Monrovia – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has with immediate effect suspended the issuance of Passports to Liberian Citizens. This latest decision is in accordance with the mandate of his Excellency President George Manneh Weah on social distancing to avoid the further spread of the deadly Coronavirus. According to a Foreign Ministry release, Passport will only be issued to people based on emergencies cases to be determined by the authority of the Bureau of Passport of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry wishes to inform the public that these measures which will be reviewed periodically, are in no way intended to deprive citizens of their right to travel document rather, it’s in the interest of public safety and health of the citizens. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also rendering apologies to the general public for any inconvenience this latest pronouncement may have caused as it is only intended to contain this dangerous monster(coronavirus)from further spreading.

Kortu K. Brown, head of the Liberia Council of ChurchesMONROVIA – Following the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country, the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC), through its President Rev. Kortu K. Brown has urged religious leaders to see reason to hold multiple worship services to prevent over crowdedness at their respective places of worship. Samuel B. Reeves, Jr, requested all members of the church members to stay away from the church premises until Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Reeves continued: “This means that there will be no mass gathering, which includes all worship services, Bible study, among others. Brown added that though these churches have suspended worship services, God has not been suspended.

Monrovia – Despite several gas stations displaying ‘No Gas’ signs, the Petroleum Importers Association of Liberia has debunked information that there is a shortage of gasoline on the Liberian market. Since Monday, several gas stations owned by some of the major petroleum importers in Liberia have been sending customers away because claiming there is no gasoline. On Monday, there were long, disorder queues at several gas stations in Monrovia and its surrounding communities by vehicle operators scrambling to get few gallons of gasoline. However, the Petroleum Importers Association of Liberia, a conglomeration of 14 major petroleum importers, in a release said there is ‘more than enough’ supply of the product in the country. In addition, the group revealed that several importers are bringing in 10,650,000 gallons of gasoline in the month of March 2020.

The House of Representatives has begun adopting new measures including halting large gathering at the Capitol Building by reducing the number of staff and journalists covering the House of Representatives, as well as barring visitationsCapitol Hill, Monrovia – The House of Representatives is adopting new measures after two persons have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus in Liberia. House Speaker Bhofal Chambers, speaking in plenary on Tuesday said the measures will include putting a halt to large gathering at the Capitol Building by reducing the number of staff and journalists covering the House of Representatives, as well as barring visitation. “We will look at our own environment to see how we can address the issues here. “The government assures the public that the health team is working tirelessly to halt the spread of the disease in the country. The government again urges all to abide by the protocols and preventive measures aimed at keeping the public safe.”

Providence, Rhode Island – The State of Rhodes Island in the United States of America has bestowed a special honor on Liberia radio icon and political activist Henry Costa. The Certificate of Special Recognition to Mr. Costa is in honor of his civil rights advocacy in Liberia and in appreciation of being a voice of the voiceless Liberians. In recent years, Mr. Costa has had several run-ins with the George Manneh Weah-led government, which recently led to the closure of his radio station, Roots FM. In January, Mr. Costa was forced to flee Liberia by way of neighboring Sierra Leone after getting wind of information that the government was plotting his arrest. Mr. Costa has repeatedly accused the Weah administration of plotting against him, due to his public stance against corruption, inequality and inflation.

Tappita, Nimba County – The charity group, Tappita District Development Association (TADDA) has donated a consignment of drugs to the Jackson F. Doe (JFD) Memorial Referral Hospital in Tappita, Nimba County. Madam Toweh, a native of Tappita District, currently resides in the United States. On her visit to Liberia recently, she led a delegation including members of TADDA Liberia to Tappita for the donation. Meanwhile, funding for the drugs was generated from the ongoing ‘One Dollar’ rally in support of JFD Hospital. TADDA also provides financial aid to students hailing from Tappita District at tertiary institutions across Liberia.

Monrovia – The head of the Liberia Movie Union & National Collective Society of Liberia, Mr. Gregory Artus Frank Sr. is encouraging Liberians to channel the fighting spirit of the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in tackling the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus. It’s time to fight back and one way to do that is through consciousness and awareness,” Franks lamented. :The movie union president said it is no secret that the world as a whole, is faced with this global pandemic COVID-19. It was a horrible and heartbreaking experience for all of us.”The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 170 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan).

Apart from food, the Chinese nation is also a leading producer and supplier of major essential commodities in the world. However, before proceeding to address the intent of this article, let me briefly reminiscence why Liberia and Liberians must profoundly empathize and stand with China. Why Liberians Must Empathize and Stand with China? With no iota of doubt, therefore, we have every reason to empathize and stand with China in its health crisis. Again, Liberia and Liberians empathize and stand with you and we wish you all the best in this and future endeavors.

Japanese Suspected of Being Infected with Coronavirus Denied Entry Into Sierra Leone from LiberiaMONROVIA – One of four Japanese who left Liberia for Sierra Leone via Kenya Airways has been suspected of being a carrier of Coronavirus, thereby, causing the Sierra Leonean civil aviation authorities to refuse to allow them to disembark the plane. They were reportedly attempted to visit Sierra Leone for tourist purposes. According to a statement from the Sierra Leonean Aviation Authority, the Station Manager of Kenya Airways in Freetown alerted the Authorities at the Freetown International Airport (FNA) about a suspicion of a possible Corona Virus (COVID-19) infection based on the signs displayed onboard the aircraft by one of the Japanese nationals.

The trial had been scheduled to take place from April 14-30 in Bellinzona, capital of Switzerland’s southern, Italian speaking canton of Ticino. It will be the first international criminal trial in a non-military Swiss court and “historic” according to Swiss group Civitas Maxima, one of the NGOs representing Liberian victims in the case. They said the decision taken by the Swiss court was appropriate to “safeguard the health of all the trial participants, including the victims who reside abroad”, since Liberian witnesses are being called to testify in the trial. Kosiah, a former commander of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), is charged with war crimes committed during the first Liberian civil war (1989-1996). “This and other cases abroad will encourage victims to come forward, and hopefully encourage the Government of Liberia to establish a domestic war crimes courtexternal link,” says Hassan Bility, Director of the GJRP.

We’ve got all of the equipment, the PPEs to protect ourselves and we will come after you. IG Sudue, launching the anti-coronavirus awareness, echoed the President’s warning and said the Police were well equipped to go after anyone who violates these safety measures. We did it during the Ebola days and we will do it again,” he warns. “You should avoid large gatherings because you don’t know the health condition of the person next to you. If it causes you not to go to Church, don’t go to church, and don’t go to the mosque.

The manner in which leaders conduct themselves, including the level of honesty, integrity, and confidence in the midst of national crisis will reflect on the overall direction of a nation in troubling times. While there is no one blanket solution to every problem, we know that every problem, especially national crisis, should be met with steadiness, preparedness, and integrity. While every problem might be different in substance, leaders must consistently display the following attributes:Caution, honesty, vision, and decisiveness. But one thing that is for sure is that in this critical moment, the government of the Republic of Liberia has demonstrated tremendous leadership prowess by bringing to bear and all of government response in dealing with this crisis. These are not the times to castigate and throw blames, but a time to come together and put love of country first.

MONROVIA – After nearly four years of advocacy by civil society groups under the umbrella of the Natural Resources Management (NRM) coalition, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed the County and Social Development Fund (CSDF) standalone bill. In response to citizens’ concerns, the Legislature amended the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 National Budget Law and promised to continue working on the proposed standalone CSDF bill. Larry Nyanquoi (District 8, Nimba County), Francis Saidy Dopoh II, (District 3, Rivergee County) and Edward Karfiah, (District 5, Bong County. “The key point of the bill is to ensure that the social development funds of the counties are not used by the central government as the case is,’’ Dopoh said. Members are: Liberia Media Center (LMC), Partner for Democratic Platform (P4DP), Institute for Research & Democratic Development (IREDD), Partnership for Sustainable Development (PaSD) Development Education Network Liberia (DEN-L), Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), Rural Human Rights Activists Program (RHRAP) and NAYMOTE.

MONROVIA – The special committee setup by Senator Darius Dillon says it has earmarked several projects in Montserrado that would shortly be undertaken by the committee funded with money provided by the office of the Montserrado County Senator Darius Dillon. There are people of different parties who voted Senator Dillon. Dillon campaign promiseIn keeping with promises made to his people during the campaign period in Montserrado County, Senator Abraham Darius Dillon made public his asset on his official Facebook page. The Montserrado County Senator during his campaign promised to declare his assets and make known his salary to the people of the county and country. Senator Dillon in his declaration declared Twenty thousand Liberian dollars in his account, a UBA account number 530360015618 with the amount of $3.50, a Toyota MR of 229G01688359 worth US$40,000.00 and a house valued at US$35,000.00 76,000.00 USD.

CAPITOL HILL – Even as health authorities report a first case COVID-19 in Liberia, the premises of the Legislature is still without handwashing buckets and containers despite, a basic preventive measure. In his national address, President George Weah advised the public and private business places to take precautionary measures which include washing of hands and avoid handshaking but visitors to the premises of the Capitol Building access the building without going any such health protocol. “This is scaring and disappointing that as big as this legislature is there is no hand washing bucket for visitors and employees,” a staff said to FrontPageAfrica. Because of the absence of these buckets and containers at entries of the Capitol, visitors, and staff have been urged to use a single entry to access the building. Parts of the many preventive measures provided by President Weah include; a strong focus on hygiene from every individual and organization, hand washing, the use of hand sanitizers, refraining from shaking hands, reducing staff at workplaces, temporarily shutting down of schools, among others.