Tag: GreatLakesNews

{Turkish president Recep Tayyip Edergon was expected to arrive in the country last night for a three-day State visit. }

President Edergon, who will also hold bilateral talks with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni today, will after a luncheon at State House go to Makerere University where he will be receiving a honorary doctor of laws – also known as Honoris causa – in recognition for his country’s support for peacekeeping mission in Africa and academic partnership with the university.

According to a statement issued by Makerere University yesterday, the institution’s Chancellor, Dr Ezra Suruma, will confer upon the visiting leader the award at 4pm in the Main Hall.

“…. President of the Republic of Turkey will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) of Makerere University in recognition of his distinguished contribution to serving humanity, transformation of Turkey and nation states across the globe, peacekeeping and state building programmes at national and international levels and his partnership in the development of Uganda and Makerere University,” the statement said.

Turkey has been funding peace and recovery programmes in Somalia.

It’s not clear whether Entebbe Road will be closed like police did during the weekend visit by the South Korean leader Park Guen-Hye who left Uganda for Kenya on Monday.

Hundreds of commuters were left stranded after traffic was diverted.

The traffic police boss, Mr Stephen Kasima, however, said from the Kampala Serena Hotel where president Edergon will be staying to Makerere University, the roads will not be closed.

“We shall just clear traffic. There will be no closure,” he said yesterday.

{{About Edergon}}

Mr Erdogan (below) – the 12th president of the Republic of Turkey – has previously served as the prime minister of Turkey, mayor of Metropolitan Istanbul and is the founder of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

These two travellers on the left and right had to walk long distances to get transport to the airport after Entebbe Road was closed and traffic diverted on Monday.

{The European Commission has injected an additional of 24.4bn/- (Euro 10 million) in humanitarian support to help increasing number of displaced Burundians.}

The funding is summed now to a tune of 54.2bn/- after the preceding 29.8bn/- (Euro 12 million), which has already been provided since the beginning of this year.

More than 260,000 people, over half of whom are children, are estimated to have left Burundi since April 2015, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, including Tanzania. “The EU is committed to support the Burundian people at these difficult times.

The humanitarian situation affecting Burundians remains a cause of great concern. More than a quarter of a million people have now fled their homes.” “The neighbouring countries’ hosting capabilities have been stretched to the limit, with the situation in Tanzania especially worrying.

The additional EU funding will help get essential aid to those in need and improve refugees’ living conditions, notably in Tanzania,” said EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.

Tanzania has received the highest number of Burundians so far (nearly 140,000) mostly to Nyarugusu refugee camp, which has subsequently become one of the largest and most overcrowded refugee camps in the world.

Even though additional camps have been set up (Mtendeli and Nduta) to accommodate the continued influx, living conditions in the camps need to improve. Risks of infections and epidemics are high. Sheltering conditions also involve considerable risks for the most vulnerable.

The EC has been supporting the Burundian people since the beginning of the crisis. In total, EU humanitarian assistance released to respond to the Burundi crisis amounts to Euro 36.2 million since May 2015.

But the EU announced in March this year that it would suspend direct financial aid to the government in Burundi as the political situation shows little sign of improving. Analysts have immediately referred the EU latest decision to have been fuelled by new developments for Burundi talks — currently chaired by Retired President Benjamin Mkapa.

The small East African nation has been in crisis since last April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would be standing for another term. His refusal to relinquish power sparked clashes between the public and police, as well as a failed military coup. In total, the violence has claimed around 400 lives and forced more than 240,000 people to flee.

Mr Mkapa hosted a wide range of participants from the government of Burundi last week in Arusha. The delegates included the National Commission for Internal Dialogue, civil society organisations, women, youth, religious groups and the Federal Chamber of Commerce.

Others were political parties allied with the Government, political parties that participated in the elections last year, political parties that did not participate in the elections and other political actors.

The EU said in a statement that a regional dialogue, as mandated by the EAC heads of State, is the only way forward to peacefully resolving the Burundi crisis.

{Matiang’i and Seoul officials seal deal during bilateral talks with Asian nation’s president.}

Kenya has signed a deal with South Korea for the establishment of a key science and technology centre in the country.

It is among several agreements entered into by the government and South Korea on Tuesday during bilateral talks with the Asian country’s President Park Geun-hye.
During the event, Kenya called for more investments in the country to balance trade between the two nations.

The memorandum of understanding on the centre was signed by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and Konza Technopolis Development Authority chief executive John Tanui for Kenya, and officials of the Export-Import Bank of Korea.

The Asian country will support the full establishment of the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

The institute, to be set up in Konza, will be modelled on the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, a public research institution in the Asian country.
Set up in 1971 with the support of the United States, the Korean institute emerged as one of the main pillars behind the country’s rise from poverty.

The Korea Eximbank will provide money to establish the institute expected to cost at least Sh10 billion.

Yesterday, President Uhuru Kenyatta told his South Korean counterpart that Kenya is keen to learn from Seoul as it implements its own Vision 2030.

He said the government will seek support in energy, especially electric power and nuclear energy development, which will go a long way in supporting planned industrial projects.

The Korean Government is training 14 Kenyan students at the Kepco International Nuclear Graduate School, which the President said might be boosted as Kenya looks to venture into nuclear investments.

The two countries also sealed various agreements for cooperation in areas such as trade, investment promotion, education, ICT, sport and culture.

Though trade between the two has been growing steadily, Kenya only gains 10 per cent of the Sh29 billion volume.

{The government will continue to pursue sustainable economic diplomacy to boost the national economy, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, East Africa and Regional Cooperation, Dr Augustine Mahiga, insisted yesterday.}

The minister made the emphasis yesterday in the National Assembly when tabling his 151.4bn/- budget estimates for the 2016/2017 fiscal year. Tanzania started embarking on economic diplomacy in 2001 seeking to improve its economy through its relations with other countries.

According to the minister, out of the budget estimates, a total of 143.396bn/- will be spent on recurrent expenditure whereas theremaining 8bn/- will be spent on development projects. Some of the development projects to be implemented include construction of a building to house the ministry offices next to the Julius International Convention Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam, renovation of Tanzania’s embassy buildings in Mozambique, Sweden and Sudan.

On the other hand, Dr Mahiga said in the next fiscal year the ministry, through Tanzanian embassies abroad, plans to collect revenues amounting to 24.001bn/-.

On the other hand, Dr Mahiga informed the House yesterday that President John Magufuli has directed that the East African Community (EAC) flag should be hoisted alongside the Tanzania flag at all public offices and that the community’s anthem should be played at all functions where the national anthem is played.

Among others, the move is aimed at creating public awareness among Tanzanians about the regional bloc — to enable them participate and benefit from business and investment opportunities in the regional grouping with a population of about 145 million people.

“In his capacity as the current Chairman of the EAC, President Magufuli has instructed, through my ministry, increased use of the community’s anthem and flag in Tanzania.

“I thus take this opportunity to inform the august House on the directive and this should cover all public offices, including central and local governments in addition to public organisations,” Dr Mahiga explained.

He urged the private sector and MPs to heed to the directive by hoisting the EAC flag at their offices and vehicles alongside the national flag. “In the same vein, I urge the electronic media to play the community’s anthem whenever the national anthem is played,” Dr Mahiga urged.

The minister explained further that the move is part of a communication strategy by the ministry on enabling Tanzanians to get prepared and make use of openings in the regional grouping.

The EAC is made up of six countries — Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda while South Sudan was approved as a new member early this year. During the 17th EAC Heads of States Meeting in Arusha in March, Tanzania was chosen as the chair of the regional bloc for a second year running until November this year.

The Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, Mr Masoud Ali Khamis (Mfenesini-CCM) noted with concern that as of March this year, the ministry had not received a penny out of the 8bn/- budgeted for development vote in the current fiscal year.

Presenting the views of the committee on the ministry’s estimates, Mr Khamis noted as well that during the period, the ministry received only 110.7bn/- out of 146.9bn/- allocated for the year.

For his part, the Shadow Minister for the Ministry, Reverend Peter Msigwa (Iringa Urban-Chadema) took issues with what he described as poor state of buildings hosting Tanzanian embassies abroad as well as shortage of personnel in the missions.

In his presentation of the opposition’s analysis of the budget estimates, Mr Msigwa proposed as well that the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) should form a system to track remittances of Tanzanians in foreign countries to be able to appreciate their contribution to the local economy.

Mr Msigwa recommended as well that the government should formalise the remittances to boost the economy as it has been done in other countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya, which have benefited immensely from their citizens in the Diaspora.

{The two-day blockade of Entebbe Road and other city roads due to the visiting South Korean leader Park Geun-Hye and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have left Kampala city and neighbouring Entebbe Town in heavy traffic snarl-ups with hundreds missing flights, and many others unable to get to their offices.}

South Koeran leader arrived in the country last Saturday and left yesterday after a three-day State visit, while her Turkish counterpart jets in today, for a two-day state visit.

Uganda’s single highway to Entebbe International Airport was closed for most of the day on Sunday, causing a nightmare for motorists, taxi drivers, and airline passengers. According to the police, Entebbe Road will be closed again, as the Turkish president visits.

On Sunday, the police and military police mounted 10 roadblocks to divert traffic to and from Entebbe.

Pictures circulating on social media show passengers with luggage on boda-bodas as they rush to catch various flights.
Some were seen walking to the airport because at some sections, motorcycles and cars had been banned.

On May 26, the police had issued a statement indicating roads that would be closed and asked motorists heading to Entebbe International Airport to plan their journeys well in time to avoid inconveniences.

Passengers miss their flights
Ms Joyce Mcharo, the Kenya Airways country manager, told Daily Monitor they had to keep a flight waiting on Sunday.
“We can, however, only hold the flight for a short while because of the connections some other passengers would have to make in Nairobi,” she said.

Kenya Airways has five daily flights into Entebbe – the highest among airline operating through Entebbe International Airport.

“Unfortunately, some of the people missed their flights yesterday (Sunday). We could only wait for so long. At some point you have to shut the doors,” she added.

Any flight missed often results into a $50 (Shs170,000) fine if a passenger is to be booked on another flight. The cost is incurred by the passenger.

Entebbe, the only country’s only International Airport houses six major airlines daily including – Kenya Airways, Rwanda Air, Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines, Fast Jet and Fly Dubai, among others.

No airline recorded any flight cancellations on Sunday due to the road closures, but several reported cases of passengers missing their flights.

However, they did not give definite figures.
People who had gone to pick passengers returning from the airport also found trouble finding their way.

“I used the Mukwano road to Queensway but there was already too much traffic. So I turned and I went to Kibuli through Nsambya to Kibuye and that is where all my troubles started.

I asked the police officer where we are meant to pass, she just told me to go ahead to the Busabala road. No one seemed to know where we were going and I had no idea where the alternative routes were,” she told Daily Monitor.

Trouble for some of the motorists was the access roads provided as alternatives that were known to many with some getting lost whereas other got stuck in traffic build ups along the routes.

{Mr Kavuludi’s team hopes to interview 238 officers from the Coast by Saturday.}

At least 300 traffic police officers who have failed to submit their M-Pesa and bank details to the National Police Commission to facilitate their vetting will be removed from the service.

NPSC Chairman Johnston Kavuludi said the officers from the Coast region and other parts of the country had been given time to submit their documents but had failed to do so.

“The commission has no alternative but to automatically remove the officers from the service for failing to submit those documents, which was a mandatory requirement for their vetting,” Mr Kavuludi said on the sixth day of exercise at the Kenya School of Government in Mombasa on Monday.

The officers who would be axed would be paid their dues, he added.

The traffic officers were required to have submitted their documents by the end of March, ahead of the vetting, which kicked off on May 24 and ends on June 4.

The commission has targeted 598 from the Coast, Western and Nyanza regions in the first phase and a total of 2,500 nationally.

Mr Kavuludi’s team hopes to interview 238 officers from the Coast by Saturday.

And giving a briefing on the sidelines of the interviews, Mr Kavuludi said that corrupt traffic police officers from the region, before the start of the vetting, had changed tactics in collecting bribes from public vehicles.

He said the corrupt policemen have gone on an “extortion frenzy’’ and raised their daily collections by 100 per cent.

“It has come to our notice that police have gone back to collecting bribes with a vengeance since we began vetting them. They have changed tack. They now use certain touts whom they place at strategic bus stages and garages to collect their daily bribes.”

According to the NPSC boss, the officers tell their ‘victims’ that they will be sacked either way and so they must collect bribes.

“We have been told that the Sh100 bribe has now gone up to Sh1,000 and the Sh1,000 has gone up to Sh5,000. This mutation of tactics is very dangerous,” Mr Kavuludi observed.

DO NOT OFFER BRIBES

The information, he added, had been conveyed to Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet at the weekend, who ordered that the officers be dealt with.

He added that investigations by the commission had shown that two out of three junior officers in the traffic department have godfathers whom they depend on for protection after “placement”.

The wide network exposed during the interviews in which senior police officers are sent huge amounts of money by their juniors, through M-Pesa, was the reason for such placements.

“We have established that senior officers extort huge sums of money from the juniors for the favours, including recruitment, placement and promotion.”

He added he had personally received calls from high-ranking officers asking him to post junior officers to roadblocks or weigh-bridges, which are regarded as lucrative positions and warned police officers against buying their way into the traffic department.

The commission’s boss said disciplinary process would be taken those officers found to have engaged in corruption, intimidating motorists, violence, gender issues and human rights abuse.

He said: “This is a quasi-judicial commission with powers to investigate and prosecute, but depending on the nature of the case we could refer others to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Director of Public Prosecution or other institutions.”

Mr Kavuludi urged motorists and the public to fight corruption by refusing to give bribes and being compromised by rogue officers.

Tuesday’s session will see more officers of the ranks of constable and corporal vetted.

{Many of us know Dodoma as the designated capital of Tanzania, but no legislation was passed to declare the announcement which would have pushed the government to shift from Dar es Salaam to the former, the National Assembly was told yesterday.}

“Pronouncement of Dodoma as the capital city was not made through an Act of the Parliament save for the Capital Development Authority (CDA) which was established through the CDA Act,” Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office , (Policy, Parliament, Labour, Employment , Youth and Disabled), Dr Abdallah Possi, said here.

The Deputy Minister however noted that a team of technocrats was currently working on the proposed Bill before it is presented before the cabinet for deliberations. Responding to a supplementary question by Special Seats MP, Ms Fatma Hassan Toufiq (CCM), was non-committal on whether the Bill will be tabled in the National Assembly this year.

“I cannot say exactly if the Bill will be brought before the august House this year because this will highly depend on recommendations by the experts. I should add as well that no budget has been allocated for the process as per now,” Dr Possi explained.

He however noted that there was a possibility of presenting the Bill in the House this year if there will be no major changes on the initial documents by the technocrats.

In a basic question earlier, Ms Toufiq complained that even as Dodoma was declared at the capital city, the government has been reluctant to shift ministries and other public offices from Dar es Salaam to the central region.

The Deputy Minister elaborated on the other hand that the proposed document will be discussed during Inter-ministerial technical committees comprising Permanent Secretaries before it is presented before the Cabinet.

{By the end of 2050, half the number of Kenyans would be living in urban centres.}

One in every four Kenyans lives in a town but that number is expected to rise to 37 per cent by 2030, a World Bank report says.

The report, which interrogates urban trends in Kenya and Africa, says towns are growing so fast that by the end of 2050, half the number of Kenyans would be living in urban centres.

“No country has ever developed without urbanisation, so the growth of cities and towns must be encouraged,” said Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vasquez, the World Bank Director for Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice.

He, however, added that for Kenya to achieve its urban potential, the country must focus on formulating and implementing finance, land and governance policies.

According to the Kenya Urbanisation Review report, among the biggest problems facing Nairobi and which are likely to hamper its growth are housing and transport.

“Cities are growing at lower income levels, which means there is inadequate infrastructure.

“The manufacturing industry is decreasing in capacity and service cannot keep up,” said Mr Ijjasz-Vasquez.