Where We Work

Government Suspends Chaotic National ID Registry Rollout Indefinitely as Activists Demand a Thorough Review

Following a chaotic rollout and mounting public frustration, the Liberian government has indefinitely suspended its controversial compulsory national identification program. The government announced the move in a press release from the Ministry of Information Monday. “The National Identification Registry (NIR) informs all public social service providers to take note and act in compliance with this…

Joyclyn Wea and Tetee Gebro
Frontpage Africa

Liberian Lawmakers Urge Free National ID Cards; Registry Chief Backs Proposal, Says Cost Is Government’s Call

By Joyclyn Wea and Tetee Gebro with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia — Members of Liberia’s House of Representatives are pushing for the government to make the country’s mandatory National Identification Cards free of charge in the wake of the chaos and frustration surrounding the registration process. The National Identification Registry is charging $US5 for a…

Joyclyn Wea and Tetee Gebro
Front Page Africa

National ID Chaos: Frustration Grows as Banking Access and Other Services Denied Amid Enrollment Backlog. World Bank Funding For More Centers On Hold Because of Government Debt

By Tetee Gebro and Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives RED LIGHT, Monrovia – Rick Scott arrived at the National Identification Registry center here on a recent morning at 5 a.m., joining a line of hopeful citizens in the predawn darkness. By evening, the 54-year-old businessman returned home empty-handed for the fourth time in a week,…

Tetee Gebro and Joyclyn Wea
Frontpage Africa

Liberia: Can Whistleblower Boxes Help Solve Liberia’s Corruption Problem? The Anti-Corruption Commission Thinks So

By Joyclyn Wea, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: OLD ROAD, Monrovia – The wooden box bolted to the wall at the Ministry of Education looks ordinary enough. But according to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, the country’s independent corruption watchdog, this simple contraption could be a game-changer in the country’s long fight against entrenched corruption….

Joyclyn Wea
Frontpage Africa

U.S. Deports Liberian Rebel Commander; Justice Advocates Say It Shows “to Warlords That There’s No Place to Hide”

Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives U.S. Immigration Authorities announced Monday they had deported a Liberian rebel commander. Although the Immigration and Custom Enforcement, (ICE), said Mayama Sesay, 43, was deported on September 5th, it only made the announcement this week. The decision of an immigration judge to deport her in…

Anthony Stephen
Front Page Africa

Liberia: As Drug Crisis Grows Medical Experts Demand Amateur Rehabilitation Centers Be Shut Down As Desperate Families Drain Savings on Treatment That Fails to Deliver

By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, senior reporter with New Narratives NEW JERUSALEM, Montserrado- When R. saw her son emerge drug-free after five months in a rehabilitation center in 2022, she thought her long nightmare had ended. The beauty salon owner had drained her savings—over $LD50,000 ($US270) to pay for the 33-year-old’s treatment at three centers over…

Nemelah Cyrus Harmon
FrontPage Africa

Liberia Unveils Emissions Reduction Plan: Targets 44 percent Cut by 2030

By Joyclyn Wea, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Liberia has approved its third Nationally Determined Contribution committing to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 44 percent by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The plan, unveiled by Boakai government officials at a validation event with international partners and stakeholders at the Monrovia City Hall…

Joyclyn Wea
Frontpage Africa

Liberia: Advocates Demand Anti-Corruption Court Be Removed From Mandate of Office of The War Crimes Court Saying It Is a Distraction

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Leading justice advocates are urging the government of President Joseph Boakai to make the creation of a war and economic crimes court its top priority and remove the proposed anti-corruption court from the mandate of the Office of the War and Economics Crimes Court, the…

Anthony Stephens
Frontpage Africa

Senior EU Diplomat Warns Disinformation Is a ‘Major Threat’ to Liberian Democracy, Links Climate Change to Regional Migration

By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: A top European Union diplomat warned Tuesday that disinformation poses a growing danger to democracies, as waves of Russian-backed propaganda from neighboring Sahel states reverberate across West Africa. João Gomes Cravinho, the European Union’s Special Representative for the Sahel spoke at a press conference in Monrovia…

Anthony Stephens
Front Page Africa

Liberia: As Climate Change Drives More Farmers Into the Forests Ambitious Boakai Forestry Sector Reform Is Yet to Help Local Communities

By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives KANGBO TOWN, River Cess— On a hot morning in this forest-fringed village of Gborgar Town deep in south-central Liberia, Marthaline Gbar sits hunched outside her zinc-roofed home, stirring a pot of simmering cassava leaves. The pot, barely half full, was meant to stretch across four children aged 5…

Eric Opa Doue
Frontpage Africa

Liberia: ‘I Smile in Public and Die Inside’; New Mothers Suffer Alone With A Condition That Devastates Families

By Augusta S. Lafalay with New Narratives Summary: · Liberian mothers face a hidden postpartum depression crisis, with cultural stigma, spiritual beliefs, and lack of diagnosis leaving many to suffer in silence. · Experts warn that inadequate screening and minimal funding are undermining maternal mental health, destabilizing families and worsening outcomes for children. · Survivors…

Augusta S. Lafalay
Frontpage Africa

Liberia: New Report Recommends Holistic Approach to  Drug Crisis; Calls for Joint Taskforce   Against Drug Trafficking In The Mano River Area

By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon with New Narratives Liberia is facing a full-blown drug crisis according to a new report that finds the reasons for the crisis are rooted in poverty, failures of post war justice, unemployment and a growing regional drug trade. The report, the first to look at the reasons for the growing problem,…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
FrontPage Africa

Report Confirms Weah Government Failure to Fund Coastal Defense Project Delayed Progress for Years Costing Homes and Livelihoods

By Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives WEST POINT, Monrovia-When the sea turns rough, Elizabeth Gray and her family have nowhere to run. Water floods through their home in this low-lying informal settlement, forcing her three children to relieve themselves indoors while waves crash just meters from their door. As this year’s rainy season gets underway,…

Joyclyn Wea
Frontpage Africa

Weekend Surges Threaten Sinkor Properties as Coastal Erosion Crisis Deepens

Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives Summary · Ocean surges destroy fences along Liberia’s Sinkor coastline, with UN projections warning that 230,000 Liberians face losing their homes to rising seas by 2100 · Stark inequality emerges as former President George Weah’s residence stands protected by boulder barriers while neighboring properties are unprotected · Critical infrastructure is…

Joyclyn Wea
Frontpage Africa