Sirleaf Brands Corkrum "A Criminal"

The President said there's nothing to be ashamed of

My Fellow Citizens:

We are happy to be back home. We thank the Almighty God for our successful and safe travels. As you know, to achieve the goals outlined in our Agenda for Transformation, we must continue to seek support from our development partners to rebuild the country, expand the economy and create jobs for Liberians. We must also continue to strengthen our peace. This is why I have directed the Justice Ministry and the Joint Security Task Force to take the necessary actions, in keeping with law, to stop the wave of lawlessness which is creeping upon the State.

Prez Sirleaf: 'Leadership Has Nothing to Hide'

Prez. Sirleaf: 'This leadership has nothing to hide'

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf late Monday evening told the Liberian people that her leadership has done nothing for which it is ashamed. It has absolutely nothing to hide, she added in her December 2, 2013, statement delivered in Monrovia. 

"We have only been the victims of a warped and criminal mind who, to divert attention from her crime, has rendered evil for good," added the Liberian leader.

Cambodia After Khmer Rouge

Hoes, cuttlasses, and other tools were used to massacre victims 

My 25th birthday was spent in Cambodia; not in grand style, but with deep emotions.  I had been undergoing a course in peace building and conflict resolution at the Rotary Center for Peace & Conflict Studies, situated within the Chulalongkorn University based in Bangkok, Thailand. And as part of the course work, fellows were flown into Cambodia to undertake two weeks of intensive field  work. The goal was to afford fellows a chance to come face-to-face with the realities of a post-war context.

World Bank Report: Unsafe Sex Threaten Global Health

A new World Bank report warns that risky behaviors –smoking, using illicit drugs, alcohol abuse, unhealthy diets, and unsafe sex— are increasing globally  and pose a growing threat to the health of individuals, particularly in developing countries. The report looks at how individual choices that lead to these behaviors are formed and reviews the effectiveness of interventions such as legislation, taxation, behavioral change campaigns, and cash transfers to combat them.

Liberia: 'Yanaboys', Market Women Can Now Own Shares in CEMENCO

The Government of Liberia must truly mean business this time around. It has announced that consistent with its policy to create wealth for Liberians, it will be undertaking series of divestitures of its interest in major income earning companies, beginning with the country's sole cement producer -- CEMENCO.

Disclosing this to the public this week, Finance Minister Amara Konneh recalled that this exercise was kicked into motion last week. The government has hired the services of Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) to divert 200,000  of its shares in CEMENCO to ordinary Liberians.

According to government, this goes to show President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's commitment to ensuring that ordinary Liberians share in the wealth of the nation.

"By transferring Government’s shares to Liberians, the real owners, they will have the opportunity to share in the profits that CEMENCO is enjoying as a result of investing in Liberia. The details of the offerings will be disclosed in a series of advertisements in the local dailies and radios," Minister Konneh said. "One thing we have made abundantly clear is that no one Liberia can buy more than 15% of the total share offerings. In this direction, we encourage ordinary Liberians; market women, yana boys, school teachers, nurses, doctors, trade men and women and Liberians from all walks of life to take advantage of this divesture." 

He continued: "When more Liberians own a part of these investments, it generates a wealth protection safety net that can run across several generations. The President has instructed that we ensure this exercise is not monopolized by any one group of Liberians, with wealth or authority, as this program is critical to her vision of creating a middle class in our society consistent with the National Vision 2030 and the Agenda for Transformation."