IGIHE

Category: Rubrique

  • Tanzanian Eala MPs Also Boycott Session

    Tanzanian Eala MPs Also Boycott Session

    {{The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) continued to be plagued by crisis Tuesday when Tanzanian legislators walked out, a day after their Rwandan counterparts staged a temporary boycott.}}

    The regional legislature was for the second day running adjourned and will resume at 2.30pm today when it starts debating a motion on the rotation of sittings which was finally tabled during yesterday’s brief session.

    “We have walked out to protest the way the Speaker was humiliated yesterday (Tuesday),’’ Mr Abdallah Mwinyi after leading four other Tanzanian members out of the chamber about 20 minutes after the session started.

    He said the Tanzania Chapter of the regional assembly had been dismayed at the way Speaker Margaret Zziwa was “humiliated” after Rwandan members walked out in protest at Ms Zziwa decision not to allow a motion on rotation of Eaala sitting among East African Community (EAC) member countries.

    Another Tanzanian legislator, Ms Shyrose Bhanji, said: We condemn what happened yesterday. We didn’t do justice to the Speaker.”

    She warned if such boycotts were allowed to continue the integrity of the assembly would be grossly undermined.

    NMG

  • Obama Appoints Long-awaited Sudan Special Envoy

    Obama Appoints Long-awaited Sudan Special Envoy

    {President Barack Obama meets with Ambassador Donald Booth, Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, in the Oval Office, Aug. 28, 2013.}

    {{Donald Booth, former ambassador who served in different parts of the African continent, has been named special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, the White House announced on Wednesday.}}

    Booth was received in the Oval Office today by president Barack Obama who stressed that “supporting peace between and within Sudan and South Sudan remains a priority for this administration”, according to a statement released after the meeting.

    The diplomat who served in Ethiopia, Zambia and Liberia “has extensive experience promoting peace and prosperity across the African continent”, the White House added.

    Booth will work with the African Union (AU) and the international community to facilitate the resolution of pending issues between the two countries, including Abyei referendum and the disputed border zones, the statement said in part.

    He also seek to aid efforts aimed at ending the ongoing conflicts in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile “as part of a holistic solution to Sudan’s human rights, humanitarian, and governance crises”, the White House underlined.

    “And he will urge South Sudan to stay focused on protecting its people, meeting their needs, and realizing their aspirations for a more peaceful, prosperous, and democratic future”.

    Booth will succeed Princeton Lyman who resigned in late 2012 for what sources said was due to health reasons.

    Obama’s administration delay in picking a new envoy drew criticism from some US lawmakers including Representative Frank Wolf who wrote several letters to Obama urging him to swiftly pick a successor.

    Wolf accused the Obama administration of pushing the crisis in Sudan to the bottom of his priorities.

    Also, a coalition of Sudan activist groups in Washington known as Act for Sudan sent a letter to Kerry last March imploring him not to nominate former US ambassador to Khartoum Timothy Carney for the job citing what they perceived as his sympathetic views with the Sudanese government.

    They recalled Carney’s testimony in 2009 at the U.S. Congress in which he voiced his opposition to efforts aimed at isolating Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    He proposed instead to defer the ICC warrant, sending an ambassador to Khartoum and removing Sudan from the state department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

    The Sudan activist group known as Enough issued a statement today lauding the pick by Obama.

    “The appointment of a seasoned diplomat like Don Booth to this critical position will enhance U.S efforts to promote peace within Sudan and between Sudan and South Sudan. We urge Special Envoy Booth to push for a comprehensive, internationally-backed peace process in Sudan which does not segment the conflicts across border regions—Darfur, Abyei, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile State—but addresses them holistically, and includes greater engagement with opposition groups working toward democratic transformation in Sudan” Enough Project Executive Director John C. Bradshaw said.

    sudantribune

  • Kagame Officially Kicks off RPF Legislative Election Campaigns

    Kagame Officially Kicks off RPF Legislative Election Campaigns

    {{President Paul Kagame has said that the Rwanda Patriotic Front works for the amelioration of the wellbeing of all Rwandans and champions hard work and self belief. President Kagame said this while officially kicking off the party’s legislative election campaigns in Kamonyi District, Southern Province Monday.}}

    President Kagame urged Rwandans to turn up in big numbers to vote during the upcoming legislative elections to choose candidates who would represent them and serve their interests best.

    He said that every Rwandan has a stake in the development of his or her country and Rwandans have the responsibility to work together for the common goal of development.

    “RPF has never expected to achieve without working hard, we have always and will continue to work hard to achieve our goals. We pledge development, electricity and water for all, continuous improvement to health care and education. We are determined to serve every Rwandan equally and work together to develop our nation.”

    President Kagame pointed out that RPF is reputed as a party that only employs words when it comes to explaining its actions, which is the reason it always delivers on its promises.

    During the official RPF legislative elections campaign kick-off by President Kagame, four other parties; PDI, PPC, PDC and PSR declared their support to RPF during the legislative elections, in the spirit of consensual democracy.

    There were also moving testimonies from a representative of women and youth, who testified about how they have overcome many challenges in their past to succeed in life, due to favourable conditions prevailing under RPF.

  • Kenya marks 3rd year since Constitution change

    Kenya marks 3rd year since Constitution change

    {{Kenya on Tuesday marked the third anniversary of the promulgation of the current Constitution.}}

    Former President Mwai Kibaki signed the Constitution into law on August 27, 2010 following decades of attempts to improve upon the supreme law left to Kenya by her colonial masters.

    In an advertisement on Tuesday, the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) sent a congratulatory message to Kenyans for having successfully conducted the first General Election under the new Constitution roughly six months ago.

    “In successfully holding the first General Elections under the Constitution, notwithstanding the challenges encountered, we have successfully run the gauntlet,” CIC Chairman Charles Nyachae wrote.

    But even as Kenya celebrates that success, there have already been calls from various quarters for amendments to be made to the Constitution.

    Some Governors and Senators want the minimum amount allocated to counties by the national government raised from the minimum 15 percent to 40 percent through a referendum.

    The March 4th Movement (M4M) led by Activist Okiya Omtata is also looking to change how Kenya elects its Head of State through the adoption of a method similar to the collegiate system of the United States of America.

    The Executive, led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, is however against any changes being made to the Constitution so soon after the country emerged from a General Election.

    Changes to legislation regarding devolution for example would require Kenyans to return to the ballot box in a referendum process.

    {Capitalfm}

  • Backers of Madagascar’s deposed leader to name new candidate

    {{Backers of the deposed president of Madagascar said on Monday they would name a new candidate to run in a delayed presidential election after his wife was barred from the race.}}

    Supporters of former President Marc Ravalomanana earlier this month threatened to take to the streets after Madagascar’s Special Electoral Court (CES) blocked his wife, Lalao Ravalomanana, as well as President Andry Rajaoelina, from running.

    Monday’s announcement could help defuse tensions on the Indian Ocean island that has been blighted by political turmoil since Rajaoelina toppled Ravalomanana in 2009 with the help of the military after opposition protests.

    But it was not immediately clear if a new candidate would be accepted as the deadline for submitting names has past.

    Rajaoelina and Ravalomanana had reached a deal with regional states to restore order on the island, based on the condition neither would run. But Rajaoelina changed tack when Ravalomanana’s wife declared, saying her bid broke the spirit of the pact.

    “We wish to present our candidate to replace Mrs Lalao Ravalomanana to the CES,” Mamy Rakotoarivelo, the president of the National Assembly, said, speaking after the court refused to rescind its decision to bar the former leader’s wife.

    He did not name the new candidate but added that “we will soon know his identity”.

    The election is now scheduled for October, the third time the date has been put back. It was originally planned for May.

    The court’s ruling to bar the candidates was welcomed by regional and Western powers who say the former French colony needs a fresh start after years of chaos that have scared off investors and tourists, deepening poverty in the poor nation.

    agencies

  • Botswana Expells More Zimbabweans

    {{Botswana has reportedly intensified the deportation of Zimbabweans this year in what is being seen as an escalation of hostilities between the two neighbours.}}

    Botswana has sent back more than 135,000 Zimbabweans between January 2009 and July this year, mainly for lack of proper travel documents.

    A Zimbabwean immigration official said the deportations by Botswana had intensified this year.

    “Over the past four years the figures were gradually dropping but they are on the increase again,” Mr Nqobile Ncube, the assistant immigration officer-in-charge of the western region, said.

    “Our figures for this year are quite alarming as we have handled 15,392 deportees between January and July for the three border posts.

    “This is about 2,000 less than last year’s annual figure of 17, 402.

    “We have realised this increase because Botswana seems reluctant to renew work permits for Zimbabweans.”

    The release of the figures came a week after Botswana controversially deported a 96-year-old Zimbabwean man who has lived in that country for 70 years. (Read: Outrage as Botswana deports frail Zim man)

    Mr Alfred Khumalo who was removed from a hospital bed in Bostwana after suffering a stroke has been admitted at a hospital in the border town of Plumtree as Zimbabwean authorities are still trying to establish if he has any relatives in the country.

    Zimbabwe’s state media claimed the deportation was politically motivated.

    Botswana is the only Southern African country that initially refused to endorse President Robert Mugabe’s re-election and called for an audit of the results of the July 31 elections.

    President Mugabe and his Botswana counterpart Ian Khama have in the past clashed over Harare’s alleged poor human rights record.

    Zanu-PF also accused Botswana of sponsoring former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) during the previous elections.

    Millions of Zimbabweans have sought refugee in neighbouring countries such as Botswana and South Africa since the southern African country started experiencing economic problems in 1997.

    The two countries regularly deport undocumented immigrants from Zimbabwe who immediately find their way back through illegal entry points.

    wirestory

  • Madagascar Announces Presidential Poll for October

    {{Madagascar will hold a much-delayed presidential election in October in a vote designed to end a deep political crisis prompted by a coup four years ago, officials have said.}}

    The electoral commission said on Thursday that the polls will be conducted on October 25 while parliamentary elections will follow on December 20, along with a second presidential round if the October vote does not deliver an outright winner.

    The new dates follow two earlier postponements amid a lack of funding and controversy over the candidacies of three top contenders.

    An electoral court on Saturday dropped the names of strongman Andry Rajoelina, the wife of his exiled rival Marc Ravalomanana, and a former president after the three refused to withdraw from the presidential race.

    Former disc jockey Rajoelina ousted President Ravalomanana in an army-backed coup in 2009, plunging the island country into a protracted crisis.

    Ravalomanana, a milk mogul who is living in exile in South Africa, has been blocked several times from returning home.

    The poll will be one year behind schedule according to a 2011 agreement to return to political stability brokered by regional bloc the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

    Rajoelina, formerly also mayor of the capital Antananarivo, swore not to run for president, but threw his hat in the ring when Ravalomanana’s wife Lalao declared she would be a candidate.

    Both pose a legal problem, since Rajoelina submitted his candidacy after the deadline and Lalao Ravalomanana had not lived in Madagascar six months prior to the nominations as election rules require.

    Another potential front-runner and former leader, Didier Ratsiraka, filed his candidacy papers two days after he returned from 11 years of exile in France.

    {presidential palace}

    {agencies}

  • Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe due to be sworn in

    {{Robert Mugabe is due to be sworn in for a seventh term as Zimbabwean president.}}

    Thursday has been declared a public holiday to allow supporters of the 89-year-old to attend the inauguration ceremony in a sports stadium in Harare.

    The ceremony had been delayed by a court petition filed by his main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, over allegations of widespread electoral fraud.

    But the Constitutional Court dismissed the case, declaring Mr Mugabe’s re-election “free, fair and credible”.

    Mr Mugabe won with 61% of the presidential vote against 34% for Mr Tsvangirai on 31 July.

    The elections ended a fragile power-sharing government formed by the two men in 2009 under pressure from regional leaders following elections the year before marred by violence and allegations of rigging.

    Outgoing Prime Minister and opposition leader Mr Tsvangirai said he will not be attending the inauguration ceremony.

    “Expecting Tsvangirai to attend the inauguration is like expecting a victim of robbery to attend a party hosted by the robber,” his spokesman, Luke Tamborinyoka, told media.

    Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) lost two court cases related to fraud claims in last month’s disputed elections. Rulings were issued despite the MDC withdrawing its case saying it would not get a fair hearing.

    The party alleged that more than a million voters were prevented from casting their ballots in polling stations, mostly in the capital and urban areas considered to be MDC strongholds.

    The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, which placed 7,000 observers around the country, has also judged the election flawed.

    But the African Union has said that any irregularities were not enough to overturn the margin of victory.

    MDC officials have indicated they are unwilling to continue their partnership government with President Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party.

    Source: BBC

  • Zanzibar President makes cabinet reshuffle

    {{The President of Zanzibar, Dr Ali Mohammed Shein, on Monday made a cabinet reshuffle that saw a rearrangement of various portfolios and the formation of four new ones.}}

    The most notable change was the formation of an independent Finance ministry, removing it from the President’s Office.

    A statement issued by the secretary of the Revolutionary Council and the Chief Secretary of the Zanzibar government, Mr Abdulhamid Yahya Mzee, named the new ministries and their ministers (in brackets) as including the President’s Office Regional Authorities and Special Departments (Mr Haji Omar Kheir) and President’s Office Labour and Public Service (Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman).

    The others are the ministry of Finance (Mr Omar Yussuf Mzee) and the ministry of Empowerment, Social Welfare, Youth, Women and Children (Ms Zainab Omar Mohamed).

    The Finance ministry was formerly under the President’s Office, while the Labour and Public Service docket, which used to be an independent ministry has now been placed under the President’s Office.

    “The President has invoked Article 53 of the Zanzibar Constitution. In spite the re-arrangements, the number of ministries is still 16,” the statement noted.

    Good Governance was under the Public Service ministry, but it has now been shifted to the President’s Office. Likewise, the Planning department has been separated from the ministry of Finance and Economy.

    The reshuffle also included moving around permanent secretaries and their deputies.

    The permanent secretaries with their ministries in brackets include Mr Joseph Abdalla Meza (President’s Office Regional Authorities and Special Departments), Ms Fatma Gharib Bilal (Labour and Public Service), Mr Khamis Mussa Omar (Finance) and Ms Asha Ali Abdulla (Empowerment, Social Welfare, Youth, Women and Children).

    Source:{NMG}

  • U.S. says Won’t Lift Zimbabwe Sanctions

    The United States believes Zimbabwe’s recent election was flawed and it doesn’t plan to loosen sanctions against President Robert Mugabe’s government until there are signs of change in the country, the State Department said on Monday, despite an endorsement of the vote by Southern African leaders.

    Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, is set to be sworn in as president as early as this week, extending his 33-year rule of the country after winning the July 31 election.

    The 15-nation Southern African Development Community, which helped broker a power-sharing deal after disputed elections in Zimbabwe in 2008, backed Mugabe’s re-election on Sunday.

    “The United States stands by our assessment that these elections, while relatively peaceful, did not represent a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people due to serious flaws throughout the electoral process,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

    “We have made clear to the government of Zimbabwe and the region that a change in U.S. sanctions policy will occur only in the context of credible, transparent and peaceful reforms that reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people.”

    The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, on Friday dropped its court challenge to Mugabe’s landslide win, saying it doubted it would get a fair hearing.

    The Zimbabwe Election Support Network said registration flaws may have disenfranchised up to a million people out of 6.4 million registered voters.

    The United States imposed sanctions on Mugabe in 2003. The sanctions, which ban more than 250 Zimbabwean individuals and companies from doing business with the United States, were extended in 2009.

    Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since it gained independence from Britain in 1980 and is Africa’s oldest leader.

    Psaki said it was “feasible” that the U.S. could review sanctions toward Zimbabwe if conditions in the country improved, but for now they would remain.

    Soon after his nomination as Secretary of State, John Kerry wrote to Mugabe outlining the U.S. position on elections and the opportunities it provided for the country.

    The U.S. had said it was willing to roll back sanctions and expand trade and investment if elections were conducted in a free and credible environment.

    {reuters}