The students who protesting delays in the payment of vacation job benefits in the capital Monrovia went on the rampage, throwing stones and breaking vehicle wind-shields, burning vehicles and blocking roads. The free flow of traffic was disrupted.

Information Minister Cletus Sieh announced the imposition of the curfew Friday evening as the standoff between state police and the students entered its second day.

The curfew which was initially announced to last from six in the evening to six in the morning, was later relaxed to ten in the night to six in the morning, to allow Christmas peddlers and other residents
to return home.

Despite President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s appeal to protesters Thursday to exercise restraint and the commencement of payment Friday, some disgruntled students again went on the rampage Friday stoning and breaking wind-shields, blocking roads and forcing people returning home from selling and from work to trek to their homes.

Source African Press Agency

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In the statement read by the leader of the mission, Justice Irene C. Mambilima who is the chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, concluded that results of the first round were the product of a transparent and credible process and reflects the will of the people of Liberia.

The statement said using the guidelines enshrined in the AU Declaration and Declaration of Principles on International Election Observation, the EISA Observation Mission “concludes that the voting and counting process was conducted with integrity and professionalism in accordance with the laws of Liberia.”

The EISA statement noted that most polling places opened on time and that polling materials were available in sufficient quantities.

“The mission observers did not experience any acts of intimidation and coercion on election day and the secrecy and integrity of the vote was generally ensured, with several domestic and international observers present in most of the polling precincts.”

“The ongoing tallying process in the different magisterial offices has so far followed all the procedures prescribed by law, with very minor deviations,” the EISA statement added.

The mission however regretted the low turnout which it attributed to the main opposition Congress for Democratic Change’s call for a boycott and the incidents of violence in Monrovia on the eve of the poll.

“The mission regrets the CDC’s boycott and notes that its demands can be better addressed through a future legal reform process, rather than in the middle of the electoral process, as they would require substantive changes to the current legal framework for elections,” the statement further noted.

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The attackers are thought to have been sheltering in the forest region straddling the two country’s common border before they launched their attack.

The attack left 23 people dead in the Ivorian village of Tai.

UNMIL spokesman Yasmina Bouzaine told journalists in the capital Monrovia Sunday that the reported attack which took place inside Ivory Coast which was outside the mission’s jurisdiction although it was assisting the Liberian police to probe the attack.

He said the incident underlined the still precarious nature of security along the border.

International media reported Saturday that a number of armed men crossed into Ivory Coast from the Liberian side of the border and attacked villagers in Tai.

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Speaking during a tour of the country to meet beneficiaries of development initiatives by Australia, Ambassador Williams said relations with Liberia was set to improve.

Williams will be meeting senior members of the Liberian government to discuss issues of mutual interest and possibilities for future cooperation, culminating in the signing of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with Liberia.

The diplomat will also meet Liberian recipients of Australian government training courses in diplomacy and trade policy.

“Australia’s partnership with Liberia covers many areas of mutual interest and it is a shared conviction that such a relations should be expanded significantly,” he said, adding that his country was committed to partnering with Liberia as the West African country prepares to go to the polls later this year.

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Mr. Massaquoi told a press conference in Monrovia that the arms were apparently from ex-combatants returning from Ivory Coast and include one rocket launcher, four AK-47 rifles and several rounds of ammunition.

He said the arms were handed over to the Liberian police but will be subsequently turned over to the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to be destroyed.

Mr. Massaquoi assured Liberians that the country’s security operatives are in control of the situation at the border with Ivory Coast, but called for more personnel to be deployed to the ‘porous’ border to ensure maximum security.

In July, a huge arms cache was discovered near the Ivorian border and were handed over to UNMIL.

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The agreement would effectively write off two thirds of the country’s debt to France, according to Finance Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan who signed on behalf of the Liberian government. French Ambassador, Gerrard Larome signed for his government.

France was the first country to give Liberia direct budgetary support in 2007 following the ascension to power of Africa’s first elected female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Ngafuan described the event as historic and a new beginning for war-ravaged Liberia which is still in its rebuilding process.

According to him, the $250 million debt cancellation by France must be seen by every Liberian as a demonstration of the European country’s sincere drive to help Liberia deal with the challenges of post-war reconstruction. He pointed out that the debt waiver represented a triumph for the country given that it covers almost half of Liberia’s current annual budget.

Minister Ngafuan said the $250 million debt was accrued by past governments for the extension of the Freeport of Liberia.

France is a member of the Paris Club Creditor countries that agreed on debt cancellation for Liberia after the country reached the completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC).

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Speaking at the launch of Phase III of the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Advisory Services in Monrovia over the weekend, Dr. Gun Eriksson Skong said it was necessary that the government of Liberia embarked upon a restructuring of the country’s economy by paving the way or sustainable poverty reduction and job-creation.

According to her, the benefits of such an approach would bring lasting peace for a satisfied populace.

“There is a need for the establishment of a new economic structure, a structure that will close the gap between the new and the old” Dr. Skong noted in a speech she delivered at the program.

Dr. Skong proposed the development of the domestic market and value chain arrangement for such market to be integrated and stressed the need for more market orientation in respect of smallholder farmers.

The Swedish Development Cooperation boss also highlighted the need for diversification and validation of and the sustainable management of the country’s natural resources.

She pointed out that in order to promote the development process “we at the Swedish Development Cooperation need a strategic combination of support to economic activities on the ground.”

She said her organization’s support to Liberia’s agriculture and forestry sector is one of the most important contributions made to “the IFC’s Investment Climate Team for the creation of an enabling environment.”

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The Swedish International Development Agency made the commitment at a workshop held in the capital Monrovia on improving trade facilitation and policy implementation using the logical framework approach.

The workshop was facilitated by the Swedish National Board of Trade (NBT) as a first step of the assistance process.

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The demolition exercise was witnessed by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, United States Ambassador to Liberia Linda Thomas Greenfield as well as Liberian government and U.S Embassy officials and members of the diplomatic corps and community dwellers.

The Omega Tower, which was also described as the largest structure on the African continent and the tallest man-made structure in the world, was razed to the ground by explosives within 30 seconds.

The Omega Tower was built in 1973 by the US Navy through a partnership with the Government of Liberia.

Speaking at the occasion, President Johnson Sirleaf described the moment as “the end of long efforts and the beginning of new efforts.”

She disclosed that a new market would be constructed on the spot to accommodate some marketers and ease the traffic congestion at the nearby Red Light Market.

He commended the US government for its continued support to the Liberian government in carrying out numerous projects to benefit the citizens of Liberia.

Earlier, Ambassador Greenfield recalled that the tower that stood for 38 years was the symbol of the long history of cooperation between Liberia and the United States.

She said the demolition of the tower marks the final chapter of an exceptional project in which the two nations were able to work together to provide a navigation service that was used by the entire world.

The system operated through an international partnership that included eight transmitting stations operated by the governments of Liberia, France, Argentina, Australia, Norway, Japan and the United States of America.

Liberia’s Omega Tower ceased operation in 1997, when the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS), a more advanced navigation system became operational.

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According to media reports Monday, the $11 million agreement was signed at the weekend between the World Bank Country Manager, Dr. Ohene Owusu Nyanin and Liberian Finance minister Augustine Ngafuan.

In remarks, Minister Ngafuan said the additional support to EGIRP will help to combat the problem of transparency and accountability in the post-war country.

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The gesture is intended to increase access to solid waste collection services in the capital Monrovia.

According to a press statement issued here late Thursday, the additional financing was approved by the Board of the World Bank on Thursday.

The original funding of $18.4 million for the EMUS project was approved in October 2009 at the request of the government under the Liberia Reconstruction Trust Fund (LRTF).

The LRTF is a multi-donor trust fund established in 2008.

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The UN Secretary General’s Special Representative Ellen Margrethe Loj told journalists in Monrovia on Wednesday that the Mission in collaboration with authorities of the Liberia National Police (LNP) is working tirelessly to ensure that activities at the borders between the two countries remain stable and normal.

Madam Loj said it is the responsibility of UNMIL, LNP and other security agencies in the country to ensure that the peace now obtaining in Liberia is not disrupted.

“We are monitoring activities in and across the borders but we also need your help in making this work successful,” she said.

Madam Loj urged Liberians living along the borders and surrounding villages to help in monitoring activities at the borders and be very vigilant in averting any infiltration of arms and ammunition because, according to her, arms are being circulated in the area.

She clarified that refugees who were recently shot at the border in Grand Gedeh County (east) did not die, and are receiving treatment at a local hospital.

About 77,000 people have crossed into Liberia escaping the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire which started since outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down after losing to Alassane Ouattara.

However, it should be noted that this number continues to rise as insecurity worsens.

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The 25-year concession agreement was signed Thursday in Monrovia, with the Liberian government, represented by the Inter-Ministerial Concession Committee (IMCC) headed by the Acting Chairman of the National Investment Commission, O. Natty B. Davis, while SIFCA was represented by Mr. Alassane Doumbia, Ambassador Charles Gomis and Mr. Daniel Emir.

Under the agreement, SIFCA will invest $48 million in the nucleus plantation and $16 million to establish about 6,000 hectares in an outgrowers program to support small oil palm plantations owned by Liberians in Maryland and adjoining counties.

NIC Chairman Natty Davis expressed optimism that the agreement will help develop the economy of south-eastern Liberia.

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According to media reports monitored on Tuesday, Philip Taylor, whose mother is Bong County Senior Senator Jewel Howard-Taylor was arraigned before a magistrate court in Monrovia Monday, where he was charged with hiring a gang to beat up Chris Massaquoi J, the son of Immigration Commissioner Chris Massaquoi.

According to reports, the incident occurred on one of the beaches around Monrovia, where both men who are in their late twenties had gone for recreation. The report said Philip and the thugs he allegedly hired used a chain to inflict injuries on Massaquoi Jr. who was suspected of having an affair with Philip’s fiancée.

According to the report a crowd that had gathered on the Monrovia beach had intervened to save Massaquoi Jr, who sustained injuries before he could be wrested from the gang.

Following the incident, Philip fled Monrovia and was on his way to Cote d’Ivoire when he was apprehended and arrested by state security operatives in southeastern Rivercess County, about 400km from the capital Monrovia to where he was later transferred pending his trial.

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Ohene Nyanin said the money is coming from the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) Catalytic fund Grant for Basic Education in Liberia and will be used to “increase access and quality in rural areas by constructing 20 basic education schools and eight Early Childhood Development Centres (ECD).”

The country manager was speaking on Thursday at the opening of a a three-day National Consultative Conference held in the central provincial capital of Gbarnga located about 165 kilometers north of the capital Monrovia.

The theme of the conference is Transforming Education for Sustainable Growth and Development”.

Nyanin said portion of the money will help improve the conditions of teaching, materials, school grants, de-worming of children, and supporting the systems development of new ECD models.

Meanwhile, stakeholders attending the conference have called on the Liberian national legislature to fast track the designing of a National Education Act that will guide the system in post-war Liberia.

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