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27 million people going hungry as worst in decade food crisis hits West Africa – Report

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A report by West Africa Oxfam says West Africa has been hit by its worst food crisis in a decade, with 27 million people going hungry with a possibility of a rise to 38 million by June.

This alert is issued by eleven international organizations in response to new analyses of the March 2022 Cadre Harmonisé (CH), ahead of the virtual conference on the food and nutrition crisis in the Sahel and Lake Chad organized by the European Union and the Sahel and West Africa Club.

The Regional Director of Oxfam, a global movement of people who are fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice, Assalama Dawalack Sidi, speaking on the situation said “This is 40 percent more than the number we had last year at the same time, at the same period and this is four times more than the numbers we used to see ten years ago… so this is why we really want to call on donors’ attention, on governments’ attention because we know that there are so many other crises here and there but this crisis does deserve to be visible”.

The body further says drought and worsening floods have reduced the food sources as well as regional conflicts and the war in Ukraine.

“Six out of the 12 countries where Oxfam operates in West Africa import their wheat from Ukraine or Russia, and because of this crisis in Ukraine, this is no longer possible. And if they cannot import wheat, that means it is creating a shortage in the food available in the countries and therefore increasing the prices and making it very difficult for people to afford food”, explains Assalama Dawalack Sidi.

Recall that last month, Africa’s richest man, Dangote, Dangote Group CEO, Aliko Dangote of Nigeria which is the largest economy in West Africa asked the country’s President to place an embargo on the export of maize to ensure food security in the country amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

“We would start seeing people exporting maize to earn foreign exchange, which I believe we should stop,” he pointed out. “We need to grow more so we don’t have a shortage of food. It is about food security, and it’s serious.” Dangote said.

 

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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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Metro

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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