AFRICA NEWS
BULLETIN @ 20h00
27 January,
2016
Radio
XYZ93.1FM
Assistant
Producer: E.K.Bensah Jr
FOCUS: Commission
of the African Union Appoints Donald Kaberuka, as the AU High Representative
for the Peace Fund
WEST AFRICA
Ø Nigerian
Government promises to tackle corruption head on
Ø Sierra Leone: ACC Reacts
to Civil Society Traffic Police Corruption Report
NORTHERN
AFRICA: Tourism
ministers converge in Morocco
SOUTHERN
AFRICA:Angola Cabinet adopts strategy to handle oil price fall
FOCUS
The
Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU),
Dr.NkosazanaDlamini-Zuma, has appointed Dr. Donald Kaberuka, as the AU High
Representative for the Peace Fund. It is to be recalled that, at its meeting
held on 26 September 2015, in New York, the Peace and Security Council, meeting
at the level of Heads of State and Government, expressed its support to the
initiative of the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint a High
Representative for the Peace Fund, whose mandate shall include mobilizing
additional resources for AU peace and security-related activities, and
requested her to expedite this appointment.
The
Chairperson of the Commission, through the appointment of Dr.Kaberuka, is
sending a strong signal to the international community on the AU’s commitment
to work towards finding sustained, predictable and flexible funding mechanisms
to support AU-led peace operations, as expressed in the Common African Position
on the Report of UN High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO)
and subsequent Report of the United nations Secretary General entitled the
future of UN Peace Operations: implementation of the recommendations of the
High Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations.
Donald
Kaberuka, a Rwandan economist and former Minister of Finance, is also the
outgoing President of the African Development Bank Group, and Chairman of the
Board of Directors. Dr.Kaberuka is currently serving on the Board of Trustees
of the World Economic Forum, the Mandela Institute (Minds) and the Mo Ibrahim
Foundation. He has also joined the Center for Public Leadership Community as a
Hauser Leader-in-Residence. Dr.Kaberuka will bring to the AU his globally
appreciated knowledge on Development financing, as well as his well-known
dedication to Africa.
Ø Nigerian Government promises to tackle corruption
head on
Nigeria’s
Federal Government says it will dissipate corruption like it has done to
Boko-Haram insurgents. It noted that corruption had begun fighting back
deriding its policies and tagging President MuhammaduBuhari a "budding
dictator."
Minister of
Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed made the remarks yesterday during a meeting
with Abuja
media Bureau Chiefs.
He however
lamented that sponsored articles had started appearing in both social and
traditional media to condemn the administration of the fight against
corruption.
The minister reassured
that no amount of attacks will stop the fight on corruption adding that the
federal government would not be intimidated into abandoning the fight.
He also called on
Nigerians not to be swayed by the antics of the sponsored denunciation of the
anti-graft war adding that even the United States acknowledges the
administration's fight against corruption when the US secretary of state
mentioned the campaign in his speech at this year's World Economic Forum (WEF)
in Davos, Switzerland.
ACC Reacts
to Civil Society Traffic Police Corruption Report
The Anti-Corruption
Commission of Sierra Leone is concerned about the findings of the Report
launched by the coalition of civil society titled "Corruption Stops with
Us: Ending bribery for traffic offences in Sierra Leone"; as it showcases
the involvement of Sierra Leone traffic police officers in bribery and petty
corruption.
The Commission wishes to
inform the general public that it had taken steps to address this situation;
with the engagement of security agencies in October, 2015 which led to the
setting up of a sub-committee which developed an Action Plan, aimed at reducing
the incidences of bribery in the security sector.
Moreover, the ACC is
implementing a three-year Pay No Bribe (PNB) program, funded by the Department
for International Development (DfID), which seeks to eliminate bribery in
public sector institutions, the police included, for effective and efficient
public service delivery.
However, the Commission is
also calling on citizens not to only report acts of bribery and petty
corruption, but to also refrain from giving bribes to public officers.
The Commission wishes to
reassure the general public of its relentless resolve to curbing bribery in
Sierra Leone.
Tourism
ministers converge in Morocco
Ministers coming from Cote
D'Ivoire, Seychelles, Kenya, Madagascar, and Senegal are in Rabat this week to
share a podium with their counterparts from Morocco for a Ministerial Panel on
“Sustainability at the Heart of Public Policies.” This Ministerial Panel
discussion in front of some five hundred experts and interested organizations
as well as a large contingent of press was part of the 1st Morocco Day to mark
Sustainable and Responsible Tourism.
Tourism Ministers Roger
Kacou from Cote D’Ivoire, Alain St.Ange from the Seychelles, NajibBalala from
Kenya, MaimounaNdoyeSeck from Senegal , and Ulrich Jacques Andriantiana from
Madagascar joined Lahcen Haddad of Morocco at the podium for an hour-long panel
discussion in an open hall that was full to capacity. The moderator for the
session was ArapHoballah, the Chief at the United Nations Environment Program
for Sustainable Cities, Lifestyles and Industry, who kept seeking more
clarification or examples of the good practices cited by the Ministers of
Tourism present.
Angola
Cabinet adopts strategy to handle oil price fall
The Cabinet Council
Wednesday in Luanda, Angola, adopted a strategy to soften the impact of the
crisis that followed the fall in the oil price in the international market.
This was during a session
chaired by the head of State José Eduardo dos Santos.
According to a note
released at the end of the session, the strategy comprises a number of measures
that will be implemented by the Government in the tax, monetary, external trade
and the real economy sectors, seeking to reduce the shortage of foreign
exchanges in the local market.
The source stresses
that the Government will seek to ensure
the controlled expansion of the debt deficit to relaunch the economy, increase
attraction and improve efficiency and efficacy of private investments and adopt
measures and incentives of various nature to promote exports within short term.
Mauritius
Revenue Authority launches New Taxpayers’ Portal
The Mauritius Revenue
Authority (MRA) launched a National Single Window (Mauritius Trade link) and a
Taxpayers' Portal yesterday at the Custom House, Mer Rouge in the context of
the celebrations of the International Customs Day 2016 under the theme: Digital
Customs: Progressive Engagement.
The launching ceremony was
performed by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development,
MrSeetanahLutchmeenaraidoo, and the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer
Protection, MrAshitGungah.
The Mauritius Trade link
will act as a single web-based online portal for the submission and processing
of import/export permits and respective clearance from Government agencies.
Various benefits will be derived from the National Single Window project by the
business communities in general such as reduction in dwell time for
import/export permits processing and clearance; reduced cost of doing business;
24/7 access to the portal via internet; and facilities for traders to track the
progress of their applications/declarations in real time among others.
