Cyvette Gibson

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Mayor Gibson in office at the Paynesville City Hall Mayor Gibson.png
Mayor Gibson in office at the Paynesville City Hall

Cyvette M. Gibson is the tenth Mayor of Paynesville, Liberia. Gibson has been a community advocte for years, working over the past 17 years in women's empowerment, legal, and city administration in Liberia and the United States. She was appointed as acting Mayor on November 14, 2012; the youngest mayor in the country. Gibson has focused on providing infrastructure, education, access to employment and entreprenuriship, and basic services such as water, energy, sanitation, housing, health, and safety. Her administration faced an Ebola epidemic, persistent waste management issues, and human rights concerns.

Contents

Early life and education

C. Cyvette M. Gibson was born in Dakar, Senegal on December 2, 1974. She is the first daughter of Liberian natives Yvette Chesson-Wureh and Chauncy M. Gibson. Her grandfather was Attorney General Joseph J.F. Chesson, who was executed by firing squad during the 1980 Liberian coup d'état. [1] While residing on the Old Road in Sinkor, Monrovia, Liberia, she pursued her early education at Bright Functional on Benson Street, Monrovia; the School of Prime Systems near the Coca-Cola Factory in Paynesville; and the Joseph Jenkins Roberts Memorial Institute on 12th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia. However, due to the events surrounding the 1980 coup d'état, she and her mother were forced into exile.

Mayor Gibson attended the College of North West London, where she majored in Social Science in 1995. Between 1994 and 1995, she also earned certificates in Public Speaking, Critical Reading and Writing, International Studies, and Literacy and Information Technology. She later completed her studies at the Catholic University of America and also underwent Paralegal training at West Law Paralegal.

Political career

Cyvette Gibson served as chief of office at the Monrovia City Corporation under the administration of then Mayor Mary Broh. During this time, it was reported that Gibson insulted journalists reporting on claims of human rights abuses by the mayor. [2]

Gibson was appointed as acting Mayor of the city of Paynesville, Liberia on November 14, 2012. She was the youngest mayor in the country when appointed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the position. [3]

Waste issues have dominated much of her tenure as Mayor of the city. While she has pushed many different trash initiatives, some of these have been criticized by citizen groups for not addressing the problem. [4] Much of the focus has been on the commercial center of the Monrovia region, known as Red Light Market. [5] As Mayor, she implemented city ordinances and beautification projects, including the ELWA Junction Beautification Project, which reduced pollution and littering. In April 2014, she called for greater attention to waste issues from the Liberia Marketing Association. [6] With limited funding, she was able to enlist the support of many residents of the city (including drug addicts and the homeless) to clean up Red Light. [4] While she focused significant attention on health during the West African Ebola virus epidemic, she turned again to waste issues afterward with a significant grant from the World Bank. [7]

Gibson organized efforts throughout the city to deal with the Ebola outbreak in the country. She used community leaders throughout the city to educate and identify potential Ebola victims. [4] These efforts were assisted by UNICEF. At the height of the outbreak, she was one of seven officials who were excluded from a blanket dismissal of officials by President Johnson-Sirleaf. [8]

Since the outbreak, she has continued the focus on waste, sanitation, and education in the city. In addition, major efforts have been undertaken on development of the Dupont Road area of the city. A 2016 editorial in FrontPage Africa singled her efforts out as "transforming a once failed city." [9]

Paynesville's partnerships

A well being opened by Mayor Gibson in Paynesville Water Ceremony.jpg
A well being opened by Mayor Gibson in Paynesville

The City of Paynesville in its efforts towards a clean and developed city, [10] has joined the 100 Resilient Cities network. [11]

Paynesville under the leadership of Mayor Gibson also established sister city relationship with the City of Paynesville, Minnesota (USA) and the City of Bagcilar, Istanbul (Turkey).

Achievements

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monrovia</span> Capital, chief port, and the largest city of Liberia

Monrovia is the administrative capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liberia’s total population. Its largely urbanized metro area, including Montserrado and Margibi counties, was home to 2,225,911 inhabitants as of the 2022 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paynesville, Liberia</span> Place in Montserrado County, Liberia

Paynesville is a suburb east of Monrovia, Liberia. It is geographically larger than the city of Monrovia. It is expanding eastward along the Robertsfield Highway and northeastward beyond Red Light Market, one of the largest market areas in Liberia. Paynesville is often considered a part of the Greater Monrovia area. It was the location of the Paynesville Omega Transmitter, the highest structure in Africa, until the tower's demolition in 2011. The Liberia Broadcasting System is also located in Paynesville. The Liberian Judo Federation is based in Paynesville. The Montserrado county School System office is looked in Paynesville, at vokar Mission

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</span> President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex</span> Stadium in Liberia

The Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium which is part of the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville, Liberia, a suburb of the country's capital, Monrovia. Built in 1986, it is used mostly for football matches and has an athletics track, though it has also been used for a reggae concert, political rallies, IDP refuge, and Ebola treatment. The largest stadium in Liberia, its spectator capacity is 22,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberts International Airport</span> Commercial airport near Monrovia, Liberia

Roberts International Airport, informally also known as Robertsfield, is an international airport in the West African nation of Liberia. Located near the town of Harbel in Margibi County, the single runway airport is about 35 miles (56 km) outside of the nation's capital of Monrovia, and as an origin and destination point is referred to as "Monrovia". Locally, it is often referred to as simply "RIA." The airport is named in honor of Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first President of Liberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Point, Monrovia</span> Township in Montserrado, Liberia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Broh</span> Liberian politician

Mary Tanyonoh Broh is the former mayor of Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia. She first served the Liberian government in March 2006 as the Special Projects Coordinator for President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's executive staff. In 2007, she was promoted to direct the Passport Bureau in a successful attempt to curtail and eliminate corruption and bribery within the division. In 2008, Broh became the Deputy Director of the National Port Authority. In February 2009, she was selected to serve as Acting Mayor of Monrovia in place of the previous mayor, Ophelia Hoff Saytumah, in the President's effort to legitimize the Monrovia City Corporation's (MCC) administrative and financial management. Although Broh was seated in February 2009 by appointment, rather than by the usual democratic election process, she was not officially confirmed by the Liberian Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Liberian general election</span>

General elections were held in Liberia on 11 October 2011, with a second round of the presidential election on 8 November. The presidency, as well as all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the seats in the Senate, were up for election. The election was overseen by the National Elections Commission (NEC).

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Amara M. Konneh is a Liberian national who serves as a Senator from Gbarpolu County, Western Liberia. Previously, he served as a senior advisor for Africa for the World Bank. In this role, he advised the World Bank on regional economic integration to create economic hubs for value chains and helped build strategic partnerships with Africa's regional economic commissions. Before that, he served as lead advisor for the Bank's engagements in countries affected by fragility, conflict, violence, and forced displacement with emphasis on Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, and Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebola virus epidemic in Liberia</span> Health disaster in Africa

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West African Ebola virus epidemic timeline</span> Timeline of the Ebola virus disease epidemic in 2014–15

This article covers the timeline of the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa and its outbreaks elsewhere. Flag icons denote the first announcements of confirmed cases by the respective nation-states, their first deaths, and their first secondary transmissions, as well as relevant sessions and announcements of agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders; medical evacuations, visa restrictions, border closures, quarantines, court rulings, and possible cases of zoonosis are also included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental issues in Liberia</span>

Environmental issues in Liberia include the deforestation of tropical rainforest, the hunting of endangered species for bushmeat, the pollution of rivers and coastal waters from industrial run-off and raw sewage, and the burning and dumping of household waste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya–Liberia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Kenya– Liberia relations are bilateral relations between Kenya and Liberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah R. Malac</span> American diplomat

Deborah Ruth Malac is an American diplomat, who served as the United States Ambassador to Uganda. She was nominated by President Barack Obama and was confirmed by the Senate Nov. 19, 2015. She previously served as United States Ambassador to Liberia.

The Press Union of Liberia was founded on September 30, 1964, by a group of independent journalists. It serves as an umbrella organization for media professionals and institutions to advocate for press freedom and the legal protection of journalists.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Monrovia, Liberia.

A political scandal in Liberia developed in 2014 after the arrest of a group of South Korean businessmen and seizure of US$247,500 from them by the National Security Agency, a national level internal security agency of Liberia.

Events in the year 2016 in Liberia.

Events in the year 2014 in Liberia.

Events in the year 2013 in Liberia.

References

  1. ↑ Yates, David A. (22 April 2015). "God Gives Us Chance to Right Wrongs of the Past". Liberian Observer. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  2. ↑ Quiah, Priscilla J. (28 June 2012). "Liberia: Mary Broh Linked to Human Rights Abuses". AllAfrica. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "Give the new generation a voice". The Star (South Africa). 3 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 McTernan, Billie Adwoa. "Monrovia Mayor led Life and Death Battle Against Ebola". The Journalist. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Paynesville Mayor Extolled for 'Excellent' Performance". AllAfrica. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Karmo, Henry (17 April 2014). "Paynesville Pollution: City Demands Action over Garbage". FrontPageAfrica. AllAfrica. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. ↑ Rustin, Susanna (12 October 2016). "Can cities be feminist? Inside the global rise of female mayors". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ Weedee-Conway, Emmanuel (1 September 2014). "Who Are the Dismissed Officials? - Public Demands Explanation From Gov't". Heritage. AllAfrica. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Dramatic Improvements in Paynesville City Deserve Commendation". FrontPage Africa. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "Cleanest PCC Community Award Offered". Newspaper. 2015-01-11 – via www.liberianobserver.com.
  11. ↑ "City of Paynesville in Liberia Joins 100 Resilient Cities Worldwide". FrontPage Africa. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  12. ↑ McTernan, Billie Adwoa; Smith, Patrick (2015-04-21). "Cyvette Gibson and Paynesville's anti-Ebola revolution". The Africa Report.
  13. ↑ FPA Reporter (2015-05-04). "RECOVERY PLAN: PAYNESVILLE MAYOR DISCUSS POST EBOLA". Front Page Africa. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  14. ↑ ""Operation Stop Ebola"..." Paynesville City Corporation. 2014-12-04 – via Facebook.
  15. ↑ "Interview with Peter Graaff, Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER)". United Nations News. 2015-06-04.
  16. ↑ Yates, David (13 September 2015). "Hundreds Benefit from PCC's 3rd Annual Health Fair". Daily Observer. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  17. ↑ "PCC Hosts Science Fair Competition;SDA High School Wins". Capitol Times. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  18. ↑ Worzi, Alvin. "PCC Mayor Inducted President of Association of Mayors of Liberia". Liberian Observer.
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