It was disclosed by the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that gay marriage or right groups stand the chance of getting imprisoned for five years if heard or seen trying to get marriage, While making us know that marriage is an institute for male and female and nothing else.

The government said on the 18th of January 2006, that it is a punishable offence with 5 year imprisonment to any individual found wanting in Marriage or gays. they said it is un-African and not acceptable for Nigeria.

Nigerian Federal Executive Council has passed the bill, and it is a pass for Nigeria!

Oil-producing Chad is urging the World Bank to rethink its decision to suspend all loans - a move that came after parliament scrapped a ground-breaking scheme where a chunk of petrodollars was set aside for future generations.

The World Bank announced on Friday that it was withholding all new loans to Chad and was suspending US $124 million already earmarked for the country.

Over the weekend, the Chadian government said it was shocked at the Bank's decision, which affects a number of development projects besides the oil pipeline.

"The government wishes the bank to reconsider its position and look again at this decision, which by its nature undermines the credibility of its action in Chad and harms its reputation," the country's economy minister, Mahamat Ali Hassan, said in a statement.

"The Bank's decision, which ongoing consultations in no way predicted, comes at a crucial and difficult time for Chad and surprises us by its brutality," he added.

The World Bank action came a week after politicians voted by a 119-13 margin to revise the oil laws. But the global financial watchdog had warned that it considered the legal tinkering a "material breach" of a 1999 agreement for managing Chad's oil wealth and that loan suspensions might be a consequence.

Chad was supposed to be an oil test case for the continent, and the 1999 agreement was to ensure the country bucked the trend of Africa's other oil producers where petrodollars have enriched a few while the masses languish in poverty.

Eighty percent of Chad's oil profits from the 1,000-kilometre pipeline was to be pumped into education, health, infrastructure and rural development, and another 10 percent was supposed to be held in trust for future generations. But Chad's parliament on 29 December approved legislation to access more of the revenues.

Chadian President Idriss Deby has yet to ratify the law, which would do away with the future generations fund and funnel some "poverty reduction" money to state security.

Difficult times for Deby

The oil row comes as Deby faces a swelling rebel movement in the east and increasing tensions with Sudan, which Chad accuses of arming and financing dissident soldiers. Among the world's five poorest countries, Chad regularly has difficulty paying its civil servants and regions in the east and south have had to absorb at least 240,000 refugees from neighbouring Sudan and Central African Republic.

Economy Minister Hassan said Chad had "fully explained" its reasons for changing the oil revenue management law.

In announcing the loans freeze, the World Bank said it had tried for some time to talk to the Chadian government about solving its fiscal problems while leaving intact the poverty reduction framework.

"Regrettably instead of engaging in dialogue they have proceeded to alter fundamentally the law which was the basis of our original agreement," Paul Wolfowitz, the head of the World Bank, said in a statement.

The suspension is one of the most drastic moves the World Bank can take, but Wolfowitz said the lender was not slamming the door shut.

"We haven't given up on dialogue, and hope in fact that perhaps if they stop and appreciate how serious the issue is [for both sides], we can find common ground that addresses the legitimate concerns of the government of Chad and our objective of ensuring Chad's oil revenues benefit that country's poor."

The $3.7-billion oil development project is being run by an Exxon-Mobil consortium. The pipeline, inaugurated in 2003, runs through savannah and jungle from the Doba oilfields in southern Chad, across Cameroon to a mooring buoy in the Atlantic ocean.

Some human rights and civil society groups declared the day the oil valves officially opened "a national day of mourning" and warned that mass corruption would follow.

On the streets of the capital N'djamena at the weekend, views on the latest developments were mixed.

"It's unfortunately a decision we're going to pay for, we the poor," 29-year-old Madame Nepitimbaye said.

However Mahamat Nour Goudar, 35, disagreed.

"It (the World Bank move) is an attack on Chad's sovereignty," he said.

I believe that there is need for NGOs to be regulated by the Govt. because some of them
receive huge sums of money which should be used to develop the local communities and sometimes, unfortunately the funds are utilized for other purpose that may not benefit a community at large. Some oversight could ensure the local community benefits and the funds are well managed and put
to good use.

On the other hand, regulating institutions like NGOs could be cumbersome because some or may be a majority of these are short lived, especially here in Nigeria. Some wind up after project implementation is over or when donor funding has ceased or
when the project doesn't work.

Thank you, I hope this is an interesting topic and your reply is highlp appreciated.

I believe that there is need for NGOs to be regulated by the Govt. because some of them
receive huge sums of money which should be used to develop the local communities and sometimes, unfortunately the funds are utilized for other purpose that may not benefit a community at large. Some oversight could ensure the local community benefits and the funds are well managed and put
to good use.

On the other hand, regulating institutions like NGOs could be cumbersome because some or may be a majority of these are short lived, especially here in Nigeria. Some wind up after project implementation is over or when donor funding has ceased or
when the project doesn't work.

Thank you, I hope this is an interesting topic and your reply is highlp appreciated.

Hello Everyone

I am working on some research project on Policy issues and implications in the fight against Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS focussing on my country, Malawi. It is expected to feed into policy formulation, monitoring and implementation in Malawi and other African countries as well in the treatment of the two diseases. It is also to be a pacesetter for similar projects elsewhere within the country and outside.



I wanted to find out if anyone knows of any organisation that may be willing to fund such a project...it is a simple project with simple but effective research methods, not expected to consume lots of funds but bring out valuable results.



Please write back if you can provide me with info or atleast to link me with someone who can assist or lead me to assistance...it is my passion to see this project come through.

Thanks in advance

Regards

Tayani Banda, Malawi

On the back of record oil prices, Africa's second largest producer, Angola, has one of the continent's fastest growing economies while its people remain among the poorest.

After 27 years of civil war a peace agreement signed with UNITA rebels in 2002 is slowly beginning to translate into a better life for ordinary Angolans, who increasingly blame the government for the delay in turning the oil revenue into much-needed development.

Elections are expected in 2007, the first since 1992. "The government wants to demonstrate the benefits of peace, and with elections coming up there is a now a major incentive to deliver the peace dividend to the people," said Allan Cain, Director of Development Workshop, a pro-poor Angolan NGO.

Jose de Oliveria, executive editor of Revista Energia, a publication that monitors the country's energy sector, puts yearly government oil revenues at between US $4 billion and $5 billion.

Angola finalised its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, a policy document drawn up by the governments together with development partners, in November 2005 and "it seems like pro-poor strategies aimed at poverty alleviation, education and community rebuilding are on the agenda and are actually making it into government medium term planning," Cain remarked.

But NGOs and civil society are worried that the administration lacks the capacity to design, implement and manage the grassroots programmes needed to effectively tackle poverty. "The government will opt instead for large, high-cost infrastructure projects, such as roads and telecommunication, since those projects can absorb that money easily," said Cain.

Angolan oil production is currently running at 1.3 million barrels a day and several huge deep-water finds are set to further boost output.

However, little of the economic activity generated by the oil industry is experienced by ordinary citizens. "Nearly all of Angola's production is offshore and for every billion invested in the industry, only $100,000 is spent onshore," Oliveira estimated.

According to Cain, international oil companies themselves are "increasingly concerned for poverty reduction in Angola to reduce the risk of conflict, but there is not much they can do to pressure the government" into addressing the country's development challenges more effectively.

President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for greater support for the post-admission screening exercises in tertiary institutions.

Receiving a 13-member delegation of the House of Representatives Committee on Education at the State House, Abuja on 5 January the President frowned at the rampant cases of examination malpractices currently bedevilling the nation’s entire education sector, attributing them to the wrong perception of the aim of education.

“They see education as a means of meal ticket getting a job, and so must acquire the paper qualification by hook or crook”, he said of perpetrators of examination malpractices.

“We must change that perception or orientation so that they will appreciate the intrinsic value of education, which is the total development of the individual to be able to make meaningful contribution to the family, community and nation”, he stressed.

President Obasanjo who said that an all-stakeholders meeting on finding solutions to examination malpractices would soon be convened, also reiterated the Federal Government’s determination to improve the lot of the nation’s teachers and remove impediments to technical education in the country.

Explaining what he called his “obsession for education”, the President said, “I believe that any human being has certain innate abilities which only education can develop them sufficiently to the benefit of the individual, family, community and the nation”.
According to President Obasanjo, education is also crucial for the peace, security and balanced development of the country.

Noting that education is too important to be left in the hands of government, parents, teachers, private and voluntary organisations alone, the President stressed that “all must join hands together and take education seriously”.

On financing education, President Obasanjo said it must be a shared responsibility involving parents, guardians, government and private sectors while stressing that there is “nothing free in education”.

Earlier, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Hon Ahmed Lawan said that the legislators shared President Obasanjo’s goal of providing quality education for Nigerians and considered themselves as partners in the development of the education sector.

The resolve of the Nigerian authorities to stamp out advanced fee fraud (a.k.a. 419) from the country and bring scammers to justice was boosted on 6 October when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) returned $4.8million to a Chinese woman scammed by her Nigerian collaborator.

A statement by the Commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Osita Nwajah confirmed that EFCC’s Chairman, Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, presented a cheque of $4,481,909.94 to Mrs Juliana Ching, mother of the collaborator, in Hong Kong.

The statement said the money was part of recovered funds from a fictitious transaction initiated by one Basil Nkenchor, a Nigerian, purporting to be Alhaji Ibrahim Abba, Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in June 1995.

The statement further quoted Alhaji Ribadu as saying that Nigeria was no longer a safe haven for criminals and corrupt public officers while assuring the government and people of Hong Kong that the efforts of the Federal Government to clean up Nigeria were yielding positive results.

It further said that Nkenchor had written a letter to Ching’s daughter Vivian seeking her assistance to transfer to her account abroad, $25million supposedly overpaid by the Nigerian Government on some false procurement contracts for which they were supposed to receive 25 percent of the sum involved.

“Between June 1995 and April 2000, while the scam lasted, the victims transferred about HKD320million to accounts in Nigerian banks provided by the 419 kingpin and his group.
“However following a petition from the Department of Justice, the EFCC promptly went into the matter, arrested and interrogated the suspect and his accomplices. They confessed to the crime and repaid the entire sum. The EFCC would soon arraign them in court”.

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Job Title: Product Manager
Location: Abuja-Nigeria
Country: Nigeria
Company: AfricaServe


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Description:
An experienced Group Product Manager required for the international leading telco. Your responsibilities will include
ú Product Strategy and Marketing Plan Definition and Implementation – Manage development of product strategy that is best aligned with overall marketing strategy and Client objectives; contribute to the development of Marketing Plan and Marketing Program with the definition of product plan.
ú Identification of Market Opportunities, Driving of Product and Service Development – responsible for management and development of entire Client product portfolio
ú Product Management - Responsible for Product Life-Cycle management from initial idea assessment to product termination; identify and manage new product development opportunities; support sales of assigned products/services.

Preferably you will have an international experience within a large telecommunications company and have worked with voice and data products. This is a rewarding opportunity to join one of the industry leaders. The successful applicant will play a pivotal role in the continued success of the organisation.

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Qualifications:
ú B.Sc. in Engineering or Business Administration. Knowledge of marketing, product development and pricing. Very good knowledge of telecommunication industry and technology. ú 4 years work experience in product development/management at a reputable organizationú Telecom experience in satellite/GSM operatorú Understanding of business trends in satellite and wireless business

Contact Details

Contact Person: Ladi
Telehone:
Fax:
E-mail: subpm@findajobinafrica.com
Apply Online:
Website:
Reference: FJA-Afr-sub1