Month: May 2023

The iconic Hilton hotel was all lit up with a 3D projection with an End the age of plastic message in support of the upcoming second Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee session (INC2) that is happening in Paris, France, from 29 May to 2 June.

INC2 is the second in a series of five negotiating meetings happening over the next two years in an effort to secure a strong, legally binding global agreement to curb the plastic pollution crisis.

‘Ahead of the negotiations for the treaty we decided to put up this important message to remind our leaders and other stakeholders not to waste this once-in- a-lifetime opportunity to finally turn off the tap and end the age of plastic,’ said Greenpeace Africa’s Communication and Story Manager, Hellen Kahaso Dena. ‘We hope the treaty will safeguard the climate and ensure a fair and equitable transition for workers and the health of all the affected communities.’

Despite increasing evidence on the impact of plastic pollution on people’s health as well as the environment, plastic production has continued to increase year on year. With 99% of plastics being made from fossil fuels, plastic production is a major driver of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Plastic production harms communities and workers living near production sites and landfills.

‘This year alone, we have seen the devastating impacts of the climate crisis; from droughts in Kenya to deadly cyclones and floods in Malawi and in the DRC. This treaty is an opportunity for our leaders to stop big polluters with their relentless plastic production and to protect our climate and affected communities from these climate impacts,’ said Dena.

‘We are confident that Africa’s governments will adopt and champion a strong global treaty that will end plastic pollution through a phase out of plastic production to protect the environment and human rights of Africans,’ continued Dena.

Plastic is polluting throughout its entire lifecycle from the moment it is extracted to its disposal. Plastic proponents and corporations need to stop relying on big oil and instead invest in reuse and refill models.

Dena said that countries such as Rwanda and Kenya need to show leadership on this issue and match the urgency of the crisis by championing an ambitious plastics treaty.

‘We urge Africa’s governments to ensure that there is fair and equitable representation throughout the negotiation and implementation process from communities disproportionately affected by the plastic pollution crisis. African leaders can adopt a progressive plan that supports ambitious goals for a new plastic agreement to solve the plastic pollution crisis,’ concluded Dena.

Source: Kenya News Agency

This year’s World No Tobacco Day will be celebrated at Sibuoche market in Migori County on Wednesday 31, May at an event expected to be graced by senior national and county government’s officials.

The World No Tobacco Day is aimed at highlighting all the dangers that smoking cigarettes or growing and handling green tobacco leafs portends to the health of human beings.

Health experts warn of a myriad of diseases that face the human body when people smoke cigarettes or grow tobacco as their economic mainstay. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable diseases, disability and death in Kenya and elsewhere, they stress.

‘Smoking can cause many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other lung ailments, and diabetes,’ said Dr. Dennis Obuon of Migori County referral hospital.

He says quitting smoking can help you in your physical fitness goals, adding that it can also help one be ready and determined for ‘your family, friends and country.’

However, despite all these expertise warnings, some of the Migori residents who for many years have been involved seriously in producing green tobacco as their sole industrial crop are against the campaigns to totally ‘kill’ the growth of the crop in Migori and elsewhere in the world.

‘Even if they will be making harsh words against tobacco and smoking on that day, let them know that their act will not make me quit growing this crop that has helped me grow in the hands of my parents, grandparents and great grandparents to my adulthood,’ remarked 56 year-old John Okello, a re-known tobacco farmer from Ayego village in central Kanyamkago location, Uriri Sub-county.

The father of five says that in all his life, he has depended on income from tobacco produce to fend for his family. ‘Until the anti-campaigns against tobacco growing started seriously in Migori around 2015 that saw the crop production reduce to about 30 percent within the region, farmers used to earn good income from the sale of the crop allowing them to live a better life with their families.

Mr. Alfonse Mwita, a farmer from Chenato areas in Kuria East points out that the business of producing the crop has plummeted to almost a quarter with the migration of multinational tobacco buying companies like Aliance One (Kenya) to other African counties due to bad trade.

Other companies such as British American tobacco (BAT), StanCom and Mastermind have reduced their business with the crop in the region, remaining with only a handful of farmers to assist grow and buy their produce.

In early 70s up to the late 90s, Migori was the biggest tobacco producer in Kenya, accounting to more than 70 percent of the yields produced in the country. The county then plunged into serious activities of fighting the production of the crop led by the county government leadership that hyped on introducing alternative crops like avocado, sugarcane, maize and sunflower among others praising their safety to human life.

While some farmers – more than 10,000 tobacco growers in the region – have already switched to embracing alternative cash crops which can fetch them quick money, although the dream is also not showing good signs, a good number of hardcore tobacco farmers like Mwita have vowed never to be pushed out of tobacco production.

‘Despite the ravaging poverty and diseases caused by tobacco in regions where the crop once dominated, stretching from Kuria West to Kuria East, Suna West, Uriri and Rongo, some hardcore farmers are still stuck to this crop giving us a big problem,’ said Migori County Executive ( CEC) member in charge of agriculture, Mr. Lucas Mosenda.

He regretted that it has become a herculean task to convince characters like Mwita adopt the practice of growing other crops even though they are much aware of the health dangers associated with the crop.

‘The resistance among some farmers to drop tobacco farming has been so severe but we are out to try to convince them to slowly see the sense and finally leave the crop altogether in the near future,’ assured Mosenda at recent interview.

He called on the local people to purpose to attend the Wednesday World No Tobacco Day in order to learn more on health issues related to the crop.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) is calling on the government to abolish any tax on sanitary materials in order to make them affordable especially to girls in secondary schools.

Speaking on Saturday during the celebrations of World’s Menstrual Hygiene Day at Kithangari girls’ high school in Meru County, Ms Santa Sabastian the Director of Youth and Women Advocacy Network which is under the umbrella of Echo Network Africa said the move will ensure that the girls’ learning times in schools were not interrupted as they go out to look for the important materials.

‘We have realized that girls also do not feel comfortable when they are undergoing the menstrual cycle and especially when they lack sanitary towels. This affects their performance and our rallying call to the government therefore is to abolish any tax on these materials if not providing them for free,’ said Ms Sabastain.

She added: ‘We also came here to support and encourage the young girls that there is no shame in having periods and that they should be confident and serious in their studies even when they are experiencing the cycles.’

Deputy Director Mr Ahmad Yusuf called on all education stakeholders and partners to work together in ensuring that every girl in schools in Meru County have access to adequate sanitary towels to ensure they have uninterrupted access to quality education.

According to stakeholders in education a lot of girls don’t give out their best in life because of the stigma surrounding them, especially concerning the menstrual cycle.

Global health organisations are trying to build a world where no one is held back because of the normal menstrual cycle by the year 2030.

Caroline Kathambi, a girl from the school thanked the group for supporting them and promised to reward them by excelling in their academic work.

‘We are glad we have been mentored and supported well and we promise to work hard as a pay for this support,’ said Kathambi.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Seychelles’ Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) and the Department of Energy are currently assessing prospective government buildings to install photovoltaic panels, said a top official.

These are the latest steps Seychelles is taking towards achieving 15 percent renewable penetration by 2030 and the greater vision of hitting net-zero emissions by 2050.

“We are assessing whether the earmarked institutions’ roofs can sustain having the panels,” the Principal Secretary for Energy and Climate Change, Tony Imaduwa, told SNA.

Among the buildings being assessed are health centres, police stations and other government offices to see if their roofs can hold the PV systems first of all. The assessment is on energy consumption and whether the grid can integrate them as well as if there are plans to carry out renovation work on the buildings.

“It will not make sense to install the panel on a building such as a police station that will be undergoing renovations soon,” explained Imaduwa.

Seychelles has received funding from an Indian government grant to support a programme to install PV systems on government buildings. Additional funding has been added to next year’s budget to ensure the completion of the second phase.

The first phase of the installation of PV panels on certain government buildings is completed and the Department of Energy has started work for the second phase.

The Barbarbarons emergency housing estate in the west of Mahe, the main island, and the National Assembly building at Ile du Port are some of the buildings included in the first phase.

“We started this programme some years back under the PV democratisation project. Through the ongoing project, more government buildings will be identified,” said Imaduwa.

Meanwhile, to complement this program, the Department is also running one for schools under the Solar School Project partly funded by the Chinese government.

“So far we have covered schools on La Digue and Praslin and some on Mahe,” explained Imaduwa.

Currently, the largest PV panel is on the roof of the Central Bank building in Victoria.

Seychelles — a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean — relies heavily on imported fossil fuel for power generation and transportation. Currently, only 2.5 percent of the island nation’s electrical energy is from renewable sources.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

The President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, has sent a congratulatory message to his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, on his successful re-election, State House said on Monday.

“The people of Turkey have yet again given you a strong mandate as a reaffirmation of their confidence in your leadership,” said Ramkalawan in his message.

In acknowledging the long history of cooperation and excellent diplomatic relations between the two countries, Ramkalwan expressed his hope for further collaboration between Seychelles and Turkey for the benefit of both countries.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, established diplomatic relations with Turkey in 1995.

Ramkalwan wished President Erdogan continued good health as well as every success in his task ahead.

According to CNN, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey’s presidential election, defeating opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Sunday’s runoff vote and stretching his rule into a third decade.

Erdogan won 52.14 percent of the votes in the 99.43 percent of the votes counted.

Source: Seychelles News Agency