TIGblogs TIG | TIGblogs GROUP TIGBLOGS LOGIN SIGNUP
Henry Namwenda's Blog
Henry Namwenda's Blog
« previous 3


frozen $33 million in aid for Zambia's
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

LUSAKA— The Netherlands and Sweden have frozen $33 million in aid for Zambia's fight against HIV/AIDS and other health programmes because of official corruption, ministers said on Thursday.

Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane and Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao told a news conference the decision was made after it emerged that senior health ministry officials had stolen $2 million.

"The total sum of money withheld is $33 million out of a total donor support of $120 million for the whole of 2009. The government deeply regrets the suspension of money for a sector that assists the poorest of the poor," Musokotwane said. The freeze will mainly affect health programmes in rural areas.

Zambia has vowed to stamp out corruption, in a programme closely watched by donors. State media reported that 20 senior officials in the ministry of health had been suspended and barred from entering their offices to prevent them from tampering with evidence.

Zambian President Rupiah Banda's office said the funds were stolen through a syndicate of payments to companies that were registered to deliver goods and services to the ministry of health but failed to do so.

Civic groups and opposition leaders accuse Banda of taking a low-key approach to fighting corruption. His late predecessor Levy Mwanawasa earned praise from Western donors for his anti-corruption efforts.

Treasury statistics show that one in every five Zambians carries the HIV virus or has full blown AIDS in a country of 12 million people, and malaria kills thousands of people a year.

"With the delay in funding, we will have a shortfall of 24 billion kwacha each month and this will mostly affect rural districts, which receive 16 billion of this money. Most of this money goes to hospitals and you can see how difficult it will be for patients," Simbao said.

"Various programmes such as HIV/AIDS and malaria will be affected by this suspension in funding," he added.

May 29, 2009 | 6:11 AM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


Story Of Stuff..
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic


May 24, 2009 | 8:04 PM Comments  0 comments



Obama to visit Ghana on 10-11 july
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Obama, along with his wife, Michelle, will visit Accra, Ghana, on July 10 and July 11, the White House said Saturday. It will follow Obama's trip to the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, from July 8 to July 10.

Obama will address various bilateral and regional issues with Ghanaian President John Atta Mills, the White House said in a news statement.

"The President and Mrs. Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development," according to the statement.

Obama announced a week ago that he will visit Egypt on June 4 to deliver a speech on America's relationship with the Muslim world.

Egypt is "a country that in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at the time.

Gibbs deflected several questions at his daily briefing about whether Egypt is a wise choice given President Hosni Mubarak's resistance to making his government more democratic.

Obama originally promised to deliver the speech during his first 100 days, but senior administration officials say the date slipped in part because of security and logistical issues.

Obama has visited Africa before as a senator. In 2006, he received a hero's welcome in his father's native Kenya.

Before the G8 summit, the president is scheduled to travel to Moscow from July 6 to July 8 at the invitation of Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev.

The G8 is made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, England and the United States.

May 17, 2009 | 6:55 PM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


« previous 3


Henry Davids's Profile

Henry Davids's Friends


Latest Posts
frozen $33 million in...
Story Of Stuff..
Obama to visit Ghana...
Madonna's Adoption...
‘IMF cash injection...

Monthly Archive
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009

Change Language


Tags Archive
americanpresident climatechange education enviroment helth pollution recycling responsibility rubbish

Friends
Abigail Ngulube
Andi
Anita
ansh
Asghar Paracha
Becky Wong
BELIEVE AFRICA
Bradford McIntyre
Carl Quinto
Cat
Cheikh Mamina Diédhiou
Christabell
cyntia williams
Dada Oladele
Danish Khan (webmaster@mdanishkhan.tk)
davyk
Elaine Cris C.
Eric
George C. Owens
harya
Hillary
Iris Lea
Jacques
Jason Haber
jean celeste paredes
Jeny
Josue
k_tonaoy
Lancy
Larin
Madelaine Hamilton
Malcolm Lawrence
mariyah
mohamed elkashash
monie desire konfor
Muztar
Mwansa Njelesani
n
Nabil Chemli
Philip Salis Bangura
R.Lavannia
Raphael Mlozoa
Remmy Shawa
Sahro Ahmed
Samantha
Shahnawaz شاهنواز
Sophia Giakmoglidou
Sudip Aryal
vas

Links
BBC News
Iconflict
Wikipedia.
ydfz


40522 views
Important Disclaimer