Category: General

Organised small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may enter the Angolan Debt and Securities Exchange (BODIVA) via the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC), which has financial solutions to boost their investments.

In order to ensure the success of the process, the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC) and the Angolan Debt and Securities Exchange (BODIVA) signed Thursday a Memorandum of Understanding.

The deal allows the medium and small companies to have a public guarantee that will make it easier to open their capital in order to buy or sell shares, in a more confident and transparent way on the stock exchange.

The document was signed by the executive directors of FGC and BODIVA, Eduardo Mohamed and Cristina Lourenço, respectively.

As part of the process, the amount available is of five million dollars for each interested company with the profile to do so, with the FGC covering risk up to 75% of the capital financed.

BODIVA is also seen as a solution for the disposal of assets and a solution for financing companies.

It currently has two companies listed on the market, but others are preparing to enter this segment.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Old Ghanascans (Old Students of Ghana Senior High School) Association (OGA) and Parents Association of the School have said the Headmaster of the school did not convert toilets to dormitories for students.

This was in a joint statement issued by OGA and Parents Association of the School after a meeting to deliberate on the matter.

The statement said ‘ long before the Headmaster assumed office on the 1st of November, 2022, the alleged toilet cubicles had ceased to be toilets and were used by members of Cabral and Gbanzaba Houses as box rooms and also a store room for keeping the working tools of the Houses.’

It said ‘The Old Students recount that some of their colleague students, who were seniors isolated to that facility for the purposes of observing their private studies and assumed that those mattresses found in the video footage cannot be concluded that the facility is officially designated as a dormitory.’

It said ‘This historical fact can be confirmed by Old Students of Ghanasco, who completed between the periods of 1978 and now.’

It said ‘The old students again noted that the toilet seaters were removed as far back as the late 70s and the drains of the facility were sealed off with mortar just to prevent students from using it as toilets.’

The statement said ‘The Parents Association indicated in the joint meeting that during a recent meeting held in January, 2023 no complaint of inadequate dormitories was received from the School Management or any parent, especially regarding the use of toilet cubicles as dormitories.’

It said ‘These two Associations observed that even though the school is challenged with toilet facilities and acute water shortage within the Kukuo enclave, steps are being considered by these two key stakeholders to remedy these challenges.’

It said ‘The news of the conversion of the toilet into dormitories has not only negatively affected the image of the school, but also led to the unfortunate interdiction of the hardworking Headmaster and his Senior House Master.’

The statement said ‘This unprovoked and malicious reportage has indeed affected the morale of the entire community of Ghanasco particularly students, who are preparing to write their final year examinations this year.’

It said ‘In our estimation, the reporter was just not ethical but also unprofessional regarding this particular story.’

‘We, therefore, unreservedly condemn his actions and call on him to retract and render an unqualified apology to the entire Ghanasco community not excluding the School Management, Old Students, Parent Association, students, staff, and the entire Kukuo Community.’

It said ‘We, therefore, praise the swift response of the Minister of Education for directing the Ghana Education Service to act within the shortest possible time to deal with the reportage by forming a fact-finding Committee to deal with the matter.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has approved the celebration of the Amazigh New Year as an official national holiday.

King Mohammed VI has instructed to add the Amazigh New Year to the list of national holidays in Morocco.

In a statement from the Royal Court, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has approved the celebration of the Amazigh New Year as an official national holiday.

Instructions were sent to the Head of the Government Aziz Akhannouch, to take the necessary steps to implement the decision.

This move reflects the king’s ‘commitment to the Berber language, a fundamental part of Morocco’s authentic identity and a shared asset for all Moroccans,’ the statement explains.

The constitutional recognition of the Amazigh language as an official language of the country, alongside Arabic, further underscores the significance of this decision. It’s a historic step that’s expected to deepen national unity and further promote the country’s diverse cultural heritage.

Activists in Morocco have long been campaigning for the Amazigh New Year to be recognized as an official national holiday. The Amazigh New Year, also known as ‘Yennayer,’ marks the beginning of the agricultural calendar and is celebrated by the country’s Amazigh people, who make up around 40% of the population.

While the Moroccan government recognized the holiday, it was not an official national holiday with paid time off work. Activists argued that granting the holiday official status would be a significant

step towards recognizing and celebrating the country’s diverse cultural heritage.

The campaign had gained momentum in recent years, with many Moroccans expressing support for the idea on social media.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, the minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has hinted of plans by the ministry to amend parts of the Chieftaincy Act, to allow for Chiefs and Queen mothers to participate in the country’s decision-making process.

According to him, traditional rulers played a pivotal role in the shaping of national discourses and cohesion, hence the need to include them in the formulation of policies and programs towards national development and cohesion.

Mr Asamoah Boateng gave the hint at the final funeral rights of the late Paramount Chief of Adele traditional Area, Nana Opoku Anto III, at Tutukpene in the Nkwanta South district of the Oti region.

The minister commended the chiefs and people for maintaining peace in the area over the years and pledged his ministry’s continuous collaboration with the chiefs and queens of the area to ensure development.

He said his outfit was aware of the processes begun by the late chief to get all his sub-chiefs gazetted before his demise and promised the ministry’s commitment in ensuring that the process continued.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Several Media practitioners have been sensitized on the negative impacts of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news.

This was on the occasion of the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day in Cameroon on May 3 at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication.

The seminar which took place under the theme ” Disinformation, a hindrance to the rights of Citizens to have access to the right information, was chaired by the Minister of Post and Telecommunication, Minette Libom Li Likeng.

The minister said they recognize that Journalists have a key role to play in the organization of society by avoiding fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.

“We are therefore here to help Journalists to do their Job by giving them the right information to make them be able to differentiate between misinformation and the truth” She stated.

According to Yerima Kini Nsom, Bureau Chief of The Post Newspaper in Yaounde, Journalists should be steadfast in ensuring that anything that goes to the public is verified and trusted.

“Journalists should show that responsibility of great magnitude to fight against the ill on misinformation and disinformation. They can do this by discipline and verification of facts. Journalists should be doubting Thomases, it’s not enough to see issues being published on social media that one should think it is the truth. We should always verify our sources in order to avoid fake news” He said.

He further recalled to media men to ” Always check and check and if in doubts kill the story. Always verify if the person giving you that information has the authority of intellectual capacity to give you that information”

” It was an enriching experience, I leave this seminar more aware of the dangers of social media, and I have to take every piece of information I come across with a pinch of salt. I leave here like a doubting Thomas to question every piece of information I come across before disseminating and passing across to the public” a participant, Isaac NGONG KUM said.

Before the end of the seminar, there was a working session where Journalists had an exchange with experts for a better understanding of these concepts. Awarding of Certificates to participants thereafter.

Organized under the sponsorship of MINPOSTEL by the Association Media, Mediation and Citizenship, this event is in line with actions taken by the government to end misinformation and fake news in the country.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The president of PWD Bamenda, Pascal Abunde, has told his players and staff that the season is not yet over, despite the end of the Elite One championship which they struggled not to get relegated from.

Following the 3-2 victory over Renaissance of Ngoumou on the last day of play on Sunday, April 30, Abunde said that was just the completion of two out of three parts according to their programme.

“As I told you guys, this season had three parts. We played the first part, we had 10 points, we played the second part we had 15 points” the club president highlighted. “Now, the season is not ended, we have the third part of the season, that is the cup of Cameroon” he continued.

Pascal Abunde said the team has just a few days of rest “we are taking a few days of rest, bearing in mind that we have to start preparing for the cup of Cameroon. Because the objective we set for ourselves was to win something at least this season” he indicated.

He gave each player the sum of 100,000 FCFA following their defeat of Renaissance of Ngoumou.

PWD finished the season on the fourth position in group A with 25 points.

The top two teams in the group, Canon Sportif and Coton Sport of Garoua with 38 and 36 points respectively, will take part in the playoffs for the championship title. Gazelle and Bamboutos are the top two sides in group B.

There will be a relegation playoff as well. It will pit Yong Sports Academy against Djiko FC, to determine the fifth club that will drop alongside Renaissance of Ngoumou, Avion Academy, YAFOOT, and Dragon FC.

Source: Cameroon News Agency