Category: Politics

The 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, will begin today in New York.

The session will be held for the coming 12 days under the priority theme, ‘Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective’.

According to UN Women, the world is at a crucial crossroad for gender equality. Globally 10.3 percent of women live in extreme poverty today, and they are poorer than men.

Progress towards ending poverty needs to be 26 times faster to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Data from 48 developing economies shows that an additional 360 billion USD is needed per year to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment across key global goals, including to end poverty and hunger.

At CSW68, governments, civil society organizations, experts and activists from across the world wi
ll come together to agree on actions and investments that can end women’s poverty and advance gender equality.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Foreign Affairs State Minister, Ambassador Misganu Arga highlighted the significant progress made in bilateral and multilateral diplomatic endeavors over the past six months to safeguard Ethiopia’s national interests.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Ambassador Misganu emphasized the central focus on Ethiopia’s national interests in these efforts.

The State Minister underscored the commitment to strengthening partnerships and friendships with various countries, while concurrently ensuring peace and security in the region.

Diplomatic initiatives were implemented to facilitate economic ties, particularly with neighboring countries, with a view to fostering mutual benefits.

Ambassador Misganu also said that Ethiopia has carried out activities centering on the national interests of the country with relation to the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Notably, extensive efforts were undertaken to enhance trade and investment relations with numerous countries, reflecting Ethiopia’s de
dication to expanding its global economic engagement.

Furthermore, Ethiopia actively participated in the United Nations General Assembly, employing multilateral diplomatic activities to protect its national interests.

The nation’s engagement in international forums, including climate change discussions and other common agendas, was characterized by substantial involvement and influence, he said.

The State Minister also highlighted Ethiopia’s diplomatic achievements resulting from its membership in the BRICS, which has broadened the nation’s representation on the international stage.

In particular, the successful pursuit of becoming a central hub for the mutual benefit of neighboring countries, thereby securing sea access, was deemed a notable diplomatic triumph, he added.

Overall, Ambassador Misganu Arga emphasized the fruitful diplomatic endeavors undertaken in the past six months of Ethiopia’s fiscal year, which have effectively safeguarded the national interests of the country and furthered its diplom
atic stature in the international arena.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Foreign Affairs State Minister, Ambassador Misganu Arga highlighted the significant progress made in bilateral and multilateral diplomatic endeavors over the past six months to safeguard Ethiopia’s national interests.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Ambassador Misganu emphasized the central focus on Ethiopia’s national interests in these efforts.

The State Minister underscored the commitment to strengthening partnerships and friendships with various countries, while concurrently ensuring peace and security in the region.

Diplomatic initiatives were implemented to facilitate economic ties, particularly with neighboring countries, with a view to fostering mutual benefits.

Ambassador Misganu also said that Ethiopia has carried out activities centering on the national interests of the country with relation to the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Notably, extensive efforts were undertaken to enhance trade and investment relations with numerous countries, reflecting Ethiopia’s de
dication to expanding its global economic engagement.

Furthermore, Ethiopia actively participated in the United Nations General Assembly, employing multilateral diplomatic activities to protect its national interests.

The nation’s engagement in international forums, including climate change discussions and other common agendas, was characterized by substantial involvement and influence, he said.

The State Minister also highlighted Ethiopia’s diplomatic achievements resulting from its membership in the BRICS, which has broadened the nation’s representation on the international stage.

In particular, the successful pursuit of becoming a central hub for the mutual benefit of neighboring countries, thereby securing sea access, was deemed a notable diplomatic triumph, he added.

Overall, Ambassador Misganu Arga emphasized the fruitful diplomatic endeavors undertaken in the past six months of Ethiopia’s fiscal year, which have effectively safeguarded the national interests of the country and furthered its diplom
atic stature in the international arena.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

WINDHOEK: A six-day advanced course on Assistance and Protection against Chemical Weapons for Anglophones States Parties commenced in the capital on Monday.

Hosted by the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade, the course is a continuation of the Anglophone Training Cycle which started in 2023 and is held in collaboration with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Addressing the participants, Industrialisation and Trade Minister, Lucia Iipumbu said the training aims to strengthen the capacities of the first responders of the Anglophone States Parties in preparedness capabilities and response to chemical incidents.

‘To this end, I am extremely happy that the programme for this workshop is of a practical nature and participants will not solely be limited to theoretical presentation,’ she said.

Iipumbu noted that although Namibia has made progress towards the completion of the Chemical Weapons Act, a lot needs to be done to ensure that the country domesticates the Convention by pr
omulgating the law.

Speaking at the same event, Programme Officer at the OPCW, Babatunde Olowookere said the training will allow participants to refresh the knowledge acquired in the preceding basic level training and expand that knowledge to include more comprehensive chemical emergency functions.

Training courses of this nature are organised along with the indications received from the OPCW Policy Making Organs to make effective use of the available regional capacities and resources.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

RUNDU: Rundu Rural Constituency councillor Paulus Mbangu has said Central Government has not properly addressed poverty in the two Kavango regions over the past 34 years and called on it to treat the regions as a special case.

Mbangu made the statement recently in a meeting the regional leadership of the Kavango East Region had with Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, on rural electrification.

He said scientific data and evidence indicating that the two Kavango regions are the poorest have been collected during Income Expenditure Surveys and by the United Nations Development Programme over the years, and at no point did Cabinet or Government use this data to address poverty in the two regions.

‘It’s not an exaggeration when we say that Central Government has been too ignorant of the plight of our people. The planning of resources and allocation, be it in rural electrification or other sectors, has never been informed by these data, thus carrying out surveys in the country is pointless,’ Mbangu comp
lained.

The councillor further claimed that there is ‘serious energy poverty’ in the Kavango regions as well.

‘Houses are in darkness. If our government was a caring government, it would mobilise resources to bring these regions up to par with other affluent regions,’ he said.

Mbangu went on to state that the current ongoing electrification of schools project is not addressing energy poverty in the Kavango East Region.

Electricity, he added, is a catalyst for development, and communities are still in darkness while schools have been electrified.

He thus called on the ministry to start electrifying villages and to treat the Kavango regions as a special case as informed by the scientific data.

In response to Mbangu’s statements, Alweendo said the ministry has not neglected electrifying households, but prioritised public institutions first in order to clear that backlog.

Chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Council, Damian Maghambayi said rural electrification was moving very slowly in the region, par
ticularly electrification to rural household communities.

Household electrification, he said, is a central pillar of national development efforts, and a primary tool to address and alleviate poverty.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: Swapo Party Vice President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, will remain the ruling party’s presidential candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections later this year.

This is among the resolutions adopted at the party’s central committee (CC) meeting on Saturday, which also resolved that the ruling party will only hold an extraordinary congress next year.

The CC met at Parliament as the ruling party attempted to navigate the turbulent waters and complicated circumstances brought on by the death of party president, Dr Hage Geingob on 04 February 2024.

Geingob’s demise threw the ruling party into constitutional turmoil ahead of the crucial presidential and national assembly elections.

According to the party’s constitution, if the party president ‘cannot permanently’ carry out his or her duties, Article 15 (9) of the Swapo Party the party must elect a new president within three months of the vacancy.

The constitution dictates the party to call for an extraordinary congress to elect a new president
to complete the term of the former unless such a vacancy occurs six months before the ordinary congress.

However, President Geingob’s death came more than three years before his term was set to expire in 2027.

On Saturday, the CC adopted the recommendations of the Politburo, which has met three times since Geingob’s death.

One such adoption is to delay the extraordinary congress and confirm Nandi-Ndaitwah as the presidential candidate for the national elections scheduled for 27 November 2024.

Swapo spokesperson, Hilma Nicanor, told the media on Saturday that the CC called for an extraordinary congress as per the constitution to take place on 19 April 2025.

She said that the congress would ‘elect a person to complete the term left unexpired due to Geingob’s death.’

She further emphasised that the agenda of the extraordinary congress next year ‘is limited to electing a person to complete the term left unexpired by the former president.’

In addition, Nicanor said the CC took note that the party has, after
elections at the seventh ordinary congress, already identified and nominated its presidential candidate for the November 2024 presidential elections, namely comrade Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, its vice president.

Nicanor, who is Swapo’s secretary for information and publicity, said Nandi-Ndaitwah was elected and declared the winner in the position of vice president.

‘In addition to regional engagements, the party, at the highest level of authority, also publicly confirmed and announced at numerous public forums, including at the party’s 63rd birthday celebrations that comrade Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its presidential candidate,’ Nicanor said.

She added that Nandi-Ndaitwah has also confirmed and recorded her consent to be the party presidential candidate.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Peya Mushelenga, is set to travel to Angola to attend the Meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers from Sunday to Monday in Luanda.

In his capacity as the Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, Angolan Minister of External Relations Téte António, will chair the meeting.

Executive Director in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, Penda Naanda, In a media statement issued on Friday, said the Council of the Ministers meeting was preceded by the meeting of SADC Senior Officials, which took place between 04 and 08 March 2024.

‘The Senior Officials were led by Naanda, and Titus Ndove, the Executive Director in the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, as well as other senior government officials from the Ministries of International Relations and Cooperation; Finance and Public Enterprises, as well as Industrialisation and Trade,’ the statement said.

The Council will review a
nd discuss the status of implementation of the SADC Council and summit decisions, as well as the progress on the implementation of the theme of the 43rd SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, which is ‘Human and Financial Capital: The Key Drivers for Sustainable Industrialisation in the SADC Region’.

‘The theme seeks to address two of the most critical enablers in supporting regional industrialisation, namely adequate human resources within the context of climate change and the 4th Industrial Revolution, and addressing adequate financial resources to ensure more sustainable funding mechanisms,’ Naanda added.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency