Day: November 16, 2021

Efforts to improve economic growth in Gauteng underway

Gauteng Department Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development and Productivity SA have collaborated to enhance productivity improvement and economic growth in the province. The Honourable MEC of Gauteng Department Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development, Mr. Parks Tau , will be the keynote speaker at a webinar to be held this Wednesday 17th November to reflect on productivity within Gauteng enterprises and share milestones achieved by businesses that have implemented productivity improvement programmes.

Gauteng Department Economic Development and Productivity SA have signed an MOU to implement productivity and competitiveness programme in Gauteng. The purpose of this programme is to enhance and support the productive capacity and operational efficiencies of local businesses and cooperatives throughout their business cycle to accelerate wealth, create decent employment and save jobs.

Members of the media and stakeholders from business, government and labour are invited to webinar as follows:

Source: Government of South Africa

The families of nine Somali workers shot dead while working on a bush clearance project funded by the United Nations are calling for a full and a transparent investigation into the incident.

The families say their relatives were instructed to carry out semi-military activities without proper security protection. Guards recruited to give them protection were on a breakfast break at the time of attack. The victims have received death threats according to documents seen by VOA Somali. According to the coordinator of the workers, the threats were coming from people claiming to be al-Shabab militants.

“We did not get justice,” says Jama, the son of one of the workers killed. “We need a thorough investigation and accountability.”

The incident occurred on February 25, 2019, when gunmen believed to be al-Shabab militants attacked the workers as they cleared the bush from the sides of the Mogadishu-Afgoye corridor.

Al-Shabab uses the bushes to hide improvised explosive devices. Cutting the bush was specifically intended to remove trees to deny Al-Shabab the opportunity to plant IEDs.

The multimillion-dollar project was funded by the United Nations Mine Action Services (UNMAS), which subcontracted a Ukrainian company, Ukroboronservice (UOS) to carry out the work. The families say the project was risky, and they allege negligence on the part of the United Nations and the Ukrainian company.

Families say the incident was kept under wraps until a VOA report aired the grievances of the victims’ relatives in July 2020.

The U.N. now says it has conducted a review of the incident and held discussions with the contractor. The contactor completed providing “financial aid” to the families of those killed and those injured in the attack, the U.N. told VOA Somali.

On June 5 this year, UOS officers met with the victims and their families in the office of the district commissioner in Afgoye, UNSOM spokesperson Ari Gaitanis told VOA Somali.

“They also explained the process of payment of the financial compensation, the amount that was to be paid to those injured and to the families of the deceased, as well as the documentation that would be required from the injured and the family members of the deceased to proceed with the payments,” he said.

Documents seen by VOA show UOS decided to pay $7,920 to each of the nine families who lost loved ones, and $3,960 to each of the four people injured in the attack. The families condemned the payment figures as an “insult.” Families say they do not know how the amount was determined.

Gaitanis says compensation money was “determined in line with international insurance practice for death and injury benefits, as applied to Somalia’s context.”

Legal expert Dahir Mohamed Ali disputed the money can be characterized as “compensation.” He said in the absence of a written contract between the employer and the casual workers, as in this case, the two parties have to negotiate a settlement. If they cannot reach an agreement, they may approach a local court to make a determination. In this context, the law existing in the area of operation — Somalia — applies, Ali said.

He said Islamic law, which usually is applied by Somali courts, awards the killing of a male person 100 camels ($100,000) while the blood money for a female person is 50 camels ($50,000).

Abshir Ahmed Mohamed, a Somali lawmaker who is supporting the families’ case, says he has received a letter from the program director of UNMAS in Somalia, Qurat-ul-Ain Sadozai, about the incident and the payment. Mohamed says Sadozai told him that payments by UOS do not constitute admission of responsibility or liability on the part of UOS, or U.N. organizations.

Mohamed, who is the deputy speaker of the Somalia’s upper house of parliament, says he wants to see Somali families receive their “full rights.” He said an investigation that includes the Somali government and the United Nations is necessary in order to find out what happened and who was responsible for the negligence.

Despite lingering questions about the incident, the U.N. in July awarded a new contract to UOS to undertake “Explosive Hazard Mitigation Services” in Somalia, Gaitanis said.

Gaitanis defends the new contract and says it was awarded through a competitive bidding process. He says the new contract does not include any bush clearance activity.

UOS did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Source: Voice of America

More than 200 people, most of them women, marched in the city center of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, on Tuesday against what they call growing intolerance in the Central African state. The protesters, marking this year’s International Day for Tolerance, sang that there is a growing lack of respect for each other’s cultural and religious beliefs.

Secretary General of the Council of Imams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon Adamou Ngamie took part in the protest. Ngamie says all Muslims, especially Imams, must try to preach inter-religious tolerance because it is praised by God in the Holy Quran. He says intolerance is bringing confusion and discord in Cameroon, which is in dire need of tolerance that will breed cohesion and bring back peace to the country.

In 2020, the government of Cameroon reported on problems of inter-religious intolerance in the central African state. It cited conflicts between Christian Pentecostal churches and Muslim fundamentalist movements on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria. The report said several clashes resulted in casualties but gave no further details.

Tuesday’s protesters noted intolerance in Cameroon spiked in 2017 when Anglophone separatists, complaining of second-class treatment, took up arms against the French-speaking majority state.

Cameroon’s separatist conflict has claimed more than 3,000 lives and displaced more than 550,000, according to the United Nations.

22-year-old University of Yaounde student Anabel Michou marched in the protest. She says hate speech and propaganda on social media by both separatists and authorities promote intolerance.

“We are calling on everybody to join us on board, to build a hate free Cameroon, to promote social cohesion, to ask for peace. Wherever we find ourselves, we have a collective role to play to make Cameroon a better country. There are alternative, nonviolent means of saying what we have and using the right channels for our thoughts to be heard. And we should also remember, we cannot build by destroying. We have to build by making what we have better.”

The Cameroon Women’s Peace Movement, which has been urging troops and separatists to lay down their arms, organized the protest. Movement member Nicoline Nwenushi Wazeh says the separatist conflict would be greatly reduced if Cameroonians learned to tolerate each other.

“We need to acknowledge that every human being is a separate entity [person] and this acknowledgement needs to come from the government through enforceable laws against intolerance. Parents should have a communication around tolerance with their children. In schools, children should be able to know about tolerance. We should be able to promote tolerance.”

In July, Cameroon launched a campaign against what it called growing online hate speech, intolerance, and xenophobic statements.

Rights groups, however, note that along with xenophobic statements, authorities also define hate speech as criticism of the state and long-time President Paul Biya.

The government did not issue any statements for this year’s International Day for Tolerance but has in the past called on all Cameroonians to live together in harmony.

Source: Voice of America

The European Union is planning to draw up a list of possible sanctions against a Russian mercenary group involved in multiple global conflicts, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

After chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers on November 15, Borrell said experts had been tasked with developing sanctions proposals against the Vagner Group and the issue would be discussed when foreign ministers meet again in December.

“There is consensus to move forward in order to take restrictive measures against this group,” Borrell said in Brussels.

Western governments have accused Moscow of using the Vagner Group as a paramilitary force in conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa. Russia denies a link between the government and the Vagner Group.

The Vagner Group is believed to be run by Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin. Already last year, the EU blacklisted Prigozhin over the group’s involvement in Libya.

The possible sanctions against the Vagner Group come amid reports Mali’s military junta was in discussions about deploying its mercenaries in the West African country, something opposed by former colonial power France and its allies.

Borrell said EU foreign ministers had also agreed on sanctions on Mali’s military leadership in the wake of their coup in order to apply pressure on the junta to restore civilian rule.

In June, Colonel Assimi Goita was sworn in as president of a transitional government after carrying out his second coup in nine months. Elections are due to be held in February, but the EU fears they will be delayed.

France has been at the forefront of a broader counter-terrorism operation in the Sahel region with about 5,000 troops ever since another coup in Mali in 2012 helped trigger an Islamist insurgency in the north.

But France announced plans earlier this year to reduce that force to 2,500 to 3,000 troops in the coming years, in a move criticized by the Malian military leaders.

There are also United Nations peacekeeping mission and a European Union training program in the West African country.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters at the EU foreign ministers meeting that any sanctions would also be imposed on companies working with the Vagner Group.

Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

I look forward to deepening our cooperation to promote economic prosperity, security, human rights, and democracy in the region.

– Secretary Antony J Blinken, March 2, 2021

Secretary Antony J. Blinken will visit Kenya November 17-18, where he will meet with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Raychelle Omamo to discuss the partnership between the governments of the United States and Kenya. The United States and Kenya partner on multiple global priorities, including ending the COVID pandemic and investing in health, addressing the climate crisis, building a more inclusive global economy, and strengthening democracy and respect for human rights. In addition, the United States and Kenya are working together to address regional priorities, particularly ending the crisis in Ethiopia, fighting terrorism in Somalia, and restoring the civilian-led transition in Sudan.

U.S.-Kenya Relations

• The United States and Kenya established diplomatic relations in 1964. Our bilateral engagement has expanded greatly since Kenya returned to multiparty democracy in 1992.

• The United States and Kenya elevated our relationship to a strategic partnership in 2018 and held our first Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD) in Washington, DC in 2019. The BSD is built on five pillars that underscore the breadth of our mutual interests across the areas of: economic prosperity, defense, democracy and civilian security, multilateral and regional issues, and public health.

• The United States provided over $560 million in bilateral assistance to Kenya in FY 2020. This assistance supported integrated programming across our pillars of partnership. In addition, the United States also provided nearly $98 million in humanitarian assistance in FY 2021.

Health Assistance and Pandemic Response

• The U.S. government is the largest contributor to Kenya’s health sector with an annual investment of approximately $450 million over the last three years, benefitting an estimated 25 million Kenyans. As a result of our investments and the complementary and collaborative efforts of the government of Kenya, 1.2 million Kenyans are currently receiving life-saving HIV treatment, the mortality rate of children under age five has decreased by about 56 percent since 2000, and the average Kenyan’s life expectancy has increased by more than 15 years over the same period.

• The United States and Kenya have collaborated closely to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, reduce secondary economic impacts, and restrict non-essential travel across borders, while also addressing the economic challenges of reduced mobility.

• The United States is the largest bilateral donor to the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), supporting COVID-19 vaccine procurement and distribution through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) program. To date, the United States has provided nearly 4 million vaccine doses in partnership with COVAX to Kenya and, in addition, has also invested $4.5 million in technical assistance to support Kenya’s nationwide COVID-19 vaccine rollout program.

U.S.-Kenya Economic Relationship

• In 2020, the United States imported $568.9 million in goods from Kenya and exported $370.8 million worth of products to Kenya. Over the last decade, U.S.-Kenya goods trade has been roughly even, with approximately $1 billion in annual trade. Kenya receives over $1 billion annually in remittances from the United States.

• The Kenyan economy currently benefits from participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program.

Climate and Energy

• The United States provides assistance to help Kenya realize its clean energy goals through financing, grants, technical assistance, advocacy, and promotion of investments in renewable energy. Since 2013, the U.S Trade and Development Agency, Power Africa, and the International Development Finance Corporation have invested nearly $600 million in financing and technical assistance for renewable energy projects in Kenya, supporting 20 percent of Kenya’s current clean power generation capacity. This support has helped attract an additional $1.8 billion in private investments for clean energy projects in Kenya over the last six years. These projects include the Ormat Olkaria III Geothermal Plant, which produces 16 percent of Kenya’s geothermal capacity and five percent of the country’s total power capacity, and the Kipeto wind farm, Kenya’s second largest wind power project.

• The U.S. government, working with the U.S. private sector through Power Africa, has facilitated approximately one million off-grid and on-grid connections for homes and businesses across the country, bringing electricity to over 10 million Kenyans over the past six years. In many rural areas, mini-grids and off-grid connections are providing households and businesses with electricity for the first time. These investments created over 40,000 green energy jobs.

U.S. Security Cooperation with Kenya

• In FY 2020, U.S. peace and security assistance totaled over $560 million. Kenya has purchased over $139 million worth of U.S.-made military equipment over the past three years, making Kenya a key strategic military partner. The U.S. partnership with the Kenya Defense Force includes assistance related to counterterrorism, border security, aviation security, maritime security (including to the newly established Kenyan Coast Guard), peacekeeping support, and broader professionalization efforts.

• The United States supports Kenyan law enforcement to promote police accountability and reform and support anti-corruption efforts within Kenyan institutions. Other programs include support to counter violent extremism, security initiatives to build the capacity of civil society organizations, and justice sector reform.

• As of 2021, the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism has 14 active projects funded at $69 million over five years aimed at enhancing the counterterrorism capacity of Kenya’s civilian law enforcement in areas such as crisis response, investigations, border security, aviation security, and countering violent extremism. The Department of Defense provided $24 million in assistance focused on building Kenya’s defense institutions, enhancing military sales, and counterterrorism operations. Since 2017, the United States has provided $19 million in counterterrorism assistance to Kenya. Additionally in the last three years, the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has provided approximately $7.6 million annually to promote police accountability and reform and support anti-corruption efforts within Kenyan institutions.

Governance and Human Rights

• The United States works closely with Kenya to strengthen institutions and processes at the national and local levels to increase public participation in governance and foster greater transparency and accountability; advance gender equality and women’s empowerment; improve the operating space for civil society and the media; integrate human rights as a component countering violent extremism; and support preparations for free and fair elections in 2022.

• The U.S. government’s democracy and governance bilateral assistance to Kenya totaled approximately $8.7 million for FY 2020. This support includes programming in governance reform, anti-corruption efforts, national reconciliation and dialogue, and countering violent extremism.

• Kenya hosts over 500,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and other countries. Between 2015 and FY 2021 the United States provided nearly $790 million in assistance for refugees in Kenya.

People-to-People Ties

• In 2019,over 250,000 Americans visited Kenya while some 36,000 Americans are currently resident in the country. The consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi issued over 5,000 immigrant visas and 21,000 non-immigrant visas, including 1,500 student visas. All visa categories experienced an approximate 75 percent drop during the COVID-19 pandemic but are anticipated to exceed historical norms in the future.

• Over 200 Kenyans participate in U.S. government-sponsored in-person and virtual exchange programs annually, and the alumni community has more than 4,900 members. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the five American Spaces in Kenya received more than 250,000 visits per year.

Source: US State Department