IGIHE

Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • Uganda & Tanzania to Revive Southern Route

    {{Uganda and Tanzania are in advanced stages of the plan to revive a road linking the two countries from south of Uganda.}}

    Government officials from Uganda say this new deal will counter the uncertain route connecting Uganda to Mombasa port in Kenya where most Uganda has been using for its imports.

    Uganda’s Finance minister Maria Kiwanuka yesterday said the Uganda and Tanzania governments have endorsed the plan, adding that all line agencies were in advanced stages to implement it.

    Kiwanuka said there has always been a southern route through Mwanza or Mutula Town to Dar-es-Salaam, but noted that the current plan was not a short-term intervention in anticipation of the forthcoming elections in Kenya.

    “It is important for Uganda to have at least two alternative routes for continuity in supply and efficiency of services,” she said, adding: “This is a long term plan because the most expensive good is one that does not reach or delays.”

    The decision came after a joint ministerial meeting in Tanzania on January 25.

    According to Kiwanuka, the meeting was keen on ensuring smooth and rapid movement of goods through the route for both international and regional trade.

    NMG

  • Kenyan Cabinet Cuts Public Servants Salaries

    {{The Cabinet has supported the reduction of salaries for public servants in a move aimed at curbing the government’s wage bill.}}

    A statement from State House said that the Cabinet which met on Thursday was pleased with the recent announcement by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on the new pay structure in the public service, but said more should be done to cut the wage bill.

    “On the public wage bill, the Cabinet noted the bold steps taken by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) towards a long term solution to the public service wage bill.

    However, the Cabinet expressed concern that the measures announced by SRC are not adequate and more steps should be taken to further reduce the wage bill.”

    A Cabinet sub-committee was also formed to study the SRC report and develop comprehensive measures to further control the escalation of the public wage bill.

    On Tuesday, the Sarah Serem-led salaries commission released a new pay structure detailing a drastic reduction in the earnings of all public servants, including the President and Members of Parliament, Chief Justice, Governors, Senators and other constitutional office holders.

    The commission recommended a maximum earning of Sh1.7 million for the President from the current Sh2 million; Deputy President Sh1.48 million down from the current Sh1.93 million, MPs from Sh851,200 to Sh740,927 among others.

    Serem said that the government will save up to Sh500 million in the new salary scale.

    She said the current wage bill of Sh14 billion was unsustainable and could have led to a collapse of the government functions.

    “What we are trying to introduce is relativity and this means that there is an improvement at the lower levels while the top is reduced or maintained at the same level. I think what we need to appreciate as Kenyans is the fact that If you are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), we have moved to the High Dependency Unit (HDU),” she pointed out.

    The SRC arrived at the proposed figures with the assistance of PriceWaterhouseCoopers which conducted a job evaluation for all State offices. The process focused on job evaluation, assessment of level of skill or competency required, and comparison to international practices.

    Kenyans on Thursday got the first opportunity to participate in setting the salaries of State officers as the Salaries and Remuneration Commission began public hearings on the proposed pay.

    The public will be involved in the harmonisation of salaries for State officers only as required by Article 10 of the Constitution and the SRC will adjust the pay proposals before gazetting them at the end of the public hearings on February 15.

    Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) chairman Omboko Milemba was first to make his contribution and opposed the proposed salaries saying they were still too high.

    On Monday, President Kibaki called for support for SRC in its endeavour to ensure fairness in the remuneration of public servant.

    Capitalfm

  • AfDB to Boost Geothermal Development in EAC

    {{The African Development Bank is working on an ambitious geothermal development program for Africa.}}

    Apart from the gigantic projects such as the 400 MW geothermal development project under implementation in Menengai, Kenya, the AfDB is also working on a series of small-scale geothermal units, adapted to the specific context of each country of the East African Rift Valley having geothermal potential.

    It is currently working with the government of Djibouti on the development of a 50 MW power plant in the Lac Assal region.

    In Ethiopia, the AfDB has played a leading role in defining a geothermal development roadmap.

    In Tanzania, the AfDB is leading the development of the scaling-up renewable energy program of the Climate Investment Funds, which will include the financing of a geothermal development project.

    In the Comoros, the AfDB has started the identification process for a 20 MW geothermal plant, matching the needs of the archipelago.

    As explained by Tonia Kandiero, AfDB Resident Representative in Tanzania, during the 4th African Rift Geothermal Conference held in November 2012 in Nairobi, “Our ambition is to support the accelerated development of the large untapped geothermal resource potential in the Eastern Africa region.

    Geothermal development has been relatively limited in this region in the past.

    Only about 217 MW of geothermal energy has been developed so far, most of it being in Kenya. This is insignificant compared to the region’s huge potential, estimated at 10,000 MW in Kenya alone.”

  • M23 rebels & DRC Sign First Deal

    {{The DRC government and M23 rebels Wednesday signed a preliminary peace agreement during the dialogue presently ongoing in Kampala.}}

    Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, the chief facilitator of the dialogue hailed both sides for showing commitment to the peace negotiations taking place at Speke Resort Munyonyo.

    He said that the peace deal was reached in the “spirit of reconciliation” and was “significant” because it establishes the goodwill necessary for the talks to continue.

    The dialogue evaluated the implementation of the accord that was signed on March 23, 2009 between the DRC government and the Congréss National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) rebel group.

    However, implementation of the 2009 peace accord failed which led to the resurgence of the former CNDP fighters under the M23 group.

    Kiyonga said that the two warring sides accepted responsibility for the failure of the March 23, 2009 agreement reached between the government and the then CNDP.

    According to a review of the failed March peace accord, conducted by the rebels and the Congolese government, 23 provisions of the agreement were either fully or partially respected while 12 were “either poorly implemented or not implemented at all.”

    Kiyonga said the M23 rebels had violated a provision of that 2009 agreement which stated that any disputes were to be resolved through “political means” not militarily. He said both parties view the 2009 agreement as a document that is “still relevant. Accordingly, it is recommended that a monitoring and evaluation mechanism be established.”

    The talks began in December last year after regional Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) met in Kampala on November 24, to seek solutions to the security situation in Eastern DRC.

    NV

  • Kenya Politicians Must Avoid the word ‘Dog’

    {{Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has flagged three key phrases among them thief, uncircumcised and dog as some of those used to stir negative ethnic tensions.}}

    NCIC vice chairperson Millie Lwanga said the coded words were being used to create stereotypes against some of the target communities in a bid to mask direct hate speech and cause unnecessary tribal divisions.

    Lwanga added that the words, which were mostly used in vernacular settings, must be avoided during the campaign period as they undermined integration.

    “Thief, uncircumcised, dog, monkey or any animal phrase are terms we feel do not promote unity or anything positive in any way and they should not be tolerated. And we have a detailed list of many other words that we feel hamper cohesion,” she cautioned on Thursday.

    The commission, which was releasing findings of a survey on coded language, noted that their use was also widespread during the 2007 electioneering period, which led to a blood bath.

    NCIC Acting Director of Programmed Julius Jwan added that the words were mostly used in political contexts.

    “They are used to judge a given people or sway the views of an inner group about a given community. Some of these terms can be used to express outright hate and when you do this what are you trying to achieve?” he posed.

    Lwanga also said that there was need to embark on massive education to correct some of the perceptions as a means of fostering unity.

    She added that the diversity of Kenyan tribal differences could also be celebrated through the educative forums if they are held between different communities.

    “Now we are talking about governors so if someone comes to you and tells you, you cannot trust a member of community X because of either of these stereotypes then you know they are perpetrating negative stereotypes for political gain,” she argued.

    She also urged politicians to focus their campaigns on issues that would reform the country as opposed to hateful statements.

    Lwanga further reminded Kenyans of the 2007 bungled elections saying they must not allow a repeat.

    She observed that the commission was closely monitoring the campaigns being conducted country wide to ensure that they do not end up polarising the country.

    “We realise that when some statements are picked by certain people they may become ethnicised so we are trying to guard from that and we cannot wait for things to take their own natural course because it will be difficult to bring people back to the national agenda,” she argued.

    The commission also listed ignorance, suspicion, unfair generalisation of isolated incidents and ill motivated politicians as the root cause of these hateful words.

    The study was conducted last year sampling 39 counties across the country, with a total of 1,233 participants.

    capitalfm

  • Kenya & DRC to Strengthen Trade Cooperation

    {{The Embassy of Kenya in the DRC, in partnership with the Kenya Export Promotion council group (EPC) organized a trade show in Kinshasa capital (Feb 5-9) aimed at promoting economic partnership between the DRC and Kenya.}}

    The show is under the theme: “Achieving African economic development through trade and investment”.

    Operators at the trade show exhibited pharmaceutical products, printed material, and other manufactured goods made in Kenya.

    Prominent Kenyan firms including Kenya airways also exhibited their products at the economic forum.

    Director of Commercial Exchanges in Kenyan Export Promotion Group council (EPC), Maurice Abuom said the fair inaugurates the era of exploration of Kenyan products in the DRC.

    Abuom says the fair will also allow Kenyan entrepreneurs and employers to strengthen Congolese economic partnership.

    “We will do export and investment in the DRC where there are highly competitive products in terms of quality and accessibility. This is a reason for us to do business, “said Abuom.

  • ICC Requests ICTR to Prosecute Kenyatta & Ruto

    {{The International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested ICTR to try cases of two Kenyans; Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto MP for crimes against humanity.}}

    Although ICTR said it has not received any request from the ICC the spokesperson of the ICTR, Mpumilwa Danford said that the ICTR cannot prosecute the two men without the approval of the Security Council of the UN and the Tanzanian government adding that the mandate of the tribunal is to prosecute cases from Rwanda.

    “The ICTR was established by the Security Council to try those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda” Xinhua quoted the spokesman of the ICTR.

    Both men were among suspects indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC.

  • Mai-Mai Militia Kill FARDC Soldier at Military Base

    {{The Mai-Mai militia in DRC have reportedly killed a government soldier after they attacked a military base in the town of Kambo in the territory of Beni (North Kivu).}}

    Congolese Military sources in the region say the attackers also siezed two guns from the soldiers before retreating into the bush.

    According to the same sources, the militia came from the town of Kakasa, located about 20Km from Kambo.

    Civil society at Kasindi, a town near the village attacked, indicate that light gunfire were heard early Tuesday morning at Kambo area where people remained holed up in their homes , around 6 pm local time.

    Radiookapi

  • S. Sudan Church Calls for Separation of Religion & State

    {{The church in South Sudan has called on the government to review the current policy and constitutional provision which stipulates the separation of the state from religion and introduce a better new approach.}}

    In the resolutions passed on Sunday in Juba during a meeting called by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan, Rev. Peter Gai Lual, with all the constitutional post-holders in Juba who are Presbyterians, the church criticized the policy which it said should not hold after the independence from the former Sudan.

    The participants in the meeting included the Vice-President, ministers, deputy ministers, members of parliament and pastors.

    The ruling SPLM called for a secular state during the war and that was provided for in the 2005 peace deal with Khartoum and consequently enshrined in the interim constitution of the country before and after the split in July 2011.

    The church however argued that the idea of “separating the state from religion” was based on the fear that Khartoum wanted to make Islam the religion of the state as well as make Shariah law the basis for legislation in the whole country.

    Now that South Sudan is an independent state from Khartoum, the church feels that the policy should be reviewed and the constitutional provision amended.

    The resolutions acknowledge that “there is no state religion” but to “separate the state from religion” is not the best policy.

    The Vice-President, Riek Machar, who is also member of the Presbyterian Church and attended the church meeting also shared the new idea and consented to the need for dialogue in order to review the policy.

    Machar said the government through its relevant institutions including the constitutional review commission would dialogue with the church in general including representatives from other church denominations in South Sudan to look into the policy and come up with a better policy expression.

    He further explained that the main concern of the SPLM-led government was to make sure that no religion shall be imposed on the people as the state religion, adding that this can however be addressed without necessarily separating the state from religion.

    Hence, the expression that “there is no state religion” would address the concern, he said.

    The general church in South Sudan is concerned that the government doesn’t support its programs or even assist in rebuilding the church’s infrastructures such as hospitals and schools which were destroyed during the war simply because the policy separates it from religion.

    The country’s Vice-President acknowledged the difficulty the policy presents when the government tries to assist activities of the religious groups.

    Three months ago the government however facilitated the movement of hundreds of South Sudanese Muslim pilgrims to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to visit the Islamic holy land.

    (ST)

  • DRC & M23 Delegations to be cut to 12 Members Each

    {{The number of M23 delegates and the Congolese government in Kampala talks will reduce from 30 to 12 for each delegation. }}

    DRC delegates indicate that the bulk of the work has been done. But to the delegation of M23, this decrease in the number of delegates “must be decided between the two parties as was done during the increase.”

    In early January, the rebel delegation was accredited 5 new members, including the opposition politician Lumbala.

    At the end of January, the government delegates had indicated to be done with the evaluation of the agreement of 23 March 2009 that was the most important part of the talks in Kampala.

    The application of this agreement was the main demand of the M23 at the establishment of the rebel movement, which subsequently expanded its demands for democracy and human rights.

    The M23 rebels argue that Kinshasa government has not complied with the agreement of March 2009.

    “We, MPs and senators are there for two months. We participated in all discussions. And overall, the work evolved. Monitoring needs to be done by a group of technicians, “said Mr. Vila Konde Kikanda of North Kivu where M23 are based.