LIB Daily History

HISTORY OF FORT NORRIS, MONROVIA

The Dutch built a rock walled fort on the highest point of Cape Mesurado sometime before 1822. The fort was renovated by the US Navy and renamed Fort Stockton. In 1840 the fort was renovated again and renamed Coastal Battery Fort Norris. -Steve Schluessler

Do you know that River Gee is a county in the southern portion of Liberia? One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has six districts. Fish Town serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring 5,113 square kilometres (1,974 sq mi). As of the 2008 Census, it had a population of 66,789, making it the third-least populous county in Liberia. It was created in 2000

The tenth-largest area, it is bordered by Sinoe County to the west, Grand Gedeh County to the north, and Grand Kru and Maryland counties to the south. The eastern part of River Gee borders the nation of Ivory Coast along the Cavalla River. The current County Superintendent is Daniel Johnson.

River Gee split from Grand Gedeh County in May 2000 after receiving approval from Liberia's House of Representatives in May 1997 and Senate approval in March 2000. On the east of the county is the Cavalla River that forms Liberia's border with the Ivory Coast. River Gee's capital is Fishtown. The Country was created by splitting the Grand Gedeh County.

The River Gee watershed has lower tropical forests with mid size hills and various valleys. These forests receive a very high rainfall ranging from 3,000 mm (120 in) to 4,100 mm (160 in) per year in two distinct seasons. It has evergreen forests. While in the uplands it is conducive for rice cultivation, the low lying areas are conducive for yam, cocoa, plantains, potatoes, vegetables, rubber, coffee and sugarcane. The county accommodates the Glaro Reforestation Project with a designated National Plantation area of 1,008.89 ha (2,493.0 acres). It also shares the National proposed reserve of Grebo Forest (97,136 ha (240,030 acres)) with Grand Gedeh County.

As of 2011, the area of rice plantation was 7,190 ha (17,800 acres), 3.010% of the total area of rice produced in the country. The total production stood at 8040 metric tonnes. According to 2011 data, the number of Cassava plantation was 3790, which was 3.1% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The total production stood at 1550 metric tonnes. The number of Cocoa plantation was 1550, which was 4% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The number of rubber plantation was 660, which was 1.1% of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. The number of Coffee plantation was 140, which was 0.6 per cent of the total area of Cassava planted in the country. As of 2008, the county had 1,744 paid employees, 19,331 self-employed people, 4,381 family workers, 566 people looking for work, 1,300 not working people, 2,154 people working in households, 19,290 students, 090 retired people, 252 incapacitated people, 334 part-time workers and 4,053 others, making the total working population of 53,495.

The districts of River Gee County include (2008 population): Chedepo District (10,518), Gbeapo District (10,934), Glaro District (4,992), Karforh District (5,956), Nanee District (6,002), Nyenawliken District (5,159),
Nyenebo District (5,703), Potupo District (7,337), Sarbo District (5,320) and Tuobo District (4,868)

Former President Charles Gyude Bryant was born 17th January 1949 and died 16 April 2014, He was a Liberian politician and businessman. He served as the Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia from 14 October 2003 to 16 January 2006. The installation of the transitional government was part of the peace agreement to end the country's second civil war, which had raged since the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebelled against President Charles Taylor in 1999. Bryant was previously a businessman and was chosen as chairman because he was seen as politically neutral and therefore acceptable to each of the warring factions, which included LURD, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), and loyalists of former President Taylor. He was a prominent member of the Episcopal Church of Liberia, and was critical of the governments of Samuel Doe (1980–90) and Taylor (1997–2003).

In January 2007, Bryant was questioned by police regarding allegations of corruption during his time in office. On 27 February 2007, Bryant was charged with embezzlement. His government is alleged to have embezzled more than US$1 million. On 12 March a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was not immediately arrested because he was said to be absent from Monrovia and in Lofa County instead, but on 13 March he was arrested and released on bond shortly thereafter. In court on 25 April, the defense argued that Bryant constitutionally enjoyed immunity for actions taken as head of state, while the prosecution argued that he did not because his appointment resulted from the Accra Accords in August 2003 and occurred outside the constitutional framework. On 24 August 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the prosecution's argument, enabling Bryant's trial to continue.

Bryant was arrested on 7 December 2007 after failing to appear in court earlier in the week. He had said that he was boycotting the court because of his belief that he enjoys immunity. As he was being taken to a prison in Monrovia, he said: "This is a very, very dark day for Liberia. This is the reward we get for restoring peace and democracy to our country." He was released from the central prison in Monrovia on 8 December after he signed a commitment to appear in court on 10 December.

On 30 April 2009, Bryant, along with four others, was acquitted of embezzling US$1 million from the state oil refinery. Additional charges regarding the alleged theft of US$1.3 million from the state were dropped on 24 September 2010 as the government failed to provide any proof of wrongdoing.

Former President Gyude Bryant was Born in Monrovia during the early years of the Tubman era, Bryant's mother was a descendant of settlers and his father was a member of the Grebo people. He matriculated at Cuttington University in 1972, and in 1974 he married the former Rosilee Williams; together they had two children, Cheryl and Charles. Bryant also had a son named Charles Mleh. Before becoming the chairman of the interim government, he was a successful businessman operating a company that supplied machinery for the Freeport of Monrovia, and he was the chairman of the Liberian Action Party, which has since merged with President Sirleaf's Unity Party.