December 21, 2021

Ghana MPs Exchange Blows Over Proposed Electronic Payment Tax

Lawmakers in Ghana exchanged blows late Monday evening over a proposed electronic payment tax.The government says the new tax would boost revenue for development, but parliament has been split over the idea and fights broke out when supporters tried to force a vote.

Ghanaians in general, and the opposition in particular, have vehemently opposed the proposed 1.75% tax on electronic transactions, popularly known as e-levy, contained in the 2022 budget.

If passed, the law would include taxes on mobile money payments, which is used by 40% of Ghanaians 15 years and older, according to a 2021 data by the central bank.

Up against a deadline, the government wanted the bill passed under a certificate of urgency on the last day of sitting. But a brawl broke out on the floor when the first deputy speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, pushed for the vote.

The regular speaker was absent from the session. Opposition MP Mahama Ayariga says the deputy was circumventing normal procedure in an attempt to force the bill through parliament.

“The house is governed by rules. And so when you make it right for persons to undermine those rules what do you expect the MPs to do. They won’t just sit aside and watch the person undermine the rules,” he said.

The acting speaker, Osei-Owusu, says he operated within the standing orders of Ghana’s parliament and had the right to vote for the bill under consideration.

“As long as we can change over then that advantage is restored. In my view and I still hold that view strongly that as long as we can change the seat at any time there should not be that disadvantage,” he said. “Otherwise, no proceedings will go on. Why should I come and preside so that I can’t take any decision, what is the point?”

About 50 lawmakers took part in the brawl.Only one was injured, the minister of youth and sports who got a cut in the face.

The executive director of the African Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Rasheed Draman, told a local radio station that Ghana should brace for more gridlock in the current parliament.

“I have never seen anything like this. And for me I have said this since the beginning of the year that if we’re not careful this is how the eighth parliament is going to be. It will be characterized by a lot of confusion and a lot of gridlock,” he said.

Parliament has now been adjourned until January 18 to give lawmakers more room to consult on the controversial electronic levy.

Source: Voice of America

December 21, 2021

Meeting of nationals in Israel

Eritrean nationals in Israel conducted activity assessment meeting of 2021 and charted out programs for 2022.

According to the Eritrean Embassy in Israel, at the event the nationals contributed 45 thousand 867 Dollars in support of families of martyrs and 77 thousand 550 Dollars in support of the National Association of Eritrean War Disabled Veterans and 61 thousand 147 Dollars in support of the effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

The nationals also discussed on the charted out programs for 2022 and expressed resolve to play due part in the implementation of the program.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

December 21, 2021

Organizers Say Africa Cup of Nations Will Take Place, But Workers Say Main Stadium Not Ready

The Africa Football Cup of Nations tournament is scheduled to begin January 9 at Olembe Stadium in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.

On Monday, Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe visited the 60,000-seat stadium, which is still under construction less than three weeks before the opening match.

Motsepe says construction workers are improving on the stadium and he is optimistic Cameroon will be ready for the opener.

“There is a huge commitment and a focus to make sure that some of those issues that are being put in place in the next few days, good progress will be made,” he said. “My message is to Africa and to the world that the people of Cameroon are ready to show the world the best of African Football and also the best of African hospitality. It is going to be a successful AFCON, so come January 9, there must be a kickoff.”

Motsepe’s visit came amid persistent local media reports that Olembe Stadium would not be ready.

Bulldozers dug and arranged roads at the stadium entrance on Tuesday, a day after Motsepe’s visit. Several dozen young people transported and planted trees, flowers and grass that officials say will beautify the facility.

Among the workers is 35-year-old building construction engineer Luc Eloundou. Eloundou says he is not sure the entire parking lot of the stadium will be complete within a week as requested by the government of Cameroon.

“Last month we were about 1,000 people here, but now I am seeing up to 300. Workers are not coming. Why? They work without money. Some borrow money to come and work but they don’t have their salaries. The work is much, even in more than a year we will not be able to finish the work,” he said.

Jean Fradique, technical director of the stadium, says 2,000 workers have been recruited to make sure that before a joint CAF/FIFA control mission visits, the stadium is ready for the opening match.

Fradique says workers are arranging parking spaces for cars that will bring football fans, players and match officials to the stadium. He says the huge mobilization of over 2,000 workers and several hundred compactors and construction equipment within the past two months is indicative that Cameroon is bent on finalizing construction work within one week.

Stadium construction began in March 2017. The government said the facility would be ready for the 2020 AFCON. But in January 2020, the CAF postponed the tournament for a year, saying Cameroon was not ready.

The CAF moved the tournament again in January 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local media in Cameroon say between COVID-19 and construction delays, the tournament may be postponed yet again. For now, the CAF says the tournament is on.

Source: Voice of America

December 21, 2021

Law Week: A Breakthrough Event for Eritrea’s Society

“Not knowing the law will not absolve you from being responsible” is a saying we always hear when crimes are committed by people who are absolutely oblivious to the law. Available statistics show that some offenses stem from lack of knowledge on the law. In an attempt to increase the public’s awareness about legal matters and the legal system in Eritrea, The Ministry of Justice organized events that lasted for a week, 6-11 December. Following is an interview with a participant at the events held during the ‘Law Week’.

• Thank you for making time and agreeing to this interview; let’s get you acquainted with our readers?

Thank you! My name is Lu¬wam Mogos. I was born in 1996 in Asmara and enrolled in several schools in Asmara. I went to Sawa in the 27th round, sat for the matric¬ulation exams, and scored a grade to study for a first degree. I joined the College of Arts and So¬cial Sciences at Adi Keih and then attended the School of Law in As¬mara. I wrote my senior thesis on international law, under the title ‘When Politics Tampers with Law: The Withdrawal of Qatar from the Eritrea-Djibouti Mediation Agree¬ment and Its Responsibility un¬der International Law’ which was awarded as the Best Senior The¬sis at the School of Law, Class of 2020. I graduated with distinction and am now working as a public prosecutor at Adi Quala, Southern Region.

• You are one of the people who par¬ticipated at the ‘Law Week’. Please tell us what the program was and your role in it?

‘Law Week’ was a week-long program conducted by the Minis¬try of Justice, and it aimed at rais-ing the legal awareness of Eritrean citizens. As part of that, many law-oriented seminars were conducted and pro-bono legal services were given. As part of the legal aware¬ness seminars, one was conducted under the title ‘Eritrea and Interna¬tional Law’. It aimed to inform the public on the encounters of Eritrea with international law and the over¬all development of the relationship of Eritrea with International law. So, my role was to give a presenta¬tion on the process of the incorpo¬ration of international treaties and agreements into the national laws of Eritrea. I prepared the presenta¬tion based on research papers writ¬ten on the issue, one written by Ali Osman Ali and the other by Senay Woldeab.

• You are a female Public Pros¬ecutor working at a region con¬sidered rich in cultural traditions; how do you explain the customary laws of Eritrea towards women?

The Customary Laws of Eritrea are the laws that dictated the lives of our ancestors. They had so much significance in ensuring the coher¬ence and tranquility of the societ¬ies that created them because they reflected their traditions and way of living. In spite of their great con¬tribution toward safeguarding the peace and unity of the societies, most of the customary laws did not give a favorable place to the wom¬an. This was not necessarily meant to belittle women or deride their significance but only because the traditions and culture of the fore¬fathers back then dictated as such.

Many examples can be men¬tioned to show how women were not taken as credible witnesses in any dispute settlement (the testi¬mony of one man equals that of two women), women were not allowed to get land in their own village (they were entitled only to land in the village of their husband). Of course, this is not without excep¬tion because in special circum¬stances women were granted land in their own villages. In addition to this, women were subjected to bru¬tal treatments like FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) because it was part of the custom and tradition of the forefathers. The customary laws in this regard gave no support to eradicate such a practice because they could only reflect the custom and tradition of the societies that created them.

Of course, there exist some cus¬tomary laws (like the Kunama customary laws) where women are entitled to many privileges and are treated in equal terms with men (or sometimes even greater than men). However, speaking of the majority of the Eritrean customary laws, as much as they had great use, wis¬dom and significance, they did not put the woman in a favorable posi¬tion in society.

• Since the Customary Laws were not favorable to women, what changes have the Current Eritre¬an Laws introduced to promote the empowerment of women?

Protecting the rights of women and women’s empowerment are some of the principal objectives that the Eritrean government has been working to achieve, includ¬ing during the armed struggle for independence. The Eritrean gov¬ernment has made several reforms to ensure the equality and wellbe¬ing of Eritrean women. The main pillars for the empowerment of women in a country are: supporting women’s right to education, paving the way for women to participate in economic activities and entrepre¬neurship, and ending any kind of violence against women and girls. In ensuring the wellbeing of wom¬en, the policies and laws of a country play a great role, and the Eritrean government has reflected its aim on achieving the all-around empow¬erment of the Eritrean women. The Macro-Policy of Eritrea states that the government holds as its aim the availability of education for all citi¬zens, with no distinction based on gender or ethnicity.

In the area of economic activi¬ties, the Eritrean Macro policy up¬holds the equal rights of women to participate in economic activities and employment. The Labour Proc¬lamation No. 118/2001 dictates that there shall be no discrimination as regards opportunity or treatment in employment and remuneration, on the basis of gender and sex. Com¬ing further, the availability of land proves to be a significant factor in increasing the participation of women in economic activities and entrepreneurship. To ensure this, the Land Proclamation states that every Eritrean citizen is entitled to the right over land whether it be Tiessa or farming land regard¬less of his/her gender, ethnicity, or faith. Therefore, Eritrean women are granted the right to land, thereby expanding their opportunity to participate in economic activities. When we come to ending violence against women, the main area that the Eritrean government has suc¬ceeded in is the prevention and criminalization of FGM. Proclama¬tion no. 158/2007 criminalizes the performance, participation in, and even failure to report incidents of FGM. Therefore, it can be said that the Eritrean government has gone a long way in ensuring the overall empowerment of Eritrean women.

Thank you for your time again!

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea