Acordos de livre comércio endógeno e sistema de comércio multilateral.
Eu avalio neste artigo o impacto das áreas de livre comércio (FTAs) no sistema mundial de comércio. Utilizo um modelo de economia político-oligopolista, onde as tarifas externas dos membros da FTA, bem como a decisão de formar FTAs, são endogenamente determinadas. Neste contexto, mostro que os ALCs são principalmente benéficos para o sistema multilateral de comércio. Esta conclusão baseia-se, primeiramente, na constatação de que os ALCs induzem seus governos membros a baixar suas tarifas externas e a fazê-lo com profundidade suficiente para aumentar o comércio, mesmo entre membros e não-membros do TLC. Embora isso garanta ganhos para o último, em geral, os membros do FTA podem não ganhar. Mostro, no entanto, que os governos endossarão apenas acordos de melhoria do bem-estar, apesar de suas motivações políticas; Como resultado, os membros do FTA também se beneficiam de acordos ratificados. Finalmente, acho que os ALCs, reduzindo o papel dos critérios de interesses especiais nos governos & # 27; As decisões do regime comercial tendem também a reforçar o apoio a uma maior liberalização a nível multilateral.
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Reciprocidade, não discriminação e acordos preferenciais no sistema multilateral de comércio.
Apresentamos uma estrutura para entender e interpretar a reciprocidade e a não-discriminação, os dois princípios que são os pilares do sistema multilateral de comércio, conforme incorporados no GATT e seu sucessor, a OMC. Mostramos que o princípio da reciprocidade serve para neutralizar os efeitos dos preços mundiais das decisões de política comercial de um país e, portanto, pode fornecer resultados eficientes de política comercial para seus governos membros, desde que as externalidades associadas à intervenção comercial percorram o mundo. preços. Nós então estabelecemos que as externalidades de fato viajam deste modo se e somente se as tarifas também estiverem em conformidade com o princípio da não-discriminação (NMF). Desta forma, os princípios da reciprocidade e da não discriminação podem funcionar em conjunto para produzir resultados eficientes para o sistema multilateral de comércio. Consideramos também dentro do nosso quadro as implicações dos acordos preferenciais para o sistema multilateral de comércio. A introdução de acordos de livre comércio complica a maneira pela qual as externalidades são transmitidas entre os países e, nesse ambiente, o princípio da reciprocidade não pode mais proporcionar resultados multilaterais eficientes para seus governos membros. No entanto, encontramos um lugar limitado para as uniões aduaneiras no sistema multilateral de comércio, desde que os países membros do sindicato tenham preferências políticas semelhantes. Como essas condições são bastante rigorosas, oferecemos pouco apoio à hipótese de que o princípio da reciprocidade possa proporcionar um acordo comercial multilateral eficiente na presença de acordos preferenciais. Em vez disso, nossos resultados oferecem apoio à visão de que os acordos preferenciais representam uma ameaça ao sistema multilateral existente.
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Blog da Andrealiz.
Discutindo sobre desenvolvimento.
Principais realizações da OMC na promoção do desenvolvimento sustentável, potencial e perspectivas de melhoria.
“Um momento decisivo na história econômica e política moderna” (Croome, 1999: 331) foi descrito pelo ex-diretor do Acordo Geral sobre Tarifas e Comércio (GATT), Peter Sutherland, a aprovação dos acordos da Rodada Uruguai que levaram à criação da Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC). Essa nova instituição deveria institucionalizar formalmente o GATT, que compreendia as principais regras para manter um ambiente comercial estável, e essa natureza foi negada pela comunidade internacional desde sua criação em 1947. (Qureshi, 2011: 318) O regime operou de fato como uma organização, e quase 50 anos foram obrigados a finalmente concordar em fornecer-lhe uma estrutura institucional. Assim, a criação da OMC significou um passo significativo no quadro do comércio multilateral para um sistema comercial mais previsível e estável (Ibis, 311). Em 1994, o Acordo de Marrakesh definiu os propósitos e objetivos da OMC, que podem ser discernidos a partir de seu preâmbulo, e resumidamente resumidos como: “Alcançar padrões de vida mais altos, pleno emprego e desenvolvimento sustentável é o objetivo dos governos membros da OMC. expressa no Acordo de Marrakesh da OMC. Os meios para isso incluem a "redução substancial de tarifas e outros obstáculos ao comércio" [i] (OMC, 2012).
A partir do preâmbulo do Acordo de Marraquexe, pode-se compreender que, para facilitar “padrões de vida mais elevados, pleno emprego e desenvolvimento sustentável”, a liberalização do comércio [ii] deve ser perseguida de maneira consistente com o uso ótimo dos recursos do mundo. Segundo Qureshi (2011), isso implica, por um lado, a lógica da teoria da vantagem comparativa [iii] versus, por outro, a lógica dos princípios do desenvolvimento sustentável, que compreende três pilares interdependentes: 'desenvolvimento econômico desenvolvimento social e proteção ambiental ”. (Qureshi 2011: 635) A este respeito, a hipótese de trabalho da OMC é que a liberalização do comércio elimina as restrições no mercado, aloca recursos de forma eficiente e contribui para o seu uso ideal, garantindo um caminho de crescimento onde as necessidades da geração atual não significa compreender a capacidade das gerações futuras de satisfazer suas próprias necessidades. (Sampson, 2005: 2) No entanto, é difícil afirmar que esse resultado ocorre tão automaticamente, portanto, a questão levantada é qual é o papel da OMC, principais conquistas e perspectivas futuras de melhoria em relação ao 'desenvolvimento sustentável', econômica e ambientalmente. e socialmente como dito acima.
Embora isso pareça ser complexo [iv], a OMC cumpriu ações para cumprir essa responsabilidade. Mais imediatamente, desde que o acordo do GATT foi assinado, ele enfrentou uma realidade problemática, os diferentes níveis de desenvolvimento econômico de seus membros. Atualmente, 75% dos estados membros são considerados países em desenvolvimento e menos desenvolvidos. Assim, o contexto de negociação sob o qual todos eles têm que executar não é fácil. A preocupação com a relação do comércio com o desenvolvimento econômico e como ele contribui para isso tornou-se a questão predominante na maioria dos cenários de negociação multilateral.
Esse é um assunto delicado porque parecia ser a opinião dos Estados signatários que todos os países que aderiram ao GATT poderiam ganhar com o sistema de comércio multilateral se identificassem o setor em que tinham uma vantagem comparativa. No entanto, a realidade era diferente, pois os primeiros países em desenvolvimento que se tornaram parte do acordo enfrentavam condições desequilibradas para negociar com suas contrapartes industrializadas; assim, começou a exigir tratamentos diferenciados. Esses requisitos foram vistos com preocupação, pois poderiam “distorcer o comércio e recompensar os produtores ineficientes”. (Kessie, 2007: 16) No entanto, as demandas persistentes dos países em desenvolvimento para criar medidas mais eqüitativas que lhes permitissem nutrir e proteger suas indústrias domésticas levaram à reformulação do Artigo XVIII na Sessão de Revisão do GATT de 1954-1955, que permitiu países em desenvolvimento a desconsiderar certos compromissos e restrições. (Ibis: 17) No entanto, outras concessões foram solicitadas pelos países em desenvolvimento especificamente em relação a ter acesso preferencial ao mercado. Consequentemente, o GATT adotou a Parte IV, “Comércio e Desenvolvimento” do Acordo Geral em 1965, que formalizou a aceitação de um princípio de não reciprocidade para os países em desenvolvimento. O Comitê de Comércio e Desenvolvimento foi estabelecido e novos esquemas de oportunidades comerciais para os países em desenvolvimento surgiram principalmente em bases bilaterais e regionais. Assim, em 1979, a “Cláusula de Habilitação” foi adotada como a Decisão sobre Tratamento Diferencial e Mais Favorável, Reciprocidade e Participação Plena dos Países em Desenvolvimento, a fim de ter uma base legal segura para o Sistema de Preferências Generalizadas (SGP). Disposições de Tratamento Diferenciado (SDT), acordos preferenciais regionais e globais, e para tratamento especial para os países menos desenvolvidos (LDDs) (Keck e Low, em Evenett et al., 2006: 150) A inclusão da Cláusula de Habilitação no Acordo Geral e a criação do Comitê de Comércio e Desenvolvimento pode ser considerada como passos cruciais para abordar a questão das brechas de desenvolvimento econômico entre economias comerciais. Os países em desenvolvimento representavam então quase 50% dos signatários do tratado. (Kessie, 2007: 16)
No entanto, mesmo quando uma disposição mais flexível da comunidade internacional foi avaliada com essas etapas, “o grau de não envolvimento implicado por esses arranjos significou que os países em desenvolvimento ganharam pouco com o sistema” (Keck e Low, em Evenett et al., 2006). : 150) De fato, de acordo com Kessie (2007), “a extensão da SDT aos países em desenvolvimento sob a Cláusula de Habilitação não aumentou a participação da maioria deles no sistema multilateral de comércio”. (Kessie, 2007: 19) Na verdade, esperava-se que o SGP produzisse resultados concretos em termos de acesso a mercados para países em desenvolvimento, embora as regras restritivas das partes concedentes restringissem os benefícios e o número de beneficiários, pois o GSP exercia o direito de excluir ou graduar-se. países em desenvolvimento específicos. De fato, durante os 10 anos do esquema, menos de 11% receberam tratamento de GSP, e foi fortemente concentrado em poucos beneficiários (Oyejide, Hoekman et al. 2002: 505).
Consequentemente, durante a Rodada Uruguai em 1986, quando alguns países em desenvolvimento começaram a crescer, mais concessões foram exigidas deles. De alguma forma confiantes sobre o fato de que mais benefícios poderiam ser obtidos se os países desenvolvidos abolissem as barreiras para eles, eles aceitaram uma diluição no SDT [v] em troca de melhor acesso ao mercado e regras fortalecidas (Kessie, 2007: 20). No âmbito da abordagem de empresa única [vi] adoptada durante esta ronda, obrigações mais elevadas foram assumidas pelos países em desenvolvimento, que, segundo Kessie (2007), excluíram a possibilidade de escolher e escolher quais os acordos da OMC que pretendiam respeitar. Embora não seja totalmente correto afirmar que eles aceitaram voluntariamente uma diluição do SDT em troca de um melhor acesso ao mercado, como argumenta o mesmo autor que os países em desenvolvimento não tiveram muita escolha. (Kessie, 2007: 21). Muitas disposições da SDT da Rodada Uruguai foram expressas em termos de períodos de transição e diferenças nos níveis de limiar (Oyejide, em Hoekman et al. 2002: 506). Mesmo assim, este novo conjunto de provisões SDT [vii] destinava-se a proporcionar aos países em desenvolvimento a flexibilidade e as oportunidades de se beneficiarem melhor do comércio, e seu status legal é incerto. Consistem em cláusulas de “melhores esforços”, ou seja, nem todas as disposições são obrigatórias ou juridicamente vinculativas, especialmente disposições destinadas a aumentar as oportunidades comerciais, a salvaguardar os interesses dos países em desenvolvimento e as disposições relativas à assistência técnica. Este último de importância significativa como as barreiras da tecnologia implicam menos competitividade no preço final dos bens comercializados.
A intenção dos acordos da Rodada Uruguai era que os países em desenvolvimento deveriam eventualmente cumprir o mesmo conjunto de padrões que os países industrializados em uma ampla gama de questões de acesso a mercados. Isso criou importantes novos compromissos para os países em desenvolvimento dentro do sistema; muitos aumentaram significativamente suas vinculações tarifárias, especialmente na agricultura e novos acordos em serviços e propriedade intelectual aplicados a todos. (Keck e Low, em Evenett et al., 2006: 151). Os compromissos assumidos durante a Rodada Uruguai incluíram a implementação de reformas nos procedimentos de comércio e nas áreas de regulamentação que, como afirmam Finger e Schuler (2002), refletem pouca consciência dos problemas e capacidades de desenvolvimento dos países em desenvolvimento. Eles “assumiram compromissos vinculados para implementar os acordos em troca de compromissos ilimitados de assistência” (Finger e Schuler em Hoekman et al. 2002: 494). Os custos de implementação das políticas exigidas relativas, por exemplo, Avaliação Aduaneira, Padrões Sanitários e Fitossanitários, foram negligenciados (Ibis, 494-498). Os países em desenvolvimento manifestaram sua preocupação com sua situação e têm posições válidas conforme o preâmbulo da OMC afirma claramente que os objetivos devem ser perseguidos de forma a assegurar que os países em desenvolvimento obtenham um nível de participação no crescimento do comércio internacional que reflita as necessidades de seu desenvolvimento econômico. (Qureshi, 2011: 320-321)
Portanto, a Declaração de Doha possibilitou alguns progressos, a começar pelo fato de que lançou uma "agenda de desenvolvimento" que visa cobrir as principais questões para melhorar as perspectivas de comércio dos países em desenvolvimento (OMC, 2012). Em particular, no caso da SDT, o discurso é com vistas a fortalecer as disposições e torná-las “mais precisas, eficazes e operacionais”. “Mais especificamente, a Declaração determina que o Comitê de Comércio e Desenvolvimento identifique quais disposições de tratamento especial e diferencial são obrigatórias e considere as implicações legais e práticas de transformar aquelas que atualmente não são obrigatórias em obrigações obrigatórias… e a considerar maneiras pelas quais os países em desenvolvimento, particularmente os menos desenvolvidos, podem ser ajudados a fazer o melhor uso do tratamento especial e diferenciado [viii] ”(OMC, 2012)
As negociações ainda estão na mesa e as decisões finais estão nas mãos do membro. No entanto, vale a pena mencionar que, enquanto as negociações continuam, a OMC está se envolvendo em novas formas para liberar o possível apoio aos países em desenvolvimento e menos desenvolvidos. Uma importante iniciativa na qual a OMC está se envolvendo cada vez mais é na sua iniciativa “Aid for Trade”, que espera fornecer assistência financeira e técnica aos PMDs para ajudá-los a aumentar sua capacidade de fornecimento e fortalecer sua infra-estrutura relacionada ao comércio. Centra-se em cinco áreas principais: mobilização de recursos, integração do comércio nos planos e programas de desenvolvimento, integração regional do comércio, desenvolvimento do sector privado e monitorização e avaliação da Ajuda ao Comércio [ix]. (OMC, 2012) Alguns autores argumentaram sobre a necessidade de construir uma Estrutura Integrada na qual diferentes instituições contribuiriam para abordar processos de desenvolvimento específicos de PMDs [x]. Assim, a OMC faz parte do Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) [xi], que é um programa de múltiplos doadores que ajuda os PMDs a se tornarem atores ativos no sistema global de comércio, ajudando-os a lidar com restrições do lado da oferta para o comércio. O FEI ajuda os países menos desenvolvidos a alavancar a ajuda ao comércio através da sua assistência na integração do comércio nos planos nacionais de desenvolvimento. (EIF, 2012) Isto pode ser considerado como um passo significativo no sentido de cooperar com diferentes organizações sob diferentes acordos internacionais, a fim de ser mais eficaz na assistência ao subdesenvolvimento com especificidade, sem duplicar esforços isolados.
No entanto, a esse respeito, alguns autores [xii] argumentam mais drasticamente sobre como a OMC precisa de uma reforma radical e repensar se está realmente engajada com seu preâmbulo. Conforme alegado por Angeles-Castro et al. (2011) “a OMC deve deixar de tentar maximizar o fluxo do comércio, para entender e avaliar qual regime comercial maximizará a possibilidade de desenvolvimento para os países pobres individuais”. (Angeles-Castro et al. 2011: 23) Defende-se que a reforma do comércio é amplamente definida pelos países desenvolvidos. Assim, não permitindo uma mudança estrutural necessária nos mercados em desenvolvimento, uma vez que insistem em que os países em desenvolvimento devem reduzir as restrições sobre importações e serviços manufaturados em troca do acesso continuado de produtos agrícolas. (Íbis: 22) Em outras palavras, se a estrutura da política comercial não mudar, o que é possível obter com a ajuda é mínimo, pois os incentivos são equivocados. Oxfam (2002) estima que as barreiras comerciais contra bens de países em desenvolvimento custam cerca de US $ 100 bilhões por ano, ou o dobro do nível de assistência oficial ao desenvolvimento. (Angeles-Castro, 2011: 22) Políticas alternativas podem ser encorajadas pela OMC para países em desenvolvimento, já que algumas das estratégias usadas pelos industrializadores tardios no século XX [xiii] não são mais permitidas sob o acordo atual da OMC (Ibis: 23 ). A esse respeito, o Comitê de Comércio e Desenvolvimento pode ter um envolvimento mais forte na formulação de políticas alternativas, como Rodrik destacou: “Nenhum país se desenvolveu simplesmente se abrindo para o comércio exterior e investimentos. O truque tinha sido combinar as oportunidades oferecidas pelos mercados mundiais com uma estratégia de investimento interno e de criação de instituições para estimular os espíritos animais de empreendedores nacionais. (Rodrik, 2001) Mais importante, para evitar diagnósticos e remédios inadequados impostos por certos grupos de países. (Fisher e Schuler, 2002: 499) Segundo Ismail (2012), as soluções na Rodada de Desenvolvimento de Doha exigem que os países desenvolvidos [dos Estados Unidos] ultrapassem a avaliação “mercantilista” estreita dos ganhos que farão da rodada, porque eles nunca será o suficiente. Assim, para liberar a Rodada é necessário reconhecer que, embora os países em desenvolvimento apresentem números de crescimento mais rápidos, ainda enfrentam os desafios dos países em desenvolvimento. Assim, a liderança é necessária para cumprir as promessas feitas inicialmente em Doha em relação às questões de desenvolvimento econômico e condições comerciais (Ismail, 2012: 59).
Além do desenvolvimento econômico, a noção de desenvolvimento sustentável inclui proteção ambiental. Este é um assunto adicional que coloca em evidência agendas conflitantes entre países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento. Por um lado, os países em desenvolvimento têm uma série de preocupações razoáveis sobre a inclusão de disposições ambientais específicas na agenda comercial, e eles têm sido consistentes em sua resistência geral a eles (Halle e Melendez, em Najam et al. 2007, 21). Principalmente com a noção de que, ao abordar questões ambientais, os países desenvolvidos poderiam impor um protecionismo renovado em nome da proteção ambiental (Subedi, 2003: 440, Kelly, 2007), e também com a ênfase do desenvolvimento sustentável na equidade intergeracional - priorizando o crescimento entre o presente e as gerações futuras - que tem o potencial de minimizar a urgência de melhorar a distribuição de renda entre os ricos e os pobres do mundo de hoje. (Sampson, 2005: 4) Assim, o conceito em si é controverso, pois os países membros estão interessados em preservar o meio ambiente, mas também em ser soberanos o suficiente para determinar as medidas que considerem apropriadas para fazê-lo sem necessariamente vinculá-los ao comércio. Em outras palavras, nem todos estão necessariamente interessados em se impor restrições ambientais em nome do comércio. De acordo com Sampson, não há discordância entre os membros de que os Acordos Ambientais Multilaterais (MEAs) são a melhor maneira de coordenar ações políticas para enfrentar problemas ambientais globais e transfronteiriços, mas não estão interessados em se tornar uma organização ambientalista ou padrões ambientais. escritório de execução. De fato, o que se espera é que eles concordem e apliquem as regulamentações ambientais por meio de acordos, mas não coerção unilateral através de medidas inconsistentes da OMC. (Sampson, 2005: 129)
Como no caso do desenvolvimento econômico, a OMC conseguiu a criação de um Comitê de Comércio e Meio Ambiente que tem o papel de buscar formas e meios de harmonizar as obrigações comerciais dos Estados com suas responsabilidades de proteção ambiental. No entanto, a conciliação da política comercial com as preocupações ambientais pode, às vezes, ser inconsistente ou restritiva. “Um dos tópicos mais discutidos na OMC tem sido a relação entre suas disposições e o uso de medidas comerciais nos MEAs. O debate centrou-se na possibilidade de surgir um conflito sobre as medidas relacionadas com o comércio nos MEAs, e como o conflito nessas regras poderia ser evitado ou resolvido ”(Sampson, 2005: 128).
No entanto, este é um caminho que acaba de começar a ser construído e o papel da OMC na conciliação da política comercial com as preocupações ambientais foi testado por seu Órgão de Solução de Controvérsias, que teve que resolver casos para o comércio e para o bem ambiental. Pode-se considerar uma conquista o pronunciamento de seu Órgão de Apelação em casos específicos de disputa, como o Caso do Gás ou o caso do Camarão-Tartaruga, em que o Órgão de Apelação citou os Princípios do Rio e outros MEAs mostrando que começou a procurar políticas, tratados e declarações públicas sobre este assunto. (Halle e Melendez em Najam et al. 2007: 17) O caso do camarão-tartaruga é um bom exemplo para explorar agendas ambientais conflitantes de nações desenvolvidas e em desenvolvimento e a influência da OMC, MEAs, organizações não-governamentais e tribunais. sobre política ambiental. (Kelly, 2007: 38) O Órgão de Apelação admitiu resumos de amicus curiae apresentados por organizações ambientais, o que causou desconforto, porém mostrando que “reverteu a prática dos painéis do GATT e declarou que as regras da OMC não devem ser interpretadas“ em isolamento clínico ”de outros relevantes. acordos internacionais ”(Halle e Melendez em Najam et al. 2007: 17) O Órgão de Apelação deixou claro que os países têm o direito de tomar medidas para proteger o meio ambiente. Nos termos do Artigo XX do GATT, as medidas de proteção das tartarugas marinhas eram legítimas, desde que cumprissem os princípios de não discriminação. (OMC, 2012)
Além disso, no caso do Hormônio da Carne, o Órgão de Apelação importou da legislação ambiental internacional a noção de aplicação da abordagem de precaução e, em dois casos subseqüentes, percorreu um longo caminho para definir como ela pode ser aplicada ao direito comercial. Assim, a instância constitucional mais alta do sistema da OMC apontou para a aplicação efetiva de uma estrutura que permitiria que a liberalização do comércio contribuísse para um conjunto mais amplo de objetivos públicos. (Halle e Melendez em Najam et al. 2007: 17) De acordo com Halle e Melendez, é necessário aceitar que a política comercial está intimamente ligada a outras áreas políticas, e que cada uma afeta a outra. (Ibis: 18)
O desafio da OMC é fazer com que o sistema trabalhe não apenas por interesses comerciais definidos, mas por um conjunto mais amplo de assuntos que seguem objetivos de políticas públicas, que ligam o comércio a outros elementos do desenvolvimento sustentável (Halle e Melendez em Najam et al. 2007: 19). respeitando a premissa básica de que os governos podem seguir suas próprias políticas sem que outros países imponham suas preferências por meio de sanções comerciais (Sampson, 2005: 7).
Por fim, o terceiro pilar do desenvolvimento sustentável, o desenvolvimento social, não foi abordado no âmbito da OMC. Em contraste com o desenvolvimento econômico e a proteção ambiental, o desenvolvimento social não conta com um comitê especializado dedicado a encontrar formas de conciliar o comércio com direitos humanos ou trabalhistas. No entanto, a noção de desenvolvimento sustentável inclui este pilar e, por exemplo, os conceitos de "comércio justo" descrevem um "sistema de comércio que promove direitos trabalhistas, bom salário e condições de trabalho saudáveis [xiv]" (Lallanilla, 2012). A OMC ignorou as implicações dessa terceira noção, mostrando que o conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável ainda é vago entre as esferas da organização. Um comitê similar aos Comitês de Comércio e Desenvolvimento ou Comércio e Meio Ambiente da OMC, mas dedicado a explorar maneiras pelas quais o comércio pode promover os direitos humanos e melhores condições de trabalho para grupos vulneráveis de países em desenvolvimento e menos desenvolvidos, pode implicar um passo significativo para abordar questões de desenvolvimento sustentável de forma holística.
A OMC estabeleceu um curso de ação ambicioso, considerando que não foi concebido como uma organização ambiental, de desenvolvimento ou social. Isso representa um desafio, pois se tornou responsável por conciliar seus principais objetivos com os princípios do desenvolvimento sustentável. E é ainda mais desafiador porque é uma organização que precisa operar por consenso de seus membros. Eles têm visões divergentes sobre o papel que a OMC deve adotar em relação ao desenvolvimento sustentável; consequentemente, no que diz respeito à sua soberania e seus compromissos com os diferentes acordos internacionais [xv]. Qureshi (2011) também destaca esse fato quando afirma que “o sistema de comércio internacional ainda é composto por um mosaico de diferentes acordos internacionais. Isso não apenas cria complexidade; mas pode potencialmente gerar conflitos ou inconsistências entre os acordos ”(Qureshi, 2011: 338) Se acordos ambientais ou de direitos humanos forem adicionados a esse contexto, a OMC e os Membros enfrentam uma responsabilidade notável em resposta às necessidades dos diferentes atores que compõem comunidade internacional.
Tendo levado isso em conta, a OMC conseguiu realizar algumas medidas para lidar com questões de desenvolvimento sustentável. Como mencionado acima, em relação ao desenvolvimento econômico, os países em desenvolvimento ganharam espaço para expressar suas preocupações e serem compensados pelas diferenças que experimentam. A OMC tem envidado esforços para construir um sistema de assistência para ajudar os PMDs a atender às exigências do comércio internacional por meio de seu Comitê de Comércio e Desenvolvimento e Estrutura Integrada para canalizar recursos financeiros e técnicos para projetos relacionados ao comércio. Em relação à proteção ambiental, tem sido eficaz na resolução de conflitos em casos relacionados ao comércio e ao meio ambiente, sem negligenciar as medidas necessárias e soberanas que os estados podem exercer para preservar o meio ambiente. Por meio de seu Comitê de Comércio e Meio Ambiente, espera encontrar formas de conciliar acordos comerciais com os MEAs, a fim de aumentar as potencialidades do comércio para enfrentar as preocupações ambientais. No entanto, a OMC não tem nenhuma iniciativa em relação ao pilar de desenvolvimento social, mostrando que o conceito ainda é vago para o quadro operacional da instituição. Isso também é evidente porque se tornou mais difícil chegar a um acordo sobre negociações multilaterais de comércio, especificamente na agenda de Doha. Alguns autores como Stiglitz (2005) afirmam que a instituição precisa de um completo repensar desde a maneira como os acordos são negociados (Stiglitz, 2005: 169). Outros argumentam que a OMC tem que entregar muito mais do que assistência na cooperação técnica para países em desenvolvimento. a fim de provar que seus ideais, conforme articulados no preâmbulo do acordo de Marrakesh, não foram conduzidos pela política das relações internacionais de uma época, e não necessariamente por um senso de visão da ordem mundial e pela condição da humanidade como um todo. . (Qureshi, 2011)
Assim, as perspectivas de melhoria sugerem que a OMC precisa avaliar sua visão e seu papel em relação ao desenvolvimento sustentável, a fim de delimitá-los e esclarecê-los em relação aos outros instrumentos e atores internacionais, provavelmente esperando algo diferente da OMC. além de seu mandato. Como afirma Sampson, “enfrentar os desafios enfrentados pela economia global requer uma abordagem coerente e uma estrutura institucional em nível global. Isso significa a existência de instituições que determinam as políticas substantivas e os processos públicos, com um claro delineamento das responsabilidades dos vários atores envolvidos, que são mutuamente consistentes e solidários e que operam de maneira efetiva, responsável e legítima ”(Sampson, 2005). 7) Em outras palavras, as organizações no nível internacional, como a OMC, precisam adotar uma abordagem holística e cooperativa para serem eficazes no enfrentamento de questões que envolvem inúmeros atores e preocupações urgentes em diferentes níveis, sem desviar seu objetivo principal. existência, nem ser alheio a questões que dizem respeito a toda a comunidade.
[ii] A liberalização do comércio inclui a redução de tarifas e outras barreiras, a eliminação do tratamento discriminatório e a preservação de um ambiente comercial orientado por regras.
[iii] Diz-se que um país tem uma vantagem comparativa em relação a outro na produção de um determinado bem em relação a outros bens, se produzir esse bem menos ineficientemente do que produz outros bens, em comparação com o outro país. (Baumol e Blinder, 2011: 43) Um dos principais benefícios do comércio é que um país pode melhorar seu bem-estar adquirindo mercadorias a preços baixos de estrangeiros, em vez de produzi-los internamente a um alto custo (Reyes e Sawyer, 2011: 158).
[iv] O conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável e seu status, especificamente sob o Direito Internacional, é um pouco incerto. (Qureshi, 2011, 633-634)
[v] Especificamente o princípio da não reciprocidade.
[vi] Compromisso único: Praticamente todos os itens da negociação fazem parte de um pacote completo e indivisível e não podem ser acordados separadamente. “Nada é acordado até que tudo esteja acordado”.
[vii] A SDT foi agrupada em cinco grupos principais: disposições destinadas a aumentar as oportunidades comerciais através do acesso ao mercado; disposições que obrigam os membros da OMC a salvaguardar o interesse dos países em desenvolvimento; disposições que permitam flexibilidade aos países em desenvolvimento nas regras e disciplinas que regem as medidas comerciais; disposições que permitem períodos de transição mais longos para os países em desenvolvimento; e provisões para assistência técnica. (Kessie, 2007: 19)
[x] Veja Prowse em Evenett e Hoekman (2006)
[xii] Autores como Haussman e Rodrik 2003 ou Stiglitz 2006.
[xiii] Exemplo de tigres asiáticos como exemplificado por Chang (2002)
[xv] Por exemplo, no caso de disputa entre o Brasil e a UE para a imposição de uma proibição de importação de pneus recauchutados no Brasil, onde ocorreu um conflito entre acordos com a OMC e o acordo regional do Mercosul. Além disso, neste caso, tentou-se o artigo XX para justificar um caso de discriminação injustificada.
[xvi] Halle e Melendez em Najam et al. 2007.
Angeles-Castro, Gerardo, Ignacio Perrotini-Hernández e Humberto Ríos-Bolívar, (eds.) Liberalismo de mercado, crescimento e desenvolvimento econômico na América Latina. Routledge 2011.
Baumol, William J. e Alan S. Blinder, Macroeconomia: Princípios e Política, 12ª edição. Sudoeste, Cengage Aprendendo 2012, 2011.
Chang, Ha-Joon, chutando a escada. Estratégia de Desenvolvimento na Perspectiva Histórica. Anthem Press 2002.
Croome, John, reformulando o sistema comercial mundial: uma história da 2ª edição da Rodada Uruguai. Kluwer Law International 1999.
Keck, Alexander e Patrick Low, “Tratamento especial e diferenciado na OMC: por que, quando e como?” Em Evenett, Simon J. e Bernard M. Hoekman (eds.) Desenvolvimento Econômico e Cooperação Multilateral Comercial. Palgrave Macmillan e o Banco Mundial 2006.
Najam, Adil, Mark Halle e Ricardo Melendez Ortiz, Prevendo uma Agenda de Desenvolvimento Sustentável para o Comércio e Meio Ambiente Palgrave Macmillan 2007.
Oyejide, T. Ademola; “Tratamento Especial e Diferencial” em Hoekman, Bernard, Aaditya Matto e Philip English (orgs.), Desenvolvimento, Comércio e OMC: Um Manual, Banco Internacional para Reconstrução e Desenvolvimento / Banco Mundial 2002.
Qureshi, A. H. e A. R. Ziegler, International Economic Law 3ª edição. Londres, Sweet & amp; Maxwell 2011.
Rodrik, Dani, A Governança Global do Comércio: Como se o Desenvolvimento realmente Mattered (Nova York, UNDP, 2001)
Sampson, Gary P., Organização Mundial do Comércio e Desenvolvimento Sustentável. Imprensa da Universidade das Nações Unidas em 2005.
Subedi, Surya P., “O Caminho de Doha: as Questões para a Rodada de Desenvolvimento da OMC e o Futuro do Comércio Internacional”, 52 Direito Internacional e Comparativo Trimestral (2003)
CGTN America.
Texto Completo de Xi Jinping no Fórum Econômico Mundial.
A seguir, o texto completo do discurso do Presidente da China, Xi Jinping, no Fórum Econômico Mundial em Davos, Suíça:
Jointly Shoulder Responsibility of Our Times,
Keynote Speech by H. E. Xi Jinping.
President of the People’s Republic of China.
At the Opening Session.
Of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017.
Davos, 17 January 2017.
President Doris Leuthard and Mr. Roland Hausin,
Heads of State and Government, Deputy Heads of State and Your Spouses,
Heads of International Organizations,
Dr. Klaus Schwab and Mrs. Hilde Schwab,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I’m delighted to come to beautiful Davos. Though just a small town in the Alps, Davos is an important window for taking the pulse of the global economy. People from around the world come here to exchange ideas and insights, which broaden their vision. This makes the WEF annual meeting a cost-effective brainstorming event, which I would call “Schwab economics”.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” These are the words used by the English writer Charles Dickens to describe the world after the Industrial Revolution. Today, we also live in a world of contradictions. On the one hand, with growing material wealth and advances in science and technology, human civilization has developed as never before. On the other hand, frequent regional conflicts, global challenges like terrorism and refugees, as well as poverty, unemployment and widening income gap have all added to the uncertainties of the world.
Many people feel bewildered and wonder: What has gone wrong with the world?
To answer this question, one must first track the source of the problem. Some blame economic globalization for the chaos in the world. Economic globalization was once viewed as the treasure cave found by Ali Baba in The Arabian Nights, but it has now become the Pandora’s box in the eyes of many. The international community finds itself in a heated debate on economic globalization.
Today, I wish to address the global economy in the context of economic globalization.
The point I want to make is that many of the problems troubling the world are not caused by economic globalization. For instance, the refugee waves from the Middle East and North Africa in recent years have become a global concern. Several million people have been displaced, and some small children lost their lives while crossing the rough sea. This is indeed heartbreaking. It is war, conflict and regional turbulence that have created this problem, and its solution lies in making peace, promoting reconciliation and restoring stability. The international financial crisis is another example. It is not an inevitable outcome of economic globalization; rather, it is the consequence of excessive chase of profit by financial capital and grave failure of financial regulation. Just blaming economic globalization for the world’s problems is inconsistent with reality, and it will not help solve the problems.
From the historical perspective, economic globalization resulted from growing social productivity, and is a natural outcome of scientific and technological progress, not something created by any individuals or any countries. Economic globalization has powered global growth and facilitated movement of goods and capital, advances in science, technology and civilization, and interactions among peoples.
But we should also recognize that economic globalization is a double-edged sword. When the global economy is under downward pressure, it is hard to make the cake of global economy bigger. It may even shrink, which will strain the relations between growth and distribution, between capital and labor, and between efficiency and equity. Both developed and developing countries have felt the punch. Voices against globalization have laid bare pitfalls in the process of economic globalization that we need to take seriously.
As a line in an old Chinese poem goes, “Honey melons hang on bitter vines; sweet dates grow on thistles and thorns.” In a philosophical sense, nothing is perfect in the world. One would fail to see the full picture if he claims something is perfect because of its merits, or if he views something as useless just because of its defects. It is true that economic globalization has created new problems, but this is no justification to write economic globalization off completely. Rather, we should adapt to and guide economic globalization, cushion its negative impact, and deliver its benefits to all countries and all nations.
There was a time when China also had doubts about economic globalization, and was not sure whether it should join the World Trade Organization. But we came to the conclusion that integration into the global economy is a historical trend. To grow its economy, China must have the courage to swim in the vast ocean of the global market. If one is always afraid of bracing the storm and exploring the new world, he will sooner or later get drowned in the ocean. Therefore, China took a brave step to embrace the global market. We have had our fair share of choking in the water and encountered whirlpools and choppy waves, but we have learned how to swim in this process. It has proved to be a right strategic choice.
Whether you like it or not, the global economy is the big ocean that you cannot escape from. Any attempt to cut off the flow of capital, technologies, products, industries and people between economies, and channel the waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible. Indeed, it runs counter to the historical trend.
The history of mankind tells us that problems are not to be feared. What should concern us is refusing to face up to problems and not knowing what to do about them. In the face of both opportunities and challenges of economic globalization, the right thing to do is to seize every opportunity, jointly meet challenges and chart the right course for economic globalization.
At the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in late 2016, I spoke about the necessity to make the process of economic globalization more invigorated, more inclusive and more sustainable. We should act pro-actively and manage economic globalization as appropriate so as to release its positive impact and rebalance the process of economic globalization. We should follow the general trend, proceed from our respective national conditions and embark on the right pathway of integrating into economic globalization with the right pace. We should strike a balance between efficiency and equity to ensure that different countries, different social strata and different groups of people all share in the benefits of economic globalization. The people of all countries expect nothing less from us, and this is our unshirkable responsibility as leaders of our times.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At present, the most pressing task before us is to steer the global economy out of difficulty. The global economy has remained sluggish for quite some time. The gap between the poor and the rich and between the South and the North is widening. The root cause is that the three critical issues in the economic sphere have not been effectively addressed.
First, lack of robust driving forces for global growth makes it difficult to sustain the steady growth of the global economy. The growth of the global economy is now at its slowest pace in seven years. Growth of global trade has been slower than global GDP growth. Short-term policy stimuli are ineffective. Fundamental structural reform is just unfolding. The global economy is now in a period of moving toward new growth drivers, and the role of traditional engines to drive growth has weakened. Despite the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and 3-D printing, new sources of growth are yet to emerge. A new path for the global economy remains elusive.
Second, inadequate global economic governance makes it difficult to adapt to new developments in the global economy. Madame Christine Lagarde recently told me that emerging markets and developing countries already contribute to 80 percent of the growth of the global economy. The global economic landscape has changed profoundly in the past few decades. However, the global governance system has not embraced those new changes and is therefore inadequate in terms of representation and inclusiveness. The global industrial landscape is changing and new industrial chains, value chains and supply chains are taking shape. However, trade and investment rules have not kept pace with these developments, resulting in acute problems such as closed mechanisms and fragmentation of rules. The global financial market needs to be more resilient against risks, but the global financial governance mechanism fails to meet the new requirement and is thus unable to effectively resolve problems such as frequent international financial market volatility and the build-up of asset bubbles.
Third, uneven global development makes it difficult to meet people’s expectations for better lives. Dr. Schwab has observed in his book The Fourth Industrial Revolution that this round of industrial revolution will produce extensive and far-reaching impacts such as growing inequality, particularly the possible widening gap between return on capital and return on labor. The richest one percent of the world’s population own more wealth than the remaining 99 percent. Inequality in income distribution and uneven development space are worrying. Over 700 million people in the world are still living in extreme poverty. For many families, to have warm houses, enough food and secure jobs is still a distant dream. This is the biggest challenge facing the world today. It is also what is behind the social turmoil in some countries.
All this shows that there are indeed problems with world economic growth, governance and development models, and they must be resolved. The founder of the Red Cross Henry Dunant once said, “Our real enemy is not the neighboring country; it is hunger, poverty, ignorance, superstition and prejudice.” We need to have the vision to dissect these problems; more importantly, we need to have the courage to take actions to address them.
First, we should develop a dynamic, innovation-driven growth model. The fundamental issue plaguing the global economy is the lack of driving force for growth. Innovation is the primary force guiding development. Unlike the previous industrial revolutions, the fourth industrial revolution is unfolding at an exponential rather than linear pace. We need to relentlessly pursue innovation. Only with the courage to innovate and reform can we remove bottlenecks blocking global growth and development.
With this in mind, G-20 leaders reached an important consensus at the Hangzhou Summit, which is to take innovation as a key driver and foster new driving force of growth for both individual countries and the global economy. We should develop a new development philosophy and rise above the debate about whether there should be more fiscal stimulus or more monetary easing. We should adopt a multipronged approach to address both the symptoms and the underlying problems. We should adopt new policy instruments and advance structural reform to create more space for growth and sustain its momentum. We should develop new growth models and seize opportunities presented by the new round of industrial revolution and digital economy. We should meet the challenges of climate change and aging population. We should address the negative impact of IT application and automation on jobs. When cultivating new industries and new forms models of business models, we should create new jobs and restore confidence and hope to our peoples.
Second, we should pursue a well-coordinated and inter-connected approach to develop a model of open and win-win cooperation. Today, mankind has become a close-knit community of shared future. Countries have extensive converging interests and are mutually dependent. All countries enjoy the right to development. At the same time, they should view their own interests in a broader context and refrain from pursuing them at the expense of others.
We should commit ourselves to growing an open global economy to share opportunities and interests through opening-up and achieve win-win outcomes. One should not just retreat to the harbor when encountering a storm, for this will never get us to the other shore of the ocean. We must redouble efforts to develop global connectivity to enable all countries to achieve inter-connected growth and share prosperity. We must remain committed to developing global free trade and investment, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation through opening-up and say no to protectionism. Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room. While wind and rain may be kept outside, that dark room will also block light and air. No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war.
Third, we should develop a model of fair and equitable governance in keeping with the trend of the times. As the Chinese saying goes, people with petty shrewdness attend to trivial matters, while people with vision attend to governance of institutions. There is a growing call from the international community for reforming the global economic governance system, which is a pressing task for us. Only when it adapts to new dynamics in the international economic architecture can the global governance system sustain global growth.
Countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are all equal members of the international community. As such, they are entitled to participate in decision-making, enjoy rights and fulfill obligations on an equal basis. Emerging markets and developing countries deserve greater representation and voice. The 2010 IMF quota reform has entered into force, and its momentum should be sustained. We should adhere to multilateralism to uphold the authority and efficacy of multilateral institutions. We should honor promises and abide by rules. One should not select or bend rules as he sees fit. The Paris Agreement is a hard-won achievement which is in keeping with the underlying trend of global development. All signatories should stick to it instead of walking away from it as this is a responsibility we must assume for future generations.
Fourth, we should develop a balanced, equitable and inclusive development model. As the Chinese saying goes, “A just cause should be pursued for common good.” Development is ultimately for the people. To achieve more balanced development and ensure that the people have equal access to opportunities and share in the benefits of development, it is crucial to have a sound development philosophy and model and make development equitable, effective and balanced.
We should foster a culture that values diligence, frugality and enterprise and respects the fruits of hard work of all. Priority should be given to addressing poverty, unemployment, the widening income gap and the concerns of the disadvantaged to promote social equity and justice. It is important to protect the environment while pursuing economic and social progress so as to achieve harmony between man and nature and between man and society. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should be implemented to realize balanced development across the world.
A Chinese adage reads, “Victory is ensured when people pool their strength; success is secured when people put their heads together.” As long as we keep to the goal of building a community of shared future for mankind and work hand in hand to fulfill our responsibilities and overcome difficulties, we will be able to create a better world and deliver better lives for our peoples.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
China has become the world’s second largest economy thanks to 38 years of reform and opening-up. A right path leads to a bright future. China has come this far because the Chinese people have, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, blazed a development path that suits China’s actual conditions.
This is a path based on China’s realities. China has in the past years succeeded in embarking on a development path that suits itself by drawing on both the wisdom of its civilization and the practices of other countries in both East and West. In exploring this path, China refuses to stay insensitive to the changing times or to blindly follow in others’ footsteps. All roads lead to Rome. No country should view its own development path as the only viable one, still less should it impose its own development path on others.
This is a path that puts people’s interests first. China follows a people-oriented development philosophy and is committed to bettering the lives of its people. Development is of the people, by the people and for the people. China pursues the goal of common prosperity. We have taken major steps to alleviate poverty and lifted over 700 million people out of poverty, and good progress is being made in our efforts to finish building a society of initial prosperity in all respects.
This is a path of pursuing reform and innovation. China has tackled difficulties and met challenges on its way forward through reform. China has demonstrated its courage to take on difficult issues, navigate treacherous rapids and remove institutional hurdles standing in the way of development. These efforts have enabled us to unleash productivity and social vitality. Building on progress of 30-odd years of reform, we have introduced more than 1,200 reform measures over the past four years, injecting powerful impetus into China’s development.
This is a path of pursuing common development through opening-up. China is committed to a fundamental policy of opening-up and pursues a win-win opening-up strategy. China’s development is both domestic and external oriented; while developing itself, China also shares more of its development outcomes with other countries and peoples.
China’s outstanding development achievements and the vastly improved living standards of the Chinese people are a blessing to both China and the world. Such achievements in development over the past decades owe themselves to the hard work and perseverance of the Chinese people, a quality that has defined the Chinese nation for several thousand years. We Chinese know only too well that there is no such thing as a free lunch in the world. For a big country with over 1.3 billion people, development can be achieved only with the dedication and tireless efforts of its own people. We cannot expect others to deliver development to China, and no one is in a position to do so. When assessing China’s development, one should not only see what benefits the Chinese people have gained, but also how much hard effort they have put in, not just what achievements China has made, but also what contribution China has made to the world. Then one will reach a balanced conclusion about China’s development.
Between 1950 and 2016, despite its modest level of development and living standard, China provided more than 400 billion yuan of foreign assistance, undertook over 5,000 foreign assistance projects, including nearly 3,000 complete projects, and held over 11,000 training workshops in China for over 260,000 personnel from other developing countries. Since it launched reform and opening-up, China has attracted over $1.7 trillion of foreign investment and made over $1.2 trillion of direct outbound investment, making huge contribution to global economic development. In the years following the outbreak of the international financial crisis, China contributed to over 30 percent of global growth every year on average. All these figures are among the highest in the world.
The figures speak for themselves. China’s development is an opportunity for the world; China has not only benefited from economic globalization but also contributed to it. Rapid growth in China has been a sustained, powerful engine for global economic stability and expansion. The inter-connected development of China and a large number of other countries has made the world economy more balanced. China’s remarkable achievement in poverty reduction has contributed to more inclusive global growth. And China’s continuous progress in reform and opening-up has lent much momentum to an open world economy.
We Chinese know only too well what it takes to achieve prosperity, so we applaud the achievements made by others and wish them a better future. We are not jealous of others’ success; and we will not complain about others who have benefited so much from the great opportunities presented by China’s development. We will open our arms to the people of other countries and welcome them aboard the express train of China’s development.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I know you are all closely following China’s economic development, and let me give you an update on the state of China’s economy. China’s economy has entered what we call a new normal, in which major changes are taking place in terms of growth rate, development model, economic structure and drivers of growth. But the economic fundamentals sustaining sound development remain unchanged.
Despite a sluggish global economy, China’s economy is expected to grow by 6.7 percent in 2016, still one of the highest in the world. China’s economy is far bigger in size than in the past, and it now generates more output than it did with double-digit growth in the past. Household consumption and the services sector have become the main drivers of growth. In the first three quarters of 2016, added value of the tertiary industry took up 52.8 percent of the GDP and domestic consumption contributed to 71 percent of economic growth. Household income and employment have steadily risen, while per unit GDP energy consumption continues to drop. Our efforts to pursue green development are paying off.
The Chinese economy faces downward pressure and many difficulties, including acute mismatch between excess capacity and an upgrading demand structure, lack of internal driving force for growth, accumulation of financial risks, and growing challenges in certain regions. We see these as temporary hardships that occur on the way forward. And the measures we have taken to address these problems are producing good results. We are firm in our resolve to forge ahead. China is the world’s largest developing country with over 1.3 billion people, and their living standards are not yet high. But this reality also means China has enormous potential and space for development. Guided by the vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, we will adapt to the new normal, stay ahead of the curve, and make coordinated efforts to maintain steady growth, accelerate reform, adjust economic structure, improve people’s living standards and fend off risks. With these efforts, we aim to achieve medium-high rate of growth and upgrade the economy to higher end of the value chain.
— China will strive to enhance the performance of economic growth. We will pursue supply-side structural reform as the general goal, shift the growth model and upgrade the economic structure. We will continue to cut overcapacity, reduce inventory, deleverage financing, reduce cost and strengthen weak links. We will foster new drivers of growth, develop an advanced manufacturing sector and upgrade the real economy. We will implement the Internet Plus action plan to boost effective demand and better meet the individualized and diverse needs of consumers. And we will do more to protect the ecosystem.
— China will boost market vitality to add new impetus to growth. We will intensify reform efforts in priority areas and key links and enable the market to play a decisive role in resources allocation. Innovation will continue to feature prominently on our growth agenda. In pursuing the strategy of innovation-driven development, we will bolster the strategic emerging industries, apply new technologies and foster new business models to upgrade traditional industries; and we will boost new drivers of growth and revitalize traditional ones.
— China will foster an enabling and orderly environment for investment. We will expand market access for foreign investors, build high-standard pilot free trade zones, strengthen protection of property rights, and level the playing field to make China’s market more transparent and better regulated. In the coming five years, China is expected to import $8 trillion of goods, attract $600 billion of foreign investment and make $750 billion of outbound investment. Chinese tourists will make 700 million overseas visits. All this will create a bigger market, more capital, more products and more business opportunities for other countries. China’s development will continue to offer opportunities to business communities in other countries. China will keep its door wide open and not close it. An open door allows both other countries to access the Chinese market and China itself to integrate with the world. And we hope that other countries will also keep their door open to Chinese investors and keep the playing field level for us.
— China will vigorously foster an external environment of opening-up for common development. We will advance the building of the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific and negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to form a global network of free trade arrangements. China stands for concluding open, transparent and win-win regional free trade arrangements and opposes forming exclusive groups that are fragmented in nature. China has no intention to boost its trade competitiveness by devaluing the RMB, still less will it launch a currency war.
Over three years ago, I put forward the “Belt and Road” initiative. Since then, over 100 countries and international organizations have given warm responses and support to the initiative. More than 40 countries and international organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China, and our circle of friends along the “Belt and Road” is growing bigger. Chinese companies have made over $50 billion of investment and launched a number of major projects in the countries along the routes, spurring the economic development of these countries and creating many local jobs. The “Belt and Road” initiative originated in China, but it has delivered benefits well beyond its borders.
In May this year, China will host in Beijing the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which aims to discuss ways to boost cooperation, build cooperation platforms and share cooperation outcomes. The forum will also explore ways to address problems facing global and regional economy, create fresh energy for pursuing inter-connected development and make the “Belt and Road” initiative deliver greater benefits to people of countries involved.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
World history shows that the road of human civilization has never been a smooth one, and that mankind has made progress by surmounting difficulties. No difficulty, however daunting, will stop mankind from advancing. When encountering difficulties, we should not complain about ourselves, blame others, lose confidence or run away from responsibilities. We should join hands and rise to the challenge. History is created by the brave. Let us boost confidence, take actions and march arm-in-arm toward a bright future.
The multilateral trading system a development perspective
It may now seem almost a century since December 26, 2017, but still in our subconsciousness George Manneh Weah was set out not to be the normal, seasoned politician or intellect that we anxiously wanted to maintain the status quo. But then soon after January 22, 2018, we quickly wept away our tears and accepted the fact that Liberia, indeed,  now has a very normal and highly innovative presidency of its time. With only two major speeches to his credit thus far, the new President has shown himself to be a master tactician – he is where nobody expects him.
The policy experts involved in the writing of Liberia’s Petroleum law (2002) perhaps overlooked important aspects of the petroleum sector, including “Critical Safeguard, Oil Spill, and Environmental Sustainability”. The omission of “safeguard in alignment with Safety, Health and Environment” as was proposed by the Petroleum Law makes said document inadequate. “Safeguard”, which is a cardinal initiative to mitigate risks to person, environment, and facility, cannot be overlooked in the development of essential laws regulating the petroleum industry.
Subtle whining is being echoed by the people in certain quarters of Monrovia in regards to the lip service of the “pro-poor” leadership to deliver public goods and limit public bad. Just in less than two months contradictions are rearing their ugly heads in a somewhat unorthodox way, exposing the change mantra as a faГ§ade. It is so surprising to some that the new leadership has speedily degenerated in less than two months, in a way which has further exposed the political farce.
A Letter From Human Rights Watch To President.
Human Rights Watch wishes to congratulate you on winning Liberia’s recent election. As you take up your new position and consider your priorities for Liberia, we write today to urge you to put justice, accountability and strengthening rule of law institutions at the very top of your agenda. Specifically, we encourage you to revisit the issue of justice for past crimes committed during Liberia’s civil wars, notably by invigorating plans for trials of civil wars-era crimes in order to bring justice to the victims, punish the perpetrators, and strengthen respect for the rule of law.
President George Manneh Weah is wrong to refer to himself as the 24th President of the Republic of Liberia. In many of his public utterances, including his widely watched inaugural speech at the Samuel Kanyon Doe sports complex President George Manneh referred to himself as the 24th President of the Republic of Liberia. Exactly one week following his inaugural speech, President George Weah propounded the same narrative in his State of the Nation address… he stated: “I, George Manneh Weah, your humble servant, took the oath of office and was sworn in as the 24th President of the Republic of Liberia”. Interestingly, some members of his inner circle are also peddling this false narrative, much to the bewilderment of historians.
Once again, we are faced with another mass shooting. This time the cold-blooded killings took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 14 innocent students and three adults. This horrific mass murder of young and old attests to the criminal negligence of our lawmakers and president, who dispense with their responsibility by offering to the bereaved families hollow condolences and fake prayers.
Liberia is lagging behind countries that gained their independence over 100 years after Liberia gained its independence. This is because our leaders do not pay attention to educatuion nor have agenda that will benefit the country in the long-run. The campus of the University of Liberia which appeared to be a friendly zone for President George Manneh Weah during the presidential election, became unsympathetic and rancorous with the burning of tires, chanting battle cries and waving banners expressing their disenchantment with Dr. Ophelia Weeks, President of the University of Liberia and demanding her resignation. We witnessed similar demonstration or go-slow a few months ago at the Tubman University, another public institution of higher learning against the administration of the current president, Dr. Edward Wonkeryor.
A Speech Delivered by Tiawan Gongloe at the 7th National Trial Judges Conference.
The decisions that magistrates and judges make, therefore, have life-changing effects on the parties that appear before them. The duty that magistrates and judges perform in society is the most sacred, of all the duties performed by the functionaries of government in our system of government. How can the performance of such a role sustain peace in Liberia? In order to answer this question, it is important too, first deal with some of the challenges that judges and magistrates face in the performance of their function.
We shall examine ways to improve the judiciary system to ensure that the basic rights of all Liberians are protected. В В To that end, we will propose legislation that will be intended to create new processes and avenues to ensure that all our people are fully reconciled. In terms of security and defense, we will rely on your budgetary support to enable us to continue to improve the professional and operational development of the Armed Forces of Liberia, and other security agencies, in order to better prepare them to participate in the fight against global terrorism. In this regard, we will specially focus on the housing constraints faced by our security personnel. We will request you to draft legislation that will focus on the decentralization of institutions and systems of governance, review and build upon the current Code of Conduct in order to increase accountability of public officials and reduce the incidence of corruption.
At your inaugural program on 22nd January 2018, you somewhat delivered a speech, among other things, you assured the masses of our people that your administration will end corruption. This pronouncement stimulated applause from the audience attending the program, and also became a bold banner headline on many mainstream newspapers in the country. Similarly, Liberians trended social media with it, creating the hashtag: “The country giant pledged to end corruption.”
A corruption-free government could turn Liberia into a modern paradise and an enviable nation of prosperity and equality for all. It is time for all citizens to share in Liberia’s wealth regardless of creed, class, ethnicity and political affiliation. As a youth activist, I have vehemently stood up against a corrupt and nepotistic system for 12 years, and my passion for a NEW LIBERIA remains unquenched. I am hopeful that this NEW LIBERIA can be achieved under President Weah if only he can appoint and commission a strong anti-graft TEAM.
Amongst the many recommendations forwarded to our President, Mr. George Manneh Weah, I have yet to see any proposal as to how best Liberia can generate the necessary revenue to finance the needed programs. Currently, Liberia’s reliance on users’ tax (i. e., such as import tax, which constitutes 50% of government revenue) is inadequate to fund the current budgetary allotment, not to mention additional programs.
(They are not on speaking terms)
What was supposed to be a joyful turnover is about to become a nightmarish spectacle. The fate of the nation and the welfare of future generations are in the hands of two persons, two persons with followings and power at the tip of their fingers. Hundreds of people depend on each one for their daily bread. One is leaving the presidency with the greatest popularity in the international community as well as a great number of loyalists and power brokers at home. The other could be on the verge to seize the reins of the nation.
A Press Release Issued by the Universal Human Rights International (UHRI)
The Universal Human Rights International (UHRI) congratulates President Weah and the Liberian people for the peaceful conduct of the 2017 General Elections and peaceful transfer of power. The purpose of this statement is to announce that criminal and civil lawsuits will be filed against former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and all the warlords who participated in the Liberian Civil War and in the past 12 years have used the resources and revenue of Liberia to become millionaires and rich people to the detriments of the people.
Mr. President, you have inherited a government that has been rendered bankrupt by the Sirleaf kleptomaniacs who now swarm around you. You’ve strangely committed yourself to protecting them, haven’t you? В It will be impossible to clean up the mess in post – Sirleaf Liberia unless you’re ready to do the right thing for the Liberian people. I know that you mean well and want to please everybody, but this is not possible.
I have spent many years of my life in stadiums, but today is a feeling like no other. I am overwhelmed with the crowd and the energy here today, and I guarantee you, when we finish, there will not be a winning or a losing side. Today, we all wear the jersey of Liberia, and the victory belongs to the people, to peace, and to democracy. The tens of thousands of Liberians here today and many more in our communities across the country who are listening gathered together around radios in the palava hut, it is to you we are responsible to deliver the change you deserve.
By Alfred P. B. Kiadii.
We cannot legitimize with our presence the imposition of a puppet government which is an attendant ramification of the political farce orchestrated by right-wing elements who are fixated on continuing the massive plundering of the people’s resources. The faГ§ade is detestable to the extent that one’s presence could be an endorsement of the chicanery.
Mr. President, I bring you greetings with high esteem and it is my fervent hope this opened communication meets you well as you prepare to take on the mantle of authority of the homeland! According to the National Election Commission (NEC), the people spoke in a loud democratic tune on December 26, 2017. They went to the polls and voted the leader they deserve. As someone who was on the other side, who am I to resist the collective democratic action of the people?
Congratulations President-Elect George Manneh Weah on a resounding victory. The stakes were/ are understandably very high - pulling the nation from poverty and polarization - thus the political battle was fiercely fought. We must say upfront that because of concerns for stability and peace, we endorsed the UP ticket during the election. Anyway, as they used to say in ancient Rome: "Vox populi, vox dei", meaning the voice of the people is the voice of God. Put another way, man proposed, God disposed, and you've been validated as the chosen of our people.
Since the end of World War II, the world is experiencing the resurgence of neo-fascist proclivities. The flourishing seed of such extreme right wing ideology has emerged in Western Europe and the United States of America. Nowadays, elements leading those countries are advocating extreme nationalism, attacking left-wing ideologies and other Marxist ideology. Literally, they indulge in the racists and xenophobic scapegoating of vulnerable peoples, and also promoting pseudo-populist right-wing economic programs. Unlike the fascist, the neo-fascists placed the blame of their countries’
The geopolitical developments in the Middle East over the past fifteen years have created new political and security dynamics engendered by the violent turmoil and profound concerns over the Iranian threat, shared by Israel and the Arab states. Israel is now facing a new critical juncture: continue with its oppressive occupation and creeping annexation of Palestinian land, which stands in total contrast to its moral responsibility and Jewish values; or seek a peace agreement with the Palestinians in the context of an Arab-Israeli comprehensive peace, which the Arab states seek now more than any time before because of their domestic and foreign security concerns.
A Press Release Issued By CDC.
The attention of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has been drawn to widespread reports on social and other media referencing a So-called “Black List” or “Rest List” from the CDC. The incoming ruling party wishes to categorically deny, refute and disassociates itself from the existence of any List targeting any group of Liberians for discrimination in any form or manner.
Is the debt of the Liberian government (i. e., Parent) to the Central Bank of Liberia (i. e., Subsidiary) authentic, legitimate and transparent debt? If yes, should it be excluded from the Current Assets of the Bank in determining the Bank’s liquidity since the Accounts Receivable is not redeemable within one year? I gave an answer to the latter question at the Governance Commission Seminar held on 12/15/17, and also stated that the Central Bank owes US $42,000 million.
As the mid-term political campaigns begin, perhaps we should pause and think where this country is headed under the leadership of Trump, with the House and Senate in control of the Republican party - a party that has lost its soul and its way, failing to safeguard America’s national interest. This is a party that strives to cling to power - which is not itself unusual - but seeks it at all costs with no scruples and no moral compass. It seems that the Republican establishment will do whatever it takes to promote their narrow conservative agenda, which caters to the rich and powerful, while supporting a president who has nothing to offer the country but disgrace.
The demand for the US dollar has contributed to the decline of the value of the Liberian dollar since 2006. It declined from LD 62 to US $1 dollar in 2006, to LD 108 to US $1 in 2016, and in 2018, it is LD 126 for US $1. The exchange rate decline is now being exacerbated by the liquidity crisis. Nowadays, due to the shortage of cash, commercial banks are reluctant to cash government checks or provide credit lines to government contractors, according to the President of the Liberian Banking Association when he served as a panelist at the Governance Commission Seminar on 12/15/17.
LIBERIA-CENTRAL BANKВ В В S. LEONE-CENTRAL BANK.
Miss Sonah James.
Sonnie James will never forget about January 4, 2017. On this tragic day, she bled profusely with blood running down her right eye as a result of police brutality. I had an opportunity to have met Sonnie on January 12, 2017 and I became appalled by her worsening condition especially after being abandoned by those who inflicted such casualty on her. Sonnie, a vendor of sandwich bread, said to me in a pathetic tone when I first met her “I have no one to fight my case. They really hurt me for no reason. I am going blind and they are doing nothing about it.” Momentarily, I felt Sonnie’s pain and was provoked to act in her interest in order to ensure that justice prevails.
Liberia's post-conflict democratic governance period left the people of Liberia deprived, desperate and destitute. Liberians believe that the vast resources of the country were squandered, plundered, and pillaged. As a result, they rose-up during the election to hold Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the Unity Party accountable, and overwhelmingly elected George Weah, president and Jewel Howard - Taylor, vice president. The Liberian people frantically wanted change at any cost due to their bitterness, anger and disappointment.
By Dr. Murv L. Kandakai Gardiner.
From his pen at the center of the Roman-African Church, St Augustine of Tunisia/Hippo, asked, “When justice is taken away, what are kingdoms but a vast banditry?” These words by an African Catholic Bishop even flowed through subsequent centuries to become the basic pillar in the thought of the Protestant Reformer, Jean Calvin. St Augustine’s concern during the formative stages of the Church has become the same concern that some well-meaning international agencies and some Liberians have.
By Elder Siahyonkron Nyanseor.
On December 26, 2017, the change the Liberian people desired was given to them through the decisive victory of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), headed by Senator George Manneh Weah. Now, what is required is the smooth and peaceful transfer of power in ALL democracies, especially, the Liberian Democracy. Why should this one be any different? Why turn a simple peaceful transfer of power into something so complex which involves the outgoing president and the incoming president to form a committee in which two of them serve as co-chairs? When I last checked, this process, which requires an Executive Order 91 to transfer power is first of its kind in 70 years.
A Press Release Issued By The Liberian Studies Association.
Liberia faces a major political transition in 2018. The first since the end of the country’s civil war where a peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected president, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, to another president to be determined at elections in October this year. This transfer of power will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Liberian Studies Association (LSA). These milestones present Liberia with new possibilities for development, and academics who are studying Liberia with new questions about the study and future of the country.
I want to extend my heartiest congratulations to the President elect – Senator George Manneh Weah. Undoubtedly, you have handled the uncertain electoral sequences with a very high degree of patience, intelligence and statesmanship. Bravo! And now you should be the President of all the Liberians and not just a particular class, group or a clique. As you begin your long and tedious 6-year mission, hereinВ is my initial advice. В В В.
By Elder Siahyonkron Nyanseor.
President-Elect George Manneh Weah, please accept my warmest congratulations on your victory as the 25th President of the Republic of Liberia, and best wishes for your success as you undertake the responsibilities and challenges of our highest office. This victory is also the triumph of the common people, so there isn’t any doubt that they will be traveling along. That grassroots base believed in you when others didn’t; they, too, deserve to be congratulated for their resilient massive support throughout the years.
We have heard the results of the presidential run-off and it is now over. В Congratulation Mr. President Elect! One of the fundamental admirations for democracy is sustaining our democratic institution so that it will enhance the well-being of its people. Liberia is far bigger than all our tribal, individual and political differences. Putting Liberia's interests first must not be a challenge to us as one nation, and we must be able to tolerate both negative and positive arguments in negotiating those differences that have caused us to be divided.
At the incipient of the October 10, 2017 elections there were edifying open consultations that investigated the sheen of legitimacy that have acclaimed Cllr. Jerome Korkoya to the position of Chairman of the Board of Commissioners at the National Election Commission. Cllr. Korkoya however aware of the legitimate results of PERJURY as portrayed by law got messed with a situation that alienated him from the lead of free and fair elections. He unbolted his rivet of dual citizenship and strongly tricked to keep up the Liberian Constitution as a sacred law book.
Courtesy of Inside World Football.
December 21 – After months of damning stories and rumours surrounding financial corruption inВ the Liberian FA and its controversial president Musa Bility, the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee has stepped in to investigate. Early reports are that their findings are explosive. Bility called a meeting yesterday informing first and second division clubs that FIFA was carrying out an audit and that FIFA Ethics had sent a three-man delegation to investigate.
Global Witness and Tropenbos International condemn new law that rewards logging companies at the expense of Liberia’s people and call on Liberia’s donors to halt their support until it is overturned. The Liberian government has secretly given the country’s loggers a US$13 million tax break, subsidising companies at the expense of the country and forest communities. International NGOs Global Witness and Tropenbos International say the move has undone 15 years of reform.
In the midst of mounting concerns about Elections 2017, Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh says that the Way Forward is action through the Rule of Law. Dr. Tipoteh made his Statement on the Way Forward over the weekend after reflecting on the increasingly numerous expressions of concerns about Elections 2017. At the outset of his Statement, Dr. Tipoteh reminds us about his decision to step out of the Presidential Race because the 2017 Elections would not be fair. He said that the Election would not be fair because the National Elections Commission (NEC) did not have a credible Voter Registration Roll, without which it is universally considered that it is impossible to have any fair election.
Trump’s Recognition Of Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital And The Prospect Of A.
I was in Israel when Trump made his announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Initially, I thought Israelis would pour out into the streets celebrating this ‘historic’ moment, but other than small chatter here and there, and some expressions of jubilation, not much else gripped the nation. On the Palestinian side, relatively small demonstrations broke out in the West Bank and Gaza, which continued in the following days with limited violence, and condemnation of the US declaration was heard from most Arab and Muslim capitals. This is pretty much where things stand today.
As to proof of actual fraud, Appellants/Intervenors adduced evidence that hundreds and hundreds of citizens had two or more voter registration cards and that they voted multiple times in violation of Appellee’s own Voter Registration Regulations of August 12, 2016, Arts. 21.1 , 21.2 & 24.1(c) . One of such persons is a Sokolo Raymond, who had three (3) voter registration cards nos. 723183727 (in handwriting), 723304577 (printed) and 723183727 (printed). In his Final Ruling, the CDHO did not pass on this material evidence and the effect it had on the October 10, 2017 elections even though pursuant to the Executive Law (Administrative Procedure Act), Section 82.5(1), that specie of evidence relevant to proving fraud should have been admitted and the probative value determined. And election fraud is illegal conduct committed in an election, usually in the form of fraudulent voting. Examples include voting twice… Black’s Law Dictionary, Eight Edition, page 558 .
Liberians, rightly so, are reacting to the comment made by Ms. Christine Elder, the U. S. Ambassador to Liberia. Ms. Elder had asked political leaders to abandon the legal proceedings of electoral irregularities of the October 10, 2017 presidential elections and move on to the run-off. Liberia should move on to the run-off since international observers did not report any significant irregularities that would impact the results of the 10/10/2017 elections, and that the main complainant got only 9% of the total votes, she added. В.
Liberians are known for saying, “I was born here and will die here”; “The love of Liberty brought us here”; some are even saying “The love of Liberty met us here”. All these assertions speak to the membership of individuals to the modern democratic state or what is referred to as ‘citizenship’. Irrespective of social, ethnic and political backgrounds, all Liberians citizens possess and deserve a wide range of civic, political and economic rights as Liberian. But there are increasing number of Liberian citizens who do not enjoy these rights hence do not feel a sense of belonging to the Liberian State.
My take is that the Supreme Court of Liberia may have to ask the NEC: why did it refuse to turn over public records from the October 10 elections in its (NEC) possession to justify how it (NEC) apportioned votes for the candidates? The Court may not even rule on rerun or runoff election. The Court most likely will order the NEC to turn over ALL records from the October 10 elections asked for by LP/UP. Legal scholars refer to the LP/UP appeal to the Supreme Court as either a "Mandamus".
ByAlfred Perspicacious Bombo Kiadii.
Transition is the active vocabulary of Liberians in the politically cycle, as a result, the word has become a threadbare clichГ© due to overuse and sometimes deliberate misuse. It is almost eight decades since our country made such democratic milestone. Whether it will happen in this year is something to be seen, as the outcome of the process has been contested, thus leaving many to wonder whether the legal process will conclude in time for the runoff to be held. В.
Karl Marx was right when he postulated that it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but on the contrary men’s social existence is that which determines their consciousness. He further taught us that the existence of a social reality which will lead to man’s progressive consciousness (a consciousness that enables men to develop art, science, culture, religion or philosophy) is dependent on how the socioeconomic system of a society develops its productive forces and organizes its means of production.
ByAlfred Perspicacious Bombo Kiadii.
Indications are rife that a George Weah ‘s ascendency to the summit of state will be a colossal nightmare and catastrophic faux pas, as he is a conspicuous contradiction to everything leadership represents in this current approach of globalization. The CDC project will stagnate us in the cesspool of political sclerosis and the cul-de-sac of economic profligacy gleamed on the world like the mene tekel upharsin of Belshazzar. Whether the colonized acolytes of the Coalition for Desperate Crooks like it or not, on the one hand the shibboleth of change is perfunctory, on the other hand; it is a jingo that is only in the periphery, falling short of addressing the structural imbalances in the state.
Perhaps, the long-term endgame for LP/UP---and now this recent ruling by the Supreme Court--is to drag out the legal proceedings so that the runoff or rerun elections take place long after President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf leaves office on January 18, 2018. We are happy with the recent Court's ruling and let the NEC keep dragging its feet by prolonging the hearings and refusing to turn over to UP/LP pertinent documents that would validate their claims of fraud and vote-rigging.
What a gross disrespect to us! If the U. S. had cared that much, then the United States would not have tolerated the 12 years of corruptions with impunity under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, her family, friends and corrupt elite. Thanks for your advice that is, perhaps, propelled by the lobying efforts of Riva Livingstone (President Sirleaf's lobyist who is currently in Liberia):; but we do not need it! That’s our message to you, Ambassador Elder! There is a saying in Liberia called: “Hurry, hurry burst trousers”; and that “Patient dog eats the fattest bone”. These are parables our parents and old folks taught us when growing up in Liberia. The Almighty God too, used similar advice to the people of Israel when they were impatient to reach the Promised Land.
In the post-war Liberia, corruption has been recognized as a major public enemy #1, (16 January 2006). Also, It has been described as a vampire to the development (January 26, 2015). These two descriptions were coined by Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf the President of Liberia and the 2011 Nobel Prize Laureate. The former one was when she was swearing into office in 2006, while the latter was when she was delivering her annual message to the Joint Session of the Legislature, 2015. Besides, these two negative metaphors clearly indicate dangerousness and harmfulness of the corruption to the national development especially within the context of Liberia. Moreover, this article goes further to conceptualize corruption as a cancer that eats up sound and constructive policies, agenda and transformative goals for the nation.
The unspeakable atrocities that are happening in South Sudan are unfathomable, not only because of the scope of savagery in the war between the Dinka and Nuer peoples, but also because it defies every tenet of our civilized being in which we take so much pride. Civilization, however, has hardly penetrated the first layer of our thick skin. We assume that our unprecedented advancements in technology, medicine, space exploration, engineering, literature, and all forms of arts have equally deepened our moral and ethical conviction. No. We have in fact become increasingly immune and unmoved by the savagery which is unfolding before our eyes in so many countries.
January 2018 is fast waning. The sun is sliding behind winter’s gray shroud: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will hand over the baton of leadership to her successor. This peaceful transition, if uninterrupted or not halted by ongoing political intricacies regarding the October poll, which some say was marred by fraud and gross irregularities, maybe the first experienced in over seven decades. Johnson Sirleaf. leaves behind a trail of records that are both rapturously commendable and heavily detestable. A more corrupt, poor and hungry nation with abundant resources and vast inequalities.
As Liberians elect new leaders, our nation is faced with new windows of opportunities and challenges. One of these challenges is the age-old problem of corruption. There have been countless articles, analysis and interventions aimed at addressing this vice. However, it continues to plague the nation unabated. In this article, I seek to shed light on some elements of our practiced culture and their causal link to the challenging fight against corruption.
Liberia is in the Guinness Book of World Records for conducting the most fraudulent and rigged elections in modern recorded human history, and the 2017 elections could be a repeat of that history. In the 1927 presidential elections pitting Charles DB King against one Mr. JR Faulkner, there were 15,000 registered voters of Americo-Liberian stock only as natives who constituted 95 percent of the population were denied the right to vote until around 1960, even when natives were, again denied their right to form opposition political parties. So in 1927, Mr. King, the government said, got 234,000 votes out of the 15,000 registered voters.
Among my many predictions here, I said that Senator George Manneh Weah could create the “macron effect” – that 39-years old young man – Emmanuel Macron – who turned the tables on the French political Establishment to become the elected president of France last may. Well, from our current orchestrated political stalemate, it has been firmly installed in the minds of the majority population (including even the staunchest supporters of VP Boakai) that the popular Senator has already won the election – and come what may.
ECOWAS and AU leaders were not in Liberia to “interfere in the judicial system of Liberia”, but to ease tensions and curb potential future crises. There is a good reason why this is a reasonable and necessary position for these stakeholders to take: The last time Liberia went into the self-destruct mode, the crises spilt over into neighboring countries. It cost our neighbors tens of millions of dollars to contain our escalating war, and it even cost them the lives of a number of their soldiers who were on peace-keeping missions. Most importantly, displaced Liberians became refugees in these neighboring countries at a tremendous cost to the hosts; some Liberians still remain abroad as refugees.
There are those who find complete satisfaction in what they know and how they expect things to be in line with what they know. В These are the ones who, in their stagnancy of thought, В miss out on the richness of going beyond the horrizon, not acknowledging that knowledge, В as life, is is a never ending journey of exploration and discovery.
It is unfortunate that Liberians in the Diaspora cannot vote for leaders of their beloved country. This is unfortunate especially when one notes that, during the last few decades, Liberia experienced the most turbulent periods of its existence—a military coupe and subsequent military rule, a brutal civil war, and a devastating Ebola pandemic. With these horrific experiences, it is important, indeed uncompromisingly compelling, that the future of Liberia be entrusted in capable hands; otherwise, the nation will be plunged backward for decades, if not another century. Thus, it would have helped for Liberians in the Diaspora to vote for their leaders. Since this is not the case, I hereby declare that, if I could vote, I would vote VP Boakai.
George Weah must have been a great leader on the field to win those prestigious awards, such as “African Footballer of the Year, European Footballer of the Year and FIFA Footballer of the Year”. The competition is high at that level that one must be extraordinary to compete and win handedly like that; we must all agree. But to simply transfer those accolades of leadership from one arena to another is incomprehensible and unacceptable. The skill sets that are necessary to propel one in sports leadership are not the same required for governmental leadership; they are two different playing fields. Yes, there may be some overlapping qualities, yet a clear distinction is required. It is necessary for a candidate to clearly articulate how he intends to use one set of skills from one leadership role to another. That is what has been lacking with the Weah campaign. When an opportunity presented itself for Mr. Weah to convince the rest of us why his acquired leadership skills in the sporting arena would be justifiably and successfully transferable to the government leadership arena.
Although I have not met nor did I know young George Weah before or played any role, personally, in the “ discovery, aiding and promoting” the young man to his world soccer fame, but as the senior “Pappy” of the Clan credited with Mr. George Weah’s rise, also, to national/international political fame, I am honored and pleased to be his natural, reasonable support.
They said that Weah "Na No’ book!" My question to those who raised this concern was; what were the contributions these so-called BIG, BIG BOOK PEOPLE made to the Liberian people, yesterday and lately? And who among them can boast of being the number 1 person in his/her chosen profession in Liberia, Africa, and the WORLD? None! Yet, many of them have the audacity to BIG-MOUTHED, the ONLY LIVING PERSON TO HOLD THE DISTINCTION of AMBASSADOR GEORGE MANNEH WEAH EARNED: AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR, EUROPEAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR, and FIFA FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR.
When we refuse to build a nation of leaders with vision and integrity, we have no choice but to accept a generation of liabilities. When I saw what youth in Ghana and Kenya are doing in terms of pursuing productive ventures while I was there about a week ago, I was overwhelmed with fear and uneasiness for youth in Liberia. The future of Liberia is uncertain. Our nation is trekking on a journey to nowhere. Unfortunately, nothing genuine is being done to find concrete solution to this predictable and perilous end. We could encounter severe consequences and painfully pay for our silence if we continue to ignore prevailing realities.
“As I stated, every Liberian knows me. I grew up in a family of 15 children. But were not siblings -- but still, they had discipline. I look at Liberians as Liberians . I don't have a family in Liberia , but every Liberian is [part of] my family. During the war, our neighbors were looking for my family to take care of them. In our refugee camps in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Ghana, everyone made sure that Liberians have fresh air of our making. Either you go to school and come back to be a productive citizen, like what I was doing. What you keep seeing and hearing is that Liberian people are reserved to make me their president because they know how I'll interact with them. They love my country and my people ,” said Senator Weah.
The Trump administration’s proposals on the annual budget, the efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and restructuring of the tax system all point to a sad and even tragic conclusion. The poor will be poorer, dilapidated towns will continue to crumble, and crime will rise; but worst of all, our underprivileged children will be weaker, suffering from a lack of medical care and malnutrition with little or no prospect for better and brighter tomorrows.
I am beginning to lose hope in the ongoing political process in Liberia, as the visibility of betrayal lends a veneer of hope to the presidency of the tabula rasa, everything is indicating this except there is a dramatic recalibration and U-turn in the Sisyphean activities of your camp in the coming days.
By: Moses Blonkanjay Jackson (MsEd, EdM)
In my thinking thoughts I reflected the trend of events in the current 2017 Presidential and Representative elections, and the obscurity and cacophony wrought in the perspectives and minds of both laymen and pundits in various circles. So far in spite of the accolades for managing a ‘peaceful process’, there is a diluting litany of accusations, claims and counter-claims leaving the layman to wonder if we have a play-play elections commission, play-play elections process, or will produce a play-play new government. Either one or all could be true considering the issues of the recent process and how the November 7 process could unfold leading to an unanticipated inauguration on January 16, 2018.
By Franklin K. Morgan.
George Mannah Weah is a soccer superstar, who is admired by Liberian youthful Liberians. He made millions of dollars as a compensation for playing football. Over the years, since his retirement and without utilizing any of the available vehicles of investment and revenue generating activities, he has become cashless, a broke man. He has suffered from the celebrity curse, which has afflicted many NBA stars in America. They played basketball and made millions of dollars only to mismanage the funds, leaving them to live in poverty.
The razzmatazz is in full swing and the politicians are undercutting each other in the last bid to decide the winner of the election, as the presidential election goes for a runoff between the ruling Unity Party and the Coalition for Democratic Change. The two sides obtained the most votes in the first round of the polls, but neither side bagged the fifty percent plus one threshold of absolute majority to attain a win. Adherents of each side are purveying that their side will win, which has engendered a convoluted whoop-de-doo on social media as well as in the print and electronic media.
Byron Tarr’s older brother Phillip Tarr and I graduated Bassa High School together in 1960. Somehow our paths diverged and the younger Byron entered my orbit in the late 60s. As Byron and I received our terminal degrees in the United States in 1972 we began long and intense conversations about Liberia’s past, its present and future prospects. A bond was established then and it remained firm through the vicissitudes of Liberian national life since then, broken only with his passing earlier this month. Funeral Services were held at his home village of Zondo, No, 4 District, Grand Bassa County where his remains were interred on Saturday, October 21, 2017.
[Weah's] record as a senior legislator has been indifferent at best, if not downright mediocre. He is inarticulate to the point of incoherence and boycotted the two presidential debates before the October vote for that reason. He has a very short attention span in meetings with diplomats and officials, including his party's executive, and is impatient with written briefs. Weah long ago depleted his fortune but his campaign was well funded: he flew from town to town in a chartered helicopter from Côte d'Ivoire  – his photo and party's logo boldly emblazoned on it. He has refused to declare his assets or explain the sources of funds in his campaign war chest. United Nations, Ecowas and African Union diplomats say they suspect Weah got support from three sources.
Unity Party is in a free fall due to the factional battles within its ranks. With such fast degeneracy, the lack of coherence in its central command, porosity of strategy due to massive leak, coupled with the no money syndrome, a George Weah presidency engineered by the witch plutocrat Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is on the horizon.
And like other Taylor loyalists who are posting all kinds of insults, Mr. Howe has come out charging at me like a wild bull in a China shop and probably the only thing that could stop him is CDC's defeat in the runoff Elections. Portraying himself as an accomplished man he goes on to draw my late wife into his line of fire with bogus claims of my not owning a house in Monrovia or anywhere else and by his yardstick I am "useless".
The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamat, reiterates the AU’s full support to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). He recalls that the AU, like many other members of the international community, has highly welcomed the signing of the JCPoA, considering it a triumph for multilateral diplomacy and a vindication of the effectiveness of negotiated resolution of international disputes.
Those who planned, organized, financed, launched and led the historic nightmare of the civil war of looting, destruction, people displacement, refugees, human suffering and mind-boggling deaths of a quarter million of innocent civilian, Liberian lives are, now, scared to death of prosecution, conviction and imprisonment for their war crimes against humanity.
A s the world stopped to screen the distinction in the Liberian individuals from delicacy to security, nail-gnawing to succeed the Matriarch of Africa's Oldest Republic, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf have achieved its ideal. These anxieties have evoked energies that have undermined th e change and manufactured discernment among the reasonably uneducated individuals. These desperations have mothered two offsprings, emotion and reasoning.
The gory clamoring of the elements of the rogue ruling Unity Party for a runoff and the disastrous trailing of the Party behind the riffraff Coalition for Democratic Change in the preliminary result announced by the criminal head of the National Elections Commission in Jerome Kokoyah is an indication of the fading and the sabbatical of hygiene in the government, and its gross insensitivity to address structural imbalances and solve social discards in the Republic.
On yesterday, the National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC) released the first batch of results from the Tuesday, October 10, 2017 presidential election. В It can be inferred from the first batch of results that out of 349,357 total valid votes counted, so far, the Congress for Democratic Change of George Weah obtained 137,606 valid votes (about 39%), while the Unity Party of Joseph Boakai obtained 106,456 valid votes (about 31%)
George Mannah Weah is a soccer superstar, who is admired by Liberian youthful Liberians. He made millions of dollars as a compensation for playing football. Over the years, since his retirement and without utilizing any of the available vehicles of investment and revenue generating activities, he has become cashless, a broke man. He has suffered from the celebrity curse, which has afflicted many NBA stars in America. They played basketball and made millions of dollars only to mismanage the funds, leaving them to live in poverty.
Readers would recollect that in our editorial endorsement of the UP ticket, we unequivocally stated that “For several years, The Perspective fought against those who launched and perpetuated the senseless Liberian civil war that slaughtered over 250,000 hapless Liberians including women and children. So, it does not make sense for The Perspective to be complacent when it becomes obvious that those who administered those war crimes against our people are now controlling and manipulating the ensuing elections”. Well, imagine our disquiet yesterday when unsubstantiated reports reached us from some sources in Monrovia that a plot for NEC to announce the results in favor of CDC is being set in motion, as we go to press, by some propelling invisible hands.
By Ansumana Konneh & Musa AF. Sherif.
“Africa’s oldest independent state”, “Africa’s chief exporter of rubber”, and the “home of the only African “World Best”, are clichГ©s that have filled the ears of Liberians at home and won the impressions of so many others abroad. But the question is: how are these in any way reflected in the development of a country so rich in natural resources, yet underdeveloped and impoverished? As a post-war country, Liberia’s drive to national reconstruction comes with huge challenges.
We, editorial board members of “ theperspective ”, reflect the country’s ethnic diversity, and, considering how crucial the elections will be towards achieving reconciliation and sustainable peace thought it prudent to support the UP’s Boakai – Nuquay ticket for the presidency. Unlike most news organs, ours had never endorsed a political party or any standard bearer, but we view this watershed moment as a public service in helping voters make informed decisions with the aforementioned collective aspirations in mind. Post – war Liberia was already a fractured nation, so when one adds growing class, ethnic, and partisan schisms, there is no doubt that the people deserve a unifier like Joseph N. Boakai (JNB); someone who is unassuming, endearing, mature, responsive, decisive, honest, and wise, attributes necessary in guiding consensus to lead the nation towards unity and progress. And those are the leadership qualities we saw in JNB which make us convinced he should be at the helm to bridge a divided nation.
On October 10th, Liberians of all walks of life and political persuasions will set out to elect the next president of Africa's oldest republic. Liberians of all ethnicity, regions, religions, social status and generations will join together to elect the next president of the country. The elections will bring Liberians face-to-face will building and transforming the country into a vast workshop the offers massive employment opportunities to our youth and create wealth and opportunities that will be shared and redistributed equally amongst all Liberians. The result of the elections will test the maturity of our democracy after 12 contentious years of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia, and Africa’s first female president, and 14 years since the end of the brutal civil war.
Liberian democracy means daily traffic jams caused by thousands of people marching through the streets chanting campaign slogans. “Our ma spoil it, our pa will fix it,” is the curious offering of some supporters of the ruling Unity Party. The “ma” in this case is PresidentВ Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , now feuding with her vice president, Joseph Boakai - he would be the “pa” - over sundry misdeeds.
By Amb Rufus Dio Neufville.
Joseph Nyumah Boakai will win the presidential election for two fundamental reasons--honesty and humility. These essential elements of good leadership are very scant in Liberia. Governmental authorities have been characterized by bigotry and arrogance since the founding of Liberia in 1822. It is in this direction that the unassuming nature of Joseph Nyumah Boakai can be clearly distinguished from most of the competitors for Liberia’s Presidency. The birth place of this patriot is the remote village of Worsonga, Lofa County. He struggled to the top by simply being an honest man. Uncle Joe, as he is popularly called, has held several positions in government and the private sector where he exhibited respect for everyone regardless of social status. Both his superiors and subordinates look up to him for guidance on critical issues even though he always insists on being in the back.
To hear an audio version of this article, click here. The concern that Iran will pursue the development of nuclear weapons once the current Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal expires in ten years is legitimate. But addressing these concerns cannot be achieved by nullifying the current agreement, which would only strengthen Iran’s resolve to acquire nuclear weapons. Instead, the US and its allies (along with Russia and China) should build on the existing deal so that once it expires, Iran would not simply rush to acquire nuclear weapons but weigh the benefits of not pursuing nuclear weapons against any strategic advantage it could potentially reap by acquiring such an arsenal.
What is about to happen, my People? В There is a very good chance Senators Weah-Taylor ticket will win. В But, before any Liberian casts his/her vote, we have a civil duty to recap for the People. В We must point out any plausible reservations to this ticket in the Presidential Race. We start with the head of the ticket, Senator George Weah:В.
In our African-Liberian, social cultural tradition, there several “Country Devils” practices – the Griots, for story-telling, oral history, masked/unmasked, political praise-singing; masked/unmasked general singing, dancing and merry-making at town/village weddings/festivities; and the Kwee, a non-masked but the ultimate source of traditional norms, belief systems and practices or foundation upon which tribal culture of loyalty, allegiance, patriotism and bravery rest. В Aides, servants, guides and protectors of the “Country Devil” are dressed in colorful African prints, some cover with palm branches, faces adorned with white chalk and carefully selected by and represent the people.
By now we assume that many of us must have taken a course called Boakaism. That is, the history of Joseph Nyumah Boakai. This course teaches the history of the man name Joseph Nyumah Boakai, his early childhood, struggle in life, his political life, etc. Based upon this, I will waste not your time as it relates to his life sketch, how his mother had to go the extra mile by cutting greens and making gardens in order to make this boy become one of the best patriots of our time. We will therefore touch on the qualities of this man Boakai and how he is expected govern this country upon ascending the presidency. В В.
Who is Joseph Nyumah Boakai?
Buried, and barely covered, thanks to a bombastic Trump UNGA Address, is President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Farewell Address to the United Nations. In brief, the President revisited what Liberia faced following the civil war, a monumental task, that in all fairness, she embraced totally as her own. President Sirleaf’s efforts in bringing Liberia back on the map are stupendous, herculean, deservingly earning her the unenviable distinction, “Iron Lady”.В It is only sad that all the efforts during the twelve years were undermined by bribery and corruption, which ironically, she had declared “Public Enemy No1” on the first day of her administration. В There is a very bright side, however.
Deputy Special Representative of UN Secretary-General.
Does President Sirleaf intend to cheat in the October 10, 2017 elections? If not, then just what did she hope to achieve from the visit to her home on Sunday, September 17, 2017, of the Deputy Special Representative of UN Secretary-General, Yacoub El Hillo, NEC Commissioners, Sam Joe, Boakai Dukuly, Sarah Toe, Chairman Jerome Korkoya, Executive Director, Lamin Lighe and all nineteen Elections Magistrates, В for discussion on elections matters with just about two weeks left toВ elections. This development has raised questions about the integrity and independence of the NEC and heightened public suspicions about what former Grand Kru Senator Blamo Nelson has described as President Sirleaf’s intention to cheat in these elections.
In the midst of the current 2017 elections season, I have read many flippant remarks about the imminent peaceful transfer of presidential power as a first in Liberian history. No doubt the memory of the bulk of the present “youth bulge” generation is conveniently limited to the recent past. But then I read an interview by the celebrated author Helene Cooper that went like this: Interviewer: “Sirleaf is stepping down this year. How does it feel to see her presidency ending?”
Foreword by Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President, Republic of Liberia.
African Homestead legacy Publishers.
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA.
В© 2016 Sakui Malakpa.
The title of this review may sound messianic in a way, and it is meant to be so. The book about Joseph Nyuma Boakai is written like a story out of the Book. The story of Nyuma is like the story of Joseph, a name the subject will pick up some time in his life, as he transited from one village to another, from one town to another, in search of a stable home. Like Joseph in the Book, his life is a succession of hardship and uncertainty, built on a narrative of sufferance, endurance and hunger.
These elections are a watershed in the history of our country. The elections either consolidate the fragile peace the country is experiencing, amidst the poverty and unemployment, or retrogress it in the cesspit of backwardness. Keen on which direction the country moves hinge on the collective decision we make as a people of this space named Liberia. These elections are critical as our collective destiny is tied to the outcome of the process. В.
By Dr. Alon Ben-Meir.
The Iraqi Kurdish referendum vote for independence, scheduled for September 25, is more than likely to pass by an overwhelming majority of the Kurdish population. Sadly, however, not a single country (with the exception of Israel) expressed its support for the Kurds’ impending historic decision to finally realize their decades-old dream of establishing a state of their own. Although the passage of the referendum will not automatically lead to statehood, it represents a crucial step forward that opens the door for negotiations with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad to reach an agreement.
Following 14 years of civil unrest, Liberia appreciated a fragile peace from 2003 until its democratically-elected government took the wheels in January 2006. As a nation, we moved on and rose above our hurts despite our frustration and anger; we settled on the foundation of reconciliation to put Liberia's interest ahead of ours.
With a crowded field of over twenty Presidential candidates and just about twice as many legislative candidates, no can rule out the possibility of legal challenges arising before the Supreme Court whose credibility was severely eroded by its recent decisions on the Code of Conduct. But just why President Sirleaf has allowed or encouraged such blatant violation of the country’s electoral laws to persist, although being fully aware that Korkoya, as a U. S. national is legally incompetent over the elections, is the question she must answer to posterity.
We remember the horrors of Charles Taylor, his brutal regime in Liberia, and his support of the vicious rape, mutilation, and murder of tens of thousands of people in Sierra Leone and the region. When I chaired the Africa Subcommittee, we worked diligently, and across party lines, to send a clear, unified message - Charles Taylor must be brought to justice. And against the odds, he was.
Now, years later, we have seen some impressive growth in Liberia. The U. S. has invested to rebuild, and support democratic institutions. As a nation confronted with immense political, economic, security, and development challenges, Liberia has persevered.
Position Statement Issued By Commissioner Weedor.
We do not need President Trump to tell us that he can make America great again. America is already great. The problem is that we are squandering our greatness by pursuing foreign and domestic policies that debase our moral authority and the values that made America great in the first place. We must change course, but for that we need leaders with vision, courage, and determination which is sorely lacking. The best and the brightest who can in fact chart a new path have become disillusioned with politics, making the prospect of renewal increasingly difficult. It is time for every American patriot to raise their voice and remind one another of what makes America a great nation and what it stands for.
By Dr. Murv L. Kandakai Gardiner.
As we seek to complement the efforts of our champions of education in Liberia by coming home to participate in the comprehensive nation's building that our president has envisaged and perennially encouraged, let us resist becoming intellectually lethargic and myopicВ by focusing on the major contribution to intellectual history by the nation's premier educator, Edward Wilmot Blyden. In this essay, as a psychologist, I shall be making the case that one of Blyden's major contributions to intellectual history was his quest to decolonize the African mind in order to mediate and resuscitate the African personality.
The Matilda Newport Historical Lie.
World “History was designed to justify European domination”, wrote historian Richard Poe. Similar case can be made that the history of Liberia (Settlers’ history) was written to promote antebellum southern plantation culture and religious heritage without regards to the indigenous population (natives) who first occupied the land.
I have been deeply moved to write you this letter concerning the upcoming elections in Liberia. And, with love and grave concern, I am persuaded to write you this letter letting you know that I do not believe that you are ready for elections this October, 2017. I would argue there are some unresolved and lingering issues and if not addressed adequately, these issues have the potential to derail our movement toward sustainability and hinder our ability to develop our human resources and infrastructure.
How many of our compatriots are aware that a Liberian journalist played a pivotal role in erecting the quintessentially aspirational architecture of our nation state? Just peruse the brilliantly crafted wording of the foremost foundational document of Liberia, otherwise known as the Declaration of Independence . Who minted that inspiring national vision? Was it Elijah Johnson, one of the venerable politicians at that time?
So, who actually started or reignited the dreaded Natives versus Congua divide in this election? I certainly did, and Mr. Joseph Nyumah Boakai have been blamed by Liberty Party presidential candidate Charles Walker Brumskine of making this ugly divide in our history a campaign issue. I will set the record straight. Mr. Brumskine is like the proverbial man who lives in a glass house and throws stones at by-passers, and cries wolf when the by-passers return his favor. This hypocrisy by Brumskine needs to be exposed after he and the Congua have thrived on this divide at the expense of the native majority since the beginning of our nationhood nearly 200 years now.
In the midst of uncertain general elections an important law has been passed by the House of Representatives to make “Liberia a single currency country.”В Astonishingly, hardly anybody or even the Presidential candidates said anything on the timing or the possible impact of such a crucial law on theВ economyВ and lives of the Liberian people. Yes, I am no economist, but I think there are some very pertinent questions to be aware – if the next government is to avoid a harder economic landing.
Senator Varney Sherman has drawn the "Red Line" in the sand telling President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to literally get lost that the presidential campaign of VP Joseph Nyumah Boakai " does not need her support" means it is going to be a bloody fight to the finish. So be vigilant till the end. This is what many of us who support Mr. Boakai have been saying the last few years. But the honorable and respected Mr. Boakai will not come out ranging as Senator Sherman. Others must do the dirty work for him and Sherman is quite suited for the fight. It is one thing for Ellen to dabble in her lip service and lukewarm support for Mr. Boakai, while at the same time, she is still encouraging the exodus of party hierarchies to leave the party. This disdain and contempt for Mr. Boakai by Ellen is so apparent for all to see.
I find it extremely hard to call you “President Trump” because sadly for America, you neither act like a president nor speak like one. You neither have the moral authority that a president needs to project, nor the courage of one. You have neither the vision of an enlightened president, nor the diplomatic savvy of one. You have neither the capacity to lead the nation as president, nor the competence of one. You have neither the credibility that the president must enjoy, nor the ability to get things done. You have neither the stability that the president must demonstrate, nor the consistency of one. You do not have the country’s interest at heart like a president, nor the grasp of what America’s role in world is all about. Aqui está o porquê:
Corruption is a serious threat to the Liberian society. Like a vicious disease it tears away at the systems and institutions that should work to address national development challenges like illiteracy, health-delivery care, unemployment, among several. Society is being robbed of scarce and valuable resources that can be used to undertake substantive development transformation by some individuals in positions of public trust. Howbeit, the threat of corruption is not delimited to individuals in positions of public trust, it slithers through society with almost every known established institutional structure including the family, being suspicious and needing some form of query.
The Charlottesville awakening has reignited the Organic nature of the constitution (the Liberal view) as opposed to the Divinity s cripture text (Originalist view) of the Constitutional interpretation (in this case) the First Amendment (freedom of expression and assembly) --- the fundamental principle of the American Constitution, i. e. Charlottesville v Jason Kessler. В The ACLU supported Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler in court (because the First Amendment protect all speech) after city officials tried to revoke his protest permit (CNBC).
After their dismal, historic 133-year failure to deliver the Republic of Liberia from the problem political under-development – poverty, illiteracy, hunger, healthcare deficiency, rampant corruption and national transport/communication (the Premier Multiplier Effect) for national economic development ; В and after their historic civil war nightmare of Warlords, rebel war graduates of Looters, human rights Violators/Killers with impunity during their 12-year failure to deal, efficiently/effectively, with the problems of the nation’s critical needs, including the-now roaring corruption, the dreaded True Whig Party Rulers now called “opposition politicians” turned to В “ SLUM DEMOCRACY”.
By Moses Blonkanjay Jackson.
I considered recent confusion generated by claims and counter claims regarding Liberians who are holders of American passports. Overtime, it has been alleged that these citizens of the United States of America, instead of fronting for political positions in their country, have surged on Liberia and qualified by the National Elections Commission (NEC) to vie for presidential and legislative seats. While focus is on American passports, there is another group who are “green card” holders in possession of US and Liberian voting cards; they are either in government, or in the race. Suffice these claims to be true, it can be safely declared that these people have “Dry Face”; they are shameless, and brave enough to infiltrate the leaky NEC elections system and bamboozle our sovereign nation.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia is playing the Russian Roulette game; very dangerous, cunning, manipulative, while looking for a soft landing for her immunity from prosecution. Buyers beware of the "Ellen Curse" for it is contagious and deadly and a losing game The Ellen Curse propelled George Manneh Weah to victory in the 2014 Montserrado County senatorial race when Weah crushed Ellen's son Robert Sirleaf. The Curse has now entrapped Charles Brumskine and lately, George Manneh Weah. Thus, this election is all Joseph Boakai to win if Mr. Boakai can distance himself fro m Ellen and clearly state his positions on the GAC audits, TRC Report, NOCAL bankruptcy and the need for a comprehensive audit, a promise to cut the fat salaries of government officials by 50% starting with his own salary, the need to audit the over $30 million dollars Executive Mansion renovation funds, and a take-no-prisoners approach to fighting corruption.
Liberian History tell us that there were two groups of people with different historical experience - socio-political and economic – who founded the new nation. One group was the African-Americans, emancipated, freed people of color from the North, South Americas and other slave-holding states. They came and settled on this land of their ancestors, a flight from slavery, race, socio-cultural, political discrimination-segregation, servitude and human bondage, in search of human freedom, justice and equality, on a land of their own.  The other group was the African-Africans, though on their own land, but also a flight, metaphorically, from autocratic, despotic rule by African tribal chiefs, monarchs and slave merchants, who sold their own people to western slave traders. Theirs, also, was in search of human freedom, justice and equality.
President Trump’s new strategy that would presumably win the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan is doomed to fail, just like Bush’s and Obama’s before him. At best, the reported dispatch of an additional 4,000 American troops as recommended by his security chiefs will prevent the total collapse of Afghanistan and thwart the Taliban from winning. Given the complex nature of the conflict, however, the status quo will not change in any significant way.
By Moses Blonkanjay Jackson.
In my thinking thoughts, I retrospect the trend in the history of Liberia and how we would soon be gliding into a peaceful smooth transition after a long haul in our history. I retrospect the divisiveness wrought by the Americo-Liberian supremacy doctrine that birthed confusion, malice, wars, and the resultant gross mistrust and lack of transparency that have become ours. Despite this retrospection, my pain was soothed by the mere fact that through all the vicissitudes or changes of our history, whether it was war or peaceful assembly, political filibustering or arm twisting; whether it was corruption and squandering of the nation’s wealth, nepotism or abuse of human rights or respect for rule of law.
A Statement Issued By Global Witness.
Global Witness calls upon the Liberian legislature to pass a Land Rights Act (LRA) that protects the land rights of rural Liberians and reject any versions of the LRA that strip rights from these communities. Jonathan Gant, Global Witness campaigner said: “The LRA, if passed, should recognise that communities own their land and ensure local communities – and only local communities – have the power to say where their lands are and how they should be managed.” Global Witness believes that any Act that does not protect the ownership and management rights of rural landowners should be rejected by the legislature. If the legislature passes a law that does not protect these rights, the law should be vetoed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Much has been written about Syria’s civil war which has engulfed the country for the past six years, but sadly the mounting death and destruction in Syria has long since become mere statistics. The international community grew comfortably numb to the horror, the likes of which we haven’t seen since World War II. Both internal and external players have been nurturing their vested interests by prolonging the deadly conflict, hoping to improve their position to serve their long-term objectives. The irony is that none of the external main players - Russia, Iran, US, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia - and the domestic actors (the Assad regime, Sunnis, and Kurds) will end up with such lasting gains that outweigh the horrifying losses that have been inflicted on the country and its citizens.
The Matilda Newport Historical Lie.
There is this African proverb that says: “The first thing a person who is about to travel put in the suitcase, is his/her behavior”. A person’s or a group’s behavior cannot be hidden for long. This was the case with the former slaves that migrated to present day Liberia in search of freedom and dignity; yet they brought with them the inhumane prejudices they.
At last, a campaign team for VP Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s bid for the presidency in the ensuing 2017 General Elections has been constituted. Considered in some quarters as his dream team, it comprises high - profile Boakai supporters, and we are told that more names may be added to the list. In a word, this is a good start although it is apparently a little too late. But, we would have imagined, what Liberians and Boakai well-wishers want is not a mere list of names comprising, perhaps, a combination of credible and corrupt individuals alike lining up for a job fair. Liberians are longing for a plausible cum achievable platform, an expressed set of core goals about how the VP is going to tackle the country’s numerous socio-economic and political problems if elected a successor to President Sirleaf.
I had been wondering why an American official made a statement recently that the United States does not support anyone candidate in the Liberian elections. Now I guess it was to pre-empt the Madam that as a “democratically” elected President she should not be going around like some dictator telling her “colleagues” who will inherit her throne. Instead, she should have been reassuring them that the Liberian voters were mature and wise enough to elect the best leader to succeed her and rule the country effectively.
The intense conversation regarding dual citizenship reminds me of the Liberian proverb, “Teeth and tongue may fight; they cannot separate”. Indeed, how many times during their occasional battles in our mouths haven’t we felt an excruciating pain? You see, when God created man, by design, God intended each part of His handmade to work together. One may ask, why? The answer is found in that aforementioned proverb. And, for example, organs such as the mouth, cheek, tongue, teeth and throat need each other like links on an assembling line in a manufacturing plant. Thus in order for them to perform as Our Almighty Father stipulated they have to cooperate.
The below article is a response to a public letter written by Ibrahim Kurtulus, criticizing my previous article about the plight of the Kurds in Turkey. Kurtulus is a member of the Federation of Turkish American Associations, Inc. You can find a link to his letter in full here.
Reaction by Joseph Johnson.
The Orator has a good topic for all Liberians, especially for those who the political and the social system has cruelly relegated to the rank of chronic poverty and growing inequality in our midst. But my great disappointment is that Dr. Browne has killed my interest in his oration when he chose to use a contemptuous Liberian national anthem as thesis statement for his topic: “with hearts and hands our country’s cause defending; we meet the foe with valor unpretending.” I make this argument for reason simple and clear is that the national anthem contains bitter and hateful language of ungrateful Konguah or Americo-Liberians.
This piece is intended as a wake-up call to all civil society leaders including religious leaders, political leaders and aspirants in the upcoming elections to look ahead to see the immense potential danger that awaits us as a nation if we do not correct the huge mistakes made in the Voters Registration exercise that have now produced a non-credible and highly unreliable Voters roll.
Iraq, once the cradle of civilization, has and continues to experience one of the most horrific violent conflicts in modern history that defies any semblance of civilized humanity. It is hard to imagine the mammoth death and destruction that has been inflicted on the Iraqi people by foreign powers and domestic terrorism. Yet, the country can still overcome the horrors of the past 14 years, provided its leaders correctly reassess the changing regional and domestic dynamics and agree to allow all Iraqis, regardless of their sect and cultural orientation, to choose their own political and civil structure.
(A Liberian Soccer Star)
By Benedict Nyankun Wisseh.
In recent years, the Liberian football community has lost some of its most prominent individuals to death in recent years. Those who have travelled that road gently are Mass Sarr, Garretson Sackor, John “Monkey” Brown, George Sackor, Gladstone Ofori, David Momo, Philip “Cocha” Davis, etc. They have now been joined by Mr. Philip Robinson. Mr. Robinson’s family, with the deepest of sadness, announced to the public that he passed away on July 14, 2017, at the Hopkins Manor Nursing Home in Providence, Rhode Island.
Visitors to the Frick Collection in New York City will likely be familiar with the magnificent Self Portrait (1658) of Rembrandt that hangs in the main gallery. The artist presents himself as an imposing father-figure, like some patriarch of old. His dress is formal, and utterly distinctive – a gold apron, a red sash – while his prominent and imposing hands proclaim his trade. And yet beneath that intimidating, almost royal, exterior is an unmistakable vulnerability, a strength borne of having suffered life's calamities, and emerged from the awful trials that the world inflicts upon one and all.
Eight score and ten years ago, Liberia was conceptualized, conceived, and birthed as the land of freedom, liberty, and dignity of man. For the freed black American slaves, it symbolized release from the scourge and the bondage of human slavery in the American South. The American Colonization Society (ACS) established this new nation, the second black Republic in history, on the West Coast of Africa, bringing the autochthonous into the realm of western civilization. В.
Liberia Belongs to Liberians – As the House of Senate violates Chapter V Article 34 of our Constitution to protect foreign interest; the House of Representatives must reject US$59.5 million Pre-Financing Loan Agreement in favor of a bogus Chinese-owned Company, East International Group Incorporated.
By Francis W. Nyepon.
The most vital and clear-cut pathway to propelling transformative social change and inclusive growth in Liberia is through youth development and sustainable agriculture. It is no secret that agriculture is the backbone of our economy with over 80% of our people living in abject poverty, earning less than US$2 per day, and relying primarily on small-scale subsistence farming as their primary source of income, food, nutrition and survival.
On yesterday, Wednesday, July 26, 2017 , we, Liberians, celebrated the 170th Birth Anniversary of the Liberian Political State, with the usual, historical pomp and pageantry. The back-slapping, family gatherings, gifts-giving and merry-making festivities of self-praise, feel-good and self-glorification now leading to another political hoopla for vote-rigging planned for the forthcoming general and Presidential Elections, scheduled for October, 2017.
By Professor Alon Ben-Meir.
It has been ten years since Hamas defeated the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and assumed control over the territory. Today, the socio-economic conditions in Gaza are so horrendous that if nothing is done immediately, the whole area is bound to explode in the face of Hamas, Israel, and the international community. When that happens, you can count on Israel’s and Hamas’ leaders to blame the other for allowing the situation to deteriorate to this perilous point. Both sides are equally guilty of an egregious betrayal of their own people.
I would like to thank the Executive Governor Kaduna State, His Excellency Malam Ahmad Nasir El-Rufai, for the kind hospitality that his dynamic government accorded me and my delegation, and the Organization of Liberian Communities in Nigeria (OLICON) in Nigeria to facilitate its second annual convention in this productive city of Kaduna. В The relationship between Kaduna and Liberia may be seen in the role Kaduna State and its leaders have played in promoting the bilateral relations of Nigeria and Liberia.
Hopefully, Liberian Presidency will be transferred on October 10, 2017 to a Native person or a Congo person. Appropriately, he or she will receive all of the emoluments of the presidency; twenty-one gun salute, speaking and negotiating on behalf of the Nation-State, attending and visiting official nations and conferences, etc. The question is will the new President have the will power to get a reasonable share of the revenue from the “Papa’s Land” in the form of government revenue to finance infrastructure, education, social programs, etc. similar to the kinds of benefits Botswana government gives to its citizens.
Monday, July 26, 1847, it was - you seized the moment and declared unto yourself independence, making you the first African and second black nation to do so. On that day, freed slaves became founders of a nation – a near-nightmare and impossibility for those once sold into slavery, hopes were born and dreamers thought their dreams of freedom, liberty and equality could now be realized.
The 2017 general and presidential elections slated for the second Tuesday in October, as mandated by our organic law, will offer an almost unprecedented moment for power brokers in the country and theВ Liberian electorate at large, to be manifestly assured, or to assure themselves, that every bona fide citizen of the country who has attained the requisite age, qualification and competence, actually has an equal opportunity in seeking the presidency, irrespective of one’s socio-economic, political, or ethnic background, if such person is preferred by a majority of the voters, as might be reflected in their vote.
In a contemporary Liberian society, many people often misconstrue the meaning of politician and define it in any way to appraise their political agenda or at their individual levels of understanding. I hesitated once in addressing my audience when this question, “Would you consider yourself to be a good politician for Liberia?” was posed to me. First, my mind was focused on Webster’s definition, but remembered quickly that my mother and sister who couldn’t distinguish between a pen and pencil.
The National Code of Conduct (CoC) - a 22-page document - should have been this regime’s Magna Carta to moralize Liberia’s political life now and the future. It should have been signed by every government official, framed in gold and hanged along with the picture of the imperial President behind the desk of each stateВ official and in all public places for posterity. But, like all the hundreds of national documents and agreements drafted with millions of dollars evaporated in thin air - while the nation is abandoned to bleed and suffocate in mass poverty, hopelessness and disorder - it too was forgotten since enactment in 2014.
Another Independence Day is just 48 hours away, but what is there to celebrate? Independence Day is not just about celebrating age, but celebrating fulfilled promises. Our sovereignty as a country goes far beyond THE DECLARATION OF INDEPEDENCE. It epitomizes how far we have come as a nation in terms of achieving genuine prosperity, reconciliation, peace, justice and equality. It commemorates socio-economic parity and eulogizes political freedom. Is Liberia different from what it was 170 years ago? The fact after almost 2 centuries is that Liberia and Liberians are free on the PAPER, but not free in RELITY. Independence is not merely about celebrating age in poverty and misery, but celebrating longevity in prosperity, equality and justice for ALL.
Despite the few riotous reactions to the opinions in Part One, there is something crystal clear beneath the dark armpit of the UP architecture: Unity Party as it was before the Nuquay pick, along with all the euphoria for a Boakai presidency from within and without, is never going to be the same again. Crisis has set in. Disgruntlement never thought off is seething about. Harmony has shrunk and ongoing efforts to downplay the aftereffects of the Nuquay selection and to heal the resultant internal disquiet and instability will hardly return the party to status quo ante.
Given the century-long, continuous path of hypocrisy and political infidelity by the nation’s political rulers, the Liberian State is heading to an explosion much, much more deadly and all-inclusive than we have seen and experienced in the past, we argue and predict that , if and only if, nothing is done, now, to arrest and prevent the prevailing risen/rising level of lies, deceit, thievery, dishonesty, graft & greed, and indeed, general moral decadence on the part of the very same political rulers and their associates.
By Professor Alon Ben-Meir.
Sixteen years have passed and we are still fighting a war in Afghanistan which is not only the longest in American history (at a cost approaching one trillion and the blood of thousands of brave soldiers), but one which is morally corrupting from which there seems to be no exit with any gratification but shame. It was necessary to invade Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda following 9/11, but once it was defeated we should have departed, leaving behind some residual forces to clean up the mess.
It was to raid The Americas of black domination after the abolition of Slave Trade, that the U. S. Congress through public opinion passed a resolution in 1819 to empower the American Colonization Society (ACS) to purchase a land for the establishment of the territory called Liberia today. One Hundred Thousand United States dollars (US $100,000) obtained from American citizens taxes was given to the ACS by the U. S. Government for the establishment of a land that could host the replica of her creed ---her flag, anthem, allegiance pledge, justice system, bicameral legislature, and constitution etc.
An Analysis By Sherman C. Seequeh.
Nothing eloquently exposes the hollowness of Unity Party’s sermonized pledge of forming a coalition of new progressive forces, others call it rainbow forces, towards building an inclusive government than Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai’s vice standard-bearer pick. The political sermon paraded by proponents of the party before the deadline-choked pronouncement of Margibi County’s Emmanuel Nuguay was that a new Unity Party was being built to replace President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s “exclusive and vindictive regime” - a regime they believe hardly forgives its critics and which keeps traditional political foes on the national leadership margin.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process and its recommendations did not identify these perpetrators at the time because of limited time and resources. Notwithstanding, the TRC Report recommended further investigations, which are now currently ongoing, into the activities of perpetrators who lied to the TRC, avoided the TRC or were completely unidentified by the TRC. And under these recommendations, any persons, perpetrators, groups or individuals found to be in the same position or standing before the TRC process as those already named or identified by the TRC, are subject to the same findings, determinations and recommendations of the TRC.
By Professor Alon Ben-Meir.
It is hard to imagine that along with the catastrophe that has been inflicted on Syria for the past six years, another calamity is unfolding in Yemen of damning proportions while the whole world looks on with indifference. What is happening in Yemen is not merely a violent conflict between combating forces for power, but the willful subjugation of millions of innocent civilians to starvation, disease, and ruin that transcends the human capacity to descend even below the lowest pit of darkness, from which there is no exit.
By: Tibelrosa Summoh Tarponweh.
Foreign control of Liberia’s economy, especially essential businesses is not only a threat to the social and economic development of our citizens, it is a significant national security risk that if left unaddressed, will continue to deprive and subjugate Liberians, thereby reducing them to be mere spectators of developments in their country. This is a violation of their basic rights. Liberians must own and control their economy that would allow them to succeed in their country and ensure the safety and prosperity of the nation. I am not against foreign investment, who would be? But it has to be done in a way that embraces our foreign partners while at the same time ensuring Liberians’ ownership and control of the overall economy.
A Letter to the Editor from Moses Uneh Yahmia.
While 34 out of 38 members of the House of Representatives voted in favour of granting a national counterproductive tax break favouring a Lebanese business firm, some senators have rejected the president's request to grant such an anti-country tax incentive to her foreign crony. We want to not only commend the resilience of those leaders who stood against the Madam Ellen's kleptomaniac but we are also urging those senators to remain firmed on their decision to ably protect the interest of this land and it's people and graduate from protecting foreign monopoly capital against ordinary Liberian entrepreneurs that are left struggling.
Bidding farewell to the Liberian Ambassador to Nigeria, Professor Al-Hassan Conteh, in Abuja on Saturday, the nurses expressed their gratitude to the Ambassador and staff for receiving them at the Embassy. В Speaking on behalf of the group, WACN’s Liberian Chair, Mr. Joseph Gono, lauded the Ambassador for the reception in their honor, the release adds. В He praised his colleagues for the organized and competent manner in which they participated in all the College’s deliberations.
Engraving a heroic legacy is historically fundamental to almost every President or Head of State especially when his or her tenure is ending. The interest of every patriotic leader is to leave behind a legacy full of dignity, pride and public honor. Time is running out for Africa’s first female President to salvage her legacy after almost 12 years of democratic rule and 14 years of ceaseless peace.
We the People Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident. This is the quintessential refrain that has caused people everywhere to perceive the United States as a “ Shining City upon A Hill” from George Washington to Barack Obama. This pedestal of American iconic standing or perception has been blighted by the most un-American presidential character (in the last 50 years) --- telling lies as President of the United States. В В Does this iconic American phrase have any intrinsic value meaning to conservative Republicans and the religious, right? В What is perplexing is that under George W. Bush, the United States sunk to its lowest position in the international perception since WWII. В It took Barack Obama five years to restore America’s standing in the world as a defender of democracy and international security. В.
When voters cast their ballots for political predators and economic vultures, they self-crucify themselves and bear the excruciating pain thereafter. Such is the case with Liberians, especially eligible voters. Can any Liberian-owned hotel be given even 1-year tax holiday in Lebanon even after investing US$20 million? Can any Liberian construction company get even US$1 million contract to pave a 1-mile interior road in Lebanon? Can a Liberian businessman be given the leverage to import even toothbrushes to Lebanon? Liberia has become a mafia state under Nobel Laureate EJS.
By Professor Alon Ben-Meir.
Tens of thousands have been killed over 40 years of bloodletting between Turkish forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and tragically there seems to be no end in sight. In May 2016, President Erdogan stated that military operations against the PKK will continue until “the very last rebel is killed.” What is alarming about Erdogan’s statement is that he still believes he can solve the conflict through brutal force. Erdogan does not understand that he cannot wish the Kurdish problem away—a problem that will continue to haunt him and the country for countless more decades unless a solution is found that respects their cultural and fundamental human rights.
In search of a flourishing democratic space with new hope which propels our nation towards an irreversible dais of equality, justice, economic freedom, national unity and peace, I profoundly bring you thoughtful compliments ahead of Liberia’s 170th Independence Day celebration. With just 21 more days for Liberians in country and abroad to memorialize yet another Independence Day, I thought to cautiously evoke your conscience as a prominent statesman whose voice and action could change a lot in Liberia. With confidence and optimism, I hope you embrace this communiquГ© in good faith.
While we appreciate and welcome direct foreign investment and donor assistance in Liberia, but we argue that Donors, EU, IMF, UNDP, USAID, WBank, etc. , constitute the main “bag of bribery, corruption and related, political/economic ills” that keep Liberia and other developing countries in the state of continuing, continuous dependency and profound under-development .
In a bid to be re-elected in 2011, Africa’s first female President signed an official contract with all Liberians through a solemn pledge consisting of twenty promises. As part of those 20 promises, these were Madam Sirleaf’s words to all Liberian voters during the campaign period in 2011.
Many thanks to you all for your contribution to this important debate. Well, brother Sylvester Moses, I assume that Mr. Andrew Worth does not share your view that many countries have instituted a mixed economy. For instance, the United States provides welfare programs for the poor and it also assists big businesses through cash contributions during financial meltdowns (i. e., 2008 financial debacle) or it initiates and, or finances research, which ends up generating huge profits for companies such as Microsoft.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of President Macron.
Over the years, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been characterized, and for good reasons, as the most intractable and irreconcilable conflict since the Second World War. The status quo erodes every day the prospect of a solution, but the changing geopolitical winds in the Middle East have created a new opportunity to resume peace negotiations. The newly elected French President, Emmanuel Macron, has a golden opportunity to take up the initiative on the basis left by his predecessor.
Is capitalism having a bad coverage? Well, many voters under capitalism are having more doubts about the benefits of this economic system or “trickle down theory.” In a 2016 Poll, Harvard University found that 51 percent of young American voters rejected capitalism and have positive views about socialism, similar to the conclusion of the 2011 Pew Poll. President Donald Trump, then U. S. presidential candidate stated that, “America’s economic system is rigged;” U. S. Senator Bernie Sanders stated that had Americans been under socialism the price of a medicine would not have increased from $40 in 2001 to $40,000 in 2016. In the 6/14/17 NY Times newspaper, he concluded that capitalism “is a dismal failure.”
With immense pleasure and honor, I am glad to be with all of you to celebrate the resilience of the African children worldwide. On this 26th anniversary of the Day of the African Child, we have assembled once more on this ELWA compound to reaffirm our unhindered commitment to protect the rights and welfare of every child in Africa and Liberia. In memory of this historic occasion, we have come to pay homage to Liberian children and renew our promise once made to them.
Why give a 30-year tax holiday or tax break to a Lebanese hotel – The Farmington Hotel owned by Lebanese businessman George E. Abijaoudi when no Liberian-owned hotel has even received a tax holiday for 1 year or even 6 months? Why go into a US$59.5 million Pre-Financing Loan Agreement with a bogus foreign company and at the same time serve as a guarantor with just 6 months to go? With few months to go, there is a huge rush to bag millions without any respect for established laws/rules and the sense of patriotism. В The LAST THING lawmakers must do is to reject these shady deals, 4G agreements and glaring economic conspiracy against the people’s interest.
Last week I sent an open letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, criticizing him in the strongest terms for pursuing policies that prolong the occupation of the West Bank rather than searching for ways to end it by resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution. I must hasten to say, however, that you, along with Hamas’ leaders, have contributed your own share to the continuation of the occupation that has deepened the plight of the Palestinian people.
Position Statement Issued By Commissioner Weedor.
I hope it is not too late now for crying out loud. I have organized and led protest rallies against Ellen at the United Nations in New York City and in front of the White House in Washington, DC, but Liberians are always "too busy working" to show up. Then they ask you, "how many of you were at the protest?" I then tell them everyone was there except YOU.
Madam President, I read a headline story published in The In Profile Daily Newspaper on May 29, 2017 titled “Questionable Contracts”. This publication is implicating Ministry of Public Works into a web of Conflict of Interest with a foreign Chinese-owned company – East International Group. As an advocate, I chose not to anchor my thoughts only on what was published in The In Profile Daily, but to go beyond by digging out some fundamental facts.
A Press Release Issued by NDC.
In furtherance of its resolve to remove Jerome George Korkoya as Chairman of the National Election Commission due to his illegal and dubious citizenship status, the National Democratic Coalition (NDC) and other collaborating parties have finally dragged the NEC criminal suspect to court. We have prima facie evidence that the current Chairman of NEC is an American, not a Liberian citizen. Dual citizenship is illegal and is criminal in Liberia. He lied under oath to be confirmed by the Liberian Senate as Chairman of NEC. As a foreign citizen serving as the Chair of NEC, Korkoya has also violated the much talked about Code of Conduct, which he promises to enforce to the letter. В These, among other violations, make Korkoya a criminal suspect.
Since you celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the victory of the Six Day War, did you ponder what this triumph has done to the Palestinian people and to the moral character of the state of Israel? I am not sure how harshly history will judge you, but one thing is certain - I, like millions of Jews around the world, deeply believe that no prime minister of Israel has done more damage to the country’s future security and wellbeing than you have. The sad irony is that for you, the facts on the ground are freely expungable in your morally distorted universe.
AND NOW COMES PETITIONER IN THE ABOVE-ENTITLED CAUSE OF ACTION and petitions this Honorable Court for a writ of prohibition against the hereinabove-named respondent for the following legal and factual reasons, to wit:That petitioner is a citizen of Liberia that is historically known for standing up for justice, peace, human rights and upholding the law for more than Forty Years (40) of his life through the work of the Movement of Justice for Africa (MOJA). The court is respectfully requested to take judicial notice of this В В publicly known and undoubted historical fact.
Let me venture into a seemingly potentially catastrophic political terrain today: talking about highly sensitive stakes and about desperately determined political blocs in the crucial 2017 election. No doubt, everyone has his political dislikes and the reasons for them in any elections. I do have mine which surely overarch and resonate with many Liberians. The difference is, others dare talk about them openly as I do now. Despite the swarm of political parties toward election date and all the claims of one being different from the other, a careful scrutiny narrows them all. And that comes out in two great wars that will be fought but silently or subtly - not overtly.
ROME, Italy - The Chiostro Del Bramante, a cloister-turned-gallery in the heart of Rome, is currently presenting “Jean-Michel Basquiat: New York City” – a generous selection of work spanning the short, but immensely prolific, career of this extraordinary artist. The extensive exhibition includes nearly one hundred significant works on loan from the Mugrabi Collection, which includes acrylics and oils, as well as drawings, silkscreen prints, and ceramics completed between the years of 1981 and 1987.
The rapid increase in rent or mortgage, which makes up a significant portion (45%) of the high cost of living (citylab), is making life difficult for citizens as well as governments around the world. And the high cost of living, experts complain, creates an unfavorable economic environment for good-paying job-investors. Instead of debating a reform policy in order to reduce the housing cost, politicians look for a scapegoat.
In an Editorial entitled The Destruction of Public Institutions in Liberia, the newspaper New Democrat ( May 22, 2017) moans “Liberia’s backwardness rooted in an indecent culture wherein В thieves, murderers and hyper dishonest people are celebrated and often rewarded with public (government) offices”. The Editorial chronicles the events that:
Sadly, President Trump’s visit to the Middle East only confirmed my skepticism about what might come out of it. Trump went to the region with nothing to offer to mitigate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and received no commitment from either Israeli or Palestinian leaders to resume the peace negotiations in earnest, but he received lots of platitudes and empty good-will gestures.
Some sicknesses are physical and others are psychological. And when you talk to theologians or pastors, Imams, and Rabbis, they might tell you to add morality and spirituality to the list. Liberia is a unique and pitiful environment because our real sickness is not that we are that bad a people, or that we don't have a human mind and the five senses needed to think and solve our internal social, economic, political and lack of development problems.
Legacy-driven leader : The Liberian people are looking for a “fighting president.” The fighting president is the one that is willing to fight to give all Liberians “equal fighting chance” for better livelihoods. He or She is the one who is willing to summon a new dawn to mark a renewed beginning for Liberia by ending the “semi-godly presidency” and the “oligarchy governance structure”, which is now in place.
In an article on corruption, entitled, Anti-corruption Policy Speech (Analyst Liberia, May 12, 2027), “Small Brother” Charlie Brumskine, Counselor-at-Law, Political Leader of the LIBERTY Political Party and declared Candidate for President of Liberia, wrote what is an apparent LIBERTY Party’s major diagnostic policy prescription on “combating corruption”, the universal vice declared as “Liberia’s public enemy no. 1” by the nation’s current President.
Monrovia - Electricity plays a cardinal role in every thriving nation and the ones on its road to recovery. For the private sector, it’s considered the key to an economic boom. Without it, industries cannot be built and powered to keep the wheels of the economy turning. Kids cannot learn in dark classrooms during the rainy season when the weather is all but good. Market women stretching out their services till the night hours feel safer with a fluorescent bulb to keep them safe and visible.
In her recent article, Reshaping African PhDs (New Democratnews, May 18, 2017), Vice Chancellor Cheryl de la Rey of the University of Pretoria, South Africa, underscored “The growing recognition that knowledge and innovation are critical contributors to national wealth and welfare, postgraduate education – specifically doctorial training – has become a priority for African higher education”. Chancellor de la Rey strikes at the core of 21st century issues concerned with knowledge – classical knowledge for the sake of knowledge, as it were, and/or “knowledge & innovation” as critical contributors to national wealth (Adam Smith) and welfare.
President Trump’s. visit to Israel and Palestine - during which he hopes to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process - will go nowhere unless he fully understands the complexity of the conflict and why previous attempts by successive American administrations to negotiate a peace deal have failed. Recently, he stated that “I want to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians. There is no reason there’s not peace between Israel and the Palestinians - none whatsoever.” Trump’s over-simplification of the conflict suggests he has no clue about what it would take to make peace and why the mere resumption of peace talks is dead on arrival.
Even on a national holiday like Unification Day, the masses were selling coldwater and crushing rock under hot sun while bourgeoisies and elites lavished the nation’s wealth at Royal Grand, Boulevard Palace, Palm Spring, Havana Lodge, Kendeja Hotel, Golden Key, etc. Is this how Liberia will be unified? How can we celebrate Unification Day when drug abuse, gambling, rock crushing, sand mining, pen-pen riding, prostitution and begging have become the order of the day?
In a recent outburst, Mr. James Sirleaf, son of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf , threatened court action with a “Desist Order” against “former members of the Doe administration” . As the visible, former member of the Doe (the late former President, Samuel K. Doe) administration under threat of a court action, I submit this Response to Mr. Sirleaf. In his article, My Reply to Francis Kwarteng (Analyst Liberia, May 9, 2017), Mr. James Sirleaf writes:
Israel will soon reach on June 5th the grim milestone of fifty years of occupation of the West Bank. Many Israelis have become complacent and succumbed to the government’s argument that the continuing occupation is necessary to safeguard Israel’s national security. Others are lamenting the day, as they view the occupation not only as a gross violation of Palestinian human rights, but a real menace to Israel’s democratic nature and Jewish national character.
By Bai M. Gbala, SrВ.
In a period of 12 months (FY2016-2017), Liberia is spending over US$10.2 million on just six (6) public offices, namely: President, Vice President, Speaker, Senate Pro Tempore, Deputy Speaker and Chief Justice. The budget of these six offices far exceeds the two biggest referral hospitals in Liberia: JFK Medical Center (US$5.3 million) and Jackson F. Doe Hospital (US$2.9 million). Where does the interest of the people lie? The budget of these six offices in 12 months could pay 571 medical doctors per annum (a doctor currently receives US$18,000 per year in Liberia) . Even though Liberia has a broken health sector with just 298 medical doctors to a population of 4.5 million people (1 doctor to 15,100 people in contrast to WHO’s doctor-patient ratio of 1 doctor to 5,000 patients),
Cllr Brumskine, as we move towards a very pivotal epoch (October 10, 2017) in our country’s existence, I am one of those in the youth and students’ community that elected not to dive into superficial political debates. This is because they are immaterial to the poverty and misery of the mass of Liberians. In these ensuing elections, I have always stressed that the debate in our political theatre should always highlight candidates’ history of service and the ideas they bring to the table. If this is inculcated in our political culture like in other democracies in the region, it will augur well for us as a nation and people.
An American Politician, Christopher Dodd once said, “When the public's right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press are at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered.” The media in Liberia remains an integral and indispensable embodiment of our democracy. Allowing World Press Freedom Day to pass on without honoring the legacy, courage and resilience of Liberian Journalists would be a disservice.
By Daniel T. Bestman.
We are approximately one-hundred sixty (160) days plus away to the issuance of the expiration verdicts to those political convicts whose manifestos seem opposite to the plights of the people. The wide range of disagreements and condemnations that have stretched through corridors of the nation’s social, economic, and political hemispheres flavored the outcome of these Elections to be crucial and above all a boost for our struggling democracy. Yet, the vast of people are still in a state of dilemma as to who to entrust with power come October 10, 2017.
A Press Release From Jerome J. Verdier, SR.
Mr. Govenhoven, without regards to human suffering, war crimes committed in Liberia at the time, which warranted the imposition of arms embargo and other sanctions on Liberia by the international community, was trading arms mainly in exchange for Liberia’s timber resources which was fueling the war machine of former president Charles Taylor of the defunct National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). Chairman Jerome J. Verdier said the 19 year jail sentence given Mr. Govenhoven.
Deeply-concerned and troubled by the quality of some candidates-for-President of our nation come October, 2017, qualities such as crooks, liars, thieves, dishonesty with profound moral decadence, war-mongers/warlords, rebels, lawbreakers and above all, dual citizens, disloyal and unpatriotic to the Republic, beholden to corrupt practices, the US greenbacks, British pounds, German marks, French francs, etc., etc., and their presently-prevailing socio-political activities.
Friday, March 17, 2017 was one of those days the family had hoped that Gedimina Flomo (popularly known as GG) was succeeding in the fight against death. We felt somehow optimistic because GG, about two weeks ago, had escaped from the traps of death. News about the death of GG had gone global through social media. Later we learned that GG’s condition was critical, but was still alive. So, yes, when GG’s physicians informed us about his improvement the night before, we had hope that the Almighty God would save GG from death.
The 2017 general and presidential elections are more important than ever before for all Liberians at home and outside the country. This is because in nearly 170 years ordinary Liberians are yet to experience the ascendency of legacy-driven individuals to positions of power. Instead, the political and economic predatory ones.
A Letter Sent to President Sirleaf by the National Democratic Coalition.
The National В Democratic Coalition В (NDC), comprisingВ two В of В Liberia’s В foremost В political Parties - the New DEAL Movement and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), both signatories to the Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that successfully brought peace to Liberia, has in its possession, prima facie evidence that the current Chairman of the National Elections Commission, Cllr. Jerome George Korkoya, is a citizen of a foreign country, the United States of America.
By Thomas C. Mountain.
President Johnson is the queen of the warlords, for she has granted fiefdoms to many of Charles Taylor’s top Capos in todays Liberia. This is the Charles Taylor that is an incarcerated war criminal having been found guilty of crimes against humanity by that pack of westernВ lickspittles enthroned at the International Criminal Court.
By: Tibelrosa Summoh Tarponweh.
In Liberia, there were, also, political war crimes against humanity that were committed by the Charles Taylor-led NPFL/INPFL, in which not only an estimated quarter of million Liberians were killed, massive looting, theft of public/private properties and mind-boggling destruction of the nation’s meagre infrastructure, but also, that known perpetrators of these crimes are still running around in Liberia and the world community with characteristic impunity and ordained as “Honorables”.
The razor-thin victory (51.3% to 48.7%) of Turkey’s President Erdogan in the referendum held on April 16 in fact denies Erdogan the mandate to govern with the sweeping powers the new constitution grants the President, especially when the results of the referendum are seriously contested. Even if there was no outright fraud or irregularities in the votes (which by all accounts were rampant), the conditions under which the referendum was held made a mockery of free and fair elections. Given Erdogan’s domestic and foreign policy conduct leading up to the referendum, the US and the EU must now seriously reevaluate Turkey’s role in NATO.
The highest court of the land, the Supreme Court on Friday, March 3, 2017, upheld a "Legislative Approved" controversial Code of Conduct law which was challenged by Bong County Superintendent Selena Polson-Mappy as “unconstitutional.” One must understand that the ruling by the Supreme Court, if it should be enforced by Cllr. Chris Massaquoi’s established special Ombudsman Committee, there must be emphasis on those key languages in the document, which by far, affects most government officials in the coming presidential and Representative elections.
Excepting for nuances in messaging style, the pitching themes of the various candidates for President in the upcoming elections have become so similar, it’s almost impossible to distinguish their strategies for electoral victory come October, 2017: Jobs & more jobs, affordable education for all, fighting & eliminating corruption in government, infrastructure building, improved healthcare delivery for all, increased food production, etc. etc.
The conviction of Gus Kouwenhoven by the Dutch Appeal Court for war crimes and arms smuggling during the height of Liberia’s brutal civil war is an historic victory for the Liberian people, said Global Witness today. The landmark ruling sends a clear message that those who profit from war will be held to account, and sets a significant legal precedent in recognizing that trading arms for natural resources is a war crime.
This article, originally published by The Perspective, on March 20, 2000 , was the first major article that exposed the crimes of Charles Taylor, Gus van Kouwenhoven and Kouwenhoven's OTC-
Gus van Kouwenhoven, a businessman of Dutch origin, succeeded in buying up or otherwise acquiring 5 concessions in Southeast Liberia (Grand Bassa, River Cess and Sinoe counties) in the late 1990s, totalling a good part of the SE Liberian forest block. With these large holdings in hand, many other concessions (mostly inactive?) were seized to put together a concession stretching from just north of Buchanan east across River Cess county and into Sinoe county (perhaps up to the boundary of the Sapo National Park according to one report). No maps of the concession area are publicly available, however, it varies between 2,500,000 acres (900,000 hectares) to 4,000,000 acres (1.44 million hectares). Mr. van Kouwenhoven reached a "management agreement" with FDA for this forest area; again, this agreement is not publicly available and may not withstand contestation in court.
Liberians are anxious to see how a CDC Government will project itself at the helm of governance and how it will take steps towards achieving critical policy and law enforcement issues when it takes state power in 2018, with specific reference on clamping down on criminals who will violate our laws when CDC and its leadership have remained blatantly inconsistent on critical national issues that have the potential to and continue to harm the progress of our country and people.
Liberia has been a historic nation popularly known for procreating genuine voices and iconic advocates, some of whom have engraved an immaculate legacy of heroism throughout human history. It is with this pride and elation I have chosen to pay homage to a fallen heroine – a HEROINE par excellence. В В.
In recent years, President Donald Trump has used his Twitter account @realDonalTrump to share his thoughts on climate change – for example, in December 2013 he tweeted: “…global warming is a total, and very expensive hoax.” And in January 2014, Trump asked: “Is our country still spending money on the GLOBAL WARMING HOAX?”
Again, the Sirleaf government, through cunning machinations, has bought itself some time from falling under the quantum weight of the triumphant march of the masses of Liberians onto the stage of history. It now shamelessly celebrates its perceived victory over the people’s struggle for economic freedom, thus confirming its anti-democratic credentials.
The Ebola crisis is often presented as an epilogue to a broadly successful and inspiring feminist political career. However, Ms. Johnson Sirleaf’s early history as a crusader for reform has been tarnished by a decade of rule in which her judgment and integrity have been repeatedly called into question. Official corruption continues to be a constant source of local headlines and outrage. It doesn’t help that her stepson runs the Liberian National Security Agency, another son is chairman of the Central Bank and yet a third ran the national oil corporation.
Diamond found by Rev. Emmanuel Momo.
Liberians, once again, are hoping that a change in leadership after 2017 their country will address Liberia’s issues: generate adequate revenue, finance electricity to entice good-paying-job investors, finance social programs, fight corruption, etc. Yet, the candidates are focusing on the issue of personality or ethnicity rather than the issue of adequate revenue, for example. Why does Liberia, with significant deposits of natural resources such as diamonds, continue to rely on excise taxes (i. e., money taken away from the pockets of citizens) to finance its budgetary documents?
Miss Sonah James.
Col. Coleman, on January 4, 2017 precisely, a young and industrious Liberian woman whose name is Sonah James, 26 years old, was severely brutalized by some officers of the Police Support Unit (PSU) around Buchanan Street, central Monrovia. Sonah, a vendor of sandwich bread, had come from selling after the County Sports Meet on the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS) when this unfortunate incident occurred. While en route to her residence almost 40 feet away from Buchanan Street, she was raided, knocked down and whipped with a rattan in her right eye.
Click the link above for an overview of the 49th Annual Conference of the Liberian Studies Association.
PYJ, War Lord and Rights.
Violator turned “Politician” & amp; “Preacher of the Gospel”
Indeed, the notion of “Vote-Rich Nimba County” is the expression of reality. It is the statement of the number of eligible, voting-age citizens in the county. В But, the notion of “PYJ, as the Messiah or Savior of the County and its citizens, who controls the votes of Nimba County ” is something else - debatable at best, and a myth at worse.
LSA 2017 Conference.
The 49th annual conference of the Liberian Studies Association (LSA) held last week at Ramapo College of New Jersey was highly inspiring, engaging and memorable. It provided wonderful opportunities for Liberians and other participants to reflect on, in light of the theme of the conference, the challenges and prospects facing the country. A number of scholars, policy researchers, social critics and political activists, including former President Amos Sawyer, participated in presenting and discussing several papers, films and posters on a variety of topics relevant to the theme of the conference.
The facts of history of the Liberian political experience show. that the Republic of Liberia is still locked in a dangerous transition from dictatorship, seeking liberal, progressive democracy, following the defeat of the Republican Party in 1876;. and the overthrow (of the one-party state) of the True Whig Party В in 1980, all of the African-American settlers; and the nightmare of the African-American settlers-planned, - led and - executed civil war of plunder, destruction, human suffering and death, with that transition. still continues!!" to this day.
By Jerome J. Verdier, Sr (Cllr)
"A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right?"His killings of innocent civilians outside the theater of war, coupled with other crimes of war against humanity was egregious and a moral outrage. The incident of murders committed by Hon. Prince Johnson during the civil war in Liberia was outstanding in a class of its own, having no match or comparison to any other warlord.
Many years ago, Bishop Bennie D. Warner asserted that, “we (Liberians) are our own problems”. At first I found it perplexing to agree with the learned Bishop and concluded that the Bishop was eluding the realities of a failed system in which he participated and had embarked on a “blame game” syndrome, blaming every Liberia instead of those with whom we entrusted to lead our country, manage our resources to benefit every Liberian and to provide Liberians the opportunities to pursue happiness beyond other African nations.
Cllr. FrancesВ Johnson Allison, former head of the National Elections Commission.
When the standard bearer of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) said Section 5.2 of the Code of Conduct Law “is not applicable” to him because he made known his intention to contest public elected office prior to his presidential appointment on the Board of BWI, we simply laughed.
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf posed with government officials in Julijuah, Bomi County.
Liberia has a lot to learn from Tanzania especially under the administration of a patriot par excellence, President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli. The United Nations made no mistake to have named Magufuli as the best President on planet earth just in a period of 12 months of his presidency. This global and prestigious accolade came as a result of “Less Talking” and “More Action”. It came as a result of setting proactive public policies, people-centered priorities and achievable targets.
This is a catch 50/50 situation facing our people. But the great deal maker Trump can reach a deal with Liberia. Apenas continue lendo. The Liberian refugees didn’t ask to come to America but were forced to leave Liberia because of the few power-hungry politicians who lived in America only to study/plan the destruction of their own country through war. They've gained political power through the barrel of the gun and only to enrich themselves while our people wallow in grinding poverty and misery.
The growing tension between Turkey and its Western allies, which was further heightened during the Obama administration, is narrowing the space for cooperation between the two sides and in fact is progressively worsening. Erdogan’s hope that he and President Trump would improve their ties as members of NATO has dramatically diminished. Washington and the EU still deeply disagree with Ankara on a host of issues, which are unlikely to be resolved on a mutually gainful basis any time in the foreseeable future.
A Statement Issued By The National Democratic Coalition (NDC)
The National Democratic Coalition (NDC) calls on Liberians everywhere not to be disinformed by Cllr. Charles W. Brumskine and the Liberty Party about the sociopolitical realities of Liberia. In addressing rumors that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf prefers and is quietly supporting Cllr. Brumskine to succeed her as the next President of Liberia, the Liberty Party political leader, Cllr. Brumskine, mischaracterized Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai and wrongly depicted him as someone employing the “Congo–Country divide” in politics in Liberia! Sadly, Cllr. Brumskine, who was once a strong supporter of Charles Taylor whose record is unhidden regarding the destruction of Liberia and his plan to destabilize the sub-region, tacitly likened Vice President Boakai to self-serving individuals.
As we approach the sixth year of Syria’s civil war, the whole international community remains completely inept and has failed to join together in the search for a solution that could end the horrifying slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians each month. Sadly (but for obvious reasons), each of the countries and other groups involved, including Russia, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the US, the Assad government, and the rebels, are focused solely on what best serves their own national interests.
By Jerome J Verdier, Sr (Cllr)
On January 16, 2006, when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became President of Liberia, she raised the hopes of many Liberians of a new day in Liberia and inspired the confidence of the International community when she declared “war against corruption as public enemy number one.” The President dashed the hopes of the Liberian people and the international community, further in government’s commitment to fighting corruption when she failed to reappoint former Auditor General John Morlu.
I followed recent developments regarding the March 3rd Ruling of the Supreme Court on the Code of Conduct and your subsequent press statement in public media of your determination to uphold and/or enforce the Code of Conduct as a constitutional prerogative to which the NEC is obliged. What has drawn my attention, Mr. Chairman is how you intend to enforce the Code of Conduct in ways that will not plunge our country into an abyss of chaos, political instability and civil crisis.
At a recent gathering of Liberian dignitaries – the big names, including the US Ambassador accredited to Liberia, USAID Executives, line Ministers and others – at a local hotel, with the Honorable, Dr. Fredrick Norkeh, Minister of Posts & Telecommunications, R. L . the host in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, the funding partner .  They launched what is called the E-Government and Digital Liberia Project , or the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) .
By Jones Nhinson Williams.
In defense of decriminalizing marijuana use globally, former United Nations’ secretary general, Kofi Annan, once wrote on February 23, 2017 in the U. S.-based Huffington Post online journal: “In my experience, good public policy is best shaped by the dispassionate analysis of what in practice has worked, or not. Policy based on common assumptions and popular sentiments can become a recipe for mistaken prescriptions and misguided interventions.”
Referenced resolution of February 1, 2017 under the banner of the Patriotic Entrepreneurs of Liberia (PATEL), in which some burning issues affecting Liberian businesses and the well-being of the Liberian people in general were highlighted and presented to the National legislature and the Executive branch for their intervention to curtail the situation, I hereby again provide some detailed explanations with recommendations that will pacify the situation to wit:
By Sheikh Al moustapha Kouyateh.
Knowing that he doesn't regard our constitution. I am told to elect him . After he conceded failure by his previous retirement. I am told he's the Chosen One . Because he once claimed to have been the anointed one .
By Urias S. Goll & Stephen R. Johnson.
It is a hoary and a trite concept that presidential election is won by the collective value and message of the team (presidential and vice presidential candidates). A single candidate, no matter the marquee status and position in society, cannot match the well-suited and strategically positioned combination of two individuals with seamless attributes for overall success. In 2005, it was not only the international acclamations and “iron lady” traits that won the elections for Madam Sirleaf. В It took the president considerable time to invest in the thoughtfulness of choosing someone who could fill out and connect the missing links to her grand cavalcade as Africa’s first democratically elected female president.
J. M. W. Turner is one of those rare artists who seem always to be ahead of us – as with Shakespeare, he remains somehow ever beyond our reach. Turner's Modern and Ancient Ports: Passages through Time is a thrilling exhibition currently on display at The Frick Collection in New York City, bringing together six oil paintings and some two-dozen watercolors from the artist’s middle period. This was a turning point in Turner’s career, the beginning of a shift towards ‘colour for colour’s sake’
The United Nations (UN) estimates that by 2050, there will be 2 billion people over 60 years old (i. e., would-be pension-benefits-recipients) worldwide, and 80% of the 2 billion will be living in developing countries, especially Africa. With such an increase in old age, coupled with the fact that one in five live on less than a dollar a day, Africans should not only institute social programs such as retirement fund, rather effective retirement funds that will help to alleviate poverty amongst the elderly, the UN advised.
As an eternal, political animal and one of the most visible supporters of the Vice President, I deny, categorically, not only introducing but also, “preaching divisive countryman politics”. But I took note, continue to take note as I have done elsewhere in my extensive writings and public speeches regarding Liberia’s historical policies of ethnic/tribal, indigenous exclusion by one of the founding/political ruling groups of the Liberian state .
He was born with a golden spoon in his mouth more than 60 years ago, into the tiny but powerful minority ruling class of the exclusive Americo-Liberians/Congua. He never denounced the repressive policies of the Congua-only one party state hegemony that turned natives/tribal or country people into slaves. President Charles DB King sold natives as slave. His kind forced natives to pay taxes when the lack of good roads, schools and healthcare, but he now professes to care about were the sole entitlements of his congua elites in their urban locals, and nonexistent in the natives countrysi de.
There had been, and is, rigid reality of a Divide – Socio-cultural, Ethnic-indigenous - between Liberians. It is the core of Liberia’s socio-economic and political under-development since 1847. No level of academic and intellectual verbal rationalizations can wish away this reality.
In most of Africa of which Liberia is of no exception, education is most probably considered as the leading qualification for national leadership. Overtime, this mentality has proven false and futile. In some countries, even the most educated or academically qualified have failed miserably and performed dismally. Liberia is a perfect case to reference under President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
My 9-year old daughter asked me recently: “Daddy, why was your country’s president honored last week by all its ambassadors from countries around the world?” I had no reasonable and honest answer to provide. В.
Former Interim President.
Amos Claudius Sawyer.
Dr. Amos Claudius Sawyer served as President (1990-1994) of the Interim Government of Liberia following the assassination of its embattled leader, Samuel K. Doe. Dr. Sawyer is currently the Chairman of the Governance Reform Commission in Liberia, which has y become the Governance Commission. He has several published peer reviewed articles and books, including “African Politics and the Future of Democracy” (2015), ”African Development in the 21 st Century” (2014), “Challenges of Governance Reform in Liberia” (2013), and “Beyond Plunder: Toward Democratic Governance in Liberia” (2005), which explored the development of multi-party democracy in the country.
A Press Release Issued By Liberia Studies Association.
The Liberian Studies Association (LSA), the largest body of scholars working on Liberia, invites proposals for papers, panels, and roundtables related to theme and subthemes of its 49th Annual Meeting scheduled to take place at Ramapo College of New Jersey from March 30th – April 2nd, 2017. Theoretical and empirical papers, action research and case studies on the above theme and subthemes using a range of scholarly approaches including qualitative, quantitative and critical methods with data‐driven conclusions are welcomed. Subthemes:
Although Prime Minister Netanyahu is known for his focus on the Palestinian and Iranian threats to Israel’s national security, in recent months he has increasingly sounded the alarm over Iran in particular rather than the Palestinians. As the defeat of ISIS in both Iraq and Syria is all but inevitable, Netanyahu’s main concern now is that Iran will insist on maintaining a strong foothold in Syria by establishing a significant military presence as recompense for its continuing support of the Assad regime throughout the civil war.
The stakes have never been higher in Liberia’s recent political history. For the first time ever since the death in 1971 of President Tubman and the smooth peaceful accession to power of his vice president, the country will be witnessing what is expected to be a peaceful transition of power from a 12 year ruling incumbent to a new democratically elected successor.
We begin this report (predicated on the latest headlines of March 9, 2017) with the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning (MF&DP). In several articles, we held that the new, tongue-twisting Super Ministry (merging of the Ministries of Finance and Economic Affairs) and its former Bureau of Revenue, now the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), had been, and are the nation’s.
It is over for Dr. Mills Jones and others who are trapped under the weight of the Code of Conduct (COC) law. In the 2023 presidential elections, we will be talking about precedent set under the COC law and the finality over the law based on this ruling by the Supreme Court of Liberia on March 3, 2017. And so we move on to the potential next hurdles: the 10-year residency clause and the dual citizenship role of contestants.
In an exclusive interview by the FrontPage newspaper, Vice President Joseph Boakai left no stone unturned in making clear his personal and official relationship with Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as a friend; as President of the Nation; and as Head of their Unity Party, and he, as Deputy President of the Nation (Front Page Africa, March 1, 2017 ).
The National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC) must be smart enough and must know better to uphold the Code of Conduct law and the Supreme Court of Liberia decision or else the NEC could face legal actions in court that will seek to invalidate the outcome of any elections outcome if the NEC puts on the ballot name or names of candidates who fall short of satisfying the Code of Conduct Law.
I have been vindicated by VP Joe Boakai's statement that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is not supporting him to succeed her. Thank you, Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai. This validates literally the “call to arms” that we tribal people need to unite to contest the presidential elections in October. Ellen and the Americo-Liberians/Congua see Liberia only as their money-making plantation.
The United States is witnessing a disturbing rise in anti-Semitic acts, which are sweeping over the country in wave after wave. In St. Louis, more than a hundred tombstones were tipped over; similar hate crimes have taken place in Philadelphia and New York. Attacks are taking place not only in cities across the country, but also in small towns.
Apparently most Liberians have forgotten about the fraudulent nature that characterized both the 2005 and 2011 presidential elections by the National Elections Commission.
In an effort to sustain long-lasting peace, uphold democratic values, promote national unity and pursue a new era of social justice and economic parity through patriotism, nationalism and fraternal love, I reverently extend my sincere compliments and courtesy to you and your fellow commissioners.
During her 10th State of the Nation Address on January 26, 2015, President Sirleaf was correct when she renamed corruption from public enemy number one to a vampire of development and obstruction of progress. Corruption is not only when one illegally converts public resources into his/her personal account, but it is when a group of public officials unpatriotically.
Indeed, our Country had been, and is, a quagmire, as we observed recently, elsewhere that a “ quagmire is an awkward, hazardous and complex situation; it is a muddled up, mixed-up, messed-up predicament; a difficulty, quandary, entanglement, imbroglio and a fiasco in many African, socio-economic and political affairs”. So it had been, and is, the state of affairs of the Republic of Liberia since its founding in 1847, throughout succeeding political administrations up to the day.
Anyone who follows Turkish President Erdogan’s political career cannot escape the conclusion that he has carefully and systematically crafted policies framed in Islamic clothing. He uses religion to present himself and his political agenda as if it is being sanctioned by a higher authority, surreptitiously uses Islamic symbols to indoctrinate the population with religious precepts, and promotes Islamic studies in schools in order to cultivate a new generation of devout Muslims loyal to him.
The dawn of 2017 signals a new beginning for many Liberians. In addition to the many New Year’s resolutions, it is the year in which Liberians are expected to go to the polls to elect a president along with 73 representatives for the next six years. The process that has commenced with a voters’ registration exercise has seen many first-time voters forming long queues just to exercise their right as Liberian citizens. While it is true that many are reluctant and do not see the need to vote, others have mustered the courage to effect the change they believe will continue the country’s path to upward mobility.
"The government has failed," says another Presidential candidate, Mills Jones who also milked the system with his reported US $20,000.00 a month salary plus benefits as Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia. And as Governor of the Cental Bank, Mills Jones helped President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to fuel the failure of the government by unlawfully and unconstitutionally diverting "over $10 million" of our money into Ellen's so-called private "development agenda account" at EcoBank.
In an attempt to curb this economic enigma, the government decided to increase taxes on the already poor people. From amendments made to the Liberia Revenue Code of 2011 by the National Legislature about two months ago, taxes on goods and services were increased. Thus, the cost of production of goods like water, juices, and alcoholic beverages, as well as telecommunication services in the economy is now very high. Tariffs on goods imported by our mothers and fathers have been increased. To free a container of goods from the Free Port of Monrovia is extremely expensive.
President Trump remained true to his customary flip-flopping on just about every issue when he stated during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu that he is “looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like… I can live with either one.” By stating so, Trump gave Netanyahu what he was hoping to get - a departure from the two-state solution.
If not, why do the Gios and Manos in Nimba County always vote for Senator Prince Johnson; the poor for George Weah and his CDC; and why do we say that Grand Bassa is expected to go to Charles Brumskine; Lofa will go to VP Joe Boakai; and Bong may go to Weah-Taylor or to Cummings-Sulunteh if Sulunteh is VP to Cummings, etc?
The statement by NEC Chairman Jerome Korkoya that the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is to blame for the purchase of faulty camera equipment for the Voters Registration Exercise, the shortage of Optical Marked Recognition (OMR) forms as well as his disclosure to Prime FM reporter that NEC.
Why must a poverty-stricken nation like Liberia spend over US$170.8 million in 4 years on just 103 Lawmakers alone when education is a mess? В It is somehow difficult to determine which branch of the Liberian government is the most corrupt and the most unpatriotic, but one would reasonably crown the Legislative branch with such characterization. Undeniably, Liberia has one of the most corrupt and unpatriotic Parliaments in the World.
Should I have waited and kept my mouth shut until Charles Brumskine and VP Boakai pick their VPs? Then the damage would have gone beyond repair. So, our fellow native Liberian politicians, please hear me. But what I don't understand about these native political figures is, why must they run to political parties headed by Congua only to lobby for VP positions? Por quê? Are they not good enough to head the ticket and ask Congua or whoever to be VP to them?
President Trump should not be swayed by Netanyahu’s duplicitous argument, however convincing it might sound, that he is committed to a two-state solution when in fact he has opposed and will continue to reject in principle the creation of an independent Palestinian state under any circumstances.
The Court is designed to complement existing national judicial systems and may, therefore, only exercise jurisdiction where and when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute suspects, when the UN Security Council or individual states refer cases to the Court. The Court began operations on July 1, 2002, the date on which the Rome Statute , a multilateral treaty which serves as the ICC's legal authority and governing document, came into force.
Should President Trump fulfill his campaign promise to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it would have major regional and international repercussions. The Trump administration is currently reevaluating the implications of such a move and no final decision has been made. Given the sensitivity and far-reaching consequences, if he nevertheless decides to relocate the embassy it is critical that he concurrently takes a balancing act to prevent the potentially disastrous fallout.
On October 12, 2013 at the Extraordinary Summit , the African Union (AU) declared that the “ ICC should not prosecute sitting African leaders . . . that the indictment of H. E Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and H. E William Samoei Ruto, the President and Deputy-President of the Republic of Kenya respectively.
Liberia National Police at GVL, Butaw.
A Press Release Issued By the Forest Peoples Programme.
Editor's Note: Wilmar owns 27% shares in SIFCA, a company that operates Maryland Oil Palm Plantations and Cavalla Rubber Plantations in Pleebo-Sodoken District, Maryland County. В Wilmar is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. As a member of the Roundtable, Wilmar is obligated to operate in accordance with the objectives of the Roundtable. One of the objectives of the Roundtable states that “plantations apply accepted best practices and that the basic rights and living conditions of millions of plantation workers, smallholders and indigenous people are wholly respected.” But SIFCA argues that Wilmar does not own majority shares in the company, so the company is, therefore, not obligated to abide by the rules of the Roundtable, thereby leaving the hapless people of the district hopeless as the GOL continues to pay deaf ears to the rigor of plight of the people of Pleebo-Sodoken District. More besides, can the Roundtable apply the same formulae used in Kalimantan in 2015 and now in Kapa to Golden Veroleum, which is a member of the Roundtable, В operating in Southeastern Liberia?
By Jones Nhinson Williams.
The Constitution of Liberia guarantees all natural born Liberian citizens, age 35, and with good standing, the freedom to seek the Office of President of the Republic of Liberia, provided they also meet the requirements of the National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia. Such requirements include registering one’s candidacy, and fulfilling certain demands etc.
A Press Release Issued By Global Witnes s.
Today’s decision by the Republican-led U. S. Senate to overturn a rule designed to stop oil companies striking corrupt deals with foreign governments is a grave threat to U. S. national security and an astonishing gift to big oil, said Global Witness. The news comes just two days after Rex Tillerson, a longstanding opponent of the law while CEO of ExxonMobil, was confirmed as Secretary of State, and the day after the U. S. eased sanctions on Russia.
I have been warning the Liberian government that U. S. President Donald was about you cut off the American taxpayers' free money pipeline to corrupt and rogue regime around the world. That governments around the world that depend on American free money needed to adopt new measures to be financially self-sufficient in running their countries. And those that didn't take the warning seriously are now in for a rude awakening.
By: J. Yanqui Zaza.
Favoritism or Special Interest! President Dwight Eisenhower, in his farewell speech, on 01/17/1961, warned Americans about many issues such as protecting special interest. In Liberia, the warning about special interest came by way of three separate violent actions: the Rights and Rice Demonstration on April 14, 1979; the military coup on April 12, 1980; and the fourteen-year civil war launched on December 24, 1989.
Much has been written on the endemic corruption in Turkey which involves virtually every social strata - including political, judicial, government administration, private sector, civil society, business, and military - and which stands in total contrast to President Erdogan’s grandiose vision to make Turkey a significant player on the global stage.
During President Trump’s first full week in office he has begun to dismantle America’s moral standing on the international stage. From his reconsideration of CIA ‘black sites’ to his insistence on vast voter fraud, to his inhumane ban on immigration from Muslim countries, Trump seems to be intent on normalizing discredited policies, adhering to blatant falsehoods, and waging an assault on human dignity.
"And now here coming out of the woodworks is the blunt talking NPP former Secretary General to affirm part of the Taylor prophecy about promised return of Taylor the Messiah. Cyril Allen says this about the George Weah-Jewel Taylor combo: "Well, they should bring the Taylor regime back; it's nothing wrong with it. It is part of the political process and the (ugly) political history of Liberia. I don't see nothing (anything) wrong with that. The NPP is a political party united under a coalition (and) if there is a victory, don’t you think the NPP should be part of the governing process of Liberia?," Allen asked.
The experiences from our countless national tragediesВ since the death of President Tubman in 1971, are memorable testimonies that applying the usual unorthodox political combinations or manipulations to facilitate the continuity of new elites in power have proven disastrous for our nation. Therefore, Madam President, В do everything possible within your power to permit our people to vote free and fairly for their choice of a President in October 2017.
The 2017 Annual Message To The People Of Liberia Delivered By Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh.
Unfair practices of the National Elections Commission (NEC) contribute to the election of bad persons, persons who are corrupt and do not have the interest of the poor people at heart. The unfair practices of NEC are seen in allowing foreigners to run as candidates in elections, allowing foreigners to vote in elections, placing the wrong names of candidates on ballot boxes and determining a favored political party in advance of the 2017 election, when NEC announced publicly that the All Liberian Party is a civilized party. All peaceful efforts must be used to change NEC because the present NEC is not capable of organizing Fair Elections, especially in 2017.
A Speech delivered by Amb. Rufus D. Neufville.
The significance of capacity building to sustainable development can well be stationed on a system that is functional and not one that merely survives. Professionals in most parts of the world work towards the sustainability of a system. In Africa, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, we build systems and try to sustain them at the same time.
As you commence the sixth and final session of this august body, we will be submitting a number of bills for your consideration. These include: A Bill to Decriminalize the Violation of the Right to Freedom of Expression and to Repeal certain Sections of the Penal Law of 1978, and PRC Decree 88A; A Bill to Create the National Bureau of Concessions and State-owned Enterprises; A Bill to Amend the Act Creating the Monrovia Consolidated School System; A Fisheries Bill; A Bill to establish a specialized Court dedicated to cases of corruption and financial crimes; В A В Corruption В Offenses В Bill, В designating В corruption В and В specific В acts В of corruption as criminal offences under Liberia’s Penal Code;
The facts of Liberian History tell us that Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf , the current, retiring President of Liberia and presenter of the Final Message, began her political career as an “ Ideological Under-study & Foot-Soldier” of the True Whig Party (TWP ) of our founding Fathers, the African-American settlers.
This is the first in a series of articles based in part on eyewitness accounts about the rapidly deteriorating socio-political conditions in Turkey and what the future may hold for the country. During the past few months I interviewed scores of Turkish citizens who escaped from Turkey following the unsuccessful military coup, fearing for their lives. Many of them left their families behind, terrified of what to expect next.
By: Wonderr Koryenen Freeman.
Yahya Jammeh has finally left The Gambia – of course with so much credit to the resolve of ECOWAS that the will of the Gambia people must be respected. Is this Africa coming of age or is this just an aberration for a continent better known for its failures and misadventures? Jammeh started out with the old dictator refrain of non-interference and chest-pounding of his ability to fend off any invasion by ECOWAS’ forças.
Perhaps already gone with the winds, but few weeks ago the outgoingВ US President, Barack Obama, В was outraged when heВ accused the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, В of “manipulating” the US presidential elections. A high treason, no doubt, andВ hisВ reaction was immediate and retaliation commensurable. В And for usВ who have beenВ subjected to manipulations since eternity, В I believe we could learn a lot from this script of these two World Powers, and take cue to re-direct our national future.
Indeed, the unprecedented, present-prevailing rising/risen tide of flagrant dishonesty, decadent, moral rectitude of deceit, lies, thievery, graft and greed by highly-placed officials of the Liberian government – the National Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, all other agencies of government, the recent wave of resignations and flight/departure from Liberia - raise serious critical, crucial questions about the credibility, integrity, loyalty, patriotism and Legacy (“to be appreciated”) of the “democratically-elected” chief executive officer of the Liberian Nation, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf .
United States citizens need to know that the people running our country respect the fundamental principles of our democracy. So it matters that former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson is refusing to provide his tax returns before becoming secretary of State. President-elect Donald Trump didn’t provide his tax returns before he was elected either, unlike every other presidential candidate in recent history.
The U. S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations must probe ExxonMobil’s record of questionable oil deals, attempts to undermine anti-corruption policies and allegations of misleading the public on climate change, Global Witness said.
Once again, Liberians, in 2017, will be electing new leaders to shape the country’s destiny. And, of course the voters are frustrated with the state of the country and are hoping that a new leadership will fulfill the promise of financing social programs. Regrettably, unlike many other countries where politicians.
Montserrdo County Attorney Daku Mulbah who also serves as the lead Prosecutor in the case, said that the investigation continues, and will not close until there are convictions in the matter.
As a new national election season gets underway in Liberia, all parties, citizens and stakeholders must realize that a lot is on the line; perhaps it is fair to say everything is on the line. The upcoming election and the administration chosen following the EJS era will probably be the most important to glue together the nation’s tapestry, especially its fragile peace that hangs in the balance. That is the optimistic perspective. However, on the other hand, if we blow this chance and choose recklessly, there is a potential to plunge our nation back onto the edge of the abysmal pit of self-destruction. George Santayana, a Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist left the grim reminder on the wall: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Recent developments in connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict demonstrated the huge gap between the Israeli government and the international community’s position about the settlements in the occupied territories and the prospect of a two-state solution. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, followed by Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech condemning the Israeli settlements and characterizing them as a major obstacle to peace, were largely on the mark.
In part one of this article, we discussed Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s word of the year, surreal, and its impact on our collective sensibilities. It will not be a stretch to proclaim Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign as the most surreal event in the world. Yes, although only a domestic election, is it not written that “When America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold”? Besides the word surreal, we shall also examine two other words: ‘post truth’ and ‘xenophobia’, chosen by Oxford Dictionary and Dictionary, respectively.
"Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned" (William Yeats).
The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration is setting the stage for civil disobedience in Liberia. And if the administration is not careful, the economic, social and political issues facing Liberia will again reached a boiling point, which could become a matter of life or death for many innocent people. During the last few months of 2016, the Christmas holiday shopping season was a nightmare for over 80% of the Liberian people. The government's abrupt austerity measure to raise revenue on the backs of the people so as to avert budgetary shortfalls created by neglect, mismanagement, corruption and carelessness was seriously unnecessary.
For the past several decades, lexicographers and other linguistic organizations have observed a tradition of naming a word, or a group of words, as word(s) of the year. This year, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary has chosen the word “surreal” as its word of the year. A short definition reads: “very strange or unusual” or “having the quality of a dream”.
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Posted in African Development Bank.
Ghana Gets $9.7m For Forest Preservation.
Reflex Eco Group – Ghana News.
by Cephas Larbi (Local Journalist)
Ghana has secured $9.75 million from the Climate Investment Fund’s (CIF) Forest Investment Program (FIP) to undertake a forestry preservation project.
The funds would be used to commence the Engaging Local Communities in REDD+/Enhancement of Carbon Stocks (ELCIR+) project.
The ELCIR+ project will help reduce deforestation and forest degradation, increase carbon stocks and reduce poverty by engaging communities in land management approaches that generate financial and environmental benefits for them.
The project will pilot a jurisdictional approach to REDD+ at the regional level focusing on the Western and Brong Ahafo regions.
Twelve thousand people, half of them females, will receive capacity-building support, seeds and equipment, and financial incentives through benefit-sharing agreements to develop forestry, agro-forestry and alternative livelihoods activities.
An additional 175,000 people will indirectly benefit.
Ghana secured the funds with the support from African Development Bank (AfDB).
Albert Mwangi, AfDB’s Task Manager for the project, in a statement, said with the approval of the project Ghana can exponentially ramp up sustainability of its forest sector and ensure that forest-related communities are both recipients and creators of effective and climate-smart economic solutions.
“The project builds on the AfDB’s history of support in Ghana for sustainable forest management to generate positive environmental and socio-economic outputs.
“We look forward to the lessons coming out of the project’s implementation,” he said.
The project has four components, which are support for community restoration of degraded off-reserve forests and agricultural landscape; promoting climate-smart and environmentally responsible cocoa and agro-forestry systems; support for community alternative livelihoods and capacity-building for government and local communities and support for project management and Monitoring & Avaliação.
The project design was developed in line with FIP requirement, through an intensive stakeholder consultation process that included the private sector such as timber industry, woodworkers associations, plantation developers, cocoa farmers, and those involved in charcoal production.
Others include agriculture and finance, civil society and community organizations such as forest fringe communities, NGOs specializing in the environment, climate change, natural resources management and community development.
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Africa Focused News.
REPORT OF LAST WEEK (from 14/10/13 to 18/10/13)
by Dario Galluccio.
Nigeria: MainOne signs $100m refinancing deal with 4 Nigerian Banks.
To further expand its services in providing wholesale broadband and bandwidth telecommunications services, Nigeria’s indigenous fibre optic cable company, MainOne Cable Company Limited has signed a $100 million re-financing facility agreement with four Nigerian banks – Skye Bank Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, First Bank of Nigeria Limited and First City Monument Bank Plc.
Chairman of MainOne Cable, Fola Adeola, said the facility was needed to expand the operations of the company and to further make business easy for their clients. He explained that the fund would help make interconnectivity easier and internet access faster and more efficient for the company’s clients.
MainOne has been expanding its services in Nigeria - its main market and other part of the West African region including Accra and Lome.
Ghana: France ready to establish more businesses.
The French Ambassador to Ghana, Frederic Clavier has expressed his country’s readiness to establish more businesses in the country under the French Chamber of Commerce.
Speaking during a tour of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem mine at Tarkwa in the Western Region, he said Ghana has proven to be one of the perfect investment destinations in the sub-region. Ambassador Clavier said given the long standing relations between the two countries, France was ready to partner with institutions in Ghana to foster its socio-economic development.
He said some of the areas of social and economic cooperation in Ghana include education, science and technology. He said the time had come for institutions of higher learning in the extractive sector in the country to produce more expertise with technical know-how to enable those with the needed competencies to grab opportunities in the sector.
Ghana: To impresses investors in Chicago.
Potential and existing investors in Ghana were impressed by the representation made by the Ghana delegation to the 9th Biennial U. S. – Africa Business Summit organised by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in Chicago.
The two-hour “Doing Business in Ghana” forum, led by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, was organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and gave attendees the opportunity to learn about business opportunities, governmental policies and private success stories from high-level government officials and representatives from Ghana.
The U. S. – Africa Business Summit is organised biennially to satisfy various needs of host African countries, potential investors and business partners. These needs include:
& # 8211; Obtaining information on the latest trade and investment opportunities in Africa’s most promising sectors including agri-business, energy, health, infrastructure, capacity building, security, ICT and finance;
& # 8211; Networking with as many as 1,500 key African and U. S. private sector and government representatives;
& # 8211; Learning from a wide array of industry-specific and country-focused informational sessions;
& # 8211; Exploring new business opportunities by identifying specific growth areas and projects;
& # 8211; Discovering the latest financing options open to them; & # 8211; Meeting potential business partners;
& # 8211; Interacting with exhibitors representing companies on the cutting edge of investment in Africa, and.
& # 8211; Closing new business deals.
Mozambique: Spanish companies seek opportunities.
Representatives of 35 Spanish companies have arrived in Maputo in search of business opportunities. In particular, the companies are interested in energy, water treatment, airports, roads and rail.
On 8 October, the delegation participated in a meeting with Mozambican businesses seeking partnerships. The event was organised by the Spanish Embassy in Maputo. A source in the Embassy told the daily newspaper “Noticias” that the delegation seeks to boost the Spanish presence in Mozambique, with world leading companies sending representatives on the trip.
The source stated that the world’s top three companies in the management of transport infrastructure projects are Spanish. In addition, the Spanish rail sector is present in five continents, with Spain’s high-speed rail network the second largest in the world. The country is also a world leader in logistics, oil refining, finance, security, biotechnology, the environment, water treatment, aerospace, naval technology, information and communications, sanitation and electronic governance.
According to the Spanish Embassy, major projects planned for electrification, tourism and agro-business make Mozambique an economy of huge interest. The Spanish government is to support its companies through a credit line of 75 million euros (102 million US dollars).
Ghana: To boost economic cooperation with Indonesia.
Mr Lasro Simbolon, the Director for African Affairs of Indonesia, led a delegation of investors to pay a courtesy call on officials of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss cooperation between the two countries. Mr Lasro Simbolon said the two countries could collaborate to enhance bilateral relations. “Indonesia sees the potential in areas of economic growth in Africa, and we are committed to see that transition is carried out with Ghana,” he said. Mr Simbolon noted that the two countries had rich potentials to explore business opportunities to sustain economic cooperation. He said the Ghana’needed economic growth in areas of infrastructure, agriculture, technological development and capacity building and invited members of the Chamber to one of Indonesia’s biggest Expo being held between October 16th and October 20.
Mr Seth Adjei Baah, President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the two countries should in line with national development plans enhance economic cooperation for the welfare of their people. “As you decide to invest in Ghana, be assured that your money is safe, our hands are opened and I believe we can do more by collaborating with each other,” he added.
Ghana: Cedi stable to US Dollar.
However, the local currency had depreciated by 14.5 percent against the American currency on the forex market so far this year. Analysts say the Bank of Ghana’s efforts to support the Ghana Cedi and other liquidity management efforts are finally having a positive impact despite robust import demand; they are predicting a further stable currency if the Central Bank continues its liquidity management operations despite pressure from large fiscal and current account deficits.
Meanwhile, on the currency market today, the Ghana Cedi remained relatively stable to the US Dollar. It however rose to the other major foreign currencies on the interbank market.
Africa: Private energy sector key to continent’s commercial future.
Co-Founder of the $500 million Africa50 infrastructure fund, Mr Kola Aluko says the continued influence and growth of independent companies in the energy sector in Africa is vital, if the continent is to fulfil its true potential as a commercial power. Speaking to an international audience of business leaders during a discussion on the prospects and Challenges for Africa’s Energy sector at the US-Africa Business Summit in Chicago, Aluko made the statement as a panel member, just two weeks after the Made In Africa Foundation he co-founded with British designer, Ozwald Boateng, launched the ‘Africa50’ fund in association with the African Development Bank, at the NASDAQ in New York.
According to Aluko: “In the past, 97% of Nigeria’s production was dominated by the International Oil Companies who’s understandable focus on what was best for shareholders, didn’t always reflect what was best for the country. But the government is aware of the importance to change that and the introduction of tax benefits to independent operators is a major incentive to work for the wider benefit and generate a trickle down effect which then benefits the population.”
Africa shows interest in Zimbabwe.
Fellow African countries are continuing to show keen interest in bringing their investments into Zimbabwe, an investment expert has said. Traditionally, Asian and European countries have been known to invest in Zimbabwe. Imara Zimbabwe executive director Mr Tino Kambasha told that large African capital firms are now showing a lot of interest in the country. He added that the fact is that one cannot ignore Zimbabwe and its large consumer base anymore as many equity fund managers are eager to explore opportunities for strong capital growth and high equity yields.
A Kenyan private equity firm, Fanisi Capital, announced recently that it will launch its second fund of US$100 million to be invested in new markets across Southern Africa before the end of next year, a company official said. Botswana Stock Exchange-listed retail group Choppies Enterprises last week announced the acquisition of 49 percent of an unnamed Zimbabwean supermarket chain comprising 10 stores.
Ghana: Government optimistic meeting revenue targets.
Government is optimistic of meeting revenue targets with new tax hikes despite present difficulties with collection of the taxies. Government is basing its optimism on business activities that picked up in the last quarter of this year.
In August this year, government introduced three new taxes to address revenue shortfalls. These include the National Stabilization Levy and Customs and Excise Bill – however the third bill, Special Import Bill, is yet to be laid before Parliament.
The state has so far been able to collect GH¢ 25 million from the GH¢ 371 million revenue target. There are fears the country might not realize the revenue target because of a slowdown in business activities, as well as smuggling activities at the ports; but Deputy Minister of Finance, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan said the Ministry has instituted measures to ensure the GH¢ 371 million target is realised.
“Taxes may be the main revenue stream but there are other revenue streams as huge as taxes that also come – so it becomes a case of prioritinsing your expenditure”, he said.
Meanwhile, banks, mining firms, telcos and other financial institutions would by the end of this month be giving away 5% of their profits as Stabilization Levy.
Nigeria: Total to fund contractors under $7.5Bn initiative.
Total E&P Nigeria Limited and Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, in partnership with 8 banks have launched a $7.5 billion Nigerian Contractors’ Initiative (NCI) to create a sustainable funding channel for the energy giants’ local contractors.
Based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which is in line with the Nigerian local content policy, the contractors, which include vendors and suppliers, will sufficiently receive capital which also will be domiciled with the partnering banks. Total MD/CEO Mr. Guy Maurice, said over the weekend the MoU provides for sustainable funding relationship between the banks and Total’s indigenous contractors.
Mr. Jibril Aku, the Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, one of the partnering banks, explained the finance programme would help sustain the contractors and help them play a more active role in the oil and gas sector.
The partnering lenders for the NCI include Ecobank Nigeria, Zenith Bank, Diamond Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Standard Chartered Bank, Access Bank and Fidelity Bank.
Ethiopia: To launch Eurobond.
Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn says his country is planning to launch a Eurobond once it secures its credit rating, but it will not open its telecoms and banking sectors to foreigners as revenue drawn from both sectors helps fund development of infrastructure.
Foreign appetite for African bonds has been strong as investors scramble for high yields. However, Prime Minister Desalegn’s declaration may disappoint foreign investors who had hoped for a paradigm shift from the state-led policies of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died last August.
The Prime Minister told journalists that he would stick to a policy that has kept the telecoms monopoly in state hands and the banking sector – dominated by three state institutions – off limits to foreigners, as income or financing from those entities is being used to develop the country’s infrastructure. Dasalegn also said that the East African nation is willing to harness the international debt market by issuing an external bond to relieve the country’s foreign currency shortage.
According to him, Ethiopia will also launch other bonds alongside Eurobond.
Although Prime Minister Desalegn did not give an exact date on when the country will get a credit rating, he hinted that it is at a critical stage alongside the issuance of the bond. A credit rating allows countries to access funds outside their country. The possession of a good credit rating attracts Foreign Direct Investment because it gives investors information about the economic stability of the country they are investing in.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian State Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Abraham Tekeste said the Ethiopian economy grew by 9.7% in the past fiscal year. Ethiopia, sub-Saharan Africa’s fifth largest economy, expects FDI of about $2 billion a year through 2015.
Zambia: More investors target mining sector.
Several Chinese investors have expressed interest in investing in Zambia’s mining sector through the United Nations (UN) South-South Cooperation initiative, Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Emmanuel Chenda has said.
Mr Chenda said in an interview that on the sidelines of the recently held UN General Assembly in the United States of America (USA), he met with several potential investors, among them Chinese, who expressed interest in setting up mineral exploration ventures in Zambia.
Meanwhile, Mr Chenda said the benefits of Government’s intervention to remove the subsidy on fossil fuels has started paying off as a number of other renewable forms of energy are being identified. The minister reiterated that maintaining the subsidy on fuel could have negatively affected the country’s capacity to generate energy from other sources.
Nigeria: Federal Government woos Brazilians to invest in power.
To ensure rapid development of electricity distribution, the Federal Government has appealed to the Brazilian Government to invest in Nigeria’s power sector with a view to revamping the ailing sector. The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo who said this while receiving a Brazilian delegation led by Vice-Minister of Development, Industry and International Trade, Mr. Ricardo Shaefer, said the government needs assistance from around the world to revamp the ailing power sector.
The minister also requested for synergy and co-operation of the Brazilians in Nigeria’s quest to ensure all her nationals are connected to electricity. He said that “Brazil has done well in many aspects of electricity especially in big hydro, biomass, solar, wind and coal. Nigeria intends to learn from the experience of Brazil, as the country has already leap frog in the attainment of development goals.”
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Power, Amb. Godknows Igali, said that opportunities in the power sector is in mega dimension. He added that the nation’s target of moving from over 4,000 mega watts to 40,000MW in the next seven years would require double efforts from Nigeria’s friends abroad.
South Africa: French firms urged to collaborate.
French and South African companies have been encouraged to work together on the industrialisation of South Africa and the African continent. Speaking at a business forum on the sidelines of the state visit by French President Francois Hollande on Monday, 14th October, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said that although France was among the country’s top five partners in the European Union (EU), a lot more still needed to be done.
France is among South Africa’s top 10 trading partners. The two countries have significant and sizeable trade and investment relations.
Davies said that what needed to be improved were partnerships between the two countries on industrialisation. He said the African continent was recognised as one of the growing frontiers in the world and that the African region needed to integrate.
South Africa is engaged in a massive infrastructure programme, with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) having also set up infrastructure programmes, and these should form the basis for industrialisation, Davies said.
Zimbabwe: Nation to have new diamond miner.
The Government has granted a licence to Global Diamond Trekkers to explore for the gems in the Middle Sabi area of Manicaland province, about 100 km south east of the Chiadzwa fields. According to a statement issued by the company, it was given permission to investigate the potential for mining diamonds in the Middle Sabi area. The alluvial diamond concession lies in the Middle Sabi valley, about 167 km south of Mutare in Manicaland province.
Global Diamond Trekkers said it had since engaged a consultancy firm to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment for the project. The company will in the short term conduct an exploration exercise to determine the extent of the resources. Thereafter it would seek compliance with industry regulator the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme.
Zimbabwe is a notable diamond producer with huge reserves of the mineral especially in the Marange area. The five joint-venture mines in Marange produced a combined eight million carats of the gems last year and generated at least US$684 million in exports.
Industry experts say Zimbabwe has the potential to account for at least 25 percent of global production by the end of the decade.
Nigeria: To take ICT investment drive to Silicon Valley.
The Ministry of Communication Technology is holding a Silicon Valley Investment Forum in San Francisco, United States of America (USA), to showcase the untapped potential of the Nigerian ICT sector – its success stories and investment opportunities to the global community.
The three-day forum will showcase the development of Nigeria’s technology sector including policy, economic development and individual success stories of start-ups in the country.
The aim of the forum is to further highlight the potential of the Nigerian ICT sector and increase exposure of ideation and innovation in Nigeria. The forum will showcase Nigeria’s Innovation drive and success stories of start-ups like Jumia, Co Creation Hub, Venia Business Hub, Wakanow, Interswitch, Paga etc. Also, a new report on Nigeria’s ICT sector by the Oxford Business Group will be circulated at the forum.
The Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, will speak on the potential of the Nigerian ICT sector and initiatives of the Ministry to accelerate the growth of the sector.
Ethiopia: Growth is impressive – African Development Bank.
Ethiopia’s strong, decade-long economic growth made it possible for the country to be on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals says the African Development Bank (AfDB).
In its latest publication “AfDB and Ethiopia – Partnering for Inclusive Growth” the Bank point to huge investment in infrastructure and commercialization of agriculture as major causes for the average 11% annual growth over the past nine years, making Ethiopia the biggest economy in East Africa.
The Bank lauded the government’s development policy that lead to broad based growth and a considerable reduction in poverty, noting pro-poor policies accounted for 69% of expenditure in the 2011-12 budget year alone.
Prudent monetary policies brought inflation down to 7.7% in 2013 from a high of 40% in mid-2011. The Bank underlines its commitment to continue partnership with Ethiopia, aligning its country strategy with the Growth and Transformation Plan.
It notes “the government of Ethiopia’s key development objective is to achieve inclusive, accelerated and sustained economic growth and to eradicate poverty” and expresses the Bank’s strong conviction of the prospects of Ethiopia’s development.
The Bank’s country strategy principles included alignment with the Growth and transformation Plan, prioritizing infrastructure, regional integration, governance and private sector development and supporting the East African Integration strategy. The Bank has therefore supported the Ethio-Djibouti Electric Power Interconnection Project, the Ethio-Kenya Electric Highway project, the Mombasa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa Road Corridor and the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program.
Since it joined the African Development Bank Group in 1964, Ethiopia has benefitted from loans and grants to the tune of US$3.75 billion, making it the sixth largest beneficiary in the continent.
South Sudan: Korean millionaires to invest.
South Sudan will soon witness a number of investors from Korea coming willingly to invest in diverse natural resources in the country. The government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has already embarked on serious discussions on how these millionaires will be handled when they arrive in the country.
The head of Korean mission in Uganda, Park Jong Dae confirmed that the millionaires will arrive as soon as the necessary arrangements are completed. He said South Sudan has a promising investment potential and the Korean millionaires are interested to invest there.
He also said he will be leaving shortly for Juba to see how the Korean peace keepers can introduce new programs to improve its developmental service to South Sudan. The envoy disclosed all this after a meeting with the minister for Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, while in Kampala.
Kenya: Standard Bank, ICBC raise $108m debt facility heavy fuel plant.
Standard Bank Group and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have concluded a $108 million debt financing package with Triumph Kenya to construct a 83MW heavy fuel oil plant in the east African nation. As mandated co-lead arrangers, CfC Stanbic Bank, a member of Standard Bank Group, provided $28 million of debt funding while ICBC supplied $80 million. The ICBC finance portion will be for the plant, currently being built 25km from Nairobi.
Kenya Power also signed a 20-year agreement with Triumph to purchase power from the plant, which will be a crucial supplier to the utility during times of drought when the country’s hydroelectric generating capacity becomes constrained.
The World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will provide $102.5 million in breach of contract insurance should Kenya Power fail to honour its 20-year power purchase agreement with Triumph. MIGA’s insurance will also cover the Government of Kenya’s obligations under the Government of Kenya Letter of Support.
Kenya has historically relied on hydropower for most of its electricity needs and has a current installed generating capacity of 1,672 MW, compared with peak power demand of 1,330 MW. The nation’s economy has expanded at an average rate of 4-5 percent over the last 3 years.
Nigeria: Fitch rates economy stable.
Fitch Ratings, an international independent rating agency, rated Nigeria’s economic outlook as stable. The agency also affirmed the country’s long-term foreign and local currency IDRs and senior unsecured bond ratings at ‘BB-‘ and ‘BB’ respectively, while the short-term foreign currency IDR was rated ‘B’ and Country Ceiling at ‘BB-‘. This vote of confidence on the prospects of the Nigerian economy is coming a few days after another respected international rating agency, Standard & Poor’s also affirmed a strong and positive rating for the management of the economy.
According to the agency, the affirmation reflects the following key rating drivers, a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.4 per cent in the first half of 2013, noting that though lower than the level in 2012, the country showed resilience in the face of exogenous shocks.
The agency noted the non-oil economy had slowed but still grew by 7.9 per cent in 2012 and 7.6 per cent in the first half of 2013. The agency expressed optimism that non-oil growth should pick up in the second half of 2013, as normal weather had resumed and the authorities had responded to the security problems. Reforms to the electricity and agriculture sectors could start to boost potential growth.
Other key drivers of the rating, as highlighted by the agency, included inflation rate, which had remained in single digits all year – the lowest in five years and the longest stretch of single digit inflation since 2008. Also, policy rates were unchanged and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had the twin aims of achieving single-digit inflation and maintaining exchange rate stability. Fitch also adjudged public finances as remaining comfortable and estimated a general government deficit of around 1.8 per cent of GDP this year and next.
Ghana: Fitch downgrades … From B+ to B.
Fitch has downgraded Ghana from a B to a B, largely because of the government’s difficulty in managing the rising wage bill and of the increased debt to GDP ratio pose short-term challenges to the economy. Ghana was put on a B (negative) outlook in February this year and has since been under continuous assessment by Fitch, which had expressed concern over several factors affecting the short-term health of Ghana’s economy.
While experts recognise Ghana’s bright prospects in the medium term, it is believed that the government will struggle with controlling the fiscal situation over the next 18 months.
The outlook for post-2015 looks much better,” a sources, close to the rating agency, said, citing Ghana’s removal of subsidies on petroleum products as helping the fiscal situation, but continued subsidies on utilities, especially power, posed challenges for fiscal stability and growth going forward.
South Africa: Eskom wins R1.3 billion French solar loan.
France is to lend €100-million (R1.3-billion) to South African state company Eskom to help finance a 100 megawatt (MW) concentrating solar power plant near Upington in the Northern Cape. Eskom and the French Development Agency (AFD) agreed, during French President Francois Hollande’s state visit to South Africa, to facilitate the signing of the loan.
Eskom chief executive Brian Dames said in a statement that the Upington CSP project, one of Eskom’s first commercial-scale renewable energy projects outside of its existing hydro portfolio, “puts us on a path towards reducing our carbon footprint and investing in a sustainable energy future”. The Upington CSP project is expected to deliver an annual energy production of 525 GWh and will be sufficient to power 200 000 homes.
Liberia leads the table of biggest governance improvers in Africa since 2000, and has seen largest improvements in Safety & Rule of Law.
The 2013 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) revealed that Liberia is the ‘most improved country’ on the continent in terms of overall governance since 2000. The top five most improved countries in the 2013 IIAG are all post-conflict countries: Liberia, Angola, Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Burundi.
The 2013 IIAG provides full details of Liberia’s performance across four categories of governance: Safety & Rule of Law, Participation & Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development. Since 2000, Liberia has shown its biggest improvement in the category of Safety & Rule of Law, which measures judicial functions, accountability, transparency and corruption, property rights, personal safety and national security, among others.
Liberia’s performance in the 2013 IIAG stands as follow: Ranks 29th (out of 52) overall; scores 50.3 (out of 100), lower than the African; average (51.6); has improved by +24.8 since 2000; ranks 10th (out of 16) in the West African region; scores lower than the regional average for West Africa (52.5) and ranks highest in the category Participation & Human Rights (19th out of 52).
According to report, West Africa ranks 3rd out of five regions at the overall governance level. This has been the case every year since 2000, except in 2011 when it ranked 2nd.
South Africa: Old Mutual set to invest $101m in Africa.
Old Mutual Investment Group SA (Omigsa) said it is set to raise R10 billion ($101 million) to invest in private equity, infrastructure and agriculture funds throughout Africa. Diane Radley, the CEO at Omigsa, said domestic pension funds will be used as sources for the investment money that will generate long-term yields.
According to Radley, by 2050 at least one in three youngsters in the globe will be living in the African continent; this, she said, will turn Africa into one of the greatest and thrilling consumer markets going forward.
Omigsa, the South Africa-based unit of Old Mutual, is Africa’s biggest insurance company listed on London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.
Nigeria: Brittania-U offers $1.2 Billion for Chevron Oil blocs.
Brittania-U Nigeria Limited, a Lagos-based marginal oil field operator, has reportedly offered Chevron a $1.2 billion for 3 of its listed oil blocs, throwing lower bidders into panic. Chevron has been seeking to liquidate its 40 percent stake in blocs OMLs 52, 53, 55, 83 and 85, listing them for sale to local operators. The indigenous oil firm has been rivalled by fellow operators Seplat/Amni Production, Niger Delta Petroleum/SAPETRO and Sahara/Septa – all Nigerian companies – seeking to acquire the reserves-rich fields. The blocs are said to hold oil reserves in excess of 250 million barrels of oil and over 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas, valued at $400 million.
Though no official declaration has been made, Brittania-U’s latest bid – believed to be $1 billion higher than other bids – looks set to put an end to the 3-month bidding process. Brittania-U is bidding to buy OMLs 52, 53 and 55, estimated to contain proven oil and gas reserves of 555 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE), a Business Day report revealed.
The oil and gas company’s astonishing offer has been supported by an equity financing partner, an arrangement Eddy Wikina, former external relation affairs manager, Shell Nigeria Exploration Petroleum Company (SNEPCO), feels was easy initiated due to the company’s excellent credit rating.
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On the quality of higher education (and human capital development) in Africa.
Reflex Eco Group – Africa News.
by Kennedy Opalo (Kenyan journalist)
According to The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013, the highest ranked university in Africa, the University of Cape Town, is 113th in the world. The ranking system employs 13 performance indicators that take into account universities’ core functions, including “research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.” Among the leading 400 world academic institutions, there are only four from Africa, all in South Africa. As a region, Africa only has 35 scientists and engineers per million inhabitants, compared with 168 in Brazil, 2,457 in Europe and 4,103 in the United States. The region is clearly behind as far as knowledge production and dissemination is concerned, producing only 1.1 percent of the world’s scientific knowledge, despite comprising more than 13 percent of the global population.
At barely over 8 percent, Africa’s gross enrollment in tertiary institutions of learning is the lowest of any region in the world (UNESCO, 2011). The average enrollment rate for developing countries is 23 percent, and that for advanced countries is 74 percent. Africa’s poor showing in the higher education sweepstakes is both a cause and effect of the region’s poor economic environment. The massive cuts in higher education funding in the wake of the structural adjustment programs of the 1980s and 1990s, even as enrollment more than tripled between 1991 and 2005, have had an adverse impact on quality. And in turn, the lack of high quality tertiary level education has starved the region of high skills needed for efficient allocation of factors of production thereby stunting improvement in productivity, high value addition and research and development. Africa devotes less than 1 percent of its GDP to research and development.
Data from 33 countries for which it is available show that tertiary education financing in the region has declined from a high of US $6,800 per student per year in 1980 to just about $981 in 2005. Over the same period the World Bank decreased its education lending from 17 percent in 1985-89 to just 7.5 percent currently (this is despite the fact that the World Bank nearly doubled its education lending between 2008 and 2009). The decline in public funding in the face of increasing demand for higher education has led to the proliferation of private universities of dubious standards and a bias towards perceived “soft” fields. In 2004 a meager 28 percent of students were enrolled in perceived “hard” disciplines in the sciences and engineering.
A 2008 study of 12 countries showed an increase in public universities from 113 to 188 between 1995 and 2008. Over the same period private universities ballooned from 14 to 107. This rapid increase in the number of universities in the region has not been matched by an increase in the number of trained teaching staff or facilities such as laboratories, libraries, and the like. Indeed, most of the new universities have tended to specialize in vocational subjects that require very little capital and human resource investment. To put it mildly, there is a great mismatch between the region’s development needs and the type of graduates it produces each year.
The shortage of skills permeates nearly all skill levels, and could get worse as the region’s economy continues to grow over the next two decades. The case of Kenya is illustrative. The country has an ambitious plan to be the information and communication technology (ICT) hub of Eastern Africa (dubbed the “Silicon Savannah”) complete with a proposed $10 billion techno-city (Konza City) situated about 60 kilometres southeast of Nairobi. Already ICT multinationals, including IBM, Microsoft, Google and Intel, have their regional headquarters in Kenya. All this sounds good, except the lack of local skills. IBM’s research lab in Kenya has had to source for top talent among graduates in computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics, and data scientists from American universities. There is still a shortage of required skills among graduates of Kenyan universities. Quality assurance is also lacking, as recent news reports of “theses for hire” have demonstrated.
As the Kenyan case suggests, the lack of sufficient investment in high quality tertiary education has adversely impacted Africa’s ability to realize its economic potential. A 2005 study showed that a one-year increase in the higher education stock of the region could boost growth rate by about 0.63 percentage points. This adds up to an overall increase in income by about 12 percent over five years. For the region to take off economically there is need for greater investment in quality higher education that will train workers for the 21st century economy. But improving the quality of higher education in the region will be a very costly affair. On their own, the region’s countries lack both the resources (on account of their small economies) and demand (on account of their population sizes) to justify the types of investments required. This is where regional cooperation comes in.
Cross-border educational exchanges are not new in Africa, and go back to the pre-independence era. For generations non-Senegalese francophone students have studied in Senegal, seen as a cheap way of getting quality education at par with diplomas from France. Uganda, with East Africa’s top university, Makerere, hosts legions of Kenyan students, eager to avoid congestion and high costs back home. South Africa, with its many quality institutions is also a preferred destination for students from across the continent. These historical cross-border exchanges have led to the formation of regional associations of higher education – the francophone Conseil Africain et Malgache pour l’Enseignement Superieur (CAMES); Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA); Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA); and inter-university cooperation under the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). Continent-wide, the 208-member Association of African Universities (representing 45 countries) is the umbrella organization of the region’s institutions of higher learning.
These associations need to be strengthened and empowered as drivers of regional harmonization of higher education both to facilitate cross-border inter-university mobility of both teachers and students and guarantee quality assurance. As a 2007 World Bank report aptly noted, “regional quality assurance networks are particularly relevant to Africa because of human resource constraints.” On this score the European Higher Education Area provides a possible model. The just over 10 years old Bologna process is working towards ensuring inter-university mobility (in terms of courses, qualifications, and periods of study) as well as a uniform quality assurance standard. In the African context, a continent-wide area of higher education is infeasible because of language and logistical constraints. However, sub-regional areas of higher education, based on the existing associations, provide a possible avenue to invest in a few good institutions of higher learning that can have a demonstrative effect on national institutions as well set high standards of learning. The associations themselves can also serve as certification bodies to ensure a uniform quality assurance standard (see here).
The announcement in late July 2013 of the creation of a new US $154.2 million multinational science, innovation and technology Pan African University (PAU) in the next five years is therefore welcome. (The African Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged a $45 million grant towards the effort.) PAU will be structured around existing institutions of higher learning across Africa’s five sub-regions. Basic sciences, technology and innovation will be based in East Africa; earth and life sciences including health and agriculture in West Africa; governance, humanities and social sciences in Central Africa; water and energy sciences including climate change in North Africa; and space sciences in Southern Africa.
Thus far, discussions over regional integration of systems of higher education have tended to view tertiary institutions as tools for regional economic and political integration – be it in East Africa, Europe or East Asia. However, the creation of stronger regional areas of higher education – especially in a region like Africa – can also be an economically efficient way of facilitating greater investment in higher education to match the demands of a 21st century economy. It is encouraging that current trends signal a move in this direction. University systems in Africa’s sub-regions would be a good place to start.
I conclude with a caution. The rapid increase in the number of public and private universities in Africa over the last two decades has come at the expense of other post-secondary institutions of learning such as polytechnics (this shift has occurred to a lesser extent in francophone Africa than anglophone Africa). In many countries governments have simply converted polytechnics and other constituent colleges into fully-fledged universities. This trend is worrying, especially given the fact that the vast majority of high school leavers on the continent do not make it to university. The low quality of high school education in the region (as demonstrated by the recent mass student failures in Liberia and Tanzania) is yet another reason why these “bridge” tertiary institutions are needed, both to prepare students for university and to impart valuable skills for those that do not eventually make it to university.
The rush to invest in university education should not distract from the fact that vocational post-secondary institutions, such as polytechnics, are an important component of human capital development, even in advanced countries as is the case in Germany (with its impressive “dual system” of training codified in the Vocational Training Act of 1969). As African economies move from dependence on primary commodities to manufacturing and technology, there will be need for skilled workers at all occupational levels. Doing away with vocational post-secondary institutions will only serve to further inhibit the development of adequate and relevant human capital to match the increased demand for skilled workers.
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Most African countries will be middle income by 2040.
Reflex Eco Group – Africa News.
Interview with Carlos Lopes, executive secretary, Economic Commission for Africa.
The 2013 Economic Report on Africa appears to mirror the 2012 report. What has changed over the past year?
Carlos Lopes: Not necessarily on the economy, but in terms of the mentality and the priorities, there is a sea change taking place. We are working with the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission on something called Vision 2063—50 years from now. We got African ministers of finance to approve the idea of transforming African economies and shift from agriculture into industrial and service sectors. This has to be done now for three reasons. First, it’s because you do your big transformation when you are on a growth path, not when you are in recession. Second, you transform when you actually have an increasing urban population, which is what is happening now in Africa. And third, you do it when there is a good macroeconomic environment, which we do have. Our reserves are now at an all-time high—half a trillion dollars. We have inflation around 7% on average. We have managed to get the regulatory system right, particularly on the financial sector. Budget deficits are under control. We are saying that industrialization is the key driver of this transformation.
At the macroeconomic level, a lot of progress has been made. But there is still joblessness.
First of all, what is the value of labour statistics in Africa? The definition of employment as applied in other regions has very little currency in understanding the current reality in Africa. Right now we have a major statistical problem on the continent. So you are talking about not knowing, apart from guessing games, the real characteristics of the composition of GDP in African countries. Demographics—same problems. You have only about 12 African countries that have done a census in the last 10 years. The quality of methodological development in terms of checking the trends in census has not been followed in many countries, even those with the means to do so. For example, Nigeria is now revising its base years for national accounting.
Is that a reasonable thing to do in Nigeria? It seems like statistical manipulation—an arbitrary upward GDP revision.
We will come to that, let me address jobs. One of the areas where we have a weakness is precisely employment and labour statistics. We don’t know exactly how many people are really employed. If you take the statistics of South Africa you can be almost sure they are on the mark because they have more sophisticated machinery. For the rest, we have a guessing game. So to say it’s a jobless growth or a growth that is losing a lot of jobs—both are wild guesses. What we know for sure is that the population is increasing too fast and there is no historical precedent in the world where you have this kind of curve. This means we have to create 10 million jobs a year.
Most investments in Africa are in the extractive sector, which does not produce many jobs. Is it not possible we are experiencing a jobless growth?
Jobless growth? I don’t believe it! I think we are not creating as many jobs as required by the economy, but it’s not a jobless growth. Right now there are people that are occupied, not employed, and we don’t know the dynamics of the situation because we have not adapted labour statistics to capture the types of activities that typically an urban young African has. People are occupied but don’t have jobs. We don’t have a way of capturing these types of activities because it’s informal. Labour statistics are very scanty and static; they were designed for a reality that is not the African reality.
Is there therefore a need to have special parameters for measuring labour statistics in Africa?
We need to do that. This is something that ECA is definitely going to do. There is a tremendous poverty of numbers. One of the contributions ECA has to make is to address gaps of information that capture the exact economic activities taking place in Africa and give a better picture that allows planners to do their job. And that starts with statistics.
Your report calls for value addition to Africa’s commodities. This should be a commonsense approach.
The conventional wisdom is that when you have a commodity boom you also have a commodity curse, and therefore it is very rare for commodity-rich countries to move into industrialization. But historical facts demonstrate the opposite. A number of regions in the world, including this country [the United States], have developed their industries on the basis of commodities. So we have to be much more sophisticated in the way we deal with commodity-based industrialization than in the past. First step, you assess what has happened; we have nine case studies [in the ECA report]. We look into what happened and then try to understand the mistakes made and the positives as well. Second, we say this is not just about regulation, but regulation plays a very important role, including sophisticated protectionism.
What is sophisticated protectionism?
Protection is not a bad word. But we should do it with sophistication, which means you have to have the right balance. Then we come to regional integration. You are not going to industrialize if each country tries to survive on its own little thing. For example, Togo wants to survive on toothpaste produced in Togo and Benin wants to produce its own. Some markets are big enough—certainly Nigeria. But the majority of the countries would not be in a position to take advantage of industrialization if they don’t integrate regionally. We have been talking about regional integration for 50 years. Is it happening? Well, there has been progress but that progress is timid.
Sophisticated protectionism sounds like regulation. The World Trade Organization is likely to oppose that.
But we are talking about the African agenda. The WTO is a negotiating platform.
The African economy is integrated in the world’s economy.
Integrated to a point. What you need is to make the case for an Africa agenda.
Can that case be successfully made?
Well, the EPA [Economic Partnership Agreements] discussion is still ongoing—so why not? There is no country in the world that has industrialized without sophisticated protectionism.
What about the argument that formulating new policies to regulate trade is anti–free market?
It’s not a matter of choosing between state and market as if these were two opposites. That discussion is over. Everybody agrees now that there is a role for the state and there is a role for the market. There are regulations that are necessary. This country [the US], Europe, Japan have done it. The moment they get in crisis, what do they do? They intervene in the banks and so on. So that discussion is over.
What about subsidies for farmers in the West, which tend to affect African farmers who cannot compete on the international market?
Africa will continue to fight. Maybe they will never succeed in that fight. They should not put their eggs into that basket too much.
Because Africa has many other opportunities. It doesn’t need to focus on the export of soft commodities as its primary goal.
Are you suggesting that Africa can downplay commodities like cocoa, cotton and others and concentrate on other opportunities?
Sim. First, there are commodities that Africa, because of its monopoly position, should be able to get better deals from, like cocoa. Second, it’s a lost battle because Europe will not give up. And third, the future of Africa is not in soft commodities; the future of Africa is in industrialization. Yes, we need to produce agricultural products big-time—but for Africa.
But can you separate industrialization from a focus on soft commodities?
No, I don’t separate the two. If we are saying industrialization in Africa is necessary, it will be commodity-based. That includes soft commodities, but a few, not many. Like cocoa and cotton. You can even think of sugar. There is a market for it. But for the rest, the agricultural production of Africa should turn into Africa consumption. I hate to use the term world food security because it carries a lot of baggage. It immediately connotes we are taking care of people affected by drought. It’s much more than that. It’s about creating a market for consumption of agricultural products in Africa.
Back to integration. It appears that there is more activity at the regional level than at the continental level.
Well, African Free TradeZoneinitiative says it very clearly that the future will be through regional blocs, the regional economic communities. The problem we are facing right now is that the regional economic communities are in different speeds. From the most exciting East African Community to the Maghreb Union, you have very different dynamics going on. What investors would like to know is that whatever I invest in Country A is going to have the possibility of flowing in whatever direction it flows. They will say, OK, this is a key port, a key city, a key industrial hub, a key IT innovation centre—that is very powerful. And if you sell it as part of an Africa-wide approach, that’s very attractive.
There appears to be a lot of emphasis on foreign direct investment in Africa. But intra-Africa trade is only about 12% and…
Well, again, 12% measured how? Which statistics?
That’s coming from your institution.
The majority of the intra-Africa trade is informal. Everybody knows that. You just go to any important border crossing. See what is going on there and you know that 80% of the transactions are informal. This is the border post, and what about those that don’t even go through the border post?
So you believe that intra-Africa trade is more than 12%?
I think it’s officially 12%. But this has to be qualified with two footnotes: firstly, it doesn’t include the informal transactions, and secondly, the statistics are old. Essa é a realidade. But there is no doubt whatsoever that it’s way below what it should be.
The Continental Free Trade Area by 2017—is that expected to help intra-Africa trade?
It’s a political tag. For me it expresses ambition. In these days, any expression of ambition on the part of African leaders has to be taken as a good sign of self-confidence. But technically, it’s very difficult.
Currently, China is Africa’s biggest trading partner. Many believe the Chinese are taking more than they are investing.
The African Union has taken a decision. They have put a brake on new partnerships and called for a review of the existing partnerships. When I talk about China’s relations, I like to throw one number which tells the story: the totality of Chinese investment in Africa is 5% of Chinese investment in the world.
That’s quite small.
It’s very small; but we make a big fuss of it. If you compare the last 10 years—the increase in Chinese investments in Africa with Chinese investments in Latin America, Asia, Europe, even in the US—which one comes last? África. So we need to stop the easygoing bashing. The Chinese economy is occupying a much different size in the world economy and Africa is part of that trend.
Since your appointment last year as ECA executive secretary you have started to implement reforms. What’s your goal?
I would put it in simple terms. We are not going to make a difference if we don’t really become specialized on the knowledge of Africa’s economic activities. That means huge emphasis on statistics; that means being able to produce best country profiles in the world on the African economies; that means being aware of impact. This leads to specialization. Different parts of ECA are becoming specialized.
How do the statistics you generate impact individual country economies?
Enorme. Because you can’t do planning, which is a priority for Africa in general, without good statistics. We are saying statistics can improve in Africa. We are pulling all UN agencies that have statistical responsibilities into a big Africa initiative of UN support for African statistics. But in order for us to do that, we have to be seen as the real leader on statistics. Therefore we have to have the capacity that is beyond dispute.
Finally, what is your vision for the African economy?
I have no doubt that Africa will emerge. If we use that expression emerging economies, Africa will be a strong, emerging economy. I have no doubt that by the year 2040 most African countries will be middle income and we will have the largest work force of any continent, and the youngest.
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Notícias & amp; Dicas
Today’s market overview.
Growth in the euro-zone’s biggest economies beat economic forecasts. In Germany, GDP in the second quarter rose 0.7 per cent against flat growth in the first quarter, while comparative growth in France expanded by 0.5 per cent.
Rio Tinto (RIO) said that it expects falling output and job cuts at its Warkworth coal mine in New South Wales, regardless of its appeal against a court decision to block plans to extend the life of the operation. Meanwhile, Rio’s share price hit a five-month high on speculation that it is making progress towards selling off its aluminium business Alcan.
Mountview Estates (MTV) revealed strong performance over the last quarter with earnings per share up by over 16 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year. The management team has already made purchases over £20m since 1 April 2013. Gearing remains at a modest level and the board remains confident of the group’s financial stability.
Swiss resource giant Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) said it plans to lay-off the bulk of its workforce at its $5.9bn copper project in the Philippines which has been stalled by regulators. The Tampakan mine is cutting costs as the approvals process drags on. The group said that no investment decision can be made until regional approvals are obtained. Out of 1,060 workers, the company is dismissing 300 regular and project employees and about 620 contract workers, reducing the monthly spend from a planned $4m to about $1m.
Pilat Media Global (PGB) has entered into three new IBMS streamlining contracts that are estimated to contribute about £3m of license revenues and implementation fees in total during the current accounting period.
Quindell Portfolio (QPP) has delivered a trading statement with performance indicators that are “in line or ahead of half-year expectations”. Shareholders can expect basic earnings of 0.9p a share for the six months to 30 June, with pre-tax profits of £43.5m.
Kazakhstan-focussed oil & gas explorer Max Petroleum (MXP) has commenced drilling the SAGW-5 appraisal well in the Sagiz West Field on Block E using the Zhanros ZJ-30 rig. The well will be drilled to a total vertical depth of 1,400 metres, targeting Triassic reservoirs.
Board changes at Capital & Regional (CAL) with Mark Bourgeois appointed as an executive director and Xavier Pullen, one of the founders of the company, stepping down from 31 December 2013. Mr Pullen, however, will continue to maintain close links with the company. It is the intention that he will subsequently take up the role of senior adviser and will support the execution of the strategy for Germany.
It transpires that BP (BP.) is suing the US government for barring the company from obtaining new federal contracts. Last November, the Environmental Protection Agency banned from new contracts, citing the company after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
The private equity group Advent International has sold Domestic & General to rival CVC Capital Partners, in a deal worth an estimated £750m.
