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Kenya raises alarm over drought

Posted by Unknown Kamis, 07 November 2013 0 komentar

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto (right) test-drive one of the newly leased police vehicles at Uhuru Park on November 7, 2013. Kenya has raised an alarm that more than 1.6 million people may require urgent food aid.

Kenya has raised an alarm that more than 1.6 million people may require urgent food aid.

This follows the alert by government that 20 counties face drought as short rains are expected to be depressed.

Deputy President William Ruto has now directed the Ministry of Devolution and National Planning to share information on drought with counties to help them prepare for any eventuality.

The short rains season which normally starts in October and end in December is already a month old, but the Kenya Meteorological Department has warned that there would be “depressed rainfall.”

“The distribution of the rainfall in time and space is expected to be generally poor over most places in the country,” reads part of a dispatch by the Weatherman on the season.

“This will mainly be driven by the cooling of the Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) in the western Equatorial Indian Ocean adjacent to the East African coastline, coupled with warmer than average SSTs in the eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean adjacent to Australia (also called negative Indian Ocean Dipole – IOD).”

On Thursday, Mr Ruto directed that the Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and Planning convenes a meeting of line ministries on Wednesday next week with governors from 23 counties considered to be in arid or semi-arid areas.

The ministries will include those of Agriculture, Environment and Health and governors from counties of Samburu, Turkana, Mandera, Garissa, Wajir and Isiolo among others are expected to attend.

MANAGING DROUGHT

According to a dispatch from the Deputy President’s office, the leaders would meet “to agree on a framework for management of drought in ASALs and food security in the country.”

On Thursday, Mr Ruto met with the Chairman of the Governor’s Council as well as Cabinet Secretaries of the line ministries charged with aid responses. Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi also attended.

The Deputy President was briefed on the status of drought, food security situation and required interventions to mitigate impacts of impending drought.

Mr Ruto also directed that the Ministry of Agriculture should come up with figures of amount of food required versus what farmers are expected to harvest “to guide planning for interventions.”

The decision follows earlier projections that expected grain harvest would be at least ten million tons less than required.

In 2011, Kenya suffered a severe drought in which more than ten million people needed urgent food aid. Most of them were assisted through the famous Kenyans4Kenya fundraising campaign.

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Drivers clash over Mbarara park

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Police guard the Mbarara Taxi Operators Cooperative Society offices yesterday. Photo by Rajab Mukombozi

Mbarara- Police fired bullets and teargas in Mbarara Taxi Park yesterday to disperse members of two rival taxi groups who were fighting over management of the area.

Mbarara United Taxi Owners Conductors and Drivers Cooperative Society Ltd (MUTOCDCS) and Mbarara Taxi Operators Cooperative Society (MTOCS) have been bickering over management of the park for more than a year.

Efforts to unite them to manage it jointly have not yielded fruits.

“We agreed that Mbarara Municipal Council continues to manage the park until tender issues are solved by the IGG, but we were surprised to see council employing our rivals to manage the park on their behalf,”Mr Robert Beyagira, the chairperson MUTOCDCS, said.

“We removed the gate of the park for vehicles to operate freely to show our dissatisfaction,” he added.

Mr Beyagira claimed that their rivals armed with iron bars, machetes and stones, closed their offices yesterday morning and began beating them, triggering retaliation before the police was called in. But MTUOCS also accused the council of failing to tame the rival group.

“After the IGG halted the tender award process last month, we agreed that Mbarara Municipal Council remains managing the park but our rivals have remained the commanders here at the park, ” Mr Sunday Bukenya, the chairperson of the group, said, adding that they decided to storm the park and push them out.
Mr Bukenya said they want the council to manage the park independently.
However, the town clerk, Mr Johnson Baryantuma, said they have employed independent workers.

“We are not employing any person from these rival groups. We are still working on the recommendation of the IGG that we manage the park ourselves until a final position on this matter is given. Clashes are just brought by their confusion,” Mr Baryantuma said.

Kakoba Division is supposed to manage the park on behalf of the council.
Ms Polly Namaye, the Rwizi region police spokesperson, said they will remain in the park to keep order.

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Woman Tries To Sell Baby In Airport Toilet

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Woman Tries To Sell Baby In
Airport Toilet.

A woman has been arrested in Turkey for allegedly trying to sell her baby to a couple in a toilet at an airport.

Turkish police released CCTV showing the 22-year-old, identified as Dinara A, arriving at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport in a taxi with her mother - and the child in a carrycot.
Once the cab leaves, the woman can be seen speaking on her mobile phone.
The security footage then shows a couple at the airport - the woman with a handbag and man with a red suitcase - heading to meet her.
Dinara A enters the toilet with the baby, followed by the other woman who is seen leaving the facility with the baby.
Police said the woman agreed to hand over the child to the Turkish-born German couple in an airport toilet on September 14 in exchange for 1,000 Turkish Liras (£310), Dogan News Agency reported.
According to police sources, the German woman decided to return the baby to the toilets after she realised she could not pass through passport control with the child.
She later called police claiming she had found the baby in the toilet.
Dinara A, her baby, and mother were later deported from Turkey.
The German woman was released after providing testimony.

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UK cuts aid to Uganda over graft

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The United Kingdom has cut aid to the Uganda government accusing its officials of stealing billions of shillings in aid money.

The Express of UK quotes a top Conservative Party official, Justice Greening, as saying 1.3million Pounds, approximately 5.2 billion shillings was diverted by government officials.

About 37.5 million Pounds meant to be sent to Uganda over two years is now to go directly to charities working with the poor.

Greening, who has been leading the campaign for aid cuts to Uganda, is quoted by the Express as saying it cannot be business as usual.

The aid cuts are in relation to the Auditor General’s findings last year that unearthed theft of up to 50 billion shillings in the Prime Minister’s Office. The money meant for post war programmes in Northern Uganda was reportedly misappropriated by staff at the Office of the Prime Minister.

One of the officials, Principal Accountant Geoffrey Kazinda, is currently serving a five-year jail term at Luzira Prison.

After the scandal, several countries including Britain, Ireland, Norway and Denmark suspended aid to the Ugandan government.

The paper quotes Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi saying Police have undertaken extensive investigations in the affected ministries.

Last year the UK's total aid budget for Uganda was about 99 million pounds.

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Odinga offers to mediate in Tanzania, EAC fall out

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Nairobi- Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga yesterday offered to help resolve the controversy threatening to break up the East African Community (EAC).

Mr Odinga appealed to presidents Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Yoweri Museveni, Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania) and Paul Kagame (Rwanda) to urgently pick a panel of statesmen from the EAC to resolve the controversy that has seen Tanzania threaten to pull out of the political and economic bloc.

Panel of statesmen
“I want to propose to regional heads of state that a panel of statesmen from the EAC be put together to work out a mechanism to resolve the impasse and put the union back on track,” he told a press conference.

Asked whether he was ready to sit on the panel if picked by President Kenyatta, Mr Odinga answered in the affirmative.

“Yes, I’m ready to represent Kenya on that panel,” he said.
Mr Odinga’s concerns come in the wake of reports from Dar es Salaam that Tanzania was considering pulling out of the EAC.

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Former Zambian president pleads not guilty to graft

Posted by Unknown Rabu, 06 November 2013 0 komentar

Former Zambia president Rupiah Banda talks to sympathizers outside the Lusaka magistrate court yesterday, after pleading not guilty to charges of corrupt practices by a public officer and concealing gratification

Lusaka. Zambia’s embattled ex-president Rupiah Banda pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of illicitly receiving election campaign vehicles from a Chinese-linked construction firm.

Banda, who ruled Zambia between 2008 and 2011, is accused of receiving 10 trucks from the local subsidiaries of China’s Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group.

“I understand the charge your honour and I plead not guilty,” Banda said after the magistrate read the charge.

The 76 year-old also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of concealing the fact he received the trucks by registering them under the names of family members and a supporter.

It is alleged that the former leader used the vehicles, including Mitsubishi Canters and Fuso Fighters, in his 2011 re-election campaign, which he lost to current president Michael Sata.

Since Mr Sata came to power he has rolled out an anti-corruption drive that has seen senior politicians and diplomats hauled before courts.

But critics accuse him of using the campaign as an excuse to clamp down on critics, including launching a slew of charges against Banda.

The former president has been accused of personally benefiting from a $2.5 million oil deal and has been blocked from leaving the country three times since April.

The trial was set for 26 November and Banda was released on police bond.

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M23 fighters agree to end rebellion in DRC

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Congolese refugees flee into Uganda recently following fighting between DR Congo government and M23 rebels. The rebels have announced a an end to rebellion.

The M23 rebel group in eastern DR Congo yesterday announced they will end rebellion to pursue a political solution to their country’s problems just hours after the government claimed military victory.

The group’s president, Mr Bertrand Bisimwa, called on its fighters to disarm and demobilise.

This effectively ends the 21- month uprising and offers hope for peace in the war-tone eastern DR Congo.

“The commanders of all major units are requested to prepare troops for disarmament and demobilisation on terms to be agreed with the government,” Mr Bisimwa said in a statement.

The announcement came as the DR Congo national army declared victory over the rebels, having seized control of the last stronghold that had been held by M23 rebels for close to one year.

The M23 commander, Brig Gen Sultani Makenga, is said to have fled into neighbouring Rwanda. Al-Jazeera news agency showed pictures of his abandoned home in the village of Chanzu.

It is not known if the declaration was in response to the demand made at a Summit of African Presidents that gathered in Pretoria, South Africa.

Presidents from the Great Lakes region and SADC demanded on Monday that the M23 denounce rebellion, followed by a public declaration of acceptance from the Kinshasha government.

Meanwhile, calm has returned to the border town of Bunagana. Several Ugandan families, who had fled their homes on Monday, are returning to the town.

Officials in Kisoro said at least 100 Uganda families were displaced on Monday.

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