Day: September 22, 2021

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Malians March Against ‘Foreign Meddling’ on Independence Day

An estimated 3,000 Malians marched Wednesday through the streets of Bamako on the country’s day of independence from France.

Protesters, many of whom were against what they perceive as “foreign meddling,” marched in support of the military government, as Colonel Assimi Goita, Mali’s interim president, faced pressure from Western governments to cancel a deal with Russian security firm Wagner.

Over the past week, Paris in particular has expressed concern over a reported deal between Bamako and Moscow to hire 1,000 mercenaries.

“Such a choice would be one of isolation,” French Defense Minister Florence Parly said Monday during a visit to Mali.

Germany and the European Union have also expressed concern about the deal.

But demonstrators throughout the country Wednesday seemed to support the deal, with some carrying Russian flags in addition to Malian flags and pro-military placards, Agence France-Presse reported.

France, the country’s former colonial ruler, has thousands of troops in Mali to help fight a jihadist resurgence throughout the country. But many in Mali consider the mission a failure, and protests against the French military presence have taken place before.

In addition to their worries about the deal with Russia, many Western powers and Malian neighbors have expressed concern that the military government may fail to hold elections early next year as promised.

Goita and his military government took power in a coup in May, just months after new leadership had been chosen. Goita, who also led a coup that overthrew the elected government last October, said the transitional government had violated an agreement to advise him on a cabinet reshuffle.

Source: Voice of America

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Ten passengers feared dead in lake Victoria after boat capsizes

NAIROBI, Sept 22 (NNN-KBC) — Two passengers were confirmed dead, while eight others are still missing after a boat they were sailing capsized in Lake Victoria.

Six people were rescued during the incident near Pier Beach within Homa-Bay town when travelling to Ndhuru beach in Mbita Sub County Tuesday evening.

The boat is said to have capsized 400 meters away from the beach due to suspected overloading.

According to Homa-Bay town Chief Joshua Ochogo, the two bodies include that of a woman and a one and half year old minor who were retrieved during the rescue mission by fishermen who responded to the passengers distress call.

Ochogo said the six passengers who were rescued were taken to Homa-Bay county Referral Hospital for treatment while the two bodies were moved to the mortuary at the same facility.

He called for calm saying a search mission for the eight other passengers is ongoing amid fears that they could have drowned.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Rights Groups Condemn Rwandan Court Conviction of Paul Rusesabagina

Rights groups in Africa have condemned the Rwandan High Court’s sentencing of Paul Rusesabagina, made famous in the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda, to 25 years in prison. The court on Monday found Rusesabagina and 20 other suspects guilty of terrorism. Rusesabagina denies the charges, and critics say his arrest and trial did not meet international standards for justice.

Bahima Macumi fled to Kenya more than 20 years ago following Rwanda’s civil war, but has been following Rusesabagina’s trial closely.

He said Rusesabagina clearly did not get a fair trial.

He says this shows the Rwandan government does not want to be corrected, because if it did, they would have at least listened to this person who saved over 1,000 people. He says if the person who saved over 1,000 people can be called a terrorist, what would they call the one who did not save anybody?

To the world at large, Rusesabagina is a hero for sheltering at-risk Tutsis and Hutus in the Kigali hotel he managed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

To the Rwandan government, he is a threat, a fierce critic of President Paul Kagame who allegedly supported a militia group that seeks to overthrow the Rwandan government.

Human rights advocates are condemning his conviction.

According to Amnesty International, the Monday court ruling puts in question the fairness of Rwanda’s judicial system when it comes to high-profile and sensitive cases.

Sarah Jackson is Amnesty’s deputy regional director for East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes.

“We found many fair trial violations, including his unlawful rendition to Rwanda, his imposed disappearance at the beginning of the case and his initial inability to select a lawyer of his own choosing and all of these things during the pretrial period impact the fairness of the trial itself,” Jackson said.

Rusesabagina has 30 days to appeal his conviction, but rights groups doubt that judges can make an impartial decision on the case. Human Rights Watch’s Lewis Mudge explains.

“Unfortunately, this case has become an emblematic case in Rwanda so much that it really does highlight the lack of independence in the judiciary,” Mudge said. “It’s difficult for us to say that an appeal should happen or will happen because that will imply a degree of confidence in the judicial system that is currently in Rwanda.”

Rusesabagina says he was tricked into going to Rwanda in August of 2020. He had boarded a flight in Dubai that he believed was bound for Burundi, only for the flight to land in Kigali, where he was quickly arrested.

He went on trial along with 20 others in February. U.S State Department spokesman Ned Price Monday said the reported lack of fair trial in Rusesabagina’s case calls into question the fairness of the verdict. Rwandan prosecutors maintain the trial was fair.

Source: Voice of America

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Researchers Detect Malaria Resistant to Key Drug in Africa

Scientists have found evidence of a resistant form of malaria in Uganda, a worrying sign that the top drug used against the parasitic disease could ultimately be rendered useless without more action to stop its spread.

Researchers in Uganda analyzed blood samples from patients treated with artemisinin, the primary medicine used for malaria in Africa in combination with other drugs. They found that by 2019, nearly 20% of the samples had genetic mutations, suggesting the treatment was ineffective. Lab tests showed it took much longer for those patients to get rid of the parasites that cause malaria.

Drug-resistant forms of malaria were previously detected in Asia, and health officials have been nervously watching for any signs in Africa, which accounts for more than 90% of the world’s malaria cases. Some isolated drug-resistant strains of malaria have previously been seen in Rwanda.

“Our findings suggest a potential risk of cross-border spread across Africa,” the researchers wrote in The New England Journal of Medicine, which published the study Wednesday.

The drug-resistant strains emerged in Uganda rather than being imported from elsewhere, they reported. They examined 240 blood samples over three years.

Malaria is spread by mosquito bites and kills more than 400,000 people every year, mostly children under 5 and pregnant women.

Resistance has ‘a foothold’

Dr. Philip Rosenthal, a professor of medicine at the University of California- San Francisco, said that the new findings in Uganda, after past results in Rwanda, “prove that resistance really now has a foothold in Africa.”

Rosenthal, who was not involved in the new study, said it was likely there was undetected drug resistance elsewhere on the continent. He said drug-resistant versions of malaria emerged in Cambodia years ago and have now spread across Asia. He predicted a similar path for the disease in Africa, with deadlier consequences given the burden of malaria on the continent.

Dr. Nicholas White, a professor of tropical medicine at Mahidol University in Bangkok, described the new paper’s conclusions about emerging malaria resistance as “unequivocal.”

“We basically rely on one drug for malaria, and now it’s been hobbled,” said White, who also wrote an accompanying editorial in the Journal.

He suggested that instead of the standard approach, where one or two other drugs are used in combination with artemisinin, doctors should now use three, as is often done in treating tuberculosis and HIV.

White said public health officials need to act to stem drug-resistant malaria, by beefing up surveillance and supporting research into new drugs, among other measures.

“We shouldn’t wait until the fire is burning to do something, but that is not what generally happens in global health,” he said, citing the failures to stop the coronavirus pandemic as an example.

Source: Voice of America

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Electrification of Rural Areas Impacting Agro-industrialization

Along with the construction of major dams and the expansion of farms in the western development zone, in the Gash-Barka region, the need for the supply of electricity and the establishment of cold stores has become a necessity in the country’s efforts towards ensuring food security. Big generators have been installed in farms for the expansion of advanced irrigation systems and efforts have been made towards agro-industrialization that could be realized with electricity supply in the region.

As Eritrea’s development strategy relies heavily on its human resources, the country has been making huge investment in education to empower the youth. This has resulted in young and versatile graduates engaging in the implementation of development projects all over the country and making contribution toward nation building.

Eng. Israel Mengsteab works at the power plant in Kerkebet. After studying Electrical Engineering at Eritrea Institute of Technology (EIT) and graduated in 2019, he was assigned to work first in Fanko, then in Alebu and later in Kerkebet at the farm projects operated by Eritrea’s Crops and Livestock Corporation (ECLC). He has been working, along with other young graduates from vocational training centers, in the development of the power plant in Kerkebet.

Israel believes that working in remote areas enables one to develop the knowledge acquired in college through hands-on experience. For him, it is a win-win situation. He works for a better tomorrow and takes his assignment as an opportunity to enhance his competence through the implementation of various development projects.

Efriem Measho, head of the electricity supply unit in Kerkebet, studied electricity and mechanical works at Sawa Center for Vocational Training and got training in metal works in Alebu. There are now 13 staff members in charge of running the electricity supply to all farms in Kerkebet sub-zone.

The power supply projects in Kerkebet and Fanko were implemented using substantial input of graduates in electrical engineering who worked in the installation and expansion of electric supply in the farms. Efforts have also been made to provide electricity to the households.

Demoz Kebreab, head of electrical works in the western development zone, including Fanko and Kerkebet, said that electricity has been transforming agriculture and positively impacting the day-to-day activities of local communities. While the power plant in Fanko provides electricity to Teseney, Gherset, Fesko and Alebu, the one in Kerkebet serves Kerkebet farm, Sawa as well as Forto Sawa. The long term plan is to connect Golig and Omhajer using the power plant in Fanko and to extend the supply of electricity to a wider Gash-Barka region.

Mr. Demoz said that to upgrade the technical knowhow needed in running cold stores the ECLC assigned graduates in chemical engineering, horticulture and electrical engineering and gave a refresher course that ran for about 18 months to be able to efficiently run the cold stores. Since the cold stores need uninterrupted electric supply, the young graduates are always at the forefront in running and maintaining the power plants and the cold stores to ensure tons of perishable food stuff reach end users safely.

The cold store in Alebu, for instance, depends on the electricity supplied by the power plant in Fanko, but to ensure sustainability of the needed power supply a standby generator will be installed. Mr. Demoz reiterated that they are in a better condition because they now have the required technical expertise in running and maintaining the cold stores. He said that the young and committed college graduates continue to make a difference in many sectors. Graduates of Marine Engineering and Marine Biology have been playing major roles in running the cold stores. Currently, around 130 graduates of electrical engineering and electrical installation have been working at farm projects operated by the ECLC.

The establishment of cold stores in Alebu, Massawa and Adi-Guadad were triggered by the dynamic results of the farm projects in the western development zone. The cold stores are expected to hold fish, meat, fruits and vegetables from the farms in Kerkebet, Gerset, Fanko-Rawo, Fanko-Tsumu’e, Adi-Omar, Aligidier, Elabered, Halhale and other farm projects as well as fish from Northern and Southern Red Sea regions and fresh water fish from dams across the country.

The Gash-Barka region is the bread basket of Eritrea and the expansion of farm projects in the region has been increasing agricultural produce in the country. Considering the heat in the region, the establishment of cold stores will be extremely important in preserving meat, vegetables and fruits as well as fish and enabling safe transportation of quality produce to all parts of the country.

The cold stores established in various regions of the country are meant to be used to preserve agricultural produce not only from ECLC’s farms but also independent farmers who would like to use the facilities and be relieved from incurring loss due to lack of reliable stores. The cold store in Adi-Guadad, for instance, has been preserving fish from Massawa to be distributed in Asmara fish markets and the one in Alebu is meant to preserve supplies of meat, fruits, vegetables and fish to be distributed to markets across the country.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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Seminar on national development programs

Senior PFDJ officials are conducting seminars in Asmara and other cities focusing on the national development programs as well as developments in the Horn of Africa.

The seminars that are being conducted under the headline “Current Political Situation and Consistent Resilience Programs” are in continuation of similar seminars that have been conducted by senior officials with a view to elucidating national political, economic, and social programs taking into account the regional and global developments.

Indicating that in the past 80 years the Eritrean people have been victims of the global strategy of superpowers, the senior officials said that the Eritrean people thanks to their strong organization and awareness have emerged victorious.

Underlining that compared to the regional political developments being conducted, hostilities have not stopped yet, the officials said that the stage calls for strong political awareness and organization as well as resilience. The officials further noted that priority will be given to the advancing of the national development programs, development of social provision institutions and administrative system, strengthening information and diplomatic activities as well as earnestly working for regional peace. The participants of the seminars on their part said that such seminars will have a significant contribution in enhancing their understanding of the regional political situation as well as national development programs and called for their sustainability.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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Water Conservation Projects in Eritrea

Fueled by climate change and the ever-increasing demands for water, the growing scarcity, and variability in water resources have made water conservation a top priority for countries. Although Eritrea is not blessed with abundant water resources, the availability of surface and groundwater has increased in recent years because of the government’s considerable efforts and investments.

Water conservation has gained priority in the development efforts undertaken by the government of Eritrea. In Eritrea, the rainfall tends to be torrential, unpredictable, and lasts a short season. The low amount of rain and the absence of rivers that flow throughout the year have made the construction of dams and other means of water conservation techniques a necessity in order to ensure sustainable water supply and food security.

Securing sufficient water is a basic requirement to improve productive economic activities. The small, medium, and big dams constructed in the three development zones of the country are expected to meet the country’s present and future needs of water. But as the construction of the dams alone does not meet the development needs of the nation, various development projects — such as farming, animal husbandry, fishing, solar power installation, and electrification of the villages surrounding the dams — are being carried out around the dams.

Although the purpose of the newly built dams is diverse, the development of agriculture is the major rationale for their construction. The water in dams gives farmers confidence to invest in agriculture and increase the productivity of farms.

For many years the main challenge facing the agriculture sector in Eritrea has been a shortage of water due to recurrent droughts and poor water conservation structures. Having realized this from the outset, the government of Eritrea has been implementing strategies to harness the seasonal water flows and direct them to where they are needed.

The objective is “to augment water storage capacity by constructing water reservoirs, small dams, diversion canals and wells, and new irrigation schemes”.

After a careful examination of the Millennium Development Goals, world leaders renewed their commitment by adopting the Sustainable Development Goals with the objective to end poverty and hunger by 2030. This ambitious project has 17 goals aiming at a future that is free from poverty and hunger. Eritrea is, quietly and without fanfare, engaged in implementing development projects to facilitate growth and empower its people. Concrete measures have been taken in laying the ground for equitable and sustainable development, and water is playing a pivotal role to end poverty in all its forms and achieve food security and improved nutrition by increasing agricultural productivity. Urbanization and industrialization are also closely interconnected with the availability of water. Water is a precious resource and a key driver of poverty reduction and sustainable growth.

The life of the majority of the Eritrean population is associated with farming, and poverty is concentrated in rural areas. Recognizing this and the importance of agriculture to reduce poverty, the Government has made vital interventions to enhance the productive capacity of farmers by launching water conservation projects. Therefore, the effectiveness of the poverty reduction strategy can be measured by what has been done in rural areas.

The various dams that are built across Eritrea are supplying water to many villages. Hundreds of thousands of people living in villages located around Mslam and Teqera dams are a case in point. There is no doubt that the numerous water conservation structures constructed by the government will transform the economic, social, and environmental conditions of Eritrea. They will boost the country’s performance in ensuring food security, providing health care and education, and overall balanced development.

The construction of dams in remote areas of Eritrea will help the country to address its socio-economic challenges. They will help prevent migration of people to the cities by giving them a higher standard of living in their native areas. As the construction of dams is accompanied by the mechanization of agriculture, the introduction of commercial crops, electrification of villages, and the provision of transportation and other social services, many villages are benefitting from the investment in and around the dams and many people are moving to settle in those locations. In short, the dams, which have been constructed and are under construction, are true manifestations of Eritrea’s development strategy guided by social justice and balanced development.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea