Category: APO-OPA

JUBA, South Sudan, September 30, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The attention of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has been drawn to allegations that appeared yesterday, in an article that was posted on the pro-armed oppos…

CASABLANCA, Morocco, September 30, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — averda (http://www.averda.com), the global provider of integrated waste management services, showcased its new equipment dedicated to serve Casablanca, during an event organised by “La Ville de Casablanca” on September 4th 2014. averda was awarded the long-term waste management contract by the city of Casablanca earlier this year.

Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/averda.png

Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1409 (averda Chairman Mr Maysarah Sukkar)

averda is bringing international expertise and new technology fleet, systems and equipment to the Moroccan market to ensure the city’s waste management needs are met as efficiently as possible.

From its strong roots and beginnings in Lebanon where it started operations in 1993, averda has become an acknowledged international supplier of waste management services currently serving 14 cities in three continents. averda aims to be present in 50 cities across five continents within 10 years.

Mr Maysarah Khalil Sukkar, averda Chairman, said: “ Our debut on the African continent where we currently clean six cities, gave us the desire and confidence to play a positive role in improving the environment in other African cities as well. Our solutions are adapted to our host market and make good use of technology as do our tried and tested community engagement initiatives. We are mindful of the need for our bespoke waste management services wherever we operate and are keen to clean more cities in Africa, a market we are confident to serve with as much care and dedication as we do our other emerging cities. averda is prepared and well placed to provide African countries with innovative waste management solutions to fulfill national vision of sustainability.”

With strong access to international markets, considerable resources and accumulated knowledge of environmental services in diverse climates and cultures, averda services a client-base that includes governments & muncipalities, businesses and residential communities through partnerships and projects in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Angola, Morocco, and Ireland.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of averda International.

averda Public Relations:

Lina Tayara

London, UK

Tel: +44 20 7581 7100

Email: comms@averda.com

About averda:

averda International (http://www.averda.com) is the largest environmental solutions provider in the MENA region, specializing in integrated resources management. averda is at the forefront of innovation in the regional market, providing sustainable solutions and more than 35 years of experience in the effective management of waste for both private and public sector clients across pedestrian, residential, commercial and industrial areas.

averda’s extensive portfolio of services ranges from street cleaning through to waste collection, treatment, disposal and recycling. The company’s capabilities also include the development of solutions for water, wastewater and solid waste of public, residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, all within a sustainable framework that respects the natural environment. averda also designs and implements full-scale solutions to recover valuable and recyclable resources like paper, metals, and water.

With more than 10,000 employees serving millions of people every day, averda operates in full compliance with international standards for quality control throughout Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Morocco and Angola. averda is supported by GrowthGate Capital Corporation since 2008.

HARARE, Zimbabwe, September 30, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Domenico Fanizza visited Harare from September 17 to October 1, 2014 to conduct the third and last review under the Staff Monitored Program (SMP) approved by management in June 2013 and to hold discussions on a 15-month successor SMP. The authorities met all end-June 2014 quantitative targets and structural benchmarks under the program and the mission reached a staff level agreement on policies for a successor SMP. The mission met with Mr. Chinamasa, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Sibanda, Chief Secretary to the President’s and Cabinet, Dr. Mangudya, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), other senior government officials, and representatives of the private sector, civil society and development partners. The team wishes to thank the authorities for their warm hospitality and the constructive discussions.

At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Fanizza issued the following statement:

“The Zimbabwe government has redoubled its efforts to rebalance policies toward a stable macroeconomic environment conducive to private sector-led growth. Nonetheless, economic conditions remain difficult. Growth has slowed down because of inadequate financial flows, despite a very favorable agricultural season. This and the appreciation of the South African Rand, the major currency of Zimbabwe’s trading partner, has caused a liquidity crunch that has weakened economic activity. The external position remains precarious with low levels of international reserves, a large current account deficit, and external arrears. The authorities took decisive fiscal measures on the revenue and expenditure sides to keep fiscal policy on track and to protect social expenditures, despite the large civil service wage increase earlier in 2014. The authorities intend to re-engage with the international community. The mission welcomes Zimbabwe’s decision to start working with the international financial institutions to prepare a plan for clearing the outstanding arrears, as a step toward resolving the country’s debt challenge.

“The reform efforts have started to lay the ground for stronger, more inclusive, and lasting economic growth and addressing the economic challenges remains a priority for the government. It is encouraging that the authorities have come to the conclusion that Zimbabwe cannot address these challenges without the support of the international financial community. The authorities’ policy reform agenda, which they will monitor with the help of IMF staff under a proposed new 15-month SMP to end December 2015, consist of the following major areas:

Balancing the primary fiscal budget. This will send a strong signal that Zimbabwe’s government intends to live within its means. Moreover, fiscal policy will focus on raising the efficiency and quality of public spending and rebalancing the expenditure mix toward infrastructure and social outlays. Scarce public resources need to be used appropriately, underscoring the importance of containing pressures on the wage bill, stepping up reforms in the taxation of the mining sector, amending the Public Finance Management and Procurement Acts and approving the Public Debt Management Bill.

Restoring confidence and stability in Zimbabwe’s financial sector. The approval of the draft operational framework for the acquisition of nonperforming loans by the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company and other private asset management companies by the RBZ Executive Committee/Board, submission to Parliament of amendments to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act, and amendments to the Banking Act, will be instrumental in restoring confidence and bringing stability to the sector.

Addressing the country’s debt challenge by stepping up re-engagement with all creditors with the objective to normalize relations. To this purpose gathering support to define a strategy for clearing arrears with multilateral institutions will be essential.

Clarifying the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Laws. This will encourage mutually beneficial partnerships between domestic and foreign investors. This step will go a long way toward allaying negative perceptions on the security of investments and property rights, provide legal transparency and predictability, and reassure markets of the government’s open invitation to invest in Zimbabwe.”

Upon return to Washington, the mission will submit its report and propose Management approval by November 2014.

LONDON, United-Kingdom, September 30, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Tobias Ellwood MP, Minister for North Africa, welcomes UN-led peace talks and underlines need for ceasefire and start of political dialogue in Libya.

Commenting today, Tobias Ellwood said:

“I welcome the start of UN-sponsored peace talks in Ghadames today. Libya faces serious political and security challenges which can only be addressed through an urgent ceasefire and political dialogue. I welcome the UN leadership in bringing the parties together, and the courage and conviction of the Libyans who have come to the negotiating table. This process will require time, patience and compromise from all sides. Those looking to undermine prospects for peace through violence and extremism should be in no doubt that the international community will not hesitate in taking action against them.

“The Libyan revolution of 2011 was about giving the people of Libya the opportunity to decide their future without fear of violence or persecution. These talks are an important reminder that these aspirations continue to this day.”

GENEVA, Switzerland, September 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Attempts at ‘sealing’ borders and preventing at any cost irregular migrants from entering the European Union will continue to fail, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, has warned today.

The UN estimates that more than 130,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year, compared with 80,000 last year. It is also estimated that over 800 people have died in the Mediterranean so far this year.

Despite good initiatives like the increase in search and rescue operations which have saved many lives, the emphasis remains on restricting the entry of migrants rather than on creating new legal channels for migration.

“Sealing international borders is impossible, and migrants will continue arriving despite all efforts to stop them, at a terrible cost in lives and suffering,” the human rights expert warned in an Open Letter* made public today, ahead of a key hearing of the European Parliament’s Committee on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, on 30 September, to confirm the appointment of a new European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs.

“If Europe is to witness a significant reduction of human suffering at borders, it must bank not on strict closure, but on regulated openness and mobility,” Mr. Crépeau stressed, otherwise “the number of migrants risking their lives on unseaworthy vessels over perilous sea routes can only increase.”

The UN Special Rapporteur cautioned that the absence of regulated open migration channels for much needed low-wage migrants in several economic sectors (agriculture, construction, hospitality, to name a few) drives migration further underground, increases the precariousness of their situation, and entrenches smuggling mafias and exploitative employers, resulting in more deaths at sea and more human rights violations.

“It is paradoxical that, in the name of securing borders, European States are actually losing control over their borders, as mafias will often be ahead of that game. Moreover, the increasing number of persons fleeing from conflict, violence and oppression requires a new and concerted strategic approach by European States towards asylum seekers,” he said.

“While it needs to continue attempting to bring unscrupulous smugglers to trial for the suffering they inflict on migrants and asylum seekers, Europe will find it difficult to defeat resourceful and adaptable mafias unless one destroys their business model, which was created when barriers were erected and which thrives at evading restrictive migration policies of many EU Member States,” the human rights expert emphasized.

Mr. Crépeau also called for more concerted efforts by EU Member States to assist frontline countries such as Italy, Malta, Greece and Spain. “The search and rescue programmes cannot be the sole responsibility of the frontline countries,” he noted.

In 2012, the Special Rapporteur undertook a one-year comprehensive study to examine the rights of migrants in the Euro-Mediterranean region, focusing in particular on the management of the external borders of the European Union. Starting with a visit to the EU authorities in Brussels, Mr. Crépeau also visited Turkey, Tunisia, Greece and Italy. (His reports can be found at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/SRMigrants/Pages/CountryVisits.aspx)

(*) Read the Open Letter to the EU’s Committee on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15119&LangID=E

OTTAWA, Canada, September 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement after meeting with Ramtane Lamamra, Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“Canada and Algeria are determi…

GENEVA, Switzerland, September 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Official Draw for the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014 presented by TOYOTA will take place at the La Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech on Wednesday, 11 October. Five of the seven teams who will take part in the competition are already known: Auckland City FC from New Zealand, Cruz Azul FC from Mexico, Moghreb Athletic de Tétouan from Morocco, Real Madrid CF from Spain and CA San Lorenzo from Argentina. The teams representing the Asian and African confederations will be determined at a later stage. The draw, which will determine the match-ups for the quarter-finals, is scheduled to take place at 19.00, and representatives of the qualified teams have been invited to attend.

The media accreditation process for media representatives wishing to cover the event is now open via the FIFA Media Channel. The deadline for accreditation applications is 4 October 2014. Please ensure that you complete the following two steps if you wish to request an accreditation:

1. FIFA Media Channel account: Media representatives who do not have an approved FIFA Media Channel account can submit a registration form by visiting http://media.fifa.com/registration. Approval to access the FIFA Media Channel does not mean you have been granted accreditation.

2. Transmission of the accreditation form: Please complete the media accreditation form on the FIFA Media Channel and submit it to media-fcwc@moroccoloc.ma. All applications are subject to confirmation. Confirmation will NOT be on a first-come, first-served basis. Successful applicants will be notified and provided with further information in due course. Furthermore, please be advised that international applicants are responsible for arranging their own visas.

You can visit www.FIFA.com/clubworldcup for further information on the tournament and click here to see the match schedule.

DAKAR, Senegal, September 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — APO (African Press Organization) (http://www.apo-opa.com), the sole press release newswire in Africa and the global leader in media relations relating to Africa, today announced the three winners of the 2014 APO Media Award (#APOMediaAward), which celebrates brilliant and inspiring stories about Africa.

With a total endowment of $15,000, the APO Media Award is one of Africa’s most important media awards.

Photos of the winners: http://goo.gl/xzPgf9

APO logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/schneider_electric.jpg

Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=782 (Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and CEO of APO (African Press Organization)

The first-place winner of the 2014 APO Media Award is Ms Sumitra Nydoo (@sumitranydoo), Business Correspondent South Africa at China Central Television (CCTV Africa), for her piece entitled “South Africa’s Wonderbag Revolutionizes Cooking” (http://bit.ly/1qvB9SW).

Sumitra Nydoo will receive $500 a month for one year, a laptop and an intercontinental flight ticket to a destination of her choice as well as one year’s access to over 600 airport VIP lounges worldwide.

The second-place winner is Mr Pius Sawa (@kharunda), Reporter for Thomson Reuters Foundation in Kenya, for his piece entitled “Cheap, green solar bottles light up Kenyan slum” (http://tmsnrt.rs/1rNAlco).

Pius Sawa will receive $300 a month for one year.

The third-place winner is Ms Kristia Van Heerden (@k_r_isis), Editor at Finweek (South Africa), for her piece entitled “How the poor can make you rich” (http://bit.ly/ZcqRgm).

Kristia Van Heerden will receive $200 a month for one year.

“APO was very impressed by the quality of the entries. Judging was an incredibly difficult process but we were unanimous in our conclusion that Sumitra Nydoo, Pius Sawa and Kristia Van Heerden were the worthy winners. On behalf of APO, and personally, I would like to express my warmest congratulations to these three very talented journalists,” stated Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and CEO of APO (African Press Organization).

About the APO Media Award: http://www.apo-opa.com/apo-media-award.php

Follow APO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apo_source

Follow the hashtag: #APOMediaAward

Contact:

Aïssatou Diallo

bdm@apo-opa.org

+41 22 534 96 97

About APO

APO (African Press Organization) (http://www.apo-opa.com) is the sole press release newswire in Africa and is a global leader in media relations relating to Africa.

With offices in Senegal, Switzerland, Dubai, Hong Kong, India and Seychelles, APO owns a media database containing over 100,000 contacts and is the main online community for Africa-related news.

It offers a complete range of services, including press release distribution and monitoring, online press conferences, interactive webcasts, media interactions, strategic advice, public diplomacy, government relations and events promotion. To find out more, please visit http://www.apo-opa.com.

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apo_source

Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/african-press-organization

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/africanpressorganization

DAKAR, Senegal, September 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — APO (African Press Organization) (http://www.apo-opa.com), the sole press release newswire in Africa and the global leader in media relations relating to Africa, today announced the three winners of the 2014 APO Media Award (#APOMediaAward), which celebrates brilliant and inspiring stories about Africa.

With a total endowment of $15,000, the APO Media Award is one of Africa’s most important media awards.

Photos of the winners: http://goo.gl/xzPgf9

APO logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/schneider_electric.jpg

Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=782 (Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and CEO of APO (African Press Organization)

The first-place winner of the 2014 APO Media Award is Ms Sumitra Nydoo (@sumitranydoo), Business Correspondent South Africa at China Central Television (CCTV Africa), for her piece entitled “South Africa’s Wonderbag Revolutionizes Cooking” (http://bit.ly/1qvB9SW).

Sumitra Nydoo will receive $500 a month for one year, a laptop and an intercontinental flight ticket to a destination of her choice as well as one year’s access to over 600 airport VIP lounges worldwide.

The second-place winner is Mr Pius Sawa (@kharunda), Reporter for Thomson Reuters Foundation in Kenya, for his piece entitled “Cheap, green solar bottles light up Kenyan slum” (http://tmsnrt.rs/1rNAlco).

Pius Sawa will receive $300 a month for one year.

The third-place winner is Ms Kristia Van Heerden (@k_r_isis), Editor at Finweek (South Africa), for her piece entitled “How the poor can make you rich” (http://bit.ly/ZcqRgm).

Kristia Van Heerden will receive $200 a month for one year.

“APO was very impressed by the quality of the entries. Judging was an incredibly difficult process but we were unanimous in our conclusion that Sumitra Nydoo, Pius Sawa and Kristia Van Heerden were the worthy winners. On behalf of APO, and personally, I would like to express my warmest congratulations to these three very talented journalists,” stated Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and CEO of APO (African Press Organization).

About the APO Media Award: http://www.apo-opa.com/apo-media-award.php

Follow APO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apo_source

Follow the hashtag: #APOMediaAward

Contact:

Aïssatou Diallo

bdm@apo-opa.org

+41 22 534 96 97

About APO

APO (African Press Organization) (http://www.apo-opa.com) is the sole press release newswire in Africa and is a global leader in media relations relating to Africa.

With offices in Senegal, Switzerland, Dubai, Hong Kong, India and Seychelles, APO owns a media database containing over 100,000 contacts and is the main online community for Africa-related news.

It offers a complete range of services, including press release distribution and monitoring, online press conferences, interactive webcasts, media interactions, strategic advice, public diplomacy, government relations and events promotion. To find out more, please visit http://www.apo-opa.com.

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apo_source

Follow us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/african-press-organization

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/africanpressorganization

NEW YORK, September 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Remarks of Mr. Elhadj As Sy

Secretary General

International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC)

Ebola came to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and there it found us: the IFRC with 25,000 Red Cross volunteers on the ground, 3 National Societies, backed up by a Movement of 189 National Societies and 17 million volunteers across the world and the International Committee for the Red Cross.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent has been there from the beginning. We mobilized and trained a pool of 5,000 volunteers and sent 137 international staff to do what we initially thought would be our routine work: build a field hospital, help with contact tracing and reach out to communities with information.

But very quickly, reality caught up with us, and our humanity has been called upon to suddenly face the high number of our fellow human beings who have been dying, as the statistics are showing, and who deserve all our care, respect and dignity.

We are becoming known for “dead body management”, but we do not “manage” dead bodies. We safely, respectfully and in a dignified manner accompany our deceased fellow human beings and help to prepare them in accordance with their cultures for their last resting places. We do not manage “dead bodies” because in the beliefs and cultures of that region in West Africa – and I myself am coming from that region – our deceased ancestors are not considered truly dead. There is a continuing chain between those who have left and those who stay behind: those who have died always remain with us. It is in this spirit that we carry out our work.

We in the Red Cross have accompanied and safely buried 1,353 deceased human beings; in Guinea alone, we have carried out virtually all – 97% — of burials from Ebola deaths.

Our success cannot be measured by the numbers of people whom we bury. We must deliver better prevention and better care faster, measuring our success in fewer deaths and fewer people to bury.

Our one treatment centre in Sierra Leone, alongside MSF, is not enough! We in the Red Cross must do more, and we can do more with your support.

We must engage in social healing and social reconciliation. People and communities do not understand that we convince them to leave their family members and friends in our hands, we take them as patients to isolation centres for care, yet we return — in over 80% of cases – deceased loved ones whom they cannot touch, they cannot wash, and they cannot keep with them for the usual time required for mourning. They cannot understand this, and our front line workers and volunteers are already paying a huge price for this normal human reaction and lack of comprehension among families and communities.

This is the reality of Ebola, Mr Secretary-General, a reality which is so difficult to convey, until one is there to witness it first-hand, a reality which is difficult to comprehend until, unfortunately, a friend, a brother or a sister is directly affected.

We in the Red Cross must do more, and we can do more; but we need your solidarity and support.

When Ebola leaves the region – and I hope this will be soon – 25,000 Red Cross volunteers and 3 National Societies will remain and will continue to support the people and communities as they face the new challenges of the hour.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement will always be there, on your side!

Thank you very much.