Day: May 5, 2023

Angolan ambassador to Namibia Jovelina Imperial highlighted Friday in Windhoek the importance of promoting and internationalising the Portuguese Language in the world, ahead of the 5th of May, World Day of the Portuguese Language.

The diplomat was speaking during an interview on the Breakfast and Desert Programme, on The Namibian Radio, also attended by the ambassadors of Brazil and Portugal.

Jovelina Imperial said that Angola, as President “Pro Tempore” of the CPLP, has been developing activities, aimed at making Portuguese better known and spoken in different spheres of work, mainly in international organisations.

She pointed out, as an example, that more than 100,000 people in Namibia speak Portuguese, and it is one of the preferred languages in Namibian schools.

May 5 was established by UNESCO in 2019, as World Portuguese Language Day.

Portuguese Language is the fourth most spoken in the world.

This year the date is being celebrated under the motto: “Realities, challenges and opportunities in the space of the Portuguese language”.

The Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) is an organisation made up of nine countries.

They are Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

A workshop organized by the Defyhatenow Civic Watch in Douala on May 4 2023 served as an opportunity to tell online content creators to consider the effects of their content first before publication.

Facilitators speaking during the workshop said many media professionals have found themselves propagating hate speech, at times without knowing because they didn’t take time to fact-check or reflect on the effects.

Kinang Derick Fai, Conflict Research and Administrative Coordinator for Defyhatenow, said the session in Douala was meant to bring media professionals together so that they could talk about responsible use of the social media. “We wanted to look at ourselves eyeball to eyeball and critically examine some of our publications,” he said.

“We wanted to see among ourselves if there was a better way we could produce some of this content in a responsible way without violating the community standards of the different platforms we use,” the coordinator added.

He noted that the Defyhatenow project is organized in collaboration with Meta, which is why they decided to do a study of online platforms like Facebook and Instagram, as well as Twitter and Tik Tok among others. “We wanted to see how these platforms are being used by these different content creators and influencers,” the facilitator indicated.

Participants were encouraged to avoid making publications because they want to please followers or simply because they want to put food on their table. “You must not do it the wrong way,” the media experts were told.

The content creators were urged to be peace builders and persons who use the digital space to build a better society.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

For some time now, users of the MTN mobile telephone network have been expressing dissatisfaction and disappointment as they share their personal experiences as far as money transfers are concerned.

Some of these users say money has “disappeared” many times from their accounts and at others, the amounts sent were not the amounts received and the mobile network’s customer service has been useless as far as solving the problem is concerned.

“I stood there and watched 225,000frs being sent to my phone then later on checking my balance, I saw only 222,000 frs. I was confused. The entire money was sent because I recieved the message. How then and why 3,000frs was deducted by MTN, I cannot understand. I called customer service they picked up and said it must be a problem from the optic fiber they will fix. Till date nothing. It’s been a week now,” Aurel Tsafack, a disappointed MTN user explains.

Users say call credit and data activation is worst. Helen Ngwafor a business woman in Buea says she activates data atleast 3 times a day even after having activated for a month:

“I have the 10,000frs 1GB each day subscription but before 2pm, MTN tells me I exhausted my data for the day so I end up activating another data plan. In less than an hour, a message pops up saying I have consumed 50% of my data already when I’m not even online. The expense is too much. To calculate how much I use a day for data not to talk of a month is a total fraud.”

Aside the grievances shared above, some users express the insecurity around the mobile banking service where consumers have lost hundreds of thousands to scammers who have some how managed to have access to their accounts.

“I was deceived by a short message from MTN to activate a free data bundle offered to me. Once I approved, I realised the next morning that I had been robbed,” Mercy Linjap another user explains.

From horrible network to countless interrupted calls, users say it is invasion of privacy and are irritated.

Users say they expect to recieve their money back as MTN remains the most used network service in Cameroon.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng says Cameroon has one of the most affordable telephone fares in Africa. The Minister was guest on the 8:30pm news on state media on Thursday May 4th where she reacted to the boycott of these mobile telephone operators recently launched by some celebrities in Cameroon due to poor services.

Minister Libom Li Likeng in her remarks on state media declared “I would like to say again here that Cameroon remains the country where telephone tarifs are really affordable. I don’t say they can’t be reduced again. Of course the prices can be reduced but it’s better to first of all look at where we came from.”

She traced the evolution of prices taking the example from the year 2020.

“In 2020, the average price of a gigabyte was above a thousand francs, we’ve had a fall of close to 93%. Today we can have 2 gigabytes at FCFA 1,000. As to what concerns calls, we are from an era where a minute cost FCFA 1,200, today it costs FCFA 5 because of competition,” added the Minister.

She also noted that the telecommunications sector is a sector that changes with time and costs are not decreed.

“Costs in the telecommunications sector are determined by investments made by the operators, and network coverage among others. There are many elements that are taken into account. We are working with the companies to reduce prices. We can’t just tell them to reduce prices like that, we must dialogue with them for that to happen.”

The Minister concluded her proposals by saying government has a responsibility of equipping these telephone companies with the necessary tools so that they can cover their expenses.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

South-East Young Professionals, a pressure group, has canvassed support for House of Representatives member-elect, Ibe Osonwa (LP-Abia), to run for the office of the Speaker of the House.

The Group’s Coordinator, Mr Uzor Ngoladi, made the position known when he led members of the association on a courtesy visit to the member-elect in Abuja on Friday.

According to him, the group is endorsing Osonwa, who is to represent Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency of Abia in the 10th House of Representatives because he is vocal and vibrant.

Ngoladi said: “We are here to encourage you to join the speakership race; we are here to congratulate Osonwa who has been elected member House of Representatives.

“We are here to engage and encourage him. As he begins his legislative duties there are issues that are bothering young people.

“Osonwa is a vibrant young politician. He will make sure that the issues of southerners are not left behind in this new administration, especially in the National Assembly.”

He, however, urged the lawmaker-elect to formulate laws that would favour all Nigerians.

On ranking and zoning, Ngoladi said that it would be jettisoned, adding that “we saw in the last election; in all the political parties that zoning formula was jettisoned.

“So it can also be jettisoned in the National Assembly. It’s not constitutional.

“There is no where it is written that if you have not been in the National Assembly and you are a first timer that you cannot vie for speakership.”

In his remarks, Osonwa who appreciated the group for the visit said that it was an honour that the group to believe that he was qualified to vie for speakership.

He said: “We are taking everything into consideration while speaking to the leadership of the House and the South-East caucus.

“This is moving sand. No positions have been taken. We do not get to elect the speaker until June 13.

“While the Constitution does not recognise ranking member but the House Standing Rules does, we will consult to know what our issues are.

“We are going to embark on a mission of national integration. Diversity should not be our weak point but our strength and we must harness it,” he said.

Osonwa, who said that the security of lives and property was paramount, promised to come up with bills and motions that would be security-centred.

He also said that there was endless possibilities in Nigeria if the country developed technologically.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria