eWASH

UWIN – the Water Integrity Network Uganda is a multi-stakeholder network that brings together organisations and individuals from the water sector and the anti-corruption movement in Uganda.

The coalition unites representatives from civil society (e.g. ACCU, NETWAS, TI UGANDA, UWASNET, Water Aid Uganda), private sector (e.g. APWO), government (Ministry of Water and Environment) and development partners. The UWIN contact person is Jo Smets from the IRC- International Water and Sanitation Centre.

The coalition has been formed to address the demand for a collective voice for increased water integrity and improve coordination among various groups and their activities.

Its objectives are to support and monitor the implementation of the Good Governance Action Plan of the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment as well as the joint undertaking of water integrity actions in the country.

The UNFCCC secretariat has announced the top 25 shortlisted images and the top 8 shortlisted videos for the CDM International Photo and Video Contest 2009, on the theme “CDM Changing Lives.” The winners will be announced at a ceremony during COP 15 in Copenhagen.

The winning entries will be posted on the UNFCCC website. The images on the front page of this newsletter are among the photo contest shortlisted entries.

For information on the photographers and videographers and the related clean development mechanism projects, visit http://cdm.unfccc.int/contest/09/index.html

The National Assembly Anti-Money Laundering and Cyber Security Coalition (AMLCSC), and the Policy Analysis & Research Project of the National Assembly (PARP-NASS) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Finance and office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is organising a  “Special Legislative Briefing and Roundtable  On the Federal E–Payment Program & Cybersecurity Strategy.”
The goal of the forum is to update the National Assembly on the Status of the Federal ePayment Program as implemented by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), who will also share any challenges whether technical, operational or legal with Stakeholders at the forum.
All key stakeholders involved in the financial and technology sectors of the economy have been invited and will be on hand to brainstorm on the state and readiness of our technology and related infrastructures in the country to deliver ePayment in a safe, secure and reliable manner; identifying any gaps or shortcomings that can be remedied through legislative intervention.
The event is scheduled to take place as follows:

Date:    Monday – Tuesday, December 7- 8, 2009
Time:    9.00 am – 5pm Daily
Venue:  Conference Hall,
House of Representatives (New Wing),
National Assembly, Abuja.

The highlight of the event is the Special Keynote Address titled: “Implementation of the Presidential Directive on E-Payment under the Treasury Framework Established by the OAGF,” to be delivered by the Accountant General of the Federation.

Hon. Bassey Etim CAMS,
Coordinator, AMLCS

Against the backdrop of calls by some Nigerians for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)to employ a foreign technical adviser following the team’s late qualification, former Secretary General of the defunct Nigeria Football Association (NFA) Fanny Amun said Super Eagles coach Shuaibu Amodu should not be replaced with a foreign coach.

“He should be left to lead the team to the Nations Cup in Angola and the World Cup in South Africa in 2010,” Amun told sportswriters on Tuesday.

“Amodu has done so well and, for me, he deserves to lead the team to the competitions even if it means our having the worst result with him,” he said.

“The issue of foreign coach has always come up as a fire brigade approach in our country,” he added.

“If the NFF wants a foreign coach, let him start from scratch, said Amun.

According to him, Amodu had done well by not losing a match in the qualification process, noting that sentiment was responsible for the calls for his replacement.

Amun said if Nigeria desired a foreign coach, it should be after 2010 to give him adequate time to groom a team and change the game.

“Why should we go and invest so much money in nothing that at the end of it, the foreign coach will not even perform better than Amodu,” he said.

A South Korean Delegation, which included officials from South Korea’s state-run Land and Housing Corporation and government representatives, met Vice President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday in Nigeria’s capital Abuja pledging to partner with the Nigerian government for the development of the Oil rich Niger delta region

“They are willing to partner with the Nigerian government in the development of new towns and civil infrastructure in the Niger Delta region,” the presidency said in a statement.

“They are also willing to assist in establishing water purification plants in the country.”South Korea has offered to help build new towns and develop infrastructure in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta, the West African country’s presidency said.

South Korea joins the European Union and Royal Dutch Shell in offering assistance to Nigeria to modernise the impoverished region since the disarmament of thousands of militants under President Umaru Yar’Adua’s amnesty programme.

A new country based Water Integrity Network coalition has been formed to fight corruption in the water sector in Bangladesh.

The multi-stakeholder coalition BAWIN (Bangladesh Water Integrity Network) was founded by Transparency International- Bangladesh (TI-B), Bangladesh Water Partnership (BWP), Nagorik Udyog (Citizens’ Intitiative), and the Water Resource Planning Organisation (WARPO). It echoes WIN’s approach to bring together water sector and transparency focused professionals to promote transparency and prevent corruption in the water sector in South Asia and worldwide. (more…)

In an effort to build on growing interest in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in Africa, partner UN agencies and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) have announced they will organize a second all-Africa Carbon Forum at the United Nations Gigiri complex in Nairobi, Kenya, on 3–5 March 2010.

In November 2006, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched the Nairobi Framework, aimed at spreading the benefits of the CDM. Since then, interest in the mechanism in Africa has grown, and with it the number of projects and hosting countries. Still, Africa accounts for less than 2% of the more than 1,900 CDM projects registered to date in 58 countries.

The Clean Development Mechanism – a clear success of the Protocol – continues to create incentive for investment in climate change mitigation and generate funds for adaptation. That the private sector is anxious to see another carbon market event in Africa is a good indication of CDM’s potential on the continent. The first all-Africa Carbon Forum was held in Dakar, Senegal, in September 2008.