By Aria Deemie with New Narratives As civil society organizations intensify calls for debt cancellation and fiscal reform, the Liberian government has defended what it calls a deliberate effort to rebuild trust with global lenders. Alice E. Williams, assistant minister for External Resources and Debt Management at the Ministry of Finance, acknowledged the country’s historic…
New Narratives
A Proposed U.S. Remittance Tax Could Hit Liberian Families Hard– Few know it’s coming but experts warn the impact could be profound.
By Aria Deemie with New Narratives In a quiet office on the outskirts of Monrovia, Isaac Success Yomah manages a stream of transactions from Liberians collecting money sent by loved ones abroad, mostly from the United States. It’s steady business, and for many of his customers, essential. But a provision in President Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill“ put…
EPA Shuts Liberian-Chinese Mining Company, Seizes Equipment Over Alleged Illegal Operations; Issues Ultimatums to Others
By Aria Deemie, climate, environment and science reporter with New Narratives Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has shut down and seized the equipment of a Liberian-Chinese mining company over alleged illegal operations and given 7-day ultimatums to a number of others, including a fully Chinese owned company. Scott Investment is co-owned by Gao Freng, a Chinese national,…
“We Have No Choice”: As Farms Fail, Rural Dwellers Turn to Charcoal Production in Renewed Threat to Liberia’s Forests and Global Climate Commitments
By Aria Deemie, climate and environment reporter with New Narratives Summary: SENJEH DISTRICT, Bomi County, Liberia — Sweat beads on Charles McGill’s brow as he lifts a cutlass and slams it into a log, the forest crackling with midday heat. At 89, he should be resting. Instead, he’s helping fuel Liberia’s booming charcoal trade, one of…
Residents and Experts Applaud Environment Agency for Noise Pollution Fine of Major Telecommunications Company
By Aria Deemie, climate, environment, and science reporter with New Narratives CONGO TOWN, Montserrado—Residents of the community housing Lonestar Cell MTN say they are “happy” for the recent $US15,000 fine imposed on the company by Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The fine, one of the first since the 2004 Environmental Protection and Management Law of Liberia came into effect,…
Lawyer for Alleged Rape Victim Questions Police Exoneration of Suspended Deputy Minister McGill
The lawyer for a 14-year-old rape survivor challenges the credibility of police conclusions that cleared former government official Bryant McGill, calling for full transparency in an investigation that many fear undermines trust in Liberia’s justice system. Tetee Gebro reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: Liberia: Lawyer for…
$10 million Weather Warning System Delayed Four Years by EPA “Lack of Competence”, Inflated Salary Claims and Refusal to Follow Donor Rules, Says Report
By Aria Deemie with New Narratives VARNEY GOWAH TOWN, Montserrado – Kulah Tokpah arrives home from her farm, exhausted, her arms burdened with firewood for the meal she is preparing for men clearing her new plot of land. Her once fertile farm is now a patchwork of withered crops, cracked soil, and dead plants. Kulah…
Growth in Rural Poverty and Inequality Risks Security, Warn Experts
By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh with New Narratives TUBMANBURG, Bomi County – Under a hot afternoon sun, Massa Kollie stirs a mixture of caustic soda and oil, her bare hands working methodically. Sweat trickles down her face and arms as she labors to make iron soap with no safety gear. It’s a livelihood born of necessity….
Deforestation is Leaving Rural Dwellers More Vulnerable to Increasingly Devastating Windstorms
In this Kool FM/New Narratives radio report, listeners travel to rural Liberia where the twin forces of deforestation and climate change are leaving communities dangerously exposed to more frequent and devastating windstorms. Across counties like Nimba and Rivercess, families who once relied on forests as natural barriers now find their homes and livelihoods laid bare…
Negotiators Strike a Controversial $300 Billion Climate Finance Deal at COP29 as Carbon Trading is Approved
By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh with New Narratives A day after the official end of this year’s United Nations COP29 gathering of countries committed to halting climate change, negotiators struck a last-minute deal for wealthy countries to help poorer countries like Liberia deal with global warming. The so-called “finance COP” held this year in Baku, Azerbajain,…
As Climate Change Impacts Worsen, National Climate Summit Aims to Encourage a New, More Resilient Approach to Farming
ActionAid Liberia coordinator on climate change, Norwu meeting with stakeholders in Monrovia. By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh With New Narratives Monrovia, Liberia — Stakeholders in Liberia’s agriculture sector are coming together this week for a three-day summit designed to kick start a new approach to the growing threat of climate change. The summit “Climate Financing for Agroecology and…
This Year’s Rainy Season Was Worst in Memory But Experts Say Worse is to Come; Call for Massive Government Investment in Adaptation
We bring listeners to communities across Liberia reeling from what many describe as the worst rainy season in memory, with floodwaters submerging homes, forcing tens of thousands from their villages, and claiming lives as experts warn these disasters signal an even more volatile climate future. Through the voices of mothers, farmers, and local leaders on…
This Year’s Rainy Season Was Worst in Memory But Experts Say Worse is to Come; Call for Massive Government Investment in Adaptation
By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh with New Narratives ROBERTSPORT, Grand Cape Mount County – Francis Gray points to a small mound under a banana tree with a yellow flower planted on the top. The tiny grave holds the remains of his 19-month-old daughter, Linda. Linda was the center of Francis’ and her mother Amie Sheriff’s world…
Forest Communities Angered by Exclusion from Carbon Credit Negotiations
By Joseph Daniels and Khushali Haji with New Narratives As the Government of Liberia plans ahead to sell off forests for carbon credit markets, forest communities worry about livelihoods. KPATAWEE, Bong County – Bennie Vio walks slowly, a sharp machete resting on his shoulder, observing the growth of the crops he and his family planted…
Sun Finally Shines But Devastated River Cess Communities Still Trapped By Flood Waters
By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives GLANYAH, River Cess – A week of relentless rainfall has plunged the traditional town of Glanyah into chaos, as rising waters swallowed homes and displaced hundreds of residents. This once-thriving community, established in the late 1970s by farmers and hunters, now faces an unprecedented crisis, with 27 houses…
Victim Fears Safety After U.S. Deportation of Accused Warlord, Calls for War Crimes Court
A Liberian civil war survivor says the deportation of former LURD commander Mayama Sesay, also known as “Black Diamond,” has left him fearing for his safety, Anthony Stephens reports in this social media video. To read more about this story click this link: Liberia: Victim Fears Safety After U.S. Deportation of Accused Warlord, Calls for…
River Cess Community Blames EJ&J Logging Company for Dirty and Reduced Water Supply
By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives ZAMMIE TOWN, River Cess – It is not yet midday and Odel Morris is already out of water. Most of the customers of her business, selling tea, coffee and snacks here in this rural part of the county are leaving, without being served. Morris says she has been doing for…
After Returning $50,000 National Hero Is Broke and Betrayed
By: Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh & Khushali Haji with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia – In 2021 Emmanuel Tuloe became a hero for a weary nation. When the then 19-year-old commercial bike rider found a bag of $US50,000 cash – enough to change his life forever – he did what many considered unthinkable: he gave it back. …
Visually Impaired Rural Students Trapped in Cycle of Poverty as Boakai Government Promises Improvements
By King Brown with New Narratives BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa County – Marpue Kpadoe sits on a small bamboo mat and moves her hands around in search of a bowl of water to wash her hands as she prepares to eat. The 18-year-old was born blind. She struggles to take her bowl of potato greens while her…
Victim Fears Safety After U.S. Deportation of Accused Warlord, Calls for War Crimes Court
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: In July 2003, N. says he watched armed fighters kill his sister during Liberia’s civil war—an attack he says was ordered by former rebel commander Mayama Sesay, known as “Black Diamond.” More than two decades on, he says the memory of the gunfire, the panic,…
Applications Open: Reporting Fellows, Liberia 2026
Call for Applications for our 2026 Reporting Fellowships in Liberia. Deadline for applications: January 10, 2026. Journalists with at least three years experience are invited to apply to join New Narratives as reporting fellows on a range of topics including governance, democracy, human trafficking, gender-based violence, climate change, pollution, biodiversity and land rights. Funding is…