Joblessness
South Africa gems that sparked rush are quartz not diamonds
The South African government says that stones found in a village last month are not diamonds but quartz. A cattle herder first uncovered the stones in KwaZulu-Natal province. It prompted thousands to rush to KwaHlathi village, more than 300km (186 miles) south-east of Johannesburg. But after conducting tests, officials have said the stones are quartz crystals, which are far less valuable. After feldspar, quartz is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust. “The tests conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not diamonds,” a local government statement reportedly said. The rush occurred in one of South Africa’s poorest regions. The country – which already suffers from high levels of economic inequality – has seen a surge in joblessness amid the ongoing ...
Nigerian government begins three-month special public works scheme in Jigawa
The federal government on Friday inaugurated the Extended Special Public Works (ESPW) programme in Jigawa with 1,000 unskilled youth benefiting from the 27 local government areas of the state. Each participant will receive N20,000 monthly for three months for the duration of the programme. The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, who made this known at the ceremony in Dutse, said that the extended programme was an outcome of the pilot SPW in rural areas approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020. Mr. Adamu said that the programme was introduced following the emergence of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, as a measure to cushion the adverse socio-economic effects on citizens. “It aimed at shielding the vulnerable from the ravaging effects of COVID-19 pandemic which included, but are ...
#EndSARS: Out-of-School children a future time bomb – Senator Okorocha
Rochas Foundation Former governor of Imo state and Senator representing Imo West in the National Assembly, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has described the violent twist to the #EndSARS protests as a wake up call to Nigerian leaders, expressing concern that Nigeria’s huge population of out-of-school children is another time-bomb waiting to explode in the future. At a news conference weekend in Abuja, Okorocha who was flanked by leaders of different socio-cultural and political groups from across the country said; “Today, we have millions of out of school children in the country, it is another time bomb for tomorrow. While the situation is getting under control, government and leaders must rise to their responsibilities to ensure that such occurrences do not happen again”. According to him, the os...
Fear of ‘One million boys’ turn landlords to night guard
Tebogo Letsie/Associated Press Perplexed after the order by President Muhammadu Buhari on a total lockdown of Lagos and Abuja amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, residents of Egan-Igando area of Lagos state, who had always maintained their crowd in major meeting points, had to come to skepticism on movements and trading system. Egan-Igando, an area under the Alimosho Local government of Lagos state, is a community that houses home based residents, several businesses, shops, religious organisations, market places and a district police station ; all which are filled up with people during the usual routine movement. Nearly a week into the lockdown, reports on the robbery attacks perpetrated by the ‘one million boys’ gang has gotten to community residents with every household ensuring...
