Category: General

Kiambu Governor, Kimani Wamatangi has launched an ambitious Early Childhood Education (ECDE) school feeding programme to keep children in school. Speaking at the county headquarters during the launch on Monday, the Governor said in the programme children will get eggs and porridge on a daily basis. The main aim of the event was to lay the foundation for learners to get adequate meals during the school day in order to retain the children in school. During the Governor’s speech he thanked the ECDE teachers for their effort and urged them to continue to support the children and address their challenges as they go through their early education. ‘ECDE teachers are an important part in our children’s’ daily lives as they shape their future. They teach the learners crucial first information early such as the basics of reading and writing among other activities,’ he said. Wamatangi added that the school feeding Programme fund has been put aside before its commencement on April 1, 2023. He added that 24 classes will be renovated and 40 new classes will be constructed. The ECDE centres will be divided into two sections (PP1andPP2) with the teachers’ office in the middle of the structure and will also include a children’s play section. Jane Wanjiru who is an ECDE teacher from Ndeiya thanked the Kiambu County Government in general for supporting the learners. ‘The School feeding programme initiative will be of great benefit to our learners. Some students come to class without having eaten anything denying them concentration in class, ‘she said. She also urged the government to increase the ECDE teachers’ salary as it is not enough to cater for their needs. ‘I think as teachers we are an important part of a child’s development and we take the responsibility seriously and so I urge the County Government of Kiambu to increase the ECDE’s teacher’s salary as it is little,’ she said. Early Childhood Education in Kenya serves a critical purpose in preparing young children for Primary education.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The government of France has today donated 932 new children’s books to Abrehot Library.

Speaking at the event, Head of Cooperation and Culture of the French Embassy, Sophie Makame, said a year ago, the Cooperation Department of the Embassy of France in Ethiopia was approached by the management team of Abrehot library , wishing to develop a foreign languages section in the library.

Hence, the embassy of France acquired a set of 932 beautiful books in French language, dedicate to Ethiopian children, to serve as the foundation of a French language corner in Abrehot library, she stated.

According to her, the newly designed permanent French language corner at Abrehot Library is therefore the place for all French –speaking people in Addis Ababa including Ethiopian children who speak French and children from French speaking countries.

Addis Ababa University managed, Abrehot Library is currently among the biggest libraries in Africa.

Addis Ababa University President, Professor Tassew Woldehanna, said on the occasion that to eradicate poverty education is a key noting that education cannot be expanded without books.

According to him, everyday over 4,000 people from all walks of life, mostly young people, are using the library.

“We have many diplomats from French speaking African countries as Ethiopia is the head of African Union’, he said, adding putting books at Abrehot means that you can access many readers in the country.

Knowledge is the building block of civilization, he said, hence the books donated to the library will be beneficial.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

With onset of long rains in some parts of Murang’a County, tea farmers are anticipating increased production after experiencing drought for several months. The farmers since January this year, have been recording decreased production due prolonged dry weather conditions especially to tea growing zones. The dry weather experienced in the region occasioned meager earnings as green leaf production dropped by more than 40 per cent. A farmer from Kiambuthia area in Mathioya Julius Muraya told KNA that majority of farmers from the sub county were harvesting about 10 to 20 kilos of green leaf, down from over 100 kilos they used to harvest during wet seasons. Muraya observed that low production led to decreased monthly earnings forcing them to source for loans from various financial institutions. ‘The production since January has been affected by drought. Harvesting about 20 kilos of green leaf is not near enough to make any meaningful earnings. This has forced some of us to accrue loans from banks and Saccos.’ Explained Muraya. Each of the 10 KTDA allied tea factories in Murang’a has capacity to process more than 240, 000 kilos of green leaf on daily basis but due to drought the a factory is currently receiving roughly 40, 000 kilos. Some tea factory chairpersons including Chege Kirundi (Kiru), Michael Kamau Ngatia (iria ini), Samson Kaguma (Gatunguru) and Dr Muthoni Waithanji (Gitugi) confirmed that all the factories were operating below capacity due to decreased production of green leaf. They revealed that green leaf plucking days have been reduced to four to allow the factories to operate at the optimum. ‘We have organised the farmers in such a way to ensure we remain operational and sell our teas,’ said Kirundi. On his part, Kaguma observed that Gatunguru tea factory was operating at 40 per cent getting between 20,000 and 30,000 kilos of green leaf daily. ‘Farmers allied to the Gatunguru tea factory used to deliver between 100,000 and 120,000 kilos of green leaf, but now we are at the lowest level, we hope long rains will boost production.’ said Kaguma. A director from Ikumbi Tea factory in Kigumo Jerald Ngumba highlighted that depressed rainfall in tea growing zones has negatively affected functioning of most factories. He said due to decreased production, some factories are forced to halt processing till the needed quantity of green leaf is delivered to the factories. ‘Tea needs high rainfall but since January most parts of the county have not received rain. Some bushes dried up. The county government can consider providing water for irrigation. The cash crop is a source of livelihood to many farmers in this country,’ stated Ngumba.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Foreign Minister of Yemen, Dr. Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak has arrived in Addis Ababa today for an official working visit to Ethiopia.

Upon arrival at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, he was accorded a warm welcome by State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Misganu Arega.

The objective of the visit is to exchange views on ways strengthening the bilateral relations of Ethiopia and Yemen, it was learned.

During his stay in Ethiopia, the Foreign Minister of Yemen is expected to discuss with senior officials of the government of Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Africa needs to foster recovery and transformation to reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities in the continent exacerbated by various problems, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Acting Executive Secretary, Antonio M.A. Pedro said.

The fifty-fifth session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development kicked off today in Addis Ababa.

The aim of the two days meeting is to renew focus and action on reducing poverty, inequality and other factors that leave the African population continuously vulnerable to these scourges.

Speaking at the event, UNECA Acting Secretary, Antonio M.A. Pedro said Africa’s growth is rebounding at 4.1 percent as inflation has been reduced to 12 percent so far.

However, the continent needs double-digit growth rates to achieve breakthroughs to promote a new cycle of sustainable growth, arrange regulated business and innovation climate, he said.

This will require paying detailed attention to ensuring that a strong macroeconomic foundation is in place to allow for structural transformation, he added.

We also need to push for reform of the global financial architecture to unlock long term financing, green jobs, pro poor policies, tax mechanism for carbon, and illicit financial flows, he elaborated.

“Africa must risk investment on the continent for both domestic and foreign investors to support the immense efforts that are required to develop a credible pipeline of bankable projects with limited fiscal space.”

Every dollar spent must generate maximum socio-economic impacts and co-benefits that go beyond GDP methods and profit maximization, and no one should be left behind, the acting Executive Secretary noted.

Speaking on his part, the Ethiopian Finance Minister Ahmed Shide said, until 2019 Africa was home to the world’s fastest growing economies.

According to him, the growth was fueled partly by favorable terms of trade, better macroeconomic management and growth investment.

“Most African economies have been doing so well in the past few decades that we were on track to meet most of the targets in SDG until multiple global and internal shocks threatened to unravel the several years of socio-economic gains.”

However, the advent of COVID-19 along with the war in Ukraine and the vagaries of climate change has pushed back Africa’s two decades of economic growth, he stated.

“Now millions of Africans have been pushed in to poverty, while millions more are at risk of falling into extreme poverty due to disruption in the global economy precipitated by the war in Ukraine and the frequency of weather caused by climate change.”

The immediate and long term consequences of COVID-19 and the global economic and security crisis are a wake-up call for Africa to rethink its development paradigm, he said, adding seeking a home-grown solution is vital before the crisis engulf the continent.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

A total of 435 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) learners have graduated from all vocational Technical Centers VTCs across Mandera County. The 435 learners pursued courses in welding and fabrication, motor vehicle mechanics, dressmaking, electrical wiring and carpentry. Yussuf Mohamed, Regional Director for TVETs challenged the graduates to use their skills in creating job opportunities instead of becoming job seekers. He added that the government shall establish Vocational Training centres in all sub counties in Mandera. ‘We are planning to set up in every Sub county one vocational TVET to equip all of our youth,’ said Yussuf. Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif said that his government would allocate Sh30 million to finance both the recurrent and development expenses of the VTCs in the area for the 2022/2023 financial year. ‘These centres have played a crucial role in providing quality education and skills training to our youth, who have become successful entrepreneurs, professionals, and leaders in their own right,’ he added. Mandera county government in partnership with the national government, has employed a co-financial approach to improve the infrastructure and cover the operational costs for all the vocational training centers. A graduate from Elwak Vocational Training Centre Mohamed Amin urged the other youth outside to join the VTCs as it would help gain skills and have a starting point to self-employment. Those who graduated from all the 7 VTCs will be given start-up kits to aid them in their entrepreneurial journey. Currently, Mandera has 7 Vocational Training Centres with a total enrollment of 597 students.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The 7th round of National Coordination forum for economic diplomacy is being underway in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen.

Chief Administrators of regional states, ministers and other pertinent stakeholders are participating in a half-day forum.

At the opening of the forum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen said following the peace agreement, the country has been registering encouraging results through economic diplomacy.

The forum will contribute to exchange views on the obstacles encountered in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

He stressed that the government will give attention to lure more FDI by overcoming the hurdles in the investment sector.

Demeke also underlined in order to ensure the growth of the national economy, it is necessary to create a favorable development environment by correcting the deficiencies in the investment sector.

The National Coordination Forum for Economic Diplomacy established in 2011 aims to create a favorable investment environment by tailoring solutions to obstacles in investment fields.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency