Day: April 21, 2023

The removal of blue checks on Twitter for accounts not yet signed up to the “Twitter Blue” verification service, began on Thursday, April 20. Cameroonian celebrities and public figures were not left out.

Samuel Eto’o, Francis Ngannou, Stanley Enow, and Jovi, are some of the personalities who have had their blue checks taken off.

Most of them have not yet reacted to the change, however, Stanley Enow tweeted in the early hours of Friday, reacting to the disappearance of his verification tick. “Chief Elon Musk why remove my blue tick? Thought we were cool” the rapper wrote.

Many have raised concerns over the risk of impersonation of high-profile users on the platform, adding that there will be increased confusion over the veracity of information.

Journalists and media organizations all saw their verification marks removed. This is the same case with widely followed personalities like Beyonce, Bill Gates, Pope Francis, and even Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

While announcing the new measure last year, the platform’s current owner Elon Musk said it will help eradicate automated bot accounts and generate an alternative source of income to advertising, which accounts for most of Twitter’s income.

Elon’s verification fee stands at a minimum of $8 per month, approximately 4,000 FCFA in Cameroon.

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Source: Cameroon News Agency

Angolan minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Maria Sambo said on Friday that the culture of quality and scientific research should be a permanent exercise of the universities, to avoid stagnation and setbacks in staff training.

Sambo made these remarks during the closing of the 4th national colloquium on Law Teaching in Angola, promoted by the Lueji A’Nkonde University, as part of the commemorations of the 12th anniversary of the Law Faculty.

She recommended higher education institutions to improve academic programmes and raise their scientific productivity.

The minister added that university students cannot be mere repositories of knowledge, reproducing only knowledge acquired by teachers, without, however, having the capacity to produce scientific content.

On the other hand, she said that higher education institutions should be increasingly inserted in the communities, through university extension.

“It is necessary that the community served by the university feels that it adds value to it and that it does so not only by training staff,” she said.

He said that for this five-year period 2022-2027, the Angolan government planned several actions in the area of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, aimed at improving the quality of teaching, scientific research and university entrepreneurship.

The 2022-2027 agenda also focuses on improving academic infrastructure to ensure the quality of teachers’ work, teaching and learning.

On the other hand, the minister encouraged the Faculty of Law to provide more and more environments for scientific debates, which enrich the different authors of the academic community with more knowledge.

The IV colloquium aimed to reflect on customary law, share practices of modern and updated methodologies and is being promoted in celebration of the Law Faculty’s 12th anniversary.

The two-day event discussed “customary law in the public sphere”, “ex officio defence techniques”, “optional and compulsory inventory”, “employment income tax”, “instruction of disciplinary procedures”, “society and custom”, and “customary law in the private sphere”.

Since its implementation, Lueji A’nkonde University has graduated 5,269 graduates in Law, Economics and Pedagogy.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

At least 158 judges responsible for setting bail will take up their duties from the 2nd of May next, in the country.

The issue was analysed Friday in Luanda during a meeting that gathered president of the Superior Council for the Judiciary Joel Leonardo, the Minister of the Interior Eugénio Laborinho, the Attorney General Hélder Pitta Groz and the chairman of the Angolan Bar Association (OAA), Luís Monteiro.

According to the spokesperson for the judiciary council, Correia Bartolomeu, of the 158 judges, Luanda province will have 49.

Of this number, 21 will go to the district court of Belas and 28 for Luanda.

The other provinces will have between two and eight judges, depending on the procedural mobility of each one, explained Correia Bartolomeu.

However, he acknowledged the possibility of appointing new guarantees judges in the future to ensure procedural speed and respect for the rights of detainees.

The official pointed out, among the powers of the guarantee judge, that of enacting preventive or house arrest during the investigation phase of the criminal process, a role formerly restricted to a prosecutor

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

A multi-stakeholders’ forum on land and corruption has been held to sensitise stakeholders on the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), Guidelines on Large-scale Land-based Investments and Customary and Statutory Land Administrative processes. It was to empower participants to hold duty-bearers accountable and make informed decisions about their land rights as well as sensitise them on existing corruption reporting mechanisms and the importance of reporting corruption. The day’s forum, held in Tamale, was attended by traditional authorities, representatives of Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, Lands Commission, Customary Lands Secretariat, Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands, farmer-based organisations, women groups, youth groups, National Commission for Civic Education, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, civil society organisations and the media. It was organised by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) as part of its Land and Corruption in Africa project, which seeks to promote a corruption-free land sector in the country. Mr Samuel Atta Gyarteng, Northern Regional Lands Officer, who made a presentation on the Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), and the Guidelines on Large-scale Land-based Investments at the forum, advised members of the public to apprise themselves with the law to ensure best land service delivery in the country. Mr Gyarteng said the law specified how best to manage lands in the country adding it also specified offenses and penalties as part of efforts to fight corruption in land issues. Limited access to information, complex laws and procedures regulating land ownership, and insufficient access to justice are some of the driving forces behind land corruption in Africa while insufficient capacity in local land offices and traditional institutions makes it more difficult for officials to support good governance practices. It is believed that good land governance could be achieved if land administration and management are made more transparent, efficient, and participatory hence the project. Mr Michael Okai, Project Coordinator at GII, said the Land and Corruption in Africa project would improve knowledge of citizens on ways to report and seek redress for various corruption related violations.

Source: Ghana News Agency