Mali’s PM among some 150 hit by fresh ECOWAS sanctions

 West African bloc ECOWAS issued sanctions against members of Mali’s transitional government, including its prime minister, but not the colonel who led last year’s coup, according to some sources.

The sanctions issued by the Economic Community of West African States come after coups in August 2020 and May 2021 and the failure of the new regime to hold to a promise to stage elections by February 27 next year.

Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga was the most senior figure to be named in the new sanctions. It also featured 27 ministers of the transitional government, many of whom are senior military officers.

Colonel Assimi Goita, transitional president and head of the junta since the first coup, does not feature. Nor does Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop.

The 121 members of the so-called National Transitional Council, which serves as an interim parliament, feature in the sanctions list.

The financial assets of all those on the list are frozen and they are banned from travelling in ECOWAS countries.

ECOWAS leaders, who met on November 7, decided on sanctions against individuals who, in their view, were dragging their feet on promised elections and a return of democratically elected government after the two coups.

On November 8, they called on the junta to honour a timetable for a return to democracy and “decided to sanction all those implicated in the delay” in organising elections set for February 27.

It said it “highly deplores the lack of progress” towards staging the elections and that it would consider further sanctions at its next summit in December “if the situation persists”.

Mali has already informed Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation ECOWAS, that the Sahel country cannot hold elections as planned.

In the ECOWAS document obtained by AFP, the bloc referred to “the absence of progress in the preparation of elections, notably the absence of a detailed calendar”.

The junta has cited the challenges of governing a country wracked by a jihadist insurgency to justify the delay in elections.

But the ECOWAS document argued that the “increased political uncertainties” in Mali contributed to the “deterioration of the security situation”, which it said could itself undermine the stability of the region.

Swathes of the vast nation of 19 million people lie outside of government control because of the insurgency, which emerged in the north in 2012, before spreading to the center of the country as well as to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Pike River: Bodies spotted 11 years after New Zealand mine disaster

At least two sets of human remains have been pictured deep inside a New Zealand coal mine, more than a decade after a series of explosions killed 29 men there.

Cameras also picked up what may be a third body in a tunnel, police said.

But they added that the hard-to-reach location meant there was no chance of recovering the remains.

The Pike River mining disaster happened in November 2010 when two blasts ripped through the mine.

Only two of the 31 miners on shift were able to escape.

None of the miners’ bodies have ever been recovered.

In 2012, a Royal Commission found that the miners and contractors had been exposed to “unacceptable risk” in the South Island mine. It said “there were numerous warnings of a potential catastrophe at Pike River,” but there have been no prosecutions.

• The 29 coal miners who never came home

By digging a borehole, experts have now been able to gather images from the deepest depths of the mine.

The newly discovered human remains are in the furthest part of the mine from the entrance, police said. They have not been identified.

It is believed that between six and eight men were working in the part of the mine where the photographs were taken.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

“At this point, we have been unable to identify the remains, however we will consult with forensic experts,” Detective Superintendent Peter Read said.

Andrew Little, the minister responsible for the recovery operation, said: “I know some families would like to go further, but that won’t be possible.”

In 2017, the government funded a recovery operation but it was abandoned in March this year. Officials said the operation had gone 2.2km (around 1.5 miles) inside the mine without success and it was too hard and costly to continue.

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Fans send Davido millions of naira in one hour

Nigerian artist Davido has shared a screengrab of his bank account on Twitter saying that fans have sent millions of naira an hour after he asked them to.

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“If u know I’ve given you a hit song .. send me money,” Davido tweeted before he started sharing updates of how much had been sent.

He later tweeted that 7m naira ($16,000; £12,000) had been raised in just 10 minutes, and joked that his target was 100 million naira because he wanted to pay off a loan he had taken for his Rolls-Royce car.

His latest tweet says he has now raised 57m naira.

Davido has 9.7 million followers on Twitter.

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Belarus' Lukashenko, Germany's Merkel discuss migrant crisis - report

MOSCOW, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked by phone, according to a social media post by reporters for Belarus state media on Monday, amid a migrant crisis at the Polish border with the ex-Soviet state.

The posts said the talks lasted around 50 minutes. The leaders discussed the refugee crisis at the border and ways to provide humanitarian aid.

They also spoke about measures to prevent the crisis from escalating. They have agreed to further contacts, the report said.

The talks were the first contact between the Belarusian president and a Western leader since Lukashenko claimed victory in Belarus presidential elections in August 2020, igniting the biggest street protests in the history of the state.

The West is seeking to stop what it says is a policy by Belarus to push migrants towards the European Union to pressure it to end sanctions imposed over Belarus' crackdown on protests last year against Lukashenko's contested re-election.

Source: reuters.com

Ivory Coast to host next Intra-African Trade Fair

Durban – The City of Abidjan, republic of Ivory Coast, is the next host of the Intra African Trade Fair (IAFT), scheduled for the year 2023.

The announcement was made at the opening session of the Second Edition of the IAFT 2021, which is taking place in Durban, South African until the 21st of the current month.

 

The present edition brings together 1,000 exhibitors, 2,500 conference attendees and 55 countries.

 

The event foresees trade, business and investments in the order of 32 billion dollars.

 

This II edition, was first scheduled for 2020, and was supposed to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, but due to the constraints caused by the pandemic in that country, then South Africa was ready to host it.

 

IAFT aims to lead businesspersons to carry out commercial exchanges within the continent as well as business.

 

Angola attends the IAFT2021 with around 30 companies and institutions, highlighting Sonangol, Catoca, CEEIA, AllTrans, FoodCare, Xcento, Aipex, FMEA, BFA, Opaia and BAI.

 

The first edition took place in 2018 in Cairo, Egypt.

Salary increase in 2022 to boost purchasing power

Luanda – Finance minister Vera Daves said on Monday, in Luanda, that the expected salary increase for the civil service, in 2022, aims to restore the purchasing power of Angolan families.

"The concern with the salary increase is not only with public employees, but with all Angolans who need to recover purchasing power for the well-being of families," she said. 

 

The minister said so during an informal meeting with journalists and opinion makers, within the scope of the approval of the 2022 General State Budget (OGE/2022). 

 

Without specifying the percentage of increase, the minister stated that technical work is in progress, in order to make the necessary adjustments.

 

Although it has not yet been validated by the Ministries of Finance (MINFIN) and Public Administration, Labor and Social Security (MAPTSS), she stressed that the eventual increase will be made within the limits of the government's available financial capacity. 

 

Regarding the possible rise in the inflation rate as a result of the increase in the salary of the civil service, Vera Daves explained that it will depend on the flexibility study on future budgets. 

 

She also said that such a study, is being carried out by the finance technical committee, and the outcome will be known shortly.

 

In addition to the salary increase, the minister for Finance pointed out, on the other hand, the strengthening of the business environment in Angola as another challenge for the government, in the sense of creating more jobs for Angolans. 

 

On the occasion, Vera Daves also clarified that the Ministry of Finance does not interfere in the expenses or contracting of services by the different ministerial departments, as it only establishes and provides a financial ceiling, and intervenes when it notices defects in expenses or encounters incorrect actions. 

Chimamanda honored by New York Public Library

 Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been named as one of this year’s “Library Lions” by the New York Public Library, describing the honour as “utterly spirit-lifting” in an Instagram post:

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The annual ceremony in the US city is organised to honour people who have distinguished themselves in arts, culture, letters and scholarship.

Other honourees this year were Tina Brown, Jonathan Lethem, and Darren Walker.

And previous recipients include Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Atwood, Martin Scorsese, Zadie Smith, Gloria Steinem and Steve Martin.

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