Month: May 2023

Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachimson Kyélem de Tambèla, said Tuesday, during his speech on the situation of the Nation that if the extension of cities is not controlled, soon there will be no will have more space for agriculture, for breeding, for the environment and that it is time to build in height.

“If the expansion of cities is not controlled, soon there will be no more space for agriculture, for breeding, for the environment. It is time to understand that it is necessary to build in height and contribute to the improvement of the living environment by making more accessible the essential conveniences such as running water, electricity and roads”, declared the Prime Minister, Apollinaire Joachimson Kyélem de Tambela.

The Prime Minister spoke Tuesday in Ouagadougou, before the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT) on the national situation.

He indicated that in real estate, a law on real estate promotion is under discussion at the level of the ALT.

In March 2023, the government adopted a draft law on property development, in order to guarantee better land management and preserve arable land for current and future generations.

"It aims to reorganize the sector by bringing order to it, by redefining its mission," he said.

According to Apollinaire Joachimson Kyélem de Tambèla, no one can dispute that our cities, especially the largest ones like Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso extend to infinity.

"This makes it difficult to control their development, their sanitation, and their supervision", explained the Head of Government.

Since 2015, the country has been plagued by terrorist attacks that have left hundreds dead, more than 2 million displaced people and the closure of many schools and health establishments.

Source: Burkina Information Agency

The Burkinabè daily newspapers of this Tuesday echo the audience granted to the President of the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) by the Head of State, the financing granted by the World Bank, without forgetting the fight against climate change.

The public daily Sidwaya mentions on its front page: “Sustainable management of communal landscapes: 8 regions identified for the implementation of the project”

The newspaper indicates that the Ministry of Environment, Water and Sanitation has officially launched the activities of the Sustainable Management Project of Communal Landscapes for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and forest degradation (PGPS /REDD).

Sidwaya informs that the project concerns the Boucle du Mouhoun, the Cascades, the East, the Center-East, the Center-West, the Center-South, the Hauts-Bassins and the South-West.

The public daily Sidwaya adds that according to the resident representative of the World Bank in Burkina Faso, Maimouna Mbow Fam, the project is financed at 75 billion FCFA.

On this same subject, the dean of the private dailies, L'Observateur Paalga, informs that the project for the sustainable management of municipal landscapes for REDD+ (PGPC/REDD) will be carried out in 96 municipalities in the 8 regions.

The newspaper reports that the project will create opportunities for economic and social development while preserving the national heritage and will make it possible to invest in the conservation of our forests and wooded areas, in the protection of biodiversity and in the fight against the harmful effects of climate change.

From another angle, the private daily newspaper Le Pays reads: “Financing of development projects: the World Bank provides the government with 276 billion FCFA”.

The newspaper informs that the minister in charge of the economy Aboubacar Nacanabo and the resident representative of the World Bank in Burkina Faso, Maimouna Mbow Fam, proceeded to the signing of three loan agreements for a total amount of 176 billion FCFA for the financing of three projects.

The Country indicates that the 1 st project relates to the financing of the Support Project for Entrepreneurship, Skills Development and Technological Adoption (ECOTEC).

The 2 nd agreement relates to the Livestock Resilience and Competitiveness Project (PRCEL) in Burkina.

The third agreement concerns the Program for Resilience, Local Governance and Basic Services (PREGOLS).

The newspapers Le Quotidien and Sidwaya chorus: "Promotion of Football: the Head of State discusses with the President of FECAFOOT".

Sidwaya reports that the President of the Transition, Head of State Captain Ibrahim Traoré, granted, Monday, May 29, 2023 in Ouagadougou, an audience with the President of the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT), Samuel Eto'o.

The newspaper adds that the president of FECAFOOT Samuel Eto'o, present in Ouagadougou within the framework of the final of the Faso Cup, exchanged with the Head of State around the promotion of football.

For its part, Le Pays reports that Samuel Eto'o has congratulated Burkina Faso on qualifying for the final phase of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) Côte d'Ivoire 2023.

The newspaper takes up the words of the president of FECAFOOT who declares this: "I was pleasantly surprised to see that his excellence the president of the transition follows football closely, especially since he has a very tight agenda" .

Source: Burkina Information Agency

Uganda: President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law tough new anti-gay legislation, the speaker of the country's parliament said in a post on Twitter on Monday. Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa's 54 countries.

Source: Voice of America

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has ordered his agency to update its travel guidance to Uganda in the wake of the east African nation’s approval of a draconian new anti-homosexual law.

In a statement released late Monday, Blinken said he has also ordered State Department officials to consider using existing restrictions tools against Ugandan officials and other individuals “for abuse of universal human rights, including the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons.”

The top U.S. diplomat says Uganda’s “failure to safeguard the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons is part of a broader degradation of human rights protections that puts Ugandan citizens at risk and damages the country’s reputation as a destination for investment, development, tourism, and refugees.”

Members of Uganda’s LGBTQ community were in shock following the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed into law Monday by President Yoweri Museveni. They called for its repeal and filed a notice Monday with the country’s attorney general about their intention to bring the matter to court.

Ugandan human rights lawyer and activist leads fellow activists to file a petition challenging the signing of the new Anti-homosexuality law by President Yoweri Museveni, at the constitution court in Kampala, May 29, 2023.

Critics say the law, which allows life imprisonment and the death penalty in some cases, is draconian and the world’s harshest.

The new law clarifies that identifying as gay would not be criminalized but says that “engaging in acts of homosexuality” is punishable with life imprisonment.

The law also imposes the death penalty for what it calls “aggravated homosexuality.” This includes sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as sex with people categorized as vulnerable, including minors and the elderly.

Any Ugandan who does not report such cases is liable on conviction to spend five years in prison or pay a fine of 10 million Ugandan shillings, about $2,680.

In addition, the law says journalists and other media figures face five years in prison if they disclose the identity of a victim of a homosexual act without the authority of the court or that person.

U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned Uganda's new anti-gay law, calling it “shameful” and a “tragic violation of universal human rights.”

In a statement Monday, Biden said the law is “the latest development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda.”

Eric Ndawula, executive director of the Lifeline Youth Empowerment Center, an NGO in Kampala that provides support to Ugandans who are gay, bisexual or queer, told VOA that the LGBTQ community is frightened over what will come next.

“I am very scared, honestly,” he said. “It was expected, but it came very abrupt this morning to just wake up to such news. We are still working together as a... convening for equality to see our next step forward. But the news has just shocked us.”

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday the measure is “contrary to international human rights law” and will affect Uganda’s ties with international partners.

“The Ugandan government has an obligation to protect all of its citizens and uphold their basic rights. Failure to do so will undermine relationships with international partners,” he said.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly called the law “abhorrent, cruel and unjust,” while the British government said it was “appalled” by the measure, according to Andrew Mitchell, Britain’s minister of state for development and Africa.

In April, Uganda’s parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act on a vote of 341 to 1.

In a statement Monday, parliament speaker Anita Among said lawmakers heeded the concerns of Ugandans and legislated to protect the sanctity of the family.

Among urged authorities to enforce the law in what she called a fair, steadfast and firm manner.

In his statement Monday, Biden said that since the law was first introduced, reports of violence and discrimination against Ugandans who are perceived to be from the LGBTQ community have been rising.

“Innocent Ugandans now fear going to hospitals, clinics, or other establishments to receive life-saving medical care lest they be targeted by hateful reprisals. Some have been evicted from their homes or fired from their jobs,” Biden said.

Amnesty International has described the law as draconian and says it hopes that Ugandan rights groups will advocate for its repeal.

“We hope that we will continue working with rights groups to push or challenge, especially parliamentarians, to repeal this abhorrent law,” Roland Ebole, Amnesty International regional researcher, told VOA. “I know the second option is very unlikely considering that this was passed by a very large majority, so perhaps our hope right now is the court. That the court will actually look at this law and see that it is a violation of human rights.”

International bodies that operate in Uganda, such as UNAIDS and USAID, have previously stated that the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act will not only complicate their work there, but reverse the gains made by the country in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Source: Voice of America

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law what activists have called one of the world's harshest pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation. The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 has prompted the outrage of international human rights organizations and activists who say it must be reviewed.

The bill, which was approved in March, originally proposed 20 years in prison for merely identifying as LGBTQ, but the president returned it to parliament in late April for revision to ensure it does not "frighten" those who need "rehabilitation."

“We have heeded the concerns [of] our people and legislated to protect the sanctity of family,” Anita Annet Among, the speaker of Uganda’s parliament, said in a statement on Monday. Among said Uganda was standing strong to “defend the culture, values and aspirations of our people” with the law.

The lawmaker encouraged law enforcement agencies to execute their mandates in ensuring that the Anti-Homosexuality Act is enforced in a “fair, steadfast, and firm manner.”

An amended version of the bill, which passed parliament earlier this month, clarified that identifying as LGBTQ without engaging in homosexual acts would not be criminalized.

Most of its features, however, remained, such as the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," which includes having sex with a minor, having sex while HIV positive, and incest.

The United Nations Human Rights Office insisted that the anti-gay law, which it called "draconian and discriminatory," is a "recipe for systematic violations of the rights" of LGBTQ people and the general population.

“It conflicts with the Constitution and international treaties and requires urgent judicial review,” it tweeted.

In a joint statement on Monday, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, said the legislation puts Kampala’s progress on HIV response in “grave jeopardy.”

Washington has previously warned Uganda of potential economic "repercussions" if the legislation goes into effect.

"We're certainly watching this really closely and we would have to take a look at whether or not there might be repercussions that we would have to take, perhaps in an economic way, should this law actually get passed and enacted," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in March.

But Museveni has urged legislators to demonstrate "patriotism,” oppose homosexuality, and prepare for the potential impact of aid cuts on the country.

Source: Russia Today

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has assented to the controversial anti-homosexuality bill, despite condemnation of Western countries and human rights activists.

The bill was first passed by MPs in March but was returned to the parliament for amendment.

In the new law, the offence of homosexuality is now limited to gay sexual acts. People convicted under this clause face life imprisonment.

The legislation also prescribes death penalty for aggravated offences, in cases of sexual abuse against a minor, a disabled person or where a victim of abuse is infected with a life-long illness.

Members of the public will also be required to report to the authorities any form of homosexual abuse against children or other vulnerable people.

The law initially criminalised identifying as a sexual minority but Mr Museveni argued that this would have led to the arrest and prosecution of people for just their physical appearance.

This clause was removed when the the president returned the bill to the parliament.

A joint statement by the Global Fund, the US government’s President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) and UNAIDS said in response to the new law that they were “deeply concerned” about its harmful impact.

They said it would obstruct health education and outreach on Aids, noting that LGBTQ people were increasing fearful of their safety and security and that more people were being discouraged from seeking vital health services.

It is likely that the law will be challenged in court.

A similar one was struck down by the Ugandan constitutional court in 2014.

Source: BBC

The Seychelles' Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) and the Department of Energy are currently assessing prospective government buildings to install photovoltaic panels, said a top official.

These are the latest steps Seychelles is taking towards achieving 15 percent renewable penetration by 2030 and the greater vision of hitting net-zero emissions by 2050.

"We are assessing whether the earmarked institutions' roofs can sustain having the panels," the Principal Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, Tony Imaduwa, told SNA.

Among the buildings being assessed are health centres, police stations and other government offices to see if their roofs can hold the PV systems first of all. The assessment is on energy consumption and whether the grid can integrate them as well as if there are plans to carry out renovation work on the buildings.

"It will not make sense to install the panel on a building such as a police station that will be undergoing renovations soon," explained Imaduwa.

Seychelles has received funding from an Indian government grant to support a programme to install PV systems on government buildings. Additional funding has been added to next year's budget to ensure the completion of the second phase.

The first phase of the installation of PV panels on certain government buildings is completed and the Department of Energy has started work for the second phase.

The Barbarbarons emergency housing estate in the west of Mahe, the main island, and the National Assembly building at Ile du Port are some of the buildings included in the first phase.

"We started this programme some years back under the PV democratisation project. Through the ongoing project, more government buildings will be identified," said Imaduwa.

Meanwhile, to complement this program, the Department is also running one for schools under the Solar School Project partly funded by the Chinese government.

"So far we have covered schools on La Digue and Praslin and some on Mahe," explained Imaduwa.

Currently, the largest PV panel is on the roof of the Central Bank building in Victoria.

Seychelles -- a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean -- relies heavily on imported fossil fuel for power generation and transportation. Currently, only 2.5 percent of the island nation's electrical energy is from renewable sources.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, has sent a congratulatory message to his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, on his successful re-election, State House said on Monday.

"The people of Turkey have yet again given you a strong mandate as a reaffirmation of their confidence in your leadership," said Ramkalawan in his message.

In acknowledging the long history of cooperation and excellent diplomatic relations between the two countries, Ramkalwan expressed his hope for further collaboration between Seychelles and Turkey for the benefit of both countries.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, established diplomatic relations with Turkey in 1995.

Ramkalwan wished President Erdogan continued good health as well as every success in his task ahead.

According to CNN, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey's presidential election, defeating opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday's runoff vote and stretching his rule into a third decade.

Erdogan won 52.14 percent of the votes in the 99.43 percent of the votes counted.

Source: Seychelles News Agency