IGIHE

Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • Amileena opening for Efya at Tusker Malt 100 concert

    {{Tusker Project Fame finalist Amileena Mwenesi is set to curtain raise for Ghanaian superstar Efya at the upcoming Tusker Malt 100 Club concert.}}

    Amileena, who begun working on her debut album earlier this year, has promised a ‘grand opening performance’ when she hits the stage at the Carnivore Grounds on the 25th of April.

    The songstress has already released two singles this year, Hodi and Shine which will be part of her upcoming album Happiness.

    The album features production from Musyoka, R Kay and Ogopa DJs.

    Amileena, a trained hotelier, has also expressed an interest in acting, and her flair for the dramatic is evident in her onstage performances.

    Tusker Malt 100 Club is a community of Tusker Malt consumers, providing them with the opportunity to discover rising African music talent and interact with each other via TML100.com.

    It offers the members an opportunity to relax with like-minded people and discover great African musical talent.

    This will be the third Tusker Malt 100 Club concert, and the first this year.

    The first concert took place on the 28th September 2012 at the Auditorium of The National museum, showcasing Bez from Nigeria.

    The second event showcased Zonke form South Africa who performed at the Nairobi Arboretum on 22nd November 2012 at the and Friday 23rd Nov 2012 at Emin Pasha in Kampala – Uganda.

    {Capital FM}

  • AfDB Approves US$232.5 M For Tanzania-Kenya road Project

    {{The African Development Bank has approved two loans totalling 232.5 million U.S. dollars for the 157.5-km road project from Arusha to Holili in Tanzania, and Taveta to Voi in Kenya.}}

    According to a statement from the regional bank, the funds will help reduce the cost of transport and enhance access to agricultural inputs, larger markets and social services within the East Africa Community.

    AfDB’s Regional Director for the East Africa Resource Center, Gabriel Negatu said, “East African Community seeks to improve regional transport infrastructure to support economic and social development programs in the region, promote tourism and foster regional integration and at the same time reduce the cost of doing business by supporting cross-border and international trade.”

    The Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi Road is one of the transport corridors of the EAC region meant to reduce the cost of doing business, increase competitiveness of the region on the global market and at the same time promote regional integration.

    The Bank facility constitutes 89.1 percent of the total project cost.

    The project, which is expected to be completed by December 2018, is also jointly financed by the Kenyan and Tanzanian governments, contributing 15.6 million dollars and 12.3 million dollars, respectively.

    The Africa Trade Fund has extended a 0.74-million-dollar-grant for a small component for trade facilitation at the Namanga border, bringing to 262.2 million dollars the total cost of the project.

  • Zanzibari Taraab Singer,Bi Kidude Dies

    {{Tanzanian singer Fatma binti Baraka, known as Bi Kidude, has died at her home on the island of Zanzibar.}}

    Thought to be more than 100 years old, she was a legendary performer of Taarab, a style of Swahili Arab-influenced music.

    In 2005, she was awarded a prize for her contribution to world music at Womex, the annual gathering of the world music industry.

    She continued performing and touring until recently.

    Correspondents say Bi Kidude’s performances were known for their intense energy; she often beat a large drum and danced on stage as she sang.

    She also broke Muslim taboos by openly smoking and drinking alcohol, they say.

    ‘National treasure’
    According to Womex, she started her career as a Taraab singer in the 1920s.

    “She not only helped to maintain the cultural heritage, but also reinvented it, infusing it with local rhythms, Swahili language and matters of everyday life,” Womex said about her in 2005.

    The singer’s exact date of birth is not known, but she is believed to have been born in 1910.

    Bi Kidude was the subject of a documentary, As Old As My Tongue, a few years ago which reported that she began breaking rules at an early age, running away from a Koranic school at the age of 10.

    What was special about Bi Kidude was she lived the life that she wanted to live.

    “When she started singing Taraab, the female singers sang beneath the veil. She removed the veil – that was really revolutionary and so controversial.

    “She followed her own spirit. She ran away from two husbands, she was childless, she drank, she smoked, she really broke their rules but at the same time she embodied all the great cultural aspects of that island.”

    The singer was also generous with her time, teaching upcoming musicians, and with her money.

    “She’d go away touring around the world – come back with thousands and within days Bi Kidude was penniless because she was looking after everyone whether they were relatives or people coming with hard luck stories,” Ms Ray said.

    Bi Kidude was also a reputed herbalist, known for her asthma cures with people queuing for her medicine, Ms Ray added.

    “She was just true to herself. There’re not many people who can withstand that kind of controversy all their life,” she said.

    “And in the end she won everybody over – she is a national treasure now.”

    Watch Kidude on stage….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJSuER24vxc

    {wirestory}

  • WHO in Drive to Reduce Cases of High Blood Pressure

    {{The World Health Organisation has launched a campaign to reduce the number of people suffering from high blood pressure to coincide with this year’s World Health day.}}

    WHO country representative for Kenya, Ms Custodia Mandlhate, said the ‘High blood pressure is a silent killer, Be safe, Go for check-up’ campaign intends to create awareness as lifestyle diseases put pressure on public health facilities.

    Lifestyle diseases are rising in Kenya with cancer a leading cause of death. About 28,500 Kenyans are diagnosed with cancer annually and 22,100 of the affected die because of costly treatment.

    “Prevention and control of high blood pressure will go a long way in reducing heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure is a concern for each and everyone irrespective of age or social class,” said Ms Mandlhate.

    Chemotherapy costs between Sh6,000 and Sh600,000 depending on hospital and drugs. Patients pay between Sh500 and Sh1,000 a session of radiotherapy at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Private facilities charge up to Sh50,000 per week.

    Lifestyle diseases constitute half of admissions to public hospitals, according to the ministry’s figures.

    Sedentary lifestyle, obesity, stress, ageing, tobacco and excessive alcohol intake are some of the hypertension risk factors.

    The conditions can lead to complications such as heart failure, stroke, blindness and death. The world health agency estimates 17 million deaths occur every year globally due to cardiac diseases.

    WHO

  • Tanzania Scientists Create Super Papaya

    {{After years of research, local scientists have managed to create a papaya variant that offers Tanzanian farmers very high yields at a relatively low cost.}}

    The new strand effectively makes commercial pawpaw farming a feasible proposition, because it utilises 100 per cent of the plant’s available nutritional value.

    The bulk of current papaya variants have a yield rate of only 25 per cent, according to molecular plant virologist Joseph Ndunguru of the Mikocheni Agricultural Institute.

    Speaking at a workshop organised by the Bioscience for Farming in Africa, he said the new variant was a consequence of years of expensive, painstaking research.

    “The improved variety of papaya plants has been made possible at our modern laboratory,” noted Dr Ndunguru.

    “Traditionally, it is very expensive to grow pawpaws on traditional plants and the new variety overcomes the impediments. It is also cost effective.”

    He pointed out that a new variety could produce high-quality fruits in its every plant.

    Recently, President Jakaya Kikwete challenged scientists to conduct studies to establish the practicality of the technology to enable the government to act accordingly.

    He said as long as there were no proven major negative impacts, he saw no logic in opposing the technology.

    {Thecitizen}

  • S. Sudan Clarifies Powers ‘Removed from VP’

    {{South Sudan has attempted to clarify the powers president Salva Kiir has removed from his vice president, Riek Machar, following the shock announcement on state-owned South Sudan Television (SSTV) on Monday.}}

    The speaker of South Sudan’s National Legislative Assembly, James Wani Igga, said on Tuesday that the president “did not touch” the constitutional powers assigned to the vice president and did not dismiss him.

    The head of state had only withdrawn powers he had previously delegated to his deputy to help perform other important tasks he could not attend, the senior SPLM official said.

    “I read the read decree and looked at the transitional constitution and found that the president did not touch any constitutional powers assigned to the vice president.

    He [Kiir] had only withdrawn powers he had in the past delegated to his deputy.

    So let our people understand that the vice president is a still a vice president with all his constitutional powers”, Igga told reporters.

    James Kok Ruea, a former minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, currently a member of parliament noted, “There is confusion. People were confused when they heard it.

    Some people called yesterday to ask whether I have heard [about the] removal of the vice president.

    These were literate people. They are educated. They reads and write but because they were misinformed they thought all powers of the vice president were removed”.

    South Sudan Minister of information, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, at press conference explained, “Riek Machar is still a vice president with all constitutional powers.

    Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit is still a president with all his constitutional powers. They are all in office. What the president had done is that he had withdrawn powers he had previously delegated to the vice president.

    It is like you asking me to do some work for you when you are preoccupied. This is exactly what happened and it should be understood in this context”.

    He denied that there were any political differences between the president and his deputy .

    ST

  • Kenya Tea Prices Drop at Latest Auction

    {{The average price of Kenya’s top grade Broken Pekoe Ones tea slipped to $3.38 per kg at auction from $3.40 at the previous sale, leading trader Africa Tea Brokers (ATB) said on Wednesday.}}

    The east African economy is the world’s leading exporter of black tea, which is a major source of foreign exchange, fetching 112 billion Kenyan shillings ($1.33 billion) last year.

    Grade Best Broken Pekoe Ones (BP1) TEABP1-BEST-KE sold at $3.96-$2.80 per kg at the auction, compared to $3.80-$3.00 at the previous sale, ATB said.

    Best Pekoe Fanning Ones (PF1) TEAPF1-BEST-KE sold for $3.18-$2.58, compared to $3.16-$2.65.

    ATB said there was slightly better demand for the 140,689 packages on sale, with 19.8% left unsold.

    At the last sale, 21.8% of the 146,155 packages offered were not sold.

    ATB said Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries showed strong support and there was more activity from Pakistan Packers, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan (CIS), Sudan and Russia.

    Britain was less active and continued to be selective while Iran re-entered the market, it said, adding that Somalia also continued to be active. ($1 = 83.9000 Kenyan shillings).

    {reuters}

  • Uganda Agrees to Build oil Refinery

    {{Uganda government and two foreign oil firms have agreed to start with a small refinery with a capacity of 30,000 barrels per day.}}

    The country’s President Yoweri Museveni said the country has wasted a lot of time in making oil documents which has delayed its production.

    He said negotiations on the Memorandum of Understanding on building the refinery and pipeline had dragged on for a long time with officials from Tullow, Total, China’s Cnooc Ltd and Uganda’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

    “We have wasted too much time. We are now with the issue of oil for seven years. We need to make our final decisions,” he said in a statement.

  • Kenya Supreme Court Releases Ruling on Uhuru’s Petitions

    {{The Kenyan Supreme Court on Tuesday released a detailed judgment on petitions that challenged Uhuru Kenyatta’s election as the fourth president of Kenya.}}

    The ruling was not read in the open court but Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said the ruling will be made available to the public in booklets.

    The judgment dealt with the four questions that the court set for determination.

    One question was whether Uhuru and William Ruto were validly elected and constitutionally declared winners by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

    The court held on March 30, that the two were validly elected.

    They also answered the second issue that the presidential election was conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner and whether it was in compliance with the Constitution and all other relevant laws.

    The court also ruled on the third issue holding that rejected votes should not be included in determining the final tally of votes in favour of each candidate.

    The judges, however, ordered on the fourth issue that every party should pay its own costs of the petitions.

    Standard

  • S.Sudan Vice President Powers Chopped in Decree

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    {{Dinka vs Nuer}}

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

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

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

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

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

    Agencies