Ellen addresses legislature today

In fulfillment of constitutional duty, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is expected to deliver her 8th Annual Message before the Liberian Legislature today, Monday, January 26, 2015, the fourth working Monday in the New Year.

Article 58 of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia states: “The President shall, on the fourth working Monday in January of each year, present the  administration’s legislative program for the ensuing session, and shall once a year report to the Legislature on the state of the Republic. In presenting the economic condition of the Republic the report shall cover expenditures as well as income”.

House Speaker Alex Tyler, is expected to preside during the Annual Message, which will also be observed by both the president and presiding officer of the Liberian Senate, Vice President Joseph N. Boakai and Senator H. Dan Morais; the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, and members of the Diplomatic Corps, among other VIPs.

Executive Mansion sources have hinted that President Sirleaf’s address is expected to be heavily concentrated on the deadly Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in March last year that took away over 8,000 lives; the December 20, 2014 Special Senatorial Election, reconstruction of the Mount Coffee Hydro in White Plain that is expected to provide electricity for the entire country, and economic challenges and prospects, amongst others. The President is also expected to galvanize hope among Liberians and point a way forward in improving the Liberian economy following devastation caused by the Ebola Virus. 

Meanwhile, members of the Liberian Senate will, for the first time in recent history, attend the Annual Message without a President Pro-Tempore. The senators have failed to conduct election for a Pro-Tempore since they were certificated by the National Elections Commission as winners of the 20 December poll.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor