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JUBA — Prominent civil society activist Edmund Yakani has warned that delay of army’s salaries for several months may be a source of insecurity for individuals and communities.

This comes after a soldier belonging to South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) committed suicide in the capital Juba over alleged delay of salaries which had affected family commitments.

In a statement, Yakani urged the presidency to address the salary issue of the army, warning that its delay is one of the issues that may cause insecurity in the country.

“CEPO seriously urges the national government to take care of our soldiers welfare now before it become a factor of insecurity for individuals and communities,” Yakani said in the statement extended to Sudans Post.

Yakani who is the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said the government needs to take urgent measures to address issues of army’s salaries given the inflation which has affected livelihoods of less paid citizens.

“The presidency should take urgent act on improving payment of our soldiers for them to meet their responsibilities of safeguarding their duty of adherence to adequate standard of living,” he said.

“Political leaders at national and state levels have access to good amount of cash for earning their cost of living meanwhile our soldiers and civil servants are delayed to access their soldiers regularly. This is a trend that triggered the insecurity across the country and commitment of suicidal acts by service members,” he added.

He further urged “the president to take action on finding concrete solution on the issue of the soldiers salaries in terms of adequacy and timely payment.” - Sudans Post

Don’t Gas Africa Event during COP27. Campaigners call for an end to fossil-fuel-induced energy apartheid in Africa and ask to scale up cost-effective, clean, decentralized, renewable energy to end energy exclusion and meet the needs of Africa’s people.

Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, it has only become less likely that the world will meet that pact’s goals. Emissions must now be halved by the end of this decade to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

Making finance flows and services consistent with this pathway is essential not only for the planet, but for the financial sector itself. Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurance company, adopted a new policy last month excluding oil insurance and reinsurance.

It’s not a single actor: As of October, 41 insurers  — including industry heavyweights such as Allianz, Munich Re and Swiss Re — representing 39% of the market for primary insurance and 62% for reinsurance had withdrawn or reduced cover for coal. For oil and gas, those figures now stand at 38% of reinsurance and 15% of primary insurance markets. Coal companies now face soaring premiums of up to 40%, reduced coverage and longer searches to access insurance. 

Yet insurance and reinsurance companies need to move faster. Lloyd’s of London, for instance, announced in 2020 that it would stop insuring fossil fuel projects by 2030 (pdf). But last year, it issued guidance suggesting this policy was optional for agents (pdf). According to global campaign group Insure Our Future many other insurers continue to insure new oil and gas projects in defiance of climate science and evidence.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, the fossil fuel industry sees an opportunity to set up new infrastructure around the world. Governments that are desperate for revenue are falling for the promise of quick returns and opening their doors to these companies.

But insurance companies must stay wary — backing investments in oil and gas will only become more perilous. 

‘The worst place in the world to drill for oil’

One of the riskiest investments on offer today is in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In July it auctioned the exploration rights for 30 oil and gas blocks in an area of about 277,000 sq km (106,950 sq miles) – larger than the size of the United Kingdom.

Some of the blocks overlap with protected areas, including Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site that’s threatened by armed conflicts and now by the prospects of drilling. It is home to the Batwa and other local communities facing violence and discrimination, as well as 3,000 species of animals, including the critically endangered eastern gorilla.

Other blocks are in the peatlands of the Cuvette Centrale, which serve as a sink that stores about 30 gigatons of carbon, equivalent to three years of global emissions from fossil fuels.

Simon Lewis, a professor at Leeds University and head of a British-Congolese research group called CongoPeat, has called the DRC blocks “the worst place in the world to drill for oil”. Lewis has warned there may not be substantial oil deposits beneath the Congo forests and if there are, getting them from extremely remote areas to global markets may not be economically viable. Yet even if exploration reveals no commercial-scale oil fields, it will seriously damage the rainforest’s biodiversity.

Oil Colonialism in Africa 

Beyond the Congo too, Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising energy prices has been one of the triggers for a new scramble for fossil fuels across Africa — from Senegal through Namibia to Uganda.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said that the world needs a complete bar on all new fossil fuel investments in order to get to net-zero emissions by 2050, a minimum goal laid out by the IPCC, the United Nations panel of experts on climate change.

That prescription is particularly important for Africa, where oil production often has higher carbon intensity than elsewhere (pdf) — the equivalent of about 40% more carbon dioxide per barrel.

Climate inequality 

Historical injustice means communities in Africa and the broader Global South are often among the most vulnerable to impacts of climate change caused by emissions of richer countries and polluting corporations. In October, Nigeria reported almost 800,000 displaced and 500 dead from floods, while Pakistan is still dealing with the aftermath of devastating floods that drowned a third of the country. In Somalia one million people have been displaced due to a drought following a two-year historic dry spell. And the list goes on.

The new scramble for fossil fuels has devastating implications for human rights as well. Exploration and drilling rights are being granted in ways that sacrifice natural ecosystems that have been serving local and Indigenous communities for centuries. In the Congo, communities were not even informed before their land was auctioned. 

 Divest from fossil fuels

Insurance companies have enormous power to force change. Without insurance, most new fossil fuel projects cannot proceed and existing ones must close. As the Insure Our Future coalition — which ranks the world’s top insurers on the basis of their fossil fuel exclusion policies — has demanded, it is vital to end insurance for new oil, gas and coal projects. It is also critical to phase out support for existing projects and for insurers to divest all assets from coal, oil and gas companies that are not aligned with a pathway that limits the planet’s temperature increase to 1.5 C.

Finally, insurers must maintain robust due diligence and verification mechanisms to ensure clients fully respect and observe all human rights. 

That’s essential for the world but also a sensible business strategy for insurers: Projects in the Congo and other such vulnerable ecosystems likely represent the worst deals in the world to insure. They’re best avoided — for everyone.

Irene Wabiwa Betoko is the International Project Leader for the Congo Basin forest, Greenpeace Africa; Kuba Gogolewski is the Lead Campaigner, European Money for Change, Greenpeace. By GIrene Wabiwa Betoko & Kuba Gogolewski, Green Peace

President William Ruto at Kabarnet ASK showground. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

President William Ruto has dismissed any plot to amend the Constitution to extend his term limit.

Ruto warned the Kenya kwanza legislators from diverging their attention from service delivery. 

Speaking during the Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary Group Meeting at Statehouse, Nairobi, Ruto said he was not interested in extending his term, asking lawmakers allied to him to instead focus on amending laws that will benefit Kenyans.

“Do not spend your time pushing for selfish and self-serving legislation, like changing the Constitution to remove term limits. My focus is service to the people,” Ruto told the MPs. 

There was an uproar and concern a week ago after FAFI MP Salah Yakub’s proposal of abolishing the presidential term limit to add more years to the Head of State.

Yakub had initially said UDA lawmakers were working on a Constitutional Amendment Bill to replace the two-term limit with an age limit of 75 years, paving way for Ruto to rule for up to 20 years. 

A proposal that was strongly denied and objected to by the Kenya Kwanza brigade who said Yakub’s sentiments were his own personal view and not the coalition’s.

“The member of FAFI is merely an attention seeker…he has multiple problems he is supposed to be dealing with, issues of hunger among others. That is not the position of the party, and I speak with authority, there is no such thinking that we need to change the Constitution to remove the term limit” said Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro.

According to Article 142 of the 2010 Constitution, the president shall hold office for a term beginning on the date of the inauguration and ending when the person elected next President is sworn in.

In case the article is to be amended, it will go beyond a parliamentary initiative as a referendum will be required to effect the change. By Grace Ng'ang'a, The Standard

Weston Hotel on Langata road in Nairobi. Kericho MCAs are to attend a five-day training session at the facility on how to vet the nominees for Chief Officers positions.

File | Nation Media Group

Interestingly, Dr Patrick Mutai, the assembly speaker sanctioned the training to be conducted at Weston hotel in Nairobi, which is owned by the President in what will cost more than Sh2.1 million in allowances to the MCAs.

On Tuesday, Dr Mutai approved a memo from the embattled Majority leader Paul Chirchir requesting for facilitation of the 37 MCAs in the house.

“In reference to standing order No.177, I hereby request for facilitation of all members of the county assembly to Nairobi (Weston hotel) from 15th November 22 to 20th November 22. The purpose of the meeting is to conduct a pre-vetting of County Chief Officers nominees” Mr Chirchir stated in the memo.

Dr Mutai, a former County Executive Committee (CEC) in charge of Finance at the Kericho County Assembly marked the document for the house’s clerk as “approved” and signed it on November 15 (Tuesday).

 

The same day the request was approved is when the MCAs were supposed to check in at Weston hotel, in what has kicked up a storm over austerity measures put in place by Dr Ruto’s administration over the poor state of the economy.

Dr Ruto directed shortly after taking over from former President Uhuru that the government would save Sh300 billion from cost cutting measures to be applied by all government departments.

The Nation has established that an MCA is entitled to Sh14,000 night out, in Nairobi while the Speaker draws Sh16,800. The same amount applies per day when they travel to Naivasha, Kisumu and Mombasa. 

In effect, the MCAs would draw Sh2.072 million from the assembly coffers with an additional Sh67,200 by the speaker for the four nights they will spend in Nairobi in what translates to Sh2,139,200.

That excludes the allowances the committee clerks, drivers, and other cadre of county assembly employees would be paid by the assembly for accompanying the MCAs to Nairobi for the training.

Still, the money to be paid to facilitators of the training, the cost of hiring a hall at the premier hotel, food, drinks and fuel for motor vehicles has not been factored into the tabulated amount in this article.

“As a matter of fact, majority of the MCAs who were elected or nominated to the assembly are serving their first term in office and are yet to learn the ropes of vetting the nominees for the various positions forwarded to the house by the executive arm of government,” Mr Chirchir told the Nation on Wednesday on telephone.

Mr Chirchir, who is the Kapsoit MCA, said the lack of knowledge on the various issues came to fore during the recent vetting of the CECs, and which the training that has been organized seeks to cure.

But the matter has caused a major political uproar in the region and reverberates nationally in what shows the lengths the MCAs go to get allowances from the assembly, in what has no direct bearing on development.

“Why would the MCAs require training on how to vet the Chief Officers when they are fresh from subjecting the nominees for the County Executive Committee (CEC) members through the same process?” wondered Mr Peter Mutai, a political analyst. 

Ms Irene Kibet said the trip was unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers' money as the same could be undertaken at a hotel in Kericho or a government facility within the county.

“The MCAs should be made to refund the cost of the trip for wasting taxpayers' money at a time the country is faced with hard economic times. Of what economic value is the trip, if it is not only to enrich the politicians who will draw a night out allowance?” Ms Kibet wondered.

Dr Mutai was not immediately available for a comment on this story as his phone went unanswered and was yet to respond to text messages by press time.

This comes in the backdrop of a leadership row in the assembly pitting Mr Chirchir and Londiani ward MCA Vincent Korir who was ousted last week.

Mr Korir and Mr Chirchir are laying claim to the Majority leader’s position even after United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Ms Veronica Maina said the changes in the house leadership effected on Thursday had not been sanctioned by the party.

Dr Ruto’s administration, through the Cabinet Secretary for Treasury Njuguna Ndung’u, has cut the budgets on foreign travel, training, purchases of furniture, and motor vehicles, domestic travel, advertising, printing, hospitality and motor vehicles rental.

After being sworn in on September 13, Dr Ruto said he would cut the recurrent expenditure factored into the current budget so as to “bring economy back to sanity” and ensure “we are living within our means”. 

The President has also directed counties to cut unnecessary spending to reflect the current economic situation in the country. By Vitalis Kimutai, NMG

 

migrants they were in British waters and to call 999, logs show 

French authorities told drowning migrants they were in British waters and to call 999 during the worst disaster of its kind in the English Channel, documents have revealed.

A dossier of evidence compiled by lawyers acting for the families of 32 people who died when their dinghy sank last November shows passengers made desperate calls for help for more than two hours.

Logs published by the Le Monde newspaper indicate that they tried to contact both French and English rescue services, but were not rescued before the captain of a private boat reported bodies floating in the water in the strait of Calais – 12 hours after the first mayday call on 24 November 2021.

The account only covers the response by French authorities, because logs and other evidence from the British coastguard are subject to a separate investigation that has not yet published its findings. 

The first call to the French coastguard was recorded at 1.51am local time, when a passenger stayed on the phone for 14 minutes begging for help for more than 30 people on board the inflatable boat.

“We need help, if you please, help us,” the man was recorded saying.

Minutes later, a telephone conversation between British and French authorities reportedly indicated that the boat was in French waters around half a mile from the nautical border.

Migrants continued to call for help, but at 2.33am logs show that French authorities instructed them to call 999 because they were in British waters at that point.

They were given the same message in further calls before the boat is believed to have overturned around 3am.

Half an hour later, logs compiled by French lawyers show that a survivor on the phone to French authorities said people were in the water but was told: “Yes, but you are in English waters.”

Records show that shortly after 4am, British authorities told their French counterparts that they had received a distress call but found nothing at the reported location of the boat.

French authorities formally closed their operation at around 4.30am after calls ceased and a French fisherman found the victims’ bodies the next day.

Two people survived, 27 bodies were recovered – including six women and a child – while three people reported to have been on the dinghy were never found.

Zana Mamand Mohammad, the brother of one of the victims, said he had “tried non-stop” to find out what happened.

“I still stare at my phone hoping for a message or call from you,” a statement added.

“I am doing my best to obtain justice for you and your friends. If you knew how we have passed this past year you would never have made that journey.”

The French dossier does not include call logs from the British side, because they are subject to a separate probe by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

The body’s investigation does not assign blame or legal liability for fatal disasters, but aims to make recommendations to improve safety and prevent future accidents.

A spokesperson said: “The investigation into the presumed sinking of a migrant boat while attempting to cross the channel last November is still ongoing.”

The Care4Calais charity said there were “no answers” for victims’ families almost a year on from the tragedy, which was followed by record numbers of dangerous crossings.

“If we don’t learn lessons more people will die,” founder Claire Moseley told The Independent.

“Even though we’ve only got one side of the story it shows that the boat did reach British waters.”

Government ministers used the tragedy to garner support for a range of measures, including laws criminalising asylum seekers, that they said would prevent deaths by reducing Channel crossings.

But the number of small boats launching from France has continued to reach new records, and critics have questioned whether a new deal, including £63m of British funding for increased security and other measures, will work.

With conditions worsening as winter closes in, several migrant boats made distress calls over the weekend, and three people were pulled from the sea alive by a pleasure boat near Calais on Sunday.  By 

 

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