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  • Rwanda Start Up cup to award Best project ideas

    Rwanda Start Up cup to award Best project ideas

    {The Rwanda Start Up Cup Business Model competition was launched this year to promote entrepreneurship development in Rwanda while increasing the awareness of Global Entrepreneurship Week locally. This initiative identifies and supports 7 new key Startup’s that have the potential to grow into successful businesses in Rwanda.}

    The Competition brings together people with different ideas in different sectors such as; agriculture, Technology, Mining, construction, as well as many projects that relate to the development of society. GW Creators organized this competition and submissions are now closed.

    In an interview with IGIHE, Douglas Ogeto, the Managing Director at GW Creators said there are some people who have project ideas but fail to put their ideas into actions due to various barriers. Some of these barriers include financial challenges and limited skills on how to implement their project.

    He said the winners of the competition will be given additional skills to improve and implement their project ideas, as well as supporting them through different means. Currently about 36 competitors registered to participate in the competition.

    Such competitions are held in 42 countries around the World and 10 of those countries are in Africa. Seven new key Startup’s will receive their Start Up award by the end of the Global Entrepreneurship Week. The event is scheduled to take place on November 22, 2013. Winners will also have an opportunity to travel to different countries to learn from other people who have made significant progress in their respective business.

    This innovative community-based approach is designed to increase the quality and quantity of entrepreneurs in the community. The fundamentals of this program were developed in Silicon Valley during the dot com era and transplanted to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2007, by visual thinking pioneer and serial entrepreneur Sean Griffin, with the launch of a program called the Tulsa Entrepreneurial Spirit Award.

    Over the years, every aspect of the competition has been fine-tuned based upon feedback from participating entrepreneurs, judges, coaches, entrepreneurial service providers and community leaders.

  • Togo first in removing delays in cross-country haulage

    Togo first in removing delays in cross-country haulage

    {Togo has been rated the best, followed by Ghana, in the political commitment at reducing road transport costs and delays significant for trade promotion and facilitation within the 14-nation West African ECOWAS zone.}

    Mr Bright Gowonu, Programmes Manager of Borderless Alliance, an entity co-advocating the elimination of road transport difficulties and related bottlenecks against the movement of transit trucks and goods in the zone has said. “Our studies on average number of security checkpoints, delays and illegal fee collections regarding vehicles carrying transit goods along main ECOWAS Zone Transport Corridors, has found Togo to have done better,” Mr Gowonu stated.

    He was addressing a day cross-border sensitisation seminar on road transport sector challenges within the ECOWAS corridor, inhibiting the promotion of trade and economic activity. It was organised by the Alliance and the World Bank-financed Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organisation (ALCO), a body geared at ECOWAS zone trade integration in collaboration with Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA).

    About 150 personnel of Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Haulage Transport Unions, Clearing Agents and State Insurance Corporation attended the seminar. Mr Gowonu urged Ghana to eliminate extortions and related issues on the road to meet the agreement on free trade facilitation in the regional grouping.

    Mr Abraham Ocloo, GSA Business Development Advisor, noted that illegal collections and delays in the ECOWAS road corridor increase cost of business and appealed to stakeholders to get committed at eliminating the culture. He said Information Centres established by GSA at entry points have helped in sensitising travellers on entry procedures.

    Nii Nikoi Amasa, Corporate Monitoring Manager, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and member of the National Trade Facilitation Committee said it is wrong for transit trucks loaded under supervision and sealed at the ports to be stopped unless under suspicion.

    Mr Harve De Hardt-Kaffils, Communications Manager, ALCO, a project involving Ghana, La Cote d’ Ivoire, Togo, Benin and Nigeria to reduce transport challenges among them noted that Ghana’s reduction of barriers from 25 to 16 on the Aflao-Elubo road have been of benefit to business across the borders.

    Mr Joshua Krakue, Assistant Comptroller of Immigration, said GIS must play its core security role by being diligent in handling persons entering and moving out of the country. He suggested the issuance of a special periodic ECOWAS travel certificates for drivers in charge of transit trucks, to facilitate their faster entries at border crossings.

    Mr Ben Beckley, Aflao Sector Commander of Customs commended the organisers for bringing the issues to the fore in the interest of economic integration. During an open forum representatives of Clearing Agents and Haulage Truck Unions said extortions and delays at the checkpoint along the routes had made investment into goods haulage across borders in the sub-region unattractive.

    Ghanaweb

  • Libya considers sale of nine state firms

    Libya considers sale of nine state firms

    {Libya is considering the sale of a steel plant and eight other state companies as part of efforts to overhaul an inefficient industrial sector, a government minister said.}

    Outside its wealthy oil sector, Libya’s economy is hampered by inefficiency, a lack of private capital and bureaucracy, the legacy of decades of state control during the era of Muammar Gaddafi.

    Since Gaddafi’s overthrow in 2011, the government has been trying to convince local and foreign investors to inject fresh funds and expertise into ailing industrial plants, some of which are working well below capacity or have been closed.

    So far it has had little success, partly because of fighting among rival tribal militias and attacks by Islamist militants – security is so bad that the prime minister was briefly kidnapped earlier this month.

    Political infighting has complicated plans to overhaul legalization and ready firms for sale; strikes at oilfields and ports have hurt oil and gas production, disrupting power supplies to households and companies.

    But in a first, concrete step towards privatization, the government has launched a process to estimate the value and performance of nine firms which could be sold, Industry Minister Suleiman al-Fitouri said in an interview as part of the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit.

    Among the firms are the Misrata steel mill company, a soft drinks firm and a factory for truck trailers in Tajoura near Tripoli, he said.

    “We need to evaluate first, then we make the decision,” Fitouri said. “I think the valuation will take some time, maybe three months.”

    Misrata-based Libyan Iron and Steel Co (Lisco) is one of north Africa’s largest steelmakers, with an annual capacity during normal times of 1.6 million metric tons. Power shortages have forced it to slash output and shut one of its two steel melting shops, company officials told Reuters in September.

    Reuters

  • Government: Nigerian troops kill over 90 Boko Haram members

    Government: Nigerian troops kill over 90 Boko Haram members

    {More than 70 members of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram have been killed during a Nigerian military operation in the northeastern state of Borno, an Army spokesman told CNN on Friday.}

    The military “remains on the offensive,” according to Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, who said the operation started Thursday and continued into the next day.
    2012: Who are Boko Haram?

    Who are the world’s 10 most dangerous terrorists?

    This wasn’t the only clash between Boko Haram and Nigerian troops of late.

    Suspected members of the extremist group around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (12:30 p.m. ET) attacked a military checkpoint in Damaturu, Nigeria’s Joint Task Force reported in a statement. Also in northern Nigeria, Damaturu is the capital of Yobe state.

    Special operations troops responded, waging “a fierce encounter with the terrorists in various parts of Damaturu … for several hours,” according to the Joint Task Force.

    By the time that fighting was over, 21 suspected Boko Haram fighters were dead, the government group reported. Three vehicles were recovered, as were assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade, improvised explosive devices and 709 rounds of ammunition.

    The military did not provide any information on its casualties.

    “Law abiding citizens are enjoined to remain calm as the 3 Division Special Operation Battalion is on top of the situation,” the Joint Task Force said, noting a 24-hour curfew was imposed throughout the state. “Any credible information should be passed promptly to security agencies for necessary action.”

    Last May, President Goodluck Jonathan put three states in the region under a state of emergency, giving Nigerian forces wide latitude in fighting the group, which human rights organizations say has killed more than 3,000 people since 2009.

    Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sacrilege” in the Hausa-Fulani language, seeks to impose a strict version of Sharia law across northeastern Nigeria, if not the entire country.

    The group has attacked various targets in the West African nation since its formation in the late 1990s, according to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, including killing and kidnapping Westerners, and bombing schools and churches.

    Hundreds of its members, including its leader Mohammed Yusuf, died in July 2009 clashes with government forces. But the group did not stay down for long, and has remained an active and violent force in Nigeria.

    In August, its militants allegedly went into a mosque in Borno state and killed 44 worshipers. The group released a video boasting that it was growing stronger.

    CNN

  • Tanzania: Lawmaker Urges Education for Self-Reliance

    Tanzania: Lawmaker Urges Education for Self-Reliance

    { TANZANIA should strive to offer education that prepares job makers instead of producing job seekers, Mr Nimrod Mkono, a CCM member of Parliament, has observed .}

    The MP made the observation when he was officiating at the first Form Four graduation ceremony at Serengeti Nuru Secondary School on Friday.

    “Education should be for self-reliance and not education for being employed, ” Mr Mkono, who is the MP for Musoma Rural constituency, told hundreds of students at the private school which is located on the outskirts of Mugumu town.

    Mr Mkono also called for investment in science subjects, a move which would help the nation achieve Smart Partnership Dialogue goals.

    “We need many mathematicians and nowadays technology is everything, ” the lawmaker said. He urged schoolteachers to give science subjects priority in their teaching.

    The MP inaugurated a new multimillion-shilling modern girls dormitory at the school, which accommodates both female and male students hailing from Serengeti District and neighbouring districts.

    He commended Mr John Ng’oina, a local investor, for setting up the school in the district where most people were yet to realize that education is key to development.

    Daily News

  • Britney Spears songs used to scare off pirates in Somalia

    Britney Spears songs used to scare off pirates in Somalia

    {Britney Spears is being used as a secret weapon… to scare off Somali pirates. Her hits are blasted out to deter kidnap attacks, merchant navy officer Rachel Owens revealed.}

    Spears’s chart-toppers Oops! I Did It Again and Baby One More Time have proved to be the most effective at keeping the bandits at bay.

    Second Officer Owens, who works on supertankers off the east coast of Africa, said: ‘Her songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most.

    ‘These guys can’t stand Western culture or music, making Britney’s hits perfect.’

    Ships in the region are in constant danger from gun-toting pirates boarding and kidnapping crews for multi-million-pound ransoms.

    In 2011, there were 176 attacks on ships by gangs of bandits off the Horn of Africa. They are such a threat the Royal Navy has 1,500 sailors on 14 warships operating round-the-clock patrols in the area.

    Ms Owens, who regularly guides huge tankers through the waters, said the ship’s speakers can be aimed solely at the pirates so as not to disturb the crew.

    ‘It’s so effective the ship’s security rarely needs to resort to firing guns,’ said the 34-year-old, from Gartmore, near Aberfoyle, Stirling.

    ‘As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can.’

    Steven Jones, of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, said: ‘Pirates will go to any lengths to avoid or try to overcome the music.’

    He added: I’d imagine using Justin Bieber would be against the Geneva Convention.’

    Metro

  • Abyei votes whether to join Sudan or South Sudan

    Abyei votes whether to join Sudan or South Sudan

    {Residents of the flashpoint Abyei region claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan were voting on Monday in an unofficial referendum to decide which country they belong to, a move likely to inflame tensions in the war-ravaged region, officials said.}

    “The people are voting to choose to join South Sudan or to be part of Sudan,” Rou Manyiel, chairman of the Abyei civil society organisation, told AFP.

    Patrolled by some 4,000 Ethiopian-led UN peacekeepers, the area is home to the settled Ngok Dinka, closely connected to South Sudan, as well the semi-nomadic Arab Misseriya, who traditionally move back and forth from Sudan grazing their cattle.

    Only the Ngok Dinka are voting in the referendum — although organisers insist it is open to all — and the Misseriya have already angrily said they will not recognise the results of any unilateral poll.

    Abyei was meant to vote on whether to be part of Sudan or South Sudan in January 2011 — the same day Juba voted overwhelmingly to split from the north — as part of the 2005 peace deal which ended Sudan’s civil war.

    That referendum was repeatedly stalled, and Sudanese troops stormed the enclave in May 2011 forcing over 100,000 to flee southwards, leaving a year later after international pressure.

    Ngok Dinka leaders last week said they would press ahead with their own vote.

    However, the United Nations and AU have warned that any such unilateral move could inflame tensions in the oil-producing zone and risk destabilising the uneasy peace between the longtime foes.

    “There are long queues of people, but things are peaceful and calm,” Manyiel added, a senior Ngok Dinka community leader. “They began to vote on Sunday and they will finish voting on Tuesday, the third day.”

    Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir met last week with his southern counterpart Salva Kiir amid pressure to settle Abyei’s future — one of the most important and sensitive issues left unresolved since Juba broke free two years ago — but despite calling talks “fruitful” no breakthrough deal was made.

    An AFP photographer in Abyei said long lines of residents were lining up to cast their vote, with ballot papers marked with two symbols to chose from: a pair of clasped hands symbolising a vote to be part of Sudan, and a single hand if people want to join South Sudan.

    Abyei, once oil-rich but with production now tailing off, is a key area of emotional and symbolic significance for both the fledgling South and the rump state of Sudan.

    On Sunday, the African Union accused the Sudan government of preventing an AU delegation from visiting Abyei, accusing Khartoum of blocking it “for contrived security reasons”.

    Last week Misseriya leader Mukhtar Babo Nimir told AFP his people had the option of also holding their own unilateral referendum if, as they have now done, the rival Ngok Dinka hold their own ballot.

    Sudan and South Sudan clashed heavily last year along their un-demarcated border, after furious rows over oil.

    International pressure eventually reined the two sides back in, with leaders signing a raft of deals, most of which however are yet to be implemented.

    When South Sudan split away, it took with it oil fields accounting for 75 percent of the reserves — with production totalling some 470,000 barrels per day — that Sudan used to call its own.

    Landlocked South Sudan complained that the north was demanding too much to use its pipelines and port facilities, and the shutdown cost both countries billions of dollars.

    AFP

  • Rwanda present at the 2013 diplomatic fair held in Pretoria.

    Rwanda present at the 2013 diplomatic fair held in Pretoria.

    {On 26th October 2013, all roads in Pretoria were leading to Union Building where South Africa’s Department of International Relations held its annual “Diplomatic Fair” which saw 46 countries promoting their respective nations and culture. Rwanda was among those represented.}

    Rwanda’s representation at the Diplomatic Fair was a success due to the dedication of ladies from the diaspora.

    Colours of Rwanda’s flag were all over the stand. The stand was decorated with art crafts. Visitors to the stand were received by ladies in their traditional attire (umushanana), briefed about Rwanda’s history, investment opportunities and the on-going transformational development. It was interesting to note that the young and old had a somewhat knowledge of Rwanda and were very keen to know more on Rwanda and progress made since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

    12 Rwandan dishes were also part of the exhibition. People from China, South Africa, Romania, Senegal were among those were delighted to taste food from this well-known country.

    Art crafts were on sale. From hand-made earrings to the well-known coffee brewed from hills of Rwanda, visitors were eager to buy souvenirs of this emerging country which was able to turn its past and focus on the future.

    Our own Rwandair was also present to share information on new flights in the African continent as well as competitive prices from the heart of Africa.

    The exhibition could not end without performance from Rwandan cultural troop which raised large ovation from the thousands of people gathered at the event. Women dancers accompanied by their male dancers were sending message of a united Rwanda.

    The Diplomatic fair was an opportunity from different countries to learn from each other to discover other cultures and some similarities with our own.

    The event was concluded with an interview of the High Commissioner of Rwanda in South Africa, H.E Vincent Karega, who highlighted Rwanda’s achievement and its vision for the future.

  • ICC to adopt new probe strategies

    ICC to adopt new probe strategies

    {Facing criticism from judges and defence teams including lawyers in the two Kenya cases, the ICC prosecutor is set to adopt new investigation strategies that will enable it present watertight cases before the trial judges.
    }

    The main highlights of the new strategy include early preparation for cases, scrutiny of evidence by intermediaries and the security of investigators and witnesses.

    According to the plan seen by the Nation on Sunday, the Office the Prosecutor (OTP) says it will also expand and diversify its collection of evidence as well as increase its number of investigators.

    This, they say, will lead to the collection of more evidence.

    The strategy is informed by the desire by the ICC judges, who in their decisions, have often asked the prosecutor’s office to submit a substantial range of evidence in their cases.

    The judges have faulted the OTP over investigations and warned against too much reliance on intermediaries.

    Lawyers for President Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and former Kass FM presenter Joshua arap Sang have been scathing in their attacks against Ms Fatou Bensouda over investigations with Mr Ruto’s defence lawyer Karim Khan blaming former prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo for shoddy investigations that he referred to as “elemental shambles.”

    He said due to the poor foundation he started, the Kenyan cases would die due to lack of evidence and selection of the accused persons.

    President Kenyatta has also moved to have the ICC case against him stopped citing “serious, sustained and wide-ranging abuse on the process of the court carried out by” three witnesses against him in collaboration with the court’s investigators.

    His lawyers, led by Queen’s Counsel Stephen Kay, say they have “extensive evidence” that the witness worked with investigators, described as an intermediary, to intimidate and interfere with potential defence witnesses.

    To avoid the criticism, Ms Bensouda’s new strategy states in part: “Given the expectation from the judges to receive cases which are trial-ready at the time of the confirmation hearing and with more substantiated evidence, the office is adapting its prosecution strategy accordingly.”

    Daily Nation

  • Russia meets Uganda onstage

    Russia meets Uganda onstage

    Russian Alex Rostotsky and the Jazz Bass Theatre performance at the Primrose hall, Imperial Royale hotel, last Friday was no ordinary jazz concert.

    It unveiled a distinctive intertwined traditional and cultural extensive bond between Russia and Uganda.

    “It’s the first time I have done a mixing of Ugandan traditional music and Russian,” revealed Rostotsky.

    This is the second time Rostotsky has performed in Kampala at the invitation of the Russian African Foundation for Science, Culture and Economic Development (RAFSCED). He was here last year performing at a concert dubbed ‘Art Splash’, which is aimed at promoting Russian business in Uganda and Ugandan business in Russia.

    And he was back last Friday to bond Ugandan culture with Russian as the chairman RAFSCED, Dr Karen Melik Simonyan, explained that the best way to unite people was to make them ‘first understand each other through promoting culture and information’.

    “This isn’t just a commercial entertainment, but a performance to promote and appreciate the different traditions and culture between Russia and Africa,” he said.

    Rostotsky, who plays the piano, was backed up by Lev Slepner on the marimba and drums and Andrew Krasilnikov on the soprano and C-melody saxophone, and German Mamaev playing the e-bass. Ilya Izotov was their sound engineer.

    The audience was captivated with the sweet melodies of traditional music from Russia and Africa. The band did Salif Keita’ Tomorrow, Night in Kampala, Rain, and Near The River. And the great dancing antics from vocalist Tatiana Shishkova sent many screaming with excitement. Rostotsky also thrilled them with cinematography insertions of live poetry and visual arts.

    Our own, Annette Kugonza and Aisha Nakato from Ndere Troupe, spiced up the concert with traditional songs from western Uganda: Ngayaya, Abakemera and Nzololo. Isaac Rucci did the emceeing and notable among the audience was the Commander Special Forces Command, Brig Muhoozi Kaneirugaba, Maj Gen Jim Muhwezi, Russian ambassador to Uganda, Ambassador Sergey Shishkin and a delegation from RAFSCED.

    By the end of the concert at 11pm, a contented audience gave a standing ovation to the band for their extraordinary performance.

    “It was awesome; very unexpected! They spiced the whole set of performance with Ugandan traditional music,” said Sheila Saltofte, a presenter with Urban Television.

    {{The Observer}}