HARARE, Zimbabwe, November 27, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund (ZimFund) is a short to medium term infrastructure development programme which supports Zimbabwe’s economic recovery by improving the quality of life of ordinary citizens, particularly the poor. It is a major collaborative effort between members of the international donor community (Australia, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom),the Government of Zimbabwe, and the African Development Bank Group designed to rehabilitate infrastructure and restore basic services in water and sanitation initially in six municipalities:(Harare, Chitungwiza, Chegutu, Kwekwe, Masvingo and Mutare) and energy throughout the country.…
Author: apofeed
LAGOS, Nigeria, November 27, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Tony Elumelu, the entrepreneur, philanthropist and chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited (http://www.heirsholdings.com), a pan-African investment company, argues that responsible resource-based industrialisation can power Africa’s economic growth, in an article co-authored with Carlos Lopes, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Photo Tony Elumelu: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/tony-elumelu.jpg Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/heirs-holdings.jpg Elumelu and Lopes argue that while governments must ensure that they build more enabling business environments, the private sector must take the lead in ensuring that Africa’s abundant natural resources are developed in a way that spreads prosperity throughout the…
TUNIS, Tunisia, November 27, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The African Development Bank Group’s (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org) efforts to improve sustainable energy supply and access in Africa took a leap forward with the Board of Directors’ approval of the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydropower Project. The Bank Group allocated US $97.3 million from the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund for the multinational project, which will support the development of sustainable energy infrastructure. An additional US $16 million grant from the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) window of the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund was recently mobilized by the AfDB…
PARIS, France, November 27, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The UN Security Council met two days ago to discuss different options on how to respond to the growing crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), and are expected to vote next week on a draft resolution presented by France. In an open letter sent yesterday to the UN Security Council, FIDH calls for a comprehensive and decisive response to the crisis, notably through the creation of a UN Peacekeeping Mission in the CAR. “The UN Security Council must immediately authorize the creation of a UN Peacekeeping Mission in the CAR,”…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 27, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Thousands of people in eastern Puntland are trying to cope with the aftermath of a devastating cyclone. Further south, in Middle Shabelle, tens of thousands are struggling to recover from major flooding by the River Shabelle, especially in and around the town of Jowhar. In Puntland, a cyclone that struck on 10 November left dozens of people dead and up to a million head of livestock wiped out by freak freezing temperatures, high winds and severe floods. “The regions of Nugal and Bari were the most affected,” said Abshir Omar Jama,…
WASHINGTON, November 27, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The World Bank Board of Directors today approved an IDA* credit of $US12 million to support the Government of Sierra Leone’s plans to improve budget planning, accountability, and oversight of government finances. The funds will support Sierra Leone’s Public Financial Management Improvement and Consolidation (PFMIC) Project, designed to implement the core of the government’s Public Financial Management (PFM) reform strategy. The project is a follow on to the current Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project that will close on March 31, 2014. “Improved public financial management is a prerequisite for enhanced efficiency…
TUNIS, Tunisia, November 27, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The African Development Bank (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org), together with the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) (http://www.cddep.org), the Commission on Investing in Health (CIH) (http://www.globalhealth2035.org), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) (http://www.gatesfoundation.org) and The Lancet (http://www.lancet.com) invites you to the release of a report on investing in health and health financing titled: Global Health 2035: A World Converging within a GenerationTuesday, December 3, 2013 at 9 a.m.Novotel Tunis, TunisiaThis report, released for the first time in Johannesburg, Tunis and London on December 3, 2013, “suggests investment framework to achieve…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 27, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on Monday, 25 November 2013, met with the team of experts, led by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who are undertaking an assessment of the progress made towards the operationalization of the African Standby Force (ASF, including its Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC), at the AU Headquarters. Dr. Zuma commended the team of experts for their commitment and underscored the importance of their mandate in the pursuit of peace and security in Africa.The mandate of the Assessment Team is…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Remarks by amb. Adonia ayebare, AU permanent mission to the United NationsMr. President,Members of the Security Council,Mr. Secretary-General,Secretary-General of the Economic Community of Central African States,Ladies and gentlemen, I would like, from the outset, to thank the United Nations Security Council, for convening this meeting at a critical moment in the history of the Central African Republic. I also thank the UN Secretary-General for his report on the situation in the CAR, submitted pursuant to paragraph 22 of Security Council resolution 2121 (2013) and, more generally, for his efforts towards…
BERN, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The 5th session of the South Africa-Switzerland High-Level consultations taking place in Fribourg was co-chaired by Mr Yves Rossier, Swiss State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Marius Fransman, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa. The high-level representatives of both countries agreed on principles that underscored their conviction that the enhancement of bilateral economic relations and scientific cooperation be pursued and their intention to intensify cooperation at regional and multilateral levels.Over the last five years Switzerland has strengthened its economic ties and scientific cooperation…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday warned that a new law regulating demonstrations in Egypt could lead to serious breaches of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and must be amended. The law gives wide-ranging powers to local security authorities to ban such gatherings. Article 7 of the law prohibits protesters from conduct that would, among other things, constitute a threat to “security” and “public order,” “disrupt citizens’ interests,” or obstruct justice, without providing clear definitions of those terms. “International law requires precision in detailing what…
ABUJA, Nigeria, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (EOM) said Mali’s legislative elections of Sunday 24th November 2013, took place “in acceptable conditions of freedom and transparency.” In its Preliminary Declaration in Bamako on Monday, the 100-member Mission led by Prof. Amos Sawyer, former President of Liberia’s Government of National Unity, noted that the “shortcomings observed, did not in any significant way, affect the conduct of the election in line with globally acceptable standards.” “Though not intended, the disenfranchisement of some young voters and some electorate in the insecure north, as well as the…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM has received a donation of EUR 1.1 million from the European Union for a project which will help to fight child trafficking and gender- based violence (GBV) in Puntland, Somalia.Entitled “Prevention of Child Trafficking and Gender-based Violence, as well as Protection and Care for Victims in Somalia,” IOM, in coordination with key stakeholders in Puntland, will spearhead the project by raising awareness on both issues, support capacity building of the authorities, and provide direct assistance to child trafficking and GBV survivors.The prevalence of gender-based violence and child trafficking in Somalia…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Ethiopia has assisted over 21,000 Ethiopian returnees arriving home on Ethiopian government charter flights from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) over the past 12 days, following a KSA crackdown on undocumented migrants.Ethiopia began bringing migrant workers home from the KSA on November 13th. It is now flying up to 12 charters a day from the KSA to Addis Ababa.Four processing points have been set up by the government, with support from IOM, to assist the returnees. IOM provides them with overnight accommodation, food, water, shoes and money for transport…
NAIROBI, Kenya, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — “We consider the African Virtual University (AVU) Project very critical to the effort to improve access to higher education in Africa and are pleased to learn that the deliberations on the integration of e-learning and open education into mainstream education programs was fruitful,” concluded Stefan Muller, Lead Economist of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org) East Africa Regional Resource Center (EARC) during the first international conference African Virtual University organized from November 20-22, 2013 in Nairobi. Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/african-development-bank-2.pngUnder the topic “Integrating eLearning and Open Education to Increase Access to Quality Education…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IPU has welcomed the release of former Congolese opposition MP Pierre Jacques Chalupa but urges the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to resolve the issue of his nationality once and for all.Chalupa, who had spent all his life in the DRC and had been elected as an MP, had already served more than half of a three-year jail sentence for allegedly falsifying documents to gain nationality and met the conditions for “anticipated release” under Congolese law.In urgent need of medical assistance for some time, he was one of nearly 400 people…
NEW YORK, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Central African Republic today:I thank the Council for this opportunity to brief you on the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic.We face a profoundly important test of international solidarity and of our responsibility to prevent atrocities. A country in the heart of Africa is descending into complete chaos before our eyes. The situation requires prompt and decisive action to place protection of the people of the Central African Republic in the centre.That…
NEW YORK, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On 21 November 2013, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1572 (2004) concerning Côte d’Ivoire considered the midterm report of the Group of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire dated 14 October 2013 (S/2013/605), which is available on the Committee’s website: http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1572/CI_poe_ENG.shtml.In this connection, the Committee wishes to draw attention to the following recommendations included in the above-mentioned report which are addressed, inter alia, to all public and private banks and financial institutions:Recommendation 184 (individual sanctions): The Group recommends that all financial-related institutions in Côte d’Ivoire, including the tax and cadastral…
NDJAMENA, Chad, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The AU- UN Joint Special Representative/Joint Chief Mediator (JSR/JCM), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, met with Chadian President Idriss Déby in N’Djamena on 25 Novemberز Dr. Chambas briefed the President on the deteriorating security situation in Darfur and the attack on UNAMID the day before (24 November) where one Rwandese peacekeeper was killed by unknown elements. He reiterated the need for durable peace to end this seemingly intractable conflict and shared his plans to engage the non-signatory movements in a technical workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in December. He sought the support of…
WASHINGTON, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press StatementJohn KerrySecretary of StateWashington, DCNovember 25, 2013Mali has taken an important step forward by holding the first round of legislative elections. These elections speak volumes about the resilience of Mali’s democratic tradition and the progress it has made over the past two years.The United States applauds the Government of Mali for the technical improvements to the voting process it has implemented since the presidential elections in July and August.We call on Mali’s new government to build on these efforts in preparing for an anticipated second round of legislative elections on December…