The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently held a pivotal two-day workshop to prepare Tonj South for an upcoming circuit court.

This initiative, which falls under the Kong Koc Project funded by the South Sudan Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Reconciliation, Stabilization, and Resilience (RSRTF), aims to enhance the justice system’s efficiency by addressing long-pending cases involving intercommunal violence.

Delayed justice has often led to revenge attacks and over-detention, and this step seeks to bring long-term peace and stability to Greater Tonj.

The workshop assembled 17 key justice actors, including judges, prosecutors, defense counsels, investigators, and prison officials. Facilitated by the High Court President, the event focused on clarifying roles, refreshing knowledge on criminal investigations and trials, and ensuring effective coordination for court proceedings. “This workshop has been crucial for ensuring all justice actors are on the same page. Our goal is to ensure justice is served efficiently and fairly, said High Court President, Malou Yel.

Addressing the backlog of serious cases was a significant focus. “We are facing a major backlog on serious cases,” noted Mabio Malek, an investigator based in Tonj South. “This workshop has equipped us with tools and strategies to prioritize and manage these cases effectively.”

Human rights considerations, such as alternatives to the death penalty and the importance of proving crimes beyond a reasonable doubt, were also discussed. “It’s essential to explore alternatives like life imprisonment,” emphasized President Yel. “We are committed to upholding human rights and ensuring justice is delivered fairly.”

Susana Akec, the only female member of the Circuit Court serving the National Prison Service in South Sudan (NPSSS), stressed the workshop’s importance. “This pre-deployment workshop is more meaningful than ever,” she said. “I have been working with women and children in prisons. Through the session on children’s rights and human rights, I realized that some of our practices need to be refined in line with existing laws. I need to pass this information to my peers to address inappropriate detention policies before the court deployment.”

The interface between politics and the justice process was another topic of discussion. John Deng, a public prosecutor based in Tonj, urged participants to maintain open communications with local government bodies and adhere strictly to their principles. “We must know our roles and responsibilities and must work with authorities to arrive at workable solutions to any issues faced,” he stated.

Wrapping up the training, Lena Becker, a Justice Advisor from the UNMISS Rule of Law and Security Institutions Section (RoLSIS) pointed out that while there might be challenges while deploying, partnerships are key to overcoming these. “Collaboration is key to overcoming obstacles and ensuring the success of the circuit court,” Ms. Becker said.

Mr. Yel echoed the sentiment, urging participants to remain committed, emphasizing that a successful deployment will lead to increased support in the rule of law sector to boost the legal system in Warrap State. “This workshop has laid a strong foundation for our upcoming circuit court,” he concluded. “With continued dedication and collaboration, we can make significant strides in delivering justice across Tonj South.”

The circuit court is expected to start its hearings at the end of May, operating for four weeks, followed by a validation workshop.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The three-day workshop, held from 15 to 17 May 2024 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, was organised by the ECOWAS Centre for Gender and Development (ECGD). It brought together experts from ECOWAS, COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), EAC (East African Community), women users of the 50MAWSP platform and partners such as the Spanish Cooperation, the African Development Bank (AfDB), USAID West Africa and the UN Women Office for West and Central Africa.

The workshop was officially opened by the Director of Cabinet of the Minister in charge of Regional Integration and Ivorians Living Abroad, in the presence of the Director of the ECGD, who gave the keynote address on behalf of Professor Fatou SOW SARR, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs. Other speakers at the opening ceremony included the Representative of the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Côte d’Ivoire, the AfDB Representative, the COMESA Gender Director and the Director of Cabinet of the Côte d’Ivoire Minister for Social Affairs, Women and Children.

The aim of the workshop was to validate the new functionalities proposed to revive the 50MAWSP platform, such as improving the user interface and user experience, improving the platform’s content and promotion, improving the platform’s networking functions and improving the platform’s analysis functions. The workshop also focused on studying and validating the terms of reference for the recruitment of a firm to evaluate the first phase of the 50MAWSP digital networking platform project and to identify ways of making the platform autonomous and self-financing during the second phase of the project.

At the end of the three-day workshop, the three implementing partner RECs of the 50MAWSP project signed the Workshop Outcome Declaration, which summarises the agreements between RECs for the next steps in the implementation of the project.

For reference, the 50MAWSP digital platform, launched in November 2019 and covering data collection in 38 African countries, is dedicated to supporting the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs in Africa. Its main objective is to meet the need for financial and non-financial information to facilitate the growth and success of women in business.

The 3-day workshop ended with participants expressing their satisfaction. The closing ceremony of the meeting was attended by the representative of USAID, the US development agency, who reiterated that his institution is always ready to support the development of women throughout Africa.

Other speakers at the ceremony included the UN-WOMEN Representative, the EAC Senior Gender Programme Officer, the COMESA Director of Gender and Social Affairs, and the Representative of the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Côte d’Ivoire.

The workshop was officially closed by the Director of the ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development, Ms Sandra OULATE FATTOH, on behalf of Commissioner Fatou SOW SARR.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) has arrived in South Africa ahead of the 29 May 2024 General Elections. At the invitation of the Government of South Africa and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, approved the deployment of the short-term AUEOM to assess and report on the conduct of this election.

The AUEOM is led by H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, former President of the Republic of Kenya and is comprised of 60 short-term observers (STOs) drawn from ambassadors accredited to the African Union, officials of election management bodies, members of African civil society organisations, African election experts, human rights specialists, gender and media experts, and representatives of youth organizations. The observers are drawn from 24 countries which include Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The AUEOM will base its assessment on the legal framework governing elections in the Republic of South Africa and the OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections, the standards and obligations stipulated in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), and the International Declaration of Principles (DoP) for International Election Observation among others.

The Mission shall interact with state authorities, the Independent Electoral Commission, political parties, the media, civil society organisations and representatives of the international community. The Mission will also interact with other election observation missions deployed to observe the 2024 General Elections in South Africa.

The Mission will release its preliminary findings and recommendations on the conduct of the elections on 31 May 2024 in a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.  A final and comprehensive report will be released within two months from the date of announcement of final election results and will be posted on the AU Commission website.

The Mission’s Secretariat is located at the Hilton Hotel, Sandton, South Africa.  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).

Oil and gas supermajor TotalEnergies has announced that it will invest $600 million to strengthen exploration and production activities in the Republic of Congo in 2024. The investment will be used to finance exploration and maintain production in the country’s deep offshore Moho Nord field, which accounts for approximately half of all Congolese oil production, or roughly 140,000 barrels per day (bpd).

As the voice of the African energy sector, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) commends the commitment by TotalEnergies to Congo’s oil and gas future. The $600 million investment signals a strong intent by the IOC to develop and monetize Congolese hydrocarbons for the benefit of the country and will unlock a wave of economic opportunities for the broader region.  

The TotalEnergies-operated Moho Nord field brings together four reservoirs that extend over 320km2 in water depths of 750m to 1,200m. As such, TotalEnergies’ commitment to the Republic of Congo’s oil production is poised to ensure additional production of 40,000 bpd, adding to the country’s current levels of 267,000 bpd. TotalEnergies also operates the deep offshore Marine XX permit, which extends over an area of 3,285.8km2 at water depths of up to 2,000m. Two drilling rigs arrived at the permit this month, with TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné expressing his optimism that the field will yield a discovery before the end of the year.

In April this year, TotalEnergies signed an agreement – through its subsidiary TotalEnergies EP Congo – to acquire a 10% stake in the Moho permit from oil and gas company Trident Energy. Following the completion of this transaction, TotalEnergies will hold an operational stake in the permit with 63.5%, alongside Trident Energy, which will retain a 21.5% share, and the Republic of Congo’s national oil company Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC), which will hold a share of 15%.

“The $600 million investment by TotalEnergies shows that the IOC is in the Republic of Congo to stay. Congo’s oil and gas can play a much greater role in alleviating energy poverty and driving industrialization in Africa, and partnerships with companies to the likes of TotalEnergies will be instrumental in achieving these objectives. We look forward to witnessing new discoveries being made in the coming months,” stated NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC.

In addition to TotalEnergies’ investment plan, the Republic of Congo is set to benefit from a new strategic partnership with Algeria in the field of hydrocarbons and energy. A memorandum of understanding was signed between Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab and the Republic of Congo’s Minister of Hydrocarbons Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua on May 21 to enable the development of a new roadmap for bilateral relations between the two countries.

The agreement will also facilitate the sharing of expertise between Algeria’s state-owned Sonatrach and the SNPC headed by Raoul Ominga in the field of downstream oil. The two countries have also expressed their optimism and support to the development of an African Energy Bank to focus investment in oil and gas projects across the continent.

These major developments come after the confirmation of the formation of a new Gas Master Plan in the country by the Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons during the Invest in African Energy 2024 summit in Paris this month. Currently in its final stages, the new plan will provide a framework that incentivizes the development of the national gas sector while serving as a roadmap to harnessing gas resources for domestic consumption and export. This represents a major opportunity for regional and international investors and will promote gas utilization while reducing the country’s dependence on crude oil revenue. The new Gas Master Plan is being developed by SNPC with support from energy intelligence firm Wood Mackenzie. SNPC CEO Raoul Ominga has been working closely with the Ministry to get final approval. This will open the door for a lot of investment in the gas sector in Congo.

In addition to the Republic of Congo’s established fields, the plan opens the door to negotiate existing contracts and is set to culminate in the establishment of a new gas code in the country. The new code is poised to facilitate the commercialization of stranded assets and flared natural gas while allowing the government to make changes to current fiscal terms and make small-scale projects more economically viable. Approval by parliament for the new code is expected by June this year, according to Minister Itoua.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.