Day: May 10, 2023

Emmanuel Wembe has left many in Bafoussam astonished by his ability to transform a two-seat motorbike to a ten-place machine.

The man aged 35 said he had no choice, given the suffering he faced as well as the discomfort in carrying farmers to remote areas on a small bike.

“With these our bikes, we can go to areas where cars cannot reach. It is easier especially as the bikes can carry up to 10 persons,” Emmanuel Wembe told BTV.

“I once carried passengers to the farm and it was too stressful. I then thought of how to increase the length of the bike. I did it gradually. I did not just do it at once. It took me years,” he disclosed.

The business man said it started when he was unable to find a job.

“When there are no jobs, you have to think of something. You don’t have to wait for someone,” Wembe added. “It is due to suffering and lack of jobs that I had to do this.”

Users of his services have said they have no choice. “We are already used to it. It’s been over ten years now. God is the one taking care of us,” a woman who regularly carries her farm produce to and from town said.

Emmanuel Wembe encouraged Cameroonians to invest in their skills and reduce the importation of products which are often expensive. He encourages these group of persons to buy parts and do the assembling themselves to reduce costs.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The 22 – year – old girl who abandoned a baby alongside a letter in Bamenda last week has been found in Mamfe and has been taken to the Police station for questioning.

According to Mefeka Mbanyui, she did not “dump” her baby but rather left the baby in his biological father’s compound.

“I did not leave the baby in the hospital, I dropped the baby in the father’s compound because I wanted him to take responsibility for the child. Since I got pregnant till when I put to birth he has never been there or shown any sign responsibility,” she stated.

“When I was staying with him, he kept on beating and brutalizing me and that is why we separated. Since then he has not taken responsibility neither has his family shown concern,” she continued.

the lady continued

Mefeka Mbanyui who hails from Ndop said she did this because she was frustrated:

“I am sorry I did it out of frustration. I regret it now. I did not want to kill the baby. Had it been I wanted to kill the baby I wouldn’t have dropped the child in the father’s compound. I am ready to make amends for everything and take back my baby” .

Her older sister who accompanied her to the police station said she was surprised when she heard the news and has decided that she will accompany the sister to Bamenda to get her baby.

Going by the Mayor of Mamfe council Robertson Tabenchong Ashu, the girl was just being childish and he is calling on everyone to support her in getting her baby back.

It should be noted that Mefeka Mbanyui left the 8-day-old baby last Thursday May 4 at Ntefinki neighbourhood in Nkwen Bamenda III sub-division of the North West region alongside a letter explaining she lacked the financial resources necessary to take care of the baby.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) urged media of member states to expand regional coverage to tell their own stories in the region and achieve common goals and objectives.

During IGAD Member Sates National Public Media Meeting in Djibouti today, IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu urged the national public media to expand their coverage to tell our own stories and achieve the common goals and objectives.

He presented different media, including ENA, for the excellent services they have provided.

“I encourage you to widen your coverage beyond the national boundaries and go regional to tell our stories to each other and to the rest of the world,” Workneh said, adding that it is in this respect that IGAD brought them together to the meeting.

He further encouraged them to keep on reporting about the challenges the IGAD region is confronting to in such a way that the people are made aware of these challenges for the purpose of addressing them.

“You are the shapers of opinions, the influencers towards one direction or another, the makers of kings and queens,” he noted, reminding that “modern history has registered numerous instances where media had a direct and obvious effect on the fate of communities, peoples and countries.”

On the occasion, the executive secretary appreciated RTD, ENA, EBC, SSBC, KBC, UBC, SUNA- for the excellent services they provided for his State of the Region Addresses in 2021 and 2022.

Aligning with the call from IGAD, the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) is aiming to expand its offices into neighboring countries such as Djibouti and Kenya, it was learned.

Established in 1942, ENA dispatches multimedia news content in 6 languages and works in partnership with different international news outlets such as Xinhua, Anadolu, and Sputnik.

ENA has also completed a new state-of-the-art media complex with a view to launching broadcasting services in the coming few months.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The first meeting of the network of the National TB Program (NTPs) in Southern and Eastern Africa with the aim to strengthen the coordination and harmonization of TB control approach is underway in Addis Ababa.

Opening the 3-day meeting today, Senior Advisor at the ministry of health, Dr. Abera Bekele said on behalf of the State Minister Dr. Dereje Duguma that the meeting aims to cement the establishment of the new regional TB network.

Accordingly, the new network is targeted to strengthen the coordination and harmonization of TB control approaches across southern and Eastern Africa nations.

Stating that this network will help to facilitate greater communication and cooperation of national TB programs in the region, he said it will also help yield opportunities for training and capacity building and encourage peer support and joint learning.

On behalf of the ministry of health, the senior Advisor stressed “I would like to assure you that Ethiopia will support the network and will look forward to a strengthened network that will address critical TB issues in Eastern and southern Africa.”

He called upon academic and research institutions and other organizations such as WHO-AFRO and African CDC among others to join hands in realizing the mission of the network.

WHO Deputy Representative to Ethiopia Dr. Nonhlanhla Rose-Mary Dlamini noted that the network will play an essential role in coordination and harmonization TB control approach with particular focus on promoting the implementation and operational research and the efficient use of research outcomes to strengthen TB control effort in the countries.

Today, she added the national TB program representatives from 22 Southern and Eastern African countries are gathered with the objective to facilitate greater communication and cooperation between NTPs and partners, promote harmonization of strategies and best practices for TB control for member states.

The Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) Director-General Professor Afework Kassu said for his part that the network will be critically important to address the regional TB issues by enhancing laboratory capacities, building human resources, contributing on issues of common interest among others.

According to the 2022 WHO Global TB report, there were an estimated 10.6 million TB cases and 1.6 million deaths in the world.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu encouraged the media of IGAD region to widen coverage beyond national boundaries and go regional to tell stories to each other and to the rest of the world.

While presenting talking points at the IGAD Member States National Public Media Meeting, Workneh Gebeyehu, IGAD Executive Secretary stated the regional media outlets must have been reporting on the situation in Sudan and how preoccupied we are at IGAD about it.

All the efforts by our Heads of State and Government and our partners in securing peace and stability in Sudan and other parts of our region; notably the home-grown achievements have advanced peace and harmony too, the Executive Secretary noted.

He also encouraged media outlets in the region to keep on reporting about the challenges being confronted in such a way that the people are made aware of about the purpose of addressing the challenges.

One of the main outcomes of this meeting is the revival of the IGAD Member States National Public Media Digital Platform that was established in 2017, Workeneh said, adding that the signing of the MoU will contribute to formalizing ties between your media outlets.

By availing news material to each other, you will be speaking the voice of the region, he said, adding: “And just as a concrete example, I hope that Radio TV, La Nation newspaper covering this meeting… will agree to availing what they have in their cameras to the media outlets in this room; in such a way ENA, UBC, SSBC, SNTV …feature our meeting as a news item tomorrow in their home countries.”

In essence, the MoU and the digital platform are means for the IGAD story to be told, and for the national media to link up with counterparts to go regional for multilateral matters involving IGAD member countries.

The IGAD Secretariat is ready to work with you for the provision of a digital platform to enable this endeavour, Workneh added.

He also revealed that IGAD envisages strong, lasting and quality cooperation with the media in region and will soon accredit designated media personnel to IGAD.

He commended the media outlets for their commitment to the promotion of peace, security, good governance, and development in the region.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Vice President Nangolo Mbumba said human-wildlife conflict (HWC) should not be the responsibility of the government and the line ministry alone but that of everyone.

Mbumba at the commencement of a three-day National Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict Management here Wednesday said human-wildlife conflict is complex and thus requires multidimensional solutions.

“The impact of this conflict on people and their property is a difficult challenge that conservation agencies and institutions such as the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism are facing,” he said.

He noted that innovative approaches are being considered to reduce the level of HWC to ensure that the benefits of conservation far outweigh the cost and to build on the significant successes already achieved.

Mbumba also noted that conservancies are now benefiting 245 000 people in various regions.

He thus called upon the national conference to review and discuss progress, challenges, and opportunities in the implementation of this policy so that they may have specific resolutions and actions to implement specific preventative, protective, and mitigative strategies for HWC management.

On his part Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta said policies have been and are developed to address specific environmental and wildlife management issues, rural development, tourism development and poverty reduction.

One such policy is the National Policy on Human-Wildlife Conflict Management that was approved by Cabinet and put in place in 2009 and revised in 2018.

He emphasised that the scale and urgency of the problem require the government to develop an integrated, flexible and comprehensive policy towards dealing with HWC and that can provide a framework for all stakeholders and can meet the country’s national and international commitments to biodiversity conservation while taking into account the rights and development needs of the people.

Shifeta stressed that more needs to be done in the implementation of this policy, and in putting mitigation and preventative measure to manage human-wildlife conflict.

The conference aims at reducing and managing human-wildlife conflicts in the country.

Source: Namibia Press Agency