MONROVIA – Liberia Conservation Works (CW), alongside the Liberia National Tourism Association (LINTA) and the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism (MICAT), formally launched the Market Readiness Program on March 19, 2024 in Monrovia.

In the engaging launch event at the Royal Grand Hotel, attendees had the opportunity to network with fellow program participants and esteemed stakeholders while listening to insightful talks from representatives of the program’s partners.

The Market Readiness Program provides training and mentorship designed to prepare small tourism businesses to be “market ready” for visitors eager to explore unique accommodations and tourism experiences across Liberia.

 The modules of this technical assistance program provide tailored support to selected businesses to understand their target markets, price their accommodation, product, or service, improve their marketing and internet presence, manage bookings, respond to reviews, connect with tour operators, and more.

 The program is available to small tourism businesses in Liberia that offer tours, accommodation, food, and other tourism services to visitors. Following the launch event, selected businesses will participate in a one-day training and receive three in-person visits from a Program Specialist.

The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Director for Economic Growth, Megan Kyles, expressed support for the Market Readiness Program, sharing the belief that “private businesses are the engine for economic prosperity and the potential for sustainable tourism in Liberia will accelerate growth especially for rural communities.” The Director of Tourism, Juanita Yiah, also spoke at the launch event on behalf of the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism.

She noted that “the Government prioritizes tourism as one of the key pillars of its agenda for transformation and economic development. Building the capacity of local businesses is a major step in the right direction.” She continued on to say that “the Ministry stands ready and prepared to support the partnership with Conservation Works and USAID.”

The launch event, and the subsequent programming, is supported by USAID through its CW activity, a five-year program that supports conservation efforts in Liberia. The program is being implemented by EcoHealth Alliance, in partnership with Fauna & Flora, Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue & Protection, Partners in Development, and Solimar International.

Late last year, Boima Kamara, Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) admitted on a local radio talk show that the country has plunged into recession.

He noted the weakness and undervalue of the Liberian dollar, high prices of basic local commodities and the drop in international trade as upshot of the collapse. However, he was optimistic that policies and strategies being devised by his Ministry and relevant agencies would obviously change the course. I believed him!

While I emphaticize the dirge of Liberians currently facing increase in taxes on commodities such as water, alcoholic beverages, etc., as part of government’s tactics to mitigate the economic down trend, let me opine that these policy measures are genuinely intended to stabilize the Liberian economy.

When customs and international trade are challenged by geo-economic, technological, social and political factors, domestic taxation is the way to go. This is why I think the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) should expand its tax horizon and revenue scouting into other sectors, Power and Electricity for instance.

After 26 years of darkness, Liberia cut the ribbon of a revitalized Hydro Dam in Mount Coffee, Montserrado County on December 15, 2016.

Speaking on behalf of the Liberian government, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICAT) Eugene Nagbe, expounded that the refurbished Hydro Plant was a fulfillment of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s commitment to Liberia’s development agenda festooned in her campaign promises of 2005 and 2011.

Though some say the “Small Light Today Big Light Tomorrow” realization is tardy, many Liberians are gleeful but cautiously hopeful or perhaps cynical that power generated from ‘the Hydro’ will be aptly managed by the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC). This is so because of their past problematic experiences with the LEC. But the LEC quagmire will be left for another day!

As a consequence of the weedy institutionalized, ineptly regulated and unethically distributed power supply across Liberia, ordinary Liberians with capital have since engaged in private power and electricity sales. What is quite captivating is that these transactions are typically illegal.

Contrary to Liberia’s revenue regime which requires that a 10 % tax is levied on payment for the acquisition of an investment asset in Liberia, these private citizens purchase huge generators in their communities, supplying neighbors with electricity or what has come to be known as “Community Current” at costs often ranging from US$40 to US$50 per ampere.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is habitually unpaid in these instances thus contravening provisions of the Revenue Code of Liberia which further requires that Service Tax payable on a supply of taxable services is to be accounted for by the registered service provider making the supply. While the code says, “registered service providers”, most of the “community current” providers are not registered.

Low grade electrical appliances and cheap wires bought from local vendors are often stretched from one generator house to the other, mostly across homes in densely populated communities and are usually installed by unlicensed, unprofessional and unsophisticated individuals.

The hazards associated with these illegal practices are usually unheeded due to ‘necessity’ or ‘love’ for electricity. Besides, it has become a generally accepted Liberian reality that for many years, LEC power supply has not reached ordinary communities. So why waste time waiting anyway?

Arguably, millions and thousands of United States and Liberian dollars are generated annually by these illegal, unregistered and unregulated power and electricity suppliers with no regards to relevant government institutions such as the Liberia Business Registry (LBR), LRA and LEC. 

This begs the question. Does anybody seriously think or believe that private citizens who are involved in power sales in different communities in Monrovia or Liberia at large pay taxes to the Liberian government?

Since the generators owned by these private citizens are solely for economic purposes evident by the sale of power in communities, it is required by the laws of Liberia that such individuals duly register those equipment with the LBR as legal businesses and obtain Tax Payer Identification Numbers (TIN) from the LRA so as to place them into the tax net and enable them pay their fair share of taxes. LEC should devise ways, means and strategies to regulate these power and electricity suppliers.

It is high time LBR, LEC and LRA team up with the view to derive a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will regulate private citizens supplying power and electricity, as well as enforce compliance with relevant commerce and tax laws that will see them pay their fair share of taxes.

This could be a wet spot for domestic revenue generation that would aid in soothing our crumbling economy and also serve as a measure to avert the potential undermining of our revitalized Hydro. Or there will be no day that Liberians will see light, whether big or small!

Learsi Aynebil Alis, Contributing Writer
Philadelphia, USA

Monrovia – Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe has described the Political Leader of the All Liberian Party (ALP) Benoni Urey as a coward, who lacks the capacity to disturb the peace in Liberia.

Report by Edwin G. Genoway, Jr – edwin.genoway@frontpageonline.com

Minutes after the closure of LIB24, a local radio Station owned by Mr. Urey, the ALP political leader urged Liberians not to vote back in office the entire Unity Party team, describing them as criminals.

Urey noted that he will do everything legally possible for the re-opening of his Radio station. He described the closing of his radio station as crackdown and muzzling of free speech and the press.

“We will do everything within the confines of the law to ensure that our constitutional rights are protected. We will resist any draconian attempt by this government to further muzzle the free press in the hope of advancing their 2017 political agenda,” he said.

He also wrote on his Facebook page that enough is enough, saying, Liberians have been patient and have played their part in ensuring that there is peace and stability in Liberia.

“I, Benoni Urey, say enough is enough. We have been patient; we have played our part in ensuring that there is peace and stability in Liberia, we will do everything within the confines of the law to ensure that our constitutional rights are protected. We will resist any draconian attempt by this government to further muzzle the free press in the hope of advancing their 2017 political agenda,” he wrote.

He also described the closing of his station as government way of going after opposition bloc.

”We know what they are doing, they only one to silence the opposition bloc, but my fellow Liberians, come 2017 let vote those rogues out, fellow Liberians, instead of our national security apparatus working to curb the alarming rate of armed robbery in the country, which has become a nightmare for our citizens, they spent their time at a meeting to plot on how to crackdown on freedom of speech, yet again”, said Urey.

He furthered wrote:  “The government shut down my radio station, LIB24 FM, under heavy ERU Police and NSA presence, we all know that the real reason for the shutdown of both Voice and LIB24 TV & FM is not because of its failure to comply with requirements, but because of our critical stance against the government on National issues,” he wrote.

He noted that the closure of his station brings back fresh memories of previous elections.

“In 2011, when I openly supported CDC in the Presidentsial elections and allowed my institution to be a voice of the opposition, the same station was bombed by pro-government agents,” he noted.

But the Liberian government reacting to Mr. Urey’s allegations, the Minister of Information Nagbe challenged Mr. Urey to disturb the country’s peace if he (Urey) claims that he has such capacity.

“some of us know that Urey is a coward who does not have the capacity to disturb the peace of Liberia, he will only say it to those who do not know him, where was him when the guns were firing in Gbarnga, he was nowhere, but I challenge Urey to disturb this peace,” he noted.

Speaking on a local radio Talk Show on Prime FM, Minister Nagbe commented on the closure of LIB24 saying the management of the station was in awareness of a process to force compliance and settle fees owed government over the past five years.

The Minister however denied that the station was closed owing to the fact that it hosted the Costa Show of Controversial Talk Show Host Henry Costa.

Minister Nagbe explained that the Management of LIB24 used Mr. Costa as a collateral damage for a purpose of what he calls human shielding.

He said the transfer of name from Love FM to LIB24 was illegal, without an amendment of article of incorporation an assumption of liability for Love FM.

Monrovia – The spree of shutting media institutions by the Government of Liberia under the guise of failure to pay taxes continues unabated as two more media institutions have been shut down following the closure of Voice FM recently.

“Enough is enough—this is muzzling of the free press, because of critical stance on issues, Lib 24 on 105 FM and shata FM were shut down today by heavy police presence. We will do everything within the confines of the law to ensure that our rights are protected”-Benoni Urey, political leader, All Liberian Party and owner of Lib 24 and Shata FM

On Saturday, officers from the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) of the Liberian National Police barricaded the premises of LIB 24 radio on 10^th Street in Sinkor as the station was shut down. The radio station owned by opposition politician Benoni Urey was shut down along with its affiliate Shata FM located in rural Montserrado County.

While the Government used such large number of police to effect a court order when there was no indication of resistance to require force remains to be known but Urey later held a press conference where he displayed copies of tax payment receipts issued by the Liberia Revenue Authority.

The shutting down of the two media institutions Saturday comes in the wake of similar occurrence about a month ago when Voice FM was also shut down based on a petition through the court from the Liberia Telecommunications Authority against the operations of the station.

“Look at all these papers, we have been paying all our taxes and we even paid for the annual application fee to the Ministry of Information, so this is about muzzling the press, the Minister of Information is Secretary General of the ruling Unity party and is closing down media institutions owed by opposition”, said Urey.

He says Information Eugene Nagbe serving as Information Minister and Secretary General of the ruling party means he will use his position in government to suppress opposition institutions for undue advantage to the ruling party.

“This is why we saw the shameless violation of the Code of Conduct which was encouraged and condoned by President Sirleaf and the Unity Party”, said Urey.

Urey said it is unthinkable for his media institutions to be held over payment of taxes, expressing that he has been patience for long over what he is describing as the draconian attempt by the government to silence the critical media in order to push its agenda in 2017.

“Enough is enough, I have been patience but will do everything within the confines of the law to ensure that our rights are protected”, said Urey.

According to the presidential hopeful, the closure of critical media institutions that are exposing corruption and other ills in the Liberian society is an indication that the opposition will be given unfair treatment.

Manipulation of lawmakers

Urey also said there are glaring evidence that the President is manipulating lawmakers to remove Speaker Alex J. Tyler by giving money to lawmakers.

“There is evidence as many lawmakers have spoken that bribe is being paid by the Executive to remove Speaker Tyler, even the speaker has said that, we are urging lawmakers to respect the law”, he added.

Urey wants President Sirleaf whom he said has failed over the years to develop key areas to now use the remaining time of her regime to fight corruption and provide basic services to the Liberian people including education, health care, strengthening the economy, amongst others.

The ALP political leader says Liberians are dying due to the poor health care delivery system with the John F. Kennedy medical Hospital being poorly managed.

Chasing Costa?

LIB 24 was closed shortly after popular talk show host Henry Costa began broadcasting on the station.

Costa whose popular radio program, the Costa Show which was aired on Voice FM has been off the air due to the closure of the station took to LIB 24 further airing his critical talk show.

In one of his recent shows on LIB 24, Costa identified individuals whom he said are the mystery Big Bog 1 and Big Boy 2, all codenamed in a Global Witness report that is now a subject of criminal indictment against several individuals in Liberia.

Costa was the owner of Voice FM which was shut down and a court proceeding is now taking place.

The State is claiming that Voice FM has been operating illegally prior to its closure but the shutting down of LIB 24 weeks after Costa began broadcasting his talk show is raising concerns that the government could be going after the talk show host for his stance against many issues in the country.

During the protest against the closure of Voce FM Costa vowed that closure of Voice FM will not silence him, promising that his talks] show will still be on the air to enlighten the Liberian people.

Now that LIB 24 has been closed down, the big question is where next for the Costa show but Urey hinted that online radio is another option.

Not many ordinary Liberians use the internet but in the urban cities like Monrovia, there are growing number of internet users due to the low cost of internet as a result of offers from the GSM service providers.

One source told FPA that Urey has failed to pay his license fees and taxes since 2009.

“He got two invoices Feb and April. He switched corporations to avoid taxes but you can’t transfer license except with LTA approval”, the source said.

It can be recalled that in 2015 the Liberia Revenue Authority using a court order shut down Love FM for reported failure to pay taxes.

Radio station Status not regularized

Meanwhile in a statement, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism stated that the Civil Law Court has effectuated the closure of Sarafina Ventures and Communications Inc. (Love FM 105.1 and Love TV Channel 7) based upon a Petition of declaratory Judgment from the Liberia Telecommunications Authority through the Ministry of Justice.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, the closure of the station is predicated upon the fact that since its establishment in 2009, Love FM 105.1 has not regularized its status in keeping with Part V, Section 16(2) of the Telecommunications Licensing Authorization Regulations (LTA-REG-001) which says in part “ that a license issued by the LTA under the regulation is for a period of one calendar year and under terms and conditions to include renewal upon expiration, to make full payment of the license and annual registration fees to the Government of Liberia.” 

MICAT further states that in addition to the station’s failure to regularize its status in keeping with the law, Sarafina Ventures and Communications Inc. (Love FM 105.1 and Love TV Channel 7) unilaterally and without prior written consent of the LTA, transferred the frequency to another corporation, LIB-24. 

The unilateral transfer of the frequency to LIB24 without the expressed consent of the LTA is in violation of Part VI, Section 25(1) and Part IV Section 15(1)b of the Telecommunication Act of 2007 that states “individuals, groups, or institutions opting to own and operate any telecommunications network, or provide a telecommunications service, must be granted a License or Frequency Authorization by the LTA, in addition to a permit issued by the Ministry of Information.”

Further stated MICAT: “The Government regrets that in the wake of the democratic atmosphere prevailing in the country with media pluralism at its core, a media institution like the Love FM will woefully engage in circumventing the established rules and procedures governing the communications sector, thereby defrauding the government of more than US$50,000.00 over the period of five years”.

The government said that prior to resorting to court action, there had been a series of discussions and exchange of communication over several months with the management of Sarafina Ventures & Communications Inc. imploring the corporation to accede to the requirements, pay the required fees and legitimize its operations.

The statement further said that it is the duty of the LTA as a regulatory agency to ensure that the public interest is protected against the abuse and illegal use of spectrum in Liberia.

 With over 50 Radio Stations now broadcasting in Liberia, the government re-emphasizes the urgent and critical need for strict adherence to spectrum management laws and procedures to avert chaos in the broadcast media landscape.

Monrovia – The Civil Law Court has effectuated the closure of Sarafina Ventures and Communications Inc. (LOVE FM 105.1 and Love TV Channel 7) and LIB 24 Radio operated by LIB 24 Incorporated, based on a Petition for Preliminary Injunction growing out of a Petition for Declaratory Judgment filed by the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) through the Ministry of Justice.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism said the closure of the station is predicated upon the fact that Sarafina Ventures and Communication Inc. (Love FM 105.1) has not regularized its status nor paid its license and other fees for over 5 years in keeping with relevant provisions of the Telecommunications Licensing Authorization Regulations.

LTA regulations also require that any use of radio frequencies must be in accordance with a valid radio spectrum license or radio frequency authorization.

MICAT further states that in addition to the station’s failure to regularize its status in keeping with law, Sarafina Ventures and Communications Inc. (Love FM 105.1 and Love TV Channel 7) unilaterally and without prior written consent of the LTA, transferred the frequency 105.1 to another corporation, LIB-24 Incorporated which operated LIB 24 Radio prior to the closure. 

The unilateral transfer of the frequency 105.1 to LIB24 Inc. without the expressed consent of the LTA is in violation of Part VI, Section 15(1) and Section 20 of the LTA Regulations 0001(2008) which provides that “any Licensee wishing to transfer ownership or control of the License shall apply to the LTA in writing at least ninety days prior to the proposed date of transfer, or such other period as may be determined by the LTA”.

The Government regrets that in the wake of the democratic atmosphere prevailing in the country with media pluralism and freedom at its core, a media institution like the Sarafina Ventures and Communication Inc. (Love FM) will woefully engage in circumventing the established rules and procedures governing the communications sector, and defrauding the government of more than US$50,000.00 in unpaid fees.

The government said that prior to resorting to court action, there had been series of discussions and exchange of communications over several years with the management of Sarafina Ventures & Communications Inc. during which it implored the corporation to accede to the requirements, pay the required fees and legitimize its operations.

Several invoices were delivered to Sarafina Ventures & Communication requesting payment over a number of years, but it failed to do so.

Nevertheless, Sarafina Ventures and Communications Inc. proceeded to transfer the license and or frequency to LIB 24 Incorporated even though it was no longer legitimately assigned the frequency nor received authorization to do so in keeping with law.

The statement further said that it is the duty of the LTA as a regulatory agency to ensure that the public interest is protected against the abuse and illegal use of scarce and finite spectrum resources in Liberia.

With over 50 Radio Stations now broadcasting in the country, the government re-emphasizes the urgent and critical need for strict adherence to spectrum management laws and procedures to avert chaos in the broadcast media landscape.