Day: June 1, 2024

More than 97% of votes, or 22 677 of 23 292 voting districts, have been completed, according to the Electoral Commission’s 2024 National and Provincial Elections Results Dashboard.

As at 8:20am on Saturday, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) results system showed that nationally, with votes being 97.39% complete, the African National Congress (ANC) had 40.11% of the votes, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 21.72%. The uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK Party) follows with 14.83%, while the Economic Freedom Fighters are fourth with 9.37%.

Other party results making up the top 10 are as follows:

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) – 3.96%;

Patriotic Alliance (PA) – 2.04%;

Freedom Front Plus – 1.36%;

Action SA – 1.16%;

African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) – 0.6%, and

United Democratic Movement (UDM) – 0.49%.

Vote capturing and validation continue.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Global Transport Policy Champions (GTPC) says training of Lagos Police Traffic Officers will enhance effective traffic management and service delivery.

The GTPC Chairman and Chief Consultant, Dr Segun Musa,told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday that plans were on top gear to train Lagos Police Traffic Officers in June.

According to him, the training will expose participants to the new world order and global best practices in the traffic management sector.

The transport consultant noted that the session was the organisation’s intervention of its corporate social responsibility to improve transportation in the society and to make officers compliant to the needed change attitude.

Musa, who described transportation as critical to commerce and national growth, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that GTPC would expose officers to global best practices.

The theme of the training is ‘Improving Traffic Policing: Leveraging Emotional Intelligence Skills’.

According to him, global transpor
t policy is an innovative brand championing critical input on multimodal systems, structures, strategies and policies through trainings.

‘It is our resolve to adopt strategic collaborations and consultancy services with authoritatives to infuse compelling cross-cutting analysis to advance the system.

‘The session with the officers will improve their emotional intelligence capabilities to manage the motoring public,’ he said.

He pointed that a better traffic management, where road incidents that mostly claim lives could be reduced was achievable.

Earlier the organisation had paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr Adegoke Fayoade, to seal the arrangement for the training.

The Police commissioner expressed gratitude for the gesture, commending GTPC’s move to amplify the conversation on transport infrastructure and policy interventions.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to ensuring compliance with environmental standards by monitoring the operations of mining companies.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, stated this when he received the Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu in his office on Friday in Abuja.

Alake said that the move was aimed at sanitising the sector and repositioning it to boost the economic profile of the country.

He disclosed that the Federal Government and Enugu had agreed to set up the state’s Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO), to monitor mining companies’ compliance with environmental standards.

He said that the move would enhance the development of the mining sector in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MIREMCO is charged with overseeing the regulations of mining operations in a state.

This includes ensuring environmental standards to address land degradation, where minerals are extracted, and the sustainable and orderly developm
ent and management of mining resources.

The minister underscored the state’s significant contribution to Nigeria’s economy during the colonial era, and highlighted its potential for renewed economic growth through the development of solid minerals.

‘Now that we have our own independence of thought and action, Enugu is the way to go.

‘We are collaborating with Enugu and other states to ensure that the benefits accruable from the solid minerals sector are available to all Nigerians,’ he said.

On his part, the governor said that his administration was committed to harnessing Enugu’s vast mineral resources in partnership with the Federal Government.

Mbah thanked the minister for his accelerated actions to set up MIREMCO, which was critical to addressing the menace of illegal mining.

‘The minute the minister received my application on setting up MIREMCO, he immediately called the relevant officer and mandated him to ensure the process for the establishment of the committee is fast-tracked.

‘ We believe that
with the setting up of MIREMCO in Enugu, we will be able to curb the activities of illegal miners and those racketeering licenses,’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the minister recently held an interface with 32 governors to form a joint committee aimed at resolving mining issues, sanitising the sector, and attracting investors.

The move was part of the ministry’s efforts to seek the support of sub-national entities and engage them in ongoing efforts to reposition the sector.

Mbah’s visit was in furtherance of these engagements, aimed at creating a conducive environment for mining operations in the country to significantly contribute to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, the Solicitor General of the Federation says the Freedom of information Act (FOI) in Nigeria is still a work in progress.

Jeddy-Agba, said this in Abuja at a ceremony marking the 13-year anniversary of the advocacy and implementation of the FOI Act in the country on Friday,

She was represented by Mr Godwin Garba, Head, FOI Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of this year’s anniversary is `Evaluating the Role of Freedom of Information Act and its Implementation Towards Building Strong Institutions For Good Governance.

She noted that the implementation of the FOI Act, 2011 in the past 13 years has been both challenging and work in progre.

The solicitor general noted that the Act is as a guide through which the public can access vital information or record from government.

‘The essence of the Act is to guarantee the right of access to information held by government institutions as well as to deepen governance and government ref
orms by addressing corruption and improving the credibility of the Country.

‘It is to promote citizens’ participation in governance, enhance and develop the country’s democracy by ensuring openness, transparency and accountability in the conduct of government business.

‘Nonetheless, the implementation of the FOI Act in the last thirteen years has come with a series of benefits and challenges”.

Jeddy-Agba said although the FOI unit has improved on the level of awareness of FOI, there are still many challenges facing the implementation of the Act.

‘There is still lack of functioning record management system in public institutions, lack of political will on the part of leaders to ensure the prompt release of information or records and culture of secrecy in government as big challenges”.

She commended the courts on their prompt rulings on FOI matters which have deepened its implementation.

Also speaking, Mr Shofola Osho, the Company Secretary and Legal Adviser of the Development Bank of Nigeria in his go
odwill message commended the FoI unit for pushing through despite all odds.

Osho urged for more commitments from all stakeholders and also called for review of the Act for more participation in open governance and accountability.

Mr Jubril Shittu, CEO Public and Private Development Centre, said with that with good working relationships, the ministry’s FOI unit has made significant progress.

In her own remarks, the Program Officer, Right to Know (R2K), Ms Vicky Etim noted that the annual FOI report has grown over the years but that experiences still needed to be shared on how challenges were overcame.

She advised that the Public Service handbook should be updated or reviewed to meet new laws and regulations that make it difficult to achieve more.

There were goodwill messages from the FOI standing Committee of National Assembly, Public Institutions, the media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as well as robust interactions by all the participants at the event.

NAN reports that the FOI Act was enacted
on May 28, 2011.

The purpose and objectives of the FOI Act are to make public records and information more freely available and to provide for public access to public records and information.

Others are to protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy and to protect serving public officers from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of officials information without authorisation, among others.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

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Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Africa needs to close a financing gap of about 402.2 billion dollars annually by 2030 to fast-track its structural transformation.

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank (AfDB), said this during the presentation of the African Economic Outlook (AEO) 2024 at the ongoing AfDB Annual Meetings in Nairobi.

‘The report highlights the glaring inadequacies of the current global financial system in closing Africa’s financing gap for structural transformation, estimated at 402.2 billion dollars annually between now and 2030.

‘To rectify these disparities, the report proposes a bold agenda for reforming the global financial architecture, including in the five following key areas,’ Adesina said.

According to him, the AEO 2024 calls for overhauling the global financial architecture to transform African economies.

He said this included giving Africa a greater voice in Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and International Financial Institutions (IFI), reflecting its growing global gross domestic pro
duct share and rich natural resources.

Adesina said: ‘let us be clear. By seeking to transform the global financial architecture, Africa is just asking for a fair share of access and availability of resources to build on our vast economic opportunities.’

‘The AEO advocates for greater private sector participation to complement public investments, particularly in areas with high social returns such as climate action and human capital development.

‘The report calls for streamlining the global climate finance architecture to enhance coordination and facilitate access for African countries disproportionately affected by climate change.’

Adesina said the report urged MDBs to revise their business models to provide long-term concessional financing at scale to developing countries to bolster their capital positions.

‘It urged the channelling of a portion of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to MDBs and ensured a healthy replenishment of the concessional windows of the AfDB, the World Bank, ADF and the In
ternational Development Association.

‘Recognising the slow and cumbersome nature of existing debt resolution mechanisms, the African Economic Outlook advocates for reforms to expedite debt workouts.

‘It said this will ensure sustainable debt management, including innovative market-based solutions like ‘Brady bonds,’ debt relief for climate purposes, and sovereign debt authority systems,’ he said.

Adesina said the report emphasised the importance of strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation through improved tax policies and enhanced government revenue collection and utilisation efficiency.

He reiterated the importance of combating illicit financial flows, tax avoidance, and leveraging Africa’s abundant natural resources.

‘Domestic resource mobilisation is good, but so is the prudent use of such resources. Countries should, therefore, strengthen their capacity to improve public finance management.

‘Every year, the African Economic Outlook report provides timely evidence and analysis crucial for African
policymakers, empowering them to make informed decisions,’ Adesina said.

For his part, the bank’s Vice President and Chief Economist, Prof. Kevin Urama, underscored why strategic policies and firm political commitment are key to effectively using resource wealth for domestic revenue generation.

Urama described hard infrastructure, including roads, railways, and bridges, and soft infrastructure, including knowledge and institutional governance capacity, as ‘two wings of an aircraft’.

He said: ‘investing in productive infrastructure is key to accelerating Africa’s structural transformation.

‘Growth prospects vary across Africa’s regions, reflecting differences in economic structure, commodity dependence, and policies.’

Source: News Agency of Nigeria