IGIHE

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  • DRCongo & M23 Talks Could last over 2weeks

    DRCongo & M23 Talks Could last over 2weeks

    {{The renewed Kampala peace negotiations between the M23 rebel group and Democratic Rrepublic of Congo government are expected to last not more than two weeks, according to the chief facilitator Dr. Crispus Kiyonga.}}

    This is in line with the directive by the regional leaders at the end of last week’s emergency meeting called by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) regional bloc to end fighting in eastern DR Congo.

    The representatives of the delegations Tuesday attended a press conference that was addressed by the chief facilitator, Dr. Kiyonga, who is also Uganda’s minister of defence. Present were François Mwamba representing the DR Congo government as well as René Abandi representing the M23.

    Dr. Kiyonga also said that all parties in the conflict who include the M23, the government forces as well as the United Nations Intervention Brigade are expected to stop fighting in order to respect the ongoing dialogue in Kampala.

    source: {Newvision}

  • Uganda to Host COMESA Infrastructure Summit

    Uganda to Host COMESA Infrastructure Summit

    {{Ministers and donor organisations will meet in Uganda this weekend to raise funds to fast-track joint infrastructure projects within the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA).}}

    The high level summit is slated for September 14 and is in response to directives by President Yoweri Museveni, the current COMESA chair at the 16th heads of state and Government summit.

    The main theme of the conference is “Innovative means of Infrastructure Financing.”

    Museveni noted that African economies are too divided up.

    He added that there is need to work on infrastructure development with railway links to Southern Sudan, DR Congo and Rwanda, as well as Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.

    “The high level conference is expected to attract ministers of infrastructure, finance, energy, trade and information technology from COMESA member states,” said Uganda’s Trade Minister.

    There are projects worth a combined $60.7b (sh158trillion) which are either ready for implementation or in the pipeline in the 19 COMESA countries.

    Of this, $22.8b (sh59trillion) has been earmarked for rehabilitation and upgrades of the Djibouti-Lamu-Nacala railway and the Mombasa-Kampala-Kigali railway.

    Pipeline and ongoing power generation projects in the region are estimated at $37b as demand grows.

    There are plans to fast-track the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenya, Ethiopia-Kenya, Zimbabwe-Zambia-Botswana-Namibia, South Sudan-Uganda and Eritrea-Sudan power interconnection projects among others.

    Key projects include the 1,870Mw Gibe III dam and the 5,000Mw Renaissance dam in Ethiopia, the 3,500 to 4,000Mw Inga dam in DRC and 700Mw Karuma dam in Uganda.

    The power interconnection projects are meant to unlock the energy markets, promote private sector investment and to remove electricity production gaps in countries within the region.

    Projects worth $635m (1.7trillion) have been earmarked with respect to improving universal access to ICT, interconnection, spectrum management and monitoring.

    The COMESA region has a population of over 400 million people and a combined GDP of $799 billion in 2010, making it one of the biggest African trading blocs.

    Intra-COMESA trade had increased to $18.4 billion by 2011, signifying a recovery from 2009 when trade was $12.7 billion due to the global economic recession.

    The region includes Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, DR Congo, Burundi, Comoros, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Djibouti, Madagascar, Mauritius, Malawi, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Seychelles and Swaziland.

    source:{Newvision}

  • Kenya’s top Coffee Price Rises at Auction

    Kenya’s top Coffee Price Rises at Auction

    {{The top price of Kenya’s benchmark AA coffee grade rose to $324 per 50-kg bag at auction on Tuesday from $313 per bag last week, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) said.}}

    Kenya is a relatively small coffee grower compared with other producers, but its speciality coffee is known for its quality and is much in demand from roasters who blend it with coffees from other nations.

    NCE said Grade AB sold at $234-$96 per bag, compared with $214-$146 last week.

    It said 13,847 bags of coffee were offered, with 6,775 sold at an average price of 174.25 per bag, earning a total of $1.4 million. Last week, 9,238 bags of coffee were offered, and 3,054 sold at an average price of $171.08 per bag, fetching $641,171.

    Kenya cut its coffee production and export earnings projections for the 2012/13 coffee year, which runs from October to end-September, due to poor global prices and reduced crop acreage.

    Its main coffee harvest usually runs from November to December, with the best quality beans sold first once dried and processed. Sales tend to peak around February and March.

    AA grade coffee was selling at more than $500 a bag in late March and the start of April. The grade refers to size and density, rather than bean quality.

    {businessdaily}

  • Police Impounds 36 Cartons of Illegal Gin

    Police Impounds 36 Cartons of Illegal Gin

    {{Police in Bugesera District impounded 36 cartons of chief waragi, an illegal gin and arrested three people in connection with the unlawful act.}}

    The suspects are identified as Moses Byaruhanga, Mousa Kayitesi and Jean Claude Kazakura.

    The seizure and the subsequent arrest occurred on Monday in Nyamata cell of Nyamata sector.

    In a related development, police in Gicumbi District also impounded 60 litres of Kanyanga and 40 pellets of cannabis.

    Chief Superintendent Francis Gahima, the Northern Region Police Spokesperson warned citizens against involving in illegal businesses such as drug trafficking and consumption.

    He called the youth to say no to drugs and instead opt to several legal ventures to improve their welfare.

    He reiterated that Police is engaged in various sensitization programmes, including on radios and community discussions to bring everyone on board to fight and prevent criminal acts.

    Drug dealing is punishable by article 598 of the penal code which stipulates that, any person who manufactures, sells, prescribes a drug, harmful products, and cosmetics or body hygiene and other herbal substance prohibited in healing practice, shall be liable to term of imprisonment of six months to two years and a fine of Rwf 1 million to Rwf 5 million.

    source:RNP

  • Tanzania Finally Bows to Rwanda’s Demands on Trucks

    Tanzania Finally Bows to Rwanda’s Demands on Trucks

    {{Tanzania has finally bowed to Kigali’s demands to lower the road toll on Rwanda’s trucks heading into the country.}}

    The move came after negotiations in Kampala on Tuesday between Finance Minister William Mgimwa and his Rwandese counterpart, Mr Claver Gatete.

    Dr Mgimwa told media that the government had lowered the rate to $152 from the previous $500 per truck.

    He explained: “We finally realised that if we stuck to our guns, Tanzania was likely to suffer because our colleagues have fewer vehicles entering our country compared to our trucks headed for Rwanda.”

    Dr Mgimwa said he had sent Mr Gatete a letter confirming the new rates.

    The Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) commissioner general, Mr Ben Kagarama, confirmed that Kigali had received Dr Mgimwa’s letter.

    “I have just been informed by my minister that the rates have been lowered and we have also decided to opt for the old charges as well,” said the RRA boss. “We have cancelled the new rates that came into effect on September 1.

    {agencies}

  • Zambia Begins Exporting Maize to Zim

    Zambia Begins Exporting Maize to Zim

    {{Zambia has begun exporting part of the 150,000 tonnes of maize to its food-starved neighbour, Zimbabwe, the country’s food reserve agency confirmed yesterday.}}

    The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) says it has bought over 370,000 tonnes of maize for national strategic reserve purposes out of the 500,000 tonnes target for this year.

    FRA executive director Chola Kafwabulula said from the 150,000 tonnes consignment to Zimbabwe, at least 8,450 metric tonnes had left the country so far.

    “Another shipment from the 150,000 metric tonnes will be leaving tomorrow today,” Mr Kafwabulula said in an interview.

    The sale was aimed at helping Zimbabwe, once southern Africa’s breadbasket, but now critically short of food, including maize, the national staple.

    The World Food Programme last week indicated that more than 2 million Zimbabweans were likely to need food aid by the start of next year. The 2.2 million Zimbabweans needing food relief was the highest number since 2008-09, when an economic crisis ravaged the country, according to the WFP.

    Zimbabwe has experienced several unproductive agricultural seasons since its controversial land reforms of 2000, which led to a slide in agricultural output.

    That coupled with poor weather, many farmers have also had to move into cultivating other cash crops such as tobacco and cotton, leaving a bigger number of Zimbabweans vulnerable to food insecurity.

    The government has had to rely on food imports, mostly from Zambia and South Africa, to supplement its increasingly meagre maize and cereal output.

    Zambia’s maize output this year fell 11 per cent to 2.5 million tonnes from 2.85 million tonnes in the previous season after poor weather and a worm infestation impacted on yields.

    The FRA, which manages the National Food Security Reserve, purchases grain at the start of the season for release at market value if the private sector is unable to meet demand.

  • ‘Forest Boy’ Found After 16 years in Wilderness

    ‘Forest Boy’ Found After 16 years in Wilderness

    {{Russian authorities have found a young man living alone in a Siberian forest after having apparently spent most of his life living there in a hut with his parents, local officials said Tuesday.}}

    Locals near the town of Belokurikha found the man, who told the local prosecutor that he was born in 1993 and had lived in the forest since 1997, when his family decided to leave society.

    But his parents left him alone in the hut in May before he finally went to a nearby village to ask for help when the summer ended, the authorities said.

    The local prosecutor’s office, alarmed that the man may have to spend the Siberian winter in a forest by himself, appealed in court to have his identification documents reestablished so that he can seek seek state support, prosecutor Roman Fomin told reporters.

    “I am not sure if he needs all this attention,” he said. “He looked normal and healthy, he only spoke slowly, since he doesn’t communicate as often as most people.”

    He said that the man’s family went to live in the wild as a conscious decision, but apparently not for religious reasons. “They are not religious people,” he said.

    “He was just afraid that he won’t survive the winter without his parents,” Fomin said. “But maybe they have already come back.”

    Fomin said that a local woman had brought the young man to the prosecutors out of fear that he may need help through the cold winter, but the man then had gone back to his hiding place in the forest.

    The Russian media are variously calling him “forest boy” or the “Siberian Mowgli,” after the main character in Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book.”

    Belokurikha is a well-known resort area in Russia’s picturesque Altai region in south Siberia, known for mineral springs, health spas, and skiing.

    AFP

  • Joshua Sang Defends ICC Crimes Against Humanity Charges

    Joshua Sang Defends ICC Crimes Against Humanity Charges

    {{ICC trial against deputy President William Ruto and former radio broadcaster Joshua Sang enters day two on Wednesday with Sang’s legal team defending their client on crimes against humanity charges.}}

    Sang is accused of using his former position at KASS FM to broadcast false news that some Kalenjin people had been killed in order to fan the already volatile situation.

    He was also accused of using his show ‘Lenee Emet’ to mobilise young men and urge them to attack perceived enemies of the Kalenjin people for political gain.

    In his defence through lawyer Katwa Kigen, Sang faulted Prosecutor’s investigation pointing out that the source of prosecution material against him is perplexing and the case has kept mutating.

    “None of the people accused have been approached by the prosecution to tell them their side of the story,” he said. “The prosecution did not want to meet Sang as it would not be consistent with what they wanted,” he added.

    In his defence Sang through his lawyer Kigen also alleged that former ICC Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo while in Kenya met political brokers and desperate Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) looking for donors.

    “In return, some people decided to register as witnesses for material gains because funds were channeled to NGOs.”

    {standard}

  • Kenya to Host Global Ecotourism Conference

    Kenya to Host Global Ecotourism Conference

    {{Kenya is ready to host the forthcoming international ecotourism and sustainable tourism conference later this month.

    East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Secretary Phyllis Kandie says the event will take place between September 24 and 27, 2013.}}

    Over 300 participants from 38 countries are expected to attend the conference.

    Kandie says the event will draw impetus to ‘destination Kenya’ as a country that has come of age in promoting best practices in ecotourism.

    “The conference will provide a unique opportunity for industry practitioners from around the world to experience first-hand how businesses and destinations can utilize tourism to support these sustainable development agenda both at the local and regional level,” she said.

    Of the many anticipated gains for Kenya from hosting the conference Kandie said, is the opportunity to showcase the diverse and progressive tourist products that make up a vibrant Tourism sector related to sustainable tourism, which is a key pillar of the country’s Vision 2030 agenda and the new Tourism Act.

    She noted there are over 100 private and community conserved areas and most are popular tourist destinations.

    “It is a fact that over 70 percent of Kenya’s wildlife lives in the private and community conserved areas generating a substantial income for land owners through tourism,” Kandie said.

    The conference has 50 confirmed speakers focusing on different aspects addressing ecotourism and sustainable tourism globally.

    On the eve of the event, Kenya will also host about 700 conference delegates and stakeholders in the Kenya’s Tourism Industry to mark Kenya Night.

    Kenya Night seeks to celebrate historic Kenyan experience and help the delegates experience the best Kenyan delicacies, music, culture and heroes.

    The night will also culminate in awarding organizations and Individuals that have demonstrated outstanding commitment towards promoting ecotourism and sustainable tourism best practices under the Eco-Warriors Awards.

    Going forward, Kandie said more emphasis will be put in nature conservation, community development and improved livelihoods wildlife and tourists in remote areas.

    Our intention is to encourage the development of unique products that brings in sustainability in the country it will also develop the Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) sector especially at the county level

    Kandie urged players in the tourism industry to invest in environmental conservation and preservation of culture in their respective areas of operation.

    “This can be achieved by through ensuring that all the players in the sector are involved in conservation of the environment and culture in the process of conducting their businesses,” said Kandie who explained that a five-year strategic plan of the tourism sector will be launched in the coming weeks.

    {agencies}

  • Guinea-Bissau Rules out Amnesty for Coup Leaders

    Guinea-Bissau Rules out Amnesty for Coup Leaders

    {{Guinea-Bissau’s parliament rejected a bill on Tuesday that would have granted amnesty to the leaders of the latest of a long line of military coups last year, according to a journalist in the chamber.}}

    The motion put forward by the transitional government needed a majority among the country’s 100 lawmakers but just 40 gave it the go-ahead, with a quarter of lawmakers absent, according to acting speaker Braima Sori Djalo.

    “That’s democracy. Every member voted according to his conscience,” he said.

    Guinea-Bissau, a nation of just 1.6 million people, has suffered chronic instability since independence from Portugal in 1974.

    The volatility has fanned poverty, attracting South American drug cartels which have turned it into a hub of cocaine trafficking for west Africa.

    Former army chief Antonio Indjai overthrew the regime of former premier Carlos Gomes Junior on April 12 last year before agreeing to hand power to a civilian transitional government.

    The caretaker regime headed by President Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo is due to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on November 24.

    The national assembly did not reveal the details of the bill but legislators said it would have handed immunity from prosecution to civilians and military personnel implicated in the coup.

    source: AFP