Tag: GreatLakesNews

{A senior Seeds Researcher and Country Coordinator of Strengthening Agriculture Research and Development (SARD) project, Dr Rose Mongi, has affirmed that despite the sizeable arable land for growing wheat in the country, yet farmers harvest 100,000 tonnes of wheat while actual demand stands at 1,000,000 tonnes yearly.}

Dr Mongi further said that due to poor harvest of wheat in the country, the government had been compelled to spend large amounts of foreign currency for importing 90 per cent of the cereal grain from foreign countries to meet the actual demand of the produce in the country each year.

She noted that there was no reason for the country to import wheat from foreign markets as the country has been endowed with huge arable terrain for growing the cereal grain.

Dr Mongi stressed the point during different occasions when she visited and inspected wheat growers in Sumbawanga Municipality, Nkasi and Sumbawanga District in Rukwa Region whose SARD project took off officially in the areas two years ago.

Dr Mongi insisted that the foreign currency the country used to import wheat would instead be used for the implementation of various development projects in the country.

Latest research reports reveal that there are about 800 different varieties of wheat seeds, which can grow well and result in bumper harvests in different parts of the country.

“While the African continent spends over 40 billion US dollars for importing 70 per cent of wheat from other continents … the situation is worse in Tanzania as it spends colossal amount of foreign currency to import the same as farmers realise only 100,000 tonnes of wheat while the actual demand annually stands at 1,000,000 tonnes,” she noted.

The SARD project, which operates in 12 different countries, Tanzania included, is wholly funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Another Senior Seeds Researcher, Dr Solomon Asefa from Ethiopia, insisted that government should enforce good agriculture policy and by and large effectively make use of agriculture researchers to realise and export to the foreign markets bumper surplus of the food crop.

“It is paramount that the government put in place good and applicable agriculture policy as well as make use of researchers to the maximum to ensure bumper harvests of wheat yearly to meet the actual demand and sell abroad its bumper surplus as well as creating employments in the country,’’ added Dr Asefa.

On his part, the Uyole Agriculture Research Institute’s Director, Dr Zacharia Malley, said that since the introduction of the SARD project in Rukwa Region, farmers have increased wheat production ten-folds per acre.

“I m one of beneficiaries of the SARD project as now I harvest between 16 and 18 bags of 100 kgs of wheat from an acre of farmland compared to two bags of wheat I used to harvest from the same farmland,” said Mr Martin Claudio from Kalundi Village in Nkasi District in the region.

A cross-section of wheat growers in Rukwa Region have expressed their deep concern over the challenges they are facing, including lack of modern agricultural tools, such as combined harvesters.

{The purpose of peace talks is to engage your opponent across the negotiating table. But the Burundi government sees things differently and by picking and choosing whom it talks to, last Tuesday sank the latest mediation effort to resolve the country’s political crisis.}

The four days of an “intra-Burundi dialogue,” mediated by former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa, were labelled a “monologue” by the opposition.

They are furious over the government’s decision not to talk to key members of the umbrella National Council for the Restoration of Arusha Agreement and Rule of Law — known by the French acronym “CNARED”.

The government of President Pierre Nkurunziza has been steadfast in its refusal to talk with opponents implicated in a coup attempt last year aimed at stopping his bid for a third-term in office. Instead, the May 21-24 “dialogue” in Arusha, Tanzania, featured only government officials, two former heads of state and a selection of like-minded individuals.

In a limp statement on Sunday, Mkapa’s office regretted the absence of key opposition figures, and said Mkapa would “meet all the stakeholders who were invited to attend the Arusha dialogue and were not able to come due to various reasons … in due course.”

Some members of the CNARED alliance had been invited to Arusha. But it was in their private capacity, not as representatives of the body, which is recognised by the African Union and the East African Community as the legitimate voice of the opposition.

“The negotiations that exclude the real stakeholders in the crisis, including CNARED, civil society, armed movements, religious representatives, media, women and youth are a waste of time,” said a CNARED statement. “Those who have gone to Arusha know themselves, they have no atom of a solution to the crisis that has rocked Burundi.”

The UN estimates that at least 474 people have died as a result of political violence since April last year. More than 79,000 people have been internally displaced and 250,000 have fled the country. The crisis has crippled Burundi’s economy, worsening already poor development indicators.

CNARED insists it will not accept any post-crisis arrangement that allows President Nkurunziza to stay in office. They argue that his third-term bid was prohibited by the Constitution and also violated the 2000 Arusha Peace Accord that ended Burundi’s decade-long civil war. But in a controversial ruling, the courts allowed Nkurunziza to stand, and he went on to easily win elections in July 2015.

But without the participation of all parties to the negotiations, including armed groups involved in attacks on the security forces and government officials, a political solution to end the 13-month conflict is unlikely, analysts warn.

The International Criminal Court has opened a preliminary investigation into the allegations of gross human rights abuses, including torture, rape and disappearances.

CNARED’s participation has been a longstanding sticking point for the East African Community-mediated talks, both back when Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was facilitator and now under the direction of Mkapa. But given the implacability of the Burundi government, the former Tanzanian leader may have had no option at the moment but to meet CNARED separately in the search for common ground.

“The problem is that the African Union and international community more broadly, has little leverage over Nkurunziza in pressuring his government to include CNARED ,” said Alex Fielding, senior analyst at Max Security Solutions, a geopolitical risk consulting firm.

“Nkurunziza called the AU’s bluff back in December when the regional bloc resolved to intervene militarily with or without his consent, correctly predicting that neither the AU leaders nor the UN Security Council had the political will to intervene militarily against a hostile Burundi,” he said.

Referring to an attempt to bring CNDD-FDD Nkurunziza’s party, then a rebel group, to the negotiating table in the 1990s, Carine Kaneza, spokesperson for the Women and Girls Movement for Peace and Security in Burundi said that the situation requires a whole new level of intervention.

{After winding up with morning work on his farm, Dawson Wambi Ndokero, 70, a local tycoon would retire to his home in Nsinze village-Nsinze Sub-county in Namutumba District.}

However, this routine work schedule tragically ended on October 20, 2012. On that fateful day, Wambi did not know that it was his last day.
At 3pm Wambi received a phone call from one of his sons in the capital, Kampala that neighbours were grazing their cattle on his farm. The son had been tipped on telephone by one of the neighbours to the farm in the village. He in turn informed his father to go and check at the farm, which is about 5km from the family home.

The neighbours had turned it into a habit to graze their animals on Wambi’s farm yet he had restricted access to the land. The decision made him a target of those who wanted to graze their animals on his farm.
Upon receiving the call from the son, Wambi immediately sent his two grandsons to the farm to find out.

The grandsons Richard Malingha, 20, and Mr Robert Bunafa, 18, went and found a cattle keeper, one Paul Magala, indeed grazing his animals on their farm.
They asked him to leave and warned him against grazing his cattle on the farm again. Magala refused to leave the farm. The two grandsons grabbed one cow. They wanted to impound it as an exhibit.

Magala reacted and a scuffle ensued. In the process of struggling, the defiant cattle keeper Magala collapsed and died on the spot.

Dazed with fear, the boys rushed back home but never reported the matter to either their grandfather or the Local Council officials.
A local resident who was watching the scuffle between the cattle keeper and the two boys from a distance ran and informed the children of the deceased.
The children rushed to the scene and found their father lifeless. They had also earlier seen Wambi’s two grandsons coming back from their grandfather’s farm.

They made an alarm, which attracted the residents and relatives of the deceased to the scene. They started planning a revenge attack on Wambi’s home. It was now approaching 5pm.

The mob struck the home. On realising danger, Wambi fled to one of his neighbour’s house for his safety. The angry mob first attacked one of Wambi’s grandsons whom they suspected of involvement in Magala’s killing.
They killed Malingha, one of the grandsons, and later killed Wambi whom they tracked to his hiding place in the neighbour’s house.

Police were not aware about the violence until one of Wambi’s grandsons, Bunafa escaped and reported to Nsinze Police Post.

The officer in charge of Nsinze Police Post, Mr Tom Beinomugisha, responded and rushed to Wambi’s home to stop escalation of the bloodshed.

But it was too late. Three people had already been killed. Police opened investigations under Criminal Record Book Ref. No 1130A/2012.

The case of murder was registered at Namutumba Central Police Station.
Police later took the three bodies to Iganga hospital mortuary for postmortem.
Police later handed over the bodies to the relatives for burial.

Wambi and his grandson had deep wounds on their bodies.
Mr Beinomugisha assigned Detective Joseph Oboth, the then district Criminal Investigations Department officer, to handle the investigations and bring the culprits to book.

Mr Oboth and his team of detectives visited the scene.
They carried a search at the scene for possible exhibits. A sketch map of the scene was drawn. Statements were recorded from eyewitnesses.
On November 1, 2012 at 3pm some suspects were arrested and taken to Namutumba Central Police Station.

Police started with arrest of people suspected to have killed Wambi and his grandson. Their statements were recorded. The suspects were presented at an identification parade on November 3, 2012 at 9 am at Namutumba Police Station. Nine suspects were identified by eyewitnesses. They were charged with murder.
The suspects were: Mr Paul Kisule, Mr Gariku Isabirye, Mr Robert Luwalinza and Mr Richard Mukama.

{Raila says Cord had booked venue for Madaraka Day rally and vows their meeting will go on.}

Confrontation looms at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, on Wednesday after Cord leader Raila Odinga vowed to defy the police and hold a Madaraka Day rally at the venue.

He refused to listen to reports that the venue had been booked by a religious group for three days beginning May 31 to June 3 and said Cord would not call off its rally.

“We will go to Uhuru Park for the Madaraka Day celebrations whether the government likes it or not because President Uhuru Kenyatta has moved to Nakuru for the same,” Mr Odinga said on Saturday while officiating over a Mombasa county bursary function at the Mombasa ASK Showground. He was with Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho.

Speaking at the same function, Suna East MP Junet Mohamed told off the police for claiming that the venue had been booked by a Christian organisation, Prayers Beyond Boundaries Ministries. He vowed to be at the venue as early as 6 am on Wednesday.

“Which church conducts prayers on Wednesday?” he asked, casting doubts on the very existence of the organisation. “The ground belongs to the Nairobi County Government and we have already informed it of our intention to use it.”

The battle for the grounds, venue of many historic political gatherings in Kenya’s history, erupted after the county police boss wrote to Kanu Secretary-General Nick Salat informing him that Uhuru Park was unavailable for any other event as it had already been booked by the Christian organisation.

“Reference is made to your letter dated 26th May 2016 on the above subject. Please be informed that the venue, Uhuru Park, is already booked for three days by Prayers Beyond Boundaries Ministries. Your notification of participation on Madaraka Day at the same venue is therefore not approved,” read the letter signed by a Mr Joseck Nasio for the county police boss, dated May 27th.

“They have told us it is not available. It seems they want everybody to go to Afraha because they think that is important to all of us. We will think about it,” Mr Salat said tongue in cheek.

On Saturday, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero said that only Cord has the licence to use the grounds.

CHURCH PAID SH150,000

“The Nairobi City County Government, the trustees and custodians of Uhuru Park, are not interested in any confusion or politics of grandstanding. We hereby make public the parties with the full unhindered authority and power to use the venue come 1st June, 2016,” the governor said.

To buttress his position, Dr Kidero’s office circulated a letter written by the Nairobi County Government on May 22 confirming that the grounds would be reserved for Cord.

“We are in receipt of your letter dated May 22 on request to a rally at Uhuru Park Grounds. We have directed the director for Environment, Water and Energy whose sector is in charge of the park to reserve the same for your use on June 1 as per your request,” read the letter authored by the acting county secretary Robert Ayisi to the director of the Cord Secretariat Norman Magaya.

But in a fresh twist, the religious organisation also circulated a document on social media showing that it had already paid the county government Sh150,000 to secure the grounds for prayers on Madaraka Day.

Sources within Mr Odinga’s office who sought anonymity because they are not allowed to leak private conversations said Mr Odinga had met Dr Kidero at his (Odinga) Capitol Hill offices on Thursday evening to discuss possible alternatives should they fail to secure Uhuru Park.

Dr Kidero is said to have assured Mr Odinga that should Uhuru Park become unavailable, he could still use the Nyayo National Stadium which will host the county’s Madaraka Day celebrations.

CONFUSE EVERYBODY

“They agreed that the Cord rally could start after the county government’s Madaraka Day celebrations to be presided over by Kidero,” the source stated.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Cord co-convenor James Orengo said that the Cord rally would go on as they had been given permission by the county government.

He said that the rally would be addressed by Mr Odinga and fellow Cord principals Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula.

The Siaya senator read the hand of the police and the Jubilee government in the issuance of a statement claiming the grounds had been reserved.

“It is only the county government that can give out property or grounds like Uhuru Park, which are part of their assets. I think the police were trying to confuse everybody that some other people had been given that particular ground for celebrations or for services,” he said.

“We think that it is people in Jubilee, having heard that we are going to have a meeting there, who were trying to create this confusion,” added Mr Orengo.

The senator said the rally will be peaceful and urged Kenyans to show up in numbers. The fact that there will not be any other state-led function in Nairobi, he said, was additional assurance that the function will be calm.

On Thursday, Mr Orengo said, the Cord team will head to Kisumu County where it will hold a mass funeral service for those who were killed by police bullets in Kisumu and Siaya during the last anti-IEBC demonstrations.

“Cord has made a decision together with our friends and partners to have a mass funeral service at Kirembe Grounds near the Kisumu International Airport, where church leaders are going to preside over a funeral service for those who died.

{The government has suspended the supplier of the contaminated jet fuel and directed the concerned company to immediately start cleaning all the tanks and pipes of the affected oil companies in the country.}

Energy and Minerals Minister Professor Sospeter Muhongo issued the directive in Dar es Salaam yesterday, ordering Sahara Energy Resources Limited liable for the supply of Jet A-1 fuel to implement the order starting today or face punitive action.

“Sahara Energy Resource should forget doing business in this country if cleaning won’t take place tomorrow (today) so that the new cargo, to arrive soon, finds storage facilities and pipes clean,” said the minister.

Prof Muhongo said that if the company fails to abide by the directives, the government would cancel other tenders that the company has been awarded before in the country. However, the government has suspended it from receiving any tenders for allegedly being involved in the supply of dirty jet fuel.

The minister was speaking shortly after touring several oil companies in the city to investigate the contaminated jet fuel saga and address the anomaly. In another development, Prof Muhongo has reassured the public that the situation is under control as efforts are underway to ensure that the country does not face shortage of the fuel.

“I would like to assure Tanzanians that the fuel is available,” he said noting that Puma Energy has made arrangements to acquire the product from Total Oil Company Tanzania and SP Oil and Gas from Rwanda.

The stock is set to last for 14 days. On the other hand, the General Manager of Petroleum Importation Coordinator (PIC), Mr Michael Mjinja, said that the suspected vessel with contaminated fuel arrived in the country on May 5 and was cleared fit for delivery by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) as required before discharging.

The Project Engineer and Aviation operations Manager of Oil Com, Mr Haruna Magota, told the minister that his company has a stock of 10.8 million litres of the contaminated stock. “We received 8.8 million litres of the consignment and combined with 2.6 million litres that we had in the tanks…

It brought the total to 10.8 million impure fuel,” he said bitterly, complaining about the big loss the company has suffered, leaving it with nothing to offer to its customers (aircrafts) at present.

Earlier, the minister directed Sahara Energy Resources to use the facilities with Tanzania International Petroleum Reserves Limited (TIPPER) to accommodate the contaminated fuel.

“For the good of the country, we cannot wait for you (Sahara Energy Resource) to bring the ship to take off the contaminated fuel. TIPPER has space to accommodate the product,” he noted.

One of the officials with the company (Sahara Energy Resource Limited), who declined to reveal his name, told Prof Muhongo that his company was not liable for the matter but has opted to assist the affected companies in cleaning the tanks and pipes.

“We are not liable for the bad fuel as we discharged after being cleared by the TBS. We have just opted to assist the affected companies clean the tanks,” he claimed.

Prof Muhongo, who seemed irked by the statement, said that there was no need for the company to engage in arguments but clear out the tanks and the pipes immediately. “It is beyond doubt that Jet AI is contaminated.

The government stand is clear and we do not have to wait to argue whether the Jet AI was brought contaminated or not,” he remarked.

{The commission of inquiry into mismanagement of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has directed police to investigate Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi and former Terego County MP Kassiano Wadri for alleged bribe-taking to protect implicated thieving UNRA officials.}

In its report released on Thursday, the commission says UNRA lost Shs4 trillion in seven years through dubious deals, notably through collusion between its own staff and contractors; inflating cost of road projects; and delayed action on recommendations listed in the Auditor General’s reports.

The report says the Auditor General submitted to the commission six sets of his annual accountability reports for 2008/09 up to 2013/14 but none had been debated by the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by 2015 when the commission started its inquiry.

Mr Nandala and Mr Wadri headed PAC at different times between the 2009 and 2015. Auditor General’s reports are submitted to PAC which is mandated to examine them and report back to Parliament with recommendations for action to be taken.
“The commission notes that this was not done. The chairpersons of PAC over the past two parliamentary terms were summoned to appear before the commission to explain their roles but they invoked their parliamentary immunity and were not interviewed,” reads the report of the commission headed by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire.

The report says Mr Nandala and Mr Wadri refused to respond to respond to allegations of corruption against them when the commission asked them.

“The commission was left pondering over disturbing and unanswered questions regarding allegations that the two respective chairpersons, Mr Mafabi and Mr Wadri took kick-backs from the top management of UNRA to suppress incriminating AG reports as hapless and helpless World Bank-funded expatriates were incessantly hounded and victimised by PAC.

We respected their immunity and proceed to recommend the matter regarding the two be referred to the CIID [Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department] for further investigation to prove the veracity of the corruption claims against them,” Justice Bamugemereire stated in the report.

Mr Nandala could not be readily reached for comment as his known phone numbers remained switched off. But Mr Wadri, laughed off the recommendation for investigations against him and described it as “interesting”.

“Well, let CIID swing into action if they can. I have never interacted with the UNRA board or any top managers, so I find it interesting to say I was paid to sit on the AG’s reports,” Mr Wadri said.

He admitted he received “invitation” to appear before the eight-member commission chaired by High Court Judge Bamugemereire but said “I was in Juba on official duties at the time. However, I wrote back telling them they had violated procedures. As chairperson of a parliamentary committee, they had to channel the request through the Speaker to whom I am answerable. But, I am also aware the Speaker wrote to them that procedures must be followed. So if they did not sort it out, then what? Now that Ms Kadaga is still Speaker, let them ask her,” Wadri added.

The commission’s report also recommended the amendment to the Constitution to give powers to the Auditor General to furnish copies of his reports to a committee comprising the Director of Public Prosecutions, the CIID and the Inspectorate of Government which would ensure implementation of the recommendations and prosecution of culprits without delay.

The report says this would serve as a control measure against the vast powers vested in Parliament which is seemingly overloaded with work.
For example, the AG in his 2011 report noted that UNRA had not paid Shs146b to various contractors and consultants on several road projects because of failure by government to meet the commitments made during the year. The report says this led to extra claims for interest by the contractors resulting in excess expenditure.
The commission named a number of construction companies and asked government to blacklist them for inappropriate behaviour in many road projects, which caused government huge financial losses.

They are: Dott Services, General Nile Company, Energo Projekt, Professional Engineering Consultants and LEA International Ltd Canada, in joint venture with LEA Associates South Asia Pvt. Ltd India, and KOM Consultancy.
The report also recommended that “directors of the above firms be “apprehended for causing losses to government and if they are foreigners turned citizens, their citizenship should be reviewed and possibly revoked after recovery of proven associated funds”.

“UNRA staff who were involved in the collusion are culpable and should be prosecuted. By this recommendation, the relevant professional bodies, including Engineers Registration Board (ERB) and Uganda Institution of Professional Engineers (UIPE) are made aware so as to take disciplinary action against the individuals,” the report says.

The report, however, does not show whether the named companies were interviewed to explain the queries about them.

The report was submitted to President Museveni on Wednesday and indicates that UNRA officials “successfully colluded” with construction firms and consultants on almost every road project in the last seven years.

The report cited a company which was awarded four construction contracts and one consultancy firm, which won bids to supervise the four contracts.
“It is difficult to explain this coincidence when one considers three corollary pieces of evidence: All these contracts – with the said contractor and consultant – were managed by the same contract manager, Eng Godfrey Kaaya Mukasa,” the report reads in part.

Mr Kaaya served as UNRA’s regional manager for eastern region and last year was among the first top managers to be fired in June last year by the new executive director Allen Kagina’s administration.

The report, for example, says Dott Services was paid billions of Shillings upfront before any works had started. It also cited more than Shs11b paid for Mbale–Soroti road and more thanShs4.4b for Tororo–Mbale road.

“In both instances the money was paid before any works were executed. What is worse, there is no evidence any work was ever executed later in lieu of these hefty payments. This means that in both cases, UNRA paid for nothing,” the commission states.

The commission also said there were other dubious payments involving Dott Services in a joint venture with other construction companies for work under the supervision of KOM Consultants.

“In this case Dott Services irregularly claimed for 70 per cent of the contract sum to be paid in foreign currency. Sadly, for the people of Uganda, Dott Services was successful in their claim. In this fraudulent transaction alone the government lost over Shs4b,” the commission states.
The commission said Dott Services has implemented nine contracts with UNRA of which eight are funded by the government while one was funded by the European Union.

“All the nine contracts were characterised by related issues including delayed completion of works, claims for costs and undeserved VoPs. The director, Mr Venugopal Rao, failed to explain why Dott Services only bids for government-funded contracts,” the report says.
The report also cites several cases of collusion between UNRA staff and contractors on Kawempe-Kafu road project by EnergoProjektNiskogradnja and supervised by Africon Ltd who changed name to “Aurecon Amei Ltd”.

“Energo has been engaged with unending works on the same road for nine years since 2007,” the report reads. It indicates that UNRA contract managers and engineers have committed colossal sums of money as payment to the consultant to supervise the same works over the years.
“UNRA paid the contractor $3.2m (Shs11b) as prolongation costs resulting from poor planning by deploying the contractor on site without the supervising consultant rendering the contractor’s equipment idle.”

{{Committee}}

The five-member Judicial Commission chaired by Justice Bamugemereire was appointed by President Museveni in June 2015 to investigate mismanagement, abuse of office and corrupt practices in UNRA. The commission took close to eight months investigating the road projects and interrogating various officials.

{The bullet fired when officers were pursuing a fleeing inmate is said to have taken out one of the student’s eyes.}

Prison warders pursuing a fleeing inmate in Migori town on Friday accidentally shot and critically injured a secondary school student, sparking protests from residents.

The stray bullet, from a warder’s G3 assault rifle, hit the Form Two student from Ulanda High School in the head while she was watching the Lake Region handball games at Migori Boys Secondary School.

The inmate had strayed into the school compound, with the warders hot on his pursuit.

The bullet, according to medics at St Joseph’s Ombo Catholic Hospital, where she was rushed, taken out one of the student’s eyes.

Witnesses told the Nation that scores of other students who were watching the games suffered from shock when the warders fired more than 10 shots.

{{TRIGGER HAPPY}}

The incident sparked protests from residents, who have now demanded a complete overhaul of the region’s prisons department, accusing warders of being trigger-happy.

They marched to the county police headquarters, where they were addressed by the county Commander David Kirui.

The shooting incident disrupted the ball games when students joined residents in the protests.

Mr Kirui said the concerned officers would be arrested and prosecuted in court.

“The prison warders have become a serious let-down … why fire bullets into students when chasing a prisoner?” he posed.

He went on: “We have already launched high–level investigations into the conduct of prison warders working here. Am particularly disappointed by their conduct.”

Valentine Ogongo, one of the ODM activists who led the residents to the police headquarters, demanded that action be taken against the warders involved in the shootings.

“We are not going to tolerate them anymore; they must leave,” said Mr Ogongo.

After shooting the girl, the warders then engaged the protesting students and teachers in running battles as they fired more shots in the air.

They later rearrested the naked prisoner and took him back into custody.

Ombo Hospital was filled with residents seeking to know the fate of the girl, but the hospital authorities denied them entry into the theatre room.

Some girls broke down in tears, forcing some hospital workers to comfort them.

The girl has now been referred to Kisii Level Five Hospital for specialized treatment.

{{SHOT PROTESTERS}}

The incident comes barely four days after warders shot five protesters during anti-IEBC demos on Monday.

Police say the victims, all boda boda operators, had attempted to block a prison lorry that was ferrying inmates to court.

“It was at this juncture that prison officers pulled out their guns and fired at the victims, some of whom were behaving in a manner likely to suggest that the wanted to free the prisoners,” said Mr Kirui on Monday.

There lorry had some 50 prisoners on board.

The men were shot at the junction leading to the county headquarters, off the Migori-Kisii highway.

The shooting sparked fresh protests in the town. Demonstrators engaged the police in running battles in the streets of the border town.

The riders, however, disputed the police version of the story.

“The victims were standing next to their motorbikes several metres away from the lorry. None of them attempted to obstruct the vehicle. They were only chanting anti-IEBC slogans,” said Tom Ogola, an eyewitness.

{Despite enlisting a new country, South Sudan, which expands the East African Community (EAC) into a six member state bloc, the EAC has reduced its fiscal year budget to just 101.4 million US dollars.}

The Arusha-based EAC secretariat presented annual budget estimates for the Financial Year 2016/2017 totalling $101,374,589 to the East African Legislative Assembly currently sitting here.

The Budget speech was read before the EALA by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Co-operation, Dr Susan Kolimba, on behalf of the Minister and Chair of the EAC Council of Ministers, Dr Augustine Mahiga.

The current budget has been reduced from 111 million US dollars presented to the House in the previous financial year, when the community had only five member states, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania.

The new budget, now with South Sudan aboard, prioritizes the full implementation of the EAC Single Customs Territory, enhanced implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol especially additional commitments and interconnectivity of border immigration systems and procedures across Partner States and enhancement of productivity and value addition in key productive sectors.

The budget also takes cognisance of development of cross-border infrastructure and harmonisation of laws, policies and standards in respective sub-sectors, implementation of a liberalised EAC airspace, enhanced implementation a One Area Network in telecommunications and the implementation of EAC Peace and Security initiatives.

According to the Minister, other key specific priorities are strengthening of the legal and judicial systems, enhancement of Information, Communication and Education to promote popular participation of the citizenry in the EAC integration process and promotion of education, science and technology for creative and productive human resources.

The Chair of Council termed the establishment of a policy framework and institutional structures for establishment of the EAC Political Federation as another key priority area in the coming financial year.

The budget is allocated to the Organs and Institutions of the EAC as follows; East African Community Secretariat (US $57, 872, 785), East African Legislative Assembly (US $16,034,324) and the East African Court of Justice (US $4,286,477).

The Inter-University Council for East Africa shall receive (US $4,553,890), Lake Victoria Basin Commission (US $11,214,708) while US $ 2,131,422 is earmarked for the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation.

On their part, the East African Science and Technology Commission shall receive US $ 1,161,438, East African Kiswahili Commission (US $ 1,134,542) and the East African Health Research Commission (US $ 1,397,438).

The East African Competition Authority is to benefit from US $587,565 in the Financial Year. The 2016/2017 Budget is to be financed by Partner State contributions (US $47,565,377) compared to US $ 47 566,973 in the current Financial Year; Development Partners support (US $ 46,717,601) which is a significant drop from US $ 58,555,635 of the previous year.

The Member Universities will inject USD 431, 923, General Reserves USD 6, 354, 248 and miscellaneous revenue USD 305, 440. The EAC Political Federation is yet a key priority area on the agenda in the coming Financial Year as the mode of the regional Constitution making process commences.

The same applies to strengthening of regional and international relations through mobilisation of Partner States’ diplomatic missions and the East African diaspora for effective participation in EAC integration processes and building of multilateral/ international networks in pursuit of EAC objectives.

The Minister highlighted a number of achievements registered in the Financial Year 2015/2016, notably, the up scaling of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) through finalisation of operational instruments of the business manuals, deployment of SCT Monitoring and Evaluation tools and deployment of staff in some Partner States.

The minister remarked that 10 out of the 15 One Stop Border Posts were already operational.

{The government has closed the chapter on the longstanding battle with former employees of the defunct East African Community (EAC), which collapsed in June 1977, insisting that all of them have been paid accordingly.
}

Minister for Finance and Planning Dr Philip Mpango dismissed claims that it still has outstanding dues it owes former employees. He told the National Assembly here yesterday that a total of 117bn/- has been paid to 31,788 workers as pension so far.

Dr Mpango said from 2005 to 2010, the government paid 31,519 workers out of 31,831 a total of 115.3bn/-, adding that those who got paid are the ones who were proved to have been employed by the defunct community.

Minister Mpango further said that from 2011 to 2013, the government continued to clear those who were not paid on a case by case basis, in which 269 workers were paid 1.6bn/-.

He said the exercise to receive new payment demands was officially closed on December 31, 2013.

Minister Mpango was responding to a question by Ms Susan Mgonokolima (Special Seats—Chadema), who wanted to know whether the government has settled all outstanding dues to the EAC former workers. However, Faida Mohamed Bakari (Special Seats—CCM), said it wasn’t true that all ex-EAC workers were paid as the minister claimed.

She said some of them died without being paid, giving an example of one Mohammed Kombo Maalim from Pemba who died without being paid. Giving further clearance, Attorney General (AG) George Masaju, said some former workers lodged an appeal for payment of additional terminal benefits but the appeal was dismissed.

Early this year, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal lodged by former employees of EAC for payment of more than 2.1 trillion/- as additional terminal benefits.

The dispute in question could be traced since June 30, 1977 when the countries of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda disbanded from the members of a body of regional cooperation called East African Community. Prior to that, the three countries under the Community carried on many joint activities.

They included a common air carrier, a harbours corporation, railways, posts and telecommunications; and cargo handling services, just to mention a few. However, in December 1976, the Community began to break up with the collapse of some of its corporations.

From then on, the three countries took their different paths and each established its own entities to take over the places and functions of the many institutions of the defunct Community.

Due to its collapse, the employment relationship between the Community and its staff came to an end.

Even though most of its staff members were taken on board by the newly-established institutions, they were not paid the pensions and other benefits that they were earning as EAC employees.

It took them many years of following up before a decision was finally made to pay them.