Tag: GreatLakesNews

{{Key figures}}

301,994 Refugees seeking asylum in neighboring countries (UNHCR, 27 September 2016)

5,431,828 Reported malaria cases (MOH, 22 September 2016)

285 Reported cases of cholera (MOH, 27 September 2016)

38% unfunded UNICEF Burundi 2016 Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal: US$16.54m

{{Highlights}}

The number of refugees seeking asylum in neighboring countries has almost doubled in September compared to previous months, driving the total number of Burundi refugees to 301,994, the majority of whom continue to be children (54.6%).

Results from the first round of mass screening in six food insecure provinces revealed a global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of children under 5 of 2.2% in the urban area of Bujumbura and 7.2% in northern Kirundo province.

Over the past month, nearly 3,000 children benefited from recreational activities and psychosocial support in the 45 Child-Friendly Spaces operating in Bujumbura and Rumonge.

{NRM party members were yesterday locked in a caucus meeting to discuss, among other things, the delayed delivery of money for their vehicles.}

Members Daily Monitor managed to speak to before the late afternoon meeting started, expressed displeasure with what they termed as unnecessary delays by the Finance ministry in releasing their car allowance funds.

MPs vowed to raise the issue in the Caucus to seek explanation from the party leadership.

“We have seen the release schedule for this month from the ministry of Finance and there is no money for cars. We need the cars to enable us operate. We will ask for answers from our party leadership,” said one MP who preferred not to be named until after the caucus meeting yesterday.

As a rule, Members of Parliament are entitled to a vehicle stipend in each new Parliament to enable them travel to their respective constituencies.
This time, MPs are expected to receive Shs200m to buy cars, which was raised from Shs150m after the Parliamentary Commission held a meeting with the President and requested for the increase.
The plan was to give the MPs Shs100m this month and the last batch would be paid in March next year. Sources who attended the meeting in a text messages to Daily Monitor said officials from the ministry of Finance called in during the caucus meeting to explain to the MPs why money is not available this month.

{{Shs200m car cash}}

As a rule, Members of Parliament are entitled to a vehicle stipend in each new Parliament to enable them travel to their respective constituencies. This time, MPs are expected to receive Shs200m to buy cars, which was raised from Shs150m after the Parliamentary Commission held a meeting with the President and requested for the increase. The plan was to give the MPs Shs100m this month and the last batch would be paid in March next year. Sources who attended the meeting in a text messages to Daily Monitor said officials from the ministry of Finance called in during the caucus meeting to explain to the MPs why money is not available this month.

{Nearly 70,000 Somalis in the Dadaab refugee complex have indicated a willingness to return home soon, United Nations officials said on Monday.}

That amounts to about one-quarter of the 284,000 individuals found to be living in the Dadaab camps in the course of a “verification exercise” that the UN refugee agency conducted in July and August.

These 70,000 Somalis had responded affirmatively when asked by UN census-takers if they want to return home soon, said Duke Mwancha, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency.

“This does not mean in any way that the remaining 75 per cent are not interested in returning,” Mr Mwancha cautioned.

He noted in an email message in response to Nation queries that the remaining 214,000 refugees “were not probed on their return intentions (when and how).”

The outcome of the Dadaab population survey also “does not mean that the 25 per cent will leave immediately,” Mr Mwancha added.

“Despite their open declaration in the population verification exercise, they will have to approach Return Help Desks in the camps where return-related information will be shared with them in detail.”

Depending on how and when Dadaab’s population is calculated, the Kenyan government may be on course to achieve its stated aim of reducing the number of refugees in the camp by half before the end of this year.

Prior to the start of the verification three months ago, the UN put Dadaab’s population at 341,574.

But the head count showed that 58,016 fewer persons were actually living in the camps.

Included in the reduced figure for Dadaab’s population are 40,454 persons found not to be genuine refugees and believed to be Kenyan citizens.

“There will be further investigations to be conducted on these individuals, and once their citizenship is confirmed, they will be removed from the refugee register,” Mr Mwancha said.

{{FALSE REFUGEES}}

The UN and Kenyan government are working together to determine how to integrate these false refugees into communities outside Dadaab, he added.

“It is possible that the 58,016 difference in our updated population figures is as a result of spontaneous returns to Somalia,” Mr Mwancha said.

Asked how such a large number of people could leave Dadaab without being recorded by camp security personnel, Mr Mwancha said the Kenyan government is responsible for security arrangements at the camps.

Kenyan officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment concerning the apparent mass spontaneous exodus from Dadaab.

The UN says it has assisted about 30,000 Somalis in returning home since the start of the voluntary repatriation process nearly two years ago.

But the number of assisted returns has dropped sharply in the past month.

UN-facilitated returns by road have come to a halt since officials in the Jubbaland area of Somalia announced in late August that they would not process any more returnees from Dadaab until their concerns about service provision were addressed.

Only 12 regions of Somalia, most of them within Jubbaland, have been deemed by the UN to be safe destinations for refugees being repatriated from Dadaab.

Some 16,000 returnees from Dadaab, along with 40,000 internally displaced persons in Jubbaland, “don’t have all the necessary basic necessities any human being would require,” the Jubbaland administration said in a statement issued on Sunday.

“Basic health care, hygiene, shelter, adequate potable water all are scarce if not outright inaccessible.”

With road transport blocked, the UN has flown a small number of refugees from Dadaab to Mogadishu in the past month.

But those flights have also been suspended due to what Mr Mwancha called “a security emergency.”

He did not specify the nature of the emergency, but noted that it is not unprecedented.

“Usually, it does not take long before resumption occurs,” he said.

{Tanzania has been singled out as one of countries in the World that have managed to reduce economic inequality significantly over recent years.}

A new World Bank study on poverty and shared prosperity, which was released on Sunday revealed that Tanzania along with Brazil, Cambodia, Mali and Peru were in the list of countries that have recorded good performance in reducing inequality.

The WB researchers identified six high-impact strategies behind the success in reducing inequality as policies with a proven track record of building poor people’s earnings, improving their access to essential services and improving their longterm development prospects, without damaging growth.

“These policies work best when paired with strong growth, good macroeconomic management and well-functioning labor markets that create jobs and enable the poorest to take advantage of those opportunities,” reads the statement.

However, the statement states that all countries must make sure inequality is seriously tackled so as to fulfill the WB targets of ending poverty by 2030. According to the statement, inequality is still far too high in many countries and that important concerns remain around the concentration of wealth among those at the top of the income distribution.

The study added that extreme poverty worldwide continues to fall despite the lethargic state of the global economy. But it warns that given projected growth trends, reducing high inequality may be a necessary component to reaching the world’s goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.

The statement states that nearly 800 million people lived on less than 1.90/-US dollar a day in 2013. That is around 100 million fewer extremely poor people than in 2012.

“Progress on extreme poverty was driven mainly by East Asia and Pacific, especially China and Indonesia, and by India. Half of the world’s extreme poor now live in Sub-Saharan Africa, and another third live in South Asia,” reads the statement.

The report added that at least 60 out of the 83 countries covered by the new report to track shared prosperity, average incomes went up for people living in the bottom 40 percent of their countries between 2008 and 2013, despite the financial crisis.

Importantly, these countries represent 67 percent of the world’s population.The WB group President, Mr Jim Yong Kim said in a statement that apart from global economy poor performance still some countries have continued to reduce poverty and shared prosperity.

“It’s remarkable that countries have continued to reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity at a time when the global economy is underperforming, but still far too many people live with far too little,” he said.

He said in order to avoid missing WB targets for ending poverty in 2030, there is a need for changing things by resuming faster global growth and reduce inequality.

“The message is clear: to end poverty, we must make growth work for the poorest and one of the surest ways to do that is to reduce high inequality, especially in those countries where many poor people live.” he said.

On income gaps, the statement states that the new report finds that in 34 of 83 countries monitored, income gaps widened as incomes grew faster among the wealthiest 60 percent of people than among the bottom 40.

And in 23 countries, the bottom 40 saw their incomes actually decline during these years: not just relative to wealthier members of society, but in absolute terms

{Police and the Military officers are mainly deployed in the populous towns such as ‘Abayita Ababiri.’ They kept an overnight vigil according to residents here at Bayita Market.}

Opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye has been arrested at Entebbe International Airport just as he landed.

Kampala City lord mayor Erias Lukwago confirmed Dr Besigye’s arrest saying he was whisked away in a waiting vehicle.

“We do not know where he has been taken but we are doing our best to trace him,” said Mr Lukwago

According to Lukwago, their programme has been interfered by Besgye’s arrest.
When contacted, Police spokesperson, Mr Andrew Kaweesi said Dr Besigye was arrested as a preventive measure.

“We picked him as he was exiting the departure lounge shortly after he landed and safely escorted him to his home in Kasangati. The arrest was necessary because we had intelligence that his followers were planning to cause chaos along Entebbe road and as police, we could not allow that. It’s part of our duty to prevent crime,” he said.

When asked why police had deployed at Dr Besigyes home, Mr Kaweesi said it was necessary because some FDC leaders had mobilized to cause chaos in Kasangati.
Security remains tight along Entebbe road.

Police and the Military officers are mainly deployed in the populous towns such as ‘Abayita Ababiri.’ They kept an overnight vigil according to residents here at Bayita Market.

Dr Besigye arrived at Entebbe Airport at around at 8:15am and was reportedly immediately whisked away by security officers to unknown destination.

Earlier, security officers blocked journalists from accessing the airport on grounds that they don’t have clearance from the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC).

However, UCC distanced itself from the claims saying: “Maintaining law and order is not our mandate. Share with us your information source.”

Earlier, police warned that they would arrest and slap treason charges on supporters of Dr Besigye, the former presidential candidate who will be found with posters describing him as “His excellence the people’s president or president of Uganda.”

Mr Andrew Kaweesi, the Police Spokesman, said they have learnt that posters describing Dr Besigye as president are being distributed by Ms Ingrid Turinawe, the FDC secretary for mobilisation and Makerere Councillor Doreen Nyanjura.

He also accused the duo of mobilising people to paralyse traffic on Entebbe highway.

“FDC has not officially communicated the rescheduled return of former presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye and therefore, holding processions and moving in convoys is illegal,” Mr Kaweesi said at a media briefing in Kampala.

Dr Besigye, who had planned to return to Uganda on Thursday, changed his plan and is expected to be in the country on Monday.

{The United Nations has promised to assist the East African Community (EAC) in tackling conflicts in South Sudan and political unrest in Burundi in efforts to promote peace within the region.}

The Director General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Ms Sahle-Work Zewde, said that the UN was keen on collaborating with the EAC and other Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in conflict prevention and conflict management.

Ms Zewde, who was in Arusha over the weekend, revealed that the United Nations priority was preventive diplomacy in preventing conflicts, adding that it would cooperate with the EAC addressing the conflict in South Sudan, radical extremism in East Africa and supporting Burundi peace process

. The envoy added that the UN mission in Burundi had been through several stages including peacekeeping and a political mission and emphasized the importance of home-grown solutions and mediation in addressing national conflicts, adding that electoral disputes were the cause of political instability in Africa.

She was speaking at the occasion in which her delegation had paid a courtesy call on the EAC Secretary General, Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko, at the EAC Headquarters here.

Ambassador Mfumukeko on the other hand briefed the UN Director General on the progress of the Inter-Burundi Dialogue and the efforts being made by the EA C Secretariat to facilitate the peace talks even further. On the entry of the Republic of South Sudan into the Community, the SG said that the EA C Secretariat was working on a roadmap to integrate the world’s youngest country into the EA C.

The two leaders agreed on the development on a joint EA C-UN Framework on Collaboration in various sectors under which the EA C would identify priorities it would like to be addressed in cooperation with the UN.

Previously, the People’s Republic of China donated 200,000 US dollars to the EA C Secretariat of Arusha as part of support to the ongoing Inter-Burundi Dialogue being facilitated by former President Benjamin Mkapa.

Minister-Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Mr Gou Haodong, used the occasion to reaffirm Beijing’s commitment to the success of the Burundi peace process.

Mr Haodong hailed the EA C for playing a leading role in facilitating the talks, adding that China would continue to support the talks until Burundi realised a genuine and lasting peace.

The Director of Infrastructure at the Secretariat, who received the donation on behalf of the EA C Secretary General, Mr Philip Wambugu, thanked China for its generous contributions, which he said have kept the talks going.

{Police in Nairobi have shot dead four suspects and seized a Ceska pistol loaded with seven rounds of ammunition in Industrial Area.}

One of the dead men, police say, is among the suspects who posed as G4S staff and stole Sh80 million from the Cooperative Bank.

Police also seized a pocket phone, handcuffs, a Toyota Funcargo and a motorcycle.

The suspects were intercepted by Flying Squad officers near Tetra Pak, off Likoni Road, and a shootout ensued.

The gang is linked to robberies in Nairobi and its environs, especially in Eastleigh and Rongai.

According to police, the gang had been using the car to block victims before the others on motorbikes strike and rob them.

On Sunday, three other suspects were also shot dead in two separate incidents in Nairobi.

In Kayole, police shot dead a man and recovered a homemade pistol.

The deceased was one of the four-man gang who shot and seriously injured Administration Police Sgt Augustine Maithya on Sunday at around 12pm.

{Kagera tremor damaged infrastructure and social service facilities will soon be restored, the government has promised, as the Catholic Church pleads for more efforts to help the victims.}

President John Magufuli said here over the weekend that his government will work hard to mobilise more resources to restore infrastructure and social services, calling for the church to pray for realisation of the commitment.

The earthquake, which hit the region last month, left 17 people dead, over 250 injured and 900 houses destroyed.

In a message delivered on his behalf by Minister of Trade, Marketing and Investments Charles Mwijage, Dr Magufuli asked the bishops, priests and all people in the church leadership to communicate clear messages to the people on the quake calamity.

“It is time for more faith, prayers and work as we ask our spiritual leaders to lead our people to the proper direction, especially now when some people might lose hope and despair,” said the President.

The Catholic Church on Saturday launched the commemorations of the 100th Anniversary of Priesthood services in the country through which the first indigenous priests will be remembered and honoured.

Another commemoration is the 150th Anniversary since the introduction of the evangelisation services in Tanzania Mainland. Both events were inaugurated at Rubya Seminary where the first priests were ordained in 1917.

Kagera Regional Commissioner Salum Kijuu and other senior government officials were present at the events attended by members of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), hundreds of Priests, Nuns and thousands of worshipers.Delivering his own message, Mr Mwijage commended the RC’s move to convene special meetings every Friday to evaluate services offered to the quake victims, directing the District Commissioners emulate the RC.

The minister challenged all the Tanzanians, regardless of their religious, wealth and political differences to offer kind donations for the victims through the special bank account and mobile money transfers, using Mpesa, Tigopesa and Airtel Money lines that have already been communicated to them.

He congratulated the church for supporting the government in a number of areas, citing seven hospitals successfully run by the church out of total 14 hospitals operating in Kagera region.

He also applauded the Rubya Seminary which not only had produced Priests but other national leaders and renowned academicians.

And, in a similar occasion, Mr Mwijage reassured Muleba residents on the construction of Muleba –Kanyambogo road to the tarmac level as well as maintained medical supplies at Rubya Hospital.

The Archbishop of Mwanza Archdiocese Jude Thadeus Ruwaichi and Bukoba Auxiliary Bishop Methodius Kilaini presented condolences to the quake victims and survivors.

“We all pray hard for you to get out of this trying moments you are in and keep fingers closed for the restoration of calmness and hope for new brighter future,” said the Archbishop.

On his side, Bishop Kilaini asked for the government to support the church as it struggles to rehabilitate the damaged facilities, including the oldest church in the Diocese, Kashozi Parish church building.

The faithful yesterday gathered for special pilgrimage at the Nyakijoga shrine in Mugana Parish where according to Bishop Kilaini, special prayers were held for the nation before the Lady of Lourdes.

Nyakijoga is world famous for the miraculous powers of the healing waters blessed in the name of the Virgin Mary. Every year, thousands of pilgrims from all over the world convene at the Lourdes of Africa for prayers.