The Peguis First Nation In Manitoba, Canada Is Working To Rebuild After Historic Floods Forced Nearly 2,000 People To Flee Their Homes This Week.

Some Residents Are Now Returning This Weekend To The Community As The Water Recedes.

Even As Cleanup And Repair Begins, There Are Still Homes Filled With Water As Well As Overland Flooding.

The Makgadikgadi Pan, also known as Botswana Salt Flats, is a salt pan that is situated in the middle of the dry savanna that can be found in the central region of the Republic of Botswana.

Being one of the largest salt flats in the world, the salt pan is also part of the Makgadikgadi Pan National Park, and as it lies to the southeast of the Okavango Delta it is surrounded by the Kalahari Desert, which makes it technically not a single pan but many pans with sandy desert in between.

Declared as a national park in 1992, the Makgadikgadi Pan covers an area of more than 10,000 square km (3,861 square mi), where each of the pans differ in size with some being enormous, while others are the size of a small duck-pond.

The most important ones are the bigger Ntwetwe Pan, and the somewhat smaller Sua Pan.

In the past, there was the Makgadikgadi Lake which shrank, and what has been left is just the relicts which we see nowadays as salt flats.

The geologic processes behind the formation of the basin are not well understood, nevertheless, the lake certainly had the Kubu and Kukome islands that are actually igneous rock “islands” and they can be found in the Sua Pan.

As the Makgadikgadi is salty desert, there is not much of a rich flora, which is limited to only a thin layer of blue-green algae, nonetheless, the pans are circled by grassland which then transforms into savanna.

It is the same case with the fauna, as very little wildlife exists here, however, following the rainy season the area becomes an important habitat for migrating animals including wildebeest and one of Africa’s biggest zebra populations, together with the large predators that follow them.

From the bird population, ducks, geese, ostriches, chestnut-banded plover, Kittlitz’s plover and great white pelicans can be seen here, but definitely the most picturesque are the greater flamingos who consider the pan as their home, and they are one of only two breeding populations in the southern part of the continent.

As it is recommended to the visitors to visit Makgadikgadi in both, dry and wet season, everyone should be prepared for impressive landscape which is always exciting as one can not know what to expect from the wildlife that pops out in his vicinity.

Former Governor of Benue State, Senator Gabriel Suswam has advised Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State to replicate his leadership style and strides across Nigeria when he becomes President.

Speaking shortly before commissioning St. Gabriel Coconut Refinery in Ikot Akpan Okop village, along East-West Road in Mkpat Enin, Akwa Ibom State on Friday, Suswam, who is Chairman of the Udom Emmanuel Campaign Council for President 2023 says Akwa Ibom is ahead of Nigeria in some economic sense.

While noting that the federal allocation shared in Abuja was not enough to guarantee a prosperous state, Suswam however applauded Governor Udom Emmanuel for venturing into an area as unique as the coconut oil refinery to boost his state’s economy.

“The resources shared in Abuja is not enough. You came, saw Akwa Ibom in a state of despair and left Akwa Ibom a prosperous state. What you have done in Akwa Ibom has not been done in Nigeria. You are commissioning Akwa Ibom on a global stage. Replicate this in Nigeria when you become President”. he said.

On his part, Governor Udom Emmanuel who declared St. Gabriel Coconut Refinery as first in magnitude and level in Africa, said the project came through his desire to open more widows for foreign direct investments.

Governor Emmanuel who informed his audience that a barrel of coconut oil goes for $1326, said the dwindling crude oil fortunes moved him to explore other economic possibilities, using the available resources.

He said coconut oil has become a major economic driver in the international market.

The Governor who disclosed the plan to commence an immediate training of indigenous hands to man the refinery, said the facility has a daily capacity to crack 1,000,000 coconuts and will employ no fewer than 3000 direct and indirect staff.

He pledged to plant two million more stands before exciting office in 2023.

“St. Gabriel Coconut Oil Refinery is first of this magnitude and level of seriousness in Africa. Gabriel means God is my strength. we banish barrenness of our productivity, economy, etc. when nobody is bringing money to Nigeria, Akwa Ibom is attracting foreign direct investment.

“Coconut oil goes for 1326 dollars per barrel. The demand for crude would not be as it used to be, but as a visionary leader, we are prepared for the future even if you take away the crude oil. What we are doing is to turn what God has given into money. When i saw coconut everywhere, i thought of turning it to money. it has 365 uses.

“The factory is modern, smart and adaptive to also process palm kernel oil. if we can do this at the sub-national level when we don’t control the policy, only God knows what we would do when we can control the policy”.

Flagged off on May 24, 2017, St. Gabriel Coconut Oil Factory Project, a major industrial investment by Akwa Ibom State Government commenced with the cultivation of two -million stands of hybrid coconut seedlings on an 11- hectare expanse of land.

The refinery comprise of a factory complex complete with administrative offices, production areas, technical spaces, industrial firefighting systems.

Other facilities within the complex include water treatment plants, effluent treatment plants and residential quarters for technical and managerial staff as well as parking areas for several raw materials bearing vehicles.

Global investor Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board has entered into a joint venture with newly launched UK investment firm Corio Generation to fund the development of up to 9GW of offshore wind projects.

The portfolio will include 14 fixed bottom and floating projects in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Ireland and the UK, all of which are currently under development by Corio.

Ontario Teachers’ will acquire up to half of Corio’s stake in these projects, an investment totalling $1 billion, to support development, construction and operation.

The transaction between Corio and Ontario Teachers’ is expected to reach completion in Q3 2022.

Corio and Ontario Teachers’ will also explore opportunities to expand the partnership through the creation or acquisition of new projects.

Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, has won a contract from French industrial engineering company Eiffage Energie Systèmes to deliver a 10MW energy storage system (ESS) for the Boundiali solar PV power plant.

The 37.5MWp plant is owned and operated by CI-Energies (Côte d’Ivoire Energies) and is located in Boundiali, a city of about 40,000 residents in the north of Côte d’Ivoire.

Touted as the first large-scale solar project in Côte d’Ivoire, it will produce clean power for 30,000 households and avoid the emission of 27,000 tonnes of CO2.

The ESS, designed to withstand semi-arid conditions, will help smooth the intermittency of solar power and will ensure stable, reliable power to the local grid. This will be facilitated by the rapid charge and discharge of the batteries.

According to Saft, the lithium-ion ESS will provide 13.8MWh of energy storage, together with power conversion and medium voltage power station systems.

CI Energies will also test the ESS in other network support options such as ramp rate control, frequency support, reactive power support and black start.

Côte d’Ivoire’s electricity supply is largely supplied by thermal energy and hydroelectric dams, according to Saft, however, the government plans to ensure the energy mix comprises 42% renewables by 2030.

The Saft ESS is scheduled for commissioning at the site in September 2022.