IGIHE

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  • Zambia Moves Swiftly to Save Kariba Dam

    Zambia Moves Swiftly to Save Kariba Dam

    {{The Zambian government has reportedly moved swiftly to try and mobilise funds to help prevent the imminent collapse of the Kariba Dam.}}

    According to the Times of Zambia, government had approached the European Union (EU), World Bank and African development Bank (ADB) for assistance in the major repairs of the dam.

    Reports last week said at least 3.5 million people in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia were in danger amid revelations that the dam wall had developed “serious structural weaknesses” and was on the verge of collapse.

    Zambian Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Felix Nkulukusa was quoted as saying that there was need for Zimbabwe and Zambia to raise $250m to avert a major humanitarian and economic crisis.

    {{World’s largest dams}}

    The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) said the dam wall suffered from alkali-aggregate reaction, which induces swelling within the concrete mass.

    Nkulukusa said another problem was caused by the spillway that was no longer opening and closing automatically to maintain the required water levels.

    Nkulukusa said the dam wall risked being washed away if nothing was done in the next three years.

    Kariba is one of the world’s largest dams measuring 128 metres in height and 579 metres long.

    The dam is situated in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi River basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

    {News24}

  • EAC Hopes for 400MW Power Surplus in 2018

    EAC Hopes for 400MW Power Surplus in 2018

    {{The East Africa Community (EAC) hopes to have a power surplus of 400MW by 2018 if all projects in the pipeline are implemented}}

    Jesca Eriyo, EAC deputy secretary general, told local media in Nairobi that the surplus will be achieved assuming the annual growth in demand for the resource remains the same, and the community is aiming for a power surplus which will avoid persistent blackouts in these countries.

    According to the EAC, Kenya will have an installed electricity generation capacity of 7,000MW by 2018, while Uganda and Tanzania will each have 4,000MW.

    Rwanda’s electricity production is expected to hit 1,000MW while Burundi should have 500MW.

    “The member states should grow by over five per cent annually which means energy demand will expand by at least seven per cent every year,” added Eriyo.

    By increasing power capacity, the EAC bloc can achieve increased demand for electricity, facilitate trading between member states, and encourage the private sector to invest in power too, according to Peter Kinuthia, senior energy officer of the EAC.

    The member states have also reportedly agreed to develop National Renewable Energy Master plans by the end of December 2015.

    According to Joseph Njoroge, prinicipal energy secretary of Kenya, only 30 per cent of the nation has access to electricity. The government plans to connect at least 500,000 homes to a stable electricity supply every year, he added.

    The EAC comprises Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

    {africanreview}

  • AfDB Releases US$1 billion For Infrastructure Development in Kenya

    AfDB Releases US$1 billion For Infrastructure Development in Kenya

    {{The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved about US$1bn for the development of roads and energy and water projects in Kenya over the next five years}}

    The AfDB has already financed several major infrastructural projects including the Thika Superhighway, the upgrade of Outer Ring Road to a dual carriageway and geothermal projects in the Rift Valley.

    Gabriel Negatu from the Eastern Africa Resource Centre of AfDB, said, “We will continue to support the government to enhance physical infrastructure to unleash inclusive growth and also develop skills in the emerging labour market for Kenya’s transforming economy.”

    According to the bank, investment in energy, transport and water will increase access to affordable and reliable electricity, reduce transport costs and time and enhance access to reliable water supply.

    The bank also said it would explore ways of restructuring funds allocated to poorly performing projects or even cancel them, deploying the freed capital to existing or new investments.

    Meanwhile, the East African Community (EAC) has signed a US$6.3mn deal with the European Union (EU) to support regional integration.

    {africanreview}

  • Somali President Calls for ‘Action and Delivery’

    Somali President Calls for ‘Action and Delivery’

    {{Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud has urged the country’s legislators to rise to the challenges ahead towards a planned universal suffrage vote in 2016.}}

    “I congratulate you on this, your fourth session during this government’s period in office,” President Mohamoud told Federal Parliament lawmakers on Sunday.

    “It is now time for action and delivery,” he said, before proceeding to outline the main tasks that lay ahead.

    “This year we have embarked on a review of the constitution, implementation of federalism through state formation, and the democratisation process, all of which activity is to ensure that we realise Vision 2016.”

    The term of the current post-transitional government formed in 2012 expires in August 2016.

    President Mohamoud is by then expected to have laid the ground for a ‘one-man-one-vote’ election, the first in nearly five decades.

    The President also updated the legislators on the ongoing military offensive against Islamic extremists.

    He said that the Al-Shabaab militants were on the run, but noted that that the Al-Qaeda linked group was still a dangerous enemy that had to be eliminated for good.

    “Every day we are taking new ground from an enemy in a headlong flight, putting us in a position to deliver the assistance that is so desperately needed by all those Somalis who have suffered terribly under Al-Shabaab.

    “We now move into stabilisation mode and, with the help of our partners, must deliver basic public services such as humanitarian assistance, security, justice, good governance, healthcare and education.”

    The speech at the People’s Hall came as peacekeepers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) and Somali National Army (SNA) seized Qoryoley town, 150 km south of Mogadishu, in Lower Shabelle region, from Al-Shabaab.

    The president urged the government and the legislators to build on these successes.

    Reform public finances

    Reform of Somalia’s public financial management system was also progressing well, he said. A new Auditor-General and an Accountant-General have recently been appointed after a competitive, merit-based selection process supported by the World Bank.

    The Cabinet had also approved and sent to parliament legislation introducing a comprehensive taxation system, a critical step towards eventual economic independence.

    President Mohamoud urged the cabinet and parliament to work closely together on the big strategic issues facing Somalia in the coming months.

    Parliamentary speaker Prof Mohamed Osman Jawari said that the MPs in this new session will have to tackle two dozen draft legislations that will pave the way for transition to a fully fledged multi-party system by 2016.

    “If the laws submitted by the cabinet are properly scrutinised by the legislators and eventually passed, they will ease the process of achieving a free and fair elections in Somalia,” said Speaker Jawari.

    NMG

  • Egypt Court Sentences 528 to Death

    Egypt Court Sentences 528 to Death

    {{A court in Egypt has sentenced to death 528 supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.}}

    They were convicted of charges including murdering a policeman and attacks on people and property.

    The group is among over 1,200 supporters of Mr Morsi on trial, including senior Brotherhood members.

    Authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists since Mr Morsi was removed by the military in July. Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested.

    They are expected to appeal.

    Campaigners say that while death sentences are often handed down in Egypt, few have been carried out in recent years.

    The final trial session will not be held until 28 April. so there is some time left before the sentence is confirmed and there will be time to appeal in that period, our correspondent adds.

    The Muslim Brotherhood’s spokesman in London, Abdullah el-Haddad, told the BBC the sentences showed that Egypt was now a dictatorship.

    “It may be just a threat message and there will be appeals to the court and the decision of the court will change, but this is the new Egypt after the coup. This is the new dictatorship that [army chief and defence minister Field Marshal] Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is trying to establish.”

    Mr Haddad said the Muslim Brotherhood’s general guide Mohammed Badie was among those convicted, though other reports say Mr Badie is only due in court on Tuesday.

    In absentia
    The court in Minya, south of the capital, Cairo, issued its ruling after only two sessions in which the defendants’ lawyers complained they had no chance to present their case.

    Lawyers have accused the presiding judge of “veering away from all legal norms” and denying justice to the accused, our correspondent adds.

    They were convicted, among other charges, of the murder of the deputy commander of the Matay district police station in Minya.

    Some 147 suspects were in court for the trial – the others were convicted in absentia, reports say.

    The court also acquitted 16 other defendants.

    The attacks took place in August after security forces broke up two camps of pro-Morsi supporters in Cairo, killing hundreds of people.

    Mr Morsi was ousted by the military last July following mass street protests against his government. He is facing four separate trials

    There has since been a severe crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood group, as well as on other activists seen as hostile to the military-backed interim government.

    The Brotherhood has been declared a terrorist organisation and authorities have punished any public show of support for it.

    A second group of 700 Morsi supporters is due to go on trial on Tuesday.

    wirestory

  • Ukraine Orders Crimea Withdrawal

    Ukraine Orders Crimea Withdrawal

    {{Ukraine’s interim President Olexander Turchynov says he has ordered the withdrawal of armed forces from Crimea.}}

    The decision was taken because of Russian threats to the lives of military staff and their families, the president announced.

    A Ukrainian defence official has told media that every Crimean military base is now under Russian control.

    Earlier this month, Russia annexed Crimea after a referendum which Ukraine and the West considered illegal.

    The G7 group of industrialised countries is to consider a collective response to the crisis during talks in The Hague.

    G7 leaders are meeting on the sidelines of a long-planned summit on global threats to nuclear security.

    Speaking ahead of the talks, US President Barack Obama said Europe and America were united in their support of the Ukrainian government and its people.

    Alongside Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Mr Obama said the US and Europe were also “united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions (in Ukraine) so far”.

    Interim President Turchynov announced the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Crimea in a nationally televised statement.

    “The national security and defence council has reached a decision, under instructions from the defence ministry, to conduct a redeployment of military units stationed in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,” he told the Ukrainian parliament.

    “The cabinet of ministers has instructions to resettle the families of soldiers as well as everyone else who today is forced to leave their homes under the pressure and aggression of the Russian army’s occupying forces.”

  • Gen. Dallaire tells Canada to Act in CAR to Avoid Another Rwanda

    Gen. Dallaire tells Canada to Act in CAR to Avoid Another Rwanda

    {{Canadian ({retired}) Gen. Romeo Dallaire and former head of the UN mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) has called upon the international community not to ignore the ongoing situation in Central African Republic.}}

    He told media that the world — and Canada, in particular — is dangerously overlooking how dire CAR’s situation is and he calls on Ottawa to revive Canada’s peacekeeping role and join a proposed UN mission of 12,000.

    He condemned the lack of forceful action to date as a bias against Africa’s conflicts.

    Dallaire noted, “Let’s not divorce what’s happening in the Central African Republic with what happened 20 years ago in Rwanda,” Dallaire said in a recent interview.

    “More and more, we have been able to present the argument that recruitment of child soldiers is a social breakdown that leads to atrocities, because that’s why they get them. They drug them and so on and there’s no limit to what the kids will end up doing. That escalates to genocide.”

    Twenty years ago, as the head of the UN mission in Rwanda during the genocide that killed over a million ethnic Tutsi’s in just 100 days, Dallaire’s calls for intervention went unheeded until too late.

    “We’ve actually established a damn pecking order and the sub-Saharan black African — yes we’re interested but it just doesn’t count enough to spill our blood, to get embroiled in something complex that will need longer-term stability and influence.”

    When calls of a looming genocide first came here in December, a contingent of 2,000 French troops did arrive quickly, followed by 6,000 African Union peacekeepers, who together now patrol the streets.

    Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s call for a UN mission is still being debated by the Security Council.

    Meanwhile, Canada’s Liberal MP Kirsty Duncan has been pressing Ottawa to respond to CAR situation. Her efforts resulted in a four-hour “take note” debate last month.

    “We say ‘never again,’ but it’s 20 years from Rwanda and it’s ever again,” Duncan said in an interview Friday. “Canada could be playing a substantial role right now in supporting peace and reconciliation.”

  • Ukraine to Establish Antonov Maintenance Facility in Sudan

    Ukraine to Establish Antonov Maintenance Facility in Sudan

    {{Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir disclosed today that the Ukrainian government proposed turning al-Safat industrial complex into an Antonov maintenance centre that would serve all of Africa.}}

    Bashir also said at today’s emergency cabinet meeting that he made a decision that any future contracts made by the army for purchasing military planes will be approved only with a clause that makes its maintenance done at al-Safat.

    He asserted the need of domesticating military industry in the country.

    In 2009, the Sudanese president inaugurated the Safat Aviation Complex, which is located in Khartoum’s Karari suburb. The company carries out the assembling, manufacturing, development and maintenance of aircrafts.

    The complex, which is part of Sudan’s military manufacturing commission, was founded in 2005 primarily to support the Sudanese air force.

    Defence minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein has underscored the importance of upgrading the capabilities of the Sudanese army (SAF) and other uniformed units to fully carry out its mission.

    Hussein warned that this is needed particularly in Darfur where he said tribal conflict remains the largest threat to security in the troubled region which requires deployment of more high qualified forces whether in SAF, police or in National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).

    The top military official also called for holding meetings and consultations to formulate a security strategy that would enforce the country’s strength and pride.

    Earlier this month, the head of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), Tijani El-Sissi, warned against the rapidly deteriorating security situation in North and South Darfur states and criticised government for failing to restore security in the region, which has witnessed rebellion since 2003.

    Sissi further said that the insecurity in North and South Darfur hampers the implementation of development projects.

    “What happens there will not be a catalyst to start in any reconstruction effort in those areas,” he added.

    {sudantribune}

  • US Sends Military Aircraft To Find Kony

    US Sends Military Aircraft To Find Kony

    {{The United States has sent troops and military aircraft to Uganda to help in the search for Lord Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader, Joseph Kony.}}

    The US doubled its deployment of Special Operations forces to help search for warlord on the orders of President Barack Obama.

    Obama ordered about 150 troops and at least four CV-22 aircraft to Uganda on Sunday, marking the first time the U.S. has sent military planes to find Kony and his fighters.

    The search is focused on the jungles straddling the borders of the Central African Republic, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Obama first sent about 100 U.S. Special Forces to the region in 2011, where they have been supporting a 5,000-member African Union Regional Task Force.

    The Pentagon said the U.S. troops are tasked with providing information and assistance, and are armed only for self-defense.

    Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for 33 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    He waged a brutal guerrilla war against the Ugandan government for nearly two decades before fleeing with his fighters to the jungles of central Africa around 2005.

    Kony is believed to have no more than a few hundred fighters remaining.

    Source: {Voice of America}

  • I Wont Quit Music—Cecile Kayirebwa

    I Wont Quit Music—Cecile Kayirebwa

    {{Rwanda’s revered song bird Cecile Kayirebwa has promised not to quit her singing career even when she grows older.

    Kayirebwa recently celebrated 30 years since she began singing. Her celebrations were attended by over eight hundred fans.

    She noted in an exclusive interview with the BBC “I love {Kinyarwanda} language. The more i grow older the more i love it. I cant just quit singing unless i lose my voice. Even though i lost my sight but retain my voice i wouldn’t stop singing.”}}

    Asked what she has acheived from her singing career, Kayirebwa noted that she managed to find happiness, love, meeting people of all walks of life, working with children, elders, men and women and definately financial independence among others.