Tag: GreatLakesNews

{In a bold move to fight corruption, abuses against human rights, ill-acquired wealth, unprofessional manners and promote good governance, the government has launched a countrywide campaign that will bring to book all wrongdoers.}

This was learnt in government and National Audit Office of Tanzania (NAOT) report that was being discussed on developing an action plan programme, to monitor implementation of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) reports tabled annually in the National Assembly.

It was learnt that the CAG reports have been consistently exposing how public entities have been conniving with dishonest officials to deny the government multi-billion shillings in revenues and taxes.

Speaking at the Prevention and Combatting of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) HQs in Dar es Salaam launching ceremony yesterday, CAG, Professor Mussa Assad, said the discussions with the government are ongoing without giving more details.

“We normally carry-on the recommendation which had not been executed in our previous reports, but there is fear that change of government can influence some change in execution of some recommendations.

We are discussing with the government on this and I am optimistic we will succeed,” he told members of the press in the ceremony.

In attendance were Minister of State, President’s Office Public Service Management and Good Governance, Ms Angellah Kairuki, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Laurent Shirima, PCCB Director General, Mr Valentino Mlowola and Tanzania Commission as well as Human Rights and Good Governance Chairman, Mr Bahame Nyanduga.

In the same development, PPRA CEO noted that while there has been concern on implementation of reports published by the authority, positive signs have been there, adding that the new government is now working on their recommendations.

“We are monitoring implementation of reports issued by the authority and most of them are in various levels of implementation,” he said. The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and the Controller and Auditor General had released a series of reports, which as a result had implicated various senior government officials, including some ministers losing their titles.

PCCB Director General, Mr Mlowola said in this 2016/17 financial year, his office has received a sum of 46 corruption related cases from PPRA and CAG. “There are 34 cases from PPRA and 12 from CAG and all the cases are at different levels of investigations.

Those who will be implicated will face the wrath of the law,” he pointed out. Mr Mlowola who is also chairing the 2016 Human Rights and Public Ethics Day to be marked on December 10, this year, said that the level of corruption in the country and across the world is worrisome.

“It is serious and we need a collective approach to wrestle corruption in the community,” he said. Launching the campaign, Ms Kairuki said the aim of the drive is to help scale up public awareness on the impacts of corruption to individuals, community and national economy.

The minister said the government has resolved to bring all the watchdogs under the president’s office to forge collaboration in fighting corruption and promote ethics, human rights, accountability and good governance.

“The government is well committed to promoting good governance, human rights and public ethics but fight corruption,” she insisted.

She explained that the month-long campaign would feature a series of mass awareness programmes including seminars, dialogues, exhibitions and charity walks.

On his part, Mr Nyanduga noted that this year’s campaign would need mass support from individuals, communities and other stakeholders.

{Angered by the dismissal of its three-star general from a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, Kenya has now told off UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, triggering a diplomatic row.}

Kenya announced that it will not work with the global body’s peacekeeping department. It also accused the UN secretariat of “disrespect” and “bureaucratic arrogance.”

Kenya said the dismissal of Lieutenant-General Johnson Magoa Kimani Ondieki by Mr Ban was an “insult to us”.

“We know that some people were not happy with an African commander at the helm of the force. It boils down to that,” said Dr Monica Juma, the Principal Secretary in the Foreign Affairs ministry, in an exclusive interview with the Nation.

She said Kenya will also not send its soldiers to the proposed regional protection force for South Sudan, recently formed by the UN Security Council to join the roughly 12,000 UN peacekeepers serving there with a special mandate of protecting civilians.

She said Kenya had not received the UN report that recommended the dismissal of Lt-Gen Ondieki.

It all started on July 11, when South Sudanese troops allied to President Salva Kiir went on the rampage after winning a battle against his former Vice-President-turned rebel leader, Dr Riek Machar.

They stormed Terrain Hotel in the capital Juba, which is popular with foreigners, in one of the worst targeted attacks on aid workers in South Sudan’s three-year civil war. The soldiers are said to have raped foreign women, singling out Americans.

Dr Juma said before and after the raid, South Sudan had been hit by a wave of attacks on civilians — including at the Presidential palace — but the UN has not investigated the cases.

{{‘Higher premium’}}

“What was so special with the Terrain Hotel attack? Why is the premium put on Terrain Hotel higher than anywhere else?” Dr Juma asked.

Diplomatic sources said the United States had put pressure on the UN to act after its civilians were hurt during the attack, which is described as not one of the worst in Sudan.

By the time of the Terrain Hotel attack, Lt-Gen Ondieki was only three months into the job as the force commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. The Kenyan troops were stationed at the volatile Wau Town on the western bank of the Jur River, described as one of the most difficult territories in Sudan and yet the most stable.

During the attack, Lt-Gen Ondieki, who had not been inducted into the mission, is said to have asked an incident commander “to react”, as is the norm within the UN peacekeeping structure.

“What we know is that the contingent commander refused to carry out the command and he was reprimanded by Lt-Gen Ondieki,” said Dr Juma. “This was also communicated to New York but, surprisingly, this is not mentioned in the UN report.

“Instead, it is our commander who is being sacrificed.”

A UN team was picked to investigate the incident and the Kenyan commander was never called to defend himself against the allegations, said Dr Juma.

“They only visited Juba and flew back to New York,” says Dr Juma. “Lt-Gen Ondieki was then summoned in October 2016 and told that he was culpable.

“That is when he was asked to write a report.”

{{Regarding inquiry}}

In September, Deputy President William Ruto and senior government officials and diplomats, who were in New York attending the UN General Assembly meeting, were kept in the dark regarding the inquiry, she added.

The surprise came two weeks ago, when they called Kenya’s deputy head of mission Koki Muli and told her they had a serious report that recommended the removal of Lt-Gen Ondieki.

“You cannot just casually tell me that,” Dr Juma quotes Ms Muli as saying. “Where is the report?” Ms Muli is said to have asked.

By this time, according to Dr Juma, Ms Muli was told it was not finished and she protested the manner in which the matter was being handled. She then called Nairobi, and that is when the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Dr Amina Mohammed, demanded a copy of the report. She was given “a generic executive summary”.

So, far, Kenya has only received this executive summary and not the final report.

It is this handling of the matter that annoyed President Uhuru Kenyatta since the executive summary does not recommend Lt-Gen Ondieki’s removal but summarises the weaknesses within the UN mission’s structure.

“The President has a right to be angry, I can tell you he was mad at the treatment of his soldiers. Why do they single out Lt-Gen Ondieki if it is the structure that is wrong? If they have attributed failure to all the levels, why was our soldier made the sacrificial lamb,” said Dr Juma.

{Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Journalist in Danger (JED), its partner organization in Democratic Republic of Congo, condemn the jamming of the country’s two most popular radio stations during the past weekend, at a time of extreme political and social tension. The jamming of Radio France Internationale (a French station) and Radio Okapi (a station operated by the United Nations mission in the DRC) began on Friday without any warning or explanation.}

When asked about the jamming, information minister Lambert Mendé accused Radio France Internationale of acting as “echo chamber and press attaché” of the organizers of an opposition meeting. When pressed about Radio Okapi, he referred the questioner to the foreign ministry on the grounds that it is a UN station.

“The jamming of the signals of the two radio stations with the most listeners in the DRC is extremely worrying, while government minister Lambert Mendé’s statements show that the authorities do not deny responsibility,” said Clea Kahn-Sriber, the head of RSF’s Africa desk.

“In the currently fragile political context, this type of censorship could have a profound impact on public order as well as violating the Congolese public’s rights. We ask the country’s authorities to restore the signals of these two radio stations without delay and to stop violating freedom of information.”

The jamming began on the eve of a meeting that had been scheduled by the main opposition parties in Kinshasa although the Kinshasa provincial government has banned all demonstrations ever since those held on 19 and 20 September, which the police dispersed with a great deal of violence.

The police prevented Saturday’s demonstration by moving into the area where it was to have been held and occupying it for the entire day, and by using teargas to disperse groups as they began to gather in other parts of the city.

Ever since the electoral process stalled and mutated into a trial of strength between government and opposition, media outlets that serve as opposition mouthpieces or interview opposition politicians have been exposed to the possibility of closure or reprisals of other kinds.

At least ten media outlets have been closed arbitrarily in the past 24 months. After being closed for a year, two – Vital Kamhere’s Canal Futur Télévision (CFTV) and Jean-Pierre Bemba’s Canal Kin Télévision (CKTV) – reopened in August as a result of political dialogue boycotted by the opposition coalition known as the Rassemblement.

The DRC is ranked 152nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom Index.

{After authorities in Simanjiro District slapped a ban on permits to transport donkeys on trucks from the district, racketeers now ride the animals into the forest, slaughter them, fry the meat and transport it to awaiting markets.}

There has been an increase in the theft of donkeys from homes in the district after which they are herded to the bushes where they are slaughtered.

The carcasses are then deep fried ready for sale. Apparently, fried donkey meat commands higher prices, especially in Dodoma and as far as China.

This trend has been reported in Naberera, Namalulu, Lolibosioit, Terrat and Ilboreti villages in Simanjiro District, Manyara Region, according to a veterinary officer for the Meru Animal Welfare Organisation, Dr Bwanga Dr Jumanne added that donkey meat is mostly exported to China while the hides are taken to Kenya.

“Once the carcasses are dipped in boiling oil, it makes the meat easier to transport without attracting suspicion from authorities,” explained Dr Jummanne.

Simanjiro District Commissioner (DC), Mr Zephania Chaula, revealed that local residents usually neglect their donkeys, who are used in various transport tasks while in times of drought they are used to fetch and carry water.

For most of other seasons, they are left to move freely and fend for themselves.

Mr Chaula added that there are people who steal the animals at night and transport them under cover of darkness, kill, skin and fry the meat ready for export.

The Manager in-Charge of ‘Punda Poa,’ project, which deals with taking care of neglected animals under the ‘Meru Animal Welfare Organisation,’ said the programme helps members of the Maasai tribe to construct sturdy fences to protect their animals.

{Before the mandate of the Burundian Ombudsman Mohamed Rukara expires at the end of November, some civil society and political party leaders say he was not able to accomplish his mission successfully as stipulated in Burundi Constitution.}

“Section 237 of the Burundian Constitution says Burundi Ombudsman has the mission to ensure the mediation between the government and citizens. But given the personality of Mohamed Rukara, as a member of the executive committee of the ruling party CNDD-FDD, could not independently accomplish his mission,” says Tatian Sibomana, the spokesman of the UPRONA party , the wing which is not officially recognized by the government of Burundi.

For Sibomana, it was very difficult for Rukara to fulfill his duty since an Ombudsman must be a wise and uncorrupted person who is not afraid of public institutions. “But the fact we heard once his spokesman alerting that Burundi Ombudsman had received death threats, shows sufficiently that he was not powerful,” deplores Sibomana. The spokesman of UPRONA mentions that he does not even expect more from the new Ombudsman who will be soon elected.

For Gabriel Rufyiri, the chairman of the Anti-corruption and Economic Malpractice Organization -OLUCOME, the Ombudsman has the task of examining and investigating the mismanagement of state funds and human rights violations committed by civil servants. “We cannot say the office of the Ombudsman has generally completed its mission,” says Rufyiri. He states that he could not work independently given the situation prevailing in the country. Rufyiri is pessimistic that the new Ombudsman will change anything since public institutions remain paralyzed in the country.

The Burundi Platform of Civil Society Organizations [PISC Burundi] is satisfied with the mission undertaken by Burundi Ombudsman Muhamed Rukara during his term. “He was able to reconcile religious leaders and organize peace conferences,” says the spokesman of PISC Burundi Hamza Venant Burikukiye. He asks his predecessor to continue in the same direction, especially to help Burundians promote the path of dialogue and abandon the use of force.

{Mr Museveni singled out former State Minister for Water Ms Maria Mutagamba for listening to him and implementing his pledge of solar-powered water scheme in Kabale District.}

Kabale. President Museveni has disclosed that his ministers have become defiant to him and the Permanent Secretaries think they are beyond reproach but added that the government is strong enough to withstand these challenges.

“Ekirungi government yanyu egumire, baminister nibajemera president, ba permanent secretaries tibarikugambwaho (It’s fortunate your government is strong, otherwise the ministers have become defiant while permanent secretaries think they are beyond reprimand),” he said.

However, Mr Museveni singled out former State Minister for Water Ms Maria Mutagamba for listening to him and implementing his pledge of solar-powered water scheme in Kabale District.

“This time I was lucky the former minister of water Ms Maria Mutagamba listened to me and implemented this pledge although they opted for the expensive method of digging a bore hole. I felt so happy because she did not forget or defy my pledge as other ministers do,” Museveni said.

He made the remarks on Saturday while launching a crop irrigation scheme at a garden of a local farmer, Mr Charles Rutaro who grows fruits and vegetables in Kyerero village in Bukinda sub-county, Kabale District.

Mr Museveni said his government plans to distribute solar-powered pumps to farmers across the country as one way of promoting irrigation for bigger crop yields.

He said similar solar-powered water pumps have been constructed in 12 other areas in the country.

Mr Museveni also thanked Rukiga residents for voting out former MP Jack Sabiiti, likening the Opposition former MP to orumbugu, a tropical weed that hampers crop growth.

“Sabiiti was like orumbugu. I thank you for uprooting this ‘orumbugu’ out of here. He has been disruptive. Thank you so much,” President Museveni said.

He asked farmers to preserve wetlands so as to get water for irrigating their crops.

President Museveni pledged a donation of a pick-up truck to Mr Charles Rutaro to help him in his fruit garden after the latter explained that he earns about Shs43 million annually from growing apples, tree tomatoes, passion fruits, fish farming, tomatoes and coffee.

Mr Rutaro said he sells passion fruits and tree tomatoes to different farmers in Kabale and neighbouring districts.

President Museveni ordered Agriculture minister Vincent Ssempija to construct a solar powered water pump at Hisesero wetland in Rubanda District to act as a demonstration project for other farmers.

The State Minister for Labour, Mr Herbert Kabafunzaki, also the Rukiga county MP lined up all the LC3 chairpersons and sub-county NRM party chairpersons that recommended that President Museveni should contest for presidency come 2021 general elections because of his continued pro-people approach for economic development.

The launch was witnessed by among others Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister for Agriculture Vincent Ssempija, Minister of Water and Environment Sam Cheptoris, State Minister for Planning Ministry of Finance David Bahati, State Minister for Labour Herbert Kabafunzaki and the re-known King of development in Kigezi sub-region Ceaser Mulenga.

{{Ministers react}}

Minister Kabafunzaki said the President could have been making a joke when he said his ministers defy him, adding that a minister cannot defy his appointing authority.

The State Minister for Regional Cooperation, Dr Philemon Mateke, declined to comment and referred this reporter to the President.

{Members of Parliament (MPs) yester-day opposed the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between East African Community (EAC) and European Union (EU), tying the government down on the deal.}

MPs from the ruling CCM and opposition camp concurred that the controversial pact was bent on killing the country’s in-dustries.

Industries, Trade and Investment Minister, Mr Charles Mwi-jage, had earlier presented the EPA document before the House to accommodate the legislators’ views.

The lawmakers reacted bitterly, arguing that the trade deal was only meant to under-de-velop the country.

Under EPA terms, the EU will liberalise its market for EAC goods by 100 per cent while EAC member states will have to lib-eralise their market by 82.6 per cent on a progressive basis over a period of 25 years after signing the pact.

Mr Zitto Kabwe (Kigoma Urban-ACT-Wazalendo) said the deal, which restricts introduction of new export duties and taxes will subject the country to loss of sovereignty right to negotiate on business and eventually affect the country’s economy.

He noted that the deal, if signed, will greatly contribute to revenue loss and create more dependence on imports of manu-factured goods from Europe.

Mr Kabwe noted that Tanzania stands to lose 853 million USD in 25 years should the government endorse the deal.

He advised the region to negotiate compensation mechanism on rev-enue losses, lest the deal remains ‘raw’.

Mr Kabwe noted that if not properly handled, the trade deal will eventually lead to yet another collapse of EAC.

Mr Hussein Bashe (Nzega Urban-CCM) faulted EPA, which has failed to recognise individual countries, preferring instead to regard the state as the regional bloc, with serious economic im-pacts.

“This deal is another triangular trade in another perspective.

It is against our dream of building an industrial economy, it will make us lose our development track,” he affirmed. Mr Bashe added; “It should be Tanzania and EU and not EU and EAC.

This thing is very controversial and if we are not keen enough, it’s obvious that we are going back to colonialism.”

The MP also foresaw the collapse of EAC due to mistrusts among member states, insisting that though other countries in the bloc have endorsed the deal, Tanzania should not rush into signing the document.

Ms Anatropia Theonest (Special Seats -Chadema), proposed that Tanzania should suggest to the EU which terms to ignore and which areas to improve.

“We should not just complain, we need to tell them what exactly do we need as a nation,” she said.

Ms Hawa Ghasia (Mtwara Rural – CCM), noted that few European countries were trading with Tanzania, arguing that ignoring the deal will have minimal impact on the country.

She said Tanzania will not be the first country to refuse signing such deals, citing Angola, Nigeria and Gambia which had rejected EPA.

Mr Kangi Lugola (Mwibara – CCM), cautioned that signing the deal will turn the country into the source of raw materials for European industries, frustrating the country’s industrialisation plan, as a result.

He charged that Tanzania will never afford competing with Europe whose products are more superior than domestically manufactured goods.

“EPA is not a free trade. It will undermine intra-EAC trade with flooding of EU sourced imports,” noted Mr Lugola, maintaining that the deal will condemn the country into a serious diversion of trade to EU and will badly undermine the EAC destiny.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Job Ndugai, said it needed some level of madness to endorse the controversial deal.