Category Archives: Corruption

Reopening of Kouwenhoven trial in the Netherlands

Posted on 8 February 2017 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised when learning the news that the Kouwenhoven trial had reopened – on February 6. Already on more than one occasion I wrote about the serious charges against Guus Kouwenhoven, a Dutch businessman. Guus Kouwenhoven – … Continue reading →

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‘Choosing The Hero – My improbable journey and the rise of Africa’s first woman president’ by K. Riva Levinson

Posted on 10 October 2016 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

There’s no doubt about it. Karen Riva Levinson’s ‘Choosing The Hero’ is an interesting book. In fact, it’s more than that. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in Liberia’s contemporary history. It will also be very useful for students in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1847, 2005 presidential elections, 2017 presidential elections, Abdoulye Dukule, Adolphus Dolo, Africa's longest serving president, Amara Konneh, Americo-Liberians, Amos Sawyer, Angola, Antoinette Sayeh, BKSH & Associates, Blaise Compaore, BMS&K, Byron Tarr, Capitol Hill, Charles Gyude Bryant, Charles Taylor, Choosing the Hero, Civil War(s) Liberia, Congo Kinshasa, Conmany Wesseh, Corruption, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Dos Santos, DRC, Edwin Snowe, elections, Elections in Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Elwood Dunn, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gaddafi, General Peanut Butter, George Weah, Henry Fahnbulleh, Herman Cohen, Iraq, Iron Lady, James Fromoyan, Jewel Howard Taylor, José dos Santos, Justice, K.Riva Levinson, KRL International LLC, Langley Virginia, Laurent Kabila, Liberia, Libya, lobbying fiirms, lobbying firm, Manafort, Monrovia, Mozambique, National reconciliation, nepotism, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Nobel Peace Prize, oil, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Prince Y. Johnson, Reconciliation, Riva Levinson, Rwanda, Samuel Kanyon Doe, Second civil war 1999-2003, Siad Barre, Somalia, Sudan, Teodoro Nguema, This Child Will Be Great, Tipoteh, UNDP, United States, United States of America, University of Liberia, USA, Washington DC, Winston Tubman | Leave a comment

‘Liberia: From the Love of Liberty to Paradise Lost’ – Now available in Monrovia!

Posted on 3 May 2016 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

The next 18 months will be crucial for Liberia. What do we know about Liberia?   UNMIL, the UN-peacekeeping force will virtually pull out by June 30, only two more months to go … Liberians inside and outside the country … Continue reading →

Posted in 2017 presidential elections, African Studies Centre Leiden, Alhaji Kromah, Charles Taylor, Civil War(s) Liberia, Corruption, diamonds, Ebola, education, elections, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, ERA supermarket, Exclusive supermarket, Executive Mansion, FDI, forestry, George Boley, gold, health, infrastructure, iron ore, Justice, Liberia, Liberia" From the Love of Liberty to Paradise Lost, Liberian Economy, Liberian History, Monrovia, natural resources, oil, oil palm plantation, peace, Prince Y. Johnson, Reconciliation, Royal Hotel, Samuel Kanyon Doe, Stop & Shop supermarket, Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC), UN Drive supermarket, University of Liberia, UNMIL, Vice President Allen Yancy, William V.S. Tubman | Leave a comment

Annual Message on the State of the Republic – Jan. 26, 2015

Posted on 8 February 2015 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

ANNUAL MESSAGE ON THE STATE OF THE REPUBLIC To the Fourth Session of the 53rd National Legislature of the Republic of Liberia, Consolidating For Continuity By: Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf President of the Republic of Liberia (As Delivered) Mr. … Continue reading →

Posted in . Jabaru Carlon, 2015 Annual Message, agriculture, Amos Sawyer, Ban Ki-Moon, Benin, Bismarck Kuyon, Charles Gyude Bryant, civil society organizations, Corruption, diamonds, Ebola, ECOWAS, education, elections, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, FDI, forestry, gender, Ghana, girls, gold, Goodluck Jonathan, governance, Governance Commission, Guinea Conakry, health, Health Sector, human resources, Human Rights, IGNU, infrastructure, iron ore, Jim Yong Kim, Liberia, Liberia Education, Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), Liberian Economy, Liberianization, Mali, Margaret Chan, Mount Coffee Hydroelectric plant, natural resources, Niger, Nigeria, Nkosanzana Dlamini Zuma, NOCAL, Official Development Assistance (ODA), oil, Palava Hut, peace, press freedom, public debt, public expenditures, public revenues, public sector, Public Sector Investment Plan (PSIP), Reconciliation, rubber, Sierra Leone, UNMEER, UNMIL, Vision 2030, Willis D. Knuckles -, youth | Leave a comment

Ebola in Liberia: More than a Health Crisis

Posted on 14 September 2014 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

It all started with two Ebola cases in Foya, Lofa County. It was on March 17 of this year that the Ebola virus entered Liberia from Guinea. The reaction of the government of Liberia on the arrival of the virus was … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013/2014 National Budget, Amos Sawyer, April 12 1980, Corruption, curfew, Debt relief, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Doctors without Borders, Ebola, Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, FDI, Foya, Governance Commission, Guinea Conakry, Health Sector, Liberia, Liberian Diaspora, Liberian Economy, Lofa County, Médicins sans Frontières (MSF), Monrovia, Samuel Kanyon Doe, Shacki Kamara, Sierra Leone, State of Emergency, Sudan, Uganda, United Nations (UN), US - Africa Leaders Summit, West Point, Westpoint | Leave a comment

April 12, 1980 : A Personal Account and View

Posted on 11 April 2014 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

On April 12, 1980 I woke up by the sound of automatic gunfire. It must have been around  6 AM. I was staying with a friend who lived in the Sherman Compound, in Congo Town, then one of Monrovia’s outskirts. My … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980 execution South Beach Monrovia, April 12 1980, Charles Taylor, Comprehensive Peace Agreement CPA 2003, Corruption, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia, Liberian History, Monrovia, Monrovia South Beach, NPFL, Prince Y. Johnson, Samuel Kanyon Doe, Thomas Quiwonkpa, Tom Woewiyu, True Whig Party, William R. Tolbert Jr. | Leave a comment

How many Liberians will celebrate ‘July 26’ abroad?

Posted on 20 July 2013 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

July 26 is Liberia’s Independence Day anniversary. On July 26, 1847 the independent Republic of Liberia was officially born, created by less than 1,000 men: freed slaves, free-born blacks and mulattoes from the United States of America. They called themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in 1847 Constitution, African Politics, Americo-Liberians, April 12 1980, Charles Taylor, Comprehensive Peace Agreement CPA 2003, Conference of liberian Organizations in Southwestern United States (Colosus), Corruption, Elections in Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, European Federation of Liberian Associations (EFLA), Federation of Liberian Mandingo Associations in the USA (FELMAUSA), Independence Day, Liberia, Liberian Association Holland (LAH), Liberian Demography, Liberian Diaspora, Liberian History, Liberian Mandingo Organization in the Netherlands Bengoma, Liberian-American Community Organization of Southern California (LACOSC), Liberians In Holland, National Association of Cape mountainians in the Americas (NACMA), National Krao (Kru) Association in the Americas (NKAA), National Motto, National Seal, Organization of Liberians in Minnesota (OLM), Pepper Coast, Remittances, Samuel Kanyon Doe, The Liberian Journal, The Liberian Organization of the Piedmont, UNHCR, Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA), United Bassa Organization in the Americas (UNIBOA), Vision 2030, William R. Tolbert Jr. | Leave a comment

April in Monrovia

Posted on 30 April 2013 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

April is the hottest month in Liberia. The temperature easily reaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit (i.e. 32 degrees Celsius). The sky often is cloudy. Thunderstorms announce the  7 months rainy season. Air humidity will gradually rise and reach its maximum of 100 per cent … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980 execution South Beach Monrovia, Alhaji Kromah, Americo-Liberians, April 12 1980, April 12 2013, April 14 1979, Charles Taylor, civil society organizations, Civil War(s) Liberia, Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia (COTOL), Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Corruption, Coups in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Executive Order No. 50, George Weah, Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL), Grassroot Leadership Network (GLN), Human Rights, Krahn, Liberia, Liberian History, MODEL, Monrovia, NPFL, oil palm plantation, Press freedom in Liberia, Rice Riots, Roosevelt Johnson, rubber, Samuel Kanyon Doe, Sinoe County, True Whig Party, ULIMO, ULIMO-J, ULIMO-K, William R. Tolbert Jr. | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment