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Dakar, Senegal, hosts 9th World Water Forum, the first in sub-saharan Africa

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The 9th edition of the World Water Forum is currently holding in Dakar, Senegal, the first time the world’s biggest water-related event will be hosted in sub-saharan African.

The event which kicked off on March 22 to March 27, holds every three years to bring together key political actors, business leaders, NGOs, donors, and international organizations to promote dialogue and facilitate access to water and sanitation.

The theme for this year’s Forum, “Water Security for Peace and Development”, is jointly organized by the World Water Council (WWC), the World Bank and the Government of Senegal, according to website of the World Water Council (WWC).

“The Forum provides a unique platform for the water community and key decision makers to collaborate and make long-term progress on global water challenges.

“From 22-27 March 2022, participants from every horizon, including political and economic decision-makers, multilateral institutions, academia, civil society and the private sector will gather in Dakar, Senegal for the 9th World Water Forum,” the WWC said.

The epoch making event which is coming to Africa for the very first time, is quite significant as the organisers hope it will help build upon previous World Water Forums “through an innovative framework, seek to identify, promote and implement concrete responses and actions for water and sanitation in an integrated way.

“The 9th World Water Forum will focus on four priorities: 1) water security and sanitation; 2) cooperation; 3) water for rural development; 4) means and tools for implementation of reforms in water and sanitation.

“Additionally, the Forum will convene a Summit of Heads of States and major international institutions, to advance the political agenda on water and sanitation at the midpoint of the 2030 agenda on implementing the water and sanitation targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” it added.

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Zambian govt snubs transparency calls, says no law compels President Hichilema to declare assets annually

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The Chief spokesman for the Zambian government, Cornelius Mweetwa, has countered calls for President Hakainde Hichilema to declare his assets every year, saying there is no law in the country that compels the president to do so.

The calls had come from the US Ambassador to Zambia, Michael Gonzales, who urged Hichilema and Vice President Mutale Nalumango to consider declaring their assets annually until their term in office expired so ass to set an example for all other public servants to emulate.

However, Mweetwa, at a press conference in Lusaka on Tuesday, said Zambia had no law compelling a sitting Head of State to declare his or her assets annually.

Mweetwa said the only law which required a declaration of assets was the Electoral Commission of Zambia during the filing of nominations, though there was no requirement for publication of same.

While addressing the gathering, the government spokesman alleged that the previous government of the Patriotic Front (PF) had removed the clause from the Constitution following a debate on the accumulation of wealth by former President Edgar Lungu university within a year of his presidency.

“You will all recall that the previous government eliminated Article 30 which provided previously that such declaration should be made public,” Mweetwa stated.

Mweetwa also alleged that the PF left the country with a “Constitution full of either lacunas or provisions that are plugging and negating good governance.”

“Talks to amend the Constitution were orchestrated by our colleagues in the opposition and they wanted to u-turn over the same,” he said, but however, expressing shock over the alleged u-turn by the opposition.

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Nigeria set to begin passport automation 

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Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has announced that the automation of the country’s passport application is in its final stages.

In an interview, the minister stated that the automated application was 99% complete and would go live in a week, adding that Nigerians would only need to visit immigration centres to complete their fingerprint biometrics for passports after that point.

Ojo went on to say that Nigerians can upload their passport photos and other supporting documents using the new system from the comfort of their homes.

The minister said: “We gave a date — December 2023. We are 99 per cent done. In fact, we have done the testing and we should be going live in the next week or thereabouts.

“This will ensure that what Nigerians need to do at an immigration centre is just fingerprint biometrics.

“Everything regarding pre-biometrics will be done in the comfort of your homes, including uploading passport photographs and supporting documents.

“They went live about two weeks ago but I saw some errors when they came to do the presentation and I said no. We were talking about balancing national security and convenience.”

Nigeria’s passport system has been characterised by racketeering, logistics failure, and poor due diligence which have frustrated many, home and abroad, in their quest to own their entitlement as Nigerian citizens.

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