Category: General

Efforts are currently being made to facilitate the mobility of businessmen from member countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) including Tunisia, said Wednesday, Director General of the COMESA Business Council, Teddy Soobramanien. These efforts will make it possible to create direct air lines between member countries and speed up visa procedures, he added during a working session held at the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), in Tunis co-chaired with its Deputy President Mohamed Kooli. The African official, who led a market delegation in Tunisia, said that participants in the next edition of the economic forum scheduled for March 3 to 5 in Egypt, will examine ways to set up a digital platform, which would help determine market needs. He underlined that investments are meant to meet the needs of each market, calling for focusing on key sectors, namely green economy and renewable energy. During the session, participants discussed the possibili ty of creating an economic digital portal in order to facilitate administrative procedures and financial operations between member countries. They also called for increasing training sessions in the areas of business administration and meetings with companies so as to learn about investment opportunities. UTICA Deputy President, Mohamed Kooli, stressed that the common market of Eastern and Southern Africa makes it possible for Tunisian companies to forge strategic partnerships and achieve economic growth. Public-private partners will help strengthen the economic partnership between Tunisia and COMESA member countries, he pointed out. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Acting on the recommendations of President of the Republic Kais Saïed during his visit on Tuesday to the mausoleum of activist and trade union leader Farhat Hached, where he inaugurated the museum named after him, in the presence notably of his son Noureddine Hached, Minister of Cultural Affairs Hayet Guettat Guermazi and Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) Secretary-General Noureddine Taboubi, Guermazi pointed out at a working session held on Tuesday, the importance of drawing up a permanent annual cultural programme within the museum, combining scientific and cultural conferences and a variety of activities (workshops, exhibitions, etc.), to make it a centre of knowledge and documentation on the history of the national movement. After reciting the fatiha in his memory, the Head of State visited the museum on the commemoration of the 71st anniversary of the assassination of the trade union leader, and familiarised with the museum's components and the scenography of the exhibition based on literary and aca demic documents and audiovisual archives on this trade unionist and his contribution to the national movement. The exhibition looks back at Farhat Hached's career and sheds light on the political, economic and social situation in Tunisia from the start of French colonialism in 1881 to the beginning of the trade union movement, of which Hached was an emblematic member. The President of the Republic underlined in this regard, the importance of this monument dedicated to the trade union movement in Tunisia, underscoring the need to lend further attention to preserving the national memory. He pointed on the occasion, to the various aspects of the Tunisian trade union movement's history, speaking in particular about the role played by Mohamed Ali Hammi, a founding figure of Tunisian trade unionism, and stressing the need to create a study centre on the history of the Tunisian trade union movement, with the contribution of researchers and academics specialising in the history of this movement. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse Opuwo – In a gesture of appreciation, Opuwo Mayor Rosa Mbinge-Tjeundo has lauded some senior citizens of Opuwo for their consistent payment of monthly water bills, rates, and taxes. The commendation was made during the council's end-of-year pensioners' ceremony on Wednesday, which recognized the elderly for their valuable contributions to the community.

According to Namibia Press Agency (NAMPA), the pensioners' commitment to fulfilling their financial obligations sets a commendable example for the community, fostering a sense of civic responsibility essential for the town’s growth. She highlighted that their diligence in paying bills sustains community operations and facilitates improved services and amenities.

The mayor underscored the impact of these responsible actions, stating they lay the foundation for Opuwo's development and enhance the quality of life for all residents. She encouraged the senior citizens to continue their exemplary conduct in bill payments, emphasizing that such collective efforts enable the council to ensure the town's ongoing development and provision of essential services.

Lucius Kaare Mupya, chairperson of the council's management committee, also addressed the gathering. He cautioned residents, especially the elderly, about the process of land purchases, warning against fraudulent deals that could lead to financial losses. Mupya advised following proper procedures to avoid being victimized by dishonest land sellers.

He reiterated the council's focus on all inhabitants, including the elderly, and called for collective efforts to improve Opuwo. Mupya stressed the importance of being responsible citizens, advocating for collaboration in building the town rather than engaging in destructive actions.

In a gesture of gratitude, the council distributed food parcels to 170 elderly individuals. The parcels, worth a total of N.dollars 28,000, included essential items like maize, sugar, soup, cooking oil, beans, coffee, and tea, symbolizing the council's appreciation for the seniors' contributions to the community.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says it will intensify its collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to strengthen diabetes education among children in the schools. Dr Efua Commeh, Acting Programme Manager, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), GHS, said the move was to help create awareness to prevent diabetes and its complications among children due to the rising cases of the disease. She told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on the sidelines of a public lecture, organised by the GHS as part of diabetes awareness month in Accra, that the despite the many efforts put in, the number of diabetes cases kept increasing, hence, the need to intensify their efforts. She said: 'Childhood obesity is on the rise because most of our children are not exercising enough, unlike previously when you have to walk to school. 'These days, especially in the urban areas, almost all our children are going to school in vehicles, they go to school without physical activity on the time table anymore, so, if you are n ot careful, the child goes through the whole day with very little exercise, they come home late and cannot also play, meanwhile, it is the playing that becomes an exercise for the child,' she added. Dr Commeh said it was for this reason that the GHS and the GES are in collaboration to provide education to the pupils on diabetes prevention at the younger stage to increase awareness among them. The GHS has for some time engaged School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinators to lead the school health education activities to educate the children. 'These coordinators are people who we constantly work with because they work directly in the schools, they know how to organise the pupils and students and how to provide educational messages to the children in a well-structured manner. According to Dr Commeh, the risk factors started from infancy, including the food that they take in, exercises that they do not do, adding that the children needed to have powerful messages to understand the situation. She exp ressed the worry that school activities were so voluminous, which prevented children from having a chance to play or enjoy any physical activity. I have a seven year old school child who comes home with about five to six home works a day and this is too much for them. She said a national policy would help address the situation, saying, 'for us at the lower level, we can only do what is brought from up, and that is why we are linking up seriously with the GES to enable them to appreciate that the children need to exercise. She was happy to notes that Taxes on sugar sweetened beverages had recently been passed saying, 'This means that once somebody is importing any of these fizzy drinks, the tax on it is high and that high tax ensures that the cost goes up a bit, once cost is high, it cuts out some people so that the funds gotten from the taxes will be directed to take care of diabetic patients.' For Ghana as a country, diabetes is on the rise, for young people, for people in the productive workforce. For the necessary policies, we keep making noise that if the policy direction is not there, it is difficult, even medicines that come in, if there is no direction for NHIS to cover medicines, patients will suffer. She encouraged that as government made interventions, individuals must take responsibility for their health, put in enough exercise, eat healthy and ensure that children also adopt healthy lifestyles. 'Currently, children are coming out with conditions that are seen in older people so, it is important that all these messages go down to the children as well and together we can address diabetes as a country,' she said. Source: Ghana News Agency

Farmers in the Upper East Region have decried the poor marketing of paddy rice after this year's harvest and the challenges farmers are facing to mop up old stocks of the produce in the area. Mr Isaac Pabia, the Regional Focal Person of the Peasant Farmers Association, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, described the issue as serious, which was affecting farmers' incomes, considering the high cost of production and input. He said fertilizer was purchased between GHC450 and GHC470 for the cropping season and the crops, including maize, sorghum and rice did so well but the major problem was marketing of the rice. Though some farmers were able to link up to other local buyers, they were not buying as pledged. 'If the Government has a policy to stop importation of rice, why do we leave all these difficulties of selling the produce in the hands of the farmers to struggle with after toiling so much to produce,' he queried. 'No concrete policy is being carved to solve the problem of farmers,' he said, and reiterated the need for installation of more mills in the region to help possess the paddy rice. Mr Pabia said though there were some private initiatives to ensure the sale of the rice, there was no support from government to assist those initiatives to scale up. 'The Buffer Stock Company, in line with its mandate to accelerate modernisation of agriculture and increase productivity of Ghanaian farmers, set up the company to mop up the excesses after production and when farmers are in the lean season help to stabilise prices of food produce,' he said. Since the beginning of the lean season the buffer stock had not purchased any produce from farmers, leaving them helpless. He encouraged Ghanaians to consume locally produced foods to help farmers produce more to increase profit and ensure food security. 'If we really want to encourage agriculture then we should, as a country, support this move with promotion of markets and key areas of input access,' Mr Pabia said. He commended the farmers for the good job done despite the challenges and noted the food availability in the region, however money to purchase was a difficulty. Source: Ghana News Agency

Temperatures on Wednesday night will be between 12 and 15°C in coastal areas and between 8 and 11°C in the rest of the regions, according to forecasts by the National Meteorological Institute (INM). The sky will be cloudy in the north and midland and slightly cloudy in the south. The wind will blow from the north, relatively strong near the coast and light to moderate inland. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse