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Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • Tanzania:Govt establishes special desk to cater for investors

    {The Ministry of Industies, Trade and Investment has established a special desk where investors and businesspeople have direct communication in the quest to explore investment opportunities.}

    Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Charles Mwijage revealed this yesterday at Mwandege area during an official inauguration of the new Bakhresa Food Products Limited, a new company.

    “I am a receptionist for all investors and businesspeople, therefore investors should not hesitate to come to my office,’’ he told the gathering led by President John Magufuli. According to the minister, as per June 2016, 64 business licences were issued by his ministry.

    Mwijage was optimistic that in implementation of an industrial economy agenda, more farmers will produce more and bring to the country an industrial revolution. He added that already there is an investor who is set to establish the tiles producing industry that is expected to produce high quality tiles in the East and Central Africa, adding that the completion of that industry will ease the burden of importing tiles from outside the country.

    On his part, Coast Regional Commissioner Eng Evarist Ndikilo said he intends to make his region an industrial zone as it had a large portion of land compared to other regions. He said his region had a greater advantage as it was just few kilometres from the commercial centre of Dar es Salaam that has a population of more than four million.

    In his strategies he said every District Council shall allocate special plots for industries insisting that all districts had already started implementation of the directive. According to him, Kibaya District had allocated 3,366, Mafia 4,440, Mkuranga more than 7,000, Rufiji 25,000 and Kisarawe 4,500 hectares respectively.

    Eng Ndikilo added that his region had 88 small and large industries including the biggest industry that shall be producing the best tiles in East and Central Africa.

    According to Mkuranga Member of Parliament Abdallah Ulega, 53 industries are expected to be operational in his constituency. “Citizens are well prepared to explore opportunities in the industries because of the gas pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam,’’ he said. On his part, Dr Magufuli reiterated his quest for transforming Tanzania into an industrial economy, calling for more investors in the country.

    Dr Magufuli said in Mkuranga District, Coast Region that his government wants the industrial sector to contribute 15 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) as well as employing more than 40 percent of the country’s population. “As more people secure jobs the standard of lives of our people continue improving,’’ he said.

    The president visited the two industries and witnessed the production process at the US Dollars 120 million (240bn/-) project where he was briefed how the industries run their operations.

    The Head of State thanked the country’s tycoon Said Salim Bakhresa for putting up the two industries in the new company saying he was among the businesspeople he wants in transforming the country into an industrial economy.

    “I need businesspeople like you who pay tax, create employment opportunities and I hate those who evade tax,’’ he said adding: “Since I was elected president of this country, this is the first industry I am launching… I need more industries and I will be ready to officiate official launching even if invited at night,’’ he added.

    According to him, Tanzania was among the African countries with fast growing economy saying it was the second in Africa after Côte d’Ivoire.

  • Uganda:CAA denies role in Besigye ‘kidnap’ at Entebbe airport

    {In a statement, CAA said it is not true that any of their vehicle or staff uniform were involved in the arrest of Uganda’s leading opposition leader on Monday morning.}

    ENTEBBE. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has denied allegations that it aided the arrest of Dr Kizza Besigye when he arrived aboard a Kenya airways flight at Entebbe airport.

    In a statement, CAA said it is not true that any of their vehicle or staff uniform were involved in the arrest of Uganda’s leading opposition leader on Monday morning.

    Dr Kizza Besigye, who was plucked from Kenya Airways plane immediately upon landing, told the media on Monday that men in CAA uniforms grabbed him from the aircraft, bundled him into the Authority’s vehicle and whisked him off to the nearby Old Entebbe Airport terminal where he was again bundled into a police car.

    However, CAA said it is not true that whoever wears a reflector CAA-branded jackets at the back works for them.

    “Safety regulations require all personnel authorized to access the airside to wear reflector jackets. At Entebbe International Airport, most of the reflector jackets are branded CAA at the back. It does not necessarily mean that whoever wears a CAA-branded reflector jacket must be a CAA staff (just like most Airport Access Pass holders have CAA-branded strings irrespective of who their employers are),” the statement issued on Monday evening reads.

    CAA said it is possible that people not familiar with the CAA uniform could easily mistake whoever wears the reflector jacket to be its staff.

    “The CAA staff uniforms are of different colours and bear a CAA logo at the front, which the reflector jackets do not,” the statement added.

    On Tuesday, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Ms Winnie Kiiza, announced the Opposition would lodge a complaint with International Civil Aviation Organisation, the UN body that brings together aviation agencies and is charged with ensuring air safety, over Besigye’s arrest.

    CAA says it is not true that any of their vehicle or staff uniform were involved in the arrest of Uganda’s leading opposition leader on Monday morning.

  • EU Foreign Ministers to Discuss Congo Political Crisis Amid Sanctions Push

    {An EU statement criticizing the postponement of elections in the DRC was recently blocked}

    BRUSSELS—European foreign ministers will discuss the political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo when they meet in Luxembourg later this month, diplomats said Wednesday, as some capitals push for the bloc to impose sanctions.

    EU ambassadors agreed at a meeting Tuesday that foreign ministers will discuss the situation Oct. 17 after a request from a number of countries, one of the officials said. The bloc will issue a formal statement after the talks, which means they could agree action at the meeting.

    Washington last week imposed fresh sanctions on two senior security officials for their role in suppressing political opposition in the DRC.

    Last Thursday, the DRC’s electoral commission said general elections, originally scheduled for late November, won’t take place until at least early 2018, risking further violence that could upend the fragile stability of the resource-rich nation.

    It is the first time the commission has provided a timeline for when the elections may take place, after saying previously that they won’t happen this year. Critics of President Joseph Kabila say the delay is an attempt to extend his time in power, since a constitutional two-term limit prevents him from running again.

    Over the past two years, the United Nations and Western governments, including the U.S., have condemned the government crackdown on protesters and arbitrary arrests of political opponents and activists.

    EU foreign ministers warned in May that it was critical for the DRC to stay on the democratic path and keep moving toward presidential elections. At the time, the EU warned it could impose sanctions for human-rights abuses, but Belgium, which has close ties to the country, said it was too early for such a step.

    On Tuesday, French foreign ministry officials said the EU needed to discuss sanctions and other measures in a bid to stop the political situation deteriorating. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has also said sanctions should be considered.

    The Belgian foreign ministry said Wednesday that it had halved the visa duration for Congolese officials holding diplomatic passports to six months because of the political situation in the DRC.

    However, the bloc has struggled to reach a common position on developments in the DRC. Last Friday, an EU statement criticizing the postponement of elections was blocked because of disagreement over its wording. As a result, the EU still hasn’t responded as a bloc to the electoral delay.

    In a statement last week, Human Rights Watch welcomed the U.S. imposition of sanctions on two senior security officials and called on Washington to broaden those measures against other senior government, security and intelligence officials.

    “The European Union and the United Nations Security Council should urgently adopt similar sanctions as the U.S.,” said Ida Sawyer, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.

    ”Taking strong action now could put further pressure on President Kabila to abide by the constitutional requirement to step down at the end of his term, and help prevent a broader crisis, with potentially volatile repercussions throughout the region.”

    Congolese opposition supporters destroy a billboard of President Joseph Kabila during a march to press the president to step down in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, Sept. 19.

  • Kenya:Six killed in Mandera Shabaab attack, 27 rescued

    {Six people have been killed and 27 others rescued in an Al-Shabaab attack at Bulla public works in Mandera, Governor Ali Roba has confirmed.}

    The attack occurred at 2:45am.

    “Out of 33 non-locals residing in one plot, six were shot dead and 27 rescued by our security officers manning the sector,” Mr Roba said.

    In an interview with the Nation, Mr Roba added: “Six lives are too many to lose. We condemn the attack which comes at a time when locals had started enjoying peace.”

    There was an explosion as police attempted to get into the house to retrieve the bodies, ripping off a roof.

    There were no injuries from the explosion.

    Police said landmines planted in the compound were delaying their attempts to retrieve the bodies of the dead. Bomb experts were expected to detonate the explosives.

    Mandera County Commissioner Frederick Shisia said a team was working to switch off communication networks to allow police to enter the building as they fear more explosives are in the house.

    Since the Garissa University College attack on April 2, 2015 that claimed 148 lives, mostly students, the country has experienced a lull in attacks.

    Attacks in border areas have been blamed on a porous frontier that assailants cross over easily to commit atrocities and slip back to the lawless Somalia.

    David Kimani, a survivor, searches for his belongings in one of rooms attacked by Al-Shabaab. He said he hung on the ceiling until the militants left the room.

  • DRC hails ‘peaceful Tanzania’

    {President Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has expressed his admiration for the state of peace enjoyed by Tanzania and praised successive country’s presidents over the feat.}

    “My country is very big and rich, but we lack peace in some parts; I wish that DRC will become peaceful like Tanzania one day,” President Kabila said on Tuesday at the state banquet hosted for him by President John Magufuli.

    He went on to praise Tanzanians and their leaders for their efforts in preserving and maintaining peace and unity.

    “However rich the country is in terms of natural resources, it can hardly prosper if there is instability. In DRC there are about 225 tribes. I wish they will one day enjoy peace and unity like Tanzanians,” President Kabila hoped.

    The DRC leader, who left the country yesterday morning after a three-day state visit, was, however, glad that he had come to Tanzania this time around to discuss trade relations between the two countries.

    “In the past, I used to come to Tanzania for discussions with leaders on solving conflicts in my country; but this time it is different. DRC is now focused on improving trade relations with Tanzania and other countries in the region,” Mr Kabila said in fluent Kiswahili.

    President Kabila said he was happy with the cordial relations enjoyed between DRC and Tanzania in trade, defence and security. Speaking at the same occasion, President Magufuli praised the visiting leader for his commitment to improve economic relations between the two countries.

    “Trade volume between Tanzania and DRC reached 393.6bn/- last year from just 23.1bn/- in 2009. I congratulate former President Jakaya Kikwete for spearheading the boost,” he stated.

    Dr Magufuli was equally optimistic that trade volume between Tanzania and DRC will pick up even more during his term in office.

    “Your visit to Tanzania and assurance that shipment from DRC, including copper, will pass through the Dar es Salaam port is very encouraging. Bilateral relations between Tanzania and DRC dates back to the 1960s and continues to be cemented,” President Magufuli remarked.

    Earlier, Dr Magufuli assured his guest that the government was committed to improving efficiency at the Dar es Salaam Port and do away with difficulties, which were faced by importers and exporters in the past.

    Dr Magufuli also pledged to dispatch foreign affairs ministers from three African countries to assess the political situation in DRC.

    He made the pledge in Dar es Salaam at a press conference after his meeting with President Kabila, pledging to send foreign affairs ministers from Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola.

    Bon voyage: President John Magufuli shares a light moment with DRC President Joseph Kabila at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam yesterday shortly before the Congolese leader left for home at the end of his three-day state visit to Tanzania.

  • Three SADC foreign ministers for Congo situation assessment

    {In his capacity as Chairman of Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s Organ of Politics, Defence and Security (Troika), President John Magufuli has pledged to dispatch foreign affairs minister from three African countries to assess the political situation in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).}

    Dr Magufuli made the pledge at a press conference in Dar es Salaam after his meeting with visiting President of DRC Joseph Kabila, pledging to send foreign affairs ministers from Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola. DRC is a SADC member.

    “President Kabila has briefed me on the situation in his country and will thus send the ministers to assess the situation for way forward,” Dr Magufuli noted.

    He went on to explain that the visiting leader had informed him that if elections were conducted today in DRC then a large number of voters, particularly young people, would be left out since they were not registered.

    “During the last election five years ago, there were between 30 and 35 million voters but now the number has grown to about 45 million. And thus if elections are held today, then about 10 million people will not be able to take part in the polls,” he stated.

    President Magufuli further advised Congolese refugees living in Tanzania to return to their country for registration to be able to take part in the envisaged polls. Earlier, President Kabila said discussions are underway involving various parties in his country to ensure there is peace before, during and after the elections.

    “There are lots of misleading reports making rounds in the media in regard to the state of affairs in the DRC, which should be disregarded. All is well in Congo and I assured President Magufuli of this in his capacity as the Troika Chairman.

    It is normal in many African countries for tensions to be high during election year and I think the same happened here in Tanzania during the election last year,” President Kabila said in fluent Kiswahili.

    On the other hand, the visiting leader revealed that he had informed his host of insurgencies in some parts of Eastern DRC, where a number of armed groups are still wreaking havoc among the population there.

    He pointed out the fact that Tanzania has, through the UN mandate, deployed troops to fight the insurgents in Eastern DRC to maintain peace.

    In a related development, President Magufuli revealed at the press briefing that President Kabila had asked him to allow his country to join the East African Community (EAC), currently made up of six member-states.

    “I have informed his Excellency President Kabila to follow procedures for his country to be admitted, it can start to participate as an observer. It is a known fact that DRC has been trading with many members of the EAC,” Dr Magufuli, who also doubles as Chairman of EAC, said.

    Once DRC submits formal application to join the EAC, President Magufuli pledged to submit the request to his fellow leaders of the EAC for deliberations.

    President John Pombe Magufuli

  • Burundi Opposition Leader Released After Days in Police Custody

    {The head of one of Burundi’s opposition parties has been released, days after he was arrested for what police said was collaborating with “armed gangs,” a spokesman for an opposition coalition said Tuesday.
    }
    The central African state has been in a political crisis and sporadic violence for more than a year, sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term in office, which he secured in a disputed election in July 2015.

    At least 450 people have been killed in violence that first erupted during protests against Nkurunziza’s re-election bid in April last year.

    Gervais Niyongabo, chairman of the opposition FEDES-SANGIRA party and one of the few opposition leaders still able to work inside Burundi, was detained in the southern Makamba region on Sept. 28, police said.

    FEDES-SANGIRA party was among the opposition groups to boycott last year’s elections.

    “It was but a police fabrication to arrest him, given that his native village is known as an opposition stronghold,” said Pancrace Cimpaye, spokesman for the opposition grouping CNARED.

    Police and government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

    Opponents accuse Nkurunziza of violating the constitution and a peace pact that ended a civil war in 2005. The government accuses opponents of stirring unrest, and accuses them of backing rebel groups, which officials call “armed gangs.”

    On Tuesday, Burundi’s government said it had dismissed a U.N. decision to set up a commission of inquiry to identify perpetrators of killings and torture, saying it was based on a one-sided account of events in the country.

    Protesters demonstrate outside U.N. headquarters in New York, calling for an end to political atrocities and human rights violations unfolding in Burundi under the government of President Pierre Nkurunziza, April 26, 2016.

  • Man arrested for burying son alive

    {A 39-year old man has been arrested at Aduku Sub-county in Apac District for allegedly burying his five year old son alive.}

    LIRA. A 39-year old man has been arrested at Aduku Police station in Apac District for allegedly burying his five year old son alive.

    The suspect is said to have buried his son Lazarus Ogwal in an anthill to keep the child away from his nagging stepmother who had allegedly threatened to kill him.

    Mr Tom Olomo, a resident of Akwon village, Ongoceng parish in Aduku Sub-county was arrested on Tuesday with his wife, Ms Santa Adero, aged 59 years.

    The child was discovered by a group of women who were heading to the garden Tuesday morning. It is said that they heard a child crying in a nearby bush, and when they looked around, they saw a child in an anthill.

    Upon removal, the child was still alive, but looked feeble, malnourished and his skin had begun to look like the soil of an anthill.

    The matter was then reported to the LC1 of Akwon village, Mr Boniface Opoo, who informed police.

    According to the police statement, the suspect confessed that he put his son in a pit six days ago, to save him from his new wife Adero who had warned that she did not want to see any child at their home, since she was childless.

    It is said that Mr Olomo’s first wife, Ms Dorcus Acen, deserted the family in January this year to get married to another man in Chawente Sub-county, Apac District.

    “I have been living a single life with our son until last month when I got another wife called Santa Adero, but she has been complaining that she doesn’t want the child of another woman living at our home,” Mr Olomo said.

    He noted that when his new wife had just started complaining, he used to take the child and hide him in the bush whenever he was leaving home, because he feared the child could be harmed.

    The officer in charge Child and Family Protection Unit at Aduku Police Station, Ms Ketty Oroma, confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspects would be transferred to Apac Central Police Station on Wednesday and charged with attempted murder.

    In August this year, police in Amolatar District arrested a 50-year-old man for burying his wife alive following a domestic brawl.

    The suspect reportedly stabbed his wife Ms Betty Apio with a kitchen knife several times, to ascertain she was dead before tucking her away in a pit.

    Mr John Bosco Okwir, a resident of Ader village in Omito parish, Adyel Division in Lira Municipality, reportedly first tried to strangle Ms Apio. After squeezing her throat for some time and realising she was not dying, he then picked a knife and stabbed her several times before burying her.

  • Kenya:House to vet Chief Justice nominee David Maraga next week

    {Justice David Maraga will face MPs for the public hearing of his vetting for the position of Chief Justice on Wednesday next week, the National Assembly has announced.}

    The judge has been asked to show up on the fourth floor of Continental House at 10am on Wednesday, October 12, for his meeting with the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee.

    Justice Maraga has been asked to bring his original identity card and academic and professional certificates, testimonials and letters or certificates of clearance from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Higher Education Loans Board, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and any Credit Reference Bureaus.

    At the same time, the public has been asked to submit any written statements in the form of sworn affidavits that they may have on Justice Maraga.

    The scheduling of the vetting hearing on the morning of next Wednesday means that the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee will have only a few hours to put together their report on the suitability of the judge for the position of Chief Justice.

    APPROVAL HEARINGS

    When he transmitted the nomination to the committee Tuesday, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi directed the committee to start the approval hearings and table its report on or before Wednesday next week for debate and for MPs to make a decision on it before the end of the week.

    “I cannot over-emphasize the need to expedite this process of appointment of a substantive Chief Justice, considering that there is a vacancy in this position and in that of the Deputy Chief Justice at a time when the substantive office holders ought to perform certain statutory obligations,” he added.

    Among these statutory obligations is the swearing in of the panel that will carry out the recruitment of the next members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to replace the team led by Ahmed Issack Hassan.

    The formation of the new IEBC is crucial because it should trigger preparations for the next General Election in August 2017.

    Under the IEBC Act, only the Chief Justice can swear in the panel.

    Justice Mohammed Ibrahim was appointed acting president of the Supreme Court by then Chief Justice Willy Mutunga before he retired, meaning he cannot carry out the roles of the Chief Justice.

    If Justice Maraga is appointed Chief Justice, it would mean that the appointment of the IEBC recruitment panel, which will be hosted by Parliament, will finally take place.

    Justice David Maraga at his home in Nairobi on September 22, 2016.

  • Dar, DRC for stronger trade ties

    {Trade volumes between Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have significantly surged from 23.1 billion/- in 2009 to 393.6 billion/- last year with the latter pledging to continue using the Dar es Salaam Port for transportation of its imports and exports.}

    It is against the backdrop of the booming business that the government, through the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), has extended the grace period for DRC-destined cargo from 14 to 30 days in which cargo at the port will be exempted from storage charges.

    “Almost 50 per cent of our businesses in Eastern DRC are conducted through the Dar es Salaam Port and we will continue using the facility.

    The Government of Congo is equally happy that some challenges faced the harbour in past years have been solved in recent months,” DRC President Joseph Kabila assured President John Magufuli in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

    The visiting leader, who arrived in the country on Monday for a three-day state visit at the invitation of President Magufuli, made the remarks shortly before laying a foundation stone for the one-stop structure in downtown Dar es Salaam aimed at boosting operations at the port.

    Construction of the 130bn/- facility, undertaken by the TPA, started in August 2012 and set to be completed by December this year, where all responsible port players will be under one-roof to ease clearing of cargo. The 35-storey structure is currently the highest building in East and Central Africa.

    President Kabila assured his host of increased shipment from his country given improved production of copper from between 100,000 and 150,000 tonnes in the 1990s to around 800,000 and 1,200,000 tonnes at present “Your Excellency; the challenge now is not the volume of cargo but rather handling.

    We need to improve our infrastructures for quality transportation” he stated.

    President Kabila said plans were underway in his country to improve Kalemie, Momba and Uvira ports along Lake Tanganyika to improve transportation of cargo from DRC to Kigoma and eventually to Dar es Salaam port through the central railway.

    President Kabila on the other hand hinted on the need to introduce direct flights from Tanzania to DRC.

    “In the past, Air Tanzania had direct flights from Dar es Salaam to Lubumbushi and I think this should be re-introduced. I learned yesterday on a local television that you recently bought two aircrafts and I did the same; so we now have four planes,” he joked.

    He made the remarks after the Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Professor Makame Mbarawa, who hinted on the introduction of the direct flights between the two countries.

    President Magufuli noted that the volume of DRC cargo through Tanzania increases at an average of 10.6 per cent per annum, where 15,927 containers from the vast country passed through the port last year alone.

    “The government has taken both soft and bold decisions to address problems that were encountered by businesspersons at the harbour and I can assure you that efficiency has significantly improved,” President Magufuli assured his guest. He added; “In the past it used to take up to three weeks to transport consignment through Tanzania but now it would take just three days.”

    Dr Magufuli noted that apart from improvements at the harbour, the government had reduced non-tariff barriers along the transportation route by reducing the number of weighbridges.

    “We have now decided that there will be only three computerised weigh bridges at Vigwaza, Manyoni and Nyakahura,” Dr Magufuli remarked.

    However, President Magufuli asked President Kabila to deal with some dishonest customs officials in DRC whom he blamed for frustrating Congolese businesspersons using the Dar es Salaam Port.

    Earlier at the State House, the two presidents witnessed signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries for exploration of oil and natural gas in Lake Tanganyika.

    The agreement was inked by the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Professor Sospeter Muhongo, and DRC Minister for Energy, Mr Ngoyi Mukena.

    The two leaders also discussed on the possibility of connecting an oil pipeline from DRC to the envisaged pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to Tanga Port in Tanzania. Just like Uganda, DRC has discovered oil in the western part of Lake Albert.

    President Kabila cuts a ribbon to unveil the foundation stone for the state-of-the-art building, East Africa’s tallest.