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VOL 8 NO.711
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014
CENTRAL BANK OF LIBERIA
MARKET BUYING AND SELLING RATES
LIBERIAN DOLLARS PER US DOLLAR
These are indicative rates based on results of daily surveys of
the foreign exchange market in Monrovia and its environs. The
rates are collected from the Forex Bureaux and the commercials
banks. The rates are not set by the Central Bank of Liberia.
Source:
Research, Policy and Planning Department,
Central Bank Liberia,
Monrovia, Liberia
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2014 L$84.00/US$1 L$85.00/US$1
BUYING SELLING
L$84.00/US$1 L$85.00/US$1
L$85.00/US$1 L$84.00/US$1
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2014
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014
EBOLA - pg.5
DECLINING
HEALTH

p5 p5

I
N
S
I
D
E

Malaria must be treated, too
Health Government News
JAPAN DONATES 7
AMBULANCES TO
LIBERIA'S EBOLA FIGHT
PEOPLES
REVOLUTION
IN BURKINA
FASO

Im aware that Ebola is deadly, that it kills. People dont need
to remind me of what Ive suffered. - Morris Kromah

I LOST 35 RELATIVES TO EBOLA, THEN
LANDLORD GAVE
ME NOTICE
EBOLA IN
LIBERIA
Page 2 |
Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014
Wade C.L. Williams, wade.williams@frontpageafricaonline.com
Monrovia-
T
he head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Anyaa Vohiri says the entity had nothing to do with the
setting up the crematorium to burn the corpses of Ebola
victims in the country. She says the EPA also does not
know the process by which ashes collected after burning is being
preserved or disposed of.
Speaking at the Ministry of Information regular press briefng on
Thursday, the EPA boss told journalists that if care is not taken
the ashes of cremated Ebola bodies could lead to future problems.
Actually, were having a challenge right now determining where
the ashes are going, she says.
Simply because, if the ashes are being buried, somewhere, where
theyre not being buried according to the guidelines, it can be
problematic.
Responding to media reports that Ciatta Bishop who heads
cremation efforts in Liberia said families who requested ashes
of their burned family members were being granted their wish,
Vohiri states that such practice could be unsafe.
We have to be careful where were putting the waste from it, be
it solid waste or liquid. This is why we have to be careful where
were putting the ashes, she says.
If she said that Im going to have to ask from the EPA, where and
how its done, because we have to monitor to see where it is going
and if its in a home, it could possible cause other problems.
Community not notifed
Speaking Thursday, The EPA boss says the community of Boys
Town in Marshall, Margibi County, where the crematorium is
situated, complained that there was no awareness done before
the burning of bodies began, thus causing confusion about the
process. She says abruptly establishing such facilities in the midst
of communities could lead to people getting upset.
Part of the problem at that crematorium is, maybe the community
didnt have any idea what it was going to be about and now
theyre reacting. Its a social thing, its a religious thing; it is not
something were used to, she says.
We have only one crematorium, that crematorium was built by
the Indians and people in the community will also tell you, that
maybe there was one body every so often, maybe once a year. I
dont think they had a major problem at that point. Right now with
the number of bodies that go in there, they are concerned.
She says whenever such decisions that would affect communities
are to be made, people who live in them must be involved in that
decision-making process because a community would only fght
back because they were not involved and such was the case with
the Boys Town Community where the crematorium is situated.
They were not part of the decision. When they are not, it
is a problem. The work we do, EPA, we have to involve the
community, says Vohiri.
When a company comes in and come to EPA for permit, we
do consultations with the community, because they have to
understand, what is being brought in to their community, how are
they going to beneft from it and how we can mitigate anything
negative that will affect them.
She says authorities could have done better with the cremation
issues with the community not resisting if it had been done
properly.
We did the assessment and people are complaining, about air
pollution, smell, the noise when they frst light the fre, theres a
big boom! She says.
You have to really do awareness. An easiest one would have been
look, this is the easiest, fastest and safest way to get rid of bodies,
so we dont pollute the rest of the population; however, we have
to have it here because this is established right now, so maybe we
can change it in a few months away.
She says the government is looking at other options probably to
relocate the Ebola crematorium or not.
My understanding is that there is discussion going on about
where to put it or how to move it, she says.Im not aware of
any specifc decisions being made; it might be an idea for us to
look at, because no matter where we put it, communities have to
be involved.
Despite her comments the EPA boss offers no respite to the people
of Boys Town about the crematorium and what impact it could
have on their health in the long-term.
Its peoples reaction to something that they have dead bodies
being burnt in their community, thats all they think about rather
than how can we reduce the pollution, she says.
Were still analyzing what some of the complaints are. The
environmental complaint maybe is what we can do something
about; but its more than environmental complaint.
1700 bodies cremated
Bishop who is head of Liberias Ebola management team,
disclosed early this week that approximately 1,700 bodies have
been cremated since the process began in early August. Speaking
during the Information Ministrys daily Ebola briefngs on
Monday, Bishop said the ashes of some of the cremated bodies
were given to relatives upon their request. Bishop says roughly 30
persons are cremated on the spot. She says the bodies are labeled
in order of names so that families would easily identify them
during decoration.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made a decision to cremate Ebola
victims bodies due to rising community opposition to normal
burials.
But Varney Konneh, Assistant Manager for Environmental and
Social Impact Assessment at the EPA says, the Bishop and her
team informed the EPA that the ashes is being collected and stored
in non-biodegradable containers and that decision would be made
in the future about fnal disposal. With the EPAs comments on the
matter, it seems the Ebola Dead Body Management Team headed
by Bishop and the countrys environmental regulatory agency are
not on the same page when it comes to what to do with Ebola dead
bodies or ashes collected from cremated corpses.
Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014 Page 3
Wilmot F. Smith, wil2ksmith@yahoo.com
FrontPage
v
v
Commentary
EDITORIAL
THE PAST WEEK has seen a visible decline in
the number of suspected Ebola cases in Liberia.
OVER THE PAST few days, health authorities
have been trumpeting the good news regarding a
sharp decline in the number of cases.
ON TUESDAY, the national Red Cross declared
that the weekly total of Ebola victims collected
by its body disposal teams around the Liberian
capital is falling dramatically, indicating a sharp
drop in the spread of the epidemic.
THE ASSOCIATED Press quoting Fayah Tamba,
head of the Liberian Red Cross, as saying that
workers collected 117 bodies last week from
Montserrado county, which includes Monrovia --
a drop of almost two-thirds from the high of 315
from September 15 to 21.
DESPITE THE drop in numbers, it is important
for Liberians, including the government to
continue to follow the formula that has been
working so far, avoiding contact with infected
persons, washing hands regularly and avoiding
the washing of bodies, a practice followed by
Muslims across the country.
NOT SO LONG ago, there was a similar report
of drop, prompting many to dismiss the impact of
the virus on Liberias shores, giving all the more
reason why we must all work toward eliminating
the deadly Ebola virus from our midst.
IN RECENT WEEKS, some have criticized
the fndings of the World Health Organization
(WHO) and other international organizations
continue to put out a picture that the virus is still
a threat.
THE WHO offered a similar assessment last
week, stating that transmission "remains intense"
in the capitals of Liberia and neighboring Guinea
and Sierra Leone.
IT IS IMPORTANT to note that the borders
between the three countries remain as porous
as ever and that Liberia has taken the worst hit
by the outbreak, with 4,665 recorded cases and
2,705 deaths, according to the WHO, relying on
fgures however which are now 10 days out-of-
date.
HEALTH AUTHORITIES must now commence
the process of ensuring that a stringent quarantine
and contact tracing regiment is enforced to ensure
that we do not see a resurgence of the deadly
virus.
THIS IS IMPORTANT as we approach the
COMMENTARY
L
et me begin by thanking director-general
George Warner for such an insightful
proposal. I admire your passion to
have a small and effective professional
workforce with attractive wages as civil servants.
I appreciate your conviction and strong desire to
institutionalize the merit system within the CSA.
While it is true that this proposal is weighty, it
falls short of addressing the issue of wrongful
dismissals/arbitrary actions carried out by head
of governmental agencies contrary to the Civil
Service standing order that your agency would
rule, based on the facts and circumstances,
reinstatement and heads of agencies involved
dishonor your ruling. Ex-Public Works versus
Vincent Smith. There was no deterrence method
in place here. Or do we have one and refusing
to enforce? The job security of civil servants,
especially as classifed in this document, is key.
Additionally, this great idea cannot be affected
now squarely, because it is the document versus
the regime. Period!!!! The economic, social and
political realities of our country under this regime
hugely defeat this proposal.
Economies are dynamic things: they grow; they
shrink; they add new sectors, new technologies
and people's behavior change. Mere political
pronouncement of economic growth in the clear
face of the combined trends of increase inequality
and decreasing mobility doesnt work.
This so called economic growth has never been
confrmed by the facts, thereby leaving the poor
and vulnerable behind. Example is an economic
growth versus shortfalls in three successive
budget years.
This clearly speaks to the sincere need of rebasing
the economy, which will depict the economic
realities. As a matter of fact, we do not have a
diversify economy and the central driver of
our economy is the concession sector, which
constitutes 85.5-percent of our revenue generation
and it is going to remain so for the foreseeable
future.
The attraction of over US$20 billion in foreign
direct investment is characterized by poor
negotiation of concession agreement, lack of an
effective monitoring, evaluation and compliance
regime; lack of an effective tax regime, lack of
consistent application of the tax code within and
across the sector, lack of community involvement
and improper utilization of monies received/
derived.
With Concessions well-managed, we will be able
to use a real GDP data as the sum value of all
produced goods and services at current prices,
which would be very useful in showing how the
economy changes in size and with some further
manipulation- how average living standards
change over time.
Do you know that by 2014, 57,450 jobs, along
with approximately 403,650 benefciaries, should
be available by concessionaires, including Mittal,
Firestone, China Union, Putu, LAC, Sime Darby,
Weala (Salala), Novel, Decoris Oil Palm, Golden
Veroleum and Equatorial Palm Oil?
Interestingly, the head of the National Bureau of
Concessions, who should be the referee making
sure both parties are in full compliance throughout
the period, has abandoned that with the consent
of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and now calls
herself the Dead Body Queen, cremating'Ebola
bodies'. Is there no other person to supervise the
crematorium?
Don't forget now the concession agreements speak
to local content, where in Liberians will be train
professionally by concessionaires (knowledge
transfer) so that in the event government
doesn't renew the agreement with any of the
concessionaires after the period of the agreement
Liberians who have been trained would take
over to manage and continue the work for the
government. Most of these companies even bring
in maid servants from outside the country, which
is alarming.
The National Legislature, with oversight
responsibility, lacks capacity and are also serious
burden to our national coffers. Kickbacks are the
other of the day by both branches of government.
Once we get concessions right, your proposal
and expectation shall be met. Until then, the
president's approval is a charade!!!!!!
MY RESPONSE TO THE CIVIL
SERVICE AGENCY (CSA) SCHEME AVOIDING
EBOLA
RELAPSE
holiday season of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the
ushering of a new year.
WE MUST NOT forget the massive impact
the outbreak has had on our economy, political
environment and educational system.
A LOT OF young kids have been out of school and
have been idled for a good portion of the school
year.
THIS IS WHY WE MUST all muster the courage
to embark on a serious and aggressive campaign
not just to beat Ebola but to keep it out of our midst
for good.
THE EXPERIENCE and lessons have been painful
and so has the tragedy and loss of family, friends,
loved ones and numerous healthcare workers.
WE OWE A DEBT of gratitude to those who have
lost their lives and continue to lose their lives in the
struggle to beat Ebola. We have learned a painful
lesson that we must never again take anything for
granted like we did Ebola.
FOR THE SAKE of our future we hope the drop
we are witnessing would mark the beginning of the
end of Ebola, a disease no one expected and one no
one ever wants to see in our midst again.
Page 4 |
Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014
FrontPage
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E
DITORIAL TEAM
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
ABOUT OUR STORIES ON THE
WORLDWIDE WEB
The Reader's Page
Jay Wion Top Commenter Works at NPRC
MY TURN: Money, money, money buys justice in Liberia; it has
always been that way as it is today. And President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf once said "prostitution is not against the law" in Liberia. And
ironically Sirleaf wears the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize necklace
around her neck, and yet these two Lebabese scumbags are allowed
to walk out of jail. And this is democracy based on the rule of law
with a Supreme Court motto that reads: "Let Justice Be Done To
All Men"?
The Lebanese Community in Liberia and their money machine and
infuence and meddling into Liberian politics are inseparable. We
saw this in the 1970s when the Lebanese operators of the A-to-Z
Supermarket on Camp Johnson Road choked to death a Liberian
store employee, Gbeh Wreh, for eating a candy without permission,
and how the Supreme Court let the Leban... See More
pleebocollins25 (signed in using yahoo)
Not everyday something happen you people have to bring the
Gberrie case in. Let focus on the here and now. Do you bring every
Liberian victim name in a story when you talk about Liberians
murdering other Liberians? This is not about murder but HUMAN
Traffcking which is happening all around the world now. Focus
on the present. Our government is corrupt. These are not the frst
people to walk out of a prison.
Jay Wion Top Commenter Works at NPRC
MY TURN: Remember President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf once said in
Liberia that "prostitution is not against the law." The release of these
two scumbags is all about MONEY that they paid to some hidden
hands for their freedom. The same thing happened in the True Whig
Party era under President Tolbert in the 1970s when the Lebanese
operators of the A to Z supermaket on Camp Johnson Road in
Monrovia choked to death a Liberian store employee, Gbeh Wreh,
for eating a candy. The corrupt Suoreme Court then let the Lebanese
off the hook because of the powerful Lebanese Community in
Liberia and their infuence of money. No difference now with how
these two were set free.....MONEY, MONEY, MONEY can buy
justice in Liberia. Thanks FPA as this story will air on LANS news--
518-556-1343.
Ansu Opa Dualu Top Commenter Coalition of Concerned
Liberians
Our girls in Lebanon passports were seized illegally and made to
stay to the satisfaction of their captors, yet these criminals are about
to leave Liberia (you can't stop them)? Why are we not surprised?
There was no way these convicted criminals would have remain in
jail if they had money to bribe. It's that simple! We are at a cross
road; and if we continue to sit and do nothing, Ellen and her thieves
will permanently relegate a large proportion of us in to a life slightly
above that of a slave's! Mind you, this is in our own country.
Sylvester Moses Top Commenter Works at Self-Employed
This is a reenactment of an old crime in Liberia, it continues
because the perpetrators always get away with impunity. In 1989,
with the assistance of an able and conscientious assistant, Mr.
Mark Jeroudine, we were able to help six young ladies from the
Philippines caught in the same trap to fee the country to escape their
captors who were seemingly untouchables.
pleebocollins25 (signed in using yahoo)
Every day something comes up about Lebanese nationals, the same
old tired Gberie case comes out. Not to play devil's advocate but
what about our Senators ruining our young girls, turning our future
mothers into prostitutes. Why are they not in jail. At Convent and
other schools, we see big cars with drivers waiting for our big shots
"young thing" to take home. Our girls are spoiled and we write
about Gberie case. let us tend to the here and now. and trace the
corrupt offcials.
Flomo Tokpahson Top Commenter Liberia College
wow, is it the Gberie drama being replayed in the 21st century? we
can do better.
Sayku Kromah Top Commenter Works at Retired
NSA, is it not part of job to assist in such matters? What advise
have you given the President? You cannot fool anybody; you were
Edward Roye, now you are Flomo Tokpahson. I read the postings
on your Timeline, as both Edward Roye, before you became Flomo
Tokpahson. There are some very interesting postings there. Why
don't you just tell the Director's stepmother, that she does not listen
to advise in a confdential memo, instead of putting it on a false
Facebook Timeline? Or are you secretly engage in undermining her
regime now that it is falling totally apart so that tomorrow you can
say ""The Oldmom can't take asvice"? By the way, there has never
been a high school in Millsburg. Well Madam Sirleaf, if you want
to know what NSA, headed by your son, thinks about you and your
government, read Flomo Tokpahson's Timeline.
Lorenzo Bernard Top Commenter Classifed at Classifed
The answer is simple FPA ask Ellen she knows
EXECUTIVE OR JUDICIARY: WHO FREED
HUMAN TRAFFICKERS IN LIBERIA?
Dear Madam Minister:
I
write to express few points that may claim your attention as we are
beset by the scourge of the Ebola Virus Disease.
At this onset, let me commend you and your staff for measures you
have taken in the face of this crisis. Firstly, it was a wise decision
to forbid the use of public schools as Ebola treatment units (ETUs).
This action will make it a lot easier to resume academic activities at the
schools when the crisis subsides or when it is brought to an end.
Secondly, the action to train 10,000 education stakeholders, including
principals and teachers, is a worthwhile intervention in the spread of
Ebola awareness around the country.
Thirdly, the introduction of education by radio is also good, except
that it will have limited effect, given the poor economic state of many
Liberians. Nevertheless, it is a welcomed innovation.
The focus of my missive is to make the below recommendations as we
all foresee the eventual overcoming of the EVD in Liberia in the short
run:
1. Beginning academic activities with an Interim Crash School
Program: I do believe that you and your staff are currently designing
programs for the re-opening of schools. What I wish to suggest, however,
is that given the length of time that students have stayed out of school,
it would be prudent that the Ministry of Education (MOE) mandate an
interim Crash School Program for all schools whereby students will be
gradually absorbed into academic activities, rather than immediately
beginning normal academic work.
There are psychological as well as economic reasons for this suggestion.
On the one hand, students, having stayed away from school for so long,
will need to be eased into academic activities gradually, especially
considering that they may have been affected in one way or the other
by the contagion. Some may have lost their parents or close relatives or
friends as a result of the spread of the EVD. On the other hand, most
parents may have experienced adverse economic conditions as a result
of the EVD crisis; hence they may not be fully prepared to undertake the
full fnancial obligations of a normal academic program.
2. Suspension of certain fees and requirements: During the
Interim Crash School Program, which may run for a semester (100
days), a minimum fee, generally affordable, be charged at non-public
schools and that the wearing of uniform be optional. Also, requirement
such as ID card fees, PTA dues, computer fees, breakage fees and tuition
be suspended for that period. Similarly, at public schools, at the upper
level, where fees were required, such fees be suspended.
3. Adoption of a core curriculum for the Interim Crash School
Program: A specifed set of subjects for each grade level be identifed
to serve as the focus of the Program. Specifcally, at the primary level,
English Language (Grammar, Reading, Writing, and Spelling) and
Arithmetic should be emphasized; at the Junior and senior high levels,
the focus should be on English Language, Mathematics, Science
and Social Studies. At the high school level, the different prongs of
the science curriculum (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) should be
proportionately alternated on the teaching schedules during this period;
the same should apply to social studies which encompass Economics,
Geography and History.
Utilizing partnerships with UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, USAID, as
well as other NGOs: The MOE can tap in on the UNICEF Back-to-
School (BTS) initiative as was implemented in Rwanda (1994), Liberia
(2004), South Sudan (2006), Uganda (2007), Cte DIvoire (2011) and
elsewhere, as outlined in UNICEF Back-to-School Guide. A blueprint
for such a proposal may exist at the MOE since this initiative was
used here previously. These partnerships will ameliorate the massive
resource needs that the government may have to mobilize to see the
program become a success.
The setup at various schools should be kept intact: This is to say that
schools should maintain their previous enrollments and staff as much as
possible. Only where necessary, should schools take in new
students or new teaching and other staff.
OPEN LETTER TO
THE MINISTER OF
EDUCATION, R.L.
20-20 VISION
AT LACC?
A uniform compensation plan for all teaching and non-teaching staff
at all schools for the duration of the Program: Given that non-public
schools may not afford to pay their staff under this arrangement, the
government through its partners will need to set up a means of paying all
teachers for the duration of the program. The modalities can be worked
out.
Finally, it is my hope that the ideas presented herein will be taken into
serious consideration for further crystallization to meet the standards
and guidelines of the MOE and other conventions on Education, and
eventually be made operational.
With my highest esteem.
Sincerely yours,
Samuel M. Johnson
Graduate Program in Education (GPED)
University of Liberia
smawoloj@gmail.com
0886-553752/0776-360868/0555-593154
The Editor,

H
ey, does Counselor James Verdier (the Chair-warmer of the
Anti- Corruption Commission) have a problem with his
vision? Verdier has 4 eyes!, but he keeps turning a blind eye
to the bribe-takers and extortionists in the legislature!! Why?
(Re "...Why Was Entire NOCOL Board, Legislature, Which Received
Bribes Not Indicted, Urey Asks" Daily Observer Online)
According to the aforementioned article, Mr. Urey alleges that it's
"standard procedure for nominees and the Executive Branch to pay
lobbying fees for passage of Bills and confrmation'!!! By the way,
the Senate ratifed NOCOL's Oil Contracts without anyone reading it
because of lobbying fees!
If you don't believe Urey's allegations, let's go back and look at how our
lawmakers do business!
You ready?? Make sure you're sitting down for this!
In 2009, Rep. Edward S Forh, the Father of corruption, was accused
of receiving lobbying fees from Harry Greaves, managing director for
Liberian Petroleum Refning Corporation.. Dirty Harry paid lawmakers
an undisclosed sum of money for a concession agreement to be ratifed!
(Re "Paid for 'Lunch & Dinner: Greaves Admits Bribing Lawmakers;
Forh Under Probe, FPA, 04/02/09)
During that same year (2009), these same clowns (lawmakers) collected
US$80,000 for their "cold water", oops, I mean lobbying fees from
the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA)! (Re "Mockery in
Corruption Fight?, LTA's Suspended Bropleh Still Enjoys Immunities",
FPA)
According to Mr. Albert Bropleh, former LTA Chairman and twin
brother of Dr. Lawrence Bropleh, the House and Senate were paid
US$52,000 and US$28,000 respectively for passage of the Liberian
Telecommunication Act! The Senate and the House passed the Act--100
to 0 !!!
Last but not least, in 2011, Rep. Alomiza Ennos, the bribe-taking
mammy, was accused of receiving US$80,000 as lobbying fees from
NOCAL's Board of Directors to ratify the oil contracts! Remember that
US$80,000 is their benchmark! Anything less is an insult. (Re "Several
Gov't Offcials Linked to Bribery", Liberian Observer)
As you can see, whenever there's a Bill to be passed, or a concession
agreement to be ratifed, or a presidential appointment to be confrmed,
it's customary for our lawmakers to expect "cold water" to perform their
Constitutional duties!
But when will the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC)
indict those lazy, good-for-nothing, and totally useless lawmakers for
extortion? Isn't extortion a crime in Liberia? Oh, wait, I forgot: If
extortion were a crime in Liberia, then Rep. Edward Fraud and Rep.
Alomiza Ennos would be behind bars!
Martin Scott
Atlanta, Georgia
martyretire@yahoo.com
Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014 Page 5
EBOLA IN LIBERIA:
MALARIA MUST BE
TREATED, TOO
E
very year, malaria claims victims in Liberia. The disease
is endemic there. However, with the Ebola epidemic,
it has become very diffcult, if not impossible, to obtain
treatment. In response, MSF has begun distributing
antimalarials in Monrovia. Approximately 300,000 people living in
the capitals poor neighborhoods will beneft.
Monrovia- The Medical Aid group Medecin San Frontiere says its
teams on October 25, began distributing anti-malarial drugs in the
western part of Monrovia. MAF says this distribution is taking place
in the poorest neighborhoods, where population density is very high
and where access to care, which was already very limited before the
Ebola epidemic, barely exists any longer.
To address the collapse of the health care system, MSF is distributing
antimalarials to 300,000 people in Monrovia.This treatment
artesunate and amodiaquine is intended for children over the age of
six months, but also for adults, states the MSF in a release.
The frst symptoms of malaria are the same as those of Ebola, says
Dr. Chibuzo Okonta, MSFs deputy director of emergency programs.
They include fever, headache, and overwhelming fatigue. We
decided to give this antimalarial treatment to both children and adults.
It treats and prevents the disease. The objective is also to eliminate
the risk that patients with fever, suspected of having Ebola, will end
up in Ebola treatment centers in contact with infected persons.
The organization, which is helping to treat people affected by the
deadly Ebola virus, says, before the distribution, volunteers who live
in the neighborhood and trained by MSF visit families to explain how
the distribution works. They give each family a ticket indicating
the number of people living in the same room, which will authorize
them to obtain the drugs. A female family member comes to the
distribution site to pick up a packet that contains the treatments,
states the MSF.
On October 29, 20,000 families 100,000 people living in the
New Kru neighborhood had already received one treatment. The
distribution will continue for several days in other neighborhoods. It
will be repeated the next two months at the same locations, with the
same treatment and mosquito nets.
MSF says given the backdrop of Ebola, vigilance is essential to
protect both the population and health care workers against the risk
of infection. The distribution it says, takes place early in the morning,
when the streets are still empty and participants keep their distance
from each other to avoid any physical contact. The operation is
divided among 55 sites.
After each distribution, the MSF-trained volunteers ensure that the
message has gotten through, going door-to-door to confrm that all
family members have taken the drugs even if they are not ill, because
the treatment both cures and prevents the illness, states the MSF.
Monrovia,
T
he Government of
Japan has donated
seven ambulances
valued at over four
hundred thousand United
Sates Dollars as additional
support to the fght against the
Ebola virus in Liberia. The
seven ambulances arrived in
Liberia on Thursday, October
30, 2014 on board a chartered
cargo fight at the Roberts
International Airport.
According to a Foreign Ministry
release, Assistant Foreign
Minister for International
Corporation Hon. Dehpue Zuo
and Assistant Health Minister
for Administration Hon.
John N. Linga received the
ambulances on behalf of the
Government of Liberia.
In a brief remark, Assistant
Minister Zuo expressed
gratitude on behalf of the
Government and People
of Liberia to the Japanese
Government for the continuous
support to the people of
Liberia. Assistant Minister
Zuo emphasized that Japan
has been very supportive to the
Liberian Government in the
fght against Ebola.
For his part, Assistant Health
Minister for Administration,
John Linga said the
ambulances will be distributed
among counties that don't
have ambulances, describing
the donation as very timely.
Assistant Minister Linga
advised Liberians to continue
taking all necessary preventive
measures in protecting
themselves against the Ebola
virus, despite the decrease in
Ebola cases.
The cost of the ambulances
donated by the Japanese
Government at Four Hundred
Thousand, One Hundred
and Fifty-Nine United States
Dollars (US$400,159.00).
The arrival of the ambulances
followed an earlier donation
by the Government and People
of Japan of assorted medical
items.
Japan is also donating six (6)
ambulances to the Republic of
Sierra Leone.
JAPAN DONATES 7 AMBULANCES TO LIBERIA'S EBOLA FIGHT
EBOLA STIGMA
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EBOLA CENTRAL
Monrovia-
M
orris Kromah,
40, a resident of
Chicken Soup
factoryone of
Monrovias slum communities
has lost 35 members of his family
to the deadly Ebola virus. Now
his community refers to him
as an Ebola carrier. He had to
get the police intervention for
members of the community to
stay off his back.
Kromah is among the many
Ebola survivors who are fnding
it diffcult to reintegrate into their
various neighborhoods. The
worst of all is the community
stigmatization, he says. I
have been taken to the police
station twice because people in
the community say I have been
circulating the virus.
The police made the accuser write
an apology to Kromah, but he
says it is not enough. He says the
government must fnd a way to
provide Ebola survivors and their
families with protection from
hostile community members.
The most frustrating part is
that a personnel of the Ministry
of Health told me to go sit at
home to observe another 21-day
quarantine, he says. As I speak
to you, I have [been] quarantined
for more than four times. Thats
21 days times four. I took myself
to the center, Im aware that
Ebola is deadly, that it kills.
People dont need to remind me
of what Ive suffered.
To make matters worse, Kromah
says his landlord has given him
an eviction notice. He says the
owner of the house in which he
lives has not been sympathetic
to him. I feel very disgusted.
I have to pray to be able to
withstand this, because its hard
to take, he says. Now as I speak
to you, I have no job, nowhere to
get money. The landlord saw that
I lost a lot of people to Ebola, yet
she gives me notice to leave the
apartment by November 17.
Kromahs ordeal began when his
sister, a health worker at a clinic
in Monrovia, contracted the virus.
Kromah says when his sister
became sick, their mother helped
to care for her and when she
died, the family gave her burial
rites according to the Islamic
tradition. He says days after the
burial of his sister, their mother
died and they felt it was because
she could not bear the loss of her
daughtertherefore death from
a broken heart. But the chain of
death continued in the family
after the burial of their mother.
Everyone in the family who had
close contact with the two dead
women became sick. Thats when
Kromah says he took matters in
his hands and decided the deaths
could be Ebola. He says he urged
his sick family members to report
themselves to the ELWA-2 Ebola
Treatment Unit run by Dr. Jerry
Brown and his team with help
from the aid group Samaritans
Purse.
We were fve who reported
ourselves to the ETUone died,
one of my brothers died and four
returned, he says. The second
batch of seven persons went
into the ETU, two died and fve
returned. The third batch and
the fourth batch went in, so all
together; we sent four batches
of our family members into the
ETU just to break the line of
transmission.
He says that while he was in
isolation after he lost his sister,
mother, and eldest brother,
the brothers family may have
infected his family. When my
brother died of Ebola, his wife
and children went into the West
Point Holding Center, he says.
But when patients broke out of
the West Point Holding Center
they came to our house, they
mingled with my family behind
my back.
Im aware that Ebola is deadly,
that it kills. People dont need
to remind me of what Ive
suffered.
He says upon his release from
the ETU he sent his wife and
children in, but lost her and
their eight-month-old baby to
the disease. Kromah says he has
suffered post-traumatic stress
disorder and he feels he did
not contract Ebola even though
he was showing all signs and
symptoms of the disease before
going into the ETU, where he
was treated for eight days.
At that time, Liberia was still
struggling with the infrastructure
to meet the demands of patients
as they poured into the ELWA-2,
which was then the only ETU in
Monrovia and it took four days to
get a lab result. Kromahs frst lab
result got lost in translation while
the second and third came back
negative, according to doctors,
thus leaving him with the
impression that he did not have
Ebola. But doctors who treated
him feel otherwise.
We all felt he was positive. The
lab technician took his blood
sample to the Harbel lab but
we never got the result, says
Brown, who treated Kromahs
entire family. Second lab, third
lab results came back negative.
We never concluded he didnt
have Ebola. Clinically, we think
he had Ebola because all of his
children and his wife had the
virus. Brown says Kromahs
wife, his elder son, and his baby
died of the virus. He says there
were a lot of cases like Kromah,
which were undecided because
of the lack of capacity to deal
with specimens and they, like
Kromah, believe they did not
contract Ebola, but the reality
from the signs and symptoms
means they did.
Another Ebola survivor, Amos
Payne, of the Duala Community
in Monrovia, says his community
has made a huge difference
in his life because of the way
they accepted him back after
he was released from the ETU.
My neighbors appreciated me
and welcomed me back to the
community. I met many of my
friends, he says.
His fance, Natasha Folley, says
she and the children are happy
that Payne is back.
I feel fne now that he is home.
I was very worried about him. I
didnt know whether he would
survive Ebola, she says. Unlike
Payne, Kromah continues to
struggle to be accepted in his
community and does not know
when the stigmatization will end.
Wade C. L. Williams, wade.williams@frontpageafricaonline.com
A Man Loses 35 Relatives to Ebola and His Landlord Gives Him Notice
Morris Kromah says He suffers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Page 6 |
Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014
David Woah, EPO Assistant Planation Manger is one of the fve staff the locals want out of the palm plantation

Buchanan,Grand Bassa County -
T
he acting Chair of
Grand BassaCounty
Legislative caucus on
Wednesday, October
29 told aggrieved citizens of
District Four (Grand Bassa
County) that a fnal decision over
allegations against fve senior
staff of the Equatorial Palm Oil
(EPO) will be reach on next
Wednesday, November 5.
The aggrieved citizens
spokesman, Alfred Sundaygar
earlier presented a fve count
document accusing the fve
senior staff for denying contract
rights to citizens with valid
contractual license, denying
redundant workers employment
while employment continues
and diverting projects including
wells or hand pump projects to
other area, and marginalizing
local citizens amongst others.
Wednesdays discussion at
the Unifcation Pavilion in
Buchanan was described as a
reconciliation meeting by Hon.
Jeh Byron Browne who presided
over the talks with counsel from
his colleagues which included
Hon. Gabriel Smith, Hon.
Mary Karwo, and Hon. Hans
Barchue as well as District
Four representative, Robertson
Siaway.
Since late August 2014 there
have been serious tension
between the fve EPO staff
and some locals of district four
prompting the latter to on August
26present an 11 count claims
to the management of EPO
against the staffs. In their letter,
they alleged that the staffs have
discriminated and marginalized
citizens and workers of the
district, therefore; demanding
that the palm company terminate
the fve staff services.
David Woah and Emmanuel
Boayue both Assistant Plantation
Mangers along with Allen
Tokpah, Alphonso Gargar and
Preston Marshell who are all
Agriculture Supervisors have
come under intense pressure and
threats from some locals that
are accusing them of hold tribal
sentiments to hire workers and
approve contracts. All fve of
the accused are said to be non-
Bassonians.
The fve were chased out of
the plantation on September
9 when some citizens of the
district stormed the plantation,
parading the tradition devil and
demanding that the fve staff
vacate the palm plantation.
Since their terrifying experience,
the staff who seem still
apprehensive of the threats,
have not return to the plantation
and sources revealed they have
sort other remedial approach
by writing both the caucuses of
Grand Bassa and Nimba counties
for their intervention.
EPO has held talks between the
two parties while a September 6
meeting accessed the magnitude
of claims the locals have though
CHASED OUT
Threat Against 5 EPO Staff As Bassa Lawmakers Probe Citizens Claims
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COUNTY NEWS
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HEALTH
the management previously
considered the situation as
a labor unrest but was quick
to request that the citizens
concerns are redirected since it
was not workers-management
related.
The fve embattled senior
EPO staff have deny all the
allegations against them while
inside sources have blamed the
citizens agitation on the lack
of them not being probably
informed about the companys
employment policies and are
being manipulated by others.
Mr. David Woah, who spoke
during the Wednesdays meeting
in Buchanan, clearly stated that
they (as senior plantation staff)
have no authority in approving
contracts or employing anyone
as being allege by their accusers.
EPOs group manager serves
as a consultant for construction
projects, monitoring and
checking allcontracts before
sending a selected contractor to
the Companys general manager
for approval. Sasi Kumar a
Malaysian holds the position
after he succeeded a Liberian,
Steve Wittenven, a year ago.
Over the past time EPO claims
70-75% of its workers are
Bassonians (people of Bassa)
and insists it is determine to
provide more opportunities for
locals in the areas where the
company operates.
EPO has also faced stiff resistance
from towns in district four over
land issues causing setbacks for
several of its palm development
prospects. The 2008 concession
agreement between the Liberian
government and the crude palm
oil company which is listed
on the Alternatives Investment
Market (AIM) has faced serious
rejection from some citizens of
Grand Bassa County.
The tension has now shifted from
the company, its body-policy and
how it affects the locals to just
fve senior staff who are arguing
that they are wrongly accused
and now feel very threaten.
The caucus intervention is
most likely the way forward
but observers are asserting
that the core issue remains the
safety of the fve EPO staff
and the ramifcation of the
locals approach to expressing
dissatisfaction over issues in
their district.
The caucus has already thrashed
one of the fve counts against the
staff since the aggrieved citizens
could not provide substantive
facts about the issue.
ACCRA, -
T
he World Bank Group announced today an
additional $100 million funding in its Ebola
crisis response to speed up deployment of
foreign health workers to the three worst-
affected countries in West Africa. The announcement
increases the World Bank Group's funding for the
Ebola fght over the last three months in Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone to more than $500 million.
In recent weeks, West African and global development
leaders have appealed<https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=JaL4cL5QNKA#t=13> for a massive
coordinated reinforcement of international health
teams to the three countries in order to contain the
epidemic. The health workers are needed to treat and
care for patients, boost local health capacity, manage
Ebola treatment centers, and resume essential health
services for non-Ebola conditions. Current estimates
by the United Nations indicate that about 5,000
international medical, training and support personnel
are needed in the three countries over the coming
months to respond to the Ebola outbreak, including
700-1,000 foreign health workers to treat patients in
the Ebola treatment centers.
"The world's response to the Ebola crisis has
increased signifcantly in recent weeks, but we still
have a huge gap in getting enough trained health
workers to the areas with the highest infection rates,"
said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.
"We must urgently fnd ways to break any barriers
to the deployment of more health workers. It is our
hope that this $100 million can help be a catalyst for
a rapid surge of health workers to the communities
in dire need."
The World Bank Group's additional fnancing
will help set up a coordination hub in close
cooperation with the three countries; the World
Health Organization (WHO); the United Nations'
main Ebola coordination body in Ghana; and other
agencies to recruit, train and deploy qualifed foreign
health workers.
The hub will be designed and operated in coordination
with the Senior United Nations System Coordinator
for Ebola and the United Nations Mission for Ebola
Emergency Response (UNMEER), with technical
support from the WHO and in close collaboration
MORE MONEY FOR
HEALTHCARE WORKERS
with other partners. It will
resolve key issues blocking the
recruitment of signifcantly more
foreign health workers, such as
pay and benefts, recruitment and
training, safety, transportation,
housing, provision of urgent
medical care, and/or medical
evacuations for any infected staff.
The funding also will strengthen
the overall capacity of the three
countries toward reaching the
70/70/60 targets established by
UNMEER and WHO on October
1, 2014: To isolate and treat 70
percent of suspected Ebola cases
in West Africa and safely bury 70
percent of the dead within the next
60 days.
The announcement comes at a
time of increased international
focus on the need to bring more
trained health workers to Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone.
At a special meeting on Ebola
called on October 28, 2014, in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, African
Union Commission Chairperson
Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
said her organization would
help deploy 2,000 trained health
workers from African countries
to the affected nations. At the
meeting, UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon and World Bank
Group President Kim welcomed
the pledge and said they would
do all they could to help. Also
Tuesday, Kenyan health leaders
told Kim that 600 health workers
in the country have volunteered to
go to work in the affected nations.
And earlier this month, Paul
Allen, the co-founder of
Microsoft, pledged $100 million
to increase the number of foreign
health workers, with much of the
funding going toward medical
evacuation services for foreign
health workers if they were to
contract Ebola. The European
Commission and the United States
earlier this month also pledged to
support medical evacuation of
infected foreign health workers.
"Health workers take an oath
to treat the sick - and so it's no
surprise to me that many health
workers want to go treat Ebola
patients at the source of this
epidemic," said Kim, an infectious
disease doctor who spent years
treating patients in poor countries.
"So we need to fnd all ways
possible to remove any obstacle
that stops health workers from
serving - whether it is pay for
workers in developing countries,
or the promise of evacuation
services. Health workers who
treat Ebola patients are heroes,
and we should treat them as such."
Kim also said that the hub could
jumpstart the development of a
more permanent global health
security reserve corps from
different countries for rapid
and targeted health worker
deployment in response to future
health crises.
"Even as we focus intensely on
the Ebola emergency response,
we must also invest in public
health infrastructure, institutions
and systems to prepare for the
next epidemic, which could
spread much more quickly, kill
even more people and potentially
devastate the global economy,"
said Kim.
The new funding will come from
World Bank Group's IDA<http://
www.worldbank.org/ida> Crisis
Response Window, which is
designed to help low-income IDA
countries respond to exceptionally
severe crises in a timely,
transparent and predictable
way. Financing from the Crisis
Response Window complements
UN and other emergency relief
efforts by providing immediate
crisis response, supporting
country efforts to provide care
and essential support for affected
populations, while helping
countries return to a path of long-
term development.
The World Bank Group previously
announced that it was mobilizing
$400 million<http://www.
worldbank.org/en/news/press-
release/2014/09/25/world-bank-
group-nearly-double-funding-
ebola-crisis-400-million> for the
three countries hardest hit by the
Ebola crisis, of which $117 million
has already been disbursed. This
support-coordinated closely with
the United Nations and other
international and country partners-
will assist the affected countries
in treating the sick, providing
essential food and water to Ebola-
affected households, coping with
the economic and social impact of
the crisis, and starting to improve
their public health systems to build
up resilience and preparedness
for potential future outbreaks.
The World Bank Group also
recently released a report<http://
www.worldbank.org/en/news/
press-release/2014/10/08/
ebola-new-world-bank-group-
study-forecasts-billions-in-
economic-loss-if-epidemic-lasts-
longer-spreads-in-west-africa>
that said that if the virus continues
to surge in the three worst-
affected countries and spreads to
neighboring countries, the two-
year regional fnancial impact
could reach $32.6 billion by the
end of 2015.
World Bank Group Pledges Additional $100 million to Speed Ebola-stricken Countries

Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014 Page 7
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POLITICS
Al-Varney Rogers/ avarney.rogers@frontpageafricaonline.com 0886304498
PETTY TRADING EXCLUSIVELY FOR
LIBERIANS- COMMERCE MINISTER SAYS
Monrovia-
C
ommerce Minister
Axel Addy says petty
trading activities will
be exclusively for
Liberians and warns all non-
Liberians who are currently
engage in petty trade to disengage
upon the expiration of their
current business certifcates.
We are now in the process
of fnalizing the petty trader
regulation in the following
week. We will be signing it into
law that will forbid petty trading
for foreigners; this means
the activity of petty trading
in accordance with the PFM
law will be restricted to only
Liberians, Addy said.
The Minister of Commerce
made the statement during the
signing of a Memorandum
of understanding between
the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry, Monrovia City
Corporation and National
Petty Traders Union of Liberia
[NAPETUL].
The purpose of this
memorandum is to provide our
petty traders the legal right and
opportunity to participate in
any lawful trade activities in
the country, Addy said. The
agreement stands to beneft all
petty traders in Liberia.
Cecelia Teah, a used-shoes trader
said that she is happy with the
part of the agreement that gives
Liberians the exclusive right to
do petty trading.
I am very happy because we
have been struggling to be to
where we are today. I like to
thank the almighty God for
this because petty traders have
suffered too much, Teah said.
Teah urged the government to
fulfll her part of the agreement
by ensuring that Liberians are
the only ones involved in petty
trading.
Teah said she does not see the
registration of business as a
problem once the Ministry of
commerce is supporting and
protecting smaller businesses.
We will make sure we spread
the word to our friends, if we
take the agreement seriously I
know the government can help
us improve our business, Teah
added.
Minister Addy said, the
agreement between the
government and petty traders is a
result of positive engagement by
citizen to their government.
Today is clear example of what
happen when our citizens engage
government constructively it
lead to positive results, Addy
noted.
Addy said, petty traders represent
the majority in the Liberian
economy adding it account for
80% percent of new jobs created
in Africa.
You represent the majority in
our economy; you operate in the
informal which count for 80%
of all new jobs created on the
continent, Addy explained.
Addy said, the partnership will
lead to fnancial support for petty
traders.
He said, ensuring that the MOU
is upheld is the responsibility
of the petty traders and the
government.
Added the minister: This
process is a responsibility
[Head of the petty trader Comfort Doryen, Monrovia City Mayor
Clara Doe-Mvogo, Commerce Minister Axel Addy]
that lies with you and us as
government, for our part, we will
do all we can to facilitate and
move you from small to Medium
and large. our success is to one
day tell the story about a number
of you who have now grown into
cooperation.
Addy said the petty traders
are the engine of the Liberian
economy adding that access to
fnance, building of capacity,
access to market and investment
opportunity for petty traders are
key priority for the Ministry.
Addy continued: We are going
to work with you [Petty traders]
to rationalize and structure petty
trading because of the high
unemployment in our country
and there is also dignity in labor,
we are going to ensure that we
build your capacity.
Abubarkar Bangura, a petty
trader said the signing of the
agreement is one step adding
that the implementation is what
matters. The signing is one
thing but making sure it works is
another thing, we need to abide
by the rules and regulation in the
memorandum, Bangura said.
Bangura said the partnership
is a positive step taken by both
parties adding that his only fear
is whether his colleagues will
abide by the MOU
The MOU says that NAPETUL
will prepare a database of all its
registered members and furnish
the MOCI and MCC to prevent
misunderstanding.
MCC shall protect goods
confscated from NAPETUL
members who refused to sell in
designated sites and MCC shall
return goods to vendors upon
payment of fnes for frst offense
adding subsequent offense goods
will be confscated and donated
to charitable organization, MOU
continues.
Clara Doe Mvogo, Monrovia
City Mayor said she felt honored
to see the memorandum fnalized
by all parties involved.
When we frst started, I know
many of you were wondering,
is this lady going to be one who
is going to break our stall and
kick us around and threaten us
because you know, everybody
think that is what city hall is just
here to do, Mvogo said.
The Mayor said the agreement
marks a new day for petty traders
adding that it is time that they
take their destiny in their own
hands. I want you all to take
this seriously because you are
taking over your own destiny,
and if you dont take advantage
of it than the police will come
back and take charge, than MCC
will come back and take charge.
Make us to feel that the signing
of this MOU is the right thing to
do, Mayor Mvogo said.
NEC CONCLUDES NATION-WIDE
CONSULTATIONS ON SENATORIAL ELECTION
Monrovia -
T
he National Elections
Commission (NEC)
in collaboration with
the United States
Agency for International
Development (USAID) through
the International Foundation for
Electoral Systems (IFES) and
the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) has concluded
the conduct of a string of nation-
wide public consultations with
stakeholderson the 2014 Special
Senatorial Election.
The Consultationswere held in
Tubmanburg, Bomi County,
Buchanan, Grand Bassa County,
Gbarnga, Bong County and
Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County.
The consultation in Tubmanburg,
Bomi County, brought together
participants from Bomi, Grand
Cape Mount, Montserrado and
Gbapolu Counties while the
Buchanan Consultation brought
together participants from Sinoe,
River Cess, Grand Bassa and
Margibi Counties.
In Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County,
stakeholders were drawn from
Maryland, River Gee, Grand
Kru and Grand Gedeh Counties,
whereas, in Gbarnga, Bong
County, participants were drawn
Nimba, Bong and Lofa Counties.
The participants included
traditional leaders, religious
organizations, youth and
womens groups, civil society
organizations, andthe media as
well as representatives from
registered political parties, and
local county offcials.
The Regional Consultations
were aimed at deriving a new
date for the conduct of the
Special Senatorial Election and
suggesting fexibilityin the 20th
December 2014 time frame to
hold the electionas contained in
a joint resolution adopted by the
National Legislature on October
13, 2014 and a Presidential
Proclamation of4 October 2014.
A Presidential Proclamation
of 4 October 2014 suspended
the14 October 2014 date for the
conduct of Special Senatorial
Election and mandated the
National Election Commission
to consult with the relevant
stakeholders in order to
formulate a new date for the
election. The NEC, having held
consultations with stakeholders,
regional and international
partners, announced in early
July, 2014 that it could not hold
the election on schedule.
The Consultations provided
the opportunity for the NEC to
begin raising awareness on the
Special Senatorial Election and
generated interest in the process
which had lost momentum due to
the outbreak of the Ebola virus in
the country.
Experts from the Incident
Management System of the
Ministry of Health in the
fght against the Ebola virus
madepresentations on the
encouraging trend of containing
the virus in the respective
counties of Liberia and informed
the participants in their decision
making process.
The NEC used the occasion
to begin communicating new
measures that have been adopted
in the electoral process as a result
of the Ebola virus outbreak.
The participants were interested
in ensuring that the NEC would
have all materials in country in
time to hold the election. This
was the basis for their selection
of the 16 December Date for the
Special Senatorial Election.
The participants discussed
the need for the NEC to work
along with the relevant health
institutions that have the
authority to determine whether
or not counties are declared
minimum or high risk infections
of the EBOLA Virus diseasein
order to put into effect the
fexibility of the 16 December
2014 date for election.
The participants also wanted the
NEC to prepare guidelines for
trucking, campaigning, and to
employ other safety measures
to avert the spread of EBOLA,
especially in counties that are
low risk.
At the end of the deliberation,
the participants drafted a
resolution which 34 of them
signed in substantiating their
recommendation to hold the
election on 16 December 2014
and to apply fexibility of the
timeframe of not later than 20
December 2014 as mandated by
the authorities.
Across section of Participants in group discussions in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County
Page 8 |
Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014
F
RONT
PAGE
LEGISLATIVE BEAT
Henry Karmo (0886522495) henrykarmo47@frontpageafricaonline.com
Senators voting on the motion
Monrovia-
T
he plenary of the
Liberian senate
has voted to write
President Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf requesting her to
retire Health Minister Dr. Walter
Gwenigale for health reasons as
per his medical report from a
local doctor.
Dr. Gwanigale has on two
occasions failed to appear before
the Senate plenary following his
frst appearance on grounds that
he is ill and has being diagnosed
of High Blood Pressure and
his previous appearance at the
senate worsened his condition.
In a communication to plenary
signed by 14 senators, they
pleaded with their colleagues
that as a result of the declining
health condition of the health
minister and the current health
crisis facing the country it is
important to have the Minister
retired as minister of health to
save him of danger of falling
prey to illnesses.
The 14 senators include; Peter
Coleman (Grand Kru) Geraldine
Doe-Sheriff (Montserrado),
Sando Johnson (Bomi), Lahai
Lassana (Bomi), Mobutu
Nyepan (Sinoe), Jewel Howard-
Taylor (Bong) and Henry Yallah
(Bong).
Others are; Thomas Grupee
(Nimba),Dallas Gweh
(Rivercess), Jonathan Banney
(Rivercess), Armah Jallah
(Gbarpolu), Joseph Nagbe
(Sinoe) and Matthew Jay (River
Gee).
Unfair to continue
In his supporting comments
Senator Peter Coleman Grand
Kru County and chairman on the
Senate Health Committee said it
is unfair to continue to subject
Dr. Gwenigale to public service
a medical report has proven that
he has such illness.
Senator Coleman said: We are
asking them to see reason, all of
us are not against Dr. Gwenigale,
we interact at the highest level
in the health sector and lots of
partners are also of the opinion
that it is time for him to retire.
This shows that the minister
has reached a pitch that he is
practically unable to withstand
this stress of the offce of the
minister of health.
Our appeal is a humanistic
appeal; I dont want this
Liberian senate to be held
responsible in case the unknown
takes place. Already I have
been told that we will be held
responsible if anything happens
to Dr. Gwenigale, said Senator
Coleman.
Senator Coleman also disclosed
that has gathered information that
Dr. Gwenigale had previously
asked President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf to allow him retire but
she refused until the senate asked
the Minister to appear which
according to the Medical report
has led to his deteriorating health
conditions.
Like Senator Coleman all of
his colleagues who signed the
communication and subsequently
spoke on the matter on the foor
pleaded with their colleagues to
communicate to the president
DECLINING HEALTH
asking her to retire the under fre
health minister.
Constitutional Error
Contrary to the 14 senators
request, Senators Sumo Kupee,
Isaac Nyenabo and Cletus
Wotorson of Lofa, Grand
Gedeh and Grand Kru counties
respectively argued that their
colleagues are in constitutional
error and that there is no need
for them to proceed with such
communication.
In separate comments senator
Sumo Kupee of Lofa County
argued that it would have been
preferable for the Senators
making such request to directly
take their communication to
the President since in fact they
constitute almost half of the
membership in the senate.
For his part Senator Cletus
Wotorson of Grand Kru County
said, there is no need for such
action because according to him
previous actions by the senate
against offcials of the Executive
Branch of Government has
never worked using the incident
with the police director where
the Senate asked the President
to dismiss Director Chris
Massaquoi for act of disrespect
against some members of that
august body.
Senator Wotorson who told the
gathering that he is 77 years
old argued that age has nothing
to do with the minister output
referencing several African
leaders including President
Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe
whom he said many in the west
see as a dictator.
Also speaking against his
colleagues decision, Senator
Isaac W. Nyenabo of Grand
Gedeh County who has being
nominated by president Sirleaf to
represent Liberia as Ambassador
in Europe looked at the
constitutionality of the request.
Senator Nyenabo said the
two Branches of government
(Executive and Legislature) have
separate powers and it is the
power of the President to appoint
and the senate to confrm.
He also claimed that there is
no constitutional backing that
calls for the retirement of a
cabinet minister and that his
colleagues have no power to
request the Executive Branch
of Government to fre a minister
who is appointed at the will and
pleasure of the president, backed
by the law.
After several hours of heated
debate on the issue a motion
for the senate to write the
President asking her to retire the
Countrys health minister and
replaced with another qualifed
Liberian was fled by Senator
Dan Morias of Maryland County
and voted upon but a motion
for reconsideration was fled by
Senator Isaac Nyenabo which is
backed by the senate rules and
could delay the communication
from reaching the President.
As per the rules of the Legislature
members of the legislature
have the right to fle motion for
reconsideration on an issue they
feel dissatisfed about and that
motion for reconsideration has
to be tried and tested through
vote before it is endorsed by
plenary, subsequently followed
by decision.
The issue with the Health
Minister has been an issue of
discussion where health workers
are threatening strike action
when the country is challenged
by a serious health threats posed
by the deadly Ebola virus that is
on a daily basis killing people.
In the wake of the destruction
by the outbreak of the Ebola
Virus Disease, health workers
are determining to go on strike
because of low incentives and
refusal by the minister to reinstate
two of their leaders (President
and Secretary General of the
national health association) but
an adamant health minister looks
resolved on his decision not to
bow down to pressure despite
request from the Legislature and
other prominent individuals in
society asking him to reconsider
his decision.
The health minister decision has
proven to be backed by his boss
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
who has equivocally informed
the senate that the power to
appoint is given to her by the
constitution of the republic of
Liberia.
Senators Agree to write President Sirleaf Requesting Minister Gwenigales Retirement but.
Senator Peter Coleman (CDC, Grand Kru) defending the 14 Senators communication to plenary
Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014 Page 9
Danesius Marteh, danesius.marteh@frontpageafricaonline.com
LAMENTING HIS DEMISE
T
he Liberia Football Association (LFA) has imposed a 21-day quarantine measure on all
staff following the death of Joseph Kerkula.
Kerkula, who worked in the fnance department,died on Thursday having come down with
Ebola on October 24 after he reported himself tothe ELWA Ebola treatment unit (ETU) on
October 24.
On October 15, Kerkula lost his wife to Ebola at the Medicine San Frontiers-run ETU.
Though he has been on the list of nonessential staff, Kerkula has been rendering assistance as account
payable offcer and last visited the FAon October 13.
Upon his bold step, Kerkula was asked to stay home to observe himself for signs and symptoms of
the disease and came down with the virus.
As it is medically required, the LFA was also shut down on October 25 to complete a 21-day
incubation periodfrom Kerkulas last visit and was disinfected on October 27.
The FA said all essential staff will observe the completion of the 21 days, which will end on November
3, counting from 13 October.
The LFA remains supportive to Kerkula and his two children in this period of diffcult situation, a
press statement said.
Meanwhile, the Sports Writers Association of Liberia (Swal) has expressed its condolence to the LFA
and the football family.
We regret his death and pray that his soul rest in peace. We understand Joseph succumbed this
morning to the deadly Ebola virus. Our hearts are with the family and the LFA. RIP Joe, secretary-
general Kolubah Zayzay posted on facebook on Thursday.
LFA loses one to Ebola as a 21-day quarantine measure is
imposed on essential staff; Swal offers words of condolence

Happy Pre-Birth November 1, 2014
It is our fervent prayers that the God Almighty showers bountiful blessing
upon you and give you the strength to persist as you work daily to ensure the
beterment of your future.
Happy birthday, may you live to see many more years
From: Mr. Lidner and the rest of the family in the USA and Liberia
Happy Pre-Birthday Greetings
Grace B. Neah
Page 10 |
Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014
IN BRIEF
TOP S.AFRICAN COURT
ORDERS PROBE INTO
ZIMBABWE TORTURE
Cape Town (AFP) -
S
outh Africa's highest
court on Thursday
ruled that the country's
police have a duty
to investigate Zimbabwean
offcials accused of torturing
opposition supporters seven
years ago.
The landmark judgment by the
Constitutional Court is likely
to strain ties with neighboring
Zimbabwe, whose President
Robert Mugabe responded
angrily to a similar order by a
lower court, describing it as a
"direct assault" on Zimbabwe's
sovereignty.
South African police had refused
to investigate the allegations of
state-sponsored torture ahead of
2008 elections, citing political
concerns, and appealed against
the earlier judgment.
F
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PAGE
WORLD NEWS
SURVEY: ASIA FINDS MONEY
BRINGS HAPPINESS
UN CHIEF LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO
END FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
SINGAPORE (AP)
E
merging Asian
nations are fnding
out what developed
ones did years ago:
money and the stuff it buys
brings happiness.
Levels of self-reported well-
being in fast-growing nations
like Indonesia, China and
Malaysia now rival those in the
U.S., Germany and the United
Kingdom, rich nations that
have long topped the happiness
charts, according to a Pew
Research Center global survey
released Friday. It says it shows
how rises in national income
are closely linked to personal
satisfaction.
The pollsters asked people in 43
countries to place themselves
on a "ladder of life," with the
top rung representing the best
possible life and the bottom
the worst. Pew carried out the
same survey in 2002 and 2005
in most of those countries,
enabling researchers to look at
trends over time.
Nairobi (AFP) -
U
N chief Ban Ki-
moon launched
Thursday a global
campaign to end the
often deadly practice of female
genital mutilation within a
generation, as survivors said it
had "shattered" their lives.
"The mutilation of girls and
women must stop in this
generation, our generation," Ban
said on a visit to the Kenyan
capital Nairobi.
"Men and boys must also be
encouraged to support the fght
against FGM -- and they should
be praised when they do."
PEOPLES REVOLUTION
IN BURKINA FASO
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) -
T
housands of protesters
marched on Burkina
Faso's presidential
palace after burning
the parliament building and
ransacking state television
offces on Thursday, forcing
President Blaise Compaore to
scrap a plan to extend his 27-
year rule.
Emergency services said at least
three protesters were shot dead
and several others wounded
by security forces when the
crowd tried to storm the home
of Compaore's brother. Security
forces also fred live rounds and
tear gas at protesters near the
presidency in the Ouaga 2000
neighborhood.
Black smoke swirled in the
air above parliament after
demonstrators lit fres inside
the building before looting
computers and televisions
screens and wheeling away
police motor-bikes, a Reuters
reporter said.
Lawmakers had been due to vote
on Thursday on a government
plan to change the constitution
to allow Compaore - who took
power in a coup in 1987 - to
stand for re-election next year,
when he was due to stand down.
Alain Edouard Traore,
communications minister, later
said the government had dropped
the proposal to amend a two-
term limit on the presidential
mandate.
But protesters told Reuters they
would not stop until Compaore
was forced to step aside.
Burkinabe offcials said there
were also large-scale protests
in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina's
second biggest town, and
Ouahigouya, to the north.
"We did this because Blaise
was trying to stay too long. We
are tired of him," said Seydou
Kabre, a protester in the crowd
in Ouagadougou. "We want a
change. He must go!"
Most deputies had not yet arrived
for the vote when protesters,
who had set up barricades
outside parliament from early on
Thursday, stormed the building.
The crowd surged forward after
police fred warning shots in the
air.
A Reuters reporter saw nearby
structures also on fre and
vehicles outside the parliament
being smashed.
State television was forced off
the air after the building was
taken. Soldiers deployed outside
state radio with an armored
personnel carrier to defend it
from the crowd.
Opposition leader Zephirin
Diabre said on his Twitter feed
he was opposed to any coup in
Burkina Faso just hours after he
had urged armed forces to join
the people in a speech broadcast
live from his headquarters.
Local radio and a diplomatic
source said opposition leaders
held talks with an infuential
army General Kouame Lougue
about a possible transition.
The same diplomatic source
said members of Compaore's
government had been arrested
at the airport trying to leave the
country.
A Reuters witness said protesters
took one of the dead bodies
from the streets and wrapped
it in the national fag, while
softly singing Burkina's anthem.
They then drove it to the central
Place de la Nation, where more
protesters had gathered.
INCREASING OPPOSITION
Compaore has ruled the cotton
and gold-producing nation with
a frm grip but, in recent years,
he has faced increasing criticism,
including from within his own
camp and the military.
"If needs be we are going to
march to the presidency. We
want Blaise Compaore to leave,
We want change," said George
Sawadogo, a 23-year-old student.
Opposition to Compaore's plan
have been mounting in recent
days.
Hundreds of thousands of
people took to the streets of
Ouagadougou and other towns
across the country on Tuesday
in what the opposition said
was the start of a campaign
of civil disobedience over the
proposed constitutional reform.
The government has called for
restraint.
"This seems to have moved us to
a situation where Compaore will
have to leave power before the
end of his term next year," said
Gilles Yabi, an independent West
Africa analyst. "It will depend on
how the security forces react, but
I can't imagine that Blaise will be
able to fnish his term if there is
serious violence today."
France has called on Compaore
to adhere to African Union
rules preventing constitutional
changes that allow leaders to stay
in power. The U.S. government
has said it is concerned.
"All bets are off now," said
one Western diplomat in
Ouagadougou, who asked not to
be identifed.

Protesters march on Burkina presidency after burning parliament
CLASHES ERUPT AS ISRAELI POLICE KILL PALESTINIAN
SUSPECTED OF SHOOTING JEWISH FAR-RIGHTIST
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -
I
sraeli police on Thursday
shot dead a 32-year-old
Palestinian man suspected
of having tried hours earlier
to kill a far-right Jewish activist,
leading to ferce clashes in East
Jerusalem and fears of a new
Palestinian uprising.
The Al-Aqsa compound, or
Temple Mount, which is a
central cause of the latest
violence, was shut down to all
visitors as a security precaution.
It was the frst full closure of the
site, venerated by both Jews and
Muslims, in 14 years.
Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas denounced Israel's actions
as "tantamount to a declaration of
war" and his Fatah party called
for a "day of rage" on Friday. It
was not clear if Al Aqsa would
be opened to Muslims on their
holy day.
Moataz Hejazi's body lay in
blood among satellite dishes and
a solar panel on the rooftop of a
three-storey house in Abu Tor, a
district of Arab East Jerusalem,
as Israeli forces sealed off the
area and repelled stone-throwing
Palestinian protesters.
Hejazi was suspected of shooting
and wounding Yehuda Glick, a
far-right religious activist who
has led a campaign for Jews to be
allowed to pray at the Al-Aqsa
compound.
Glick, a U.S.-born settler, was
shot as he left a conference at
the Menachem Begin Heritage
Centre in Jerusalem late on
Wednesday. His assailant
escaped on the back of a
motorcycle. A spokesman for the
center said Hejazi had worked
at a restaurant there. Glick, 48,
remains in serious but stable
condition with four gunshot
wounds, doctors said.
Residents said hundreds of Israeli
police were involved in the pre-
dawn search for Hejazi. He was
tracked down to his family home
in the hilly backstreets of Abu
Tor and eventually cornered
on the terrace of an adjacent
building.
"Anti-terrorist police units
surrounded a house in the Abu
Tor neighborhood to arrest
a suspect in the attempted
assassination of Yehuda Glick,"
Israeli police spokesman Micky
Rosenfeld said. "Immediately
upon arrival they were shot at.
They returned fre and shot and
killed the suspect."
Locals identifed the man as
Hejazi, who was released from
an Israeli prison in 2012 after
serving 11 years. Israeli police
fred stun grenades to keep back
groups of angry residents, who
shouted abuse as they watched
from surrounding balconies.
One Abu Tor resident, an
elderly Arab man with a
walking stick who declined to
be named, described Hejazi as
a troublemaker and said "he
should have been shot 10 years
ago". Others said he was a good
son from a respectable family.
"They are good people, he does
nothing wrong," said Niveen, a
young woman who declined to
give her family name.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two
militant groups, praised the
shooting of Glick and mourned
Hejazi's death.
RELIGIOUS TENSIONS
East Jerusalem, which Israel
captured and occupied in the
1967 Middle East war, has been
a source of intense friction in
recent months, especially around
Silwan, which sits in the shadow
of the Old City and Al-Aqsa.
Jewish settler organizations have
acquired more than two dozen
buildings in Silwan over the
years, including nine in the past
three months, and moved settler
families into them, an effort to
make the district more Jewish.
Around 500 settlers now live
among approximately 40,000
Palestinians residents.
The infux of settlers combined
with tension over the site, Islam's
third-holiest shrine and the
holiest place in Judaism, have
contributed to the most fractious
atmosphere in East Jerusalem
since the second Intifada or
uprising began in 2000.
On Thursday, crowds of young
Palestinian men and boys
blocked off streets near where
Hejazi was killed with rubbish
skips and lit fres. They smashed
tiles and bricks and used
the pieces to throw at Israeli
police, masking their faces with
bandannas or pulling hooded
tops around their heads.
Police responded with tear gas,
scattering the crowd. Clashes
continued for hours after Hejazi
was killed.
"It is not a good situation, it is
the worst, everyone is angry,"
said Galib Abu Nejmeh, 65, who
wandered down the rock-strewn
street dressed in a smart brown
suit and tie.
"It is becoming like another
Intifada," he said, comparing it
to the scenes in East Jerusalem in
the late 1980s, when Palestinians
frst rose up against Israeli
occupation.
After Glick was shot, far-right
Jewish groups urged supporters
to march on Al-Aqsa on Thursday
morning. That prompted Israeli
police to shut access to the site
to everyone - Muslims, Jews and
all tourists.
Glick and his backers, including
Moshe Feiglin, a far-right
member of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud
party, are determined to change
the status quo that has governed
Al-Aqsa since Israel seized the
walled Old City in 1967.

Frontpage
Friday, October 31, 2014 Page 11
Sports
SPORTS
KESHI BACK AS
NIGERIA BOSS
MANCHESTER CITY READY
TO JOIN REUS SCRAMBLE
S
tephen Keshi is set to
take charge of Nigeria
again - less than a
fortnight after being
sacked.
The 52-year-old was fred on
October 16 and replaced by
former coach Shaibu Amodu
on an interim basis.
However, Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF) media offcer
Toyin Ibitoye announced
on Thursday that Keshi had
accepted an invitation to take
his old job back as part of
reconciliatory moves ordered
by NFF president Goodluck
Jonathan.
Consequently, Keshi is now
set to take charge of next
month's Africa Cup of Nations
qualifers against Congo and
South Africa - even though
the NFF has yet to release any
offcial statement on the issue.
E
dinson Cavani insists
he is no longer
unhappy at Paris
Saint-Germain,
revealing that he now feels he
has the support of the club.
The striker joined the Ligue 1
outft from Napoli for a reported
63 million last summer but
admitted during his frst season
at the Parc des Princes that he
was unhappy with being played
out wide to accommodate
Zlatan Ibrahimovic at centre-
forward.
M
anchester City
are preparing to
make their move
for Marco Reus
as the race for the Borussia
Dortmundforward hots up.
A 25 million release clause
will be activated in Reus'
contract at the end of the
season, a fact brought to light
by Bundesliga giants Bayern
Munich.
The German champions have
signed Mario Gotze and Robert
Lewandowski from Dortmund
in acrimonious circumstances
in recent seasons and in August
CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
discussed Reus' previously
undisclosed buy-out option.
Rummenigge's claims not only
sparked fury at Signal Iduna
Park but also a Europe-wide
transfer scramble to rival any
of the recent era.


CAVANI: I'M HAPPY
AT PSG NOW
GASOL, BULLS BLOW OUT
KNICKS IN ROSE'S RETURN
NEW YORK (AP) --
D
errick Rose spent
way too much time
sitting and watching
the last two seasons.
Yet he wasn't bummed at all
about playing just 7 minutes
of the second half in his long-
awaited return.
''It was real fun being on the
bench,'' he said, ''being able to
laugh, talk basketball to your
teammates whenever they come
back to the sideline.''
Not to mention check out a team
he says can be ''scary.''
Pau Gasol had 21 points and 11
rebounds in his Chicago debut,
Rose scored 13 points and the
Bulls spoiled Derek Fisher's
frst game as an NBA coach by
beating the New York Knicks
104-80 on Wednesday night.
Reserve Taj Gibson fnished with
22 points to lead the Bulls, who
with a wealth of frontcourt depth
didn't even need a big night from
Rose. The former MVP took
only seven shots and had fve
assists in 21 minutes in a game
Chicago led by as much as 35.
''I think it's a lot of pressure off
his shoulders because we have,
I think, a variety of weapons, so
he doesn't have that pressure on
himself to be able to score and
force things,'' Gasol said.
Carmelo Anthony had 14 points
for the Knicks, who won't have
it any easier in the second half of
their season-opening, back-to-
back. They visit the Cavaliers,
BIGON: NO POSSIBILITY OF
BALOTELLI JOINING NAPOLI

N
apoli sporting director Riccardo Bigon has
rubbished reports linking the Serie A side with
Liverpool strikerMario Balotelli
It had been claimed that the Partenopei were
considering a 12.5 million bid for the Italy international, who
only moved to Anfeld from AC Milan just before the close of
the summer transfer window.
However, Bigon insists that Napoli would have no chance of
signing Balotelli even if they were interested in the 24-year-old
striker.
"They're speaking about Balotelli in Spain, England and Italy
but it's not a possibility. Nothing of what has been said is true,"
he stated.
"It's not a feasible line. I don't think this is a real story, though
the fact is that Mario remains a great player.
"The boy has just been bought by Liverpool and given what
their coach is saying, he's an investment for the future of the
club.
"We can only wish Mario all the best on his English adventure."
Former Manchester City striker Balotelli has endured a diffcult
start to his second stint in the Premier League but he netted his
second Liverpool goal in Tuesday's Carling One Cup win over
Swansea.
BESTING MESSI
MASCHERANO BEATS MESSI TO BARCELONA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD
T
he versatile 30-year-
old has been rewarded
for his consistency
during what was
a diffcult campaign for the
Catalan club
Ballon d'Or contender Javier
Mascherano has been named
Barcelona's player of the 2013-
14 season.
Lionel Messi had won three of
the previous four editions of the
'Memorial Aldo Rovira' but he
was pipped to the prize by his
fellow Argentina international,
who demonstrated impressive
consistency at the heart of the
Blaugrana defence during a
turbulent campaign that ended
without the Catalans winning a
major honour.
"I thank all of you who voted
for me to receive this prize,"
Mascherano is quoted as saying
by the club's offcial website.
"Well try to continue doing
things as well as we have until
now, with the same dedication
while trying to stay faithful to
what a club like this demands,
which is a lot."
The award is named after Aldo
Rovira, a Barca club member
who tragically died in an
accident in 2009. The recipient
of the accolade is decided by a
jury of prominent fgures from
Barca and the Catalan media.
"I was part of the jury that chose
Javier Mascherano," Blaugrana
president Josep Maria Bartomeu
explained. And I have to tell
you, Javier, that there was quite
some debate at frst.
"But when your name came up,
the response was unanimous
and so this a very well deserved
prize.
"Its an honour for Barca to have
a player like you.
The versatile Mascherano, who
is also deployed in midfeld by
Barca, arrived at Camp Nou
from Liverpool in 2010.
The 30-year-old was linked with
a move away from Catalunya
at the end of last season but he
signed a new contract on June 7
that binds him to the Blaugrana
until 2018.

the other Eastern Conference
favorite, on Thursday in
the frst game since LeBron
Jamesreturned to Cleveland.
''Embarrassed? No, I am not
embarrassed,'' Anthony said.
''We will get better. I believe that.
I know that and we have another
shot at it tomorrow night.''
The Knicks, running the triangle
offense that Fisher played in
under Knicks president Phil
Jackson, shot 36.5 percent. They
were missing starting point
guard Jose Calderon, who was a
late scratch because of a strained
right calf. Shane Larkin made his
frst career start.
''We're going somewhere, but
at the beginning of where we're
going it's going to be diffcult to
get wins,'' Fisher said. ''We have
to fght really, really hard to win
games.''
Gasol, the former Lakers
star signed by the Bulls this
summer after they failed to land
Anthony, shot 7 of 11 from the
feld. His presence, along with
Rose's health, could give the
Bulls a chance for their frst
championship since Jackson
coached them to six when
Michael Jordan was in Chicago.
Rose missed the 2012-13 season
after tearing his left ACL in the
2012 playoffs. He returned last
season and hit the go-ahead shot
to beat the Knicks on Halloween
in Chicago's home opener, but
was lost again for the season
when he tore cartilage in the
other knee in November.
He showed a few fashes of his
vaunted quickness but there
often wasn't need for it. The
better options for the Bulls were
to just pound it inside to Gasol
and Gibson, who combined to
make 17 of 23 shots as Chicago
shot 51 percent.
''When things run smooth like the
way they were running tonight, I
think everyone got a look at our
whole entire team and they saw
how deep we are,'' Rose said.
The Knicks led most of the frst
quarter as Amare Stoudemire hit
his frst four shots, but Chicago
scored the fnal eight of the
period to lead 24-20. Gibson then
scored 10 in the second as the
Bulls took a 53-43 advantage to
halftime, and it was never close
in a second half that featured the
Knicks hearing some boos from
the home fans.
Spot News
www.frontpageafricaonline.com
FrontPage
PRICE L$40 VOL 8 NO.711 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2014
Monrovia
A
s a result of the deadly Ebola
virus disease which has had a
serious impact on the country
and its people, President Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf decided to commemorate her
76th birth anniversary in a low-key fashion
without the pomp and pageantry beftting the
day.
However, working as usual from her
Foreign Ministry offce, the Liberian leader
intermittently received in audience several
government offcials, government institutions
and parastatals, individuals, among others
who had come to extend birthday greetings
and at the same time support governments
efforts in the fght against the Ebola virus
disease.
According to an Executive Mansion release,
those who visited President Sirleaf included,
among others, the Senate, Chief Justice and
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court,
Cabinet, staff of the Ministry of State, Central
Bank of Liberia (CBL), Land Commission,
Booker Washington Institute (BWI) Alumni
Association, Guaranty Trust (GT) Bank,
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Alpha
Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Sirleaf
Market Womens Fund.
At separate interactions, the well wishers
wished President Sirleaf a happy birthday
and thanked her for remaining focused
in the Ebola fght; terming her leadership
as exemplary. They admonished her to
continue to demonstrate this leadership as
Liberia has slowly begun to see progress
in the fght against Ebola that have claimed
thousands of lives.
Former President Pro-Tempore, Senator
Cletus Wortorson, on behalf of the Senate,
called on President Sirleaf to remain
steadfast and beware of detractors as she
steers the affairs of the State. The Senate
promised that despite hiccups now and then
they to continue to work with the Liberian
leader in forming a common front to foster
the countrys development.
The Grand Kru Country Senator said, as a
present for the Liberian leaders natal day,
they had passed into law four fnancial bills
in preparation for the post-Ebola era.
Some members of the Senate delegation
included Frederick Cherue, Alphonso Gaye,
Isaac Nyenabo and others. Senator Joyce
Musu Sumo sang a birthday song on behalf
of her colleagues.
The CBL Executive Governor, Dr. J. Mills
Jones and senior members of the Bank
also came by to wish the Liberian leader a
happy birthday. We are very pleased to be
here, Madam President, to wish you happy
birthday, he said, adding, We could not
let the day go by without stopping by to say
happy birthday and to show how much we
appreciate you. They presented her an unrevealed gift from the staff
at the CBL that she could use for whatever humanitarian purposes she
saw ft.
The BWI alumni association and its administration extended birthday
wishes to the Liberian leader. Through the chairman of the Board of
Governors, alumnus Kenneth Best symbolically presented anti-Ebola
buckets, Clorox, soap, and stickers to President Sirleaf in support
of governments effort to fght the virus disease. Already the BWI
alumni association has begun distributing anti-Ebola materials in fve
of Liberias 15 counties including Montserrado, Bomi, Grand Cape
Mount, Margibi and Grand Bassa Counties.
We will join the government in fghting and driving away this
pandemic that has attempted to devastate our country; but our country
will not be devastated, Mr. Best said, adding, We will roll up our
sleeves and work with all our energies led by you and your team and
we will defeat this virus.
GT Bank Liberia Limited donated one Nissan Urban Ambulance to the
governments fght against Ebola.
Mr. ECB Jones, private businessman and independent director at GT
Bank, in his statement, said the Board of GT Bank expressed concern
about the situation and its impact on the country and agreed that there
was a need to buttress governments efforts to fght Ebola and decided
to make a contribution towards that end. We are therefore honored
to present on behalf of the chairman of the Board of Directors of GT
Bank, members of the Board, staff one Nissan Urban Ambulance as GT
Banks modest contribution towards the fght against Ebola. They also
wished her happy birthday.
The Land Commission, headed by acting chair Walter Wisner, for their
part, used the birthday gathering to thank President Sirleaf for signing
into law the Criminal Conveyance Bill which will deal with land issues,
noting that Trial Judges are scheduled to discuss and deliberate on the
way forward on November 5, which the Commission said will solve 80
percent of land cases in Liberia.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc,
for their part, presented as a gift a cake with a picture of the President
displayed on it. They read a poem to the Liberian leader depicting
words of encouragement, urging her to remain focus, especially during
these diffcult days.
In separate responses, President Sirleaf expressed appreciation to all
those who had come to her offce with birthday wishes. She called on
her compatriots to unite and not to give up the fght against Ebola as
signs are beginning to show that progress being made.
She admonished all Liberians to brace up for the post-Ebola era as the
outbreak has placed lot of development projects on hold and it will
only take a united front to catch up with projects delayed by the Ebola
outbreak.
She noted that the commemoration of her birthday should be a moment
of refection for all Liberians and partners standing up together in the
diffcult period to fght the Ebola. President Sirleaf indicated that it is the
result of the resilience by the Liberian people backed by international
partners that signs have begun showing some progress in cutting the
transmission of Ebola; but cautioned that its too soon to be complacent
and admonish them to keep up the fght.


76-YEARS YOUNG
President Sirleaf Commemorates 76th Birth Anniversary in Low-Key Fashion