Speaking at the joint stakeholders Assessment workshop at the Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRMRCC) on the Bushrod Island, LiMA Deputy Commissioner for Domestic Vesssel Registration and Safety, Cllr. “Liberia is due to have IMO mandatory audit. The audit will take through our responsibilities as a port state, as a flag state and as a coastal state,” he stated. He expressed optimism that the stakeholders will use the three-day session to assess their preparedness to successfully undergo the audit. He indicated that the process was interrupted by a force majeure –Covid-19 that ignited a pause on the audit.

Monrovia – A renowned advocate against injustices in Liberia, Stephen Vorkpor, has been dragged to the Monrovia City Court on allegations of gang rape and aggravated involuntary sodomy. According to the document, the act committed by the defendant contravened Chapter 14, Subchapter D, Section 14.70 (2) of the Revised Rape Law of Liberia and Section 14.72 of the Penal Code of Liberia. The victim further maintained that Co-defendant Vorkpor then took her into Defendant Vorkpor’s bedroom and aided him in sexually abusing (rape) her bynholdojg her hands while he (Defendant Vorkpor) allegedly inserted his penis both in her anus and Vagina. Accordingly, she afterward slept over at a neighbor who is a witness, Yatta Kiazolu’s residence, and went home the following morning. Following Police investigation, Defendant Vorkpor was arrested on May 30, investigated charged, and subsequently detained on allegation of the commission of the crime.

In his remarks, Mr. Kitack Lim, IMO Secretary General thanked the Liberian diplomat for his exceptional leadership of the 78th session of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) of the organization. “Let me extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Harry T. Conway of Liberia for ably chairing the seventy-eighth session of the MEPC meeting at very short notice. Mr. Conway has performed very well bringing new dynamism, leadership, experience, commitment, and dedication to the IMO”, Mr. Lim noted. The gentle demeanour and calm posture of Mr. Conway in conducting the meetings, she said “had something on all of us”. BackgroundThe Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is one of the five main committees of the IMO.

... Says Senators while rejecting Edwina Collins' nomination for Deputy Commissioner for International Vessel RegistrationPresident George Weah's nominee for the post of Deputy Commissioner at the Liberia Maritime Authority (LiMA) has been "rejected and deemed unfit." "Nominee Collins told the Committee that she was an intern with no prior knowledge and experience about Maritime, making her unqualified or not a suitable candidate for the position." LiMA is a public corporation with the responsibility of managing all commercial activities within the maritime domain of Liberia. Its maritime program is currently recognized as the second-largest ship registry in the world. President Weah's nominee is a graduate of the 2017 class of the University of Liberia, where she earned a B.Sc.

..."Success will not come to you if you rest on your laurels and wait for it to find you. Most dreams will not come true without hard work, struggle, and sacrifice." "However, success will not come to you if you rest on your laurels and wait for it to find you. Most dreams will not come true without hard work, struggle, and sacrifice. Failure teaches you a lesson that you must be willing to learn, and only when you learn that lesson will you benefit from your failure," President Weah added.

MONROVIA – The Liberian Senate on Thursday unanimously voted to reject Edwina Collins, for the post of Deputy Commissioner for International Vessel Registration at the Liberia Maritime Authority. Madam Edwina Collins was recently nominated by President George Weah to the post of Deputy Commissioner for International Vessel Registration at the Liberia Maritime Authority. RIA Management: “At no time, during or before this technical occurrence, was there a power outage at the Roberts International Airport, nor was the airport ever closed. “We are grateful that the plane safely landed at the RIA that night, following several frantic efforts by the Liberia Airport Authority and the Roberts International Airport Management,” the LCAA stated. According to the LCAA, its technical team is working on preventive measures with the Liberia Airport Authority to ensure that there is no future occurrence.

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Y Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis has stressed the importance of finding the best possible ways that would ensure a peaceful electoral process in Liberia in 2023. He said Liberia is one of three countries in the ECOWAS region including, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Sierra Leone that will be holding an election. He made the call in Abuja at the commencement of the First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in 2022. With elections scheduled to hold in three Member States; the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone, our role in ensuring that the democratic processes are conducted in a way that guarantees the best possible outcomes cannot be overemphasized. The other Member States namely, Benin, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo have five seats each.

The training, technical assistance and policy dialogue delivered by the academy will cover upstream and downstream issues in the public financial management cycle. The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) on Wednesday approved the creation of a virtual academy to build public financial management capacity in African countries. Other implementing partners include key regional public financial management institutions, regional technical assistance centers, universities, and national public administration training institutes. The training, technical assistance and policy dialogue delivered by the academy will cover upstream and downstream issues in the public financial management cycle, tailored to the specific needs of African countries. The technical assistance component will target relevant public institutions or their units, civil society organizations, and think tanks, involved in public financial management activities in Africa, including the media.

The prices of gasoline and fuel have once more been increased by the government just days after rejecting a plea from the Petroleum Importers Association of Liberia. As for fuel, the wholesale price per gallon is US$6.72 while the pump price is US$ US$ 6.90 (L$1,050.). Previously, the wholesale price of gas per gallon was US$5.48 while the pump price was set at US$5.66. "The Ministry of Commerce Inspectorate Team will be closely monitoring the approved ceiling prices to avoid an arbitrary hike in the pump prices of gasoline and fuel oil on the local market." Presently, there are more than seven registered importers who ensure that adequate petroleum products are on the Liberian market.

The prices of gasoline and fuel have once more been increased by the government just days after rejecting a plea from the Petroleum Importers Association of Liberia. As for fuel, the wholesale price per gallon is US$6.72 while the pump price is US$ US$ 6.90 (L$1,050.). Previously, the wholesale price of gas per gallon was US$5.48 while the pump price was set at US$5.66. As for fuel, the wholesale price per gallon is US$5.82, while the pump price is US$6.00. Additionally, a future increase in gas and diesel prices is inevitable if the Russia-Ukraine war continues.

Residents of Wartehken and Gbolobo Nimeken towns in Pleebo Statutory Soloden District in Maryland County have expressed frustrations over the delay in the construction of a US$35,000 bridge linking the two towns around the cavalla river belt. According to the aggrieved residents of both towns, the construction of the bridge started in 2021, when the statutory superintendent of the District, Aloysius Williams, broke ground for the construction of the bridge. Since then, however, there has been no sign of completing the bridge project. “The designated area for the bridge construction is not good for a culvert; but only a bridge can go there, due to its close proximity to the cavalla river,” youth leader Mark Cooper noted. “The bridge construction project was in 2021 awarded to Sammy Group of Company, who succeeded in completing the basement of the bridge,” he disclosed.

A Liberian, based in the Netherlands, has written a book on International Criminal Law. The book, Linking High-level Accused to Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes in International Criminal Law, is available on Amazon and other major platforms. Dr. Sylvester Sammie ((Ph.D.) graduated from the University of Groningen’s Graduate School of Law in Groningen, the Netherlands last November 2021 earning a doctorate degree in International Criminal Law. 100 individual cases from the ICTY, ICTR, and ICC are examined and revealed that in most cases there were sufficient pieces of evidence to prove that sexual gender-based crimes were committed. On how he thinks his book will help solve sexual gender-based crimes in Liberia, he answered: “NGOs and CSOs may use this book as an advocacy tool for their work in the effort to address sexual gender-based crimes in Liberia.

The Plenary of the Liberian Senate yesterday voted to set June 28, as the new date for the conduct of the delayed Lofa County by-election. Yesterday’s decision followed the ruling last Friday, by the Supreme Court of Liberia, upholding the opposition Unity Party’s contention that it has the right to participate in the delayed Lofa County by-election. The Senate Plenary decision was also triggered by a communication received from the National Elections Commission (NEC) requesting the Liberian Senate to set a new date for the Lofa County by-election. Notably, River Cess County Senator Wellington Geevon Smith abstained during the voting period on the new election date, while River Gee County Senator Conmany B. Wesseh voted ‘No’. Senator Wesseh earlier intimated that as far as he could recollect, the Election Commission never nullified the result of the December 2020 Senatorial Elections that announced Brownie J. Samukai the winner in Lofa County.

Monrovia – Mohammed Barry goes by the nickname “Monster” on the soccer field and such a monster he has been to his girlfriend, Annie Lomas, whom he allegedly strangulated to death on Monday out of sheer jealousy. He has been arrested by the Liberia National Police (LNP) and is currently in detention. On the suicide note, Barry’s justification for killing his girlfriend was abandonment by her after turning against his family for her sake. According to Mr. Carter, Barry was arrested in a community around the Risks Institute as he tried to flee from justice. The police spokesman disclosed that remains of the late Annie Lomax have been deposited at the JFK Medical.

Monrovia – The Managing Director of the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (LMHRA) Managing Director, Pharmacist Keturah C. Smith-Chineh (Mrs.), recently attended the 11th West Africa Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (WA-MRH) Initiative Steering Committee Meeting; where several issues about the regulatory harmonization of medicines were discussed. The 11th WA-MRH Steering Committee Meeting which was held in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast, from the 29th to the 30th of April 2022, brought together heads of the 15 West African Regulatory Authority on Medicines. The role of the Steering Committee of the WA-MRH initiative includes: providing strategic and policy direction; approving technical documents and ensuring the proper implementation of the activities of the initiative. The WA-MRH Steering Committee meeting was formulated to appraise the West Africa Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (WA-MRH)-related activities in the region and provide the necessary guidance for more efficiency. The African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) Initiative is an attempt by the African Union to strengthen regulatory capacity, encourage harmonization of regulatory requirements, and expedite access to good quality, safe, and effective medicines.