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Fellow cpmrades and the progressive class, "We can't be taking pleasure from the poverty-stricken condition and abject misery of our people then we say the struggle must end. We can't be in haste to get rich and pretend that the struggle is coming to an end. On our side, the struggle is just beginning" —Prof. Alaric Tokpa.

Liberia’s Redemption & Struggle: Progressives Are Not To Blame

September 23, 2019 admin2 Liberia, Progressives, struggle

The Editor, With all due respect, some Liberians have miserably failed to come to the realization that “every generation out of relative obscurity must discover its mission, fulfill it betray or it” as propounded by the black existentialist and revolutionary – Frantz Fanon. The progressive forces in the 70s, 80s, and 90s and today in Liberia have struggled within the context of their time just as many other revolutionaries. These men struggled with all the fibber of their bodies to redeem the people from the shackles and yoke…

During the Legislative conference, Professor Olympia Beko, head of the international criminal justice unit of the human rights law centre, University of Nottingham, and David Scheffer, first U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues (1997-2001), will provide expert advice to members of the Legislature and Liberian stakeholders working on the Draft Act to Establish an Extraordinary Tribunal for War and Economic Crimes for Liberia via video-conference.

Public Policy

Is Liberia ready to address war crimes?

September 23, 2019 admin2 Liberia, War Crimes Court

The essentials: Liberia’s President George Weah is making moves that may lead to the establishment of an economic and war crimes court. This week, Weah submitted recommendations to parliament and sought advice on addressing human rights violations, war and economic crimes committed during the 14-year-long Liberian civil wars which ended in 2003. The background: President Weah appears to be bowing to pressure from civil rights groups and Liberian citizens to finally address the injustices of the wars. Although the Liberian truth and reconciliation commission recommended the establishment of a special…

Op-ed

Samuel Jackson’s Dangerous Posture on The New Currency

September 18, 2019 admin2 Liberia, new currency, Sam Jackson

The Editor, There is an essential banality to one Samuel Jackson’s boast about challenging anyone who thinks the idea of printing a new currency is a waste of time and resources. This man lives for the spotlight and to be heard; that is: even when he is purposefully lying and engaging in material misrepresentations. This self-styled economic genius thinks that during a myriad period of economic uncertainties in our country, our concerns or desire to know how introducing a new currency is going to help stabilize our economy and…

A "purge" of ethnic Tutsis from the army, a crackdown on opposition and media and a bid to change the constitution to allow unlimited presidential terms are signs of an "increasingly violent dictatorial regime", it said.

Op-ed

AFRICA: Young Population, old leader

September 18, 2019 admin2

The idea that Africa’s youth bulge is the key to sustained economic growth—a so-called demographic dividend—is a popular talking point for aging African leaders who coopt such language in an effort to signal faith and optimism in the next generation. This was particularly evident in 2017, when African heads of state adopted “Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in the Youth” as the year’s official theme for the African Union. While gestures toward youth empowerment are welcome, one awkward fact stands out: Africa—the youngest continent in the world—plays host…

Ellen Chimz from Harare said she was happy to hear the apology. She explained why she participated in the booing of Ramaphosa. "We are very angry about what South Africans are doing; we must unite, not kill one another. We are human beings like them," she said. "They must not kill people like dogs," added Chimz. Another Harare native, Malik Mperieki, dismissed the apology, raising concern over the lives of roughly 20% of the Zimbabwean nation who have headed south seeking better opportunities amid a struggling economy and a battle to find good employment.

News

Xenophobia: Ramaphosa sends envoys to several African countries

September 15, 2019 admin2 Ramaphosa, South Africa, xenophobia

President Cyril Ramaphosa is sending special envoys to deliver messages of solidarity to several heads of state and governments across Africa amid tensions and violence in the country. “The special envoys will deliver a message from President Ramaphosa regarding the incidents of violence that recently erupted in some parts South Africa, which have manifested in attacks on foreign nationals and destruction of property,” spokesperson Khusela Diko said in a statement on Sunday. The team, which includes Jeff Radebe, Ambassador Kingsley Mmabolo, and Dr Khulu Mbatha are expected to…

The Minister, with no higher level public service experience in planning and development prior to this job, boasted he could take President William V.S. Tubman plans of the 1950s and build a nation like the United States.

Op-ed

Hanging on Thin Rope: Salary Harmonization or Salary Cut?

September 15, 2019 admin2 Economy, Liberia

In this first edition of my new writing series titled “Under The Sycamore Tree”, I hereby present this brief but strong case on behalf of approximately 70,000 civil servants in Liberia. This case has 3 basic parameters, namely: economic, legal, and logical. The new ruling class was overwhelmingly voted for by civil servants in December 2017. Their ‘Change for Hope’ slogan became so popular and enchanting among members of the working poor of Liberia. After just 18 months, this ‘Change for Hope’ mantra has completely lost essence…

Making sure that the rule of law is upheld and Taylor brought to justice for his heinous crimes, sadly not for Liberia, but Sierra Leone, James Verdier worked pro bono to helped indict the war criminal, currently incarcerated in England. His commitment to the welfare of the Liberian people has always been paramount and this character has been impeccable. Observers say as Liberia looks to buried it past and move away from leaders who are so easily consumed by power, as they quickly forsake the national interest for personal aggrandizement, Jerome Verdier are those kinds that Liberia needs, as is indicative in the TRC report which he released with his fellow commissioners.

Public Policy

Liberia: Gangsters’ Paradise says former TRC Chair

September 14, 2019 admin2 Liberia, Verdier, Weah

“The culture of impunity has emboldened criminals in government and in the corridors of power to new heights of violence and crime, fully aware that they will not face justice anytime soon under the Weah regime because the perverse President of Liberia champions impunity, supports injustice and will not bring his henchmen to justice…” Cllr Jerome J. Verdier, Sr (Cllr), Executive Director, IJG The International Justice Group (IJG) based in Washington DC has issued a statement condemning the rising tide of violence and heinous crimes occurring regularly in the Country and…

Frank E. Petersen Jr., who suffered bruising racial indignities as a military enlistee in the 1950s and was even arrested at an officers’ club on suspicion of impersonating a lieutenant, but who endured to become the first black aviator and the first black general in the Marine Corps, died on Tuesday at his home in Stevensville, Md., near Annapolis. He was 83.

Tributes

Frank E. Petersen, First Black General in Marines, Dies at 83

September 14, 2019 admin2 First marines, Gen Frank E. Peterson, general

By Sam Roberts Frank E. Petersen Jr., who suffered bruising racial indignities as a military enlistee in the 1950s and was even arrested at an officers’ club on suspicion of impersonating a lieutenant, but who endured to become the first black aviator and the first black general in the Marine Corps, died on Tuesday at his home in Stevensville, Md., near Annapolis. He was 83. The cause was lung cancer, his wife, Alicia, said. The son of a former sugar-cane plantation worker from St. Croix, the Virgin Islands, General Petersen…

Based on the declining economic condition in Liberia, this new regulation will certainly contribute to the increase in hardship and make Liberians even more vulnerable to extreme poverty. So far, there has been a popular consensus by the people for the government to reverse this new policy. Let it be known that laws ought to be made for the general good of the people in order to promote their utmost interest. If this government insists on executing this harsh regulation which is against the interest of the people, it will pay a very huge price for such insensitivity in all impending elections especially 2020 and 2023 elections. If the people realize that their survival, safety, and wellbeing are further threatened as a result of harsh policies by government which mostly affect them, they could rise and institute a wave of mass civil actions.

Business News

Socio-economic impact of canceling three days free calls

September 12, 2019 admin2 Liberia, Nws, telecommunication

The Editor, This is what I think as a Student of Economics. These are 10 visible dangers or risks of canceling ‘3 days free call’ and other bonanzas in my opinion. The government stands to risk a lot if this new regulatory policy of imposing an additional 5% fee on GSM Companies is not urgently reversed. Personal inward remittances from Diaspora Liberians will fall because most Liberians in the country will be unable to foot the high cost of communicating through voice calls and SMS. As a result,…

China has no history of imposing its economic and political systems. It respects and takes into consideration other societies' histories and cultures. It is European and American imperialism that unscientifically imposed capitalism and sham liberal democracy on countries in Africa and Latin America. Countries on these continents did not have the material conditions necessary for capitalist development. But the capitalist economic base and its political superstructures were imposed as means of paving the way for capital accumulation by European and American monopolies. Additionally, there is no trace of China funding proxy wars in countries that have world views different from its geopolitical perspective. That is left to be done by US and its NATO allies. What we know of China is that it is the largest trading partner of almost every African country. Buck of imported consumer goods to the continent comes from China. China has oversea investments in finance, construction, mining, agriculture, technology, industrial production, etc. to the continent. Through bilateral arrangements, thousands of young Africans are going to China annually to further their studies in different fields.

Op-ed

Is China Colonizing Africa?

September 12, 2019 admin2 Africa, China, colonization

By Moses Uneh Yahmia My answer is a resounding no. Rather than agreeing, it is logical to say China is practically demonstrating to Africa how to exorcise oneself from the ghost of over 400years of incessant imperialist exploitation – an exploitation that first began with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and then European Colonialism and now present-day Neo-colonialism which has kept African countries in that straitjacket as producers of raw materials for western monopoly capital, outposts for the importation of manufactured goods and playground of US and NATO’s military…