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UNJLC LIBERIA BULLETIN 31
10 - 16 March 2004
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The aim of the UNJLC bulletins is to provide a concise weekly overview of UNJLC activities and the present logistical situation in regard to the crisis in Liberia. In addition sector/country specific reports will be released regularly in order to provide in-depth coverage of priority areas.
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CONTENTS
- 1. Highlights
- 2. Security
- 3. Air Operations
- 4. Sea Port Operations
- 5. Infrastructure
- 6. Logistics Co-ordination
- 7. Civil-Military Co-ordination
- 8. Fuel (Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene) / Commodity Prices
- 9. UNJLC International Staff
1. Highlights
Current activities of the Bureau of Civil Aviation include reviewing regulations and re-establishing international aviation standards. This includes restoration of the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication System (AFTN); defining search and rescue procedures; establishing an aviation security programme; and, setting up an air navigation system.
The third Road Task Force Meeting was held on Monday, 15 March at 16:00 PM at the UNDP Conference Room. Items on the Agenda for discussion were Ongoing Projects; Projected and Planned Projects; and, Project Manager/GIS Capability – Future of Road Rehabilitation Coordination.
UNHCR and partner agencies (ARC and CCC) are constructing transit centres to cope with the high influx of returnees in Montserrado and Bong Counties.
The weekly Joint Logistics Working Group scheduled for Wednesday 10 March 2004 was cancelled due to a UN Public Holiday. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 17 March.
UNJLC will phase out by 31 March 2004. However, in order to assist the UN Agencies in planning their deployment outside of Monrovia, UNJLC will fund a Planning Team for a further three months. This Planning Team will consist of an international Logistics Planning Officer and a national Logistics Assistant, and will reporting directly to the Humanitarian Coordinator.
2. Security
Most of Liberia continues to be designated at Security Phases IV and V. The following areas were recently downgraded from Phase V to IV:
Margibi and Montserrado Counties
The road from Gbarnga to Ganta, including the town of Ganta
The road from Tappita to Zwedru, including the towns of Tappita and Zwedru
Areas already at security phase IV are:
The road from Monrovia to Buchanan
The road from Monrovia to Gbarnga
The road from Monrovia to Bo Waterside
The road from Monrovia to Tubmanburg
All other areas of the country remain at security Phase V.
3. Air Operations
The Bureau of Civil Aviation identified the following goals for 2004-2005:
Establish a communications link with major national airports
Update the Liberian Civil Aviation Regulations (1962)
Draw up reform policy guidelines to meet the latest air transport industry standards
Facilitate the return of Roberts Flight International Region (RFIR) Secretariat to Roberts International Airport
Rehabilitate James Spriggs Payne and five major airstrips in the country
Support Roberts International Airport (RIA) to meet ICAO standards
Re-organise the management of the Liberia Civil Aviation Aircraft Registry
Resume publication of aviation statistics and establish the Civil Aviation library
Develop the requisite Human Resources
Participation in international Civil Aviation meetings and conferences
The Bureau of Civil Aviation is one of the five in the Ministry of Transport (Insurance, Land Transport, Shipping, and Legal Affairs). The Bureau is headed by a Deputy Minister of Transport for Civil Aviation, an Assistant Minister for Civil Aviation, and the Director of Civil Aviation.
The office of the Director of Civil Aviation is currently situated at James Spriggs Payne Airport. Recent activities of the Bureau include reviewing regulations and re-establishing international aviation standards. This includes restoration of the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication System (AFTN); defining search and rescue procedures; establishing an aviation security programme; and, setting up an air navigation system. The Bureau is responsible for processing over flight clearances, registration of aircraft, air craft licenses, and air services agreements.
The Director of Civil Aviation is Mr. James Attoh, Tel: + 377 47 550 712, E-mail: jamiaattoh@hotmail.com, caalib@hotmail.com, dca_lib@hotmail.com.
UNMIL Air Operations Contacts:
Mr. Carl Markussen: OIC- UNMIL Air Operations/Aviation Section, Tel: + 377 47 532 603, E-mail: markussen@un.org
Mr. Chris Njenga: OIC- Technical Compliance/ UNMIL Air Operations, Tel: + 377 47 538246, E-mail: njengac@un.org
Mr. Thomas Vandy: UNMIL Spriggs Payne Aiport Manager, Tel: +377 47 542883
Mr. Tomislav Ristov: UNMIL Chief Air Operations Centre, Tel: + 377 47 532504, E-mail: ristov@un.org
Ms. Griffith, MOVCON, Spriggs Payne Airport, Tel: + 377 47 530 602, E-mail: griffithsk@un.org
Mr. Tesfaye Tesgaye, OIC, Airfield Management, Tel: + 377 47 547 041
Mr. Idrissa Ezeh: UNMIL RIA Manager, Tel: + 377 47 542 885, E-mail: i_ezeh348@hotmail.com
Mr. Christopher Tumbay: Assistant RIA Manager
Mr. Mario Calderon: MOVCON RIA, Tel: + 377 47 532 597, E-mail: calderonm@un.org
Mr. Assamis Comporare: UNMIL Gbranga Airfield Manager
Mr. George Kabia: UNMIL Greenville Airfield Manager
WFP West Africa Air Service contacts are as follows:
|
Ivory Coast:
WFP West Africa Air Service WFP Office Rue Jesse Owens Angle Boulevard de la Republique Residence Tropique 3 Abidjan Plateau Contact: Alain Rakotovao |
Contact: Victor Cole and Nyenati Bayusie |
|
|
Sierra Leone: Contact: Stela Pasic/Rosemary Parnell |
Guinea:
WFP West Africa Air Service WFP Office Coleah Corniche Sud Commune de Matam PO Box: 5669 Contact: Bounama Gueye |
4. Sea Port Operations
All UN official vehicles are exempted from access fees requirements at the Freeport of Monrovia. For NGOs, the prices for vehicle access passes are the following: US $ 37 for light vehicles and US $ 75 for trucks. The passes are valid for one year.
For commercial vehicles, the prices for vehicle access passes are: US $ 100 for light vehicles and US $ 150 for trucks. The passes are valid for one year.
Contacts for the Ghanaian Security contingent (UNMIL) at the Freeport are as follows: Commanding Officer – Lt Col James Adoinama: + 377 47 530 657
Operations Officer – Major Louman Gbetanu: + 377 47 530 654
Military Intelligence Officer – Capt Errigton Commil: + 377 47 530 649
5. Infrastructure
The third Road Task Force Meeting was held on Monday, 15 March at 16:00 PM at the UNDP Conference Room. Items on the Agenda for discussion were Ongoing Projects; Projected and Planned Projects; and, Project Manager/GIS Capability – Future of Road Rehabilitation Coordination.
The participants of the Meeting were informed that UNJLC will phase out by 31 March 2004. However, in order to assist the UN Agencies in planning their deployment outside of Monrovia, UNJLC will fund a Planning Team for a further three months. This Planning Team will consist of an international Logistics Planning Officer and a national Logistics Assistant, and will report directly to the Humanitarian Coordinator.
In addition to supporting the planning of Agency deployment in areas outside of Monrovia, the Logistics Planning Officer will continue to chair the Road Task Force Meeting until a dedicated Project Manager is identified. The Project Manager is envisaged as a focal point for the de-confliction in road rehabilitation projects between the Humanitarian Community, UNMIL and the Government of Liberia. The Project Manager would also be responsible to manage an updated record of information on the priority road network in Liberia with the assistance of a GIS Expert. Presently, neither UNMIL nor HIC have the available capacity to manage the regular updating of the database. UNMIL will explore the possibility of acquiring a GIS expert from the neighbouring UN Peacekeeping Mission in Sierra Leone.
HIC will host the complete reports and maps of the HIC/UNJLC Road Assessment Project on its website. The Project is an assessment of the primary and major secondary roads in Liberia. Information was collected on all damaged bridges, culverts and road stretches along the routes. HIC will also host the weekly UNMIL Force Engineering Reports.
Currently, UNMIL is the main actor involved in road repair. Among the UN Agencies, UNHCR is planning to implement road rehabilitation projects with GTZ.
The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) is a potential candidate for providing an advisory role to UNMIL on its engineering projects and providing UNMIL with details of sources of construction materials (i.e. stone quarries and timber) and construction methods (i.e. culverts).
6. Logistics Co-ordination
The weekly Joint Logistics Working Group scheduled for Wednesday 10 March 2004 was cancelled due to a UN Public Holiday. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 17 March.
Humanitarian Operations Centre (HOC): Humanitarian agencies are requested to make use of the available services at the HOC to organise air, sea, and road missions to the interior of Liberia.
Logistics Coordination, HOC: The Logistics Coordination Cell in the HOC is facilitating the coordination of the logistics activities of the Humanitarian Community. The LOCOMOCC is also providing operational and logistical support in the planning of the DDRR Programme.
NGO Liaison: Help for the Blind
The Christian Association Of the Blind (CAB) in collaboration with Lutheran World Service/Federation and Mercy Corp donated relief items to the blind. CAB is also planning to conduct workshops in Kakata city and Salala District (Margibi and Bong counties respectively).
Micro Credit Programme for Women
The Church Aid Incorporated (“CAI”), a relief arm of New Water in The Desert Assembly (NWIDA) outside Monrovia, with assistance from Global Geneva of Switzerland launched a micro credit programme for women. Loan disbursement commenced over the weekend and women who met requirements received up to L $ 5,000.
Farmers benefit from Caritas Special Operation Appeal (SOA) project and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Food for Work Programme
To speed up agricultural and construction work in Bomi, Cape Mount, Margibi and Montserrado counties, CARITAS Liberia, assisted by WFP, begun a simultaneous distribution of food and non-food items to three thousand four hundred farm families in 30 towns and villages. The non-food items delivered are a continuation of phase 1 round 2 of the CARITAS SOA project.
LRRRC Liaison: UNHCR and partner agencies (ARC and CCC) are constructing transit centres to cope with the high influx of returnees. LRRRC assisted IDPs in Totota in acquiring construction materials to build the camps.
The points of contact at the HOC are as follows:
General:
Stephen Hiscock, Tel: + 377 47 530 434, E-mail: stephen.hiscock@wfp.org
Logistics Coordination & Movement Control:
Steven Eames, Tel: + 377 47 534 468, E-mail: steven.eames@wfp.org
Civil-Military Coordination:
Stephen Hiscock, Tel: + 377 47 530 434, E-mail: stephen.hiscock@wfp.org
Major Noel Duffy, Tel: + 377 47 532 516, E-mail: monrovia.guest8@wfp.org
LRRRC Liaison:
Adella K. Kermah, Tel: + 377 47 544 133, E-mail: kobekermah@yahoo.com
NGO Liaison:
Franklin Henries, Tel: + 377 47 530365
Security:
Arve Skog, Tel: + 377 47 529 616, E-mail: arve.skog@undp.org
Humanitarian Information:
Varney Kawah, Tel: + 377 47 521 726, E-mail:varney.kawah@undp.org
The HOC is located on the ground floor of the WFP building.
The opening hours are: Mon-Fri: 08:30 – 18:00. Sat: 10:00 – 15:00.
7. Civil-Military Co-ordination
CIVPOL is expected to be deployed to Gbarnga, Tubmanburg, Buchanan, and Zwedru.
UNMIL Emergency Response Hotlines are: Duty Officer HQ Sector 1: + 377 47 530 173
Duty Officer HQ UNMIL : + 377 47 532 313
UNMIL Force Commander – Lieutenant General Opande, Kenya
Sector 1 Commander – Brigadier General Festus Okonkwo, Nigeria
Civil-Military Co-operation Officer – Noel Duffy: + 377 47 532 516
UN Civil-Military Co-ordination – Stephen Hiscock: + 377 47 530 434
WFP Civil-Military Liaison – Albert Fiawosime: + 377 47 530 209
8. Fuel (Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene) / Commodity Prices
The exchange rate to the US $ is LD $ 54.
Fuel Prices (per gallon)
| Fuel type | Retail Price (US$) | Street Price (US$) |
| Diesel | 2.20 | 2.26 |
| Gasoline | 2.25 | 2.36 |
| Kerosene | 2.10 | N/A |
| Commodity | Quantity | Price 09-03-04(US$) | Price 16-03-04(US$) |
| Sugar | 50kg | 20.00 | 19.00 |
| Rice | 50kg | 17, 18, 19 | 17, 18, 19 |
| Flour | 50kg | 25.00 | 24.00 |
| Food Oil | 20 L | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| Bread | Loaf | 0.09 | 0.09 |
| Tea | Pack | 0.09 | 0.09 |
| Tomato paste | Can | 0.28 | 0.28 |
| Sweet potatoes | 50kg | 18.24 | 19.24 |
| Potatoes | 20kg | 19.00 | 20.00 |
| Mineral Water | 1.5 L | 0.80 | 0.80 |
9. UNJLC International Staff
Matthew Dee: matthew.dee@wfp.org Mobile: + 377 47 530 187
Steven Eames: steven.eames@wfp.org Mobile: + 377 47 534 468
Glumur Baldvinsson: monrovia.guest8@wfp.org Mobile: + 377 47 534 090
Farzana Rasheed: farzana.rasheed@wfp.org Mobile: + 377 47 531458
UNJLC Offices are located on the ground floor of the WFP building, UN Drive, Mamba Point, Monrovia.
UNJLC Fax: + 871 763 467 061.
UNJLC Tel: + 871 763 467 060.
ABOUT UNJLC
UNJLC is an inter-agency facility reporting, in the current emergency, to the Humanitarian Coordinator for Liberia, and overall to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Its mandate is to coordinate and optimise the logistics capabilities of humanitarian organisations in large-scale emergencies. UNJLC operates under the custodianship of WFP who are responsible for the administrative and financial management of the Centre. UNJLC is funded from voluntary contributions channelled through WFP. The UNJLC project document for Liberia can be viewed on the UNJLC website (www.unjlc.org).