As nearly all human beings are not suicidal, it is most important to share knowledge about how to save lives. There are three types of pollution that we bring to destroy the Earth on which we live: air pollution; water pollution and land pollution. In the search for better lives, human beings are building factories to produce products while putting gas emissions into the air. Polluted land produces polluted food that kills people. These State managers have become dependent on foreign partners whose profit orientation continues to have the African State managers promote the production of the raw materials for export without any prioritization of Value Addition.

Liberia: EPA Releases Preliminary Report in Cape Mount Water Pollution Saga; Says There’s Need for Further ProbeMonrovia – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its preliminary report into the pollution of Marvoe Creek and the Mafa River in Grand Cape Mount County. The EPA in its preliminary report confirmed that there were deaths to aquatic species including fish, crabs, crawfish, and other fauna inhabitants; and these fatalities were caused by asphyxiation – deprivation of oxygen needed to sustain life underwater. The pollution of the water bodies was reported in late May prompting the EPA to dispatch a team of investigators on May 25. The EPA preliminary report further stated that there’s a need to widen the investigation, especially when there are other conditions that could cause the degree of distress and or deaths of aquatic fauna. Where necessary, a third-party, EPA certified consultant/Laboratory will be called in to assist with these investigations,” the EPA stated in a release signed by Danise Love Dennis, head of Media & Corporate Communications.

Monrovia – The Government of Liberia through its Solicitor-General, Sayma Syrenius Cephus has announced that the Government is expected to shortly drop all charges against Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, and others for ‘forgery and criminal conspiracy’ brought against them by the All Liberian Party ( ALP). In a statement issued on Friday, Solicitor-General Cephus said there was no reason to further adjudicate the case following the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the Unity Party and the ALP to field a candidate in the Lofa County Senatorial Bi-Election. The ALP of Benoni Urey sued Mr. Cummings and his party’s hierarchy for allegedly altering the CPP framework document inserting an illegal exit clause that bar breakaway member of the CPP from contesting in any election until 2024. The case has been lingering at the Monrovia City Court for months. Therefore, I am constrained to highlight the compelling need of calling a spade a spade, end the trial and drop any and all criminal charges against defendants Alexander B. Cummings and his lieutenants without prejudice to the state and with the right to re-file where applicable.

Report by Francis G. BoayueThis program is being implemented with policy support from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry along with iCampus Liberia and Accountability Lab Liberia. The Growth Accelerator Liberia is a UNDP and Government of Liberia initiative under the Livelihood & Employment Creation project implemented by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The Resident Coordinator of UNDP Stephen Rodriques said the Growth and Accelerator Liberia Program started in 2021 with aim of supporting and accelerating impactful For-profit ventures across Liberia. “The growth accelerator is a proven model that works. Accountability Lab Liberia Country Director, W. Lawrence Yealue, II for his part, said of their experiences the Growth Accelerator Liberia challenge is in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with funding from UNDP Livelihood and Employment Programme.

With this premise, let me state why Kenneth Y. Best is qualified for the newly organized ‘Hall of Fame’ of the Press Union of Liberia. Missing any of these elements will lay aside your age right and education to face the wrath of the Professor, something that internally branded Daily Observer as “Kenneth Y. Personally, there are a few instances that cannot just run out of my memory when a bell rings with the sound of Kenneth Best. After a period of egoistic and suppressive editorial regime at some point in time, I realized from 2013 upward how Mr. Best was interested in seeing me excel.

Monrovia-International Fisheries Donors, including the European Union, China and World Bank have reaffirmed their commitments to further assist in the development of the Liberian Fisheries sector through technical and financial support. Speaking Thursday June 2, during a technical meeting that brought together Donors within the Liberian Fisheries sector at NaFAA’s corporate headquarters, Chinese Ambassador Ren Yisheng affirmed China’s commitment to providing what he termed as “technical support in the development of agriculture in Liberia”. Ambassador Yisheng disclosed that he was highly impressed of being in the gathering of donor partners to Liberia’s fisheries sector as such meeting enable Liberians through their government to be informed about the donors support to the sector. Mr. Theo kaspers, head of Cooperation stated that they are working along with NaFAA’s priority areas in developing the Liberian fisheries sector. Mr. Manoballah recounted that the support from the various donors have contributed immensely toward the development taking place in the Liberian fisheries sector.

Paynesville – In an effort to address the menace of improper waste disposal, the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA) and the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC) have launched a Solid Waste Management Project in the City of Paynesville. The project is funded by the Liberian Diaspora Initiative Fund (LDIF), which focuses on health, education, technology and entrepreneurship. Mr. Kamara said the partnership with the PCC is unique as ULAA does not have the capacity to implement projects in Liberia by itself. The organization has provided a grant of US$2664 for the implementation of the first phase of the project which targets drainages within Paynesville. Diggen pointed out that maintaining a proper solid waste management system is a challenge for municipal authorities in the country.

The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) says its attention has been drawn to persistent public concerns about the shortage of L$5 and L$10 on the economy, despite a series of radio programs organized by the CBL explaining the causes for the shortage and efforts by the Bank to address the situation. Considering the 3-year average lifespan of the Liberian dollar banknote, and the yearly estimated mutilated rate of 7.0 percent, the release said, most of the existing banknotes, especially smaller denominations, have already outlived their lifespan and the CBL has not been able to print additional smaller banknote denominations during the past years to replace existing mutilated banknotes since 2017. This shortage of L$5 and L$10 has been further heightened by the increased demand on the smaller denominations due to the growth in the population and expanded scope of economic activities, including keh-keh and motorbike ventures, as well as other small marketeers’ need for smaller denominations, the CBL release said. The latter process involves more time, given that Liberia is introducing a new set and designs of coins that are completely different from the existing coins of 1 dollar, 50 cents and 25 cents. The CBL says it empathizes with the public on the shortage of smaller denominations and pleads once again for patience as the Bank does all within its power not only to address concerns of the smaller denominations, but the entire currency management challenges of the country.

The groups want President George M. Weah to issue executive order suspending taxes and import duties on sanitary pads to give women/girls’ access to sanitary pads and make it more affordable and accessible. “Menstruation is still treated as a taboo, contributing to the lack of access to menstrual hygiene education. “We ask the Government, through the Legislature, to amend the Revenue Code removing all taxes applicable to the importation and sale of sanitary pads in Liberia. Mrs. Tulay-Solanke said CHI launched the #pas4girls project, the local production of reusable sanitary pads for women and girls, to make access to sanitary pads more available and sustainable, an eco-friendly solution. “We are also calling on the First Lady of Liberia to join our voices in advocating for removing taxes on sanitary pads.

Monrovia – The National HAJJ Committee of Liberia-2022 (NHCL), on Monday in keeping with precedence by the Government of Liberia has announced the commencement of its registration of pilgrims for Mecca 2022. Report by Francis G. BoayueThe Hajj or pilgrimage is a five-day religious visit to Mecca and nearby holy sites in Saudi Arabia where all Muslims who are physically and financially able go at least once in their lives. According to the committee chairman Cllr. Losene F. Bitty, the official cost of this year’s HAJJ (Pilgrimage) finally stands at Six Thousand Five Hundred United States Dollars ($6,500.00 USD) per traveler in other to ensure proper coordination, rules, and orders. He said all accredited Hajj Agencies must display their accreditations to pilgrims desirous of performing Hajj this year which should be signed and stamped by the Chairman of the National Hajj Committee of Liberia 2022 in Cllr.

The Cummings Africa Foundation (CAF) has read with dismay, and declared as outright lies and propaganda that CAF has received U$ 100,000.00 as grant for the Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Liberia. The fake report published in the Monday, May 30, edition of the Independent Newspaper, claimed the US$ 100,000.00 was given by a so-called American businessman identified only as Sandy Edwards for the LGBT community in West Africa. Without any detail as to the date and venue of the fundraising, the newspaper insinuated that the amount was given as “grant to the Liberian based Cummings Africa Foundation Gay Fund, a so-called collective giving and endowment initiative of Foundation for the LGBT communities in West Africa.”The Cummings Africa Foundation describes the report as a fabricated lie, planted in the Independent Newspaper to achieve a sinister political motive by its pay master. The Cummings Africa Foundation has requested the management of this tabloid newspaper to retract this erroneous report or face the full consequences of its action. Cummings Africa Foundation has accordingly alerted its team of Lawyers on the next course of action as this erroneous report has the propensity to cast a negative aspersion on its work and with serious repercussions on the political future on its co-founder, Mr. Alexander Cummings who is the prime target of this politically motivated smear campaign.

Making menstrual hygiene supplies, including sanitary pads, more affordable, available, and accessible, is one of the critical and complicated legislation about to be reviewed by the 54th Legislature. But this might soon be minimized as the House of Representatives has been petitioned by the Community Healthcare Initiative (CHI) to make menstrual health and hygiene a priority by suspending all taxes and import duties on sanitary pads. “We ask the Government, through the Legislature, to amend the Revenue Code, removing all taxes applicable to the importation and sale of sanitary pads in Liberia. He said they will lobby to ensure the amendment of the tax policy on sanitary pads. “We are also calling on the First Lady of Liberia to join our voices in advocating for removing taxes on sanitary pads.

The Secretary-General informed the President of the Security Council that, after consulting with the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2140 (2014), he had accordingly appointed the following experts to the Panel of Experts on Yemen: Mr. Debi Prasad Dash, finance (India), Mr. Cornelius Nagbe, international humanitarian law (Liberia) and Mr. Wolf-Christian Paes, arms (Germany). As the international humanitarian law expert, Mr. Nagbe will contribute to the monitoring of sanctions measures and investigation of alleged sanctions violations or non-compliance as mandated by Security Council resolutions related to Yemen. Prior to his appointment to the Panel of Experts on Yemen, Mr. Nagbe worked as a Consultant on Children and Armed Conflict in the South Asia Regional Office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Mr. Nagbe earlier served at UN Headquarters in New York as Human Rights Programme Management Officer in the Counter-Terrorism Centre of the UN Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT). Mr. Nagbe holds a Master’s in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University and Master’s in International Relations and Bachelor’s in Mass Communication from University of Liberia.

Message from WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso MoetiThe world marks World No Tobacco Day on 31 May every year, to raise awareness of the negative health, social, economic and environmental impacts of tobacco production and use. Despite 24 African countries instituting bans on smoking in public places, and 35 banning tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, our estimates are that one in every 10 African adolescents use tobacco. UN agencies and the Kenyan government provide training, inputs such as seeds and fertilizer, and a ready market for their harvest through the World Food Programme’s local procurement initiatives. Additionally, tobacco cultivation exposes farmers to several health risks, including “green tobacco sickness”, which is caused by nicotine absorbed through the skin during the handling of wet tobacco leaves, as well as exposure to pesticides and tobacco dust. On World No Tobacco Day this year, I call on African governments to impose environmental tax levies on tobacco across the value and supply chains, including production, processing, distribution, sales, consumption and waste management.

Merchant believed that “bribes” allegedly offered some of these public officials to abandon their assigned tasks and responsibilities to please foreigners over their own citizens. He said public officials involved in safeguarding wetlands and preventing the construction of stores, dwelling places, or others on alleyways should execute their tasks and responsibilities without fear or favor. Merchant observed that most often, representative and senatorial candidates trooped into flooded communities in the district to make unrealistic promises. Take Flood victims to estatesHe recalled that during past administrations, housing estates were constructed to shelter flood victims in Monrovia and other parts adjacent. Merchant named the Stephen Tolbert and Matadi Estates, among others, as some of the estates that were constructed for the intake of flood victims.