Sunday, November 25, 2012

Corruption scandals: Is Museveni digging a political grave for NRM?

   

KAMPALA
In a speech that marked the beginning of the end of Hu Jintao’s era and formally ushered in new leaders for the coming decade, the Chinese president singled out the suspected [ruling] party members, asking them to be ethical and to rein in their greedy family members, whose trading on their connections for money and lavish displays of wealth have amplified public cynicism about the party.
Unlike the case in Uganda and other countries, in China, corruption is a crime that draws capital punishment or the death penalty. President Jintao has relinquished his role at the top of the Communist party for Xi Jinping to take over as the country’s paramount leader.
While China is not Uganda, President Jintao’s fear that corruption could prove “fatal” to the Communist Party and bring down the state if not tackled coincides with the analysts’ warning that by protecting the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Pius Bigirimana, who was named in the loss of donor funds, President Museveni is trying to dig his political grave and that of the ruling National Resistance Movement.
Because of widespread corruption, Prof William Muhumuza from Makerere University’s Political Science cited key challenges Uganda faces today — a rich-poor gap, putrefying public institutions because of patronage — highlighting the imbalanced development between the wealthy politicians and a struggling countryside.
Combatting corruption and promoting political integrity, Prof Muhumuza told Sunday Monitor, is a major political issue. However, his analysis is that it is unlikely to lead to the government being voted out because “corruption is mainly a concern of elites”.
Ignorance of layman
“The patronage dispensed through various avenues, the populist government programmes, though of poor quality (e.g. UPE, free healthcare, SACCOs etc) and the influence of the beneficiaries of corruption may instead win more support from unsuspecting ordinary person,” Prof Muhumuza said. “The majority ordinary people are yet to link corruption at the national level with the poor quality of service delivery. This consciousness is still lacking at the moment.”
According to Prof Muhumuza the case of Mr Bigirimana being protected by President Museveni needs to be understood in the context of neo-patrimonial nature of African politics, where regime survival is insured using state resources that are irregularly acquired.
That patronage-driven politics thrives on corruption. And public resources are ordinarily stolen to reward “cadres” and regime sycophants. “The patrons and their clients are rewarded and sustained through political appointment (e.g. as presidential advisers, chairpersons and members of commissions, ministers, RDCs etc). These privileges serve as a reward and political investment for the next round of electors.
“The point here is that regime supporters or “cadres” in this case, are placed in strategic positions - usually the ones with a lot of resources, so that they can help to syphon them for purposes of building a political base for the regime. This is typical of almost all African regimes. The NRM is not an exception,” Prof Muhumuza said.
In a “damage control” statement to the donors who have already suspended aid over theft of aid at the OPM, President Museveni took time off to respond to what he called: “politically motivated red-herrings”, targeting people he said were trying to give the impression that the problem of corruption in Uganda is because of lack of “political will” to fight that corruption.
“Who? Me, Yoweri Museveni, lacking “political will” to fight corruption and criminality when I am stronger now than I was in 1971, when, together with my colleagues, we took the regime of Idi Amin head on, or when in 1981, with 27 guns, we attacked Kabamba? Those who peddle those falsehoods should be treated with the contempt they deserve,” Mr Museveni said.
While President Museveni brags of putting in place the numerous anti-corruption laws and institutions, by protecting suspects, some of whom are his ministers and close allies, the Executive Director, Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda, Ms Cissy Kagaba, says has killed the impetus in the fight against corruption and promoted impunity in the process.
The infamous 2010 Temangalo land scandal involving Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi was the first case that possibly exposed the lack of political will to fight corruption. At the height of this scandal, a caucus meeting was called at State House, Entebbe, where a decision was taken to defeat the Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises report implicating the ministers involved. Again, the ministers who were implicated in the 2007 Chogm scandals survived through the party caucusing and others who, with tainted images, have since been re-appointed in key Cabinet positions.
“Even if NRM uses corruption to entrench itself in power, this is unsustainable,” Ms Kagaba said. “With time, Ugandans will get tired of those who steal their money and in the end they will get angry and remove their leaders from power. This is what caused the Arab spring. Take the example of OPM scandal; do you expect the people in northern Uganda to be happy when a certain group of people decided to steal their money?”
On several occasions, President Museveni has promised to stamp out corruption but no tangible solution to the crisis has been witnessed by the country today. The President is now accused of offering lip-service to the fight against the vice. But in trying to explain what has become of his promises to wipe out corruption in his government, Mr Museveni told the donors that key institutions like the IGG, seem to have been infiltrated by questionable characters.

Looking forward, former IGG Augustine Ruzindana said: “Everyone, voters, civil society, religious organisations, business community, international community, political parties and politicians, including those in NRM etc...must appreciate and accept the imperative of regime change and work for its realisation.”
From the political succession debate viewpoint, Mr Nicholas Opio, an independent analyst said, endless corruption scandals will give President Museveni more arsenals to realign his political cards and purge his numbers of historically connected and ambitious folks viewed as possible power points.
More praise-singers coming up
According to Mr Opio, corruption will also be nectar for attracting political optimists who will be involved in a rat race to be the loudest political praise singers of the President, his family and corrupt ministers. However, Mr Opio said that will not entrench the Museveni rule. In any event, he said, the NRM government’s credibility is being undermined by the increasing cases of corruption. “The regime’s smoke screen showmanship in fighting graft is increasingly becoming evident. Little wonder donors are now reacting by cutting aid,” he said.
With hindsight, Mr Opio thinks, Ugandans are to blame for the corruption we see in government today. “We have not been able to channel a collective outrage for the theft we have seen across government departments and ministries, either because we are beneficiaries of the same (by way of pecks and benefits) or because the people involved in the fight against corruption themselves do not have the moral authority and public support to be able to mobilise a critical mass,” Mr Opio said.
But on whether corruption will be the vice that would dislodge the President’s 26 years of uninterrupted rule, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Nandala Mafabi, said regime’s “cronyism” and “corruption” have a corrosive effect, disadvantaging innocent Ugandan traders and entrenching a regime. “The money for service delivery is always siphoned by corrupt public servants and ministers. President Museveni’s government has been turned into a hunting ground and this is the problem,” Mr Mafabi said.
“Corruption continues to obstruct any kind of reform whether in the political or economic spheres. The poor are poor and the rich are growing fatter. They are buying votes because they have impoverished our people. But the good news is that as poverty comes closer, the people are beginning to see the reality. In the end, people will eat their money and vote out those who steal from the poor.”
Dr Paul Omach, a senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Makerere University, is of the view that the corruption the country is witnessing today cannot be reduced to the actions or roles of individuals, be it Mr Bigirimana or someone else. “These are servants at the service of an establishment that benefits from looting to further its stay in power as well as personal enrichment or primitive accumulation,” Dr Omach said.
He added: “Looting of public resources is used by the political establishment to finance political activities such as patronage, political financing, (and other not so noble oppressive activities against perceived opponents). Individuals who are used to execute looting of resources from the State, therefore, benefit from some protection from their political bosses. Any punishment meted to them tends to be symbolic (e.g. one may be relieved of duties but will continue to enjoy privileges of office).”
In trying to explain why the government is protecting Mr Bigirimana, Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo said: “What’s the magic behind Bigirimana who is costing us billions of shillings for our brothers and sisters in northern Uganda and Karamoja?” “By refusing to interdict the PS, it’s now clear that this man, Bigirimana, is just a middleman in the scam. It’s without any doubt that the biggest office is behind the scam. Bigirimana is just a whipping boy and the big people are hiding behind him.”
On the proposal to refund the stolen money on behalf of the people they called “thieves”, Mr Ssekikubo said: “Let President Museveni sell his cows to cover Bigirimana if he wants and let Mbabazi also sell his mansion in Kanungu and China to cover up Bigirimana.”
But MP Gerald Karuhanga (Independent Youth Western), one of the anti-corruption crusaders, believes that if President Museveni continues to protect the corrupt, with time Ugandans would get tired and vote his government out. “If the President continues to fight corruption Bigirimana style, Ugandans will eat his money for campaign and vote the opposition. When you critically analyse what is going on today, you will conclude that by failing to stamp out corruption in his government, President Museveni is blindly digging his political grave and that of his party.”
Presidential Press Secretary Tamale Mirundi has described calls for Mr Bigirimana’s removal as act of mob action in the fight against corruption. He said: “President Museveni is the one championing the fight against corruption in the country and not Members of Parliament.” Mr Mirundi said the audit report on OPM scam was instituted by the government not donors.
Prof Muhumuza said being one of the few privileged “big men” (patrons) from Kisoro District where the NRM regime wins by over 95 per cent, there are all reasons for the President to protect Mr Bigirimana in order “not to annoy his clients.” He also said that there could be fear that if he is sacrificed he could spill beans that may expose “more than we currently know”. “It is tactical that he be given time to erase evidence that may expose some powerful individuals in the system and limit the blame to the civil servants.”
The other reason is the fear of embarrassment to the government before donors and the public, given that the OPM is headed by powerful national figures. “If the truth is allowed to come out, it could be detrimental to the regime. Any skillful politician must always try to do damage control,” Prof Muhumuza added.
But Kibanda MP Sam Otada, who described Ugandans as “chicks” whose “mother-hen” had been eaten by “vultures”, asked citizens to rise up and demand accountability from leaders. “The arrogance of our leaders must stop. The notion that you can succeed by not working hard must be defeated,” Mr Otada said, adding: “A situation like this is a national disaster and people must take responsibility. This is why President Museveni should stop behaving as if there is nothing happening.”
The NRM government, according to Dr Omach, has presided over massive inflow of resources from donors, especially since 1992. The economy also registered remarkable growth. And the regime used the liberalisation programme to reward supporters and turned a blind eye to outright pillage of public resources and allowed corruption to flourish. For this, Dr Omach said, it enjoyed “tacit” and “explicit” support and nearly unquestionable loyalty from people who amassed wealth.

Elite beneficiaries
To answer the question on how corruption will affect Mr Museveni, Dr Omach said: “This is a very corrupt society, and many people, especially the elite have benefited from corruption. The problem now is the shrinking resources from which to loot, and still sustain basic public services that can mollify the general public.”
Dr Omach sees President Museveni as a leader in a dilemma; if he genuinely tackles corruption, he must change the politics he practices, while at the same time alienating those who have benefited from patronage and lack of accountability to enrich themselves.
“Those who were used to execute corrupt activities for the political establishment may end up ‘talking’ and embarrassing the political establishment. If he ignores it, public service will deteriorate to unsustainable levels (if they have not yet already), donors will further reduce support and the public will be alienated,” he added.
A special audit report of the Auditor General found that more than Shs50 billion was stolen by officials at the OPM. The money was meant for the Peace, Recovery & Development Plan (PRDP) in northern Uganda and Karamoja sub-region. But Mr Museveni has defended Mr Bigirimana as a “whistleblower”, in a scandal that has rocked his government and rattled his relationship with the development partners.
 By Yasiin Mugerwa
Source:Daily Monitor

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Pah One- I Wanna Get Paid ft.Shrekeezy (Prod. Nahreel)

Japan 'geeks' seek love at masked match-making

WASHINOMIYA, Japan (AFP) Self-confessed geeks in Japan who might ordinarily be too shy to ask someone on a date are trying a new kind of matchmaking: wearing cartoon character masks. In a small town north of Tokyo, 15 men and an equal number of women donned plastic masks of Doraemon, Mickey Mouse and other fictional creations to try to find a date on Friday. "I feel this is an easier way to talk to people," said a 27-year-old woman wearing a rabbit mask, who introduced herself as Jet-Black Wings. "I wouldn't be able to do this without this mask. I would feel too embarrassed." The party, in Washinomiya, was organised for the benefit of "otaku" -- people obsessed with high-tech products, Japan's manga comic books and the anime (cartoons) that sprang from them. Otaku -- often translated as "geeks" -- freely confess to being more at home with their two-dimensional heroes than communicating with the real world. As well as giving participants a boost to their bravery, the masked meet also ensured that people with similar, albeit rather particular, interests were able to meet each other. The event was organised by the local chamber of commerce, who realised the power of the otaku-yen when their otherwise unremarkable town became a pilgrimage site for fans of the "Raki Suta" (Lucky Star) cartoon in 2007, all clamouring to see the place in which it was set. "The direct economic effect from the Raki Suta fans is estimated to be about 100 million yen ($1.22 million) over the past five years," said Shinji Matsumoto, one of the organisers. "We are really lucky that so many otaku people come to this town. We want them to have good time here." At Friday's event, seven male-female couplings were formed, giving the afternoon an approximately 50 percent success rate. A 33-year-old man wearing the mask of a villain from a 1970s TV show hit it off with a 26-year-old woman with a Mickey Mouse face on. Both managed to keep smiling when they revealed what was under the disguise. "My heart was beating as I was taking off the mask," said the Mickey Mouse woman. Asked if the matchmaking would result in a real date, the man -- who gave his name as Furuta Oribe, a samurai and master of tea ceremony from the 16th century -- was a little unsure. "I hope so, yes?" he asked, turning to his new beau. "I was really nervous. I still cannot believe this," he said.

Friday, November 23, 2012

China's holdout homeowners stuck in the road

 
SHANGHAI (AFP) Pictures of an elderly couple's house standing in the middle of a huge dual carriageway as they hold out for compensation to leave have gone viral on the Internet in China.
The photographs, widely carried by Chinese state media and Internet sites on Friday, show a partially demolished five-storey block of flats in the centre of the road in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
The phenomenon is called a "nail house" in China, as such buildings stick out and are difficult to remove, like a stubborn nail.
Luo Baogen, 67, and his 65-year-old wife have waged a four-year battle to receive more than the 260,000 yuan ($41,300) compensation offered by the local government of Daxi, the China Daily newspaper said.
"What a sight. I hope they can carry on," said blogger Guangshen Zhuxiaozi on the popular Sina microblog service.
Another who gave the name Ha Pu Sheng said: "The common people are always disadvantaged. The method of the government is so inhumane."
Local governments in China can earn enormous revenue by evicting people to clear land and reselling it to property developers.
The road has yet to officially open, and state media carried conflicting accounts over whether Luo had finally agreed to accept an offer for his family's home.
Daxi government officials declined to comment.
Despite their new separation from their neighbours, the couple still have mains electricity, running water and cable television, according to the Shanghai Daily.
Some bloggers praised the government's restraint, saying authorities had so far refrained from a forcible eviction and knocking down the building.
"I see progress in local officials," said Wudi De Daniupai.
There have been several previous "nail house" cases, including one in the southwestern city of Chongqing in 2007 in which the property developer excavated a deep pit around the holdout's home.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Profile: Bosco Ntaganda the Congolese 'Terminator'



Bosco Ntaganda has a beautiful smile, according to those who have met him - but beneath the smile lies a ruthless operator who well deserves his nicknames "Terminator Tango" or "The Terminator".
Gen Ntaganda was first indicted in 2006 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly recruiting child soldiers during the Democratic Republic of Congo's bloody five-year war.
Additional charges of rape, murder, persecution based on ethnic grounds and the deliberate targeting of civilians were added in May 2012 as a result of evidence given during the trial of his co-accused and former boss, warlord Thomas Lubanga - the first person to be found guilty by the court two months earlier.
A witness testified that as a child he fought alongside "The Terminator" - saying he was a man who "kills people easily".
Impunity and luxury Gen Ntaganda is "just as dangerous as [Ugandan rebel leader] Joseph Kony", says Fatou Bensouda who becomes the ICC chief prosecutor in June.
"Not arresting Bosco, allowing him to walk freely, like he's not committed any crimes, is unacceptable," Ms Bensouda says.
But that is exactly what has happened, with President Joseph Kabila refusing to arrest him - for the sake of Congo's peace, he has said.

The Terminator at a glance

  • Born in 1973, grew up in Rwanda
  • Fled to DR Congo as a teenager after attacks on fellow ethnic Tutsis
  • At 17, he begins his fighting days - alternating between being a rebel and a soldier, in both Rwanda and DR Congo
  • Keen tennis player
  • In 2006, indicted by the ICC for allegedly recruiting child soldiers
  • He is in charge of troops that carry out the 2008 Kiwanji massacre
  • In 2009, he is integrated into the Congolese national army and made a general
  • In 2012, he defects from the army
And so, for years, the ex-rebel-turned-army general has been free in the eastern town of Goma, enjoying a life of impunity and luxury, which has included fine wine and dining and games of tennis.
The local population has not been so lucky.
They blame Mr Ntaganda and his soldiers for a series of rapes, looting and murders - in North and South Kivu provinces, and in the Ituri district of north-eastern DR Congo.
Bosco Ntaganda was born in 1973 in Kiningi, a small town on the foothills of Rwanda's Virunga mountain range, famous for its gorillas.
As a teenager, Mr Ntaganda fled to Ngungu, in eastern DR Congo, following attacks on fellow ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda.
He attended secondary school there - but did not graduate.
In 1990, at the age of 17, he joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front rebels in southern Uganda.
He fought, under the command of RPF leader - now Rwandan President - Paul Kagame, to end the genocide.
After Rwandan unrest spilled over into DR Congo, he started to flip between fighting rebellions and serving in national armies - both Rwandan and Congolese.
Bosco Ntaganda 
 Mr Ntaganda was filmed in Kiwanji on the day of the 2008 massacre
In 2002, he joined the rebel Union of Congolese Patriots in the Ituri district - and spent the next three years as Thomas Lubanga's chief of military operations.
Mr Ntaganda then joined yet another rebel group - the CNDP - under the leadership of Laurent Nkunda, a key power-broker in the east of the country who, like Gen Ntaganda, had started his military career in the Rwandan rebel force that ended the genocide.
With the backing of Rwanda, he went on to overthrew Gen Nkunda and take over the leadership of the CNDP militia.
Despite being wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes, by 2009 Mr Ntaganda was soldiering on the side of President Kabila - and was promoted to general.
He was based in Goma, where he was in charge of up to 50,000 soldiers, many of them former rebels who remained personally loyal to him.
According to a UN investigation, Mr Ntaganda has built a lucrative business empire for himself in North and South Kivu - reportedly collecting taxes from mines controlled by the soldiers under his command, charcoal markets and illegal checkpoints.
 Ruthless
At one stage, Mr Ntaganda was making about $15,000 (£10,000) a week at one border crossing, a 2011 report by the UN Group of Experts found.
He also is thought to own a flour factory, a hotel, a bar and a cattle ranch outside Goma.
Human Rights Watch researcher Anneke van Woudenberg has met "The Terminator" several times.
He is not an articulate or persuasive speaker, Ms van Woudenberg says.
But, standing at just over 6ft (1.8m) tall, he has a certain presence and charisma - and likes to wear leather cowboy-style hats.
But it is his ruthlessness that really stood out for her: "He is someone who will never face up to his crimes. He always denies and comes up with excuse after excuse to justify what he has done."
The list of his alleged crimes is huge - and Congolese people say "The Terminator" is regarded as a man who leads from the front and personally takes part in military operations.
In November 2008 international journalists filmed him commanding and ordering his troops in the village of Kiwanja, 90km (55 miles) north of Goma, where 150 people were massacred in a single day.
He also commanded troops accused of having killed, because of their ethnicity, at least 800 civilians in the town of Mongbwalu, in Ituri district in 2002, after his troops took control of the rich gold mines in the area.
In early April 2012, he appears to have defected from the Congolese army - reportedly leaving Goma, taking with him up to 600 heavily armed soldiers.
He is thought to be hiding out in the hills above the town.
On 11 April, Mr Kabila finally called for his arrest - but he said he will not be handing over Gen Ntaganda to the ICC.
SOURCE:BBC NEWS

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Chelsea sack Di Matteo - club statement


LONDON (AFP)
Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has been sacked after the European champions were left facing elimination at the group stage of the Champions League, the club said on Wednesday.
"Chelsea Football Club has parted company this morning with Manager Roberto Di Matteo," a statement said, following Tuesday's 3-0 defeat to Juventus.
Chelsea said the team's "recent performances and results have not been good enough".





DR Congo, Rwanda leaders meet after rebels take Goma

 KAMPALA (AFP)

                                 President Paul Kagame of Rwanda

                                  President  Joseph  kabila  of  DRC

Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila and his Rwandan rival Paul Kagame have met for face-to-face meetings over conflict in eastern Congo, Ugandan officials said Wednesday. 

"President Kabila and President Kagame held a two-hour meeting together on Tuesday night," Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kutesa told AFP, after the meeting in the Ugandan capital.

The United Nations accuses Rwanda of backing DR Congo's M23 rebels who now control the key eastern town of Goma, charges Kigali denies.
Rwanda for its part accuses Kinshasa of renewing cooperation with Rwandan rebels based in eastern DRC.
The two leaders, who then met together with Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, continue talks on Wednesday, Kutesa added.
"President Museveni has been speaking to them, and they agreed to come to discuss the deteriorating situation," he said, adding that meetings are ongoing.
Both are expected to meet separately with Museveni, before meeting again all together.
"At least they are talking," Kutesa said. "I think all is going OK."
Kutesa also said that Uganda is calling an extraordinary meeting of regional heads of state this Saturday, under the umbrella of the 11-member International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
Kabila and Kagame are being encouraged to attend that meeting, Kutesa added.

How to Rob Africa

 
Why does the Western world feed Africa with one hand while taking from it with the other?

The world's wealthy countries often criticise African nations for corruption - especially that perpetrated by those among the continent's government and business leaders who abuse their positions by looting tens of billions of dollars in national assets or the profits from state-owned enterprises that could otherwise be used to relieve the plight of some of the world's poorest peoples.

Yet the West is culpable too in that it often looks the other way when that same dirty money is channelled into bank accounts in Europe and the US.

International money laundering regulations are supposed to stop the proceeds of corruption being moved around the world in this way, but it seems the developed world's financial system is far more tempted by the prospect of large cash injections than it should be.

Indeed the West even provides the getaway vehicles for this theft, in the shape of anonymous off-shore companies and investment entities, whose disguised ownership makes it too easy for the corrupt and dishonest to squirrel away stolen funds in bank accounts overseas.

This makes them nigh on impossible for investigators to trace, let alone recover.

It is something that has long bothered Zimbabwean journalist Stanley Kwenda - who cites the troubling case of the Marange diamond fields in the east of his country.

A few years ago rich deposits were discovered there which held out the promise of billions of dollars of revenue that could have filled the public purse and from there have been spent on much needed improvements to roads, schools and hospitals.

The surrounding region is one of the most impoverished in the country, desperate for the development that the profits from mining could bring. But as Kwenda found out from local community leader Malvern Mudiwa, this much anticipated bounty never appeared.

"When these diamonds came, they came as a God-given gift. So we thought now we are going to benefit from jobs, infrastructure, we thought maybe our roads were going to improve, so that generations and generations will benefit from this, not one individual. But what is happening, honestly, honestly it's a shame!"

What is happening is actually something of a mystery because though the mines are clearly in operation and producing billions of dollars worth of gems every year, little if any of it has ever been put into Zimbabwe's state coffers.

Local and international non-governmental organisations say they believe this is because the money is actually being used to maintain President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) in power.

True or not, it is clear that the country's finance minister, Tendai Biti, has seen none of it. A representative of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which sits in uneasy coalition with ZANU-PF, he says he has no idea where it is going.

"We have got evidence of the quantities that are being mined, the quantities that are being exported but nothing is coming to the fiscus .... All I know is that it's not coming to the treasury. So that is a self-evident question. It is not coming to us. That means someone is getting it. The person who is getting it is not getting it legally. Therefore, he's a thief, therefore she’s a thief."

Sadly, as Stanley Kwenda has realised, it is typical of a problem found all over Africa.

The continent is rich is natural resources that are being exploited for big profits, but the money is rarely used for the benefit of the people. Instead it goes to line the pockets of corrupt officials who then often smuggle it out to be deposited in secret offshore bank accounts in the developed world.

So who facilitates these transactions? And how and why does the developed world make it so easy to launder this dirty cash?

In this revealing investigation for People & Power, Kwenda and the Ghanaian undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, set off to find out. Posing as a corrupt Zimbabwean official and his lawyer, their probe takes them deep into the murky world of 'corporate service providers' - experts in the formation of company structures that allow the corrupt to circumvent lax international money laundering rules.

It just so happens that the pair's enquiries take place in the Seychelles but, as they discover to their horror, they could just as easily be in any one of a number of offshore locations (or even in the major cities of Europe and the US) where anonymous companies can be set up for the express purpose of secretly moving money and keeping its origins hidden from prying eyes.
Filmmaker's view
By Anas Aremeyaw Anas

Despite the abundance of resources on the continent, success has been very elusive for many Africans. The narrative is one many are too familiar with: corrupt leaders force themselves into political office, then they work to undermine the progress of their people.

That is what leaves many African countries poor - corrupt leadership. It hinders progress.

What has kept this diagnosis of Africa from a cure is not immediately clear. Foreign aid, debt relief and the many notes of economic salvation have been applied. Not much has changed. Dreams fail for many young Africans. The trouble with Africa still looms large.

The need for Africa's troubled state has inspired my career as an undercover investigative journalist.

Over the past decade, I have tried to focus on human rights violations, corruption and the many ills that plague society. Through many anti-human trafficking and anti-corruption stories, I have come close to answers.

Exposing bribe-taking police officers, public officials and other corrupt individuals has brought some change. This has been on the ground, yet many of the problems still persist.

This film, How to Rob Africa, takes this further by focusing on what many leaders in high office do that leaves the continent in a bad shape.

Decades into political independence, many African governments remain reliant on foreign aid, yet often as soon as this aid arrives it is spirited away into the personal accounts of the leaders who are supposed to be looking after the interests of their people - and ironically many of those accounts are back in the West.

It is no surprise that many Africans are left asking the developed world: "Why do you frown publicly about corruption, yet turn a blind eye to its fruits?"

What we sought to do in our investigation was to point in the direction of money laundering as a substantial contributor to Africa's corruption - or at least one of the most important enabling factors - and the role played by corporate service providers in setting up structures to allow it to take place.

In the Seychelles, we found how easy it is to rob Africa. We learned about the clever but brazen tricks and scams that can be used (for a fee) to disguise the origins of money and the identities of those who are moving it around.

We do not say that all of Africa's woes are the fault of others outside the continent. Nor do we assume that criminality is the only reason why Africa, despite its many natural riches, has been kept in poverty.

But we did come away wondering why the outside world feeds Africa with one hand and takes from it with another. Why cannot the resources for aid be directed into fighting this obvious problem? Is it not about time that something was done to stop those stealing our wealth, and those helping them steal it, from evading responsibility prosecution for their crimes?

Source:How  to Rob Africa-People &Power  Al Jazeera  English

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Aid money used to buy 8 ministers cars

BY YASIIN MUGERWA 

Aid money used to buy 8 ministers cars

Almost Shs2 billion in development aid meant for post-war recovery efforts in northern Uganda and Karamoja sub-region was used to purchase luxury vehicles for ministers in the Premier’s office, according to information before the Public Accounts Committee.

Beneficiaries of the new cars include Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and five other ministers.

The officials are entitled to government cars but MPs say they will probe how the cars were bought using money meant to help needy people in northern Uganda rebuild their lives after two decades of war.

Listed among the recipient offices are the Prime Minister, who besides a Mercedes Benz, also had two cars for his convoy purchased off the money. Others who got a car each are a Deputy Prime Minister, the Karamoja Affairs minister, Information, Teso Affairs and Bunyoro Affairs ministers.

The MPs are also investigating the whereabouts of at least Shs400 million that the Ministry of Finance had released to OPM to buy cars, but which was not spent for that purpose.

At least Shs400m was given to M/s Spear Motors Ltd; M/s Toyota Ltd took over Shs1 billion for six ministers’ vehicles (about Shs200m each).

The money was paid off a stash that had been secretly diverted from the Peace Recovery and Development Programme and hidden in a secret account operated by Permanent Secretary Pius Bigirimana and other top officials at OPM.

Procurement for the cars for the new ministers had started in June 2011 and were completed by October last year. However, it is not clear why, instead of using the money sent by Finance, OPM officials diverted the money for Acholi and Karamoja.

Several donor nations including the UK, Norway, Sweden, Ireland and Denmark, which had provided in excess of Shs70 billion for reconstruction efforts in northern Uganda and poverty reduction interventions in Karamoja, have since cut their aid over the corruption in OPM.

Yesterday, MPs said they would demand answers. “The ministers and permanent secretary will have to answer why money for the poor was used to buy them vehicles,” Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo (NRM) said.

The Youth MP Western, Mr Gerald Karuhanga (Independent), told Daily Monitor yesterday that Mr Mbabazi’s new Benz was worth Shs400 million, adding that he would be asked to explain the purchase. It is not clear whether the ministers knew about the source of the money that was used to buy their vehicles.

Meanwhile, Bank of Uganda officials are expected in PAC today to explain their role in the loss of millions of dollars in foreign aid.

ymugerwa@ug.nationmedia.com 

SOURCE:DAILY  MONITOR

Museveni begs donors over aid cuts 

President Museveni Monday afternoon back-peddled on his characteristic attacks against donors, choosing in a dramatic U-turn to plead with them to continue financing his government currently in a reputation crisis over graft.
The NRM leader made the humbling request at a “frank and lively” two and a half hour meeting he held with ambassadors from 20 development partner countries under their loose coalition, Partners for Democracy and Governance (PDG) at State House Entebbe Monday  afternoon, his press office said.
egyezaho@ug.nationmedia.com

President Museveni’s full statement;
Greetings to all of you, Excellences
You cannot talk, seriously or credibly about the fight against criminality and corruption in Uganda in the last 50 years and the period before without talking about the vanguard role of the NRM in that fight.
Until 26 years ago, stealing Government funds was the least of Uganda’s problems.  The main problems were: extra-judicial killings (that resulted into the death of 800,000 Ugandans between 1966 and 1986); looting of property of the population by the soldiers; raping of women; brutalizing of the population through beatings by the soldiers; uprooting of whole communities by the soldiers, like Idi Amin did with the Indian community, or like the colonial system did with the  Banyoro, Baruuli, Banyala and others; the poaching of animals by Government soldiers in the National Parks; the grabbing of private and communal lands by those in power; and, of course, the stealing of Government funds.  The NRM, which started as a student Movement in the 1960s, was the vanguard and pioneer of the fight against all this criminality and corruption since, at least, 1965 todate. 
We started by defending the land of the peasants between 1966 and 1970 ― at least, in some parts of the country.  Who were the agents of criminality, corruption and extortion?  It was the State ― both the Colonial and the post-Colonial State.  During the colonial times, for instance, the system of mailo was created where 8,000 square miles was taken away from the indigenous owners and was given to 1,000 collaborator chiefs, each one getting 8 sq. miles.  When this grand theft almost caused an uprising in 1924, the Governor, Mitchell, appointed a Commission of Enquiry, which resulted in some reforms of 1928.  However, the problem was not fully eliminated.  We are still grappling with it.  We shall definitely solve it.
Apart from the grabbing of land, extra-judicial killings were massively used, especially between 1966 and 1986, as already pointed out.  There are 37 mass graves in the Luwero Triangle, preserved to capture this criminality.  Your Excellencies could go there and visit some of them.  Therefore, the main task of the revolutionaries was to destroy the rump of the colonial State ― the colonial Army, headed by the likes of Idi Amin and to build a people’s Army.  It is this intervention that made Uganda to resurrect and chart a new course.  Many people have been praising the conduct of the UPDF in Somalia.  That is a consequence of that Revolution ― destroying the colonial Army and replacing it with a people’s Army as part of reforming the colonial State.  Incidentally, this was not unique to Uganda.  Throughout the whole of Africa, this was the problem. The terrible civil war in Nigeria, Mobutu in Congo, Siad Barre in Somalia, Bokassa in Central Africa, Eyadema in Togo, the recent problems of Ivory Coast, the genocides in Rwanda and Burundi can all, in one way or another, be traced to the colonial State and its Armies.  Some go a bit further to link up with the African feudal systems of the pre-colonial times as exploited by colonialism.
Therefore, our revolution was both anti-colonial and anti-feudal.  The most dangerous element of the Colonial State was the Colonial Army and its post-colonial mutants ― Uganda Army (UA), Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), etc.  This Army was sectarian, illiterate, unpatriotic, etc.  Our Revolution, on the other hand, was based on four principles:
  1. Patriotism;
  2. Pan-Africanism;
  3. Socio-economic transformation; and
  4. Democracy
By destroying the colonial Army and replacing it with the Revolutionary Army, we, immediately, cured the following criminalities:
  1. Extra-judicial killings;
  2. Raping of women;
  3. Looting of people’s property;
  4. Brutalizing of people and rudeness to them;
  5. Poaching of animals from the National Parks; and
  6. Grabbing people’s land; etc.
That is how Uganda resurrected and started the recovery process, which has been witnessed in recent years (the last 26 years).

The colonial Army, however, was not the only element in the colonial State.  There were other elements:
  1. The civil service;
  2. The Police;
  3. The Judiciary;
  4. The Professional services (medical, veterinary,teaching), etc.
It was actually a bit easier to reform the Army.  What that needed was a correct ideological-philosophical outlook.  As already said, our outlook is: patriotism, pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation (modernization) and democracy.  To these, or even as a consequence of patriotism, if you add heroism and courage, given the comparatively Uganda’s good educational standards even during the colonial times, it was easy to build a good pro-people Army. 
All this was also assisted by the solid martial culture of the people of Uganda the decadent feudal system that tended to smoother the qualities of our people notwithstanding.  Why? A recruit course takes six months to nine months, an officer - cadet’s course takes twelve months and a Non Commissioned Officer’s (NCO) course takes four months.  This is based on assumption that you have people of the right educational level, age-bracket and health.  The ideological aspects can be imparted by the leadership through teaching and by example.  This can quickly get you people to lead platoons and with accelerated training, you will get people to lead companies, etc.  Anybody with a University degree in general studies or A-level education can be turned into a good soldier, NCO or officer.  Specialists for Air-force, engineering and other specialties need science education.  Fortunately, these are needed in smaller numbers.
However, with Administration (Accounting officers), professional services (doctors, lawyers, veterinary), Judiciary, etc., you need longer periods of preparation.  Some of these courses need science education or mathematics, which are subjects that are not as popular as the humanities.  Many of them (the people involved), besides, had a careerist attitude, different from us the revolutionaries whose approach was a revolutionary one ― working, selflessly, without caring about remuneration, never claiming overtime allowances, staying in grass thatched huts instead of clamouring for good housing (just as we did in the bush), etc. 
Then, there was also the politics.  We could not have massively disbanded the civil service as we did with the Army without alienating the public.  At that time, the civil service was not as unpopular as the army.  The army’s criminality was much clearer to the masses and our destroying it has given us political capital whose account is not yet overdrawn ― 26 years after.  In any case, we did not have others to replace them at that time.   We, therefore, decided to tackle the problem piece-meal, quite early on. 
In addition to the army, we decided to reform Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) ― the former East African Customs Department plus other tax departments.  These departments were very corrupt.  In 1986, these corrupt tax bodies, were only collecting 4.23% of GDP as tax for the Government.  The rest, they were collecting for themselves.  We abolished these departments, created URA, which was manned by the people we got through integrity hunting before professional training.  What did this mean?  Take Allen Kagina, for instance, the present Commissioner-General (CG) of URA.  She was a lecturer in Psychology at Makerere University.  In fact, Allen Kagina protested that she did not know anything about tax collection.  I told her that somebody would teach her because tax collection was not space science.  What was lacking in those tax bodies was integrity and uprightness.  By recruiting a new cadreship into the tax bodies, collection rose from 4% of GDP to the present 12.65% of GPD.  It has stagnated at that level because of the subsistence nature of the economy but, possibly, also, the lack of a correct personal identification system which will be cured by the electronic identity card.
Then, we turned to the Police, which has been slowly overhauled.  This is how the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is now able to play an active role in the present anti-fraud campaign.  I had to bring in two Generals from the Revolutionary Army ― Katumba Wamala and Kale Kaihura ─ to shake up this centre of criminality that was ironically supposed to fight criminality.
Recently, we deployed Jennifer Musisi in the rotten Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).  She is busy sweeping Aegean stables of Kampala ─ corruption, land grabbing, lack of planning, garbage, pot-holes, mud, dust, flooding, flies, etc.  In the short time she has been in that office, you can see what impact she has created in spite of the opposition by the corrupt political class and bureaucrats.
Recently, there have been quite a few politically motivated red-herrings, trying to give the impression that the problem of corruption in Uganda is because of lack of “political will” to fight that corruption.  Who? Me, Yoweri Museveni, lacking “political will” to fight corruption and criminality when I am stronger now than I was in 1971, when, together with my colleagues, we took the regime of Idi Amin head on, or when in 1981, with 27 guns, we attacked Kabamba?  Those who peddle those falsehoods should be treated with the contempt they deserve. 
As soon as we had the opportunity, we put all the necessary laws in place ― leadership code, the anti-corruption laws, etc.  We also put new institutions in place such as the Inspector General of Government (IGG), etc., in addition to the old ones such as CID, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), etc.  The problem has been the manning of these institutions.  As all wars go, the enemy tries to infiltrate our ranks depending on the leadership that may be in place in a given institution.  The IGG office, for instance, seems to have been infiltrated by questionable characters.  The new IGG seems to be of the right temperament and integrity.  She will mop up the infiltrators.  Those who have been pushing the red-herring of lack of “political will” have been ignoring Article 174 of the Constitution, the Public Service Act of 2008 and section 188 of Local Government Act, all of which give power over money, contracts and personnel to the civil servants, not to politicians.  In fact, there is no area of Government where the politicians can misuse money, make wrong procurement contracts, etc., without the permission of the civil servants (the Accounting officer).  Where it happens, it is easy to detect.  Therefore, as I have pointed out before, the warriors in the anti-corruption war are: the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the ministry, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in a district, the Town Clerk in a City or Municipality and the Gombolola chief in a sub-county.  All the others are mere accessories to the crime.  They are the ones to supervise the procurement officers, the accountants, etc., below them.
Recently, we had a break through in this war.   The whistle blowers in the ministry of Public Service exposed the huge theft of the pension funds.  The CID moved in and they are doing a commendable job.  Then, the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister became a whistle-blower in the case of the accountant Kazinda.  This is what involved money from Development Partners.  We are going to methodically unearth all those involved.  I suspended the Permanent Secretary of the ministry of Public Service and I will suspend anybody else once I am satisfied that they are involved. 
The suspected thieves are very cunning.  One of their techniques seems to be blackmail whereby they intimidate whistle-blowers with framing them up or trying to get political patronage.  I can assure you none of those will work.  I am the elected leader of Uganda for four consecutive terms apart from being the historical leader of the Ugandan Revolution.  Anybody who associates himself or herself with these suspected thieves and tries to shield them will come to ruin as did all the enemies of our people.  Our points-men in this war are the auditors, officers from CID officers and other security services.  I, sometimes, directly supervise them.  We shall not be diverted by any smoke-screen.  Each issue will be dealt with according to the facts.
As for the Development Partners, kindly inform your home constituencies that you are dealing with capable people who fought the dictatorship of Idi Amin; fought the dictatorship of UPC; defended Uganda from Sudanese - sponsored terrorism; destroyed the colonial Army that was killing Ugandans; stopped the multiple crimes of that Army against the people of Uganda; enabled the Ugandan economy to recover; contributed to regional peace, etc.  The recent revelations have been made by people sympathetic to the Revolution.  They are the whistle-blowers.  We have the capacity to defeat these thieves as we defeated all the other enemies of Uganda.
These accountants have for long been rumoured to be the core of corruption in the Public Service.  Fortunately, given the large number of educated people Uganda now has, it will not be a big problem to get rid of this crop of parasites. Their activities even impact negatively on the operations of the foreign exchange.  By getting this free money of the Government, they are able to buy large amount of dollars for externalization, thereby, causing the artificial depreciation of the Uganda shilling. 
The fight against these thieves is going on well.  Give me your support and, please, remember the Banyankore proverb: “Watooza n’ababwibire”. The rich African dialects are very precise and not easy to interpret.  It refers to people stealing one’s millet in the night from a granary.  The following morning, having discovered the theft, you make the alarm.  Among those who come to help track the stolen millet are the very thieves that stole the millet at night.  They will do everything possible to divert you from the track that the thieves took so that you do not find the millet and the thieves.  All that is said in two words as shown above.
I thank you.
H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
President of the Republic of Uganda
SOURCE:DAILY  MONITOR

Monday, November 19, 2012

LEARN   SWAHILI LANGUAGE
Days of the week
In Swahili, a week is known as juma or wiki. The days of the week rotate around Friday, which is the most important day to Muslims. The day after Friday, Saturday- Jumamosi, is considered to be the first day of the week i.e Juma (week) and mosi (first). 
 The following are the days of the week:
Jumamosi                            Saturday
Jumapili                                Sunday
Jumatatu                             Monday
Jumanne                             Tuesday
Jumatano                            Wednesday
Alhamisi                               Thursday
Ijumaa                                  Friday


Jana                  yesterday
Leo                   today
Kesho                tomorrow
Kesho kutwa      the day after tomorrow
Mtondo              the day after kesho kutwa
Juzi                    the day before yesterday
Juzijuzi               the few days ago, (usually between 3 to 5 days)


Greetings and Salutations
There are different types of greetings in Swahili which are used at different times and between different people. The following are examples of common Swahili greetings:
Shikamoo is a type of greeting that is used to show respect, mostly used by young people to greet older people. The response is marahaba.
The greeting literally means May I touch your feet? While the reply means Welcome.
Pachika msichana anamshikamoo mzee
Habari, which means news, is widely used. It can be combined with different words to bring out different meanings. For example:
Asubuhi (morning)- Habari ya asubuhi- How is your morning? The response is nzuri, safi, njema, poa, barabara e.t.c (it is okay, good).
Mama (mother) - Habari ya mama? - How is mother? or how are you lady?
Other words that can be used include:
Mchana (afternoon)
Jioni (evening)
Nyumbani (home)
Baba (father)
Safari (journey)
Watoto (children).
In this case then one will come across greetings like Habari za mchana, habari za jioni, habari za nyumbani, habari ya baba, habari ya watoto? e.t.c. In all these instances, the reply to the greetings will be one of the above/ forementioned words.
Another commonly used greeting in Swahili is hujambo?( How are you?). The response is sijambo (I am fine). Hujambo literally means do you have a word? The reply Sijambo means I do not have a word. The same pattern that was observed for Habari can obtain for this greeting also as shown below:
Mama Hajambo? (How is mum?). The response is hajambo (She is fine)
Watoto hawajambo? (How are the kids?). The response is hawajambo (They are fine).
Other greetings include:
Umeamkaje? (How have you woken up?). The response is vizuri, sawa, safi, vyema, barabara e.t.c  (well).
Umeshindaje? (How has been your day?). The response is also vizuri, vyema, poa, safi, sawa e.t.c meaning fine.
U hali gani? (How are you?). The response is salama, sijambo, nzuri, sawa, poa e.t.c meaning peaceful, fine, ok e.t.c.
There are other Swahili greetings that may sound colloquial yet in common use in the Swahili world. One such greeting is Mambo! and the reply is poa, safi, sawa e.t.c.



Change is me. You. Us.’ Check the new @Twaweza_NiSisi campaign w

"If she can do it, why can't I?" Ni Sisi! launched
 
Ni Sisi, a new multi-media campaign which promotes the idea that citizens can bring about change themselves, rather than waiting for governments, politicians, donors or NGOs to do it for them, was launched on 15 November 2012. Remarks were made by Zitto Kabwe, MP, Hellen Kijo-Bisimba, Executive Director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre and Susan Mashibe, managing director of TanJet. January Makamba, MP was unable to attend.
Twaweza believes that by standing up and taking action, citizens across East Africa can create lasting change and drive forward their own development. Rakesh Rajani, the Head of Twaweza, noted that stories of change and imagination are crucial to citizen driven change: “Ideas travel, we see how others live and make a difference, we wonder ‘if they can do it, why can’t we?,’ we learn lessons, we make meaning, we craft tools, we organise, we act.”
The Swahili tagline of the campaign can be translated as ‘Change is me. You. Us.’ The aim is to spur debate and action around the concept of ‘Ni Sisi’, of how we can all contribute to society, development and our lives. The content is firmly embedded in the reality of people’s lives and challenges each citizen to think about these issues and craft their own solutions to the problems they face.
The campaign comprises a number of activities in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The centre-pieces are six television public service announcements (PSAs). Each PSA depicts one courageous person taking the first bold or unusual step to confront a problem and, in so doing, inspiring others to join. Collectively they make a difference.
Implicit in the narrative of the campaign is the connectedness of all of us in society. We can choose to view ourselves as separate from government and public actors, or we can see ourselves as co-responsible for making things work. We can wait all day for someone else to take care of the problem, or we can make ourselves part of the solution. We can complain endlessly, or we can act to make a difference ourselves and to hold those responsible to account. The world we live in is the world that we have helped create or let happen; and it is we who can make the world better.
Kenya
Twaweza’s partner, Shujaaz FM, has also adopted the message of the campaign and used their own style to promote its messages.
Tanzania
In Tanzania Twaweza also plans to work with a number of partners to try to spread the Ni Sisi message. Activities include commissioning a song that promotes the idea behind the campaign and creating a program that showcases instances of individuals making a difference with our partner, MiniBuzz.
Uganda
In Uganda a slightly different approach to the campaign was adopted. Although more traditional communication tools – including TV, radio and billboards – were utilised, there was also a focus on creative approaches to spreading the idea behind Ni Sisi.
Popular artists were commissioned to write songs about citizen agency.
Twaweza partner MiniBuzz will make a show about the ideas behind Ni Sisi.
A popular VJ who dubs over English movies in local languages and has a large following was commissioned to insert the TV content into the DVDs he produces, reaching at least 15 million Ugandan                    

 

강남스타일Gangnam Style) in Tanzania Africa!!

Looks like the Gangnam Style has picked up in Kigoma thanks to KOICA volunteer Insun Jeong -amazing video


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Hon Philipo Augustino Mulugo, Dep Min of Education & Voc Training, Tanza...

 
Minister  of education  saying  wrong  at international forum United republic of Tanzania  is results  of union of  Pemba Island  and Zimbabwe.Correct  Tanzania  is formed by union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar

Bull's Eye: Political courtship and divorces

                             

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in one of his new Benzes at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds during the Golden Jubilee celebrations October 9 in the capital Kampala. STEPHEN WANDERA| NATION MEDIA GROUP
Ugandan Government was “extravagant” in spending $2.3 million on two armoured limousines for the President, a chairperson of a parliamentary oversight committee has said.

Mr Barnabas Tinkasiimire, the chair of the committee on presidential affairs, told Daily Monitor last week that his committee would “pick interest in this matter” even as the President’s press secretary, Mr Tamale Mirundi, leapt to his boss’ defence, noting that criticism of the purchase was steeped in ignorance.

The MP drew comparisons with the opulence that characterised the reign of 17th Century French King, Louis XVI, before warning President Yoweri Museveni of the likelihood of a ‘French revolution’ taking place in Uganda.

“He [Museveni] should address himself to what happened in France,” said the Buyaga County MP. “The luxury of that kingdom when its people were in poverty led to its collapse. It will affect this country. This is consumerism for an individual and I don’t think that’s a worthwhile investment. The president already has vehicles.”

As official sources pointed at a total cost outlay of Shs6b, well-placed insiders in the security services suggest that the full figure spent on the cars could actually have been in the region of Shs10b.

However, officials at the President’s Office declined to comment on reports suggesting that the government may have forked out up to Shs10b in the process of procuring the two high-end vehicles.

One of the two limousines was first publicly seen last month at the Independence Grounds in Kololo during celebrations to mark 50 years of Uganda’s self-rule.

The custom-built Germany-made Mercedes Benz S500 Pullman Guard, in which Mr Museveni dazzled at Kololo, took the authorities more than a year to procure in a delicate top-secret process.

The latest acquisitions, which join a range of plush 4x4 vehicles used by the President, are understood to have been directly sourced through classified expenditure from Carat Security Group, the world’s largest commercial armoured vehicle provider, through its subsidiary Carat Duchatelet.

Carat Duchatelet, known as a premier coach building and armouring operation with headquarters in Belguim and offices serving the African region in West Riffa, the Kingdom of Bahrain, is one of only three companies on the government’s classified list of firms which supply it armoured vehicles.

The same firm is reported to have previously supplied the government with presidential vehicles. Plans to purchase the two vehicles were hatched as far back as January 2011, a month shy to the February 28 presidential elections in which Mr Museveni was seeking re-election.

According to information available to this newspaper, authorities acting on a reported presidential directive proceeded to request a waiver from the country’s procurement entity, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), for direct procurement of the vehicles.

Daily Monitor has seen a copy of a March 1, 2011 letter from then acting State House Comptroller, Ms Lucy Nakyobe Mbonye, to former PPDA executive director, Mr Edgar Agaba, making a case for the waiver.

“State House urgently requires to procure 2 units Saloon Armoured Principal vehicles for exclusive use by His Excellency the President. The estimated cost is approximately Shs6b,” wrote Ms Mbonye.

Security sources, however, suggested that the government may have later paid out as much as $3.8 million for the two vehicles. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of the deal, suggested that the spike in the cost by Shs4b was a result of the “battering” which the Ugandan shilling suffered against the American dollar last year when procurement of the vehicles was being processed. At one point, “the exchange rate was Shs2,800 for $1.”

Daily Monitor could not independently verify the claim by press time. Last week, Mr Mirundi said: “The President isn’t buying drugs for his cows or buying a car for his daughters. He isn’t buying a personal vehicle, it’s a presidential vehicle and it’s state property,” said Mr Mirundi. “These people oppose because they are ignorant.”

He said the decision to purchase new vehicles is taken as a security measure and when the President’s old fleet of cars have rundown. “These vehicles are expensive because of the services they offer. There is no way our President can move in a ramshackle car when we are fighting the al-Shabaab, ” Mr Mirundi said.

In her letter to PPDA, Ms Mbonye said a meeting by the State House Contracts Committee on January 16, 2011 had “expressed their no objection to the use of Direct Procurement method as long as a waiver is obtained from PPDA.”


By DAILY MONITOR

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

China unviels its new leaders with Xi Jinping at the top

China's new leaders: Xi Jinping heads line-up



Xi Jinping has been confirmed as the man chosen to lead China for the next decade.

Mr Xi led the new Politburo Standing Committee out onto the stage at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, signalling his elevation to the top of China's ruling Communist Party.

He replaces Hu Jintao, under whose administration China has seen a decade of extraordinary growth.

The move marks the official passing of power from one generation to the next.
Mr Xi was followed by Li Keqiang, the man set to succeed Premier Wen Jiabao, and five other men - meaning that the size of the all-powerful Standing Committee had been reduced from nine to seven.

Those five, in order of seniority, were Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang, Shanghai party boss Yu Zhengsheng, propaganda chief Liu Yunshan, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and Tianjin party boss Zhang Gaoli.

The new leaders had great responsibilities, Mr Xi said, but their mission was to be united, and to lead the party and the people to make the Chinese nation stronger and more powerful.

"The people's desire for a better life is what we shall fight for," he said.
Corruption had to be addressed, he said, and better party discipline was needed. But the new leaders would strive to deliver a good performance in the eyes of the people and the eyes of history.

The new Standing Committee was endorsed in a vote early on Thursday by the new party Central Committee, but in reality the decisions had been made in advance.
The new leaders will gradually take over in the next few months, with Hu Jintao's presidency formally coming to an end at the annual parliament session in March 2013.

Mr Xi has also been named chairman of the Central Military Commission, a Xinhua news agency report said, ending uncertainty over whether that post would be transferred from Hu Jintao immediately.

Mr Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin, held on to the post for two years after he stood down from the party leadership.

Mr Xi, a former Shanghai party chief, was appointed to the politburo in 2007.
A "princeling" - a relative of one of China's revolutionary elders - he has spent almost four decades in the Communist Party, serving in top posts in both Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Shanghai.

The 59-year-old is said to be a protégé of Jiang Zemin, while Li Keqiang is said to have been Mr Hu's preferred successor. 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20322288 

Video Analysis of Habyarimana Plane Crash

Iran has dismissed claims made by the French Foreign Ministry that Tehran is jamming the signals of European satellite TV channels.


Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast rejected the claims as “unfounded” on Wednesday, saying that some Western governments are exemplary in this regard with their behavior and double standards.

The Iranian diplomat said the French remarks come at a time when certain European satellites have dropped Iranian channels with the purpose of depriving public opinion of access to realties.

He described the banning of the Iranian channels as a blatant example of the violation of human rights and the right to the free exchange of information.

Paris has filed an official complaint at the International Union of Communications against Tehran and says it is discussing the imposition of more Iran sanctions with its European partners over this matter.


Mehmanparast advised Western governments to be answerable to public opinion about their violation of international law and to change their behavior and policies in line with the human rights principles they claim to advocate.
In a flagrant violation of freedom of speech, Eutelsat SA ordered media services company, Arqiva, on October 15 to stop the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels, including Press TV.

The company’s only press release stated that the decision was based on reinforced European Union Council sanctions and a confirmation by France’s broadcasting authority, but Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, told Press TV that the sanctions contain no such orders.

Eutelsat has refused any interview requests from Press TV to comment on its decision to disconnect all Iranian media from its satellite television services after Kocijancic's remarks.
source:
PressTV - Iran rejects French channel jamming allegations

Tourists flock Serengeti to witness the return of Nature’s “Greatest Show on Earth”

  
17TH September, 2012
Hundreds of thousands of tourists are now flocking Serengeti National Park to witness the return of the Wildebeest described as the Nature’s Greatest Show on Earth from the neighboring country where they went for their holidays.
This year, Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) conducted a special event of welcoming home the legendary Wildebeest Migration, consisting of about two million ungulates, among them 1.5 million wildebeests believed to have spent less than a month in the neighboring country. Soon they will all be back home in the Serengeti where they will spend most of their life in a year before crossing again to Masai Mara for their short holidays.
 
Early rains in the Serengeti have encouraged the wildebeest to cut short their holidays in Masai Mara as there is plenty of grass to feed on back home.
At Mara River, the wildebeest migration which also includes zebras and gazelles could be seen escaping giant crocodiles as they crossed the wide and deep, River Mara on their way back to Serengeti from the neighboring country’s Masai Mara.
  
    
 
Nature’s Greatest Show on Earth normally covers more than 1000 kilometers and takes place annually on a 12 month circle, in which the ungulates spend 10 months in Tanzania (Serengeti - Ngorongoro ecosystem) and two months in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
Pascal Shelutete
PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER
TANZANIA NATIONAL PARKS



DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU MISS BY NOT VISITING LAKE MANYARA?

African wild dogs are most endangered species of carnivores. Recently a pack of 5 dogs have taken residency on the southern part of Lake Manyara National Park".

See the pictures below.
African Wild Dogs in Lake Manyara National Park
 African Wild Dogs in Lake Manyara National Park

 African Wild Dogs in lake Manyara National Park  

 African Wild Dogs in Lake Manyara National Park  

http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/news/wild-dogs.html    



Israel Update: Hamas Launches
Rockets At Holy City
ISRAEL
The Israel Project
Following a support visit to the
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by
Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham
Kandil, Palestinian terrorists fired
a rocket at the Israeli capital of
Jerusalem on Friday, sending
residents running for bomb
shelters. The rocket landed
outside the city, which is Israel’s
capital and largest city, and which
is holy to Jews, Christians, and
Muslims.
The attack marks a significant
escalation in the fighting
surrounding Israel’s Operation
Pillar of Defense, and analysts are
likely to link Hamas’s willingness
to risk widening violence to
backing it receives from Egypt
and other regional actors. Egypt’s
support for Hamas has put it at
odds with the United States.
Meanwhile Hamas Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh led a Gaza crowd
in chants of “Long Live Egypt”
today.
Hamas used social media to brag
that the missile with which the
group targeted Jerusalem, the so-
called M75, was an named after a
Hamas leader assassinated by
Israel in 2003, and that the 75
represents the missiles
75km-80km range. One of Israel’s
primary goals in Operation Pillar
of Defense is to degrade Hamas’s
arsenal of advanced weaponry,
which the terror group had been
using more and more often in the
weeks leading up to the operation.

www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/israel_news/israel_update_hamas_launches_r ockets_at_holy_city/33371
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Have you got your Gangnam style? 

 Korean star PSY is the unlikely ambassador for his country with his dance style. Korean star PSY is the unlikely ambassador for his country with his dance style. NET PHOTO 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

 Why Africa is in love with China

Fu Ji Song, of Shanghai's Foreign Affairs Office in China, speaks to journalists at the Grand Central Hotel on 25 July, 2012. He said the city was looking at entrepreneurs from Africa to do business with. He said the creed of the city's development into a trade, financial, industrial and tourism hub, was 'development, study and reforms". He said that a consistent, long-term political policy was also key in driving a country's growth . 

ALPHONCE SHIUNDU 
ashiundu@ke.nationmedia.com In Shanghai, China


In Anhui Province in Central China, there’s a story told in hushed tones at dinner tables.
It is that of a leader from an unnamed African country, who went to China and asked the provincial government there to give him a “free tractor”.
The details of the high-brow request arose out of a question posed by one of the curious journalists in our party –Mgaya Kingoba of Tanzania—to one of the people in the province, who’d hosted African journalists to a banquet.
“What is it that African leaders tell you when they get here?” Kingoba asked.
The record in their memory is the “free tractor” that one of those many African leaders, who have been to China on a “fact-finding mission” sought.
There were actually muted laughs across the table. That was on Monday night at Lu’an City, in Anhui, China.
The impression I got was that perhaps China had realised that what most of African politicians needed was an ego massage. With that, possibly with the exception of Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, they’d open the doors of their respective countries to Chinese investors.
Today (Wednesday), at dinner in Shanghai, hosted by the Foreign Office of Shanghai, the prescription for Africa’s development, or as they put it “the secret” to Shanghai’s” development, is “development, study and reforms”.
Mr Fu Ji Song, from the Foreign Affairs Office, who happened to have hosted Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Saturday, said the growth of Shanghai, was one of the fruits from the ground prepared thirty years ago, when China embraced reforms..
“You’ve got to find your own characteristic even as you reform,” said Mr Fu.
The diplomat said the “political policy” of China had been crucial in spurring growth in Shanghai.
As I listened, I recalled that in Nairobi, I’d left a raging debate about the word “reform” and arguments that what Kenya needed was “development” because “you can’t eat reforms”. I am not sure what kind of conversation Mr Odinga and Mr Fu and their respective teams had, but if the word “reforms” came up, then they must have talked about it.
Nonetheless, Shanghai is a great city to learn a bit about development of a crowded city. It is full of skyscrapers, in thousands, and then there’s the massive road, rail (a high-speed train and a meglev) and air transport network (two international airports) and a vibrant nightlife.
Of course, it would be futile to judge a book by its cover, and expect that just because the city is rich, then its 23 million inhabitants have money in their pockets. Social equality, Mr Fu said, was the goal that his government was pursuing in the growth of Shanghai.
Every other corner, there are pimps ready to give you a “girl for massage”; there’s a square for dance lessons and yes, there are fakes sold around corners. It reminded me of the constant message when the African leaders met in Beijing last week and complained that goods from China were flooding their markets.
And yes, I met hawkers too.
With 1.34 billion mouths to feed, China has to work extra hard to keep its economy going and kind of, immune, from the vagaries of the global financial markets. And Africa being the new growth point, China will splash billions of dollars to reap trillions of yuan.
It is just business. It’s like they just tell the African leaders: “We’ve got what you need, come and see it. If you like it, I will also do it for you and then you pay.” That’s why African leaders flock to China.
They like what they see, the bargains are so good for them to resist –no one cares about democracy and human rights credential or governance.  
The thing that has stuck to my mind every time I hear the bureaucrats here speak, is the way they talk about “win-win co-operation between China and Africa”, when it is clear that the playing field is not level.
They put Sh180 billion (USD2.1 billion) in the fifty African countries as Foreign Direct Investment last year. They said the trade between Africa and China has grown and it is now at USD166 billion. But they won’t readily tell you what -- apart from the USD93 billion worth of imports and having 2,000 Chinese companies doing business in Africa-- they are gaining from the win-win co-operation.
Oh, they have built hospitals, schools and libraries, and taught farmers how to grow food and yes, many people in Africa, in countries such as Botswana and Kenya, are having a ball learning Chinese. That's "mutual cooperation". No?
China has a way of mesmerising people, especially those, like me, who just want things said straight up. And it all has to do with the way their politicians don’t shoot straight, but couch their language in officialdom.
Such simple things as giving aid and colossal concessional loans to African countries, with the only condition being that Chinese companies do the job, is now called “mutual cooperation, with friendship and respect”.
But then again, isn’t it the nature of business for the buyer to feel (s)he’s got a good bargain, while the seller smiles for making a handsome kill in profits?
Source: Daily Nation

Matumizi ya maziwa ya ngamia yaongeza ukuaji wa uchumi katika vijiji vya Kenya

Kila asubuhi, kijiji kidogo sana cha Ukasi katika wilaya ya Tana River ya Kenya kinakuwa katika msisimko wa harakati.
  • Wachungaji wakileta ngamia wao kunywa maji katika wilaya ya Wajir. [Bosire Boniface/Sabahi] Wachungaji wakileta ngamia wao kunywa maji katika wilaya ya Wajir. [Bosire Boniface/Sabahi]
  • Lori lililojazwa makontena yenye maziwa ya ngamia huko Garissa. Kuongezeka kwa matumizi ya maziwa ya ngamia kumeongeza tena hamu ya kumfuga mnyama huyo. [Bosire Boniface/Sabahi] Lori lililojazwa makontena yenye maziwa ya ngamia huko Garissa. Kuongezeka kwa matumizi ya maziwa ya ngamia kumeongeza tena hamu ya kumfuga mnyama huyo. [Bosire Boniface/Sabahi]
Kati ya saa 11 asubuhi hadi saa sita mchana, watu katika kijiji hiki hukutana katika soko lililo katika eneo hilo kujaza makontena ya lita tatu na lita 20 kwa maziwa ya ngamia kwa maandalizi usafiri. Wanaume na wanawake wanakaa na madaftari , kunukuu kwa uangalifu kiasi cha lita, bei na tarakimu nyingine.
Zahara Yussuf Abdi, mwenye umri wa miaka 48, mkaazi wa eneo hilo na mfanyabiashara wa maziwa, alisema kijiji hicho kimejulikana kama kituo cha maziwa ya ngamia.
"Tunanunua maziwa kutoka kwa wafugaji kutoka katika vijiji vya mbali na kusambaza zaidi ya lita 5,000 za maziwa kwenda Nairobi na Garissa kila siku," aliiambia Sabahi. "Ni lazima tutembee kwenda kutafuta magari ya binafsi au yanayohudumia umma kueleka katika miji hiyo kupeleka maziwa ndani ya saa 12 kutoka maziwa yalipokamuliwa."
Mwishoni mwa mwezi, familia nyingi zinapata zaidi ya shilingi 50,000 (dola 585) kutokana na biashara hii, alisema. Kwa viliyokuwa vijiji vilivyokuwa nyuma katika jimbo la Kaskazini Mashariki vimepata nguvu mpya kutokana na mahitaji ambayo hayajawahi kutokea ya maziwa na nyama ya ngamia.
Ofisa wa Uzalishaji wa Mifugo wa Wilaya ya Wajir Omar Bulle alisema matumizi ya maziwa na nyama ya ngamia imekuwa kwa zaidi ya asilimia 10 kwa kipindi cha miaka miwili iliyopita,ikiwaingizia wafugaji mapato makubwa zaidi.
"Katika baadhi ya miji, maziwa ya ngamia yamechukua nafasi ya maziwa ya ng'ombe," alisema, akiongeza kwamba ongezeko hilo limewezekana kwa sababu mahitaji yameongezeka kupita kwa Wasomali wa Kenya, ambao wamekuwa wateja wa kwanza.
"Mahitaji hayo pia yamechochea hamasa ya wafugaji kuendelea na mifugo, ambayo wakati fulani walionekana kuitelekeza kutokana na upataji mdogo wa faida," Bulle alisema.
Kwa mujibu wa utafiti wa mwaka 2008 uliyofanywa na Kituo cha Kutafuta Rasilimali uliyoandaliwa na Shirika la Maendeleo la Netherlands, uzalishaji wa maziwa ya ngamia nchini Kenya mwaka 2007 ulikadiriwa kuzidi takriban lita milioni 340, zilizokuwa na thamani ya shilingi bilioni 8 (dola milioni 94).
Ni asilimia 12 tu ya maziwa, kiasi cha lita milioni 40, kiliuzwa katika soko, utafiti uligundua. Kwa iliyobakia, asilimia 38 ilitumiwa na wafugaji na mengine kupotea.
Hata hivyo, katika miaka miwili iliyopita, serikali ilisema upoteaji umepunguzwa. Waziri wa Maendeleo ya Mikoa Fred Gumo alisema zaidi ya lita milioni 80 za maziwa ya ngamia zinauzwa kwa mwaka. "Sekta inaingiza zaidi ya shilingi bilioni 12 kwa mwaka," aliiambia Sabahi.
Kuleta ongezeko zaidi, serikali iko katika hatua ya kuanzisha mashamba madogo ya ngamia wa maziwa katika mikoa inayofuga ngamia, Gumo alisema. Zaidi ya hilo, serikali na wabia wa maendeleo wanashirikiana kukarabati miundombinu ya soko na kupambana na magonjwa ya mifugo.

Mahitaji yasiyokuwa na mfano ya maziwa ya ngamia

Kampuni ya Vital Camel Milk Limited iliyoko Nayuki, ambayo inadaiwa kuwa mtambo wa kwanza duniani kwa ajili ya kuzalisha maziwa ya ngamia, ilisema mauzo yameongezeka sana kwa miaka mitatu iliyopita.
"Tumeona mauzo yakikua kutoka asilimia 15 hadi 20 mwaka baada ya mwaka tangu tulipoanza mwaka 2005 na tunatarajia kuongezeka kwa kadiri tunavyoendelea kujipanua katika mkoa na watu wamegundua faida ya maziwa ya ngamia," alisema Holger Marbach, mmiliki wa mtambo wa maziwa.
Alisema mahitaji pia yanaongezeka katika nchi nyingine za Afrika Mashariki, Mashariki ya Kati na Amerika ya Kusini.
Mabadiliko ya hali ya hewa yanaweza kusimamisha uzalishaji wa maziwa ya ng'ombe au kuua mifugo, ngamia wana uwezo wa kuzalisha maziwa karibu mwaka mzima, alisema Yusuf Abdullahi, mwenyekiti wa tawi la Wajir la Baraza la Masoko ya Mifugo Kenya.
Serikali inaweza baadaye kusaidia uzalishaji kwa kutoa magari ya mizigo yenye mafriji kwa ajili ya kusafirisha maziwa na kuwafundisha wafugaji kutafuta masoko na kuzalisha bidhaa, aliiambia Sabahi.
Kwa mujibu wa Shirika la Umoja wa Mataifa la Chakula na Kilimo, maziwa ya ngamia yana ladha ya chumvi kidogo kuliko ya ng'ombe na yana vitamini C mara tatu zaidi. Pia yana vitamini nyingine nyingi zaidi, mafuta kidogo na yana asidi mafuta sikifu ya kutosha.
Elphus Muka, mwenye umri wa miaka 25, mkaazi wa Busia katika Mkoa wa Magharibi, alisema kuna fursa za kuongeza matumizi kote nchini, kwani watu wengi wanaendelea kutoelewa faida za maziwa ya ngamia kwa sababu ya utangazaji mbovu wa masoko.
"Sijawahi kufikiria kwamba maziwa na nyama ya ngamia vinaweza kuliwa hadi niliposoma faida zake za afya na tiba," aliiambia Sabahi. Alisema familia na marafiki zake sasa wamekuwa watumiaji wa kila mara.
Source: http://sabahionline.com/swahili