Monday, March 24, 2014 Edition

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CENTRAL BANK OF LIBERIA

MARKET BUYING AND SELLING RATES LIBERIAN DOLLARS PER US DOLLAR
BUYING THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2014 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014 THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014 L$84.00/US$1 L$84.00/US$1 L$84.00/US$1
SELLING L$85.00/US$1 L$85.00/US$1 L$85.00/US$1
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
VOL 8 NO.557
PRICE L$40
LIBERIA
LIBERIA GOVERNANCE STAKEHOLDER SURVEY

Beginning today, we will begin publishing verbatim in both online and print, the entire 124-page LEAKED document and let our readers judge the report and its context for themselves.
THE REVEALING REPORT LIBERIAS STAKEHOLDERS DON'T WANT YOU TO SEE
LIBERIA
Governance Issues pg. 5-9
See PG 2 & 3
Page 2 | Frontpage
Monday, March 24, 2014
Monrovia ven with his hands cuffed and his loud mouth forced off the air, Henry Costa refused to shut up. As he made his way into a white 4 Wheel Drive Tata Pickup Truck, tagged: Probation- Friday afternoon, the fiery talk show provocateur delivered one last stinging indictment of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and the first family, particularly, the presidents controversial sister, Jennie Bernard as he braced to be whisked off to jail. Pointing to the top of the Temple of Justice with the inscription, Let Justice Be Done to All, from the back of the pickup truck, Costa held no punches as he ranted: Jennie Bernard is here, that corrupt sister of the president, shes here, too. Shes here giving instructions. This is the country we live in- messed up country. No rule of law. The President is corrupt, all of her people are corrupt and I will not stop. You put me in jail, I will say it, you take me out, I will say it. Prelude to an arrest The drama kicked off around 2:15 pm local time Friday when plain clothes officers from the National Security Agency (NSA) showed up at Costas office on Ashmun Street to issue him a Writ of Arrest. Costa immediately posted on his Facebook Page: I have just been served a writ of arrest issued by Fombah Sirleaf. I am being taken to the Monrovia City Court at the time of writing. Interestingly, an NSA officer called Emmanuel Harris accompanied the Court officers to serve the writ on me. If this is court matter why send an NSA officer along? At the Monrovia City Court, crowds of friends and supporters soon began to descend as word of Costas arrest spread like wildfire. In the courtroom, Costa was escorted by several court officers as he was handed a Writ of Arrest charging him with terroristic threats, menacing and criminal coercion. During his last broadcast on Hott FM, Costa threw out an open challenge to the NSA boss to a duel on Broad Street on Friday, February 28 at 4PM, in order to afford the NSA boss the opportunity to make good on several threats, Costa says, had been made toward him through intermediaries. This is when I challenged him (Fombah) to a duel on Broad Street on Friday 4PM in order to afford him the opportunity to make good his threat. This was when we got cut off the air while we were talking unbeknownst to us by directive of the station manager, Costa would later explain. The NSA boss told FPA in February he was in the process of filing a case against the Talk Show host at the Ministry of Justice. The Liberian governments chief spokesman, Information Minister Lewis Brown at the time also confirmed to FPA that he was processing the communication from the NSA boss. Terroristic Threat: Charges Rain on Costa That process appeared to have come to a conclusion Friday with a writ of arrest. The writ reads: You are hereby commanded to arrest the living body (ies) of Henry Costa, to be identified defendant(s) and forthwith bring him before the Monrovia City Court, Temple of Justice Building, Montserrado County to answer the charge of TERRORISTIC THREATS, MENACING & CRIMINAL COERCION, based upon the oath and complaint of the Republic of Liberia by and thru Fomba Sirleaf, private prosecutor (trix) in which it is substantially alleged as follows to wit: That on the 26th day of February 2014 the defendant with wicked intention rendered threat to harm and kill private prosecutor Fomba Sirleaf, the Director of the National Security Agency and son of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The alleged act of the defendant was unlawful wicked and violated section 11.11 of the new penal law states the writ. That on the 26th of February, A.D. 2014, in the City of Monrovia, Montserrado County, Republic of Liberia, the within named defendant being there and then with malice and wicked intent, purposely did threaten the life of the said private prosecutor using against him death threats, to harm and kill him, and that in the same vain the said defendant on the Costa Show on Radio Hott FM did make a statement challenging the private prosecutor to engage him in a public fight wherein he defendant threatened to fight the private prosecutor to death with the intent to terrorize the said private prosecutor and subject to fear and public ridicule. The alleged act of the defendant being unlawful, wicked and intentional is in violation of section 11.116 of the new act amending section 14.24 of the New Penal Law, 14.25 & 14.27 of the New Penal Law of Liberia there and then crimes herein the defendant did and commit. Hence, this Writ of Arrest. Contrary to the form force and effect to the statutory laws of Liberia in such cases made and proven against the peace and dignity for this republic and for so doing. This shall constitute your legal and sufficient authority and have you have there this writ of arrest. Costa, after spending several minutes on the prisoners bench, watched as Magistrate Nelson Chineh arrived from his chamber and accorded him a very brief preliminary trial. During the hearing, Cllr. Cyrennius Cephas, the lawyer representing the defendant, pleaded with the court to have the case pushed to another time because it was against the law to hold
Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

criminal cases in the afternoon. Prosecution lawyer Sam Solomon resisted that the application be denied because action by the court at that time could be null and void. Following the submission from the defense counsel, and its resistance, the court ruled and denied the application that defense application could not hold as it was the right for the defendant to be acquainted to his rights upon arrest which includes the right to counsel and bail. In an unusual turn, after the Magistrate had ruled to admit the defendant to bail and while the process of the bail was ongoing, the talk show host was immediately handcuffed and ordered to jail, raising eyebrows from onlookers and the defendant who sat stoned-faced as the court officers carried out the judges instructions. As he was pushed into the back of the pickup truck for jail, Costa took issue with the judges decision. The judge has refused to sign a bond, a very simple thing. I am supposed to pay LD3, 000, he is asking that we pay $US3000. Everybody else pays $3,000 Liberian dollars but he wants $US3, 000.00 because they want to put me in jail so that I can be harmed while Im in jail. Remember This Day: Costa Fears for Life Addressing onlookers, Costa expressed fear that his life was in danger and unveiled a plot he says was in the works to have him harmed during his incarceration. Remember this. Today is the 21st of March and when I come out of jail on Monday, I will not be as Im looking now. Thats the plan. I have been told this plan ever since and I am not frightened but I just want you to know, let everybody know. Jennie Bernard is sitting right up there, the wicked, corrupt sister of the president who manipulates our country the way it is. I will not stop saying, these people will meet their end and I will not stop saying it. I am not afraid of them, let the word go forth, I am not afraid of Fombah Sirleaf, I am not afraid of that corrupt woman called Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, I will keep saying it. They can put me in jail forever that is their business but I am not afraid. The talk show provocateur continued: The judge is a puppet and he takes instructions from them. This is the mess we live in. Is this why this woman brought the war? Is this why they killed 250,000 people? Slaughter people? The blood of innocent people on Ellens hands and her wicked sisters hand? Is this why? Let them put me in jail. We brought a bond and they refused to sign the bond, they refused to sign the bond. Terroristic threat? You make bond and you refuse to sign the bond? Pumped by onlookers, Costa was pulled down from the pickup and carried away by supporters outside the Temple of Justice as they led him on a mini-parade, first by the campus of the University of Liberia and in front of the seat of the presidency as PSU officers arrived on the scene, the Costa crowd turned their march toward town. Locked-up at 7: 02 Costas sidekick Woods Nyanton was immediately arrested by court officers and told to deliver Costa to the custody of the police. Nyanton explained that he was attacked by four court officers and two police officers within the Bailiwick of the court, who beat him up with batons, handcuffed him and dragged him to the prisoners bench in the court. Fifteen minutes later I was served a writ with the charge; Physical obstruction of justice etc....and later my commitment was prepared in ten minutes by the judge and while they were taking me to the prison, another call came from the office of the magistrate that it was after 6:00 and therefore I should be taken to police custody. That is how they took me to the central police station in police custody where my phone was seized and I remained there till Mr. Costa was brought back to the Court and then the magistrate sent for me, to my outmost surprise, I was released and Costa was taken to the Central Prison at exactly 7:02 pm contrary to the prison laws that after 6:00 pm the prison cannot accept prisoners. Nyanton says he was baffled by the sudden turnaround by the judge. We got at the city court at noon and due to time factor I rushed at the bank along with (Musa Sackor) and made deposit in the court's bond account and rushed back for our team of lawyers to complete the fillings, which they did, then out of a sudden the Judge who had previously acquainted Mr. Costa with his Miranda rights, one of which was the right to bail on the merits of the charges, Suasponte`, denied the bail and ordered Costa's incarceration to the central prison, which led angry supporters to forcibly take Mr. Costa from the Sheriff and paraded the streets toward Foreign Affairs, around the University campus and then the group took the capitol by-pass and while heading toward town, they were intercepted by well armed police officers who tussled with the crowd to bring Mr. Costa back under the jurisdiction of the court. Costas arrest and incarceration comes just 72 hours before the launch of his new platform, on the new Voice 102.7 FM and three weeks after he was forced off the air on Hott FM 107.9. Costa announced to his supporters this week that he had found a new platform to air his views on the new Voice FM 102.7. Costa was abruptly shut off the air while broadcasting his morning show on February 26, 2014. He was set to begin broadcasting on Voice 102.7 on Monday, March 24, 2014. The station has been conducting test broadcasts all this week. Following his forced exit from Hott FM in February, Costa explained that the show was ordered off the air by station manager Mr. Bernard Benson alias DJ Blue while responding to numerous threats he says he had received from Mr. Fombah Sirleaf, head of the National Security Agency, who is also one of the sons of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Mr. Benson called and instructed the technical staff to switch the transmitter off while we were on the air unbeknownst to us. For a few good few minutes we did not realize this until some listeners began to text and call to inform Woods (Nyanton) and me that we were off the air. Since hitting the airwaves in May 2012, the show was cut off the air in similar fashion, at least five times. Nyanton says he was deeply frustrated over the grave travesty of Justice in the country. It is about time that we stand up against those things that threaten the tenants of democracy. We are neither deterred nor perturbed...the Costa show will contrive".
SEE PAGE 3
Frontpage
Page 3
he Alternative National Congress (ANC) notes with grave concern the arrest of radio talk-show host Henry Costa on charges of making terroristic threats. We believe Mr. Costas arrest and detention is unconstitutional and, for the reasons stated below, he should be released promptly. First, on its face the central allegation against Mr. Costa does not provide probable cause for his arrest and detention, let alone for his trial and conviction. According to the writ authorizing Mr. Costas arrest, the key allegation against him is that he publicly challenged another individual to a duel. Even if this allegation is true, we are hard pressed to see how, without more, challenging another person to a fight or a duelas distasteful as it may berises to the level of a terroristic threat. Accordingly, unless the Government or the private prosecutor who brought the case against Mr. Costa makes public additional evidence justifying Mr. Costas arrest, we urge the courts to promptly release him from further detention. Second, we believe Mr. Costa was denied his constitutional right to bail. As we understand it, Mr. Costa put up $3,000 Liberian Dollars to satisfy his bail requirement, an amount the courts have previously found sufficient to satisfy the bail requirements of other persons charged with similar offenses as Mr. Costa. However, the judge before whom Mr. Costa appeared following his arrest denied him bail on the ground that he is required to post bond in the amount of $3,000 U.S. Dollars. Requiring Mr. Costa to post bond in U.S. Dollars when others have been allowed under similar circumstances to post bond in Liberian Dollars clearly violates Mr. Costa right to equal protection under the law as guaranteed by the Constitution. Moreover, the timing of Mr. Costas arreston a Friday afternoonappears to be deliberately
STATEMENT BY THE ANC ON THE ARREST OF HENRY COSTA
calculated to ensure that he spent at least the week-end in jail. Mr. Costa made the alleged terroristic threats several weeks ago and the Government or the private prosecutor therefore had sufficient time to bring charges against him. Yet they waited until a Friday afternoon weeks later to charge him and seek his arrest. Because of the impending weekend and the closure of the courts, the timing of Mr. Costas arrest necessarily meant that he had no time to immediately appeal the denial of his right to bail or to timely secure the required bail amount, thus ensuring that he spend the weekend in jail. Third, we simply find it difficult to comprehend how the arrest and detention of Mr. Costa serves to benefit anyone, including the Government. Mr. Costas past record of criticizing the Government is bound to create the perception that his arrest and detention has more to do with his position as a persistent and sharp critic of the Government then with any terroristic threat he is purported to have made. By his detention, the Government therefore runs the risk of being perceived yet again as intolerant of criticism and the free exercise of the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression by journalists and radio-talk show hosts, like Mr. Costa. This certainly does not serve the interest of the Government or of Liberia as a whole. Finally, it is not lost on us that that the private prosecutor, the alleged target of Mr. Costas threat, is the head of the National Security Agency (NSA). As much as the NSA Chief may try to make this a private matter between him and Mr. Costa, it is simply impossible to avoid the perception that he is acting in his official capacity and that his action can thus be attributed to the Government. Indeed, as has been pointed out, a plainclothes NSA officer was on hand for the arrest of Mr. Costa. In view of the foregoing, we at the ANC strongly urge the Government to promptly drop the charges against Mr. Costa and release him from detention forthwith.
FrontPage COMMENTARY EDITORIAL WOULD THE NSA CHIEFS OF DOE

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Commentary
A PLEA TO SUPREME COURT
GRAVE INJUSTICE
COSTA JAILING EXPOSES NAGGING LOWER COURTS ISSUES
AND TAYLOR COUNTENANCE THE COSTAS DIATRIBE?

Isaac W. Jackson, Jr., whiekonblo@yahoo.com
THE JAILING OF talk-radio personality Henry Costa last Friday has once again exposed frailties in post-war Liberias judicial system. MANY LIBERIANS have lost faith in the ability of judges to deliver and the competences of lawyers to represent them properly. NUMEROUS CASES remain on the docket unlikely to see the light of day. Those with money, connections and unlimited access to judges appear to be winning more favorable verdicts than those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder. LAST FRIDAYS decision by Judge Nelson Chineh to deny Mr. Costa bail after Mr. Costas lawyers had posted the legal amount stipulated in the law clearly suggests that something or someone was up to something sinister in a bid to ensure that Mr. Costa spend the weekend in jail. MR. COSTA, en route to the Monrovia Central Prison alarmed: The judge has refused to sign a bond, a very simple thing. I am supposed to pay LD3,000, he is asking that we pay $US3000. Everybody else pays $3,000 Liberian dollars but he wants $US3,000.00 because they want to put me in jail so that I can be harmed while Im in jail. MR. COSTA IS right to feel that the law is working against him. So many others before him have experienced similar fate further creating distrust in the judicial process. ARTICLE 21 of Liberia's constitution is clear that "excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor excessive punishment inflicted." The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has stated that "sanctions shall never be so severe as to inhibit the right to freedom of expression, including by others." THE MOST RECENT United States Human Rights report is also clear in raising the issue. The law provides for bail for all criminal offenses except first-degree rape, murder, armed robbery, and treason. Detainees have the right to prompt access to counsel, visits from family members, and if indigent, an attorney provided by the state in criminal and civil cases, but the government did not always observe such rights. THIS IS WHY we feel strongly that the decision by the court last Friday was not only unfair but further offers even more ammunition to critics of the judiciary and observers of the Liberia political arena, reasons to express dissatisfaction in the system. THE US REPORT was clear in suggesting that judges were susceptible to bribes to award damages in civil cases. Judges sometimes requested bribes to try cases, release detainees from prison, or find defendants not guilty in criminal cases. Defense attorneys and prosecutors sometimes suggested defendants pay bribes to secure favorable rulings from or to appease judges, prosecutors, jurors, and police officers. The Ministry of Justice continued its calls to reform the jury system. THE REPORT is clear that outdated libel laws and a corrupt judicial system constrained the work of some journalists and media outlets reporting on high-profile government or public figures. THE FACTS OF the matter remains that leaders of the judiciary branch of government must see reason to reexamine and explore how to eliminate such practices from the system. NEARLY EVERY Liberian has lost faith and would like to see a more improve and proactive judiciary branch of government. Sadly, that has not been the case in a lot of cases before the courts. This needs to change. WE ARE REMINDED of a recent declaration by Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor recently when he acknowledged improprieties and corruption in the judicial system but we are even more hopeful that the Chief Justice will follow up on his vow to dismiss, arrest and prosecute anyone caught in acts of corruption. Every reform program in the judiciary is being marred and over shadowed by
have read and heard several accounts of the sad situation that developed in the City Court at the Temple of Justice on Friday, March 21 involving Mr. Henry Costa and some of our citizens. As usual, some of our citizens decided to propagandize the entire scenario, thereby providing to the unsuspecting public twisted facts and outright lies. As an impartial observer of the development between Henry Costa and Fombah Sirleaf, it pains me that some elements in the public will endeavor to politicize a legal matter. And worst of it all, is the subtle attempts by others to justify the lawlessness that was exhibited by Mr. Costa and his followers. The facts as we know them to be true are that this case grew out of a complaint filed by Mr. Fombah Sirleaf to the Ministry of Justice, alleging amongst other things that during the Wednesday, February 26 edition of The Costa Show, on Hott FM 107.9, Mr. Henry Costa publicly threatened to physically attack him on Friday, February 28, 2014 at the Hilltop Lounge on Snapper Hill; and that Mr. Costa was heard on the radio inviting the listening public to witness him inflict bodily harm on he, Fombah Sirleaf. And so, based upon Mr. Sirleafs complaint, the Acting Minister of Justice Cllr. Wheatonia Dixon Barnes constituted an investigative committee headed by Director Ansumana S. Kromah of the Crimes Investigation Division and according to their findings, Henry Costa was in violation of Section 14.24 of the Penal Code of Liberia; after which the Ministry of Justice charged him with terroristic Threats and Criminal Coercion. Mr. Costa was then arrested and brought to court to answer to the charges being levied against him. His lawyers, including Cllr. Tiawon Gongloe, were not able to secure a perfect bond since it was fast approaching 6:00pm, the adjournment time for the city court. They then decided to engage Magistrate Nelson Chineh, the Judge of the City Court to release Mr. Costa on their recognizance. While Magistrate Chineh was making inquiries as to whether Costas lawyers would exercise the moral influence to get him to court when needed, those believe to be Costas hired thugs zoomed into the City Court and took Costa away. Mr. Costa taking advantage of the leniency of the police, paraded the streets handcuffed, while spewing insults at the President of Liberia, Madam Sirleaf. It beats my imagination that some Liberians will behave in such a horrible manner. When are we going to start respecting our laws? How can anybody intelligently argue that the government is trying to curtail free speech or get at Henry Costa on account of what is being simply explained? In the wake of these sad developments, l spoke with a ranking member of the Press Union of Liberia and all that he was concerned about was that the Government was trying to curtail free speech, because according to him, Mr. Henry Costa could not carry out his threats against Mr. Fombah Sirleaf in any way, form or manner. This is our problem! My friend at the PUL is not concerned about Costa using the airwaves in an unprofessional and
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undesirable manner; he is only concerned about Mr. Costas right to free speech. Imagine!! Is it not true that Article 5, of the Liberian Constitution talks about free speech with corresponding responsibilities? Are we supposed to use the airwaves to issue threats and invectives as the case with Costa suggests? A distinguished journalist and a media ethics writer, Professor Herman Wasserman, Deputy head of Rhodes Universitys School of Journalism said that without responsibility, the fight for media freedom does not mean much. The other assertion that Mr. Costa could not possible inflict bodily harm upon Fombah Sirleaf constitutes, for me, the poorest underestimation of the power of the broadcast media by a journalist. I believe, Mr. Costa if not stopped, had a real potential to incite a large number of people against Mr. Sirleaf who would have carried out such devilish scheme. This then leads me to the issue of the respect for the Rule of Law in our country. Even though it is clear that Mr. Henry Costa is averse to the basic principles and ethics of professional journalism, Mr. Sirleaf and by extension the government are being criticized for respecting the laws. I think Mr. Sirleaf demonstrated the highest quality of decency by complaining to the Ministry of Justice, which in turn showed their respect for the rule of law by spurning the temptation that comes with arbitrariness when they showed up at the City Court. Regrettably, it was the thugs of Mr. Costa that entreated us with the old, discarded, illconceived tactics of taking the law in ones own hands. Liberians must continuously condemn self-help move in the legal arena. We must insist on the well established and accepted position that the law is independent from and superior to all social classes - including the governing class. In earnest, the move by Mr. Sirleaf presents a hopeful future for Liberia. I have come to live for the day when all officials of government, despite their social status, will seek recourse to the law when aggrieved. I have heard the other propagandistic and pointless argument about Mr. Sirleaf being the Presidents son and Chief of the NSA bla bla blah. I wonder if any of those pseudo-intellectuals or activists consider what would have happened in Doe or Taylors Liberia for a so-called political commentator, who claims not to be a journalist to not only insult the NSA chief, but to publicly invite said NSA Chief to a fight? Pointedly speaking, how can anyone honestly compare todays Liberia to that of yesterday? Could the NSA Chief of Doe or Taylor file complaint upon being threatened by a private citizen? A negative answer to this question is mandatory. So, you will agree with me that we have indeed made a clean break with the past. Liberia is indeed getter better! I beg not to be misunderstood on this point, as I am not wishing for the unhappy past and l wish we could be law abiding, a little more civil and disciplined in our national discourse.
THE COSTA case warrants a further look from above. If we must reform the judiciary branch of government and eliminate some of the many negative perceptions and citations in international reports, the high court must name and shame judges and lawyers determined to keep the system the way it has been for years. Acknowledging the problem is not enough, fixing the problem will go a long way in easing the pains many are feeling and the frustration many are harboring about the justice system in Liberia today.
talk of corruption, whether real or imagined; therefore, anyone who thinks that it will be business as usual and doubts our renewed resolve should test it. WE COULD NOT AGREE more. This is why we are calling on the Judiciary branch to be more robust in dealing with the issues before the courts. Those without money must feel confident in standing before any judge and jury in the same manner as those who have money.
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FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS COMMENTS FROM UNDER SERIOUS ATTACK BY FPA ONLINE SIRLEAFTOCRATS TERRORIST PROVOCATEUR:
JAY WION WORKS AT NPRC Brother Costa, we are with you regardless. We admire your courage despite the brutal repression of this regime to s suppress free speech. Soon these same people will trade sleeping. place with you. They are desperate to stop the inevitable but time is not on their side. This is another chapter in our turbulent history toward true democracy, and we will get there. Your sacrifice is noted. Be strong. No jail can break the ideal of freedom. We learn from. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela not to give in. We shall overcome one day. Your brother in the struggle, Jerry Wehtee Wion, also fighting from this part of the world for our freedom. MATTHEW GEORGE WENTWORTH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Melba, Ellen is the worst president Liberia ever had. You absolutely right. Believe me Melba,when i say Ellen and her entourage days are numbers. We won't allow that woman her corrupt officials to mortgage Liberia. When it's take us 1000 of years, Ellen and her children will pay the price. Excuse me for using profanity. When that dump ass refuse to relinquish the presidency, Liberia will be in stage of lawlessness. It's is time to ANNUAL the Liberian government. BETTY WYREN WORKS AT RETIRED Woods Nyanton is right it is time to stand up to the government. Let's see 3,000,000 people in Liberia and your jails hold how many people? Right now Liberia must look like a joke to the rest of the world. How can the government be so scared of one man. Being able to disagree in a democracy is a fundamental right. All the government is doing is turning Henry Costa into another Martin Luther King, Jr. or Henry Mandela. Mr. Brewer, I hate to tell you this but you have been sucked in by your government also. Once you understand you really don't live in a democracy all these incidents will fall into place for you, an intelligent man. God bless Henry Costa who does care about the Liberian people. SYLVESTER MOSES TOP COMMENTER We hope that cool headedness prevails in this issue, the aspirations of ordinary citizens will not be served by distractions, tensions and crises. Liberia is now a democracy striving toward rule of law, so were a heartened that Mr. Costa was not grabbed from his bed by soldiers. Under the cover of darkness, and dragged to an undisclosed location. It is imperative he gets his bail soon because the alleged manner of denial was suspicious, and could dampen the transparency with which Director Sirleaf has acted in this case. Meanwhile, supporters of Costa should advise him to remain the serious and entertaining journalist he is, and not allow peace-loving people to consider him an agitator. The last thing the poor needs in Liberia is instability and chaos that will freeze the efforts of small business holders and Liberians engaged in other economic, social and developmental activities. Once again, we must remind our fellow Liberians that the Arab Spring is now an Arab Winter with deaths, refugee camps and suffering replacing the original singing. DEGAN BALLAYAN WORKS AT UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS After viewing Mr. Costa's arrest video and the numerous comments that followed, I am afraid to say the inevitable is creeping again at our doors in Liberia. What we have here is a tall glass of water filled up to the rim, sitting at the edge of a shaking table that has only three legs instead of four legs. Sooner or later, this tall glass of water is going to be bombed either intentionally or by accident, causing the glass of water to turn over or be wasted. The table might even crumble. The only logical way to avoid this unnecessary accident is to remove this tall glass of water from the shaking table to a safe place or keep it in our hands if we must. Liberia is no longer interested in any form of war or chaos.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OUR STORIES ON THE WORLDWIDE WEB
Send your letters and comments to: editor@frontpageafricaonline.com

YOU WRITE; WE PUBLISH; THEY READ!
This government has no plan to improve the living condition of the oppressed majority; instead its mission is to seal the mouths of vocal citizens who are thirsty and hungry for inclusive change. When public servants become public enemies, we expect nothing more, but witchhunting, patronage, and all forms of undemocratic practices. It is time for this government to take a relook at our ugly past as a nation and begin to right the wrongs. Liberia can become a better place if those in authority recognize that other citizens have equal rights like them. Liberia can become a great nation if public trustees begin to properly manage state resources. This country can still regain its position as an icon of hope for Africa if smiles are on the faces of the majority. I wonder how this government intends to reconcile this country when some citizens go to bed hungry. When Henry Costa is mal-treated in handcuffed en route to jail because of a complaint against him by the presidents son, then it is visible that Liberia is now a police state. I carefully read through the writ of arrest from the court charging Costa for Terroristic Threats, Menacing, & Criminal Coercion. This writ is a shameful attempt to bury free speech and press freedom. If we cannot support Costa now as Liberians, our history will be written by our oppressors. It was Rodney, now its Costa, and it could be you tomorrow! The governance system of this nation is built on democratic principles. We want to make this passionate appeal to marketers, teachers, students, pehn-pehn riders, street peddlers, taxi drivers, and all well meaning Liberians to stand up for Costas unconditional release. His life is under serious threat and he depends on our support to reinspire his hope for a new Liberia! Act now by calling on this government to free Henry Costa without further delay! We shall use non-violence means to defend Costas right. Liberia is still far from getting better when Costa is on his way to prison for freely expressing his thoughts and ideas under democratic framework led by Sirleaftocrats. Good governance is the only recipe for perpetual growth and development. Stop suppressing the voices of the voiceless. Free Costa now, or else.. Above all, Liberia is supreme! Martin K. N. Kollie, martinkerkula1989@yahoo.com
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HENRY COSTA LAST WORD EN ROUTE TO JAIL
The Editor, The anger of most Liberians is increasing very fast against a regime whose primary motive is to suppress the voices of truth and keep majority of its citizens in abject poverty. The constant intimidation, threat, and harassment of peaceful Liberians by big hands in government must stop now! We cannot continue to live in fear for exposing injustices and inequalities in society. In recent times, beneficiaries of this oligarchichal empire have been hiding behind our Judiciary system to threaten freedom of speech. It was Rodney few months ago, and now its Costa! This smart attempt by some family members and cronies of the president to silence critical voices is gaining ground and we must stand up against it with a collective courage and unbending determination. How can we profess to live in a democratic society when the basic rights of all citizens are yet too far from being protected by state authorities? Our liberty and freedom is under serious attack by Sirleaftocrats and we must do all we can to regain an unconditional independence? Costa has done nothing wrong to deserve such an inhumane treatment. It is sad to see him handcuffed today for saying what is right, while economic pillagers who have been indicted by the GAC and LACC for corruption are walking freely downtown with their heads up high. The old order of elitism, egocentrism, and bigotry continues to show its ugly face even after fifteen years of civil unrest. The peace we enjoy today can only be sustained through free speech and press freedom. After two successive democratic elections, most Liberians, especially poor citizens are anxious to reclaim a just and free society from a network of imperialists and opportunists. Regrettably, their will to engender a new beginning of equality and justice is being censored by their oppressors. However, we refuse to accept that Liberia is a family farm or plantation where only the Sirleafs, Bernards, etc. can order the arrest and flogging of the Siehs, Costas, Flomos, and Yakpawolos. This country belongs to all Liberians regardless of your background or status; as such, the laws that protect the rich must also protect the poor! The sustainability of our young democracy depends on an independent and credible judiciary system. Unfortunately, some of our judges and legal practitioners are still drinking from the greedy pockets of the rich to render unfair verdicts in their favor. We want to call for an end to this anti-democratic tendency that is gradually ravaging our motherland. A French Philosopher, Voltaire, once said "I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"? Why was Henry Costa prevented from airing his talk show on Hott FM? Is it because he was exposing the wrongdoings of your government to Liberians and International Partners? Or, because he refused to accept any offer to blow your trumpet as others are doing now? Today, his belief and conviction for a better Liberia is being muzzled by this regime without any regard for human dignity. So, the signing of the Table Mountain Declaration wish guarantees free expression was just another mere bluff evident by what journalists continue to experience? Free Henry Costa now, because he has not committed any crime. Is it a crime to challenge the status quo by speaking truth to power? Certainly, I dont think so. Therefore, let it be known today that Costa and others have a national responsibility to ensure an equal and just Liberia! This sacred obligation cannot be undermined by unfair arrest and imprisonment.
The Editor,
EJS GOVT. ACCELERATING ITS OWN DOWNFALL
Recent development (i.e., the disclosure of our government allegedly spending over 250 millions US$ on lobbying fees in the US which is actually a misnomer for the buying of faked awards, the fiasco with the President 17 years old high school Grandnephew being passed to the Liberian people as an oil experts and now the arrest of popular talk show host Henry Costa) are all signs of a government hastening its own demise. It seems like this government is doing everything possible to accelerate its own downfall. I have never seen or heard of a government whose stock-in-trade is doing everything possible to increase the severe winter of popular hostility from the people it leads. Anyway, as history has shown, any government that refuses to learn lessons from past failed governments always end in similar disgraceful fashion as the past governments whose antics it is repeating. Alton Kesselly, vanie231@gmail.com
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Rodney D. Sieh, Managing Editor, 0886-738-666; 077-936-138, editor@FrontPageAfricaonline.com; rodney.sieh@FrontPageAfricaonline.com Wade C. L. Williams, News Desk Chief, wade. williams@frontpageafricaonline.com; 0880664793 Francis F.B. Mulbah, Layout Editor; 0886639382 REPORTERS Sports Editor, Danesius Marteh, danesius.marteh@ frontpageafricaonline.com, 0886236528 Henry Karmo, henry.karmo@frontpageafricaonline. com Al-varney Rogers al.rogers@frontpageafricaonline. com, 0886-304498
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hile Acknowledging the existence of a U.S. Government funded report on governance labeled Sensitive But Unclassified(SBU) which was recently obtained by FrontPageAfrica and used as the backdrop for a number of publications this week, to highlight several governance lapses in the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf-led government, the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia says FrontPageAfrica
LIBERIA GOVERNANCE STAKEHOLDER SURVEY THE REPORT LIBERIAS STAKEHOLDERS DID NOT WANT YOU TO SEE
quoted selectively from the document and took many things out of context. The US Embassy statement reads: Recent articles in Front Page Africa (FPA) quote a U.S. Government funded report on governance. This was a report intended for internal use to assist us in project development. The U.S. Government conducts such assessments in countries where it works to better understand the
LIBERIA
impact of our programming and assistance. Unfortunately, the newspaper quoted selectively from the document, taking many things out of context. We urge all members of the media to remain objective in their reporting. Beginning today, we will begin publishing verbatim in both online and print, the entire 124-page LEAKED document and let our readers judge the report and its context for themselves.

LIBERIA
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Monrovia he United States Embassy in Monrovia has acknowledged the existence of a U.S. Government funded report on governance labeled Sensitive But Unclassified(SBU) which was recently obtained by FrontPageAfrica and used as the backdrop for a number of publications this week, to highlight several governance lapses in the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf-led government. The embassy in a statement issued in Monrovia Friday however said, the report was intended for internal use only and was taken out of context by the newspaper which the embassy accused of quoting selectively portions of the report. Said the embassy statement: This was a report intended for internal use to assist us in project development. The U.S. Government conducts such assessments in countries where it works to better understand the impact of our programming and assistance. Unfortunately, the newspaper quoted selectively from the document, taking many things out of context. We urge all members of the media to remain objective in their reporting. FrontPageAfrica publisher Rodney Sieh disagrees, saying the report as presented by the paper quoted appropriate sections to corroborate the context of the publications. Because the U.S. embassy is saying that we quoted the document out of context, we will begin publishing daily, on Monday, March 24, 2014, in our print edition, verbatim the entire 124-page document and let our readers judge the report for themselves. We are also looking at the possibility of posting the entire report online but it requires a lot of work because we only obtained a hard-copy version from our source, who said the draft was expected to be watered down before submission to the Liberian government. But for the benefit of our readers we will do all we can to post the report online, the publisher said. In its Thursday, March 20 edition, the newspaper headline: Looming Implosion: Liberia on the verge of war, If reported that the post-war nation risks sliding back into a civil crisis unless the administration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf races against time in dealing with many of the issues which drove the country to war. The publication cited a quote from the report which states: Many of the issues that drove the country into violence remain just below the surface, waiting to bubble up when the right combination of factors align A day earlier on Wednesday, the paper headlined: Liberia Family, Cronies Paradise, Unclassified Report Finds captured a portion of the report dealing with elites dominance in the government and how it was affecting the trigger-down effect of those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder. The report noted that economic conditions are poor with eight in ten Liberians surviving on less than a dollar per day with a lot of infrastructures in ruins. The institutions of governance have not yet matured enough to allocate resources fairly and mitigate differences. A culture of impunity that already existed before two civil wars, according to the report, is in some ways, worsened by the conflict, which destroyed the social and moral fabric of certain aspects of society and fundamentally-altered notions of right and wrong. Many of the issues that drove the country into violence remain just below the surface waiting to bubble up when the right combinations of factors align. The report attributes much of the problems to urban elites privileged by colonial circumstances who continue to control nearly all aspects of political and economic decision-making, excluding the mostly-uneducated, rural indigenous population from economic and political power. But the most startling revelation is a word of caution in the report that if nothing is done to breach the divide between the haves and have-nots, it could increase the potential of the country sliding back into war. If the exclusion is not addressed, the potential for renewed conflict remains high, jeopardizing the progress that has been made because so many powerful interests benefit from the current situation-mainly powerful urban elitesthere is often little incentives for change. The governance states that political patronage and family ties is still strong in Liberia with elites having stronger connection in protecting their personal and business affairs and with such ties extending in the employment sector. Only a small fraction of Liberias relatively small population of 3.7 million operates in the formal political, governance, and economic sphere. As a result, kinship ties among those elites are strong, and everyone knows one another and their personal and business affairs. There is a cultural trend toward hiring people that you know well and not creating a stir when a family member, friend, colleague, or even an acquaintance does something that is clearly wrong or illegal. Likewise, many interviewees told the LGSS Team that the trend in Liberia is to live and let live. Interviewees during the survey told the LGSS team that those are some of the vices that led to the armed conflict the shattered Liberia. Stated the report Some people we interviewed suggested that both of these are coping strategies to deal with scarcity and
INTENDED FOR INTERNAL USE US TAKES ISSUE WITH FRONTPAGEAFRICA REPORT
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DIPLOMATIC NEWS
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This was a report intended for internal use to assist us in project development. The U.S. Government conducts such assessments in countries where it works to better understand the impact of our programming and assistance. Unfortunately, the newspaper quoted selectively from the document, taking many things out of context. We urge all members of the media to remain objective in their reporting US Embassy Statement.
protracted armed conflict. In other words, if you have access to a revenue or resources stream, then you must take care of your own and spread that wealth around. It is better, at such times, to look the other way than to take action if doing so could create a stir and lead to more violence. Together, these factors are a leading cause of the culture of impunity described above. The report cited the inclusion of too many family members in the Sirleaf government as an example of family dominance in the government. Relative to the focus of the LGSS, there is no better example of this than the President herself. She has appointed three of her four sons to high-level government positions. Robert Sirleaf is head of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL). Fomba Sirleaf is head of the National Security Agency. Charles Sirleaf is a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. Many interviewees suggested that they receive personal financial benefit from their positions beyond their official salaries. In August 2012, the President suspended Charles and 45 others for not declaring their assets consistent with her Executive Order. Some Liberia interviewees pointed out the nuance of suspended versus sacked within Liberias culture of political patronage

and family ties: He essentially got a slap on the wrist and soon returned to his job. The President took care of her own and did not create a sir, the report stated. Robert Sirleaf has since resigned as head of NOCAL but has once again resurfaced and was recently appointed Special Envoy to Kuwait to negotiate petroleum deals on behalf of the Liberian government. Robert is also still said to be running the affairs of NOCAL behind the scene, making major decisions through proxies. Added the report: In some instances, corruption is still every man for himself (or every woman for herself) endeavor, in which individual members of the elite families benefit from corrupt practices without controlling multiple industries and sectors or rolling up the proceeds of corrupt activities in a systematic way. For example, in the land sector, a member of the elite may gain access to insider information and then forge a deed document proving that he or she owns land adjoining a proposed development project. He or she benefits from this oneoff transaction and passes the proceeds onto his or her family.
Embassy of the United States of America, Monrovia 502 Benson Street, Monrovia Phone: 077-207-296
For Immediate Release Press Statement

(Monrovia, March 21, 2014)Recent articles in Front Page Africa (FPA) quote a U.S. Government funded report on governance. This was a report intended for internal use to assist us in project development. The U.S. Government conducts such assessments in countries where it works to better understand the impact of our programming and assistance. Unfortunately, the newspaper quoted selectively from the document, taking many things out of context. We urge all members of the media to remain objective in their reporting.
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COUNTY NEWS
F LEGISLATIVE BEAT PRO-TEMP FINDLEY SUPPORTS HIKE IN ELECTION FEES FOR CANDIDATES
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I FARE IS FOUL IN BONG

Passengers Stranded in Gbarnga over Fare Rise
Henry Karmo (0886522495) henrykarmo47@gmail.com
Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com
Gbarnga, Bong County assengers going Monrovia from Gbarnga are stranded in different loading parks, following a sharp increase in transportation fares. The over 10 percent increase in transport fares forced some of the passengers going to Monrovia to return to their homes as they could not afford the new fares. Investigation conducted by FrontPageAfrica revealed that those mostly affected were passengers in Gbarnga and other districts in the county. It was gathered that before Decoration Day, motorists paid between LD 500 and LD 550 but the fare was increased to LD 650 excluding charges on luggage no matter how light the luggage is. A passenger that gave her name as Sarah lamented that she could not make her journey from Gbarnga to Monrovia on Friday as a result of the hike on transport fare. She said: I had to go back to my village because of the high increase of transport fare. Can you imagine that before the holiday, we used to pay LD 500 from Gbarnga to Monrovia in Taxis, but when I got to thepacking; they were charging LD 650 to Monrovia. Some of us could not afford that amount, you know we have spent all we had for the holiday, we pleaded with them but nobody was ready to listen, I will have to go back to my village so that I can look for money. The stranded passenger said her surprise was that there was no increase in the price of petrol and that the Police had stopped harassing drivers on the road. I think it just wickedness. Government did not increase gasoline price, Police are not disturbing drivers on the road, why should people be so wicked, especially in Gbarnga? I will appeal to government to look into this next time because people are suffering. If there is no increase in fuel, government should make sure that transporters did not increase fares, she said.
n the wake of criticisms from the Secretary General of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) against attempts by senators to hike registration fees for the pending senatorial midterm elections, Pro-Temp Gbezhongar Findley has openly supported the senate action. In an interview with frontPageAfrica Mr. Nathaniel McGill described as evil thinking attempts by lawmakers to hike registration fees for candidates and also accused them of cleverly attempting to prevent others patriotic citizens from participating in election process. McGill is contemplating on contesting as a candidate in Gbarpolu County during this year special senatorial election. At his monthly regular press briefing Senate Pro-temp Findley described the amended election law as a peoples driven venture. Findley said: Is there any county in this country that has less than fifty thousand people? If you want to be president or senator of Liberia you should be able to have fifty thousand or more persons who will be willing to contribute a dollar to your campaign. The issue is not about money from your pocket or stopping people from participating in election but people who believe in you and I think that is the logy that is driving this idea. Findley who won election in 2005 after registering with seven hundred and fifty United States dollars (US$ 750.00) as registration fees said, the amendment of the law is in no way, manner or form intended to prevent people from participating in elections but is also intended to minimize the influx of political parties during election period. No problem with NOCAL high school kid Responding to a question about
the latest news of the President Grand Nephew presentation on the countrys oil sector at a forum which he was a part of he said; I have no problem with anybody in terms of age even a six year old child has the right to speak. You may have an opinion on this matter it may be right or wrong I cant judge it but we are government officials and I dont agree with people thinking because I am 50 I cant have a 20 year old person advise me on issues. We have smart young people right here in this country who can advise us. With the issue of the boy mentioned he was not listed as an expert so that is a whole different ball game, Findley added. Deputy Speaker a Coward Findley during his press conference also referred to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and a Representative of Grand Bassa County as a coward in response to a claimed made by Barchue that Grand Bassa County Caucus is being
singlehandedly run by a senator who sees himself as law and gospel and promised to formally complaint to President Sirleaf. He got to be a coward because if he mentioned that a senator is singlehandedly running the activities of the County caucus and could not call the name of that senator than he has to be a coward. If I was to make a statement about what Mr. X is doing I will say by calling that person name. I will not be a coward to say this person or that person I will be direct and I think you need to referred that question back to the deputy speaker to give you the specific name of that person and avoid guessing, he added. Findley who is contesting re-election in Grand Bassa County is expected to have a though race with the participation of some y, including; Thomas Woewiyu former ProTemp of the Liberian senate, Daniel Chea former Defense Minister and Representative Byron Brown of the Liberty Party amongst others.
The pro-temp re-election bid is also challenged by issues of Citizens concerns over the operation of the Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO) already facing serious retrogression over the ongoing land saga with the local communities as several hectares newly planted palm plantation were recently attacked with fire. Although the cause of the fire has not yet been established, the company is pointing accusing fingers at individuals who have expressed dissatisfaction over the presence of the palm company in the county and its potential expansion project. At Thursday press briefing ProTemp said, all is now being resolved between the company and Citizens of the county to allow the company to operate effectively. He also boasted that he is confidence of re-election because according to him he has accomplished hundred percent of his promise to the people of Grand Bassa County.
LIBERIA GRANTS UNMIL REQUEST TO DISPOSE TEARGAS
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NEWS EXTRA
LIGHTING MARKET
I say to you I have seen lots of solar lights in many places in the country but I havent seen any as bright as this one and so, theres got to be some new technology. President Sirleaf
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NEWS EXTRA
Sirleaf Dedicates Chinese Donated Solar Energy to Market
he Government of Liberia (GOL) has granted the request of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to carry out its disposal exercise of expired tear gas munitions (weapons) that were used by the UNMILs riot police unit. According to a MICAT release, the disposal exercise commenced on March 17, and will continue till April 17, 2014 in collaboration with the 23rd Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). The release indicated that AFL has given the go ahead for UNMIL to use its training site, East of Edward Binyan Kesseley Military Barrack to properly destroyed ammunition and riot control agents. Meanwhile, the Government of Liberia is calling on residence of those areas not to panic and therefore, assures the general public that the exercise will be done successfully without environmental threats or problems.
resident Ellen JohnsonSirleaf has dedicated over eighteen solar energy street lights and a borehole well to the Jorkpen-Town Market in Sinkor. The dedication by the president was a donation by the Peoples Republic of China through the Sirleaf Market Women Fund [SMWF]. Chinese Ambassador to Liberia Zhang Yue said, under the framework of China-Africa people to people Friendship Action the Chinese Embassy has initiated a pilot project in Liberia. Ambassador Yue said, the project is to empower the women of Jorkpen-Town Market and the Rally Time School with the coordination of the Sirleaf Market Women Fund. We see the wonderful New Energy Industry Company get eighteen sets of solar energy street lamps installed and one borehole well dug by Zhongmei Engineering Group for the Jorkpen Town Market, Yue said. LC Opportunity Nature Resources Company donates classroom and office facilities for Rally Time
Market. He thanked President Sirleaf for her support to the project and her vision in empowering Liberian market women and the youth. Ambassador Yue said China will continue to provide assistance to implement feasible grassroots programs with the coordination of local NGOs such as Sirleaf Market Women Fund.
President Sirleaf said the donation of the lights and water for the market women is a welcoming contribution by the Chinese. Mr. Ambassador this is a welcome contribution, the fact that our market women who work so hard all day, they are in the market with their children that at least they can come in the evening before they go home they can have lights to be
able to package their things before going home, President Sirleaf said. Sirleaf continued: And more importantly the water, this is something they [market women] have been talking about for a long time to make sure that they have clean water for their kids to be able to drink, for them to be able to wash out the market place for them to have proper sanitation thank you [Ambassador Zhang Yue] for this. I say to you I have seen lots of solar lights in many places in the country but I havent seen any as bright as this one and so, there got to be some new technology. President Sirleaf added that the cooperation between China and Liberia continues to get stronger. The Executive Director of SMWF Margretta Sawo Smith-General thanked the Chinese government for their continuous support to the market women of Liberia. Couple of months ago this project began with the making of one hundred and seventeen desks, chairs for the teachers and blackboards this was at Rally Time Market now here at Jorkpen Town Market as you see surrounding the market place we have solar energy lights and a hand pump, Smith General said. Smith General said, the partnership between the Fund and the Chinese is more than donations adding that the embassy has provided opportunities for the marketers to go china for advanced training.
GoL Tracks Agenda for Transformation Deliverables One Year Later
SOME PROGRESS, SOME CHALLENGES
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GOVERNMENT NEWS
NEWS EXTRA SIRLEAF CONCEDES CORRUPT JUSTICE SYSTEM, EASY IMPRISONMENT

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For $25 somebody Gets put into Jail
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Monroviahe government of Liberia on Saturday held the much anticipated Agenda for Transformation first year review in the port city of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County tracking its progress and marking out challenges. Making a PowerPoint presentation on the progress of he AFT, Finance Minister Amara Konneh said despite grappling with huge infrastructure deficit, and serious institutional challenges, occasioned by the long drawn civil war coupled by decades of bad governance, the country can today boast of peace and stability, something that has been sustained for the past ten years. Liberia has made significant progress within the last ten years, in transitioning from post-war emergency reconstruction and economic recovery to transformational development, said Minister Konneh. With peace and stability assured and maintained; major reforms initiated in justice, rule of law and governance; some infrastructure and basic services restored, and the economic foundations for sustainable growth and development laid, all within the framework of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), the nation is now prepared to enter the next level of implementing its long-term development priorities. Peace, Justice and Rule of Law Pillar Defense Minister Brownie J. Samukai giving the progress report on the peace, justice and the rule of law pillar said the Pillar is critical to national stability amid planned and ongoing drawdown by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). He said interventions in the pillar during the year under review focused on addressing operational inefficiencies of Liberian security agencies, caused largely by a lack of human capacity, insufficient coordination across the sector, and the centralization of justice and security provision in and around Monrovia. He said donors remained instrumental in bolstering Governments efforts to transition the Liberia National Police, LNP, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalisation, (BIN) and other security agencies to fill critical gaps created by the UNMIL drawdown. Major achievements in the pillar include the construction and operationalization of the first of five regional hubs, the Gbarnga Hub; training and deployment of additional security personnel (including 439 LNP officers, 972 PSU officers and 234 BIN officers); development of the National Peace building and Reconciliation Roadmap; retirement of eligible magistrates, and the training and deployment of 150-300 Professional Magistrates, said Minister Samukia. Economic Transformation Pillar The government maintains that the Economic Transformation pillar remains what it calls the lynchpin for the countrys drive toward transformation and inclusive growth. It said its interventions in economic transformation have focused on formulating policies and programs that create the enabling environment for private sector participation and expansion in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. In this regard, Government is providing an appropriate legal and regulatory framework, and judicious appropriating tax and royalty revenues from concessions to finance electric power and transport infrastructure, education and training, and other inputs needed to bolster the private sector. Government has also taken a bold initiative to engage major stakeholders to identify and remove bottlenecks in the economy, states the GoL. The government maintains that within the framework of Economic Transformation and with particular emphasis on jumpstarting the PSIP, GoL through the Liberia Business Registry, has driven the process of enterprise formalization by streamlining the business registration process and reducing the number of days taken to register a business. As a result of the automation of the business registration processes in Liberia, a total of 7,459 businesses were registered in the period, 94% of them Liberian-owned. Over the period, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), in collaboration with the International Standards Organization (ISO), successfully tested the NSLs instrument calibrations to ensure that the degree of accuracy of its precision instruments, gauges and scientific apparatus are consistent with international standards, states the GoL. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were drafted for four commodities on the market. The National Investment Commission (NIC) is finalizing the Private Sector Development Strategy. A gap analysis was completed along with relevant stakeholders and a review of the entire value chain has been completed. The preparation of the report for the finalization of the strategy is currently ongoing. The government stated that it is also developing a Local Content Policy which will facilitate the creation of new linkages, deepen and expand existing programs between foreign companies and SMEs. It stated that research into local procurement, local content, business linkage has been conducted and a technical working group has been established. Toward this end, the working group established to develop the local content policy identified four priority sectors for the Local Content Policy: Agriculture, Mining, Oil & Gas, and Infrastructure, stated the GoL. The Agenda for Transformation (AfT), is a five-year development plan (2012-2017) that succeeded the governments Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) (2008-2011). It provides a medium-term framework for implementing the countrys long term development aspirations of moving Liberia toward a middle income country status as outlined in the National Vision, Liberia RISING 2030. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Chair of the Steering Committee of the Liberia Development Alliance impressed with the presentation by many of the sectors said:I believe we all go away a little bit more informed, I believe a little bit more enthused; I hope that we bring to our task greater sense of urgency that the many delays; we didnt get into many of the reasons of why so many programs were delayed, unduly constraining the achievements of our goals for employment, development, social services. But we will among ourselves begin to focus on those so that we can sort of restructure some of those issues moving away from achievements to talk about future goals; to talk about constraints; to talk about what we need to do achieve.
iberias judiciary system has long face condemnations from local and international organizations over corruption and lack of fairness in the dispensing of justice raising fears amongst the Liberian populace that they cannot seek fair justice through the existing
system. People are put to jail without going through the due process of the law resulting to overcrowded prison conditions. In some instances, judges ignore the law and decide the fate of people at will with money determining how people get justice, several reports have pointed out. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at the weekend during the one year review of the governments Agenda for Transformation admitted that pretrial detention is a major problem and it is too easy for people to get put to jail in Liberia. Stop system of paying magistrates for Imprisonment President Sirleaf said although the judicial reform process is ongoing more needs to be done to stop the wave of pretrial detention. Said Sirleaf The justice and the rule of law, I know that the judicial reform as Associate Justice Jaineh had said is ongoing but pretrial detention is still a major, major problem, our prisons are full of people, it is too easy to be put in jail in this country, too easy , said President Sirleaf. According to the President the Ministry of Justice working along with the supreme work should work to stop a system where people can easily pay a magistrate with as little as $25 to get people put to jail. That means the Justice Ministry working with the court system particularly through the Supreme Court need to find a way to stop a system where somebody can just go to a magistrate and pay $25 and somebody gets put into jail, and sometimes you dont even know they are there, the President stated. Work beyond resource constraints She challenged the Justice and Rule of Law pillar of the AFT to work beyond resource constraints in getting the countrys judiciary system on the right path. So there are some of these things that I ask the pillars to get practical when they sit down to discuss these issues, resource is a constraint, no doubt but we still have to go beyond the resource constraint and look at some of systems and the processes and the procedures and see how we can change some of them to be able to achieve the objectives, said President Sirleaf. In a recent report released, the United States of America State department Human Rights Report was clear in suggesting that judges in Liberia were susceptible to bribes to award damages in civil cases. Judges sometimes requested bribes to try cases, release detainees from prison, or find defendants not guilty in criminal cases. Defense attorneys and prosecutors sometimes suggested defendants pay bribes to secure favorable rulings from or to appease judges, prosecutors, jurors, and police officers. The Ministry of Justice continued its calls to reform the jury system, stated the US Human Rights report. Sirleaf statement draws correlation with the Fridays detention of radio talk show host Henry Costa who was sent to jail after a bond of Liberian $3,000 was rejected by judge Nelson Chineh. According to Costa, the Judge requested US$3,000 for the bond when L$3,000 had been paid in the past by others. Costa en route to the Monrovia Central Prison alarmed: The judge has refused to sign a bond, a very simple thing. I am supposed to pay LD3, 000, he is asking that we pay $US3000. Everybody else pays $3,000 Liberian dollars but he wants $US3, 000.00 because they want to put me in jail so that I can be harmed while Im in jail. The radio talk show host is being charged with TERRORISTIC THREATS, MENACING & CRIMINAL COERCION, based upon the oath and complaint of the Republic of Liberia by and thru Fomba Sirleaf, private prosecutor. The rejection of Costas L$3,000 bond and alleged request for US$3,000 instead has been described as excessive and violation of Article 21 of the Liberian constitution and provision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights. Article 21 of Liberia's constitution states that "excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor excessive punishment inflicted." The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has stated that "sanctions shall never be so severe as to inhibit the right to freedom of expression, including by others."
Page 14 | Frontpage GUNMEN KILL THREE IN 'TERRORIST' ATTACK ON KENYAN CHURCH
IN BRIEF
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) wo gunmen stormed a packed church near the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa on Sunday and opened fire on worshippers, killing three people and wounding others, in what police called a terrorist attack. One witness said the gunmen shouted out in a foreign language before shooting indiscriminately at the congregation. Blood-spattered Bibles and overturned plastic chairs lay strewn across the church's floor after the attack. "Both carried big guns and began shooting all over the place. I fell to the ground and could hear screams," said Lilian Omondi, who was leading a prayer recital at the time. Kenya's parliament has called for better coordination between the security and intelligence agencies after 67 people were killed in an attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi in September.
TWO MORE COLOSSAL PHARAOH STATUES UNVEILED IN EGYPT
CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) amples from victims of a viral hemorrhagic fever that has killed more than 50 people in Guinea have tested positive for the Ebola virus, government officials said Sunday, marking the first time an outbreak among humans has been detected in this West African nation. Government spokesman Damantang Albert Camara said the virus was found in tests conducted at a laboratory in Lyon, France. A Health Ministry statement on Saturday said 80 cases including 59 deaths had been reported, most of them in three southern prefectures near neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia. A team including the health minister had been dispatched to the region, Camara said, and Doctors Without Borders had set up an isolation unit in Gueckedou to try to stop the disease from spreading. "In Guinea, a country with a weak medical infrastructure, an outbreak like this can be devastating," Dr. Mohamed Ag Ayoya, country representative for UNICEF, said in a statement Sunday noting that three children had died in the outbreak. Previous Ebola outbreaks have been reported in Congo and Uganda, most recently in 2012. The only prior case of a human contracting the virus in West Africa came in 1994, when a scientist fell ill while responding to Ebola cases among chimpanzees in a national park in Ivory Coast, said Dr. Esther Sterk, tropical disease adviser for Doctors Without Borders. The scientist eventually recovered. Sterk, who is coordinating the Doctors Without
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EBOLA NEXT DOOR

Borders response from Geneva, said the organization had confirmed 49 cases including 29 deaths. Samples from six victims had been linked to Ebola, she said, though it was "quite likely" the others also contracted the virus. "We see that a lot of people that died, they were all linked, meaning they have been in contact with each other," she said. "That is very typical for Ebola outbreaks. We see that there is a transmission chain in
OUTBREAK HITS NEIGHBORING GUINEA, BLAMED FOR MORE THAN 50 DEATHS

families." Officials have not been able to determine how Ebola was introduced, though that can result from contact with an infected animal like a bat or a monkey. Among humans the disease is transmitted through bodily fluids. Officials have also been unable to determine the subtype of Ebola, which would give them a better idea of the fatality rate, Sterk said. The fatality rate for Ebola
can range from 25 to 90 percent. Sterk said there were concerns the disease could spread to neighboring West African countries Sierra Leone and Liberia. Saturday's Health Ministry statement said one of the positive cases had traveled to Liberia. "There's definitely a risk but it all depends on the movement of the people," Sterk said.
Luxor (Egypt) (AFP) wo colossal statues of pharaoh Amenhotep III were unveiled by archaeologists on Sunday in Egypt's famed temple city of Luxor, adding to an existing pair of world-renowned tourist attractions. The two monoliths in red quartzite were raised at what European and Egyptian archaeologists said were their original sites in the funerary temple of the king, on the west bank of the Nile. The temple is already famous for its existing 3,400-year-old Memnon colossi -- twin statues of Amenhotep III whose reign archaeologists say marked the political and cultural zenith of ancient Egyptian civilisation. "The world until now knew two Memnon colossi, but from today it will know four colossi of Amenhotep III," said archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian, who heads the project to conserve the Amenhotep III temple. The existing two statues, both showing the pharaoh seated, are known across the globe. The two restored additions have weathered severe damage for centuries, Sourouzian said.
Johannesburg (AFP) - South frica's ANC looks set to win a twothirds majority in May elections, according to an opinion poll published Sunday that appears to fly in the face of public perceptions about its performance. The party that has ruled South Africa since the first postapartheid elections in 1994 has been hit by corruption scandals and complaints that it has not done enough to address deep poverty and inequality in the country. The poll by the Ipsos agency for the Sunday Times newspaper said the African National Congress would win 66.1 percent of votes in the May 7 election, up slightly from 65.9 percent in 2009. The survey was carried out before the publication last week of a scathing ombudsman report which ruled that multi-milliondollar state-funded renovations to President Jacob Zuma's private home were unlawful. The main opposition Democratic Alliance, which has launched a
SOUTH AFRICA'S ANC SET TO WIN TWO-THIRDS

UKRAINE FEARS RUSSIA 'READY TO ATTACK'
U
criminal corruption case against Zuma over the $23-million upgrades, would win 22.9 percent, the poll found. That would represent an increase over the 16.6 garnered in 2009 but is well below the 30 percent it is hoping for. The newly founded Economic Freedom Fighters, led by the former head of the ANC's youth league Julius Malema, would emerge as the third party in parliament with 3.7 percent, Ipsos said. The poll, which was conducted among 2,222 people from February 20 to March 11, contradicts analyst estimates that the ANC's majority would be cut to between 55 and 60 percent.
Kiev (AFP) kraine's Western-backed leaders voiced fears on Sunday of an imminent Russian invasion of the eastern industrial heartland following the fall of their last airbase in Crimea to defiant Kremlin troops. Saturday's takeover involving armoured personnel carriers and stun grenades provided the most spectacular show of force since the Kremlin sent troops into the heavily Russified peninsula three weeks ago before sealing its annexation Friday. Alarm about a push outside Crimea by Moscow's overwhelming forces -- now conducting drills at Ukraine's eastern gate -- were fanned further Sunday by a call by its self-declared premier for Russians across the ex-Soviet country to rise up against Kiev's rule. The interim leaders in Kiev fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin -- flushed with expansionist fervour -- is developing a sense of impunity after being hit by only limited EU and US sanctions for taking the Black Sea cape. "The aim of Putin is not Crimea but all of Ukraine... His troops massed at the border are ready to attack at any moment," Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council chief Andriy Parubiy told a mass unity rally in Kiev. Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya reaffirmed that message in an interview broadcast on Sunday on a top US political talk show.
THE LFA SADDLE

Incumbents Maintain Leadership of Liberia Football Association, Painful Losses for BYCs Konneh, Representative Adolph Lawrence
BILITY, SHANNON BACK IN
Sports
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Page 15
SPORT BRIEF
A NUMBER TO FORGET FOR WENGER AND ARSENAL
usa Bility maintains his leadership at the helm of the Liberia Football Association which held its Congress in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County last Saturday. Bility ran unopposed but the real battle was for the Vice Presidency which saw Musa Shannon eked out a hard-fought victory against BYC President Sekou Konneh. The Final Winners Are: Musa Bility, President, Musa Shannon Vice President for Administration, Cassel Kuoh, VPO, Executive committee members, Rochelle Woodson, Ciatta bishop, D. Sheba Brown, Ansu Dulleh, Wallace Weiah, Samuel Karn, Matthew Smith, Dee Maxwell Kemeyah, Uriah Glaybo and Bishop J. Allan Klayee, The election was witnessed by a high-powered delegation of world governing football body FIFA and the Confederation of African Football CAF.
ankrolled by businessman Cassell Kuoh, Fassell FC has won the Liberia Football Association (LFA) second division play-off and the FA Cup. Fassells 5-2 humiliating defeat of Nimba United, at Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS) on March 17, was a testament of a club hungry for success. Although both teams are through to the first division, they needed a play-off final to decide the champions and runners-up for the 2013/2014 season. But Fassell overcame a tough test. Captain Vitalis Sie atoned for a 36th minute missed penalty when he headed home a corner kick in the 45th minute. Fassell goalkeeper Jeremiah Sickey was replaced by Emil Chatteh after he headed the goal post in a vital save in a goalmouth melee. Sie made it two in the 55thminute with a placement and Amos Kollie secured the double in the 63rd minute. United created a scare with two consolation goals, one from the penalty by Franklin Mulbah in the 56th minute and the other by substitute Sunnyboy Dolo in the 68th minute. But they couldnt contain a club that have steamrolled their opponents in their title march. And it was not too long when Varney Dukuly increased Fassells lead in the 70thminute before Sam Kollie, who replaced James Walatee, sealed the win 10 minutes from time. Nimba United woes were compounded when substitutes
DOUBLE CHAMPIONS
A. Macaulay Sombai, sombai121@gmail.com
FASSELL WIN SECOND DIVISION PLAY-OFF AND LFA CUP
LONDON -o often, these kind of landmark occasions end up as flat affairs, but few could have expected that Arsenal would get absolutely flattened 6-0. As regards a collapse in another big name, not least that it came on the day of such a milestone for their manager, that is another issue altogether. The nature of this defeat was all too familiar; it was just taken further than ever before. For reasons even beyond his 1000th game as Gunners boss, Arsene Wenger had talked this up beforehand as the biggest game of his teams season so far. Oh, it ended up big, all right: Arsenal suffered their heaviest ever defeat at Chelsea and Jose Mourinho enjoyed his biggest win as manager at Stamford Bridge. It said more than all the tributes paid to him this week that Wenger did not make a single comment to the international media afterward, refusing to come out for his press conference. The Arsenal manager did speak to the BBC and admitted that, on what was supposed to be one of finest celebrations of his career, it was instead one of the worst days, adding, "This defeat is my fault, I take full responsibility for it.
KAKA: AC MILAN PLAYERS UNITED IN SUPPORT OF SEEDORF
A
George Allison and Paul Reeves were giving their marching orders for unsporting behavior and violent conduct. Fassell clinched the FA Cup by beating first division side NPA Anchors 1-0 at the ATS on March 14. They have now joined Barrack Young Controllers (BYC), who won the league and FA Cup last season, in winning the double. Elsewhere, defending first division champions BYC made it three wins in a row with a labored 1-0 victory over Ganta Black Stars at the ATS on March 18. Substitute George Dauda got the match winner in the 73rd minute with a powerful shot after he received a splendid pass from a teammate Isaac Pupo. Goalie Nathaniel Sherman of BYC and Emmanuel Cail of Ganta were outstanding for their sides. Invincible Eleven were forced to a 1-1 draw in the days last fight at the ATS. Elsewhere sensational LPRC Oilers settled to a 1-1 draw with Keitrace FC at the Blue Field on Lynch Street and LISCR FC defeated Red Lion 2-1.
C Milan star Kaka insists the club's players remain united in their support of under-fire coach Clarence Seedorf. The Dutchman has lost seven of his 12 games in charge since replacing Massimiliano Allegri at the helm in January, and it was reported during the week that the former Rossoneri midfielder had already lost the dressing room. However, Kaka says everyone at San Siro is rowing at the same direction. "I personally am happy but, just like my teammates, I cannot be satisfied with the results," the attacking midfielder told Mediaset. "The dressing room is united. We are trying to get out of this situation and it's up to us because we are we the ones that have to play.
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Is LFA President Musa Bility qualified to stand in the ensuing elections on March 22?
THE LFA SADDLE
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President Sirleaf Has Nothing But Praise After Splendid MOE Presentation
FrontPage Spot News EDUCATION GONE HIGH-TECH

T
Monrovia-
he minister of Education Etmonia David Tarpeh was the talk of the town on Saturday when the government held its first year review of progress made on the Agenda for Transformation- Liberia Rising roadmap. The presentation by the ministrys team left President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf with nothing but praise for the minister and her team. Education gone high-tech; Im sure after this very, very good presentation, we can say, current partner contribution 3 point something million; which means theres a future, said a happy Sirleaf. Well clearly, a lot of efforts have been made by the education ministry and we want to thank the minister and all of her colleagues, as well as partners that have worked with the team to produce this. Our challenge is large in this respect but if you as the saying goes, if you think education is expensive, try ignorance. This is clearly a shift in the mood a year ago when the President described the education sector a mess after another presentation by the ministry, which led to the firing of some deputies and a strategic reform at the ministry. Some hope that with the president seemingly satisfied with the reform-taking place at the ministry, that there should be a total overhaul of a broken education system.

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Monday, March 24, 2014

STATEMENT BY THE ANC ON THE ARREST OF HENRY COSTA

FrontPage COMMENTARY EDITORIAL WOULD THE NSA CHIEFS OF DOE

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HENRY COSTA LAST WORD EN ROUTE TO JAIL

EJS GOVT. ACCELERATING ITS OWN DOWNFALL

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LIBERIA GRANTS UNMIL REQUEST TO DISPOSE TEARGAS

Sirleaf Dedicates Chinese Donated Solar Energy to Market

Monday, March 24, 2014

GoL Tracks Agenda for Transformation Deliverables One Year Later

SOME PROGRESS, SOME CHALLENGES

NEWS EXTRA SIRLEAF CONCEDES CORRUPT JUSTICE SYSTEM, EASY IMPRISONMENT

For $25 somebody Gets put into Jail

Page 14 | Frontpage GUNMEN KILL THREE IN 'TERRORIST' ATTACK ON KENYAN CHURCH

TWO MORE COLOSSAL PHARAOH STATUES UNVEILED IN EGYPT

Monday, March 24, 2014

EBOLA NEXT DOOR

OUTBREAK HITS NEIGHBORING GUINEA, BLAMED FOR MORE THAN 50 DEATHS

SOUTH AFRICA'S ANC SET TO WIN TWO-THIRDS

UKRAINE FEARS RUSSIA 'READY TO ATTACK'

Monday, March 24, 2014

THE LFA SADDLE

BILITY, SHANNON BACK IN

A NUMBER TO FORGET FOR WENGER AND ARSENAL

FASSELL WIN SECOND DIVISION PLAY-OFF AND LFA CUP

KAKA: AC MILAN PLAYERS UNITED IN SUPPORT OF SEEDORF

MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014

THE LFA SADDLE

BILITY, SHANNON BACK IN

FrontPage Spot News EDUCATION GONE HIGH-TECH

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