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In Focus: Handing out failure

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

CAIRO: The state assets management plan floated by Egypt’s National Democratic Party is nothing but a failure, not only because of the way the project was announced, as it seemed that the party is still living in the 1950s and 1960s when people used to be taken by surprise, but also because it torpedoes everything the government has done over the past four years in terms of the privatization and liberalization of the Egyptian economy. I won’t get into the details of the project which seem to be...

Source: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=18198

BURKINA FASO: Fistula in Sahel region highlighted

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:09:05 GMT

Monday, December 01, 2008

OUAGADOUGOU Monday, July 28, 2008 (IRIN) - Doctors in Burkina Faso say fistula is being under-reported, and are launching a new project to offer free surgery to some of the affected women. According to the government’s statistics, there were just 54 cases of fistula in Burkina Faso in 2007. But Aboubakar Coulibaly, a doctor in the national health system, said “Cases are being under-reported.” The main causes of fistula are men raping and impregnating very young children, and prolonged...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=79487

Bole Road Project up for Grabs Again

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Saturday, November 29, 2008

The Addis Abeba City Roads Authority (AACRA) has short listed 15 foreign companies engaged in road construction projects in various parts of the country for the award of the huge Africa Avenue (Bole Road) upgrading project.

Source: http://www.addisfortune.com/Bole Road Project up for Grabs Again.htm

Financial and Accounting manual for LGAs validated

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:42:50 GMT

Thursday, November 27, 2008

The second draft financial and accounting manual for Local Government Authorities across the country, was yesterday validated at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi.

The one day validation workshop organised by GAMWORKS Agency came following the commencement of the implementation of sub-projects under the third public works project financed by the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

One of the key components of this project is to provide technical assistance and training for the Local Government Authorities. Officially declaring the workshop open, Alasana Jammeh, permanent secretary at the department of state for Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs, said the process of decentralization as enshrined in the Local Government Act should not be view as an end to itself, but rather as an integral factor in the attainment of Sustainable Human resource Development.

The improvement of financial and human resource mobilization in support of decentralize governance he went on will improve planning and local service delivery initiatives. PS Jammeh revealed that the capacity development component is aimed at improving administrative and managerial capacity of local governments, as well as data collection for improved monitoring in terms of ratable collections to maximize revenues.

He disclosed that projects within this output aims at empowering local authorities by promoting sound financial viability, institutional capacity and strengthening of smooth implementation of the Strategic Action Plans (SAP), as enshrined in the Local Government Act.

Additionally, he continued, evaluation of existing capacity needs to be taken into account before the implementation of the program. “Implementation plans should have rigid selection criteria and in the absence of such capacity, training is mandatory - some degree of technical know-how is necessary before further steps are taken,” PS Jammeh noted.

“A holistic approach to decentralization, which does not take into consideration the different capacities of various local governments tends to create problems for weaker Councils. Capacity building stimulates achievements in the area of human capital development which translate into robust financial management,” he observed.

He concluded by imploring on all the participants to give the needed desired attention for a thorough understanding of the manual set for validation.
Bubacarr Sankareh, auditor general at the National Audit Office, chaired the opening ceremony.

Author: by Assan Sallah

SJFFC,CU donate to women groups

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:28:13 GMT

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Cassamance Peace Project jointly initiated by the St Joseph’s Family Farm Centre (SJFFC) in Bwiam and Concern Universal (CU), last Friday made a donation of cash amounting to D31, 525 to Karoneca and Christian Women groups of Darsilami, in Kombo Central.

Presenting the donation to the beneficiaries, Yankuba Manneh, project coordinator of SJFFC, said the donation was meant to help construct a waiting shed facility for two milling machines that were previously donated to the beneficiaries by GAMCOTRAP and the Catholic Development Office. He recalled that SJFFC has a history of long ties with the community of Darsilami, describing them as faithful partners.

Mary Sambou, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiary groups expressed delight over the donation, describing it as timely. She noted that the re-operation of the milling machines would ease the hardship that they had been encountering through manual pounding of cereal crops.
In a similar development, an amount of D17, 100 was loaned out as part of the FAMILIES project to the marketing group of Darsilami.

Author: by Amadou Jallow

US ambassador signs $40,000 project

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:05:21 GMT

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Ambassador Barry L Wells of the American Embassy yesterday endorsed a project worth $40,000 for seven communities nationwide at his Fajara residence.

The Special Self-Hep (SSH) project is a grassroots assistance program that allows US embassies to respond quickly to local requests from small community-based development projects. The fund is one of the links between individual communities and the US Embassy.

During the project signing project, Ambassador Wells congratulated the seven beneficiary communities and said "through this program, we hope to support your efforts to bring development to your people."

He noted that the "Self-Help program is different from most development programs in that the projects are proposed and designed by the communities themselves, and the communities must make a real contribution, be it labour or material or money, to its execution."
"This signing ceremony marks the beginning of our partnership," Ambassador Wells remarked.

This funding project involves provision of concrete-lined wells for gardens, fencing, milling machines, etc. The beneficiary communities are Upart Village, Western Region; Sinchu Gundo Lower Basic School, Central River Region; Njaba Kunda VDG, North Bank Region; Jappeni Women’s Group, Lower River Region; Bassending Women’s Group; Bumari Women’s Group, Lower River Region; and the Association of Disabled People, Banjul.

Mr Gabriel Kenny Opesan, executive director of the Foundation for Disabled People thanked the American Embassy on behalf of the beneficiaries.

Author: by Yunus S Saliu

Kibaki to commission petroleum project

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:30:24 GMT

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) project expected to double flow rate of petroleum products between Mombasa and Nairobi will be commissioned tomorrow.

Source: http://www.eastandard.net/business/InsidePage.php?id=1144000098&cid=14&

The FAME project: a laudable initiative

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:18:44 GMT

Monday, November 24, 2008

Conceptually born of the Nollywood film industry, the FAME project aims to profile the local film industry abilities of the West African sub-region. The Gambia now has the opportunity to be part of this immense initiative.

As a platform especially designed to develop creativity amongst writers, the FAME project constitutes a big chance for Gambians to sharpen their skills in scriptwriting. This is certainly a wonderful opportunity that will allow our country to get into the universe of movie production.

Fully endorsed by the Department of State for Culture and Tourism, Department of State for Basic and Higher Education, the Actors Guild of Nigeria and the Nigerian High Commission, the FAME project will help producers develop their projects more fully and retain talented creators.

Film is a powerful and enduring medium that influences the way we see the world by offering compelling pictures of faces, places and experiences that we might not otherwise encounter. That is to say it provides a window on history and a mirror of society, allowing us to reflect on the past and assess the present.

With the FAME project, The Gambia is on the verge of a major transformation in the way stories are created and how they will be delivered in the film industry.

Tasked with the responsibility to develop and retain talented creators by investing in screenwriting and professional development for filmmakers, the FAME project is a laudable initiative that will help scriptwriters to express their vision and their ability to tell Gambian stories as varied as our landscape.

Author: DO

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: US$22 billion eco-project opened in Abu Dhabi

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:52:15 GMT

Saturday, November 22, 2008

DUBAI Monday, March 17, 2008 (IRIN) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has one of the largest per capita carbon footprints in the world, opened a US$22 billion eco-city project in Abu Dhabi in February 2008. The project, known as Masdar City, will create the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, officials say. “It is a noble project to integrate all the components of a futuristic and eco-friendly city. It hopes to set the trend in property development, renewable energy,...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=77316

ZAMBIA: Powering up, at last

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:48:36 GMT

Saturday, November 22, 2008

JOHANNESBURG Friday, October 24, 2008 (IRIN) - The Zambian government signed a US$75 million financing agreement with the World Bank this week to provide electricity services to 65,000 new customers, in a country where power cuts have become the norm. The project will improve the existing distribution network of the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO), the parastatal power utility. It will also promote the use of energy-efficient fluorescent lamps, extend the existing grid in selected...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=81115