Central African Republic News Gazette
News Around the African Continent
Luanda – Angolan National Team won 59 medals at the Alvalade swimming pool, in Luanda, and is close to reaching the 2015 record.
So far, the country snatched 22 gold medals. Also 19 silver and 18 bronze at the African Swimming Championship in zone IV.
The result was attributed to the rise in wins recorded on Friday in the qualifying competition for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)
London – Angolan Head of State João Lourenço witnessed Saturday in London, UK, the coronation ceremony of the King Charles III.
Accompanied by the First Lady Ana Dias Lourenço, the Angolan Statesman joined the 2,000 foreign dignitaries and other guests of the British Government at the two-hour event, held at Westminster Abbey.
Charles III was born in London on November 14, 1948. Charles Philip Arthur George is the sovereign of the United Kingdom and 14 more independent states known as Kingdoms of the Commonwealth realm.
The current monarch ascended the throne in September 2022, following the death of the Queen, Elizabeth II.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)
Luanda – Angolan head of state João Lourenço attended Friday afternoon the official reception, ahead the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at Buckingham Palace in London.
Saturday, João Lourenço, accompanied by the First Lady Ana Dias Lourenço, is participating in the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camila, together with hundreds of other guests.
Angolan Head of State is attending the coronation as the guest of the British Government.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)
The population of Big Bananki a locality in the Mezam division of the North west region is complaining of the multiple extortions and fines being levied on them by alleged separatist fighters.
Reports reveal that they are obliged to pay extra fines to carry out several occasions and ceremonies.
“If you are bereaved they charge you a heavy amount before you can bury the corpse. If you have any occasions of any kind in the village they will charge you and come for you until you pay a heavy amount to them,” a source told CNA.
They also revealed that these separatist fighters demand a certain amount from parents for their children to be kept in school.
“ They said all primary school children will have to pay a sum of 500frs each and all Secondary students will pay 2000frs each,” the same source stated.
They also reprimand house owners to start paying a certain amount to them as rent including business owners before they can carry out their activities.
“They are charging FCFA 10,000 from each father and FCFA 5000 from each mother. How can they be demanding this money as rent from house owners living in their own houses? …They also said that people operating any business of any kind will from now on be charged a levy,” the Same source stated.
The population who now live in fear and uncertainty have called on the authorities concerned to come to their aid to ensure such perpetrators are called to order as the situation has left many to flee from the village for fear of the unknown.
Source: Cameroon News Agency
Agents of the Douala 5 Council on Friday, May 05, 2023, carried out a demolition exercise in the municipality. The areas affected were the market roundabout Makepe.
More than 20 shops and business sites were destroyed, leaving homes and businesses in shambles. The owners of these business sites say the demolition exercise is a very bitter pill for them to swallow.
” The council agents came earlier just like two days ago asking us to move out of the areas but to be honest I thought it was all a joke because usually, I know for demolition to be carried out, owners of the properties must be informed months before the exercise. So we stayed back silently. Then of a sudden, they appeared yesterday with machines ready to destroy properties. We could not even say a word” Marcel Tchomo a shop owner lamented.
” I just invested over 4 million into this shop but now, they have destroyed everything. I feed my entire family from the sales. Now everything has gone down. They did not even let me pack up my valuables” Morell Efundem said.
” It is not normal that people wake up one morning to see their shops destroyed. At least a notice should be given. We are about 21 and we are all fathers and mothers with house rents to pay and children to feed. We are tired and we do not know where this government is driving us to. This is totally inhuman and it hurts deep” another shop owner poured out his frustration.
One of the business owners said he has legal documents with authorization from the Mayor but cannot understand why his business was destroyed.
” A lot of complaints, attacks, and insecurity. A notice was given to the victims for relocation. Cameroonians are stubborn” Head of intervention unit Douala 5 told reporters.
The head of the intervention unit of the Douala 5 council police further said the action is to fight against urban disorder and make out space to construct modern toilets. Meantime, victims of the demolition say they are expecting the government to compensate them so they can manage with their families.
Source: Cameroon News Agency
In September 2022, the Police Command in Niger arrested two suspects for allegedly operating an illegal health science college in Bosso Local Government Area of the state.
The suspects were operating a school known as Excellence College of Health Sciences and Technology, somewhere in Maikunkele.
The school was allegedly established in 2020 and commenced admission in 2021 without any authorisation or certification from appropriate government bodies.
The operators of the school allegedly forged a certificate of registration to deceived members of the public to register and gain admission into the school.
As at the time of the arrests, about 100 unsuspecting students had enrolled into the college after paying N78, 000 each for tuition and other charges.
Similarly, in July 2022, the Kano State Government shut down at least 26 illegal private health training institutions.
The State Ministry of Health in a statement explained that the institutions were established without recourse to extant regulations governing the establishment and operation of such institutions.
According to Kano State Government, the unrecognised institutions lacked definite sites and offered dubious programmes against the established curricula while extorting exorbitant fees from students and their parents.
In Kaduna State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni, recently announced plans to fish out and shut down unequipped and unregistered schools and colleges of health sciences in the state.
The commissioner also said the government had closed some of the schools some time ago because they did not meet the minimum criteria to exist and operate.
Similarly, the Gombe State Government, in 2022 banned 10 health training institutions from teaching and awarding certificates to students of health-related fields over alleged non-accreditation.
The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Zubairu Umar had explained that because the institutions were not accredited by regulatory bodies and they did not have the required facilities to train health workers.
These are just few among several of such illegal institutions that scattered all over the country.
Health experts have expressed concern over the high incidence of death arising from handling of patients by unprofessional health workers.
They have tried to establish a link between such deaths and health workers who obtained their certificates from illegal and substandard health training centres.
They particularly argued that any functional health system relies on skilled manpower to deliver the much-needed services.
Worried by the development, the Federal Government, through the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) said it was taking measures to sanitise the system.
Consequently, NBTE convened a one-day meeting with provosts, proprietors, principals of health institutions and registrars of health professional bodies in Kaduna.
The Executive Secretary of the board, Prof. Idris Bugaje told meeting that the authorities will not fold its arms and watch some elements flout regulations on establishment of diploma awarding institutions.
He warned that anybody who decided to call its programme National Diploma (ND) or Higher National Diploma (HND) without NBTE registration and accreditation is creating a serious problem for himself or herself.
According to him, NBTE is determined to clean up the system because `health is the wealth of any nation`.
“This is why we invited all the provosts and proprietors of health colleges, both legal and illegal and professional bodies, to discuss the challenges and develop a common roadmap to address them.
“If it is the registration conditions that are too stringent, let us know so that we can review what can be reviewed without compromising standards.
“We will give a moratorium for every health institution to go and regularise its registration, after which, we will bring the full ambit of the law and security agencies at our disposal to close the illegal ones”, he told the meeting.
The executive secretary said that the NBTE had already reviewed Bank Guarantee mandatory requirement for registration downwards from N100 million to N25 million.
He disclosed that some of the operators of illegal health colleges were currently being investigated by the Department of State Services (DSS) in two states.
He added that the board had also constituted a standing Disciplinary Committee to try members of staff who were colluding with illegal institutions to give them fake accreditation.
“Already, some senior management staff of the NBTE involved have been suspended and as I speak, while some are facing disciplinary committees, we will leave no stone unturned.
“One of you gave one of our staff N2.5 million to facilitate registration. It is illegal and we are investigating the fraud. I learned the staff has refunded the money but must face the full wrath of the law,” Bugaje said.
Also, the NBTE Director, Inspectorate, Hajiya Bilkisu Daku, said at the session that registration with the board is crucial in the establishment of colleges of health technology offering ND or HND in the country.
Daku added that the board partnered the police, DSS, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission and other anti-graft agencies to curtail the proliferation of illegal institutions.
It has been argued in some quarters that government established institutions alone cannot develop enough manpower required by the nation’s health sector.
While acknowledging this assertion, NBTE Director, Monotechnic Programmes, Mr Samaila Tanko, said private sector participation in the training of manpower must follow approved channels.
He said NBTE was the agency that regulates all aspects of technical education that falls outside university education.
He said that health training offered by colleges of health technologies and nursing schools was among the training regulated by the NBTE and as they must comply with NBTE regulations.
Dr Sani Barka, Chairman, Association of Heads of Health Training Institutions in Nigeria, said at the event that the proliferation of illegal health colleges in the country was alarming.
Barka, who is the Provost, Gombe State College of Health Sciences and Technology, Kaltungo, commended the NBTE for taking steps to curb the trend.
Also, Dr Bayo Ojo, Chairman, Association of Provosts of Colleges of Health Sciences and Technology of Nigeria, described the move to sanitise the operations of colleges of health sciences as laudable.
Sharing a similar view, Mr Yahaya Tsumi, the Director, Special Duties, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, said “what the NBTE is doing is a laudable move to check illegal health institutions.
“As a regulatory institution, we are in full support so that the right thing will be done to produce qualified health professionals”, he said.
For a country whose health sector needs to be upgraded, Nigeria can ill-afford poorly trained healthcare workers and care givers at whatever level.
This makes it necessary for all stakeholders to play their part in ensuring that training of health workers is done in environments that boast of global best practices.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
Mr Faruk Abubakar, the Secretary General/Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), has reiterated the council’s commitment toward having healthy mothers and babies in the country.
He made the pledge during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday on the occasion of the 2023 International Day of the Midwife.
The day is annually celebrated on May 5 to celebrate midwives’ commitment to saving lives and ensuring the health and wellbeing of women and newborn babies.
The 2023 edition has “Together Again: From Evidence to Reality” as its theme.
The NMCN registrar, therefore, stressed the importance of the day’s celebration, saying
“it is all about having healthy mothers and babies who can compete favourably for the growth of the nation.”
According to him, the more healthy mothers and babies a country can have, the more confidence there will be in the society.
He said that a nation with healthy mothers and infants would enable less or zero incidences of diseases, and that would allow mothers and women generally to be productive and contribute their quota to nation building.
Abubakar, who disclosed that there is no formal collaboration between Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) and trained midwives in the country, however, said NMCN had been training midwives to replace the TBAs.
He said “this is why we introduced community midwives to work in rural areas’ there is no any collaboration, but rather if we train them and they are available, that is better.
”That is why we are encouraging political leaders to support this crusade, identify a community, train him or her, and send such a person back to that community to contribute his or her quota.
“The council trained 6,700 nurses in the last six years and 21,700 nurses and midwives within that period of time
“This idea will surely replace the traditional birth attendants, that is what we are focusing on, and that is our strategy as a council.”
The registrar also said that Nigeria can achieve zero maternal mortality with increased commitment and political will.
He explained that the major constraint to achieving zero maternal mortality is the absence of skilled trained midwives.
He encouraged states and local governments to also work toward training nurses and midwives and not to leave the responsibility to Federal Government alone.
He said “if all the three tiers of government remain committed, achieving zero maternal mortality is possible.”
Abubakar said the council had increased the admission quota of students into midwifery schools, colleges and faculty of nursing in schools.
He stressed that “the major challenges of the council are inadequate budgetary provision and shortage of manpower.
Meanwhile, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in its statement to mark the 2023 International Day of the Midwife, said Nigeria needs 70,000 more midwives to close the shortage gap.
The statement indicated that the Fund’s Executive Director, Dr Natalia Kanem, quoted the 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery Report as putting the shortage of midwives in the country at 30,000, which is six per 10,000 people.
“To close the gap by 2030, about 70,000 more midwives are needed; but with current estimates, only 40,000 more will be created.
“This shortage is particularly acute in Northern Nigeria where essential needs for maternal and reproductive healthcare are unmet.”
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has sealed up the Garki International Market in Abuja over accumulated refuse dumps that may cause an epidemic outbreak.
The Director AEPB, Mr Osi Braimah, who led the board operative to seal it up, condemned the breakdown of law and order in the market.
“Our environmental officers in carrying out their routine/monitoring activities by April 26, discovered that the market was in a bad shape.
“Solid wastes, cabbages all over the place, bleeding sewage lines and heaps of refuse dumps were all over the market.
“We served them an abatement notice unfortunately nothing was done,” Braimah said.
The director noted that the non-challant attitude of the market users made the board to seek a court order to seal the market.
“So, we simply went to the court for an order to seal up the market, so that everything can stop, until it is cleaned up.
“We derive no joy in shutting down the market but we will be failing in our responsibilities if we allow them to continue.
“As it is now, if we allow them to operate, it is a recipe for epidemic outbreak,” he worrie.
The director frowned at the deplorable state of the market saying, “they cannot have these activities side by side with filth”.
“A market is where fresh foods and vegetables are sold, you cannot have all these side by side with cabbages
“An epidemic is far worst than not selling your potatoes for a couple of days.
“Once they clean up the market we will reopen because the court order says the order subsists, so long the market remains in that condition,” Braimah noted.
He warned that the market remained shut until the wastes were evacuated.
Braimah promised that AEPB would go back to the court to seek for an order to reopen it as soon as the wastes are evacuated.
He urged market operators to tidy up their wastes to avert epidemic outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory.
Commenting on the seal up of the market, Mr Desmond Arebenjamo Chairman of Fruits and Vegetables in Garki International Market, said that they received calls that the market had been sealed up by the AEPB.
“We pleaded that many of us are selling perishable items and have purchased them in large quantities fearing loss.
“We learnt that some of the unions in the market took the market management to court over increased service charge,” Arebenjamo said.
He said that the fellow traders told him that the court ordered that everyone observe the old rate of the service charge pending the outcome of the court judgment.
Arebenjamo, who said that they had not been officially notified on how to resolve the issue, appealed for the quick reopening of the market.
Also, Mrs Nwokoema Joyce, who owned a shop in the market for over five years, said that there was an increase in the service charge.
“I remembered that there was an increase in the service charge in which a lot of people disputed.
“There was a platform that said we should hold on with the payment and that they were discussing with the management later on we heard that if we don’t pay, the market will be sealed up.
Mr Innocent Amaechina, Head, Corporate Affairs/Business Development Abuja Markets Management Limited (AMML), said that the market was sealed up following the court order obtained by AEPB on the evacuation of wastes.
“It came to the notice of AEPB during one of their routine exercise that the whole place is littered with refuse dumps and of course you will agree with me that it’s now a public health issue.
“Many court orders on abatement notice was served. Before now AEPB gave notice to abate nuisance, it was not done.
Amaechina noted that, Garki International Market is managed by AMML.
“It came about that some traders went to court to challenge the increase in service charge we proposed.
“It is regrettable that none of the market officials have engaged us on the increased service charge, we just needed to serve them better.
“For instance if you want your diesel to run for 10 hours instead of five hours you are going to pay higher,” he said.
Amaechina said that as law abiding organisation they had to restrain themselves.
“if they are in court invariably they are saying we should not enforce the collection of service charge hence the service providers withdrew their services.
Amaechina said that although, “while the matter has been in court some officials of the market have continued to engage them.
“The meeting is being held right away to meet on a middle ground, to address all the infractions being raised by AEPB.
“We are addressing the problems raised by AEPB and let’s say in some hours we would have reached an agreement and the market would be reopened,” he assured.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the refuse dumps had gathered there for three weeks to one month ever since the service providers withdrew their services.
NAN reports that as at press time the manager of the Garki International Market was still in the meeting with relevant stakeholders to address the issues.
All the traders attested that this was the first seal up of its kind and worried over the condition of their perishable items.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
The General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, says if well guided and equipped, Nigerian youths will stand out among nations.
According to him, young people are a critical mass that can make Nigeria stand out, but they must be guided and equipped with the right values to achieve this goal.
He spoke virtually at a news conference in Abuja ahead of the global children and teenagers convocation jointly organised under the auspices of Global Crusade with Kumuyi, GCK.
According to Kumuyi, Nigeria has a bright future, and young people are an essential part of that future.
He, therefore, emphasised the importance of catching young people early and inculcating in them the right values.
“Nobody is born a doctor, an engineer, an achiever, a militant courageous soldier. We’ll all start at the ground level,” Kumuyi added.
The FCT Overseer of DCLM, Pastor Elijah Adebiyi, echoed Kumuyi’s sentiment, stating that the convocation was open to children and teenagers between 5 and 19 years of age.
He said it would provide a platform for young people to interact with one another and learn from experienced teachers.
Adebiyi said, “We believe that young people are the future, and we want to invest in them.”
“This is a critical mass of Nigerians that can make our country stand out if we catch them young by inculcating in them spiritual, academic and moral values,
“The children and teenagers convocation is an opportunity for young people to come together and learn from experienced teachers who are committed to providing them with the right values and skills to succeed in life.”
The global children and teenagers convocation will take place from May 11 to 14 at the Main Bowl of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria