BANGUI, Central African Republic, 10 October 2024-/African Media Agency (AMA)/– On Thursday, October 3rd, 2024, Valentine Rugwabiza, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the Central African Republic and Head of MINUSCA, led a large delegation of foreign diplomats accredited to Bangui, members of the Central African Government, namely the Minister of Communication and Media/Government Spokesperson, Maxime Balalou, and his colleague Hyppolite Jean Paul Ngate Robard, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Private Sector Promotion/Resident Minister, for a field visit to Kaga-Bandoro, capital of the Nana-Gribizi Prefecture. The objective of this mission was to allow the members of the diplomatic corps to get a glimpse of the realities on the ground by discussing with the local authorities and the population the progress made in the peace and reconciliation process, as well as the stabilization of this strategic prefecture of Nana-Gribizi. “We are here to listen to you and hear from you, but also to appreciate all that you have achieved. Nothing is possible without peace and stability, and you are the actors of this peace and stability,” the SRSG told local authorities, community leaders, and representatives of civil society organizations in a full conference room at Kaga-Bandoro’s town hall (Mairie). Valentine Rugwabiza also informed them that this was the first-ever joint field visit in the mission’s history, involving all members of the Diplomatic Corps and representatives from the Government of CAR.
The Cameroonian Ambassador to the Central African Republic (CAR), Nicolas Nzoyoum, stated that he was extremely happy to return to Kaga-Bandoro, more than 12 years after his last visit, and to witness the restoration of state authority and that the people are pleased with the work done by the United Nations and other international partners. “We see a population that is coming back to life, feeling more and more comfortable about resuming activities, and this is work that is only just beginning. So, we are expected to do more,” he stressed.
“We came here to see the progress made by the restoration of state authority in the provinces, and I believe that, as my colleague from Cameroon has just said, everything we have been able to visit today actually confirms the opinion that we had from Bangui that the state was redeploying and that MINUSCA was playing a very essential role in this redeployment. So, we made several visits… we were able to speak with the population, with women who asked us for some additional support, and I believe that, as my colleague Nicolas said, peace has returned, we feel it, people say it, and it is the first achievement without which we cannot do anything, and it is on this that we must build,” added the French ambassador, Bruno Foucher.
For his part, Diego Escalona Paturel, the recently appointed European Union Ambassador to the Central African Republic, praised the work of MINUSCA and the government. “I was really very impressed by what I saw, by the quality of the work that MINUSCA is doing in all its areas of responsibility, but also in infrastructure, and, as it has been said previously, I think that this is proof of the progress in terms of stabilization, securing the country, and that, thanks to these bases, we will be able to move forward towards development programs,” he said.
Finally, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States of America, Fraiture Sacha, expressed his pride in seeing the positive impact of the projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “I am really proud to be here today because, after this visit, I can really realize that, well, there are good MINUSCA programs and we must also work with the European Union and the diplomatic community to improve the level of stability and also the empowerment of women (…) there are still many things to do,” he pointed out.
Women’s political participation and vocational training for the youth: two issues of concern for Nana-Gribizi citizens
During the meeting with members of the “Comité de mise en œuvre préfectoral (CMOP) de l’Accord politique pour la Paix et la Réconciliation en RCA (APPR-RCA)”, the “Comité local pour la paix et la reconciliation” (CLPR) and other local leaders representing women and youth organizations, the Minister of Communication and Media/Government Spokesperson, Maxime Balalou, congratulated the populations for their resilience as well as for their contribution to the return of peace and the strengthening of social cohesion, while encouraging them to continue working to preserve peace and national unity with a view to ensuring the integral development of their community.
In their interventions, local authorities, as well as community and civil society leaders, praised the work done in partnership with MINUSCA and the United Nations country team, while asking them to continue proving their support because there are still some needs that require additional support.
The Mayor of Kaga-Bandoro, Alvin Moussa Zavido, and the President of the CLPR, Daniel Nguerelessio, highlighted the fact that most young people are unemployed, which is a risk factor, because they are vulnerable and exposed to recruitment by armed groups that offer them an occupation. They advocated for the construction of a vocational training center to offer the Nana-Gribizi youth better professional prospects.
Speaking on behalf of the women, Agnès Diamdo, one of the only two women members of the Kaga-Bandoro City Council, out of 8 people, deplored the low representation of women in decision-making bodies, particularly in the local administration, while acknowledging the remarkable work done in partnership with MINUSCA for the empowerment of women through various training projects and income-generating activities.
Valentine Rugwabiza thanked the members of the CMOP for their contribution to the peace process. “You are the ones who went where you were told that conflicts were beginning. You are the ones who took the road to meet with the different communities and ensure that these conflicts did not take place. And where they had taken place, you reconciled the communities. So, I thank you, and I encourage you to continue this work,” she told them.
Regarding the representation of women in local administration, the SRSG invited women to register in large numbers when the registration operations on the electoral lists begin. “You must register, and you must tell all your other sisters (…). Now, while making this appeal, I am aware of the problems that exist. There are several of you who do not have identity documents,” said Valentine Rugwabiza. She also indicated that, in partnership with UN-Women and the Central African Government, MINUSCA would support the women in obtaining their identity documents to be able to register on the electoral lists and thus participate fully in the electoral process, especially for local elections.
She also informed that upon returning to Bangui from this visit, the Mission would work with the ambassadors to see how, together, they could make this vocational training center for the youth a reality.
Following this meeting, the delegation visited several achievements, activities, and projects implemented by the United Nations in Kaga-Bandoro.
At the prison, the delegation members were able to visit an income-generating project, implemented by MINUSCA, aimed at promoting food self-sufficiency among prisoners, through professional training in baking and the construction of a bread oven. This enables the prisoners to produce and market bread, thereby enhancing their living conditions and fostering their professional reintegration upon their release from prison.
The Head of MINUSCA, the diplomatic corps, as well as the Ministers also visited a project aimed at supporting the return of internally displaced persons to their neighborhoods and villages of origin, with the construction of shelters, implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with USAID funding. This project has enabled thousands of households to return home, either to the neighborhoods in Kaga-Bandoro center or to their villages of origin, particularly in the surrounding communes, such as Botto.
In Botto, MINUSCA, through its Quick impact projects, has built a brand-new building for the town hall (Mairie) as well as two bridges, and jointly implemented with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) another project to support the return of internally displaced persons through the provision of kits including oxen and agricultural tools to enable the social reintegration of returnees. Thanks to these various projects, today, the site that hosted thousands of internally displaced persons in front of MINUSCA base in Kaga-Bandoro has been closed and all households have been able to return home.
The joint diplomatic and GoCAR delegation also visited the site that will host the festivities of the celebration of World Food Day 2024, which will take place in Kaga-Bandoro during the upcoming weeks. The MINUSCA Pakistan Military Engineering Company (PakEng) is supporting the local authorities in the development of this site. The work is underway.
Finally, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the diplomatic corps and the GoCAR representatives visited the MINUSCA level II hospital, managed by the Bangladeshi contingent (BanMed), which provides essential support to the Kaga-Bandoro prefectural hospital and to the local population, by providing free treatment to patients referred there, or during free medical camps, organized on a regular basis as part of Civil-military (Cimic) activities.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of MINUSCA.
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