FACES IN THE NEWS
BEN BERNANKE: The US Federal Reserve chairman warned that the outlook for the US economy remains "unusually uncertain". He said record low interest rates would still be needed to support economic reco |
AU ministers agree to `take on' Al Shabaab
agreed to change the mandate of its peacekeeping mission, Amisom, in Somalia into a peace enforcement in an e?ort to engage the Al Shabaab militia. The change in mandate was discussed and agreed on |
Africa on the road to recovery, says World Bank
to economic recovery because of a growing and dynamic labour force in the cities, an improving technology base and a diversifying agricultural sector according to the World Bank. Vice president Obi |
Tyre firm in major row with German investor
SOUR DEAL: Geneal Tyes (EA) and Continental AG in stand-o ove poo supply and low output
end a troubled-multi-billion-dollar partnership with a German ?rm brokered in the mid-1990s over the General T |
A litany of mega deals gone sou
T bad. he Tanzania-German firm deal is just one of many that have gone Recently, Tanzania agreed to establish a new airline to replace the Air Tanzania after bowing to pressure from Chines |
EGYPT Beleagured BP signs drilling agreement for two fields
British Petroleum signed an agreement with Egypt to develop two offshore gas fields in the largest deal for the beleaguered energy giant since its drilling rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico off the U |
SOUTH AFRICA Retired Archbishop Tutu to withdraw from public life
Nobel Peace Prize winner and veteran of the antiApartheid struggle, Retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, announced his total withdrawal from public life.
Tutu, 79, said that he wanted to spend more tim |
Militaryand police patrol townships to avert attacks
A fresh wave of xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg forced the military to join police to patrol a Johannesburg township. 11 foreigners, migrants from
Zimbabwe and Mozambique, were injured in an atta |
MALI Salif Keita appointed African Union peace ambassador
Veteran musician, Salif Keita, 61, was appointed ambassador of peace by the African Union. AU commission chairman, JeanPing, said that ambassadors will help support the commission's efforts to solve c |
NIGERIA Editors guild fear for the safety of journalists
Nigerian Guild of Editors expressed fears that the state is no longer capable of protecting journalists going about their work.
Criminal gangs recently kidnapped four journalists and their driver i |
Soyinka forms party, plans to run for the presidency
Nobel Peace laureate for literature, Prof Wole Soyinka officially declared his intention to gun for Nigeria's presidency in next year's elections. The 76th-year old announced plans to to form a politi |
Tanzania bans middlemen from its onion farms
Tanzania has banned Ken yan dealers from buying onions at the farm gate in the Lake Eyasi basin. The ban which was imposed by local authorities also blocks farmers from signing any contract for |
We want to join you, DRC tells regional bloc
The Democratic Republic of Congo could soon join the East African Community following its application for an observer status in the bloc. The DRC government had already designated Juma-Alfani |
Q&A WITH ROBERT FOGLER
Rwanda's PE sector thriving on local funds
What is the worth of Rwanda's private equity industry?
PE funds in Rwanda hold combined assets exceeding $50 million.
Describe THVF's investment portfolio Our fund is owned by limited partner in |
Q&A WITH PAUL KAVUMA
Global investments have grown tenfold
How would you describe private equity?
Private equity represents a form of diversi?ed investment managed by professional investors that invest equity capital in private, generally unlisted companies |
A case for a secondary capital market for SMEs
Of all things that private equity funds in East Africa would want to ease their operations, a secondary capital market for SMEs ranks top. This would answer their prayers when it comes to exi |
African states' single currency goal is still on
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Venture capital becoming catalyst for SME growth
ernise, the venture capital and private equity industry will play a crucial role in connecting small and mid-sized businesses, with crucial long-term capital for growth. In developed markets, the i |
EA agrobusinesses next stop for private equity
African Agricultural Capi tal (AAC), is seeking to consolidate its capital base with a $25 million funding from international investors interested in both financial and social returns from Africa' |
SA ago fund taps into egion's potential
The Africa Agribusi ness Investment Fund (Agrivie), a South African private equity fund that began operations last year is seeking to establish itself in East Africa. The fund, whose focus is |
Donald Mogeni
How East Afica can use global cisis to escape the clutches of the West
T he persisting global eco nomic crisis marks the demise of the neo-lib eral model of development and globalisation -which, until recently, had been artificially sust |
Beyond Kikwete: Will the slighted Slaa be the sta of the succession scipt?
When, in 1995, Dr Wilbrod Slaa, a defrocked priest, won CCM's parliamenta ry primaries in Karatu, Arusha, the party's national structures turned him down in favou |
SOMALIA UN warns of dire humanitarian crisis
The UN has sounded an alarm over dire humanitarian crisis in Somalia which has continued to affect millions of people in the lawless nation. Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinato |
ZIMBABWE Chinese-built agriculture centre to benefit region
The construction of an agricultural technology demonstration centre by the Chinese government is 90 per cent complete.
The $6 million centre is part of 10 such centres to be constructed in Africa b |
ZAMBIA Reviewed school syllabus to include civic education
The country's secondary school curriculum will undergo comprehensive review to make pupils more responsible. The government has since introduced the teaching of civic education in some selected school |
SENEGAL FGM still prevalent, especially in rural areas
The national prevalence rate of female genital mutilation in the country stands at 28 per cent. In particular, the practice
respectively stands at 94 per cent and 93 per cent in Kolda in the south a |
CAMEROON EU to pay lawyers to speed up trials to decongest jails
The European Union has intervened to help decongest the country's jails.
It comprises of paying legal fees and charges to 200 lawyers who will formulate legal procedures to facilitate the speedy an |
CAR Angry militants kill 13 despite ceasefire agreement
A rebel group that had signed a ceasefire struck in the north killing 13 people.
Officials of the Movement of Centrafrican Liberators for Justice, admitted that the attackers from its ranks were an |
LIBYA Gaddafi asks Sudanese rebel to resume peace talks
Muammar Gaddafi for the first time called upon Darfur
rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim to return to Qatari-brokered peace talks. Ibrahim, the head of the Justice and Equality Movement, has been taking re |
GUINEA Court declares second round of election is necessary
The Supreme Court confirmed that there is a need for a second round in the country's presidential election. The first round on June 27 saw former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo garner 44 per cent |
As campaigns end, thee's a smell of Geens in the ai
We have just over one week to go! Just over one week to know whether the means of capturing and using power - the very structure of power - will change or not. My sense is that it will. The opinion |
Will the dums of wa help Somalia?
Africa's august body, the African Union, has indeed shown its willingness to confront terrorism on the continent. The issue now, as it holds its Summit meeting from July 19-27 at the Commonwealth Reso |
Scap the AU! Afica might be bette o without it
Travel around Africa and you will ?nd schools and roads built by European Union money; private sector foundations supported by USAID; projects funded by the DfID; mosques and health centres built by t |
Asha-Rose Migio AU summit has chance to aise women's pofile
he news of a pregnancy should ideally be met with joy - but often there is justi?able fear. The African Union Summit this week, whose focus is on the health of mothers and children, has a chance to |
Noel Kututwa Joint eot key to safe mothehood in Afica
he African Union has set itself a vital goal for its bi-annual meeting in Kampala this month. In the countdown to 2015 it is addressing the challenge of preventable maternal, infant and child deaths. |
Joachim Buwembo
It's so scay, religious fanatics won't spare even the capital
Every once in a few years in Uganda, an outrageous atroc ity is committed against us. We get shocked, grieve, swear to deal with our tormentors and then put the matter aside |
Blonde gift to a black Nigerian couple
In London, a white baby girl with a mop of blonde hair and blue eyes has been born to black parents. Ben and Angela Ihegboro, who are originally from Nigeria, were at a loss to explain the phenome |
William Ruto in thee acts: Yes, no, maybe
When it comes to issues surrounding Kenya's 2008 post-election crisis, William Ruto is one for the books. At the height of the violence, he told the BBC that without foreign intervention there wou |
Bashir's cat-and-mouse game with the ICC
Once again Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has thumbed his nose at the International Criminal Court, only this time he has done it in an ICC member country. On Wednesday, despite warrants issued |
Racism: Obama team beats hasty retreat
Last Monday, Shirley Sherrod, an African-American official in the US Department of Agriculture, was forced to step down after a video surfaced on the internet apparently showing her making racist rema |
Cameron gets WWII history all wrong
Traditionally, newly elected UK prime ministers make a point of visiting the US to offer obeisance to the socalled "special relationship."Tony Blair's craven groveling at the feet of George W. Bush |
Scientists push for GM cassavas to stem virus
C assava breeds that are resistant to two major viruses ( responsible for the Cassava mosaic disease and brown streak disease), could soon be available to farmers in Africa. Researchers at t |
Biodiesel wonder plant could spell doom for Kenya
much hyped potential of the Jatropha plant to solve Kenya's fuel challenges, especially since it is an environmentally friendly source of biodiesel. Experts are warning of the plant's setbacks and |
PART THREE Right man to end the genocide, wrong man to build a democracy
Rwanda goes to elections on August 9. President Paul Kagame is billed as favourite to win, although sections of the opposition have called for a boycott, saying that it will not be fair. |
Igad to send 2,000 troops to Somalia as EA talks tough
E ast Africa is adopting a hardline stance towards the Somaliabased Al Shabaab militia which claimed responsibility for the twinbomb attacks that killed at least 74 people in Kampala on July 11. |
How police focused on the wrong targets
Uganda police had been anticipating terrorist attacks as early as June but a focus on the wrong targets combined with friction between private security firms allowed the terrorists t |
How Al Shaabab became Al Qaeda's incidental stepchild
T he difference between Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab, two terror organisations that have dominated the news in the past week, lies in their origins. Al Qaeda was the product of a highly structured |
Uganda ponders unilateral action
bours have pledged soft support should the country choose to go on the o?ensive in Somalia as Kampala weighs its options in the wake of the twin bombing that left nearly 80 people dead late on July 11 |
Bourse, money markets calm after attacks
T he Uganda Securities Exchange stayed calm last week despite the terrorists attacks of July 11. Local investors and foreign players were apparently not shaken by the events because of its one-o |
Politicians call for diplomacy
Tanzania opposition politi cians have asked the East African Community and the African Union to pursue a diplomatic approach to restore peace in Somalia. The opposition has also criticised the |
Ou soldies ae on high alet, says Da
Tanzania has stepped up its border security in the wake of the Kampala twin terrorist bomb attacks that claimed the lives of 74 people. The Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) says defendin |
Breached and bombed, fibre line reveals redundancy gap
and absence of a framework under which telecom service providers can share infrastructure came to the fore last week as breached Internet cables brought business to a halt in Uganda. Earlier, damag |
Shap gowth in population woies `highly fetile' Uganda
World Population Day last week, Uganda was busy debating on how to control its galloping population growth. The landlocked country is ranked as one of the states with the highest fertility rates in |
Cod revival threatens Nile Perch exports to Europe
face a new threat - ?erce competition from cod white fresh ?sh in the lucrative European market. The ?sh is a favourite in Europe but, until a few years ago, its stocks had dwindled to worrying lev |
New taining pogamme to fight HIV among health wokes launched
Anew training programme for health workers on safe blood collection procedures will help fight against transmission of HIV within healthcare institutions in Africa. The programme aims to prev |
KWS goes digital in tracking, protecting lions
has introduced a digital animal tracking system, in a bid to reduce human-wildlife con?ict. By last week, KWS in partnership with the University of the Netherlands had ?tted ?ve lions at the Ambose |
IVORY COAST New voters' register to be used in democratic elections
The country, for the first time since the war broke out in 2002, has come up with a voters' register to pave the way for democratic elections.
The register containing 5.3 million voters will still |
LIBYA Gaddafi son ordered to pay hotel bill accrued in 2007
A court in Italy ordered Saadi Gaddafi, son of President Muammar Gaddafi, to pay a hotel bill of $494,000 he has allegedly owed since 2007. Gaddafi, the president's third son, had rented a hotel suite |
MALAWI Civil society asks president not to allow flag change
About 91 civil society organisations have petitioned President Bingu wa Mutharika not to assent to a parliamentary Bill to change the country's national flag.
The non-governmental organisations obs |
EGYPT Southern Sudan receives cash for electricity projects The country has offered
The country has offered Southern Sudan $300 million for water and electricity projects as part of building goodwill among countries sharing the Nile.
Egypt and Sudan are on a collision course with |
MAURITANIA Govt to consult opposition on crucial political matters
The government will for the first time enter into dialogue
with the opposition since it came to power in 2008.
President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who came to power through a coup but has since tu |
TUNISIA Court now denies journalist right to appeal
An appeall court in the capital Tunis denied a journalist a chance to appeal against a four-year term for allegedly reporting information deemed to threaten public order and for belonging to a crimina |
SOUTH AFRICA Tutu calls on govt to build on World Cup success
Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu is urging the government to build on its success as World Cup host to tackle pressing social challenges that divide the rich and poor. The country face |
DR CONGO Bretton Woods institutions offer debt relief programme
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have offered the country a debt relief programme of $12.3 billion. The Bretton Woods institutions observed
that DR Congo had made good efforts to r |
Militiaman Gatanga fails to stop detention and trial
stop detention and trial Former Congolese militiaman Germain Katanga failed to have his detention declared unlawful and his war crimes trial at The Hague stopped. The 32year old is on trial for war cr |
NIGERIA Govt blames corruption for bankruptcy at corporation
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is bankrupt and authorities in Lagos are blaming massive corruption and mismanagement. The corporation owes debts running into billions of dollars and is unable |
ZIMBABWE Kimberly Process allows Harare to sell its diamonds
Zimbabwe has welcomed the decision by the Kimberley Process to allow it to sell its diamond stockpile from the controversial Marange fields saying revenues generated will boost its economic revival. A |
LIBERIA Deputy speaker has another brush with the law
Deputy Speaker Togba Mulbah was briefly placed under house arrest for allegedly ordering the beating of a policeman.
The officer was beaten unconscious after he tried to impound one of Mr Mulbah's |
GUINEA Presidential poll run off planned for August 1
A run off for the presidential elections will be held on August 1. The Supreme Court in Guinea has endorsed the new date as it continues to examine petitions about fraud that arose out of the first-ro |
MOZAMBIQUE Govt firm to convert all vehicles to run on gas
Mozambique is converting vehicles to run on compressed natural gas to fight pollution. The move will also reduce the country's dependence on imported fuels. Autogas began its operations in 2008, and t |
Why Somalia mattes to the whole wold
With the carnage in Kampala, the Somali radical group, Al Shabaab, has announced its arrival as a fully fledged international terrorist organisation. The atrocities in Uganda were the first time the g |
One day, Al Qaeda, Shabaab will surely rule the world
We were at a World Cup Final party at a friend's house in Kampala when we got the news of the two bombs that killed at least 80 people in the capital. Sho |
All Amisom's men and all Obama's guns can't put Somalia togethe again
Al Shabaab, the African Union and the United States ironically all seem to share the same thinking on one aspect of the Somalia crisis: That the failed state must be put |
CHINESE MYSTERIES
Entertaining tales from Uganda's
Immigration department.
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RACE AND POWER
... and vicarious masculinity. A different take on the Cup
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Could softspoken Shein be the one to pour oil on Zanzibar's troubled waters?
Juggling was the name of the game last week as Tanzania's ruling party chose its various candidates for the presidential election scheduled to take place in October. The easy p |
Can Nigeia oganise a piss-up in a bewey?
Revelations about Nigeria's oil industry continue to boggle the mind. Last week, a government minister declared the state oil ?rm bankrupt saying it was unable to pay debts, despite Nigeria being t |
LAST WORD
Believe it o not, Osama actually loves socce
When the wannabe jihadi group Al Shabaab decided to bomb World Cup fans in Kampala and to ban the screening of matches in Mogadishu, they probably didn't consult with their role models in Al Qaeda. If |
Threat of global warming now closer with rising water scarcity
T he increasing shortage of water in the world is creating "dead zones" and deepening the global environmental crisis. According to a new report, State of Watershed Payments: An Emerging M |
New cassava types boosting food secuity in Zanziba
While millions of cassava farmers in East and Central Africa are distressed by a viral cassava disease that is ravaging their crop, Zanzibar is experiencing a quiet revolution from four new disease-re |
Agnes Odhiambo
Why must African women suffer giving life?
A frica places a high premium on child birth and mother hood. And so it is fitting that the theme of the AU summit in Uganda this week is "Maternal, Infant and Ch |
Ugly tuth of the `obscue' LRA wa in noth Uganda
Title: Social Torture Author: Chris Dolan Publisher: Berghahn Books, 2009 Reviewer: David Kaiza
he title of this book leaves you haunted; torture is a heavy word. But when af?xed to "social" it take |
REVIEW
Lynn Nottage, the Pulitzer prizewinning playwright, is of the view that the world needs another festival for budding writers. Last week, she hosted a fund-raising party in her Brooklyn home to bene |
Focus on Arusha Tanzania
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Warrior Security registers warrior cultures in defence
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Arusha College gears for academic reputation
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Jacana Expedition: Major ground tour operator
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ANALYSIS
One sky policy good fo EAC aviation
Three years ago, the chief executive of a regional airline observed that contrary to popular perception, his biggest competition was not from other carriers, but road transport. He singled out th |
Lula seeks stronger economic ties
The recent visit by Brazil's Presi dent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Kenya, has reinforced the latter's new foreign policy of closer trade ties with emerging markets in addition to its traditional |
Media not keen on climate
Poor and boring reporting on issues surrounding climate change in East Africa has been blamed for the lack of positive contribution towards the war against environmental degradation. A regiona |
$121 million
Govt accepts tansfe of Heitage assets to Tullow Oil
Uganda's oil programme got into motion again last week, after authorities gave conditional approval to Heritage's transfer of its oil assets in Uganda to Tullow Oil, as a dispute over whether the |
Kenya to answer to charges of injustice at the EA court
K enya is to answer to two cases of injustice at the East African Court of Justice.
This points to the growing confidence of residents in the various arms of the East African Community. I |
Victims of Mt Elgon operation want payment for torture
A lleged victims of a security operation in Mount Elgon two years ago are seeking action against Kenya's military, regular and administration police for injustices they committed against them. |
Common Bill of Rights next for all EAC nations
The five East African Community states will soon have a member common Bill of Rights. This is because, once there is free movement of persons, goods, services and capita |
Real estate boom under new EA Market
Risks associated with the real estate business in East Africa are expected to come down following the coming into force of the Common Market Protocol. According to Kenya's real estate players |
African Union backs 90-day peace plan to end hostilities
The African Union has launched a new initiative in which member countries are expected to cease hostilities and violence as part of the 2010 year of peace and security. This is an extension o |
Property market hits 14pc growth... and still rising
O ngoing infrastructure projects in Kenya, as well as better economic prospects and availability of credit, are expected to further spur the country's real estate market this year. The count |
Govt to constuct 2 majo flyoves in Da to ease tac congestion
construction of two major ?yovers, to ease congestion in Dar es Salaam. The ?yovers will be constructed at the TanzaniaZambia Railway intersection and the Ubungo intersection. The government |
Dar dismisses outcry over Serengeti highway
go ahead with plans to construct a $480-million highway through the Serengeti National Park, despite worldwide protests from conservationist groups. Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Sham |
Kenya unveils $10bn modern farming blueprint
reform package for Kenya is to be launched this Tuesday, signalling a new private-sector driven approach to the development of the Ksh727 billion ($9.32 billion) sector. The new agricultural strate |
Agicultue efoms aim at job and wealth ceation
economic backbone, directly contributing 24 per cent (Ksh342 billion, or $4.27 billion) of the country's GDP, and another Ksh385 billion ($4.81 billion) indirectly. It accounts for two-thirds of Kenya |
Pricewaterhouse Rwanda oce now open
a professional services ?rm, has opened o?ces in Rwanda. Senior partner Bernice Kimacia said the o?ces will be o?ering the full range of the company's services including assurance, tax and advisory |
Kenya on the spot for not abiding by AU rules
over non-compliance with African Union protocols it has rati?ed . The country is also yet to ratify key protocols like the Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, despite being perceived as |
In Rwanda, business licences only an hour away
Registering a business in Rwanda will now take just an hour. This puts the country miles ahead of other member states of the East African Community. In Kenya, it takes between three weeks and |
Q&A WITH DR KENT F. MOORS Transparency's crucial in oil sector
Why do you think that Production Sharing Agreements are always kept in secret?
It has to do with the proprietary nature of the contract. Companies need to provide specific information and data, |
Afica to get moe IMF funding to boost gowth
A new International Monetary Fund package will increase financing to African countries facing a balance of payment problems brought on by the 2008 financial crisis to boost their growth above the |
IPS steps in to save Uganda's delayed Nyagak hydopowe poject
The delayed Nyagak hydro power plant in Uganda's West Nile region is set for completion early next year following the signing of two agreements on July 7 between the government of Uganda and the In |
Rosie Shape
Without a tanspaent deal on shaing oil wealth, Sudan will evet to wa
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement that brought an end to the North-South con?ict in Sudan - Africa's longest-running civil war - contains an innovative oil wealth sharing agreement that changed oil fr |
EXPORTING AFRICA
Our resources, including footballers,
only work outside the continent.
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OBASANJO'S SHOCKER
Stand on al-Bashir's actions in
Darfur a `sad retreat'
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PecisionAi: Give wings to EA investos
Since the commencement of the East African Common Market, the region's citizens have started to reap various benefits. Now, a privately owned airline has announced that it will list its shares on the |
Rape, mob justice, police killings and the Daft
A mnesty International released a chilling report last week on crime and insecurity in Nairobi's low-income areas.
It focused on women's vulnerability to |
Tibalism is the sweet and sou pok of Afican life
W hat do South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Mali, South Af rica and Zimbabwe have in common? Between them they have produced about 90 per |
Why fames' mindsets need to change
President Yoweri Museveni last week suspended disbursements to an agricultural programme aimed at increasing household incomes through commercialising farming across the country. The suspension was th |
SOUTH AFRICA More than a million visitors recorded in one month
More than a million foreigners have visited South
Africa during the World Cup. The numbers have been tallied from a movement control system deployed at 34 priority ports of entry. Foreigners visi |
ZAMBIA President Banda apologises for racist reamarks
President Rupiah Banda o?ered unreserved apologies to the Indian community in the country and an opposition leader over remarks seen to have had racial undertones. President Banda had ridiculed opposi |
NIGERIA Nuclear power project to boost national grid
The country has launched a nuclear power programme to produce electricity for its national power grid by 2020. The programme comes under the African Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research Develo |
President reverses order on national football team
President Goodluck Jonathan has rescinded a decision to ban the national football team from all competitions after a poor performance at the 2010 World Cup. President Jonathan had earlier directed the |
BOTSWANA Zimbabwe to provide 40MW to close supply deficit
The country will get 40 megawatts from Zimbabwe to boost its power supplies despite pumping in $8 million to revive Bulawayo Thermal Power Station, which has remained moribund for close to 10
years. |
ZIMBABWE Teachers troop back to teaching, shortage persists
Teachers who had abandoned their profession citing poor pay and bad working conditions are slowly going back to teaching. About 70,000 teachers left the profession between the years 2000 and 2008. At |
Senior diplomat wins case against govt to recall him
Harare has failed to recall Brighton Mugarisanwa, a senior diplomat based in Tehran, after he was drugged by two Iranian women he picked up from the streets, one of them married. Mugarisanwa - a co |
EGYPT Court delays ruling on steel wall at Rafah border point
A court postponed a ruling into a case to stop construction of a "steel wall"
at the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Egypt is building an underground steel wall in Rafah in an attempt to cu |
MAURITANIA New Bill removes media controls, ushers in reforms
Parliament passed a Bill meant to liberalise the media, remove all state controls and transform state media into independent public entities. The draft Bill provides that any person with required q |
SUDAN Govt shuts down proseparation newspaper
Authorities have shut down a newspaper campaigning for the separation of the country's North and South. Al Intibaha newspaper was suspended inde?nitely because what the authorities say it, "strengthen |
ALGERIA Military in operation to track down suspected terrorists
Military forces launched a major operation to track down a group of terrorists in the Tin Ziouatine region, southeast of Algeria following the killing of 11 Algerian frontier guards in an ambush close |
NIGER Ecowas extends readmission on trial basis
The country has been readmitted to the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), but only in an observer status. Niger
was suspended from the bloc in October 2009 after the country's ouste |
ETHIOPIA Igad promises to deploy more soldiers for Amisom
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) has promised to urgently deploy 2,000 troops to beef up the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). The additional forces to bolster Amisom are |
SIERRA LEONNE Ex-rebel leader Sesay denies weapons supply allegations
A former rebel chief in the country, Issa Hassan Sesay has denied receiving weapons from the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor. Sesay, 40, a convicted war criminal, was called as a defence wit |
LET US GO!
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Fertile land, hungry farmers... Mysteries of Africa Part VII
Why does hunger kill African farmers and not African accountants or mechanics? Answer that question and you will know what food security in Africa is about. The ?nancial year in East Africa started |
Man, Marylin had a chest; seen the X-ray?
The endless marketing of images of Marilyn Monroe, has now moved into internal organs. A set of three Monroe chest X-rays from a 1954 hospital visit sold Sunday for $45,000 at the Hollywood Legends au |
A woman's work is never done at gunpoint
Hostage-taking is a crime but taking one's mother hostage is a di?erent ball game. A 29-year-old man from Carroll County, Maryland, was charged with aggravated assault and false imprisonment after |
What's a bullet or two between friends?
Some people are immune to gunshots. Tracy Durham from Illinois only discovered to his surprise that he had been shot in the leg after a neighbour asked about his limping four hours later. The 48-ye |
Unless she shoots herself first?
A jobless Michigan woman shot herself in the hope she'd receive medical treatment for a shoulder injury. Kathy Myers, 41, said she's been unable to see a specialist because she can't a?ord health insu |
LAST WORD
Hair of the Di to cure your aching necrophilia?
Princess Diana might have died 13 years ago but she still remains hot news. A jam made from what its maker claims is one of Princess Diana's hairs is up for sale at an art exhibition in London. The |
Gunter Pauli Forget market forces, let the Blue Economy roll
The traditional development models have collapsed. The Planned Economy was never able to e?ciently allocate resources. The Market Economy evolved into a system in which companies pursued economies |
Farmers toil hard but gain little from economic boom
ONLY IN LONG RUN:
be among the last to enjoy the bene?ts of the expected economic growth despite contributing signi?cantly to it. Analysts say that farmers are plagued by a myriad challenges that will require sustai |
Why Tanzania's move to embrace capitalism hasn't trickled down
We live in a world fuelled b the need to succeed. Like any other country ?ghting for survival, Tanzania is just as resilient. The interaction of money and power - which forms the "political economy" - |
Da is hungy, emeging maket but hudles exist
World Economic Forum on Africa which was held in Dar es Salaam in May, former president Benjamin Mkapa had this to say about the di?cult, unpopular decisions leaders are often forced to make: "Kitu ki |
WELCOME TO THE MAD OPTICIAN'S TEA PARTY
A spectacle of fun at Kuona Trust
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CONSCIOUSNESS FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Krishna Ballet Dance lives up to its billing
billing
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Museveni lends political support to Tororo `port'
U ganda's President Yoweri Museveni has caved in to pressure of local politics in ignoring a High Court Order, and presided over a breaking of the ground ceremony for the construction of a $15 |
Regional co-operation goes beyond Common Market
Ndung'u Wainaina
he coming into e?ect of the East African Common Market Protocol on July 1, has been greeted with both applause and scep- ticism and both sides of the divide have valid arguments. The development of |
Riches ae citical to majo economies
It is of particular signifi
cance that in 2007, South Africa's and Africa's largest bank, Standard Bank, with operations in 17 African countries, engaged in a $37 billion partnership, giving it 20 pe |
Great variety of minerals are readily available
Six metals dominate the African metal mining industry. Iron, gold and copper account for about 50 per cent of the total value of metallic minerals produced. They are followed by nickel and z |
of Africa's untapped riches
such disparities leave plenty of room for growth. Professor Leonce Ndikumana, director of the Development Research Department at the African Development Bank (AfDB), says the growth and investment out |
Consumer fraud on the rise in Kenya, new report finds
Kenyans are increasingly be coming victims of consumer fraud, a new survey shows.
This has been compounded by poor redress mechanisms as the country's consumer protection laws are archaic. |
Now Tanzania's inflation ate at lowest point in ove two yeas
Tanzania's year-on-year inflation rate fell by 1.8 per cent point to 7.9 per cent in May, the lowest in two and half years, thanks to lower food prices as a result of bumper harvests. Th |
Sizing the potential of Africa's Untapped riches
I magine, for a moment, you had the opportunity to buy stock in Ford just before it pioneered the first assembly line. The car company had significant pent-up demand that existing infrastructure c |
ALL AREAS FACE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
$13-14.5t Estimated value of current proven stocks of extractable energy resources in Africa (oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium).
13pc Africa's share of the world's population
TOURISM IN KENYA |
Two Pakistanis arrested over suspicion of terrorism
Two Pakistani nationals were arrested while trying to enter South Africa on suspicion that they wanted to carry out terrorism activities. The two were arrested at the Beitbridge border post last We |
Two nationals cited by US as threats to world security
The US added two Algerian nationals to the list of people considered a big threat to international security.
Abdelali Abou Dher El Mekni and Saeed Abou Hafse, who were part of Arab fighters in Afgh |
If it benefits `common' men and women, hail this Maket
T his week the East African Com mon Market came into effect. The EAC partners -- Burun di, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda -- are now supposed to do away with all |
What if the Daft `impeils' the feedom of ou chains?
Most of us don't seem to real ise just how fundamentally our world will change if the proposed Constitution of Kenya passes. Some do, of course -- which is |
Beatice Kiaso - A common secuity agenda is key to attacting investos to EAC
s East African integration steadily deepens, it is also being informed by a more holistic approach where the interdependence of sectors not only has become more evident but is an imperative. This i |
Only a small, sick man o nation can see a heo in Belgium's king Leopold II
There is not a word that can ever be said in defence of colonialism no matter the strain. Colonialism is colonialism and it is bad. However, if a league were to be organised to determine the champ |
Joachim Buwembo
How gorillas can help us to put an end to child sacrifice
The media and public in Ugan da refer to the ongoing child murders using the wrong word "sacrifice" which implies someone giving up something they like. But if it were sacrif |
LAST WORD
Kenya's Prime Minister has a swollen head
No, I don't mean to say he has an exaggerated sense of self-importance (a common affliction among the country's politicians). He literally has a swollen head -- or was going to have one soon. Aft |
While cops watch over the World Cup, thieves strike
With all eyes focused on South Africa, the crime-ridden nation has poured thousands of policemen onto the streets and stadiums to prevent any unsavory incidents during the World Cup. However, the |
MADAGASCAR
August 12 referendum postponed indefinitely
The constitutional referendum which had initially been scheduled for August 12, was postponed to an indefinite date. The electoral code requires discussions for 45 days, but which officials say will n |
Police destroy drugs seized in transit in the past year
Police have destroyed 3.5 tonnes of drugs including 65.5kg of cocaine that were seized by security agencies and Customs officials in the past one year. The drugs were seized in 2009 and 2010 in the co |
Companies lose money in football tickets scam
Fake football tickets have cost South African companies about $867,000.
Dozens of South African and foreign fans have also lost hundreds of thousands of rands after buying tickets that were later c |
Govt now stops co-operation with Nile Initiative countries
The country has stopped co- operation with Nile Basin Initiative's countries and requested them to freeze its membership until the current dispute over an agreement signed by the Initiative member sta |
UN boss visits in solidarity with peace builders
The country held its ?rst democratic elections since attaining independence in 1958. The international community, led by the African Union Commission Chief Jean Ping, commended the peaceful voting pro |
Committee to crack down on illegal land allocation
The government has set up a Land Audit Committee to curb illegal land allocation. Zambians have been complaining of increased cases of illegal land allocation especially by political party cadres in t |
New Act targets receivers and transmitters of porn
The country has enacted the Electronic Communications Act that will punish transmitters and receivers of pornographic materials. Those found guilty will face a jail term of not less than ?ve years. |
Nigeria sets aside funds to enroll more in primary school
10 million Nigerian children of school-going age are out of school and working on the streets as hawkers. The government has set aside $1 million for the Universal Basic Education programme, but Ni |
Congo celebrates 50 years with nothing to show for it
Congo celebrated its 50th independence anniversary on June 30, amidst complaints of lost dreams. Though it has vast reserves of gold, copper, cobalt, diamonds and other natural resources such as timbe |
Mouride Brotherhood gets
new Khalife
Serigne Cheikh Sidy Moukhtar Mback� becomes the new and seventh spiritual leader of an estimated 10 million Mourides across the world. Popularly known as S�rigne Cheikh Maty L�ye Mback�, he was des |
Fo bette govt sevices, expose gaft
U ncovering corruption can im prove public service, according to a new survey conducted in developing economies. The report, released last week at the London School of Economics documents 1 |
books
Hate speech... in other words
hat Kenyans must be careful about what they say has come to symbolise the desire for political correct- ness in the country. A botched general elec- tion accompanied by violence, death, destruction |
MEMO Not even football can bridge SA's rich-poor divide
South Africa's rich-poor divide cannot successfully be divorced from the race issue.
According to conservative estimates, 10 cent of the population earn half the national income. Some projections e |
Travel
Wishing on a star in Soccer City
I am at Wish!, a cosy pub on the intersection of 2nd Av enue and 7th Street in the upmarket Melville area of Johannesburg. There is a rustic feel to the place, e |
MOVIE AWARDS Thai film wins the Palme d'Or at Cannes in shock finale
The 63rd Cannes Film Festival came to a shocking, exhilarating close a fortnight ago with the Palme d'Or going to Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives from the Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weeras |
sceen
Settling scoes at Isaeli film fete
T he Israeli Film Fes tival in Nairobi couldn't have been held at a more "off side" time for soccer fans. Just picture leaving a |
Retacing Count Teleki's footsteps to Loiyangalani
orthern Kenya is a remote and des- olate land by any standards, but Lake Turkana in the west o?ers respite from the barreness of the land. Thanks to the lake, Loiya- ngalani, a desert town on the s |
A TALE OF THREE TRIPS TO LAKE TURKANA
Tom Heaton's funny account of his trip to the Turkana is what comes to mind as one makes the journey to Kenya's unforgiving northern region. But there is nothing funny about the place. Count Teleki fi |
US urged to cut lifeline to Somalia's struggling TFG
O pinion American experts on Somalia appears to have among turned decisively against continued US support for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). As an alte |
NSSF Uganda is among Safaricom largest owners
I n the past three years, Uganda's and Rwanda's National Social Security Fund made big splashes across their national borders into Kenya's capital market. Recently, when Safaricom, re |
THE INTEGRATION TRACKER
Cotu boss to represent EA trade unions at global meetKenya's Central Organisation of Trade Union
Secretary General, Francis Atwoli, will represent
the East African Trade Unions confederation at
the ge |
MOST READ
1 How the French got their way in battle for Telkom Kenya.
By Jaindi Kisero 2 GE Energy bets big on Kenya's promising wind power sector By Cosmas Butunyi 3 Collect the dog tax or else |
Palace coup at KBC over $1.3m World Cup deal
A dispute over the c i r c u m s t a nc e s under which the Kenya Broadcasting Co-oporation (KBC), the public broadcaster, exclusively sub-contracted World Cup television rights |
Spotlight on monetary union this week
H aving sailed through one of the most tedious processes of establishing a regional common market, all eyes are now swiftly shifting to the creation of a monetary union in East Africa. The |
Kenya to record economic boom this year
K enya is on the verge of registering a new economic boom, after major shocks caused by the postpoll violence and the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The twin crises pus |
ZAMBIA
Electoral Commission targets 2.5 million new voters
The country started registering new voters in readiness for next year's general elections. The Electoral Commission of Zambia announced that it intends to capture 2.5 million new voters. The country's |
Mothertongues to be compulsory in school
The learning of local languages will soon be made compulsory in primary schools.
The languages the pupils will be taking will not necessarily have to be their mothertongue but those spoken by the v |
ZIMBABWE
Govt to initiate food-forwork programme
The country plans to launch a food-for-work programme to assist communities that produced low yields owing to the prolonged dry spell experienced last season.
The elderly, disabled and other specia |
Tsvangirai reshuffles Cabinet to restore confidence
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (below) dropped four Cabinet ministers and redeployed several others in response to the declining confidence in the unity government. But the reshuffle affected only m |
MOZAMBIQUE
Govt launches data recovery laboratory to meet MDGs
The government inaugurated the country's first data recovery laboratory to stop data loss. Lost data cases forced the country to contract foreign services, such as that of the neighbouring South Afric |
DR CONGO
Iran gives funds for health and education programmes Iran offered the Central
African country $3.2 million to support social programmes, especially in the education and health sectors. Iran, which i |
GHANA
Govt takes delivery of first oil and gas transport ship
The country received its first oil and gas transportation ship that will collect and process crude oil from the Jubilee field when actual production begins later this year. FPSO Kwame
Nkrumah, was b |
ETHIOPIA
Ruling party wins majority of parliamentary seats
Official results of the recently concluded elections showed that the ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Fron, won 499 out of the 547 federal parliamentary seats.
Some 63 p |
SUDAN
Famous Sudan basketballer Bol, 47, dies in a US hospital
Africa's most famous basketball player, Manute Bol, of Sudan has died. The 2.3 metres-tall Bol, 47, died at a hospital in the US state of Virginia due to kidney complications.
Bol played for 10 sea |
Tanzania to get $270m WB aid to build roads
T anzania's transport sector will now get $270 million credit from the World Bank, two months after donors withdrew development aid to the country. John Murray McIntire, the World Bank count |
Opinion
|
EGYPT
Tourism and environmental activists protest oil leak
Tour operators and environmental activists plan to sue the Energy Company whose negligence led to an oil leak off the coast of the Red Sea resort of Hurghad. An estimated 20 kilometres of coastline ha |
THE CAR
Elections set for October after two cancellations
After postponing elections twice, the Central African Republic will finally hold presidential elections in October.
President Francois Bozize's mandate ran out in June, but problems of voter regist |
MALAWI
Ex-President Muluzi seeks to extend stay in South Africa
Former president Bakili Muluzin (below), plans to apply to the High Court to allow him to extend his stay in South Africa on medical grounds.
He was expected to return home next month in order to a |
Mzalendo Kibunjia - Hate speech monges stand in the way of nationhood and must be reined in
Kenyans are concerned about the manner in which hate speech is being used to campaign for or against the proposed constitution. In his Madaraka Day speech on June 1, President Mwai Kibaki ordered |
LAST WORD After Onyancha, another serial killer emerges...
Kenya is yet to hear the last of serial killers. Unlike the self-confessed Philip Onyancha who claimed to drink his victims' blood after killing them, the latest madness involves a 22year-old, Joh |
Regional trade will never be the same again
On Thursday July 1, the East African Community enters the second stage of its integration process -- the Common Market -- paving the way for free movement of goods, services, capital and labour. T |
Tobacco farmers say No to a smoky lifestyle
Tanzania tobacco farmers have seen the light. They have abandoned production of the crop, contending that it is causing more harm to health and the environment than its economic returns suggest.
|
Why do our soccer stars play so well in Europe and fail to shine in Africa?
A `Woza 2010' � short-speak for the FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa -- promo fea tures a number of African soccer stars who have made their mark in Europea |
Joachim Buwembo
Are there real heroes among ghost teachers and pupils?
Mathematics was my poorest subject. By the stand ards of St Mary's College Kisubi, I "failed" it with a Credit 6. But I was my Maths teacher's favourite. It takes a man with a |
The evil that good men like Mo Ibrahim do
When, for the second time in a row, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced that there was no winner for its cash-rich Africa good governance prize, the mischie |
What's next in unfolding catalogue of intigues?
Upholding constitutionalism and the rule of law? Or be ing excessively, frivolously, irritatingly litigious? I am not sure quite what to make of the number of cases bei |
POLITICS AND VERSE
`East Africans Watching the World Cup'
Week One: we're proudly African: Nigeria and Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Bafana Bafana and the Lions of Cameroon.
Week Two: the Inconsequential Lions Have been tranquilised, the Stars have been Extinguis |
How a patched Kenyan village has turned cassava into a money maker
A s one descends the winding road down a hill overlooking a remote Mukuyuni village in Kenya's Makueni District, a receding forest gives way to fields of lush cassava plants. The Green Val |
When maize yield is low, look to cassava
F or the past three years, the Ken yan government has spent Ksh74 million ($1 million) in the bulking and distribution of traditional food crops, including cassavas, under the Orphan Crops Progra |
Migrating to a halt in Serengeti?
I magine. You are lying in the grass in the east African savannah, watching wildebeest fording a shallow river. You can hear the funny grunting noises they make, and as th |
theate
Matatu' doesn't go all the way
M usical theatre is in the spotlight in London, with crit ics like Michael Billington in the Guardian expressing concern about "the unhealthy dominan |
MOVIE REVIEW
`Knight and Day': Cash plane, chase ca, cackwise
THERE is a charming little movie about two characters, opposites in temperament and outlook, hostile at the start, who gradually learn to find delight in each other and to appreciate how much they hav |
What prominent Ugandans are reading
Constitutional law expert and former minister of justice and attorney-general Prof Kanyeihamba's favourite books are the Bible and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare."The Bible is the most |
art
Making a mak in Denmak
F riends of artist Al lan Githuka might be forgiven for thinking he has dropped off the planet. He's not been seen around for a while and |
EXHIBITION
Playing games that endea at to the viewe
A t the New Museum in New York last week, artist Rivane Neuenschwander was on her knees, slicing up the carpeting of a third-floor gallery as she searched energetically for microphones hidde |
Gramps Morgan concert at the Carnivore in July
Reggae fans will be thrilled to
know that Morgan Heritage's
Gramps Morgan will be coming
to Kenya for a performance in
Nairobi at the Carnivore on July
10. The group came to Kenya last
year and perfor |
Ugandan artistes for week-long action in UK
Several Uganda musicians will perform in the UK in July in week long concerts. The annual event by Sengo promotions, one of the promoters of Ugandan artistes has organised a series of concerts for Uga |
Mafia Island to host 15-day festival in August
A 15-day multi-cultural music
and arts festival will be hosted
at the Mafia Island in Tanzania
on August 1-15. The concert will
feature 150 top international and
African artistes on four stages.
The f |
US gospel singer to perform at UoN grounds
US Gospel singer Israel Houghton is expected to perform at the University of Nairobi grounds on August 15 in Nairobi. The show is organised by the Nairobi Area Youth Network and details of the event w |
music N'Goma's 'Bane' a living testimony of his musical talent
N ow that Oliv er N'Goma is gone, African artistes crav ing cross-border appeal beyond their obscure countries may want to use his cont |
When a headache is moe than just a thobbing pain
health & lifestyle
It is an almost sub conscious action that every time one has a headache, they reach out for a pain killer, and that is if it is too persistent and c |
Teens need 'me time' too, in their rooms
Pa?ents lament the old days when
bed?oom walls we?e spectacles of
innocence. But wo?king togethe?
with child?en on bed?ooms and
inte?io? deco? is ve?y ?ewa?ding
Children need lots of space to
themselv |
Uganda sweeps top BBC writing awards
UGANDAN PLAYWRIGHTS have swept the first three top prizes in the BBC African Performance Play Writing Competition, upstaging Nigerian writers for the first time in the 50-year history of the popular a |
Africa puts on a great show but fails to arrive at the party
By hosting the 2010 World Cup, South Africa entered the annals of history by becoming the first African country to do so. There had been excitem |
Kenyan befriends Timor president, wins marathon
What are the chances of turning up in a country penniless, without a visa, and then staying at the president's house and going on to win a marathon? That's what happened to Kenyan Philimon Rotich when |
Competitors itching to win mosquito-catching contest
The mosquito population of Estonia is a little smaller after the Baltic state hosted its first mosquito-catching championship. A total of 37 participants gathered in a field in the city of Tartu and w |
World Cup ratings hit a 16-year high in US
Even the B-flat drone of the vuvuzelas hasn't tempered America's enthusiasm for the World Cup, with ratings reaching a 16-year high as the football tournament headed into the third round of the group |
NUTRITION - Oganisation oots fo bette diet fo patients
Ngei Mutua was recently put on Antiretroviral Therapy after his HIV status condition was known but very little signs of improvement could be seen even after taking the drugs and those of tuberculosis. |
No protection for local EA cement industry yet
East African governments will only consider reinstating a higher common external tariff on cement imports after independently verifying that producers in the region have increased production capac |
Regional leades fail to take common position on tais fo ice, too
The ongoing wrangle be tween cement producers and governments of the EAC partner states highlights the case of rice, another commodity over which the latter have been flip-flopping on the implement |
Trouble in paradise: Can Kikwete light up Tanzania struggling energy sector?
Canadian energy producer Artu mas Group has been trying to turn natural gas into commercial electricity in Tanzania for six years now. "We started negotiating with the government in 2004 and w |
|
IMF warns Uganda of fallout from EU debt crisis
The International Mon etary Fund has asked Kampala to exercise fiscal discipline in managing its 2010/2011 budget. This, the IMF says will minimise the country's exposure to the growing debt crisis in the European Union, Uganda's key development partner. "The global environment is still uncertain in the light of the prevailing debt crisis in the eurozone. This calls for a stronger fiscal policy that will shield the economy from second
The crisis is expected to erode economic stability in aid recipient countries such as Uganda. Cuts in government jobs, wages and direct decreases in aggregate demand in the countries a?ected by the |
Contractors urged to exploit EAC Common Market benefits
Tanzanian contractors have been urged to exploit opportunities of the East African Community Common Market to prosper. "We stand to bene?t a lot," said Boniface Muhegi, the registrar of the Contractor |
Horticulture sector can do better for the economy
Despite goog prospects, defying even the 2008/2009 global economic crisis that had the world's biggest economies shaken, analysts say the horticulture sector can do even better for Tanzania's economy |
Coffee board to be strict on quality in local market
The Tanzania Co?ee Board director- general Adolph Kumburu has said the board will ensure no poor quality co?ee is allowed in the country standards. Traders found not adhering to quality will be pro |
E-consultation medical centres to open soon
Medical consultation through Information Communication Technology will make life easier for most Tanzanians following the establishment of 10 centres in the country, connecting to e-services around th |
Uganda budget seeks to create wealth for the masses
MORE INCOME:
will test the government's ability to spur micro- economic growth in a bid to create wealth for the majority of its people. This comes at a time when central bankers are receiving pay rises for man |
Govt wokes' tavel peks slashed
government o?cials and civil servants will have to cut down on time spent overseas after the governmet slashed workers' allowances in its 2010/2011 budget. The governement also abolished frequent s |
EA hosts most refugees outside the Middle East
East Africa now hosts over a million refugees from East, Central and Southern Africa, the largest total figure in the world outside of the Middle East. According to the latest Global Trends rep |
Tanzania ranks tops in EA on peace index
PARAMETERS: The suvey consideed a measuement of peace as the `absence of violence'
Tanzania has been ranked
the most peaceful mem- ber state of the East African Community by a recent glo- bal surv |
Unresolved armed conflicts, severe drought and food insecurity to blame
Tanzania was the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa between 1997 and 2007. However, the refugee population dropped by 63 per cent due to the naturalisation of 155,000 Burundian refugees and |
ZIMBABWE Party differences could delay constitutional review
Civil society has expressed fears that the constitutional review process will take longer than the slated two years because of fundamental di?erences between Zanu-PF and the MDC. President Robert M |
Zuma sends team to revive power sharing talks
South African President Jacob Zuma has dispatched his mediation team to Zimbabwe to try to revive the stalled power-sharing talks. Zuma made the move in the wake of another round of ?erce battles f |
MAURITANIA Debate starts on ending anti-women rights
The country is holding a national debate on how to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women. Mauritania rati?ed a convention against discrimination against women in 2000 but has been slo |
SIERRA LEONE UN boss visits in solidarity with peace builders
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon travelled to this West African nation that is still recovering from a bloody 11-year civil war to assure citizens that the UN is still working with them to promote the |
NIGERIA Ladies of the night given 48 hours to leave Abuja
Police in Abuja gave prostitutes 48 hours to quit the capital city or face arrest and detention. According to the authorities, the move is a result of the sharp increase in the nocturnal activities of |
GUINEA Arrested army officers released after three days
Twelve army o?cers who had been arrested on suspicion of mis- appropriation of funds were released after three days in detention. The o?cers, former chief of sta? Colonel Oumar Sanoh and his deputy Co |
ETHIOPIA A Pan-African film festival to build positive image
The country hosted a week-long film festival that
brought together African ?lmmakers to share knowledge and experience in the industry. The festival featured ?lm competitions by African ?lmmakers, p |
ZAMBIA Angolan refugees to be settled, only 700 to go home
The government is considering integrating some of the 25,000 Angolan refugees in the country into local communities. Currently, there are 25,222 Angolan refugees in Zambia, but there are some who have |
MOZAMBIQUE IMF releases funds to counter financial crisis
The International Monetary Fund has released $21 million to the country to meet economic challenges brought about by the global financial crisis. The IMF
executive board took this decision in Washin |
LIBYA Swiss businessman released after four months
Swiss businessman Max Goeldi, who had been held in Libya for four months, was ?nally released and went back to Switzerland. Goeldi was arrested for what Swiss authorities suspect was retaliation fo |
TUNISIA Economic growth improves country's stability
The 2010 Global Peace Index voted Tunisia as the safest country in Africa and the third safest in the Arab world. Due to the development of the
institutional environment and the progress of econ |
EGYPT Solar energy plant to be linked to national grid
Egypt will open its ?rst solar energy plant by the end of this year, and will be among four in the world with a 140-Megawatt capacity. The plant will be linked to the national grid as Egypt tries t |
LIBYA Govt bans matches against Algeria and Egypt
The government has banned its national sports teams from competing against Algeria and Egypt, but although the authorities did not give reasons. Libyan football teams must also request state permissio |
SENEGAL Indelible ink `not so secure' against vote fraudsters
The Opposition coalition hascalled for the replacement of the indelible ink used in elections, with a body spray which they said will enable monitors to catch election cheats who try to vote more than |
Mo Ibrahim - Prize or no prize, Afirca today is a continent full of hope, energy and potential
Ten years ago, the Economist told its elite readership around the world that Af rica was "the hopeless continent." It ex pressed a sentiment that was pervasive � that Africa w |
The shooting wa is yet to be signalled but the dity fighting has aleady begun
A hunting season of sorts has opened in Tanzania, and the hunters and the hunted are equally busy. It's about election time, that moment every five years when the poli |
Yes, hate speech can lead to bombs and bodies...
The grenade attacks at the Sun day prayer-cum-"No" meeting in Nairobi's Uhuru Park have dominated the news all week.
For the families of the six killed and all of those in |
Collect the dog tax o else I'll fish in you potholes!
Two weeks ago, Uganda set an East African record. It became the first country to produce pothole activists. A small group of Kampala residents organised a brilliantly creative campaign de |
Afica's ual poo ae olling back the deset
Luc Gnacadja
Stories from Africa are often about doom and gloom. The euphoria and festive spirit that has accompanied the World Cup taking place in South Africa has sparked interest in positive stor |
Elly Haowell
Stop the mude in Zimbabwe's diamond fields
The Kimberley Process rough diamond certi?cation scheme is frequently credited with ending the trade in blood diamonds. However, mass killings in Zimbabwe's diamond ?elds, and the su- pine response of |
The Cup's in Afica, Kiboko Squad's out in the steets...
T hese are deceptively good days for Africa. The pre-eminently good thing is of course the fact that the 19th Fifa World Cup finals are taking place on the cont |
LAST WORD
Seial killing in quest of wealth shocks Kenyans...
A 32-year old Kenyan who claims to have killed 17 people -- and said he had a target of 100 murders -- has confounded behavioural scientists. His killings were fuelled by a belief in spirits -- as wel |
.... Fo Tanzania's albinos, it's a guesome daily eality
Tanzania's government has officially banned traditional healers in an attempt to stop the killing of albinos for medicine. But the healers are openly defying the ban. Many are registered with the gove |
Sticks and stones will beak you bones in Kampala
gandan politics has long ac- quired the regional reputation of being more of a contact sport than anywhere else, and recent acts and statements by our national leaders are only serving to con- ?rm tha |
Donors pledge $9.3 million to fight piracy in Horn of Africa
The fight against piracy in the East African Coastline been revitalised following pledges by donors to help Kenya, Tanzania and Seychelles prosecute suspected Somali pirates. T |
Labouring to reduce Kenya's fertility rate
K enya's marginal decline in fertil ity over the past 20 years has left policy makers scratching their heads for answers. Despite campaigns and a relative improvement of repr |
As pressure on land increases, water will be Lamu's undoing
world heritage site and the des- ignated site for Kenya's second and modern port. But recent research shows that Lamu's only source of fresh water - the sand dunes - is threatened by increased develop |
New pot, fast gowth will wosen town's poblems
land is 30 shallow wells located within a catchment zone, primarily formed of curvilinear sand dunes that stretch for 11 kilometres along the southern border of the Island. The wells also serve Man |
Kigali has built a fast, effective justice system
To the keen obse?ve?, a conspicuous featu?e of the Rwandan jus- tice secto? has been the nea? absence of p?ivate legal p?actitione?s. While this may be pa?tly explained by the events of 1994 that comp |
design & deco Let teens ock thei ooms... within limits
O ne day they are 9-year-olds affixing Hannah Montana or Spiderman posters to their walls. Then they are teenagers. He |
travel
A day's dive in northen Kenya
After graduating from college last June, I set off on the trip of a life time, driving from Ire land to South Africa overland. After two months on the road I |
JOURNAL - When in Rome, do as the Romans do
IF YOU WERE born a Catholic like I was, you'd have imagined going to Rome, to see the Pope. You'd also have imagined entering Rome in a grand way, for this is not just any place -- this is Rome! |
The world is a stage, but Nair not part of the international s
Proscenium stages were developed to give the audience the impression that they were watching real life. However, film has perfected this realism, with the ability to change from one scene to another i |
Drawing the line with a human fence to save the Nairobi National Park
The Nairobi National Park has always been in the news. In 1946 when it was established, it was Kenya's first national park and the world's only wildlife par |
The world is a stage, but Nairobi's not part of the international show
r on three sides of the stage a thrust stage, which is best or Shakespeare plays. though Godown adminis atherine Mujomba was very impress upon me the Go commitment to bringing to "the masses" |
at
Napoleon's new clothes fail the test
When English children behaved badly in the early 19th century, their nannies used to warn them that unless they bucked up, Boney - the Emperor Napoleon - would come to get them in the night. It mus |
REVIEW
Tip to Osogbo whee gods ae caved in wood
On a hazy afternoon, men and women go about their business at Oke ?a area of Osogbo, south- western Nigeria. Schoolchildren are just returning from school, uniforms soaked in sweat. A few yards awa |
SUSTAIN-ABILITY
|
Tanzania waives tax on farm inputs to boost production
In line with the country's clarion call Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture First), Tanzania's Minister for Finance Mustafa Mkulo waived value added tax (VAT) on farm implements to improve and increase prod |
Billion-dollar plan to spur business growth in Kenya
Ksh406.5 billion ($5.42 billion) in projects that have over the past years inhibited business growth. Latest statistics from the just concluded 2010/2011 budget presentation show that the governmen |
Aggession: Kampala foum ends in impasse
ball tactics, the United States emerged the biggest winner at the ?rst Review Conference of the Interna- tional Criminal Court, as the two week proceedings ended in an impasse over the crime of aggres |
Biden's visit reflects new US priorities in EA
den's visit to Kenya can be seen as signaling a shift in the Obama administration's approach to East Africa. Comments by Mr Biden, coupled with reports of an expanding US "secret war" against Al Qa |
AL-SHABAAB'S REIGN OF TERROR
2008 February 28 : The United States Department of State designates al-Shabaab as a Foreign Terrorist Organization December: Anwar al-Awlaki, Al-Qaida recruiter and so-called "bin Laden of the int |
Museveni promise to Bashir: Is Kampala bluffing Khartoum over arrest warrant?
A s the Rome Statute review con ference in Kampala wound up, it was clear not everyone shared the position and optimism of the International Criminal Court on nailing those it has indicted. |
Dar plans more men to fight poaching
Tanzania plans to hire more rangers to stem the rising wave of poaching. The rangers will undergo an extensive two-year military training under the National Service system to boost anti-poachi |
General Mugisha's war
I n the past six months, fight ers of the Somali terrorist network Harakat Al Shabaab al-Mujahideen, have made six incursions across the Kenyan border into Liboi, a hamlet located 150 kilometres ea |
Fixing Somalia: Obama just doesn't get it
The United States of America, going by the statements of its Vice-President Joe Biden, is out of touch with what East Africans see as the concerns and issues of the modern day. On his visit to Kenya t |
Q&A WITH GENERAL MUGISHA
Give Geneal Mugisha the tools to finish his job quickly
Aport the Transitional Fed- eral Government of Somalia, African Union peacekeepers are helping train troops for the TFG. HASSAN BARISE accompanied AMISOM Force Commander Maj-Gen Nathan Mugisha on a vi |
Kigali unmoved despite protest over arrest of Ingabire lawyer
cism over its arrest of a US lawyer over his denial of genocide, Kigali remains unmoved. Regional and international lawyers continue to criticise the recent arrest of Prof Pe- ter Erlinder, the pre |
One stop bode points await leades' OK to become eality
posts as East Africa inches closer to the long awaited Common Market in July have been approved. Only the Heads of State Summit approval now stands between the East African Community One Stop Borde |
RELOCATE ICC TO AFRICA
Imagine seeing a major European war
criminal being tried on our soil?
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Paul Goldsmith
Foget the acism and humdum football, hope the Cup escipts Afica's global ole
Hooray, its here! After years of anticipation, months of hype, and periodic injections of veiled racism, Africa's World Cup is up and running. Like a billion oth |
WITCH-HUNTER WANTED
Ugandans are falling under the spell of
the most blatant, vicious conmen
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I have seen the futue, and it's woking in Dodoma � thanks to Kikwete's deam!
T he other day I was offered a peek at Jakaya Mrisho Kik wete's dream, and I must say it works. Less than five years ago, the soon-to-be president of the United Repu |
Enter the pivate secto � at last
East Africa's partner states presented their budget estimates to their respective Houses last week with a firm signal that they were determined to get the region back on the path of growth. Conspi |
Set up an ICC in Jo'burg, it' s a race thing for us...
Uganda's President Yoweri Mu seveni could be in a fix over Sudan's President Omar al Bashir. Days after Kampala said Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Co |
Watch out fo creeping devolution of corruption
Except for a couple of things, there is nothing much about this year's budget to remark on - and no news is sometimes good news. It is Kenya's largest-ever budget - with the assumptions about how to r |
Joachim Buwembo
Idi Amin is dead and gone, ou witchdocto s a e alive and well
If ever there were a time for Ugan dans to miss good old Idi, this is it. If only Field Marshal Life Presi dent Idi Amin Dada, LL.D (Doctor of Law) were alive and in charge! Tune in |
Geatest show starts... with murder and African spices
The World Cup in South Africa is turning out to be a genuine African show, right down to graft and murder. The mayor of Mbombela, a local government district that includes the busy town of Nelspru |
NIGERIA Nigeria and Liberia to run joint Business Council
Liberia and Nigeria plan to establish a Business Council under the Private Partnership Programme arrangement. The two countries have worked together in peace keeping in Liberia where Nigeria lost a nu |
ETHIOPIA AU reports fewere conflicts and victims of conflicts
According to Ramtane Lamamra, the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, the number of conflicts and the number of victims of conflicts in Africa has decreased over the past few years. How |
GHANA GDP to grow to 4.5 per cent on back of oil output
Ghana will realise a growth gross domestic product this year of 4.5 per cent from 3. 5 per cent in 2009.
According to the World Food Programme, the expected oil production later this year and oil e |
DR CONGO Govt appeals for help to reach earmarked aid target
The government appealed to national and international to help it achieve the target of $828 million that had been earmarked for the 2010
humanitarian programme.
The activities include: reinforcin |
ZIMBABWE Local production helps to reduce cost of living
The cost of living in Zimbabwe dropped marginally in May, with the increase in availability of locally manufactured commodities which increased competition and forced prices down.
The cost of the f |
CHAD Regional conference tackles issue of child-soldiers
The country hosted a regional conference on child soldiers to discuss ways to end recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts in Central Africa.
The conference with the support of United Nat |
MADAGASCAR Constitution conference put off indefinitely
A conference meant to discuss the contents of a new constitution to end the perennial conflict on the island country, was postponed indefinitely. The Elders Association said that they pushed forward t |
SOUTH AFRICA IAAF clears Semenya to compete as a woman
The International Association of Athletics Federations has cleared 800m champion Caster Semenya, to compete as
a woman. Semenya was cleared after reviewing the results of gender-verification tests. |
MALAWI Govt will need $93m to achieve ARV compliance
Malawi will need about $93 million a year if the country is to comply with the World Health Organisation directive that countries should move ARVs roll out guidelines from CD4 cell count of 250 to 350 |
GAMBIA Police nab biggest cocaine
haul in fishing village
Local police with the help of the British police nabbed the biggest cocaine haul in Africa estimated to cost a street value of about $1 billion in Bonto, a small fishing village. The 2.1 tonnes of coc |
SUDAN First six months saw more deaths in Darfur than in `09
In the first week of June, Darfur experienced the largest number of deaths since 2008. Nearly 600 people died in the fight between rebels, the Equality Movement (JEM) and ethnic militias. JEM last mon |
SENEGAL Opposition wants govt urged to run an impartial poll
Opposition politicians in Senegal are engaging the international community to urge government to create enabling conditions to ensure a transparent presidential election in 2012.
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Poo Somalis ae piates, ich Isael is... what?
Israeli commandos murdered up to a dozen or so people upon a ?otilla of six aid-carrying ships two weeks ago. The events have been played out on our screens and the response has been overwhelming. It |
What the lobbying, hetoic miss about Somalia
During last month's UN conference on Somalia in Istanbul, Turkey, the international community placed huge expectations on Somalia's Transitional Federal Government to de- liver political and economic |
Shiin Ebadi
It's women who will bing democacy to Ian
One year ago today, the Irani- an people took to the streets in droves to protest the fraudulent elections that re- turned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency. These peaceful demonstra- tions were m |
Will the US fight the teo goups in Pakistan?
Jaswant Singh
The lull in headline grabbing terror attacks appears to be over. But do the recent suicide attack on the Bagram air base outside of Kabul, a key United States |
Experts find way to control maize poisoning
Maize farmers in East Africa can apply certain strains of aflatoxin to their crop while it is still in the farm, to prevent it from poisoning their yields. Researchers from the International |
LAST WORD
Don't kill that vermin! It may translate into cash
Police in Uganda, which is described by the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes as a transit area for illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin, have unveiled a plan to import rats and cockroaches to help them |
Villages to get early warning worms attack
casting centres will be established in East Africa to issue early warnings to farm- ers of possible attacks by army worms. Run by farmers and equipped with locally as- sembled gadgets such as rain |
Experts turn to folic acid-rich foods to fight off birth defects
B ecoming a mother is one of na ture's gifts to a woman, but not for Shamim Nakibuuka, a 20-yearold, first time mother whose child was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Ms Nakibuuka's |
Phase II of agicultual pogamme kicks o with huge $100m allocation
The National Agricul tural Advisory Services programme is expected to receive Ush201.2 billion ($100.6 million) in the 2010/ 2011 financial year, making it the biggest budgetary allocation to a sin |
SAME TALENT, DIFFERENT STYLE
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BOOK SHORTS
Author of The Twilight Saga, Stephanie Meyer has written a short novel to coincide with the release of Eclipse in cinemas, and the super generous (and super rich) Meyer has made it free to read. |
Theate
Stathmoe takes on Chekhov
The relative success of their production of Nikolai Gogol's The Gov- ernment Inspector last year seems to have spurred the Strathmore University Drama So- ciety to take the bold step of stag- ing a pl |
MOVIE REVIEW
Lovable geen oge stumbles at the box oce
Shrek Forever After was No. 1 at North American multiplexes over the weekend but failed to meet even cautious expectations, probably because of franchise fatigue and pushback from consumers over the r |
US Library of Congress honours McCartney
Ugandan singer General Mega Dee will perform at the Ina De Dance music concert on July 16. The concert will be held at Kyadondo rugby grounds.
Musician Ragga Dee's is also
expected to have an alb |
Stan and Sauti Sol on 3month tour of Europe
Kenyan singer Stan and the boy band, Sauti Sol have begun a three-month European tour till early August where they will record an album. Sauti Sol has also been endorsed as the Converse Allstar brand |
spots
Tanzania foked out $3 million to suppot Taifa-Bazil fiendly
T he Tanzanian government parted with about $3 mil lion to facilitate the com ing of Brazilians for a friendly match last Monday. Brazil, who are FIFA's numbe |
Drunk sleeps on politician's driveway in Johannesburg
An Australian backpacker in South Africa for the soccer World Cup passed out drunk in the driveway of a Johannesburg politician under the impression he was in Cape Town.
Woken after a bitterly cold |
Witch-doctors put the magic in team spirit If Sebenzile Nsukwini's bones a
If Sebenzile Nsukwini's bones are anything to go by, the World Cup is going to pass off without a hitch and hosts South Africa are destined for great things.
"Eish, it is looking very good for Sout |
Vuvuzela tops the noise league, a threat to hearing
South Africa's vuvuzela, the trumpet that will be a fixture at World Cup matches, is the loudest of all fan instruments and can cause permanent hearing loss, a global hearing foundation said.
Socce |
