Day: March 9, 2024

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Douala: Septic tank waste causes havoc in Makepe Missoke

Some residents in the Makepe Missoke neighborhood in the Douala 5 subdivision have sent a distress call to municipal authorities alerting them of a mess from the septic tank of an individual that puts their health at risk.

Excrement from poorly connected septic tank pipes flows into their homes. A family said they have been living in the mess for over a year now.

‘The stinking waste from the septic tank drains into my house unceasingly. All the rooms including that of the children stink. The situation has been like this for over a year. We are forced to sleep in the parlor. We are still here because there is no money to go and rent a house elsewhere.’ Akana Cynthia, a housewife said.

They have spent enormously on hospital bills given their children fall sick often.

‘Every month I spend about 50,000frs for my health including that of my wife and children. ‘ David Tiomagnou, the family head revealed.

Efforts to implore the owner to address the problem went in vain.

‘He paid deaf ears and showed no zeal to
repair the septic tank.’ Added David.

The victims of this environmental pollution who have also tabled the problem to the quarterhead with fruitless results now look up to the Douala 5 authorities for intervention and immediate action taken against the owner of the septic tank who is adamant about not repairing it despite a series of complaints.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

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Douala: Some women give reasons for snubbing Women’s Day celebration

While millions of women all over the country nursed interest over the years to celebrate March 8, annually, some find no interest and simply ignore it for one reason or the other.

In Douala, such women were seen carrying out their business and other activities normally. Seeking to know why they were not on the celebration train, one said «To me celebrating women’s day is completely useless because Cameroonian women suffer a lot. Today they play the role of head of the family. Work money to feed the family. They do everything. Vendors like me find difficulties in generating income because of economic hardship. Everything is expensive and customers rarely come to buy ».

To another woman, the government’s silence on the high rate of femicide in the country does not motivate her to celebrate. « I remember the little girl kidnapped, raped, and killed in Yaoundé recently. My elder sister was raped in Yassa and her body was decapitated. The government has done nothing to render justice. Why should I go celebrating
Women’s Day? »

Discrimination or gender inequality hurts others and they blame the government for not doing anything to treat men and women equally.

« There are women who can do more of what a man does but they are given inferior positions or even sent to the kitchen. Women are marginalized whereas they are the backbone of society. » A lady points this as her reason for not having an interest in any form of women’s day celebration.

Despite the aforementioned reasons and others not evoked, the majority of Cameroonian women celebrate happily as if all is well.

Women who snubbed Women’s Day told CNA that they can join their fellow women if they stand to protest against femicides, rapes, gender-based violence, inequality, discrimination, the current economic hardship, and so on.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

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Adamawa:BIR rescues ten persons held hostage by kidnappers

By Charity Nginyu

Ten individuals have been freed from the hands of their captors by elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) in the Adamawa region of Cameroon.

Kidnapped from the Mbé, Nganha, and Touboro subdivisions in the Northern region, reports indicate that the hostages had been held captive for a month in the Bénoué park.

Their captors had demanded a hefty ransom for their release prior to the intervention of the BIR.

According to reports, it was thanks to timely intelligence, that a rescue operation was executed on March 7th around 11 a.m. by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Kounaka’s team, the commanding officer of the 5th BIR in Adamawa, in collaboration with the Vigilance Committee.

The operation resulted in the neutralization of several kidnappers, and a cache of weapons, ammunition, talismans, torches, and other items were seized.

The hostages were received by the region’s governor, Kildadi Taguiéké Boukar, who commended the efforts of the defense forces and the Vigilance Committee. Gove
rnor Boukar while receiving the hostages also reiterated the state’s commitment to safeguarding the lives and property of its citizens.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

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Inhabitants of Addis Reaffirm Commitment to Support GERD Till Completion


Some inhabitants of Addis Ababa city told the Ethiopian News Agency that they will continue supporting the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) until its full completion.

The construction of GERD has reached 95 percent, the Office of National Coordination for the Construction of the Dam disclosed on Wednesday.

The dam whith its 13th year laying of the foundation to be commemorated at the end of this month, close to 19 billion Birr have been mobilized from public participation alone, it was indicated.

The inhabitants of the capital believed that the Renaissance Dam is a key national hydropower project that would serve as a way out of poverty and common development.

The residents also expressed joy over the construction of GERD that has reached 95 percent will create a great motivation to continue strengthening the support for the dam.

One of the residents Megersa Yiyi told ENA that the current performance of the dam is a great encouragement to strengthen the support being carried out.

‘We Ethiopians bo
ught a billion Birr worth of bonds to the construction of the renaissance dam during the past consecutive years. Similarly, we have also bought bonds this year. Now we feel joy about the performance of the GERD, and we are motivated for the future support until its completion.’

Another inhabitant Yasin Hussain said the Renaissance Dam is a symbol of Ethiopian unity and a project that gives Ethiopians hope for a brighter future.

Yasin said the construction of the dam is now getting to an end without international support, adding that it is a lesson to Ethiopia can develop and execute other similar projects jointly.

‘This dam is a symbol of our future hope that sheds light on our country. Not only this, but it is our project that has laid the foundation for national unity. All of us as a people have been involved in this dam. We are contributing everything we have to the dam,’ he said.

For Eleni Teshome, GERD is a critical national project and wealth to be bequeathed to the future generations, said.

‘We ha
ve contributed to the Renaissance Dam in our capacity. I myself participated in various fundraising campaigns for the dam and have bought bonds from my family.

I have been also inspiring others to put their own fingerprint to finish this peoples’ project. So we Ethiopian should realize that we do it for our children,’ Eleni underscored.

Moreover, the inhabitants stated that the dam is instrumental to save Ethiopia’s water resources being wasted unfairly and bring about Ethiopians together in order to leave their legacy on this critical mega project.

They are also convinced that the Grand Renaissance Dam will enable Ethiopians to hand over a prosperous country to the future generation.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Reassessing Priorities to Expand Engagement in Ethiopia


Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Senior Program Officer Tess Russo said the foundation is at an ‘exciting moment where we’re reassessing what the priorities for delivery of innovations within Ethiopia will be.’

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the senior program officer said the foundation will this year re-establish what Ethiopia specific goals are for the entire team to work on.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been work closely with Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Transformation Agency and several other partners.

According to Russo, the foundation will be making some decisions this year; and ‘of course, those are coming from the priorities of the government.’

It is not possible to know exactly what the budget is for any given year, the senior program officer said, adding that once the new priorities are set there will be a new budget along with that.

‘In terms of priority for Ethiopia, we’re actually at exciting moment where we’re reassessing what the priorities for delivery of innov
ations within Ethiopia will be; and the process for that will be engagement and stakeholder conversations with the Ethiopian government,’ Russo elaborated.

She further pointed out that the foundation’s agriculture team has been working across a whole spectrum of activities from upstream research development for crops and livestock all the way down to reaching the farmers and pastoralists with digital services and advisory.

The senior program officer added that there are some locations within Ethiopia in the highlands where climate change is actually going to decrease productivity because of the slight temperature increases, whereas in other parts of the country the increase in temperature is causing major challenges and problems.

There may be opportunities where the foundation can help identify and where productivity will increase as climate changes for the next 10 or 15 years, Russo explained, adding that this is something that the foundation is working on in terms of climate management, looking at weathe
r risks and opportunities

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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Envoy Urges Pakistani Businesses to Seize Investment Opportunities in Ethiopia


Ethiopian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Pakistan called on Pakistani business community to invest in Ethiopia.

In a press release sent to ENA, Ethiopia embassy in Islamabad, said Ambassador Jemal Beker briefed the business community on Friday about Ethiopia’s untapped potentials would offer comparative advantages in terms of important geographical location, cheap and clean energy and skilled human resource.

Addressing a Business Forum on Ethiopia-Pakistan Bilateral Trade at Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in Lahore, the ambassador said his country was hosting the Invest Ethiopia Conference from April 28-30 in Addis Ababa to showcase extraordinary investment opportunities in Ethiopia.

According to Ambassador Jemal, it was a high time for the business community of Pakistan to explore the lucrative market of Ethiopia which was a gateway to the African continent of more than 1.4 billion people.

He said Ethiopia was a signatory to the African Continental Fre
e Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) which means that whatever produced in Ethiopia could easily be traded to the entire Africa.

Jemal highlighted the economic reforms carried out by the reformist Government of Ethiopia to build a home grown economy to achieve a robust and sustainable economic growth by creating an enabling environment for business community and foreign investors.

He said under its economic reforms, Ethiopia had laid a major focus on its five economic sectors including agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, mining, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and tourism.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had charted the country on the path of progress and prosperity with his visionary reforms paving the way for Ethiopia to become a manufacturing hub of Africa, the ambassador elaborated.

He added Ethiopia was producing cheap, clean and green energy close to 98 per cent from hydro and geothermal sources. ‘We are exporting energy to Kenya, Djibouti, Sudan and other neighboring countries since
our prime focus are to foster regional integration by sharing our resources.’

As regards the efforts for boosting trade volume between Ethiopia and Pakistan, he said the Embassy of Ethiopia in Islamabad last year in March mobilized a 75-member trade delegation to Ethiopia that helped connect both countries business community.

‘Now, we are planning Hijra Trip II to Ethiopia for the traders and investors of Pakistan this year in May,’ the ambassador said, exhorting the participants to register themselves for the delegation before end of April.

The Ambassador also briefed the Pakistani business community about export potential of different products to Ethiopia including rice, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment, sports items and construction material.

Likewise, Pakistan could import agricultural products such as coffee, tea, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables from Ethiopia.

Vice President of FPCCI and Regional Chairman Zaki Aijaz also informed the business community about Ethiopia’s business, trade and
investment potential while recalling his visit to Ethiopia as part of the 75-member business delegation went to Addis Ababa last year.

He also lauded the role played by Ethiopian Ambassador to Pakistan, Jemal Beker for advancing bilateral relations including trade ties between the two countries.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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Ethiopia, Kenya Working to Improve Livelihood of Pastoralists


Ethiopia and Kenya are jointly working to address issues of climate change and improve the livelihood of pastoralist communities, Kenya State Department Head for Livestock Bernard Kimoro told ENA.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the head noted that issues around climate change have been affecting both Kenya and Ethiopia equally because they share the same kind of resources.

‘We have our common pastoralists who stay both in Kenya and Ethiopia. So, they share the resources,’ he added.

According to him, one of the ways Kenya has been undertaking cross border interventions is through projects.

Currently, the country has a project called De-risking Inclusion and Value Enhancement for Pastoralists.

This is a Horn of Africa region project that covers four countries, the head said, adding that Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are also carrying out the project which is supposed to help pastoralists address issues of loss of livestock by supporting them early enough to be able to purchase feeds.

The othe
r component, according to Kimoro, is helping pastoralists to get some loans and grants to support the production of forages, and also go into businesses so that they can make them more resilient to these climate variability.

‘We (Ethiopia and Kenya) have long term cooperation. We had a project called Regional Pastoral Livelihood Resilience Project. The fact that we have joint markets where pastoralists can market their animals, for example, is a very important aspect because animals are always on the move. So, if there’s market in Ethiopia, we can take animals to Ethiopia and sell them. Likewise, animals from Ethiopia can be sold in Kenya,’ Kimoro said.

The head believes that the countries can also do the same during droughts, whether in water or forage resources, in either part of the border.

The Borana in Kenya and Ethiopia have, for instance, been coexisting on both sides of the border, sharing resources. ‘I mean, these are same communities separated by an imaginary border and we keep sharing some of th
ese resources,’ he stressed.

Commenting on Ethiopia’s tree planting program, Kimoro said that there is currently a national policy to plant 15 billion trees in Kenya.

‘Actually, the reason why we’re doing this is because we have also seen the impacts of this from what has happened in Ethiopia.’

Kimoro explained that planting trees has many benefits. One of them of course is that it improves the ecosystem.

‘If you have higher temperature, animals will not produce enough. So, as you plant trees you plant also the feeds for the animals, which means you are able to support the animals even during times of drought, which is very critical.’

Source: Ethiopian News Agency