Author: Julius Konton

By: Julius Konton The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has officially taken over the Willis Knuckles Football Field popularly known as the Alpha Oldtimers Field marking the beginning of a major infrastructure upgrade aimed at transforming grassroots football and community sports development in Liberia. The formal handover ceremony, held in Zubah Town, Paynesville, also served as the groundbreaking event for the modernization of the entire sporting facility, a project backed by FIFA’s global football development agenda. A Strategic Investment in Sports Infrastructure Speaking at the ceremony, LFA President Mustapha Raji described the takeover as a milestone in Liberia’s long-term sports development…

By: Julius Konton The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) has concluded a day-long Public Financial Management (PFM) Donor Coordination Meeting, reinforcing Liberia’s commitment to fiscal discipline, transparency, and effective resource mobilization at a critical moment in the country’s economic recovery. The meeting brought together representatives of the donor community, international development partners, and senior officials of the Government of Liberia, serving as a platform to review progress, identify gaps, and align priorities around ongoing PFM reforms. Chaired by Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, the session focused on strengthening financial oversight systems, improving domestic revenue…

By : Julius Konton The Government of Liberia has once again placed domestic resource mobilization at the center of its economic reform agenda, launching two African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded projects valued at approximately US$19.6 million, even as critics question whether decades of reform rhetoric have delivered meaningful fiscal independence. Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, speaking at the official launch in Monrovia reaffirmed that Liberia can no longer rely predominantly on external aid and concessional borrowing to finance development. “GDP growth must translate into real revenue that funds our priorities,” Ngafuan declared, emphasizing tax-base expansion, compliance enforcement, and…

By: Julius Konton Under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Kingdom of Morocco has emerged as a pivotal and reliable actor in the evolving global competition for critical minerals, positioning itself as a bridge between Africa, Europe, and the Americas, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, Nasser Bourita, declared on Wednesday. Speaking at a high-level ministerial meeting on critical minerals organized in Washington by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Minister Bourita emphasized Morocco’s geostrategic relevance, political stability, and infrastructure readiness as decisive assets in an increasingly fragmented and geopoliticized global minerals…

By: Julius Konton In a moment that blended diplomacy, admiration, and sharp political critique, visiting Guinean-Bissauan politician and ECOWAS Parliamentarian Manuel Irenio Nascimento has described former Liberian President George Manneh Weah as a “ten-star gentleman” and a living African legend whose legacy, he said, deserves protection by the continent. Speaking on Liberia’s OK Conversation Show, Nascimento urged Africans to move beyond the tradition of celebrating leaders only after their deaths and instead safeguard those he described as “living symbols of hope, values, and resilience.” “I don’t consider George Weah a five-star gentleman,” Nascimento declared. “He is a ten-star gentleman, a…

By: Julius Konton In scenes that have ignited fresh controversy over property rights, military authority, and post-war governance in Liberia, a local businesswoman in Paynesville’s 72nd Community has broken down in tears after receiving a thirteen-day ultimatum from the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) to vacate and demolish her property an investment she values at approximately US$500,000. The visibly distraught woman, Chief Executive Officer Frances Yonger Morsay of Help Your Self Business Center, an entertainment and recreational facility in the densely populated City of Paynesville, described the order as devastating, abrupt, and inhumane. “My money, oh, my money,” she cried…

By: Julius Konton Liberia has taken significant strides toward confronting the legacy of its civil wars and entrenched corruption, as the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia (OWECC-L) disclosed substantial progress in efforts to operationalize the proposed War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC) and the National Anti-Corruption Court (NACC). The update was delivered by the Director of Operations of OWECC-L, Cllr. Fredrick Gbemie, during a Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Conference on Transitional Justice organized by the Liberia Civil Society Initiatives for Transitional Justice (LCSITJ). The gathering brought together civil society leaders, human rights…

By: Julius Konton More than two decades after the guns fell silent in Liberia’s brutal civil wars, pressure is once again mounting on the Liberian government to confront the legacy of mass atrocities, human rights abuses, and economic crimes that devastated the nation between 1989 and 2003. The Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL), in collaboration with national and international partner organizations, has successfully convened a two-day Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Transitional Justice Conference under the theme “Call to Action on Transitional Justice for Liberia Now.” The conference was held at the E. J. Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo…

By: Julius Konton Liberia has recorded a significant milestone in its long-running decentralization journey with the official transition of the Ministry of Internal Affairs into the newly established Ministry of Local Government, a move civil society leaders describe as a turning point in democratic governance and service delivery. The Executive Director of InfoQuest Liberia, Matthias Yeanay, said the transition represents a decisive step in implementing the Local Government Act of 2018, a reform law designed to devolve political, administrative, and fiscal authority from the central government to local authorities across the country. “This transition is far more than a change…

By: Julius Konton In a move aimed at strengthening institutional efficiency and deepening reforms in Liberia’s concession governance framework, the Director-General of the National Bureau of Concessions (NBC), Hanson Kiazolu, has appointed Varney Kromah as the new Director for Sectoral Planning, a key strategic department within the agency. The appointment comes at a critical time when Liberia is seeking to maximize the economic and social benefits of its natural resource concessions, which span mining, forestry, agriculture, and energy sectors. Concessions collectively account for an estimated 20–30 percent of Liberia’s GDP and employ tens of thousands of Liberians, directly and indirectly,…