October 1, 2022 – Mayotte Wire

October 1, 2022October 3, 2022

Africa needs to develop mango, cassava, ICT sectors – ITC

The African continent need to develop the Mango, Cassava and ICT sectors, given the great potential for value addition and export, said  Ruben Poolchund, Chief Officer for Africa at the International Trade Centre (ITC).

Speaking  at the launch of the second edition of the West Africa Connect event, in Accra, he said out of 302 million tonnes of cassava globally produced in 2020, more than half was produced in Africa. 

The two-day event is hosted by the West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) to connect suppliers from the region with buyers inside and outside the region in order to promote access to market opportunities and linkages with global value chains.

This year’s event focuses on Mango, Cassava and ICT Value chains, with the objective of providing SMEs across the region with a platform for business engagement, market linkages and commercial exchanges that will serve to promote trade in the region

He said on the African continent, 52 per cent of total Cassava production was carried out in West Africa, with Nigeria alone accounting for 23.4 per cent of global production. 

He said in the Mango sector, although a significant part of the production was not marketed, the ECOWAS Region led as the 7th Mango-exporting origin worldwide, with 90,000 tonnes exported in 2019 and the market share of global trade rising up to 5.1 per cent in 2020.

Poolchund said West Africa also provided a vibrant ecosystem for the development of the ICT sector.

He said the ECOWAS region had both benefitted and contributed to the significant growth witnessed in the digital space in the past decade.

The Region has experienced up to 45 per cent additional share of the population using the internet between 2010-2019, with an estimated increase in bandwidth of up to 368 Tbps (Terabit per second)  by 2023, allowing for faster and greater interconnectivity with the rest of the world.

He said the ICT space was important in itself, but also represented an important enabler for the rest of the economic sectors, including agritech. 

He said businesses across the region have begun to embrace digital transformation in the way they trade and carry out operations, and the e-commerce sector was a prime example, with revenues expected to triple to more than €30 billion between 2017–2024.  

He said across all three priority sectors, ITC had conducted a number of studies and initiatives in West Africa and beyond, supporting the promotion of these agric sectors through exports, as well as enabling the creation of a number of tech hubs for ICT SMEs and agritech start-ups, in support of the immense potential in the region.

More than 140 representatives of financial institutions across the ECOWAS Region have been trained on sustainable finance, in order to better serve the needs of West African SMEs and Business Support Organisations. 

He said ITC was partnering with the ECOWAS Commission to support the first ECOWAS-wide network for Trade Promotion Organisations, recently established through the assistance of ITC.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

October 1, 2022October 3, 2022

African Court judges, registry officers visit The Hague

TWO teams of judges and registry officers from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) have visited the International Criminal Court (ICC) intending to enhance and exchange issues concerning international justice.

All the delegates from two groups were led by the president of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Lady Justice Imani Aboud.

The visit was held as part of the African Court’s increased effort to engage in judicial dialogue with international institutions sharing similar or cross-cutting mandates.

During the visit, the African Court’s delegation met with ICC’s Vice-President, Judge Ibanez Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, and Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa – formerly a judge of the African Court.

The delegation also met with senior officers of the Office of the Prosecutor and Registry of the world criminal tribunal.

Exchanges revolved around issues concerning international justice, and particularly questions that arise in the intersection between international criminal justice, and international human rights adjudication such as fair trial rights, use of technology in the administration of justice, as well as reparations to victims.

The two teams also engaged in legal aid and knowledge management systems which have become key components of an effective administration of justice in the international realm.

In her welcome statement, Ibáñez Carranza restated the critical understanding of the complementarity between international criminal and regional human rights systems as both works within the same interconnected global justice network.

She stressed the importance of working through synergy to achieve the common cause of ending impunity for crimes committed against humans.

Also, the ICC’s Vice-president said that the only operational judicial organ of the African Union, the African Court is to adopt judicial dialogue as one of the key pillars of its current strategic plan to achieve its mandate toward more effective protection and enforcement of the individual and group rights guaranteed in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

“One legal anchorage of the African Court’s engagement with the ICC is Article 21 of the Rome Statute, which requires all stakeholders of international criminal justice to work consistently with internationally recognised human rights standards,” said the vice president.

She also said that the outcome of this visit is expected to strengthen recommendations from previous engagements to enhance legal knowledge and improve institutional practices.

In concluding their exchanges, the two institutions committed to enhancing the existing cooperation through positive complementarity, as well as continued operational and judicial engagement.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

October 1, 2022October 3, 2022

Chad to Further Postpone Transition to Democracy

Chad on Saturday extended the transition period to democratic elections, while keeping the head of the military junta on as head of state in the interim.

The decisions were made by a national reconciliation dialogue forum, which has been boycotted by most opposition members, two out of three key armed rebel groups and civil society organizations.

The forum adopted by “consensus” a measure to “extend the transition for a maximum of 24 months.”

The hundreds of delegates also decided that junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno would not only continue as transitional president but be eligible to run for the presidency when elections are held.

Government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah said there would be a debate on Monday before an official decision is announced.

Deby took over in April last year after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, the country’s ruler for 30 years, was killed during a military operation against rebels.

He had pledged to hand back power to civilians after 18 months, a deadline that would run out this month.

He also pledged to Chadians and the international community that he would not run in the upcoming presidential elections.

After coming to power, the junta of 15 generals, called the Transitional Military Council, scrapped the constitution, dissolved parliament and dismissed the government.

The international community had urged Deby not to extend the transition beyond 18 months before the return of civilian rule, and not to run for president in the eventual elections.

However, in June last year, the junta leader dealt a first blow to those hopes, envisaging another 18 months of transition “if the Chadians do not manage to reach an agreement” on the way forward.

He also said then that he would leave the question of his presidential candidacy to God.

Source: Voice of America