Central bank governor defends loan scheme
The executive governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Dr. Joseph Mills Jones says he holds no apologies for helping Liberians through the CBL’s loan scheme. The scheme, he said, is meant to buttress the fight of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf‘s administration against poverty in the country. “What we are trying to do is to provide means whereby […]
Nordic, African foreign ministers discuss growth
Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Martin Lidegaard on Tuesday hosted a Nordic African foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium together with Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, to discuss green and inclusive growth in Africa. The meeting focused on new growth opportunities in Africa, including a growing middle class, fast […]
UNMIL drawdown to cost Liberia $50m
Liberia’s Finance Minister Amara Konneh last week revealed that it would cost the government of Liberia US$50 million to fill in all necessary gaps when UNMIL drawdown is completed. “While our service sector has been another driving force of economic growth, it is expected to take a hit as the United Nations Mission in Liberia(UNMIL)draws down […]
How Prof. Alaric Tokpa protected his family
Brooklyn Park, MN- In much of Liberia’s troubled history of dictatorial and military rule, many people never got to know the pains relatives of students’ politicians went through whenever their loved ones were imprisoned by the government. But for the first time last Saturday, during a gathering of Liberian and American guests, a Liberian lady […]
Sweden talks about Roma abuses
Today, I present the White Paper initiated by the Government on abuses and rights violations of Roma in the 20th century. The White Paper is based on interviews with Roma and Travellers, on archive material and research studies. It provides a description of a dark period in Sweden’s history that is more complete […]
Ivory Coast: Impartial justice for all
The United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Cote d’Ivoire, Doudou Diène, expressed concern over unresolved issues in the national reconciliation process of the West African country, ahead of presidential elections in 2015. The key, he stressed, lies in applying “impartial justice for all” in a country still recovering […]
Oil, family ties and corruption
Since 1990 the petroleum industry has invested more than $20 billion in exploration and production activity in Africa. A further $50 billion will be spent between now and the end of the decade, the largest investment in the continent’s history. But most Africans in these countries where oil are being produced are seeing little […]
No merit in $200m lobbying talk
About two years ago, I was in a conversation with some people in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, who accused the Liberian government of spending over US$ 200 million on lobbying in the United States. These individuals provided the website, www.foreignlobby.org as their source of information. I read all the reports on the website, but was […]
Private security firms gain as migrants detained
The riot at Australia’s offshore processing centre for asylum seekers on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea (PNG), last month, which left one detainee dead and more than 70 others injured, has put the spotlight on the outsourcing of numerous aspects of migration control to private security companies. As states around the world have introduced […]
Liberia paid $45.9m lobby fees in 2010
Liberia reportedly spent $45.9m on lobbying in the United States in 2010. According to an article published about three years ago by an American website, the amount was a 36 percent increase from the previous year and made Liberia the biggest spender on lobbying in the US in 2010. The Liberian government’s lobbying expenditure in […]
