Monrovia – Ms. McDella Cooper, renowned for advocating for women’s participation in politics in Liberia believes the men heading the various constituents of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) have allowed their egos to surpass the interest and objectives of the collaboration, noting that Liberia needs a serious and focused opposition. She commented: “The Collaborating Political Parties have always had an extremely large elephant in the room since its inception and nobody cared enough to address it. Mr. Urey has publicly declared that Mr. Cummings, in his own words, “was not fit to be President”, owing to his late arrival on the political landscape. Mr. Urey says he prefers former Vice President Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party. Mr. Urey’s assertions, Mr. Cummings said last October, is a deviation from the objectives of the CPP.

Monrovia – The Government of Liberia has launched the “Liberia Project Dashboard”, an aid information management platform that collects, analyzes, and reports information about donors’ assistance programs and projects. The Liberia Project Dashboard (LPD) is part of the roll-out of the country’s National Aid and NGO Policy under President George M. Weah’s administration. When it is effectively designed and used will be critical for sustainable national development,” Minister Tweah said. Also speaking USAID Liberia Mission Director Sara Walter praised the government and other partners for establishing the Liberia Project Dashboard something she says will help development partners with useful information. Adding up, Stephen Norman the Head of the Civil Society Council praised development partners and the government for the launch of the Liberia Project Dashboard.

KAKATA, Margibi County – Police in Margibi County on Tuesday, September 8 charged and sent to court a 47-year-old disabled man for allegedly raping a four-year-old girl. The victim’s mother told police investigation that she was alerted by her friend who informed her that she was hearing her daughter cry from the front porch of their house. “My friend called me and told me to ask my daughter why she was the reason she was crying. The suspect, however, denied the allegations levied against him in a a voluntary statement provided to the police during primary investigations. His words: “During the process of removing her slippers, she started shouting “leave my foot”, “leave my foot”.

The Gbarnga Central prison overcrowding hit 50 per cent as the prison population currently is 350 instead of 75 standard capacity of the prison, according to Mulbah. Gbarnga, Bong County – The Gbarnga Central Prison, housing some of Bong County’s notorious criminals, is using buckets to cope with leaky roofs. A tour of the prison facility by our reporter, who was denied from taking photos, established that prisoners are sleeping in on wet floors as the result of leaky roofs. Mulbah admitted that portion of the damaged prison facility contains a little over 50 inmates, stressing that the need to renovate the prison can’t be over emphasized. Overcrowded prisonThe Gbarnga Central prison overcrowding hit 50 per cent as the prison population currently is 350 instead of 75 standard capacity of the prison, according to Mulbah.

The bill entitled “An Act to Ratify the Investment Incentive Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Liberia and Foauni Brothers Corporation,” was vetoed by President Weah last August because a page containing important information was omitted. The agreement was previously submitted by the President to the Legislature. The principle of confidentiality is key to any agreement; it is about privacy and respecting the wishes of others. If the president does not approve such bill or resolution, he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in which it originated. In so doing, the President may disapprove of the entire bill or resolution or any item or items thereof.

On August 2, 2020, Representative Fallah visited the Weasay Community and met with some of the residents. The issue of rehabilitating the Weasay Community road was high on their agenda, Kromah said. We want to tell Representative Fallah thank you for helping to pave our road, she stressed. He says the rehabilitation of the Weasay Community road is a breakthrough for them. However, we now have Representative Fallah who came to our aid.

First Lady Clar M. Weah addressing National SGBV Conference, Sept. 8, 2020MONROVIA – First Lady Clar Marie Weah is suggesting the need for more attention to be given to the prevention of rape and other forms of sexual gender-based violence rather than supporting victims and proposing punishments for perpetrators. The Liberian First Lady made the assertion Tuesday, September 8, 2020 when she addressed the opening session of the first ever National Conference on Sexual Gender Based Violence at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town. “I strongly believe that our concentration should focus more on prevention rather than punishment because of the physical, emotional and psychological impact SGBV has on all its victims,” said Mrs. Weah. “The DNA machines and safe homes are necessary but SGBV awareness should be the main tool used in our fight against the menace. “The word ‘rape’ pricks my heart as a mother and female,” said Mrs. Weah adding: “There is no excuse for rape.

They are still grieving his deathCalifornia – The family of the late Lorenzo A. Harris Sr. Tuesday, September 7th on his death first anniversary honored him with memorial prayers held at his grave in Miramar National Cemetery, San Diego, California, United States of America. During his 20-year stay in the Navy, Harris served on multiple tours of duty in many parts of the world including Iraq where he had five tours of duty. Following his honorably retirement from the US Navy, Harris became a pilot and worked as flight instructor at the California Flight Academy, San Diego, California. Harris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics from the Embryriddle Aeronautical University, United States and completed aviation training at the California Flight Academy, San Diego California. The late Lorenzo A. Harris Sr. hailed from Liberia and was a member of the Presbyterian Church.

In the next few years, he will study customary land governance, rural migration, foreign investment, and sustainable land use and natural resource management. “He has passionately supported a number of communities in different counties in Liberia to satisfy the requirements prescribed by the Land Rights Act to formalize their customary land rights. By then, the Liberia Land Authority was the newly formed Land Commission. “[Ali Kaba] is a pioneer of the whole process that is laid out in the customary land formalization,” Siakor said. James Yarsiah of the Rights and Rice Foundation and member of the Civil Society Land Rights Working Group, who alongside Kaba led a sustained campaign in three years for the passage into the Land Rights Act, said he was a “mentor and ideologue in the quest for land rights.” He said nothing could have been achieved without Kaba.

Kakata, Margibi County – The Government of Liberia through the Ministries of Agriculture and Health has begun a six -day training for Community Health Volunteers, Community Animal Health Workers, Port Health and Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) officers to support Community Event-Based Surveillance for COVID-19 in Margibi County. This integrated training method, using a One Health approach takes into consideration work by the health, agriculture and environmental sectors to intervene to respond to COVID-19. USAID works with other USG partners to outline strategies to address health security threats and outbreaks especially now with COVID-19. Diallo admonished the participants to transmit to the residents of Margibi and the other counties the necessary awareness and sensitization on Covid-19 health protocols. He added that the people will be counting on them as trained Community Health Volunteers and Community Animal Health Workers to remind inhabitants of those Counties about the existence of the virus in Liberia and its deadliest nature.

Liberia: Sen. Saah Joseph Says Nimbaians Should Snub Pres. Senator Joseph said the road project is one of the government’s top priorities, and with the level of engagement ongoing, he was confident the project will be completed before the 2023 presidential election. “The People of Nimba County voted massively for the CDC and we will not allowed you people to suffer from bad road conditions,” he said. During the 2017 presidential election, Nimba County voted massively for then Senator Weah and the CDC. Massive negotiations between the Government and the World Bank were well underway for its commencement when COVID-19 struck.

ESSENCE engaged the law firms Proskauer Rose and Morgan Lewis to investigate claims of sexual harassment and other workplace culture issues, respectively. Notably, the anonymous group that made the claims did not respond to the investigators’ request to share information regarding their allegations. The six-week investigation addressed the anonymous allegations made with respect to four executives and the workplace culture. In addition, third-party consultant Center for Workforce Excellence has completed its separate independent review of the state of the organization’s culture, including the facilitation of listening sessions with current ESSENCE employees. Wanga stated, “From the outset of these anonymous claims, ESSENCE has maintained our commitment to an independent process and transparency.

Investigation by Two Independent Law Firms Dismiss allegations against Richelieu Dennis and iconic Black magazineNew York – A probe by two law firms has dismissed allegations obtained in an essay by Black Female Anonymous suggesting that Essence and its owner, Richelieu Dennis engaged in behavior that contributed to a toxic workplace. The anonymous essay published cited an “abusive work culture” in which bullying and sexual harassment were common. “I did not step down/resign as CEO of ESSENCE because I never served as its CEO, interim or otherwise. Dennis said: “I wanted to clarify that an anonymous blog post last week included a number of allegations against ESSENCE that we refute. This includes an accusation that I have engaged in sexual harassment- I have not.”

… Observers generally have a limited ability to participate in the IGO, lacking the ability to vote or propose resolutions. It is with these in mind that Liberia must return as quickly as possible to the full membership statues of the African Union for the good of the nation her people and humanity. The Republic of Liberia has lost her full membership rights at the African Union, is now an observer at the African Union, one without a voting right, from being a founder to a shocking rejected stone, one who understood the purpose for which the organization was founded. … Observers generally have a limited ability to participate in the IGO, lacking the ability to vote or propose resolutions. It is with these in mind that Liberia must return as quickly as possible to the full membership statues of the African Union for the good of the nation her people and humanity.

Court Sketch of Jungle Jabbah during the trial, 2017. Civitas Maxima/Chase WalkerMONROVIA – Today, September 8, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia rejected Mohammed Jabbateh’s appeal, upholding his conviction and 30-year prison sentence. Under Jabbateh’s command, civilians and soldiers alike were abused, tortured, raped, and killed – cannibalism was also a widespread ritual. Jabbateh is the first person convicted of crimes that relate to his role during the First Liberian Civil War. We hope that in the future these types of crimes can be prosecuted in the U.S. for what they are – war crimes and crimes against humanity.”You can find the daily monitoring of the Jungle Jabbah trial here.