Day: April 7, 2023

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County, KUSCCO Partner To Promote Cooperatives

The County Government of Uasin Gishu has started discussions with the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO) in an arrangement aimed at promoting and strengthening cooperative movement in the county.

Acting Chief Officer for Cooperatives and Enterprise Development Nixon Cheplong accompanied by Director Enterprise Fund Isaac Lagat and Cooperative Commissioner Roselyne Rae on Thursday hosted a KUSCCO delegation at the county headquarters.

Speaking during the meeting, Cheplong noted that the areas of partnership include financial credit facilities to Saccos, the use of Information Communication Technology on the management of confidential information to help in capacity building amongst its product users.

KUSCCO, apart from working on how they will assist cooperative societies in starting mortgage schemes, will also be sensitizing them to have more youth in their membership.

KUSCCO Branch Manager, Alton Ochuma, said they are working with other stakeholders to grow and strengthen cooperatives across the county.

‘Because we are domiciled in Uasin Gishu, we are assuring you that being an umbrella body, the expertise that we have in finance and other areas, is important to all county societies and Saccos to grow themselves better,’ noted Ochuma.

Lagat in his remarks said they should have frequent meetings on how they can engage for the betterment of Saccos, especially on training because they have emerging issues affecting them.

KUSCCO is the umbrella body of savings and credit cooperatives societies in Kenya. It advocates for a level environment in which Saccos can operate, by actively engaging in all advocacy issues affecting their growth and development.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Huduma Mashinani Eases Government Services In Sotik

Hundreds of residents from Sotik Sub-County, Bomet County on Thursday benefited from Huduma Kenya mobile outreach program known as Huduma Mashinani which is a citizen Centered mobile outreach program that was initiated to bring service close to the common citizen at the village level.

The services provided at the actual Huduma Center are also provided during this outreach program in a move that has worked to the advantage of the sick, elderly, and other minority members of the community.

Outreach programs dubbed Huduma Mashinani by the Huduma Centre in Sotik enabled residents to access services that would have otherwise forced them to travel far.

In the program, officials from government departments under the Huduma Centre go out into villages and other rural areas and offer services.

Launching the Huduma clinic initiative Sotik MP Francis Sigei affirmed that the move will help constituents with easy access to government service irrespective of location, health, gender, and age.

Sigei further said the move was largely welcomed by the local communities considering the large number of people who turned up to receive government service on its inauguration.

‘That way, we have been reaching more and more people who for one reason or the other are unable to go to Bomet town Huduma offices. They still get to access government services right here in their villages. The high number of people turning up here today means they are responding well to the initiative and that’s a plus for the government,’ Sigei said.

Among other services provided during the Huduma Mashinani programs include registration for the National Social Security Fund, replacement of NSSF card, National Hospital Insurance Fund, Kenya Revenue Authority, National Construction Authority, Civil Registration Department, Business Name Search and Registration, National Registration Bureau, Identification Card, and Birth certificate registration and replacement, Higher Education Loan Boards among others.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Ethiopia, Djibouti Reaffirm Commitment to Further Strengthen Long-standing Ties

Ethiopia and Djibouti have reaffirmed commitment to further strengthen their long standing relationship and cooperation.

A high level delegation led by vice president of the Prosperity Party, Adem Farah along with the State Minister of Foreign affairs, Ambassador Mesganu Arga and other higher officials has paid a working visit to Djibouti.

The delegation has delivered a message sent from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh of Djibouti.

During their discussion, the two sides have reaffirmed commitment to further strengthen their long standing diplomatic, political, economic, social and cultural ties established on mutual benefit and trust.

The delegation has also held fruitful discussion with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Djibouti, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on ways to strengthen bilateral relations and other regional issues of mutual concern.

During the visit, the delegation paid a courtesy call on the Executive Secretary of IGAD, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu and deliberated current affairs and regional issues of utmost importance.

State Minister of Foreign affairs, Ambassador Mesganu affirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to exert efforts to address fundamental challenges of the region in partnership with IGAD.

According to Ethiopian Embassy in Djibouti, the official visit of the delegation has demonstrated the strong commitment of the two countries to further bolster their diplomatic relations by ensuring peace, stability and development across the region.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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HPR Speaker Urges Media in Ethiopia to Promote Peace, Democracy and Work for Nat’l Interest

Speaker of the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR), Tagesse Chaffo urged media outlets in Ethiopia to work responsibly for the national interest of the country by promoting peace and democracy.

The Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) in collaboration with various institutions organized a consultative forum under the theme “Media for the National Interest”.

Speaker of the House Tagesse Chaffo, National Dialogue Chief Commissioner, Professor Mesfin Araya, government officials, heads of media and communication institutions attended the forum.

The Speaker on the occasion said Ethiopians should strive to register success in their respective fields of work in order to safeguard and sustain the national interest of their country and the security of its citizens.

The national interest of the country has always been well protected and passed down from generation to generation, the speaker said emphasizing the need to continue this culture.

In this regard, Tagesse stressed that the media must work with high sense of responsibility for the building of peace and democracy in Ethiopia.

The speaker prized the over 80-year-old media institution, ENA, for allowing the media and communication sector to consult on the importance of safeguarding the national interest of the country.

He assured that the government is carrying out effective activities to protect the national interest of Ethiopia.

Hence, media institutions should focus on peace, democracy and development endeavors of the nation by overcoming challenges together.

Despite differences, it is necessary to work for the solidarity and unity of the people by resolving the differences through effective discussion and consultation, he noted.

He pointed out that the mass media should work for the development and national interest of Ethiopia by strengthening peace and unity, he underscored the need to realize lasting peace through transitional justice mechanism.

Ethiopian News Agency Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Seife Derbe said ENA is serving as a reliable source of information by delivering all forms of news and news-related issues in local and international languages.

ENA, with dozens of branch offices across all regions in the country, has been producing and dispatching multimedia news and news-related contents in Amharic, English, Arabic and French languages.

The Ethiopian News Agency is also striving to become a leading source of information in Africa by 2030, he stated.

The CEO further said that the newly built state of the art media complex will start broadcasting in foreign languages on a trial basis soon and work is being done to launch a complete broadcasting service in September.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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Envisioned, Developing Tourism Projects Would Unlock Untapped Tourism Potential: Association Secretary General

The envisioned ”Dine for Generation” projects and the developing ”Dine for Nation” tourism projects would help to unlock the untapped tourism potential of the nation, Ethiopian Tourist Guides Professional Association Secretary-General Henok Tsegaye said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the secretary general said the tourism sector has gained new inputs and new destinations developed during the last 4 to 5 years.

According to him, the projects Dine for Sheger, Dine for Nation and the recent Dine for Generation with 8 destinations that have been developed over the years would lead to unlock the untapped tourism potential of the country.

Henok further expressed his belief that the destinations spread across the country unlike the past would enable tourists to grasp the full image of the country.

Also, they can solve the overload of hotels in providing services for their guests, which is one of the challenges of the sector, and provide quality service, he added.

As the newly launched projects are based on tourism that is friendly to the environment they would also contribute to the enhancement of the sector.

Recalling that 2 of the 8 new destinations will be built by investors, Henok said this is a new chapter in the sector that would encourage more private companies to engage in the tourism.

Moreover, since most of the launched tourist sites are located in rural parts of the country, they would benefit the nearby communities, including farmers.

“When the projects are completed, the service can generate foreign currency and contribute to the cash flow of the country.”

It is to be noted that the construction of 8 tourism projects in Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromia, SNNP, Somali, and South West Ethiopia regions would be launched soon under Dine for Generation initiative.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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Countries Need to Draw Lesson from Rwanda Genocide, Affirm Never Again

African countries need to draw lessons from the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and make sure it will never happen again, Rwanda’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Hope Tumukunde Gasatura said.

The 29th genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda was commemorated today under the theme “Remember-Unite-Renew” at the African Union Headquarter in Addis Ababa.

In her opening remark, Rwanda’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Hope Tumukunde Gasatura said that the commemoration is a communal plea to redouble efforts to stop similar horrors from ever occurring again elsewhere.

“The continued troubling trends of growing expressions of racism and intolerance that results in the dissemination of hate speech and cause for violence cannot be left unchallenged,” she noted.

The Ambassador called on AU member states, international organizations, and civil society organizations to recommit to preventing and fighting against genocide and other serious crimes under international law.

Foreign Affairs State Minister, Ambassador Birtukan Ayano lauded Rwanda for rising from the ashes and be able to build a community founded on the ideas of justice, forgiveness, tolerance, reconciliation, and unity.

Ambassador Birtukan said the tragedy that befell close to one million innocent citizens of Rwanda is a sore point in history and the commemoration should be a collective commitment to prevent the crime of genocide in Africa and elsewhere.

The state minister also reaffirmed Ethiopia’s firm commitment to work together with the African Union, the international community and other stakeholders to prevent genocide and to ensure that impunity is not tolerated anywhere, anytime, for any reason.

She added that the enormous challenges faced by countries with advent of cyber technology require collective and urgent action.

Ambassador Birtukan stated that there is a clear imperative for all to invest on improving governance of emerging technologies.

“We should unite against those who stew hatred, ethnic and religious division, intolerance and violent extremism to prevent genocide,” she noted.

In his opening speech, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of African Union Commission, said the occasion is an opportunity to show solidarity with our Rwandan brothers and sisters, and we should work on creating peace and security for our continent.

Officials from the African Union Commission (AUC), AU organs and member states, diplomatic corps, religious institutions, intergovernmental organizations, and civil society organizations have attended the commemoration.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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PM Abiy hosts Iftar Dinner in Honor of Impoverished Community Members Observing Ramadan Fast

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali hosted the annual Iftar dinner at the Grand Palace in honor of impoverished community members observing the Ramadan fast.

Leaders of the Ethiopian Islamic Supreme Council and high ranking government officials were present at the Iftar dinner.

During the occasion, the participating impoverished community members appreciated the Prime Minister for hosting the Iftar noting that Ramadan is a month of compassion and collaboration among humanities.

They said the Iftar dinner hosted by the Prime Minister would be exemplary to all others to support the impoverished community members in their respective localities across the country.

Sheikh Mohammed Kerim, Islamic Religion teacher, stated that helping the impoverished is one of the foundations of Islamic teachings, pointing out that the Iftar dinner demonstrates the Premier’s commitment to help impoverished citizens and his affection to this segment of the community.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency