IGIHE

Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • Kenya: Life Imprisonment for Reckless Drivers

    {{In Kenya, a new traffic law will earn a Life jail sentence to drivers that cause death through reckless driving.}}

    President Kibaki has assented to the new traffic law.

    The Kenya Traffic (Amendment) Act also guards against drunk driving as it proposes a stiffer penalty for those found guilty of the offence.

    A person convicted of the offence will be fined Sh500,000, a 10-year jail term or both.

    The Act comes into effect as Kenya grapples with increasing road accidents largely blamed on reckless driving.

    Statistics from the Kenya Traffic department indicate that eight people die and 20 others are injured every day due to road accidents.

    The clause on drunk driving caters for all drivers and members of Parliament said the section would help reduce road accidents.

  • Etihad Air Blocked From Operating in Ethiopia

    {{A regular Gulf aviation source has let it drop that anger is boiling over in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, after it was learned that the Ethiopian authorities have withheld approvals for Etihad to commence flights, due to start on November 2.}}

    “The bilateral air service agreements are clear – Etihad has the right to fly to Addis Ababa. They have spent a lot of money to prepare for the launch, marketing and all, staff employment in Ethiopia, rent, investments in all sorts of things, lined up media and agents fam trips, and all is now in jeopardy.

    I would not be surprised if on landing in the UAE, Ethiopian may not be subjected to a series of ramp checks at Dubai International to drive home the point that you do not mess around like that.

    It might also have a fall-out on political relations between the UAE and Ethiopia, as such blatant breaches of protocol, especially in the Arab world, means loss of face and THAT will have a reaction somewhere,” wrote the source in an email just received, as the Gulf is an hour ahead of East Africa.

    Presently, it is Ethiopian and Emirates flying between Dubai and Addis, and FlyDubai from Sharjah to Addis while Etihad wanted to launch later this week flights between Abu Dhabi and Addis.

    Notably Ethiopian Airlines tried their luck with flights to Abu Dhabi a few years ago but failed to attract enough traffic, subsequently scrapping the route within months and now thought to have peddled influence with the authorities to keep what has been described by a source in Addis as “unwelcome competition from another Gulf giant” out of their back yard. Could this be true?

    In aviation, and considering the recent politicization of the airline in a radical departure from the past strict division of airline and ruling party, nothing would surprise.

  • Belgium Official Calls for End of DRC Armed Rebellion

    {{The President of the Belgian National Assembly, André Flahaut, October 31, asked Belgium government and “all Western countries” to engage in activism aimed at ending armed groups in eastern DRC. }}

    Flahaut called on States affected by insecurity in this part of Africa to commit to implement all that is needed to stop acts of rebellion and mutiny.

    During a press conference held at the office of the governor of North Kivu, André Flahaut said, “It is necessary to stop all actions that are currently carried out by small groups.”

    “We need all the States concerned undertake to implement all that is needed to eventually stop acts of rebellion and mutiny. ”

    He noted that stability in the sub-region is through the respect of the sovereignty and integrity of these states.

    “This is a prerequisite. We can not consider dialogue if we are not facing the states which are fully sovereign “he said.

  • US$255m WB Loan To Improve Tanzania’s Local Governments

    {{The World Bank (WB) board of executive directors has approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit of $255 million for a new initiative to improve financial management performance of 18 local governments and strengthen their ability to deliver urban services to over 2.6 million Tanzanians. }}

    A statement released in Washington recently, had it that the Urban Local Government Strengthening Programme will use the bank’s new financing instrument known as Programme-for-Results (P-for-R) that directly links disbursement of funds to verified development results.

    The programme will deliver a range of improvements in urban services, including construction of small bridges, installation of streetlights, and improved waste management among others.

    The capacity-building component will support urban planning, revenue mobilisation, strengthening of procurement practices and improved management of human resources. The funds are provided by the International Development Association.

    “Tanzania is urbanising rapidly as 25 per cent of its population already lives in cities, a number that is expected to rise to over 40 per cent of the country’s population by 2030.

    Urban areas will play an important role in driving economic growth and meeting poverty reduction targets.

    Improving access to services in urban areas is critical for improving the quality of life of ordinary Tanzanian citizens and reducing poverty,” said Mr Philippe Dongier, WB country director.

    The authorities will include municipal councils of Tabora, Morogoro, Shinyanga, Sumbawanga, Moshi, Musoma, Songea, Singida, Bukoba, Lindi and Iringa.

    The town councils include Kibaha, Geita, Babati, Korogwe, Mpanda, Njombe and Bariadi. According to latest estimates, the country’s total population is 42 million.

  • US. Musician Dwele Arrives for Kenya Jig

    {{American RnB singer Dwele is due to set foot in Kenya for the first time ever, when he lands at the airport ahead of a star-studded Blankets and Wine event on Sunday.}}

    Dwele’s arrival comes after weeks of anticipation, and he will be accompanied by three members of his band when he touches down at the JKIA.

    “There will be several rehearsals before Dwele’s performance on the weekend; Dwele will be rehearsing with Aaron Rimbui and his band,” said the organisers, while explaining his 6-day visit.

    Apart from interviews and a couple of private functions, the American musician’s itinerary will involve a trip to the animal orphanage, something that is becoming a common past-time for visiting celebrities.

    Dwele’s performance this weekend is spawned by an abrupt cancellation of a concert scheduled for September.

  • German Investors Target East Africa

    {{The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) Ambassador Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera has exhorted German business to invest in East Africa, saying that the region is peaceful and has enormous opportunities for investments.}}

    “I am challenging the German community to come to East Africa for both business and tourism to take advantage of fruits of EA integration,” he said when opening the first EAC-German Business Forum in Berlin on 30 October, 2012.

    The Secretary General added that commercial presence of German business community in hotel and hospitality industry in East Africa, and noted that the manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, motor vehicle assembling and spare parts sectors could be further expanded into new avenues for mutual benefit.

    He highlighted the fastest growing segment of the EAC economy and the investment opportunities that have become available in the service sector, which include ICT, finance, insurance, tourism, agro-processing, mining, infrastructure and renewable energy.

    Amb. Sezibera assured his audience that included the German State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Hans-Jurgen Beerfeltz among other leading prominent German businessmen and experts, that East Africa was stable and secured for investors.

    The Secretary General explained that the EAC has been commended as one of the successful Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa.

    He told the Forum the World Bank Doing Business 2012 report had revealed that EAC Partner States are among the fastest reforming countries in the world.

    “The Report acknowledges the progress made by the EAC Partner States in making the business environment better over the past five years.

    EAC intra-regional trade also rose to 23 % of the total value of exports, the highest of all the African regional economic communities,” Amb. Sezibera said.

    The Secretary General noted that in a relatively short spell of eleven years, the EAC is at the verge of concluding the Monetary Union Protocol currently being negotiated by the Partner States, whose ultimate aim is to usher in single currency.

    The five-nation economic bloc is currently implementing the Customs Union and the Common Market protocols.

    The EAC chief explained the steps being taken to ease the challenges and other infrastructural deficiencies.

    “The challenges are also business opportunities such as in energy and other infrastructural shortfalls in EAC countries,” he stated.

    He lauded the German government’s generous assistance in the construction of the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania, at a cost of 15 million euros.

    The headquarters will be formally inaugurated by the EAC Heads of State on 28 November.

    The German State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development on his part said that East Africa was on right course to economic reforms.

    “Germany can provide best practices to realize the opportunities that exist in East Africa,” he said, adding that his country looked at the African continent positively for mutual benefit. He encouraged German businessmen to invest in East Africa.

    Also speaking at the event, Kenya’s Ambassador to Germany and chair of the EAC Ambassadors in Germany His Excellency Ken Nyauncho Osinde affirmed that the East African community in Germany was out to market the region as a single tourist destination.

    He asserted the EAC Ambassadors desire to do all they could to deepen the friendly ties that exist between the EAC and the Federal Republic of Germany.

    German counterparts gave testimonies of dealing with EAC business community through the German African Business Association and the challenges therein.

    The EAC Treaty places the private sector at the heart of integration process, which is the engine of the regional economic growth.

    The high-powered EAC delegation was led by the Secretary General Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera while the EAC Diplomatic Missions in Germany organized the EAC participation.

    Representing the EAC business community and accompanying the Secretary General was the East African Business Council (EABC) Executive Director Mr. Andrew Luzze and Dorothy Tuma of the East African Women in Business Platform.

    The German delegation was led by the Hans-Jurgen Beerfeltz, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Dr Hans-Joachim Preub, member of GIZ Board and Wolfgang Knorle, Member of the Board of the German-African Business Association.

  • Botswana’s Envoy in Nairobi Attacked

    {{In Kenya, armed thugs broke into the residence of Botswana’s deputy High Commissioner in Nairobi’s Runda estate on Tuesday night and escaped with an unknown amount of money and valuables.}}

    Police said the envoy Elizabeth Masego who was sleeping in her house was not hurt during the midnight raid but her guard was injured.

    “It was a group of six men who broke into the envoy’s compound and gained access to the house where they stole some money,” Nairobi Provincial Police Chief Moses Nyakwama said, “she was not hurt.”

    He said a guard on duty was tied up by the thugs before they made their way into the main house and stole money and other valuables.

    Nyakwama said officers who went to the home soon after the raid had established that the thugs gained entry into the compound after demolishing a section of the main wall fence.

    The envoy’s residence is located on Baobab Street in Runda.

    “We are going to get them, an investigation has been launched,” he said.

    The guard who was wounded in the attack told police the thugs were armed with a pistol and some other crude weapons, including machetes.

  • EAC Leads Initiative For Peaceful Kenya Polls

    {{An international initiative supporting free and fair elections in Kenya began in Germany on Wednesday.}}

    The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Richard Sezibera led the international community in launching the ad hoc initiative called ‘The East African Friends of Kenya for Peaceful Elections – 2013’ in Berlin, Germany.

    Dr Sezibera said the initiative aims “at promoting peace and tolerance to all political players and encouraging Kenyans to resolve any electoral-related conflicts in a peaceful manner.”

    Dr Sezibera, who was accompanied by Kenya’s Ambassador to Germany, Ken Nyauncho Osinde, told Germany Investment Conference that successful EAC integration requires a peaceful and stable environment.

    “Internal conflicts of whatever form, be they conflicts over shared resources or electoral will require an intra-regional mechanism that is privy to the context of the region and the conflict itself,” Dr Sezibera said.

    He said the 2007 Kenya’s post-election violence was a big lesson for EAC because “it got everybody by surprise.”

    “The consequences of the Kenyan post electoral violence in 2008 were not only palpable in the country itself but also beyond the borders,” Dr Sezibera said.

    He said the March 4, 2013 elections poses an exploratory opportunity at the regional scale to ensure that they are peaceful, transparent and ultimately contribute to regional economic and political stability.

    {{EAC trade}}

    Dr Sezibera said regional trade has increased from about USD2 billion in 2005 to USD4 billion in 2010.

    He said the region is fast-tracking the transposition of national laws that contradict the Common Market spirit to enable its successful implementation.

    He also said negotiations on Monetary Union which started in January 2011 are to be concluded this year.

    “By embracing a single currency, EAC Partner States would remove the costs of having to transact in different currencies and the risk of adverse exchange rate movements for traders and travellers,” Dr Sezibera said.

    It is envisaged that the East African Monetary Union (EAMU) will deepen regional integration.

    To promote political integration, EAC has developed protocol standards and benchmarks for good governance.

    “The scope of the proposal covers promotion and protection of human rights, adherence to the rule of law and access to justice, democracy and elections, mobilization of key stakeholders and combating corruption,” he said.

    On regional security, Dr Sezibera said the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global piracy reports indicate that incidents of Somali piracy activities have dropped from 163 in the first six months of 2011 to 69 in 2012.

  • Kenya Finds More Oil

    {{In Kenya Oil exploration operations reveal that Twiga well is said to have yielded 30 metres of net pay deposits at the depth of 2,337 metres…}}

  • Terrorists Planning to Hit Key Spots in Mombasa

    {{In Kenya, Security has been tightened in Mombasa and its suburbs following intelligence reports of impending terror attacks.}}

    Police reports show that terrorists are planning to hit key targets with systematic attacks which will cripple rescue efforts.

    “Corroborative reports point towards an imminent terrorist attack in the coast, especially within Mombasa city,” the police report seen by Capital FM News titled ‘Imminent Terrorist Attacks within the Coast’ region states.

    Police said they have established that the threats are a continuation of attacks thwarted in December 2011 when key terror suspects Fuad Abubakar Manswab and John Jermaine Grant were arrested.

    “Fuad who is out on bond intimated four weeks ago that there would be major simultaneous attacks in Mombasa, the magnitude of which would cripple any rescue efforts,” the confidential intelligence report reads in part.

    Vigilance House has not commented about the intelligence report, although our sources have told us that it has been shared widely amongst most senior officers there.

    Police are particularly worried because Fuad is still at large, despite an appeal by Police Spokesman Eric Kiraithe two weeks ago for him to present himself to the nearest police station.

    “He has ignored the same and continues planning the attacks,” the police say.

    According to police, there are two [terror] groups operating in Mombasa planning the attacks.

    One of the teams, the reports states, is named F1 and has been responsible for throwing grenades and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in various targets in the coast.

    Police believe this particular team is led by a Kenyan only identified as Maalim Khalid and has eight members namely, Tua Ibrahim Jibril aka Tafa, Tua, Zarqawi who was arrested and sent to jail in connection with armed robberies in the coast and Hassan Omondi Owiti aka Budalangi aka Budapest who escaped an October 16 security raid.