PARIS, France — The French police made a significant breakthrough in the fight against drug trafficking in 2023, with over 36,000 arrests reported. This announcement was made by French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin during an interview on BFMTV.
According to the Burkina Information Agency, 2023 marked a ‘record year’ in the war against drugs, with a total of 36,329 drug traffickers apprehended across France. The minister credited the police, gendarmes, and other ministry services for their relentless efforts in combating drug-related crimes. He further noted that since his appointment as the Minister of the Interior three years ago, significant progress had been made, including the identification and disruption of 4,000 drug dealing points, with 1,000 of them being effectively dismantled.
NYERI – The Ajira empowerment centres, a government initiative in Kenya, have become a beacon of hope for many young people in Nyeri, Murang’a, and Kirinyaga counties. These centres offer a pathway to employment for youths who have completed their college or university studies.
According to Kenya News Agency, Hellen Kimindiri, the Ajira Programme has significantly impacted the lives of the region’s youth. In the past year alone, 112 young people from Nyeri, Murang’a, and Kirinyaga have been trained to work and earn through online jobs. Speaking at the Kamacharia empowerment centre in Mathioya sub-county, Murang’a, Kimindiri highlighted the government’s contribution through the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy in equipping these centres with necessary tools like desktops, laptops, and internet access.
Kimindiri elaborated that the centres not only provide equipment but also encourage young people to bring their laptops to utilize the available internet for online jobs. The training at these centres covers basic and advanced computer literacy modules, including areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and programming. Over three years, more than 16,000 youths have benefitted from this training across the larger central region of Kenya.
Emphasizing the importance of this initiative, Hellen urged youths to join the programme, highlighting its role in helping them avoid pitfalls like drugs, alcoholism, and crime. Olive Njogu, the manager of Kamacharia Ajira Empowerment Centre, added that her centre trained 460 youths in the last three months. The training encompasses various digital skills such as digital marketing, transcription, data entry, and virtual assistance.
Njogu also mentioned the formation of a group by trainees, which assists in creating and uploading content like dancing and skits on digital platforms, generating income for the participants. One of the beneficiaries, Mary Maina, shared her success story, noting that she now earns a steady income from various online jobs after training at the centre. Maina encouraged other young people to explore digital opportunities, citing the potential to earn more than 10 US dollars per hour with experience in online work.
This program presents a significant shift in addressing the employment challenges faced by youths in Kenya, tapping into the vast potential of the digital economy.
NAKURU, Kenya – Dairy farmers across Kenya are set to benefit from a government initiative aiming to modernize the dairy sector. The government has pledged to install milk coolers in all wards as part of the Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) facilities modernization program. This move is a response to the challenges faced by dairy farmers in the country.
According to Kenya News Agency, the initiative addresses several key issues faced by dairy farmers, including storage, preservation, high feed costs, and market access. The Kenya Kwanza administration has reinstated the previously stalled milk coolers’ program, with the distribution of 650 milk coolers already in progress. Chelugui highlighted the dairy and livestock economy as critical sub-sectors for quick economic turnaround, contributing to food security, job creation, and export growth.
The government also announced plans to establish a milk price-stabilizing fund of nearly Sh3 billion, to be implemented by the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (New KCC). This fund aims to purchase excess milk from farmers, converting it into long-life products for storage in the Strategic Food Reserve, thereby ensuring a stable and prosperous dairy subsector. The initiative will help in stabilizing the market price of milk and ensuring comprehensive collection from farmers.
Speaking in Bahati Sub-County, Nakuru, Chelugui explained that the stabilization fund is a government intervention to absorb excess milk, preventing the waste and market disruptions that often occur due to overproduction. The government’s commitment is to process this excess milk for future use, protecting dairy farmers from the volatility of the market.
The Cabinet Secretary also addressed the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), recognizing the dairy subsector as a key value chain due to its significant contributions to both national and rural economies. He emphasized the government’s role in stabilizing milk prices during periods of surplus production.
Further, Chelugui urged private processors to support the dairy sector by purchasing additional milk for conversion into powdered milk. He outlined the challenges faced by the dairy subsector, including high breeding costs, disease prevalence, limited extension services, expensive animal feed, and low market access.
The New KCC has been tasked with stabilizing both producer and consumer milk prices, managing milk surpluses by converting excess milk into dry milk powder for the Strategic Food Reserve. This approach will ensure milk availability during dry seasons.
Chelugui revealed that Kenya has the potential to produce up to four million liters of dairy milk per day. To support this potential, New KCC will buy milk from farmers at a minimum of Sh45 per liter, countering the exploitation by middlemen. The first disbursement of the Sh500 million stabilization fund was made in December, with further allocations expected.
The Cabinet Secretary lamented the negative impact of unscrupulous traders on the dairy sector, leading to a drop in milk production. He announced that the government has secured a market for Kenyan milk in the Middle East and is working with the Ministry of Agriculture to enhance milk production capacity to meet both internal and external demand.
Farmers are encouraged to access stimulus funds through cooperative societies to boost both animal and crop production, as part of the government’s commitment to supporting dairy farming.