Weah’s budget: Pro-poor or business as usual?
Liberians heaved a sigh of relief when President George Weah through his Minister of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) Samuel D Tweah Jr. submitted the Draft National Budget for 2018/201; writes Seltue Robert Karweaye, Sr. The proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2018/2019 budget envisages spending US$562.4M, an increase of about 5% from the 536.2M of the […]
Norway to provide more funding to Somalia
Norway will provide a further NOK 30 million ($3.6m) to alleviate the situation in Somalia. The funds will be channeled through the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, which is administered by the UN, and through Save the Children Norway and Norwegian Church Aid. ‘Over the last year, Somalia has been severely affected by drought. Now, the population […]
Gender inequality in earnings costs trillions of dollars
Globally, countries are losing $160 trillion in wealth because of differences in lifetime earnings between women and men. This amounts to an average of $23,620 for each person in the 141 countries studied by the World Bank Group in a new report released today. The study, Unrealized Potential: The High Cost of Gender Inequality in […]
Stockholm hosts global conference for men
On 15-16 May, more than 300 participants gathered in Stockholm, Sweden for the 4th International Conference on Men’s Equal Opportunities, known in short as ICMEO. Many gender equality ministers in Europe were among the participants, along with other representatives of governmental agencies and civil society as well as many experts. Lena Hallengren, Sweden’s Minister for […]
UK backs Liberia’s return to Inter-Parliamentary Union
The governments of the United Kingdom and Liberia have recounted the pioneering role of both countries that proudly culminated into the establishment of the global parliamentary network, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The vice chair of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU) Lord John Whittingdale opined that such important epoch has formed the basis […]
Liberia: Is that Emmanuel Shaw, again?
Is that Emmanuel Shaw, again? That was my reaction to a picture in which the French President Emmanuel Macron and Emmanuel Shaw were standing side by side and smiling. Both appeared as if they were former schoolmates meeting at a class reunion gathering. But this was not at a class reunion gathering. It was at […]
Working to revive Gambia’s debt-crippled economy
Since taking office and discovering government coffers were largely empty, Adama Barrow’s administration has been sourcing for funds and working to resuscitate the debt-crippled economy of the Gambia. To support the new government, major international organisations have pledged 1.45 billion euros ($1.7 billion) to plug the financing deficit in the new government’s National Development Plan (NDP). The […]
Nordic countries keen on 5G development
The Nordic countries have entered into new deepened cooperation on 5G. A declaration of intent was presented today laying out the Nordic countries’ vision. “The Nordic region is one of the most innovative regions in the world. The development of 5G is progressing quickly and the Nordic region will be at the fore of this […]
Nordic prime ministers meet this week
Nordic cooperation, current foreign and security policy issues and 5G are on the agenda as the Nordic prime ministers meet in Örnsköldsvik on 22–23 May. The informal prime ministers meeting is held annually as part of the extensive Nordic cooperation. Sweden is currently chair of Nordic cooperation and is hosting the meeting in Örnsköldsvik on […]
Shaping change in a time of disruption
Before 1800, nearly everyone on the planet was poor. Royalty and large landowners were a small minority, and wealth was tied to land – those who controlled land, controlled much of the world’s wealth. Nearly everyone else lived in poverty. This was what society looked like for virtually the entire recorded history of humanity: Jim […]
