Author: pr Desk

Tunis: Strong gusts of wind are expected on Friday with speeds ranging between 50 and 70 km/h, temporarily reaching 92 km/h, especially in coastal areas, heights, and the South, according to the National Institute of Meteorology (INM).

Temperatures will experience a slight decrease, with highs ranging between 12 and 19°C in the North and the West-Central regions, and between 20 and 26°C in the remaining areas.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

MANOUBA: A delegation from the German Development Bank (KfW) recently visited the governorate of Manouba to inspect the progress of the project to modernise irrigated areas and implement the master plan for the Laaroussia canal in El Battan.

The development of the Laaroussia canal has been completed over a length of 14 km, at a cost of around TND 21 million.

Modernisation work in the Laaroussia and Chouigui irrigation areas has reached an 80% progress rate.

Some 360 farmers in the region will benefit from this project, which will cover a total of 1,700 hectares of public irrigated land at a cost of TND 70 million.

The visit, which was attended by the Commissioner for Local Agricultural Development and Commission officials, also focused on the projects outlined in the Tunisian-German cooperation programme, Samir Ayadi, manager of the Laaroussia canal plan, told TAP.

The German side was briefed on several projects still under study, notably the project to modernise the irrigated areas in Borj El Amri, cove
ring an area of 2,700 hectares (costing TND 60 million), and the project to modernise 440 hectares of irrigated perimeters in Tebourba, Tebourba Errimel, Hammed, Guechba and Ben Nfissa in Jedaida (costing TND 120 million).

The project to develop the northern section of the Laaroussia canal (5 km from the Laaroussia dam to Goumeryane) and the southern section (35 km from the Laaroussia dam to Sidi Thabet, in the Ariana governorate) were also discussed.

The cost of this project, which includes the construction of 40 km of pipelines through the urban area of Tebourba, is estimated at TND 100 million.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

ZAGHOUAN: The value of investment intentions in the services sector in Zaghouan upped by 172% in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1).

35 investment intentions worth TND 6 million were reported in the region, compared with 37 investment intentions worth TND 2.2 million during the same period in 2023, according to statistics from the Industry and Innovation Promotion Agency (APII).

However, investment intentions in the industrial sector fell slightly from 22 intentions (TND 121.3 million) reported during the same period last year to 21 intentions (TND 55.1 million) during the first half of 2024, Director of the Documentation and Industrial Information Centre at the APII Nadia Miled told TAP.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: A Tunisian-Italian joint high level committee for higher education and scientific research will be set up to develop an action plan for the implementation and follow-up of cooperation activities, according to a memorandum of understanding signed Wednesday at Carthage Palace by Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Moncef Boukthir and his Italian counterpart Anna Maria Bernini.

The committee will identify areas of cooperation of common priority for the two countries, formulate policies and guidelines in the fields of higher education, science, innovation and technology, evaluate past and current cooperation activities and plan future objectives.

The MoU, signed on the occasion of the visit of the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Tunisia, aims to further strengthen cooperation in higher education and scientific research between the Tunisian and Italian Ministries of Higher Education through the creation of joint scientific and research programmes and projects.

The ultimate goal
is to promote cooperation between higher education and research institutions, exchange information and opinions on scientific and technological policies, support and promote academic research, and teach languages, literatures, cultures and history in both countries.

The MoU also provides for the promotion of direct cooperation between higher education and scientific research institutions in both countries, the implementation and execution of joint projects between higher education, research and business institutions in the fields of research, innovation and technology transfer, as well as joint cooperation in relevant multilateral programmes such as PRIMA, Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Beja: A delegation from the Education Ministry and the European Investment Bank (EIB), Thursday, made an inspection visit to the Pioneer High School of Béja, which represents a sample of pilot projects of the Programme Modernizing Schools (French: PMES).

Co-funded by the Tunisian government, the EIB, the German Development Bank (KfW) and the European Union, at cost of TND 750 million, this programme aims to provide an environment conducive to education for teachers, Head of the Management by Objectives Unit (French: UGO) of the programme, Karim Daoud, told TAP.

Meeting all international standards, the Pioneer High School of Béja, newly built for a budget of TND 9.6 million, is seen considered as an environmentally friendly establishment, the same source said, adding that will be approved before the start of the next school year.

Representative of the EIB in Tunisia, Jean-Luc Revereault told TAP that the Pioneer High School of Béja, is part of the PMES which helped to build 59 educational establishments thr
oughout Tunisia.

The Béja Pioneer High School, which covers an area of 5700 m2, is made up of 13 classrooms and 9 specialty rooms, a digital library, a socio-cultural space, a restaurant, a sports field with a capacity of 620 students.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The first edition of the Parish Priest’s Cup of the Sainte-Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus parish of Houndé was played on Saturday April 13, 2024, in favor of the Parish Youth Days (JPJ) in Houndé. The Sokoura team left with the trophy of the edition by beating that of Kohoun with a score of 2 goals to 1.

The football tournament, called the Priest’s Cup of the parish of Sainte-Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus de Houndé, reached its epilogue on the afternoon of Saturday April 13, 2024.

Organized in favor of the Parish Youth Days (JPJ) of Houndé, the final of the 1st edition pitted the Sokoura team against that of Kohoun.

In a 2×20 minute game, Sokoura defeated Kohoun 2 goals to 1.

In addition to the trophy, the Sokoura team received an envelope, a set of jerseys and a ball.

As for the Kohoun team, it benefited from an envelope, a set of jerseys and a ball.

The Bouéré and Center-ville teams respectively ranked 3rd and 4th each received an envelope and a ball.

For the parish priest of Houndé, Father Dieudonné Bouna,
this 1st edition is a ‘great satisfaction’ in view of the participation and mobilization of young people.

According to him, sport in general, and football in particular, is a factor of unity, social cohesion and solidarity.

This is why, he continued, this cup was associated with the JPJ of Houndé which are meeting days between young people from the parish to share their experiences and get to know each other better.

‘One of the objectives of this cup being to create social cohesion so that we can live in peace with each other despite our ideological, political and religious differences, it is not excluded that in future editions, the competition be extended to other religious faiths’ , faith of Abbot Dieudonné Bouna.

The Houndé JPJ took place from April 11 to 14, 2024 around a series of activities, including a conference on the theme ‘My body, temple of the Holy Spirit’, a football tournament, and a mass.

Source: Burkina Information Agency

The Association of Servants of Christ (ASC) initiated a collective marriage celebration which allowed 41 couples to regularize their situation on Saturday April 13, 2024 at Gourcy town hall.

It was the first Vice-President of the Special Delegation of Gourcy, Saidou Mandé who officiated on Saturday April 13, 2024, the collective wedding ceremony initiated by the Association of Servants of Christ (ASC), a structure reporting to the Assemblies of God of Burkina.

The activity, placed under the co-sponsorship of Reverend Philippe Ouédraogo and Samuel Ouédraogo, enabled 41 couples already married in church to comply with the laws of the country by contracting civil marriage.

After the town hall, the couples received blessings at the Bethel Church of the Assemblies of God in sector 4 of Gourcy in the presence of relatives and friends and acquaintances.

At the end of the ceremony, the first officials of the commune welcomed this initiative before calling on other communities to follow suit.

In accordance with
the new guidelines, each couple received from the Special Delegation a tree to plant in memory of the event.

Source: Burkina Information Agency

The High Commissioner of the Balé province, Ibrahim Boly, launched during a workshop, held on April 3 and 4, 2024 in Boromo, the Project to strengthen the resilience of rural households in the face of changes climate change and food and economic vulnerability through an integrated territorial approach in the ten municipalities of the Balé province (ProRACE) of the NGO TREE AID.

The Project strengthening the resilience of rural households in the face of climate change and food and economic vulnerability through an integrated territorial approach in the ten municipalities of the Balé province (ProRACE) of the NGO TREE AID is now official.

The activities were launched in the Balé province during a workshop on April 3-4, 2024 in Boromo.

According to the coordinator of ProRACE, Hugues Ouédraogo, this meeting allowed stakeholders to visit and provide information on the project, present and plan the activities of the first year of implementation of the activities.

In the opinion of Mr. Ouédraogo, the ProRACE pr
oject is a resilience project. There is a need to help producers in difficulty.

Participants planned activities for the first year of the project and adopted an implementation strategy across the province.

According to officials of the NGO TREE, the ProRACE project will thus contribute to strengthening the resilience of 89,240 people in the ten municipalities of the Balé province, including 22,191 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in six municipalities for four years.

For the implementation of field activities, the NGO TREE AID will work in collaboration with the association Junction of Actions to Advance Africa (JAAFA) based in Boromo and the technical services of the province.

To do this, four facilitators from the JAFAA association will assist the beneficiaries in the areas of agroforestry and natural resource management, agricultural production and livestock breeding.

The project must therefore impact the lives of these people in the rural world by making them adopt positive behaviors in the sustai
nable management of ecosystems, agroecological practices, economic and food security through the development of nutritious and market gardens, the sustainable exploitation of non-timber forest products and small livestock farming.

The project will cost more than two billion CFA francs and is financed by the Delegation of the European Union and the NGO TREE AID.

The High Commissioner of the Balé province, Ibrahim Boly, welcomed the initiative of the NGO TREE AID because the project will cover the entire province.

He invited stakeholders to get involved in achieving the objectives.

Source: Burkina Information Agency

The Catholic Organization for Development and Solidarity (OCADES) Caritas Burkina commemorated its 25 years of existence in the diocese of Dédougou from April 11 to 14, 2024 in Dédougou. Several activities were organized, the culmination of which was the Eucharistic celebration at Saint Anne’s Cathedral on Sunday April 14, 2024.

The Catholic Organization for Development and Solidarity (OCADES) Caritas Burkina in Dedougou is 25 years old.

To this end, it commemorated its silver jubilee from April 11 to 14, 2024 under the theme: ‘OCADES caritas Burkina, 25 years in the service of integral human development, let us give thanks to God’.

Several activities were carried out for the benefit of the populations. These include a blood drive, screening sessions for precancerous lesions of the cervix, screening for hepatitis B, diabetes and HIV, sports activities, a shopping street, open days.

Also, the internally displaced populations and those hosts received food consisting of 20 tons of corn, 10 tons of rice, bea
ns and oil.

An awareness session on social cohesion, honorary distinctions and the Eucharistic celebration were also highlights of this celebration.

These various activities aimed to contribute to discovering the identity of OCADES as an instrument of the Catholic Church in Dédougou created to promote charity and solidarity of the Church, family of God.

The diocesan executive secretary of OCADES Caritas Burkina in Dédougou, Abbé André Toé, expressed his gratitude to the Bishops for their vision which allowed the creation of OCADES Caritas Burkina 25 years ago.

By placing solidarity and sharing at the heart of this commemoration in Dédougou, Abbot André Toé explained that actions are taken for the benefit of specific communities in order to meet their needs.

He also paid tribute to the sponsors of the celebration who are Marcel Tiahoun and Eloi Dama, all entrepreneurs who have supported OCADES Caritas Dédougou from the first moments of its existence.

Presiding over the thanksgiving mass, the Bishop of Dé
dougou Mgr Prosper Bonaventure Ky stressed that after 25 years of existence, it was good to turn to God to give thanks and implore his help for more actions in favor of communities.

For him, OCADES is a tool that continues the mission of the Church among populations with a predilection for vulnerable populations.

‘These actions directly contribute to purifying and elevating the morality of communities by arousing solidarity and unity within them. They promote a new humanism which is the unity of humankind and the construction of a better world in truth and justice,’ recalled the Bishop of Dédougou.

Source: Burkina Information Agency

The Houet Provincial Council of the National Association of Retirees of Burkina Faso, organized on Tuesday April 16, 2024 in Bobo-Dioulasso, a General Assembly (GA) to take stock of its activities. the year 2023.

The Houet provincial council of the National Association of Retirees of Burkina Faso carried out several activities in 2023.

To take stock of the actions carried out, the office of the provincial council organized a General Assembly (GA) on Tuesday April 16, 2024 in Bobo-Dioulasso.

From this assessment we note, among other things, the establishment of offices in certain districts and municipalities of the province, the meeting with partners of the association, or recreational activities.

The provincial president of Houet retirees, Lamine Toungo Sanou, said he was satisfied with this result.

He invited the province’s retirees to massively join the association in order to help improve their living conditions.

For this year 2024, the Houet section of the national association of retirees of Burkin
a Faso intends to continue awareness-raising activities in order to increase the number of its members.

She also plans to build more relationships with partners.

The president took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Defense Forces (FDS) and the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) who are fighting against terrorism in Burkina Faso.

He suggested that retirees are trying to contribute in cash and also in prayer so that the fighting forces win this war.

The representative of the Autonomous Retirement Fund for Civil Servants (CARFO), Timbingou Yonli, reassured retirees that the Fund will further support the association in order to offer them better living conditions.

Source: Burkina Information Agency