CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHILD LABOUR IN AFRICA LAUNCHED

Accra, March 16, GNA - The 100-million Campaign against Child Labour in Africa has been launched in Accra with a call on stakeholders to rise and fight against the menace.

The Campaign also seeks to eliminate all forms of discrimination against children across the globe championed by Kailash Satyarthi, the 2014 Noble Laureate and the ambassador for the fight against Child labour.

It also aims at withdrawing 100 million child labourers out of the global estimates of 152 million from all forms of work, especially the hazardous ones.

The global launch of the 100-million Campaign against Child Labour was first held in India with Ghana hosting the Africa launch.

Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, who launched the Campaign, noted that the world could simply not accept the demeaning phenomenon if much attention was not paid because of existing socio economics patterns in the current world order.

Mr Baffour–Awuah said eradicating child labour was a strong milestone in decent work gains because in regulating work, children should not be found in the work space.

“Children have the right to grow as children to be in good health, stay in school and be prevented from situations that expose them to hazards,” he said.

The Sector Minister said Ghana had made a lot of gains in the fight against child labour through formulation and implementation of policies and regulations citing the 1992 Constitution, the Children’s Act, the Human Trafficking Act, and the Labour Act as examples.

In addition, the Minister said Ghana had also put in place child development, social protection and economic empowerment interventions to support the less-privileged families and their children.

He said the selection of Ghana among a few African countries to launch the Campaign was not a mere coincidence or admission of high prevalence of child labour but rather a recognition of the country’s efforts towards the fight against the menace at both international and local levels.

Mr Baffour-Awuah, who cited the Labour Force Survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service in 2015, said about 6,221,425 representing 71 per cent of Ghanaian children did not engage in any forms of work at all.

However, he said there were estimated 1,892,553 of children representing 21.8 per cent engaged in child labour.

Mr Baffour–Awuah appealed to stakeholders to intensify efforts to withdraw those children from the canker.

He said as part of efforts to consolidate gains made under Ghana’s National Plan of Action (NPA Phase-One), the Ministry and its partners had developed and secured Cabinet approval for the implementation of the Phase Two, which seeks to reduce child labour from its present rate of 21.8 per cent to 10 per cent.

Mr Baffour-Awuah said the Ministry had also allocated GH¢500,000, representing 13 per cent of its 2018 Budget, towards the implementation of NPA Two.

“The Ministry, in collaboration with its tripartite constituents and the key stakeholders, are still working hard towards ratification of the forced labour Protocol and other relevant International Instruments aimed at protecting children,” he added.

Madam Otiko Afisah Djaba, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in a speech read on her behalf, said her Ministry deemed the participation of children in decision making as very important.

In light of this, great inputs were sought from children across the country for the latest development of the Child and Family Welfare and Justice for Children policies, she said.

Madam Afisa Djaba said Ghana was working towards ensuring that children who represented about 45 per cent of Ghana’s population would be in a free society and enjoy their rights without any hindrance.

Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Education, in a speech read on his behalf, said government believed that education was the ultimate game changer as it opened many doors of opportunities in any society.

He said education was also the meal ticket out of deprivation and underdevelopment hence the skills learned through education and training were vital tools for self-development for national growth.

Dr Prempeh said it was sad to note that many young people in the country had been unable to access senior high school education and benefit from its ability to transform their lives.

“Many hopes have been destroyed and many brilliant boys and girls have been pushed to the fringes of society because their families could not afford to educate them beyond junior school,” he said.

The statistics between 2012 and 2016 showed an average of 100,000 children, every year, who qualified for senior high school (SHS) education and were placed in public schools were unable to take their places because of financial reasons, the Minister said.

He explained that under the Free Senior High School Policy, government’s vision was to ensure that no child should be denied SHS education by reason of family financial circumstances.

“We are determined to ensure that the quality will not be sacrificed as the policy is rolled out in subsequent years,” he added.

Kailash Satyarthi, on his part, said children were no longer ready to accept injustice and exploitation in any form and stressed the need to create a safer environment for them.

He expressed the opinion that young people were filled with great ideas that, when tapped, could be used in transforming the world.

The 2014 Peace laureate also urged the young to be agents of change in their respective fields and be ready to take up the 100 million Campaign on higher wings.

There were solidarity messages from the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Tertiary Education Workers Union, General Agriculture Workers Union, and All African Students Union among others.


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AFRICA'S POPULATION EXPLOSION A TICKING TIME BOMB, AfDB WARNS

The African Development Bank and its East and North African Governors have stressed the need for urgent measures to match the continent's growing population and youth unemployment, which they likened to a "ticking time bomb."

Africa is projected to have over 840 million youth by 2050 with the continent having the youngest population on earth.

The meeting described the continent's growing young population as a potential growth engine for the world.

"The good news is that the solution is within our reach and will require investments," AfDB, President, Akinwumi Adesina said.

At the end of a two-day consultation at the headquarters of the Bank in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, the Bank and the Governors discussed strategises for closing Africa's $170 billion infrastructure investment gap.

To bridge the investment gap, ensure inclusive growth, and create employment for the continent's population, the meeting endorsed the AfDB-led African Investment Forum and described it as a timely opportunity to catalyse investments into projects and attract social impact financing to Africa.

Tanzania's Minister for Finance and Planning, Isdor Mpango, called for closer involvement of the private sector in financing development on the continent.

Mpango said: "The African Development Bank is well positioned to advise and assist Governments and the private sector to come up with bankable projects."

He called for direct resources to provide budget support and investment opportunities."

Through the African Investment Forum, scheduled for November 7-9, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Bank and its partners intend to showcase bankable projects, attract financing, and provide platforms for investing across Africa. The forum will bring together the AfDB and other global multilateral financial institutions to de-risk investments at scale.

"A uniqueness of the African Investment Forum is that there will be no speeches. The only speeches will be transactions," said Adesina.

Rwanda's Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete said: "The African Development Bank has already discussed the concept of the African Investment Forum with us. The Rwandan Government takes this Forum very seriously."

"Jobs will come from industrialisation. The new approach using the African Investment Forum to de-risk the sector and attract investors is the way to go," said Kenyan Finance Minister, Kiplagat Rotich.

13 per cent of the world's population is estimated to live in sub-Saharan Africa today. That number is projected to more than double by 2050. Four billion (or 36 per cent of the world's population) could live in the region by 2100, according to the UN Population Division. Africa is projected to have over 840 million youth by 2050 with the continent having the youngest population on earth.

According to Adesina, "We have 12 years left to the SDGs. It is an alarm bell because if Africa does not achieve the SDGs, the world won't achieve them. The African Development Bank is accelerating development across Africa through the High 5s. We are deepening our reforms. We deepened our disbursements to the highest levels ever last year and we are leveraging more resources for Africa."

Tunisia's Finance Minister Zied Ladhari recalled how the Bank's 11-year temporary relocation to his country helped strengthen the bonds between them. "We share the Bank's vision. Africa is the continent of the future. This is a great Africa moment with the Bank at the centre. Unleashing the potential of African economies is a task which the Bank must accomplish."

As part of the Bank's High 5 agenda, 13 million African women have benefitted from new electricity connections and 23 million from improvements in agriculture. Also, 10 million African women have benefited from investee projects

An analysis of the African Development Bank's impact from 2010-2017 indicates that 27 million Africans gained access to new electricity connections. 899,000 small businesses were provided with financial services. 35 million have benefitted from improved access to water and sanitation.

"With the Bank's support, Somalia has evolved from a failed to a fragile state," asserted Somalia's Finance Minister, Abdirahman Beileh. "The African Development Bank has been with us throughout. Together we can reach the bright light at the end of the tunnel."

Algeria's Finance Minister, Abderahmane Raouia, said "The biggest challenge for Africa today is job creation. It is a stake of stability and a lever to pull economic growth upwards. We must offer job opportunities for young people to convince them to stay here on the continent."

According to Simon Mizrahi, Director, Delivery, Performance Management and Results, the Bank needs to move from billions to trillions in its funding and leveraging effect.

Egypt's Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire, Mohamed El-Hamzawi, who represented the Finance Minister, said the country has seen two revolutions in 2011 and 2014. He thanked the Bank for supporting the country's macroeconomic stabilization, financial reforms, infrastructure, and energy projects, among others.

Morocco's Economy and Finance Minister, Mohammed Boussaid, praised the Bank's ambition for Africa, and underscored its support for energy, agriculture and infrastructure projects. He said "a capital increase today is not a choice, it is a necessity. Today, the leading export sector in Morocco no longer belongs to traditional sectors, such as phosphates, but to the automotive industry. This generates jobs and adds value for sustainable and robust growth."

With a substantive capital increase, the African Development will be able to execute its robust pipeline of operations (15bn in 2018 alone), including infrastructure and regional integration projects. The prospects for 2018-2020 are bright, with 50.3 million people benefitting from improved access to transport compared to 14 million in 2017. Also, more than 35 million people are expected to benefit from new or improved electricity connections, in contrast to 4.4 million delivered in 2017.

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AFRICAN UNION TO LAUNCH FREE TRADE ZONE

ALGIERS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has decided to launch the African Free Trade Zone, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the head of the AU Commission, said here Saturday.

"On the 31st summit in January in Addis Ababa, we took some very important decisions, particularly the African Free Trade Zone (AFTZ), which will be on the agenda of the next summit on March 21 in Kigali in Rwanda, in addition to the African passport and air transport in the continent," the visiting AU chief told reporters upon his arrival at Algiers International Airport.

All African heads of state and government have been invited to Kigali to sign AFTZ agreement, he added.
It is the first official visit of Faki Mahamat since he was elected as the chairperson of the African Union Commission.

He will hold talks with senior Algerian officials to exchange views on the current African issues and prospects of developing cooperation between AU and Algeria.



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GHANA WINS UNILEVER AFRICA IDEA TROPHY

Team Kool-T from Ghana has emerged the winner of the third Unilever Africa Idea Trophy and will thereby be rewarded with an all-expense paid trip to London for the global final.

Team Classic from Nigeria came second at the competition which held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Both Team Kool-T and Team Classic will be on the London competition – Unilever Future Leaders League – in April.

Selected from universities across the continent, the winning teams will get an opportunity to showcase Africa’s talent at the global competition.

“The Unilever Africa Idea Trophy is designed for second and third year university students with the express intent of combatting youth unemployment on the continent by equipping young people with the skills required in the workplace,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

It said that the competition was made up of multiple challenges across three main stages that build invaluable business acumen and leadership.

“Unilever has embarked on a mission to empower over one million youths in Africa with the tools and skills to be employable,” the Executive Vice President, Unilever Ghana Nigeria, Yaw Nsarkoh, said.

“The Unilever Africa Idea trophy is just one pillar of our youth employability commitment that aims to upskill our youth who are entering the job market,” he said.

This year, the competition partnered premium tea brand, Lipton, so that students could conceptualise and implement solutions to real-life business problems. Lipton provided the students with an exciting opportunity to present ideas that could change the face of the brand on the continent.

“The students are not left alone to solve real problems faced by global brands, they are supported in the form of mentorship from Unilever’s veteran business leaders, assistance from creative agencies, and access to resources and tools to bring their ideas to life while gaining practical knowledge about marketing and sales, finance and business strategy,” Nsarkoh said.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by Team Kool-T read, “This journey has been a life changing experience for Team Kool-T. Having this rare privilege to compete against some of the most talented, vibrant and amazing young people across Africa and emerging overall winners just gave us a priceless experience.

CREDIT :

punchng

A MANCHESTER-BASED AUTHOR WHOSE DEBUT NOVEL WAS INITIALLY REJECTED BY BRITISH PUBLISHERS HAS WON ONE OF THE WORLD'S RICHEST LITERARY PRIZES.

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi - who's from Uganda and moved to the UK 17 years ago - has won one of the Windham Campbell Prizes from Yale University in the US.

She will receive $165,000 (£119,000). "I haven't been earning for a long, long time," she says.

"I really put everything into writing. So for this to happen is unbelievable."

The prize money is more than double the amount that the Booker Prize winner gets, and organisers say it's the richest award dedicated to literature after the Nobel Prize.

Makumbi is one of eight writers to receive Windham Campbell Prizes this year spanning fiction, non-fiction, drama and poetry - and is the only winner to have published just one full-length work.

Two other British writers are also on the list, both for non-fiction - Sarah Bakewelland Olivia Laing.

'Too African'

The prizes were created by writer Donald Windham and also carry the name of his partner Sandy M Campbell. They were first awarded in 2013 to "provide writers with the opportunity to focus on their work independent of financial concerns".

Makumbi said news of the award came out of the blue. "It's American, and normally it's people who have got so many books [behind them]," she said. "So I'm surprised how I was one of them."

Makumbi's debut novel Kintu was first published in Kenya four years ago after British publishers rejected it for being "too African". It was finally released in the UK this January.

The author said British publishers and readers like to have something they can relate to - be it Western characters or familiar settings and storylines - if they're reading about Africa.

But she describes Kintu as "proper, proper Africa".

The book conjures myths and legends to tell the story of a Ugandan family who believe they have been cursed over 250 years.

"I had really locked Europe out," Makumbi says. "But it was a little bit too much - the language, the way I wrote it - they [Brits] were not used to that kind of writing. But they are beginning now to open up I think.

"Readers are realising, OK, if I want to explore Africa I'd rather be told from an African point of view rather than being told things that I'm expected to want to know."

'It's about getting a paycheque'

Makumbi was a high school teacher before moving to the UK to pursue her dream of a writing career. She began by studying creative writing in Manchester, then wrote Kintu while doing a PhD in Lancaster.

The Windham Campbell Prize will help spread the word about the book - but for Makumbi, for now at least, the prize money will be the thing that changes her life.

"I would like to say it's more about getting to be known and whatever, but mainly it's about getting a paycheque," she admits.

"It's mainly about [doing] ordinary things that other people do that have a job. I have a partner but he's not earning much and I've not been really pulling my weight.

"I've just been taking and taking, and we are a working class family, so it's huge. And then, of course, now I can go and do research in different countries for my next project."

'Shocked' by British life

She didn't have to travel far to research a short story collection that will come out next January. It's title is Love Made in Manchester.

"I write the stories as a way of writing back to Ugandans, informing them what happens to us," she says. "I'm telling them, 'You want to come to Britain? Hang on a minute. First read my story.'"

So what impression will Ugandans get of Britain if they do?

"It's not the world that they've been told it is. When you're in Uganda, Britain is the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, The Savoy, The Ritz - because this is how Britain markets itself.

"You never see the working class. That is what takes you by surprise. It's just shocking.

"You come here and see the working class and you're like, I should have paid attention to Dickens!"

CREDIT :

BBC

EAST AFRICA : EAC TO CONTINUE BEING U.S DUMPING GROUND FOR USED CLOTHES

Africa has become a dumping ground for used clothes from the West where it often costs more to dispose of clothing than to export it. This has had a negative impact on local economies and the dignity of Africans. Domestic capital in the industry and the domestic consumer market has been decimated in many African countries.

When the East African Community (EAC) resolved to prioritise the development of a competitive domestic textile and leather sector to provide affordable clothes and leather products in the region, this was a positive step towards determining its own development path. India's textile sector is an example of an inward domestic driven structure.

By limiting the size of textile and garment producers, India encouraged small business, mostly family run. India produces textile and garments that are uniquely Indian and despite the transformation of the sector since 2000, with increased imports changing clothing styles in India and an increased focus on exports, the textile and garment sector is the second largest employer after agriculture in India in a decentralised manufacturing structure that has localised benefits of the garment value chain.

However in a world dominated by neoliberal globalisation, such inward orientated strategies offering domestic protections and privileges have been under attack. Tanzania, once very insular under Julius Nyerere who focused on development, in particular rural cooperative development, found too impossible to push back on the conservative agenda of global economic powers in the 1980s. A year before Nyerere stepped down from power in 1985, Tanzania succumbed to pressure from the Bretton Woods institutions, liberalising trade policy.

The consequent liberalisation of tariff lines along with structural adjustment policies have created economic sectors based on export based growth and dependent on foreign direct investment. As the result of liberalisation, policy shifted towards export led growth in textile and garment which has not developed the sector; instead Tanzania's cotton leaves the country unprocessed and second hand clothing, as well as cheap and illegal imports have flooded the country.

Export led growth in the Africa's garment sector has focused on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that has created a complete dependence of African garment workers and the communities they support on the United States market and legislature.

CREDIT :

AllAfrica

NIGERIA: BUSINESS MOGUL DANGOTE TOPS AFRICA'S RICHES LISTS

Aliko Dangote

Cape Town — President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has retained his position as the richest man in Africa. His fortune is estimated at U.S.$14.1 billion.

According to Forbes, Dangote ranks number 100 globally with the source of his wealth being cement, salt, sugar and flour manufacturing. He founded and chairs Dangote Cement, Africa's largest cement manufacturer. He also owns sugar, salt and four milling businesses that are all listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Aliko Dangote recently donated a U.S.$3.5 million building to the Bayero University in Kano.

Dangote makes no secret of his desire to buy English Premier League football clubArsenal.

Dangote is Africa's richest man for the eighth year in a row. Other Nigerians on the African list are Globacom Chairman Mike Adenuga at position 365 with a net worth of U.S.$5.3 billion aand ranked the fifth richest in Africa and Folorunsho Alakija rated the 15th richest in Africa, with a  fortune currently estimated at U.S.$1.6 billion.

CREDIT:

AllAfrica