COMING UP!>>Ep.37: East Africa Rising(2)

On 17 June, 2014, we initiated a discussion on East Africa.

As part of our “East Africa rising” programme, we are reprising the focus of East Africa on the Show, with a view to reminding listeners about the urgency of catalyzing and capitalizing on synergy with East Africa.

The Southern African country of Namibia recently opened a High Commission in Ghana, but, really, how many East African countries have diplomatic representations here? If not, why not? (Kenya has none in Ghana; Rwanda has a diplomatic representation; Uganda has none at all – never mind, Burundi or Tanzania) .  

In February, Ethiopia tested light rail. Rwanda has bought new planes to fly to Europe. Can it give is lessons on sanitizing our sanitation day? In November 2013, Kenya unveiled a US$13.8bn high-speed train. Is this something we can learn from them? What about Ghanaian businessmen and their ability to take advantage of doing business in Ghana at a time Ghana Tourism Authority are talking about learning from Kenya?

While these are important questions to be asked, one would have hoped we would not be asking them in 2015, when ECOWAS turns 40 and President Mahama is E COWAS Chair.

AIF started in 2014 with a recognition that East Africa is rising. Is Ghana listening?

Join us if you can at 1pm on 31 March, 2015.

Guiding questions

• What is especially vibrant about the ICT sector in Rwanda Ghanaians can learn from?
• Kenya has had its fair shares of challenges, but is considered one of the strongest economies in the region. Apart from its strong and reputable journalism, and its world-class tourism, what can Ghana learn from it?
• Ethiopia now has light-rail; Kenya has high-speed rail. Even Abuja has considered light-rail. What is East Africa doing more seriously than Ghana on infrastructure?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Arnold Boateng, Author/entrepreneur/youth development advocate

Ø  Azeez Gomda, PRO, Ghana Youth Integrity Initiative

Ø  Chelimo Gertrude, Kenyan national studying in Ghana

On the line:

·        Eunice Marfo, Executive Secretary, Ghana Association of Savings & Loans @13h15

·        Kobby Blay, EbolaWatch @13h30

COMING UP!>>Ep.35: Talking Points around ECOWAS@40 (2): Who should be the beneficiaries of ECOWAS integration?

35th Edition:  

Talking Points around ECOWAS@40 (2): Who should be the beneficiaries of ECOWAS integration?

In the second part of our “Talking Points around ECOWAS@40”, we want to use the 35^th edition of “Africa in Focus” to examine who the beneficiaries of ECOWAS ought to be.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration has finally launched the “ECOWAS@40” celebrations in what some of us believe to be a rather lukewarm manner. ECOWAS integration, in AIF’s view, is too important a milestone in the sub-region’s narrative of development for it to deserve such little attention, especially at a time when President Mahama is ECOWAS Chair.

For an administration that has aligned itself with the youth, it beggars belief that in all the ECOWAS meetings, the youth have yet to be invited to sit as observers at any of the ECOWAS meetings that have been held in Ghana. One can only hope that in the spirit of the 2009-call by East African youth to have a seat at the East African Community Parliament (EALA), West African youth will follow same and get active on a similar call. It is for this reason we will speak to the Public & Media Relations Officer of the Ghana Youth Integrity Initiative to speak to us what ECOWAS can do better—specifically under Mahama’s tenure as ECOWAS Chair and—generally as a well-respected regional economic community with experience in peace and security to transcend that imperative and ensure ECOWAS properly-benefits future generations.

Also on the line will be George Ofori, President of GUTA, who is well-known for what some may call altercations between GUTA and its Nigerian counterpart in the Ashanti capital Kumasi. Although ECOWAS protocols mean that Nigerians are able to work in Ghana, and therefore his attempts to get Nigerian traders to leave the retail sector were illegal under the ECOWAS treaty, the revision of the GIPC law in July 2013 (revising minimum capital of foreigners wishing to do business in Ghana from US$300,000 to US$1m either in cash or goods) means that Ghanaians are protected from an influx of foreigners in the retail sector – including ECOWAS Community Citizens.

Finally, we will speak to Appiah Adoamoko to offer us key insights into consumer-led West African integration, and why ECOWAS citizens need to start making greater demands as consumers of an emerging West African Common Market.

Join us if you can at 1pm on 10 March, 2015.

Guiding questions

• Is there anything to benefit at all from West African integration under ECOWAS?
• Is there sufficient attention paid to West African consumers?
• Given that the youth represent 60 percent of the continent’s demographic, what does ECOWAS need to do to better-integrate youth views in the way East African Community does with Youth observers?
• How do we reconcile protecting ECOWAS Community Citizens from influx of foreigners with ECOWAS free movement protocols when our national investment laws make no distinction between ECOWAS Community Citizens and “foreigners”?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Appiah Adoamoko, Coordinator, CUTS-Accra

Ø  Aziz Gomda,  Public & Media Relations Officer, Ghana Youth Integrity Initiative

On the line:

·        Kobby Blay, EbolaWatch @13h30

·        George Ofori, Ghana Union Traders Association(GUTA) @14h10

Post-Show: Watch out 4 #isurvivedEbola stories on @africainfocus14 show soon!

Watch out 4 #isurvivedEbola stories on @africainfocus14 show soon!

A video posted by emmanuel k bensah (@ekbensah) on Feb 3, 2015 at 11:39am PST

#PODCAST>>EPISODE#29: Perspective Retrospective (1): Health, & Tourism

From E K: "EPISODE #29 Research & Co-ordination: E.K.Bensah Jr Executive Producer: E.K.Bensah Jr LINK: "Dear friends, Please find below a link to the podcast of the full edition of 20 January edition of "Africa in Focus". We spoke to Communications Officer at West Africa AIDS Foundation, Penelope Agbai, who gave us a refreshing insight into the work that her organisation does. The interview was also a reminder that even as Ebola is being quelled with some success, Ghanaians must fight the complacency of feeling that the battle against HIV/AIDs is won. Although late in coming, still very useful was the intervention of our regular from EbolaWatch--Kobby Blay--who continued to remind us that Ebola remains real and that all of us are needed to keep ourselves safe, and remind others to do same in ridding the sub-region of the virus. Finally, we had a very vivacious intervention from the owner of Sekalaga Tours, Mrs.Asha Boakye-Yiadom, who told us of an "All White Party" coming up on 7 March to help raise funds to take children to school. Kindly find the link to the podcast of #AfricainFocus show on Tuesday 20 January, 2015. We look forward to comments! In solidarity!" Emmanuel"" Click here to view (E K shared these files using Dropbox. Enjoy!) © 2015 Dropbox

A #tweet-up of 20 Jan edition of "Africa in Focus" on #RadioXYZ93.1FM

Post-show Video Clip of #EbolaWatch's Kobby Blay

E.K. shared a video with you! “Dear friends, To mark the 20th edition of the Africa in Focus show, we started post-show video interviews that seek to both promote the work of the guests we invite, and some of their ideas on the themes we cover for the show. In this post-show clip, Kobby Blay, lead Volunteer at #EbolaWatch and who has been providing listeners of Africa in Focus Show with a radio version of EbolaWatch updates since August 2014, tells us what we need to look out for about Ebola, and what important steps to take to keep oneself safe. Comments always appreciated! Regards, Emmanuel” View video

© 2014 Dropbox

AFRICA IN FOCUS >> Coming up on 11 November, 2014: Peace & Security in West Africa: Burkina Faso, and Matters Arising (2)

Peace & Security in West Africa: Burkina Faso, and Matters Arising (2)

 AIF is exactly six months old this week.

Our second show, on 13 May, was on "Peace & Security in West Africa: the missing girls; free movement; Boko Haram; and the role of ECOWAS". 

Guests included a researcher from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre(KAIPTC); a Nigerian diasporan Counter-terrorism expert who is a lawyer/former METROPOLITAN Police Officer, and author on Boko Haram; and a Nigerian journalist.

The last time ECOWAS had a meeting in Accra was to discuss Ebola. Last week’s two-day meeting proved the exception to the rule because of the popular uprising in Burkina Faso. ECOWAS has yet to appoint a Special envoy to Burkina Faso, but the world knows of the AU and the UN’s envoy. After last week’s ECOWAS meeting, we also know that Senegalese President Macky Sall will head the Regional Contact Group monitoring affairs in Burkina Faso, and it will include Ghanaian President and ECOWAS Chair President Mahama.

It is barely two weeks, yet there have already been a lot of diplomatic movements underway to ensure Burkina heads down the road to civilian rule. That said, it is not going to be an easy ride. It is for this reason we will be speaking to Accra-based West Africa Network for Peace-building(WANEP)’s Mr.Diallo to give us the latest update, and prospects for the country returning to some degree of normalcy.

Our experts from KAIPTC were unavailable this time, but we were able to get a former KAIPTC official to give us her insight into the region’s peace and security challenges, and consider the way forward on some of the biggest threats to the region’s peace and security.

In October 2013, an ECOWAS summit was dominated by issues relative to its financial health – the EPAs; the CET; and the Community Integration Levy, which helps finance ECOWAS institutions. A year later, hard peace and security issues have resurfaced, prompting speculation as to whether ECOWAS will ever get the opportunity to focus more than one of its summits on the regional economy?

We want to use the 23^rd edition of the programme to reprise the issue of peace & security – not because it has not been an important talking point for the past five-and-a-half months, but primarily because it has loomed even larger at this time than ever before.

Guiding Questions to be answered:

·        What was ECOWAS’ decision on Burkina, and what is the way forward towards civilian rule?

·        What about peace and security in West Africa as result of Burkina? Will there be any blowback from the Sahel – as in Mali?

·        Since 2008, ECOWAS has been fire-fighting crises in UEMOA countries. Should ECOWAS continue to expend inordinate resources fighting to keep the “ECOWAS peace” at expense of economic development?

·       Is UEMOA still a good idea within ECOWAS when the latter spends most of its resources resolving electoral crises in the UEMOA countries?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Alimou Diallo, WANEP @13h30 

Ø  Araba Arhin, former KAIPTC official

Ø  Prof. Djeneba Traore, West Africa Institute, Cape Verde @ 14h00 

Ø  Dominick Andoh, Head of Aviation desk, Business & Financial Times Paper @14h15

Ø  Kobby Blay, Ebola Watch @14h30

WACSI Calls for Appointment of Special ECOWAS Envoy on Ebola

PLEASE SIGN ON TO THIS CAMPAIGN

#Civil #Society Statement on the Current #Ebola Crisis in #West #Africa:

A Call for Appointment of #ECOWAS Special Envoy on #Ebola

In light of the current epidemic of the deadly #Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in #West #Africa, we the undersigned civil society organizations call on #ECOWAS member states to appoint a leading, influential, strong and knowledgeable West African physician or health professional as #ECOWAS Special Envoy on #Ebola.

The current epidemic, which has been characterized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the deadliest Ebola outbreak since this virus was discovered in 1976, has claimed the lives of at least 1,552 people in West Africa including many health officials. We applaud and support the brave work of the health officials who continue to put their lives at risk in the care of victims of #Ebola despite very difficult working environment. We stand in solidarity with our brothers, sisters, families, and communities who are battling for their lives and struggling to care for loved ones.

West African economies are feeling the impact of the world's worst outbreak of Ebola. Travel and trade restrictions are limiting the deployment of medical personnel, equipment and commodities adding to the deadly risk that the EVD already poses to the communities and the economies of the affected countries and the region. This epidemic has exposed the challenges of our public health system and our governance institutions.

The recently-released WHO roadmap predicts that 20,000 people may ultimately be infected in this outbreak. Therefore, the challenge ahead is steep and a lot of work has to be done to stem this dangerous situation.

Cross-border coordination and collaboration necessary to stem the spread of Ebola has been haphazard and chaotic. While closure of borders may provide short term relief, it is also an impediment to cross-border technical support and humanitarian assistance and has given rise to new food security challenges.

The challenge of the current epidemic calls for urgent, unified and concerted efforts by ECOWAS and the international community. The emergency meeting of ECOWAS currently being held in Accra provides an opportunity to work out actionable and effective modalities to address the Ebola crisis. The regional body is uniquely positioned to champion a coordinated response.

For these reasons, we urge the appointment of the ECOWAS Special Envoy on Ebola. Such an envoy will help draw attention to the public health and humanitarian challenges posed by Ebola and become a regional voice and leader for a regional response plan led by African and international contributors. The Envoy could also be the voice calling for effective management and coordination of cross-border transportation and logistics. The challenge we face is extraordinary and ECOWAS needs to create a specialized platform to address this.

We urge all ECOWAS member States to push for this resolution and to develop a concrete plan for operationalizing effective coordination. We call on the international community to provide needed assistance in ensuring that the response to Ebola in the region is effective, humane and sustainable.
We acknowledge that the efforts of ECOWAS and the international community can only yield results if residents of the region do their part. Hence, we also urge the populations and all civil society organizations to show more solidarity and be cautious by observing the preventive measures identified by the WHO.

Kindly sign this statement and share with info@wacsi.org for onward action

source: West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)

#EbolaWatch's Kobby Blay Joins "Africa in Focus" to Offer Weekly Updates on Ebola

Join Kobby Blay, Lead of #EbolaWatch every Tuesday
at 13h30 on RadioXYZ93.1FM

by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr, Head of Research & Communications, Africa in Focus Show.

Since 19 August, Kobby Blay, Founder of Ghana Health Nest and Lead of #EbolaWatch  campaign, has been offering timely and relevant updates of everything Ebola on the #EbolaWatch segment on the weekly "Africa in Focus" show.

Kobby's interventions are either by phone or at the studio during the 13h00 to 15h00 slot when the show is airborne.

His concise and brief updates are highly-welcomed by the listening public, and has even attracted the interest of the West Africa Civil Society Institute(WACSI), which invited Kobby, a registered nurse at Korle-Bu hospital, to make a presentation on "the Role of Civil Society in Ebola Prevention". The presentation was made at WACSI's first-ever Ebola Information Session, which was held last week Friday at its headquarters at East Legon.

Catch Kobby every Tuesday on Radio XYZ 93.1fm at 01:30pm for the #EbolaWatch radio edition.

He will share with you all the updates and developments, and address your concerns with the ongoing #EbolaOutbreak..

If you have missed previous editions and you cannot afford to miss the latest coming up on 2 September.

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