Day: April 22, 2023

An unidentified woman’s body was on Friday afternoon found hanging on a tree in the bushes of the Camp Five at Otjiwarongo.

Camp Five is situated approximately 10 kilometres southeast of town.

Namibian Police Force (NamPol) Unit Commander for Community Affairs in the Otjozondjupa Region, Inspector Maureen Mbeha, in an interview with Nampa on Saturday said the body, which was hanging on the tree with a rope around its neck, was discovered by a cattle herder on Friday at about 14h10.

‘The herder informed his employer, who then also alerted the police officers who removed the body,’ Mbeha said.

The identity of the deceased could not be determined as no documents were found on her body.

No foul play is suspected and police investigations continue.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Prime Minister (PM), Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, said public private partnerships (PPP) are encouraged at all levels of government, including regional and local authority levels to improve quality service rendered to the public.

Kuugongelwa-Amadhila made the statement at the eighth annual Opuwo Trade Fair gala dinner held on Friday.

She said trade fair was a key platform to any given economy, since it encourages PPP’s on which government leverages on the existing private sector for the benefit of the economy’s growth.

“With this understanding, regional and local authority are strategically located in such a way that they engage in PPP projects such as this one. This makes them the first point of interaction between the state and our business community and the citizen at large,” the premier stated.

She said regional and local authorities play a pivotal role in service delivery, therefore funding from both government and private sector is key to foster sustainable development.

She said government has intentionally adopted the public service innovation policy, which is intended to trigger new ways of thinking, which is expected to result in new ways of working to meet the current demands of service delivery.

“I must state here that this policy is calling for collaboration across sectors of the economy while paying attention on the key role played by government. In this modern world, no institution will propel to greater levels while operating in isolation,” she added.

According to her, innovation is a culture that should be adopted at all levels of society in order to fast-track the reality of Vision 2030, as well as achieve sustainable development goals and Agenda 2063.

She said innovation calls for the regional and local authorities to learn from each other and improve annually.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The ‘Together’ bicycle ride, in support of people with hemophilia, started from the National Palace of Culture (NPC) in Sofia on Saturday. The event was organized by the Bulgarian Hemophilia Association (BAH). Cycling, together with swimming, is a particularly suitable sport for people with haemophilia, said association chairman Viktor Paskalev. The aim of the bike ride is to see that people with haemophilia are equal to other people, he added. According to Paskalev, one of the biggest problems patients with the disease face is the lack of medication. This year’s awareness campaign around World Hemophilia Day is under the moto ‘For a world without hemorrhages!’. Every year, BAH celebrates World Haemophilia Day on April 17 with an awareness campaign and various public events aimed at promoting initiatives to ensure that people with inherited bleeding disorders get the treatment they need. Another key initiative in the World Hemophilia Day awareness campaign is the lighting of buildings and landmarks around the world – ‘Light It Up Red!’ Among the buildings that have been coloured red this year are the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, as well as the Sydney Opera House and the Colosseum in Rome, BAH said. Haemophilia is an inherited genetic disease that lowers the body’s ability to clot blood and leads to prolonged bleeding when injured, bruising and an increased risk of internal bleeding in the joints or brain, the association explained. Treatment consists of infusing the missing clotting factor. Drugs containing the missing clotting factors are produced based on human blood plasma or by recombinant methods. About 20% of people develop antibodies to clotting factors, making treatment more difficult, the BAH added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has congratulated Muslims on the successful completion of the Ramadan, and prayed to Allah (God) to continue ‘to shower His grace, mercies and peace on our nation’. ‘May the Almighty Allah accept our worship, bless us all and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong,’ he said. President Nana Akufo-Addo, in a solidarity message on his Facebook page, on Saturday, April 22, to mark the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration, lauded Muslims ‘for braving the pangs of hunger and thirst for an entire month’. Eid ul-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. In Ghana, the national event was held Saturday, at the Independence Square, Accra, with a congregation of the faithful who prayed for Allah’s mercies and blessings. The ceremony had as Special Guest the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who represented the President. ‘Besides the spiritual attainment of the month, they (Muslims) deserve commendation for the strict disciplinary code that they have adhered to throughout the period,’ President Akufo-Addo noted. He wished all Muslims a blissful and peaceful Eid-ul-Fitr. Monday, April 24, has been declared a statutory holiday by the Minister of the Interior in view of the Muslim festival being marked on a Saturday.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has asked Muslims to emulate the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, who symbolises religious tolerance for both Muslims and Christians. The Vice- President said the Chief Imam commanded respect amongst the Christian and the various Islamic sects in Ghana and beyond, with his peaceful, kind, humble, honest and selfless nature. Therefore, he should be a standard role-model for all Muslims. He was addressing the celebrants and well wishers at the national prayers to mark Eid-ul-Fitr, after the long-month fast. Ahead of the Chief Imam’s 104th birthday on Sunday, April 23, the Vice President wished him more years, Allah’s manifold blessings and good health. ‘Hundred years in the life of anything is remarkable and special grace from Almighty Allah. The life of the Chief Imam is a great blessing to the nation and beyond, an epitome of peace, tolerance and harmony, ‘he emphasised. ‘For me personally, he is a guide and an inspirer,’ Dr Bawumia added. The Vice-President also wished all Muslims in Ghana and abroad well and implored them to continue promoting peace, love and brotherhood. Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu led the national prayers to mark Eid-ul-Fitr, at the Black Star Square in Accra. In attendance were Imams, Zongo chiefs, traditional rulers, ministers of state, members of Parliament, the Diplomatic Community and Muslim faithful across the various Islamic Sects. They were gorgeously dressed for the occasion. Vice President Bawumia said the Holy month of Ramadan had awaken their sense of sacrifice and pride and entreated all Muslims to continue reflecting those virtues in their daily lives. On government policies, Dr Bawumia said the Akufo-Addo-led government had implemented inclusive policies aimed at improving the wellbeing of citizens. He cited the Free Senior High School, which had increased secondary school enrolment to 1.4 million, with the male and female enrolment now at par. He said 17 million Ghanaians had registered for the Ghana-Card, while the digital property addressing system for easy location of properties had been progressive. Additionally, the mobile money interoperability payment system had ensured seamless payment for goods and services. The Government, he said, had created more than two million jobs for the youth, excluding the jobs under planting for Food and Jobs and the Nation Builders Corps. With the youthful population of Ghanaians, the country could quickly transform its economic fortunes for the better since Malaysia and Japan had already led the way in that regard, he said. In an address read on his behalf by Alhaji Alhassan Sulley, Chairman of the National Planning Committee of Eid Celebration, Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu entreated Muslims to live in peace and harmony with one another.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Sen. Orji-Uzor Kalu, has urged the incoming governments at all levels to partner the Church in accelerating the reconciliation of Nigerians.

Kalu made the call in Abuja on Friday at a mass to mark his 63rd birthday anniversary.

Kalu said there was an urgent need for the incoming administration to drive the needed peace and reconciliation in the country for the unity of Nigeria and Nigerians.

He said he would be fully committed to help drive the reconciliation among Nigerians, the Church and government.

Kalu said there was so much hatred amongst Nigerians, noting that government must partner fully with the Church to further drive good governance in the country.

“I am going full out to reconcile the church and the government, and this is major, the government can not do it alone, the Church needs the government and the government needs the Church.

“So it is a partnership that can work and work very well, so I am going to be in front, driving it to make sure there is a true reconciliation between Nigerians, the church and the government.

“I tolerate all races in Nigeria and I want Nigerians to tolerate everyone and not descriminate, ” Kalu said.

He said he would use his contacts, as a recognised global business man, to support the incoming government, adding that the Church needs to work with the government.

“We need to tackle the challenges in the economy as soon as possible.

“No election is perfect, there is need for the reconciliation of our faith, and our people; there is so much hatred in the land everywhere you go amongst Nigerians.

“People should continue to make peace, let Nigeria not be like Sudan, I call on my fellow politicians to continue to work for the unity of our country.”

Kalu dismissed insinuations in some quarters that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu was sick, adding that the APC government would address the challenges faced by Nigerians.

“Our President-elect is not sick, it is not true, he is in good health and is safe.

“We need to think about the less privileged, about the masses, about the society; we need to think deeply that people must eat, we will come back to restructure this government.

“Nigeria has moved forward, and we will make effort to reconcile our self and the Nigerian people because Nigerian people have a very bad impression about the party I belong to.

“I nearly lost election in my constituency; this is where I have been state governor for eight years and people are saying elections were not credible, but the election is very credible.

“I want to praise the INEC; On my election I didn’t do anything; I was in my house, there was no money to give to anybody, I had no agent in my polling unit.

“I have not seen any election in the world that is very perfect, you must have issues,” Kalu said.

He said the 10th Senate collectively would be loyal to Nigerians, while urging Nigerians to also be loyal to the 10th assembly.

In his homily, Archbishop of Abuja Ignatius Kaigama, also prayed for peace and reconciliation of the country.

He said God had helped the celebrator in his 63 years of existence to overcome his challenges, saying that the celebrator had every reason to give God thanks.

He advised Kalu to continue to make God central in all his endeavour and urged him to remain courageous, inspite of challenges.

He urged politicians and leaders to fully identify with their Christian faith and not to be indifferent and anonymous on their faith.

He also urged the senator to continue to always speak out in favour of truth and Justice.

The clergy said the lawmaker had enormous responsibility, having been very impactful in the Senate.

“So we hope that he will drive the process of making Nigeria a better place; we are eager, we are thirsty, we are hungry for a better Nigeria and I think he is one person that can do that through his enormous contributions in the Senate.

“So whatever roles he plays in the Senate, let him play it well and maximally, so that we can have that desired change for a better Nigeria.

Participants at the mass were the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, Chris Ngige of Labour Ministry and that of the Ministry of Niger- Delta Affairs, Umana-Umana.

Others were lawmakers from both chambers of the National Assembly, captains of industries, top government functionaries and diplomats.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria