Amid growing concerns over sudden increment in the price of long-grain parboiled rice with the impression that the commodity is scarce on the market, the government through the Ministry of Commerce has said that there is no rice shortage, and business owners are only increasing their price based on speculations. According to Ministry of Commerce officials, importers and rice dealers agreed that they [wholesalers] will pay $US25 on each bag as transportation and unloading fees. No reason I sell rice,” says Joseph Zinneh, a dealer in Red Light. Zinneh said it is true that rice is sold for $13.00 but because of the transportation and other fees, the price of rice will increase. “On Friday or Saturday rice will be in the market but the price will increase to $L2,600, $L2,800, or $L3,000 depending on expenses made on transportations, offloading, and uploading.” The dealer added.

-- After days of closureAfter three days of closure, the Guinean Authorities have partially opened their border to allow stranded commuters to pass through. With information reaching out from the Guinean authorities about the opening of the border, there was stampede on Monday evening. The river covered the main Guinean checkpoint that security officers there were forced to move far in. On Monday, the Liberia National Security beef up security at the border by deploying a well-armed Police Support Unit to back up the armed LIS Border Patrol unit. "This border needs to be demarcated and fence to avoid bypassing and breaking through the security corridor,' said another officer.

“I understand how close Condé and Weah's friendship was, and I also know how irresponsive Condé was to adhering to the tenets of democracy. But for diplomacy, Weah should condemn the act and ensure there is strict monitoring of our borders,” he said. In a statement released early Monday morning, President Weah called for the immediate release of President Alpha Condé, who has reportedly been detained by soldiers staging a revolt against his rule. President Weah reminded all concerned of the need for peace and security, adding that violence and political instability in Guinea will have negative ramifications for the entire region,” the President said. “In Guinea, the President had not been a listening leader.

-- Commerce Ministry dispels rumorsAuthorities of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) over the weekend vehemently rejected claims that there is a shortage of rice on the local market, contrary to speculations that the commodity was in short supply. Though rice is in recent days scarce on the market, Commerce Minister Mawine G. Diggs attributed the hike in the price of rice to speculations in the public that the commodity is not in the country. “I want to state clearly here that there is no, absolutely no, shortage of rice on the market and therefore no need for panic buying as we have observed,” she added. Minister Diggs, however, said offloading of the rice from the vessels at the Freeport of Monrovia by importers sometimes delays, which she said does not amount to rice shortage. According to Minister Diggs, the price of rice on the market remains on sale for US$13.00 for wholesale on the 25kg bag of rice, while retail is US$ 13.50.

-- Set to face Central African Republic todayLiberia senior men’s team coach Peter Butler is proud of his team’s performance against Nigeria despite losing 2-0. We were up against a very good team who possess excellent top-flight players, congrats to Nigeria, but we gave them a run for their money,” coach Butler tweeted after the match. Liberia: Williams; Segbay, Dweh, Balde, Macauley (Tweh 82′), Njei, Doeley, Soumaoro, Tisdell, (Kamara 57′), Kosiah, Sherman (Wilson 77′). CAR) to Match Day 6 (CAR Vs. Liberia). CAF agreed to both Fas as today’s match will count as Match Day 6, with CAR hosting Liberia.

“For the past two weeks, no rice has been in my store despite getting assurances that rice will be in the country soon,” he said. “When we go to the company, the people who are importing the rice, they tell us that they are not selling rice to us. We want the Commerce Ministry to intervene so as to avoid hoarding”. “You see, my store is empty, no rice here, even when you check to the next store, no rice there, all the stores are empty, when we go to the importers we cannot get the rice. They are responsible for the rice shortage.

MONROVIA – The newly certificated People’s Liberation Party (PLP) has officially unveiled and graduated about 50 doctors, nurses and pharmacists to provide healthcare delivery services to less fortunate and vulnerable Liberians via the party’s mobile clinic. The medical practitioners under the banner PLP Mobile Medical Health Team who were recently trained by authorities at the Ministry of Health, were commissioned and officially presented licenses at a program held at the headquarters of the PLP in Congo Town, outside Monrovia. Speaking during the program, the Vision Bearer of the PLP, Dr. Cassell, described the event as “historic”. Also speaking, the Coordinator of the PLP Mobile Clinic Service, Mr. Nicholas Koffa, commended Dr. Cassell for the support and steps taken to ensure the formation and training of the team. “I was given the mandate to train people for the PLP Mobile Team to safe lives across Liberia.

Then book launch comes at a time in Liberia where there is practically no road safety education, neither for adults nor for children, while educatory materials on road safety are lacking at various institutions of learning. It is launch under the project, Capacity Development in the Transport Sector in Liberia aims at addressing the poor road safety gap. GIZ is collaborating with various governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, including, Ministry of Education, Liberia National Police, Road Safety Secretariat, NGOs in the field of education (EDC, Rising Academy), LNP Road Safety Volunteers among others. Besides, certain parts of the book will be used in road safety awareness via social media. In his introductory remarks, the Coordinator of the National Road Safety Secretariat, Samuel Wannasue believe road safety is not a serious problem to Liberia only, but the world at large, as such, he sees the launch of the first-ever road safety book as one that will inform Liberian on safety precautions.

The Information Minister spoke these words at a recent program titled “Rediscover Liberia”, held at a local resort in Monrovia. At the event, which opened with a screening of a film on some Liberian women, Min. Frustratingly, the Information Minister disclosed that the government is not willing to invest in image-building, as they think it is expensive and unnecessary. Meanwhile, Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor has noted that the filming of Liberian women for hope is the beginning of a new journey. This Rediscover Liberia talks about Liberia’s problems over the past 50 years,” VP Howard-Tayor said.

The government of Liberia has arraigned before the Monrovia City Court Lebanese and Turkish nationals, who were allegedly caught stealing power from the national electricity grid. The accusation was brought against them by the Security Manager of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) Patrick S. Nyumah. The crime of power theft is a bailable offense, meaning that an accused can post a cash or property bond to prevent him or her from entering jail. Pointing to some pieces of evidence, the court records claimed that during the police investigation, both Eid and Gebara admitted that their businesses were illegally connected to the power grid of LEC. In the case of Gebara, the court document claims that his business was first connected legally to the LEC power grid and he has been paying the bill since.

Monrovia – On Tuesday, August 31, The United States Agency for International Development Liberia Mission Director Jim Wright visited the Ministry of Agriculture where he discussed continued United States support for the agriculture sector. Agriculture Minister Jeanine Cooper acknowledged the longtime U.S. Government’s support for the agriculture sector. She said her Ministry was looking for even more collaboration with the United States to improve the overall performance of the sector. Support for the agriculture sector is a major component of U.S. development assistance programming in Liberia. USAID’s agriculture support is also focused on engaging the private sector to invest in agribusiness.

Other beneficiaries of the Specialized Training included local authorities and other relevant stakeholders. The courses presented during the training include: Liberia Arms Control Legislations and Enforcement, Harmonizing Existing Arms Control Legislations with the global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), Weapon and Ammunition Management (WAM), Small Arms, their Ammunition, Light Weapons (SALW) and Explosives Transfer Control, Border Security Management and Gender in Arms Control. The courses for the specialized training were facilitated by Arms Control Experts from the Small Arms Commission of Liberia, the Liberia Immigration Service and a Revenue Specialist from the Liberia Revenue Authority, (Customs Division). The Local Authorities recommended extending the specialized training to other persons in high positions in the various security agencies and other active stakeholders. The awareness component was welcomed by community dwellers, with the involvement of county officials, border security officers, motorcyclists and marketers.

Therefore, FrontPageAfrica wishes to inform the public that at no point in time did Judge Feika misinterpret the ruling of the Supreme Court in the Economic Sabotage and Theft of Property case involving the former Minister of Defense Brownie Samukai and others. The ruling referenced in our August 27, 2021 edition was made by Judge Feika’s predecessor when Judge Feika was yet to be assigned at Criminal Court ‘C’. No Judge of concurrent jurisdiction has the authority to review and/or undo the decision and/or action of his colleague of concurrent jurisdiction. The mandate of the Supreme Court referred to in the stories for which the proceedings are being held was never read by Judge His Honor Ousman F. Feika and that no action as regard to the Supreme Court’s mandate which were attributed to him in the news story. Judge Feika’s decision to assign the case in question was a mandate from the Supreme Court and not his own decision.

SCHEFFLIN, Marigibi County – President George Weah has vowed to complete all of his ‘signature projects’ during his presidency, some of which include the 14th Military Hospital and the development of Bali Island. He made the pledge on Wednesday when he officially dedicated the 14th Military Hospital built under his command for military personnel and their families. “I have a vision and a mission for Liberia,” President Weah said. “This is where we were very fortunate to have the 14 Military Hospital available, although it was not yet completely finished and operational. In the near future, he announced, the 14 Military Hospital will provide other specialized services for the general Liberian population.

Monrovia – The fourth Regular Session of the Liberian Senate has adjourned without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing. Addressing a news conference following the adjournment, the President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate, Sen. Albert T. Chie, thanked his fellow Senators for the cooperation received as they took on their cardinal responsibilities in law-making, oversight and Representation. Pro-Tempore Albert Chie also used the opportunity to thank the President of Liberia and Members of the Executive Branch and the Chief Justice and Members of the Judiciary Branch. President Pro-Tempore Chie at the Same time disclosed that there are still some crucial bills in committee rooms which Senators are still working on with diligence, amongst which are proposed acts dealing with electoral reforms and judicial practices. The President Pro-Tempore, however, stated that the Senate believes that nobody should go with impunity and people should be held accountable for crimes they have committed.