500 blood units compromised due to power outage – NBSC

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January 29, 2022

The National Blood Service Commission (NBSC) says that 500 units of blood were compromised due to the disconnection of the Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr. Haruna Abdullahi, Head, Media and Publicity of the commission.

“No fewer than 500 units of blood collected from voluntary blood donors have been compromised following the power outage to our headquarters.

“The power outage also presents a major impediment to voluntary blood donors due to risks to their safety as donors.

“In the coming days, the shortage of safe blood for patients in need will affect Nigerians as a result of ill-conceived action by the AEDC, and that unless the problem is addressed,” the commission said.

In the statement, the commission explained how important the supply of electricity is to the commission, especially in the area of ensuring the safety of blood before use.

“The AEDC’s decision to cut off the commission’s electricity supply on January 21 after we made some outstanding payments in December 2021 leaves the commission surprised.

“This is all the more shocking given that the commission has just paid its outstanding bills.

“Available correspondence from the AEDC to the commission shows a bill presented to the commission on January 5, 2022 stating that the payment due date is January 17.

“The company’s decision to cut off the electricity supply leaves a point of disbelief and total disregard for civility, especially in a sector as sensitive as the blood commission.

“Why was the power cut off even when there was no history of a default disposition by the NBSC?

“Isn’t there a mandatory notice of 90 days of disconnection established by the Electricity regulator? The company’s lack of rigor in reconciling the data available to it.

“The inconsistency between the submitted invoices and the irregularity of the electricity supply to the NBSC headquarters is largely responsible for this avoidable crisis,” he stressed.

The commission also alleged that the AEDC refused to issue the requested prepaid meter after more than two years of continuous requests that would have allowed the commission to prudently monitor and control its electricity consumption.

The commission also frowned at the sudden increase in their bill from N350,000 to N700,000 in one year, even with the same equipment and consumption.

He added that a prepaid meter would allow the commission to regulate its consumption than the AEDC’s preferred, unscientific and difficult-to-measure estimated billing system.

Zambia President Says Progress Made On Economic Recovery

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Zoe Maven

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January 29, 2022

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Five months after taking over a heavily indebted country, the new government of Zambia is making significant progress in the recovery of its economy, its credibility and its solvency.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said this in an interview with Newsmen.

With loans estimated at 12.7 billion euros, a third of which is due to Chinese creditors, the country had become last year the first in Africa to have defaulted on its debt since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, due to the lack of agreements between previous governments and creditors.

But after 100 days in power and intense negotiations, the new Zambian president obtained a promise of 1.24 billion euros in aid from the IMF at the beginning of December, a chance for the country, which has been strangled by a colossal debt, to get its head above water.

The debt problem could have plunged the new government into crisis but he country managed to manage this default quickly, moreso because previous governments had tried to find an agreement with the IMF, for seven, ten years, without succeeding.

According to him, it was a question of “credibility, seriousness, to join the gesture to the word, there is no doubt about it”, he declared during an interview given on the occasion of a trip to Johannesburg, in South Africa.

The three-year agreement in principle was conceded on the government’s commitment to undertake deep economic reforms.

The Zambian president is particularly pleased with the fact that “for the first time in 17 years, the local currency has appreciated” and that “in the first few months (of his presidency) we have been able to bring down inflation.

Elected in the presidential elections in August, “HH”, the eternal opponent, was elected on the promise of eradicating rampant corruption, reviving the economy and bringing back investors.

Kenya Beefs Up Security After Warnings Of Possible Attacks

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Zoe Maven

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January 29, 2022

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Kenya has tightened security in the capital, Nairobi and other cities in the country after several European countries warned of the risk of possible attacks.

Heavily armed police officers were patrolling the streets of Nairobi on Friday and tight security was also visible outside government offices, public buildings and shopping malls.

The French embassy in Kenya has issued a warning to its citizens against a “risk of attack in the coming days” in Nairobi, recommending to “avoid places frequented by foreign nationals” such as hotels, restaurants and shopping centres.

The French Foreign Ministry has reiterated the “real risk” of terrorist attacks in Kenya against public places frequented by foreigners.

In an update on Thursday on its website, the ministry called on “people in Kenya (to) be extremely vigilant” and avoid frequenting these public places in the coming days, including this weekend.

The German embassy issued a similar warning to its citizens, while the Dutch representation said it had been informed by the French of the possible threat, describing the information as “credible”.

Since its military intervention in southern Somalia in 2011 to fight the Somali Islamists Shebab, Kenya has been the target of several deadly attacks, including against the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September 2013, against the University of Garissa (east) in April 2015 (and against the Dusit hotel complex, in Nairobi, in January 2019.

In January 2020, the Shebab, a movement linked to Al Qaeda, warned Kenya that the country would “never be safe”.

Kenya is a major troop contributor to the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), which in 2011 drove the Shebab out of Mogadishu. The Shebab still control large rural areas and regularly carry out attacks in the Somali capital.

ECOWAS Suspends Burkina Faso’s Membership Over Coup

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Zoe Maven

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January 29, 2022

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West Africa’s main regional bloc, ECOWAS, has suspended Burkina Faso from its governing bodies over this week’s military coup and decided to send a delegation to the capital Ouagadougou.

Burkina Faso’s army overthrew President Roch Kabore on Monday, presenting the latest test to the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has struggled to mount an effective response to a series of coups in the region over the past 18 months.

It was not immediately known what other sanctions ECOWAS leaders might have decided to impose during an emergency summit held by video conference. An official statement was expected later in the day.

ECOWAS and its international allies have condemned the coup in Burkina Faso, which they fear could further destabilise a country beset by Islamist violence, but find themselves with limited leverage.

ECOWAS sanctions on the juntas that seized power in Mali and Guinea have done little to sway their behaviour, nor did they deter the latest coup.

Pro-democracy activists say ECOWAS is suffering from a crisis of credibility, with West Africans losing faith in regional leaders they see as manipulating the democratic process and failing to alleviate poverty or contain Islamist violence.

In opening remarks to the summit, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, the acting ECOWAS chairman, acknowledged the organisation has work to do convincing people of the benefits of democracy.

ECOWAS imposed sanctions against Mali and Guinea following military takeovers in August 2020 and September 2021, respectively.

It significantly tightened the sanctions on Mali this month after the transitional government there went back on an earlier commitment to hold elections in February.

The new restrictions included closing member states’ borders with Mali and freezing most financial transactions.

Biden Announces Small Troop Deployment To Eastern Europe

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Zoe Maven

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January 29, 2022

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US President Joe Biden has sought to maintain pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, announcing a small troop deployment to Eastern Europe even as top Pentagon officials backed a renewed push for diplomacy.

While President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western leaders to avoid stirring “panic” over the massive Russian troop buildup on his country’s borders, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need for de-escalation.

Neither Putin nor his Western counterparts had until now appeared ready to give ground in the weeks-long crisis, the worst in decades in the region between Russia and Western Europe.

But according to a Macron aide, Putin told the French leader in a call lasting more than an hour that he had “no offensive plans.”

During his talks with Macron, Putin “expressed no offensive plans and said he wanted to continue the talks with France and our allies,” the aide to the French president said.

In Washington, Biden nevertheless said he would soon send a small number of US troops to bolster the NATO presence in eastern Europe as tensions remain heightened.

The United States already has tens of thousands of troops stationed across mostly Western Europe.

At the Pentagon, top officials urged a focus on diplomacy while saying that Russia now had enough troops and equipment in place to threaten the whole of Ukraine.

Since October, Russia has amassed more than 100,000 combat troops and equipment, as well as support forces, along its frontier with Ukraine and more recently in Belarus, which borders Ukraine on the north.

France To Leave Mali If Price Of Staying Is Too High

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Zoe Maven

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January 29, 2022

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French Defence Minister Florence Parly says the country will find a way to keep their mission going in combating Islamist militants in Mali but that there are limits to the price the country is prepared to pay to remain there.

Parly however said the ministers from the 15 countries involved in the European special force were for now united in wanting to maintain the mission, “so we must determine its new conditions.”

Relations between Mali’s military junta and its international partners are close to breaking down after it failed to organise an election following two military coups.

On Wednesday, the junta told France to stop interfering in the affairs of its former colony and to keep its “colonial reflexes” to itself.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday that the situation had become untenable, as the European allies agreed to draw up plans within two weeks on how to adapt their campaign, which covers Mali and the wider Sahel region, to changing circumstances.

Burkina Faso Coup: New Leader Damiba Gives First Speech

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Zoe Maven

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January 29, 2022

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The new military leader of Burkina Faso Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba has promised a return to the normal constitutional order “when the conditions are right”.

Damiba who led a mutiny that ousted President Roch Kaboré on Monday, blamed the president for failing to contain violence by Islamist militants.

He made his first national speech since taking power on the eve of an emergency summit of West African leaders, called in response to the coup.

On Friday, the regional bloc, Ecowas, suspended Burkina Faso because of the military takeover.

The 15-member bloc also called for the immediate release from house arrest of the ousted president and other detained officials, while agreeing to send a delegation to meet the coup leaders in the capital, Ouagadougou.

At the start of the virtual summit, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo said: “The resurgence of coup d’etats in our region is in direct violation of our democratic tenets. It represents a threat to peace, security and stability in West-Africa.”

Burkina Faso is the third West African country to witness a military takeover in the past year. Guinea and Mali have both had sanctions imposed on them by Ecowas to press them to return to constitutional order.

Wearing a red beret and army fatigues in his national address on Thursday evening, Lt-Col Damiba, said: “When the conditions are right, according to the deadline that our people will define in all sovereignty, I commit to a return to a normal constitutional order.”

He said he will meet representatives of various sections of society to agree on a roadmap for reform, adding that Burkina Faso needed international partners “more than ever”, following condemnation of the coup.

Report Says 5,000-Plus Deaths Under Ethiopia’s Tigray Blockade

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Zoe Maven

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January 29, 2022

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Nearly 1,500 people died of malnutrition in just part of Ethiopia’s blockaded Tigray region over a four-month period last year, including more than 350 young children.

This is according to a new report by the region’s health bureau which cites more than 5,000 blockade-related deaths in all from hunger and disease in the largest official death toll yet associated with the country’s war.

Head of Tigray’s health bureau, Hagos Godefay, told Newsmen that Deaths are alarmingly increasing, including from easily preventable diseases like rabies as medicines run out or expire,.

His report on the findings, published Wednesday by the independent Ethiopia Insight, says 5,421 deaths were confirmed in Tigray between July and October in an assessment by his bureau and some international aid groups.

It was the first such assessment since the war between Tigray and Ethiopian forces began in November 2020, he said.

The deaths were overwhelmingly from malnutrition, infectious disease and non-communicable diseases as the health bureau and partners sought to gauge the effects on Tigray’s population of its health system being largely destroyed by combatants.

The mortality assessment covered just roughly 40% of Tigray, he said, since occupation of some areas by combatants and the lack of fuel caused by the blockade has limited data-gathering and aid delivery.

Hagos said since the magnitude of the destruction and health crisis in the inaccessible areas is undoubtedly high, the survey is bound to underreport the real extent of the crisis.

Ethiopia’s government cut off almost all access to food aid, medical supplies, cash and fuel in June last year when the Tigray forces regained control of the region.

Rwanda To Reopen Its Uganda Border, Ending A Tense Standoff

By

Zoe Maven

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January 29, 2022

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Rwandan authorities say they will reopen the border with Uganda, ending nearly three years of a standoff that appeared to hurt both countries’ economies and raised fears of armed hostilities.

The announcement came after a period of quiet diplomacy during which Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni dispatched envoys including his son, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to negotiate with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.

Kainerugaba, who commands Uganda’s infantry forces, was in Rwanda on Saturday.

Earlier this week Museveni made key changes to his security apparatus, removing the chief of military intelligence who had been persistently criticized by Rwanda. That move appears to have placated Rwanda.

Rwanda’s government in a statement said border will officially reopen Monday adding that it remains committed to efforts to resolve pending issues and believes the announcement will contribute positively to the speedy normalization of relations between the two countries.

The development will bring cheers in both Rwanda and Uganda after years of suffering for businesses that lost markets and other opportunities.

Uganda, denied a major market for its exports, appeared to lose more at the height of what it called an effective trade embargo. Inside Rwanda the border closure eventually fueled a rise in the prices of dried foods.

Rwanda’s government also had ordered its citizens not to travel to Uganda, claiming that Rwandan citizens were not safe across the border.

It accused Ugandan authorities of backing rebels opposed to Kagame and demanded the expulsion from Uganda of the business interests of a Rwandan tycoon who is critical of Kagame. But Ugandan officials made a counter-charge accusing Rwandan state agents of operating unlawfully in Uganda, including in the alleged abductions of Rwandan citizens wanted back home.

Coup D’etat: ECOWAS Suspends Burkina Faso

By

Rhoda Onuzulike

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January 28, 2022

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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended Burkina Faso from all its institutions following the recent coup in the country.

The suspension was decided at a virtual ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and Government extraordinary session, convened to review political developments in Burkina Faso.

According to a draft of the meeting’s resolution, “the authority strongly condemns the coup d’Etat and expresses deep concern over the resurgence of military coups in the region following the coup d’Etats in Mali on August 18, 2020, in Guinea on September 5, 2021 and in Burkina Faso on January 24, 2022.”

The commission also demanded the immediate release and protection of President Roch Kabore and all the other political detainees who were taken into custody by the army.

They also called for the quick restoration of constitutional order by the militaries, urging them to remain republican by focusing on the role of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the country.

The Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff (CCDS) will also deploy a delegation to Burkina Faso to hold consultations with the military leaders to carry out an assessment of the security situation in the country and submit a report to be reviewed by the Authority of Heads of State and Government.

The leadership “further instructs the Commission to facilitate the deployment of a joint ECOWAS Ministerial Mission to Burkina Faso, led by the Chairperson of Council of Ministers on 31st January, 2022 to assess the political situation and submit their report to the Authority of Heads of State and Government.”

It added that the United Nations Special Representative to West Africa and Sahel and the African Union will participate in this mission.

The Heads of State and Government will, on February 3, convene an Extraordinary Summit in Accra, Ghana, to re-examine the situation in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.