The Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon has spoken of the remarkable progress the Government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is making to recover from the devastating effects of 14 years of civil conflict.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, the UN Secretary General commended the Liberian leader for her continuous efforts to maintain peace and stability in the country and assured of the United Nations continued support to Liberia's Peace Building Program.

The UN Secretary General made the statement recently when Liberia's new Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Her Excellency Mrs. Marjon V. Kamara presented her credentials to him in his 38th Floor Office in New York. Ambassador Kamara presented her credentials immediate following the military salute from members of the Blue helmet.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Kamara thanked the Secretary General for the indispensable assistance which the UN continues to provide to Liberia peace building effort and most prominently in the security sector through the presence of UNMIL. She also commended the important personal role which Mr. Ban Ki-moon played in obtaining the Security's Council approval for the extension of the mandate of UNMIL to September 2010.

Ambassador Kamara appealed to the Secretary General to ensure that the UN takes a regional perspective when it considers the continued need for peace keeping forces in Liberia, and lauded the contributions being made towards Liberia's development efforts by the various UN Specialized agencies funds and programs.

Ambassador Kamara, who has already commenced making courtesy calls on other permanent Representatives and officials of the United Nations Secretariat, served as Director for Africa of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, a position she held from October 2005 to May 2009.

She previously served in senior positions within the UNHCR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia.

GOL, Partners Step Up Education Reforms Activities

The Liberian government through the Ministry of Education and its international partners including UNICEF, UNESCO, ECSEL, AED, EDC UNDP, WFP and others have embarked on a campaign to promote quality education and to decentralize decisions and services of the country's education system.

They are currently holding a around table conference at the Headquarters of the West African Examination Council (WEAC) with the aim of ensuring effective supervision and coordination of the County Education Officers (CEOs) so as to facilitate and enhance their capacities for effective decisions and services at the district and local levels.

The Deputy Minister for Instruction at the Ministry of Education Mrs. Hester Williams Catakaw, one of the brains behind the enterprise said, the initiative is intended to decentralize routine decisions and services away from the Headquarters to the closest levels at which operational activities take place.

She told the participants that the path is further anticipated to ensure that educational delivery and district and local levels are done in keeping with the national education policy objectives and agreed standards. The Deputy Education Minister indicated that the main duties of the conference is to stress accountability, to serve as medium to advise the minister of education on matters relating to policy, organization, management and resources of education.

Mrs. Catakaw informed the participants that the new initiative will provide monitoring, evaluation, and supervision of the ministry of Education on necessary remedial actions regarding programmes, personnel, facilities and infrastructure for education in the region.

According to the minister, the conference will highlight appropriate means and ways by which CEO/DEO will liaise with MOE on behalf of, and work closely with the CEOs and community leaders on matters regarding community participation and support including resources.

Speaking further, she said the conference will enhance growth and development of the country's education program and will among other things ,initiate the recruitment, replacement, transfer and promotion and discipline of county and District Education Officers (DEOs).

It will positively contribute, she added, to the ongoing work towards a decentralized education system designed, and the capacity requirements for achievement of the design in practice. According to the deputy minister, the decentralization governance is the restructuring of authority so that there is a system of co-responsibility between the institutions of governance at the central region and local levels.

Participants attending the conference included DEOs, CEOs and other stakeholders in the country's educational sector as well as representatives of UN aid agencies including UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, and the WFP. They praised the government for paving the way for development in the country, especially in the educational sector, noting "education is a gateway to the survival of any nation."