Ebola: Liberia sacks absentee ministers

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sacked 10 government officials who have been “out of the country with­out an excuse,” amid a national Ebola crisis. She said the officials had shown “insensitiv­ity to our national tragedy and disregard for author­ity”. The 10 were given a one-week ultimatum more than a month ago to return home. Sierra Leone, Li­beria and Guinea are the worst-hit countries in an out
break that has killed more than 2,400.
More than half of those killed by the Ebola virus have been in Liberia. The 10 officials include two commissioners, six as­sistant ministers and two deputy ministers at the justice ministry, Wheato­nia Dixon-Barns and Vic­toria Sherman-Lang.
According to BBC, a press release issued from the presidency at the weekend reported that the officials had been fired “with immediate effect”. Eight junior officials have also been warned to re­turn to the country, and will not be paid until they do.
“Junior officials will forfeit all compensation until they return home to join in the fight against the Ebola virus disease,” the presidency said. One is Christine Tolbert-Nor­man, the eldest daughter of the late former Presi­dent William Tolbert who was killed in a coup in 1980.
President Johnson Sirleaf has appealed di­rectly to United States President Barack Obama for urgent help in tackling the outbreak. In a letter dated 9 September she asks Mr Obama to build and operate at least one Ebola treatment centre in the capital, Monrovia.
“Without more direct help from your govern­ment, we will lose this battle against Ebola,” she writes. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned recently that thou­sands more cases could occur in Liberia. Ebola spreads between humans by direct contact with in­fected blood, bodily fluids or organs, or indirectly through contact with con­taminated environments.