IGIHE

Author: Publisher

  • African States ‘Not Compliant With Airline Quality Standards’

    African States ‘Not Compliant With Airline Quality Standards’

    {{African countries are facing challenges complying to requirements on quality management systems of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said.}}

    During the official opening of the second bureau of the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, Michel Jarraud, secretary general of the WMO, said, “Out of 17 members of the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), only seven have recently undergone external audits and are working on the non-conformances identified.

    Others have started the process and in total 11 members are certified with a number at advanced stage of the quality management system implementation.”

    Jarraud added that training activities are being implemented. The deadline for compliance with competency assessment for personnel serving international air navigation was 1 December 2013.

    “The deadline is rather limited with only a few countries that have reported as having commenced assessment,” said Jarraud.

    Joseph Mukabana, director of the regional office at WMO, added that the Nairobi Declaration requested that all necessary steps be taken to ensure that National Meteorological Services in Africa meet the ICAO requirements regarding the quality management systems, whose deadline was November 2012.

    “However, it will be reported that many African countries have yet to meet the deadline,” Mukabana said.

    The ministers at the Nairobi meeting urged the WMO and the African Union Commission to support the African National Meteorological Services meet the ICAO requirements regarding quality management systems and competency assessments.

    {africanreview}

  • Italy to Grant Citizenship to Children Born to Asylum Holders

    Italy to Grant Citizenship to Children Born to Asylum Holders

    {{Italy announced plans to give citizenship to children born of refugees who have been granted asylum, as the government faced growing anti-immigrant sentiment over an influx of migrant arrivals by sea.}}

    Under current legislation, children born to immigrants and refugees do not automatically receive citizenship even if they are born on Italian soil, attend Italian schools and spend their whole lives in Italy. They must first turn 18 to apply.

    Mario Balotelli, the 23-year-old star attacker for Italy’s national soccer team, was born in Italy to Ghanian parents and was not allowed to play for the national squad before turning 18 because of the law.

    Former Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge was repeatedly attacked for her proposal to overhaul the law.

    The Interior Ministry plans to issue an administrative order making citizens of children born on Italian soil to parents who have political asylum, Domenico Manzione, the ministry’s undersecretary for immigration, said in an interview.

    Italian citizenship is mostly passed on through ancestry or blood, not place of birth, and the anti-immigrant Northern League party, whose support has increased over the past year, opposes all legislation that eases citizenship requirements.

    The League boosted its support by more than two percentage points to above 6 percent in last month’s European election, in which anti-immigrant sentiment lifted support for Nigel Farage’s UKIP in Britain and Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France.

    Currently in Italy, the children of those granted asylum already can receive the same status as their parents, but any children born after the asylum is granted are excluded, Manzione said.

    “The move sends a welcoming message (to refugees), addresses a human rights issue and resolves an evident disparity in treatment inherent in the current rules,” Manzione said. It was a matter of weeks at most before the order was endorsed by the ministry.

  • U.N. Concerned Over Persistent South Sudan Violence

    U.N. Concerned Over Persistent South Sudan Violence

    {{U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned the continued bloodshed in South Sudan in violation of two ceasefire agreements and urged both sides in the conflict to halt all military operations in keeping with previous pledges.}}

    The remarks came in a readout of a telephone conversation Ban had on Wednesday with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir.

    “He (Ban) expressed his grave concern that hostilities have continued in violation of the 23 January Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities and the 9 May Agreement between President Kiir and former Vice-President Riek Machar to resolve the crisis in South Sudan,” the U.N. press office said.

    “He stressed the need for both parties to abide by these agreements and end all military operations immediately,” it said, noting that Ban urged Kiir and Machar to meet on June 9.

    The United Nations has already said that maintaining a ceasefire was crucial for efforts to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in the world’s youngest country.

    Fighting has killed thousands of people and driven more than 1.3 million from their homes.

    Government forces and rebels, who have been fighting since mid-December, agreed a second ceasefire deal in May after the first one in January collapsed. South Sudan’s army spokesperson reported more clashes on Monday in Unity and Upper Nile states, oil producing areas that have been flashpoints in the conflict.

    A senior U.N. official said on Tuesday that South Sudan can only avoid famine if the shaky ceasefire holds and people displaced by more than five months of fighting are able to return home in the next few weeks to plant crops before the rains.

  • Man Apprehended Over Currency Counterfeit

    Man Apprehended Over Currency Counterfeit

    {{A man suspected of making and circulating fake money was arrested yesterday in Gikondo sector of Kicukiro district after he was found in possession of Rwf50000, all fake.}}

    Emmanuel Ndikumana, 18, was apprehended at a Tigo-cash agent where he was trying to deposit the money. He is currently detained at Gikondo Police station as investigations continue.

    The counterfeit money in Rwf5000 denominations was identified by the would-be victim, who called Police and arrested the suspect.

    The suspect, however, argued that the money wasn’t his alleging that it was given to him by another man he claims he doesn’t know.

    “A man gave a lift in his car and requested me to deposit this money on his Tigo cash account, but I don’t know him,” Ndikumana claimed.

    Supt. Modeste Mbabazi, the Police spokesperson for the Central region advised such individuals to desist from such illegal acts “because in one way or another, they will be arrested.”

    “Counterfeit money has ill-effects on the economy and affects family and personal income especially those traders that become victims”, he observed.

    He appealed to the business community and the entire public to always verify currency notes thoroughly before any transaction, to avoid falling prey of such fraudsters.

    RNP

  • Without Insurance, Every Risk is Magnified

    Without Insurance, Every Risk is Magnified

    {{President Kagame has stated that insurance is about people, about their deepest hopes and fears in spite of the fact that there exists a wide gap between public understanding and the critical importance insurance services play in their daily lives. }}

    President Kagame said this today while officially closing the 41st African Insurance Organisation General Assembly and Conference at Serena Kigali hotel:

    “Without insurance we cannot drive cars, or build infrastructure, or provide healthcare, without serious concerns. Without insurance, every risk is magnified. A person can literally lose everything. Insurance makes life less scary by providing a safety net beyond what the state alone could ever offer.

    In pursuing your vocation as underwriters which includes producing a return for your shareholders you free up the insured to be more productive, entrepreneurial, and future minded.”

    President Kagame pointed out that low penetration of insurance products in Africa is as much of a challenge as it is an opportunity because the untapped potential for innovation as well as the scope for increased public-private partnership is huge.

    Citing Rwanda as an example, President Kagame said the fact that a greater portion of foreign investment in the financial sector, including insurance comes from elsewhere on the continent demonstrates growing confidence in Africa’s future, which in turn enhances its attractiveness globally.

    In conclusion, President Kagame urged Africans to continue working together as governments and as companies across the continent, pooling know-how and resources until products and services are within the reach of every family in Africa.

    “This conference is now closing, but our work is not done. We are counting on your input to set and continue the important agenda.”

  • China More Assertive in South Sudan Diplomacy

    China More Assertive in South Sudan Diplomacy

    {{China is swapping its reserved diplomacy for a hands-on approach to help resolve a more than five-month-old rebellion in South Sudan that threatens Beijing’s oil investments.}}

    The subtle change has been evident in months of faltering peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, where Chinese officials have been in regular contact with Western diplomats to help regional African mediators push for a halt to fighting.

    Diplomats say the permanent Chinese presence at the Addis Ababa talks and their frequent lobby chats and closed-door consultations with diplomats from the United States, Britain and Norway – the main Western backers of newly independent South Sudan – shows China’s more proactive approach.

    When a first ceasefire deal was reached on Jan. 23, a month after fighting erupted, a senior Western diplomat said China’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Xie Xiaoyan, joined other envoys by giving a speech at the signing that set the tone for Beijing’s involvement.

    “What’s very striking is that … he was given the floor and did not vary one bit from what everyone else was saying, which was basically (telling the South Sudanese factions to) ‘Get your act together’,” said the diplomat.

    The new line does not mean China plans to abandon its oft stated policy of steering clear of Africa’s internal politics, but it is an indication of a gradual shift by Beijing as its stake in Africa’s stability grows with expanding investments.

    With China now Africa’s biggest trading partner, Beijing could face pressure to extend its new approach to other regions of Africa where it has growing economic interests.

    “The luxury of being the new guy in town is definitely on the wane now that they have pretty serious assets in these countries and need to protect them,” said Clare Allenson, Africa analyst at consultancy Eurasia Group.

    wirestory

  • Ivory Coast Toure Fights For African Pride

    Ivory Coast Toure Fights For African Pride

    {{ Ivory Coast midfield colossus Yaya Toure has few obvious reasons to be unhappy – he is enormously successful, earns more than $350,000 a week at Manchester City and will soon play at the World Cup.}}

    Yet Toure says the fact he comes from Africa means he is not properly appreciated.

    “In the minds of people, they think Africans are like animals, are not human beings,” he told media in April, saying he was determined to raise the continent’s profile during the finals in Brazil.

    Toure’s uncompromising comments reflect a drive for success that took the powerfully built player to Belgium at the age of 18 and then in quick succession to teams in Ukraine, Greece and France before he signed for Barcelona in 2007.

    The 31-year-old was part of the team that won the Spanish title in 2009 and beat Manchester United in the final of the Champions League, a match where he showed his flexibility by playing out of position at centre-back.

    But frustrated by a lack of playing time and tempted by the enormous salary on offer, he moved to Manchester City the next year, reuniting with his elder brother Kolo.

    The move was a great success and Toure can hardly complain about being overlooked this year. He made the shortlist for the players’ Player of the Year award in England and was named African Player of the Year for the third consecutive year.

    Yet what he perceives as second-class treatment of African players by fans, media and the soccer establishment upsets him. Everyone in Africa knows who Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is, he told the BBC.

    “But when you come to Europe and say ‘Yaya Toure’ they say ‘Who is that?’ Some of them will hear my name but they don’t know my face,” he said.

    reuters

  • Mushikiwabo Rejects Accusations of Arrests & Disappearances

    Mushikiwabo Rejects Accusations of Arrests & Disappearances

    {{Rwanda government has refuted allegations by the United States Department of State which castigate the government of Rwanda over arrests and disappearances of dozens of citizens.}}

    In a statement released by Marie Harf Deputy Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC, it’s noted;

    “The United States calls upon the Government of Rwanda to account for individuals arrested over the past two months and currently in custody, and to respect the rights under Rwandan law and international human rights law of the individuals detained and arrested.

    We also call upon Rwanda to fully respect freedom of expression, including for members of the press so that they can investigate, report, and facilitate discussion on issues of public concern,” the statement reads in part.

    However, in her response the Foreign Affairs Minister and government spokesperson, Louise Mushikiwabo said in a statement;

    “In all instances, police and security agencies in Rwanda have acted lawfully. Accused individuals are entitled to, and receive, due process — suggestions otherwise, including claims of “disappearances”, are false.

    We call on all parties to refrain from discourse and actions that embolden the FDLR and its allies, and thereby endanger the lives of Rwandans.

    Rwandan authorities, like in any other country, will act swiftly and decisively to address such threats. The people of Rwanda deserve no less.”

    According to the official statement, Rwanda says is dealing with a specific security challenge in the North of the country where FDLR, an armed genocidal militia based in DRC, and their associates, have been recruiting and infiltrating.

    The statement further says, a judicial process is underway triggered by recent FDLR attacks in Musanze, resulting in several casualties including the death of a police officer shot outside the Police School, and the death of an infant child of a local mayor at her home.

    Earlier grenade attacks in crowded public places are another tactic that have caused death and suffering to innocent civilians. As discussed at a briefing for diplomats earlier this week, such acts are designed to terrorise the population and undermine the security that has enabled Rwanda to achieve significant progress over the past twenty years.

  • Three Arrested Over Stolen Goods

    Three Arrested Over Stolen Goods

    {{Three people were arrested yesterday in Bugesera District in connection with the Monday night robbery at a shop in Nyamata sector.}}

    Evariste Habimana, 21, Frederic Ngendahimana, 24 and Philemon Niyomugabo, 21 were apprehended in Rilima sector by community patrols who handed them to Police.
    Habimana was a security guard at the shop.

    At the time of their arrest, the trio were found in possession of 40 litres of cooking oil and 15 boxes of cigarettes said to have been stolen from the shop.

    Police said the suspects, who are currently detained at Nyamata Police station, were apprehended as they were trying to secure buyers of the stolen goods in Rizire trading centre in Rilima.

    It is alleged that the trio, at about 2am Monday night broke the door of the shop owned by one…and stole various goods which include cooking oil, boxes of cigarette and money.

    The theft was reported at about 4am when a by-passer found the shop open and called the owner, who in-turn informed Police.

    The Eastern region Police Spokesperson, Senior Supt. Benoit Nsengiyumva, called upon the business community to always report such incidences in time so that suspects are also apprehended in time.

    He commended community patrols and residents for working together to apprehend the suspects and recovery of the goods.

    “I want to thank my neighbor who informed me about the theft and all those that helped me to recover my goods. Actually I had hope that I was going to recover them because it’s hard to steal things in Bugesera and you go away with it.

    We have a good working relation amongst us and the Police in general, and I believe I will recover even other goods that are still missing,” Bizumuremyi,said.

  • Govt Says Development Priorities on Track

    Govt Says Development Priorities on Track

    {{The 55th Development Partners Coordination Group (DPCG) meeting took place yesterday to review the progress of government’s development objectives and discuss the way forward. }}

    During the quarterly meeting, representatives of Development Partners were briefed on the medium term economic performance and growth projections, progress on the implementation of the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy EDPRS2 as well as the National Employment Plan.

    Presenting the 2014-15 macro-economic framework, government’s Chief Economist Leonard Rugwabiza noted that the economy is expected grow by 6% in 2014 compared to 4.6% of 2013.

    This is mainly due to the expected good performance of agriculture by 5% (from 3% in 2013) and recovery of service sector growth by 7% compared to 4% in 2013.

    Industry sector is projected to grow at 6% during 2014 lower than the 11% registered in 2013 due to reduced construction activities.

    In 2015, the overall GDP growth is projected at 6.7%. Growth in industry is expected to pick up again and reach 9% while growth of agriculture and services are expected to stabilize at 5% and 7% respectively.

    On the 2014-15 budget, Rugwabiza noted that fiscal consolidation through increased domestic revenue mobilization and expenditure prioritization to close the fiscal gap remain the key objectives of the Government’s medium term fiscal strategy.

    On the resource side, government projects tax revenue to grow by 0.5 percentage points of GDP in 2014/15 fiscal year against 2013/14 and to undertake comprehensive tax reforms to sustain increases in domestic resource mobilization.

    Expenditure side will focus mainly on achieving EDPRS2 objectives with a plan to allocate a higher proportion of expenditure to development projects relative to current expenditures.

    “We will continue to monitor any risk related to budget implementation, including possible lower revenue collection stemming from reduced growth in order to take corrective actions where required, including through possible frontloading and/or increasing public spending to inject some liquidity into the economy to promote growth,” Rugwabiza said.

    The total budgeted resources for the 2014/15 fiscal year amount to Rwf 1,753 billion (30.3% of GDP) compared to the revised budget of Rwf 1677 billion (32.8% of GDP), representing Rwf 76billion increase.

    Total revenue and grants are projected at RWF 1531 billion, compared to RWF 1332.5 billion in the revised 2013/14 budget.

    The DPCG is the highest-level coordination body responsible for overseeing the entire aid coordination and policy dialogue on development.

    It is composed of Government of Rwanda Permanent Secretaries, heads of bilateral and multilateral donor agencies, as well as representatives of civil society and the private sector.