiscerns if we are worthy and faithful.

So when the Master returns, well have a placeat His table and a seat at His feast!

We must invest as were able, with all the giftswe are given:

So that through faith, were patient and grateful, because Hes made His petition for us to be sealed

in His book of life,Where our names are forever written, because,

before being revealed in this earthly cradle, Heknew us; for by Him, we were already labeled.

State of our Union By Marcus Abayomi Flemister

As planets orbiting the sunOur solar systems come undone

Weve deviated from the pathForgotten logic, ignored the math

Our egos blind us to the factsWeve broken all of our contracts

There is no I in the word teamWeve lost all hope, refuse to dream

We talk but dont communicateWe just make noise and act irate

We judge our friends before they speak We see the thoughtful as the weak

Weve replaced merit with our greed

We lack the passion to succeedWill the futures foundation ever be built?Will I turn away and hide from guilt?

I know that I must share the blameCarry my part of our joint shameOur sins are not always apparent

Whats in our minds is not transparentWe dodge, we jump, and we deviateWe avoid the truth and embrace hateMy vision reaches as far as my noseMy foolish pride leaves me exposed

We contribute to the degradationWe mock ourselves and hurt the nationWe are people of words who do not act

The time has passed to display tact

Ebola As Others By David K. Nyuma, Sr.

Ebola are you here to terrorize usEbola are you worst than the civil war

Ebola are you worst than yellow fever that killedour settlers

Ebola are you worst than AIDS.Ebola you can not be worst than the Black Death

of EmpireEbola you can not be worst than malariaEbola you can not be worst than cholera

Ebola you can not be worst than tuberculosis.Ebola you can not rob Liberia of all her

populationYou can not do it to GuineaYou can not do it to Uganda

You can not do it to D.R. CongoAll you colleagues in the strive to eliminate

mankind has failedAs yellow fever, Aids,

Ask the Liberia Civil War Ask Malaria, Tuberculosis or Black Death of

EuropeEbola you are declared a terrorist among us

You will atter us but not succeedIn all of this we are winners

Ebola leave us alone because you are defeated

Mother Take A Stand By Matenneh-Rose L. Dunbar

Sadly she does the greatest harmWithout a heart of care for another Once her dirty pot is boiling it is ok If her kin gets bruise it means not

By the way her girl and pretty and hotOpenly you break up a woman life

To traf c your child right in your faceMothers Take A Stand

Somedays the act will trail the girlThe seeds we sow must be reaped

Then her own tears will ll bucketsSorrow shall be her pillow at night

Pictures of the past would ashback Pains mixed with regrets make shades

Discourage the path of sugar daddyMothers Take A. StandDismiss the thrill of listening to newsBreak her family seal your girl doomBuild happy homes with a locked jaw

Keep your soul by keeping your mouthBe a positive role model to a daughter

Teacher her good moves to win in chessHe only needs her for a few hours

Mothers Take A Stand

House Of Giants By Edward Boakai For the greed of power,

Or the sel sh bene ts thereof;Men oft disguise themselves

As good shepherds to be!Be it under rain or shine,

They relentlessly go from door to door;Bowing down and carving for votes,

With falsehood and empty promises in disguise!

At length, they use rhetorics,Even persuasive languages to win your votes;

And when they shall have won your votes,They laugh at you and treat you with scorn!

For greed and sel sh motives though,They do come down to earth;

And when their dreams do come true,They tend to treat you as lesser beings!

For once in the House,They become giants and bureaucrats;

For all their focus and immediate concern will be:

I, me and myself!

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businesses.

2. That in October 2009, the Defendant borrowed certain sums ofmonies constituting US$12,500.00 and L$750.000.00 from Plaintiff. Toensure payment of the loan the Defendant signed a loan agreement withPlaintiff, issued a promissory note and also posted a collateral mortgagedeed for property containing 1.59 lots of land with a building thereon. At-tacked are copies of the mortgage deed, the loan agreement and the prom-issory note marked as P/1 in bulk to form a part of this Complaint.

3. That out of the total amounts indicate in count two of this Com- plaint, the Defendant paid the Liberian dollars portion and US$200.00against the principal with further promise to pay the balance later. How-ever, the Defendant defaulted and refused to pay despite several appealsand demands. Thereafter, the Plaintiffs Lawyer then wrote the Defendantrepresented by its proprietress, Ms. Kolu Kiah who appeared and appealedfor additional time, but has since failed, neglected, and refused to paythe amount, that has now accumulating to US$31,560.34 as at August 26,2013. Attached hereto is a copy of Plaintiff Lawyers letter of demandmarked as P/2 and made a part of this Complaint.

4. Plaintiff submits that the action of debt will lie against the Defen-dant for its failure, neglect and refusal to pay the amount due and thereforethis court is called upon to collect the debt owed by the Defendant andupon its failure, order a foreclosure of the mortgage.

WHEREFORE and in view of the foregoing, Plaintiff prays this Court torender judgment against the Defendant after a hearing in the amount ofUS$31,560.34 along with commercial interest, charges and other fees andif the amount cannot be collected, your Honor should order foreclosure ofthe mortgage posted by the Defendant, auction the property to raise the

judgment amount, and grant unto the Plaintiff such and grant unto Plaintiffsuch and other relief this Court may deem just and equitable.

Respectfully submitted: The above named Petitioner thru its Legal Counsel

YONAH OBEY & ASSOCIATES

________________________ Yancy F. Cole ATTORNEY-AT-LAW

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA ) IN THE OFFICE OF THE JUSTICE OFMONTSERRADO COUNTY) THE PEACE FOR MONTSERRADO

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA.

PLAINTIFFS AFFIDAVIT

PERSONALLY APPEARED BEFORE ME , the undersigned duly com-missioner and quali ed Justice of the Peace for Montserrado County at myof ce in the City of Monrovia, Roland F. Dahn, Counsellor-At-Law whodeposed under Oath according to law that all and singular the allegation oflaw and facts contained in the annexed Plaintiffs Complaint are true andcorrect to the best of his knowledge and belief and as to those matters ofinformation received, he verily believes them to be true and correct.

SWORN AND SUBSCRIBED TO BEFORE ME, THIS ________DAY OF OCTOBER A.D. 2013

_________________________________________ JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, MO. CO. R.L.

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA ) IN THE DEBT COURT FORMONTSERRADO COUNTY ) MONTSERRADO COUNTY SITTING INITS APRIL TERM A.D. 2014

BEFORE HIS HONOUR: JAMES E. JONES, JUDGE, DEBT COURT,MO. CO.

Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) also )of the City of Monrovia, Liberia............PLAINTIFF ) ) ACTION

VERSUS ) OF DEBT )

Imako business Center represented by its Proprietor or )Ms. Kolu Kiah, also of the city of Monrovia, Liberia ).....................DEFENDANT )

WRIIT OF RE-SUMMONS

Republic of LiberiaCapt. Roberts B. Toe, EsquireSHERIFF, DEBT COURT, MO. CO. R.L.

G R E E T I N G S:YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED AS YOU WERE to Summons:

Imazko Business Center represented by its Proprietor, Ms. Kolu Kiah,Defendant to appear before the debt Court for Montserrado County, sit-ting in its April Term, A.D. 2014, to meet on the Second Tuesday in April,A.D. 2014 same being the 8th day of April A.D. 2014, at the hour of 10:Oclock A.M., at the Debt Court House, Temple of Justice Building, Cityof Monrovia Liberia, to answer the Complaint of the plaintiff in the aboveentitled cause of action and to Notify the same defendant that upon itsfailure to appear, Judgment shall be rendered against him by default.

YOU ARE HERERBY FURTHER COMMANDED to notify the saidDefendant to le its FORMAL APPEARANCE/ANSWER in my of ceon or before the 20th of March, A.D. 2014, Meanwhile; you returnsthisWrit of Summons in my of ce on or before the 20th day of March, A.D.2014, with your of ce returns endorsed on the back hereof as to the formand manner of service.

AND HAVE YOU THERE THIS WRIT OF SUMMONS:

$5.00 Revenue Stamp Af xed on the Original copy

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA ) IN THE DEBT COURT FOR MONTSERRADO COUNTY) MONTSERRADO COUNTYSITTING

IN ITS OCTOBER TERM A.D. 2013

BEFORE HIS HONOUR: JAMES E. JONES, JUDGE, DEBT COURT

Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) ) by and thru its President/Geneal Manager of the City )of Monrovia, Liberia..........PLAINTIFF ) ) ACTION VERSUS ) OF DEBT

)IGNAKO Business Center represented by its )Proprietress,Ms. Kolu Kiah of the city of Monrovia, )Liberia....DEFENDANT )

PLAINTIFFS COMPLAINTPLAINTIFF complains of the within named Defendant in the form andmanner as follows:

1. Plaintiff is a nancial institution engaged in the business of bank -ing and as part of its duty in contributing it quota to the Liberian economicrecovery program, it grants loans to various customers to improve their

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GVL, Sinoe Land Con icton the Rise Again

As Citizens Reject Voluntary Land Turnover By Gloria T.Tamba

Agroup named the

Kulu United De-velopment Asso-ciation (KUDA)

in Sinoe County has rejectedclaims that the people of Tra-

juowon have willingly givenGolden Veroleum their landfor the companys oil palm plantation.

The rebuttal of the claimcontained in a press releaseover the weekend from thegroup alleges that GoldenVeroleum Liberia is usingtheir in uence on local gov -ernment of cials, state secu -rity and its nancial powerto grab community landin Kulu and Tarjuowon inSinoe County.

As the lead organiza-tion in the effort protectingcommunity rights in theTarjuowon area, we wish tocategorically dispute misin-formation being spread thatthe people of Tarjuowonhave willingly given GVLtheir land to add to the Indo-nesian companys 65 year-old-plus oil palm plantation.

This information is falseand deceptive. It is intendedto mislead the public. Inactual fact, GVL has notobtained the free, prior andinformed consent of someof the key communities inTarjuowon. Especially thosecommunities that have thelarger portion of land andwho would be most affected by GVL Oil Palm, said Mr.Brown P. Nyenfueh, nationalchairman of KUDA. Nyenfueh said GVL is im-

pinging on the rights of thecitizens and called for im-mediate intervention by the

government of Liberia andother partners.To show that GVL has not

obtained the free, prior andinformed consent of the

people, the company andits supporters are perpetrat-ing the following oppressiveacts: arresting and detain-ing without charge citizensof the area who go to theirvarious towns and lands toverify claims of land clear-ing by GVL; preventing lo-cal and international organi-zations from going to verifycomplaints of KUDA and af-fected communities that thecompany is using force andundue in uence to take landthey have always depended

upon from ancient times forlivelihood; deploying arbi-trary measures to suppressthe free movement of com-munity-dwellers, thus pre -venting free assembly, freeassociation and free expres-sion of the people concern-ing their right to their an-cestral land and towns, Mr.

Nyenfueh explained.He said they are working

behind the scenes to preventthe Roundtable on Sustain-able Palm Oil (RSPO). Thisis the regulatory and super-visory body that holds palmoil companies to mutuallyagreed standards and prin-ciples worldwide. KUDAwants to stop them (RSPO)from coming to Liberia andhave them investigate com-

plaints of violations and breach of RSPO principlesand other national and inter-nationally recognized laws,

policies, principles and regu -lations, by GVL.

He said that KUDA arguedthat there are provisions andclauses in the concession

agreement that is not in theinterest of the land owningcommunities. He demandedthat the agreement therefore

be reviewed and amended toaccommodate the interestsand concerns of the peopleand to remove from theconcession agreement theseclauses and provisions thatare anti-community inter-est. Including granting GVLunwanted power over theirland.

Mr. Sampson Toby joinedhis colleagues to call on theGovernment of Liberia andits local and international

partners to prevail on GVLto stop all operations in thearea until the legal,socio-

economic and environmentalconcerns of the people have peacefully, fully and con -structively discussed and re-solved; removing the blanketof insecurity, terror and fearin the affected communities.

He also requested that theGovernment and other part-ners prevail on GVL to with-draw from the area and allowthe owners of the variouscommunities to move freelyto and from their respectivecommunities and farms in

pursuit of their normal ac-tivities.

When contacted, VirgilMagee, CommunicationsDirector of GVL, stated

The allegations are falseand the group giving thismisleading information is

just made up of a few peoplein Monrovia.

Mr. Magee said there is noRSPO sanction on GVL andthat the Memorandum ofunderstanding (MOU) wassigned by over 600 personswithin the district.

Gibi Residents CommendSRC

By C.Y. Kwanue

R esidents of Bay-

polu Town in Bor-lorla Township,Gibi District upper

Margibi County, have com -mended the management ofthe Salala Rubber Corporation(SRC) for the construction ofa four-room latrine which costover US$2,000.

According to the residents,the construction of the latrine

by the SRC was a clear mani-festation of the Companyswillingness to render assis-tance to help withstand chal-lenges faced by them. One ofthese challenges is the lack

of safe drinking water, whichcould pose a possible sanita-tion threat.

In a dispatch, the Commis -sioner of Borlorla Township

James Weetor, is quoted assaying the construction of thelatrine came as a result of ameeting held in January ofthis year between the residentsand the management of theSRC. During this meeting theresidents expressed their needfor development projects suchas the construction of modernlatrines and bore-hole wells inthe area.

Commissioner Weetor saidthe construction of the la-trine in Baypolu would helpthe residents refrain from at-tending to natures call in theopen-bush or in town, therebyimproving the areas sanitary

conditions. The SRC management as-

sured inhabitants within thecompanys operational areaof their continued support

towards the development oftheir various communities.

The management also pledged to the residents itscommitment to remain posi-tively engaged with the localsto bring some level of relief tothem. They, however, made itclear that any project under-taken would be done on the

basis of priority.The SRC management then

used the occasion to dispelrumors that they were onlyinterested in extracting the re-sources from the communitiesthey operate in without giving

back to them.

The newly constructed four-room latrine built by the SRC

MOL Wants Safety Gear for Employees-As Fear of Ebola Virus Rises

By David A. Yates

The Minister of La -

bor, Cllr. F. JuahLawson, has calledon employers in

the country to design andimplement occupationalsafety and health measuresfor their employees at theirrespective places of work in

Cllr. F. Juah Lawson

the country.

Henceforth, the Ministry

has called on all employers to provide personal protectivegears, such as gloves for theirworkers, in keeping with theLabour Law of the countryand International Labor Stan-dards.

The Ministry has also askedall employers to educate their

employees on the impor-tance and usage of the safetygears and provide a list of preventative measures atvisible locations within their places of business. The pur- pose of this list would beto inform workers how toavoid exposure to danger-ous and harmful substances.

At the same time, theMinistry is appealing toall workers to utilize the

personal protective gearsthat would be provided

by their employers to help prevent job-related hazards,especially in the face of theEbola virus outbreak in thecountry.It is important for employ-

ers and employees to adhereto the call of the MOL. Es -

pecially with the high levelof labor migration acrossthe country, Minister Law -son concluded.

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The US Agency for International Development(USAID)/Liberia is seeking quali ed construc -tion companies to construct two (2) mini watersystems in the city of Voinjama and Sanniquelle.

USAID/Liberia will award two separate contracts for work

in each city.

USAID/Liberia is soliciting companies to compete for thesecontracts in accordance with United States Governmentacquisition regulations. Companies will be selected basedon demonstrated competence and quali cations for the re -quired work. A company can submit a bid for both contracts,

but can only be awarded one of the contracts. The period of performance will be 18 months (6 months construction pe-riod and 12 months defects liability period) from the noticeto proceed. USAID/Liberia estimates giving the notice to

proceed in early May 2014.

A rm that wishes to respond to this request must, at a mini -mum:

Be a local Liberian entity Have all licenses and permits required by the law of

Republic Of Liberia to legally transact business and perform the work;

Have an established business with a permanent ad -dress and telephone listing; and

Have no political or business af liations which could be considered contrary to the interest of the UnitedStates.

An interested construction company can obtain a copy of thesolicitations and drawings for free electronically via www.fbo.gov , or in hard copy for a fee of $50 USD at LMWPOf ce 19th Street and Payne Avenue Sinkor, Monrovia,Liberia LMWP contact information is provided in thesolicitation on www.fbo.gov. Please direct questions aboutthis process to USAID/Liberias Of ce of Acquisition andAssistance (OAA) via email at oaaliberia@usaid.gov ortelephone number 077-677-7000 ext: 7042 or 7076.

USAID/Liberia will have a pre-bid meeting at the LiberiaMunicipal Water Project of ce on 19th Street and PayneAvenue in Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia on 14, April, 2014from 10:00 am 12:00 pm local Liberia time. Interestedcompanies must submit the names of no more than two (2)employees who will attend the pre-bid meeting via emailoaaliberia@usaid.gov by 10:00 am local time, 11 April,2014.

In addition to the pre-bid meeting, USAID will organize anoptional site visit for each site as follows: Voinjama on 18, April, 2014 starting at 9:00am local

Liberia time. Participants will meet at: the SocialSecurity Guest House in Voinjama at 9:00am local time.

Sanniquelle on 16, April starting at 9:00am local Liberiantime meet at: Jackies Guest House in Sanniquelle at9:00am local time.

Bidder will be responsible for covering all his/her costs andtransportation required to and from the site visits.

USAID/ Liberia Municipal Water Project National AIDS Commission of LiberiaTerms of Reference and Job Description

Monitoring and Evaluation and surveillance Assistant

POSITON TITLE Monitoring and Evaluation and Surveillance Assistant

DEPARTMENT Monitoring and Evaluation Unit

RESPONSIBLE TO Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator

RESPONSIBLE FOR

Staff:

Physical Assets:

Physical assets (furniture, computers, printers, materials andsupplies, etc.) allocated to the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit

Financial Assets:

JOBPURPOSE/SUMMARY

Assist in the execution of a system of monitoring and evaluationfor all sectors at the national level

INTERNALRELATIONSHIPS

Liaise and coordinate with the M&E Coordinator, DatabaseManager and managers in other departments of the Commission

EXTERNALRELATIONSHIPS

Focal Persons of programs/units within donor, partner andgovernment entities that are involved in the national responseto HIV and AIDS

Monitoring and Evaluation Departments/Units/ProgramsSPECIFIC DUTIES AND

RESPONSIBILITIES

Assist in the development of a standardized system for

collecting, recording, tabulating, analyzing and reporting data,based on standardized paper-based forms and computerizedtools

Work with partner organizations to build capacity of sub-recipients (SRs) to respond to G FATM requirements

Assist in the development of protocols and provide technicalguidance for implementation and conduct of studies andsurveys financed under Global Fund Grants to ensure thatinternational standards are adhered to

Assist in the strengthening of partnership to updatemonitoring and reporting guidelines, standards and manualsto ensure consistency, user-friendliness by implementers, atthe same adhering to the latest international guidelines

Assist in the evaluation of results achieved by ImplementingPartners against their targets and track overall progress inachieving the Global Fund and National objectives as outlinedin the National Strategic Framework 2010-2014

Assist in ensuring the quality and timely submission ofImplementing Partners reports and use of standard datacollecting tools

Assist in preparing Projects Update Reports, quarterly and

annual reports Assist in providing guidance on the M&E Budget of the NSF

and GF HIV and AIDS grant to affect overall programsustainability, capacity building, and linking of the programsimplementation to the result framework

Assist in providing leadership and technical direction to allsub-recipients (SRs) M&E teams involved in theimplementation of Global

Fund-funded HIV and AIDS grant and the NSF to ensure thatquality data is generated, and that monthly and quarterly

repor s pro uce are use or program p ann ng, po cydevelopment, advocacy, and program evaluations

Assist in the development of sub-national Community BasedInformation Management Systems (CBIMS) which includeassessments, development of conceptual frameworks,development of indicators and information needs, datacollection plans, and data processing and analysis plans

Assist in the design of the M&E system for the NSF and GFgrants and ensure it is implemented efficiently and effectively

Coordinate with staff in establishing and monitoring programimplementation plan

Producing GIS maps using ARC view for interventions Perform all other duties as may be required

OUTPUTS Monthly and Quarterly summary of Implementing Partnersreports received

Standardized data collecting system developed Standardized reporting tools and formats developed

MINIMUMQUALIFICATIONS &EXPERIENCE

Bachelors Degree in any of the social or naturalsciences, Economics, Public Health, or related area.

Minimum six two (2) to three(3) years of proven experience ina similar role within government or non-governmental sector

Experience and training in Monitoring and Evaluation wouldbe an advantage

Excellent public and private reputationOTHER QUALITIES ORREQUIREMENTS

Excellent interpersonal skills Good oral and written communication skills Ability to make reasoned decisions based on the information

available, procedures and regulations Observant, analytical and pays particular attention to detail Advanced working knowledge of MS Word, Excel and Power

Point, Access, etc.Dareline for application is April 30, 2014 @ 4:00PM, on the 3rd Floor of the Ministry of health& Social welfare Building, Capital by- pass, Monrovia, Liberia. Please address all applicationto the of ce of the Executive Director, National AIDS Commission. Females are encouragedto apply.

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DAILY OBSERVER Page 10Thurs day, April 10, 2014 8

USAID/FED, Partners to Boost Livestock Production As U.S Ambassador, Malac Dedicates Quarantine Facility at CARI By Judoemue Mohmoh

Kollie

In bid to enhance live-stock production in Li-

beria, the United StatesAgencies for Interna-

tional Development/Foodand Enterprise DevelopmentProgram (USAID/FED) hasrehabilitated the Central Ag-ricultural Research Institutes(CARI) livestock quarantinefacility in Suakoko, BongCounty.

The facility was dedicatedlast Friday by the UnitedStates Ambassador to Liberia,Ms. Deborah Malac.

The program was attended by the Deputy Minister forAdministration of the Ministryof Agriculture (MoA), Seklau

Wiles, and the Chief of Partyfor USAID/FED, Agnes Luzand among other dignitaries.

The CARIs livestock housewas destroyed during Libe-rias fourteen year civil crisis.Thanks to USAID/FEDs part-nership with the governmentof Liberia, the facility wasrevamped to meet the needsof livestock farmers in thecountry.

According to the project doc-ument, about 500 improvedvarieties of goats are initiallyexpected to occupy the newfacility.

USAID/FED will focus onimproving goats husbandrytechniques to increase produc-tion, while USDA and LandO Lakes (USDA/LOL) are to

restock the nations goat popu-lation.

The document further ex-

plained that goat farmers underthe FED program are going to

bene t from an imported herdof genetically proven goats toupgrade their existing herd,adding that the facility would

be used as a home for nucleus breeding.

Cutting the ribbon off theanimals house last Friday inCARI, Ambassador Malacstated the United States gov-ernment was grati ed to sup -

port Liberias agricultural pro-grams to reduce poverty andhelp the country become foodsecured.The U.S government has

made and will continue to

make major investments tosupport agriculture and agri-

business in Liberia through its

close partnership with govern-ment institutions and agen-cies. Through projects suchas the quarantine facility andthe establishment of a thrivinggoat sector in Liberia, the U.S.government reaf rms its longstanding commitment to helpreduce poverty and achievefood security, she said.

She emphasized that the fa-cility was critical to the over-all process of increasing thenational goat herd and repre-sented how her governmentcoordinates investment amongdifferent government agencies.Goats are primary asset of

rural village households andfarms in Liberia. Consideringthat nearly 80 percent of allthe goat meat consumed in thecountry is imported from sur-rounding countries, we intendto reverse that trend, she ex-

plained.The U.S Ambassador men-

tioned that FED has not only partnered with CARI to in-crease livestock production,

but was also into rice seedmultiplication and certi ca -tion as well as the multiplica-tion of improved varieties ofcassava cuttings.

For her part, Mrs. Wiles saidthe government of Liberiawas thankful to the people andgovernment of America forhelping to revamp the agricul-

tural sector of Liberia.The MoAs deputy minister,

who once served as the na-tional livestock coordinatorfor her ministry prior to her

appointment, said that Liberiahad been very productive inlivestock production prior tothe civil crisis.Before the war, this facil-

ity served as our dairy cat-tles bond that hosted exotic(foreign) breed used for thecrossing. We rmly believe

that its revamping begins theintention to increase livestock

production. This is why weare thankful for the assistanceof the U.S government, shestated joyfully.

Dr. Arthur Kanua is the di-rector for livestock research atCARI.

He earlier con rmed at the

program that his institution(CARI) has partnered withUSAID/FED and USDA/LOLto enhance animal farming inLiberia.

Speaking exclusively withthe Daily Observer newspaper,after the program, the ActingChief of Party for USDA/LOL,Madam Allison Williams, dis-closed that by June of this yearher institution is expected torestock the facility at CARIwith goats.

We will be able to bring highquality of animals perhaps byJune, she said.

According to her, they areworking with fty-nine goatfarming groups in the countryto increase animal production,adding that farmers are taughtto breed livestock as a busi-ness.

Ambassador Malac cutting the ribbo n off the quarantine facility in photo with MoAsdeputy minister, Mrs. Wiles and others

CARIs livestock manager explains the usage of theanimals house to the U.S ambassador

USAID/FED Certifcates 30 Seed Inspectors By Judoemue Mohmoh

Kollie

The United StatesAgencies for Interna-tional Development/Food and Enterprise

Development Program in Libe-ria (USAID/FED) on Thursday,April 3, certi cated 30 persons,

after completing 10 days of

training on quality seed assur-ance and certi cation at theCentral Agricultural ResearchInstitution (CARI) in Suakoko,Bong County.The training was intended to

produce quali ed seed certi -ers for Liberia to work withlocal farmers in processingquality seed.USAID/FED con-ducted the training in collabo-ration with CARI.The participants were drawn

from four counties, includingBong, Nimba, Lofa and Bassa.They were taught the necessary procedures required in produc-

ing good seed, which include,land preparation, fertilizationapplication, seed processing,and seed germination amongothers topics.The USAID FED Program for

Liberia aims to reduce hungerand promote food security forLiberians by increasing agri-cultural productivity and pro t -ability across food based value

chains, stimulating enterprisedevelopment and building theagriculture workforce. The

program is implemented in sixcounties, namely Bong, Nimba,

Lofa, Grand Bassa, Margibiand Montserrado.CARI and USAID/FED have

entered into a partnership forthe development of Liberiaseed certi cation and to stimu -late rice seed multiplication.Speaking during the close

of the workshop on Thursday,April 03, 2014 in CARI, theBong County Manager for theUSAID/FED project, GalaToto, said that the training was

important to enhancing his in-stitutions work with farmers inthe country.This training is a very impor-tant milestone, moving Liberiaforward for the accessibility ofseed for local farmers. It has

been a dream for FED to enterin to partnership with CARI tohelp build the human resourcecapacities of the countrys

agricultural sector. Therefore,we considered the training asa great achievement, he de-clared.He expressed the need for

continued collaboration be-tween USAID/FED and CARIin training more technicians forthe sector.The Bong County USAID/

FED Manager then questionedthe participants to make ev-ery effort to make use of theknowledge acquired.Representing CARIs man-

ager, Aaron Marshall, at theclose of the training workshopwas the agriculture engineer of

CARI Samuel V. Morris Sr.Mr. Morris said the workshop

was impressive in making surethat local farmers get accessto better seed to improve crop

production.For his part, the seed

specialist for Africa Rice,Adetumbi Johnson Adedayo,said the workshop was oneof the indications that Liberiais beginning to competewith other African countries,

particularly those in the subregion.With this set of people trained,we believe that farmers in Li-

beria w ill now understand theimportance of producing im-

proved seed to increase pro-duction, he said.He asked the participants to

take their responsibilities as aform of team work, adding itwould require tireless effort toreach more farmers.Randolf R. Kolleh, a par-

ticipant of the workshop whospoke on behalf of his col-

leagues, described the trainingas a rst step in the right direc -tion.The issue of seed industry inLiberia is just beginning andwe are convinced that suchtraining is very helpful. As par-ticipants we are so appreciativeto the organizers for the oppor-tunity created to go out thereand work with farmers, heconcluded.

LAC Conduct Training forLocal Rubber Farmers

By David A. Yates

The Liberian Agri-culture Company(LAC) on Monday,April 7, began a two

week intensive training pro-gram on Quality Tapping forLocal Rubber Farmers from

Grand Bassa and River CessCounty.The training is under the aus- pices of Grand Bassa CountyDistrict 4 Representative,Robertson Siaway, and it

brought together 80 partici- pants, including male and fe-male from the counties.

Speaking at the program,Representative Siaway saidthe training is intended to pro-vide quality education for lo-cal rubber famers in the areas.

Mr. Siaway said that rubberhas value in the market sec-tor, and as such, local farmersneed to be educated on how totake care of their rubber farms.

He also added that the facili-tators would be teaching localfarmers rules on how to doquality tapping of their trees.

According to him, it is goodto make rice farms, but fornow, we need to substitute itwith rubber; in doing so, wehave to teach you.

He further explained to the participants that most of themdo not know how to tap rub-

ber well; as a result, the rubbertrees are dying.

However, Grand BassaCounty District 4 Representa-tive urged them to make use ofthe acquire knowledge fromthe training there be receiving.

For his part, Alfred H. Flo-mo, Superintendent of Libe-ria Rubber Processing (LRP),gave the welcoming remarksacknowledging participantsfor taking part in the program.

He told them that they arenot there to observe but to putinto practice what there aregoing to be learning with inthe course of the two weeks.

What you are going to belearning here today will be-come part of your life skills,he promised.

Superintended Flomo re-iterated that the program isintended to help local farm-ers know how to take care ofrubber.

Later on, one of the partici- pants expressed their gratitudeto the management of LACand Representative Siawayfor organizing the program forthem.

The participants represen-tative hoped that at the end ofthe program they would putinto practice the knowledgethey acquired.

The program is expected toend next Thursday, April 17.

Trained seed inspectors of USAID/FED showcasing certi cates, at the end of a recentworkshop in CARI

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DAILY OBSERVER Wednesday, April 09, 2014 Thursday, April 10, 2014 Page 9

New Insurance Company to Invest US$1M Here Board Chairman Promises Aggressive Approach in Sector

By Edwin M. Fayia III

Equity AssuranceLiberia Limited,a Nigerian-

based insurancecompany, has pledgedto invest US$1 millionin Liberia. The latestinvestment, according toinsurance experts, willhelp boost the countrysstruggling insuranceindustry because of itsnancial strength.The Liberian insurance

sector is undercapitalizedand largely divided andso with the coming in ofstronger foreign insurancecompanies, many peoplehere believe that most ofthe Liberian-own insurancecompanies will see reasonsto form merger in order tocompete. The coming ofEquity Assurance CompanyLiberia brings the numberof insurance companies inthe country to 19.

The coming of EquityAssurance Company toLiberia was planned formany months with the directinvolvement of prominentLiberians including, formerLiberian Ambassador to theUS, Dr. Milton Nathaniel

Barnes, who now chairs theBoard of the company.

Of cially launched on24th Street on Tuesday,April 8, Equity Assuranceis set to provide insurancecoverage for re, businessinterruption, motor, andaccident, marine, amongstmany others.

Business executivesincluding bank of cialsand insurance sectorstakeholders as well asforeign diplomats and otherguests graced the ceremony.

Speaking at the program,Equity AssuranceLiberia Board Chair, Dr.Milton Nathaniel Barnesreminded Liberians andthe business communitythat the insurance entitywould be aggressive in its

professional approaches.Barnes assured the public

that his company has theexpertise to offer and render

professional services inLiberia and at the regionallevel in West Africa.

Ambassador Barnes pointed out that the businessout t would also concentrateits outreach strategies in all

parts of the country in termsof coverage and settlementof claims.

We are here to stay and do business with all Liberiansand the business communityin the country, he assured.

He also pledged that thatEquity Assurance CompanyLiberia would strive tomake a big difference in itsoperations in the country.

In a special statement, Nigeria envoy to LiberiaMadam Chigozie F-obi

Nnadozie, remindedLiberians that her Nigeriaand Liberia have donea lot of professional

collaborations over years.Ambassador Nnadozieurged Liberians and the

business community in thecountry to take advantageof the new insurancecompanys offers fordevelopment, growth and

progress of their respectiveentities in Liberia.

The Nigerian envoythanked the plannersand organizers of EquityAssurance CompanyLiberia for engaging theinsurance industry in a bidto assist Liberians, foreign

business entities and othersin the country.

For his part, the ManagingDirector and CEO ofEquity Assurance Company

Liberia Ishola Akintundesaid the insurance entitywas entering the marketto deliver professionaland reliable services to allLiberians and businesses inthe country.

We have entered theinsurance market to make adifference in the settlementof claims, services and

business engagementsthat would be of immense

bene ts to all Liberian businesses and foreign business entities in thecountry, CEO Akintundemaintained.

He also admonishedLiberian small businessowners, private business

entities and Liberians ingeneral to take advantageof the services being offered

by the newly establishedinsurance company fordevelopment in the country.

In remarks, the Directorof Banking and SupervisionServices at the CentralBank of Liberia (CBL)Marcus Ogun welcomedEquity Assurance CompanyLiberia to the insuranceindustry in the country.

Director Ogun also urgedthe managers of the newlyestablished insurancecompany to offer productsthat would reasonablyrespond to the socio-economic conditions of

Liberians and businesses inthe country.

He added that he wasdelighted to represent theCBL at the auspiciousceremony of the launchof the Equity AssuranceCompany Liberia thathas entered the insuranceindustry at such a crucial

period in post-war Liberia.Director Ogun revealed

that the CBL has beenworking assiduously to

bring the necessary reformsin the insurance industryin the country over theyears. Equity Assurance hasseveral branches in Nigeriaand Ghana.

Executives of Equity Assurance Company Liberia, Nigerian Ambassador Nnadozie &

Guests at launching Program in Monrovia

Trade in Services is Untapped-World Bank Economists Speak of Africa, Want More Investments in the Service Sector

By William Q. Harmon

The World BankGroups Analystson Africaneconomies have

observed that Africangovernments and privateinvestors are yet to takeadvantage of or investmeaningfully in the

provision of traditionaland modern services.The Africa Pulse reportindicates that Africas tradein services is still untapped.

In its twice-yearly published report, AfricasPulse, which came outrecently, the WorldBank experts noted that

globalization of servicesis a potentially importantsource of growth fordeveloping countries, butAfricans investors are yetto venture into the sectorin order to realize its full

potentials.World Bank Lead

Economist in the Africanregion, Ms. Punam Chuhan-

Pole, said technologyand outsourcing, whichare considered as modernservices, are enablingtraditional services such astransportation and travelto overcome their oldconstraints such as physicaland geographic proximity.

The World Bank LeadEconomist was providinganalytical views on thereport at a discussion onAfricas recent economic

progress and futurechallenges in sustainingthe continents economicgrowth in a changingglobal environment,in Washington D.C. theevent was webcast live at

the World Bank GroupsCountry of ce in Monrovia.

It was also viewed inseveral other Africancountries including

Nigeria, Ghana, SierraLeone, Ethiopia, amongstothers. Journalists fromthe continent had theopportunity to interact withthe two discussants, Ms.

Chuhan-Pole, and WorldBank Chief Economistfor the region, FransciscoFerreira through questionsand answers.

The bank LeadEconomist said thatmodern services, such assoftware development, callcenters, and outsourced

business processes, can betraded like value-added,manufactured products,enabling develo