The House of Representatives Committee on Environment has indicted the Federal Ministry of Environment over the execution of the contract to procure 750,000 units of Clean Cookstoves and 18,000 units of Wonder Bags valued at N9,287,250,000.
The Velodrome, National Stadium, Abuja…location of the Clean Cookstoves delivery. Photo credit: abujafacts.ng
According to a report produced by its Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate allegations of irregularities in the procurement, execution and delivery of the contract made by the Ministry, the legislators concluded that two major factors attested to the fact that the pace of the contract’s execution was substantially impaired.
Firstly, the Committee disclosed, despite being aware of restriction on importation of some key components of the Wonder Bags, the Ministry appeared not to have taken enough steps to ameliorate the situation.
Some components of the Wonder Bags to be supplied via importation by the contractor are banned by Customs & Excise because they are made up of textile materials additives. The Committee found that a waiver supposedly being processed by the Ministry was never communicated to the contractor, Messrs Integra Renewable Energy Systems Limited.
Secondly, the Committee claimed that the contractor was starved off funds to execute the contract and was not able to be discharged from the terms of the Advance Payment Guarantee (APG).
The cookstoves
Indeed, the Committee discovered that, as a result of numerous letters written by a director in the Ministry to the contactor’s bank, the bank withheld a balance of about N300 million of 15% (N1,393,087,500) APG payment.
A letter stated that since the advance payment of 15% contract sum made to the contractor some months ago, no consignment of the ordered items had officially been received from the contractor.
Another letter alleged that the purported items had not been officially received by the Ministry’s Stores & Verification Department as they (the items) were in the contractor’s own storage facility instead of the Ministry’s store.
But the Committee found out that, via a directive from an official in the Ministry, the contractor had procured and delivered as at April 29, 2015 120,000 units of cookstoves to the Velodrome at the Abuja National Stadium, a facility the Ministry specially adopted for that purpose.
LPG stoves
Besides directing the permanent secretary, Nana Fatimah Mede, to take all necessary steps to ensure that the contract is preserved and executed to ensure the full benefit of Nigerians, the legislators asked the Ministry to write the contractor’s bank, acknowledging the receipt of some quantities of the stoves to enable the contractor access the balance of the N300 million from the 15% APG and facilitate the consequent discharge of the terms of the APG.
While urging the Ministry to regularise the over 120,000 stoves supplied by the contractor, the Committee likewise directed the Ministry to liaise with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the components of the Wonder Bags that fall into the Nigerian Customs prohibition list are delisted to enable the contractor pay for and bring in the full compliments of the bags into the country.
Alternatively, the Ministry was asked to expunge provisions that are in the prohibited Customs list in the contract to avoid further delay in the procurement of the stoves and bags.
Additionally, the Ministry was directed to extend the project for a further period of 10 weeks to enable the contractor have enough time to procure the stoves and bags.
Fish is a source of high quality protein for most households across Cameroon. The low cost for fish products some years back attracted high demand in the local markets which encouraged several people to go into fish farming. But, as our reporter Aaron Yancho Kaah narrates below, several farmers are now leaving the once lucrative venture.
A fish pond in Cameroon
Over the years dug-out ponds have been the commonest and the most convenient enclosures for fish farming.
But the recent water scarcity in the country has put more than 50% of small scale fish farmers out of business and production. Many ponds have dried out as a result of the rising temperatures, poor land and water conservation methods.
The few who depended on pipeline irrigation systems to supply water to their ponds have also suffered a setback. The drop in the water level in these ponds as a result of the too much sunshine has also severely affected production.
This has subsequently led to poverty in several homesteads and unemployment. The price for fish has increased drastically in the local markets.
The average Cameroonian who depended on fish farming for survival has to turn to other ways of making ends meet.
With the climate changes and the seasonal uncertainties that have brought about this water scarcity, it is not very clear when these poor fish farmers will remain in this business for long.
Two news reports penultimate week touched on the problem of persistent traffic gridlock in Lagos, which Governor Akinwunmi Amode expressed great concern about and elucidated how his administration intends to ameliorate the embarrassing problem.
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org
At the inauguration of the multi-level car park built by Ikoyi Club 1938, the Deputy Governor Dr. Oluranti Adebule, who represented the governor, told the audience that the Ambode administration was resolute about all motorists and road users in Lagos to comply with all traffic laws without exception. Speaking through his deputy, the governor reiterated the determination of his administration to find a lasting solution to the incessant gridlock on Lagos roads, which is part of the goals of his government. And that the provision of parking facilities such as the one built by the Ikoyi Club 1938 is a good example of a social club’s effort in complementing what the government is doing to address the unpleasant gridlock in Lagos. While he commended the effort of the club, he called on other social clubs to emulate the worthy example of what Ikoyi Club 1938 was able to do for the benefit of its members and other visitors who are the target users of the modern car park.
The second news report was on the tour of Governor Ambode to various traffic bottlenecks in Lagos where he went for “on-the sport assessment” of the traffic situation in these areas in order to determine what can be done to ameliorate the problem. Governor Ambode said that by leaving the comfort of his office, it shows that, his style of administration, in a manner of speaking, is not an ARM CHAIR (my emphasis) where officials sit in their air-conditioned offices at Alausa and could not be bothered with the reality of what Lagosians go through in their day-to-day living. What a good talk and exemplary leadership’s modus operandi. Coming out of the tour was an official pronouncement by the governor that “all existing bus stops sited close to markets must be relocated immediately,” as a short gun measure to minimise the gridlock caused by the human activities of the two strange bed fellows. Furthermore, the governor gave the assurance that taming the hydra-headed traffic congestion in Lagos is a task that must be done by his administration.
Reading his body language, Governor Ambode has good intension, but how the good intension would translate into real action is the crux of the matter. The immediate removal of bus stops sited close to markets is just one solution to many of the factors causing traffic gridlock in Lagos and its environs. Therefore, this writer wants to humbly proffer other solutions which Governor Ambode ought to consider, if he is desirous of tackling the gridlock frontally. The solutions are classified into law enforcement, change of behavioural attitude, work ethics, urban planning/renewal effective monitoring and agency collaboration albeit not necessarily in the other of sequence, but they are integral and complementary to each other.
A Lagos gridlock. Photo credit: rhythm93.7.com
Effective enforcement of traffic law is an imperative to traffic calming and control in any city. It is the basis for stipulating the dos and don’ts of motorists and other road users, punishment for violation, protection of road users, parking rules and other traffic regulations to facilitate smooth traffic flow in and out of the city. Apart from its regulatory functions, it serves as a legal instrument for the prosecution of traffic offenders in a court of law. A platform the public prosecutor can rely upon to defend government action whenever the need arises, in order to be seen that government is not arbitrary or vindictive. As in all laws meant to curb the excesses of human beings against one another, it is the strict compliance of such laws that would determine their effectiveness and impact on the society. In other words, laws must be obeyed voluntarily by the citizenry and should be strictly enforced by government in order to curb the excesses of obdurate citizens who have penchant for breaking the law.
Governor Ambode has confirmed that the Lagos State government has a subsisting Lagos traffic law to control traffic in the metropolis including the activities of the ubiquitous okada operators. The singular reason why the impact of the law is not being felt positively regarding traffic control in Lagos is the lack of strict enforcement of the provisions of the law. The regulatory body seems to have gone to sleep thinking that the law will enforce itself rather than the statutory agencies of government enforcing the law. Once government is complacent with law enforcement, especially traffic law or any law for that matter, the citizens are given free wheel to be lawless. As they say in local parlance, ilu tio sofin, ese o si. Literarily meaning: A town not governed by law is sinless. This is what is accountable for the indiscipline and frequent display of road rage by all categories of motorists on Lagos roads. People seldom obey traffic light, traffic wardens’ instructions are treated with levity, parking signs are ignored, display of bigmanism is becoming part of our urbanism; and effective monitoring of traffic regulations by superior officials of the regulatory traffic agency is done half heartedly, despite the empowerment given to these officials by the government to facilitate their movement around the city to sport-check traffic flow and the performance of their field officers.
Given the above caveat, Governor Ambode must ensure that all traffic laws in Lagos are enforced by the law enforcers, while all road users must comply with the laws. It is when the officials fully support government in implementing its laudable policy of unlocking traffic gridlock in Lagos will relative relief can prevail in the mega city. The wishy-washy way the traffic laws are being implemented calls to question the seriousness of government to really tackle the problem on-head. Ditto for the lack of responsibility of government officials who are being paid monthly salaries for under performance.
If the change mantra of the new dispensation is to be of consequence, Governor Ambode must tell his traffic regulatory agencies to shape up or shape out. The era of arm chair operation and lackadaisical work ethics must stop! There must be performance indicators to gauge the performance of every official of Lagos State government in all Ministries, the Ministry of Transportation being the prime target.
Re-introduction of tested traffic regulation can make a difference in behavioural attitude. In tow with the above suggestion, the Lagos State government should re-introduce the regulation of sending traffic offenders to mental institutions to examine their state of mind all in the effort to curb obnoxious attitude of motorists. When this particular regulation was first introduced circa 1993(?), it was very effective in controlling the nasty behavior of commercial drivers who were found of driving against traffic at the slightest sign of a traffic hold up. But with time, the enforcement of the law was inexplicably relaxed, prompting the target commercial drivers to return to their old habit of lawless driving. A drastic problem requires a drastic solution. Lagos gridlock is an embarrassing problem, which requires a variety of solution no matter how unpopular, but inasmuch as it is effective, so be it. We should let logic rules our mind, not sentiment.
Innovative urban development planning cannot be overemphasised. In the quest for a solution to the incessant traffic congestion in Lagos, the Ministry of Physical Planning in conjunction with the allied Ministry of Transportation has a major role to play. The handiworks of the two Ministries must been evident in their innovativeness to ameliorate traffic jam in the city, not just a siddon-look approach as if the problem is insurmountable. Transportation problem can be enormously complex. It is not well understood by the experts, let alone by the public. Lack of understanding, however, keeps no one from proposing remedies. Again, actions that may be popular may not solve traffic problem, and actions that may help may not be popular. This is a common dilemma, but should not drive us into a cul-de sac. Urban planners with specialisation in transportation planning in the employ of Lagos State government must demonstrate their expertise in practice by coming up with innovative ideas in collaboration with traffic engineers on how to unlock the gridlock. For example, transportation planners must consider where it is ideal to provide additional infrastructure to ease traffic congestion such as alternative roads to places where people frequently visit for shopping or recreation.
Provision for more public parking facilities is a necessity. Whereas public parking facilities are insufficient within the metropolis, there are vacant lots around Broad Street on Lagos Island whose ownership has been traced to the Lagos State government. A planning proposal for the development of these lots to car parks should be brought to the attention of the governor for his consideration. Likewise, the car parks at Marina have not been put to optimum utilisation. They require upgrading and modernisation to multi-level car parks for maximum usage and once this is done, motorists coming to the Central Business District would not be fearful of where to park their vehicles. The current modus operandi of car park around the CBD is an all comer’s affairs, a mumbo- jumbo arrangement where one cannot exactly determine the holding capacity of the car parks, if there is a need for car count or feasibility study to warrant an improvement of the existing situation. In already built up areas, government can apply the power of “eminent domain” to acquire land for public use to develop parking facilities once they are for the good of the majority, which good urban governance connotes.
A re-think of bringing back the park-and-ride system can also be a worthy option to control inflow of traffic into ever-congested areas in Lagos. The improvised park-and-ride site located at the old Lagos toll gate is miniature of what is required along that axis. The old site of the park-and-ride around the National Theatre can still be considered for re-use because the need for it now is compelling.
Measures to curb the activities of unruly tanker driversrequire urgent attention. Mention must be made of the operations of tanker drivers who menacingly drive their articulated vehicles in defiance of posted speed limit on Lagos roads. These lawless drivers park their vehicles indiscriminately at the road sides for days on end ostensibly waiting to load fuel from the oil depots at the Tin Can Island. The law has to be applied to the time when these tanker drivers can operate on Lagos roads for sanity to prevail. There is an existing ordinance to that effect in Lagos. The government must have the political will to enforce it. To condone the tanker drivers to do as they please is a sign of weakness of government authority. They should not be above the law, but under the ambit of the law.
Let us renew Lagos and its various districts. The issue of decentralisation of commonly used central places such as markets, shopping malls and event centres (new generation of activity centres) is a good urban development strategy for decongestion on the roads. If the recommendation for the creation of a specific number of activity centres as contained in the outdated Metropolitan Plan for Lagos (1980-2000) can still be accommodated in the regional development of the Lagos Mega City, Governor Ambode should ask for the advice of his urban planning officers or planning consultants to explore the possibility of creating additional activity centres within the metropolis. The Lagos-Epe axis of the mega city and Lagos-Badagry areas are yearning for such facilities. The trending rapid development with the concomitant population drift to these areas justifies the need. We should start to introduce the development of “smart neighborhood/city”, which is a contemporary urban renewal strategy or new urbanism where people shop, work and recreate within workable distance of their residence with very minimal need for automobile as a mode of transportation.
Application of Development Control standards and accountability must be the norm for urban planning practice in Lagos. In addition to the strict enforcement of traffic law, Governor Ambode must focus attention on the strict enforcement and compliance of the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Law (2010) and Town Planning Regulations meant to back the law. In an earlier write-up, this writer pointedly enumerated some of the urban planning foibles being experienced in Lagos Mega City due to what is considered in planning parlance asurbicide (the death of a city at the hands of its own people through the misguided efforts of its officials or the indifference and neglect of its citizens). Nothing fits perfectly into this scenario of what obtains in urban planning practice in Lagos. The granting of inappropriate approvals for incompatible land uses, conversion of buildings to schools/offices in purely residential areas and location of multiple traffic-inducing activities such as banks, churches, mosques, retail stores and petrol stations on a stretch of ever- busy roads and in obscure places, many of which lack adequate setbacks and provision for off- street parking for their clienteles are contributory factors compounding the gridlock in Lagos, if the truth must be told.
Governor Ambode is advised to tour some of these areas along Alagomeji, Adekunle, Oyingbo, Apapa Road on the Mainland, part of Lagos Island and Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway as an eye opener for him to know more about the human planning errors and the underlying causes of traffic chaos in Lagos. A situation where indiscriminate approval is given for any development without regard to prescribed development control standard and due diligence of the implication on the smooth flow of traffic, is inimical to good urban planning practice. It must not be condoned by the new administration and whoever indulges in such destructive planning practice must be called to defend his/her action(s), otherwise it is tantamount to conspiracy of silence by the regulatory authority for physical planning and development control.
The final admonition is that Governor Ambode must declare total war on all kinds of indiscipline causing traffic gridlock in the nooks and crannies of Lagos Mega City. One of the effective methods he can go about it, is to set up his own monitoring team who will watch the watchers. A selected group of “undercover operatives” who will constantly monitor the conduct of every official’s work ethics in Lagos State. The government can also set up a special telephone hotline dedicated for public complaint about any suspicious behavior that could aid and abet traffic gridlock. For any city to be on the path of economic buoyancy and a destination of choice for visitors, it must be user-friendly by design and administered by a focused leadership who is ready to promote good urban governance in a pragmatic way. Governor Ambode by his recent utterances on matters of public interest cut a figure of a deep thinker and a doer, a new era Action Governor.
By Yacoob Abiodun (Urban Planner and Urban Planning Advocate) in Hayward, California, USA
Hydro-electric power is one renewable energy source that is in abundant supply in Africa
The Eranove Group, a major pan-African player in the electricity and water sectors, on Thursday June 18, 2015 in Bamako signed a 30-year concession agreement with the government of the Republic of Mali through its subsidiary Kenié Energie Renouvelable. Under the agreement, which is effective from the date of signing, the Group will finance, develop, build and operate the Kenié hydro-electric dam located in Baguinéda on the Niger River, 35 km east of Bamako. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mamadou Diarra, the Minister of Energy and Water, Mamadou Frankaly Keïta, and the Minister of Investment Promotion and Private Sector, Mamadou Gaoussou Diarra.
Done deal: Officials of Eranove Group and Mali Government sign agreement
According to the parties, the agreement represents an important step forward for the Eranove Group. The Group’s managing duo of Vincent Le Guennou, Co-CEO of Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Eranove Group, and Marc Albérola, CEO of the Eranove Group, made the trip to Bamako in Mali, specifically to get the project up and running.
The signing of the concession agreement is likewise an important move for the Republic of Mali. According to World Bank estimates, the country’s current installed power capacity of approximately 414 MW covers only half of potential demand. The Kenié hydro-electric facility, with its installed capacity of 42 MW, will help Mali respond to this energy challenge. Initial simulations suggest that the Kenié dam could produce around 175 GWh, which is equivalent to the average annual consumption of 175,000 households. What is more, the structure will enable Mali to make better use of its hydro-electric potential and thus reduce its dependence on imported hydrocarbons.
With an estimated potential of 400,000 MW “hydro-electric power is one renewable energy source that is in abundant supply in Africa. As part of the regional integration of power transmission networks, hydro-electricity can play a key role in increasing power generation capacity. And we mustn’t forget micro and pico hydro-electricity either. These small hydro-electric facilities can supply power to villages or groups of villages in remote areas far away from interconnected transmission systems. Hydro-electricity is a renewable and competitive source of power in terms of production costs, and could even play a role in the financial balancing of power sectors and in meeting demand. This would prove hugely beneficial both for local populations and for regional industrial development,” assesses Marc Albérola, CEO of the Eranove Group.
The signing of the concession agreement comes after several years of cooperation between the Republic of Mali’s Ministry of Energy and Water and IFC InfraVentures. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. Working together, these institutions conducted preliminary feasibility studies followed by an international call for tenders, which resulted in the selection of the Eranove Group as a strategic partner. The agreement of 18 June 2015 is a significant milestone in the implementation of the project, as the financing of the project – estimated at EUR 110 million – can now get under way. According to the current project schedule, construction is due to begin in 2016 and the dam would be put into operation in 2020. The dam will then be operated under a concession agreement by Kenié Energie Renouvelable, a new subsidiary of the Eranove Group, whose shareholders will also include IFC InfraVentures.
Supported by Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a pan-African leader in private equity investment that has raised over USD 2.5 billion in assets for the continent, the Eranove Group is embarking on a new stage in its pan-African development.
In addition to its operations in Mali, the Eranove Group already has a historic presence in Senegal, through water distribution company SDE, and in Côte d’Ivoire, via electricity companies CIE and CIPREL, water distribution company SODECI and AWALE.
Operating over 1,100 MW of power generation facilities in Côte d’Ivoire, the Eranove Group currently accounts for nearly 70% of the country’s installed capacity and invests in a number of projects. CIE mainly operates six hydro-electric dams generating 604 MW of power with high availability rates.
The Eranove Group has fronted and coordinated one of the biggest infrastructure investments in Côte d’Ivoire in recent years, in the form of the CIPREL power plant (EUR 343 million). After an initial phase, which began in January 2014 (a 110 MW gas turbine), the second phase (a 110 MW steam turbine) will be completed in late 2015, creating a combined-cycle plant.
Non-governmental and farmer organisations from South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda have condemned the go-ahead given by the South African GMO authorities for Monsanto to commercially sell its genetically modified (GM) “drought-tolerant” maize seed for cultivation in South Africa. According to the groups, there is no evidence showing that the drought tolerant trait even works.
A corn field
The organisations include: African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO), União Nacional de Camponeses (UNAC), Kenya Biodiversity Coalition (KBioC), Kenya Food Rights Alliance (KeFRA) and Eastern and Southern African Small-Scale Farmers Forum Uganda (ESAFF, Uganda).
According toMariam Mayet of the ACB, “the GM maize (MON87460) has not undergone proper risk assessment anywhere in the world and has no history of safe use. South Africans who are already being force-fed with old risky GM traits will now be subject to an utterly new foreign, untested and risky transgene in their daily food.”
MON 87460 stems from of a Monsanto/Gates Foundation project, Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA). Other key project partners include the Howard Buffet Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT). The project is being implemented in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique, and offers the GM drought tolerant maize to smallholder farmers in Africa as a ‘Climate Smart’ solution to abiotic stresses such as drought. So far, a whopping US$85 million has been injected into the WEMA project, while Monsanto has “donated” its drought-tolerant technology, which contains a bacterial coldshock protein gene (-csp), its insect resistant bt gene (Cry1Ab) and technical expertise.
The insect resistant gene (Cry1Ab) “donated” by Monsanto to WEMA is an old throw-away technology, now discontinued in South Africa, where massive pest resistance is widely reported. According toDaniel Maingi of the Kenya Food Rights Alliance, “a single drought tolerant gene is not up to the task of providing a solution to the complex physiology of drought tolerance. Ironically, using simple agroecological practices, such as organic matter and mulching, farmers can obtain even higher yield savings than this expensive technology offered by WEMA.”
The WEMA project has been slammed for strong-arming the governments of Tanzania and Mozambique into amending biosafety and seed laws in order to pave the way for eventual roll-out of the GM drought tolerant maize in those countries. In Kenya the import ban on GMOs is coming under increasing pressure from the WEMA project, and in Uganda pressure is being exerted on Parliamentarians to pass a permissive Biosafety Bill.
WEMA field trials began in late 2010 in Kenya and Uganda. However, regulatory issues as well as fierce resistance to GMOs have made commercialisation in these countries impossible. In Kenya, a Parliamentary Decree passed in 2012 banned the import of GMOs into the country, pending investigation into their potential impacts. A task force has reported to the Kenyan Parliament concerns over lack of safety data on GMOs and related pesticides and lack of government capacity to assess and monitor the impact of GMOs. According toAnne Maina of KBioC, “news that South Africa has allowed the commercial growing of Monsanto’s GM drought tolerant maize will greatly embolden the WEMA lobby into pressuring our Parliament to relax the current ban, despite the stark warnings of the GMO task force”. In Uganda, the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill was approved by Cabinet in May 2015 and, according to ESAFF Uganda, there is tremendous pressure for Parliament to pass the Bill.
“Mock trials” have been held in Tanzania and Mozambique in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Both countries had “strict liability” provisions in their respective biosafety laws. Under severe and sustained pressure from scientists associated with the WEMA project, these provisions were changed to fault based liabilty.
Abdallah Mkindi of the Tanzania Biodiversity Alliance (TABIO)said: “Tanzania had one of the best biosafety regimes on the continent, which has now been undemocratically amended so that this false climate solution – GM drought maize – can be introduced into the country. The real solution to prepare for climate change is to support smallholder producers to sustain and increase agricultural diversity and resilience, do away with harmful chemicals and place smallholders at the centre of control over their resources and decision-making.”
Mozambique’s Seed Law explicitly did not allow the importation of GM seed into the country. This law has beem amended to allow for GM seed to be imported. The current seed law, approved by the Council of Ministers in 2013 and made available publicly in 2014, in terms of Article 47 (3), states that the importation of GMO seed is permitted under the provisions of specific legislation, contrary to Article 33 of the original law that forbade and banned the import and use of GM seed in Mozambique. Consequently, authorities in Mozambique approved field trials of GM drought tolerant maize in Chokwe.
Agostinho Bento of UNAC, a member of La Via Campesina Africa, said: “The solution to hunger and climate change is food and seed sovereignty, but WEMA is rolling out the red carpet for agribusiness, which profits from creating farmer dependency on their risky products. We reject WEMA and Monsanto’s bogus drought tolerant GM maize and demand food sovereignty in our countries”.
According to Mayet, “the ACB is strongly considering appealling against the decision of the South African authorities in granting approval for this sham GM drought tolerant maize. “
Lagosians woke on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 to witness yet another fire outbreak in the Iyana-Ipaja area of the State. The blaze is said to have started June 2, 2015, after a fuel-laden tanker fell off a bridge and exploded along the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
An incident involving a petrol tanker in Lagos
Within a few days interval, a tanker, carrying about 33,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) crashed into a building along Isheri Road while racing with another tanker and a commercial bus. The collision resulted in a spillage of the diesel into a gutter which was reportedly ignited by the flames of a suya seller located close by. The incident resulted in the destruction of 34 shops and 15 houses. And indeed, only just few days back the same incident happened in the Onitsha, Anambra State, killing not less than 69 persons and destroying properties worth millions of Naira.
In a statement on Tuesday, the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) Nigeria Chairperson, Dr. Eugene Itua, decried the incidents and considered them avoidable. He noted if the refineries were to be working the movement of petroleum products via tankers would not have been the order of the day but the use of pipelines which constitute less hazard to the public. Dr. Itua urged the new government, as a matter of priority and urgency, to fix the refineries and save the nation from the myriads of problems and disasters associated with storage and transportation of petroleum products. He also pointed out that increasing public awareness and greater commitment from the part of government agencies responsible for fighting fire are necessary ingredients to putting an end to fire menace which seem to have engulfed the nation in recent times.
Dr Itua further recalled that in 2014, at least 137 people were killed during fire disasters while 20 people were killed between January and March, 2015 by fire. Also, in 2014, no fewer N101.52 billion estimated properties were saved from being destroyed by the fire services, while the estimated worth of properties saved between January and March, 2015 stood at N36.6 billion. The statistics revealed that 1,263 fire calls were received in 2014 and 524 fire calls also received between the first quarters of this year.
In support of the government’s effort, Dr. Itua said IIRSM Nigeria Branch has embarked on the sensitisation of employees and business owners in Lagos Market on Institutionalisation Of Safety Culture and Prevention Of Fire In The Market Place starting with Ashade Market, Allen and Ladipo Market in April and May, this year, respectively. IIRSM intends to reach to all markets in Lagos with this sensitisation. It is believed with such awareness a greater number of the public will be given the right to know on how to prevent fire incidence and take safer responsibilities in ensuring life and properties are protected within and outside the confines of the market.
His Holiness Pope Francis on Thursday June 18, 2015 released his much-anticipated encyclical, commanding the faithful to take action to protect our planet and solve climate change now. The Pope’s message calls on all of us to stop abusing the Earth’s resources and make the sacrifices necessary to combat climate change – before it’s too late.
Pope Francis. Photo credit: dailytimes.com.ng
Throughout his encyclical, Pope Francis makes clear: We have to do more to safeguard our common home, like reducing our consumption, tackling pollution and greenhouse gases, and transitioning to clean energy. If we don’t, we’ll face grave consequences that put our ecosystem and human life at risk, especially for less-developed countries, he warns.
An encyclical is one of the most important documents a Pope can issue, reserved for only the most pressing global matters. With his encyclical on climate change, Pope Francis makes clear that addressing climate change is a matter of social justice – and that all of us must do our part to care for the world we inhabit.
The papal encyclical has however been swiftly greeted by a barrage of affirmative reactions from all over the globe.
For instance, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has welcomed the papal encyclical, which highlights that climate change is one of the principal challenges facing humanity, and that it is a moral issue requiring respectful dialogue with all parts of society. The Secretary-General notes the encyclical’s findings that there is “a very solid scientific consensus” showing significant warming of the climate system and that most global warming in recent decades is “mainly a result of human activity”.
Ban Ki-moon reaffirms that humanity has a significant obligation to care for and protect our common home, the planet Earth, and to show solidarity with the poorest and most vulnerable members of society who are suffering most from climate impacts. He therefore urges governments to place the global common good above national interests and to adopt an ambitious, universal climate agreement in Paris this year.
The Secretary-General welcomes the contributions of all religious leaders and people of influence in responding to the climate challenge and in strengthening sustainable development. He looks forward to welcoming Pope Francis at the United Nations in September to address the UN General Assembly.
Similarly, Kofi Annan, Chair of the Africa Progress Panel and Kofi Annan Foundation, expresses support to the encyclical on climate change by Pope Francis.
His words: “As Pope Francis reaffirms, climate change is an all-encompassing threat: it is a threat to our security, our health, and our sources of fresh water and food. Such conditions could displace tens of millions of people, dwarfing current migration and fuelling further conflicts. I applaud the Pope for his strong moral and ethical leadership. We need more of such inspired leadership. Will we see it at the climate summit in Paris?”
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have also welcomed Pope Francis’ strong moral case for people and leaders to tackle climate change delivered in Thursday’s historic papal encyclical.
In a rare open letter that will shape Catholic teaching, His Holiness Pope Francis laid out our moral imperative to “care for our common home” and end the inequalities which are driving interlinked problems of climate change and poverty. Pope Francis is the latest and most high profile voice to join a long list of people, from scientists, business leaders, economists, labour leaders and youth, who understand that taking action on climate change and empowering poorer countries to develop sustainably is both morally and economically right. The fossil fuel industry is increasingly the sole and isolated voice opposing the groundswell of momentum for action.
Thursday’s call is set to provide a massive boostto two big summits happening this year on sustainable development and climate change. Politicians have a chance to listen to their people and deliver plans to move towards a poverty-free world powered by 100% renewable energy at the UN General Assembly on the Sustainable Development Goals in September (the Pope will be speaking at the UNGA and to the US Congress) and COP21 in December.
NGOs and their allies in the faith community made the following comments:
Bernd Nilles, Secretary-General, CIDSE: “The coming months will be critical for decisions about development and care for the planet. We hope that politicians and decision makers will take the strong messages of the encyclical on board and that the outcomes of these international meetings will put the common interest first and be able to make the difference.”
Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Oxfam International: “The call by His Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Francis, reminds us that climate change is first and foremost about people. The gross and growing inequality between rich and poor has been made worse by the climate crisis. Moreover, the emissions of the rich are driving weather extremes that hit the poorest hardest. Only when world leaders heed the Pope’s moral leadership on these two defining issues, inequality and climate change, will our societies become safer, more prosperous and more equal.”
Christine Allen, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Christian Aid: “From William Wilberforce and the abolition of slavery in Britain to Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for equal rights in the US and Desmond Tutu’s victory over apartheid in South Africa, Christians acting on their sense of moral duty have a history of transforming society for the better. If Christians in Europe and all over the world heed its call as many are already doing, the Pope’s Encyclical could well spark another transformation on a global scale – and Europe and the world would be a better place for it.”
Tomas Insua, Movement Coordinator of the Global Catholic Climate Movement: “This beautiful and urgent call to action from Pope Francis, besides challenging our lifestyles and behaviors, has perfect timing ahead of the COP21 summit. It was Pope Francis himself who said he wanted the encyclical to influence the international climate negotiations, so now it’s time for Catholics and all people of good will to mobilise and remind world leaders of the moral imperative of climate action.”
Dr Guillermo Kerber, Programme Executive on Care for Creation and Climate Justice, World Council of Churches: “The World Council of Churches welcomes Pope Francis’ encyclical which catalyses what churches and ecumenical organisations have been doing for decades – caring for the earth and fighting for climate justice. By affirming human induced climate change and its impacts on the poorest and most vulnerable communities, the Encyclical is an important call to urgently act as individuals, citizens and also at the international level to effectively respond to the climate crisis.”
Reverend Fletch Harper, Co-ordinator at Our Voices and Director at Greenfaith USA: “As co-organisers of the June 28 March in Rome to St Peter’s Square – Una Terra, Una Famiglia Umana – the Our Voices movement looks forward to showing that an incredibly diverse, rainbow coalition of Catholics, followers of all faiths, environmentalists and people of good will support the Pope’s call for action by world leaders. The Encyclical shows that the global multifaith tide of demand for climate action is growing dramatically.”
Dr. Steven Timmermans, Executive Director, Christian Reformed Church in North America: “We affirm Pope Francis’ moral framing of the threats posed by climate change. We have too many brothers and sisters around the world living on the edge of poverty whose livelihoods are threatened—and too many little ones in our congregations set to inherit a dangerously broken world—to believe otherwise. For too long the church has been silent about the moral travesty of climate change. Today, the Pope has said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and the Christian Reformed Church welcomes his voice.”
Anthony Hobley, CEO of the Carbon Tracker Initiative: “Pope Francis’s encyclical has added a moral imperative to the financial case for preventing catastrophic climate change. Carbon Tracker’s financial analysis has shown that plans to invest trillions of dollars in high-cost fossil fuel projects does not make economic sense. Pope Francis makes it clear it doesn’t make moral or ethical sense either. These fossil fuel assets that may never be burned anyway pose significant risks for investors and will impact the pension pots of millions of ordinary people.”
Harjeet Singh, Climate Policy Manager for ActionAid International: “The Pope’s moral call to protect the environment and humanity is backed by science. Pope Francis has hit the nail on the head by connecting the climate crisis with its root causes of huge consumption, massive inequality and destruction of ecosystems. As he says, real solutions need to be based on equity, justice and morality.”
Louise Whiting, Senior Policy Analyst, Water Security and Climate Change, WaterAid UK: “Climate change will be felt mainly through water – too much in times of flood, too little in times of drought, and in many places increasingly saline or polluted. Though the world’s poorest have done least to contribute to this global catastrophe, they are the most vulnerable to climate change and least able to cope. As the world’s temperature rises, basic needs for water – including drinking, cooking, washing, sanitation and hygiene – must be given priority, to ensure the health and well-being of those most vulnerable, and to make communities more resilient to climatic changes. Developed world support to help least-developed countries adapt to the new realities will be essential.”
Martin Kaiser, Head of International Climate Politics at Greenpeace: “We welcome the clarity and directness of the encyclical about the weakness of the international political reaction to climate change, with too many special interests prevailing over the common good. The Pope’s words should jolt heads of government out of their complacency, and encourage them to bring in tough laws in their own countries to protect the climate, and to agree a strong climate protocol in Paris at the end of this year.
“The encyclical rightly points out that deforestation is a big contributor to carbon emissions and the loss of species. We endorse Pope Francis’ call on world leaders to protect the forests and oceans, and listen to the demands of people and scientists worldwide.
“Finally, we hope that the Vatican Bank will join the growing movement which is divesting from coal, oil and dangerous nuclear power and support renewables, in keeping with the Pope’s words. And we look forward to the Church’s support for an energy revolution at local level as well.”
As the real estate industry in Nigeria braces up for more contribution to the nation economy, managing director of Alpha Mead Facility & Management Services Ltd. (or AMFacilities), Femi Akintunde, has charged facility managers in the country to position themselves as key drivers of the real estate sector.
Left to right: Femi Akintunde, Managing Director/CEO, Alpha Mead Facilities & Management Services Ltd (AMFacilities); Udo Okonjo, CEO, Fine & Country West Africa; Wale Odufalu, GM Corporate Services, AMFacilities (and Chair, BIFM Nigeria); and Mr. John Strang, MD, Fine & Country, at the 2015 Edition of the Nigerian Facilities Management Roundtable sponsored by AMFacilities in Lagos.
Akintunde made this statement at the fourth edition of the Nigerian Facility Management Roundtable, sponsored by Alpha Mead in commemoration of the World Facility Management Day: a day earmarked internationally by Global FM, a worldwide alliance of member-centred facility management organisations, providing leadership in the advancement of the FM profession through FM institutions such as the BIFM, IFMA International, FMA, Australia and many others around the globe.
Speaking during his welcome address at the event, Akintunde who quoted a recent report by PriceWaterCoopers (PWC), that Real Estate investment value is expected to increase from $9.16 billion to $13.65 billion next year, said the facility management industry must brace up to support and sustain the anticipated growth.
He said: “Going by this revelation however, for Nigeria to meet its Vision 2020 target, a lot still needs to be done in the area of improved public infrastructure to drive the required positive change in the real estate and facility management industry, and the general living condition of the average Nigerian.”
He added that, for the facility management and real estate sectors to contribute meaningfully to the Nigerian economy, practitioners must embrace global standards and best practices in the execution of projects.
“In the last four years, AMFacilities has sponsored this event as one of the ways we are exploring to raise awareness, set agenda, and promote global standards in the industry. We understand that the dynamics of the market are changing and we want to position facility management to play critically in that mix,” he explained.
Keynote Speaker of the event, former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Supo Shasore (SAN), said the facility management industry is one of the few industries certain for growth in the foreseeable future of the country.
Shasore, who was represented by the Managing Director of Cluttons Nigeria, Erejuwa Gbadebo, disclosed: “The FM industry is one of the few industries that is certain for growth in the foreseeable future in this region and nation. For the sheer obvious reason that we have such a deficit to fill. I’m sure many of you know that in the World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report 2014-15, Nigeria is ranked at 134 in infrastructure out of 144 economies.”
The former Attorney-General also lamented the current deficit in Nigeria’s infrastructure, saying: “The country’s core infrastructure stock is estimated at only 35-40% of GDP, in contrast to international benchmarks of 70% of GDP. This low value has been driven by historically low public and private spending on infrastructure.”
The highpoint of the event was the introduction of the British Institute of Facility Management (BIFM), Nigeria Chapter, which, according to Femi Akintunde, is a welcome development to strengthen the advocacy for best practices in the industry and encourage knowledge-sharing amongst members and professionals.
The event drew participants from five major sectors of oil and gas, telecommunications, real estate, government and public services and financial services.
In their submission, participants from the oil and gas sector pointed out that facility management was still in its infancy stage and therefore could not attract the right investments, and making it difficult for the oil and gas sector to engage the services of the local players.
Speaking at a panel on behalf the financial sector, Gabriel Igbeke, Head of Admin, NSE, said facility managers lacked the financial capabilities to execute projects and therefore depend on the sector for finance which creates ineffectiveness because opening a financial book for such is tough. The panellists stressed the need for the setting up of a regulatory body to oversee the operation of professionals in the sector.
While the telecoms, government and the academic sectors acknowledged the importance of engaging the services of professional facilities managers, they advocated the need for training and retraining of FM managers to enhance their capacity to function efficiently.
Reacting to some of the issues raised by the panellists, Akintunde said there was need for more training and standardization in the practice of FM in Nigeria. While acknowledging the fact that a lot needed to be done in this sector, Akintunde stressed the need for organisations to keep to their promise of timely payment to facility management companies to enable them deliver quality services as because FM is a capital intensive venture.
The Technical Task Force on the African Regional Space Programme (TTF-ARSP) . This was declared at the end of its meeting held on 10 June 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland on the margins of the 17th Congress of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
A session at the 17th Congress of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo credit: meteotz1950.blogspot.com
The Task Force is an initiative coordinated by the African Union (AU), the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology (AMCOST), through the Commission on Human Resource Science and Technology (HRST) in collaboration with African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET), and the African Union Conference of Ministers in Charge of Communications and Information Technologies (CITMC).
In her opening remark, the chairperson of the meeting, Dr. Agnes Kijazi, who is also the Permanent Representative of Tanzania with the WMO, stated that the “meeting is entrusted with identifying the role of stakeholders, spot elements of pilot projects, see a possibility of sharing experience with other countries currently running space programmes, discuss potential funding sources and come up with the way forward for the African Meteorological Space Implementation Plan”.
These were objectives set before the Task Force, following the resolution of the African Regional Space Programme, during the 3rd Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET-3), in Praia, Cabo Verde, 13-14 February 2015, which endorsed the draft African Space Policy and the African Space Strategy with the understanding that issues of meteorology would be adequately taken into account in its scope for implementation.
“Unlike other sectors such as communication, navigation and positioning, which attract private investors to invest in space technology, Meteorology requires a collaborative effort to provide cost-effective possibility in obtaining continental coverage from space for Meteorological information,” said Dr. Kijazi.
The Meeting took a close look at the Concept Note on the mandate of the current African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) Task Force on the African Regional Space Programme with a focus on developing a feasibility study on the Implementation Plan for the Programme. It also shared experiences of countries such as China, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya in their National Space Programmes.
“With the experiences shared today, the different levels in the implementation of Space Programmes are clearer. The African Meteorological Implementation Plan will, therefore, take a study of the viable options for Africa, cognisance of the available resources and possibly start with the application part which is related to the ground segment to build a critical mass of space scientists including application of satellite data in order to benefit from the ongoing programmes in the world, and later implement launching of the Africa Satellite,” Dr. Kijazi added.
The outcome of the meeting was to lay a clearer roadmap for the establishment of African Regional Space Programme, starting with incorporation of meteorological issues in the Draft African Space Policy, the Draft African Strategy, define Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Task Force based on lessons learned from other countries and further build on decisions reached at improving the region’s Space programme, in the 3rd Sessions of The African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) held on 13-14 February 2015 in Praia, Cabo Verde.
Norfund, the UK aid department, and Capricorn are funding the British company Agrica’s industrial rice plantation in Mngeta, Tanzania, which is destroying the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, driving them into debt and impacting the local environment, according to new research by The Oakland Institute released on Wednesday June 17, 2015 in collaboration with Greenpeace Africa and Global Justice Now.
Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute. Photo credit: tamildiplomat.com
Agrica’s rice plantation in Tanzania has been used as a showcase project of the G8’s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania. But the new report, tagged: “Irresponsible Investment – Agrica’s Broken Development Model in Tanzania,” documents a catalogue of devastating impacts on local communities.
Norfund, the UK aid department, and the US investment firm Capricorn Investments (co-founded by eBay philanthropist Jeff Skoll) have all invested several million US dollars in Agrica, a British company registered in the tax haven of Guernsey.
“Although Agrica is portrayed as a responsible investment venture, its takeover of fertile land has brought misery to local communities. Labelled ‘squatters,’ smallholders were forced off the land, lost their livelihoods, received a meagre compensation for their losses, and have had to face debts resulting from doing business with Agrica,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute.
Local farmers who planted rice for Agrica were required to purchase chemical fertilizers manufactured by the Norwegian fertilizer company Yara. They also had to sell the rice at a price determined by the company. “Agrica peddled chemical inputs to smallholders, leaving many in debt. In an area known as Tanzania’s food basket due to its fertile soil, this uncovers the real agenda of Agrica. They have opened up new markets for the products of international agribusiness that are damaging for both people and the environment,” explained Glen Tyler, agriculture campaigner for Greenpeace Africa.
The research findings raise concerns about the environmental impacts of Agrica’s industrial rice plantation. The prolonged use of agro-chemicals as well as the expansion of irrigation from 215 hectares to 3,000 hectares – resulting in up to one third of the nearby Mngeta River’s dry season water flow being diverted – threatens the Ramsar protected wetlands, within which the plantation is located.
“This project undermines the rhetoric of aid-sponsored large-scale agricultural investments and exposes the true beneficiaries to be agribusiness multinationals rather than small-scale farmers and local communities,” said Heidi Chow, food campaigner for Global Justice Now.
Despite claims that this is the only possible model for agricultural development, the approach is deeply flawed. More effective avenues would focus on meeting the needs of the smallholder farmers and assisting them to develop appropriate farming practices. Providing support to agroecological methods would boost yields and improve food security while preventing the debt cycle that comes with the regime of intensive chemical inputs.
The Oakland Institute, Greenpeace Africa, and Global Justice Now are demanding that all of Agrica’s investors cease funding and review their other agriculture investment schemes in Africa for similar abuses against African farmers. A global campaign is being prepared to mobilise against such wrongdoings by international donors in coming days.
