Day: April 20, 2023

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First lady inspects ongoing Construction of AFLPM Secretariat in Nigeria

The President, Africa First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM), Aisha Buhari of Nigeria, on Wednesday visited the site of the ongoing construction of the new Permanent Secretariat of the Misson in Abuja.

The first lady, who was accompanied by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, expressed happiness with the progress of work done so far.

Mrs Buhari commended the construction firm handling the construction of the project for working assiduously to deliver the project within the timeframe.

”I thank the Almighty Allah for giving me the opportunity to construct the Secretariat of the Africa First Ladies Peace Mission during my tenure as the first lady of Nigeria which will be inaugurated in few weeks time.”

While commending the contribution of the federal government towards the execution of the project, the first lady expressed the need for the minister of women affairs to expedite action towards the release of funds donated by the Nigerian government to ensure the completion of the project.

”I will like to thank the Nigerian government for their intervention. We also understood that some funds amounting to N500 million was allegedly received by the Honourable Minister of women affairs on behalf of the Africa First Ladies Peace Mission.

”We therefore appeal to her to immediately credit the account of the peace Misson for us to adequate compilation, auditing and handing over process” she said.

The first lady therefore expressed gratitude to other stakeholders for their contributions towards the successful construction of the new Permanent Secretariat.

On her part, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, commended the courage and tenancy of the first lady in delivering the multi-million naira project.

Ahmed expressed optimism that the project will add value to the efforts of African women in peace building across the continent.

”We are very pleased with the progress of work that has been done here. This project started a year ago and it is within the time frame and is going to be commissioned very soon.

“And it is really a credit to our First Lady, that this project has been pushed so fast, and the quality of work here is very much.

”It is good that Nigeria is actually showing leadership and we see this mission as our own and it’s a representation of peace in Africa,” she said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

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Namibia and Botswana tourism enterprises participate in LEEN

Fifteen private tourism enterprises from Namibia and Botswana operating in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Areas (KAZA TFCA) are participating in the Learning Energy Efficient Network (LEEN), which is aimed at improving energy efficiency and carbon savings.

Situated in the Kavango and Zambezi river basins, KAZA TFCA is the largest transfrontier conservation area in the world and is a development initiative between the governments of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe with the support of the United Nations Development Programme.

The LEEN project, which was launched in Kasane, Botswana on Thursday, is spearheaded by the German government through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and provides an opportunity to pursue an agenda that partner states firmly believe in reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable development.

Speaking at the launch, KAZA Secretariat Executive Director Nyambe Nyambe said the four-year project will equip participating enterprises with an understanding of their energy use and attaining energy efficiency in electricity, heating, ventilation, cooking and fuels, amongst others.

“KAZA’s vision is that we cannot do anything within KAZA outside the framework of sustainable development, therefore it is very encouraging that the LEEN project has an alignment with KAZA’s mission and has successfully been piloted within the context of sustainable lodges within KAZA,” he noted.

At the same occasion, the chief public relations officer of Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Romeo Muyunda said LEEN will play a significant role in addressing energy challenges faced by community-based organisations in KAZA. He said community conservation in Namibia plays a crucial role in enhancing livelihoods at grassroots levels.

Muyunda revealed that conservancies generated cash income and in-kind benefits of N.dollars 91.7 million for rural communities in 2021.

“The Namibian government allows conservancies to be given leaseholds to run tourism enterprises. In the Zambezi Region alone, there are 33 joint venture lodges developed and these organisations have limited capacities in terms of affording reliable infrastructure for energy production or simply the consumption cost,” he noted.

LEEN is a concept developed in Switzerland in the 1990s. Since then, the approach has been successfully transferred to Germany, France, Austria and now the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Disability Inclusion is a cross-cutting theme in the activities of the World Bank

Ms Eunice Yaa Brimfah Ackwerh, a Senior Educational Specialist at the World Bank Ghana Office, has said disability inclusion was a cross-cutting theme in the activities of the world Bank.

She said the World Bank as an institution was conscious of disability inclusion and therefore ensured that all their projects and programmes factored disability inclusion.

“We would like to see a time when in all our projects we engage persons with disabilities to guide as in how we include them,” Ms. Ackwerh said when the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) organised a conference to engage with development partners.

Ms. Ackwerh said: “We are making some progress when it comes to disability inclusion, yet there is so much more to be done.

The GFD partners conference brought together NGOs working in the disability sector, corporate organisations and developed partners to dialogue about disability inclusion and how all the organisations can work together to ensure disability inclusive development in Ghana.

Mr Joseph Atsu Homadzi, President of the GFD who courted continuous support from the partners said persons with disabilities suffered some forms of human rights abuse in Ghana.

“What we need is equal opportunities, once we are given the opportunity, we will excel. We have the capacity, we have the potential, and we can excel,” Mr Homadzi said.

Mr Yaw Ofori Debrah, a former President of the GFD said what persons with disability needed was understanding, opportunity and equity, “we do not need charity.”

Mr Moses Fordjour, Monitoring, Evaluation and knowledge Management Manager at the GFD, said government’s slow response to issues of disability resulted in the waning interest in the activities of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (OPDs)

“A Ghana without OPDs will be disastrously unimaginable,” he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Zero Plastic Planet to embark on a clean-up exercise at Ningo Prampram

Zero Plastic Planet – an Accra-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), will on Saturday, April 22, embark on a clean-up exercise at the Ningo-Prampram Beach as part of its campaign against plastic waste on Ghanaian beaches.

The exercise also forms part of activities by the NGO to educate Ghanaians on the importance of waste segregation and the negative impact of plastic waste pollution.

The clean-up exercise would commence at 0800 hours at the Ningo-Prampram Beach and would see participants collect plastic waste at the beach and also prevent them from ending up in the ocean.

They would also carry out a data analysis exercise to identify the major classification of plastic waste in a bid to advise and assist the government and policy makers to make informed decisions, pertinent to plastic waste pollution in Ghana.

A statement from Zero Plastic Planet said the exercise would be carried out across all beaches in the country after the Ningo-Prampram project.

The organization has launched a nationwide public advocacy campaign to educate the average Ghanaian and African, on the importance of waste segregation and the detriment of plastic waste pollution.

It said poor plastic waste management had led to the pollution of ocean with plastic waste and Global statistics showed that there would be more plastics than fishes in the sea, by 2050.

Ghana ocean health index has shown a significant decline over the past few years. Our index has declined from 63 to 59.

Zero Plastic Planet is an organization that seeks to leverage plastic waste as a strategic tool, to positively impact socio-economic development in Ghana and Africa.

The organization is passionate about finding creative solutions to address plastic waste pollution, affecting biodiversity, in general.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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South: Over 258 billion FCFA to be invested in iron ore mining project

Thousands of direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created around Kribi in the South region, as mining company SINOSTEEL, gears towards the start of a 25-year project.

The acting Minister of Mines, Industries, and Technological Development, Prof. Calistus Gentry Fuh, paid a working visit to the project site situated between Campo, Lokoundje, and Kribi, where he revealed how the activities will unfold.

“There will be an open pit mine, there will be the installation of the enrichment plant that will treat the iron ore, and then the infrastructure and road that will carry the iron ore to the seaport,” the Minister said.

He urged local authorities to sensitize the population to collaborate with the government, for the realization of the project.

He said they had deliberations regarding a number of social issues, including “the compensation for those who had landed property which is covered by the project”.

For the 25 years that the project is expected to run, over 600 million tons of iron ore will be exploited with an investment estimated at more than 258 billion FCFA. The project will effectively kick off in December 2023.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

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Meta cultural festival holds in Guneku village

The Meta people in Mbengwi subdivision, Momo division in the North West region of Cameroon have gone back to their roots, rekindling memories of their cultural practices in the yesteryears.

A cultural festival, known as “Michi Ebeng” was recently held in the village of Guneku.

According to Prof Njoh Oliver Mecuda, it is an opportunity to bring back to life their rich culture and preserve it, after 6 years, due to the armed conflict in the region.

“You can bear with me that for the past 6 years now our culture has been in the cold, so now we are trying to revive it and start from somewhere. We need to uphold the culture in order to pass it to our generation” he said

The Fon’s representative Mbakwa Bernard said they decided and felt it necessary for them to revisit their abandoned meals and be natural.

“We are trying to bring back what the Meta people had years back, some people are seeing for the first time. Meals that have been forgotten, it was considered meals meant for poor people, but now people have started eating food that has caused them a lot of illnesses. So if we start eating our food, we will become natural and come back to our roots” He affirmed

Hundreds of participants and attendees were all compelled to dress only traditionally, speak only the Meta language, drink only palm wine using horns and calabashes, and eat only traditional delicacies in wooden bowls or plantain leaves.

The usage of modern items was minimized and artifacts of the yesteryears were also exhibited.

A good number of Meta traditional rulers, quarters heads of Guneku fondom, and the population at large attended the event which ended with a Mukonge Dance Competition involving 7 dance groups.

The Fon of Guneku village, Fon Fomuki Walters has announced that the second edition of the “Michi Ebeng” festival will take place in March next year still in the Guneku palace.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

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