Latest news with #Brazzaville
Zawya
15-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Republic of Congo explore e-commerce solutions to strengthen agricultural value chains and combat hunger
Achieving the African Union's goal of ending hunger by 2025 and the global target of Zero Hunger by 2030 remains a significant challenge for the continent. In the Republic of Congo, despite continued government efforts to enhance domestic food production and distribution, only 4% of arable land is currently being cultivated. Food access remains constrained by inadequate infrastructure and stark imbalances between supply and demand, leaving an estimated 455,000 people in food and nutrition insecurity. To address these challenges, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Sub-Regional Offices for Eastern and Central Africa, conducted a fact-finding mission in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade. Held from 30 June to 4 July 2025, in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, the mission aimed to explore how e-commerce and digital tools can accelerate food trade and improve access—particularly for vulnerable populations—while strengthening national and regional agricultural value chains. This initiative is part of ECA's flagship program, 'Innovative Digital Trade under the AfCFTA for Promoting Food Security and Agricultural Value Chains in Africa.' Strengthening E-Commerce for Agricultural Development During the mission, ECA engaged with nearly 200 stakeholders, including three ministers: the Minister of Trade, Supplies and Consumer Affairs; the Minister of Agriculture; and the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Handicrafts, and the Informal Sector. Senior officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Telecommunications, and the Digital Economy also participated, alongside representatives from MTN, Airtel, the Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications, the Congolese Agency for Quality and Standardization, commercial banks, agribusinesses, and development partners such as the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, FAO, and WFP. The mission focused on assessing how digital trade can support national food development strategies and how food e-commerce can be scaled to enhance food security and agricultural value chains. 'If current trends continue, Africa risks missing Sustainable Development Goal 2 – Zero Hunger – by 2030,' said Simone Assah Kuete, Economic Affairs Officer at ECA's Office for Eastern Africa. 'Food products are highly perishable and require specialized infrastructure for handling, storage, and distribution. Without reliable cold chains and efficient logistics, maintaining food quality from farm to table becomes virtually impossible.' She highlighted that In 2023, an alarming 20% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa faced severe malnourishment—compared to 8.1% in Asia, 7.3% in Oceania, and 6.2% in Latin America. Moreover from 2019 to 2023, the number of food-insecure people in Sub-Saharan Africa rose from 258 million to 358 million—a 39% increase—while other regions saw declines. 'In this context, leveraging digital tools to reduce market information asymmetries and strengthen food systems is no longer optional—it is an urgent imperative,' she added. National Commitment to E-Commerce Reform Lenda Sitou Milandou, Special Adviser to the Ministry of Trade, welcomed the mission and praised the strong collaboration that made it a success. 'Food security remains a top priority in our national development agenda,' she affirmed. 'To achieve it, we must develop robust legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks to enable the growth of e-trade in food products.' Key Outcomes and Next Steps The mission identified high-demand national food products and assessed the current use of e-commerce platforms in the Republic of Congo. It also explored opportunities to enhance digital payment systems—currently limited—through partnerships with commercial banks and mobile network operators. The dialogue revealed critical challenges in food production and trade, policy gaps, infrastructure and capacity needs, and the potential role of digital intermediaries in improving food systems. This initiative marks a pivotal step toward aligning e-commerce strategies with agricultural transformation in the Republic of Congo. It reflects ECA's ongoing commitment to supporting member states in leveraging innovation to foster sustainable, inclusive growth. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Head of football in Republic of the Congo accused of embezzling $1.3m of Fifa funds
The president of the Republic of the Congo's football federation (Fecofoot) has been accused of embezzling $1.3m (£960,000) of Fifa funds, including almost $500,000earmarked for the country's women's team. Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas may be charged with money laundering and forgery offences after being summoned to attend a hearing in Brazzaville this week. He was arrested at the end of May by the central intelligence and documentation office (CID), a department of the ministry of the interior. Mayolas and Fecofoot's general secretary, Badji Mombo Wantete, have denied the allegations and described them as a 'conspiracy'. It is alleged that Mayolas, since being elected as president of Fecofoot in 2018, has used a series of shell companies to embezzle funding from world football's governing body. According to a declaration signed by the presidents of every women's club in the country's top flight that was sent to the Congolese authorities in March, only $20,000 of the $500,000 Fifa sent to Fecofoot in 2021 as part of its Covid-19 relief plan was paid out. Mayolas has also denied claims that he embezzled $800,000 for the national training centre in Ignié, which remains incomplete eight years after it was supposed to be finished and has fallen into a state of disrepair. 'All the funds have been blocked and nothing is happening,' said a source who did not want to be named. 'It's been such a long time and no one understands where the money has gone.' Mayolas and Wantete did not respond to questions from the Guardian. They were banned for six months by Fifa in 2015 after being found guilty of 'offering and accepting gifts and other benefits' when Mayolas was Fecofoot's vice-president. Mayolas was suspended by the country's sports ministry in February after being investigated for fraud. But Fifa stepped in and banned Congo from international football for 'third-party interference', meaning that in March they had to forfeit World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Zambia, who were awarded 3-0 victories. Congo were reinstated in May when Fecofoot was permitted to resume control of its headquarters in Brazzaville, although Mayolas and Wantete were prevented from travelling to Fifa's congress in Paraguay and arrested a few days later. It is understood members of Fifa's ethics committee visited Congo in March to look into claims that Mayolas was embezzling funds but that it has yet to launch a formal investigation. Fifa has declined to comment on the accusations.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Congo-Brazzaville cleared to return to international football
Fifa has lifted the suspension of Congo-Brazzaville from international football after several conditions were sanction was imposed in February because of third-party interference in the affairs of the country's football association (Fecofoot).At the time, Fifa said a "particularly serious situation" of undue influence constituted "a clear violation of Fecofoot's obligations" under the world governing body's led to the postponement of Congo's 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Zambia, which were scheduled to be held in conditions to lift the suspension included the return of full control of Fecofoot's headquarters and the association's other facilities to the Fecofoot executive is yet to be announced if the two suspended World Cup qualifiers will be final four games of the group campaign are scheduled to take place in September and October, with African play-offs then due to be played in November.
