namibia

By Jorge Joaquim

The chief of staff of the Rwandan army, Mubarakh Muganga, has urged Rwandan troops helping Mozambique to fight terrorists in Cabo Delgado province to “keep the momentum and continue to be good ambassadors of Rwanda”.

Muganga landed in Cabo Delgado for a four-day visit to monitor the activities of Rwandan troops in northern Mozambique.

He was welcomed yesterday by the commander of Rwandan troops in Mozambique, Innocent Kabandana, in the district of Mocímboa da Praia, where he was briefed about the progress of military operations against the insurgents.

On the other hand, the terroristas continue to kill civilians despite claims that security has been restored in Cabo Delgado.

Seven people have been killed in the village of Tapara, Quissanga district, by terrorists on the run from Rwandan and Mozambican government troops. Another five people were killed last week by insurgents in the village of Namaluco, also in Quissanga.

The killings come despite reassurances by the general commander of the Mozambican police, Bernardino Rafael, that security has been restored in the district.

The insurgents were allegedly on the run after their bases, in the administrative post of Mbau, were attacked by Mozambican and Rwandan government forces. The killings happened just as Rafael urged refugees to return to Quissanga.

By Alice Chisanga

President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has told UN General Assembly today as it continues with it’s general debate that Global Economic Organization Structures have proved inadequate for developing countries.
 

Mr. Akufo – Addo is thus calling for a constructive review based on equity, sustainability, and collective prosperity.
He notes that if the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) or World Health Organization (WHO) were created today, they would be very different institutions, as African and Caribbean nations were not present at their establishment. 
 

His wish is that key multilateral institutions be repositioned to reflect inclusiveness and representative coverage with diverse leaders at the table. 
 

Mr. Akufo – Addo says admitting the African Union to an expanded Group of Twenty (G20) would have a galvanizing affect, emphasizing that an increase in representation would redefine global policy and allow for a more inclusive, sustainable world.

By Nevson Mpofu

Zimbabwe is still embroiled in a reburial case of former President Robert Mugabe . The then now deceased succumbed to cancer and died while under hospitalisation at Glen-Eagles hospital in Singapore in September 2019. A fuming wrangle building up to animosity is looming between the Mugabe family and the quuet President Emmerson Mnangagwa who is now compelled to intervene .

Speaking for the family , former President Mugabe’s cousin Leo Mugabe told the Pan-African-Visions that Chief Zvimba who reigns in the former President clan is making madding attempts to exhume the body of the late for reburial at the national shrine .

Leo Mugabe said they were now compelling President Mnangagwa to intervene in this exhumation case . He pointed out this as day time madness . He pointed out that  President Mnangagwa must immediately stop the machinations of going around courts trying to exhume the remains .

” As family we appeal President Mnangagwa to intervene in ths case and stop immediately this madness of going around courts trying to exhume the late former leader’s body and rebury at the national heroes acre” .

” President Mnangagwa must come out clear  and show he is not part of the machinations to exhume the body and also trying to disregard wishes of the family . The saga can only stop if President Mnangagwa comes out clear .”

The spirited saga comes with the blowing wind of an appeal by Mugabe family members against the ruling which was passed by Chief Zvimba that the body must beexhumed and buried at the national heroes acre in Harare . The family contacted the courts regarding this through an appeal which was thrown .  A magistrate court overturned in a town called Chinhoyi , the home town of the late . The Magistrate ruled in favour of Chief Zvimba that the late leader goes for reburial . This automatically means the body of the late will be exhumed and reburied at the national acres where liberators are all buried .

Mugabe family is now pushing to launch an appeal at high court against Chinhoyi magistrate Ruth Moyo judgement which is in favour of the Chief’s orders. It is suspected the chief is in favour of the state . The state

through President Mnangagwa is pushing for reburial of  the former leader . A Legal Practitioner Fungai Chimwara has been instructed to stand on the side of the family and challenge the ruling by Ruth Moyo the magistrate . Fungai Chimwara said there are opprtunities that the Mugabe family appeal will be successful.  

” There are a lot of opportunities that our appeal will win in court . Come  the day we sit for this case , its a win ,” said tye Lawyer .

Family members barred the government from allowing the former leader burial at the national heroes acre citing reasons that they had to respect the will of the former leader . According to the family , the late did not choose to be buried at national acres for reasons up to now still unknown .

Information picked up by this online through research concludes that the clan and family members have powers to decide what they want done in terms of burial of their people . Mugabe was buried in his home area Zvimba .This was the decision of the family after words of the deceased . The Government has since resisted this decision  ,bringing close clash between it and family members .

There is likeli-hood that the chief will be over turned by superior courts because it is said chiefs  have no powers to order exhumation of human beings for burial . There is a legislation that deals specifically with such kind of issues under the Ministry of Home Affairs .

By Wallace Mawire

Human Rights Watch has reported that residents of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, face a potable water crisis three years after a deadly cholera outbreak.

 The organization says that Zimbabwe’s central government and the Harare City Council should urgently act to ensure clean water for millions of people affected.

 It is reported that the water situation in Harare is largely the same as in 2008, when Zimbabwe experienced the most devastating cholera outbreak in Africa in 15 years. The outbreak killed 42 00 people and infected at least 100,000. Human Rights Watch found that the city’s perennial water crisis, which is linked to the cholera outbreak, is the result of the city’s obsolete water infrastructure, a ballooning population, severe droughts, and pervasive government corruption and mismanagement. Poor governance and disputes between the central government and the Harare City Council have hindered efforts to address the problems.

“Harare’s long unresolved water crisis is a ticking time bomb of magnified health risks that forces residents to seek alternative, often unsafe water sources,” said Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Zimbabwean authorities at the national and local levels should work together to promptly and permanently end Harare’s dangerous water problems.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed 85 people in October 2019 and July and August 2021 water in five densely populated, or high-density, areas (Budiriro, Glenview, Highfields, Mabvuku, and Mbare) who had no access to safe drinking water: in Harare, the peri-urban informal settlement of Epworth near Harare, and the surrounding towns of Chitungwiza, Norton, and Ruwa. Human Rights Watch also interviewed 11 central government and municipal officials, public health experts, legal experts, city council employees, and staff of nongovernmental organizations and United Nations agencies in Zimbabwe. Human Rights Watch also reviewed reports from the government, UN, nongovernmental groups, and the media on water issues in Harare.

The infrastructure for piped water in Harare was developed in the 1950s, before Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, and designed for a population of 300,000 people. Currently, Harare’s greater metropolitan area has about 4.5 million people, more than half of whom have no access to clean water and are at risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.

The water crisis in Harare has affected people’s rights to water and sanitation as well as other related rights, including the rights to life, food, and health. “Sometimes we get city council water in the taps,” a woman from the high-density suburb of Mabvuku told Human Rights Watch. “It is not clean. We cannot drink it and, because it smells badly, we cannot use it to cook.”

Common water sources, namely shallow wells, taps, and many boreholes – deep, narrow wells – are often contaminated, Human Rights Watch said. However, despite the known risk of contaminated water, there is no specific official information on which water sources are safe, leaving residents to take their chances.

“The water that comes out from the taps is neither clean nor safe to drink, so we have to depend on borehole water, which we feel is better,” said a 46-year-old woman from Harare’s Glenview suburb. “But we know that even borehole water is not safe for drinking.”

More affluent families in Harare’s low-density suburbs drill safe boreholes and purchase bottled water, options not available to the vast majority of the population. The humanitarian organization Medecins Sana Frontieres (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders) in Zimbabwe has developed a method of protecting new boreholes from contamination with sanitary seals, but local governments have not adopted this solution, which costs several thousand US dollars per borehole.

Under section 77 of Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution “every person has the right to safe, clean, and potable water.” The government is obligated to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of available resources, to achieve the progressive realization of the right to water. Zimbabwe is also a party to African regional and international human rights treaties that recognize the right to water and sanitation.

The government at the national and local levels should urgently act to ensure alternative sources of safe drinking water, such as safe boreholes and protected wells, for the entire population, Human Rights Watch said.

“Zimbabwean authorities should not wait for the next cholera outbreak to provide access to safe drinking water for everyone,” Mavhinga said. “The government should invest in low-cost water equipment and distribution systems to uphold the right of millions of Zimbabweans to potable water.”


 It is reported that the millions of residents of Harare and the surrounding areas have been hard hit by the region’s water crisis. In Mbare, a high-density suburb of Harare which has the country’s biggest and busiest bus terminus and a vegetable market visited by thousands of people daily, water and sanitation facilities are insufficient, residents said.

Blocks of “bachelor flats” in Mbare, built and designed for one-person occupancy during colonial times, now house large families, severely straining the limited water resources. Because of the lack of water, the flush toilets are severely inadequate, unsanitary, and in many cases as a result are nonfunctional. Both Harare and Chitungwiza have numerous open markets in which thousands of people set up stalls to sell meat, vegetables, fruit, and livestock, but the markets lack adequate water and sanitation facilities. For instance, at the Kamunhu Shopping Centre, the Harare City Council established about 2,000 market stalls for traders, but it did not provide running water.

Residents who at times get tap water described the water’s quality as poor. A 53-year-old woman from the Mabvuku high-density suburb said that: “Now we get water in our taps twice a week in the evenings, but we cannot drink that water, we only use it for washing. For drinking and cooking water, we [go to] boreholes where we wait sometimes four hours to get it.”

Those who have no access to tap water rely on boreholes for all their water. A 32-year-old mother of two in the Highfields high-density suburb said that her tap water was shut off after she failed to pay Zim $6,000 (US$70) in water bills over six months. Consequently, she depends on the potentially dangerous water from the borehole. “Many people queue to get water from the borehole, but we do not know if the water is safe to drink,” she said.

The boreholes are also not always reliable or accessible. A 56-year-old mother of three in the Budiriro high-density suburb said:

In 2019, we had a borehole that was working here in Budiriro 5. We would spend over six hours waiting for water, but it was better we had a borehole nearby. The borehole broke down and has not been working for the last five months. We must now walk a long distance to Mufakose, another residency area, sometimes at night, to fetch water from boreholes there.

The Chitungwiza municipality depends on treated water supplied by the Harare City Council. The water supply in Harare directly affects the Chitungwiza municipality, which gets rationed water as a result. Epworth, an informal settlement adjacent to Harare, has no water infrastructure for its 120,000-plus residents. Instead, tens of thousands of Epworth residents have depended on a dam with stagnant, unsafe water for more than three decades, even though the water is unfit for human consumption. A 21-year-old woman who has lived her entire life in Epworth without tap water said:

I know that the dam water is not safe to drink, sometimes we fall sick after drinking the water, but I have no choice. I need the water to survive, and I have nowhere else to get water.

In Harare’s low-density suburbs in the north and east of the city, more affluent families have devised alternatives, including drilling safe boreholes and using bottled water, which costs Zim $86 (US$1) for a one-liter bottle. That is unaffordable for the vast majority of Zimbabweans, many of whom live well under the poverty line.

Medecins Sans Frontieres in Zimbabwe, which since 2015 has worked to bring safe, clean water to vulnerable communities, in 2017 introduced new drilling and cementation techniques, placing sanitary seals to protect newly drilled boreholes from contamination. MSF reported that tested water from these boreholes showed “‘zero’ bacteriological and chemical contamination.”

MSF has since advocated drilling these safe boreholes to prevent contamination, including through the dissemination of a toolkit on good practices in water, sanitation, and hygiene that explains how to protect borehole water from contamination. However, the average cost is very high, ranging from US$5,400 to $6,000 per borehole, and Harare and surrounding towns have not adopted the cementation technology.


 it is reported that several factors have contributed to Harare’s severe water problems, including economic decay; perennial droughts affecting Lake Chivero, which is dammed to supply Harare with water; the lack of maintenance of the old water infrastructure; the inability to procure the necessary chemicals to treat water sources; political struggles between the central government under the ruling party and the opposition-controlled city council; and corruption.



Harare’s water supply comes from Lake Chivero dam water, which the city’s mayor, Jacob Mafume, says is so heavily contaminated with raw sewage that it requires many different chemicals to purify. Harare City Council’s water department uses 12 chemicals, including chlorine gas, aluminum sulfate, sulfuric acid, sodium silicate, activated carbon, and hydrated lime, to treat and purify water from the Lake Chivero dam. Most of these chemicals are imported and very expensive, creating a huge challenge for a country facing severe foreign currency shortages..

Ian Makone, a Harare city councilor, blamed leakages in the old, dilapidated, and inadequate water distribution network for the water crisis. “More than 40 percent of pumped treated water is not delivered due to leakages,” Makone said. There are cracks in both the water and sewage pipes because of the city’s failure to replace decades-old pipes several years ago, causing flowing tap water to be mixed with sewage in several places across Harare.


Zimbabwe’s government has an obligation under international human rights law to ensure that the right to water is met, regardless of whether the policies are carried out by the national government or delegated to local authorities. Political tensions between the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, which controls the central government, and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDCA), which controls the Harare municipal government, has adversely affected water service delivery in the region.

The central government has not fulfilled constitutional provisions that allow for the devolution of power from the central government to the municipal level. Zimbabwe’s Parliament has not enacted legislation to establish appropriate systems and procedures to facilitate coordination between the central government and local authorities. Thus, while the Harare City Council has the responsibility to supply clean water to residents, the central government, through the Ministry of Local Government, wields the decision-making power. At the same time, the central government is responsible for constructing dams to provide water for cities, but no new dams have been constructed for Harare and Chitungwiza despite the existence of such plans for decades.

Harare’s Mayor Mfume told Human Rights Watch that inadequate laws authorizing the local government to provide water have hampered the city council’s efforts to address the water crisis and improve service delivery for the metropolitan area. “Currently, we are unable to operate effectively because our hands are tied by the Ministry of Local Government and the centralization that inhibits the operations of municipalities,” he said. “The mayors have no real powers.”

The MDC Alliance president, Nelson Chamisa said:

The [ZANU-PF controlled] Ministry of Local Government still enjoys superpowers. It appoints all town clerks, CEOs, and other officials. This means they continue to sabotage our efforts for change. The government still approves and limits our budgets. We are not able to determine rates, leaving us unable to make enough money to provide adequate services.

The ZANU-PF party minister for the Harare metropolitan province, Oliver Chidawu, said the central government acknowledged the challenges of decentralization and the water crisis, and is in discussions about long-term plans, including the construction of new dams, but said the major challenge is funding. He said the government needs support from international donors to be able to have a comprehensive response to the water crisis.

Existing legislation makes it complicated and difficult for municipal authorities to address problems like access to clean water, the former mayor of Harare, Herbert Gomba, said. For instance, under the Joint Ventures Act, before the city can engage a private company for services, it must first send a resolution to the national Ministry of Local Government, which must then send a resolution to the Office of the President and Cabinet for approval. The Urban Councils Act prohibits cities from borrowing money or entering into contracts without Ministry of Local Government authorization. In addition, the Procurement Act removed procurement powers from local authorities and put the powers in the Office of the President and Cabinet.

The local and central governments have continued to blame each other without resolving Harare’s water crisis.



Public sector corruption and mismanagement at the local and central government levels have exacerbated the government’s neglect of water infrastructure over the last two decades, compromising access to safe, clean water. Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perception Index found that corruption is extremely high in Zimbabwe, ranking it 157 out of 179 countries. Corruption is rife in the central government as well as within the Harare City Council and Chitungwiza municipality, negatively affecting service delivery.

In July 2020 the anticorruption unit in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office arrested the then-mayor of Harare, Herbert Gomba, and other top city council officials, on allegations of corruption and abuse of office regarding approval irregularities in the sale of land and alteration of plans. Gomba’s case is still in the courts. Four months later, Mafume, who replaced Gomba as mayor, was also arrested on allegations of corruption, prompting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to assert that the Zimbabwean government was using its law enforcement agents to  target council officials from the MDCA. Mafume’s case is also still before the courts.



Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution protects the right to water. Section 77 of the constitution states that every person has the right to “safe, clean, and potable water.” Under the constitution, the state “must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realization of this right.”

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which Zimbabwe has ratified, does not expressly include the right to water. However, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has interpreted the right to water as being implied by various rights codified in the African Charter, including the right to “a general satisfactory environment” favorable to peoples’ development, which is unattainable without access to water and sanitation. The African Commission in 2020 published Guidelines on the Right to Water in Africa, which it said was grounded in regional treaties’ protection of economic, social, and cultural development; health; access to natural resources; the environment; and food

In 2010 121 countries, including Zimbabwe, voted in the UN General Assembly to recognize a freestanding right to water. In 2011 the UN Human Rights Council endorsed the right to safe drinking water and to sanitation as basic rights.

The General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2015 that states that the right to water entitles everyone, without discrimination, “to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic use.”

The UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights has interpreted international law on the right to water, as well as state obligations, in its General Comment No.15. The state’s minimum core obligations include ensuring people’s access to sufficient, safe water and physical access to water facilities or services that are a reasonable distance away.  

Zimbabwe has ratified international human rights treaties that contain – explicitly or implicitly –  provisions on the right to water, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Recommendations made to the Zimbabwe Central Government  include implementing legal and other reforms to ensure the full promotion, protection, and enjoyment of the right to water enshrined in section 77 of Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution and African regional and international human rights law, ensuring residents’ access to potable water either directly through central government authority or by adequately empowering local governments, working with city councils to develop and implement a system, such as sliding scale fees, to ensure the delivery of affordable and safe piped water to low-income families, working with local authorities to ensure that all public boreholes are regularly tested for water quality and that these results are disseminated to residents, providing regular, up-to-date information to residents on the water quality of both taps and boreholes in their areas so they understand the health risks and benefits of available water sources, upgrading the water infrastructure in Harare and surrounding areas, taking steps to reduce corruption, including by developing and enforcing transparency and accountability measures regarding the allocation of finances and expenditures.

Recommendations made to the Harare City Council include ensuring residents’ access to potable water either directly through central government authority or by adequately empowering local governments, developing and implement a system, such as sliding scale fees, to ensure the delivery of affordable and safe piped water to low-income families, upgrading the water infrastructure in Harare, providing regular, up-to-date information to residents on the water quality of both taps and boreholes in their areas so they understand the health risks and benefits of available water sources, ensuring that all public boreholes are regularly tested for water quality and that these results are disseminated to residents and taking steps to reduce corruption, including by developing and enforcing transparency and accountability measures regarding the allocation of finances and expenditures.

By Wallace Mawire

HARARE-Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) are concerned about the arrests of, and restrictions placed upon a number of lawyers limiting their freedoms to carry out their profession since the beginning of 2020 and have launched a report outlining attacks on human rights lawyers in Zimbabwe.

  The report was launched during an online international conference by the two organizations including the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) on 21 September, 2021.

 The report also outlined the the political situation in Zimbabwe, as well the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Through a set of illustrative case studies, the report shows how lawyers in Zimbabwe are currently being barred from representing their clients, have become subjects of arbitrary arrests and have even being attacked for carrying out their profession.

  Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) is an independent and non-political foundation which seeks to promote the proper functioning of the rule of law by pursuing freedom and independence of the legal profession.

  The foundation supports lawyers worldwide who face reprisals, improper interferences or unreasonable restrictions in the execution of their profession.

  Lawyers for Lawyers was granted Special Consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council in July 2013.

  The report has been drafted by L4L with the support of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). ZLHR is an organization that dedicates itself to promote a culture of human rights, equality and respect for the rule of law in order to create a just and democratic society in Zimbabwe.

  Most of the lawyers mentioned in the report are ZLHR members. ZLHR has provided legal representation to all the lawyers mentioned who have been formally charged.

ZLHR said that it will continue to represent these lawyers until their cases are finalized.

 It is reported that the beginning of 2020 saw an increase in the number of arrests of Zimbabwean lawyers and in the restrictions placed on lawyers in their freedoms to carry out their profession.

   The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and government enforced restrictions is reported to have  resulted in an increase in the number of cases.

  Alec Muchadehama, a human rights lawyer from Zimbabwe, describes the situation of lawyers under the lockdown as follows: “ [W]e had insurmountable difficulties moving to police stations and the Courts. We would be frisked at the check points. We would not be allowed to pass despite identifying ourselves as lawyers. Whilst we were prevented from reaching our clients, they were being over detained and being held incommunicado. The case of Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova makes sad reading. They were kidnapped by suspected State security agents. On 5 May 2020 they temporarily disappeared and were discovered 36 hours later, severely tortured. They are now facing allegations of breaking the COVID-19 regulations and spreading falsehoods prejudicial to the State.”

  It is reported that in 2020, Zimbabwean authorities questioned and arrested a number of lawyers while they were carrying out their professional duties. A large number of Zimbabwean lawyers were reported to have been  arrested in June 2020.

  On 10 July 2020, the lawyers were charged with “defeating or obstructing the course of justice”.

  The arrests included the lawyers Dumisani Dube, Thabani Mpofu, Tapiwa Makanza and Joshua Chirambwe, who were believed to be arrested for conducting their professional duties.

 Throughout 2020, ZLHR says that it has repeatedly condemned “the increasing targeted arrests of lawyers during execution of their professional duties”.

   According to Blessing Gorejena, former Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, “lawyers were being harassed, intimidated and being barred from representing their clients arrested during the lockdown”

  L4L and ZLHR has called upon the Zimbabwean authorities to guarantee in all circumstances that lawyers in Zimbabwe are able to carry out their legitimate professional rights and duties without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions, including judicial harassment.

  It is added that in its task of promoting and ensuring the proper role of lawyers, the Government of Zimbabwe should respect, and take account of, the Basic Principles within the framework of its national legislation and practice.

  Adherence to the Basic Principles is considered a fundamental pre-condition to fulfilling the requirement that all persons have effective access to legal assistance and representation.

 It is said that furthermore, as a member of the African Union and the UN, and as a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Zimbabwe has legal obligations to adopt measures that effectively ensure rights to liberty, freedom from arbitrary detention, freedom of expression, and fair trial.

  L4L and ZLHR also called attention to the Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review Zimbabwe of Human Rights Council of 28 December 2016, which includes various recommendations by UN member states as to the position and protection of lawyers in Zimbabwe.

  In light of the concerns addressed in the report, L4L and ZLHR draw specific attention recommendations, such as ensuring that violence directed against political activists, regardless of political affiliation and human rights defenders will not be tolerated and that perpetrators will be held accountable in accordance with the law, taking concrete steps to create and maintain a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders.

 It is reported that in view of the above, L4L and ZLHR respectfully urge the Government of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean authorities to immediately and unconditionally put an end to all acts of harassment against lawyers, including at the judicial level, taking all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of lawyers, guarantying in all circumstances that all lawyers in Zimbabwe are able to carry out their legitimate professional rights and duties without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.

 Speakers and the online conference included Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh (Africa Regional Director at the International Commission of Jurists) and Diego García-Sayán (UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of
Judges and Lawyers).Opening remarks were presented by Sternford Moyo (President of the
International Bar Association) and the event was moderated by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC (Director of International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute).

By Deng Machol

Juba – South Sudan’s transitional government of national unity on Wednesday condemned a failed coup attempt on Tuesday in its northern neighbor Sudan. 

In the press statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said it considers the coup attempt to oust the transitional government in Sudan as a blatant attack on the process of consolidating peace in Sudan.

“The government and the people of the Republic of South Sudan strongly condemn this failed coup attempt and urge the Sudanese government to hold accountable all those involved. The government of South Sudan also condemns any external interference intended to derail the peaceful transition that is currently underway in Sudan,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement issued in Juba.

Sudan is calm after a group of military officers attempted to overthrow the transitional government on Tuesday.

In 2020, Sudan Prime Minister Hamdok survived an assassination attempt in Khartoum.

 However, over 40 military officers who are accused of being part of the botched coup attempt have been arrested, according to Sudan media agency.

Sudanese transitional government has accused rogue loyalists of ousted president Omar al-Bashir of orchestrating a failed coup in Khartoum

Juba disclosed that it rejects the use of military means to undermine the power of the people and the leadership of the transitional government.

Juba also urges the IGAD leaders to condemn this attack on the democratic transition in Sudan.

This comes after the President Salva Kiir had phone conversations with the Chairman of the Sudan Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Tuesday morning after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) successfully thwarted the attempted coup allegedly by supporters of former President Omar Al-Bashir.

“We emphasize our firm position in rejecting the use of military means to undermine the power of the people and the leadership of Transitional Government,” said Kiir in the statement. “Such  unconstitutional shortcuts aimed at blocking the democratic political transition in Sudan should not be allowed to derail the efforts of the Sudanese people,” the statement said.

In October’s last year, President Kiir mediated and oversaw the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement between the Sudan transitional government and various armed rebels from the regions of Darfur, Nuba Mountains and South Kordofan, ending the decades deadly conflict in Sudan region.

This resulted to the integration of these former rebel fighters have been integrated into the Sudan transitional government. 

The statement also called on all the parties and stakeholders in Sudan to embrace peaceful dialogue and protect the transitional government in order to safeguard the democratic gains made during this transitional period.

The statement said “we reaffirm our support to full implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement in Sudan, and urge the parties to recommit to it as the best path forward to achieve the legitimate goals and dreams of the Sudanese people and revolution.”

Kiir’s government pledged full support and solidarity with the government and the people of the Sudan in their efforts to achieve the legitimate aspirations and hopes of the December’s Revolution. 

South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of the scorched – earth civil war between the then ex-rebel army Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and successive regimes in Khartoum.

The two foe sisterly countries share a long common border that has not been demarcated and resources.

Of recently, Juba and Khartoum agreed to open by October 1st four border crossing points at Jebeleen area to encourage trade and movement of people across their common border that was shut in 2011.

Sudan has been on a fragile path to democratic rule since the military’s ouster of the country’s longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, following four months of mass protests.

Sudan is currently being run by a joint military and civilians government that faces towering economic and security challenges

Coventry University Group and MasterStart launch online leadership courses in Africa in landmark development for UK-Africa educational collaboration.

Educational innovators Coventry University Group and MasterStart have combined their acclaimed teaching frameworks to create courses aimed at developing the next generation of leaders and to inspire under-represented groups to gain leadership skills.

The collaboration sees the launch of a range of programmes aimed at improving access to education in a range of in-demand topics and with a key focus on diversity, inclusion and sustainable development.

Coventry University Group will join some of Africa’s leading providers of executive and business education, including University of Stellenbosch Business School – Executive Development, University of Cape Town – Graduate Business School and Gordon Institute of Business Science, by collaborating academically online with MasterStart.

The four new micro credentials, accredited by Coventry University, are the first of their kind in South Africa, as MasterStart expands its provision of career-enabling courses for Africa’s future leaders.

With an intake every month, the seven-week online courses include Digital Marketing, High Impact Sales, Managing Diversity and Inclusion and Data Analysis.

Ben Pike, MasterStart CEO said: “This is a massive step forward for MasterStart’s mission of unlocking leadership potential across under-represented groups. Through partnerships like these between African and UK organisations we aim to tackle inequality through accessible, flexible, and industry-led qualifications with human connection at their heart.”

MasterStart’s educational model focuses on providing a humanised online learning experience where students can apply the course work to their real-world challenges. They can also learn from and with their peers, industry leaders and course faculty.

The collaboration follows the launch of Coventry University’s new Africa Hub in Rwanda in June 2021, which will support academic collaborations such as this and provide organisations and individuals across Sub-Saharan Africa with regional access to the growing academic research and commercial expertise that exists within all areas of the Coventry University Group.

Coventry University Vice-Chancellor Professor John Latham CBE said: “We collaborate with more than 150 academic institutions across the globe as we believe that high-quality education should be accessible to all.

“We know there is a demand for high-quality online education in Africa and we look forward to being able to support MasterStart through these micro credentials.”

Emma Wade-Smith OBE, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa at the UK Department for International Trade added:

“It’s encouraging to see leading educational innovators from the UK and South Africa work hand-in-hand to help bridge the skills gap and empower our future African leaders. The launch of Coventry University Group and MasterStart’s online leadership courses in Africa is timely and essential. With the changing corporate landscape and economic challenges of COVID-19, providing upskilling initiatives such as these are key to unlock more job opportunities and open pathways to increase economic inclusion and sustainable growth.”

MasterStart has sold courses in more than 60 countries, has more than 400 enterprise clients and has the ability to train up to 600 learners in a single cohort.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

As a classic precedence, the Justice Department of the United States has decided that $26.6m (£20m) seized from Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue be used on purchasing COVID-19 vaccines and other essential medical programmes in Equitorial Guinea, located on the west coast of central Africa.

“Wherever possible, kleptocrats will not be allowed to retain the benefits of corruption,” an official said in a statement, and reported by British Broadcasting Corporation.

Obiang was forced to sell a mansion in Malibu, California, a Ferrari and various Michael Jackson memorabilia as part of a settlement he reached with the US authorities in 2014 after being accused of corruption and money-laundering. He denied the charges.

The agreement stated that $10.3m of the money from the sale would be forfeited to the US and the rest would be distributed to a charity or other organisation for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea, the Justice Department said.

The UN is to receive $19.25m to purchase and administer COVID-19 vaccines to at least 600,000 people in Equatorial Guinea, while a US-based charity is to get $6.35m for other medical programmes in Equatorial Guinea.

Teodorin Nguema has been working in position as Vice-President since 2012, before that he held numerous government positions, including Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. Known for his unquestionable lavish lifestyle, he has been the subject of a number of international criminal charges and sanctions for alleged embezzlement and corruption. He has a fleet of branded cars and a number of houses, and two houses alone in South Africa,

Teodorin Nguema has often drawn criticisms in the international media for lavish spending, while majority of the estimated 1.5 million population wallows in abject poverty. Subsistence farming predominates, with shabby infrastructure in the country. Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts, an insular and a mainland region. Equatorial Guinea is the third-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa.

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

Leading Virologist with nearly thirty (30) years of experience in public health Dr John Nkengasong is tipped to be  appointed by US President Joe Biden to lead the President’s Plan for Aid Reliefs, (PEPFAR)  according to The New York Times.

The Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Africa CDC, since 2016 has decades of experience in the fight against global health issues with the Cameroonian having had long stints at the World Health Organization, WHO, and the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr John Nkengasong is thus the first person of African descent to take up this position which is tied to the Department of State.

“He is a very strong public health leader with many years of experience, and would bring great connectivity to African leaders and community partners,” Dr Chris Beyrer, a professor of public health and human rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health told New York Times.

Dr Nkengasong will thus have a lot ahead of him looking at the recent report on the testing for HIV and prevention services. In 2020, the number of people who went for HIV testing decreased by 22 per cent compared to 2019 and that statistic is also worrisome as those who opted for HIV prevention services also fell by 12 per cent.

“To have somebody who is known figure both in the US and around the world, AND IN Africa, is a sign that they are taking this seriously… that they understand that raising African leadership is important,” Gregg Gonsalves, a longtime HIV activist and am epidemiologist at the Yale School, of Public Health, said as quoted by the New York Times.

Dr John Nkengasong has been a leading African figure in the fight against COVID-19. He has led numerous calls on the equitable distribution of vaccines to African countries and also lead the calls for the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine patent to be made available to African countries o they could be able to produce it.

Earlier this year, Dr Nkengasong was appointed as one of the WHO Director-General’s Special Envoys on COVID-19 Preparedness and response.

President’s Plan for Aid Reliefs, PEPFAR, is a 7 billion dollars operation that funds and sets goals for AIDS care in many nations, most of them in Africa.

“This is a huge led forward for the US government to name someone from a region where much of PEPFAR’s work is. It shows a commitment to truly listening to and learning from the people PEPFAR is meant to serve,” Mitchell Warren, Executive Director of AVAC, a non-profit organization promoting HIV treatment worldwide said.

About PEPFAR

PEPFAR is the largest public health programme in the United States and was set up by former president George W. Bush in 2003. Since then, the US government has invested more than 85 billion dollars in more than 50 countries, saving an estimated 20 million lives according to reports.

The funds made available are geared towards schemes that support prevention programmes, testing and antiretroviral therapy for HIV. Dr John Nkengasong is thus well-placed to lead projects that will touch on the lives of Africans, something which other Directors had been accused of failing to come up with meaningful projects for Africans.

Who is Dr John Nkengasong?

Dr John Nkengasong is the current and first Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Africa CDC. Before his appointment with Africa CDC, he was Deputy Principal Director (acting) of the Centre for Global Health at the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and Associate Director of Laboratory Science and Chief of the International Laboratory Branch at the Division of Global HIV/AIDS and TB.

Earlier in his career (1993-1995), Dr Nkengasong worked as Chief of Virology Laboratory at the Collaborating Centre on HIV Diagnostics at the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, and later joined US CDC in 1994 as Chief of Virology Laboratory in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Dr John Nkengasong is an adjunct professor at the Emory School of Public Health and has received numerous awards for his work including the Sheppard Award, the William Watson Medal of Excellence, the highest recognition awarded by the CDC. In September 2020, he was honoured with the 2020 Goalkeepers Global Goalkeepers Award. 

He is also the recipient of the Knight of Honour Medal by the Government of Ivory Coast and was knighted in 2017 as the Officer of Loin by the President of Senegal and was knighted in November 2018 by the government of Cameroon for his significant contribution to public health.

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

Leading goal scorer of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Samuel Eto’o has officially announced his candidacy for the post of president of the Cameroon Football Governing Body, FECAFOOT, putting to bed weeks of speculations about his intentions for the job.

The four-time African player of the year winner and two-time Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON champion with the Indomitable Lions, has promised to dedicate the totality of his salary as president of FECAFOOT to the development of youth football in Cameroon.

Samuel Eto’o who scored 56 goals for his national team between 1997 to 2014 took to his Facebook account in the late hours of Tuesday, September 21, to make his decision public after several thoughts according to the former Inter Milan, FC Barcelona player.

In his manifesto for the development of football in his country, Samuel Eto’o has pointed out the development of Amateur Football, the smooth handling of finances, something which has been an issue for some time now with other presidents and the consolidation of the gains that’s have been made so far.

“I am honoured and pleased to announce my candidacy for the Presidency of the Cameroon Football Federation. After careful considerations, I have decided to take this initiative out of love for Cameroon and passion for our football…,” Samuel Eto’o began his message.

“I stand before you because time is of the essence. It is time to rebuild our football. We can no longer delay revamping our number one sport because the rest of the world is moving on; it is progressing without us.”

Samuel Eto’o continued: “In a few months, our country will host the African Cup of Nations. In addition to welcoming players and supporters from sister African countries as well as journalists and tourists from all over the world, it will equally be an opportunity to present to the world the incredible pool of talent that our country has always been and the strength of our community.”

Pichichi as he is sometimes called in his message also touched on other sensitive topics such as good governance in the Federation. To him, he supported a project three years ago that seemed promising for the future of Cameroon football but he has no regrets though expectations were not met.

“… I intend to work as a team because I designed this project based on a spirit of participation and transparency, with regards to the elected representatives of our authorities and all Cameroonians of good. We shall refine the programme together,” Samuel Eto’o added.

“The project is wide-ranging. And if football itself needs shock therapy, its by-products, which are parts of our federation, equally need it. We must regain and maintain a positive dynamic, like in beach soccer… ultimately, the secret to naddr5essing the challenge of rebuilding our football is to remember who we are…”

Elections for the Cameroon Football Governing Body, FECAFOOT, is slated to come up ending November into December with some five candidates, some of whom have officially announced while others are tipped to do so.

Olembe Stadium Director Jules Denis Onana, former Lions goalkeeper Thomas Nkono, incumbent Seidou Mbombo Njoya have all made known their intentions while former Lions player Geremi Njitap, president of the footballer’s Syndicate, SYNAFOC is also reported to be going for the presidency.

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

“We must strive in our deliberation to seize every opportunity to ensure the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life of the people of the North West and South West Regions. Without peace, without security, there can be no sustained development,”

Prime Minister Chief Dr Dion Ngute made the above declaration as he chaired the second session of the Committee to follow up the implementation of the Recommendations of the Major National Dialogue this Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at the National School of Local Administration, NASLA.

The inaugural session of the Steering committee was held in Yaounde in 2020 and during this session, the steering committee took stock of the reforms that have been done and made some recommendations on the need to accelerate these reforms. The holding of this second session is thus the first time such a National Meeting is holding out of Yaounde and the first time since the Major National Dialogue held in the nation’s capital.

The 2nd session was attended by a host of dignitaries such as the Director-General of NASLA, Minister Felix Mbayu, SW Regional Assembly president, Head of the Bilingualism and Multiculturalism Commission amongst others.

According to Prime Minister Dion Ngute, there is relative calm at the moment across the two Regions evident in the high school enrolment figures, the number of academic institutions that have reopened, the re-start of economic activity, and the gradual return of internally displaced persons.

“The once vibrant economy of the South West Region is recovering slowly but steadily. It remains fragile. Agricultural production which has always been the pride of this region is yet to return to optimum output. Unemployment of the youth continues to be a preoccupation,” Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute said in his opening remarks.

“To bring a solution to this, the Prime Minister has ushered in dialogue with GAICAM and other private institutions. They have agreed to take on several youths from these two regions.”

“Industrial production is on the rise; life is slowly and gradually returning to normal. A special focus has been paid to alleviate the problems faced by the CDC, PAMOL, two industrial agro giants in the South West Region as well as SONARA. Erstwhile problems such as the constriction of the ring road in the North West as well as the Limbe Deep Seaport have started finding solutions,” Joseph Dion Ngute added.

The words of the Prime Minister were re-echoed by the Mayor of the Buea municipality, Barrister David Mafani Namange who also mentioned that the government has taken measures aimed at solving the ongoing crisis in the Regions. Some of the things as highlighted by the Mayor include the creation of the National Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission, the creation of the National School of Local Administration, NASLA and the granting of a special status for the North West and South West Regions.

Mayor Mafani Namange further appealed to the “separatist” fighters to silence their guns and give peace a chance. “We cannot solve our present problems without peace,” He said.

Appeal to engage vigorously in communicating, defending and spreading nationally and worldwide the context of the full extent of these changes and our collective appetite for peace and social cohesion.

What the government has done so far

In his presentation, Prime Minister Dion Ngute highlighted some of the things that the government has addressed in their effort to bring the crisis to an end, some of which we adopted during the Major National Dialogue held in 2019.

The Head of State also created the presidential plan for the reconstruction and development to address the immediate needs of the affected persons to restore social cohesion, reconstruct and rehabilitate basic infrastructure and revitalise the local economy. UNDP has been designated as the implemented partner of this initiative.

Also, the passing into law the bill of the special status to the two Regions and empowers local administrators who are elected to initiate development projects within their community, sustainable development, economic opportunity and social justice and the protection of local traditions.

“Every one of us has a key role to play in ensuring that the progress is sustained and that peace and security return to our much-cherished regions… The difficulties and unbearable sufferings within our communities have to end. We all have a stake in maintaining the gains towards security and peaceful coexistence amongst all Cameroonians,” Dr Dion Ngute added.

By Samuel Ouma

On September 21, 2021, leading global specialist risk consultancy Control Risk and Oxford Economics Africa launched the 2021 edition of the Africa Risk Reward Index.

The specialists explained how government responses to three key issues (post-pandemic healthcare, debt, and insecurity) can accelerate or stall Africa’s economic recovery.

This year’s risk-reward scores paint a picture of a continent recovering, though in an uneven and sometimes unpredictable way that raises as many challenges as it does opportunities. Reward scores have increased across the continent, in some cases substantially, but the risk scores show a more varied picture.

According to the policymakers, African governments responded quickly to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, however, testing and treatment have been constrained by lack of capacity. For instance, vaccines rollout has is progressing slowly in the continent due to supply constrains.

Nevertheless, these challenges have prompted new efforts to develop African capacity in the areas of healthcare and biotechnology such as Genome sequencing capacity which currently being established in Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

Other intitiatives to increase the continent’s ability to develop and manufacture vaccines, are an mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub in South Africa and manufacturing facilities in Egypt and Morocco.

Numerous laboratories, testing capacities and cross-border digital test and trace solutions have also been established.

“The global vaccine rollout has been extremely poor, with the unequal distribution of vaccines raising both moral and medical objections. Yet the one silver lining is that the challenges Africa has faced in obtaining not just vaccines but a whole range of equipment and treatments has spurred innovation and driven significant investments in African biotech and health-tech capacity. The emergence of an African biotech sector holds huge potential well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and well beyond just healthcare applications,” said Barnaby Fletcher, Associate Director at Control Risks.

On debt, it has been discovered that Africa’s debt burden has grown massively heavier over the past 18 months, as governments have borrowed to finance both their health response to Covid-19 and stimulus measures meant to lessen the pandemic’s economic impact.

This debt burden poses risks for economies and companies alike as the obligation of servicing that debt will put strain on state-owned enterprises and tend to limit opportunities for private-sector companies that do business with government.

The policy makers believe that the new social bonds and regional funding mechanisms can help reduce the threat such debts pose and offer new opportunities for investors.

On security, they said Africa is at risk now that Western world no longer has the political appetite for foreign military interventions. They raised concern of an increase in militancy and tensions in the Horn of Africa, saying it can make Africa’s security more volatile than it has been in the past.

They added that in the absence of foreign military intervention, new approaches are needed to tackle security threats to shape the continent’s security landscape.

The Africa Risk-Reward Index is an authoritative guide for policymakers, business leaders and investors. 

The report monitors developments in the investment landscape in major African markets and delivers a grounded, longer-term outlook of key trends shaping investment in these economies.

H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, attends signing in New York between W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation and Government of Ghana.

NEW YORK, September 20, 2021 – H.E. Nàna Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, heralded plans to construct a state-of-the-art museum complex honoring the legacy of world-renown black intellectual and civil rights pioneer Dr. W.E.B Du Bois as an important symbolic monument.

“The museum will provide in Ghana, yet another important monument to the collective struggle of the African peoples to get their rightful place in this world,” said President Akufo-Addo in his remarks prior to the signing of a historic partnership arrangement between the Government of Ghana and the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation’s affiliate in Ghana. The signing took place in New York City where the U.S. foundation is headquartered.

The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of Ghana by Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance of Ghana, and Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Signing for the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation were Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director  of the foundation in the U.S., and  Humphrey Ayim-Darke, Board Member of the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation, Ghana.

“Mr. President, let me reassure you of our commitment to making your beloved Ghana a hub of Pan-African research and heritage tourism,” said Daniel Rose, Chairman of the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation, as he kicked off the ceremony. Rose is a philanthropist and leading real estate developer with deep ties to Ghana.

The Du Bois Memorial Centre in Accra where Dr. Du Bois and his wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois, are buried, opened to the public in 1985, but in recent years had required additional upkeep and maintenance. Two years ago, Rose and two board members of the foundation, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a professor at Harvard University and foremost scholar on Dr. Du Bois, and Dr. Kwame Anthony Appiah, a professor at New York University whose father had worked with Dr. Du Bois, approached President Akufo-Addo about transforming the Du Bois Memorial Centre into a world-class living museum for scholars and heritage tourists.

The partnership arrangement will grant authority for the W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation to construct a multi-million dollar museum complex to preserve Dr. Du Bois’ legacy over a 50-year period. The complex will be designed by Sir David Adjaye, renowned Ghanaian architect and designer of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

The Foundation’s goal is to realize the Du Bois Museum’s full potential as an international treasure and historic memorial honoring one of the leading and most revered black voices in world history. The ambitious project features a museum, library and reading room, event hall, outdoor auditorium and amphitheater, lecture space, guest house for visiting scholars and the refurbished bungalow where Dr. Du Bois lived and worked until his death. The complex also includes a Memorial Pavilion, housing the remains of Dr. Du Bois and the cremated ashes of his wife. 

Dr. Du Bois, who was a confidant of Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah, became a citizen of Ghana and resided in the country until his death in 1963. While living in Ghana, Du Bois envisioned building a unified ancestral home for Africans in the diaspora around the world.

President Akufo-Addo has invited the Africans Diaspora to follow the footsteps of Du Bois by making Africa their home and contributing to the continent’s development through the government’s “Year of Return” and “Beyond the Return” campaigns.

“The ‘Beyond the Year of Return’ campaign promotes economic empowerment and encourages  people in the Diaspora to come to Africa to invest, to live, and to do more to uplift the continent, “ said Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation. Aryiku, a Ghanaian American with more than 40 years of experience in corporate America and the philanthropic community, was inspired at a young age by Du Bois’ writings and ideals.

Other speakers at the ceremony included Kwame Anthony Appiah, novelist and professor of philosophy and ethics, New York University and board member, W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation; and guests included Hon. Shirley Aryorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, H. E Hajia Alima Mahama , Ghana’s Ambassador to the USA, Akwasi Agyeman, CEO, Ghana Tourism Authority and Humphrey Ayim-Darke of the Du Bois Museum Foundation, Ghana.

ABOUT W.E.B DU BOIS MUSEUM FOUNDATION: The W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation is a leading New York-based non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the life, purpose, and legacy of Dr. W.E. B Du Bois. Daniel Rose, a philanthropist and leading real estate developer of major properties serves as the foundation’s Chairman of the Board. Ambassador Harold Doley, Jr. is the foundation’s President. Prominent board members include renowned scholars of the Du Bois legacy Professors Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of Harvard University; Kwame Anthony Appiah of New York University;  Emmanuel K. Akyeampong of the Center for African Studies at Harvard University; and Deborah Rose, a Visiting Scholar at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

By Jean d’Amour Mbonyinshuti

Rwanda has called off the meeting that was to bring together foreign affairs ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The cancellation follows reactions by the Belgian over the court verdict against Paul Rusesabagina.

Rusesabagisa was accused of terror related suspects and was tried by a Rwandan court which handed him a 25-year-sentence.

Following the ruling on Monday, Sophie Wilmès, the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium said Rusesabagina did not “get a fair and due trial”

A statement released by Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation says the remarks by Wilmès are in contempt of Rwanda’s judicial system and Kigali won’t take it sitting down.

“The statement of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium regarding today’s verdict by Rwanda’s High Court Chamber for International and Cross-Border Crimes, reflects the contempt shown by the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium towards the Rwandan judicial system since the start of this trial, despite the significant contribution of relevant Belgian institutions to the investigation of this case,” reads the statement.

“The victims of the terrorist acts of the FLN, admittedly less famous, have just as much right to justice as Mr. Rusesabagina and his co-defendants. For this reason, a scheduled bilateral meeting at ministerial level, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, will no longer take place,” the statement adds.

Rusesabagina claimed to be of Belgium nationality and that he was kidnapped to Rwanda when he was planning to go to Burundi to share testimonies.

The convict left Brussels and relocated to the United States where he remained until he left for a trip destined for Burundi, leading to his arrest.

The court found Rusesabagina guilty of being part of a terrorist group that conducted attacks in Rwanda taking lives of innocent people while wounding others and looting properties.

Rusesabagina the president of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD) that formed FLN as its armed wing-based in eastern DR Congo.

He was considered the prime suspect and withdrew from the hearing citing lack of justice on his side.

Led by Bindang Ndong Okiri, the Equatorial Guinean Ministry of Finance delegation will enhance the conversation on financing Africa’s energy transition, the role of domestic financing institutions, and oil and gas finance in 2021 and beyond.

With a strong focus on African financing mechanisms that enhance both the oil and gas industry as well as the energy transition, African Energy Week (AEW) 2021 in Cape Town will be the platform where deals regarding Africa’s energy future will be made. In pursuit of an African financing narrative, Equatorial Guinea’s Secretary of State of Planning for the Minister of Finance, Economy and Planning has committed to coming to Cape Town on the 9^th-12^th of November 2021. Joined by Miguel Luba Bahosi, Director General of Planning, and Nieves Andeme Engonga, staff representative, Okiri will promote the role of domestic financing, digitization, and foreign investment in driving Africa’s energy future.

Having served as Secretary of State of Planning for the Minister since April 2021, Okiri has made notable progress in enhancing Equatorial Guinea’s financial sector. Dedicated to improving domestic financing institutions, and promoting the role that digitization will play in advancing Equatorial Guinea’s financial sector, Okiri is committed to driving a sustainable and inclusive financial sector, emphasizing the cross-benefits that financial stability has for the country’s emerging energy sector.

With significant energy sector developments in both onshore and offshore areas, and across multiple sectors including oil, gas and renewables, Equatorial Guinea is ramping up industry expansion, and is positioning its financial sector to help drive this. Projects such as the country’s Gas Mega Hub – a gas plan overseeing the development of several offshore gas facilities to monetize and exploit the country’s 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas – the Punta Europa crude oil refinery, and several green energy developments, are attracting significant levels of investment into the country. Accordingly, the Ministry of Finance, Economic and Planning aims to ensure the country is ready for investment, and is focused on establishing sustainable partnerships with international financiers and stakeholders.

“The Equatorial Guinean finance delegation will both contribute and drive the discussion on financing Africa’s energy future. With the country hosting a pavilion at AEW 2021 in Cape Town, Okiri, Bahosi, and Engonga will help drive a strong discussion on Equatorial Guinean opportunities, positioning the country and both its financial and energy sectors as enabling, proactive, and poised for accelerated growth. By emphasizing the role of collaboration between these two Ministries, Okiri will promote integration and unity as being key drivers of energy sector growth,” stated Leoncio Amada NZE, Executive President of the CEMAC region, the African Energy Chamber (AEC).

The Equatorial Guinea finance delegation is committed to scaling up investment in the country, promoting partnerships, regional collaboration, and multi-lateral financing mechanisms in energy sector development. With the aim of strengthening national and institutional capacities, the delegation will not only promote Equatorial Guinean opportunities and achievements in Cape Town, but will share challenges, solutions, and future plans.

AEW 2021, in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy DMRE, is the AEC’s annual conference, exhibition and networking event. AEW 2021 unites African energy stakeholders with investors and international partners to drive industry growth and development and promote Africa as the destination for energy investments.

For more information about Africa’s premier energy event, please visit www.aew2021.com or www.energychamber.org and/or reach out directly to Amina Williams at amina.williams@energychamber.org

For registration related enquiries, please contact registration@aew2021.com   

For sales-related enquiries, please contact sales@aew2021.com  

For media-related enquiries, please contact media@aew2021.com  

For speaker opportunity-related enquiries, please contact speakers@aew2021.com

*African Energy Chamber

By Wallace Mawire

Organizers of the 2021 International Floriculture Trade Fair to be held in Vijfhuizen in the Netherlands on 3 to 5 November, 2021 have confirmed that exhibitors from Africa will also feature at the trade fair.

 According to the fair spokesperson, exhibitors from Africa will be from Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda.

  It is also reported that preparations for the 2021 edition of IFTF are going full speed ahead after the announcement of further lifting of restrictions earlier this week.

 They say that IFTF is back with a strong increasing number of exhibiting companies reconfirming their participation, as well as a fast-growing list with visitors registering to attend this year’s IFTF.

  It is added that luckily also the list of countries from where travelers were banned before to fly into Europe is shrinking, allowing international business travel to resume.

 “The show must go on, and it is now all about getting back on track and business as usual,” the spokesperson said.

 The organizers said that they are looking forward to reunite the world of floriculture by bringing the industry together at one place, date and time.

  Dick van Raamsdonk, CEO of HPP Exhibitions,  said  last year in September, when the corona pandemic blocked IFTF 2020, “By being prepared at all times, we can kick off any exhibition, at any time.”

  It is reported that IFTF 2021 trade fair is on course also because the venue ‘Expo Haarlemmermeer’ meets all current required conditions to host an exhibition.

 This is reported to include  include the fresh air ventilation system that the greenhouse-type exhibit hall has standard built-in.

 “With this, together with the upcoming easing of the current COVID-19 restrictions, organizers are confident that IFTF will have another successful edition,” the spokesperson said.

  It is added that IFTF 2021 is an international fair.

 It is added that alongside Dutch exhibitors, the organization welcomes more than 130 participants from all over the world. For instance from Italy, France, Denmark, Ecuador, Colombia, Kenya, China and Japan.

  They add that they expect to see the latest from renowned breeders and growers like Alexandra Farms, De Ruiter’s Spray Roses, Evanthia, Naranjo Roses, Rosaprima, and Roses Forever.

Led by H.E. Max Tonela, the Mozambican industry will come to Cape Town in November, including state-owned ENH and participating oil companies.

Mozambique has been identified as one of the most promising energy sectors globally, with lucrative natural gas reserves positioning the east-African country as a globally competitive investment destination. With Africa’s premier energy event taking place on the 9^th-12^th of November 2021, Mozambique is committed to promoting its resources, securing further investment, and accelerating regional economic growth, and will join the east-African producers in Cape Town at African Energy Week (AEW) 2021.

H.E. Ernesto Max Elias Tonela, Mozambique Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), will led the Mozambican industry delegation to Cape Town, promoting the role of the state-owned Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), as well the country’s significant projects, abundant investment opportunities, and strategic position within the southern-African regional trade network.

Mozambique rapidly emerged as a competitive investment destination, with its significant energy reserves, prime geographical and demand placement, and market-driven approach to energy sector development. With over 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, the largest untapped coal reserves worldwide, and one of the largest hydroelectric facilities in Africa, the country has positioned itself as both a hydrocarbon and renewable energy leader. Despite development delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and political insurgency in the northern province of the country, H.E. Minister Max Tonela’s is committed to accelerating energy sector growth through ensured operational security, public-private sector collaboration, and regional support.

ENH, as the state-owned entity responsible for researching, prospecting, producing and marketing petroleum products in Mozambique, has been an instrumental organization in the country’s energy transformation. Representing the state in petroleum operations, and with a core mission to add value to natural resources through commercial participation, ENH has positioned itself as both a leading African state company, and key driver in Mozambique’s energy growth.

In addition to a proactive and committed state-owned company, global energy majors are working collaboratively with government to drive Mozambique’s energy sector growth, and the country is well on its way to lead Africa in the move towards natural gas. Participating companies in Mozambique include TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, Anadarko Petroleum, Sasol, Chevron, BP, Petronas and China’s CNPC. By focusing on public-private partnerships and sector integration, both the Ministry and ENH will emphasize the value of collaboration in enhancing energy sector growth.

In Cape Town, both H.E. Minister Max Tonela and ENH will promote Mozambique’s emerging Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) sector, emphasizing projects such as TotalEnergies offshore area 1 development in the Rovuma Basin – whereby Total managed to secure the largest private debt-raise in African history, securing approximately $15 billion in financing –, ExxonMobil’s Rovuma LNG Liquefaction plant in offshore area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, and the $8.6 billion Coral South Floating LNG project. With capacity pegged at 13 million tons, 15-16 million tons, and 3.4 million tons of LNG per year, respectively, these projects have positioned the country as a globally competitive natural gas giant, and the Minister and ENH will emphasize this to global stakeholders.

“Mozambique represents one of the leading natural gas destinations worldwide. Despite delays and project uncertainty, the country is committed to scaling up security, driving foreign investment, and accelerating both project and socio-economic growth. With the Minister leading a delegation to Cape Town in November, including the state-owned ENH, Mozambique will be showcased to the world, and the country will take up its rightful place as a globally competitive gas producer,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (AEC).

Meanwhile, Mozambique has all the ingredients to become a regional energy producer and distributor, with major pipeline and power projects enabling the transportation of critical natural gas and electricity to neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Zambia. The country’s significant resources are critical for rising regional demand, regarding both petroleum and gas-to-power. Pipeline projects such as the 865km Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Company Project– linking Mozambique’s Pande and Temane fields to Sasol’s operations in South Africa – and the South African Power Pool have enabled the country to become a regional gas hub. With the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in January 2021, the country is able, now more than ever, to accelerate regional gas trade, serving as a trend for other emerging natural gas producers in Africa.

By bringing the Mozambican energy industry to Cape Town in November, both the Minister and ENH will showcase the country’s current and upcoming projects, promote its role as a regional natural gas producer and distributor, and emphasize effective strategies for the safe and efficient resumption of project activities in Mozambique.

AEW 2021, in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy DMRE, is the AEC’s annual conference, exhibition and networking event. AEW 2021 unites African energy stakeholders with investors and international partners to drive industry growth and development and promote Africa as the destination for energy investments.

For more information about Africa’s premier energy event, please visit www.aew2021.com or www.energychamber.org and/or reach out directly to Amina Williams at amina.williams@energychamber.org

For registration related enquiries, please contact registration@aew2021.com   

For sales-related enquiries, please contact sales@aew2021.com  

For media-related enquiries, please contact media@aew2021.com  

For speaker opportunity-related enquiries, please contact speakers@aew2021.com

*African Energy Chamber

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

United Arab Emirates has launched its 6th edition of Global Business Forum Africa (GBF Africa) that aims at scaling-up and strengthening multifaceted business with Africa. With its first class Emirates airline, the airline network will facilitate the participation in the forum of African leaders and corporate business leaders.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, GBF Africa is bringing the trade and investment community back together to explore bilateral trade opportunities between Dubai and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Now in its 6th edition, Global Business Forum Africa facilitates international revenue flows by engaging leading decision-makers on the global investment scene. Influential stakeholders participate in constructive dialogue at the highest level, focusing on key economic developments and investment opportunities emerging across the continent.

This forum among other key objectives aims to build bridges between UAE and African business communities and explore untapped trade and investment potential. It represents an unprecedented opportunity for businesses of all sizes, international organizations and government entities from across the world, to come together to foster a more diversified and resilient global economy, inspire a vibrant business environment and drive sustainable growth.

Besides Africa, it has the Global Business Forum ASEAN established as a platform for insightful dialogue between government and business leaders in the UAE and ASEAN by identifying opportunities for mutual growth. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is set to re-shape global connectivity and add US$186 billion to global GDP by 2030.

It further launched in 2016, Global Business Forum Latin America that seeks to pave the way for long-lasting partnerships between business communities in the GCC, Latin America and Caribbean (LAC). The forum explores existing trade synergies and bilateral business opportunities, while strengthening Dubai’s position as a gateway for Latin American companies.

As expected, Heads of State, more than 30 Ministers, high-ranking Government officials and prominent influential business leaders from Africa have confirmed their participation for the sixth edition of the Global Business Forum Africa (GBF Africa), which takes place on October 13-14, 2021 at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Dubai Chamber is organizing GBF Africa 2021 in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai under the theme “Transformation Through Trade” and the event will be held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The organizers have listed top-level participants including H.E. Filipe Nyusi, President of Mozambique; H.E. Felix Tshisekedi, President of Congo; H.E. Dr C.G.D.N. Chiwenga, Vice President of Zimbabwe; the Chief Minister of Jersey; the Secretary General of COMESA; more than 30 ministers and high-ranking African officials, including ministers from Ghana, Angola, Ethiopia, Uganda Zimbabwe and Liberia, Kenya, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, Congo and the Kingdom of Lesotho, as well as government officials from Rwanda and Kenya.

H.E. Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Countries from across the world that are participating in Expo 2020 are eager to widen and deepen their ties with Africa, and GBF Africa will be a crucial forum where the continent can share its plans and achievements, seek investments and solutions to its challenges and forge new relationships across the globe.”

H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber, said: “The success that GBF Africa has had in attracting African presidents, ministers and influential leaders to join its high-level talks reflects the forum’s position as a leading global platform for exploring investment opportunities in the African continent. It reinforces the crucial role played by Dubai’s wise leadership in expanding the emirate’s trade links with emerging markets around the world.”

According to Buamim, the Dubai Chamber is keen to continue its efforts to promote building strategic partnerships with the key players in the African business ecosystem. The Chamber is also committed to encouraging and supporting local and national companies to invest in African markets and enhance sustainable economic growth and development.

Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqual in the UAE said: “As we grow and scale-up in the Middle East, this gives us a lot of exposure for potentially getting into Africa as a region.”

Through its network of international representative offices, trade missions and high-profile business forums, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry works to raise Dubai’s profile as a global trade and investment hub. The Chamber represents more than 260,000 companies, making it one of the world’s largest membership-based Chambers of Commerce.

About Dubai Chamber: Established in 1965, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a non-profit public entity, whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai by creating a favorable business environment, supporting the development of business, and by promoting Dubai as an international business hub. www.dubaichamber.com

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

Maurice Kamto, President of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, CRM, an opposition party in Cameroon has made it categorically clear that “no one will partition Cameroon. No one!” as security forces continue to fall in the ongoing battle against separatist fighters.

The president of the MRC Party was speaking following the bloody scenes that characterized September 10-12 as more than 12 security forces and even civilians were killed. “There is no need to recall here all the dead, civilians and soldiers, killed in this unnecessary internal armed conflict,” Maurice Kamto said in a communique.

“We have resources and intelligence to bring peace and harmony to this beautiful country, which is the guarantee of lasting security and stability. All we need to do is to recognize our mistakes and call on our fraternity, our patriotism and our collective genius.”

In this spirit, it is high time to stop the bloodshed and repeated macabre spectacle that is plunging families and the nation into mourning, and to mobilize all energies and resources of our country towards shared progress and the international influence it deserves,” Maurice Kamto added.

The leader of the opposition party has, however, fault the present government for their lack of will in solving the crisis that started as a legitimate one and is still a legitimate one.

He said: “Indeed, the problem posed by our Anglophone compatriots was and remains legitimate. This legitimate problem needed a political response. But because of the arrogance, the feeling of the omnipotence of the regime, the narrow selfish interests of certain circles and the triumph of extremists within the ruling circles of the country, the war was declared with disconcerting lightness. The authorities made a mistake in this matter.”

“However, no one could reproach the regime if it were to get its act together in the national interest. For the hours is grave. It is our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, our parents, who are killing each other. The Great National Dialogue was a failure. Could it have been otherwise?” Maurice Kamto wondered.

“Now that no one in our country or among the government’s foreign partners can believe that violence and war cannot bring peace and stability to the NW/SW, the Nation must stand together to get out of this war room.”

Maurice Kamto went further to state: “I will present again, shortly, the updated proposals that I made, on 19 May 2019, with the allies of the CRM in the 2018 presidential campaign, from the bottom of the Yaounde Main Prison, where we were imprisoned following the Peace Marches of 26 January 2019.”

By Jorge Joaquim

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called for a swift and thorough investigation into the murder of Revocat Karemangingo, a Rwandan refugee in Maputo, and for the killers to be held to account, according to a UN statement.

The businessman was shot by unknown gunmen on Monday in Matola, on the outskirts of the city of Maputo. Matola is the largest suburb of Maputo and it is home to the biggest industrial area in the southern African country.

The crime is being investigated by the National Criminal Investigation Service.

According to Cleophas Habiyareme, president of the Association of Rwandan Refugees in Mozambique, the murdered businessman was the target of political persecution from the government of Rwandan president Paul Kagame, as were other opponents of the regime.

“The entire Rwandan refugee community is terrified; it’s scared,” said Habiyareme. Rwandan troops have been in Mozambique since July to help fight the terrorist insurgency in the north of the country.

Revocat Karemangingo owns supermarket in Maputo.

By Jean d’Amour Mbonyinshuti

The High Court Chamber for International and Cross-Border Crimes on Monday 20, September 2021 handed a 25-year jail sentence to Paul Rusesabagina after it found him guilty of terror related crimes.

The ruling took place in Kigali as the court ruled the verdict of 20 other co-accused.

The court found Rusesabagina guilty of being part of a terrorist group that conducted attacks in Rwanda taking lives of innocent people while wounding others and looting properties.

Rusesabagina the president of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD) that formed FLN as its armed wing-based in eastern DR Congo.

He was considered the prime suspect and withdrew from the hearing citing lack of justice on his side.

Rusesabagina was flown to Rwanda as he thought he was heading to Burundi, a neighboring country to share testimonies in a certain churn along with his then colleague Consitantin Niwemwungeri.

Rusesabagina and his lawyers had prayed the court to release him as he was kidnapped and was of Belgian nationality so that he could be tried by the competent court from his country.

The court also sentenced Callixte Nsabimana, also known as Sankara for 20 years for 20 years for similar charges.

Nsabimana served as a spokesperson of the FLN Army wing and was heard on various media outlets including international ones claiming attacks and the plan to plot the established government of Rwanda.

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

Dr Wilson Lobe Eseme of the Cameroon Federalist Movement has said the killing of security forces was a sad day for all Cameroonians. The US-based medical doctor was speaking in a video shortly after a video emerged showing the decapitated bodies of security forces, who met their doom against separatist fighters. 

Unbearable images of soldiers shot in armoured vehicles stripped naked are currently making rounds on social media in Cameroon. These horrific images are accompanied by comments from one of the separatist generals, “No Pity” promising hell on Cameroon’s security forces.

“No one deserves to die like that, however wrong they may be. And no one deserves to take lives however right they think they are. This was is completely unnecessary and should end,” Dr Wilsom L. Eseme said in the video.

“To the Cameroon government we ask, how many lives are you willing to sacrifice for a war you cannot win; a war you will not win because it is a mistake. To the rebels fighting the government we ask you this, how many lives are you willing to take for a war you will not win; a war you will not win.”

The Cameroon Federalist Movement is an association of Cameroonians from all ten regions who believe that Federalism is the right political system for Cameroon. Federalism addressed two realities: on the one hand, it will correct a historical constitutional error made in 1972 when the Federation was dissolved. Also, it will address the rich diversity we enjoy in this country. “It is therefore not by mistake that our slogan is Unity in Diversity,” Dr Wilson Lobe Eseme once said in an interview.

The Anglophone crisis that escalated in 2017 has seen many people killed, displaced, maimed and others kidnapped for ransom. The Cameroonian government has taken some steps in addressing the present problem but many feel the government has been too slow or given a solution that does not have weight.

And Dr Wilson says the special status that the government has been selling to the population has not worked, is not working and will not work because it is a wrong solution.

He went further to make several recommendations, some of which we made during the Major National Dialogue organized last year. Dr Wilson and the Federalist Movement have called for the Cameron government to immediately facilitate the organization of an Anglophone General Conference amongst the people of the NW/SW to determine their future.

“…Such a conference will eventually lead to an agreement to form a federation; a system of government where each state will elect their local government and take charge of their affairs to be it in the economy, internal security, public health, education, infrastructure,” Dr Wilson Said.

“The central government will be limited to only five areas, protecting the borders; regulating trade between the states; formulating immigration policy; formulating financial policy and formulating foreign policy. It is time to end the outdated system where administrators are appointed.”

By Egide Lucky

During an evaluation workshop on dividend payment on 14^th September, the Prime Minister accused public companies of poor management marred with nepotism and embezzlement. Directors of those companies said that government debts impede their development.

“Some companies have many employees compared to the job to be done,” said Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, Burundi Prime Minister, adding that there has been nepotism and favoritism in their employment. According to him, some managers hire their relatives and friends without available tasks to be undertaken.

He deplored that some public companies’ managers embezzle or misuse public things. “If that has been your habit in the last years, you must understand that now is the time to change. We are a new generation that must bring about change,” he told them.

Among others, the prime minister pointed a finger at Regideso (Burundi power and water supplier) and ONATEL (national telecommunication company) for poor management. “Imagine that clients ask for invoices for four months and these companies still tell them that they are not yet available,” he complained. A company cannot be developed if months go by without payments from clients, he added.

Alain Guillaume Bunyoni called on the public companies to immediately design recovery plans.

“Every employee from high rank to the bottom must have concrete activities. If they can’t perform them well, they have to leave the company,” he recommended to managers of public companies.

He also reminded them that public things like vehicles are to be used exclusively for company’s affairs.

Of 36 public companies, 12 did not pay dividends to the government from 2014 to 2020 and their turnover is under zero, shows a study presented during the same evaluation workshop. 24 public companies have returned to the government over 150 billion BIF of dividends from 2014 to 2020.

According to the same study, in some companies, employees are paid salaries superior to their company’s income.

As solution, the prime minister suggests that some companies reduce the number of employees and salaries.

Companies hold the government responsible

According to Charles Ndagijimana, Director general of SOCABU (a Burundian public insurance company), the government is also responsible for bankruptcy in some public companies.

“The government owes some companies billions of money. These means should help us improve the financial stability of our companies. It is difficult to develop our companies with all those government debts,” he said.

Privat Kabeba, ONATEL director general regretted that the government favors private telecommunication companies, what is for him one of the reasons for his company’s bankruptcy.

He recognizes that ONATEL has many employees, some of whom are not effective on the job. He, also, assumes that the company has an old staff that is no longer productive.

The prime minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni said that the bankruptcy responsibility is shared between companies and the government. “The government should have been careful about the management of both public and private companies, because their bankruptcy affects the country’s financial situation,” he also said.

He promised that the government will pay all debts to public companies as soon as possible.

ST. MARTIN, Caribbean (September 16, 2021)—Two of St. Martin’s authors, Lasana Sekou and Fabian Badejo, have praised the historic Africa-CARICOM Summit held virtually on September 7, 2021, said their publisher HNP.

The summit was hosted by Kenya and chaired by Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta under the theme “Unity across Continents and Oceans: Opportunities for Deepening Integration.”

The event was attended and addressed by the heads of state and government of the African Union and CARICOM member states. Heads of regional integration secretariats and institutions of CARICOM and Africa also attended.

“This is the unique culmination of continuous efforts by the people of Africa and the Caribbean to solidify the historical, cultural, and blood connections that they share across centuries,” said Sekou, a poet and publisher.

“It is the spirit of the African connections so concretized by Garvey that lives on among us,” said Sekou. The pan-African and pan-Caribbean themes of Sekou’s poetry have long been reviewed in critical journals and books.

“Blood is indeed thicker than water,” noted Badejo. “Throughout history, the longing for reconnection between Africa and the African Diaspora has never waned.”

The longing and connectedness—often against great political and social odds and even violence—may be subtle as hush-hush stories in Caribbean families about an African ancestor, to defiantly speaking African-based Caribbean languages; “from folk songs of longing sung in Carriacou for centuries, to Cuba’s decades-long role in the liberation of southern African countries,” said the writers in a joint statement.

“Just as Europe, and in particular the UK, has special relations with its diaspora, especially in the USA, so too it should be considered natural for Africa to have similar special relations with people of African descent in this part of the world,” said Badejo.

The late, great Barbadian poet and historian Kamau Brathwaite, who lived and worked in Ghana and Kenya at the onset of his career, understood this from a personal and professional point of view, Badejo explained.

“So did many others understand and inform this point of view practically and intellectually, from David Walker to Marcus Garvey, from Queen Mother Moore to Kwame Nkrumah,” said Badejo, who is also a journalist and cultural critic.

The summit produced proposals to further strengthen the ties between the two regions. These include direct air links between destinations in Africa and the Caribbean and visa-free travels for the citizens of African and CARICOM countries.

“The Leaders indicated support for the establishment of a CARICOM/Africa public-private partnership dedicated to mobilizing resources and deploying them in critical cutting-edge projects, including renewable energy, the creative industries, and digital technology … (And) the contribution of the African Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) in making vaccines available to CARICOM was lauded,” according to CARICOM news.

Sekou said that “It is key for the general populations to see themselves as the foundation of this official level summit. What this multilateral cooperation will achieve over time, including ‘wielding global bargaining power,’ widening the diasporic reach to include non-CARICOM members in the region and institutions of Brazil and other nations of the Americas, is invariably based on people’s movements.”

“It is the same people’s movements and consciousness that produce activists and artists such as St. Martin’s Thomas Duruo and Carlos Cooks, Trinidad’s Claudia Jones, Jamaica’s Bob Marley, Antigua’s Dobrene O’Marde, or Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong. And that’s just to name a few of the many who have been about this pan-African liberation business,” said Sekou.

While on September 7, CARICOM “proposed the creation of a Forum of African and Caribbean Territories and States,” both authors said that for St. Martin to critically tap into the opportunities that are sure to open because of the initiatives proposed at the summit, the nation has to act on Nkrumah’s dictum and seek political independence.

“We are at a critical time when we must join the comity of nations coming together to build and rebuild the world to benefit our people. We can only do this if we attain political freedom,” Sekou and Badejo stressed.

This first Africa-CARICOM Summit was a giant step towards pan-African unity, which will facilitate political, economic, educational, cultural, and technological cooperation, Sekou and Badejo said.

“We applaud the vision of all those who made this summit possible on both sides of the Atlantic and encourage them to intensify their efforts to achieve the goal of reuniting the African family at home and abroad,” they added.

It has also been proposed at the Africa-CARICOM Summit for September 7 to be observed annually as “Africa-Caribbean Day.”

By Prince Kurupati

Former South African president Jacob Zuma in recent times has found the going tough following his battles with the South African justice system. Just a few weeks back, Zuma was incarcerated for contempt of court in a corruption case stemming back from the early 2000s arms deal. Spending just some few days in prison, the 79-year old Zuma was released from prison on medical grounds but was still ordered to adhere to all the rules laid out by the South African justice system. Adamant that he is innocent, the conditional release of Zuma angered him something which has prompted him to approach the African Court on Human and People’s Rights as he seeks to regain his freedom.

The news that Zuma was seeking to approach the African Court on Human and People’s Rights was first released by the Jacob Zuma Foundation. In a Twitter post, the Jacob Zuma Foundation said that the former South African president had instructed his legal team to approach the African Court on Human and People’s Rights.

“H.E. Prez Zuma has been in consultation with his legal team on various developments. He has given his lawyers instructions to take the legalization of detention without trial by Acting Chief Justice Zondo & the ConCourt to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights,” the Tweet said.

The announcement by the Jacob Zuma Foundation that Zuma is seeking to approach the African Court comes days after his application for the rescission of his contempt of court order was dismissed by the Constitutional Court.

The African Court on Human and Peoples Rights is an African court designed to reinforce the functions of the Commission on Human and Peoples Rights. The Commission is a body which is charged with monitoring the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Established in 2004, the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights is located in Arusha, Tanzania and it hears cases from 26 African Union member states that have ratified the Protocol establishing the Court. South Africa is one of the 26 member states that have ratified the Protocol.

The decision by Zuma to take his case to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights has divided opinion in South Africa. Zuma’s supporters have welcomed the move saying that it gives the former president the opportunity to present his case to an independent panel. They argue that the South African justice system is currently under the influence of political actors who are using the legal route to persecute Zuma even though there is no wrongdoing on his part.

However, they are some who argue stating that Zuma deserves his day in court to answer to all allegations of corruption arising from the arms deal. The argument goes on stating that like any other ordinary person accused of wrongdoing within the confines of the South African borders, Zuma has to defend himself in the South African courts of law.

–H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, to offer remarks at the signing

NEW YORK, September 20, 2021 –The W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation, a leading New York-based international organization, will hold today an official signing of a historic agreement between the foundation and Government of Ghana to transform the current Du Bois Memorial Centre and burial site in Accra, Ghana, into a state-of-art museum complex and world-class destination for scholars and heritage tourists.

Dr. Du Bois, a civil rights pioneer and one of the world’s leading black intellectuals and thinkers, became a citizen of Ghana and resided in the country until his death in 1963. Du Bois’ vision of a continent of free and independent African nations was a major influence on Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah.

The historic agreement will grant authority for the W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation to construct a multi-million dollar museum complex to preserve Dr. Du Bois’ legacy over a 50-year period. The complex will be designed by Sir David Adjaye, renowned Ghanaian architect and designer of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

The Du Bois Memorial Centre in Accra where Dr. Du Bois and his wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois, are buried, opened to the public in 1985, but in recent years had required additional upkeep and maintenance. The Du Bois Museum Complex aims to transform the Center and create a living museum that revives the transformative spirit and vision of Dr. Du Bois for a unified ancestral home for Africans in the diaspora around the world. The complex will serve as a historic memorial site where visitors can honor his life and legacy, connect to their cultural and ancestral roots, and serve as an impetus to inspire solidarity between people of African descent.

At the signing, H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, will offer remarks on the significance of the agreement in strengthening historical, cultural, and economic ties between Ghana and the United States and Diaspora Africans. This agreement will build on the government’s “Year of Return” and “Beyond the Return” campaigns that encourage the return of African Diaspora from around the world.

“The Du Bois Museum Complex will usher in a renewed commitment to building an international treasure and historic memorial honoring the legacy of Dr. Du Bois, and fostering unity among the African Diaspora through a vibrant cultural and research center,” said Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation. Aryiku, a Ghanaian American with more than 40 years of experience in corporate America and the philanthropic community, was inspired at a young age by Du Bois’ writings and ideals.

Speakers at the signing will include leading political, financial, and cultural leaders from the U.S. and Ghana, including Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Republic of Ghana; Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation; Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director, Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University; Kwame Anthony Appiah, novelist and professor of philosophy and ethics, New York University and board member, W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation; and Daniel Rose, Chairman, W.E.B. Du Bois Museum Foundation, philanthropist, and leading real estate developer of several award-winning properties.

ABOUT W.E.B DU BOIS MUSEUM FOUNDATION: The W.E.B Du Bois Museum Foundation is a leading New York-based non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the life, purpose, and legacy of Dr. W.E. B Du Bois. Daniel Rose, a philanthropist and leading real estate developer of major properties serves as the foundation’s Chairman of the Board. Ambassador Harold Doley, Jr. is the foundation’s President. Prominent board members include renowned scholars of the Du Bois legacy Professors Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of Harvard University; Kwame Anthony Appiah of New York University;  Emmanuel K. Akyeampong of the Center for African Studies at Harvard University; and Deborah Rose, a Visiting Scholar at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

By Alice Chisanga

President of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema is  scheduled to travel to the United States tomorrow for the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr. Hichilema is on Tuesday 21st September 2021 expected to deliver a maiden address to the UN General Assembly.

 He will also participate in high level summits such as; The 2021  Sustainable Development Goals Moment (SDG’s), High Level dialogue on Energy, UN Food and Security Summit and the Global COVID-19 Summit.

And United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will be paid a courtesy call by the Zambian President whilst in New York.

He will also hold bilateral Meetings with other world leaders including the President to the European Council, His Excellency Charles Miche.

The President is also scheduled to travel to Washington D.C. where he will hold a historical meeting with the Vice President of the United States of America, Ms. Kamala Harris. 

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperations Stainley Kakubo said more than two decades have passed since a sitting Zambian President met with the top leadership of the United States of America.

Mr. Kakubo notes that the move to meet U.S leaders signifies the mark of confidence in the Zambian President, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and his administration.

In line with the Government’s vision of turning around the economy, promoting trade and investment, among other strategies, the President will also hold meetings with the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. 

The President will further engage with prominent and influential Congressmen and women as well Senators at Capitol Hill in order to share Zambia’s vision under the “New Dawn” Administration according to Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Stainley Kakubo.

Other engagements the head of state will have is with the US Institute of Peace, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Africa Business Centre where the President is expected to project the vision of the new Government in addressing the aspirations of the Zambian people.

Mr. Hichilema will be accompanied by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Stainley Kakubo.

The President and his entourage are expected to return to Zambia on 27th September 2021.

By Jean d’Amour Mbonyinshuti

Baho International Hospital, a private Hospital operating in Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali was shut down after the Ministry of Health’s probe team found it ineligible to keep providing health services in the country.

The hospital has been on the spot over the past months for poor service delivery, poor hygiene and misdiagnosis cases that resulted in deaths.

Following several allegations including the recent ones filed early this month, the Ministry of health assigned a team of experts to carry out investigations.

The investigation followed a recent death by a mother who sought medical services from the hospital in question.

The Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) has said it arrested two doctors and was conducting investigations on the reason behind the death of a female patient who passed on in September 9, 2021 after she had gone to hospital for minor surgery.

An official from the Ministry of Health Told this Media outlet that the preliminary findings from the team of nine experts assigned to probe the hospital found out that there were “Repetitive alleged malpractices” at the hospital prompting the decision by the Ministry to close it down.

 The management of Baho International has earlier apologized to the general public and grieved patients for poor services and assured of better services.

 “We would like to express our sincere apology to the public and especially our patients whom we have let down recently in customer care,” reads a letter from the hospital, signed by Joseph Kayibanda, the Hospital Chairperson.

“BIH remains committed to implementing the necessary steps to ensure that all patients and customers are taken care of to the highest degree of excellence and in line with the development of Rwanda’s health sector,” it continued.

BAHO INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL (BIH) Ltd is a private hospital that was established in 2015 and provides care to national, regional and international patients as a medical hospital implementation and knowledge transfer activities through its integrated care, training and clinical research, according to information from the hospital website. 

By Maniraguha Ferdinand

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has on this Friday, 17^th September named  as  new justice Minister and Attorney General, Dr Ugirashebuja Emmanuel who replaces Johnston Busingye.

Busingye was kicked out from the government by the end of August and he was appointed as Rwandan envoy to the United Kingdom.

Dr Ugirashebuja, 45  was appointed Judge of Appeal by the Summit of the EAC Heads of State in November 2013 and subsequently, appointed the Judge President of the EACJ in June 2014 where he served seven years.

Ugirashebuja taught law in University of Rwanda, University of Edinburgh, and at the University of Dar es Salaam. He  served as  Dean of the Law School, University of Rwanda. He then served as a member of the Superior Council of Judiciary and member of the Supreme Council of Prosecution.

He comes into the justice Ministry when Rwandan prisons are overpopulated due to the high number of inmates, compared to the capacity of prisons.

Last year the Upper House urged government to consider decongesting prisons’ facilities by applying amnesty to those who are eligible, expanding prisons facilities, introducing electronic ankle monitors for those who are accused of committing minor crimes, among others.