Month: April 2024

WINDHOEK: Chief Electoral Officer Peter Shaama on Saturday announced the appointment of Thomas Shapi as the new deputy director of registration and planning for the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN).

Shapi, who is currently the control administrative officer in the division of registration and planning at the ECN, will take up his new assignment on 01 May 2024.

Shaama in a media statement here said: ‘We are confident that Mr. Shapi’s wealth of knowledge and experience will make him a valuable asset in his new role. He will be responsible for ensuring the participation of voters in regular and free elections, using sustainable systems, people, and processes.’

He said Shapi further ensures the efficient provision of services in relation to the maintenance of the national voters’ register, planning and coordination of electoral activities during general registration of voters, supplementary registration of voters, polling, counting of votes, and collation of results.

He has been in his current role since
2012 and has served in various positions within the public service for over 34 years.

Shapi has been a part of the electoral process since 1992, when he worked for the ECN as a regional coordinator, presiding officer, registration and voting officer, and returning officer.

His educational background includes qualifications in business administration, education, and election management. He is also presently studying toward a master’s degree in electoral administration and policy, Shaama concluded.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, says the Federal Government direly needs the support of all Nigerians to make lives better.

Idris stated this on Saturday in Kaduna at a reception organised in his honour by the State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

He said that the government was implementing many programmes aimed at the betterment of the citizens’ lives, which required the support and complementary efforts in achieving the desired goal.

Idris added that with the money that was saved as a result of the fuel subsidy removal, the agricultural sector has experienced a boom.

‘For the first time, our country is experiencing dry season farming being really implemented by the sub-nationals.

‘Recently the CBN approved over two million bags of fertilisers to be given to the farmers,’he said.

The minister stressed that the Federal Government has resolved to no longer subsidise farmers that don’t have farms.

Idris also said the Federal Gove
rnment was fully committed to the well-being of the citizens, and saw the appreciation of naira against the dollar.

He said the government needed patience, collaboration, support and understanding of the citizens as it continues to put together policies that would benefit Nigerians.

Idris also recalled that skyrocketing prices of food items prompted the Federal Government to release 42,000 metric tonnes of assorted grains out of its 53,000 metric tonnes stashed across the country.

According to the minister, the gesture was among the various steps taken to cushion the hardship being faced by the citizens.

‘The Government has also met with rice millers and they made a pledge to release 60,000 metric tonnes of rice available in their factories to Nigerians.

‘Also, over N100 billion was put in the first instance to support agriculture,’ he said.

The minister expressed optimism that if the agricultural activities going on in many parts of the country were sustained, in the next three years, the country would
be a net exporter of food.

He also stressed that the government needed the support of Nigerians in that regard, where he frowned at hoarders who make money at the expense of Nigerians and later turn to blame the government.

‘It has to be reciprocal arrangements, while the government does its best, every patriotic Nigerian needs to do the same for the country’s survival,’Idris said.

Speaking on issues of insecurity, Idris acknowledged its existence, however stating that one could drive from far distance to another without much fear.

He added that recently, the Armed Forces have recorded huge successes against criminal elements across the country, which saw the rescue of the abducted people without the payment of ransoms.

Idris thanked President Bola Tinubu for his support to the ministry, adding that it made them reposition public communication.

He charged NIPR to help the government to restore trust and professionalism in the art of public communication.

Earlier, the President of NIPR, Dr Ike Neliaku,
said the Kaduna chapter had produced important personalities that were linked to the growth of the Institute.

Neliaku, represented by his Deputy, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, added that the chapter of the Institute has produced virtually every key position at the national level.

Describing the Information Minister as a gentleman and a solution provider, he said he had changed the narrative of public relations by the application of its core principles.

He thanked the chapter for organising the reception and its contributions to the growth of the Institute.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Venerable Tiwatope Elias-Fatile, the Vicar of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Maitama, Abuja, has advised couples to always show respect to each other to enable them to stay in peace always.

Elias-Fatile gave the advice in a homily at a Thanksgiving Service to mark the 50th wedding anniversary of Prof. Jerry Gana and his wife, Lucy.

Gana was a Minister of Information and a former presidential aspirant in the build up to the 2023 general election.

He said that many marriages collapsed because the husband and the wife failed to respect each other.

‘Husband and wife must respect each other; there is no marriage without challenges, but how you navigate those challenges determines how it survives.’

The cleric said that the celebrants had survived their challenges because of the strategy of ‘respect’ for each other.

Elias-Fatile went down memory lane to narrate how Prof. Gana met his wife and urged Nigerians to always put God first in all they do including marriages.

‘Their family is an enviable Christian hom
e, worthy of emulation; they are best of friends and respects each other,’ he added.

Former Military Head of State, retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon, described the couple as ‘excellent match.”

Gowon said that the couple had been good in whatever they did.

‘And that means that couples should emulate them and do excellently in whatever they do,’ Gowon said.

Dr Ike Neliaku, who is a friend to celebrants, said that the love between the couple was exceptional, as there had not been any scandal whatsoever in the 50 years of their marriage.

‘It is remarkable for someone to be married for 50 years without issues and no scandal; it demonstrates the character of the man and the wife; this is the model of what marriage should be.

‘It means that we still have men and women of honour who understands marriage as a sacred institution that should be held very strongly.

‘It is very important for men to marry their wives, likewise for women to marry their husbands; you don’t just see anybody and because of one minute love, yo
u declare yourselves compatible as husband and wife.

‘It is not always easy for any man who has not married his wife; it is important for young people to be sure before they take that leap.

‘This is where counsel and guidance from those who are experienced come in handy, and more importantly, you cannot have a successful marriage outside of God. God is central to every successful marriage,’ he said.

Neliaku, who is the President of Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), also advised couples, especially the young ones, to always respect each other rather than adopting tolerance.

‘When you tolerate someone, it means you’re managing, but when it is respect, there is something deep in you that will make you to respect that person,’ he said.

In his remarks, Gana described his wife as an embodiment of beauty and respect.

According to Gana, his wife is gentle, kind and forgiving.

‘If she has not been forgiving me, this marriage would have been ruined long time ago, but she is so gracious, loving, kind,
gentle and forgiving.

‘She is also a prayer warrior. She prays for me always so that I will succeed; she is always praying for me and the children and God answers her prayers.

‘That is why I appreciate her tremendously and if I am to marry a thousand times again, I will marry this lady.”

He urged young couples to be patient with one another to make their marriages last long.

‘The young people are too impatient; before you know it, they are going for divorce.

‘This is our 50 years; and gives us another 50 years, we will still be happy together because we are patient.

‘Every little thing the young people want to scatter their marriage; life is not like that; again, tomorrow is greater, so don’t ruin your today because tomorrow is greater,’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that former Governor of Adamawa, Mr Boni Haruna, and some lawmakers were among dignitaries, family and friends that graced the occasion.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Border Management Authority (BMA) has successfully intercepted and prevented more than 281 000 people from unlawfully entering South Africa since the initial deployment of border guards last year.

‘It is in this celebratory mode of 30 years of democracy, coupled with the first anniversary of the BMA that we are presented with an opportunity to reflect on the benefits of moving away from a multi-agency approach to an integrated border management platform under a single command and control,’ said Commissioner of the BMA, Dr Mike Masiapato.

The BMA celebrated its first anniversary on 1 April this year.

‘To this end, the BMA has taken full control of all immigration, health, agricultural and environmental functions across all ports of entry, with the departments retaining responsibility for policy and legislation,’ Masiapato said at a media briefing held on Sunday.

However, the access control function across the ports of entry remains co-implemented between the border guards and the South African Police S
ervices (SAPS) due to the capacity challenges confronting the BMA.

Masiapato presented the report on the authority’d 2024 Easter plan, which ran for 10 days starting from 26 March to 4 April 2024.

During the Easter period, the BMA facilitated 1 136 250 travellers across South Africa’s 71 ports of entry. This was a 24% increase, with 222 391 more travellers facilitated and registered compared to last year.

Operations

The Commissioner revealed that 3 841 people attempting to enter South Africa illegally were intercepted.

He said that there was a decrease in the number of undocumented and unaccompanied minors arriving at ports of entry during the Easter period of 2024.

Although this was a positive development, the agency intercepted five children at the Beitbridge port of entry on 28 March 2024.

The children were handed over to the Department of Social Development and have since been returned to their home country.

He also shared about the incident involving a child at the Grobler’s Bridge port of entry
where a woman was attempting to exit South Africa to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) via Botswana.

‘The supposed ‘mother’ did not have a passport but was carrying an Emergency Travel Document, which was issued by the embassy of the DRC and the child was completely undocumented. They were both handed over to the colleagues of the Department of Social Development who processed and took them to the place of safety within Limpopo.’

In addition, eight penalties were issued to some bus companies found transporting illegal migrants in various ports of entry to the value of R270 000.

‘At this point, we would like to send a stern warning to all conveyers to desist from transporting illegal migrants in or out of South Africa.’

The border guards also managed to intercept and deny entry to about seven cargo consignments of meat worth about R9 294 551 which were destined to enter South Africa through the port of Cape Town due to non-compliance.

They also seized about 748 kg of non-compliant regulated agricultu
ral products at various ports of entry.

In the period of 10 days, BMA health specialists screened about 91 743 travellers for various infectious and or communicable diseases and seized about 120 tablets, 57 658 mg of medications, 59 530 ml of cosmetics and about 50 insulin injections.

The guards working with the SAPS arrested about 143 individuals for committing various crimes and transgressions within the ports of entry and the border law enforcement area.

‘The majority of these individuals served as facilitators of illegal activities around the ports of entry and were therefore charged for aiding and abetting. Interestingly, one individual was arrested at Lebombo port of entry to Mozambique while in possession of 13 passports attempting to bribe an immigration specialist with some banknotes which were placed in between the pages of the individual passports.’

In addition, about R641 of dagga with the value of R2 602 500 was seized and destroyed in both Grobler’s Bridge port of entry to Botswana and Caled
onspoort port of entry to Lesotho.

Another joint operation by officials of the SAPS, South African Reserve Service (SARS) and BMA included 217 master cases of counterfeit cigarettes with the value of R3 351 690 at the Lebombo port of entry from Mozambique en route to South Africa.

Other operations include the interception of 573 items of counterfeit alcohol, 272 pairs of counterfeit clothing and parts of a Toyota Hilux 4 x 4 worth R150 000.

‘As the BMA, we remain committed to robustly confront the complex challenges associated with border management across all modalities, ranging from sea, land and air,’ said the Commissioner.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Deputy Ministers of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), and Water and Sanitation, are expected to hand over the upgraded main sewer pipeline project in Extension 5 and 6 of Mookgophong on Monday.

CoGTA Deputy Minister, Parks Tau will be joined by his Water and Sanitation counterpart, David Mahlobo in the project which falls under the Modimolle Mokgopong Local Municipality situated within the Waterberg District in Limpopo.

Limpopo MEC of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) Basikopo Makamu, the leadership of the province and the municipalities, will join the Deputy Ministers.

‘Due to the growth in Mookgopong, particularly in Extension 5 and 6, the bulk sewer pipelines were in an incapable state of performing which resulted in sewer spillages over the years.

‘The municipality was challenged to address the issue due to budgetary constraints and technical capacity needed until the Department of Water and Sanitation, through their Water Services In
frastructure Grant (WSIG), provided funding for the sewer project,’ the CoGTA explained.

The Department of Cooperative Governance played a crucial role in this partnership towards the success of the project through the provision of technical support via the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA).

‘The project, which is in Ward 4, addresses the bulk sewer challenges at Ext 5 and 6 where spillages were prevalent. The sewer lines also connect to Ext 3, which is adjacent to the project area. Through the project, Ward 4 community members have access to and are using adequate and reliable functioning sewer system and the sewer spillages, which were prevalent, have been addressed.’

The project handover is planned to take place at 9 am at the Mookgophong Community Hall.

Source: South African Government News Agency

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to host His Majesty King Mswati III of the Kingdom of eSwatini for a working visit, the Presidency said on Sunday.

President Ramaphosa will receive His Majesty the King at Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the President’s Official Residence in Pretoria on Monday.

The visit follows a courtesy visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa to His Majesty King Mswati III in Lozitha, eSwatini on Wednesday, 03 April 2024.

‘South Africa and eSwatini share strong historical bonds as well as mutually beneficial political and trade ties,’ said the Presidency.

During his visit to Eswatini earlier this month, President Ramaphosa paid a brief visit to the Queen Mother, Her Majesty iNdlovukazi, before proceeding to meet with His Majesty the King.

According to the Presidency statement at the time, the two discussed the ‘historical bonds’ of the two Southern African nations while also affirming their commitment to strong historical bonds between their two countries, including growing political and trade ties.

Source: South African Government News Agency