Category: General

Angolan Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication Mário Oliveira Thursday in Luanda highlighted the action of the National Space Programme Management Office (GGPEN) focused on the use of satellite systems to support the national economy.

The minister said GGPEN has a laboratory with very capable, hard-working young people, which allows the Ministry to present applications whose main objective is to support the national economy in the most varied sectors, from industry, agriculture, environment and also public works.

Speaking to the press at the end of a visit to the Space Applications Development Laboratory, the minister said that the sector created, as part of the national space programme, through GGPEN, this laboratory of which a set of applications have been developed and certified.

“We have been developing applications to support the oil industry, agriculture, infrastructure, among which, for example, applications that allow control of road construction, control of forestation and deforestation, as well as agricultural

control”, he said.

In turn, the head of the GGPEN space applications development department, Luciano Lupedia, put at more than four applications developed.

He added that two applications are actually in use, one of which has been in testing for over a year and the second with satisfactory results.

Among the applications, the head of GGPEN highlighted TECH-GEST, which is an application that makes use of artificial intelligence in satellite and drone image that allows the monitoring of assets, construction works, roads, as well as the monitoring of infrastructure in general.

Other available services are TECH-ECOLOGIA, which is a solution that uses satellite radar images to detect, monitor and warn about the occurrence of possible oil spills in the national offshore.

Whereas, TECH-AGRO, which is designed for farmers, makes it possible to analyse the state of agricultural fields from monitoring vegetation development, using the Normalised Difference Index (NDVI) and biophysical parameters (LAI, Fcover, FAPAR).

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

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

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

Four international experts are evaluating and will advise the transport ministry on the best ways to implement electric mobility in Seychelles, the ministry said on Sunday.

The implementation of a two-year electric mobility project in Seychelles was launched in November 2022 and is expected to take four years to complete. It is being implemented with the help of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

UNEP-GEF are key partners in the project, offering technical expertise and a grant of $400,000.

In the first part of the project, the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) will introduce full electric buses to their fleet. Currently, SPTC has 200 buses which complete over 1,400 journey per day and use approximately 220,000 litres of fuel per month

The role of the experts is to provide the best way forward to implement a sustainable electric transport system in the Seychelles during a two-year period.

The experts have knowledge in international policy, business and strategy, international e-mobility technology, international battery technology and charging and renewable energy integration.

In a meeting with the Minister for Transport, Antony Derjacques, the UNEP delegation expressed their satisfaction for the progress that Seychelles has made despite the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The head of the UNEP delegation, Annika Berlin, said that “strategy and capacity building is the core of the project. We hope to see 50 percent of buses and cars electrified by 2030 and for that we welcome other partners.”

The experts met with key ministries and stakeholders to understand better the procurement of buses and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, and environmental policies such as the disposal of batteries.

The project is also receiving the support of other partners such as IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) and the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) for its transport plan. A potential partner is Calstart, a clean transport expert based in America, which intends to help with the transition to electric mobility and its education.

UNEP-GEF have vast experience working with Small Island Developing States such as Mauritius, Madagascar, the Caribbean, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.

Source: Seychelles News Agency