Passage of New Oil Law Offers Hope of Industry Restart

Monrovia – In this last of a three-part series on the survival of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) amid financial turmoil and the global oil crisis, we ask whether the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Law could save Liberia’s oil and gas sector from further decay. The recent passage of the Petroleum (Exploration and…

Climate Change Threatens Liberia

  With a global reliance on fossil fuel for energy, climate change is increasingly becoming a threat to human existence. Across the world catastrophic weather patterns are killing people and devastating agricultural activities. In our own region, one of the biggest inland water sources – Lake Chad – has almost disappeared. Drought and floods have…

NOCAL Slashes Costs To Survive As Income Dries Up

Monrovia – In this second of a three-part series on the survival of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) amid financial turmoil and the oil crisis we look closely at how the company is operating in these difficult times. NOCAL is cash-strapped and is no longer leading the promising Liberian oil and gas sector…

NOCAL Collapses One Year On – Liberia’s Oil Basin Goes Quiet

Monrovia – In this first part of three-part series on we look at what is currently happening in the Liberian oil basin one year on from the collapse of the National Oil Company of Liberia. What is the status of the different oil contracts between Liberia and oil companies and what does the future hold…

Liberians’ Health: Generators, Cars Posing Dangers to Residents

Monrovia – On June 19 this year, two men—Varnie Sarjue and Jusue Vannie – spent the night in the office of GMT Fishery in the Bong Mines Bridge community outside Monrovia. Both men were guarding the company’s properties, and on that fateful night Sarjue brought with him his girlfriend, Garmeh Howard. They put on a…

Politics and Oil

Liberia’s third post conflict democratic elections are expected to be held in 2017 to   usher   in another government when the mandate of the   current government’s second and final term expires. This will mark the country’s first democratic transition in more than forty years. Already, the United Nations Mission in Liberia or UNMIL has turned over the…

Total Gas Stations Threaten Protected Wetlands

As the rest of the world struggles to come to terms with the effect of climate change, the poorest countries, like our own, are on the front lines. Scientists say the vast majority of climate change is caused by richer countries like the US and China, far out of our control.  But an investigation by…

Oil Crisis Sparks Shift to Renewable Energy in Liberia

It stands one storey tall and is painted in radiant orange and green but that is not what makes Emma’s Fashion perhaps the most noticeable building at V.O.A. Junction on the Roberts International Airport highway. What makes it stand out is 16 solar panels attached to two opposite sides of its roof, providing the modern…

Impact of Global Oil Price on Liberians

https://soundcloud.com/user5687520/impact-of-global-oil-price-on-liberians-tecee-boleymp3 In some of Africa’s biggest oil producing countries like Nigeria and Angola the dramatic global drop in oil prices has had a big impact. Ninety percent of government revenue in those countries comes from oil sales so the drop has been felt by people across the country. Liberia has yet to discover oil and…

No Oil but Chevron Leaves Its Mark on Liberia

As almost all of the oil companies are shutting down operations in Liberia, we look back at what one of the biggest companies Chevron, is leaving behind as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program in Liberia. This is a special radio production on Radio Gbarnga bringing to the spotlight the impact of Chevron’s  Corporate…

Uncertain Over Payment: Ex-NOCAL Staff Wary of Severance Pay

Monrovia – It has been more than six months since President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ordered a restructure of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) in an effort to prevent bankruptcy. With that came the redundancy of more than 100 employees. The decision sparked a serious dispute between the workers and company over severance payments….

NN’s Wade Williams on Ebola in Liberia for The New York Times

MONROVIA, Liberia — LIBERIANS have begun calling the days between July 27 and Aug. 3 “the dark week” — 173 new Ebola virus cases and 94 new deaths. How much darker things may get is anybody’s guess. In Johnsonville, a swampy town outside Monrovia, three dozen corpses in body bags were dumped in shallow holes…

NN’s Tecee Boley Wins Prestigious Scholarship to South African University

New Narratives is immensely proud that our fellow and Senior Reporter for Front Page Africa Tecee Boley has won the 2014 Konrad-Adnauer-Stiftung scholarship to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Tecee was one of three journalists chosen from across Africa for the prestigious program. Tecee was one of the first reporters to…

NN’s Robtel Pailey launches “Gbagba” in London, moderated by NN head Prue Clarke

Please join us as NN opinion writer Robtel Pailey launches her children’s book “Gbagba” (with illustrations by NN’s Chase Walker) at the School of Oriental and African studies in London tonight. The event will be moderated by NN Executive Director Prue Clarke. Date: 9 December 2013Time: 5:30 PM Finishes: 9 December 2013Time: 7:00 PM Venue: Russell Square: College BuildingsRoom: 4429 Type…

Child Labor Thrives in Liberia

In 2007, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf introduced a policy mandating that all primary school-age children go to school. Parents risk fines or even being jailed if their children work on the street instead of attending school. Nearly four years later, the streets of the capital, Monrovia, are still crowded with young school-age children who work…

NN’s Robtel Pailey named to Top 99 Foreign Policy Professionals Under 33

WASHINGTON, DC:  The Diplomatic Courier and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy are pleased to announce that Robtel Pailey, Opinion Columnist with New Narratives, has been recognized on the 2013 “99 Under 33,” an international list noting the most influential foreign policy leaders under the age of 33. The complete list is available at: www.diplomaticourier.com/99Under33. See…

NN’s Robtel Pailey makes The New York Times with her piece on Children’s Role in Changing a Culture of Corruption

MONROVIA, Liberia — I remember the first time I stared corruption in the face. It was 2010, and I was chairwoman of a Liberian government committee responsible for reforming the awarding of international scholarships. We discovered that a group of 18-year-old boys had forged their national exam records to become eligible for a scholarship to…