AFRICA
NEWS BULLETIN @ 20h00
28
March, 2016
Radio XYZ93.1FM
Lead Producer:
E.K.Bensah Jr
Assistant
Producer/Presenter: Joshua Quodjo-Mensah
STORIES
- FOCUS: 5th CENSAD Defense Ministers' Grouping Ends in Egypt with decision to Establish Permanent Anti-Terrorism Unit in Egypt
- EAST AFRICA:
- Poll Confirms President Kenyatta's Popularity
- Seychelles & Germany Discuss Maritime Security
- SOUTHERN AFRICA:
- Namibian President discusses Global Security Issues with INTERPOL Head
- SADC Legal drafters Approve Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage
FOCUS:
A Twenty-Eight-Member Bloc has ended a meeting with a decision to
establish a counter-terrorism unit. The bloc in question is NOT the
European Union – but that of the Libya-based Community of
Sahel-Saharan Countries (CENSAD).
It ended its fifth meeting of Defense Ministers in S harm-al Sheik,
Egypt last week – in fact on the same day the twin bombings in
Brussels took place.
The agreement accentuates information-sharing; exchange of military
experience and knowledge to counter terrorism with the sole objective
of ending conflict and fighting extremism in the region.
In addition to the security policies, the 17-point agreement stated
that, economic strategies in CEN-SAD States must be enhance to limit
enrollment in militant groups.
The agreement is framed such that Egyptian military forces are
permitted to participate in border protection with Libya and Sudan;
share military intelligence concerning militant activities; and
communicate with countries combating extremist groups, such as Boko
Haram in Nigeria.
The agreement further vowed to stop any interference in the internal
affairs of member States; and halt activities of rebel groups.
Interestingly, the final joint statement of the CEN-SAD countries
stipulated that a permanent counter-terrorism center will be
established in Egypt.
The Sixth CENSAD Meeting is expected to be held in Cote d'Ivoire,
while another is scheduled for Morocco in the latter part of the
year.
It
is interesting this meeting comes in the tenth anniversary of the 7th
African Union meeting in Gambia that decided to rationalize – or
limit -- the numerous regional groupings (regional economic
communities) on the continent from fourteen to eight that would be
recognized by the African Union. The eight are ECOWAS; CENSAD; Arab
Maghreb Union; COMESA; East African Community; IGAD; ECCAS; and SADC.
CENSAD was established in 1998, and was the brainchild of the late
Libyan leader Qaddafi. CENSAD is arguably the largest regional
economic community with 28 members from three regional groupings
largely from ECOWAS/Arab Maghreb Union/IGAD member States.
While Ghana joined the grouping in 2005, the grouping has seemed to
be of little consequence, especially after the demise of Qaddafi in
2011.
The crisis in Mali, in 2012, set the stage for African countries to
encourage Morocco to help re-boot CENSAD. It would be in 2013 that
CENSAD would hold a meeting under the Presidency of Chad.
Still currently chaired by the Central African country, the bloc
staged a quiet comeback a few years ago intent on countering radical
extremism and terrorism. CENSAD plans to establish a permanent Peace
and Security Council; and make available bursaries for 1000 citizens
of CENSAD countries to study science and security in Egypt.
In
an interview with CCTV reporter about whether the Brussels bombings
had overshadowed the meeting, this is what the reporter had to say:
[cue:
AUDIO]
EAST AFRICA:
According
to a new poll released by Infotrack, President Uhuru Kenyatta remains
the most popular leader in the country at 45 percent.
Kenyatta
is followed by Opposition leader Raila Odinga at 28 percent, while
his CORD party co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka remains third at a paltry
2.5 percent.
Still
in East Africa...
High on the agenda between
newly-accredited ambassador of Germany to Seychelles, Jutta Frasch,
and President James Michel is maritime security.
For the Indian Ocean country, it
remains an important part of existing cooperation between the two
countries that have established diplomatic ties since 1977.
They discussed at length the
need to extend cooperation in the field of maritime security in the
Indian Ocean region – particularly the fight against piracy and the
stabilization of Somalia.
Speaking to the press, the
German ambassador explained that, the insecurity is one of the causes
of migration in Somalia. Frasch's discussions with the Seychellois
head of State also focused on new areas of cooperation, including
aviation; the Blue Economy and fisheries.
Germany is among Western
European countries that send the highest number of tourists to
Seychelles each year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics,
German visitors have disembarked in the island nation.
SOUTH
AFRICA
Last Friday, Jurgen Stock,
Secretary-General of INTERPOL – the global law enforcement body –
met with Namibian President Hage Geingob and Vice-President Nickey
Iyambo to discuss a join initiative to target poaching and the
criminal networks behind this illicit activity.
It was Stock's first mission to
Namibia, and covered a range of global security issues, including the
impact of crime on Namibia's citizens and businesses.
The Southern African country has
played an important role in a number of regional operations
coordinated by INTERPOL – and targeting a range of crimes
including drug and human trafficking; stolen motor vehicles and
environmental crime.
It
will be recalled that Namibia celebrated its 26th
anniversary here in Accra last Monday, with a call to boost
infra-African trade. It also launched its new website for Ghana to
also mark the anniversary of the opening of the High Commission here
in Ghana.
Still
in Southern Africa...
Research in the SADC region
shows that an estimated eight percent of all pregnancies are teenage
pregnancies and 16 percent of all births are teenage ones. In
addition, 36 percent of all maternal deaths involve teenagers, while
unsafe abortions are responsible for 13 percent of all deaths.
To this end, with funding from
Sweden and Norway, the SADC Parliamentary Forum; and other partners
have developed a model law in response to the prevalence of child
marriage in Southern Africa.
Drawn from Tanzania; Malawi;
Mauritius; Mozambique; South Africa; Swaziland; Zimbabwe; and Zambia,
the legal drafters met over five days in Johannesburg, South Africa,
to review the draft model law to ensure its compliance with
international legal drafting codes.
ENDs
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