Day: September 30, 2021

Posted on

Global Partners to Join Huawei’s TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Initiative

SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — At the Huawei TECH4ALL Summit, Huawei called for global partners to join the TECH4ALL digital inclusion initiative, which aims to build a more inclusive and intelligent world that leaves no one behind.

Huawei’s TECH4ALL initiative focuses on four areas: driving equity and quality in education, conserving nature with technology, driving inclusion and accessibility in health, and using ICT to boost rural development. It focuses on digital technologies, application enablement, and digital skills, and works with global partners to promote and expand digital inclusion to help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

At present, more than 60,000 teachers and students benefit from TECH4ALL projects in over 200 schools worldwide. Digital technologies have been deployed to improve resource management and biodiversity conservation efficiency in 22 natural reserves around the world. Huawei smartphones provide 15 accessibility features and are used by about 10 million users each month. Huawei’s RuralStar solution provides mobile Internet services for more than 60 countries and regions, covering more than 50 million people in remote areas.

Inclusion and equity were major talking points in the education track of the summit. In her opening remarks, Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, discussed technology-enabled Open Schools, a three-year partnership program with Huawei that is rolling out in Ethiopia, Egypt, and Ghana.

“UNESCO and Huawei jointly launched this project in July 2020,” said Stefania Giannini. “The project explores future schooling models, thereby contributing to UNESCO’s global initiative on the future of education.”

To build a more crisis-resilient Open School system, all countries have to consider the three pillars of new infrastructure for a learning system: technology, digital content, and the digital competencies of teachers and human facilitators. UNESCO’s Dr. Fengchun Miao, Chief of Unit for Technology and Artificial Intelligence in Education, looked at how to leverage the power of technology in the education field.

Vodafone Foundation discussed its Instant Network Schools program, which aims to bring high-quality education to refugees and host communities, with plans to connect 500,000 refugee students and their communities by 2025. Huawei is one of the partners for expanding connectivity to more schools in Africa.

Vodafone Instant Network Schools Program Manager Oisín Walton said, “We believe that every boy and girl should have access to quality education, no matter where they are and whatever their nationality.”

Close the Gap’s DigiTruck Program Lead Bram Over gave an update on the DigiTruck program. DigiTrucks are green, solar-powered mobile classrooms converted from shipping containers. They are equipped with recycled ICT devices and provide training for young people in digital skills. Huawei has supported this program in Kenya and France. Later this year, Huawei and Close the Gap will implement the project in Ethiopia.

Ling Hui from the YouChange China Social Entrepreneur Foundation introduced the Green Pepper program for young teachers in rural villages in China. The program delivers a year of online training to teachers and has reached nearly 80,000 young rural teachers and 17,000 schools so far.

In her opening remarks introducing the environment track, IUCN Director General Dr. Grethel Aguilar addressed a range of environmental issues, pointing out that technology can be used to mitigate humanity’s growing impact on the planet.

Dr. Aguilar said, “Digital technology can be an important part of the solution and help us solve global challenges if used correctly and smartly.”

As facilitator of the panel discussion, Associate Director of the IUCN Protected Areas Programme James Hardcastle, pointed out that we must empower more people to use technologies for nature conservation and referenced the Tech4Nature initiative – an IUCN-Huawei partnership that aims to develop scenario-specific technologies to safeguard natural ecosystems in 300 protected sites by 2023.

Currently, the project is running in Thailand, Spain, Mauritius, Switzerland, and China. Ecomode President Nadeem Nazurally elaborated on the Mauritius project, which aims to protect and restore the African island nation’s rapidly vanishing coral reef using AI-powered real-time video monitoring, which can be transmitted to experts, both local and worldwide.

Continuing the environmental track, Rainforest Connection Director of International Expansion Chrissy Durkin introduced the Nature Guardian system, which uses acoustics technologies to monitor endangered species and alert rangers to threats like illegal logging and gunshots. Bernardo Reyes Ortíz, President of Forest Ethics in Chile, explained how the Guardian platform supported by Huawei cloud is providing a lifeline for the nation’s endangered Darwin’s fox, fewer than 1,000 of which are thought to remain in existence.

Smart and networked monitoring technologies are a crucial tool for nature conservation. Dr. Steph Wray, Chair of The Mammal Society in the UK, how acoustics solutions have been deployed in England to protect the increasingly rare red squirrel, which is threatened by the invasive and vastly more populous grey squirrel.

Tang Yanfei, Executive Director at Hainan National Park Research Institute, explained how acoustics monitoring is key to improving conservation of China’s critically endangered Hainan gibbon, with a view to doubling its population in 15 years.

Partnerships are the fuel that powers progress in TECH4ALL’s environment and education domains, as well as in the initiative’s other two domains – health and development.

“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together,” said Tao Jingwen in his opening remarks. “We believe that more partners will work with us to advance the TECH4ALL action plan in the future. Join us for a more inclusive, intelligent world where no one is left behind.”

Watch the full recording of the summit at https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all/news-and-events/events/hc2021-t4a-summit

Read more about TECH4ALL projects and stories at https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all

Posted on

SAIC Motor Expo Dubai concept car “Kun” unveiled

DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, SAIC Motor autonomous new energy concept car “Kun” – Star Exhibits of China Pavilion at 2020 Expo Dubai, was virtually unveiled at the Shanghai World Expo Museum.

Dubai Expo will officially open on October 1st; SAIC Motor latest concept car “Kun” will form the most dazzling exhibition items together with China Beidou Satellite and China High-speed Railway, demonstrating the powerful innovative strength and unique technological charm of China’s high-end manufacturing to the world. At the same time, SAIC Motor’s self-owned brands MG and MAXUS will provide latest models as the official designated vehicles for the China Pavilion during the Expo.

A vision of “Smart Mobility” for a better life

The World Expo, with a long history of more than 160 years, is known as the “Olympic event in the economic, technological and cultural circles” and has become a global stage for displaying new concepts, new ideas and new technologies. “Everything starts with the World Expo.” The trains, lights, telephones, airplanes, highways and other technologies and concepts that were first launched at the World Expo have gradually entered people’s daily lives and have strongly promoted the continuous progress of human society.

At the 2010 Expo Shanghai, SAIC Motor built an automobile enterprise pavilion, depicting a desirable picture of “Direct to 2030” with zero emissions, zero traffic accidents, stay away from dependence on oil and away from traffic jams.

At 2020 Expo Dubai, SAIC Motor will bring the “Kun” concept jointly created by the forward-looking design teams of Shanghai and London. Citing the legend of “leviathan” in Zhuangzi’s Carefree Soaring, inspired by “the world and China, the mountain and the sea”, the concept “Kun” integrates bio-intelligence interaction, photosynthetic energy, zero-gravity seat, holographic image interaction and advanced autonomous driving technologies, presents a beautiful picture of smart mobility that is not limited by space in the future and the fusion of human and vehicle environments. It will bring a unique experience of “a glance at technology, a glance at the future, and a glance at China” to the Expo’s global audience.

A “green and smart” Chinese brand image

SAIC Motor is representing China’s automobile industry and actively establishes a “green and intelligent” innovative image at the Expo Dubai. SAIC Motor has established a global automotive industry chain including R&D, marketing, logistics, parts, manufacturing, finance, second-hand cars and etc. Its products and services are welcomed by more than 70 countries and regions around the world.

Relying on the advantages of innovative technologies such as new energy vehicles and intelligent networking, SAIC Motor is actively creating differentiated international competitiveness. From January to August this year, sales in overseas markets exceeded 370,000 units, with a year-on-year increase of 106.4%, ranking No. 1 in overseas sales of Chinese auto companies. Among them, MG brand reached 182,000 units with an increase of 83.9% year-on-year. MG Sales in developed countries accounted for nearly 40% and winning the “China Single Brand Overseas Sales Champion”. The NEV sales of self-owned brands in developed European countries was nearly 19,000, a year-on-year increase of 133%, ranking in the forefront of vehicle segments in countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. At the same time, the “i-Smart” intelligent networking system has been popular among consumers in Thailand, India, Indonesia and other countries. It has been used on more than 30 overseas models and has activated more than 130,000 users.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1639710/image_836135_27483761.jpg

Posted on

Despite Heightening Investor Pressure, Few Companies Publicly Report on Sustainability, Sphera’s New Survey Finds

New data from Sphera reveals that, despite promises to the contrary, companies struggle with implementing and disclosing progress on their sustainability efforts

CHICAGO, Sept. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Though pressure is growing from all corners—from investors, to governments, to boards of directors—companies worldwide struggle to report progress on their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals. Indeed, just 38% of businesses publicly communicate their sustainability performance, according to a new survey from Sphera®, a leading global provider of ESG performance and risk management software, data and consulting services.

It’s not just a matter of disclosing progress on their objectives, however; companies are also behind the curve when it comes to clearly setting their ESG goals in the first place. Less than one-third (29%) of the respondents said they have set and communicated their sustainability targets, and even fewer—16%—have set emissions targets in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) framework.

This marked lack of ESG transparency highlights the persistently wide chasm between ESG promises and action in the private sector. In the absence of significant, enforceable regulations worldwide, companies have largely been left to voluntarily make commitments, but with no meaningful mechanisms to either measure their progress or hold themselves accountable to them. About half (51%) of companies surveyed affirm that their senior management has made sustainability commitments, but only 21% say they have a clear roadmap to implementation, and just 26% say they have fully integrated sustainability into their business strategy.

“It’s easy to ‘talk the talk’ when it comes to corporate ESG initiatives, but much harder to ‘walk the walk’,” says Paul Marushka, Sphera’s CEO. “Businesses have largely been left to their own devices to establish and measure their sustainability performance, leading to a constellation of voluntary frameworks that ultimately disincentivize meaningful action. But with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report providing its strongest warning yet – indicating that half-measures will no longer cut it – and the upcoming COP26 conference promising to hold the business community to account, organizations need to start making good on their promises and show tangible progress.”

These findings are from Sphera’s Sustainability Survey 2021, a survey of 218 global business leaders evaluating their sustainability metrics, measurement and progress.

Additional findings from the survey include:

Scope 3 is missing from the menu. Though reducing emissions across the value chain is essential to meeting decarbonization targets and—for those businesses who have committed to them—achieving net zero emissions, very few companies have accounted for Scope 3 emissions in their sustainability plans. Only 13% of businesses surveyed said they have identified all relevant Scope 3 categories and completed a corresponding hotspot analysis; 29% say they consider the entire value chain when calculating their corporate emissions baseline or carbon footprint.

“Scope 3 emissions can make up the vast majority of a company’s overall carbon footprint,” Marushka added, “which means any sound sustainability strategy must involve an assessment of the supply chain and a commitment to working with suppliers who are also taking measurable steps to reduce their emissions. The end result ultimately creates a multiplier effect for both companies’ sustainability efforts.”

Poor data quality can stymie even the best efforts. Only a minority of respondents (16%) use data from established commercial databases to quantify their corporate carbon footprint; another 14% say they use high-quality, industry-based data for baseline assessment at the product level. In practice, this means many more organizations are using suboptimal datasets, such as spend-based, input-output databases, to measure their emissions. These types of top-down, nonspecific data sources can lead to inaccurate assessments, further exacerbating the gap between sustainability promises and outcomes.

The middle market struggles the most. Perhaps unsurprisingly, large organizations with more than $1 billion in revenue are more likely to be rated as optimized (34%) in terms of sustainability maturity.1 At the same time, 39% of small businesses with less than $100 million in revenue are considered optimized. Midsize businesses trail both, with an optimization rate of just 30%. In fact, midsize businesses are more likely than their larger or smaller counterparts to not exceed basic compliance requirements (25% vs.13% for smaller organizations and 6% for larger organizations).

About the Sustainability Maturity Survey 2021
Sphera partnered with the University of Esslingen in Germany to design and field a survey of companies throughout Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Respondents represented businesses in a wide range of industries, including automotive, construction, education, health care, oil and gas, manufacturing and technology. The survey was conducted between April 7 and May 3.

About Sphera
Sphera creates a safer, more sustainable and productive world. We are a leading global provider of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance and risk management software, data and consulting services with a focus on Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S), Operational Risk Management and Product Stewardship.

Press Contact
Kylie Souder
kylie.souder@aspectusgroup.com
+1 513-304-5776

__________________
1 According to Sphera’s Sustainability Maturity rubric, an “optimized” business leverages ESG software and data resources to go above and beyond meeting compliance requirements to help find efficiencies, increase productivity and innovation, reduce costs and mitigate risks. A “leader” is at the head of the competitive pack and is shaping the future of its sector through its sustainability initiatives.

Posted on

Malgré une pression accrue des investisseurs, peu d’entreprises rendent leurs rapports sur le développement durable publics, selon la nouvelle enquête de Sphera

De nouvelles données de Sphera révèlent que, malgré leurs promesses, les entreprises ont du mal à mettre en œuvre et à faire état de leurs progrès en matière de durabilité

CHICAGO, 30 sept. 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bien que la pression augmente de toutes parts, des investisseurs aux gouvernements en passant par les conseils d’administration, les entreprises du monde entier peinent à faire état de leurs progrès vers leurs objectifs environnementaux, sociaux et de gouvernance (ESG). En effet, seules 38 % des entreprises communiquent publiquement leurs performances en matière de développement durable, selon une nouvelle enquête de Sphera®, un fournisseur mondial de premier plan de services de conseil, de données et de logiciels de gestion des risques et des performances ESG.

Cependant, il ne s’agit pas seulement de révéler leurs progrès en fonction de leurs objectifs, les entreprises sont également à la traîne lorsqu’il s’agit de définir clairement leurs objectifs en matière d’ESG. Moins d’un tiers (29 %) des personnes interrogées ont déclaré avoir fixé et communiqué leurs objectifs de durabilité, et encore moins (16 %) ont fixé des objectifs d’émission conformes au cadre de l’initiative Science Based Targets (SBTi).

Ce manque flagrant de transparence à l’égard de l’ESG met en évidence l’ampleur persistante du gouffre entre les promesses et l’action en matière d’ESG dans le secteur privé. En l’absence de réglementations importantes et exécutoires à l’échelle mondiale, les entreprises ont été en grande partie laissées libres de prendre des engagements, mais sans mécanismes significatifs pour mesurer leurs progrès ou les en tenir responsables. Environ la moitié (51 %) des entreprises interrogées affirment que leur direction a pris des engagements en matière de développement durable, mais seulement 21 % déclarent avoir une feuille de route claire pour la mise en œuvre, et seulement 26 % affirment avoir pleinement intégré le développement durable dans leur stratégie commerciale.

« Il est facile de “faire de beaux discours” lorsqu’il s’agit d’initiatives d’ESG d’entreprise, mais beaucoup plus difficile de “passer du geste à la parole” », a déclaré Paul Marushka, PDG de Sphera. « Les entreprises ont largement été laissées livrées à elles-mêmes pour établir et mesurer leurs performances en matière de durabilité, conduisant à une constellation de cadres volontaires qui, en fin de compte, découragent toute action significative. Mais avec le récent rapport du Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat, qui adresse sa mise en garde la plus sévère à ce jour, indiquant que les demi-mesures ne suffiront plus, et la prochaine conférence COP26 promettant de demander des comptes à la communauté des entreprises, les organisations doivent commencer à tenir leurs promesses et démontrer des progrès concrets. »

Ces résultats proviennent de l’Enquête sur le développement durable 2021 de Sphera, une enquête menée auprès de 218 chefs d’entreprise mondiaux évaluant leurs indicateurs, mesures et progrès en matière de durabilité.

Les autres conclusions de l’enquête comprennent :

Le niveau 3 manque à l’appel. Bien que la réduction des émissions sur l’ensemble de la chaîne de valeur soit essentielle pour atteindre les objectifs de décarbonisation et, pour les entreprises qui s’y sont engagées, atteindre des émissions nettes nulles, très peu d’entreprises ont pris en compte les émissions de niveau 3 dans leurs plans de durabilité. Seules 13 % des entreprises interrogées ont indiqué qu’elles avaient identifié toutes les catégories de niveau 3 pertinentes et effectué une analyse des points chauds correspondants ; 29 % ont déclaré tenir compte de l’ensemble de la chaîne de valeur lors du calcul de la référence en matière d’émissions d’entreprise ou de l’empreinte carbone.

« Les émissions de niveau 3 peuvent représenter la grande majorité de l’empreinte carbone globale d’une entreprise », a ajouté M. Marushka. « Cela signifie que toute stratégie de développement durable saine doit impliquer une évaluation de la chaîne d’approvisionnement et un engagement à travailler avec des fournisseurs qui prennent également des mesures quantifiables pour réduire leurs émissions. Le résultat final crée un effet multiplicateur pour les efforts de développement durable des deux entreprises. »

Des données de mauvaise qualité peuvent contrarier les plus gros efforts. Seule une minorité de répondants (16 %) utilisent des données issues de bases de données commerciales établies pour quantifier leur empreinte carbone d’entreprise ; 14 % affirment utiliser des données de haute qualité basées sur l’industrie pour effectuer une évaluation de base au niveau des produits. Dans la pratique, cela signifie que de nombreuses autres organisations utilisent des ensembles de données sous-optimaux, tels que les bases de données entrées-sorties basées sur les dépenses, pour mesurer leurs émissions. Ces types de sources de données descendantes et non spécifiques peuvent conduire à des évaluations inexactes, aggravant davantage l’écart entre les promesses de développement durable et les résultats.

Le marché intermédiaire rencontre le plus de difficultés. Peut-être sans surprise, les grandes entreprises avec plus d’un milliard de dollars de revenus sont plus susceptibles d’être évaluées comme optimisées (34 %) en termes de maturité de la durabilité.1 Dans le même temps, 39 % des petites entreprises avec un chiffre d’affaires inférieur à 100 millions de dollars sont considérées comme optimisées. Les entreprises de taille moyenne se situent entre les deux, avec un taux d’optimisation de seulement 30 %. En fait, les entreprises de taille moyenne sont plus susceptibles que leurs homologues plus grands ou plus petits de ne pas dépasser les exigences de conformité de base (25 % contre 13 % pour les petites organisations et 6 % pour les grandes organisations).

À propos de l’Enquête sur la maturité du développement durable 2021
Sphera s’est associée à l’université d’Esslingen en Allemagne pour concevoir et mener une enquête auprès de sociétés d’Europe, d’Amérique du Nord et d’Asie-Pacifique. Les répondants représentaient des entreprises d’un large éventail d’industries, y compris l’automobile, la construction, l’éducation, les soins de santé, le pétrole et le gaz, la fabrication et la technologie. L’enquête a été menée entre le 7 avril et le 3 mai.

À propos de Sphera
Sphera crée un monde plus sûr, plus durable et plus productif. Nous sommes un fournisseur mondial de premier plan de services de conseil, de données et de logiciels de gestion des risques et des performances environnementales, sociales et de gouvernance (ESG) mettant un accent tout particulier sur l’environnement, la santé, la sécurité et la durabilité (EHS&S), la gestion des risques opérationnels et la gestion des produits.

Contact auprès de la presse
Kylie Souder
kylie.souder@aspectusgroup.com+1 513-304-5776

__________________
1 Selon la rubrique Maturité du développement durable de Sphera, une entreprise « optimisée » exploite les ressources de logiciels et de données ESG pour aller au-delà des exigences de conformité afin d’aider à trouver des gains d’efficacité, accroître la productivité et l’innovation, réduire les coûts et atténuer les risques. Un « leader » est à la tête du pack concurrentiel et façonne l’avenir de son secteur grâce à ses initiatives de développement durable.

Posted on

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta Advocates For Enhanced Protection Of Children From Harmful Online Content

(PSCU) – First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has advocated for enhanced protection of children and the youth from harmful online content that expose them to vices such as cyber bullying, addiction, racism, sexual harassment and online fraud.
“These are risks and challenges that will require our concerted efforts through advocacy, raising of awareness and regulation to protect consumers, especially children, the youth and vulnerable communities,” the First Lady said.
At the same time, the First Lady acknowledged the vast and growing importance of online platforms in service delivery especially during the current restrictive Covid-19 pandemic.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta spoke on Thursday at the Communications Authority of Kenya office complex in Nairobi County where she presided over the launch of the second phase of the national Child Online Protection (COP) campaign dubbed, “Huwezi Tucheza: Tuko Cyber -Smart”.
The multimedia campaign seeks to inform and empower children and the youth with skills and information on how to use internet in a productive manner as well as enable them to stay safe online.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta commended the Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, and the Communications Authority of Kenya for demonstrating commitment to their roles as regulators by protecting Kenyans from harmful content.
She expressed optimism that the advocacy campaign will empower the youth to be able to make better online choices thereby developing them into upright and productive citizens.
“This new focus intends to provide our children with the knowledge that will protect them against increasing exposure to the risks and vulnerabilities in the cyberspace,” the First Lady said.
Speaking at the launch, Chief Justice Martha Koome urged all relevant players in the legislative process to hasten the enactment of the proposed Children’s Bill 2021, saying it has important clauses on the protection of children against online exploitation.
“This was not in the Children’s Act because it was not a reality in 2001 when the children’s Act was enacted. Therefore it is necessary for us to move with speed and enact the Children’s Bill 2021,” the Chief Justice said.
She thanked the First Lady for being an ardent champion and defender of children rights and welfare.
ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru assured the First Lady of his ministry’s commitment to tame runaway societal moral decline brought about by the internet particularly its negative impact on children.
“Technology can be a good servant but it is an especially bad master. Let us tame technology so that we can use it for the good of society, so that it becomes our servant and not our master,” CS Mucheru said.
Other speakers included Information and Broadcasting Principal Secretary Esther Koimett, Communications Authority of Kenya Chairman Kembi Gitura and Acting Director-General Mercy Wanjau.

Source: President Republic of Kenya

Posted on

Kisumu Reinvent Tourism Sector Through Digitalization

Kisumu County Department of Tourism and Culture has invented new ways to ensure growth in the tourism sector in the region.
To commemorate World Tourism Day, the department collaborated with various stakeholders in the region to celebrate the diverse tourist attractions in the county and bring to limelight destinations that are not well known.
The event held at Ndere Island in Seme, Kisumu County, brought together over 50 dignitaries from different tourism sites management sectors with the aim of ensuring inclusive growth.
The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sports Achie Alai stressed the need for digitalization and collaboration as a way of restarting tourism in the region.
She said the tourism sector was the hardest hit by Covid-19, and being one of the major backbones of the country’s economy, they had to come up with innovative ways to resume tourism amidst the pandemic.
“We know that Covid-19 has shown us that a country and the world can actually stop. The sector was the hardest hit because worldwide nobody could travel, while nationally and in the county there was a restriction,” said Alai.
As a sector, she said, it was impossible to stand alone, therefore there is need to bring on board different stakeholders to rebuild the tourism sector.
Consequently, in partnership with airlines, hotels, schools and wildlife services, it was easy to highlight the beauty of Kisumu and promote local tourism.
“We reached out to six airlines that come to Kisumu on a daily basis and hotels to come and partner with us, we also reached out to academia to supply us with students of hospitality and tourism management,” she posed.
At the same time, with digitalization taking over the activities globally and being the new normal to growing businesses, it was time for tourism to embrace it fully and attract its online audience.
Alai said by partnering with the media to broadcast and air tourist attraction sites, international and local tourists will know the unknown sites and visit them to realize their hidden beauties.
“It is sad that even some of our citizens have never visited these sites and yet we want to promote them and sell them outside there,” she reiterated.
The county executive encouraged photographers to take good pictures of these sites and post them on social media where it will help to reach youths and global tourists to promote tourism in the region.
And with a majority of youths using digital technology, she urged them to use their platforms to research and invent ways of showcasing the beauty of the islands, forests, airlines and hotels.
Speaking at the same event, Director of Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Dr. Esther Munyiri said there is hope things will be back to normal as some hotels have reopened and the number of tourists have increased.
She lauded the sector for the efforts put so far to ensure they do not go down the drain during this crisis, and encouraged citizens to be vaccinated as a way to ensure the statistics on pandemic go down, so that things can go back to normal.
“We must ensure our tourists’ health and safety before their enjoyment. I, therefore, urge the management of these destination sites to follow the Ministry of Health (MOH) laid down guidelines and ensure containment of these measures,” she said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Posted on

Gov’t Agencies Urged To Provide Information To Citizens

The Commission of Administrative Justice (CAJ) Chairperson Florence Kajuju has called on government agencies to adequately provide information of public interests to Kenyans.
Speaking in Garissa during the commemoration of the International day for Universal access to information, Kajuju said that articles 47 and 35 of the Constitution, and the Access to information Act, 2016 provides for fair administrative justice and access to information for all Kenyans.
“We are asking the public bodies, the National and County governments to freely give information to Kenyans. Kenyans have a right to access information. Let the county governments give Kenyans information on procurement, on the utilization of Covid-19 funds or how they use the money disbursed to them by the National Treasury. When there is proper information to the public, citizens will have no reason to accuse the leaders of embezzlement on social media,” she added.
The CAJ chair urged the county governments to draft the ‘County government access to information act’ and create a legal framework where citizens may be able to easily access information they need.
She complained that some organizations delay or never give responses to Kenyans asking for information of their interests.
However, Kajuju noted that during the electioneering period the commission will expect all public bodies and private bodies that fall within the ambit of the Access to Information Act and Regulations to fully adhere to their obligations.
“Recent experiences across the continent illustrate the dangers that the lack of information during electoral process poses to peace, security and stability. The failure by stakeholders in the electoral process to proactively provide information breeds distrust and lack of confidence,” she said.
For instance she called on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to inform the public on how they intend to use the Sh 40.9 billion they are requesting to prepare for the 2022 general elections.
Media Council of Kenya (MCK) senior officer for accreditation and compliance Jamila Yesho urged the press to commit to report verifiable stories that were accurate and objective.
Yesho said that the media was an important partner in the dissemination of information and promotion of good governance. “The media provides news and information on national programs and events, creates platforms for national dialogue and contributes to setting the national agenda,” Yesho said.
“The media has also been at the forefront of democratization, advocating for human rights and freedoms and act as the public watchdog by investigating and exposing corruption and other illegal conducts involving public institutions and officers,” she added.
Northeastern Regional Commissioner Nicodemus Ndalana who attended the function said that proper flow of information between the government and residents has led to peace and stability in the region.
Ndalana emphasized on the importance of informing the public saying that lack of information leads to speculations and propaganda. “We have been able to gain the trust of our people and we act on information they relay to us especially on matters of insecurity,” Ndalana said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Posted on

Oguna Lauds Media In Covid -19 Campaign

Government Spokesman Col .Rtd Cyrus Oguna has lauded the media for complementing government efforts in containing the spread of Covid-19.
Oguna said the media has actively informed and educated the public on the disease impacting positively on reducing the cases in the country.
“If you go to all corners of this country people are aware about this disease and the measures put in place to contain it because of the aggressive campaign carried out by the media,” he said.
He pointed out special tailored programmes on radio and national television which have gone a long way in driving the message home.
He urged the media to sustain the momentum to ensure that the war against the deadly disease is won.
Speaking in Kisumu on Wednesday, Oguna challenged the media to create more awareness on Covid-19 vaccination to ensure that more Kenyans take the jab.
Vaccine uptake, he said, was still very low despite the government procuring enough doses to reach many Kenyans.
The media, he said, must step up campaigns to educate Kenyans on the need to take up the jabs.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Posted on

IEBC To Commence Registration Of Voters

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is set to launch a mass voter registration in the country commencing 4th October this year to ensure that Kenyans exercise their democratic right of voting in the forthcoming 2022 General Election.
In Kakamega, the Commission targets to register 1,023,293 persons by 2022 and to achieve that they have to register at least 171,346 persons this year.
The County Elections Manager Grace Rono speaking during a meeting with stakeholders from various departments called on area residents to turn out and register as voters during the one-month exercise.
“There are three registration kits per ward and we urge residents to come out and register so that we can reach our target,” she said. “We hope that the chiefs and residents will help us keep them secure,” she added.
But as the exercise is set to start, some people living with disability have expressed concern that they might not get to registration stations due to lack of wheelchairs while the blind will require assistance.
Bryson Musebe who represented the disabled community in a meeting held at the Kakamega IEBC headquarters asked the electoral officials to be more helpful and understanding while dealing with the disabled persons when the process starts.
The IEBC manager called upon all the disabled persons in Kakamega County to come out in large numbers and register as voters.
She also called on those wishing to change their polling stations to do so during this period and called on politicians to help sensitize the residents to register as voters.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Posted on

IEBC To Launch Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is set to launch Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
The month-long activity that aims at registering new voters in the country will kick off in Murang’a County on Oct 4 to Nov 2nd and targets to enroll 135,235 new voters in 35 wards.
The County Elections Manager, Mr Joseph Mukewa, divulged to KNA that the month long exercise will take place in all the seven constituencies of Murang’a County and all preparations have been completed.
“We are targeting 135,235 new voters in the seven constituencies and mostly these are the people who did not vote in the last election as they were not registered by then,” confirmed Mukewa.
He also added that the citizens who attained the age of 18 from 2017 and beyond and got their identification cards will be registered as voters ahead of the 2022 General Elections.
“In Kangema, Mathioya, Kiharu, Kigumo, Maragua, Kandara and Gatanga constituencies the exercise will be conducted every day from 8am to 5pm in all the marked registration centers,” noted Mukewa adding that each ward will have three BVR kits manned by two clerks.
A kit movement schedule will also be issued across wards so as to reach the targeted new voters. After registration the new voter will be issued with an acknowledgement slip.
“Normal continuous voter registration will continue beyond the exercise in our offices where members of the public can visit, check their voter details or even change their polling stations,” stated Mukewa.
The electoral manager advised non-listed voters not to wait until the last day of the exercise but to come out early and register.
“We have seen in the past where Kenyans wait until the last day. Do not wait to see if the exercise will be extended, if you did not vote in 2017, then this is your chance to exercise your constitutional right and enroll as a voter,” he said.

Source: Kenya News Agency