IMPACT MAGAZINE ONLINE: June 2010

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Nigerian Government Faults Media Publication on EFFC N2.3b Scam Investigation

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria

The Federal Government of Nigeria has refuted media reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has submitted a report of its investigation concerning the alleged N2.3b scam to the President, describing the report as not only false but misleading.

In a chat with State House correspondents on Monday June 28, Presidential spokesman, Mr Ima Niboro, said the Presidency does not receive reports of the anti graft agencies concerning their work since they are independent bodies that operate on their own.

Mr Niboro said contrary to media reports, the President does not receive investigative reports from either the EFCC or the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and that the President does not interfere in whatever the agencies do.

He therefore described the reports as misleading and incorrect, stating that it is not true that the President has received any report on the House issue from the EFCC as erroneously reported.

“Anybody who knows the President will know that he does not in any way get involved in the work of these agencies as he is determined that they preserve their independence as national institutions,” he noted.

He continued: “The EFCC does not report to the President and the President does not receive or expect any report from them. As independent bodies, they know what to do. It will be very unfair to link up the President in these matters. The EFCC has all the powers to investigate, and act according to the laws establishing it.”

Mr Niboro observed that the truth remains that the President has nothing to do with the said report, if any stressing that he has shown no personal interest in the work of the EFCC and does not plan to start now. “The President will not interfere or meddle into the affairs of any anti graft agency but will allow them do the work that is expected of them.”

It’s noted that a national newspaper had reported on its Monday edition that the EFCC has forwarded its report of investigation on the N2.3b scam currently rocking the leadership of the house to the desk of the President and it is on his table now.

The report even went ahead to claim that the President has received the report before he left for the G-8 summit in Canada last week. The report also said that the EFCC chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri, had equally gave reasons why she had to submit it to the office of the President since it was the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua that gave nod for the investigation in the first place.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Haggai Institute Alumnus Impacts life in Honduras

One of Hondurans being reached
by the ministry of Orlando Valladares

Orlando Valladares is an alumnus of the Singapore based Haggai Institute (H.I) and the Lord is using him to do tremendous work in Honduras as he impacts life for the Lord in that nation.

Daniel Montenegro who reported this said that Alumnus Orlando Valladares has set out to bring hope to a discouraged nation adding that Valladares founded a group called the Christian Leadership Community, including some fellow alumni in order to deliver series of conferences that’ll give hope, encouragement and practical guidance in better living.

“Group members regularly contribute to the newspapers and have developed H.I.-based teaching materials for churches and Christian organizations in the marketplace,” he added.

Montenegro observed that their target audience is mainly local schools, youth groups, and leadership in private and public sectors stressing that Valladares makes a point of maintaining communication with his local church and with the National Association of Evangelical Churches. “He believes that the church must work as one body to impact the marketplace.”

He continued: “By promoting market-based solutions for job creation and income generation in Central America, Orlando gets valuable opportunities to rub shoulders with government and business leaders, and to press his belief in Biblical answers to his nation's problems.”

He stated that none of the things that Valladares do in Hunduras, would have been possible without the empowerment he received from attending H.I. training.

Montenegro noted that the ongoing drought in Honduras, now in its ninth month, is the worst to hit the country in a quarter century stressing that the region is scarred and exhausted by poverty, made worse by financial and political corruption.

As it concerns the church life in Honduras, it needs to be noted that most Hondurans are Roman Catholic, but Protestant churches are growing in number. The International Religious Freedom Report, 2008, reported that 47% of the population identified themselves as Catholic, 36% as evangelical Protestant, and 17% provided no answer.

Customary Catholic Church tallies and membership estimates 81% Catholic where the priest (in more than 185 parishes throughout the country) is required to fill out a pastoral account of the parish each year.

The Catholic Church, still the only "church" that is recognized, is also thriving in the number of schools, hospitals, and pastoral institutions (including its own medical school) that it operates.

About 90% of the population is Mestizo. There also are small minorities of European, African, Asian, Arab, and indigenous Indian descent. While Spanish is the predominant language, some English is spoken along the northern coast and is prevalent on the Caribbean Bay Islands.

Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821. The country was then briefly annexed to the Mexican Empire. In 1823, Honduras joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America federation, which collapsed in 1838.

For more information on Haggai Institute, log on to their website: http://www.haggai-institute.com/

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

New Agricultural Technology Will Help African Farmers

NEPAD Adviser for Agriculture

Stakeholders in Agriculture are of the opinion that the new technological breakthrough in the sector, aflasafe™, will greatly open up a window of opportunity for African farmers.

This indication was made by the Plant Pathologist, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr. Ranajit Bandyopadhyay, in a statement, in its Ibadan, Nigeria’s headquarters.

Hopes for a Brighter Future for African Farmers

He noted that the Biological control of aflatoxins using aflasafe™ has rekindled hopes for a brighter future for African farmers as the continent battles food contamination adding that with an initial investment outlay of between $1 and $3 million in an aflasafe™ manufacturing plant, investors are likely to reap about $133,000 (N20 million) annually.

“The technology, which uses ‘good fungus’ to fight the ‘bad ones’, had provided relief to hundreds of maize farmers in northern Nigeria—a region where more than 70 percent of the population depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood,” he also said.

Bandyopadhyay said that an investment in an aflasafe™ manufacturing plant in Nigeria would pay off considering the huge demand for quality maize in the country and his estimates showed that over 60 percent of harvested maize in Nigeria currently has high levels of aflatoxins and are prone to being rejected by the feed industry.

He observed that this single factor makes investment in this technology a viable option, not only for profit but also to improve the health of the people. “Produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus, aflatoxins pose barriers to domestic and international trade of maize and peanuts in sub-Saharan Africa because of contaminated grains.

He continued: “Worse still, the contaminated grains have carcinogenic properties that endanger both humans and animals.”

Contamination Reduced by About 80 Percent

In his own contribution, the Coordinator, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Systemwide Program on Integrated Pest Management (CGIAR SP-IPM), Dr. Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon said that IITA, last year alone, reported that participating farmers in field trials using aflasafe™ reduced contamination by about 80 percent.

He stated: “Consequently, results from efficacy tests of the product have opened a window of opportunity for the private sector to tap into.”

Also speaking, during a United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO’s) convened meeting with the private sector in Lagos that offered IITA the chance to introduce aflasafe™, the Senior Laboratory Technology Manager with Animal Care Consults, Dr. Dotun Oladele said: “Aflatoxin contamination in grains is a major problem but is unknown to many farmers.

“When it attacks, some farmers assume it to be a ‘spiritual attack.’ Once there is aflatoxicosis, egg production drops and mortality of birds follows, the approach by IITA might be the best method of controlling aflatoxins” he added.

He noted that representatives of local investors under the aegis of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Business Group commended the technology and promised to sell the business model to their members with a view to finding an investor.

Lots of People Will be Interested in the New Technology

The Executive Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer, New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Business Group-Nigeria, Dr. A.A. Roberts, said: “We know of a lot of people that will be interested in this technology and that have the capability to galvanize this idea into manufacturing.”

It’s to be noted that aflasafe™ is provisionally registered in Nigeria by IITA. The product was developed by IITA In collaboration with the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), and the Agriculture Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Further to that IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization established in 1967 and governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.

As an Institute, it develops agricultural solutions with its partners in order to tackle hunger and poverty. Its award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa.

The Institute works with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and also generate wealth from agriculture.

Sources: http://www.cgiar.org/ and http://www.iita.org/

Nigerian Government Set to Develop Niger Delta | Newsflavor

Nigerian Government Set to Develop Niger Delta Newsflavor

Sunday, June 20, 2010

African Countries Lack Access to Essential Medicines

Mrs. Karen McColl

It’s regrettable that one of the biggest challenges still facing African countries is the lack of access to essential medicines. This is in spite of the recent breakthroughs recorded in the continent.

This is part of the views shared in a report in British Medical Journal by Karen McColl http://kmfreelance.blogspot.com as adopted by the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) www.nepad.org, June 2010, monthly newsletter.

McColl said that the key to the continent’s future is economic and social development adding that the idea of building a strong domestic pharmaceutical sector is appealing to African leaders. ”It is also easy to understand why they may look with some envy towards countries like India—which, in just a few years, has built up a reputation as the “pharmacy to the developing world.”

More than 120 Initiatives and Institutions Identified

She observed that a new study has identified more than 120 initiatives and institutions involved in researching and developing cures for neglected diseases, producing and delivering medicines in Africa, or otherwise improving access to medicines in the continent.

According to her, most of these initiatives are being driven by international players. “In Africa, the agenda for drug development, production, procurement, and access to medicines is being largely defined by international programs—a situation that would be unthinkable in other parts of the world. While these international programs have helped a lot, African countries are now saying we want to take charge of our own situation.”

McColl noted that the contribution of these global health initiatives is recognized and that there is increasing political momentum behind the idea of Africans themselves driving forward the agenda.

She stated: “The global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation, and intellectual property, adopted at the 2008 World Health Assembly, and the African Union (AU’s) Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa, adopted by African health ministers in 2007, are key elements of that new policy drive.”

The New Initiative led by NEPAD and COHRED

She observed that a new initiative led by NEPAD, in partnership with the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED), and the AU, aims to translate these policy instruments into practice stressing that the initiative, which builds on the joint study, proposes tools and a practical process for countries to put the global strategy into action.

“The NEPAD-COHRED study, which provides the first overview of who is doing what in terms of pharmaceutical innovation in Africa, found the cause for optimism. Thirty seven countries in Africa now have some local manufacturing capacity for drugs. Egypt and Tunisia produce between 60% and 95% of their own national requirements for essential medicines,” McColl stated.

Discovery of Sickle Cell Anemia Management Drug

She said that there is much more to innovation, than local manufacturing and that there are examples of innovation at different stages along the drug development pipeline adding that at the research end of the spectrum, collaboration between researchers and traditional healers in Nigeria, for example, led to the discovery and development of a drug for managing sickle cell anemia.

McColl stated: “At the delivery end of the pipeline, a retail franchise model is being used in Kenya to set up a network of Child and Family Wellness shops to dispense essential medicines.”

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Nigerian President Calls for Good Work Ethics

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan

The committee set up by the Nigerian Federal Executive Council (FEC) to review contract awards has been admonished to ensure it adheres to good work ethics in the discharge of its duties.

The Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who stated this at the first Presidential Retreat on the Implementation Plan for Vision 20:2020 and Public Private Partnership Framework for Infrastructures Development at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, the nation's capital said the Committee is not to victimize any person or group but to checkmate contract inflation in the country.

Greed the Main Stumbling Block to Nigeria’s growth

Tracing the factors precipitating under-development of the country, President Jonathan identified greed as the main stumbling block that stems the nation’s growth adding that greedy persons, whether in the public or private sector, inflate contracts and that this practice retards development.

Jonathan noted that corruption is not limited to the public sector but is alive in the private sector stressing that a contractor to government who is to provide services or execute a contract at N10, 000 but who collaborates with government functionaries to inflate it to N30, 000, is corruption.

He reiterated his conviction that excess amount spent from the capital budget due to inflated cost of procurement retards the progress of the nation by a number of years as projects that are supposed to be done in a year might take three years and infrastructure that might produce 30 kilometers of road might not even be up to 10 kilometers. “What the nation is supposed to be in three years time, that corrupt action would take her back by two years.”

President Calls for Reassessment of the Nation’s Procurement Process

The President called for a reassessment of the nation’s procurement process if it is to move forward noting that anytime he is in a foreign land he discovers that most of the infrastructure development cost almost three times what is being charged in Nigeria.

“This informed my call for adjustment which I believe all Nigerians must have a role to play, as nations are built by people. I look forward to the recommendations from the retreat, I’ll implement them to the letter so that the country can improve,” Dr Jonathan stated.

In his own contribution, the Minister of National Planning and Chairman, National Planning Commission, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, disclosed that the nation will need about N32 trillion in investments in order to actualize the vision 20:2020 project.

He stated that the fund will come from the three tiers of government, with the Federal Government contributing N10 trillion, states and local governments N9 trillion while the remaining N13 trillion will have to be sourced from the private sector. “Insufficiency of funds from the public sector makes private sector funds (domestic and foreign) critical.”

Usman estimated the federally collected revenue at N16.3 trillion for 2010 to 2013 and gave the figure of 19 trillion as the estimated investment for federal, state and local governments for the period 2010 to 2013.

Banking Sector Critical for Funding of Vision 20:2020

He noted that the banking sector will be critical for the funding of the Vision 20:2020 and that the country will need to re-order and re-prioritize expenditure to be able to save enough for the program.

“The savings will come from the cancellation of the Joint Venture Cash Calls (JVC), of N3.05 trillion, removal of petroleum subsidy estimated at N1.50 trillion, and other sources such as MYTO, tax and other concessions estimated at N1.75 trillion,” he added.

Usman said that other efforts at achieving the goal include audit of oil revenue remittances and financial activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), implementation of the Petroleum Industry Bill and audit of non-oil revenue.

He advised on the stepping up of efforts to improve tax collection through the implementation of the national tax policy, ongoing review of tariffs and correct pricing of petroleum products, power and gas.

Nigerian Leader Endorses the Power Reform Structure

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan

The Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has approved the composition of a new power reform structure as part of measures to transform the power sector and breathe life into electric power in the country.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Ima Niboro, who stated this in a release posted on www.nigeriafirst.org, said that the new structure is to be driven by the Presidential Action Committee on Power chaired by the President and supported by a Presidential Task Force on Power.

Presidential Action Committee to Provide Leadership

He noted that the Presidential Action Committee will provide leadership and guidance for the development of the power sector and also determine the general policy direction and strategic focus of the ongoing power reform.

Niboro said that the Committee which has the Vice President, Mohammed Namadi Sambo as alternate chairman also has other members which include the Minister of State for Power, the Ministers of Finance, National Planning and Petroleum Resources, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a Special Adviser on Power, and Chief of Staff to the President.

He stated: “The Presidential Task Force, on the other hand, is charged with developing and driving the Action Plan for the nation’s power sector with achievable targets within the lifespan of the present administration.”

Committee to Articulate Proper Plan of Action

He noted that the Committee will also articulate a proper plan of action to be implemented in the areas of power generation, transmission distribution as well as all issues regarding power sector reform stressing that the Taskforce will report to the President and the Presidential Action Committee on a regular basis.

Niboro further said that the Presidential Task Force is to be chaired by the Special Adviser to the President on Power and that the members include the Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Power), Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Managing Director, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Managing Director, Niger-Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC).

Others according to him include Director General, Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP); Director General Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE); Accountant General of the Federation, Chief Executive, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), CEOs of two power distribution companies, CEOs of two generating companies, and Director of Power in the Power Ministry. The Senior Special Assistant to the President (Special Projects) will serve as Member/Secretary.

“Under the new arrangement, the Ministry of Power will however continue to supervise the day to day affairs of the Ministry and relevant agencies, as well as fund the various projects approved in the 2010 budget,” he added.

Niboro pointed out that the Committee will also provide a conducive environment for the Presidential Taskforce to carry out its assignment adding that all requests for the award of contracts for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council are to be handled by the Ministry.

CBN Role Critical to the Nation’s Economic Survival

In a related development, President Jonathan said the successful implementation of the supervisory functions of the Central Bank of Nigeria is critical to the economic survival of the nation.

The President who spoke to members of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), during a courtesy call, at State House said that their role is very sensitive and must be handled carefully.

President Jonathan expressed the concern shared by many Nigerians about the need for the CBN to perform maximally in order to ensure that the banking sector does not go through crises as recently experienced in some banks.

“We must ensure that the recent problems faced by the banking sector are not repeated. For banking supervision to succeed, the CBN must upgrade its capacity to enforce the laws governing the sector,” the President stated.

Friday, June 18, 2010

How World Vision’s Medical Mission is Saving Life in Zambia | Socyberty

How World Vision’s Medical Mission is Saving Life in Zambia Socyberty

Moroccan Christian Gets 15 Years in Prison

The Moroccan King Mohammed VI

It’s regrettable how the Christian minorities in Morocco, a North African country are suffering persecution in the hands of the authorities as a result of their Christian faith.

This is contained in a report by the International Christian Concern (ICC’s) http://www.persecution.org/ Advocacy Officer, Logan Maurer who said that one Jamaa Ait Bakrim is currently imprisoned for “proselytizing,” a charge punishable under Moroccan law.

He noted that Jamaa Ait Bakrim, prisoner number 26574, is currently in Prison Centrale, located in Kenitra, Morocco and that he has been there since 2005 when he was sentenced to 15 years for “proselytism” and “destruction of the goods of others.”

Maurer stated: “This second charge is a common legal tactic of creating a separate infraction to lengthen the sentence and shift attention from the actual issue of religion.”

He said that the charge of proselytization is derived from Article 220 of Moroccan Criminal Law which makes it illegal to “shake the faith of a Muslim” adding that the charge of ‘proselytization’ is a specific concern because the wide range of applications that are used to suppress other religions. “This is the same official charge that has led to the deportation of many foreigners from Morocco in the past three months.”

Maurer recounted that in 1993 Jamaa returned to his Moroccan village after a trip to Europe where he converted to Christianity and that in 1994 he spent seven months in the mental hospital of Inezgane for proselytizing.

“In 1996 he was condemned to one year, this time in jail, for putting up a Christian cross in public. In 2001 he was prosecuted again, leading to the current sentence he has been serving since 2005,” he added.

He said that a congressional hearing convened by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) will come up soon on the issue of Moroccan religious freedom and the recent deportation of foreigners.

Logan Maurer stated: “This wrongful imprisonment exposes the Moroccan government’s duplicity when it comes to religious freedom. They talk one way to the West, but their own people experience a very different reality. Morocco must be brought to account; to date a country that we give $650 million a year in aid money is hiding their religious persecution. I look forward to the hearing in order to bring this issue to light.”

We need to note that ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide and it provides awareness, advocacy, and assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. And for more information about the organization, log on to their web address: http://www.persecution.org/.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Anyikwa, SMEDAN’s Head Corporate Affairs Elevated

Mr. Levi Chukwuemeka Anyikwa
(Pix: SMEDAN 2010)

Mr. Levi Chukwuemeka Anyikwa, Head, Corporate Affairs of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has been elevated to Assistant Director. His elevation was contained in the result of the promotion exercise conducted by the Agency which was released recently.

A World Bank-trained Strategic Communication Professional

Anyikwa, who’s a World Bank-trained Strategic Communication professional and with varied experience in journalism, public relations and human resource management joined the SMEDAN in 2004.

He has a National Diploma in Mass Communication from Anambra State Polytechnic Oko, (1986) and is a 1989 graduate of Mass Communication from Anambra State University of Technology, Enugu, now Enugu State University of Science and Technology. He also holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) Degree in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management obtained in 1996 from the University of Lagos.

Anyikwa started his career in journalism in 1985 with the defunct Nigerian Mirror, an Onitsha-based community newspaper and later in 1987-1988 worked with the Government-owned Daily Star newspaper as an industrial attaché and Lineage Reporter.

Upon graduation from the University, he worked with the African Innovations Magazine (an Ikeja-based science magazine) as Correspondent from where he moved to Newbreed and The President Magazines published by Chief Chris Okolie (of blessed memory) as Reporter-Researcher.

He also had stints with BusinessNigeria Magazine (as Copy Writer/Special Assignments Editor), NOW Magazine (as Abuja Bureau Chief) and The Guardian Abuja Bureau (as Business and Economy Correspondent).

Anyikwa as a Public Relations Officer

Aside from journalism, Anyikwa was a Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Lagos-based Afro Properties and Investment Company Limited, Assistant Personnel Manager, Promotex Industrial Company Limited and later Special Assistant to the Chairman, Frank Briscoe Nigeria Limited. His latest promotion, notwithstanding, Anyikwa remains the Head of Corporate Affairs of SMEDAN.

It’s worthy to note that SMEDAN was established by the SMEDAN Act of 2003 to promote the development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector of the Nigeria Economy.

The Agency positions itself as a "One Stop Shop" for Micro MSME development. Micro Enterprises are included in the clientele of the Agency since they form the bedrock for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's)

SMEDAN’s vision amongst others is to establish a structured and efficient micro, small and medium enterprises sector that will enhance sustainable economic development of Nigeria

With the mission of the Agency as facilitating the access of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs/investors to all resources required for their development it stimulates, monitors and coordinates the development of the MSMEs sector,

SMEDAN Initiates and Articulates Policy Ideas for MSMEs

SMEDAN also initiates and articulates policy ideas for micro, small and medium enterprises growth and development. The Agency’s justification for existence stems from the fact that it recognizes the need to trigger the development of Nigeria's MSMEs in a structured and efficient manner.

Further to that SMEDAN also believes that a well developed MSMEs sector has proven to be one of the most veritable channels to combat poverty in Nigeria.

While SMEDAN is determined to stimulate and support enterprises and help businesses overcome barriers to growth, it also provides business planning, development information and advice that places business on a sure, confident footing.

SMEDAN's available services include Business Support Centers (BSCs), Business Information Centers (BICs) and Capacity building and promotional services

AGOA Creates More Than 300,000 Jobs in Africa

President Bingu wa Mutharika
Afrcan UnionChairman

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is said to be creating more than 300,000 jobs in Africa and also brings in about $300 billion in export earnings and nearly $30 billion in non-oil exports to Africa at a minimal cost to United State (US) taxpayers.

The Chair of the AGOA Action Committee and President, the Whitaker Group, the premier United State (US’s) trade consultancy facilitating trade between the US and Africa, Ms. Rosa Whitaker, who stated this said that AGOA has been very successful in the past decade in its operations.

Call for Continuation of AGOA’s Exclusive Duty

Speaking at an AGOA Leaders Forum in Washington, DC, hosted by a coalition of AGOA’s US supporters, and attended by African Ministers of Finance and Ambassadors, as well as other AGOA stakeholders and business and policy leaders, she noted that the new policy proposal, entitled Enterprise for Development: A New Policy Approach Toward Africa, calls for the continuation of AGOA’s exclusive duty and quota-free access to the US market for African goods.

She also said that the new policy will strengthen and grow indigenous enterprises in Africa and stipulate measures that will support job creation, export promotion and prosperity in both the US and Africa.

She stated: “Over the past decade, we have learned that AGOA should be just one tool – albeit a critical one - in America’s arsenal to support Africa as it grows its own prosperity.”

Whitaker noted that it has been discovered that what Africa needs from the US is a concerted, multifaceted trade and investment policy that brings together the trade preferences of AGOA with trade capacity building, strategic development assistance and incentives to spur greater foreign direct investment by U.S. businesses in Africa.

Why AGOA Benefits Shouldn’t be Extended to US market

She warned that if the current proposals in the US Congress to extend AGOA benefits, duty and quota-free access to the US market, to all Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including hyper-competitive Asian nations, sails through, it would have catastrophic consequences for Africa, particularly to the nascent apparel exporting sector.

In his own contribution at the Forum the Minister of Finance and Development Planning for the Kingdom of Lesotho, Honorable Mr. Timothy Thahane, said that the government can’t develop a viable agricultural sector with only women and old people.

“In 2000, the small apparel sector employed only 10,000 women. Between that time and last year when the financial crisis hit, over 50,000 women had found work in the industry. The employment provided by AGOA has made a difference in the lives of Lesotho’s women and children,” he added.

Thahane pointed out that Africans are not saying that the US Congress should not grant special trade preferences to LDCs in Asia, but that legislators should provide preferences that would help struggling sectors in those countries, rather than benefit sectors that are already successful. “Preferences for Bangladesh and Cambodia should not be at the expense of sub-Saharan Africa,” .

AGOA Described as Very Successful

Also speaking, the renowned development economist and the Director for the Study of African Economics at Oxford University, Dr. Paul Collier said that AGOA is so successful that it should be replicated by the European Union (EU) and Japan.

He stated: “There is a real opportunity for AGOA to go global. If we had a Super AGOA that included Europe and Japan, it would make life so much easier for Africa. The trade preferences offered by AGOA is like the “pump priming mechanisms” that are helping African nations to break into manufacturing and the global market.”

Collier noted that it’s a well known fact that if it’s given to one huge manufacturer, like Bangladesh, it would cut out all the little manufacturers. These big manufacturers must be kept out because they are not entrants into manufacturing. Bangladesh doesn’t need privileged access. There are many ways to help Bangladesh because it is still poor, but giving preferential trade access to its apparel sector is not the way to do it.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Technological Innovation Will Help African Farmers Overcome Climate Change

Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda

Technological innovation has been described as a major panacea to help African farmers overcome and cope with the ever increasing challenges posed by climate change.

The Chief Executive Officer of the South-African based Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network, Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, who stated this in a forum said that temperatures have increased and the danger is that agriculture is the backbone of Africa's economies.

Increased Temperatures Means Farmers Have Less Water

She noted that the increase in temperatures means farmers have less water in some places and Africa is already a drought-prone region stressing that the technologies that African farmers have on the shelf, like the seeds, may not be compatible with the increased temperatures.

She stated: "Malawi recorded world renowned success in terms of food security because we have experienced a fairly stable climate regime over the last 100 years. The technologies that were there, such as, the hybrid seeds, could be taken in and planted. As long as they were accessible to the farmers, we could then register increases in yields.”

Sibanda said that the challenge African farmers face now is that there will be new diseases, new vectors and pests that isn’t known or seen before adding that all these challenges are being superimposed on a system that has not been food-secure.

About One Billion People Worldwide are Food Insecure

She observed that Africa spends at least US$19 billion on food imports annually, yet it has the capacity to be the global breadbasket and that most of African farmers are smallholders and they are in the business of subsidizing the urban population.

“But for as long as we are not creating an environment where they can increase their income and step out of poverty, we will always have more poor people yet we have the potential to be food-secure. About one billion people worldwide were food insecure in 2009, according to estimates, with the food price crisis hitting millions,” she added.

In his own contribution, the United Nation (UN) Environmental Program (UNEP) Executive Director, Achim Steiner, speaking to a conference organized by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the Earth System Science Partnership said that the response to the crisis was similar to the cause of the problem.

He stated: "We are reducing soil fertility, continuing to bank on water, increasing reliance on fertilizer, the emphasis cannot just be both from an environmental and cost basis. We need to rethink agriculture as a platform from which the world will learn to ensure that 50 years from now we can produce food to feed nine billion people.”

Need to Increase Soil Fertility

Steiner proposed the "vertical expansion of agriculture" through methods such as plant breeding with perennial food crops, and improved farm management practices to increase soil fertility and moisture retention adding that perennial crops are less disruptive to the soil structure as there is less tilling and they help trap nutrients.

He noted that farming in the future will not just be about food production but other services rendered captured in an economic model. "By all means let us have a green revolution but let us give it a capital 'G' this time."

Speaking on India's experience, Pramod Aggarwal of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute said that India saw food production rise from about 65 million tones in the 1960s to 230 million tones in 2008 due to higher yielding varieties adding that but large yield gaps remain, with India accounting for 25 and 40 percent of the world's hungry and malnourished women and children, respectively.

Aggarwal said improved crop, pest and risk management as well as improved crop varieties, irrigation and fertilizer efficiency could further mitigate climate effects while increasing production.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Jentezen Franklin Ministry Mobilizes Prayer for Young People

Pastor Jentezen Franklin

Motivated by a shocking report he read recently on the high rise of young people’s involvement in alcohol and marijuana, Jentezen Franklin, the head pastor of Jentezen Franklin Ministry is calling for a concerted prayer for the young people.

He stated: “Pray and fast urgently for the young people in your life. If you have a young person in your life, place a hedge of prayer around them. Fast on his or her birthday for their spiritual growth. But also fast and pray for the young people you may never meet—tomorrow’s leaders. Our future is in their hands.”

Franklin noted that a study, released by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, found that thirty-nine percent of teens in grades nine through 12 reported using alcohol, while twenty-five percent of teens reported smoking marijuana in the last month.

He said that his organization is bringing an extraordinary opportunity this month to impact the next generation through the Forward Conference, coming up this June 24-27, at the Gwinnett Arena.

According to him, the conference will empower youth and youth leaders to stand firm against temptations and also to reach and impact their peers for Christ pointing out that the Scripture shares the story about a woman who prayed and fasted for God's promise that would be found in a young boy.

“Anna was widowed seven years into her marriage. But instead of remarrying, she served God with fasting and prayers night and day. For 84 years, Anna prayed for the hope of the Messiah to be revealed to her people. And in her old age, she saw the realization of her prayers and fasting when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for the first time,” he added.

Franklin said that fasting and prayer is the hope for this generation and the future stressing that he would love to hear how God is moving in the life of people as a result of their fast. “Share your personal story so that we may rejoice with you.”

He stated: “The monthly fast tip is a quick word or lesson from me to encourage you as you personally make fasting a year-round way of life. It is meant to help grow you spiritually and reveal the ongoing benefits and possibilities from a fasting lifestyle.”

For more information on this log on to Jentezen Franklin Ministry website: http://www.jentezenfranklin.org/

Monday, June 14, 2010

Nigeria Now Ready to Invest on Education Sector | Bizcovering

Nigeria Now Ready to Invest on Education Sector Bizcovering

Nigerian President Boosts National Team's Moral in South Africa

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Nigerian President
on arrival in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The Nigerian President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is in South Africa as the number one supporter of the nation’s team the Supper Eagle.

President Jonathan who arrived Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday, June 10, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was received on arrival at the Airforce Base Watercloor Airport in Pretoria by the Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, Brigadier Buba Marwa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia and Minister for Sports, Alhaji Isa Bio.

Nigerian Leader Received on Arrival

Others at hand to receive the Nigerian leader were FIFA Executive member, Dr. Amos Adamu, the Director General, National Sports Commission, Mr. Patrick Ekeji, the Consular General in the Nigerian Embassy in South Africa, Mr. Okey Emuchay and other government officials.

President Jonathan is in South Africa on the invitation of the South African President Jacob Zuma as one of the world leaders to witness the opening ceremony of the first world cup to be hosted on African soil.

The President on Friday, June 11, met with the Super Eagles and boosted their morale before their first match against Argentina on Saturday, June 12, a match which the Supper Eagle lost by 1-0..

Dr. Jonathan Meets with Nigerian community in South Africa

The Nigerian leader, who met with the Nigerian community in South Africa, assured them of a credible elections and good governance come the 2011 general election in the country.

He gave the assurance during an interactive session with members of the Nigerian Community in South Africa which held at the Burgers Park Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa stating that his administration will do all it can to ensure that political office holders emerge through credible election processes.

“We are determined to ensure that henceforth no political office holder will suffer credibility issues regarding elections. From the next general elections in 2011, Nigerians who will hold political offices will be properly elected and it will be very clear to all including international observers that they emerged through a credible process,” President Jonathan stated.

The President Assured Credible Elections in the Country

He assured the gathering that his administration will give the needed support and autonomy to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and its chairman-designate, Professor Attahiru Jega, to conduct credible elections in the country. “It is our collective responsibility to support Jega to succeed.”

While acknowledging the contributions of Nigerians in Diaspora to national development, Dr. Jonathan said government is working with the National Assembly for an enabling legislation to establish a Diaspora Commission that will address Diaspora issues and properly channel the contributions of Nigerians abroad for greater benefits.

He enjoined Nigerians abroad to keep faith in the nation as government is working round the clock to address critical national issues of infrastructural development especially in the energy, education and health sectors.

Haggai Institute Training Program Impacts Life in the Philippines

Roberto Lavina
alumni of the Haggai Institute

It’s great how God’s using the Haggai Institute (HI's) Mid-Pacific Center on Maui to change life in the Philippines through a national volunteer program.

Speaking on his experience at the Haggai Institute, Roberto Lavina, alumni of the Institute said that the H.I. volunteers are not just the people who keep the Mid-Pacific Center in five-star condition but that they are an integral part of the impact H.I. makes on the leaders who join its seminars.

He stated: "I heard many say that Haggai Institute transforms lives. And it's true: the H.I. international session at Maui made me change tracks altogether."

Lavina continued: "I returned to the Philippines and accepted the position of Chief Operating Officer of Phinma. It is a conglomerate of companies that have invested in running schools, building affordable housing, generating power and financing oil explorations, among a myriad of nation-building activities."

On the many impact and differences that Haggai training made in his life Lavina said that he used his position and influence in the organization to ensure everyone follows ethical and moral principles at work, and that they choose only those projects that glorify God's name.

“But also, I was inspired by the volunteer program at the Mid-Pacific Center in Maui. I started a similar program in our group, calling it the Phinma Hero Network.It took off successfully, and today Phinma has hundreds of volunteers engaged in various programs that make life better for our fellow Filipinos,” he stressed.

Passive corporate social responsibility has now turned into individual social passion which is having a deep impact on society Lavina said adding that this is how Haggai Institute enabled him to change tracks. “You leave your past behind and bring your future to the present. You want to tell the whole world about it. For me, Haggai Institute training has been that meaningful.”

He noted that before H.I. training, he was serving himself, and seeing merely to the needs of his immediate family and church members adding that after his exposure in HI, he started to see himself as an agent of change in his country.

According to him, the volunteer program has come to stay adding that the Hero Network celebrated its first anniversary last year: "It will endure whether or not I am in it. That is what the H.I. spirit is all about. Freely I received, now freely I give."

Lavina noted that the mission of the PHINMA Hero Network is to inspire volunteerism among the PHINMA Group employees and that it aims at elevating the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) into individual social responsibility (ISR) where employees take the initiative to give back to the community in their personal capacity.

“In pursuit of our mission, we will promote, instill and support employee volunteerism.

We will consistently promote the CSR projects of the various companies under the PHINMA Group as well as external advocacies of non-government organizations,” he said.

He said that they will support and sustain volunteerism by collaboration with management and HR, internal communication, and fundraising activities stating that the PHINMA Hero Network is an advocacy campaign for the PHINMA Group of Companies, aimed at transforming its workforce into helpful employee responsible for others.

He stated: “The goal of this campaign is to encourage PHINMA Group employees to live and practice volunteerism in whatever cause or community they hold dear to their hearts, thus being heroes in their own way. This is living PHINMA’s philosophy of “Life can be better”.