Vital Voices (VV) GROW Fellowship 2022 Global Accelerator Program for Female Entrepreneurs (Scholarships Available)

Application Deadline: September 27, 2021

The Vital Voices GROW Fellowship is a leading global accelerator program for women owners of small and medium-sized businesses that are making a social impact. Going into the 8th year, this program aims to elevate women business leaders as drivers for economic growth and social change in their communities, countries and the world by helping them grow their businesses and expand their social impact.

The one-year fellowship includes:

Virtual Learning: Through a series of webinars, assignments, one-on-one and small group calls, fellows learn about core topics and assess their businesses in order to develop and implement a strategic plan for growth. Throughout the 12 months of virtual learning, fellows gain skills and knowledge to strengthen business operations, identify and prepare for opportunities for growth and successfully achieve long-term sustainable growth.
Virtual Convening: Fellows participate in online sessions focused on select topics including leadership and personal development. Through dynamic interactive sessions, fellows connect virtually with each other, program partners, guest speakers, Vital Voices trainers and staff, thereby also strengthening their Vital Voices global network.

Growth Services and Support:

 During the year, fellows learn about various topics and resources that are critical to achieving their business growth goals. They are connected to opportunities and individualized growth services and support provided by Vital Voices and our partners.

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/3i5gHJI

Pitch AgriHack 2021 digital agriculture competition for agritech startups (US$45,000 Cash Prize)

Application Deadline: August 16th 2021

Pitch AgriHack 2021 is sponsored by global development organization Heifer International. The competition will identify and amplify efforts by young innovators to build resilience beyond COVID-19 through digital agriculture products and services. These innovations should be scalable and generate measurable impact in Africa’s food systems. Winners will receive funding and continued support to scale up their innovations to transform the agriculture sector.

This seventh edition of Pitch AgriHack invites African businesses to pitch their approach to driving technological innovation in the agriculture sector. Generation Africa, a thematic platform of the AGRF will host the competition, which is sponsored by global development organization Heifer International.

Requirements

be aged 18-40 on the day of submission to the 2021 Pitch AgriHack Competition

hold nationality (with official ID) from any of the 54 nations of the African Union

be the founder/co-founder of the enterprise represented in the competition and play an active role in its operations and leadership

have no criminal record related to corruption, tax evasion, financial impropriety, felony or other offences

Not be a previous Pitch AgriHack finalist or winner

must submit the application form in English

Benefits

A fourth invite-only category, known as the AYuTe Africa Challenge, sponsored by Heifer International, will award up to US$1.5 million in grants to scalable ventures that are already generating measurable impact for Africa’s smallholder farmers.

Six winners will be selected from the open-application categories and two winners from the invite-only AYuTe Africa Challenge category. The winners will be announced at the AGRF Summit which takes place September 6-10 in Nairobi.

Click here to apply:

https://bit.ly/2VcIvTr

Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA) Internship & Industrial Attachment Programme for young Kenyans.

Application Deadline: 2nd August 2021 

In support of the Government’s Youth Initiative to develop a pool of young talent for the Kenyan Labour Market, KRA is seeking applications from continuing Bachelor’s Degree students for its three (3) months (Sept to Nov 2021) Industrial Attachment programme.

The programme aims at providing the Youth an opportunity to acquire practical aspects of their respective areas of specialization in partial fulfillment of their degree courses.

Requirements

Be a Kenyan Citizen aged between 20 and 35 years
Should be a continuing student pursuing a first Degree (Undergraduate) from a recognized University and in their third or fourth year of study
Should have a valid introduction letter from the university
Must be available full time for the three months’ duration of the program
Please Note:

The deadline for application is Monday 2nd August 2021
All applications must be submitted online via the process outlined below (Application Guidelines)
You can only apply for the opportunity after successfully registering in the e-recruitment portal.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.
The Authority does not extend the Attachment program
ONLY selected candidates will be contacted.

The Authority does not charge any fee for this process.
Please verify any suspicious communication regarding this advert with the KRA Human Resource Office near you.
Monthly Stipend payable is Kshs.7,000 and is subject to applicable statutory deductions
If selected, candidates will be required to submit proof of a valid Personal Accident Insurance Cover, KRA PIN certificate, NHIF, NSSF registration, ID card and Bank Account details.

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/2Wx9CJB

The Nedbank External Bursary Programme 2021/2022 for young South Africans.

Application Deadline: August 31st 2021

The Nedbank External Bursary Programme (bursary) aims to fund academically deserving students who do not have the financial means to study fulltime towards a first undergraduate degree or diploma at a South African public university or university of technology. The aim of the bursary programme is to address South Africa's scarce-skills shortages, with a specific focus on green economy skills.

In short, green economy promotes sustaining and advancing economic, environmental and social well-being. Green-economy skills refer to those areas of study that focus on improving human well-being and social equity, while also significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. Green-economy skills include the reducing of carbon emissions and pollution, increasing energy and materials efficiency and enhancing our natural capital.

Selection Criteria

1. Nedbank will only consider applications from South African citizens.

2. You must have a proven financial need, as determined by household income.

3. You must have obtained the following minimum academic results:

3.1 An average of 65% in the year that you are applying for the bursary, ie in grade 12 or at university level.

3.2 An average of 65% for the required subjects aligned to the degree you plan to study at university.

4. We will not consider applicants who completed their grade 12 or senior certificate with Mathematics Literacy.

5. You must have obtained admission to a South African public university or university of technology for the undergraduate qualification you plan to study.

Click here to apply https://bit.ly/37eXUFn

The African Arguments Pilot Fellowship 2021 for young Freelancers

Application Deadline: 5th September 2021. 

The African Arguments fellowship is a mentorship and training programme for young freelancers based on the continent. It is aimed at African journalists under the age of 30 who are committed to building the skills necessary for a sustainable career as a freelancer.

The fellowship is designed to fit into (rather than disrupt) the chosen journalists’ already busy schedules and help them develop through two key ways:

Firstly, the fellows will be guaranteed three paid commissions that they will work on with dedicated one-on-one mentoring from the African Arguments editors. With generous and experienced guidance, the journalists will be supported in producing engaging, balanced, original work of the highest quality on topics of their choice. The finished pieces will be published and heavily promoted on African Arguments (with opportunities for republication elsewhere).

Secondly, the fellows will receive a series of expert-led online trainings over the course of three months. These devoted and intimate sessions will help the freelancers learn from experienced leaders in the field, share ideas, and develop key freelancing skills such as pitching, securing funding, writing for international audiences etc. It may also include additional trainings arranged to cater to the chosen fellows’ specific needs or interests.

Students must commit to attending all online trainings and complete all commissioned pieces.

This program is entirely FREE and will be conducted in ENGLISH.

Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/2V3UVNL

UN compound attacked as battle for Afghanistan’s Herat rages

Afghan guard killed in attack amid intense fighting between gov’t forces and Taliban on western city’s outskirts.

An Afghan security guard was killed on Friday when a United Nations compound came under attack in Herat, officials said, as fighting raged between government forces and the Taliban on the outskirts of the city in western Afghanistan.

Violence has surged across the country since early May when the Taliban launched a sweeping offensive as the US-led foreign forces began a final withdrawal which is now almost complete.

The Taliban have seized several districts on the outskirts of the city – as well as two border crossings in Herat province adjoining Iran and Turkmenistan – as they continue a sweep across the country.

On Friday, the Taliban clashed with government forces on the outskirts of Herat city, the provincial capital, forcing many families to flee, residents said.

During the fighting, the UN’s main compound in Herat came under attack by rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, a statement issued by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.

“This attack against the United Nations is deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest terms,” said Deborah Lyons, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.

“The perpetrators of this attack must be identified and brought to account.”

UNAMA said the attack was carried out by “anti-government elements”.

It said, however, that the area where the compound is located was the scene of heavy fighting between the Taliban and government forces.

UNAMA said no UN personnel were hurt in the incident.

The Taliban put the incident down to possible crossfire.

“It is possible that guards could have sustained harm in crossfire due to close proximity of the office to the fighting,” the group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter.

He added that Taliban fighters had “arrived at the scene” and that the compound was “not under any threat”.

Al Jazeera’s Diplomatic Editor James Bays, reporting from Kabul, said fighting in a number of places around Herat had become the key focus in recent hours.

“Most worryingly I think for the Afghan government, according to local reports, is this fighting on the road between Herat city and Herat airport. We believe the airport is currently closed because of that fighting,” he said.

Residents reported clashes in the districts of Injil and Guzara, close to the airport.

“People there are terrified,” Abdul Rab Ansari, who fled to the city from Guzara, told AFP news agency.

“The fighting is heavy but they have not captured the district of Guzara so far,” said Mohammad Allahyar, who also sought shelter in Herat.

Afghan forces and fighters of veteran strongman and anti-Taliban commander Ismail Khan have been deployed around the city of about 600,000 inhabitants.

Khan, who previously fought the Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s and then the Taliban during their hardline regime in the 1990s, has pledged to fight the group again to counter their staggering advances in recent months.

‘Existential crisis’

Herat city is the second provincial capital the Taliban have entered in the last 24 hours. Taliban fighters entered the capital of the province of Helmand a day earlier, and clashes are under way there. Civilians rushed to evacuate the city.

“Since Thursday morning the Taliban have launched attacks from several directions on Lashkargah city,” a government official told Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity. Lashkargah is the capital of Helmand, a southern province bordering Pakistan.

With US-led foreign forces nearing a complete withdrawal of troops, the Taliban have made swift territorial gains over the last two months but have not yet captured any provincial capitals.

A UN report this week said civilian casualties had been surging in recent weeks in Afghanistan, with as many killed in May and June as in the previous four months. The report did not cover casualties in July, when fighting has intensified further.

According to US watchdog group SIGAR, the Afghan government faces an “existential crisis” after the Taliban doubled its attacks following the February 2020 agreement with the US.

The deal called for the withdrawal of US forces in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban, ending the United States’ longest overseas war.

The armed group largely honoured the agreement as it avoided targeting US forces, but it continued attacks against Afghan forces.

The Doha agreement also paved the way for peace talks between the Taliban and Afghanistan leadership.

But the Taliban-government talks have stalled while the US has steadily pulled out troops to a level of only several hundred now, with an August 31 deadline for full withdrawal.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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How ‘the twisties’ stopped Simone Biles cold

TOKYO (AP) — Maybe Simone Biles made soaring through the air look too easy. It’s not — a fact she and other gymnasts who constantly negotiate with the laws of physics have long understood.

Every leap, no matter how routine, requires an innate sense of time and space. You have to know how many fractions of a second you have to make your body do what it needs to do. Just as crucially, you need to know you’ve got enough room to do it before the ground renders a verdict one way or another.

Simone Biles went undefeated for eight years. Gravity is forever-and-0.

Sometime after qualifying at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, the four-time Olympic gold medalist lost her way. She kept telling her body to twist. It kept saying, “How about no.”

The “twisties,” as they’re known within the gymnastics community, were back. And Biles knew it, leading her to withdraw from the team final after one rotation and skip the all-around final. She watched from the stands on Thursday as U.S. teammate and good friend Sunisa Lee claimed the gold.

Biles hasn’t ruled out competing in the event finals — she’s qualified for all four — starting on Sunday. Yet even a minibreak from the competition floor hasn’t cured her. During a series of social media posts on Friday, the 24-year-old provided an inside look at the “twisties.”

SO WHAT ARE THEY?

The “twisties” are the sudden inability for a gymnast to make the requisite spins — or sometimes any spins — for a particular maneuver.

Biles posted a video — which she later deleted — of her doing a dismount on the uneven bars during training. She kept trying and failing to do 2 1/2 twists, just as she failed to do a full Amanar vault during the team finals on Tuesday night, coming up one full twist short, leading her to step away from the competition to protect herself.

“Sometimes I can’t even fathom twisting,” Biles posted. “I seriously cannot comprehend how to twist.”

She called it the “strangest and weirdest thing.”

WHY DO THEY POP UP?

No one knows. Not even the greatest of all time. Despite some sloppy — by her unparalleled standards — moments during qualifying, Biles said the “twisties” didn’t pop up until Monday.

She’s dealt with them before. The difference this time? They’re not just affecting her on vault and floor exercise, as they have in the past. Now, they’re following her to bars and beam, too.

“It’s honestly petrifying,” she wrote, “trying to do a skill but not having your mind and body in sync.”

HOW LONG DO THEY LAST?

It depends on the athlete. For Biles, they can hang around for two weeks or more, making her availability for event finals seemingly a long shot at best.

Two-time Olympic gold medal trampolinist Rosie MacLennan of Canada struggled with her own version of “the twisties” while training for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She recovered in time to top the podium in Brazil, but only after painstakingly relearning her skills over time.

“There (are) mental pieces to all sports, but in aerial sports where you’re slipping and twisting, there’s a huge mental component,” MacLennan said Friday after finishing fourth. “And when you get lost in the air, it’s one of the most terrifying experiences you can have.”

A terror that never really fully goes away.

“It sticks with you,” the 32-year-old MacLennan said. “So it’s something that like even to this day that you second guess yourself sometimes and it just takes a lot of really diligent work and a lot of patience and a lot of support around you.”

ARE THERE OTHER VERSIONS OF THE TWISTIES?

Turns out, yes. American trampolinist Nicole Ahsinger was a 12-year-old prodigy in southern California when she developed a case of what she calls “the flippies.” She would over-rotate time and again. Ground would become sky and vice versa.

It got to the point where Ahsinger, now 23, became too afraid to do one flip let alone the two — or more — required for a sport that sends athletes three stories into the air.

“I would cry every day,” said the now 23-year-old Ahsinger, who came in sixth in the finals in her second Olympics.

She ended up moving from San Diego to Louisiana in an effort to recalibrate. The “flippies” eventually eased, but only after she rebuilt her skills literally from the ground up. Biles doesn’t have that kind of time.

SO WHAT’S NEXT?

The vault and uneven bars finals are on Sunday. Biles is the defending Olympic champion on vault, and she unveiled the harrowing Yurchenko Double Pike in May.

Biles has four maneuvers named after her already in the sport’s Code of Points. If she wants to make it five, she needs to do the Yurchenko Double Pike in Tokyo. Considering the vault’s difficulty and her current issues, it seems highly unlikely she’ll attempt it. She’s not really a medal threat on uneven bars — where Lee and Belgium’s Nina Derwael are poised for an epic showdown — so it might not be worth the risk.

Beam, where she earned bronze in Rio, and floor exercise are later in the week. Maybe she somehow regains her confidence in herself and her surroundings.

Big, big maybe.

Kenya bans in-person meetings, public gatherings as COVID surges

Hospitals becoming overwhelmed as East African country witnesses a jump in cases from the Delta variant.

Kenya said it is extending a nighttime curfew and banning public gatherings and in-person meetings to slow the spread of the coronavirus, warning that hospitals are becoming overwhelmed.

The East African country has in recent days witnessed a jump in cases from the Delta variant, with a positivity rate of 14 percent as of Friday compared with about seven percent last month.

“All public gatherings and in-person meetings of whatever nature are suspended countrywide. In this regard, all government, including intergovernmental meetings and conferences, should henceforth be converted to either virtual or postponed in the coming 30 days,” Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe said in a televised address on Friday.

He said the positivity rate was at risk of rising further unless serious measures were taken.

“We continue to implore all Kenyans, including those who have received their COVID-19 vaccines, not to let their guard down,” Kagwe said after a meeting of the National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus.

“We are all responsible (for) bringing the cases down,” he said.

Kenya has been under some form of curfew since March last year when the pandemic first hit [File: Brian Inganga/AP]

Religious gatherings will still be allowed, but limited to a third of the venue’s capacity.

Kenya has been under some form of curfew since March last year when the pandemic first hit, and Kagwe said it will be extended nationwide from 10pm to 4am local time until further notice.

In total, Kenya has recorded more than 200,000 cases and 3,910 deaths.

Hospitals overwhelmed

Kagwe said at the press conference that hospitals were being put under strain by the increased infections and urged the public to obey the health measures to stay safe.

“If you fall sick today, you will not get a hospital bed,” Kagwe said, adding that efforts were being made to increase the number of intensive care beds.

“I am not scaring you, I am telling you the reality.”

Like many of its neighbours, Kenya took swift action against COVID-19 at the onset of the pandemic, restricting movement and closing borders and schools.

But the number of infections has been rising daily as politicians, one year away from a general election, host huge rallies across the country.

The rollout of vaccines has been slow in Kenya, as in many parts of the developing world, partly due to the lack of supply.

Kenya has vaccinated 1.7 million people, of whom 647,393, or 2.37 percent of adults, are fully vaccinated.

It is expecting to start receiving more vaccines from next week, comprising 700,000 AstraZeneca shots from the United Kingdom, Greece and Latvia.

The health ministry has said it will also receive 1.76 million doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, starting two weeks from now, once storage facilities to handle them are in place.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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Across Africa in five minutes or less

L

NIGERIA

Global African Family Meeting

Kaduna State Government yesterday said it has filed further charges against the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky under the Treason and Treasonable Offences Act before a Federal High Court. This is coming less than 24 hours after a Kaduna State High Court discharged and acquitted El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat. Daily Trust reports that a Kaduna High Court presided by Justice Gideon Kurada on Wednesday ruled that the charges against El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat were not supposed to be filed, as the Kaduna State Government cannot arraign someone for a crime that was not an offence at the time.

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia has been partaking in the Olympic Games once every four years in a wide variety of Olympic events that bring the world together for the most part in track running, road running and across country running. As Ethiopian athletes turn out to be triumphant over track and field sports over and over again, all and sundry look forward the Olympic day to come and feel over the moon.

GHANA

The United States Embassy in Accra facilitated the ‘unlocking’ and extraction of information from two mobile phones, belonging to slain undercover journalist, Ahmed Hussein Suale, in the United States of America. The mobile phones, iPhone 7 plus and Huawei smart phone were ‘worked on’ by forensic experts in the United States upon a request by the Ghana Police Service (GPS). This came to light on Monday, July 26, when the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame appeared to answer questions asked of him by North Tongu Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, regarding unresolved murders in the country.

MALI

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes the arrest of the former head of Mali’s intelligence agency, which is alleged to have held a journalist incommunicado for several months after he disappeared in January 2016, as RSF revealed earlier this month. Gen. Moussa Diawara, who headed Mali’s General Directorate for State Security (DGSE) for seven years while Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was president, has been arrested in Bamako, a judicial source confirmed to RSF yesterday.

UGANDA

The minister of Education, Ms Janet Museveni revealed tFriday hat government has finalized plans to open 94 new secondary schools in sub-counties across the country. While releasing the 2020 UCE exam results at State House, Nakasero on Friday, Ms Museveni said she was concerned that 4,324 fewer candidates registered for UCE in 2020 compared to 2019. She said the technical team at Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) and the Ministry attributed the reduction largely to circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic thus the need for new secondary schools to try and cover the gap.

TANZANIA

PRESIDENT Hussein Mwinyi yesterday called on African leaders to emulate Asia’s economic transformation strategies to promote development in the continent. The Isle President said that remarkable economic transformation recorded in Asia should be emulated to help Africa to reform its economic development strategies including policies in order to improve the quality of life for its people.

KENYA

Conservationists are up in arms over the killing of more than 10 hippos at Lake Ol Bollosat in Nyandarua County in just one week. The killings are suspected to be part of a conspiracy to wipe out wild animals from the lake, which is a key tourist attraction in the region. Nyandarua County Commissioner Benson Leparmorijo said five of the animals died in the waters as a result of injuries believed to have been inflicted by residents.

ZAMBIA

COPPERBELT Province, with a population of over two million people, has attracted large-scale investments in various sectors. These range from mining, agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing, to wholesale and retail trade. In a bid to ensure that investors and passengers enjoy the comfort of flying in and out of the resource endowed province, the Government, through Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL), recently begun the construction of the $397 million new Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport in Ndola.

CHAD

Following a Special Report General Saleh Bala and I had written for the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) entitled “Civilian-led Governance and Security in the Lake Chad Basin”, we held a follow up round table meeting with the Lake Chad Basin Commission led by its Executive Secretary, Ambassador Mamman Nuhu, to consider recent developments in the sub-region concerning the subject matter. The meeting was hosted by the USIP Country Director, Ambassador Abdu Zango and Dr. Chris Kwaja.

THE GAMBIA

The final report of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, expected to be submitted today to the President of Gambia, has been postponed to September 30. Meanwhile the Commission has clarified what it has spent in reparations up to now. And the budget that is still missing. “Notwithstanding the heavy schedule of work devoted to completing the draft report, the Commission informed the Attorney General on 27 July that it needed more time (about eight weeks) to complete all 16 volumes of the report and other important documents,” Dr Lamin Sise told journalists in Banjul, Gambia’s capital city, on Wednesday. The chairman of the country’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) announced a new date for the submission of its final report: 30 September 2021.

RWANDA

The Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) is set to roll out a Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) for special needs children – with visual impairment and the ones with hearing loss – a curriculum that will be part of a unit called special needs and inclusive education. The special curriculum will start with the next academic year. Nelson Mbarushimana, Director General of REB said they are working with different partners in developing the curriculum that will be followed by recruiting, and professional training of teachers at national level who will teach these subjects.

EGYPT

Culture Minister Inas Abdel Dayem on Thursday attended a performance featuring Egypt’s youngest singer at the Vienna Opera Mariam Tahoun for the first time. Tahoun, 16, joined Cairo Opera’s troupe in the performance that was held on Gomhoreya Theatre in Cairo and attended by head of Cairo Opera House Magdy Saber. Abdel Dayem asserted the state’s support for its talented nationals abroad, who are representatives of Egypt’s soft powers. Tahoun’s participation with the stars of Cairo Opera’s troupe is an incentive to her to continue her excellence, the minister added.

SOUTH AFRICA

Cape Town — South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker won the women’s 200m breaststroke with a stunning world record time of 2:18.95, the Tokyo 2020 website reports. This is South Africa’s first Olympic gold in the Tokyo games. News24 reports that Schoenmaker timed her race to perfection, sitting behind American Lilly King for the first 100m before making her move over the last 100m. The previous world record, set by Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen at the World Championships in 2013, was 2:19.11.

NAMIBIA

Tsumeb — Junior employees are said to have spilled the beans on irregular dealings at Tsumeb, leading to a fresh investigation which resulted in the recent suspension of the municipality’s acting CEO Karolina Damaseb. Damaseb was suspended a fortnight ago, although she has not been charged yet, pending the disciplinary committee’s move to formulate exact charges. The recent investigation centred around the municipality’s procurement and property department, as well as the loss of revenue by council from properties rented out. It is further alleged that Damaseb had in an auditor general’s report of 2018 implicated a senior accountant and a property officer of having been involved in dubious deals, as well as diversion of council revenue.

LIBERIA

Liberia’s Health Minister and head of the Incident Management System Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah says those who are concerned about President George Manneh Weah being vaccinated should ask the president himself and not her. “This question is meant to put me in trouble, but if anyone [is] interested in knowing whether the president has taken his vaccination [they] should ask himself at the Executive Mansion press conference,” Dr. Jallah said Thursday, 29 July 2021 at the Information Ministry’s regular press briefing on Capitol Hill. Many here believe that President Weah will give the public confidence about the vaccines if he takes the lead to be vaccinated.

ZIMABWE

Guo Shaochun — As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, tracing the origin of the virus is important for preventing possible risks in the future. Study of origins is a matter of science, which should be jointly conducted by scientists all over the world. However, some countries with ulterior motives are trying to politicise the origin-tracing as a way to suppress and contain China’s development, to pin the blame on China and get away with their own failure. These moves will only undermine the global fight against the virus and bring more pain to the international community.

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Shona Newest Tribe as 1,649 Granted Citizenship

The Shona community is now Kenya’s newest tribe.

This is after 1,649 members of the community, who had been stateless, were presented with citizenship certificates.

Speaking during the ceremony on Wednesday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said all stateless people who are eligible for Kenyan citizenship will be recognised as citizens by this year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations.

“We have been working on ending statelessness in our country, and I’m very happy about the progress we’ve made. When our President began his tenure in 2013, he pledged to end statelessness by the end of his term. We are well on our way to completing that job,” Dr Matiang’i said.

The ministry, he added, will conduct the process in line with the international conventions on human rights and without compromising national security.

Genuine individuals

The CS revealed that the stateless Sagaf community in Tana River will receive citizenship through the Department of Civil Registration in collaboration with the Directorate of Immigration Services and the National Registration Bureau.

Dr Matiang’i said the government is in talks with international migration agencies to assimilate genuine individuals into the country to curb crime.

“This is a strong demonstration of our respect for human rights. Kenya remains hospitable to all Africans who wish to live and engage in legitimate economic activities,” he said.

“All individuals will be subjected to rigorous background checks and will be meticulously verified to avoid potential devaluation of the Kenyan citizenship. We recently deported several people who obtained identity documents fraudulently.

“Some of them find ways of mixing with criminals in our midst, and we have a duty to ensure our country remains safe and secure,” Dr Matiang’i added.

He explained that the government has started simultaneous processing of citizenship certificates and identity cards in order to expedite the process.

“The intention is to flatten the barriers to adjustment of citizenship status and social integration, and the process is set to be expeditious due to the capacity adjustment in the immigration quality control,” he said.

In 2016, 1,496 members of the Makonde community in Kwale County were granted citizenship.

Last year, 2,970 stateless Shona and Rwandese received recognition as citizens, in line with the Constitution, which obliges the State to confer citizenship on stateless persons.

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