IGIHE

Category: Rubrique

  • Uhuru Pledges ‘Service without Bias’

    {{Kenya’s new President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged to work without bias but with leaders in all parts of the country irrespective party affiliation.}}

    “I want to give you my pledge that as the President of Kenya, I am a president of all and I want to work with all for the benefit of this nation,” he assured.

    He said Kenya needs to move forward after the election; ” elections should not be used to create enmity among Kenyans but be viewed positively where competitors shake hands after the contest.”

    Kenyatta noted that time for political competition will come again but now is time for the over 40 million Kenyans to be served by the leaders they elected.

    “We are done with the election. Let us now join hands in uplifting the standards of living of our people. Let us transform our country and improve our economy for that is the reason why Kenyans lined up for long hours to vote for us,” he said.

    He cautioned political leaders against wasting time, saying they should instead to start working immediately to deliver results to Kenyans.

    “I am happy young people have been elected across the country. As a generation of young leaders let us have a new way of doing things, working together in the same spirit,” President Kenyatta said.

    {CapitalFM}

  • Wife of Madagascar’s Toppled Leader makes Leadership bid

    {{The wife of Madagascar’s ousted President Marc Ravalomanana has put herself forward to run in July’s presidential election, a move that could be aimed at preparing a comeback by the fallen leader.}}

    The impoverished island nation has been in crisis since Andry Rajoelina, now president, led an uprising that ousted Ravalomanana from office in 2009, triggering turmoil that scared off investors and devastated the vital tourism industry.

    Rajoelina, a former disc jockey, said in January he would not run in the vote scheduled for July 24, after he came under pressure from regional powers which had pressed him to stand aside to prevent fresh unrest in this year’s vote.

    Ravalomanana, a wealthy businessman now in exile in South Africa, has also agreed not to run again. He was sentenced in absentia to life in prison after he was accused of ordering elite troops to kill Rajoelina’s supporters.

    Speaking outside the election court that is accepting nominations, the former president’s wife, Lalao Ravalomanana Rakotonirainy, told reporters: “We give thanks to God. The application is indeed filed.”

    She was surrounded by a few hundred cheering supporters outside the court, where 15 other candidates have already submitted their names. The authorities are due to draw up an official list of candidates by May 3.

    “As President Ravalomanana cannot stand in the presidential election, his wife is our natural candidate,” Mamy Rakotoarivelo, member of parliament and former close associate of Ravalomanana, told Reuters ahead of the submission.

    “It should allow us to regain the power that was seized in an illegal manner.”

    Critics say the presidential bid could be an attempt by Ravalomanana to make a return to politics by the backdoor.

    “It is a trick of Marc Ravalomanana,” said political commentator and author Toavina Ralambomahay, saying his wife had no political experience but could still win with the backing of Ravalomanana’s supporters.

    “It could prepare the return of her husband,” he said.

    Rajoelina led demonstrations against Ravalomanana in early 2009, accusing him of political repression and criticizing his plans to lease tracts of land to the Korean company Daewoo.

    A general strike in the capital turned into deadly protests before the army stepped in and backed Rajoelina.

    {reuters}

  • Kenyans to Vet Cabinet list for the First time

    {{Kenyans will participate in the vetting of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Cabinet expected to be released this week, in a first for the country.}}

    National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi confirmed Sunday that the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments would collect views from the public regarding the suitability or otherwise of the Cabinet nominees.

    This will be the first time in Kenya’s history that the public will be given a direct say in the appointment of such high ranking public officials.

    “The law requires that there is public participation in all appointments to state and public offices. The procedure is that once the President forwards the names to the Speaker, the Speaker shall give a communication from the chair forwarding the names to the Committee on Appointments, which will issue a notice through the Clerk of the National Assembly inviting members of the public to give their views on the proposed names,” Mr Muturi said.

    “The public hearings will run for seven days at a venue to be identified by the Committee, but in Nairobi.”

    NMG

  • Mutharika’s Brother wins top Malawi Party Post

    {{The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) founded by late Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika, has overwhelmingly voted his younger brother Peter as its new leader at a convention held in Blantyre.}}

    Peter Mutharika has been acting as party leader since the death of his brother in April 2012.

    Party followers yesterday gave the younger Mutharika an overwhelming vote of confidence with 1,266 votes against 73 votes for his challenger, Speaker of the National Assembly Henry Chimunthu Banda.

    Peter Mutharika is currently facing treason charges arising from allegations that he and others close to Bingu wa Mutharika tried to bloc Vice-President Joyce Banda from taking over power following the president’s death.

    In his acceptance speech, Peter Mutharika asked party followers to be united and promised to continue with the development work his brother was pursuing.

    “We hope those that have not been elected will remain in the party and fight with us as we push to regain the leadership of this country,” he said.

    The election also saw several of those answering treason charges alongside Mr Mutharika win party posts. Billy Banda, director of civil rights organisation Malawi Watch, said the election of Mr Mutharika was a show of defiance by party rank and file to the government over the treason charges it has filed.

    “The party supporters have displayed a vote of confidence in [Peter] Mutharika despite a treason case hanging on his head,” he said.

    The defeated Chimunthu Banda accepted the outcome of the election that was declared free and fair by officials from Malawi Electoral Commission.

    {Agencies}

  • Napolitano re-elected Italy’s president

    {{Italy’s Parliament on Saturday re-elected Giorgio Napolitano to an unprecedented second term as president, after party leaders persuaded the 87-year-old to serve again in hopes of easing the hostility that has thwarted formation of a new government.}}

    Napolitano easily surpassed the simple majority required to be elected Saturday afternoon. He garnered 738 votes, far more than the 504 needed for victory for another seven-year mandate.

    Parliament had a much harder time. It took it three days of balloting to choose a president, reflecting the legislature’s deep polarization following inconclusive nationwide elections in February.

    After the weeks of stalemate, Napolitano can formally begin one of the head of state’s most important tasks once he takes a new oath of office. He must figure out who has the best prospects of putting together a new government, with enough support to successfully work with Parliament and survive a mandatory vote of confidence.

    That won’t be easy. Italy’s main political parties — essentially three distinct ideological blocs in Parliament and their often shifting allies — are heavily polarized, and antagonism only grew sharper during the gridlock.

    Napolitano, a former Communist, will have to quickly start sounding out parties about a potential premier. The next government faces pressure to bring urgently needed economic and electoral reforms to the recession-mired nation.

    Italy has had a caretaker government for months, led by economist Mario Monti, a Napolitano appointee whose harsh austerity measures of higher taxes, pension reform and slashed spending helped keep Italy from succumbing to the debt crisis.

    Napolitano, citing his advanced age, had repeatedly refused to be a candidate for another term that would see him turn nearly 95 when it runs out. But he yielded to the appeals out of a sense of responsibility toward the nation, he said.

  • Egypt’s President to Reshuffle Cabinet

    {{ Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi defended his handling of some of the nation’s most pressing problems in a nearly two-hour television interview on Saturday, and pledged to appoint new Cabinet ministers in a move that could ease the country’s deep political polarization.}}

    Reshuffling the Cabinet has been a key demand of the nation’s largely liberal and secular opposition, which is at odds with Morsi’s Islamist backers over a myriad of issues that have surfaced since the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

    In the interview with Al-Jazeera, Morsi said the Cabinet changes would involve a number of key ministries, although he did not say how many. He also did not give a timeline or say which ministries would be affected.

    It would be the second reshuffle since Morsi took office in July. The last ministerial shake-up in January led to the appointment of a new interior minister to oversee the police force.

    Rights groups allege that since Mohammed Ibrahim took the post, police have used excessive force, killing dozens of people nationwide in protests against Morsi.

    There is no guarantee that a reshuffle of Cabinet posts would help bridge the deepening divide between Morsi’s opponents and supporters, but it could help the country build political consensus around painful austerity measures needed to secure a nearly $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

  • Kenyatta Adopts Lean Structure of Government

    Kenya’s new and Fourth President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya unveiled (April 18) the structure of his government.

    He has established a lean structure of 18 ministries. The outgoing government had 44 ministries.

    The official list of ministries and state departments that will form the National Executive are as follows:

    Under the Presidency, there will the Executive Office of the President and the Executive Office of the Deputy President with two ministries:

    1. Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government.

    2. Ministry of Devolution and Planning.

    Other ministries are:

    3. Defence.

    4. Foreign Affairs.

    5. Education which will have the Department of Education and Department of Science and Technology.

    6. The National Treasury.

    7. Health.

    8. Transport and Infrastructure which will have the Department of Transport Services and the Department of Infrastructure.

    9. Environment, Water and Natural Resource.

    10. Land, Housing and Urban Development.

    11. Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) .

    12. Sports, Culture and the Arts.

    13. Labour, Social Security and Services.

    14. Energy and Petroleum.

    15. Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries under which are the Department of Agriculture, Department of Livestock and Department of Fisheries.

    16. Industrialization and Enterprise Development.

    17. Commerce and Tourism which has the Department of Commerce and Department of Tourism.

    18. Mining.

    The structure also contains the Office of the Attorney-General and Department of Justice.

    In the new structure, President Kenyatta has collapsed the ministries from 44 to 18. The reduced structure is geared towards achieving a lean, efficient and effective executive branch of Government.

    Youth, gender, devolution, planning as well as national cohesion and integration have all been brought under the Presidency.

    Also given special focus is mining which is now a stand-alone ministry. Information, Communication and Technology ministry as well as Sports, Culture and Arts are also stand-alone ministries.

    Infrastructure ministries as well as national resources ministries have also largely been brought under the same roof.

    {NMG}

  • Mugabe Says Will not Accept Outside Interference

    Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has said he will not accept foreign interference during elections later this year.

    In an address to mark 33 years of Zimbabwean independence on Thursday, Mugabe welcomed recent efforts by Western nations to reopen dialogue with Zimbabwe after years of isolation to protest political violence, rights abuses and alleged vote rigging.

    However, he said Western leaders should let the nation’s people “determine our own destiny” and defended the country’s independence without interference.

    “Interference in our affairs will never be accepted,” he said, while calling on Zimbabweans to conduct themselves honourably during the elections, which could be held anywhere from late June to September.

    Mugabe urged his people to vote peacefully and said the nation had an obligation to “uphold and promote peace before, during, and after” upcoming polls that will mark the end of the country’s coalition government with former political rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

    “The country is now due to hold harmonised elections, and I wish to urge the nation to uphold and promote peace,” Mugabe said.

    “Go and vote your own way. No one should force you to vote for me.”

    {Wirestory}

  • S.Sudan Vice President Powers Chopped in Decree

    {{The Vice President of South Sudan has had his Powers chopped in a decree signed by President Salva Kiir on Monday.}}

    According to a Decree broadcast on state TV vice-president Riek Machar powers are restricted as according to article 105” of the country’s transitional constitution.

    Article 105 of the transitional Constitution of South Sudan gives the vice-president ceremonial powers to act for the president in the event that the head of state is out of the country in order to perform any functions or duties conferred upon the president.

    Earlier today, Kiir also issued a decree dissolving the national reconciliation committee and cancelling the entire process which was overseen by Machar.

    The process was initially planned to start on 18 April but the convention was pushed back to June on the grounds that more time was needed to prepare for it.

    Sources claim the postponement was due to political differences over the agenda and the timing of the process.

    Machar, a Dok Nuer from the key oil producing Unity state, is a controversial figure for many in South Sudan, but commands much loyalty among the Nuer, who make up much of the new nation’s army.

    During Sudan’s 1983-2005 civil war that led to a peace deal paving the way for a referendum on South Sudan’s independence, Machar fought on both sides of the conflict.

    {{Dinka vs Nuer}}

    His Nuer faction split the South’s then-rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) to side with Khartoum, battling troops commanded by Kiir from the mainly Dinka people. His troops are accused of a brutal massacre in the ethnic Dinka town of Bor in 1991.

    He later switched sides again, and was instrumental in bringing key militia forces back to the SPLA, but has long been distrusted by the majority Dinka people, who hold key military and government positions.

    South Sudan is riven by ethnic tensions, with the military struggling to control rebellions and mend a society torn apart by one of Africa’s longest-running wars, in which Khartoum pitted different southern militia forces against one another.

    The presidential order has also suspended efforts led by Machar for “national reconciliation” aimed to bring together the war-weary nation, but which were seen by some as a means to boost his political standing.

    Machar is seen as the top Nuer leader, especially after the death last August of the army’s deputy commander Paulino Matip, a former Nuer rebel warlord, who also fought on both sides of the conflict.

    Agencies

  • Obama & Putin to Meet Amidst Black Lists

    {{U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday set up two rounds of talks in coming months in a bid to move past a fight over human rights and seek common ground on issues such as Iran, Syria and North Korea.}}

    The announcement of an Obama-Putin summit in early September, added to plans for a meeting at a G8 summit in Northern Ireland in June, suggested the two leaders want to revive the momentum from a reset in relations despite tensions over the so-called Magnitsky List.

    The list was named for a whistleblowing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky whose death in a Moscow jail in 2009 has soured relations.

    The Obama administration last week named 18 Russians subject to visa bans and asset freezes under the Magnitsky Act passed by the U.S. Congress late last year.

    Russia responded by naming 18 Americans barred from Russia under retaliatory legislation signed by Putin.

    “One way to resolve this is for the Russian government to take action against, investigate into, take action on those individuals responsible for Mr. Magnitsky’s death,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

    The White House National Security Council announced plans for the two sets of talks in a statement that emerged from talks in Moscow between Obama’s national security adviser, Tom Donilon, and Putin and Russian officials.

    During his sessions, Donilon handed over a letter from Obama to Putin, Carney said without divulging its contents.