IGIHE

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  • Polokwane: Media allowed into Malema court

    Polokwane: Media allowed into Malema court

    {Local and international media have been allowed inside the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane where EFF leader Julius Malema is due to appear on Monday, after initially being denied access. }

    Earlier, Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ronel Otto told reporters she had a message from the judge’s office that media would not be allowed into the courtroom.

    Eyewitness News later tweeted that the media had been given permission to cover the trial, but not take any pictures when proceedings start.

    Malema is to appearing on charges of fraud, corruption, money-laundering, and racketeering, after allegedly making nearly R4m from corrupt activities. He is out on bail of R10 000.

    Supporters gathering outside

    Supporters and members of the Economic Freedom Fighters gathered outside the court ahead of the trial. Clad in red, members of the party chanted anti-government slogans and moved from one street corner to another.

    Minibus taxis were continually dropping off more supporters.

    Malema’s co-accused are his business associates Kagisho Dichabe, Lesiba Gwangwa, Helen Moreroa, and Makgetsi Manthata. They are out on bail of R40 000 each.

    The State alleges Malema and the others misrepresented themselves to the Limpopo roads and transport department, leading to a R52m contract being awarded to On-Point Engineering.

    According to court papers, Malema had business ties with Gwangwa, a director of On-Point Engineering. Malema’s Ratanang Family Trust was an indirect shareholder in On-Point.

    The department paid the company R43m. According to the charge sheet, Malema substantially benefited from this payment, using it to buy a farm and a Mercedes-Benz.

    Tight security

    Pedestrians with access cards who worked nearby were the only people allowed to walk near the court on Monday morning.

    EFF supporters were seen lining up for red party berets and T-shirts.

    Police were monitoring and barring people from passing through.

    A Nyala and water cannon were also deployed to the area.

    Police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi warned that security would be tight at the court. Police would also keep an eye on the city centre and Seshego, Malema’s hometown.

    “The aim is to ensure peace and stability. No lawlessness will be tolerated and those who break the law will be arrested immediately,” said Mulaudzi.

    Malema would reportedly sit for a University of SA exam on Monday morning before his court appearance.

    news24.com

  • IGIHE TV starts 24hrs/7 Live Streaming Services

    IGIHE TV starts 24hrs/7 Live Streaming Services

    {IGIHE TV is now delivering 24 hrs Live Streaming Services to its audience around the World. The move was announced today 18 November 2013 by Safari Sahaha Germain, Chief Executive Officer of FREE MEDIA NETWORKS which owns the only Rwandan online TV, available on www.igihe.tv}

    Among other services, IGIHE TV will offer: live streaming of all sorts of events including workshops, seminars, Christian crusades, concerts, wedding ceremonies… and Special focus will be put on Political programs, Culture, Sports, Business and Science among other programs.

    Speaking to IGIHE, Safari said that the new move will allow Rwandans who are in different corners of the world to view its services at any given time.

    “Through Live Streaming, IGIHE TV will allow its audience to follow its programs at any given time with no limitation whatsoever given that the broadcasted programs will still be available as Videos on Demand (VoDs” Safari explained

    He added that people who want to advertize their services will be given spaces for advert so that their customers will be able to follow their activities on IGIHE TV in video format.

    Revealing new plans in the future Safari said “after the first step of providing online services, we plan also that next step will be to make IGIHE TV available on decoders”

    The audience of IGIHE TV will have a chance to follow other television channels including France 24, RTL, ESPN, KTN and many others.

  • Rwandan Women to promote Ndi Umunyarwanda

    Rwandan Women to promote Ndi Umunyarwanda

    {Rwandan women vowed to play a crucial role in popularizing and promoting Ndi Umunyarwanda as a roadmap to support the future of Rwanda}

    This was revealed on 14-15 November 2013 during a 12th annual session of the National Council of Women.

    Rwandan women, as a mother, are confident in their ability to give ideological direction of the Rwandan society.

    “We, Rwandan women , if we embrace the popular expansion of the ideology of Ndi Umunyarwanda unquestionably we succeed in changing behaviors , attitudes , habits and attitudes of Rwandan citizens who are our husbands and children” said Mary Rose Uwineza Ndejeje , Vice President of the National Council of Women.

    “The ideology of Ndi Umunyarwanda gives us confidence to not embrace any cultural values from elsewhere. It helps us to internalize our analysis before making that is required in our everyday intellectual processes. Ndi Umunyarwanda reminds us that we were hurt in our hearts, but there is still time to create the conditions for a better future of our nation and our posterity, “said Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Vice -President of the Unity Club.

  • Libya intelligence official kidnapped in Tripoli

    Libya intelligence official kidnapped in Tripoli

    {Tripoli: Libya’s deputy director of intelligence Mustafa Noah was kidnapped in the Tripoli airport Sunday after he returned on a flight from Turkey, two security sources said. }

    Noah, who is the head of the intelligence agency’s espionage unit, was pulled into a car as he left the airport, reported Xinhua citing one of the security sources.

    Libya has been experiencing a wave of political unrest, kidnappings and violent clashes.

    Two years after the 2011 conflict, Libyan authorities are still struggling to rein in numerous armed groups and militias roaming the country.

    Last Friday, a group of militamen opened fire at hundreds of protesters in Tripoli who were demanding the armed groups move out of the capital, killing at least 42 people and wounding 460 others, the Libyan interior ministry reported.

    ZNews

  • AU Welcomes Defeat of M23 Rebels

    AU Welcomes Defeat of M23 Rebels

    {The African Union (AU) has ‘‘welcomed’’ the defeat of the M23 rebels and called on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to pursue other ‘‘negative elements’’ in the volatile eastern part of the country.
    }

    In its 406th sitting on Wednesday, the Peace and Security Council of the AU said it ‘‘Welcomes the restoration of State authority in the areas previously controlled by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebellion.’’

    The M23 was defeated by the Congolese army assisted by a United Nations Intervention Brigade with a mandate to use force.

    On 5 November, the rebel group renounced rebellion against the Kinshasa government and dissolved itself.

    The AU also called for the DRC government to pursue other armed elements roaming in mineral-rich eastern Congo

    “Council encourages the DRC armed forces and the Intervention Brigade to pursue and intensify efforts, in order to neutralise other negative forces.”

    The AU named what it termed negative forces as, Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the allied Democratic Forces/ National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF/NALU and the Mai Mai militia. All are rebel groups hostile to either DRC, Rwanda and Uganda but based in eastern Congo.

    A peace agreement that should have been signed between the DRC government and the M23 rebels flopped on Monday in Kampala after the DRC delegation said it needed more time to study the agreement.

    The delegation also accused Uganda, the mediator of the talks, of having an ‘‘interest in M23’’ an accusation Uganda swiftly denied.

    No date has been set for the signing of the peace agreement between the M23 and DRC but both sides are reportedly in contact with the mediator of the talks, Uganda’s defence minister, Chrispus Kiyonga

    Sudan Vision

  • Kenyans set to pay for use of roads built by private money

    Kenyans set to pay for use of roads built by private money

    {President Uhuru Kenyatta has lined up mega infrastructure projects to be executed in partnership with private investors setting consumers up for payment of user fees for many of the public services currently accessible for free.}

    Motorists will be charged road tolls, tenants will pay higher rents for public housing and commuters will pay higher fees on the trains if private money is used to build or upgrade the infrastructure seen as Mr Kenyatta’s legacy projects.

    Private investors in public projects have to recoup their money – usually through pay-for-use arrangements such as road tolls.

    Under the Public and Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, investors develop the infrastructure and are given a defined period to operate it for purposes of recouping their investment before ultimately handing over the asset to the government.

    The arrangement commonly known as Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) has been used in many parts of the world – including South Africa, India and France to build national infrastructure.

    “We have to embrace tolling. Look how far it has taken China and India,” Transport secretary Michael Kamau, in whose docket most of the projects fall, said.

    The list of approved projects that are open to tolling include construction of a second bridge at Nyali and the building of a dual carriage superhighway between Mombasa and Nairobi and on to Nakuru.

    Investors who put their money into Nairobi’s planned 100 kilometre commuter rail are expected to recoup their investment by charging users market rate fees while those who invest in Kenyatta University hostels will recover their money from the accommodation fees paid by students.

    Other projects include the construction of 60,000 low cost housing units and 66,000 units for the police.

    Business Daily

  • Tenants Protest “Parasitic” Landlord In Kampala

    Tenants Protest “Parasitic” Landlord In Kampala

    [Chimpreports]- Traders at Yamaha Centre along Burton Street in Kampala are protesting the sudden rise of rent fees by 100 percent, accusing the landlord of being an “insensitive parasite.”

    The traders said the charges were exorbitant and completely unaffordable. Police have reinforced security at the city complex to maintain law and order.

    One of the traders identified as Siraje Kabanda said all tenants were Monday notified of the 100 percent rent increment which would take effect starting December.

    “This is outrageous. Government should regulate the conduct of landlords. We have decided to close all the shops until this decision is rescinded,” he told Chimpreports.

  • African courts have potential to replace ICC: Dr. P. Clark

    African courts have potential to replace ICC: Dr. P. Clark

    {Press TV in its Africa Today program has conducted an interview with Dr. Phil Clark, lecturer in international politics, SOAS, Rwanda about Africa’s determination to control her own destiny and the issue of continued acceptance of ICC rule in favor of regional courts is under the spotlight.
    }

    The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.

    {{Press TV}}: Do you feel that the ICC (International Criminal Court) essentially is a token representation of the balance of power internationally and really has got nothing to do a fair play of justice across the board?

    {{Clark}}: Yes I think there is some very legitimate concerns about the power differentials that the ICC represents.

    I think in Africa in particular there are some very legitimate concerns that some of the major powers on the UN Security Council for example that are wielding the ICC as a legal tool particularly the US, Russia and China are themselves not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC and so I think that that’s a concern for many African leaders and also many people at the popular level in Africa as well.

    {{Press TV}}: Do you feel that really the ICC if it can be reformed should stop calling itself an international criminal court with this huge absence of such big-power players who could potentially come under its wing should they decide to go crazy like they did during the Iraq war?

    {{Clark}}: I think this is the challenge for the ICC over the next five or ten years to make itself a truly global institution.

    I think it’s been a serious strategic error by the court in its first ten years of operation to focus solely on Africa and African leaders. But the problem I guess that’s facing the ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the moment is that she’s inherited this enormous Africa case load from her predecessor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and it’s going to take Bensouda I would say at least the next five to seven to eight years to clear this backlog of Africa cases.

    But the court is completely log-jammed with the African cases at the moment and so until it has actually dealt with that backlog it is not going to be able to focus its attention on the rest of the world.

    So there are serious… on the court at the moment, but then nevertheless that is the challenge for the court to get out of Africa and to be as a truly global institution and particularly to go after I think leaders of some of the major powers.

    Until the court does that I think it is going to be seen largely as an illegitimate institution.

    {{Press TV:}} What are your thoughts about the potential for this actually being a blessing in disguise with regard to African countries finally focusing in a very fine-tuned way on how they deal with the injustices across the continent.?

    {{Clark}}: I’m not sure if we can thank the ICC for this renewed African interest in dealing with serious crimes because in many ways African countries were already dealing with the atrocities of the past long before the ICC emerged on the scene.

    You can think of countries like Rwanda that has prosecuted hundreds and thousands of genocide cases through a community court.

    Perhaps most importantly in the case of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo the local judiciary in fact was already dealing with the cases of the very same warlords that the ICC then whisked off to The Hague. And there has been enormous frustration about the fact that the ICC has basically stolen these cases from right underneath their own nose.

    So I think we have to recognize that there was already enormous momentum around prosecuting genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity in many African countries before the ICC emerged on the scene and I think that that’s something the court and its supporters ignore all too readily.

    {{Press TV:}} Do you think there is potential for this momentum to keep building up because some people argue like Desmond Tutu does that the people who are actually seeking to remove themselves from the ICC should actually be in front of it?

    {{Clark}}: I don’t thinks it’s as straight forward to think that it’s the ICC or no justice whatsoever.

    I think we need to shift the whole debate to focus on what African States themselves can do in terms of prosecuting these very serious crimes.

    It is true that some African states are more willing to do this than others and I think that there needs to be more pressure on some African states to deal with their own problems, but I think by the same token we need to recognize that there is an enormous amount of domestic momentum in many, many African countries to hold their own leaders and other perpetrators of serious crimes accountable.

    And so I think we should shift the whole debate not so much to talk about international justice, but in fact to talk about African justice and the things that are already very productively being done in many African court rooms as we speak.

    {{Press TV:}} Can they escape justice with the existence of an African court of justice because this debate is going to force the AU to discuss a potential existing solution.

    You know, it’s OK to be against the ICC, but what about justice for those people who are clamoring for justice and are not getting any?
    {{
    Clark}}: Yes I would agree with that. I think that it’s fine for the AU to express these very important concerns about the ICC, but the pressure is now on the AU itself to set up a viable regional body and unfortunately the Africa Court of Justice on human rights at the moment is basically a skeleton of an institution – it exists on paper, but it has very little momentum and activity around it.

    So the press is on the AU to firstly make that a functional body. The second that I think that needs to be done is that there needs to be much more international attention paid to the possibility of prosecuting cases through domestic courts in Africa.

    I’ve already mentioned Rwanda, where I am currently, and north eastern Congo as places where here have already been important justice processes happening.

    But there are also important processes happening in places like Senegal, which is prosecuting the former president of Chad; we’ve seen use of the South African courts to deal with human rights cases from Zimbabwe; and we’ve also seen an important development in South Kivu province in Congo, which has been the use of mobile courts to deal with sexual violence cases. Those mobile courts have been a combination of domestic Congolese judges working in concert with external experts.

    And so there are these very important domestic justice processes that are happening in Africa and I think that much of the international debate would benefit from focusing on that potential and whether the billions of dollars that are being spent on international criminal justice could in fact be better spent in terms of judicial reform within African states themselves

  • Kikwete to Endorse EA Monetary Union

    Kikwete to Endorse EA Monetary Union

    {President Jakaya Kikwete will be joining Heads of state of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi in endorsing the regional Monetary Union on the 30th of November 2013.}

    This was confirmed during the 15th Meeting of the EAC Sectoral Council on Legal and Judicial Affairs held here with the Council clearing the legal content of the draft Protocol for the establishment of the East African Monetary Union.

    Mr Richard Owora Othieno, the Communications Officer with the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat based in Arusha, stated that the Sectoral Council adopted the draft Protocol as it met the requirements of the Treaty and recommended that the Heads of State Summit approves and signs the Protocol in two weeks’ time.

    Respective Attorneys General, Solicitors General as well as Ministers responsible for judicial and constitutional affairs directed the Secretariat to make a compilation of all documentation used in the negotiations of the draft Protocol, to be used as working documents in drafting the legal instrument establishing the institutions to support the Monetary Union.

    The Sectoral Council noted that whereas Article 2(2) of the Treaty provides that the Customs Union and Common Market are transitional and integral parts of the Community, the Treaty requires that Partner States establish a Monetary Union pursuant to Article 151 of the Treaty.

    The Sectoral Council further noted that the Monetary Union will commence upon ratification and the coming into force of the Protocol for all the five Partner States. However, the realisation of the Monetary Union shall be progressive.

    At least three Partner States can commence a single currency in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Protocol. On the issue of 77 Articles of the draft protocol of the establishment the East African Monetary Union which were reduced to 31 Articles, the Sectoral Council agreed that the various Articles that were operational in nature had been removed from the draft Protocol and would be used in the enabling laws that will establish the institutions and guide the Monetary Union such as the East African Central Bank.

    {{TDN}}

  • East Africa: Friends of Tripartite Hold Crucial Meeting in Arusha

    East Africa: Friends of Tripartite Hold Crucial Meeting in Arusha

    {The fourth meeting of the Friends of Tripartite was held in Arusha recently. The main objective of the meeting was information exchange on progress made with regard to regional infrastructure development in the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite region.
    }

    While opening the meeting, East African Community (EAC) Secretary General and Chair of the Tripartite Task Force, Dr Richard Sezibera said the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Summit of Heads of State and Government in June 2011, adopted a developmental integration approach for the Tripartite Free Trade Area built on three pillars namely: Market Integration, Industrial Development and Infrastructure Development.

    “Considerable progress has been there and negotiations have intensified to ensure we clinch the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA) by June 2014,” he says. COMESA Secretary General, Mr Sindiso Ngwenya, reiterates that the Tripartite Free Area and its different components should be seen as part of the African Union Commission’s aim to establish a Continental Free Trade Area.

    “We endeavour to address issues pertaining to multiple membership and different trade regimes of economic blocs in the continent and consequently establishing a Continental Free Trade Area by 2017,” he notes.

    In a bid to make the region more competitive by reducing the high costs of transport, trade and energy, thereby creating higher levels of economic growth, employment creation and poverty reduction, the Friends of Tripartite meeting discussed various Tripartite Projects.

    During these discussions, two projects merged the most critical – Tripartite and IGAD Corridor Programme (TCIP): initiated by COMESA, EAC, SADC and IGAD. The programme is aimed at boosting trade and growth in Eastern Africa. The TICP covers four main transport corridors in East Africa.

    Northern Corridor linking the Port of Mombasa to Eastern DRC through Uganda and Rwanda, thereby giving physical interconnectivity across Eastern Africa; the Central Corridor connecting the Port of Dar es Salaam with the Great Lakes region and DRC at Kigoma and through Rwanda at Rusumo and thereafter Burundi; Lamu Corridor connecting the new Port of Lamu to Juba in South Sudan and also to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Djibouti linking the port of Djibouti to Juba in South Sudan through Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

    Serenje-Nakonde North Sudan Corridor road: a 613 km stretch of the North-South Corridor and is also part of the Dar es Salaam Corridor.

    This is the only road between the port of Dar es Salaam and the copper belt of Zambia/ Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The road has failed completely, resulting in frequent accidents and long journey times.

    The meeting also discussed the Tripartite Infrastructure Projects Database, expansion of the Mombasa and Dar es Salaam Ports as well as the Northern Corridor Superhighway (pipeline project).

    In addition, latest policy and programmatic development were discussed, identifying areas for improved partnerships as well as gaps in support for the Tripartite agenda.

    The meeting noted that infrastructure development, regulatory and policy frameworks facilitate cross border trade as well as foreign direct investment by reducing the cost of doing business in the continent as well as enhancing the free movement of people.

    Additionally consensus was reached that there is need to focus on generation, distribution and interconnection of energy as well as information and communication technology.

    The meeting was attended by Head of the Tripartite RECs and Tripartite Partners including the Department for International Development (DFID), KfW, European Investment Bank (EIB), European Commission, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), BMZ, African Development Bank (AfDB), USAID, TradeMark Southern Africa (TMSA), Trademark East Africa (TMEA), the World Bank, DANIDA, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), IFC, ABSA Capital Private Equity, Old Mutual Investment Group Alternative Investments, China Development Bank, and Tripartite Project Preparation and Implementation Unit (PPIU), among others.

    The Tripartite is an umbrella organisation consisting of three of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (REC’s), namely: the East Africa Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

    The overarching objective of the Tripartite is to contribute to the broader objectives of the African Union (AU), namely accelerating economic integration of the continent and achieving sustainable economic development – thereby alleviating poverty and improving quality of life for the people of the Eastern and Southern African Region.

    As such, the Tripartite works towards improving coordination and harmonisation of the various regional integration programmes of its member REC’s.

    These regional integration programmes focus on expanding and integrating trade and include the establishment of Free Trade Areas (FTA’s), Custom Unions, Monetary Unions and Common Markets, as well as infrastructure development projects in transport, information and communications technology and energy.

    With more than 527 million people and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately 624 Billion US Dollars, the 26 member countries of the Tripartite make up 57 per cent of the population of the African Union (AU) and just over 58 per cent in terms of contribution to GDP.

    This makes the Tripartite vital to the envisaged single market and continental integration of the African Economic Community (AEC)

    Tanzania Daily News