Politics

African Heads of States meet over climate emergency as Ivory Coast launches initiative

Published

3 years ago

May 10, 2022

Heads of state from several African countries gathered in Ivory Coast, to try to take concrete action against the rapid degradation of land and respond “to the climate emergency in the continent.

The African leaders are meeting at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which addresses issues just as crucial at a time when the UN estimates that 40% of the land is degraded in the world.

President of the host country, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara at the opening of the COP15 said “our summit is held in a context of climate emergency that severely impacts our land management policies and exacerbates the phenomenon of drought.

“Our people are pinning a lot of hope on us. We have no right to disappoint them. Let’s act quickly, let’s act together to give a new life to our lands!”, he said.

Other African leaders in attendance are Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi, Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari and others.

The leaders took turns to speak on specific areas regarding environmental degradation in the continent. President Bazoum noted that “the agricultural yields that are decreasing year after year”, while President Tshisekedi pointed to “the lengthening of the dry seasons” and “the advance of the Sahara and Kalahari deserts” on the continent.

Also, the French President, Emmanuel Macron in a video message commented that “Desertification has the face of more than 3.2 billion people living on degraded lands around the world. There is an urgency to act.

“Desertification and land degradation are not a fatality. These crises are not irreversible and solutions exist,”

In what could be described as a swift reaction to the emergency, President Alassane Ouattara presented the “Abidjan Initiative”, a major program to mobilize $1.5 billion over five years to restore “degraded forest ecosystems in Côte d’Ivoire” and promote “sustainable land management approaches”, hoping to “inspire other countries”.

Related Topics:Conference of the Parties Featured Ivory Coast

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Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

4 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.