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The government has resolved to withdraw all UPDF troops in Somalia and other peace keeping missions in Africa and send the soldiers to protect Uganda’s western border with DRC, Premier Amama Mbabazi told Parliament on Thursday night.

The Prime minister made the statement while reading a response to the Leader of Opposition’s question on how Uganda is handling the Congo question in respect to the leaked UN report that Uganda was aiding the M23 rebels in the Democratic republic of Congo.

Mr Mbabazi said that Uganda has sent ICT minister Ruhakana Rugunda to the UN with a protest letter dismissing what he termed as “a UN amateurs report” on Uganda’s involvement in the DR Congo and failure by the western powers to recognise Uganda’s contribution to peace in the region.

It is in the letter that Uganda said it will withdraw from all peacekeeping missions to protect itself from possible invasion from Congo and UN sponsored terrorists.

“Why should we continue involving Uganda where the only reward we get is malignment? Why should the children of Ugandans die and we get malignment as a reward? Why should we invite retaliation by the al-shabaab by standing with the people of Somalia, only to get malignment by the UN system?” he asked.

“Since there are actors in the UN who are not able to understand that there can be principled actors in Africa and who think that all actors are looking for minerals like the imperialists did, we have now decided, after due consultations with our African brothers in the AU and ICGLR, to completely withdraw from regional peace efforts,” Mr Mbabazi said.

The East African Community and the People’s Republic of China today held discussions on partnerships to promote trade, investment and infrastructure development during a meeting at the EAC headquarters in Arusha.

Mr. Cao Jiachang, Deputy Director General of the Department of West Asian and African Affairs of China’s Ministry of Commerce led a 30-member delegation comprising government officials and Chinese entrepreneurs to the meeting with the EAC, whose delegation was led by the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration Mr. Jean Claude Nsengiyumva.

The two parties deliberated on a number of areas that offer the potential for collaboration between EAC and China including the energy, infrastructure, customs and trade, industrialization and tourism sectors.

Also discussed was the potential for building partnerships in the gender and youth segment, political affairs as well as developing the resources of Lake Victoria and its basin.

EAC’s Director for Infrastructure Mr. Philip Wambugu said the meeting was about deepening cooperation between EAC and China and would determine the pace of collaboration between the two.

He said the bloc valued China’s role in the development of the Partner States, noting that this was why China had been invited as a presenter at the EAC Summit Retreat on Infrastructure due in late November this year.

The Director briefed the delegation that included representatives from several reputable Chinese firms about the progress registered in the integration process so far, while the delegation was also apprised of opportunities for investment and partnership in areas such as ship and ferry building, pharmaceuticals, petro-chemicals, development of ports and development of regional road infrastructure, notably the Arusha-Holili-Voi Road.

Similarly, EAC highlighted potential for partnership with China in the areas of energy, customs and trade, development of markets, tourism, as well as countering terrorism and other crime through support towards the establishment of forensic and counter-terrorism centres in the region.

Mr. Cao Jiachang, the head of the Chinese delegation, on his part welcomed the talks and affirmed that China attaches great importance to its relationship with the EAC. Mr. Jiachang expressed China’s interest in supporting initiatives in energy, mining, industrialization, infrastructure, agriculture, human capacity development and security, among others.

He reiterated China’s readiness to support infrastructure development projects as well the industrialization of the region, saying, “We want to turn the EAC’s resource strength to industrial strength to increase the currently low trade volumes from EAC to China accounting for only 3% of trade between China and Africa”.

Mr. Jiachang added that China was open to scaling up trade with EAC and in that vein extended an invitation for a business delegation from the EAC Partner States as well as holding an EAC-China investment forum in the near future.

He announced a contribution of another grant contribution by China of US$ 100,000 for this year to support the EAC in developing cooperation programmes with China.

He proposed that the second meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Economy, Trade, Investment and Technical Cooperation planned for Beijing in 2013 be held towards the end of the second or the beginning of the third quarter of next year.

Closing the meeting, EAC’s Deputy Secretary General in charge of Finance and Administration Mr. Jean Claude Nsengiyumva appreciated the Chinese for their role in infrastructure development in the EAC Partner States and specifically for their support to the EAC Secretariat.

He invited the country to join the EAC’s Partnership Fund, which is a basket fund mechanism that supports various projects and programmes.

The talks were held in the context of the Framework Agreement on Economy, Trade, Investment and Technical Cooperation that the EAC and the People’s Republic of China signed in November last year.

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.

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.

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.