Day: August 13, 2022

OULED ESSI MASSEOUD, MOROCCO — Mohamed gave up farming because of successive droughts that have hit his previously fertile but isolated village in Morocco and because he just couldn’t bear it any longer.

“To see villagers rush to public fountains in the morning or to a neighbor to get water makes you want to cry,” the man in his 60s said.

“The water shortage is making us suffer,” he told AFP in Ouled Essi Masseoud village, around 140 kilometers from the country’s economic capital Casablanca.

But it is not just his village that is suffering — all of the North African country has been hit.

No longer having access to potable running water, the villagers of Ouled Essi Masseoud rely solely on sporadic supplies in public fountains and from private wells.

“The fountains work just one or two days a week, the wells are starting to dry up and the river next to it is drying up more and more,” said Mohamed Sbai as he went to fetch water from neighbors.

The situation is critical, given the village’s position in the agricultural province of Settat, near the Oum Er-Rbia River and the Al Massira Dam, Morocco’s second largest.

Its reservoir supplies drinking water to several cities, including the 3 million people who live in Casablanca. But the latest official figures show it is now filling at a rate of just 5%.

Al Massira reservoir has been reduced to little more than a pond bordered by kilometers of cracked earth.

Nationally, dams are filling at a rate of only 27%, precipitated by the country’s worst drought in at least four decades.

Water rationing

At 600 cubic meters of water annually per capita, Morocco is already well below the water scarcity threshold of 1,700 cubic meters per capita per year, according to the World Health Organization.

In the 1960s, water availability was four times higher — at 2,600 cubic meters.

A July World Bank report on the Moroccan economy said the decrease in the availability of renewable water resources put the country in a situation of “structural water stress.”

The authorities have now introduced water rationing.

The interior ministry ordered local authorities to restrict supplies when necessary and prohibits using drinking water to irrigate green spaces and golf courses.

Illegal withdrawals from wells, springs or waterways have also been prohibited.

In the longer-term, the government plans to build 20 seawater desalination plants by 2030, which should cover a large part of the country’s needs.

“We are in crisis management rather than in anticipated risk management,” water resources expert Mohamed Jalil told AFP.

He added that it was “difficult to monitor effectively the measures taken by the authorities.”

Agronomist Mohamed Srairi said Morocco’s Achilles’ heel was its agricultural policy “which favors water-consuming fruit trees and industrial agriculture.”

Key sector

He said such agriculture relies on drip irrigation which, although it can save water, paradoxically results in increased consumption as previously arid areas become cultivable.

The World Bank report noted that cultivated areas under drip irrigation in Morocco have more than tripled.

It said that “modern irrigation technologies may have altered cropping decisions in ways that increased rather than decreased the total quantity of water consumed by the agricultural sector.”

More than 80% of Morocco’s water supply is allocated to agriculture, a key economic sector that accounts for 14% of gross domestic product.

Mohamed, in his nineties, stood on an area of parched earth not far from the Al Massira Dam.

“We don’t plough the land anymore because there is no water,” he said, but added that he had to “accept adversity anyway because we have no choice.”

Younger generations in the village appear gloomier.

Soufiane, a 14-year-old shepherd boy, told AFP, “We are living in a precarious state with this drought. I think it will get even worse in the future.”

Source: Voice of America

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured residents of the Sedibeng District Municipality in Gauteng of government’s commitment to combat widespread poverty in the district by unlocking the economic potential of this already important industrial centre.

The President set out this vision during his interaction with residents as part of the fourth Presidential Imbizo of 2022, during which the President assessed implementation of the “One District. One Plan” approach under the District Development Model.

For residents, the event at the Sharpeville Cricket Stadium was an opportunity to raise challenges with service delivery, unemployment and crime in the district, and to hear responses by leadership from the national, provincial and local sphere of government.

President Ramaphosa was accompanied by a team of Ministers and Deputy Ministers, District Champions, Mayors and officials who responded to all issues raised and noted matters for follow-up.

The Sedibeng District Municipality comprises the Emfuleni, Midvaal, and Lesedi local municipalities which are working to resolve issues such as high levels of unemployment and an aged water and sanitation infrastructure which results in sewer blockages, spillages, pump stations breakdowns, water leaks and pipe bursts among others.

The President thanked the communities of Sedibeng for the constructive criticism they offered during the Imbizo, and he assured residents that government will take up the many issues they raised.

The President also appealed to the communities to stop vandalising facilities and infrastructure and to take pride in keeping their surroundings clean for shared use.

Subsequent to this Imbizo the respective Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MECs, Mayors and officials will return to Sedibeng and other districts in the province to report back on progress they have made.

Source: Presidency Republic of South Africa

GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP — Three-day-old lion cubs were on display Saturday in a cardboard box at a Gaza City zoo, a rare joyous sight for children and adults alike, just days after Israeli aircraft pounded the territory and Gaza militants fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.

Veterinarian Mahmoud al-Sultan said each cub weighed about 700 grams. He said he felt lucky the birth was successful despite the deafening sound of constant explosions during three days of fighting. The cubs’ mother had suffered miscarriages in the past, said al-Sultan.

Loud noise “causes stress to the wild animals, especially the lions, whose roars get higher, and they keep moving in a circular way inside the cage,” he said.

The cubs were born Friday, several hours apart, and five days after an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire halted the fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants. Forty-nine Palestinians, including 17 children, were killed and several hundred were injured in the fighting.

Shocks from war aren’t the only threat to animals. Gaza is impoverished, with double-digit unemployment, largely as a result of a border blockade Egypt and Israel imposed after Hamas militants took control of the territory 15 years ago.

In the past, a number of animals in small private Gaza zoos starved to death or were killed in the long-running conflict, which included four Israel-Hamas wars and countless smaller skirmishes.

International animal welfare groups carried out several evacuations to move frail lions and tigers to sanctuaries in Jordan and Africa. The costly effort to rescue animals, while some 2.3 million Gazans remain largely trapped in a small territory, has also drawn criticism.

On Saturday, visitors flocked to the small Nama zoo on the outskirts of Gaza City, with children allowed to pet the newborns. Nama is operated by a private charity, putting it in a slightly better position than the small number of private zoos that often struggle to provide for the animals.

Schools organize daily trips to the zoo and the entry fee is less than $1, helping to cover costs.

The zoo also houses a variety of birds, along with monkeys, deer, foxes, wolves and hyenas.

Source: Voice of America

The 9 August 2022 general elections were the seventh held since the introduction of multi-party politics in the country in 1991 and the third under the 2010 Constitution. Previous polls, especially in 2007 and 2017, were marred by violence. Thus, while stakeholders made significant efforts to ensure peaceful elections, current political dynamics, particularly the shifting political alliances and the country’s post-independence history of election-related violence, had many citizens speculate about the prospect of tumultuous elections.

The African Union (AU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) participated in the elections following the invitation by the Government of Kenya and in accordance with their mandate to promote peaceful, credible and democratic elections in their member states. The joint AU-COMESA Election Observation Mission (EOM) assessed the compliance of the 9 August elections against national, regional and international commitments and obligations of Kenya for the conduct of democratic elections. The main preliminary findings of the Mission are:

The 9 August 2022 General Elections were highly competitive, and the campaign was comparatively more peaceful than previous elections. There was a notable shift from ethnocentric presidential campaigns to issue-focused campaigns.

The legal framework governing elections in Kenya was largely adequate for the conduct of credible and democratic elections. In particular, the Judiciary played a critical role in guaranteeing the right to a fair and expeditious hearing, which increased citizens’ trust and confidence in the electoral process. This was evidenced by the willingness of citizens to approach the courts for adjudication. However, last-minute election-related litigations and court decisions necessitated procedural changes, which posed a risk to the smooth implementation of electoral operations. The IEBC had limited time to communicate and implement the changes.

There was a notable improvement in the IEBC’s strategic communication with stakeholders through periodic briefings and social media updates, although this came late into the process.

The IEBC changed its use of technology in the 2022 elections. Specifically, it introduced additional voter identity verification features in the Kenyan Integrated Elections Management Systems (KIEMS) kit to provide for biometric and alphanumeric identification of voters on election day based on lessons learnt from the 2017 elections. The changes to the KIEMS provided the capture and transmission of images of the duly completed presidential election results forms from the polling station to the National Tallying Centre. As a result of these changes to the Results Transmission System (RTS), the provisional presidential election results were publicly accessible on the IEBC portal. The Mission welcomes introducing these transparency measures to improve the integrity of the electoral process.

Although stakeholders had initial concerns about the risk posed by the lack of mobile network coverage in 1,111 polling stations, the IEBC put measures such as using satellite phones to facilitate the transmission of results. The Mission noted that within 24 hours of the close of polling, over 95% of the polling stations had transmitted presidential results forms (form 34A) to the National Tallying Centre.

In line with the AU election observation mission’s recommendations in the 2017 elections, the IEBC was more deliberate this time in its stakeholder engagement. Specifically, the Mission notes the IEBC strategically communicated with stakeholders through periodic briefings and the use of social media. Furthermore, IEBC engaged political parties and candidates to promote peaceful elections by signing a Peace Pledge by the four presidential candidates.

The Mission was informed about the late release of funds to the IEBC by the National Treasury. This impacted the effective implementation of key electoral processes, such as voter registration, verification of the voters’ register and voter education. For instance, while the IEBC accredited several civil society organisations to complement its efforts in conducting voter education, the Mission observed that this commenced late and was not comprehensive.

The AU-COMESA EOM noted that despite the relatively high youth population (18-35), there was low youth registration in the 2022 elections. Only 39.84% (8,812,790) of the total registered voters were youth, a decline of 5.17% from the 2017 figures. Stakeholders consulted by the Mission attributed the low youth participation to the general conception that the votes do not count in elections, lack of trust and confidence in the political system, and the youth’s unemployment and poverty in particular face in Kenya today.

The Mission acknowledged the efforts made by the IEBC to audit the voter register to enhance its accuracy and completeness to build confidence among the stakeholders. Assessment by the Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) auditing firm highlighted key findings arising from the voter register. These relate to the transfers and voter details updates processes, registration of voters’ database and systems controls inclusiveness in the registration of voters and makes recommendations to address reported findings. Although the IEBC embarked on remedial measures to update the voters’ register, there were still concerns about duplications and deceased persons on the register.

The 2022 elections witnessed a high level of participation of political parties and independent candidates. Out of the 90 registered parties, 81 contested the elections. Of the 16,105 candidates, 28.1% were independents. Many independent candidates were reportedly dissatisfied with the candidate selection processes within political parties. Notwithstanding this, the party primaries in 2022 were reportedly more peaceful than in 2017.

The campaign environment was vibrant and largely peaceful. Political parties and candidates used various campaign methods such as mass rallies, door-to-door, distribution of campaign materials, and mainstream and social media, among others. The campaign messages were centred around socio-economic issues rather than on an ethnic basis as was in the past. While the campaigns were largely peaceful and issue-based, hate speeches, misuse of state resources, non-adherence to campaign schedules, violence, and use of criminal gangs were observed. The misuse of state resources created an unlevel playfield, especially for smaller political players. Likewise, the non-adherence to campaign schedules caused clashes among supporters. For example, in Muranga and Nyeri Counties, the Mission’s Long-Term Observers (LTOs) witnessed clashes between the Jubilee Party and UDA supporters during campaign rallies resulting in violence, injuries and destruction of property. Further, the political use of criminal gangs to target political opponents by creating political zones of influence inhibited free campaigns, especially for women candidates.

Freedom of the press was constitutionally guaranteed and ensured. This was seen in practice during the electoral process as media outlets had the space to carry out their duties. However, the effect of misinformation and disinformation from social media platforms on peace and stability remains of concern among many stakeholders.

Kenya’s vibrant civil society monitors and observes key electoral processes, advocates for electoral reforms, and conducts civic and voter education campaigns. The Mission appreciated civil society’s role in the electoral process and in promoting peace and stability in the country. The Mission noted the active involvement of various civil society organisations in the electoral process. The Mission appreciates that CSOs also deployed observers and monitors throughout the electoral process.

The Joint AU-COMESA EOM visited 504 polling stations in 38 counties across the country to observe the opening, voting, closing and counting processes. Of these, 59% were in urban areas, and 41% were in rural areas. Overall, the atmosphere was largely peaceful. The election day operations were reasonably well-conducted and orderly, and professional. The polling staff mostly adhered to the polling procedures.

However, many polling stations observed by the Mission did not open and close on time. In some cases, the opening was delayed by more than two (2) hours. Some of the reasons for the delay include problems with the Kenyan Integrated Elections Management Systems (KIEMS) kit, the late arrival of polling staff and materials, and poor preparations of the polling stations.

Source: African Union