Day: May 24, 2023

It must have been a pretty difficult conversation for Mike Nithavrianakis to have.

The 56-year-old from Castle Douglas started work as the UK’s consul general in Milan in November.

However, he has now left behind that role to become the new ambassador to Somalia, based in Mogadishu.

The father-of-two said that while his family had been thrilled when he took up his post in Italy, there was more explaining to do this time around.

“For me it’s a dream job, but my daughter Lucy was not best pleased because it’s scuppered her big plans to visit Italy,” he admitted.

“The security situation in Somalia means that my family cannot accompany me and it’s only natural that they will worry about me being based in Mogadishu.

“I’ve had many postings which would not likely feature on anyone’s list of holiday destinations.”

However, he said that he had always found challenging environments to be “interesting, stimulating and rewarding” since joining the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) straight out of school as a teenager.

“In those days, young diplomats tended to be sent to cut their teeth in places like Paris, Brussels and Bonn,” he said.

“I remember pleading with HR: ‘Look, I didn’t join the Foreign Office to go to Germany, France or Belgium – send me somewhere off the beaten track, please’.

“So, they posted me to Malaysia, which was great, as at that time, I didn’t even know where Kuala Lumpur was.”

In his latest role he will lead more than 80 staff working in Somalia in testing circumstances.

“Last year’s al-Shabaab attacks mean I’m under no illusion about the dangers,” he said.

“I’ll have to get used to frequent road trips wearing body armour, which is cumbersome, but an important safety protocol.

“Despite the challenges, the job will be fascinating, as I focus on delivering UK counter-terrorism, stabilisation and humanitarian goals.”

The risks faced by diplomats have been underlined recently in nearby Sudan where the UK has completed the largest and longest emergency evacuation of any Western nation – pulling out more than 2,450 people.

Mike is no stranger to working in hazardous environments in an FCDO career that has spanned almost 40 years.

He previously served as deputy head of mission in Kabul and, as a counter-terrorism specialist, was deployed to major incidents including the Istanbul consulate bombing in 2003 and the kidnap and murder of Ken Bigley in Iraq.

“Luckily, there’s no-one directly shot at me,” he said.

“My closest shave was in Baghdad when I was the crisis manager deployed to lead on the Ken Bigley kidnapping case.

“I vividly remember being on a call during a mortar attack, which landed very near the embassy.

“I was crouched under the table with a computer, a telephone and the sound of explosions going off during a briefing to senior officials in London. They ordered me to get off to the safe room.”

Another deployment that will stay with him was being in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.

“I was on the ground in Colombo 36 hours after the disaster and it was dreadful,” he said.

“My kids were eight and four at the time, so it was heartbreaking to deal with families turning up who had lost their kids.”

He described it as “tough work” with the mortuaries “overflowing” but said that was where “professionalism and training kicks in”.

He credits the support of his wife Libby and his family – plus running – for helping him to cope with the stress of his job and recently completed the London Marathon for a second time.

“Fortunately I’ve never struggled with mental health thanks to the support from my family, a close network of friends, and the energy I get through running,” he said.

“I get frustrated if I have a niggling injury and haven’t run for a few days.”

He said he loved his job representing Scotland and the UK even if – on his appointment to Somalia – he was described by someone on social media as an “aged, mummified diplomat”.

“I thought that was hilarious, but the serious point behind it is that experience does count for a lot,” he said.

“The FCDO is often at the eye of the storm, but public service is at the heart of everything we do.

“Our diplomats are proud to fly the flag for the UK in every hazardous corner of the world.”

That is why Mike Nithavrianakis did not hesitate to leave behind Lombardy – even if he might have to make it up to his family at a later date.

Source: BBC

Medivents Consult, organisers of the annual Accra Inter-City Homowo Marathon (AICHM) in partnership with TXT Ghana Limited has on Tuesday launched a special registration code ahead of its second edition scheduled for Saturday, July 29, 2023.

The code would help register athletes who would compete in the various categories of the competition.

The code for registration is *380*21# which is expected to take effect on June 1, 2023.

Speaking at the launch Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Agyemang, Chief Executive Officer of Accra Digital Centres Limited, expressed his excitement with the level of of improvement in the organization of AICM, since its inception last year.

‘Medivents consult is gradually becoming a household name in the organisation of marathons in Ghana, after successfully organising the Kwahu Easter Marathon, the Sekondi-Takoradi Marathon, the first edition of the AICHM last year and the recent five-kilometre May Day Corporate Walk’.

He added that the marathon would go a long way to unearth athletes and develop sports in the country.

According to him, the special code aside serving its purpose would also help track runners and provide them with updates ahead and during the race.

Mr. Baah-Agyermang urged participants to make good use of the platform as the world is trapped in an era of digitization and technology.

Mr. Henri Senyo Penni, General Manager of Medivents Consult speaking at the event, noted that the second edition of the Accra Inter-City Homowo Marathon would be one of the best seen in many years.

‘The marathon, which started last year is gradually gaining ground and this year, we are lucky to have partners and sponsors onboard to make the event continue to be one of the best,’ he said.

Mr. William Dodzi Ezarh, Race Director of AICHM said rationale behind the introduction the special code, was due to some challenges faced during the last edition.

‘We are looking forward to not less than 1000 people taking part in the race this year. Last year we had between 600 to 700 so we want to hit the 1000 mark this year so we are preparing very well,’ he said.

He said there had been new introductions in the distances to be covered this year, as participants would compete in the 21-Kilometres, 10-Kilometres and 5Kilometres.

AICHM was initiated last year by Medivents consult, in partnership with the Ga Traditional Council as part of activities marking the annual Homowo festival.

It had seen massive growth in its second year, securing sponsorship from Serene Insurance, G4S, HD+, mybet.africa.com, Aqua Blue Mineral Water, and many others.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Officials from Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the Upper East and North-East Regions are undergoing a three-day financial management training workshop in Bolgatanga for the implementation of the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) project.

The officials include Municipal and District Chief Executives, Coordinating Directors, Planning, Finance and Budget Officers from the 15 MDAs in the Upper East Region and the six MDAs in the North-East Region.

The ongoing workshop is on the theme; ‘Financial management of donor funded projects within the context of current financial arrangements, the case of the SOCO project.’

The project, launched by Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in Bolgatanga in November 2022, is a multi-country US$450 million credit facility from the World Bank to be implemented in Ghana, Cote d’ Ivoire, Togo and Benin.

It is aimed to provide support to the Northern parts of the Gulf of Guinea countries which suffer instabilities owing to food insecurity, climate change, conflict and violence

The project would be implemented in 48 Districts in the Upper East Region, Northern, Upper West, North-East, Savannah and Oti Regions by the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

Mr George Aidoo, the National Project Coordinator, told journalists on the first day of the workshop, that ‘We have gotten to a stage where sub-projects are going to be implemented by the MMDAs.

‘Because the funding is from the World Bank, we have brought all the stakeholders together to take them through a training programme to equip them adequately to be able to deliver based on the Bank’s guidelines,’ he said.

Mr Aidoo said there was the need for the Assemblies to ensure that they stay within the guidelines, noting that ‘Anything that we do outside the guidelines would be termed an illegality and that can affect the whole credit.’

The Project Coordinator emphasized that there was the need for them to focus attention on what was required of them, so that they do not stray from the guidelines.

He said the project was community-driven, and mentioned schools, health facilities, boreholes among other infrastructure to be constructed under the project to help improve the living conditions of community members and create employment opportunities for the youth.

He said after the training, monies would be transferred to all the beneficiary MMDAs who already had a budget, so that they would be able to pay for contracts awarded under strict monitoring by the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs).

Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, said the project was timely, and apart from the construction of infrastructure to ease pressure on existing social amenities, it would provide employable skills for the youth and fully engage them.

He said many projects had suffered major setbacks as a result of misapplication and misappropriation of project funds and stressed that the RCC would ensure that funds meant for the implementation of the SOCO project were not misused or misapplied.

‘Let me sound a word of caution to our staff that this time around, officers will not just be transferred, but will face disciplinary committee, which would lead to their outright dismissal,’ Mr Yakubu said.

According to him, the project would be a ‘game changer’ which would bring relief to the people of the Region, ‘I, therefore, call on all officers who will be working for the project to do so with all the urgency it deserves.’

Source: Ghana News Agency