IGIHE

Category: Politics

  • Uganda:Split as FDC names House leaders

    Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) yesterday named Kasese Woman MP Winifred Kizza as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LoP) for the 10th Parliament, Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda Opposition Chief Whip and Dokolo Woman MP Cecilia Ogwal member of the Parliament Commission.

    Ms Kizza emerged as LoP, fending off competition from Ms Ogwal. The Kasese Woman MP replaces Mr Wafula Oguttu, who served as LoP for the final two and a half years of the 9th Parliament but lost his Bukholi Central seat.

    The three leaders will interface to come up with names of who will head the four Opposition-led accountability committees and a member for the pan-African Parliament, Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Africa, Caribbean, Pacific – European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

    With the party losing half of its members, surviving MPs from the 9th Parliament such as Roland Mugume Kaginda (Rukungiri Municipality), Angeline Ossege,(Soroti Woman) ,Elijah Okupa (Kasilo County),Kaps Fungaroo (Obongi Count) and William Nzonghu (Busongora North) are lined up for committee leadership positions.

    Incoming MPs such as Ogenga Latigo (Agago North), Ariko Herbert Okworo (Soroti Municipality) also stand a chance of scooping up some of the positions.

    But the process to come up with the three leaders to lead FDC in the 10th Parliament was not seamless as chaos panned out the party’s headquarters in Najjanakumbi, with a section of members opposed to naming a LoP on grounds that their candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, won the presidential elections.

    As the Working Committee, the nucleus organ composed of top leaders, met in the morning to thrash out the sticking issues regarding the three highly coveted positions, demonstrations intensified outside as a group of youth protested against the naming of a LoP.

    The youth attempted to block FDC president, Maj Gen (rtd) Mugisha Muntu, from accessing the meeting room but were shoved away by his aides.

    Party members accused the Secretary for Mobilisation, Ms Ingrid Turinawe, who has been strongly opposed to appointing of a LoP of orchestrating the chaos that has been manifesting at the party this week.

    On Tuesday, the party was forced to call in police to arrest youth that were demonstrating outside its headquarters.

    Ms Turinawe also boycotted yesterday’s meetings that finally appointed a LoP and said in an interview that members who were demonstrating have issues that the party needs to address.

    “Everybody has issues. If people have issues, I do not need to mobilise them. If I am not in a meeting, it does not mean that a meeting cannot go ahead. I do not have to be in every meeting,” Ms Turinawe said.

    Outgoing LoP Wafula Oguttu, Budadiri West MP and party secretary general Nandala Mafabi attended the Working Committee meeting but skipped the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting. Mr Oguttu said they had “other party engagements to handle”.

    But the choice of Ms Winnie Kizza also left a bitter taste, with some party supporters saying the party was not bringing regional consideration into mind.

    “All the positions are being scooped by the western region. The party president is from the West, the LoP should have gone to the North. They are saying she delivered the Kasese vote but the north also voted Besigye,”said Mr Innocent Ayo, the former FDC Youth League chairman.

  • Belgian foreign affairs minister to visit Rwanda

    The Rwandan ambassador to Belgium, Olivier Nduhungirehe has held talks with the Belgium minister of foreign affairs, Didier Reynders that revolved around the bilateral cooperation and regional situation in general.

    The talks were held on Tuesday, May 24th, 2016 and concentrated on security and development related issues in the region in which Rwanda is located.

    Ambassador Nduhungirehe has told IGIHE that during the talks with Reynders they reflected on Rwanda’s progress where the Belgian minister of foreign affairs lauded Rwanda’s resilience process from the tragic history of 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

    Minister Reynders informed ambassador Nduhungirehe that he plans to visit Rwanda and the region in June 2016.

    Belgium has been supporting Rwanda in education sector, health sector and leadership decentralization programs.

    At the end of last year in 2015 Belgium aided Rwanda with a grant worth Rwf 10.3 billion to support electricity connections to 6,873 households.

    The donation was an additional amount to Euro 55 million provided by Belgium since the year 2011 to support energy sector.

    Belgium has previously provided support worth Euro 1.6 million to support Rwanda’s decentralization program, health and energy sectors.

    The Rwandan ambassador to Belgium, Olivier Nduhungirehe has held talks with the Belgium minister of foreign affairs, Didier Reynders bilateral cooperation

  • Official inquiry faults Clinton for private email use

    Audit says Hillary Clinton subjected official information to cyber security risks by ignoring state department policies.

    Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton did not comply with the state department’s policies in her use of private email for work while secretary of state, an official audit has found.

    A report made public on Wednesday by the state department’s independent inspector said Clinton and previous top US diplomats were poorly managing information and slowly responding to new cyber security risks.

    “At a minimum, Secretary Clinton should have surrendered all emails dealing with department business before leaving government service and, because she did not do so, she did not comply with the Department’s policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal Records Act,” the report read.

    Clinton, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, declined to be interviewed for the inspector general’s investigation, US media outlets reported on Wednesday.

    Brian Fallon, Clinton’s spokesman, said in a statement that the report shows her electronic record-keeping systems “were longstanding” and emphasises that her use of a private email server “was known to officials within the department during her tenure”.

    Fallon acknowledged that “steps ought to have taken” to better maintain official records.

    Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, in Washington DC, said the report was likely to make voters trust her even less than they already do.

    “This is going to add to that sense that she says one thing and does another,” he said. “For those who already don’t trust Hillary Clinton it is just going to add much more of a suggestion that she shouldn’t be trusted.”

    She used a private server set up for her home and used it for work and personal emails, including some that have since been classified.

    Mark Toner, the state department spokesman, said on Wednesday that the agency was “already working” to improve its email and records management system.

    “It is clear that the department could have done a better job preserving emails and records of secretaries of state and their senior staff going back several administrations,” he said.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating whether any laws were broken as a result of the server kept in Clinton’s home.

  • Fresh strikes in France as nuclear workers join protest

    Protests over labour reforms considered “too pro-business” continue, forcing France to tap into emergency fuel reserves.

    Nuclear power station workers in France have voted to join the gathering protests against labour law reforms that have forced the country to dip into strategic fuel reserves due to refinery blockades.

    With football fans due to flood into France in two weeks for the Euro 2016 championships, pressure is piling on the government as queues at petrol stations lengthen by the day.

    Strikes and protests being held around France on Thursday are against a labour bill that extends the work week and makes layoffs easier.

    After hardline CGT union workers joined the rolling nationwide strike on Wednesday, French nuclear power capacity was cut by at least four gigawatts (GW) on Thursday, grid operator RTE showed on its website.

    At least nine nuclear reactors reported unplanned outages after the workers’ vote on Wednesday evening, according to RTE’s website.

    The strike has also paralysed French businesses.

    Activists ignore warning

    Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned the CGT union leading the disruption at refineries and fuel depots that it “does not make the law in France”.

    But union activists remained defiant, burning tires and blocking a major bridge on the northern French coast.

    “If we have to carry on, then we will,” Franck Barbay, CGT union representative, told Al Jazeera.

    “We are not pleased to have lose money but if it is to see this law overturned, then we’d have done what was right.”

    Demonstrators gathered early on Thursday morning at a central square in the port town of Harfleur, setting off fireworks and air horns.

    Activists were unapologetic about the disruption.

    “We have to hit where it hurts,” said union official Gilles Guyomard. “And where it hurts is the bosses’ wallets.”

    The activists then went to the two-kilometre-long Pont de Normandie, which bridges the Seine River at Le Havre, setting a pile of tires alight and blocking toll booths.

    The labour reforms they are protesting are designed to address France’s famously rigid labour market by making it easier to hire and fire workers.

    Reforms too ‘pro-business’

    Opponents say the changes are too pro-business and will do little to reduce France’s jobless rate of around 10 percent.

    The country has nearly four months of fuel reserves and President Francois Hollande told a cabinet meeting that “everything will be done to ensure the French people and the economy is supplied”.

    But with five of France’s eight refineries having either halted or slowed production, shortages are becoming acute in many regions – and spreading to Paris.

    Viviane, a 66-year-old pensioner queuing to fill up her car in Allier, central France, said the situation reminded her of May 1968, when students and workers paralysed the country for two weeks in protest at president Charles de Gaulle’s government.

    “I remember May ’68 and I can tell you the shortages were no joke so I am taking precautions,” she told the AFP news agency.

    Worried drivers were using online apps to find petrol stations that still had fuel, with many limiting drivers to just 20 litres (five gallons) each.

    The Ufip oil industry federation confirmed that with around a third of the country’s 12,000 petrol stations running dry, it had begun using strategic reserves.

    But in some rare good news for Hollande on Wednesday, figures showed a 0.6 percent dip in unemployment in April – the first time the jobless roll has shrunk for two consecutive months in the past five years.

    Labour Minister Myriam El Khomri said the drop was due to government incentives to boost hiring.

  • Zimbabwe’s ‘million-man march’ for Mugabe fizzles

    The 92-year old leader denounces as “treasonous” factions within his party feuding over who should succeed him.

    Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans have marched through the capital Harare in support of veteran President Robert Mugabe, but their number fell short of the ruling party’s goal of attracting a million people.

    Demonstrators were shipped in from all over Zimbabwe for Wednesday’s march, organised by the Zanu-PF’s youth wing.

    They sang pro-Mugabe songs as they spilled out of buses in central Harare, a show of force to counter a demonstration by the opposition last month calling for the president’s resignation.

    Speaking at the rally, the 92-year-old Mugabe denounced as “treasonous” factions in his party feuding over who should succeed him.

    “There should never be little groups to promote so and so. Those little groups are treasonous groups, they spoil the party,” Mugabe told his supporters.

    “Let us not hear discordant voices from whomsoever. All this thing about factions is new to us, it destabilises the party,” said Mugabe, touting the march as a “great revolutionary act” by young party members.

    Critics of Mugabe said organising the march costs at least half a million dollars – money better spent on fighting poverty.

    “That effort is a waste of time, a waste of energy, that effort is a waste of resources,” Nelson Chamisa of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) told Al Jazeera.

    Factional infighting

    As senior members of Zanu-PF manoeuvre for advantage in a post-Mugabe era, two factions have emerged – one linked to Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and one to Mugabe’s wife Grace.

    Preparing for life after Mugabe?

    First lady Grace Mugabe told the crowd earlier that the veteran leader was irreplaceable and the unifying force in Zanu-PF who would continue to lead Zimbabwe even in death.

    Mugabe is the only leader the southern African nation has known since independence from Britain in 1980.

    He has said he wants to live to 100 and remains fit, denying local media reports that he has prostate cancer.

    Mugabe also said local private media calling on him to step down should “go hang”, adding that the opposition MDC also wanted him to resign because they feared he would defeat them again in elections in 2018.

    Mugabe’s decades in office have been marked by economic decline, repression of dissent, vote-rigging and mass unemployment and emigration.

  • DR Congo: Ban ‘profoundly concerned’ over reports of rising political tensions

    25 May 2016 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed profound concern over reports of increasing political tensions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) linked to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the country’s electoral process.

    In a statement from his spokesperson, the Secretary-General called for the “strict respect of the fundamental freedoms and rights enshrined in the Constitution,” urging all parties in the central African nation to exercise restraint and express their views peacefully, including in the context of demonstrations scheduled to take place tomorrow.

    The Secretary-General called on all Congolese political stakeholders to “place the interests of their country above their own by engaging constructively in a meaningful political dialogue aimed at peacefully resolving their differences,” according to the statement.

    The UN chief also urged the political stakeholders to extend their full cooperation to the African Union (AU) Facilitator for the National Dialogue in the DRC, Mr. Edem Kodjo, and reiterated the full support of the UN for his efforts.

    Burned house in Eringeti, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

  • Uganda:MPs receive riot act on dress, eating habits

    Yesterday was a fashion tips day at Parliament for the new MPs.

    From how they should walk, how they should sit, eat, dance, how heavy they should fill their plates at a buffet line to how long they should stay at parties.

    “Don’t wear bras that pump-up your boobs. Don’t wear skirts that reveal the “subject matter”. Don’t wear back shows. Don’t wear tight trousers. Please always use a deodorant,” MPs Abdu Katuntu, Jacob Oboth Oboth and Jalia Bintu warned the freshers.
    The three were selected for their seniority and membership on last Parliament’s rules committee, to take the new legislators through matters of house decorum.

    “You have to overhaul your wardrobe if you have not done that already,” Mr Oboth Oboth said, adding: “You may want to put on a yellow shirt, yellow trouser and yellow everything but if someone comes in the house looking for a musician, you may fall victim.”

    In the audience was Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga dressed in what looked like a yellow linen Kaunda suit with a yellow T-shirt inside. At his swearing in, he showed up all dressed in yellow with a cap reading, NRM is my party.

    Singling out one MP who had buttoned up his jacket while sitting, Mr Abdu Katuntu said: “I can tell you are feeling uncomfortable,” he said.

    Dressing well, Mr Katuntu said, is law and anything short of that doesn not only embarrass the MP but ashames the constituency and the institution of Parliament,.
    However, it was MP Jalia Bintu’s frank talk that left the House in fits of laughter.

    “Please the men. Those tight trousers inconvenience the opposite sex. Imagine looking at someone in a tight trouser whose AK (47) is charged,” she said amid laughters.
    Speaker Rebecca Kadaga warned against absenteeism singling out former MP Nsubuga Kipoi, who was jettisoned from Parliament for absenteeism.

    “He asked for leave of three weeks but instead went to DR Congo and was arrested trading in arms and cocaine,” she said.

    Some of the MPs of the 10th Parliament listen to proceedings during an orientation meeting in Kampala yesterday. However, many of them stayed away from the orientation.

  • Mkapa praised over part in Burundi peace talks

    The United Kingdom (UK) Special Envoy to the African Great Lakes, Danae Dholakia, has toasted the facilitator for the Burundi Dialogue, Mr Benjamin Mkapa, for a successful four-day meeting in Arusha on the ongoing Burundi political impasse.

    “I strongly welcome the resumption of the internationally mediated Burundi Dialogue in Arusha from May 21 to 24 facilitated by former Tanzanian President Mkapa. “I congratulate Mr Mkapa for his clear and even-handed approach, which has provided a strong foundation on which to build,’’ the UK envoy said in a statement.

    Mr Mkapa said on Tuesday that he had completed the first round of the peace talks, saying he would convene another meeting next month, allowing consultation to take place amongst parties that failed to attend the Arusha sessions.

    The former president said he was taking the early negotiations to the chief mediator for Burundi conflicts, the Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to seek his advice regarding the way forward.

    However, there were a few of those who received the invitations but declined to come. During these four days, according to the facilitator, there were no acrimonious interventions as all parties showed a high degree of civility, patriotism and a great desire to own the dialogue.

    Yesterday, Ms Dholakia remarked: “As the president noted in his closing comments, there were some key opposition and civil society representatives who were, for one reason or another, not able to attend.

    “I commend his initiative to hold a further consultative event with opposition and civil society voices unable to come to Arusha and his commitment to doing this in the next two weeks. The diplomat supported Mr Mkapa’s desire in urging all sides to participate fully in this process, in the spirit of negotiation and compromise.

    For the sake of the people of Burundi, the envoy said swift progress was essential. “I strongly welcome his desire to hold the next full dialogue session in the week commencing June 16,’’ she noted. Ms Dholakia urged that no party should seek to block or slow down this momentum.

    In particular, he strongly supported Mr Mkapa’s call for everyone to give this dialogue a chance to succeed by ceasing all armed and political violence. She was optimistic that all parties can reach an agreement which provides the basis for sustainable peace and security in Burundi, built on the strong foundations of the Arusha Agreement.

    “The UK stands ready to support the attainment of that goal,’’ said the ambassador.

    Facilitator for the Burundi Dialogue, Mr Benjamin William Mkapa Facilitator for the Burundi Dialogue, Mr Benjamin William Mkapa

  • Fresh Burundi meeting next month

    The Facilitator for the Burundi Dialogue, Mr Benjamin William Mkapa, has completed the first round of the peace talks, saying he will convene the meeting next month, allowing consultation chance to parties that failed to attend the Arusha sessions.

    Mr Mkapa, who was the president of Tanzania during the initial Burundi Peace accord, said he was taking these early negotiations to the chief mediator for Burundi Conflicts, the Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and seek the latter’s advice regarding the way forward.

    “War is not a problem but rather a crisis,” said the former President of Tanzania, urging that all groups that did not come for the four-day dialogue in Arusha to ensure they attend the next gathering because they are not only delaying the process, but also happen to have positive contribution to the negotiations.

    He said the high turnout to the Inter-Burundi Dialogue has been very impressive and felt encouraged, but also particularly touched by the presence of the international partners who have expressed support to the process.

    Mr Mkapa invited a wide range of participants from the Government of the Republic of Burundi, political parties allied with the Government, political parties that participated in the elections last year, political parties that did not participate in the elections, other political actors, the National Commission for Internal Dialogue, civil society organisations, women, youth, religious groups and the Federal Chamber of Commerce. There were also about 80 Burundians in the diaspora who took part.

    Still there were a few of those who received the invitations but declined to come. During these four days, according to the facilitator, there were no acrimonious interventions as all parties showed a high degree of civility, patriotism and a great desire to own the dialogue. “It is evident that you are yearning for peace and a stop to killings and assassinations.

    I note that there is tremendous aversion to violence, targeted killings and the realisation that war is not a solution to the crisis. Some of you have expressed concerns about the economic decline obtaining in the country because of the crisis,” he said.

    “In the next two weeks, I will continue and complete the consultations with those who did not come during this session, but whom I feel might have positive contributions to make to the process. I will also consult with the Mediator in order to determine the way forward. Thereafter, I expect to convene a dialogue session possibly during the third week of June,” concluded Mr Mkapa.

    Facilitator for the Burundi Dialogue, Mr Benjamin William Mkapa Facilitator for the Burundi Dialogue, Mr Benjamin William Mkapa

  • Netanyahu renews rejection of French peace initiative

    France is hosting an international conference in Paris in June aimed at reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed rejection of a French peace initiative, telling the visiting French prime minister that peace cannot be forged through international conferences but only through direct negotiations.

    “Peace just does not get achieved through international conferences, UN-style,” Netanyahu said on Monday at a press conference with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

    “It doesn’t get to fruition through international diktats or committees … seeking to decide our fate and our security when they have no direct stake in it.”

    Paris plans to hold ministerial-level talks on June 3 as a first step in reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, which came to a halt in April 2014.

    The talks would initially exclude Israel and Palestinian authorities but would bring together representatives of the US, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union, as well as representatives from Arab and European nations.

    The French hope that beginning with non-direct talks could lay the groundwork for an agreement later between Israel and the Palestinians.

    The Palestinians have welcomed the French effort, but Israel has rejected it out of concern the country will be faced with foreign dictates.

    Instead, the Israeli leader proposed sitting down for direct talks in Paris with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

    “I will sit alone directly with President Abbas in the Elysee Palace, or anywhere else that you choose,” Netanyahu said.

    Speaking to broadcaster i24news, Valls said direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians had failed.

    “The role of world powers is to ensure a regulated dialogue,” Valls said in Tel Aviv.

    The French premier is expected to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah on Tuesday.

    Earlier this year, France’s former foreign minister Laurent Fabius said France would recognise a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem if the conference and efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks fail.