October 7, 2023 – L' Observateur Burundi

October 7, 2023

ANPG launches tender for oil concessions

The National Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG) launched, this Friday, the process for the award of oil exploration concessions dubbed “Tender 2023”, for the exploration of oil in the onshore basins of the Lower Congo, in Zaire Province, and of Kwanza (Luanda).

According to a press release, to which ANGOP had access, the deadline for submitting proposals extends until November 15th of this year, in compliance with the 40 days provided by law.

The tender covers 12 oil blocks, four in the Lower Congo Onshore Basin (CON 2, CON 3, CON 7 and CON 8) and eight in the Kwanza Onshore Basin (KON 1, KON 3, KON 7, KON 10, KON 13 , KON 14, KON 15 and KON 19).

As National Concessionaire and holder of mining rights for prospecting, research, evaluation, development and production of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons throughout the Angolan territory, ANPG states that all national and foreign companies that are interested can apply for the tender

Source: Angola Press News Agency

October 7, 2023

1º de Agosto raise African handball trophy

The 1º de Agosto senior women’s handball team won this Saturday, in Brazaville, the African champion clubs cup title, after victory over Petro de Luanda, also from Angola, by 28-26.

In the challenge, which has become routine in recent years between these two Angolan teams, the “military” (1º de Agosto, defending champions)) charted the path to victory in the first half, by making fewer mistakes in defense and making more shots in finishing attack moves.

More experienced and calm in their approach to the game, the 1º de Agosto squad went to the half-time break with a comfortable 16-11 lead.

In the second half, Petro de Luanda still tried to reverse the unfavourable situation, but the opponent managed to hold on to the advantage and the consequent triumph, despite it being by minimal numbers.

This is the 8th trophy for the “red and black”, being the second most titled team on the continent, after Petro de Luanda, with 19 titles.

The first Angolan team to win this competition was Ferroportuario, in 1987.

The men’s event, in which Angola was not present, was won by Al Ahly from Egypt, who defeated JSK from Congo in the final, by 37-23.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

October 7, 2023

Mohbad death: Nursing assistant is prime suspect after Primeboy fight – police

A nursing assistant said to have injected Nigerian Afrobeats star Mohbad with drugs is the prime suspect in his death, police say.

MohBad died at a hospital last month in circumstances that were unclear.

The 27-year-old’s death led to an outpouring of grief among his fans, who demanded a thorough investigation.

On Friday, police said a nurse who treated Mohbad had allegedly injected him in a negligent way. The nurse is under arrest and has not yet commented.

For the first time, the police laid out the chain of events that led to Mohbad’s death in the city of Lagos.

On 10 September, Mohbad, real name Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, injured himself in a ‘violent fight’ with childhood friend Oluwatosin Owoduni, also known as Primeboy, said Lagos State Police Command commissioner Idowu Owohunwa.

Mohbad, a married father to a five-month old, had tried to strike Mr Owoduni. However, he missed and cut his hand when he smashed a car window.

Over the following days, the wound became swollen and Mohbad complained of ‘unbearable pains’, the commissioner said.

Another friend, Ayobami Sadiq, called nursing assistant Feyisayo Ogedengbe to Mohbad’s home to treat the star.

Neither Mr Sadiq nor Mr Owoduni have commented on the commissioner’s statement. Both have been arrested.

The commissioner said that on 12 September, Ms Ogedengbe injected Mohbad with three different drugs. Shortly after, he began vomiting and convulsing.

Mohbad was then rushed to hospital, where he died. His body was buried the following day.

The ongoing police investigation found that, as a nursing assistant, Ms Ogedengbe was not qualified to give the injections, Commissioner Owohunwa said.

The police have not said what charges Ms Ogedengbe and Mr Owoduni face. However, they said Mr Sadiq was being held for conspiracy to commit a felony because he allegedly invited an unqualified nurse to treat Mohbad in a ‘non-clinical setting’.

Afrobeats star Naira Marley and music promoter Sam Larry have also both been arrested following allegations they had bullied and harassed Mohbad.

The police on Friday said that although the pair were out of the country at the time of Mohbad’s injury and death, ‘there are ample electronic and credible witnesses’ evidence linking them to cyberbullying, threat to life, assault occasioning harm and conduct likely to cause breach of peace against the deceased in his lifetime’.

Marley, who was last year described by Apple Music as ‘an unmissable fixture in Nigerian pop music’, has previously denied involvement in Mohbad’s death.

Neither he nor Larry have commented on the police’s statement on Friday.

Source: Ghana News Agency

October 7, 2023

International Maritime Hospital records increase in kidney diseases

Ms Nancy Abedi, a Dialysis Nurse at the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) in Tema, on Friday expressed concern over the increasing number of kidney diseases being recorded at the hospital and called for sensitisation to reduce its prevalence.

On average, about two chronic kidney diseases were diagnosed daily at IMaH, where a high number of patients are already on dialysis, who undergo over 500 sessions in a month.

Ms Abedi dismissed the myth that the disease was ‘a sickness for the rich’ and said subsidies in its treatment were needed to ensure the vulnerable accessed care.

‘I have patients who are in the middle class, unemployed, with some as young as 23 years. It has no class preference, the poor and the rich are all prone to it,’ she said.

Ms Abedi was speaking in Tema on the Ghana News Agency’s health platform, dubbed: ‘Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility!’, an initiative aimed at promoting communication on health-related topics and setting the medium for public education.

It is estimated that one out of every 10 people might have some kidney disease that they might be unaware of, hence the need for education to ensure healthy lifestyles to reduce the trend, she said.

Inspite of the prevalence of the disease, most regions lacked dialysis centres to cater for patients, making some of them travel long distances to access care.

Ms Abedi said, for instance, that it was just recently that the Volta Region had one centre, while the Eastern Region, among others, did not have any.

The Tema area currently has five centres, all privately owned, with a high cost of treatment, she said.

A session of dialysis costs not less than GHC600.00 presently, and a patient needs at least three dialysis sessions in a week to flush out the toxins and extra water from their systems since their kidneys were unable to perform that function.

Mr Francis Ameyibor, the Tema Regional Manager, GNA, appealed to corporate institutions and philanthropists to consider adopting district hospitals and providing support to set up dialysis centres.

‘Helping to improve the health delivery system when one has the capacity is a noble cause… Saving a life is a godly obligation to all mankind,’ he added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

October 7, 2023

Afri-Youth holds competition on SDGs for senior high schools

Afri-Youth, a youth empowerment non-governmental organisation, has held a competition on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for senior high schools to strengthen students’ active involvement in attaining the Goals.

Dubbed: ‘Afri-Youth Senior High Schools Community Impact Challenge on SDGs’, the competition is an annual social impact event, which seeks to empower students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers in their communities.

The third edition of the project was organised in partnership with MTN Ghana, the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA – GH) and Power to Youth Ghana, a consortium of three organisations comprising Norsaac, Songtaba and GH SRHR Alliance.

Participating schools included Tamale Girls, Kalpohin, Ambariya, Business, and Northern School of Business senior high schools.

Mr Mohammed Gadafi Mandeya, the Executive Director of Afri-Youth, during the event in Tamale, said it was to build the interest of students in the attainment of the SDGs in Ghana.

It aimed to afford them the opportunity to develop innovative ideas to reduce the effects of climate change, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy and reproductive health issues as well as sanitation and hygiene.

‘Unlike the previous two editions, where we had to literally provide them with intensive training, this time around, they were able to embark on their project works with very minimal supervision. It shows their improvement,’ he said.

Mr Mandeya expressed the need for government, civil society organisations and NGOs to demonstrate more interest in supporting young people to play active roles in achieving the SDGs.

Mr Mohammed Awal Alhassan, the Executive Director of Norsaac, called on the participants to prioritise the implementation of their innovative ideas to address the challenges confronting their communities.

He said the impact challenge competition must be scaled up to cover more second cycle institutions to involve more students in the region.

Northern School of Business SHS was adjudged winners after their project work presentation on attaining SDG target 3.7, which called for universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services by 2030.

Participants expressed gratitude to the organisers for providing them the platform to contribute towards Ghana’s growth and development.

Source: Ghana News Agency

October 7, 2023

Members of Institute of Directors-Ghana to benefit from IFC training on Environment, Governance next year

The International Financial Corporation (IFC) will from next year commence an Integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (IESG) training programme for members of the Institute of Directors-Ghana (IoD-Gh) and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

IESG is a framework used in assessing an organisation’s business practices and performance on various sustainability and ethical issues.

Mr Kyle Kelhofer, IFC’s Senior Country Manager for Benin, Ghana, Guinea, and Togo, in a statement delivered on his behalf at a pre-launch of the programme on Friday in Accra, said ESG was of great importance and at the core of how investments and businesses were conducted.

The IESG programme will equip board directors with practical knowledge and actionable guidance to start implementing the integrated ESG approach in their companies.

Private investment is essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and international investors are progressively requiring robust ESG practices from their investees.

However, current ESG practices of many companies in emerging markets are inadequate, resulting in external costs on the environment and society, including inadequate climate change mitigation, leading to a lack of investor confidence, which is becoming a barrier to investment.

Mr Kelhofer said the training would also focus on new elements and approaches that were unique to ESG topics and how boards should approach such themes to steer organisations in their sustainability journey.

He said there was evidence that better ESG practices were positively correlated with firm performance, better access to capital and better development outcomes.

Ms Magdalena Wst, the Deputy Head of Cooperation, Swiss Embassy, Ghana, stated the development of ESG framework by IFC aligned with Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs’s ongoing support for Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which focused on improving transparency and disclosure through sustainability reporting.

She said in an era defined by global challenges, including climate change and inequality, the importance of ESG principles could not be overstated.

‘ESG is not just a buzzword. A company that is well and transparently managed, that supports its employees and protects the environment, is better equipped to retain customers, investors and competent staff. ESG responsibility and credible reporting are, therefore, in the best interest of shareholders, as they increase company’s success in the long term.

Ms Wst noted that adoption of ESG was fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing the climate crisis.

The Deputy Head of Cooperation said the programme would support the adoption of good ESG standards and practices at market-wide and at firm level, including climate risk management and best practice disclosure of climate finance flows and impact on climate change.

For regulators, she said ESG would improve the regulatory environment for ESG, build market demand and the capacity of market intermediaries.

Madam Abena Amoah, Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GES) in a statement delivered on her behalf, said Governments, market regulators, stock exchanges, civil society, and other stakeholders continued to place huge demands on companies to get information on their sustainability programmes.

She said the GSE collaborated with the African Securities Exchanges Association?(ASEA), and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to launch its ESG Disclosure Guidance Manual in November 2022 after a stakeholder workshop.

She noted that it was part of the plan to encourage all listed companies to start sustainability reporting from 2024.

‘GSE has already started its ESG journey by reporting in its annual report during the Annual General Meeting held in September 2023. GSE recognises the importance of executive appreciation of sustainability reporting to help advance the ESG agenda in Ghana,’ she said.

Reverend Mrs Angela Carmen Appiah, the President of Institute of Directors-Ghana, said all actors in the ecological system had a unique role to play and that when an actor was sacrificed it posed a huge challenge to the survival of the rest.

‘It has become very important to take decisions that will reduce footprint and ensure resource efficiency. We see plastics all over, deforestation and degradation. That has to stop,’ she stressed.

The ESG Programme is a collective effort of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO, and the Bank of Ghana.

Source: Ghana News Agency