Stay informed with happenings in your county, follow LocalVoicesLiberia every week day for the latest update on COVID-19 and other important developments.
Maryland County: Food Shortage Hits Harper Central Prison
Report from Harper Central Prison says inmates are lacking food and other sanitary supplies at the facility. A sources at the facility told reporters in the county that inmates are fed once a day instead of the regular two meals a day due to the food shortage. The prison currently has 116 inmates.
Richlue Morlue, who heads the Peace Engagement and Alternative Center for Empowerment, said the storage of food at the the major prison facility in the county is a violation of inmates’ rights.
“These are humans like us …, they were just sent to the facility for correction for crimes that some of them committed or were accused of. So, we must respect their rights and ensure they have access to everything they need,” Morlue said.
“I think the government needs to swiftly intervene in this situation or some of us who can afford can also help buttress the government’s efforts.”
He then called on humanitarian organizations and philanthropists to intervene, warning that inmates might lose their lives if the situation continues unabated.
Chrispin Doe of the Harper Central Prison refused to comment on the situation, telling reporters that he needs authorization from the Bureau of Corrections before giving any details.
Bong County: Education Officer Gets Data Collection Skill
Nine district education officers have acquired training in data collection during a three-day workshop held in Gbarnga. The DEOs learned how to collect data on various aspect of school activities in the county, which will inform government about the progress and challenges of the education sector.
Moses Dalieh, Planning Supervisor at the Ministry of Education, said “the only means by which additional schools will be constructed, salary increased, and renovation done in the school system is based on data collected from the counties”.
MOE needs to know the number of teachers in the schools, their qualifications, and the number of students among others, Daileh said.
“In previous years, MOE had problems with planning because it was done manually. But because the entire world is transitioning from analogue to digital, the Ministry has thought it wise to be among the changing world in development by using technology,” he said.
In other news, the Executive Director of Impact Girls Liberia, Tiangeh Taylor has called for tougher punishment for rapists in Liberia. Ms. Taylor described rapists as “completely heartless” people, stressing that tougher punishment will minimize the number of rape cases in the country. She recommended life imprisonment or castration for perpetrators of rape.
She questioned whether men involved in such acts are doing it for ritual purposes or sexual feeling while referencing the recent rape incident in Gbarpolu County that involved a three year old girl, whose private part was allegedly cut with a razor blade by the perpetrator for forceful penetration.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Impact Girls Liberia is calling for the enactment of tougher law that will prosecute parents who will compromise rape cases. At the same time, she suggests a “door-to-door awareness” campaign on rape in communities, which she said, will minimized the incidents of rape in the country.
Gbarpolu County: Campaigning For COVID-19 Voluntary Testing
The Ministry of Health (MOH) through the County Health Team has intensified COVID-19 voluntary testing in the county.
Giving details about the campaign during the county’s Incident Management System (IMS) meeting, Dr. Musa Zuanah, County Health Officer, said the government is pushing for every county to encourage residents to do voluntary testing.
“That is the new campaign, so we are encouraging everyone in this part of Liberia to do their test voluntarily at the Chief Jallah Lone Hospital,” says Dr. Zuanah, who added that the CHT is targeting at least 10 voluntary tests a month.
He said these test results will inform the Ministry about the extent at which the response effort is gaining progress.
Meanwhile, many people who attended the meeting expressed their interest in doing their COVID-19 test voluntarily.
Grand Gedeh County: ‘Strengthens Judicial System’
The speaker of the National Children’s Parliament wants national Government strengthens the justice system. Speaker Prince Saydee said that women and children are abused frequently because of the country’s weak justice system. He said rape cases should be fast tracked instead of holding alleged perpetrators as pretrial detainees.
At the opening of the August Term of Court, the Seventh judicial Circuit Court in Zwedru City had 19 criminal cases on its docket with most of the cases being rape and SGBV cases.
Nimba County: Training Female Environmental Journalists
A two-day environmental reporting training ended get on Thursday, August 20 in Ganta with 25 female journalists from Grand Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, Bomi, and Gbarpolu Counties, amongst others, attending.
Mr. Randall M. Dobayo, Acting Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the training was to help female reporters understand and interpret global environmental issues that impact biodiversity, climate change and land management.
Dobayo called on the president of the Press Union of Liberia, Charles B. Coffey to encourage female reporters focus on environmental reporting as climate change affects women and children.
At the same time, he called on journalists to read the EPA law to put their feet to the fire so they can do the right thing and at the right time.
Bomi County: Helping WASSCE Candidates
Twelfth graders of various high schools in Tubmanburg taking this year’s West Africa Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) have thanked Representative Edwin Melvin Snowe for providing rice and cash as support to them as they take this year’s regional exams.
Snowe gave the students L$500,000 and 50 bags of 25kg rice as well as 10 five-gallon containers of palm oil.
Schools that benefited includes Anderson Weamah United Methodist School, Saint Dominic High School, Getrude Yancy Public School, Sass Town Public School, Jenneh Public School, and Sime Darby Central High.
Abraham Ballad Zazay, who spoke on behalf of the students, thanked the Senjeh District Representative for the gesture.
“We are very grateful for such a good way from Hon. Snowe. This is not his first time doing this for us. Hon. Snowe is a kind of leader we want that will bring the good to us,” student Zazay said.
