Day: March 12, 2024

Women from villages impacted by the Sanbrado Mines Corporation (SOMISA) gold project recently celebrated International Women's Day with a series of community events and discussions focused on crucial themes for their development. This celebration, which took place on March 9 and 10, 2024, was made possible thanks to the financial support of SOMISA, and saw the participation of women from different villages facing the challenges of the mining project. Faced with the precarious security context, SOMISA opted for a decentralized approach this year, allowing women from each village to organize around a community meal and debate the topics of their choice. The villages of Mankarga Traditionnel, Pousghin, Pilaka, Roulghin, Silmiougou, Sanbrado, Douré, Lollé and Mankarga Peulh all took part in this celebration, each emphasizing themes such as hygiene, children's education, income-generating activities, and social cohesion. SOMISA Senior Community Relations Coordinator and Gender Focal Point, Christelle Foméni, hig hlighted the importance of maintaining strong links between the mining company and local communities. 'We want to actively participate in cultural activities to strengthen social cohesion between SOMISA and the communities ,' she said. For her, women's empowerment is essential, and SOMISA works with them to ensure they can continue to thrive even after leaving the mine. Village representatives expressed their gratitude to SOMISA for its continued support. Bibata Sédogo de Pousghin encouraged women to focus on children's education as a way to promote sustainable development. Likewise, Céline Yaméogo from the village of Silmiougou was delighted with the holding of this day. According to her, the women of the village discussed the theme of hygiene and to put words into action, they cleaned the village chief's courtyard, the school and places of worship. Madeleine Tiendrébéogo from Pilaka highlighted the income-generating activities supported by SOMISA, such as weaving, dyeing and sewing, which have enabled wom en to gain financial autonomy. The provincial directors in charge of the promotion of women and youth also expressed their support for these initiatives, emphasizing the importance of community entrepreneurship for local development. For the provincial director in charge of the advancement of women in Ganzourgou, Patrick Paré, the actions carried out by SOMISA correspond to the government's objectives in terms of the socioeconomic advancement of women. He praised the diversity of activities organized and the commitment of women to contribute to their own development. As for the provincial director in charge of youth in Ganzourgou, Sayouba P. Ouédraogo, he highlighted the crucial role of women in local development and called for strengthening cooperation between communities to maximize the impact of these initiatives. The celebration of International Women's Day in the villages impacted by SOMISA highlighted the potential of women to drive positive change in their communities despite the challenges faced. T his collaboration between the mining company and local populations demonstrates a commitment to sustainable development and the empowerment of women in the locality. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Ouagadougou: The AS academy omnisports (ASAO) in collaboration with the Regional Directorate of Post-Primary and Secondary Education in the North (DREPPS) launched the 1st edition of the festival on Friday March 8 in Ouahigouya . of books and the arts (FELIART). It is under the theme, 'reading in the service of promoting peace and non-violence' that AS omnisports in collaboration with the Regional Directorate of Post-Primary and Secondary Education in the North launched the 1st edition of the book and arts festival (FELIART) in the city of Naaba Kango with the aim of using reading to promote non-violence, for the return of peace to the region. For three days, men of letters, pupils and students from different establishments in the city of Ouahigouya joined forces in several areas through works of art to promote better living together. For the president of the FELIART 2024 organizing committee Souleymane Ouermi ' given the commitment of everyone during the preparations, we are hopeful of total success. We p ulled out all the stops to make sure things went well. Several activities such as literature Olympics, culinary arts competitions and direct exchanges with writers. Activities for this edition included exhibitions and sales of literary works, exchange meetings on African literature, dedications of works and communications with experts. For Valentin Kambiré who came to represent the Minister of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism, 'our department promotes culture. We welcome the initiative and thank all those involved for all the efforts made to hold this edition despite the very difficult security context. We congratulate the entire population, especially the resilient youth, and at the same time we reassure them of the ministry's unwavering support for this initiative.' While welcoming the strong mobilization which testifies to the interest of this activity, Mr. Kambiré invited the population, especially the youth of the Northern region, to always remain united around the transitional authorities and the fighting forces to facilitate the operations of reconquest underway in the region and throughout the country. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Bobo-Dioulasso: The Minister of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages (MENAPLN), Jacques Sosthène Dingara , visited SN- Citec on Thursday March 7, 2024 in Bobo-Dioulasso. This visit is part of strengthening the partnership between the education department and this oil mill unit. The oil mill company SN- Citec and the Ministry of National Education, Literacy and Promotion of National Languages (MENAPLN) maintain good partnership relations. It is to strengthen this partnership that the Minister in charge of national education, Jacques Sosthène Dingara , visited the company's premises on the afternoon of Thursday March 7, 2024 in Bobo-Dioulasso. Today's host, at a run, was able to tour the industrial installations of the oil mill and soap factory. Among other things, he visited the oil packaging workshop, the laboratory and the soapmaking workshop. Minister Dingara said he was satisfied with what he was able to see first-hand. ' We are reassured by the quality of the products give n the production system in place,' said Jacques Sosthène Dingara . Following the head of the national education department, this outing aims to encourage all of the company's staff for their resilience and commitment. 'In a context where endogenous development is in vogue, we must encourage all industrial units which continue to be the pride of the country,' said Jacques Sosthène Dingara . In addition to the reason for encouragement, according to the minister, today's visit is part of strengthening the existing partnership between MENAPLN and SN- Citec , but also talking about new partnerships in sight. The minister recalled that there is a partnership between his department and SN- Citec , especially in the area of school canteens. This visit, according to him, aims to enable the company to make quality oil more available to students throughout the national territory. Also, the head of national education took advantage of discussing a possible connection of students trained in technical and industrial education with the country's industrial units. 'It will be a question of seeing, with the system that exists at SN- Citec , how to provide them with executives trained in the country in the industrial field,' explained Jacques Sosthène Dingara . As for the Director General (DG) of SN- Citec , Ibrahim Traoré, he thanked the minister for this visit and for hisbenevolent messages to society. 'It's an encouraging visit from a strategic partner,' he admitted. Ibrahim Traoré mentioned that the partnership between his structure and the ministry in charge of national education has already lasted more than ten years. He also reassured his host that his 'house' will spare no effort in responding to any requests from his partner. Already, Ibrahim Traoré suggested, stocks of oil for the school canteen, as part of the presidential initiative for school canteens, are available and are awaiting collection for school canteens. Source: Burkina Information Agency

Ouagadougou: Prime Minister Dr Apollinaire Joachimson Kyélèm de Tambèla on Monday invited the ASCE-LC to bring to the attention of the Prosecutor the 'unfounded and unjustified expenditure at the level of the army' so that the persons incriminated justify themselves. The Prime Minister, Dr Apollinaire Joachimson Kyélèm de Tambèla, received on Monday in Ouagadougou, the 2022 general activity report of the High Authority for State Control and the Fight against Corruption (ASCE-LC). The Acting State Comptroller General, Urbain Millogo, indicated that his Institution audited the Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs over the period from 2016 to 2021 and noted 'irregularities'. 'We have audited the army budget since 2016 and it appears that for the purchase of weapons, the State worked with a trafficker. For the purchase of weapons, contracts were also awarded to several companies belonging to the same natural person,' he said. He also informed the head of government that 'for fuel management, there is no m aterial accountant so we must work to correct this. We must put in place what is necessary so that everything is traceable in terms of fuel management,' he added. Listening to the Head of Government, if there are unfounded and unjustified expenses at the level of the army, the ASCE-LC must bring this to the attention of the Prosecutor so that the incriminated persons can justify themselves. 'Those who gave the arms deal to a trafficker must answer, because you cannot give a deal to someone who is not qualified to carry it out. The President of the Transition wants there to be light. We are not happy with the way the army has been managed,' he insisted. Source: Burkina Information Agency

The representative of the high commissioner of the province of Namentenga, the Secretary General of the province (SG), Bassouleymane Ouattara launched on Monday March 11, 2024, the Project to support the professional reintegration of women and youth (PARPFJ) of the municipality of Dargo, in the presence of the municipal bodies. According to the coordinator of the National Federation of Wend Yam Groups (FNGWY), Ms. Nikièma Traoré Adissa, the commitment of the bodies constituted by the province of Namentenga and municipal actors in the implementation of the Project to support the professional reintegration of women and young people (PARPFJ constitutes a reason for satisfaction. In the implementation of the said project , the FNGWY benefited from a grant from the European Union, to the tune of 153 million FCFA for a period of 15 months. The main objective of PARPFJ aims to train 320 young people and women across 9 areas. Ultimately, the province of Namentenga in general and the municipality of Dargo in partic ular will have a qualified workforce in areas such as masonry, tiling, plumbing, building electricity, wood carpentry, transformation non-timber forest products and cutting and sewing. The urban commune of Boulsa will benefit from the expertise of learners for the construction of its 20-bed hospital ward and its popular hostel, both financed by the European Union through Expertise France. At the end of the presentation of the project by the coordination of the National Federation, the participants' concerns focused in particular on the criterion for recruiting learners, the quota of host communities, the deadline and the location of the training. The deadline for activities on the ground were also discussed during the discussions. 'The diligence and relevance of the participants' questions constitute, for me, a reason for satisfaction and a hope for full success in the field,' indicated the coordinator of the FNGWY, Ms. Nikièma Traoré Adissa. The prefect, also President of the special delegation (PDS) of the commune of Dargo and president of the monitoring committee, Kafando Saidou, invited the members of the established bodies of his commune to raise awareness among the population about the PARPFJ. The representative of the high commissioner of the province of Namentenga, the secretary general of the province of Namentenga, Bassouleymane Ouattara made a commitment to support the project for its total success. Ouattara encouraged the stakeholders before inviting the entire population and partners to fully invest in the smooth running of the project. Source: Burkina Information Agency