Counsellor Tiawan Saye Gongloe, a veteran statesman and human rights lawyer, is one of few of the 20 presidential candidates in next week’s election with a detailed plan to fix Liberia’s problems….
Governance
At 78, Boakai Claims Age Makes Him the Best President. Critics Say He’s Too Old and Alliance with Johnson Will Hurt Liberia
With just weeks to the presidential election, pundits say Joseph Boakai, standard-bearer of the Unity Party (UP), presents a serious threat to George Weah, the incumbent president. …
As Instability Sweeps, West African Leaders Plead With Liberian Party Chiefs to Stop Inflammatory Comments
A series of violent incidents by political partisans, and inflammatory comments from party leaders, has Liberians on edge in the runup to next month’s presidential and legislative elections….
Nimba First-Time Voters Say Education Most Important Issue in Choosing President, in Survey
They’re a big group of new voters, in the country’s second-largest county. First-time voters in Nimba will have a major impact in next month’s election so there is a lot of interest in how they will vote. …
The Physically Challenged Candidate Running For Office
Our coverage of election-related activities is not only about presidential candidates. We are also spotlighting representative candidates and their platforms for their constituents. …
Candidate Wants To Boost Representation Of Liberia’s Million People With Disabilities
If resilience were all that was needed to win election, Samuel Dean would win in a landslide. The 45-year-old, who is contesting the Montserrado County District #8 seat against sitting representative Acarous Moses Gray, has had an extraordinary journey—escaping wartime Liberia as a teenager, being shot by police in New York City and, finally, using his payout to help hundreds of Liberians with disabilities….
Liberia’s First-time Voters Overwhelmingly Back a War Crimes Court Survey Finds
As Liberia commemorates 20 years since the end of the civil conflict that left devastated the country and left 250,000 people dead, a survey of first-time voters conducted in two of the country’s biggest counties found overwhelming support for a court….
In Liberia Drug Addiction Is Becoming A Major Problem. Here’s What Presidential Candidates Plan to Do About It
Drug abuse is a growing problem in Liberia. There is no reliable data on user numbers but one study, by the United Nations Population Fund, found a staggering one in five Liberian youth take narcotics. …
As Drug Addiction Reaches a Crisis Liberia’s Presidential Candidates Promise Tough Remedies
In 2012 Cecelia’s life fell apart. Struggling to take care of nine children after the sudden death of her husband, she turned to her oldest son, then in his early 20s, for help. But he was lost to the family, a year into a drug addiction that was destroying his life….
Political Parties Ignore 30 Percent Women Commitment Saying Women Aren’t Ready
MONROVIA, Liberia—With less than three months until vital presidential and legislative elections, Liberia’s political parties have defied their own commitments to fill 30 percent of their candidate ranks with women….
Sinoe Forest Community Fumes Over Numerous Illegalities by Forestry Development Agency As Lawmaker’s Company Wins Concession
Community members here in Tartweh and Drapoe chiefdoms are fuming over a range of what they claim are violations of Liberian laws by the country’s forest management body the Forestry Development Agency….
Communities Drowning in Trash Furious Over Failed US$3M Waste Management Project – Part Two
In part two of this two-part investigation Anthony Stephens and Tina S. Menhpaine report with New Narratives on the obstacles that doomed a $3m EU-funded waste management project….
The EU’s Failed US$3M Bid to Fix Monrovia’s Trash Crisis – part one
In this two-part investigation, Anthony Stephens and Tina S. Menhpaine report with New Narratives on a US$3 million European Union project that was meant to solve Monrovia’s trash crisis….
Activists Say Govt’s Failure to Release Auditors’ Deaths Report Creating Trust Crisis
Monrovia – It is two years since Sylvester Saye Lama lost his wife Gifty, the breadwinner of his family, under unusual circumstances. Gifty was one of four government auditors, tasked with uncovering government corruption, that were found dead in the space of weeks. Their deaths shocked the country, scared anti-corruption activists into silence, and raised…
How the Government Silenced Accountability in Runup to Election
Three months after the government raced an act through the Legislature overhauling the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Liberia’s independent corruption watchdog has almost ceased functioning, all but ending scrutiny of government corruption in the runup to next year’s election. A source inside the Commission, who requested anonymity for fear of losing their job, said prosecutions have…
Lawmaker Salaries Among The Highest In The World Despite Smallest Economy
It will come as no surprise to most Liberians that they are getting poorer. The average Liberian now lives on just $570 a year, down from $650 in 2013 according to the World Bank. That makes Liberia among the ten poorest nations in the world. It may surprise Liberians then, that their lawmakers are among…
NSA Agent, Brother on Trial For Human Trafficking
MONROVIA – A disgraced agent of the National Security Agency has gone on trial with his brother for allegedly taking payments from international trafficking agents to mislead young Liberian women into traveling to the Middle Eastern country of Oman where they were to work as domestic servants. The indictment alleges Arthur Chan-Chan, and his brother…
Traditional Leaders Say They Will Not Stop Female Genital Cutting Without More Money
Massa Kandakai, the head of over three hundred FGM practitioners in Montserrado County, says she along with her women have fulfilled their part of the bargain with UN Women by closing all bush schools in Sonkay Town and Todee in Montserrado. Kandakai says UN Women should uphold the agreement by continually supporting them – with monthly salaries, access to cell phone networks, fishponds and processors for making Farina or flour from cassava and potatoes. The women say they will revert to the practice if their requests are not met….
Using Technology to Stamp Out Corruption
By: R. Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives MONROVIA-Corruption has plagued Liberia since its founding and threatens to engulf the Weah administration still reeling from the US Treasury’s dramatic move to place three top ministers on the Magnitsky Sanctions List. It is well proven that corruption constrains economic growth entrenching the majority of Liberians in extreme…
Liberian Public Prosecutors Call off Three-Week Strike
Monrovia – Liberian state prosecutors have called off a three-week strike which paralyzed courts across the country. The prosecutors, who represent the government in legal cases, were demanding the government increase their monthly salaries and provide benefits, including vehicles. But after a lengthy meeting among themselves, the prosecutors have conditionally agreed to return to work. By…
Police and Public Officials Step Up Attacks on Journalists in Liberia
As the 2023 general elections approach tensions are rising everywhere. No one has felt that more than Liberia’s journalists. Newsmen and women have faced arrest, threats and physical assault. Press freedom advocates say these are designed to intimidate them from doing their jobs. It has worked. Newsrooms across the country report a sense of fear…