Category: Africa

Source: APO – Report:

.

The 2025/2026 academic year cultural competition among schools in the Central Region concluded on 3 September, under the theme “Culture: Fostering Values and Identity.”

The year-long cultural competition involved schools from the elementary to secondary levels and featured reading and calligraphy, general knowledge, photography and painting, innovation and creativity, debating, narration, short stories, poetry, dance, music and drama.

At the concluding event held at Cinema Roma, Mr. Mesfun Woldeselasie, head of administration and finance at the Ministry of Education branch in the Central Region, noted that culture reflects the aspirations and values of societies and called for nurturing committed and capable young people who adhere to noble societal values.

Mr. Solomon Barhe, head of culture, on his part, said that the program was aimed at instilling love of country and culture in the new generation, nurturing young people who are proud of their identity, and enabling them to inherit the values and culture of their forefathers and pass them on to future generations.

Mr. Solomon also called for organizing training programs for teachers who coordinate cultural activities and for strengthening parental participation.

At the event, awards were presented to the winning schools.

– on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.

Source: APO – Report:

.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has released $6 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to help communities in the Grand Sud region get ahead of expected severe dry conditions related to El Niño.

Forecasts point to significantly below-average rainfall from November through February next year, threatening a deterioration in food security.

The new funds will support anticipatory action now before conditions get worse and will help our partners to provide life-saving food, healthcare, nutrition assistance and clean water. 

– on behalf of United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

Source: APO

Across West Africa, a small plastic pouch can carry a contradiction. For millions of people, it signifies affordable drinking water when reliable taps are unavailable. For cities and their infrastructure, it’s an additional single-use plastic entering an already strained waste management system. While so-called “water sachets” keep people hydrated every day, they also contribute to one of the region’s most visible forms of plastic pollution. 

Water sachets are heat-sealed polyethylene pouches that are filled with purified drinking water. These pouches respond to more than 845 million people across sub-Saharan Africa still lacking safely managed drinking water. They’re small and malleable, yet strong enough to easily be carried around, sold cheaply and consumed on the move. 

The production of water sachets only requires basic equipment and a relatively low investment, and so they have proven a viable business opportunity for private and informal producers that can step in to fill the gap where public water systems have not kept pace with urban growth. The distribution of drinking water is also a crucial source of employment, particularly for youth.  

As such, water sachets are not only a waste problem; they reflect broader economic and environmental issues. This intersectional systems challenge is being explored through PlasticReboot, an Integrated Program funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) that seeks to advance circular solutions to plastic pollution across 15 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The programme focuses on upstream and midstream interventions in the food and beverage sector to reduce plastic pollution at its source. 

Nigeria launched its national Plastic Reboot project on 27 January 2026, implemented by Nigeria’s National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The national project will bring together policymakers, industry leaders and other stakeholders to pilot functional alternatives and viable business models that can replace water sachets in the long run, while ensuring access to safe drinking water. According to Innocent Barikor, Director General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), what is needed is “innovation that makes Nigerians feel like they lost nothing” – in other words, something that is more circular and sustainable without compromising affordability, convenience and familiarity. 

Nigeria is home to more than 237 million people, many of whom lack reliable access to piped drinking water. Water sachets, colloquially known as “pure water,” have become part of daily life, sold by shops, street vendors and informal distributors across cities and towns. Today, it is estimated that 70 per cent of Nigerians consume at least one sachet every day, amounting to over 60 million sachets consumed daily.  

Behind the sachets is a powerful single-use plastics economy, both formal and informal. The rapid expansion of plastic packaging has outpaced waste management systems in rapidly growing cities like Abuja. Informal plastic collection networks and recycling initiatives play an important role in recovering valuable materials, but low-value plastics such as water sachets can fall outside these systems. Souleymane Adana, General Secretary of the Waste Pickers Association of Nigeria, explained that waste pickers collect materials such as PET bottles, paper and metals because they have market value. “We have not been doing much [with] pure water sachets, because [there are no] off takers for them,” he said. 

Uncollected water sachets contribute to widespread plastic leakage into the environment, which can also pose human health risks. They clog drainage systems, often contributing to floods during heavy rains and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. 

Banning or replacing sachets without affordable alternatives risks undermining livelihoods and access to safe drinking water Continuing with business-as-usual means accepting a growing stream of plastic waste that cities and the environment are not equipped to manage. 

One of the ways by which Nigeria is trying to respond to the challenge is through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). In addition to implementing Plastic Reboot Nigeria, UNEP has also provided technical inputs to the National Guidelines for the Implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastic Packaging (established by NESREA) to support the transition toward a circular systems transformation. Key partners have been financing UNEP’s efforts in Nigeria, including the Government of Japan and the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund. 

Supporting the circularity of plastic packaging in Nigeria, Plastic Reboot is helping identify alternative materials and new business models that could reduce reliance on water sachets while maintaining access to affordable drinking water. The lessons emerging from Nigeria may also be relevant across West Africa, including in Burkina Faso and Senegal, where Plastic Reboot is also being implemented.  

“The question is not only how to reduce plastic waste,” said Evelyn Swain, Senior Environmental Specialist at the GEF Secretariat. “It is also how to do so in a way that protects the services people depend on every day. Sachet water shows why plastic pollution has to be addressed through systems change.” 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Source: APO

Ministers of livestock and agriculture, along with representatives from eight African countries, have agreed to work together to strengthen livestock value chains, unlock investment, and expand trade across the continent.

They were meeting at the Second Ministerial Deep Dive on Livestock, convened by the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and hosted by AGRA at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2026. The theme was “Scaling What Works through Regional Value Chains, Partnership and Investment”.

Ministers and representatives from Nigeria, Uganda, Niger, Mali, Malawi, Rwanda, and Ethiopia took part, along with the Honourable Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, former President of Botswana, and leaders from financial institutions, industry, and development partners.

The session followed the first Ministerial Deep Dive, held in Dakar in 2025, where ministers from nine countries asked that the discussion continue and move from dialogue to action.

Africa’s livestock paradox

At the meeting, AU-IBAR Director Dr Huyam Salih described what she called Africa’s livestock paradox. The continent holds about 73 per cent of the world’s camels, 45 per cent of its sheep and goats and 34 per cent of its cattle. Livestock contributes some USD 210 billion to gross domestic product, between 30 and 40 per cent of agricultural GDP, and supports close to 800 million producers, pastoralists, traders and processors.

At the same time, between 90 and 95 per cent of the milk, beef and poultry consumed in Africa is sourced from outside it, and formal intra-African trade stands at about 16 per cent.

“That gap is what this vision is built to close,” Dr Salih said.

She told the meeting that Africa is not short of animals, water, demand or entrepreneurs. What is missing is the connective tissue between them: aggregation and processing linked to production zones, sanitary and phytosanitary systems trusted across borders, affordable corridors and cold chains, harmonised regulation, and investment opportunities packaged in a form financiers can assess. Investors decline African livestock and aquatic value chains because they cannot see the data, the standards or the pipeline, she said, rather than because they doubt the resource.

A ten-year programme rather than a series of projects

Much of AU-IBAR’s contribution at the session focused on the Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain (IRLVC) Programme, the AU-IBAR flagship that runs to 2035 and reports through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) biennial review. The programme already supports more than 30 regional projects, including a dairy market programme in East Africa and a regional poultry health programme in West Africa, with partners such as the European Union, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Bank.

Dr Salih said short-term, fragmented projects had not delivered the resilient value chains or the regional markets Africa needs. Under the IRLVC, projects enter as financing instalments of a standing ten-year programme, and are not treated as substitutes for it. That, she said, is how results survive the end of a grant.

The programme is measured on two outcomes: investment unlocked, and trade increased, both inter-regional and intra-regional. Convening, coordination, data and capacity work all serve those two. Phase 1 targets a 10 to 15 per cent increase in the value and volume of formal intra-African trade in supported corridors by 2029. AU-IBAR analysis indicates that a coordinated, private-sector-led approach could achieve up to five times more value from the sector.

The value chains were selected with the Regional Economic Communities, drawing on the results and lessons of Live2Africa. They cover red meat and leather in IGAD, COMESA, SADC and the Sahel; dairy in the East African Community and the Arab Maghreb Union; poultry meat in ECOWAS; and eggs in ECCAS.

Dr Salih set out how the roles are divided. Member States set priorities and own delivery. The Regional Economic Communities coordinate cross-border markets. AU-IBAR convenes, aligns policy, builds the sector fact base, packages investable business cases and connects investment partners to regional opportunities. She described the Bureau as an orchestrator and co-lead rather than a national implementer.

The IRLVC is one of four AU-IBAR flagship programmes running to 2035. The others are the eradication of peste des petits ruminants, strengthened animal health, One Health and welfare services, and the transformation of fisheries and aquaculture. The decade is sequenced in three stages: foundations and proof to 2029, scaling to 2032 and consolidation to 2035.

What ministers committed to

AU-IBAR asked the Ministers to advance three things. The first was political leadership, in the form of a ministerial mandate for cross-border corridor cooperation, policy convergence, removing non-tariff barriers, and coordinated investment in public goods. The second was financing alignment, with governments, development finance institutions, banks and partners putting public, catalytic and blended instruments behind credible regional investment propositions. The third was industry co-investment, with the private sector bringing anchor investment, technology, operating capability and market demand.

Ministers left with commitments rather than a joint statement. They agreed to pursue investment and financing tailored to livestock, break down cross-border barriers to trade and disease, build the data and traceability systems needed to show what is working, and raise livestock’s institutional standing within government.

Five priorities were agreed for follow-up:

• Financing built for livestock, with patient capital and terms matched to biological production cycles

• Open borders to trade, through harmonised standards, mutual recognition of certification and coordinated disease control

• Data that proves progress, including national herd data, animal identification and traceability, and a shared baseline from Kigali

• Livestock’s place in government, through dedicated ministries, budget share against the CAADP 10 per cent commitment, and representation in the African Continental Free Trade Area

• Peer learning between countries, starting with the unresolved question of who pays for animal health

The commitments are to be tracked and reviewed at next year’s Ministerial.

“We already know what works. The task now is coordinating policy and trade across borders so proven livestock solutions can scale from one country to a continent,” Dr Salih said. “That is what the Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain programme is built to do, and what today’s commitments move us closer to.”

Dairy as this year’s case study

Dairy was used as the illustrative value chain for the session, the first of several proof points the platform intends to examine in future editions. Ethiopia’s experience anchored the discussion. Milk production there rose from 7.1 billion litres in 2022 to 15.7 billion litres in 2025/26, an increase of 122 per cent, supported by the government’s Yelemat Tirufat initiative, more than 36,000 new dairy villages, 5,000 dairy clusters and new cross-border trade agreements. Ethiopia’s representative was candid that feed production, although it has more than doubled over the same period, remains the main constraint on further growth.

A standing platform for delivery

Every country that took the floor asked for the Ministerial Platform to continue. The session recommended formalising it as the political and learning home for delivering the Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain Programme, anchored in the annual Africa Food Systems Forum and building towards the First African Union Summit on Animal Resources Transformation. This would give ministers a standing role in continental delivery.

The three commitments made in Dakar in 2025 were reported as met. The session has become a permanent feature of the Forum; it now connects to continental frameworks rather than duplicating them, reflected in this year’s co-convening with AU-IBAR under CAADP and Agenda 2063; and it runs on peer-to-peer country case studies, as Ethiopia’s dairy experience did this year.

Earlier in the Forum, Dr Salih took the same argument to the Big Bets roundtable on Africa’s food systems in 2046. Africa cannot be food-sovereign while it imports the great majority of its animal protein, she said, and the continent is importing protein and exporting the jobs that should come with it. She called for animal-source foods to be named explicitly in the CAADP-to-2046 proposition, with livestock, fisheries and aquaculture treated as a pillar of food sovereignty, and for commitments to be written down, tracked and reported at each CAADP biennial review.

“A twenty-year vision without a two-year ledger is a conversation, not a strategy,” she said.

She closed the Ministerial by returning to the invitation to partners. Africa has the livestock assets, the growing demand and an expanding continental market, she said, and AU-IBAR is ready to convene the partnership that turns them into integrated markets, investment and value retained on the continent.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).

Source: APO

.

Government is engaging with communities in the eastern and northern regions of Mauritius to gather their views and address concerns ahead of the implementation of the M4 Motorway project.

In this context, the Minister of National Infrastructure, Mr Govindranath Gunness, chaired a consultation meeting yesterday at the Lady Sushil Ramgoolam Social Welfare Centre in Caroline, bringing together inhabitants of the region to discuss the proposed project. The Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Dr Avinash Ramtohul, and other personalities were also present.

Speaking after the meeting, Minister Gunness said the consultations reflect Government’s commitment to transparency and public participation in the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the project.

He explained that while the M4 Motorway project has been exempted from the requirement for an EIA certificate since 2021, Government has nevertheless decided to prepare and submit an EIA report. The consultations, he noted, provide an opportunity to engage directly with inhabitants, identify their concerns and suggestions, and take these into account in the preparation of the report. Further consultations are scheduled in Flacq and Rivière du Rempart.

On the implementation of the project, Minister Gunness indicated that exchanges of documents are ongoing with the Export-Import Bank of India and the Government of India. He said the project is at an advanced stage, with the financing agreement already signed, while the Detailed Project Report is awaited. The report will also inform the preparation of the EIA.

The Minister welcomed the interest shown by inhabitants of the eastern region, particularly their appreciation of the attention being given to environmental and ecological considerations. He added that the M4 Motorway will be built to international standards and will be the first motorway to pass through rural regions of Mauritius.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Mauritius.

Source: APO – Report:

Outstanding sporting performances by secondary school students were recognised today at the inaugural National School Sports Award 2026, held at the Paul Octave Wiehe Auditorium in Réduit following the Intercollege Sports Competitions (ICSC) 2026.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Darmarajen Nagalingum; the Minister of Education and Human Resource, Dr Mahend Gungapersad; Junior Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Gilbert Tony Apollon; as well as rectors, educators, coaches, students and parents.

Jointly organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Education and Human Resource, the ICSC brought together students in seven disciplines: athletics, badminton, basketball, football, swimming, table tennis and volleyball.

In his address, Minister Nagalingum highlighted the importance of the reintroduction of intercollege sports competitions in supporting the holistic development of students. He underlined the contribution of sports to physical fitness and mental well-being, while helping young people develop essential skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership and resilience.

Sport, he added, is also a powerful unifying force and an important cultural cement for “Mauritianism”, bringing together young people from different communities across the country.

For his part, Minister Gungapersad emphasised that education extends beyond academic achievement and should provide opportunities for students to engage in sports, music, dance, drama, painting, slam and other areas of personal development.

He also highlighted the role of sport in keeping young people away from drugs and other harmful influences, noting that investment in youth sports contributes to healthier communities and helps equip young people with skills that can benefit them throughout their education, careers and lives.

Students and schools recognised

In each of the seven disciplines, individual winners received a trophy, certificate of achievement and a cash prize of Rs 25,000.

In athletics, the best female athlete was from Loretto College of Quatre Bornes, while the best male athlete was from Dr Regis Chaperon SSS. The best female badminton player was from Dukesbridge Secondary School, while the male award went to a student from James Burty David SSS.

In basketball, the Most Valuable Player awards went to students from Le Bocage International School in the female category and Collège du St Esprit Quatre Bornes in the male category. In football, the female award was won by Le Bocage International School, while the male award went to Collège du St Esprit Rivière Noire. The best female swimmer was from Le Bocage International School and the best male swimmer from Queen Elizabeth College.

In table tennis, the best female player was from Loretto College of Quatre Bornes, while the male award went to Le Bocage International School. In volleyball, the Most Valuable Player awards were presented to students from Loretto College of Quatre Bornes in the female category and Collège du St Esprit Quatre Bornes in the male category.

School awards were also presented. Loretto College of Quatre Bornes was named Best Female School after securing 11 gold, six silver and five bronze medals, while St Mary’s College was named Best Male School with six gold, two silver and six bronze medals. Each winning school received a trophy, certificate and Rs 50,000 cash prize.

The National School Sports Award 2026 represents a new initiative to formally recognise sporting excellence following the ICSC. First introduced in 2025, the ICSC provides secondary school students with a structured platform to compete and develop their sporting abilities, with the 2026 edition further expanding participation opportunities.

The competition was open to boys and girls aged 12 to 21 across different categories. A new Benjamin Boys and Girls category was also introduced for 12- and 13-year-olds in athletics, table tennis and badminton, encouraging younger students to take part in competitive sport and providing an additional avenue for recognising sporting achievements.

– on behalf of Republic of Mauritius.

Source: APO – Report:

Government is given the green light to borrow Euros207.75 million from Citi bank and other financial institutions to finance the design and building of the Jinja-Mbulambuti-Kamuli-Bukungu road and Jinja City roads.

The motion seeking approval of the loan request was presented by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi on Thursday, 03 September 2026.

He said that the 127km Jinja-Mbulambuti-Kamuli-Bukungu road forms a critical transport corridor linking Busoga to Lake Kyoga in Teso and provides an alternative route between Northern and Southern Uganda. 

“The road connects to several districts across the waters of Lake Kyoga and the terminal end of the road at Bukungu is a gateway to districts of Amolatar, Kaberamaido, Soroti, Nakasongola and Kayunga,’  Musasizi said.

He added that the 10km Jinja city roads will enhance trade between Jinja city and the neighboring districts. 

“Intervening in 10km of urban roads within Jinja city directly supports urban mobility, facilitates industrial transport within Uganda’s primary industrial city and boosts local trade,” Musasizi said.

In its report, the Committee on National Economy recommended approval of the loan but quickly added that the loan agreement should not be signed until the Ministry of Works and Transport completes registration of all Project Affected Persons (PAPs).

The Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Jane Pacuto said that whereas the Works Ministry undertook land valuation in 2022 with compensation of PAPs estimated at Shs112.8 billion, the valuation report has neither been updated nor submitted. 

“Consequently, the quoted values may vary once the updated valuation is completed. Given that the valuation reports are not yet complete, there is a risk of project delays arising from the fact that PAPs have not been conclusively engaged under the new policy,” Pacuto said.

The committee called for the expeditious determination, approval and disclosure of conclusive compensation amounts to PAPs, stating that this will ensure that financing becomes effective and minimise implementation delays.

“The Ministry of Finance should not source or commit to financing projects involving PAPs until resettlement impacts are fully assessed,” Pacuto said.

Presenting the minority report, Hon. Hassan Kirumira (NUP, Katikamu County South) objected to the loan request and recommended that the issue of compensation of PAPs should be concluded before the loan agreement is signed. 

“It is risky to proceed with the loan request; PAPs are raising concerns considering land value has appreciated value. Without mutual agreements, the project will suffer high costs due to undisbursed loan,” Kirumira said.

He also urged government to consider concessional loans saying that commercial loans are expensive and yet the country is grappling with a heavy debt burden. 

“The loan is expensive; part of it is commercial with a short maturity period of six years. We are not sure that after that, government will not borrow another loan,” Kirumira said.

Hon James Waluswaka (NRM, Bunyole West County) supported the loan approval but urged government to remove the budget on road design, saying that it was already done by the ministry.

Kagoma County MP, Hon. Moses Walyomu said that Jinja-Mbulambuti-Kamuli-Bukungu will boost tourism activities Busoga region. 

“The road is along tourism sites like Busowoko and Itanda falls. This will help the tourism sector,” he said. 
 

– on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Source: APO – Report:

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has nominated Mr. Alex Chersia Grant to serve as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC), subject to confirmation by the Liberian Senate. 

Grant’s confirmation, and subsequent commissioning by the President would complete the process of his appointment to the PPCC Board, further strengthening the Commission’s leadership as it continues its efforts to improve Liberia’s public procurement system.

His nomination comes amid ongoing public procurement reforms aimed at strengthening Liberia’s procurement system and advancing principles of transparency, accountability, integrity, competitiveness, fairness, and value for money in the use of public resources.

Part II, Section 6 of the Public Procurement and Concessions Act of 2026 authorizes the President of Liberia to appoint a seven-member Board of Commissioners to provide overall leadership and policy direction for the PPCC.

Section 6 of the Act states that the “overall leadership of the Commission shall be vested in seven (7) Board of Commissioners appointed in accordance with Section 6 of this Act.” It further provides that members of the Board shall be nominated by the President and, with the consent of the Senate, appointed and commissioned by the President.

The Board of Commissioners is responsible for providing overall leadership of the Commission, including the adoption of policies and regulations, appointment of the Executive Director/Chief Executive officer who runs the day-to-day administration of the PPCC Secretariat, as outlined in Section 5 of the Act.  The Board is also required to meet regularly to conduct the business of the Commission, with meetings held at least once every quarter.

The PPCC Secretariat, as outlined in Section 5 of the Act, is headed by the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Bodger Scott Johnson. The Secretariat is responsible for implementing the policies of the Commission and administering the relevant regulations, with a mandate to report to the Board of Commissioners.

Additionally, the Secretariat provides technical, professional, research, analytical, and investigative services to the Commission. It also provides administrative, secretarial, and other support services, including support to the Complaints, Appeals and Review Panel, an independent body of the PPCC appointed by the President to investigate and resolve complaints arising from procurement transactions. 

Over the past several years, the PPCC has undertaken a series of institutional and technological reforms designed to modernize Liberia’s public procurement landscape. Among these reforms is the implementation and expansion of the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system, which is intended to enhance efficiency, transparency, accessibility, competition, and accountability throughout the public procurement process.

– on behalf of Republic of Liberia: Executive Mansion.