Day: June 19, 2023

A man in his 50s who lives Bamendou-Penka Michel subdivision of the West region has been administered mob justice on Sunday morning June 18, 2023. He was allegedly caught committing adultery with another man’s wife, on their matrimonial bed.

According to reports, Pa Djakass left his house saying he was traveling to a nearby village, promising his wife Ma Rosana that he will be back in two days. After seeing off her husband Saturday at about 6:00 pm, she returned home, joined by her secret lover. Both of them had fun all night.

Unfortunately for them, Pa Djakass who had instead stopped at a drinking spot returned home at about 4:00 am the next day. While at the entrance of his home, he heard the familiar screams from his wife and quickly dashed in to discover Ma Rosana and her side guy, making love.

Pa Djakass waisted to time to pounce on the intruder with a piece of plank and punches, leaving his rival with a swollen face.

His wife who was already in paradise on her part came back to earth claiming she was under some form of spell.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

KOICA’s dispatch of volunteers to Ethiopia has been playing a crucial role in sharing their skills, knowledge, and experience, the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs said.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) organized 2023 host organization representatives meeting today.

During the meeting, Minister of Women and Social Affairs, Ergogie Tesfaye said Ethiopia and Korea are two sisterly countries, enjoying historical and long-standing relations in multifaceted spheres, including voluntary service.

Noting the KOICA has been dispatching many volunteers to Ethiopia, she said the volunteers have been sharing experiences, skills, knowledge to Ethiopia and working with the community at grass root levels.

She elaborated that the volunteers will also further strengthen the bilateral relation between Ethiopia and Korea.

She expressed her hope that the KOICA will dispatch more volunteers as well as senior advisers to Ethiopia so that they can share their expertise and skills for public institutions in the country in addition to linking and encouraging with local volunteers in Ethiopia.

“Volunteers play a critical role in economic development and with its critical mechanism, social inclusion can be promoted in all our frameworks,” the minister added.

Accordingly, the ministry is implementing a voluntarism program at the country level and it is one component of the youth development program.

Country Director of KOICA Ethiopia Office, Lee Byunghwa said on his part World Friends Korea (WFK) volunteer Program is one of the technical cooperation programs of KOICA.

He stated that the office has started re-dispatching volunteers physically to Ethiopia after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

“Currently, we have 9 project volunteers working in the health sector. The team is composed of social welfare, youth development, nurse, and public relations fields. They are promoting their voluntary services for the community,” he elaborated.

So far, KOICA dispatched more than 1,300 volunteers to different parts of the country, it was indicated.

The volunteers shared their expertise with community at grass root levels as well as they contributed in changing the lives of the people that they served, the country director noted.

He added: “Thought-out this meeting, I hope that we will share our experiences and suggest the ways forward for the improvement of the service and strengthen the program to contribute to what Ethiopia is striving for.”

Moreover, he said that KOICA aims to alleviate poverty and support sustainable socio-economic development in developing countries.

Since its establishment in Ethiopia in 1995, KOICA has been assisting the government of Ethiopia in achieving development targets by implementing projects worth of more than 288 million US dollar and providing technical assistance programs, it was learnt.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) has encouraged the public to report suspicious price exploitations by some retailers, amidst continuous food and goods price increases.

In a recent interview with Nampa, NaCC Corporate Communications Practitioner Dina ||Gowases said retailers in Namibia are not subjected to price caps as they operate in a space where the market dictates the ultimate price, noting however that in events where retailers collaborate to increase the prices of goods and services, the commission may intervene to investigate possible collusive conduct.

“There are isolated circumstances where some retailers may have a competitive advantage over others such as retailers that are in gated communities or alone in a specific town or location… In this instance, such a retailer may be inclined to raise prices to the detriment of consumers as it faces no competition in that area,” said ||Gowases.

She explained the commission can only ensure fair price competition and consumer choices through monitoring prices of goods and services in the market when it receives complaints or information from the general public.

||Gowases emphasised that NaCC does not prescribe prices that should be charged and only intervenes when it is suspected that prices are excessive.

“When suspected excessive prices are reported it may then carry out a price-cost test to determine reasonability. General price increases are usually regulated at the macroeconomic level, through instruments such as the monetary policy which is the custodian of the Bank of Namibia,” she noted.

She further indicated that about 20 large supermarkets in various locations across Namibia were reported to the commission in 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak for price exploitations up to 600 per cent. Preliminary cost analyses however found that most cases were a result of imported limited supply and high transportation costs due to global oil price increases.

||Gowases noted that the commission’s main challenge is the competition jurisprudence which is still in its infancy stage, adding that certain conduct is not always detectable as it is done in secrecy.

“NaCC wishes to encourage the public to report any potential anti-competitive behaviour in any sector of the Namibian economy. NaCC has a Corporate Leniency Programme where firms that have been engaging in collusive behaviour can self-report and be afforded leniency for their conduct,” she said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mesganu Arga today received at his office the United Nations Special Representative of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), Catriona Laing.

They discussed regional matters pertaining to peace and security in the Horn of Africa and other multilateral issues of mutual interest.

During the deliberations, Ambassador Mesganu wished the incoming Special Representative success in her endeavours and assured of Ethiopia’s continued support, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Catriona Laing on her part expressed her gratitude for Ethiopian Government’s continued support and vowed to further bolster cooperation between Ethiopia and the international body on peace and security.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The department of works in the Ministry of Works and Transport has been found with discrepancies of N.dollars 273 737 involving eight staff members during the 2021/2022 financial year.

A report of the Auditor General tabled in Parliament recently indicated that the discrepancies of N.dollars 68 647 was found between the principal debt reported by the accounting officer and the documents submitted for audit purposes for eight staff members.

It said eight staff members with a total debt balance of N.dollars 189 205 was reported at the end April 2021, however, the audit found that there was no recovery of these debts during the financial year.

It equally indicated that a discrepancy of N.dollars 15 888 was found in the reported amounts recovered from staff members during the financial year under review.

“It was recommended that the accounting officer should ensure that correct information is provided for audit purposes,” it read.

Meanwhile, the report also indicated that the department has received a qualified audit opinion, noting a total budget for the department of works was underspent with an amount of N.dollars 20 382 587, representing 3.5 per cent.

“This money could have been utilised for other projects. The accounting officer should put measures in place to avoid under expenditure and should ensure that all planned programmes are implemented,” the report recommended.

The report further noted the unauthorised expenditure of eight subdivisions for a total amount of N.dollars 633 080 during the period under review.

“It is recommended that the accounting officer should closely monitor and review the financial position of the department on a continuous basis and take appropriate action timeously to avoid unauthorised expenditure in future,” it said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency