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As political tensions and uncertainty continue to rise in Chad, Ruth Lago spoke with Attorney Max Loalngar to get more insight into the situation.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
The Special Investigating Unit says fraudulent and corrupt tendencies have been creeping in, with the intention to illegally benefit from the R500 billion social relief and containment fund allocated to ease the impact of Covid-19.
Niamey is the largest city and capital of the West African nation of Niger. Niamey is located in the southwestern part of the country along the left bank of the Niger River. Niger is the largest nation within West Africa in terms of physical size, and Niamey is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of the country.
Historians debate the early history of Niamey. Some argue it was originally a Songhai fishing village named after the local Niami tree, while others maintain it was founded by a Djerma chief named Kouri Mali. Yet, most agree that the site was inhabited by small numbers of Hausa, Djerma-Songhai, and Wazi peoples before European colonization.
In the late 1890s the French began to colonize Niger. In 1902, the French built a military fort in Niamey, a small fishing village at the time. Then, in 1926, the French moved their colonial capital from Zinder to Niamey to facilitate trade along the Niger River with other French territories in West Africa.
During the colonial period, Niamey also served as an important connection point in overland trade of agricultural goods. These agricultural products were grown in Niger’s outlying areas and transported to domestic and international markets, especially Abidjan and Lagos. However, trade was hampered by a lack of railway connections through Burkina Faso and poor roads throughout the region, which were often impassable during the rainy season.
The population of Niamey remained small into the 1940s with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. After World War II the city’s population began to increase as greater African autonomy seemed near and Niamey appeared to be a likely government center. In 1960, Niger won independence and Niamey became its capital.
After independence Niamey continued to grow, attracting Hausa and Yoruba merchants from around Niger, as well as from neighboring Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. In the 1970s, Niger saw great profits from the nation’s uranium reserves, which financed Niamey’s modern infrastructure. When uranium prices
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure ones ability to participate in the civil and political life of the society and state without discrimination or repression.
Civil rights include the ensuring of peoples physical and mental integrity, life, and safety; protection from discrimination on grounds such as race, gender, national origin, colour, age, political affiliation, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability;[1] [2] [3] and individual rights such as privacy and the freedoms of thought, speech, religion, press, assembly, and movement.
Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in law, such as the rights of the accused, including the right to a fair trial; due process; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy; and rights of participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of association, the right to assemble, the right to petition, the right of self-defense, and the right to vote.
Civil and political rights form the original and main part of international human rights.[4] They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with economic, social, and cultural rights comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this group of rights to be first-generation rights, and the theory of negative and positive rights considers them to be generally negative rights. By this we can say that human rights play a crucial role
The phrase civil rights is a translation of Latin ius civis (rights of a citizen). Roman citizens could be either free (libertas) or servile (servitus), but they all had rights in law.[5] After the Edict of Milan in 313, these rights included the freedom of religion.[6] Roman legal doctrine was lost during the Middle Ages, but claims of universal rights could still be made based on religious doctrine. According to the leaders
The Electoral Court has granted the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) permission to postpone by-elections in the country due to the continuous effects of the coronavirus.
This after the commission approached the court seeking a postponement.
\"As required in law, the municipal elections will be proclaimed by Cogta Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma after her consultations with the Electoral Commission.
\"In this regard, the Electoral Commission has begun consultations with the minister.
These matters are not a prerogative of the Electoral Commission, but require a collaborative effort and national consensus,\" she said.
The observers recognise that an electoral system governed by a whole series of constantly changing pieces of legislation \"responds to the outcome of political dialogue between the main parties, Renamo and Frelimo, rather than taking a holistic review of the electoral framework.\"
Stop the inclusion of fraudulent results: Under Renamo pressure, the parties agreed an electoral court system which could intervene to redress misconduct and errors by election commissions, STAEs, and polling stations.
Civil society members to be non-partisan
Members of the National Elections Commission (CNE) \"do not represent the public or private institutions or political or social institutions they come from, and defend the national interest\", says the electoral law.
For the 2008-9 elections, parliament (AR) agreed a dramatic change - a majority of CNE members, including the chair (presidente) were nominated by Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to try to force some independence and neutrality.
But this agreement between Frelimo and Renamo to select party aligned CSO members is not specified in the electoral law and clearly goes against the spirit of the law.
The political and security gains made by Somalia over recent years could be at risk of reversal if swift action is not taken by the international community to help local authorities avert a major humanitarian crisis due to the combined effect of devastating floods, desert locusts and the widespread impact of COVID-19.
Therefore, the impact [of floods, locusts and COVID-19] is not simply humanitarian but has the potential to reverse some of the political and security gains that the international community has invested in over the past decade,\" said Justin Brady of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Somalia.
Close to 500,000 people have been displaced by recent floods in Somalia's central regions, while the country is also dealing with a severe locust infestation which threatens food security and nutrition for many.
Working in concert with the Federal Government of Somalia, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with the support of other agencies, acquired equipment to help eradicate the locusts in infested areas in locations such as Hargeisa, Galmudug and Puntland.
Somalia was already struggling with floods and an invasion of desert locusts in the northern parts of the country when COVID-19 struck, further aggravating the situation by putting pressure on the country's fragile health system, thereby causing a major public health crisis.
Government is taking the lead to reform the current pension system by abolishing the contribution to the National Pension Fund (NPF), while continuing to pay benefits to each and every one who has previously contributed to this fund.
The Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, made this statement, today, in the National Assembly, in reply to a Private Notice Question pertaining to the pension reform.
Dr Padayachy highlighted that prior to the introduction of a contributory, participative and collective system, the Contribution Sociale Généralisée (CSG), a High-Level Committee on pension reform had already been set up since 2016 which is composed of members of both public and private organisations.
Furthermore, Dr Padayachy, underscored that despite the lockdown in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, discussions regarding the reform of the pension system with relevant stakeholders were ongoing.
The Finance Minister emphasised that the Basic Retirement Pension is being maintained at Rs 9 000 monthly, which is 20% above the relative poverty line.
The Covid-19 pandemic has multiplied the socio-economic hardships in our country and magnified the disparities, National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise said as she introduced a virtual public lecture on Africa Day on Monday.
OPINION | Africa Day: A continent united in its battle against Covid-19
\"We observe Africa Day today – and remind ourselves of the value and strength in our joint and collective fight against our shared and common threat to life and livelihoods.
Turning back to South Africa, she said the Budget was the \"most powerful instrument by which government can implement its priorities to correct, adjust and change lives\".
\"We observe Africa Day today in a reflective mood – uncertain of the lives we will continue to lose to this coronavirus, uncertain of socio-economic impact on the morale of our people.
Cyril Ramaphosa: The solutions to Africa’s problems reside within Africa itself
\"We remain firm in our conviction that we will endure as South Africa; as sons, daughters and citizens of Africa, because we have always placed value on human life above economic gain, and on our inherent commitment to collective action.\"
Sudan’s transitional government announced a major cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, hoping to defuse public discontent over economic collapse and other crises that have tested the country’s path toward democracy.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok accepted the resignation of six ministers, including the finance minister criticized for failing to rescue the plunging economy. He also dismissed the health minister in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak that has hit the country hard.
A government statement named the acting replacements for the seven posts, which also include foreign, energy, agriculture and transportation ministers.
“The trust that the people have given the transitional government obliges us to listen to the voice of the street,” said Hamdok, referring to the sweeping protest movement that toppled longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April last year.
He added that the changes were aimed at meeting “accelerated economic and social changes.”
Following al-Bashir’s ouster, Sudan’s military and pro-democracy protesters reached a power-sharing agreement to form the Sovereign Council, made up of army generals and civilians, to rule the country until elections can be held in 2022. Still, the military has retained the upper hand in many ways.
The Cabinet shake-up was widely expected after hundreds of thousands rallied in Sudan’s major cities again on June 30 to pressure the government for reform.
Protesters demanded the speedy appointment of civilian provincial governors, the formation of a legislative council and the completion of peace deals with rebels in the country’s restive provinces. At the time, Hamdok pledged to take “decisive steps” within two weeks.
Reshuffling gives the government room to appoint several ministers from rebel groups, as a condition of peace negotiations expected to conclude in the coming week.
The Sudanese Revolutionary Front, an alliance of rebel groups, visited the capital of Khartoum this week to discuss a few outstanding points in the deal, such as rebels’ participation in the yet-to-be-formed legislative council.
Sudan has for decades been convulsed by insurgencies in the west and south, and last year’s power-sharing deal required the government reach a peace agreement within six months. Although the deadline has expired, Khartoum wants to ink a settlement and reduce military spending, which takes up 80% of the budget.
Heba Ali, a key official in the finance ministry, was appointed to replace Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi, who inherited a collapsed economy after decades of mismanagement under al-Bashir.
Elbadawi was spearheading ambitious economic reform plans sought by foreign donors and the International Monetary Fund, which included painful steps like the slashing of fuel and other subsidies.
Earlier this week, in a move toward restructuring Sudan’s unwieldy security apparatus, Hamdok fired the police chief and his deputy, apparently over ties to al-Bashir.
The reshuffle seems unlikely to satisfy demonstrators, said Osman Mirghani, a Sudanese analyst an
Gauteng will emerge with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the coming days, overtaking the Western Cape, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
GRAPHICS | Gauteng recording more Covid-19 cases a day than Western Cape has at any point
He said, when the country moved from lockdown level 4 to 3, there was a large inward movement of people as economic activities resumed.
\"It is anticipated that while every province will, unfortunately, witness an increase in their numbers, areas where there is high economic activity will experience an exponential rise – beginning with Gauteng and Western Cape and followed by Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.\"
Western Cape numbers have not yet surged as expected
Touching on Western Cape, Mkhize said the department had received reports that members of the public remained reluctant to subject themselves to quarantine and isolation, despite the government having secured the sites in various parts of the province.
Mkhize said, having compared the real numbers with those depicted in predictive models, the department had noticed that the Western Cape had not quite reached the surge expected by modellers.
The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), on 1st September 2020, signed an agreement for a $6M grant which will be used to determine the feasibility of establishing a Consolidated Log Yard (CLY) operation in Guyana.
The article Manufacturers get grant to consider feasibility of log yard appeared first on Stabroek News.
AN informal network of European non-governmental organisations, the Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN) has called on the European Union Parliament to pass a resolution condemning ongoing human rights violations in the southern African country.
ZEN co-ordinator Hugo Knoppert accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of being a tyrant hiding behind COVID-19 lockdown restrictions to perpetuate human rights abuses.
“ZEN calls upon the EU Parliament to adopt a resolution condemning the recent human rights violations in Zimbabwe,” Knoppert said.
“Therefore, ZEN welcomes recent statements by the EU delegation, EU embassies, and individual diplomats, and urges them to continue to speak out on human rights and democracy issues.”
Knoppert urged the EU institutions to use the upcoming planning summit of their Multi-annual funding framework to rethink its strategies of engagement and supporting Zimbabwe.
South Africa's national government said on Tuesday that the \"regrettable death\" of George Floyd presented the US with an \"opportunity to address fundamental issues of human rights, such as freedom dignity and equality\".
International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor said in a statement that, just as the people of America \"supported South Africa in its legitimate struggle against apartheid, South Africa too supports the clarion calls for practical action to address the inadequacies highlighted by protesters, civil society and human rights organisations\".
\"Recalling the steps post-apartheid South Africa bravely undertook as part of its new constitutional dispensation, we are convinced that America - a beacon of freedom for many worldwide - has the ability to directly focus on healing and peace and achieve an outcome that prioritises respect for and promotion of fundamental freedoms for all Americans,\" she said.
\"The violence that has characterised some of the protests seriously detracts from drawing international awareness to the legitimate concerns about violence against defenceless black people and other minorities in America,\" she said.
National spokesperson Pule Mabe urged the South African government to engage with the US via \"established diplomatic channels to diffuse racial tensions and build social cohesion among different races\".
I am aware that as I write, the biggest hurdle still stands before us – getting to and getting past the eventual Declaration that the PPP/C won our March 02, 2020 elections; that for the next five years the PPP/C will be sitting in the seat of our Government, still-young Irfaan Ali our President and Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips our Prime Minister.
Hanging before us all Guyanese, and particularly the leading members and supporters of our outgoing Coalition Govern-ment, is the question of what further dangerous, destructive detours would they take our people and country through.
Recall also the various thrusts of varying forcefulness to have Mr. Granger sworn in at dawn, as our returning President on the basis of those openly blatant and outrageously fictitious Mingo declarations; the assertions and denials about the “Guyana Dossier” submitted to the USA Government – was it submitted by the Government of Guyana or the APNU+AFC parties in coalition?
We of the PPP and PPP/C and indeed all Guyanese should be forever grateful to the persistent insistence of the Ambassadors of the Western Countries and their Central Governments, former PM Owen Arthur (of Barbados) heading the Common-wealth observers, former PM Bruce Golding (of Jamaica) heading the OAS team, PM Mia Mottley (of Barbados) current Chair of Caricom and a most concerned close neighbour, PM Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago that the Guyanese people and country have so far been spared the travesty of a Mingo declaration.
Acknowledging that I came to the political stage of our country relatively recently (mid 1990) and through a side door opened by Dr. Jagan, the PPP and the PPP/C, and aware that I have no office nor authority to speak for any other but myself, nonetheless I will say for Dr. Jagan, the PPP and the PPP/C, that we will always work our hardest so as to earn the votes of approval of all our citizens, at every elections, regardless of their race, colour, class or creed or region of Guyana.
[RFI] France is to host a flagship pan-African event in December designed to break down negative stereotypes of Africa and its people. Announced in a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, the Africa2020 Season will bring together change makers from the continent to \"tell their own story\".
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Sunday 2 August that a further 213 people have died from COVID-19 since Saturday.
\tDespite occasional howls from civil society, Jamaica will not see a dramatic decline in corruption – or the perception thereof – until enablers in high places are collared and locked away, insists management consultant Dr Henley Morgan as three...
Zanu PF is brutally taking advantage of the rare opportunity to annihilate the MDC Alliance.
As this drama unfolds, it is clear that the future of the MDC Alliance is now more in the hands of Zanu PF than it is in the hands of the MDC Alliance and its supporters.
Those who are weary of the antagonism between Zanu PF and the MDC Alliance may see the GNU as a reprieve.
It is in the best interests of Zanu PF for some of the MDC Alliance parliamentarians to cross the floor and join MDC-T.
Fourth, by suspending by-elections and the 2023 elections, Zanu PF will isolate the MDC Alliance from its supporters.
