NEW YORK, September 12, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On 11 September 2014, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya issued the following update to its Implementation Assistance Notice …
Category: APO-OPA
FIFA and the United Nations hand in hand to fight Ebola
GENEVA, Switzerland, September 12, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — FIFA and the United Nations have decided today to join forces in the effort to stop the spread of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
The football field at Monrovia’s Antoinette Tubman Stadium, donated by FIFA to the Liberia Football Association, will serve as the site for two urgently needed large-scale Ebola treatment units.
After the World Health Organization (WHO) identified the FIFA football pitch as the most suitable location in terms of effectiveness and safety, FIFA – one of whose missions is “to build a better future” – immediately expressed its support for the proposed action to convert the pitch into treatment units.
FIFA President Blatter said that, “thanks to the continuous fruitful and fundamental collaboration between FIFA and the United Nations, today we can use the power of football to combat the Ebola epidemic. To allay any concerns regarding the impact of the treatment units on the recently installed pitch, FIFA has also proposed to cover the costs of any damage.”
Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Sport for Development and Peace added, “The Ebola outbreak also has a tremendous impact on the sport community, ranging from health treats to the athletes themselves and restrictions of travel affecting competitions and the development of sport. National authorities, the UN and the world of sport need to work closely together in order to halt the spread of the disease. The commitment of sport organizations to support our efforts is very much welcomed and crucial. It is my hope that many will join in this fight. In particular I was very pleased to note FIFA’s pledge to support health-related measures by agreeing to cover potential damages to the football pitch of the Antoinette Tubman stadium in Monrovia, Liberia that has been earmarked for the use for Ebola treatment centres.”
The collaboration will go beyond the lending of the Monrovia pitch. At its next Finance Committee meeting on 25 September, FIFA will propose to use resources from its solidarity fund to support the member associations of the affected countries (Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea) in the fight against Ebola. The additional financial support will have to be spent in solidarity with a local UN initiative.
Letter from the President — War Powers Resolution Regarding the Central African Republic
WASHINGTON, September 12, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Letter from the President — War Powers Resolution Regarding the Central African Republic
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
On September 10, 2014, approximately 20 U.S. Armed …
Red Cross calls for additional funding to increase its response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa
GENEVA, Switzerland, September 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — With cases of the Ebola virus disease continuing to surface at unprecedented speed in West Africa, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is expanding its emergency operations in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to reach millions more people through increased activities. The IFRC has revised its three emergency appeals for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to a total of 30.2 million Swiss francs, an increase of 24 million Swiss francs. The aim is to now reach a total of 21.9 million people, more than double the number of beneficiaries originally targeted.
“With dozens of new cases emerging daily, this outbreak is showing no signs of slowing down,” said Alasan Senghore, IFRC Director, Africa. “Affected communities are relying on us. People are dying. If we are serious about stopping Ebola, we cannot afford to delay ramping up our response. But to do that, we need additional resources, and we cannot do it alone. We must all work together to achieve this ambitious goal.”
“Education is key to halting this outbreak,” said Birte Hald, IFRC regional head of emergency operations based in Guinea. “These revised emergency appeals will focus on communication, education, awareness raising, and social mobilization. We will expand the area of our operations to include new districts and counties, and ramp up our activities through the training of more volunteers.”
In Sierra Leone, the revised emergency appeal also covers a new 60-bed Ebola treatment centre in Kenema district, one of the worst affected districts. An extraordinary allocation of the IFRC’s disaster relief emergency fund (DREF) of one million Swiss francs, also allowed for the deployment of an emergency response unit to Kenema to facilitate the start-up of the treatment centre.
Since the outbreak was first declared in Guinea in March and throughout its spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, thousands of Red Cross volunteers have been trained and deployed to support the response in all three countries. Their roles include body management, contact tracing, psychosocial support, sensitization and surveillance. These activities will be scaled up under the revised emergency appeals, and more than 5,600 volunteers will be trained to ensure larger geographical areas can be reached.
“Communities have an opportunity here to assist in determining their own fate,” added Senghore. “Engaging communities through our trained volunteers will have an immediate and large pay off, as messages of prevention will be shared by community members themselves, the people who have the most interest in ensuring this outbreak is stopped.”
Following an Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, the IFRC has also launched an emergency appeal of 1.6 million Swiss francs to support the Nigerian Red Cross Society in assisting 5 million people over the next nine months. To date, there have been 17 confirmed Ebola cases in Nigeria and 6 confirmed deaths.
Communiqué of the 452nd Meeting of the Peace and Security Council
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, September 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 452nd meeting held on 22 August 2014, adopted the following decision on the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Region:
Council,
1. Takes note of the presentations made by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission in the Great Lakes Region and the Deputy Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), as well as by the representatives of the United Nations and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), on the implementation of the PSC Framework. Council also takes note of the statements made by the representatives of the DRC and of Angola, in its capacity as Chairman of the ICGLR and the European Union (EU), as well as Rwanda, Nigeria, France, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation as members of the UN Security Council;
2. Recalls its previous communiqués and press statements on the implementation of the PSC Framework;
3. Welcomes the continued implementation of the PSC Framework, and encourages all the signatory parties to scrupulously honour their commitments thereunder;
4. Stresses that despite the progress already made, many challenges are still to be overcome, notably: (i) the continued presence of negative forces in eastern DRC, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR); (ii) the delay in the implementation of the Conclusions of the Kampala Direct Dialogue between the DRC Government and the M23, as contained in their statements adopted in Nairobi on 12 December 2013; (iii) the illegal exploitation of natural resources in eastern DRC; and (iv) the persistence of impunity despite the reforms that the Congolese Government is endeavouring to bring about;
5. Encourages, once again, the Congolese Government and the other signatories to the PSC Framework to intensify their efforts to honour, in good faith, all their commitments. Council expresses its appreciation particularly to the Congolese Government for the results already obtained in this regard, and urges it to expedite the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), as well as the Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation, Reintegration and Resettlement (DDRRR) processes;
6. Calls upon the international community to continue to support the efforts of the countries of the region to implement the PSC Framework, as well as the recommendations of the 2nd Joint ICGLR/SADC ministerial meeting, held in Luanda, on 2 July 2014, on the surrender and disarmament of the FDLR. In this regard, Council recalls the ultimatum contained in the Final Communiqué of the Second mini-Summit of Heads of State and Government of the ICGLR on the Security Situation in the DRC and the Great Lakes Region, held in Luanda, on 14 August 2014;
7. Welcomes the appointment of Mr. Said Djinnit as the new Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the Great Lakes Region. Council welcomes him to the Region and pledges to support him. Council encourages him to pursue the efforts towards the implementation of the PSC Framework, and calls upon the Commission and the countries of the Region to give him all the support he needs to carry out his mandate;
8. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
Tony Elumelu: “Heirs Holdings has the ambition to generate at least a quarter of Nigeria’s power consumption needs in the next five years”
LAGOS, Nigeria, September 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Well-known global business leader and chairman of Heirs Holdings Tony Elumelu says the group “has the ambition to generate at least a quarter of Nigeria’s power consumption needs in the next five years.” Heirs Holdings’ interests in the power sector include Transcorp Ughelli Power, a gas-fired, thermal power generating plant which was acquired under the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector.
Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/wapic.jpg
Photo Tony Elumelu: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/elumelu.jpg
Mr Elumelu will deliver the keynote address at this year’s West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC) (http://www.wapicforum.com) in Lagos from 18-19 November. The 11th edition of this long running, high-level energy conference and expo will once again gather government, utilities, consultants and investors to discuss the challenges of local markets, capacity building and investment.
Experience at Ughelli
According to the Heirs Holdings chairman “the power industry is a catalytic sector and the development of our country and our continent cannot happen without fixing it.”
He describes the USA’s Power Africa Initiative as “an amazing opportunity to democratize access to power for Africans, and the $2.5 billion investment commitment we have made reflects exactly how excited I am about it. The present administration made a bold decision when it decided to affect the changes envisaged by the Power Sector Reform Act — legislation that had been on the books since 2005. And that bold step was reinforced during President Barack Obama’s last visit to Africa. We felt more strongly than ever, the need to help power Africa.”
He continues: “our experience so far at Ughelli power plant is testimony to the size of the opportunity; our amazing team has taken that plant from 150MW capacity when we took over in November 2013, to 450MW today; we expect it to increase 700MW by October and to achieve 1000MW by the second quarter of 2015. At that rate, we’ll be contributing 20 per cent of Nigeria’s total power generation.“ Furthermore, he says they are working on a greenfield project that will expand the capacity of Ughelli by an additional 1000MW in the next three to five years and they have signed an MOU with GE and Symbion Power to facilitate this.
Challenges in Nigerian power sector
Mr Elumelu lists three main challenges in the Nigerian power sector, namely unreliable transmission infrastructure, access to uninterrupted gas supply and timely settlement of invoiced payments.
He adds: “in Nigeria, one of the biggest challenges to power generation is transmission and in fact, while Ughelli Power Plant generated at full capacity for the first time in July, we’ve been asked to scale down generation because of the outdated transmission systems; for every 100MW generated and sent to transmission companies, 40 per cent is lost, in part because of this infrastructure issue.”
While regulation is not a key challenge, says the Heirs Holdings chairman, it is an issue within the sector that if addressed, has the potential to speed sector growth exponentially. “We need pragmatic regulation that recognizes that within Nigeria, the sector is nascent and so policies must be designed to encourage growth. In fairness, the federal government is confronting these challenges head on.”
Africapitalism creating social wealth
Mr Elumelu has termed his economic philosophy as “Africapitalism”, which he says places more weight on long-term investments in key sectors that drive growth. He explains: “my personal experience also suggests that sustained economic prosperity must be inclusive and must create social wealth. Africapitalism is my attempt to advocate and promote what has worked for me. We as Africans are uniquely qualified to take the lead and develop Africa. I think we need to be more self-confident in order to create the sort of future our children deserve. All the ingredients for success are here in Africa and investing for the long term in key sectors, our people, and processes, will help to solve our problems and retain wealth within the continent.”
WAPIC
During his keynote address at WAPIC in Lagos in November, Tony Elumelu says he will “discuss the opportunities that I have discovered in the power space and the efforts of African power sector leaders through the West African Energy Leaders Forum to improve access to electricity across West Africa.”
The event is organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd in the UK.
WAPIC dates and venue:
Conference days: 18-19 November 2014
Pre-conference workshops: 17 November 2014
West African Power Industry Awards: 18 November 2014
Site visits: 20 November 2014
Venue: Eko Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria
Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC).
Web: www.wapicforum.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wapic_expo
Contact:
Communications manager: Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone : +27 21 700 3558
Mobile: +27 82 562 7844
Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.com
Tony Elumelu: “Heirs Holdings has the ambition to generate at least a quarter of Nigeria’s power consumption needs in the next five years”
LAGOS, Nigeria, September 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Well-known global business leader and chairman of Heirs Holdings Tony Elumelu says the group “has the ambition to generate at least a quarter of Nigeria’s power consumption needs in the next five years.” Heirs Holdings’ interests in the power sector include Transcorp Ughelli Power, a gas-fired, thermal power generating plant which was acquired under the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector.
Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/wapic.jpg
Photo Tony Elumelu: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/elumelu.jpg
Mr Elumelu will deliver the keynote address at this year’s West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC) (http://www.wapicforum.com) in Lagos from 18-19 November. The 11th edition of this long running, high-level energy conference and expo will once again gather government, utilities, consultants and investors to discuss the challenges of local markets, capacity building and investment.
Experience at Ughelli
According to the Heirs Holdings chairman “the power industry is a catalytic sector and the development of our country and our continent cannot happen without fixing it.”
He describes the USA’s Power Africa Initiative as “an amazing opportunity to democratize access to power for Africans, and the $2.5 billion investment commitment we have made reflects exactly how excited I am about it. The present administration made a bold decision when it decided to affect the changes envisaged by the Power Sector Reform Act — legislation that had been on the books since 2005. And that bold step was reinforced during President Barack Obama’s last visit to Africa. We felt more strongly than ever, the need to help power Africa.”
He continues: “our experience so far at Ughelli power plant is testimony to the size of the opportunity; our amazing team has taken that plant from 150MW capacity when we took over in November 2013, to 450MW today; we expect it to increase 700MW by October and to achieve 1000MW by the second quarter of 2015. At that rate, we’ll be contributing 20 per cent of Nigeria’s total power generation.“ Furthermore, he says they are working on a greenfield project that will expand the capacity of Ughelli by an additional 1000MW in the next three to five years and they have signed an MOU with GE and Symbion Power to facilitate this.
Challenges in Nigerian power sector
Mr Elumelu lists three main challenges in the Nigerian power sector, namely unreliable transmission infrastructure, access to uninterrupted gas supply and timely settlement of invoiced payments.
He adds: “in Nigeria, one of the biggest challenges to power generation is transmission and in fact, while Ughelli Power Plant generated at full capacity for the first time in July, we’ve been asked to scale down generation because of the outdated transmission systems; for every 100MW generated and sent to transmission companies, 40 per cent is lost, in part because of this infrastructure issue.”
While regulation is not a key challenge, says the Heirs Holdings chairman, it is an issue within the sector that if addressed, has the potential to speed sector growth exponentially. “We need pragmatic regulation that recognizes that within Nigeria, the sector is nascent and so policies must be designed to encourage growth. In fairness, the federal government is confronting these challenges head on.”
Africapitalism creating social wealth
Mr Elumelu has termed his economic philosophy as “Africapitalism”, which he says places more weight on long-term investments in key sectors that drive growth. He explains: “my personal experience also suggests that sustained economic prosperity must be inclusive and must create social wealth. Africapitalism is my attempt to advocate and promote what has worked for me. We as Africans are uniquely qualified to take the lead and develop Africa. I think we need to be more self-confident in order to create the sort of future our children deserve. All the ingredients for success are here in Africa and investing for the long term in key sectors, our people, and processes, will help to solve our problems and retain wealth within the continent.”
WAPIC
During his keynote address at WAPIC in Lagos in November, Tony Elumelu says he will “discuss the opportunities that I have discovered in the power space and the efforts of African power sector leaders through the West African Energy Leaders Forum to improve access to electricity across West Africa.”
The event is organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd in the UK.
WAPIC dates and venue:
Conference days: 18-19 November 2014
Pre-conference workshops: 17 November 2014
West African Power Industry Awards: 18 November 2014
Site visits: 20 November 2014
Venue: Eko Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria
Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC).
Web: www.wapicforum.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wapic_expo
Contact:
Communications manager: Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone : +27 21 700 3558
Mobile: +27 82 562 7844
Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.com
Dialogue, religious freedom and rejection of extremism and violence at the centre of the Pope’s meeting with the president of Tunisia
VATICAN, Holy See, September 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Today the Holy Father Francis received in audience Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, president of the Tunisian Republic, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Par…
Dialogue, religious freedom and rejection of extremism and violence at the centre of the Pope’s meeting with the president of Tunisia
VATICAN, Holy See, September 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Today the Holy Father Francis received in audience Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, president of the Tunisian Republic, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Par…
Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of Congo
GENEVA, Switzerland, September 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Disease outbreak news
10 September 2014
Epidemiological situation
Between 2 and 9 September 2014, there have been 31 more cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) reported in t…