from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya Kenya Bureau NAIROBI, (CAJ News)– EVACUATION is underway in the flood-prone areas across Kenya as disruptions due to deadly flooding continue.
A dilemma is that many roads have been inundated due to floodwaters, which is feared to slow the exercise. The damaged roads have culminated in hazardous driving conditions.
President William Ruto’s government has ordered the evacuation across many parts of the country as the heavy rains since March amid flooding and landslides affected at least 34 out of Kenya’s 47 counties.
As of May 1, authorities have reported at least 179 flood-related fatalities, including 48 people who were killed by flash flooding near Mai Mahiu in Nakuru County on Monday.
At least 125 others have been injured, and 90 people are missing.
The flooding has displaced over 195 000 people and Ruto announced plans to evacuate all people in flood- and mudslide-prone areas on Tuesday.
More than 27 700 acres of farmland have been destroyed and 5 000 livestock killed.
Authorities are requesting people evacuate these areas in 48 hours starting from Wednesday.
Relief camps are being set up for those being evacuated.
Further heavy rainfall is forecast to continue over much of the country through at least May 6 raising fears of further floods and mudslides.
Hilly or mountainous areas are most prone.
There are fears some communities could snub the call to evacuate but a security thinktank forecast the government could react swiftly.
“Authorities could issue mandatory evacuation orders for flood-prone communities over the coming days,” it stated.
Islamic Relief has noted extreme distress among people that have lost loved ones, homes, possessions and livelihoods.
“This a tragedy for communities across the country and the situation is set to get even worse with rain still falling all day and night,” its Kenya director, Hassan Abdille, said.
from RUDD KONTE in Bamako, Mali Mali Bureau BAMAKO, (CAJ News) – ARMED groups have trapped over 140 000 people in the eastern Mali town of Menaka.
A majority of these – 80 000 – are children, who are facing malnutrition and disease.
A four-month blockade of Menaka follows a similar siege in the historic city of Timbuktu, which started in August 2023 and remains in place, although some small amount of aid is now getting through. That blockade has trapped more than 136 000 people, including nearly 74 000 children.
As the siege in Menaka drags on, supplies in the city have reached critically low levels, with government and aid groups only able to deliver a very limited amount of food, medicines and other essential items.
“Children in Menaka are trapped in a living nightmare. Unless the blockade is lifted, starvation and disease will lead to deaths,” said Siaka Ouattara, Director of Save the Children in Mali.
Ouattara said many of the affected children were unaccompanied and separated at grave risk of exploitation and abuse.
“They are unable to get the protection and support they need.”
Save the Children has appealed to the militants to allow unfettered humanitarian access to the needy populations in Menaka.
According to the Cadre Harmonisé 2024, a regional framework to identify food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa, over 40 000 people in Menaka are already facing emergency levels of hunger.
Over 800 people are in catastrophic levels of food insecurity, due to a combination of rising violence and climate change. The situation is set to deteriorate in June, with over 49 000 people projected to be in the catastrophe phase of food insecurity.
In 2023, a survey by the National Institute of Statistics report showed that 19 percent of children in Menaka were experiencing either moderate acute malnutrition or severe acute malnutrition.
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News)– DOING business in South Africa has long been a challenge for the bravest and boldest brands and businesses, with the last few years serving up a particularly diverse set of obstacles for local commerce to overcome.
Between the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, ongoing power outages, extreme weather events and road closure caused by a myriad of different reasons, South Africans’ adaptability and determination to overcome the odds has truly shone through, despite everything that’s gone on around them.
We’ve seen this spirit shine through across our diverse clients, and it both mirrors and inspires DPD Laser’s commitment to make sure that the economic activity that is key to our country’s future is possible across every city, town, and settlement – no matter how remote.
Whether this is by making sure that consumers in remote areas can purchase the items they need online, and have them delivered with a few days, or whether it’s enabling remote crafters to sell their goods via the power of the internet, parcel delivery services like ours truly are enablers of the economy of the future.
That’s why we are so determined to complete deliveries on time and in full – no matter how the odds are stacked against that happening.
While we consistently deliver on time and in full 98% of the time, with a first-time delivery rate of as high as 93%, there are often obstacles in the way. However, we’ve got a range of strategies to deal with them – in true South African ‘make a plan’ style!
Tapping tech to be on time
When the real-world environment can be unpredictable, it’s time to turn to technology for help – and pre-delivery notifications give end-customers the reminder that they need to be available on a certain day to accept their parcel, with the unique option to reschedule, by simply clicking on their sms link, should they choose to.
It’s also possible for our account holders to set up one-time personal identification number (OTP) enabled deliveries, adding an extra layer of security for high-value items, and ensuring that the intended end-customer really is the one receiving the package.
Our hijacking prevention system also depends on technology, with trackers on each vehicle making sure that we’ve got digital sight of every truck or delivery vehicle on the road, keeping our drivers and the goods they’re stewarding safe from crime. In the rare instances that vehicles are taken, our support teams find them quickly, and get the deliveries back on the road, so that the end-customer’s expectations are still met.
With delivery companies like ours truly squaring economic activity, regardless of location, our delivery experts do need to go into areas that are deemed vulnerable or unsafe. Our technology, and our relationships with security providers, make sure that we’re aware of these, and that we can provide our drivers with the protection they need to get their job of delivering packages to the intended recipients, done.
Loadshedding blues
While our delivery experts’ vehicles also known as their offices – aren’t affected by loadshedding, their efficiency on the roads certainly is, with failed traffic lights causing unusual congestion that slows them down combined with disrupted mobile phone coverage complicating the ability to reach intended recipients. While GPS solutions can track this congestion and suggest alternate routes, there’s nothing quite like a local person’s knowledge of alternate routes in an area to dodge the loadshedding drama.
That’s why we partner with local driver microentrepreneurs across the country. Not only is our business supporting these small business owners, but we’re also drawing on their local knowledge to boost efficiency and on-time delivery.
The other benefit – for us and for end-customers – is that they meet and get to know the people within their areas, meaning that they’re familiar with each recipient’s needs. This is particularly important for the more than 35 000 end-customers who receive life-saving medication via our delivery network each month, as our drivers get to know their needs, and purposefully reach out to ensure that deliveries are made exactly when they’re expected. These regular customers also cherish these relationships, and often prepare coffee or snacks for their favourite delivery driver when they know they’re on the way!
The importance of this local knowledge was also highlighted in the recent Eastern Cape floods, when road signs and markings were washed away – but our delivery experts knew where to go because they really do know the area like the proverbial backs of their hands!
The drivers are the heroes
Delivery drivers really do go through the most: each day involves an early start to get to the DPD Laser depot early enough to collect packages and get out there on the road. Once they’re out there, they’re faced with wild weather, bad roads, security challenges, and loadshedding traffic – they really do run a gauntlet of obstacles at every turn.
However, they’re determined to get every package in their care into the hands of the intended end-customer, and they do it with a friendly smile from their spotless vehicle, regardless of the challenges they’ve overcome on the way to do so.
That’s why we salute each and every driver in the DPD Laser environment: each one embodies our commitment to deliver against all the odds, playing a real and meaningful role in keeping the country’s commerce moving forward.
https://www.dpd.com/za/en
NB: This article has been published on behalf of our media partner, https://www.journalismweb.co.za/
by AKANI CHAUKE JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News)– SOUTH Africa will this week host the Zimbabwe Investment Summit to highlight the latter’s economic prospects, attract investments and promote networking.
The event will be held on Thursday and Friday, themed, “People you can invest in.”
Prominent local and global economists, investors, government representatives and academics will gather in Johannesburg to discuss Zimbabwe’s current economic climate and investment opportunities.
Zunaid Moti is a prominent South African businessman and Chairman of African Chrome Fields (ACF). ACF is one of the largest investors in Zimbabwe, and sponsors for the event.
“Zimbabwe’s economy is ripe for growth and expansion, with a wealth of untapped potential and significant competitive advantages, including a rich commodities sector. Investors who enter now stand to benefit enormously over the next few decades,” he explained.
ACF and Moti will be key figures at the summit.
ACF’s six wash plants currently produce an average of 850 tonnes of chrome concentrate daily with a high-quality grade of between 48 percent and 51 percent, with a total estimated production capacity of 24 000 tonnes per month.
The company has invested over R1,2 billion into Zimbabwe since its founding, including launching an R800 million beneficiation plant last year . It employs over 600 people throughout its operations.
Zimbabwe has drawn increasing attention among international investors, as many of its industries have experienced considerable growth over the past few years.
Tourism, mining, and agriculture in particular continue to demonstrate strong prospects, with the latter two having played a sizable role in growing the country’s real GDP by 5,5 percent in 2023. Notably, the country boasts a rich store of platinum group metals (PGM), and the world’s second-largest deposit of high-grade chromium.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s latest World Investment Report, Zimbabwe’s foreign direct investment (FDI) has grown more than five times over the past two decades.
