Tag: GreatLakesNews

{President Museveni has directed Finance minister Matia Kasaija to give the financially troubled Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) a bailout of Shs20 billion to help the national broadcaster get back on its feet.}

On October 12, Mr Museveni wrote to the Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Mr Frank Tumwebaze, and copied in, among others, the minister of Finance, the permanent secretary in the same ministry, who also doubles as the Secretary to the Treasury, and the secretary general of the ruling NRM.

“The Minister of Finance should also plan to capitalise UBC with a one-off fund to enable it take off,” Mr Museveni’s letter reads in part.

The directive was issued after it emerged that the national broadcaster’s debt burden had soared to within the region of Shs29 billion.

The indebtedness of the corporation, which runs two television stations and 11 FM radio stations, is believed to be the source of operational problems that it has been experiencing for the last couple of years.

The UBC managing director, Mr Winston Agaba, confirmed that the corporation is in dire straits, explaining that while the Uganda Broadcasting Act of 2005 had envisaged that the corporation would partly survive on a TV tax, it has never become operational, leaving it in financial mire.

Mr Agaba declined to reveal the extent of indebtedness of the corporation, but sources within the company have since told the Saturday Monitor that it owes at least Shs28.3billion to various individuals and organisations.

It has now emerged that Mr Museveni, who blamed the corporation’s huge debt on what he described as lack of seriousness on the part of a previous board of directors, also directed that the debts be subjected to some scrutiny.

In the same letter, Mr Museveni directed all government agencies to do more business with UBC.

Mr Tumwebaze yesterday confirmed the President’s directive, saying it had been prompted by a request from his ministry. The money is, however, yet to be released.

“We requested for Shs20b which the President agreed to, but the Ministry of Finance is first of all doing a forensic audit into UBC before it releases the funds,” he said.

{Deputy President William Ruto’s personal assistant Farouk Kibet received Sh1.5 million from Josephine Kabura Irungu, the woman named as a key suspect in the looting of the National Youth Service, introducing a new twist in the scandal that has gripped the nation’s attention since it was exposed last year.}

The fresh documents filed by Mr Kibet in a powerful parliamentary committee appear to contradict earlier statements that he received money from Mr Ben Gethi, a businessman who has also been charged in connection with the theft at NYS that led to the resignation of Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru and triggered multiple investigations.

Mr Kibet has told the Public Accounts Committee in a written submission that he had asked his acquaintance, Mr Gethi, for a soft loan of Sh2 million in January 2015 to assist a patient going for treatment in India.

But the submission seen by the Nation and the attached sequence of deposits in his account at Family Bank raises interesting questions and for the first time documents what appears to be a link between Mr Gethi, Ms Kabura and Mr Kibet.

The deputy president’s aide, however, insisted in the filed documents he did not know Ms Kabura and had only been in contact with Mr Gethi.

A bank statement he attached to his submission shows that on January 17, Ms Kabura deposited Sh500,000 in Mr Kibet’s account.

Almost two months later, on March 20, Ms Kabura deposited another Sh1 million in Mr Kibet’s account. The deposits were made via Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS).

Interestingly, even as he claimed to have been in need of Sh2 million to assist the unnamed patient, Mr Kibet had Sh6.9 million in his account. At the time of the second deposit, he had Sh12.19 million in the account.

“I knew Ben Gethi in the course of general interactions in business in Nairobi,” said Mr Kibet.

“I don’t do any other business other than (being) the PA (personal assistant to Mr Ruto) and a farmer,” Mr Kibet said in a separate statement made to the police and attached to his submission to PAC.

Mr Kibet said he only got to know from a police officer that the money put in his account was from Ms Kabura, who he describes as “a person I did not know nor did I ask for any assistance”. He had been summoned and recorded a statement on the matter with the police in which he said he made the request for the soft loan when he met Mr Gethi in Nairobi.

Mr Kibet said he did not immediately realise that the first Sh500,000 had been deposited and only came to know about it when he went to withdraw some money.

“I thought that Ben Gethi had deposited to my account because he was the one I had requested money from,” he said, distancing himself from Ms Kabura whose name appears as the depositor.

When the Sh1 million was deposited about two months later, said Mr Kibet, he thought the request to Mr Gethi had been honoured. “I did not know whether he is the one who sent her to deposit that amount,” he said, adding that it was only when he went to withdraw some Sh110,000 did he realise that there was a new deposit in his account.

“I have never requested for my bank statement to study it,” he told invetigators on November 12 last year at Mazingira House, the headquarters of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

“Later I called Ben Gethi and thanked him for the money I had received,” Mr Kibet told the police. Mr Kibet told investigators that he refunded Mr Gethi the money in cash in June 2015. But in the statement to PAC he said that he refunded it in June 2016, something that could require clarification.

Known to close friends as Taigut, Mr Kibet has been a long-time ally of Mr Ruto. He was nominated as a councillor in 2007 in the then Wareng County Council and is known to have a strong network in business and political circles.

Although it had been reported that Mr Kibet received money believed to have been part of what was stolen from NYS, it was Ms Waiguru, the former powerful Cabinet Secretary, who gave PAC a diagram showing the frequency of calls between alleged major players in the scam.

In it, Mr Kibet was aclaimed to have communicated with Mr Gethi 262 times.

{{BANK STATEMENT}}

A bank statement for Out of the Box Solutions Ltd, which did business with the Devolution ministry but was paid out of NYS accounts, drawing it into the scam, was also revealed to have paid Sh15 million to a law firm in which Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen is a partner.

The deputy president recently criticised Ms Waiguru for dragging in others, including his allies, into the scandal instead of taking responsibility.

Mr Murkomen is yet to make his submission but has publicly denied involvement in the scandal and offered to appear before his parliamentary colleagues. The revelation of information pertaining to Mr Murkomen and Mr Kibet prompted the committee to consider inviting the two to appear before them. But with pressure from outside the team piling, they agreed to have them make written submissions.

“We’ll assess that and based on our assessment, we’ll decide whether to call them,” said PAC chairman Nicolas Gumbo when the decision was made.
That decision has, however, not gone down well with some in the committee, with Suba MP and ODM chairman John Mbadi writing to Mr Gumbo this past week questioning the decision.

“There is no justification for leaving out Senator Murkomen, who seems to know a lot, and Farouk Kibet, who evidence before the committee indicates not only received money from individuals under investigation but also had a lot of contacts with the individuals in question,” said Mr Mbadi in his letter. It is understood that some PAC members were furious because Mr Mbadi’s letter had been leaked to the press and attempted to have him summoned to the committee’s Thursday morning meeting, which he missed.

Mr Mbadi had expressed concern that PAC risked losing its respect and dignity and its report on the matter could lack credibility if it is seen to be shielding some witness from the public glare of interrogation.

“For the committee to come out as neutral, objective and fair in the whole saga, everybody who is adversely mentioned (should) get similar and equal treatment including being asked to appear before the committee without exceptions,” said Mr Mbadi.

He said the “popular interest” in the matter requires that those adversely mentioned appear before PAC.

{President John Magufuli has sent a condolence message to the President of Cuba, Mr Raul Castro, following the death of former Cuban President Fidel Castro, one of the world’s longest serving and most iconic leaders.}

“I have received with deep sorrow the death of the former president. On behalf of the government, the people of Tanzania and on my own behalf, I send condolences to you, the deceased’s family and the people of Cuba for losing someone important,” read in part the statement by the Directorate of Presidential Communication.

Meanwhile, Tanzanians have grieved the death of former Cuban President, Fidel Castro and described him as a true friend to the country and a revolutionary icon whose legacy will live on beyond his death.

The Cuban communist revolutionary, died on Friday at the age of 90. Speaking to the ‘Sunday News’ in separate interviews yesterday, politicians and scholars said that, Castro will be remembered globally as a revolutionary leader who did not waiver.

Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Secretary General, Abdulrahman Kinana said that his party recognises the life well lived of a great son of Cuba, the revolutionary, committed and visionary leader.

Mr Kinana said Fidel Castro has been an inspirational leader who dedicated himself to his country, people and friends. “Fidel, was committed to defeating oppression across the world.

Indeed, the history of Africa cannot be complete without mentioning the contribution of Fidel Castro.,” he said. He added that Fidel, committed resources, support and even lives of his people to oppose oppression in Africa.

In Tanzania, he said, Fidel was a true friend of the country, he helped development in Tanzania by building schools, providing technical support in various sectors including agriculture, medical and safety.

“Tanzania, has lost a true friend and a model to be emulated for years to come.” His leadership skills and commentate are second to none. He lead his country to development even through difficult embargo times, his country was able to develop successful professional sectors including medical which is second to none in the world. Mr Kinana said he is proud of knowing Fidel Castro and got leadership inspiration from him.

He sent his condolences to the people of Cuba, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Cuba Raúl Castro. University of Dar es Salaam Senior Lecturer, Dr Benson Banna described Castro as a revolutionary communist who does not waiver when it comes to defending of people’s rights. He said Tanzania will remember him for his contribution to the country’s health sector by providing scholarship for Tanzanians to study in his country.

“During his leadership, Castrol provided scholarship for Tanzanians to study medicine in his country,” Dr Banna added. He said Africa will also remember the Cuban leader for his great contribution in the liberation struggle in Southern Africa.

University of Dodoma Lecturer, Paul Loisulie said that Castro was well known across the world as revolutionary communist due to the system he used to take over the power and his efforts to strengthen communism. He said Castro was a close friend to the late Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and his contributions in Tanzania’s socialism cannot be ignored. Loisulie said that Cuba also contributed for the development of other sectors in the country such as education and health.

He said he was among the students who lived in one of the buildings at Ifakara Secondary school named Fidel Castro. The Tanzania/Cuba Friendship Society also conveyed their heartfelt condolences to the people and government of Cuba following the death of the beloved historic leader of the Cuban Revolution.

“We have been aware of and followed with great concern comrade Fidel’s failing health for a long while since 2006 when he underwent a major surgery,” said the Society Chairman Salim Msoma in a statement availed in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Mr Msoma said although Castro was not in direct control of Party and State affairs, his physical presence in the background Cuban scene was like a bright star shining and providing light and guidance to the political, socio-economic trajectory of the heroic Cuban society.

“Now that he has passed away that star has inevitably dimmed but not faded away completely. For he has bequeathed to history and generations an enduring lasting legacy in the form of his exemplary intellectual capacity, dedicated selfless leadership and inspiring revolutionary credentials,” he said.

He leaves behind a potent lesson and a message to all struggling humanity against indignity, exploitation and social oppression to firmly adhere to steadfastness, resistance and unwavering commitment to principles.

Mr Musoma said his nemesis western and US imperialism in particular as expected has greeted his death with euphoria and a sense of infantile celebration.

The Tanzanian/Cuban Friendship Society solemnly called on the Cuban people to hold high Fidel’s banner and spirit of eternal combat against injustices spawned by the bornagain neo-liberal predatory capitalism as we join hands to mourn the physical demise of the indefatigable son of Cuba, comrade Fidel Castro.

{25 November 2016 – Wrapping up a visit to Africa’s Great Lakes region, a United Nations envoy today urged stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) electoral process to do more to help ensure the country is able to hold peaceful elections.}

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo is at an important turning point in its political history – I call on all parties to demonstrate flexibility and readiness for compromise to create propitious conditions for peaceful and credible elections,” the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, Said Djinnit, said today, according to a news release from his office.

The envoy’s comments came at the end of a four-day trip to the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa. According to his office, the aim of the visit was to consult with a wide range of national stakeholders on the electoral process and related political issues and seek their views on how best to support the ongoing mediation efforts led by the Conference Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO), which, it said, are aimed at broadening the consensus on, and inclusivity of the electoral and political process building on the so-called Global Political Agreement reached on 18 October.

Last month, the DRC’s Constitutional Court granted a petition of the National Electoral Commission to postpone the elections to 2018. Meanwhile, on 18 October, participants in a national dialogue on elections signed an agreement to conduct the polls in April 2018 – however, the dialogue is being boycotted by several of the main opposition groups, some of which have been staging protests.

According to the news release, accompanied by senior officials from the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Mr. Djinnit held “fruitful” meetings with the Acting Secretary-General of CENCO, the representatives of the Presidential Majority, the opposition coalition of political parties known as the Rassemblement, as well as several individual political leaders. The UN envoy also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister-designate Samy Badibanga.

The news release also noted that in his meetings, Mr. Djinnit expressed support for the ongoing mediation efforts by CENCO, and encouraged representatives from the government and the Rassemblement to exercise restraint and take additional confidence-building measures to help create the enabling environment for successful and peaceful negotiations.

While in the region, the Special Envoy also visited the Republic of Congo, where he met with President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the country’s capital, Brazzaville. They discussed the preparation of the next meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the Framework for Peace, Security and Cooperation, which will be held in October 2017, as well as the need for promoting common ground between the electoral stakeholders in the DRC and the situation in Burundi.

{In a bid to combat poaching in the country, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has announced the establishment of a paramilitary force system that will directly protect animals from being attacked and killed by poachers.}

The ministry’s Permanent Secretary (PS), Major Gen. Gaudence Milanzi, said on Thursday evening that the government is prepared to stop poaching and that the new strategy is set to end the problem once and for all.

Major Gen. Milanzi was speaking on his ministry’s performance in a period of one year during an interview on a local TV station. He said members of the paramilitary unit will receive tough military training and will be equipped with modern weapons to face and fight poachers.

“We are going to establish a special unit that will be able to face poachers, these will be following military system and they will be equipped with modern weapons,” he said. According to the PS, the new unit is expected to directly face poachers on the ground.

“We are looking forward to improving officials’ working environment including their benefits, this will also improve their performance,” he said.

However, the PS said so far the situation is improving and a number of poachers have been arrested. He said the tourism sector contributes 17.5 per cent to the GDP and thus the government is forced to apply all means to protect the sector.

“This is one of the very important sectors for the country’s economic growth, we are therefore supposed to do everything in our powers to protect the sector so that it could continue attracting more tourists in the country,” he said.

He said the number of elephants is increasing in some areas except in Selous game reserve. However, he said his office is making sure the number is not going down anymore. “We had a serious problem in Selous game reserve, the number of elephants dropped from 100,000 to around 40,000.

At the moment we have managed to control the situation,” he noted.

He said his office is continuing to resolve some of challenges, which include invasion of pastoralists to the reserved areas and grazing animals in the hunting blocks. “I am asking my fellow Tanzanians to understand what we are doing, politicians must stop politicising issues related to the protection of our game reserves by shielding some pastoralists who invade reserved areas,” he noted.

On seized tusks, the PS said the government neither plans to sell them nor destroy them. On tourism, Major Gen. Milanzi said his office is doing everything in its power to promote tourism in the country. He said the ministry is also focusing at promoting beach, conference and culture tourism.

“We are now venturing on the other side in order to attract more tourists, we are now promoting our beaches, culture as well as conference tourism, our aim is to increase the number of tourists who come to our country from 1.1 million to a bigger number,” he said.

He added that his office is also promoting other parts of the country so that tourists could visit them. So far 80 per cent of tourists visit Northern regions of Tanzania. The ministry is also preparing special advertisement that will be aired on both international and local media outlets. Major Gen. Milanzi said CNN and BBC are among international TV stations that air Tanzania tourism adverts.

Recently, Tanzania aired tourism adverts in London during the World Tourism Forum (WTF). He added that those who advertise that Mt Kilimanjaro belongs to them instead of telling the truth that it is in Tanzania will not affect tourism business in the country anymore, since the ministry has already designed an advert that clearly states why tourists must come to Tanzania to climb Mt Kilimanjaro.

“Our advert tells that you can see Mt Kilimanjaro from any angle, but you can only climb Mt Kilimanjaro from its home, which is Tanzania,” he noted. On the revival of Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), the PS said the company is expected to promote tourism in the country by flying tourists to various destinations across the country. He said there will be advertisement and various articles will be published in newsletters and magazines that are found onboard ATCL’s bombardier planes.

On Value-Added Tax (VAT) on tourism, Major Gen. Milanzi said so far there is no negative impact from the government decisions.

He said the Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) statistics and Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) show that the number of tourists has been increasing.