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BURKINA FASO: European Union pledges more aid to fight malnutrition

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:09:03 GMT

Monday, December 01, 2008

OUAGADOUGOU Monday, September 15, 2008 (IRIN) - The European Commission (EC) is ready to increase its aid to fight malnutrition in Burkina Faso if current EC nutrition projects prove to be "success stories," said its humanitarian chief Louis Michel. Michel announced the new commitment during the opening of a European Commission Development and Humanitarian Aid office (ECHO) in the capital, Ouagadougou, on 13 September. ECHO is currently funding some ten humanitarian projects in Burkina Faso...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=80371

SWAZILAND: A cow in the field is worth two in the EU

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:48:23 GMT

Saturday, November 22, 2008

MBABANE Wednesday, October 15, 2008 (IRIN) - Swaziland's failure to take advantage of the opportunity to export unlimited quantities of beef to the lucrative European Union (EU) market is being attributed to poor animal husbandry, high livestock mortality rates, and cultural practices that deter farmers from selling their cattle. The EU's new trade agreement with the impoverished country has opened the world's richest market to Swaziland's hormone-free beef but the lure of cash has failed to...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=80917

Gambia open Wafu battle againts Guinea

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:09:01 GMT

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Gambia Darling Scorpions will begin their chase of the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Cup against Guinea on November 28.

The Gambian side, which will be led by coach Alagie Sarr, will take on archrivals Senegal two days later before heading for the final group match against familiar opponents, Ghana, on December 2.

The competition would also see hosts, Nigeria who are paired in Group A alongside Togo, Benin and Guinea Bissau.
Group C consist of Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Mauritania whilst Mali, Cape Verde, Niger and Liberia make up Group D.

The revived matches of the sub-regional competition will be staged in four centres across Delta States namely, Oghara, Oleh, Ughelli and Ogwashi- Uku from November 28 to December 8.

According to the competition rules, the first two teams from each group after the round-robin will progress to the quarterfinals, with the winners advancing to the semi final stage. The final and third place match comes off on December 8.

Author: Nanama Keita

EAC ties future trade talks to funds for development

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:42:13 GMT

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Trade negotiations between the East African Community (EAC) and the European Union (EU) must include a development agenda, a senior trade official has said.Trade ministry PS, Silas Njiru revealed that trade negotiators will pursue the agenda that would put pressure on the EU to provide more funds for development.

Source: http://www.eastandard.net/business/InsidePage.php?id=1143999736&cid=14&

GUINEA-BISSAU: Government workers strike for back pay

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:14:37 GMT

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Hundreds of public sector workers across Guinea-Bissau, including nurses, doctors and civil servants, are striking over salary arrears, leaving basic services running at minimum capacity.

The National Union of Guinea-Bissauan Workers (UNTG) declared the three-day strike 7 October.

“The strike has been followed by 95 percent of public sector workers across the country,” said Laureano Pereira da Costa, UNTG spokesperson.

Taxi and truck drivers joined the three-day strike, he said, demanding that transport police cease routinely stopping vehicles to extract bribes on major roads.

Civil servants across the government have not been paid in three months, according to Zubaida Rasul, senior political affairs officer at the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS). The government paid one month of back-pay at the end of September but three months’ salary is owed, while security forces were not paid at all in September, she said.

In addition to salary, workers are demanding transport stipends to keep up with the increased cost of living. Medical staff are demanding a government-promised stipend for their efforts to tackle a cholera epidemic that has swept across the country, and which the government claims it is unable to control.

Staff at the centre of epidemiology, which is tasked with tracing the roots of the epidemic, no longer expect to be paid regularly, Augostino Betunda, joint director of services told IRIN.

Civil servants in several ministries, including fisheries, agriculture and health, regularly face salary arrears in Guinea Bissau, said Rui Alfonso Sami, director of rural growth at the Ministry of Agriculture.

In response to the strike Prime Minister Carlos Correia stated in a press release, "Workers have the obligation to ensure minimum services required under the law," adding strikers’ salaries will be docked for the duration of the strike.

Prime Minister Correia’s government was sworn in in August 2008, stressing an intention to organise national elections in November, restore public order and pay regular wages.

No capacity

Ministries across the Guinea-Bissau government spend the bulk of their revenue on meeting salary payments, and have little to none left over to build capacity, develop policies or run programmes, the Agriculture Ministry’s Sami told IRIN.

With hefty debt repayments to the World Bank and African Development Bank, “the government is working hard to dig itself out of an external debt hole, which leaves it insufficient funds to regularly meet salaries”, said Rasul of UNOGBIS.

Representatives from international donors and financial institutions are meeting with the government to discuss solutions to the current salary crisis.

IRIN

GPU to Host WAJA Excellence Awards, Others

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:42:09 GMT

Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Gambia Press Union will Thursday October 16th host the first edition of the West African Journalist Association (WAJA) Excellence Awards 2008 at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, a news release from the GPU reveals.

The awards, the release stated, which will be presented to the three best print, radio and TV journalists from the sub-region is on the theme ‘Conflict Prevention, Peace and Human Rights’.

According to the release, the ceremony will be held on the back of a three day (October 14th – 16th0 sub-regional workshop on the same theme.

“The workshop will focus on amongst other things improving and broadcasting the understanding and perspectives of print and broadcast journalists on human rights, conflict prevention and peace issues and, will draw thirty (30) participants from the fifteen (15) ECOWAS member countries and the Republic of Mauritania.

“Short listed award winners will also take part in the workshop”, the release added.

During this period, the release went on, the steering committee of the WAJA capacity building project based in Bamako will also be meeting in Banjul to discuss the plan of action and budget for 2009.

“The activities, supported by the African Capacity Building Foundation, are organised by the Gambia Press Union in collaboration with the West African Journalist Association”, the release concludes.

National Union of Gambia Students to Hand Over Leadership

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:05:00 GMT

Thursday, August 28, 2008

The National Union of Gambia Students will on Saturday August 30th hold its 2nd handing over ceremony of leadership at the Joint Officer’s Mess in Kotu, Youth Forum can confirm.

The National Union of Gambia Students is the umbrella body tasked with the responsibility of uniting and defending the interests of students at the tertiary level. Formed in 2005 with a view to inculcating knowledge, discipline and a spirit of hard work among students through collective and conscious means.

Saturday’s historic event will begin at 3pm.

Author: By Nfamara Jawneh

After Five Months in Office

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:45:42 GMT

Friday, August 08, 2008

Gambia Transport Union President Resigns

Confirmed reports reaching the Point have it that Mr. Abdoulie B. Sosseh, President of the Gambia National Transport, Agricultural Food and Industrial Workers Union has resigned from his position as President of the union.

Mr. Sosseh, who succeeded the late Daddy Sowe as President of the Union in March this year is said to have tendered his resignation letter to the executive committee during an emergency meeting recently.

No official reason was made available to this paper as to his resignation but sources said that Mr. Sosseh’s resignation follows a disagreement with members of the executive of the union.

Mr. Sosseh, according to our sources was elected by the congress on the 12th March 2008 but could not agree with the executive members as to which direction the union was to be run.

In his resignation letter dated July 29th 2008, Mr. Sosseh said, “Certainly, I deem it prudent to check all angles in order to safe my integrity and impeccable reputation against any possible legal implications in the future”.

The letter added, “Nevertheless, I am pleased to give you my sincerest assurance that as the elected President of the union since the execution of the last congress on March 12th 2008, am now voluntarily relieving myself of all the responsibilities, honours and priviledges that come with the union portfolio of the union’s Presidency”.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Sosseh confirmed his resignation. However, efforts to talk to Mr. Amadou Bah, Secretary General of the union for comments prove futile.

Author: By Nfamara Jawneh

Libyan People’s Bureau Speaks on Mediterranean Union

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:01:12 GMT

Thursday, August 07, 2008

“The African People have always resisted efforts to divide their countries by the colonialist, who aimed to divide the countries of the Continent into geographical regions into Black and White Africa and into Africa North of the Sahara and Africa South of the Sahara. They also tried to consolidate the reality of French Speaking Africa, English speaking Africa and Portuguese speaking Africa.

Inspired by all these efforts Africa has always maintained its unity and confirmed that in many announcements and Resolutions.” So says a media release from the Libyan People’s Bureau of the Great Socialist People’s Arab Jamahiriya in Banjul.

According to the release, the Sirte declaration issued on the 9/9/1999 had spelt out the insistence of African Leaders and heads of Governments on intensifying Unity, Solidarity and Integration among the people’s of Africa. African Leaders had also confirmed in the resolution No.-(107), validated by the Khartoum Summit and the Resolution No: (130) Validated by the Banjul Summit, that Africa is one and cannot accept division, partition or joining any part of it to another space or Continent except the African Continent.

“The Notion of one Africa is the one from the North to the South, from the East to the West. The one that avoids signing any agreement aiming at dividing the Continent,” the release states.

Africa has established co-operation with other spaces and groupings in the world like The African Arab Co-operation, the co-operation between the African Union and The European Union manifested in Cairo Summit in the year 2000, in the Lisbon Summit in 2007 and in the Third Summit between the two unions which is to be held in Libya.

On the other hand, it added, the co-operation has begun between Countries North of the Continent bordering the Mediterranean Sea and European Countries bordering the same sea. The Co-operation consists of many sectors like the eradication of pollution, protection of the environment and combat terrorism. This co-operation consists of five African Countries North of the Continent and they are: The Greta Jamahiriya, Morocco, Tunis, Algeria and Mauritania and Five European Countries which are: Italy, Malta, France, Spain and Portugal.

The French President Nicola Shakozy has made a proposal recently on what he called the Mediterranean Union of African and European Countries bordering Mediterranean Sea. It was agreed that the Mediterranean union should be expanded to include Egypt in the African Continent and Greece in the European continent. Germany and other European Countries opposed the said Proposal on the basis that it will divide the European Continent.

France has called for the expansion of the said Mediterranean Union to include the whole European union, including countries which have been nominated in Asia to join the (EU) and those countries don’t even share border with the Mediterranean sea. Many North African countries agreed on the French proposal. The constituent conference about the Mediterranean was held in pairs on the 13/ 7 /2008 and all member countries of the European Union attended it. Four countries in the North African Region participated in the conference which issued a declaration and called a union for the sake of the Mediterranean. The Great Jamahiriya did not participate and completely boycotted it for the following Reasons.

Her entire commitments to the Resolutions issued by the summit are: meeting of the Africa union and they are: resolution No(107) issued by the Khartoum summit and Resolution No (130) and validated by the Banjul summit. Understand that the concept of a union for the sake of Mediterranean will divide the African continent into African north of the Sahara, Africa south of the Sahara , white Africa, Black Africa , and such a union will contain part of the African territory exposed to the centre of influence and Domination.

This is to be made clear that Great Jamahiriya at a time welcomes and support co-operation between African and European Unions according to strategies commonly agreed on. She emphasises the necessity that Europe and other Countries of the world should deal with Africa as one geographic entity, human, political and cultural unit. “Africa will not accept any division, partition or integration of any part of it with any other space or groping. It will denounce any idea that ignores the reality that the African Continent is one unique space with a single political instrument of The African Union.”

It said that some African countries immediately expressed their reaction to the conference and many statements were issued from The President of The Republic of Togo, President of The Republic of Benin and President of the Republic of Madagascar. The Carbonise President Omar Bango said The Union for the Mediterranean was formed to destroy The African Union and its founders, and support those who are bent on distracting all efforts to develop Africa. The Senegalese President Abdoulie Wade criticised the union for the Mediterranean and said that it aims to disintegrate The African Union.

Author: By Nfamara Jawneh

NBR Transport Union

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:08:20 GMT

Monday, July 14, 2008

Co-ordinator Speaks Out

The Transport Union co-ordinator in Farafenni in the North Bank Region, Mr. Modou Cham, has said that many of the road accidents happening in the last few years have involved foreign drivers.

“Most of the accidents that occur in this area are found to involve foreign drivers many are from Serrekunda and many involve young people who are new to the system,” he said.

Mr. Cham made his comments in a recent interview with The Point.

According to Mr. Cham, who is also an advisor to the Farafenni civil Servants Association, the Transport Union was established in 2001 and since that time has realised a lot of achievements. He added that the union has been able to open an account for drivers’ welfare.

He then commended President Jammeh for the provision of the Rural Electricity Project and the road from Barra to Lamin Koto which he said has given life to their garage in Farafenni.

According to him, before it would take two days for a vehicle to drive from Lamin Koto to Barra but no in just three hours you are in Banjul.

He further stated that the union also participates in national development by providing conducive and reliable transport services.

He disclosed that they were very supportive of the Governor and National Assembly Members in the area by providing 75 Gele-Gele’s and 50 taxis to welcome President Jammeh during his recent tour.

He then advised all drivers to take their time when driving and to avoid racing or careless driving because their passengers lives are their number one priority.

Author: By Abdourahman Sallah in CRR