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  • IGP Receives Japanese Envoy & TI Officials

    {{The Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana on Tuesday received, at his office, the Japanese ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Rwanda, Ogawa Kazuya and officials from Transparency International (TI).}}

    Ambassador Kazuya and the police chief discussed various issues including security and the former thanked Rwanda National Police for its outstanding work to ensure the safety of people living in Rwanda.

    “We are pleased that Rwanda National Police is sending police men and women to peacekeeping operations all over the world and it has been appreciated and recognized internationally for its efforts and quality services in missions,” Amb. Kazuya observed.

    The IGP and TI officials also discussed, among others, matters related to fighting corruption. Rwanda National Police and Transparency International have a long standing memorandum of understanding to jointly fight graft.

    “We came in support of our work…to discuss the job we are jointly doing,” Paul Banoba, TI Regional Coordinator, said.

    “The relationship is strong and Rwanda National Police is certainly doing a great job to fight corruption. The indicators we are seeing, there is recognition of a problem but there are also very specific measures that the police and its leadership have put in place to address the problem, which are beginning to show results,” Banoba noted.

    He added: “We are glad that Rwanda National Police has recognized and taken corruption as a threat to development and security and taken measures to address it. We are quite happy as an institution working with Rwanda National Police on this issue, we are happy with the seriousness with which they have taken to address that matter.”

    Marie Immaculee Ingabire, chairperson of TI-Rwanda, noted that Police is the best performer in fighting graft “though on the individual basis there are cases of corruption.”

    “We therefore came to see how to strengthen our partnership because we are in the same front and same struggle; so we have to be close and strengthen our cooperation,” she explained.

    {IGP Emmanuel K. Gasana receiving Japanese ambassador to Rwanda, Ogawa Kazuya}
    Source: RNP

  • Rwandan Student in Morocco Missing

    {{Lindsay Girberto Ntawuryiha 22 a Rwandan student in Morocco has reportedly gone missing. He was last seen on August 2, travelling to Casablanca. }}

    The Director General of Diaspora Directorate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Parfait Gahamanyi, said, “We briefed our embassy in Senegal and they are currently working with the Moroccan Foreign Affairs ministry to help in the search.”

    There are 63 Rwandan students study in Morocco on a government scholarship.
    Albert Ndayambaje, the head of the Rwandan students’ Association in Morocco confirmed the disappearence of Ntawuryiha saying, “The search started on August 6 and we have been looking among both Rwandan and Burundian communities and all has been in vain.”

    According to the Rwandan students association in Morocco, Ntawuryiha shared a house with seven other students in Settat, a town located between the two major cities of Casablanca and Marrakech.

  • Africa Urged to Lower Cost of Exporting Goods

    {{US officials wants African governments to invest in infrastructure and lower custom restrictions to boost intra-regional trade as they ponder the future of the preferential trade window with the United States.}}

    Michael Froman, the US Trade Representative, said African countries needed to integrate their economies and lower cost of getting goods to international markets to make impact in global trade.

    “It’s very expensive to get Africa’s goods to global markets,” Mr Froman told journalists Tuesday via a conference call from Addis Ababa.

    “Africa also needs to strengthen its regional integration and possibly build a continent-wide free trade area,” he said.

    Mr Froman led the US delegation to a meeting with trade ministers and investors from 39 African countries during the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) forum which ended Tuesday.

    The comments came just weeks after Mr Froman indicated that the US might ask African states to reciprocate the duty and quota-free Agoa by opening up their markets the same way they do to Asia and Europe. At the moment, Agoa allows African countries to export more than 4,000 product lines to the US without quota or duty restriction.

    “Obviously, there’s going to be a lot of scepticism in the US if African countries ask for extension of Agoa beyond 2015 unless they also offer to give same preferential treatment to American goods,” Mr Froman said.

    For Kenya, the comments put the future of the labour-intensive Export Processing Zones (EPZ) at stake. EPZ firms rely heavily on Agoa to keep more than 30,000 people on payroll.

    Only last year, Kenya’s textile firms shed 1,258 jobs and Sh647 million in capital investment in the anxiety that ensued after the US government delayed in extending the third country fabric rule. The rule allows local firms to produce US-bound exports from imported raw materials and semi-processed fabrics.

    The Economic Survey 2013 shows that the number of workers at garment and apparel segments of the EPZ dropped by 5.4 per cent to 23,811 in 2012 compared to 25,169 the previous year.

    Similarly, the level of capital investment shrunk by 9.4 per cent from Sh6.9 billion in 2011 to Sh6.2 billion last year as risk-averse investors worried over the future of Agoa. Kenyan investors have been pushing for the Agoa to be made permanent to attract long term investments.

    MNG

  • Tanzania in Sickle Cell Dilema

    {{The world has celebrated the Sickle Cell Day in a bid to bring public awareness on the disease and ensure people take precautions against it.}}

    Tanzania was named as the fourth country (worldwide) for having many sickle cell patients after Nigeria, India and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the highest number of sickle cell disease cases per year (of up to 11,000).

    According to the sickle cell clinical coordinator at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Dr Deogratius Soka, apart from the increasing number of patients, there is little awareness being created on the problem.

    “We started with 800 patients back in 2004, but currently we have about 4,000 of them who attend our clinic. This has brought more challenges in terms of finance, human resources and space,” said Dr Soka.

    NMG

  • Kenyan Charged for Recruiting Fighters for Syria Islamist Force

    {{A Kenyan man pleaded not guilty in a US court on Tuesday to charges that he sought to recruit fighters in Kenya to join an Islamist rebel group in Syria.}}

    Mohamed Hussein Said, described as a 25-year-old resident of Nairobi and Mombasa, has been indicted on 15 counts involving a conspiracy to send militants to fight alongside the al-Qa’ida-affiliated al-Nusrah Front in Syria.

    Said and his alleged co-conspirator, US citizen and Saudi resident Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed, are also accused of seeking to wire thousands of dollars to al-Shabaab insurgents in Somalia.

    One of Said’s recruits — identified by US prosecutors only as “S.M.” — is said to be the perpetrator of a grenade attack on a bar in Nairobi.

    The indictment states that Said and Mohammed communicated via the internet with a third figure whom they believed to be a fellow conspirator but who was actually an FBI informant.

    NMG

  • EALA set to Hold Special Sitting in Arusha

    {{The East African Assembly (EALA) is set to hold its special sitting in Arusha Tanzania to discuss issues related to millennium development goals (MDGS) and Habitat. }}

    Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to officiate at the opening of the sitting which starts August 19, next week.

    Kikwete is expected to address EALA during a special sitting on Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) that also marks the silver jubilee of the global parliamentarians on habitat on August 30 prior the actual plenary sittings.

    According to EALA speaker, Margaret Zziwa who also doubles up as the president global parliamentarians on habitant Africa chapter, the clock to achieve the set Millenium Development Goals MDGs is ticking fast with the 2015 deadline looming.

    “One appreciates that there are intricacies in realising the MDGs; are we doing enough to enable the globe realise shelter for all by 2015. I think we can do more,” said Zziwa in a statement by EALA secretariat.

    Zziwa remarked that some governments had left the role entirely to local governments with little or no tools to meager resources and inadequate human capacity to handle the challenge.

    Commenting on the Arusha EALA sitting, Zziwa said the meeting would discuss matters of legislative business.

    She said they are expected to receive and debate reports of the committee of EALA, consider the EAC disaster risk reduction and management bill 2013 and the EAC public holidays bill among other businesses.

    EAC

  • GMOs can help Kenya alleviate hunger – expert

    {{A scientist with the United States Department of Agriculture has renewed the bid to push for Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs) in Kenya saying they are safe for consumption.}}

    Zhulieta Willbrand on Tuesday said the foods do not cause any harm if properly handled.
    She insists that it is the improper management of the foods when they are being processed that makes them dangerous.

    “The products have been around for a while and consumed for a while and there has not been a legitimate case of humans or animals affected as a result of consuming the modified foods,” said Willbrand.

    Debate surrounding GMOs took centre stage last year with concerns emerging that it causes infertility and cancer.

    Speaking to Capital FM News, Willbrand said Kenya has the capability to do research on the benefits of the foods before they make conclusions.

    “Kenya has the human capacity to not only regulate but also develop modes of conducting researches to ascertain the safety of the foods before disbursing them for consumption,” added Willbrand.

    She added that the GMO foods are a cheaper means of feeding Kenyans especially in the school feeding programmes.

    In her recommendations, she explained that the Ministry of Agriculture needs to streamline the sector.

    “Regulations need to be formulated so as to ensure that technology is used in an appropriate way. Another area to be regarded is to build capacity in institutions such as the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) as they have the capacity to do sufficient research,” explained Willbrand.

    The adoption of the GMO technology has been dogged by controversy over safety concerns, the latest being triggered by a recent French scientific research.

    In September 2012 a report dubbed Seralini Report was published to show the effects of GMO foods.

    It was based on results of a series of experiments that involved feeding rats GMO corn and the rodents developed signs and symptoms associated to cancer.

    After the report was published, the paper was refuted by many food standard agencies as lacking in scientific procedures.

    As a result of this, Russia and Kenya opted to put a ban on GMO foods however after a few weeks of researchRussia lifted the ban.

    Kenya has been challenged to lift the ban on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for the country to achieve its potential in food production.

    CapitalFM

  • Su-Kam wins Rwanda solar project contract

    {{Power equipment maker Su-Kam Power Systems has won a contract for installing solar projects at 35 schools in Rwanda}}

    Su-Kam said in a statement, “The company has recently bagged a turnkey solar project covering 35 schools in Rwanda.

    “Su-Kam shall supply, install and commission solar photo voltaic equipment and associated items for 35 schools in remote areas of the country.”

    The company statement added that Su-Kam shall also be responsible for pre-installation survey of the site and drawing out a detailed engineering plan.

    Su-Kam officials will also provide onsite training on operation and maintenance to the personnel in Rwanda.

    The continent has abundant solar energy that can be tapped and utilised accordingly, the company said.

    Su-Kam, which has presence in more than 70 countries overseas, has bagged various solar power projects in African countries like Nigeria, Malawi and Gabon.

    Source: Africanreview

  • UNAMID-chartered helicopter & Crew held hostage by Darfur rebels

    {{A rebel faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) detains a Russian helicopter and its crew in South Darfur since ten days, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday.}}

    “On 3 August 2013, the helicopter of an African Union/United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) contractor, tasked with delivering supplies to various UNAMID locations in South Darfur, made an emergency landing due to severe weather conditions”, said UN deputy spokesperson Eduardo del Buey on Tuesday.

    The Russian Mi-8 helicopter, landed at about 50 kilometres south-east of Nyala capital of South Darfur state where it captured by the rebels. According to TASS news agency, the crew-members include one Sudanese and two Ukrainians but there is no Russian among them.

    While the UNAMID did not issue an official statement on the incident, del Buey announced that negotiations are under way “for the safe release of the crew”.

    The rebel group also did not make any statement about the detention of the helicopter. But, one of its leading members said they are still verifying the identity of the chopper and its crew-members.

    ST

  • Severe Measles Epidemic in CAR

    {{A severe measles epidemic has affected the whole territory of the Central African Republic, which lacks any strong health infrastructure, Health Minister Aguid Sounouk has said.}}

    “I call on the national transitional government and all partners in health care to mobilise for urgent measures … to minimise the impact of this epidemic,” Sounouk said in a radio broadcast on Tuesday.

    The minister blamed the spread of the disease on “outbreaks of measles in several administrative districts of the country where no action was organised to contain the epidemic” since December 2012.

    At the time, the landlocked nation was undergoing an insurgency that led to the overthrow of president Francois Bozize in March and placed power in the hands of a rebel coalition, which has since joined with other forces to form an interim government.

    ‘Highly contagious’

    Doctors without Borders, a humanitarian-aid non-governmental organisation, warned in early July that the country was on the verge of a public-health catastrophe, since widespread unrest and the coming to power of the rebels had been accompanied by the systematic plundering of health facilities.

    The Geneva based NGO said that this situation would likely lead to an “increase in the mortality rate in coming months”, including from “common and curable” diseases such as measles, which can kill people in developing countries if they develop complications without adequate care.

    Sounouk warned of the risk for very young people, because of “the highly contagious nature of measles” and since “the affected children have for the most part not been vaccinated against this disease”.

    A vaccination campaign took place in the capital Bangui in May this year and reached 122,000 children, but nothing has been done for about 1.5 million children who live in other parts of the country.

    Source: AFP