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Education
VOL 8 NO.704
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2014
CENTRAL BANK OF LIBERIA
MARKET BUYING AND SELLING RATES
LIBERIAN DOLLARS PER US DOLLAR
These are indicative rates based on results of daily surveys of
the foreign exchange market in Monrovia and its environs. The
rates are collected from the Forex Bureaux and the commercials
banks. The rates are not set by the Central Bank of Liberia.
Source:
Research, Policy and Planning Department,
Central Bank Liberia,
Monrovia, Liberia
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014 L$84.00/US$1 L$85.00/US$1
BUYING SELLING
L$84.00/US$1 L$85.00/US$1
L$85.00/US$1 L$84.00/US$1
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2014
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2014
News Extra - pg.5
OBAMA UNDER
PRESSURE
p9 p6

I
N
S
I
D
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Additional Protective Measures to Prevent
the Spread of Ebola to the United States
Goes into Effect
No Shares to Speaker Tyler, Rep. Kollie
News Extra

US TRAVEL
RESTRICTIONS
MASS FAILURE
AT UNIVERSITY
OF LIBERIA
AGAIN

We are very pleased because we are going to be learning to working
together, learning to cooperate how to construct, how to manage and
maintain these facilities and we will also beneft from the quality of medical
training being provided. Defense Minister Brownie Samukai

Democrats Defy President in
Favor of an Ebola Travel Ban
15 OUT OF 13,000
SUCCESSFUL IN ENTRANCE
EXAMINATION
DEFENSE MINISTER WELCOMES NEW US ARMY COMMANDER
ENHANCING
PARTNERSHIP
ICC PRACTICES
GOOD CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
Page 2 |
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Mr. Chairman and members of the
52nd Legislature, all of the points
mentioned by the general administrator
are not unfortunate but has the
propensity to foster national efforts
against Ebola. The question that keeps
bothering us how can a hospital that is
the nation largest referral hospital lacks
capacity in these critical time of our
national history. - Amelia N. Geede,
Registered Nurse
Monrovia
L
iberias Defant Health Minister Dr. Walter
Gwenigale who has over the last six months
rejected calls to adhere to a mandate from the
Liberian Senate to reinstate two health workers
dismissed for organizing a protest staged by health workers
across the country; again failed to show up at the Senate
Tuesday, citing health reasons.
Over six months ago, Dr. Gwenigale was ordered by
the Senate to reinstate the two health workers but the
Minister remained frm on his stance that during his tenure
as Minister of health, the two individuals will never be
reinstated.
Appearing last week before the Senate, the minister was
pressed to provide reasons why he should not be held in
Legislative contempt, prompting the body to re-schedule
his appearance along with his lawyer on Tuesday. On
Tuesday however, the minister sent in an excuse, telling
the lawmakers that his health condition could not permit
him to appear before the body.
In his letter requesting re-scheduling of his appearance,
Minister Gwenigale stated: I have the honor to present
my compliments and acknowledge receipt of your letter
dated October 17, 2014, requesting that I appear before
the Honorable Liberian Senate on Tuesday, October 21,
2014, to explain why I cannot be held in contempt for my
refusal to reinstate two health workers fred by me. Kindly
be informed that I am unable to appear as requested by the
Honorable House of Senate due to health reasons which
could not permit me to travel with the President to Lofa
County today.
High Pressure
Further stated the Minister After my appearance before
the senate last Thursday, my blood pressure went up and
it is still up, with mad headache. Appearing before you
again tomorrow, will further increase my pressure. I kindly
request that you re-schedule my reappearance to a time
when my health condition has improves.
Following the reading of Minister Gwenigales letter, the
Senate accepted the Minister letter but refused to grant him
the indefnite time requested to enable his health improves
before appearing. Instead, the body has mandated the to
appear this Thursday.
Health sector in disarray
While the Liberian Senate was discussing a letter from
Minister Gwenigale on reinstating two dismissed health
workers, a group of nurses from the referral John F.
Kennedy Medical Center presented a petition to the House
of Representatives Committee on Claims and Petition
protesting plans by the administration of the JFK to
forward their names to the Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare for reassignment.
Presenting the petition, Amelia N. Geede, Registered
Nurse said the administration of the JFK organized a one
week Ebola training workshop which all nurses at the
hospital attended but at the end of the workshop, about
110 of them were informed that they should return to the
Ministry of Health to be reassigned.
Nurse Geede reading the petition said at the end of the
training, the entire workforce was asked to begin work but
soon after 110 staff received a memo signed by the Human
resource manager under the subject status change and the
entire workforce was then asked to attend a mass meeting
on Thursday, October 9, 2014 which was re-scheduled for
October 16, 2014.
She continued At the meeting, which started around 12
noon, the general administrator, Dr. Wannie MacDonald
amongst other things informed the more than 100 health
workers of the TNIMA some of whom have worked with
the institution for more than 25 years that- one the hospital
lacks the capacity to maintain all of its staff due to the slow
intake of patients.
In further counts by the JFK administration for its
decisions, the petition stated the administration informed
the nurses that the medical, pediatric and surgical ward at
the hospital are under renovation.
The petition furthered she will be turning us over to the
ministry of health for reassignment to various hospitals
and clinics. Our risk benefts will be paid by the MOH and
not through JFK, however only our regualr salary will be
paid and not the incentive.
JFK to remain closed
According to the nurses, the JFK administration also
informed them that the hospital will remain closed until as
such time administration deems it ft to re-open.
The petition also stated Dr. MacDonald told us that the
JFK hospital will remain closed until as such time she and
members of her administration will deem it ft to re-open.
Dr. Bernice Dahn will bring us contract for our individual
signatures, the contract according to Dr. MacDonald will
be mutually agreed between us and the MOH
The aggrieved JFK employees described the points raised
by administration for its planned action as having the
propensity to stall the fght against the Ebola virus.
Mr. Chairman and members of the 52nd Legislature, all
of the points mentioned by the general administrator are
not unfortunate but has the propensity to foster national
efforts against Ebola. The question that keeps bothering
us how can a hospital that is the nation largest referral
hospital lacks capacity in these critical time of our national
history, the nurses lamented.
They accused Dr. MacDonald of intentionally closing the
medical and pediatric ward under the guise of renovation
when the country needs the facility most.
We see this on her part as a clear attempt to stop the
poor Liberian people from getting treatment from other
illnesses that are not Ebola related. Honorable ladies and
gentlemen, our people have the right to health care and
from the JFK and we as health workers are willing and
more than ready to work in the interest of our brothers and
sisters who do not have the fnancial might to seek medical
attention abroad.
The nurses are contending that they are not contractors but
employees of the JFK and cannot be turned over to the
Ministry of health as though they are plantation workers.
They believes the plan is a continuation of the plan by
the Civil Service Agency to lay off some employees of
the government of Liberia accusing Dr. MacDonald of
maintaining a Nigerian whom they said earns 2,000 United
States dollars in its employ while attempting to lay off
Liberians.
The nurses are calling for the JFK to remain open and fully
functional and also appealing for nurses, doctors and other
medical workers to be given better incentives.
They warned that drop in Ebola cases does not mean all
is well in the health sector warning that Liberians are also
suffering from other illness such as malaria, cold, amongst
others.
Treated with Urgency
Representative Gabriel Nyenka, Chairman of the Claims
and Petition Committee at the House of Representatives
receiving the petition informed the health workers that
their complaint will be treated with utmost urgency.
Said represented Nyenka Given the assurgency of our
health needs, this petition is going to be treated with
utmost urgency.
The lawmaker said the issues raised by the JFK workers
are serious and will be independently investigated by the
Legislature mainly the House of Representatives.
I will like to say you have raised very serious and
grave national issues, there are some of issues that even
borders on constitutional issue. For us at the House of
representatives, we have received your petition, consider
your petition as a complaint and in the wake of the
complaint, there are always two sides, there is your side
and the other side. Thankfully you have encouraged us
to even investigate, meaning you are interested in our
independent investigation to the veracity of the claim you
have raised here, said the lawmaker.
Representative assured that the House of representatives
will look into the complaint.
We like to assure you on behalf of the 53rd legislature
particularly the House of Representatives, that on behalf
of the Speaker, the deputy speaker and our erudite
colleagues, we do hereby receive the petition and we will
say to you this is consistent with constitutionality. Article
17 of our constitution empowers the citizens to do this, to
petition their lawmakers, government offcials at all times
in pursuit of their happiness and wellbeing, lawmaker
Nyenka furthered.
The health sector of Liberia has been in disarray even before
the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus and the situation has
been further exacerbated by the virus outbreak.
Health workers are complaining of low pay and other
incentives with many refusing to sign a recent contract
framed by the Government of Liberia in which the
Government is saying that only families of health workers
who die after testing positive of Ebola will get incentives.
The health workers are complaining that the nature of
dealing with Ebola is associated with several risk that
could lead to death besides directly contracting the virus.
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Page 3
Patience O. Coleman, Contributing Writer
FrontPage
v
v
Commentary
EDITORIAL
PRESIDENT ELLEN JOHNSON-Sirleafs apology to Mike Rawlings, the
Mayor of Dallas has been heard around the world. Her poignant appeal
for international aid in separate letters to U.S. President Barack Obama,
letter to the world aired on the BBC and her Op-Ed in the Washington Post
Monday hit home her rallying cry for all well-meaning people to come to
Liberias aid. It is the duty of all of us as global citizens to send a message
that we will not leave millions of West Africans to fend for themselves,
President Sirleaf declared Sunday.
IN AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED Monday, the Wall Street Journal one
of President Sirleafs son, Dr. James Adama Sirleaf, as saying that the
symbolism of him returning to Liberia and potentially getting Ebola when
I have a nine- and a seven-year-old at home isnt worth it just to appease
people.
THE TIMING OF the statement is suspect. At a time when the John F.
Kennedy Medical Center is ordering more than 100 health workers to report
to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for reassignment, most likely
to Ebola Treatment Units(ETUs), the Presidents son is taking aim at the
wrong group of people at the wrong time.
JUDGING FROM the experiences of the past few months, it is more than
likely that some of those who are being reassigned could lose their lives in
the process.
ADAMA SIRLEAF WHO HAS made multiple trips to Liberia in the past
with his Hearrt Foundation to perform free surgeries, pulled out his medical
training group due to mounting risks to doctors, the WSJ reported.
TO HIS CREDIT, Dr. Sirleaf, of all the Presidents sons, has made perhaps
the most contribution to Liberia since his mother became President, taking
time out of his Albany, Georgia residence where he is Director of Phoebe
Putney Memorial Hospitals Emergency Department to pay multiple visits
to Liberia with his Hearrt Foundation.
OVER THE YEARS, the foundation has been focused on the improvement
of care at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFK) and training of local
practitioners and providers
THE FOUNDATION HAS also established a teaching program that
trains practitioners and trainers at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) hospital in
partnership with the Tubman National Institute for Medical Arts and the
AM Dogliotti College of Medicine. The teaching program encompasses
both didactic and clinical learning components. National staff (mid-level
providers, nurses, medical students, newly graduated physicians) are paired
with international experts who provide support for clinical care and bedside
teaching in addition to didactic learning covering key information needed
to successfully implement the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) as
designated by Liberias Ministry of Health.
THE FOUNDATION has also been involved in rebuilding basic health
services
SINCE August 1, 2008, HEARTT has placed an additional 2-4 physicians
(per specialty) on the ground for continuous year round support of its
programming for a total of over 70 doctors per year providing clinical and
teaching services at JFK, representing a 50% increased to the total numbers
of doctors that are available to provide much needed clinical and education
services in the country.
IN THE WAKE OF Ebola, the Hearrt Foundation has provided shipments
of personal protective equipment, IV fuids and other life saving supplies
worth more than $500,000 to hospitals, clinics, and treatment centers
around Liberia.
THIS IN OUR VIEW is a commendable gesture and one which much
appreciation is due to Dr. Sirleaf. However, we feel strongly that Dr.
Sirleafs statement regarding not wanting to risk leaving his nine and seven-
year-old children in America just to appease people, was in poor taste and
warrants and apology to the hard working men and women who are risking
their lives to save others and dying daily in the process.
THE MESSAGE DR. SIRLEAF is sending suggest that it not OK for him
or his family to be at risk but that it is OK for those poor, struggling and
underpaid health workers to die in the process.
RELATIVES OF PRESIDENTS, particularly the current Liberian President
Must know when to speak and when to simply shut up. This is one of those
moments when Adama Sirleaf should have taken the no comment route
and kept doing what has set him apart from the rest of the Presidents
children.
IN ONE SINGLE sound bite moment, Dr. Sirleaf dampened much of the
good works he and his Hearrt Foundation has done in the past and continues
to do for the health sector in Liberia.
THIS COMING in the midst of what many see as a glaring insensitivity
by the government to the plight of health workers on the front lines of the
Ebola crisis.
HEALTH MINISTER DR. WALTER GWENIGALEs statement last
week that under no circumstances would he allow the leaders of the health
workers who have been advocating for better incentives and benefts for
their peers, would return to work, has not gone down well and he appears
to have the backing of not just the president, but the frst family as well.
THE INSENSITIVITY DID not stop there.
COMMENTARY
Introduction& Setting the Scene:
No doubt, poor human capacity has stood for many years as one of
Liberias greatest challenges. Along side institutional, policy-making
and implementation hurdles, weak human capital has made it diffcult for
Liberians to reap full benefts from Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)and
other employment opportunities that has greatly benefted other nations.
These issues are highly visible within the public sector where poor personnel
deliveryhas negatively impacted GOL capacities to deliver effective and
effcient results. Consequently, the CSA proposes that,since the current
Ebola crisis has compelled the GOL to publicly acknowledge that there are
staffs who are non-essential to the effective running of government offces,
the right time has come to address the challenges of a congestedsystem
and other personnel issues. In an attempt to revive this bloated civil
service, promote pay increment, and redirect government revenue to
building schools, hospitals, and the provision of other public services,
it recommends redundancy as a suitable policy option. In short, already
named non-essential staffs are required to remain on compulsory leave, be
paid a severance fee for two years, while measures are taken to terminate
unnecessary positions within the GOL and regularize the payroll.
This proposal by the CSA has however led to athriving policy debate in
the midst of the ongoing Ebola crisis, concerning its feasibility, timeliness,
and impact on Liberias economic, political, and social landscape. As
a contribution to the debate, this note posits that redundancy may be a
necessary option in temporary or emergency cases but insuffcient in
producing an effcient and effective civil service in post crisis period.
Instead of a blanket redundancy at the onset, monies paid as severance fees
to former employees who will not be serving government for two years,
could be diverted to creating trainingopportunities for personnel, investment
in research and development, accommodate movements between positions
and department based on qualifcation and experience, aid reshuffes, and
increase educational opportunities. Performance should then be tracked
through a thoughtful appraisal scheme essential for determining both system
and personnel performance weaknesses.These activities have proven to be
excellent tools to accurately diagnose a system;hone the skills of already
experienced civil servants;identify individuals actually requiring payoff
if all else fails;create space for qualifed personnel outside government to
fll up key technical or administrative positions; and suffciently determine
policy alternatives needed to curb unintendedconsequences.
Analysis
Lay-off also known as redundancy has longed been used by public policy
specialists to temporarily or permanently terminate employment of some
workers for reasons such as, when certain positions are no longer necessary
or when slowdown of an economy occurs. Generally, this downsizing
approach under certain circumstances may improve effectiveness and
effciency by turning around declining organization, cutting costs, and
somehow improving performance. For instance, asking non-essential
workers to remain home while fewer people strategize to fght a public health
crisis such as Ebola was a feasible option for effective decision making and
having control of the crisis management process. Why the emergency period
accommodated this temporary lay-off of non-essential staffs (in the private
sector without pay and public sector with pay), post crisis activities will
be hampered, if especially, public sector staffs are permanently laid-off. In
post crisis period, government is expected to rather create activities that will
put monies in thepockets of citizens and restore normality of its economic
and investment activities, and hence, its actions should not promote greater
shock and psychological stress on citizens or lead to further civil unrest. The
voice of the CSA should be the voice of the people and redundancy should
be at a last resort. Redundancy cannot be applied as a blanket policy option
but rather with other suitable measures in place such as already established
appraisals schemeand trainingopportunities.
Policy options:
There is value from trainings and capacity development: Number of
people matters in the public sector, so do their training and experience. It
may simply be the quantity and quality of education and training that may
be required. In todays world, for instance, much productive activities
are knowledge intensive thus putting a premium on a well educated or
trained workforce. The abilities to read, do basic calculations, to operate
technological equipment, and to follow relatively complex instructions, are
important requirements for much modern labor. Failure to develop such
essential labor skills can be an important cause of lack of growth as well
as poor performance. What is needed basically is to create opportunities for
the poor, and equip the poor to grasp those opportunities. Our civil servants
need to be trained to possess real strength in implementing the policies of
any government, what ever its political completion.
There is also a need for Performance Appraisals Scheme (PAS):There is no
doubt that the civil service is bloated and needs reform. This is not a new
diagnosis of the system. What is unclear is how do we determine the level
of ineffciency and what is basis for classifying staff as essential and non-
essential. Is it by the position held? Even the cleaners become essential at
some point when the job is about cleaning. Thus, any intervention needs to
be carefully tailored to get specifc results and to reduce the opportunities
for small groups to gain at the expense of others. Civil service need to
fnd a way to have oversight on all public employees in spite of whether
they are categorized as essential, political appointees, or non-essential. If
managerial, ministerial, or director positions are awarded on the basis of
family ties, political patronage, rather than merit, a performance appraisal
scheme may help safe the day. It is the prevalence of cultural attitudes of
the system that do not favor acquisition of wealth and revenue improvement
not just the number of people. An appraisal scheme if set up with indicators
that determine effciency and effectiveness, staff could be aware of these
indicators and appraise periodically so as to establish the degree of their
ineffciency or effciency; if they require further trainings and in what areas;
and what actions to be taken if all else fails. In the private sector for example,
junior staffappraise their supervisors for greater fairness in the process,
although fnal decisions may consider many other factors.
There is a need for investment in Research and Development. I always hear
twenty frst century scholars and policy makers in developing countries
proposing R & D as a suitable policy tool for development. Yet, little is
done about it. Investment in R&D should not be seen as one that must be
created in a separate entity. A little bit of research and development priorities
in different institutions may turn out to be huge and benefts the country
greatly. CSA has a lot to beneft from research activities. If public sector
staff have research skills and put them into use for example, they are likely
to make policies that improve performance and effective service delivery of
the public sector.
Redundancy may be necessary as a last resort but should not be a blanket
policy action: Given the importance of key positions currently occupied by
non-professionals, there will be a need to make drastic changes to fllup
those positions by personnel or practitioners with formal knowledge and
education. Someone occupying a sensitive positions of which regular offce
training is not suffcient,will have to leave such post for the right recruitment.
If all is done in reshuffe and still, there are no improvements, a clear
justifcation can be provided for lay-offof that worker. Although complex,
people need to understand what is considered by GOL as performing and
non-performing. They need to know thatcertain positions should be flled-
up by a professional in that feld. Let redundancy be at a last resort when
training and appraisals scheme are established and functional to aid the
process of accurately diagnosing the system and inform policy decision that
are credible and supportive at the implementation stage.
Patience O. Coleman
Holds a Master of Public Policy, Master of Diplomacy, and Graduate certifcate
in Public Administration from the Australian National University. She also
holds a BSc. Degree in Economics from the African Methodist Episcopal
University in Liberia. Before leaving for studies in 2012, she had developed
professional skills overtime by her experience working in three different
sectors respectivelyGovernment (CDA), NGO/CSO (GCAP Liberia), and
Private Sector (Banking). Community Development has always been a keen
part of her activities thereby contributing to policy advocacy with youths
and other community groups. She has attended many international events
including but not limited tothe Make Poverty History Campaign in the
UK, the World Social Forum in Kenya, the World Council of Churches 9th
Assembly in Porto Alegre Brazil, the United States Social Forum, and many
other African functions. While in Australia, besides winning an academic
award from the Golden key International Honor Society ANU Charter (as
part of the 15th percent of top students based on academic performance), she
served as an International Students Ambassador for the Australian Capital
Territory, as a Policy and Governance Representative at the Crawford School
of Public policy, and proactively served the role of Promoter for World Vision
Australia Child Sponsorship campaign. Currently, while she awaits long-
term placement with the public sector as part of her scholarship reintegration
plans, She is one of the facilitators for a Youth Action International Coalition
of Organizations against Ebola in Liberia.
REDUNDANCY AS A LAST RESORT
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleafs son Must Apologize to
Healthcare workers in the Front lines of a deadly virus
DR. JAMES SIRLEAFS
POLITICALLY-
INCORRECT
EBOLA MOMENT
LAST WEEK, FrontPageAfrica profled Dr Atai Omoruto, one of several
Uganda doctors currently working in Liberia to help curb the outbreak.
HER JOB WAS at risk only because she made efforts to improve the condition
of health care workers in Liberia. Some senior health administrators actually
made efforts to have the World Health Organization sent her back because in
their view she was meddling in Liberian affairs. How Sad.
YET, IN HER OP-ED in the Post Monday, President Sirleaf heralded
Uganda as a case study for Liberia when she wrote: But while these are
very much welcome developments, they are nevertheless responses to an
outbreak already out of control. After all, military feld hospitals would not
be needed if adequate health-care services were in place. And, as Uganda has
demonstrated after several terrible outbreaks, the key to preventing a major
outbreak is a health infrastructure robust enough to be able to respond quickly
and effectively when cases frst appear.
ADDED SIRLEAF: Medical staff in Uganda now have the training and
means to recognize symptoms and isolate patients immediately, and they have
access to appropriate equipment and protective clothing. Similarly, social
mobilization networks are in place to get information out to the people to
reduce the risk of spread, while laboratory facilities can confrm cases swiftly.
It is a highly effective setup that was created with considerable help from the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but it relies wholly upon
having strong health infrastructure.
THE PRESIDENT ADMITTED that Liberia is utterly ill-equipped and
unprepared. What is so tragic is that, until this outbreak, Liberia had made
signifcant progress in building up its public health systems. With help from
organizations such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, we have reduced childhood
mortality by two-thirds since 1990, thanks largely to expansive immunization
programs.
SO WHY SHOULD the world help Liberia when we are not willing to help
ourselves? When we attempt to throw out good, decent and hardworking
people simply because they are advocating for our own good: If the health
workers are happy, they will be motivated to work with all of their hearts, even
a frst grader knows that.
WHY SHOULD the world help us when a Presidents son, even if he is angry,
makes a remark condescending toward those on the front line of this crisis.
DR. ADAMA JAMES SIRLEAF Must take back his words and apologize, not
to his critics but for the hardworking health workers like the late Dr. Thomas
S. Scotland, a 2013 University of Liberias A.M. Dogliotti Medical College
graduate who was an intern at JFK.
DR. SIRLEAF must apologize, not to his critics but to the many other nurses,
doctors and health workers who have no choice but to risk their lives on the
front lines of Ebola, saving others.
NO ONE IS ASKING Dr. Sirleaf to suit up and risk his life but in the same
vein, he must not demean in a condescending manner, the works of those who
are risking theirs without the luxury of choice.
Why layoff may be necessary but not a suffcient nor feasible policy option in
producing an effcient and effective civil service in Liberia
Page 4 |
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
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WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
ABOUT OUR STORIES ON THE
WORLDWIDE WEB
The Reader's Page
EDWARD ROYE TOP COMMENTER LIBERIA
COLLEGE
Madam Tah's resignation is wrongly timed. investigating the head
of the national security boss, I am not aware of the NSA being a part
of the justice ministry. the justice ministry controls and manages
the: national police, immigration bureau, DEA, national fre service,
NBI but not the NSA. the NSA head reports directly to the president
and not anybody else. that is statute that created it. the NSa boss is
subject to impeachment should there arise something questionable
about his/her activities. so, Cllr. Tah, I think u should have allowed
the Liberian senate to institute investigation about the NSA boss.
in this case, I think u made a mistake. the NSA and the former SSS
now EPS are not under the justice ministry. Cllr. Tah , u have never
been proactive in the execution of your duties and responsibilities.
countless audit reports were passed to u for prosecution but u
always said there was no evidence, u swept it under the carpet. only
the former boss of LTA(Bropleh) u arrested in his morning robe
and dragged to prison. Tell the Liberian people, your real reason
for resigning.
R_FILIPS (SIGNED IN USING AOL)
You are funny in that where the NSA takes on the function not
assigned its mission, the Justice ministry must step in to investigate
or indict. NSA's role is limited to data collection and coordination. It
cannot directly affect an arrest in a matter that is within the purview
of the Ministry of justice.
Please see below other responses:
1. The post of NSA director is not an elected post and serves at the
pleasure of the president of Liberia. Only elected offcials can be
impeached.
2. The constitution empowers the minister of justice to investigate
all reports of criminal activities. The NSA director is suspect of
converting or illegally seizing personal values of complainant - an
act inconsistent with the administration of justice.
3. one of the reasons Minister Tah resigned is the lack of cooperation
from the President. How sure are you that she was not undermined
by the president in doing her job? Do you expect the ministry of
justice to turn blind eyes?
JESSE FAHNGON TOP COMMENTER METROPOLITAN
STATE UNIVERSITY
Who determines a person right to resign, referenced, timing?
JAMES YONLY UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA
A sycophant infected with drum major instinct is waiting take the
Job. Any way. to many Liberians, holding a post in government
is about getting a pay check with fnger full of fringe benefts.
Then there they go, bullying their mother or father if the president
demands so. thank you Madam. You've made the difference
DEGAN BALLAYAN TOP COMMENTER CUSTOMER
SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE AT CURRENTLY WORK AT
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS, COLLEGE PARK - GEORGIA
Madam now former Minister of Justice, you probably did the right
thing, though sort of late. Having studied law in both the United
States and Liberia, even helped to re-write some of the laws on the
books in Liberia as I was informed or read, you should have kept
your integrity intact at all times, regardless of the fies that were
making noise in the market or in the political arena. Principles count
in every job or in appointed positions - especially in government.
To just sit there pushing paperwork, conducting legal businesses
of behave of the people in the same, corruption practices was not
reputable. In other words, the same more, same more, cancerous,
epidemic impunity continue to exist. This is unacceptable in the 21
century!! Why allow a mountain of cases go unresolved in a country
of 43,000 square miles.
HARRIS GBAHN TOP COMMENTER WORKS AT SELF-
EMPLOYED
Whom is Madam Tah accusing of preventing her from doing her
jobs? What I know is, it is only the Constitution of Liberia that can
prevent her from performing her duty when she is not in the right
direction, because no one, not even the President is above the Laws
of the Land. Moreover, her justifcation for her resignation here
is still not clear. The frst said resignation letter submitted to the
President was understood by the public to be her reaction to the
action of the Legislature by stopping her from practicing her career;
if there were any motives besides that, it is today we are getting to
know. Again, her present resignation letter will be considered by
Liberians as a deliberate and long-awaited plan so as to exit from
the government and fnd her way out to America because of the
fear of Ebola. What I believe is that if she loves her people and her
country, and as a cardinal government offcial, and even if she has
been encountering so many problems from her boss as alleged, this
is not the right time to resign. No matter what she explains now it
will be considered by the public as a point of cover-up for her fear
for Ebola.
DISTRUST, BETRAYAL PUSHED
TOUGH SKIN TAH OUT OF EJS GOVT
The Editor,
G
rappling with intense dissatisfaction and utter
ferocity due to the form and manner Liberia is
being governed resuscitates untiring defance
against the breeding forces of dictatorship
and cruel leadership. Liberians continue to bystander
the reoccurrences of acts of deception which permeated
our society during the hay days of Taylor and Doe. The
manipulation of power by the ruling class to extricate
democratic nuances in the face of growing tension among the
suffering masses; serves as a pillar for mass resistance.
It would be useful if madam president were to concentrate on
the exponential rise of Ebola victims rather than playing folly
into power grasp. Beyond such political treachery is witch-
hunt and personal vendetta. An attempt to permit the use of
excessive power craved by the arrogance of President Sirleaf
would mark the beginning of an African female Adolf Hitler.
Moreover besides, Liberians have videod the cold bloody
shoot down of an innocent Shaki Kamara maimed by
vicious men of the armed forces of Liberia on the orders of
commanding offcers remains mind burgling. Such brutal
show down of a professional army depicts no confdence. The
murder of an indigents child under the guise of quarantine
speaks volume to what will happen if the Madam is given
absolute power during the state of emergency.
Liberia is entering a highly uncertained phase in which
cronies and political entrepreneurs of the president assert
manipulative attitudes against those who oppose the
government. The superposition is a verifable fact, the gunning
down of three young Liberians in search of food under an ill
prepared manner of quarantining an affected community are
manifestation of elements of the power that be and never the
result of coincidences or simple military indiscipline but a
direct order for lethal force. These are undisputed evidences
why the request put forth by the president is bizarre and
political outdated.
Curbing such planned act of political malfeasance
Gabriel Nyanti,
nyantigabriel@yahoo.com

The Editor,
F
irst of all, thanks a million for all of the information that you
have been reporting thus far from mother land, Liberia. I am
home away from home. My physical body is in California
but my heart is in Liberia. Again, thanks to you and your
staff/co-workers for doing a great job. I appreciate your work!!
BLOOD Transfusion, blood from Ebola survivors does work. Use
it!!! The survivors are the blessed ones. They have the gold in
their blood that enabled them to survive this serious disease. Use
it!!!
I am a Liberian residing in Sacramento, California. I am not in the
medical feld but I have been following if not all, but most of the
publications on Ebola outbreak in other countries and now in West
African countries - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. From what I
have been reading,
1. Blood transfusions worked on several patients infected with
Ebola during a 1996 outbreak in Kikwit, Congo. Only one of the
eight patients died. All were seriously ill with severe asthenia,
four presented with hemorrhagic manifestations, and two became
comatose as their disease progressed.
From my elementary math class at the Bible Way Mission School in
Liberia, when you do the division: 1/8 = 0.128 = 12.8%. The result
was signifcantly lower than the overall case fatality rate (80 percent)
for the Ebola outbreak in Kikwit and now in the 3 countries in West
Africa.
Three Americans who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia
and were fown to the United States for treatment all recovered. One
of the Americans, Nancy Writebol recovered. I dont know if she
received blood in Liberia as well.
2. In late July 2014, Dr. Kent Brantly received a unit of blood from
a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola in Liberia and recovered.
3. Dr. Kent Brantly gave blood to Dr. Richard Sacra, a Boston
physician. He recovered.
4. Dr. Kent Brantly gave blood to Ashoka Mukpo, a U.S. journalist.
He is recovering.
5. Dr. Kent Brantly gave blood to Nina Pham, one of the nurses
from Dallas. She is recovering. As I saw on the news today, she was
sitting up and looking very great (thanks be to the Almighty God)
when she was being transferred to Maryland.
Again, my people, from my elementary math class at the Bible
Way Mission School in Liberia, when you do the division: 4/4 = 1 =
100%. The success result here is real, its a fact.
What are we waiting for or what are we waiting on? This is a life
and death situation. I saw 25 photos of Liberians who recovered
from Ebola on Yahoo news this morning. 25 blessed ones. They
have the gold in their blood that enabled them to survive this serious
disease. Use it!!! Call them in, take some BLOOD and check them
for other diseases like HIV or hepatitis C. If it clears, please use it to
treat other Ebola patients. As far as I am concern right now, Ebola is
by far worse than HIV or hepatitis C.
Blood Transfusion, (blood from survivors work) from what I have
been reading, it works. Use it!!! Use the blessed ones. They have the
gold in their blood that enabled them to survive this serious disease.
If you have any questions, ask Dr. Kent Brantly. He is a medical
doctor, he has experienced the work of the blessed one and he is also
one of the blessed ones.
From: Warnerlyn Becky Warner
Warnerwarner164@gmail.com
THE REMNANTS
OF THE OLD ORDER
MUST BE REDUNDANT
AND DEPOSE
DEMOCRATICALLY
BLOOD TRANSFUSION, BLOOD
FROM EBOLA SURVIVORS DOES
WORK. USE IT!!!
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Page 5
Mae Azango, mae.azango@frontpageafricaonline.com
ENHANCING PARTNERSHIP
F
RONT
PAGE
NEWS EXTRA
DEFENSE MINISTER WELCOMES NEW US ARMY COMMANDER

We are very pleased because we are going to be learning to working together, learning to cooperate
how to construct, how to manage and maintain these facilities and we will also beneft from the quality
of medical training being provided. Defense Minister Brownie Samukai
Monrovia
L
iberias Defense Minister, Brownie J. Samukai, says
the soldiers and sailors of the Armed Forces of Liberia
(AFL) remain supportive of the U.S.-led effort in the
united fght against the Ebola virus.
Welcoming the incoming commander of the U.S-led Joint
Task Force Operation United Assistance, Major General Gary
J. Volesky, in his offce at the Barclay Training Center (BTC)
Tuesday, the Minister expressed the AFLs preparedness to
discharge its assigned humanitarian mission under the scheme of
Operation United Assistance, as a Force for Good.
Major General Volesky replaces Major General Darryl Williams
who served in a pioneering position as the frst Commander of the
U.S. Military in Liberia for a period of fve weeks.
Major General Williams, in remarks, expressed gratitude to the
Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff of the AFL for the
friendship and excellent leadership qualities exhibited during his
tenure, which sets the condition for onward operations of the U.S.
military. Operation United Assistance involves the efforts of the
AFL and our team and it would not have happened without a united
effort. I was the set up guy who set up all that you see and the
United States African Commander, not the joint force commander,
so that a bigger force can come and work with the government of
Liberia and partner with the Armed Forces of Liberia. I started the
relationship and General Volesky will complete it.
Pressed as to what facilities and equipment the US troops intend
to leave on the ground when the mission is completed, Maj. Gen.
Williams said he believes that under the current plan, much of
the facilities will remain in Liberia after the mission is over. It
is not for me to decide but depends on the government of Liberia
and USAID to decide. What we are here to do is to provide the
capacity to fght Ebola, Williams said.
Maj. Gen. Williams disclosed that the Tubmanburg ETU will
be open this week and the ones in Sinje and Buchanan will be
opened next week.We would not have been able to build all of
the treatment units without the partnership of the Armed Forces of
Liberia. He said.
Minister Samukai, the US delegation and Defense personnel
during a brief tour of the facilities now under construction at the
Barclay Training Center, (BTC) in Monrovia, inspected military
tents with camp beds, clinics, latrines and mini washing rooms
on the compound for the US soldiers building the ETU and other
facilities.
After the short tour, Minister Samukai said the AFL engineering
Unit is working very closely with the US military in constructing
the facilities and pointed out that the specifc one they are building
is for Americans accommodating US service personnel that will
be operating in the area.
We are very pleased because we are going to be learning to
working together, learning to cooperate how to construct, how
to manage and maintain these facilities and we will also beneft
from the quality of medical training being provided, he said.
It is by building up the capacity that our medical personnel will
beneft from in a long term. As disastrous as Ebola is, and as we
all struggle to make sure that we can eliminate it from our country
and the sub-region, the good will come out of all of us.
For his part, the incoming Commander of the U.S Military, Major
General Gary J. Volesky, described it as an honor to be in Liberia
working with the Liberian military to train healthcare workers and
to build Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) around the country. In the
words of Major General Volesky said: I express my appreciation
to the Government and people of Liberia for the opportunity
to have a foothold on Liberian soil, otherwise we would have
remained on the Atlantic. He served his latest assignment as
Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and
Fort Campbell.
Major General Volesky is a graduate of the U.S Army Command
and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as well
as the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base. He holds a
Bachelors degree from Eastern Washington University and a
masters degree from Princeton University.
CUBAN MEDICAL DOCTORS TO
ARRIVE IN LIBERIA WEDNESDAY
SUP SLAMS HANDLING OF
EBOLA EPIDEMIC IN LIBERIA,
BLASTS PRESIDENT
Monrovia -
A
Cuban Medical Team arrives in
Liberia on Wednesday, October 22,
2014 to join the fght against the
deadly Ebola Virus. The 52 man
medical team includes doctors and nurses.
The medical team includes Epidemiologists,
Intensive Care Doctors, General Practitioners,
and Surgeons. Others are Pediatricians, Intensive
Care Nurses, Anesthetist and Licensed Nurses.
The disclosure about the medical team; arrival
was made on Monday by the Cuban Ambassador
accredited to Liberia H.E. Jorge Fernando
Lefebre Nicolas when he paid a courtesy call
on the Liberian Foreign Minister Augustine
Kpehe Ngafuan at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
Ambassador Jorge Fernando Lefebre Nicolas
said the arrival into the Country of the Cuban
Medical Experts signifes his government's
strong solidarity with Liberia and is geared
also towards enhancing the existing ties between
both countries while acknowledging that it is
the beginning of cementing cooperation with
Liberia especially in the in the medical feld.
The Cuban doctors are expected to be assigned
to the newly constructed ETU at the unfnished
Defense Ministry facility in Congo Town. The
Cuban Ambassador furthered disclosed that
discussions are ongoing with Latin American
Countries to respond to the Ebola Fight.
In response, Liberia's Foreign Minister
Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan expressed delight
over the coming of the Cuban medical Doctors
to join the fght against the deadly virus.
Foreign Minister Ngafuan is hoping the Cuban
doctors will not only be here to fght Ebola but
also help in strengthening the health sector as it
relates to training and deployment of personnel
to assist in critical areas of need in Liberias
health sector. He noted that the initiative to send
the doctors is the beginning of the solidifcation
of Liberia's relationship with Cuba, at the same
time stressing that Cuba's diplomatic presence
here could have a long term effect on the two
countries' cooperation.
The Foreign Minister on behalf of President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the Government and
People of Liberia then extended profuse thanks
and best wishes to the President, Government
and People of Cuba for their assistance to
Liberia as the country goes through this diffcult
health crisis.
Monrovia -
T
he University
of Liberia based
Student Unifcation
Party (SUP) Monday
celebrated its 44 Anniversary
by extending condolences to
families and friends who had
died of the Ebola outbreak in
the country
SUP was founded on the
campus of the University of
Liberia (UL) on October 20,
1970 by a group of student
advocates to fght for the rights
of underprivileged students
and that of ordinary Liberians.
In a release to mark the
students movement 44
Anniversary under the
signature of the partys
chairman Nathan N. Kpao
stated that from 1970 when the
party was founded up to the
period 1980 fought to end the
dominant 133 years minority
rule of the free black slaves
called Americo-Liberians.
Today, the party release
stated that the student group
was struggling to end the
corporatocracy and sheer
thievery of state resources
by President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf, her family and cronies
at the detriment of the Liberia
people.
Commenting on the current
state of affairs in the wake of the
Ebola outbreak In the country
the student group further
that while the Ebola crisis
presents a very serious health
emergency in the country and
to the extent that Liberians are
dying, the fght against Ebola
does not require constitutional
state of emergency.
Our people are hungry,
homeless, and jobless in the
streets, markets. Schools
and in rural and urban slum
communities said the release.
According to the group the
spread of the deadly Ebola
virus in almost all of the 15
counties is linked and equated
to the lack of leadership as
demonstrated by Madam Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf her cabinet
including the arrogant Health
Minister Walker Gwenigale
and that if the country should
succeed to stop the Ebola
spread, Madam Sirleaf her
Health Minister Gwenigale and
all cronies at the helm of power
must step down without delay.
SUP said cognizant of its
historic mandate of ensuring
that the needs, hopes and
aspirations of the vast majority
of the Liberian people are met,
the group viewed the nine years
rule of Madam Sirleaf as a total
waste in the democratization of
the Liberian State
The release further stated
that as an integral part of
the Liberian society SUP
vehemently opposed to the
suspension of the fundamental
rights of the Liberian people as
guaranteed by the constitution
and in the same vein condemns
and rejects unequivocally any
attempt to extent the state
of emergency imposed by
government on August 6, 2014.
Also in the wake of SUP 44
anniversary in the release
the chairman Nathan Kpao
had announced the lifting
with immediate effect of the
expulsion of student Siafa
Kanneh and welcome him
back to the rank and fle of the
party.
Page 6 |
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Partial view of Military tents at the Barclay Training Center
Mini Clinic Facility
Gen. Volesky Maj.Gen Williams
Chief of Staff Ziankahn and Min. Samukai leave the mini Clinic
One of several tents at the MD Compound Briefng session at the Ministry of National Defense
CHANGING OF THE GUARDS
The incoming commander of the U.S-led Operation United Assistance, Major General Gary J. Volesky, and Major General Darryl Williams,
outgoing commanding offcer tour housing facilities of US Military offcers assisting in Liberias Ebola fght at the Barclay Training Center
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Page 7
Lactrains
Maj. Gen Ziankahn, Minister Samukai and Maj. Gen Williams take a tour of the facility Tuesday
Min. Samukai bids Maj. Gen. Williams goodbye
More equipment Washing machine
Camp beds in tents at the Defense Ministry Compound, at right, Minister Samukai and crew Moving into the tents
Page 8 |
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Al-Varney Rogers alrogers2008@gmail.com 0886304498
Massa F. Kanneh masskanneh@yahoo.com or 0886848625
ICC PRACTICES GOOD
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
NO SHARES TO SPEAKER
TYLER, REP. KOLLIE
Monrovia -
M
r. MacDonald Wento, Chief Executive Offcer
of International Consultancy Capital has made
it clear that good corporate governance prevents
his company from offering shares to offcials of
the Liberian government and at no time has Speaker Tyler or
Representative Moses Kollie being shareholders. The Liberian
business mogul, with interests in logging, fnancial services and
oil and gas has debunked accusations that offcials of government
were involved in one of his logging operations.
Accusations that the company gave shares to offcials have been
making the rounds, especially from the International Research
Group (IREDD) lately and ICC has responded, providing clarity
to its current business situation in the country. It says no evidence
exists of any shareholding by offcials of the Liberian government,
saying it would be illegal and unethical, a fact which has been
validated by legal experts.
In published statements from the company, it is noted that
the companys corporate governance and standard operating
procedures would not allow shareholding by lawmakers, who are
elected to oversee the public interest. Moreover, evidence to prove
shareholding participation of the lawmakers is uncorroborated.
According to international best practices, including many national
laws, such as the Foreign Corrupt and Practices Acts of the
USA, offering pecuniary benefts to public offcials to promote
a business transaction is considered a gross violation of law and
is frowned upon. The Chief Executive Offcer says ICC prides
itself on living up to the creed of corporate social responsibility
and community empowerment which could be negated if it did not
follow the laws.
ICC says documentary evidence from the countrys corporate and
business registry at the Ministry of Commerce does not indicate
that the lawmakers are now or were ever shareholders. Mr. Wento
also further revealed that even if the law did not proscribe the
granting of shares to public offcials, his personal moral and
ethical compass, based upon the values and mission of the ICC
would disallow the action. The ICC Chief Executive Offcer says
he is keenly aware of the symbiotic relations that exists between
business and public offcials to serve the national interest and will
continue to cooperate with public offcials in advancing the cause
of Liberia in all of his business ventures.
Operation during Ebola
Mr. Wento says his company continues to be active in Liberia
despite the Ebola outbreak, contributing to employment and
paying its fair share of government revenues, and has brought
in 3 million dollars worth of sawmill equipment. ICC Chief
Executive Offcer, a man born into modest circumstances
understands the need to provide opportunities for all Liberians in
order to participate in nation-building.
Wento is a Liberian investment banker, who started his career as
a currency trader in Zug, Switzerland more than 20 years ago and
also served as Director for Trade at IC Capital in Madrid, Spain.
Over the last several years, during the post-war reconstruction
in Liberia, Mr. Wento has attracted several major international
investments in different sectors of the Liberian economy. A review
of Liberias current business environment reveals that Mr. Wento
is in good standing with the fnancial services industry and is well
regarded by his peers and is especially noted for his philanthropy.

F
RONT
PAGE
NEWS EXTRA
MASS FAILURE AT UNIVERSITY
OF LIBERIA AGAIN
Monrovia-
T
he education system
of Liberia continues
to show signs of
decline with students
performing poorly in public
exams.
Admission to the state run
University of Liberia is exposing
the weak educational system with
high school graduates desirous
of enrolling at the University
failing massively in the two
recent exams administered by
the University.
In August 2013, all 25,000
students that sat an entrance
and placement examinations for
admission into the University
failed sending shock waves both
local and internationally on such
poor performance.
Again another entrance
examinations has seen mass
failure with Dr. Emmet Dennis
President of the University
disclosing that the testing
committee of the University has
completed the marking of papers
with results showing that only 15
out of 13,000 students that sat
the exams successfully passed.
The testing committee
and the faculty senate will
look at the results and make
recommendations, the
University of Liberia President
added.
According to Dr. Dennis the
results are no different from last
years which was zero out of
twenty three thousand.
Dr. Dennis said that teachers
are partly to blame for the mass
failure adding that there are some
students who prefer not to take
the entrance exams seriously.
But a Teacher, Prince Nimely
said, result coming from the
university is troubling adding
that government has to properly
examine the result the university
is releasing.
Nimely said, We have to look
at the standard the university is
using to fail those students and
their motive if they do not want
students to attend the university
due to overcrowdings let them
say it and they should not
discredit other people effort.
Nimely said only the University
of Liberia is giving this shocking
news about Liberian students.
Why other universities are not
announcing mass failure about
our students, why it is the U.L,
Nimely asked.
Last August result sparks local
and international debate raising
concerns on the state of Liberias
15 out of 13,000 successful in Entrance Examinations Out of the thirteen
thousand candidates who sat the University of Liberia entrance exams only ffteen
have successfully passed, U.L President Dr. Emmet Dennis said.
education sector.
The University of Liberia is
no stranger to mass failure of
students sitting its entrance
exams, no student who sat the
last entrance made a pass.
A resident of Sinkor Elijah Smith
said, the result pronounced by the
University of Liberia that ffteen
students passed is a testament of
the current education sector.
Smith said, the government is
doing little to invest in education
adding that the focus should be
on primary education.
Our schools are polluted,
students are buying grades from
teachers, teachers have sex with
the female students so these are
the problems, Smith said.
Smith further said: You can
bring all of the professors once
those students do not have a solid
academic foundation, it is just a
waste of time.
He said, the poor performance
of students is not just with the
U.L entrance adding that many
students also fail the West
African Examination Council
Exams.
Look people who are in
leadership in this country are
not serious when it comes to
education, they have set timeline
for election but have failed to
set a timeline for the reopening
of schools are these people
serious, Smith asked.
The U.L President ruled out
the holding of graduation in
December 2014 adding that
the reopening of the University
depends on how soon the issue
of Ebola is minimized in Liberia.
EBOLA SURVIVORS PRESIDENT WARNS AGAINST STIGMA
Monrovia-
T
he acting president
of Ebola survivors
in Liberia is warning
the public against
stigmatizing survivors in the
country.
In an exclusive interview
with FrontPageAfrica, Korlia
Bonarwolo said the issue of
stigma is on the increase and
warned that if the Public continues
to discriminate against Ebola
survivors, the situation will further
traumatize survivors, adding to the
one that they already experienced
at their various Ebola treatment
Units (ETU).
The survivors have gone through
a very traumatic period at the
various ETUs and only survived
by the grace of God because the
disease does not have a fxed
treatment. The issue of stigma is
increasing on a daily basis, said
Bonarwolo
Bonarwolo said people should look
at the good side of Ebola survivors.
He said he feels so bad being
stigmatized, saying it makes him
feel so pathetic because people
whom they have interacted with
before contracting Ebola now feels
afraid to interact with them.
Said Bonarwolo My message to
the public is that be receptive to
the survivors, you have to show
them love, you have to show them
care because they are already
traumatized, you know, with the
kind of stigma associated with this
condition, stigma which has to do
with the negative feeling that one
has about himself or from others,
so if you always have a negative
feelings about these people, it is
going to cause another problem for
them. So the only thing you can do
as a public is to show them love
show them care all of the necessary
support you can render to them I
advise you to do that than rejecting
them going away from them, being
afraid of them putting them outside
from their various homes
Bonarwolo acknowledged that
more than a hundred survivors in
the country, some of whom were
renting prior to contracting the
virus have been chased out and
some are facing rejection by their
family members.
I just want to tell them (public),
some are stigmatizing them based
on ignorance, if some could really
read and analyze well they should
open up to us rather than closing
us up and stigmatizing us they
need to get the encouragement
from us, why it is true that we are
being stigmatized, we will not rest,
we will continue to educate the
public, he also said.
I think the society should see
us as not harmful, we can be of
great service because we cannot
be infected with the strain of Ebola
again
In recent times, one Ebola survivor
says he has been threatened and
ostracized by his neighbors in the
old Matadi community.
According to Jerold Dennis, since
he was discharged from the ETU
at JFK last month and his return
to his home, people have reacted
cruelly to him.
I started experiencing headache,
my head was like burning, so I
made my way to JFK, we were like
8 persons in the same place seven
died and the next time they brought
six, four died and I alone survived
there so I got lot of experience
said Dennis
Although Dennis did not say how
he got infected but said he believes
he might have gotten it from a car,
which has created lot of confusions
from his neighbors who believe
that a person with Ebola should
died in a family to serve as a chain
of transmission, but nothing of
such has happened to Dennis and
most of all, he said the community
has received misinformation about
him that he bled before he was
taken for treatment.
For the community members
because of the misinformation they
carried that I was bleeding from all
parts of my body so people were
afraid of me some even said I was
dead and only my body was in the
house when the ambulance came
to pick me, said Dennis.
Dennis told FPA he believes when
people saw him on Television
spreading Ebola message and
praising God that he has survived
the torment, many people at that
moment are saying to him he was
lying he did not have the virus.
When the people saw me on TV
and I said I was a proud survivor of
Ebola and wanted to serve as peace
ambassador, to spread the message
out so that people who are still
denying it could believe, that was
the time they started taking it out
of context, some said I was lying,
some said I didnt have Ebola I
went I sat down somewhere and
paid for the document in fact what
hurts me a lot is for people to
tell me that I didnt have Ebola I
went to pay for document. In fact
my life has been threatened some
people have said they should have
burn me, I should have died at the
ETU
Dennis said, when he started
receiving some help from people
and institutions people who have
been stigmatizing him came
around and told him he did not
have Ebola it was because of those
gifts he is lying that he had Ebola.
Meanwhile, the ministry of health
and Social Welfare has warned
people to stop the stigma against
Ebola survivors adding they are
no longer harmful to the society
but it is still diffcult to for some
survivors to be seen as they were
before contracting the virus.


(L-R)Ebola survivals President Korlia Bonarwolo and
Ebola survivor Jerold Dennis
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Page 9
OBAMA UNDER
PRESSURE
Democrats Defy President in Favor of an Ebola Travel Ban
W
orried about the political fallout from the Ebola outbreak,
vulnerable Senate Democrats are declaring their support
for a U.S. travel ban from the afficted countries in west
Africa.
In multiple cases, the Democrats are shifting from their earlier positions
on the question, despite arguments from senior U.S. medical offcials
and the White House that stiff restrictions would only make it harder
to prevent an infected person from entering the country. Senator Jeanne
Shaheen of New Hampshire joined the crowd on Monday night, saying
through a spokesman that she "strongly supports any and all effective
measures to keep Americans safe including travel bans if they would
work." Shaheen said last week she didn't think a travel ban makes sense,
but she is facing heavy criticism from her Republican opponent, former
Senator Scott Brown, on the issue. Under pressure from Republicans,
Senator Kay Hagan came out in support of a ban late last week, and
Senators Mark Pryor and Mark Udall have also called for travel
restrictions.
The travel ban may well be a moot point by the time Congress has the
chance to do anything about it.
Even Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, a Democrat who is not in
a particularly close race, changed his stance on Monday
and said the government should "seriously consider" a ban.
The question has quickly become a classic pre-election litmus test in
that it may well be a moot point by the time Congress has the chance
to do anything about it. Several GOP lawmakers, including Senator
Marco Rubio of Florida, have announced plans to introduce legislation
when Congress returns to session, but that won't happen until the brief
lame-duck period a month from now. After that, the House and Senate
will break for nearly another month until the 114th Congress begins in
January.
Another key indicator that the calls are more political than policy-
focused? They are emanating much more loudly from candidates on the
campaign trail than from the party leaders on Capitol Hill.
Some lawmakers have also stumbled over the meaning of a travel ban.
There are currently no direct fights to the U.S. from Liberia, Sierra
Leone, and Guineathe three west African nations where the Ebola
outbreak is occurringso any restrictions would have to be enforced at
connecting airports in Europe. Traveler screenings have already been
implemented at fve U.S. airports, but they likely would have to be
continued anyway to catch passengers who fy to Europe, but do not
immediately transfer to a U.S.-bound fight.
With that in mind, as The New York Times noted Tuesday, GOP leaders
have subtly shifted their focus from an outright travel ban to demanding
tighter airport screenings and the creation of "no-fy" lists to make sure
people who have been exposed to Ebola do not board fights.
At heart, the wavering Democrats are simply trying to fnd another
way to distance themselves from the unpopular President Obama and
his administration's increasingly criticized response to Ebola. And on
this front, the president is not making it easy for them. Speaking to Al
Sharpton on the radio Monday, Obama called the Senate Democrats in
the toughest re-election races "strong allies and supporters" who had
"supported my agenda in Congress."
Obama's comments amount to a tightening of the leash on the run-away
members of his party.As David A. Graham has argued, they may well
be a deliberate attempt to drive up turnout among the liberal Democratic
base, particularly considering Sharpton's likely audience. But if so, the
comments don't appear to be coordinated with senators like Hagan,
Pryor, and Mark Begich. They continue to sprint as fast away from the
president as possible, with the Ebola travel ban serving as just the latest
example.
IN EBOLA FIGHT, CUBA FLEXES
MEDICAL DIPLOMACY MUSCLE
Havana, Cuba (CNN) --
I
n all likelihood, the 91
Cuban health workers
heading to West Africa on
Tuesday will face the most
perilous assignment of their
careers.
They are joining 165 of their
colleagues already working in
the region to halt the spread of
Ebola.
Although Cuban government
offcials say the majority of the
health workers being sent to West
Africa are veterans of previous
tough postings, the risks that
Ebola presents are unique.
"This is the biggest challenge
I have ever faced in my life,
it's a very dangerous disease,"
said Dr. Osmany Rodriguez, a
Cuban who completed previous
assignments in Zimbabwe and
Venezuela. Rodriguez said he
will soon be sent to treat people
suffering from Ebola in either
Liberia or Guinea.
"My family, they are a bit
worried but they know I will be
taking care of everything. They
will trust in my daily habits and
routines in order to avoid the
disease," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez spoke to CNN as
he trained at the Pedro Kouri
Institute for Tropical Diseases in
Havana, where health workers
are drilled by instructors
provided by the World Health
Organization on how to put
on and take off seven different
layers of clothing that provide
protection from the epidemic.
"The important thing is to save
lives," said Dr. Jorge Perez Avila,
the institute's director. "Why are
Cubans going to Africa? To save
lives."
Cuban medical diplomacy is
as old as the revolution that
frst brought the Castros to
power, but its motivation is not
purely altruistic. Sending health
workers abroad boosts the image
of a country whose human rights
record is criticized. And in some
cases, as with a program that
sent thousands of Cuban doctors
to Venezuela, the island gets paid
back in trade, such as oil.
Cuba's Ebola efforts have
already raised discussion about
how it compares to what the
United States is providing.
"While the United States and
several other wealthy countries
have been happy to pledge
funds, only Cuba and a few
nongovernmental organizations
are offering what is most
needed: medical professionals in
the feld," the New York Times
opined in an editorial.
"It is a shame that Washington,
the chief donor in the fght
against Ebola, is diplomatically
estranged from Havana, the
boldest contributor. In this
case the schism has life-or-
death consequences, because
American and Cuban offcials
are not equipped to coordinate
global efforts at a high level," the
editorial continues.
Cuba's health care system was
degraded by the collapse of the
Soviet Union in the early '90s. In
recent years, the government has
sent health workers to Venezuela
and Brazil, in exchange for badly
needed hard currency and oil.
Those programs make up one of
the largest sources of income for
the island.
Still, the island continues to post
health care workers to other
developing nations and even
before the Ebola crisis began,
had over 4,000 doctors, nurses
and technicians stationed in
Africa.
"Our principle has been to share
what we have and not to give
what we don't," Perez said.
The Cuban health workers will
work in West Africa for at least
six months. If they themselves
become infected, they have
agreed not to be repatriated to
Cuba for treatment, to avoid
spreading the illness further.
On Monday, at an emergency
summit in Havana of
representatives from 12 Latin
American and Caribbean
countries, Cuban President Raul
Castro said the danger presented
by Ebola transcends borders and
politics.
"We should try to avoid the
politicization of this grave
problem, which distracts us
from the fundamental objective:
helping to stop the epidemic in
Africa and stop it from spreading
to other regions," he said.
In a rare conciliatory gesture
to the U.S. government, which
Cuban offcials typically deride
as an imperialist power intent on
wrecking the island's economy,
Castro said the fght against
Ebola should unite the two
governments.
"Cuba is willing to work elbow-
to-elbow with all countries,"
Castro said. "Including the U.S."
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro
also penned an editorial in the
state-run newspaper this week,
offering to "gladly cooperate
with American personnel on this
task" of fghting Ebola.
In a similar gesture in 2005,
Cuba offered to send a team of
doctors to aid in the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina. The U.S.
government ignored the request.
Possibly signaling that it
recognized the boost Cuba
gains from medical diplomacy,
the U.S. government in 2006
announced a program to entice
Cuban doctors to defect. The
Cuban Medical Professional
Parole Program allows Cuban
health professional working in a
third country at the behest of the
Cuban government to defect to
the United States.
While so far not accepting the
Cuban offer to cooperate in the
fght against Ebola, US offcials
have also praised the Communist
government's efforts to stop the
epidemic.
"Already we are seeing nations
large and small stepping up
in impressive ways to make a
contribution on the frontlines.
Cuba, a country of just 11
million people, has sent 165
health professionals and it plans
to send nearly 300 more," U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry
said on Friday.
The United States has pledged
some 4,000 military personnel
to assist with the fght against the
disease in Africa, although the
troops are not expected to treat
people suffering from Ebola.
While help continues to pour in
from around the world to West
African countries reeling from
the epidemic, the most basic
need is doctors and nurses who
can treat Ebola patients without
falling ill themselves, health
offcials said.
"There is a lack of human
resources, so it has been a
major contribution," said Dr.
Jose Luis Di Fabio, the WHO's
representative in Havana, who is
coordinating the training of the
Cuban health workers.
"You have to identify patients,
diagnose patients and treat
patients. If you don't have the
human resources to do that, you
don't have anything," he said.
"Human resources in Africa is
the major thing that's lacking."
Nurse Carlos Garcia Hernandez
is one of the Cuban health
workers training to fght Ebola.
He volunteered, he said, because
if Ebola isn't stopped in West
Africa, it will continue to spread
to other countries.
"If it could show up it in
developed countries like the
U.S. and Spain, it can show up in
undeveloped countries, too. Our
families are at risk as well," he
said.
US TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
Washington -
A
s part of the U.S.
Department of
Homeland Securitys
ongoing response
to prevent the spread of Ebola
to the United States, it has been
announced that travel restrictions
in the form of additional
screening and protective
measures at our ports of entry
for travelers from the three West
African Ebola-affected countries.
These new measures will go into
effect tomorrow.
Last week, with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
DHS implemented enhanced
screening measures at fve
airports around the country
New Yorks JFK, Newark,
Dulles, Atlanta and Chicago.
In a statement Tuesday, on Travel
Restrictions and Protective
Measures to Prevent the Spread
of Ebola to the United States,
Homeland Security Secretary
Jeh Johnson said Passengers
fying into one of these airports
from fights originating in
Liberia, Sierra Leone and
Guinea will now be subject to
secondary screening and added
protocols, including having their
temperature taken, before they
can be admitted into the United
States. These airports account
for about 94 percent of travelers
fying to the United States from
these countries. At present
there are no direct, non-stop
commercial fights from Liberia,
Sierra Leone or Guinea to any
airport in the United States.
The Secretary continued:
Today, I am announcing that all
passengers arriving in the United
States whose travel originates in
Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea
will be required to fy into one
of the fve airports that have
the enhanced screening and
additional resources in place.
We are working closely with
the airlines to implement these
restrictions with minimal travel
disruption. If not already handled
by the airlines, the few impacted
travelers should contact the
airlines for rebooking, as
needed.
Secretary Johnson added that
the U.S. have in place measures
to identify and screen anyone
at all land, sea and air ports
of entry into the United States
and who we have reason to
believe has been present in
Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea
in the preceding 21 days.
Yesterday I had a conference
call with our CBP offcers at
the fve enhanced screening
airports. I was impressed by
their professionalism, and their
training and preparation for the
enhanced screening. I reminded
our CBP offcers to be vigilant
in their efforts, and encouraged
them to set a calm example for an
American public nervous about
Ebola. I thanked these men and
women for their service. We are
continually evaluating whether
additional restrictions or added
screening and precautionary
measures are necessary to protect
the American people and will act
accordingly.
Additional Protective Measures to Prevent the Spread of Ebola to the United States Goes into Effect

Page 10 |
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
IN BRIEF
POLAND'S SIKORSKI
UNDER FIRE OVER
RUSSIA INTERVIEW


WARSAW, Poland (AP)
A
former Polish
foreign minister
came under fre
Tuesday from the
prime minister and political
opponents over a U.S. magazine
interview in which he allegedly
said Russia's president offered
Poland the opportunity to jointly
carve up Ukraine in 2008.
Radek Sikorski, now the
parliamentary speaker, was
quoted as saying in Sunday's
issue of Politico Magazine that
Russian President Vladimir
Putin "wanted us to become
participants in this partition of
Ukraine."
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry
Peskov, described Sikorski's
comments as a "fable."
F
RONT
PAGE
WORLD NEWS
INDIA WARNS PAKISTAN
OF MORE PAIN IN
KASHMIR FIGHTING
WHO: EBOLA VACCINE
TRIALS IN W. AFRICA
IN JANUARY
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -
I
ndia warned Pakistan on
Tuesday of more "pain"
if it continued to violate a
ceasefre on their disputed
border in Kashmir and said it
was up to Islamabad to create
the conditions for a resumption
of peace talks.
The two sides exchanged
mortars and intense gunfre
this month, killing at least 20
civilians and wounding dozens
in the worst violation to date
of a 2003 ceasefre. While
the fring has abated, tension
remains high along a 200-km
(125-mile) stretch of the border
dividing the nuclear-armed
rivals.
GENEVA (AP)
T
ens of thousands of
doses of experimental
Ebola vaccines could
be available for "real-
world" testing in West Africa as
soon as January as long as they
are deemed safe, a top World
Health Organization offcial said
Tuesday.
Dr Marie Paule Kieny, an
assistant director general for
WHO, said clinical trials that are
either underway or planned in
Europe, Africa and the U.S. are
expected to produce preliminary
safety data on two vaccines by
December.
If the vaccines are declared safe,
she said they will be used in
trials in West Africa beginning in
January to test their effectiveness
among tens of thousands but
not millions of people.
IN ZIMBABWE, ANOTHER MUGABE
SEEKS THE PRESIDENCY
P
resident Robert
Mugabes wife Grace
Mugabehas begun
swiftly and in earnest
to succeed her husband as
leader of Zimbabwe, and in the
past two months she has been
using the budget and the jets
and helicopters of her husband
to travel up and down the
country in a charm offensive
to rally support.
Ms. Mugabe, 40 years junior
to her husband, is seeking to
position herself as a second
vice-president of Zimbabwe
ready to take control should
President Mugabe, who turns
91 this year, step down or pass
away. Mr. Mugabe has been in
offce for nearly three decades.
But the frst lady faces stiff
resistance from the president's
fellow liberation-struggle
cadres, who have elbowed
each other for power for
years especially current frst
Vice President Joice Mujuru,
considered a prime successor.
Two months ago Ms. Mugabe
was nominated as head of the
womens wing of the ruling
Zimbabwe African National
Union (ZANU) Patriotic Front
BLADE RUNNER SENTENCED
PRETORIA (Reuters) -
O
lympic and
Paralympic
sprinter Oscar
Pistorius was
sentenced to fve years in prison
on Tuesday for killing his
girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp,
ending a trial that has gripped
South Africa and the world.
As judge Thokozile Masipa
read out her decision on
Pistorius' Sept. 12 culpable
homicide conviction, the
27-year-old, whose downfall
has been likened to that of
American football star O.J.
Simpson, stood resolutely in
the dock.
His only reaction was to wipe
his eyes before two police
offcers led him down to the
holding cells beneath the High
Court in the heart of the South
African capital. An armoured
police vehicle took him from
the court building.
Masipa -- only the second
black woman to rise to the
bench -- stressed the diffculty
of arriving at a decision that
was "fair and just to society
and to the accused".
The 67-year-old also rebuffed
suggestions that Pistorius -- a
wealthy and infuential white
man -- might be able to secure
preferential justice despite the
"equality before law" guarantee
enshrined in South Africa's
post-apartheid constitution.
"It would be a sad day for this
country if an impression were
created that there is one law for
the poor and disadvantaged,
and one law for the rich and
famous," she said.
Steenkamp, a 29-year-old
law graduate and model, died
almost instantly on Valentine's
Day last year when Pistorius
shot her three times through a
locked toilet door at his luxury
Pretoria home.
The athlete maintained that
he fred in the mistaken belief
an intruder was hiding behind
the door, a defence that struck
a chord in a country with one
of the world's highest rates of
violent crime.
The ruling African National
Congress' Women's League,
which is at the forefront of
political efforts to tackle
violence against South African
women, immediately called
for an appeal by the state
against the culpable homicide
conviction.
However, Steenkamp's family
said it was satisfed.
"Justice was served," family
lawyer Dup De Bruyn told
reporters outside the court.
The judge had given "the right
sentence", he said.
SOUTH AFRICA'S "DARK
AGES" GONE
With no minimum sentence
for culpable homicide,
South Africa's equivalent
of manslaughter, Pistorius
could have been punished
with a period of house arrest
combined with community
service.
Before the decision, protesters
picketed against Pistorius
outside the court, a sign of the
anger that might have ensued
and the damage that might
have been done to the much-
criticised judicial system if the
sentence was seen as too light.
"Why are certain offenders
more equal than others
before the law?" said one
demonstrator, Golden Miles
Bhudu, who stood on the
pavement in orange prison
garb and wrapped in chains.
However, Masipa pointed to
the moral and philosophical
changes South Africa has
undergone since the election
of Nelson Mandela in 1994
and the end of white-minority
apartheid rule, saying the "eye-
for-an-eye" principle no longer
applied and courts did not
dispense mob justice.
"As a country we have moved
on from the dark ages," she
said. "Society cannot always
get what they want because
courts do not exist to win
popularity contests."
Pistorius' defence lawyer,
Barry Roux, said he expected
the jailed athlete to serve only
10 months of the fve-year
sentence behind bars, and the
remainder under house arrest.
However, South Africa's state
prosecuting authority disputed
this, saying Pistorius was
likely to serve at least a third
of his sentence in prison --
effectively 20 months.
On a separate frearms charge
for which Pistorius was also
found guilty, Masipa gave
him a three-year suspended
sentence.
The athlete, known as "Blade
Runner" because of his carbon-
fbre prosthetics, became one
of the biggest names in world
athletics at the London 2012
Olympics when he reached the
semifnals of the 400m race
against able-bodied athletes.
(PF). Shes since used the
spot to court church leaders,
traditional chiefs, and youth
often hosting them in lavish
parties at the plush family
estate in Mazowe, a small town
just north of the capital, Harare.
Recommended: Think you
know Africa? Take our
geography quiz.
Mr. Mugabe has been ailing
and has traveled to a number
of overseas medical facilities.
Hes rumored to possibly step
down prior to 2018 when his
term ends. He has hinted he
may retire from the ZANU
PF party leadership, though
hes accepted the nomination
to lead the party congress in
December.
Under Zimbabwes new
constitution, that congress is
where Grace Mugabe would
need to become second in
command to her husband in
order to then snatch the top job.
Ms. Mugabe has shown herself
willing to take on the same kind
of tough approach to politics
that her husband is known for.
She recently told a gathering
that she was ready to spill
blood in defense of the vast
empire grabbed from white
farmers during the chaotic land
reform that started in 2000.
But she also has dramatic and
chilling claims about a variety
of issues and people. She once
suggested a role in the apparent
suicide of a journalist named
Heidi Holland who wrote a
critical book on her husband.
SPLITTING THE PARTY?
Until recently the fercest
political fght in Zimbabwe
was between incumbent Vice
President Mujuru and the
Justice Minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa. Both are veterans
of the guerrilla wars that
toppled the colonial regime of
the former Prime Minister Ian
Douglas Smith in 1980. But
that rivalry has changed with
the arrival of Grace, who says
she seeks a higher post.
In a packed schedule of Meet
the People travels since this
summer, widely and somewhat
uncritically covered in the
press, Ms. Mugabe has called
for Mujuru to step aside and
has characterized the vice
president as jealous and
dishonest. She said Mujuru,
a liberation war veteran, was
just staying there and doing
nothing while Mugabe works
for you [the people].
But Ms. Mugabe has also been
Pistorius jailed for fve years for killing girlfriend Steenkamp

an equal opportunity rhetorical
aggressor: She has made veiled
attacks on Mugabes long time
ally and ZANU PF secretary
for administration, Didymus
Mutasa, a close ally of Mujuru
in the Mugabe succession
matrix.
But she does have critics who
openly speak out against her.
In a column titled I beg your
pardon Grace in the Masvingo
Mirror newspaper, war veteran
and former top soldier Kudzai
Mbudzi writes: Amai [First
Lady] seems to me too
individualistic, immature,
and purely opportunistic We
are looking for a leadership to
propel the country into an orbit
of sustainable competitiveness
and economic prosperity after
periods of economic decay.
Political activist, Blessing
Vava, says Ms. Mugabe is a
pawn being used to split the
current successor away: I
think Grace is not necessarily
her own person, however she
will be a very important factor
because of her proximity to
president Mugabe. She is just
being used to destroy Mujuru.
Mujuru will take it lying for
as long as president Mugabe is
alive unless she wants to split
the party.
Frontpage
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Page 11
Sports
SPORTS
VAN GAAL: CHELSEA AND
MANCHESTER CITY ON
ANOTHER LEVEL TO UNITED
SUNDERLAND OFFER
FANS REFUND AFTER
SOUTHAMPTON MAULING
SHAW: MANCHESTER UNITED
YET TO SEE THE BEST OF ME
L
ouis van Gaal has
bemoaned his start
to life as Manchester
United manager,
admitting there is a big gap
between his side and Premier
League favourites Chelsea and
Manchester City.
United twice battled back from
behind to rescue a 2-2 draw
against West Brom on Monday
as they failed to secure the
three points that would have
carried them up into the top
four.
And with Chelsea, whom
United face next in Sunday's
crunch clash at Old Trafford,
now 10 points ahead of Van
Gaal's side at the top of the
table, the Dutchman says that
the Red Devils have not been
good enough.
S
underland players have
offered a ticket refund
to fans who travelled
to see Saturday's 8-0
loss toSouthampton.
Visiting supporters made more
than a 600-mile round trip for
the game, with the Black Cats
becoming only the sixth side in
Premier League history to be
beaten by eight goals or more.
"Sunderland's players have
today offered to refund
supporters the cost of their
match tickets, as well as
supporting a local charity,
following Saturday's defeat
to Southampton," an offcial
statement read.
L
uke Shaw has
conceded he is yet to
hit top form following
his big-money move
to Manchester United during
the summer.
The 19-year-old left-back
arrived at Old Trafford in
a 39 million deal from
Southampton, but ftness
problems have limited him to
just three appearances.
Shaw's stellar performances
last term earned him a spot in
England's World Cup squad,
though he was recently dropped
to the Under-21 set-up, but
remains confdent he will prove
his potential under Louis van
Gaal.

BARCELONA 3-1 AJAX: MESSI LEADS
BLAUGRANA PAST DUTCH CHAMPIONS



N
eymar and
Lionel Messi
helped
Barcelona get
their Champions League
campaign back on track with
a 3-1 win over Ajax at Camp
Nou.
The star forward duo have
now both scored in each of
Barca's past fve matches
and Neymar gladly accepted
a pass from his partner in
crime to net an early opener
on Tuesday.
Messi doubled the advantage
in the 24th minute - his ninth
goal of the season - and the
prospect of Luis Enrique's
team bouncing back from
their surprise 3-2 loss at Paris
Saint-Germain last time out
in the Champions League
was rarely in doubt until
substitute Anwar El Ghazi
struck in the 88th minute to
set up a tense fnale.
Ajax pressed for an
equaliser, allowing Neymar's
replacement Sandro to seal
the points on the break.
Barcelona can now look
ahead to Saturday's eagerly
anticipated La Liga
showdown with Real Madrid
- where Luis Enrique will
fnally have the enviable
option of combining Luis
Suarez with Neymar and
Messi in a formidable
attacking trio.
Ajax - now without a win
in nine away matches in
Europe's premier club
competition - handed a frst
Champions League start to
left winger Ricardo Kishna,
while Barcelona again
selected Marc-Andre ter
Stegen for European action
despite the goalkeeper's
shaky showing in Paris.
Messi started the night three
goals shy of Raul's all-time
record of 71 Champions
League goals, but the
mercurial Argentine played
the role of provider in the
seventh minute.
Some slick one-touch play
from Barca allowed Messi to
drive at the Ajax defence and
thread a perfectly-weighted
pass into the path of Neymar,
The Argentine set Neymar up for the opener before netting himself after latching onto a fne
through-ball from Andres Iniesta, while Sandro sealed victory for the Catalans late on
who passed the ball home
frst-time.
Messi snatched at an opening
of his own four minutes
later but he made no mistake
midway through the half,
just as Ajax appeared to be
growing into the contest.
Niki Zimling struck an
aimless pass into midfeld
and Andres Iniesta needed
little invitation to thread a
trademark through-ball to
Messi, whose shot squeezed
home despite goalkeeper
Jasper Cillessens best efforts.
That goal forced Ajax into the
unenviable position of having
to chase Barca, and the
visitors were almost picked
off on the break after 29
minutes when Messi found
Pedro, the Spain international
shooting against the base of
the right-hand post.
Iniesta sauntered through the
Ajax defence six minutes
before half-time, only for
Cillessen to deny him, and
Ajax almost had a lifeline
before the break when
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's shot
spun wide having taken a
defection off Gerard Pique.
Barcelona resumed on the
front foot and Messi prodded
the ball into the net from
an offside position when
Cillessen parried Pedro's
well-stuck 49th-minute drive,
before the Barca talisman
weaved through several
challenges to shoot into the
side netting.
Ricardo van Rhijn then sent
a low effort narrowly wide
from Lasse Schone's pass and
Ajax were offered another
moment of encouragement in
the 63rd minute when Pique
nervously sliced a left-wing
cross from Arkadiusz Milik
onto the roof of his own net.
Either side of that scare,
Neymar and Messi departed
to standing ovations but
Barcelona appeared to shift
focus to their weekend
engagement as they closed
the match in disjointed
fashion.
El Ghazi bundled the ball
home from close range and
then Jordi Alba was forced
into a desperate challenge
to stop the teenage winger
from levelling matters, before
Sandro scored his vital third
goal of the season in stoppage
time.
Sports
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CHELSEA 6-0 MARIBOR: DROGBA
& HAZARD STRIKE IN BLUES ROMP
D
idier Drogba scored his frst goal for
Chelsea since the 2012 Champions
League fnal as the Blues thrashed
Maribor 6-0 at Stamford Bridge on
Tuesday.
The veteran striker, who netted with both a late
equaliser and the deciding penalty versus Bayern
Munich in Germany two-and-a-half years ago,
obliged from the spot again in a welcome easy
win.
Chelsea had begun their European campaign with
a lacklustre draw against Schalke and a hard-
fought victory at Sporting Lisbon, but they are
now frmly on course to top their group for the
ninth time in 12 seasons.
The one negative on a comfortable night for Jose
Mourinho's side was a groin injury suffered by
opening scorer Loic Remy.
With Diego Costa nursing a hamstring problem,
the Premier League leaders could now be short
of attacking options for Sunday's domestic trip to
Manchester United.
Maribor were unbeaten in eight Champions
League games this term prior to this, including a
win at Celtic and two draws in Group G, but they
were outclassed by Chelsea's slick passing and
movement on this occasion.
Captain John Terry also netted for the hosts and
Eden Hazard scored a late double, while the
visitors' misery was compounded by an own goal
from Mitja Viler and a missed spot-kick by Agim
Ibraimi.
Petr Cech enjoyed his second start of the season,
with Thibaut Courtois rested on the bench
alongside Gary Cahill, as Kurt Zouma also came
in.
Filipe Luis featured at left-back in front Cesar
Azpilicueta sent off against Crystal Palace on
Saturday - with Remy up front as Costa and Andre
Schurrle missed out through injury and illness.
Chelsea survived an early scare when Damjan
Bohar headed over from a Viler cross, but they
were in front after 13 minutes
when Remy latched onto a
through ball from Terry, cut inside
and clinically found the bottom-
right corner of the net.
However, the France forward
suffered a groin injury in making
that shot and had to be replaced by
Drogba, who doubled Chelsea's
advantage when sending the
goalkeeper the wrong way with a
23rd minute spot-kick after Ales
Mertelj was somewhat harshly
penalised for handball.
It was three on the half-hour
mark as Chelsea broke away from
defending a corner and a superb
move involving Hazard and Cesc
Fabregas was rather surprisingly
fnished off by Terry at the far
post.
The fourth came nine minutes into
the second period when Filipe
caused havoc by surging down
the left and his cross was cut back
by Hazard, before defecting into
the net off Viler for an own goal.
Maribor were offered a chance
to hit back when Nemanja Matic
bundled over Ibraimi in the box,
but the striker then hit the post
with his penalty.
England youth international
Dominic Solanke was given his
Chelsea debut shortly after his
17th birthday when replacing
Oscar.
Willian hit the crossbar with a
thunderous long-range strike
before Branislav Ivanovic went
down in the area and this time
Hazard coolly slotted home from
the spot.
The Belgium international then
put the icing on the cake in the
90th minute when racing onto
a long throughball from Nathan
Ake before fring in his second
and Chelsea's sixth.