UP Platform Invisible

Liberians Worry about Party’s Deliverables Several residents of the community of WestPoint have expressed doubt over the withholder of the ruling unity party’s campaign platform. According to Samuel Jarvey, who claimed to have come back to Liberian in December of 2010, he is yet to pledge his support to any party during the 2011 elections slated for October 11, 2011. “I was impressed by the crowd the unity party pull during their campaign launch, but I am to decide which party to vote for base on their platform. The unity party has leaved me in doubt what would be their deliverables if they win the election,” he said.

Also speaking to our reporter a business woman, Yvonne Smith, said though the Unity Party had tried its best to address some situation in the country, she did not understand if the party had any added objectives. “The unity party may have gotten popular since it took the presidency of the country, but that does not warrant leaving us in doubts of what are it plans for their second term,” she pointed out. Last Saturday, September 18, 2011, approximately several UP partisans and sympathizers from locations around Montserrado County and beyond marched through the principle street of Monrovia to the Antoinette Tubman Staduim ATS; built to accommodate 10,000 spectators for a football match. Temperature in the over capacitated stadium became so high that the National Fire Service (NFS) created artificial rain to quench the blistering heat which had begun to suffocate the third overwhelming crowd pull by any one political party in the country. At least ten of the jubilant UP loyalists and sympathizers fainted at the stadium and was rushed to hospital before the party’s standard bearer, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, mounted the stage to address the gathering. President Sirleaf was supposed to present the party’s platform to her supporters but begged them to go home instead after her approximately five minutes speech because of the heat hazard which was beginning to prevail. Incumbent resident Ellen Johnson Sirleaf highlighted the successes she and her able lieutenants have accomplished in the country including reformation in the human and infrastructure development. The impressed UP presidential aspirant urged the crowd to vote for not only her but all those running on the party’s ticket because the other UP officials, if elected will boost the next government’s efforts in moving the country forward. In her closing remarks the second term hopeful thanked the crowd for coming out to show their loyalty to the party and the vision to the rebuilding of a viable Liberian society. During the march, political slogans such as “it will hold”, “ugly baboon wait small” and “the mansion is lock, Ellen has the key” could be heard as the crowd journeyed to the ATS with second term hopefuls incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Joseph N. Boikia. Impressed by the massive turnout, several stewards who were at launch, including NPA director Mathilda Parker and Internal Affairs Minister Harrison Karnwea among other expressed how confident they were of their standard bearer retaking the Liberian presidency. Some jubilant partisans said they had made up their minds several years ago to follow the unity party because the party gives them assurance of tolerance, hope, justice and peace. Frontpage Africa asked 26years old George Fayiah, one of the overzealous UP partisans, what have prompted such historical turnout for the Unity Party as compare to previous elections. “The people say we do not the numerical strength to defeat them, but from today I think that doubt is clear. As you can see people are even fainting around this place,” Mr. Fayiah said. However, sayings such as “our players are on loan today and will return when we are ready for them” could be heard from some onlookers probably neutral or from another party.

Motorcyclists Reassured Support to Ellen

Several hundred commercial motorcyclists, pehm pehm boys, last Thursday September 15, 2011 gathered at the fish market in Monrovia and reassured their support for the re-election of the incumbent, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. At the gathering the president thanked the crowd for coming out under the rain to re-assure their support to her at this time of the election period and lauded the contribution the motorcyclists were making in the country transport sector. For “safety sake” President Sirleaf gives out more helmets and illuminable vest to several of the riders at the site. Furthermore, madam Sirleaf gived the LMTU 1,000 gallons of gas slip and L$ 20,000 as a gesture to the assembly potential electorates who will got to poll on October 11, 2011. The motorbike riders thanked the president for such gesture which will help them and their organization to become more improved. According Mr. Robert M. Sammie Secretary General of the Liberian Motorbike Transport Union (LMTU), they converge to reassure their support to President Sirleaf because she has been helping the motorcyclists in the country. He said the president have made Liberia a peaceful nation in which they can work and support their family and also improve the road network in the country among others in her last term. LMTU secretary general Sammie said the incumbent have promised to give the union a land to begin the construction of a national headquarters for the union come October 23, 2011. Also speaking with the FrontPage Newspaper, Donato Bovel, General Supervisor of the LMTU, said the union will contribute to a non-violent election. Mr. Bovel said he was pledging his support to president Sirleaf because she have “demonstrated her love for the young people” of the nation. Beside that he said since the inauguration of Madam Sirleaf in 2006, he have seen and heard a lot of improvement about the development of the country’s infrastructure, health and education sectors which he term as a “positive sign” to have her reelected. One of the motorcyclists, Alex K. Nunue, of ELWA district # 6, said he was pledging his support to the president not because he would receive gas slip and money from the Unity Party’s candidate but because she, president Sirleaf, have done well. “Madam Sirleaf have done very well in her last term to get us this far. I think if we give her the presidency again things will get even better than they are,” Mr. Nunue said. Jusufu Jaward, a motorcyclist from red-light district # 5, said he had come to pledge his support to the Madam Sirleaf because he “loved” her and the things she has done to help the motorcyclists in the country. The motorcyclists first pledged their support to the president in March of this year for her development agenda aimed at transforming Liberia.

“Fees Increment at JFK is a Rumor”

CMO McDonald Clarifies Dr. Wvannie Scott-McDonald, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Memorial Medical Center last Thursday September 15, 2011, termed media reports about an increment in medical services fees at the hospital as rumors, because the institution discharges several persons on what she called uncompensated care. Addressing a team of journalists at the JFK’s administrative building, Dr. McDonald described reports that “management of the hospital has sharply increased the fee for women wanting to give birth from L$500 to US$50.00 or L$3,500.00” as mere speculations that cannot be proven. CMO McDonald said the institution, since 2006, has added more free services rather than fees, as the administration can attest to. She highlighted increased social services, training of early young teens to care for their infants and healthcare for children under five and something she termed as ‘uncompensated care’ as services added over the past few years in fulfillment of the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. Dr. McDonald disclosed that the Government of Liberia has spent about US$3 million on uncompensated care alone. She explained that when she earlier took over the institution, people were saying the hospital was dirty and medical services were inadequate, but today they are saying the fees are too high; “they will always find something to say” she added. The Chief Medical Officer also used the medium to express dissatisfaction over the disposal of corpses around the hospital’s facility at night by unknown individuals. She said corpses found around the hospital’s facility in recent times were individuals that were not admitted at the hospital, but have led to the public speculating that the hospital was polluting the environment by dumping corpses at the beach-end of 20th Street. “Sometimes we see these bodies around the facility but we have to contact the police because it’s a homicide that could be termed a murder if the police are not informed before the body is removed,” she said. Dr. McDonald pointed out that unclaimed corpses at the hospital are disposed of in a respectable way in consonance with the law that such bodies should be reported to the police and a notice is sent out for 72 hours before burial. She said about 25 dead bodies remain at the hospital unclaimed because some families don’t turn up for them after the individuals die. The CMO said the hospital reports all those who die in the hospital and what was the cause of their death so the institution could not just go about dumping dead bodies in places that will bring harm to other people. “We live in a society where we have respect for our dead. This is shown by us carrying flowers to their graves on Decoration Day. Why should people dump their relatives exposed body on the street around the hospital,” she said. In her closing remarks Dr. McDonald called on the public to refrain from the act of dumping bodies around the hospital which is not good for the people living around the vicinity. She ruled out the rumor of increased death rate of 3 to 5 patients dying daily as a result of less attention allegedly paid to patients, because the patients, do not have enough cash to pay as a result of the “new increased fees.”