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The US did not name the Nigerians affected by the latest visa ban although some Nigerians including controversial Lagos bus transport chief, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, were caught on video threatening potential voters.
The president also stressed the importance of keeping the economy open after months of stifling movement restrictions.
He urged citizens not to drop their guard and continue adhering to the health rules, such as wearing face masks and respecting curfew times.
South Africa has recorded just over 800,000 coronavirus infections - more than a third of the cases reported across the African continent - and over 20,000 deaths.
AFP
Election materials on Thursday arrived at the Bangui M'poko International Airport in Central African Republic. The materials include ballot boxes, voting booths and voter cards for the first round in presidential and parliamentary elections on December 27.
Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, MINUSCA peacekeeping force, Denise Brown is satisfied with progress thus far.
\"We are extremely satisfied with the progress, in view of the electoral preparation. There was the mapping in May, June, then the implementation of the enumeration, then the arrival of the tablets, the training of tablet agents. The electoral list was compiled despite the Covid, despite the rainy season\", she said.
On Thursday, the Constitutional Court of the Central African Republic rejected ex-president Francois Bozize's candidacy in the elections. Bozize is being sought for alleged murder and torture and is under UN sanctions.
The court also rejected four other bids for the December 27 polls. This leaves 17 candidates, including incumbent president Faustin-Archange Touadera as contenders of the country’s top job. His chances look bright for a second term.
Bozize, 74, has played a major part in CAR's decades-long troubles, and some have feared he could try to stage a violent comeback. He seized power in 2003 before being overthrown a decade later by the Seleka, a rebel coalition drawn largely from the Muslim minority. The 2013 coup sparked brutal violence between the Seleka and so-called \"anti-Balaka\" self-defence forces, mainly Christian and animist.
Ghana, reputed to be a democratic example in West Africa, is preparing to elect its president on Monday in what promises to be a particularly close election between two long-time political adversaries.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, 76, a candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is seeking a second term against his predecessor John Mahama, 62, leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In 2012 and 2016, they had already competed for the highest office. Each narrowly won one of the two ballots.
So Monday's election looks like déjà vu, even though 11 other candidates, including three women, are in the running.
The contenders will have to convince Ghana's 17 million voters, more than half of whom are under 35, who will also elect their 275 deputies.
Unemployment, infrastructure and roads, education, and health are the main issues, according to pre-election surveys.
Since the early 2000s, this country, rich in gold, cocoa, and more recently oil, has experienced strong growth. And the rate of extreme poverty has been halved in less than 25 years.
But some regions, particularly in the North, continue to live in extreme poverty, without drinking water or electricity.
Above all, the crisis caused by the coronavirus has hit the country hard, with growth this year expected to fall to 0.9 percent, according to the IMF, the lowest rate in more than 30 years, compared to 6.5 percent in 2019.
The outgoing president was praised for his management of this crisis, and he kept some of his campaign promises for 2016, including on education and access to electricity, but he disappointed on his main commitment: to actively fight corruption, after the mandate of John Mahama, tainted by scandals.
According to an Afrobarometer survey conducted in 2019, 53% of Ghanaians believe that the level of corruption has increased in the country. In addition, the special anti-corruption prosecutor, appointed after Akufo-Addo's election, resigned in November, accusing the president of obstructing his work.
No election fever
For his part, Mr. Mahama will have to make people forget the accusations of economic mismanagement that prevented his re-election in 2016.
This year, however, he can count on his running mate, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, a former Minister of Education with a reputation for integrity and from the Centre, one of the key regions to win the election.
In the polls, Mr. Akufo-Addo is ahead of Mr. Mahama, but many analysts predict that his party's majority in Parliament could erode.
With the coronavirus - which has officially affected more than 50,000 people and killed 300 since March - election fever has not taken hold of the country.
\"There are indeed some parties and activities organized by the militants and political slogans that are played over and over again on the radio, but there is no big meeting,\" Kojo Asante, of the Ghanaian Center for Democratic Development, told AFP.
So far, Ghana has always escaped post-election violence and political transitions have been largely peaceful, unlike m
WHEN a fire gutted her house a few years ago, 36-year-old Tendai Chamboko was badly injured. BY FIDELITY MHLANGA She lost her sight in the inferno. However, she had no insurance cover to help her cope with the huge costs that come with injuries of this nature. Chamboko’s predicament was compounded by the fact that Zimbabwe has no disability insurance schemes, except a fund that is administered by the National Social Security Authority, which caters for injured workers. Chamboko, who has never been formally employed, soon found herself in a quagmire. “The fire accident made me aware of the importance of insurance,” she told Weekly Digest. “We lost everything and I was left disabled. I lack access to information, especially in braill language, which is compatible with my condition.” Chamboko’s problem is experienced by many people living with disabilities (PWDs), who struggle to access specialised insurance cover to take care of their needs in time of poor health. But, it does not end with PWDs. The Insurance and Pensions Commission of Zimbabwe (IPEC) says generally, medical insurance coverage is extremely low. This means the majority of people are confronted by frightening experiences once they get ill because they cannot access appropriate healthcare, which is expensive in Zimbabwe. Over 70% of working age people are jobless. Those who are still in formal jobs are not paid enough to afford medical cover. “I think the fact that our coverage ratio is only 10% means that medical cover is not working for the majority of Zimbabwe,” says Grace Muradzikwa, IPEC commissioner. “If it was working our coverage and penetration ratio would be higher than the 10%. My observation is that most of the people who are covered are actually those employed in the formal sector. If you are a non-standard worker you cannot afford medical aid so I think this is probably the time we need to look at some kind of national health insurance. I think the need is there,” she says. The IPEC chief said she was worried that vulnerable groups like pensioners could not afford medical cover. “You are covered for the 30 years that you are working because your employer is paying. The day you leave your employment you cannot afford medical aid anymore. In fact, I think that your pension benefit is less than the cost of medical contribution so from day one when you are a pensioner you cannot be covered by medical aid,” she says. It is a bigger crisis. Many PWDs have bemoaned a plethora of challenges that hinder them from accessing insurance products and services. They say exclusion from such a key service turns them into second-class citizens. In Zimbabwe there is life assurance, pension and funeral assurance. Life assurance guarantees a normal life after retirement. Funeral assurance helps people prepare for a decent burial whereas a pension is a fund into which a sum of money is accumulated during the time an employee is in employment to support them on retirement. The products are vital in the event of death, disability, serious illness and other situatio
ZANU PF acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa (pictured) yesterday took praise-singing to a new level, describing President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the country’s own Mbuya Nehanda, an ancient ancestral spirit from the 19th century considered holy and powerful in local lore. BY BLESSED MHLANGA Mnangagwa’s government is constructing a giant stature of Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, a spirit medium also known as Mbuya Nehanda at the intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Julius Nyerere Way in the capital Harare. Charwe, who was among the leaders of the First Chimurenga war against colonisation in the 19th century, was hanged around March 1898. Addressing a weekly Zanu PF Press briefing, Chinamasa said while in the past former colonial masters, Britain, beheaded revolutionaries, they had turned to social media attacks in modern-day to “discredit icons like Mnangagwa” who were working for economic emancipation. He said social media attacks on Mnangagwa and his family were equal to the attacks faced by the likes of Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi during the early resistance to colonialism. “Allow me to draw parallels between, on one hand the public beheading of Mbuya Nehanda, Sekuru Kagivi, Chief Mashayamombe, Mutekedza Chiwashira and other anti-colonial resistance fighters,” Chinamasa said. “On the other hand, the imposition of illegal sanctions by the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, white Commonwealth countries, Australia, Canada and New Zealand accompanied by the orchestrated social media onslaught targeting President Mnangagwa and his family.” He added: “It is to intimidate our leader with the intention to cow the general population into submission and subjugation. “The enemy goes after the scalp of our leader first and they hope that once he has fallen and is discredited the country’s resources will be ready for the picking and neo-colonial exploitation.” Chinamasa said Mnangagwa was the glue holding the country together and that Western countries were aware of this and, therefore, want him to fall. Zanu PF is preparing to erect Mbuya Nehanda's statue at a venue Mnangagwa claimed was where she would drink water and rest. Mbuya Nehanda was allegedly beheaded by the British imperialists for leading resistance against white settler rule. Chinamasa said the humiliation suffered by Nehanda, was the same as that being visited upon Mnangagwa through relentless social media demonisation sponsored by Western countries. “Sanctions against Zimbabwe and the orchestrated social media attacks against our President and First Family are the modern-day equivalents of public beheading and lynching in colonial times,” Chinamasa said. Chinamasa called on the nation to back Mnangagwa against the white colonialists as the party prepares for the 2023 general elections. “Zanu PF exhorts the population to remain steadfast and resilient and to continue marching solidly behind our President along the path that will lead us to the attainment of Vision 2030 to become an upper-middle income economy,” he said. This was not the first tim
We must change our behaviour now to prevent a resurgence of the virus and manage outbreaks wherever they occur, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his address on Thursday night.
Former presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton will take the coronavirus vaccine due to more than 50% of Americans saying that they would not be taking it
New data released by the Small Business Administration, shows the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were pillaged by large companies including Trump's
As pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Moderna push for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some in the Black community remain wary about vaccine safety. Anthony Williams, […]
The post Black Healthcare Providers Organize To Build Trustworthiness Of COVID-19 Vaccine Process appeared first on Essence.
Stephen Oduntan, Staff Activists from Black Lives Matter- Los Angeles and other groups chanted and banged drums outside Mayor Eric Garcetti’s home Thursday to protest the Mayor’s potential cabinet position to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. The demonstration marked the 10th day in a row, the protesters have gathered outside Garcetti’s residence in Windsor Square marching […]
The United Kingdom will deploy 300 troops to Mali this week as part of the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA), the British Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday.
The mission comprising 250 soldiers and a support team of 50 will be based in Gao, some 320 southeast of Timbuku. The troops is mandated to conduct patrols to gather intelligence and dialogue with the local population to help the UN respond to threats by extremist violence and weak governance, the ministry’s statement said.
This peacekeeping mission is completely separate from the French operation Barkhane, which hunts jihadist groups active in northern Mali. But both forces will operate in the same region, the statement added.
Some members of British forces arrived in Mali on Wednesday and the rest will follow by December 8. They join some 14,000 UN peacekeepers from 56 countries. According to Defense Minister Ben Wallace, the commitment reflects \"the importance of improving security in the Sahel by protecting communities.’’
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom will remain engaged, with three Chinook helicopters and about 100 troops, in support of the French Operation Barkhane under a government-to-government agreement until June 2021.
MINUSMA was deployed in Mali in July 2013, after jihadist groups took control of the north of the vast Sahelian country in 2012. They were largely dispersed by a military intervention launched in January 2013 at the initiative of France. But entire zones remain beyond the control of Malian, French and UN forces.
MINUSMA is one of the most important missions of the UN. Currently, it is one of the most deadliest with more than 220 deaths since its deployment, including more than 130 in hostile acts. Its mandate was renewed for one year at the end of June by the UN Security Council.
BOSTON (AP) — IBM security researchers say they have detected a cyberespionage effort using targeted phishing emails to try to collect vital information on the World Health Organization’s initiative for distributing COVID-19 vaccine to...
The decision to impose slightly stricter lockdown regulations in Nelson Mandela Bay may lead to more relaxed conditions come Christmas, says Acting Mayor Tshonono Buyeye.
[SAnews.gov.za] President Cyril Ramaphosa says African countries will continue to need substantial support to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
President-elect Joe Biden is adjusting the scope of his agenda to meet the challenges of governing with a narrowly divided Congress and... View Article
The post Biden adjusting agenda to reflect narrow divide in Congress appeared first on TheGrio.
ORGANISERS of 'dangerous' illegal parties and gatherings were on Wednesday put on notice by Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson that special arrangements are in place to clamp down on these events, which he says are contributing significantly to the country's crime problem.The revelation was made at a Jamaica Constabulary Force virtual press briefing during which Anderson addressed journalists.
