Day: June 5, 2023

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Global south must stand together in energy sector: Jaishankar

India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said countries of the global south need to stand by each other when it comes to the energy sector, saying India is keenly interested in Namibia’s envisioned green hydrogen sector.

Speaking during a courtesy visit at State House to President Hage Geingob on Monday, Jaishankar said India's both state and private companies are interested to invest in Namibia, especially in the energy sector, as India is currently the world’s third-largest energy consumer.

“I do believe there is a call for cooperation amongst us… because we countries of the south really need to stand by each other when it comes to the energy sector. In the next 50 years probably more than half of the world’s energy demand will come from India, the new demands,” he noted.

At the same event, Geingob replied that countries of the south have no choice but to stand together, saying that Namibia is open for business.

“We listen more to old friends that have more experience and we are opening our doors to all countries. We went through a very difficult period of drought, economic downturns and the COVID-19 pandemic… now we are seeing the way forward is going to be okay. We went through the worst part and something good must come out,” said Geingob.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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Kavango East RDRMC wants GRN to declare state of emergency on drought

The Regional Disaster Risk Management Committee (RDRMC) in the Kavango East Region is calling on Government to declare a state of emergency on drought in the region.

This is one of the recommendations the RDRMC made in a report submitted by the chairperson, Damian Maghambayi, to the Office of the Prime Minister on Sunday following the death of 16 people due to reported food poisoning at Kayova village last Saturday.

A total of 24 family members at Kayova village in the Ndiyona Constituency ate porridge made from the flour of mahangu millet residue from traditional beer, known as mundevere.

“The region is currently facing serious drought due to lack of rain during the last rainy season, causing hunger among the majority of rural households who depend on agricultural crop farming,” Maghambayi told Nampa on Monday.

He informed this news agency that the Namibia Vulnerable Assessment of 2023 did not target the primary affected areas, adding that the Ndiyona Constituency where the incident happened was not part of the primary sampling unit, resulting in the Kavango East findings not being accurate.

The Namibia Vulnerable Assessment is an annual assessment coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister under the auspices of Namibia Vulnerable Assessment Committee (NAMVAC).

NAMVAC was established in 2012 to collect and analyse livelihood and food security data to inform policy decision making on an annual basis.

Maghambayi said the RDRMC in its report also recommended the urgent need for two ambulances at the Nyangana District Hospital.

He explained that the Nyangana District Hospital, where the food poisoning victims were taken, only has one ambulance which is old and always has mechanical problems.

The chairperson further stated that Sambyu Health Centre, which is 95 kilometres away from Nyangana District Hospital, as well as the Rundu State Hospital which is 107 kilometres to Nyangana, had to assist in transporting the victims.

The RDRMC also recommended the urgent need for a well-equipped intensive care unit, stating that if the district hospital was properly equipped it could perhaps have saved the lives of some food poisoning patients.

Meanwhile, Maghambayi said a memorial for the 16 people who died will be held on Friday and the burial on Saturday.

The government, through the Office of the Prime Minister, has indicated that it would cover the funeral costs of all the victims and provide the bereaved family with food.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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Mental Health bill at advanced stage: Shangula

Health and Social Services Minister, Dr Kalumbi Shangula has said the proposed Mental Health Bill is at an advanced stage and should reach Parliament for debate by the end of this year.

Briefing the media on Namibia’s participation in the 76th World Health Assembly on 30 May 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland here on Monday, Shangula said the bill has passed through various consultations and is at the final stage before it is tabled in Parliament.

Shangula explained that the assembly acknowledged the need for member states to reorient their health systems towards addressing mental health issues, particularly amongst youth, noting that globally, post-COVID-19 mental health issues have escalated.

“The bill is now at the preparation stage and we expect it to be introduced in the National Assembly when all the nitty gritty details have been completed. We still hope that maybe by the end of this year, it will be in the National Assembly, but of course, it depends on the other bills which are also there and the limited capacity of the Ministry of Justice to get through,” he noted.

According to statistics released by MoHSS, Namibia’s suicide rate between January 2021 and May 2022 stood at 679, comprising 559 men, 91 women, and 29 children (18 boys and 11 girls).

The Omusati, Ohangwena and Khomas regions recorded the highest suicide rates in the country at 105, 100, and 80, respectively.

The assembly, Shangula said, highlighted the need for member states to ensure and promote mental health in the workplace to improve productivity, rehabilitation programmes, addressing violence, providing psychological care post-trauma, and promoting physical activities and medical treatment.

The bill is aimed at regulating mental health care in Namibia in order to promote the dignity, autonomy, human rights and the optimal mental, social and physical well-being of persons living with mental disabilities; to provide for the care and treatment of persons who are living with mental or intellectual disabilities, amongst others.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

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Africa must clear bottlenecks to achieve Intra-African trade-Osei Boateng

Mr Lawrence Osei-Boateng, Director, Business Development and Research of Ghana Free Zones Authority has stated the aims and objectives of the African Continental free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can only be achieved if member States cooperate in all aspects of its implementation. He said although the AfCFTA was supposed to promote free trade of goods and services, some of the countries were adopting internal protection policies that were impeding free flow. Mr Osei-Boateng who stated this in a two-day seventh Ghana International Trade and Finance conference (GITFiC) in Senchi in the Eastern Region said while it took only three days to certify cement from other African countries, it took 28 days to do same in the Ivory Coast, a situation that frustrated importers in the country. Apart from that, he said other West African countries were even refusing goods from other countries, which was therefore impeding the roadmap that was set up when the AfCFTA was launched a couple of years ago. Mr Osei-Boateng called on African leaders to extensively deliberate on those issues to break the neck of over-protection which was likely to thwart all the efforts that were put in for the brilliant implementation of the policy. He said there was the need for the leaders to collectively fight against the dumping of poor quality goods from other continents into Africa as that could serve as a stumbling block to their move to come out with a common currency to enhance intra-African trade. While fighting inferior goods from other continents, he suggested to them to also create available markets, within and outside the continent to enable them to expand their businesses as trading within could not allow them to break even. He explained that in Ghana only Companies that could export about 70 per cent or more of their goods were considered as Free Zone Companies, and called on the Small and Medium Enterprises to employ the services of skilled labour to maintain standards everywhere. Speaking on Trade and healthy investment on the theme: 'Actualising Africa's Industrialization agenda in the era of AfCFTA: The role of Africa's Small and Medium scale enterprises: The ECOWAS perspective, Mr Nashikaku advised that for them to move beyond the confines of the continent in terms exporting their products, there was the need to keep to international standards. He called for serious investment in the raw materials to gain more income rather than exporting in their raw state He commended the GITFiC for bringing together major industry players to deliberate on pertinent issues concerning trade and industry as that could serve as a springboard for regional integration. Mr Selasi Koffi Ackom, Chief Executive officer of GITFiC said at the end of the conference a consensus on a single currency was arrived at and hoped that it would spiral trade and industrialization. Some of the important issues discussed included Prospects on Africa's single currency, Actualising Africa's industrialization agenda in the era of AfCFTA: The role of Africa's Small and Medium scale enterprises - The ECOWAS perspective, sovereign economic vulnerabilities. The conference among other things held panel and consultative discussions and had media engagements on some pertinent issues in the African continent. It was attended by patrons from at least 10 African countries.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Tunisian exporters can register for free on B2B-FAIR.ONLINE platform

Tunisian exporters can now register free of charge on the B2B-FAIR.ONLINE platform and place their products online in order to make contact with buyers from 50 countries, the main one being Russia. According to information published by the Export Promotion Centre (Cepex), the "B2B-FAIR.ONLINE" platform offers a number of advantages to Tunisian exporters, including the creation of a personalised profile and the insertion of products online. It is a free international digital platform for the wholesale of goods and services. It also helps companies to carry out a rapid search and establish commercial partnerships with Russian and foreign investors in various sectors of activity. Cepex invites Tunisian companies interested in this platform to register free of charge via the following link: www.B2B-FAIR.ONLINE.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse