MT. KILIMANJARO TO HOST THE FIRST EVER PARAGLIDING EVENT IN TANZANIA

TANAPA's Public Relations Manager Pascal Shelutete (left) and Wings of Kilimanjaro Coordinator Paula Mc Rae addressing the media during the launch

 By Pascal Shelutete - Public Relations Manager
Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) in collaboration with an Australian company “Wings of Kilimanjaro” will host the first ever Paragliding event on Mount Kilimanjaro from 27th January, 2013 to 6th February, 2013.
A group of more than 100 adventurers and philanthropists from 25 countries from around the globe will come together to Tanzania to climb and fly from the Roof of Africa. The team, who will be one of the largest ever groups to attempt the world’s tallest free standing mountain, aim to ascend the 5,895m high peak and fly from the summit.
“Wings of Kilimanjaro” will donate 100% of money raised to support the charities of “One Foundation”, “Plant with Purpose” and “WorldServe International”. These organizations are undertaking ground-breaking work in East Africa to address the severe problems of poverty in rural communities, deforestation and humanitarian issues including clean drinking water, education and nutrition.
The whole expedition will have more than 600 porters, guides and crew who will support the 100+ adventurers. The group will spend seven days making the trek to the peak where the pilots will launch.
The paragliding event, whereby pilots will be flying from the Roof Top of Africa will take place on 5th or 6th February, 2013 depending on the weather at Kibo. The team of pilots have chosen the grounds surrounding the Umbwe High School and Kibosho Vocational Training Centre between the villages of Machame and Kibosho. The public is highly welcomed to witness this important touristic event.
Paragliding participants currently include several newsworthy individuals from the world of adventure sport, adventure travelling and philanthropy including the 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Sano Babu Sunuwar from Nepal.

Barrick Gold Ends Chinese Talks to Sell African Unit

By Liezel Hill & Thomas Biesheuvel – Jan 9, 2013 12:47 AM GMT+0300

Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), the biggest producer of the precious metal, ended talks over the sale of its 1.44 billion-pound ($2.32 billion) African unit to China National Gold Group Corp. without reaching an agreement.
Barrick still sees “a lot of value” in the assets held by its African Barrick Gold Plc (ABG) subsidiary, Toronto-based Barrick’s Chief Executive Officer Jamie Sokalsky said yesterday in a phone interview. Shares of African Barrick fell 21 percent in London yesterday.
African Barrick “does have some opportunities to enhance that value, and when we looked at that versus ultimately what China National Gold was talking about, it just wasn’t the right fit,” Sokalsky said. “We would have liked to have done this transaction, but it wasn’t about doing this at any cost.”
Sokalsky declined to comment on the specific issues that led to the end of the talks. Discussions had stalled because of differences over taxes and legacy issues, Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald reported yesterday, citing CNG Chairman Sun Zhaoxue.
The deal would have been the largest gold-company takeover involving a Chinese company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Barrick said in August that CNG was in preliminary discussions about buying African Barrick Gold, which would have given the state-owned Chinese company four mines in Tanzania.
“This is a big asset, it’s a significant transaction for anyone, it’s a public company and ultimately over time multiple things came into the equation,” Sokalsky said. “It just didn’t make sense for both of us to transact, to ultimately complete a transaction.”

Rising Costs

Wu Zhanming, the vice president of CNG’s overseas investment unit, didn’t answer calls to his mobile phone.
African Barrick slumped to 352.1 pence at the close in London yesterday, the steepest decline since the shares were first sold in 2010. Barrick fell 1.3 percent to C$33.14 in Toronto.
Sokalsky, who replaced Aaron Regent as CEO in June, is reviewing Barrick’s assets in an effort to improve returns and cash flow as costs rise. The company has received approaches from companies interested in some of its other assets, he said yesterday.
“If there are opportunities to divest assets that are worth more to someone else than us, we will absolutely take a look at that,” Sokalsky said. Barrick doesn’t “have anything to talk about at the moment.”

Illegal Miners

While Barrick will consider new approaches for African Barrick if it gets them, the company won’t actively solicit third parties for a sale of the business, Sokalsky said.
Since being spun off by Barrick, African Barrick has struggled to meet production targets amid operational setbacks and disruption caused by illegal miners. Selling African Barrick would have lowered Barrick’s production costs, Brian Yu, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in San Francisco, said in an Aug. 16 note.
In October, African Barrick raised its 2013 forecast for average costs to $900 to $950 per ounce of gold from a July projection of $790 to $860.
Barrick “will continue to look for ways to realize value from the block,” Numis Securities Ltd. in London said in a note to investors. “However, the news will come as a disappointment to some who saw it as a potential exit from this under- performing stock.”

Fewer Deals

Acquisitions in the gold industry have declined as slowing global growth tightened available credit. There were 175 completed deals worth $6.8 billion in 2012, the lowest in at least five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
There are probably other companies interested in buying African Barrick, said David West, a Vancouver-based analyst at Salman Partners Inc. He didn’t name potential buyers.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see another offshore entity maybe take a run at it,” West said in a telephone interview. “This stuff goes on all the time. I’m sure there are a lot more misses in terms of M&A activity than hits and this is just one of those misses.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Liezel Hill in Toronto at lhill30@bloomberg.net; Thomas Biesheuvel in London at tbiesheuvel@bloomberg.net
 To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net; John Viljoen at jviljoen@bloomberg.net
 SOURCE: BLOOMBERG

CCM VS CHADEMA DODOMA WAPIGANA JANA

MwanaHALISI: Big lie or slip of the tongue? - Saed Kubenea

    To All Lovers Of Press Freedom

MwanaHALISI, our beloved weekly banned by government six months ago (30th June 2012), has refused to die. It has remained in the hearts and therefore on the lips, of its readers – friends and foe.

In the past two weeks, discussions on radio and TV at a good number of stations in Dar es Salaam, have extolled the paper and further pleaded with government for its immediate and unconditional unban in order to fill what many of them called the void in well dug pieces of news and information.

But, in the midst of such demands and exaltations, President Jakaya Kikwete, speaking from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital where he was attending the APRM forum, sent word that could either sink the weekly further or bring it back on the streets.

The president was quoted by his government’s daily – HABARILEO – saying his government banned one newspaper because it published material that was geared to inciting the army to rebel.

Providing answers and explanations to allegations of suppression of freedom of the press, raised during the APRM session, President Kikwete was quoted as saying, “Yes, there is a newspaper we have banned for inciting the army… There are those calling for its unban but we are not going to do so…this is not journalism.”

On the one part, the president’s stand brought some relief to journalists and management at Hali Halisi Publishers Limited – publishers of MwanaHALISI because the paper is not on record for publishing any material geared to inciting the army; nor had there been any allegations leveled by government against us to that effect.

On the other part, there is on record, one newspaper which stands accused of publishing material the government deems verged on inciting the army. The writer of the disputed article, his editor and printer, have been arraigned in court. None of these has any link with MwanaHALISI.

But MwanaHALISI is the only paper in the country banned by government; therefore the president could have been referring to it even if it had not been accused of inciting the army; and when those accused of incitement have already been arraigned in court. Could it be a riddle?

The government newspaper published the president’s remarks on Monday, 28thJanuary instant. Today is the fourth day and no signs of government rescinding the statement nor any official elaborating on the matter.

However, at MwanaHALISI we have made efforts to reach authority – including the president’s office – to seek government action: To unban the weekly. This is because, accusations and allegations regarding publication of material geared to incite the army, which the president said necessitated the ban of “a newspaper,” do not concern us at all.

We count on every honest soul in this matter.

sgnd

Saed Kubenea
Managing Director
source ; jamii forum

The campaign machinery of RAILA ODINGA and UHURU KENYATTA - (DETAILED)

Sunday February 3, 2013 - Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta are they two protagonists who are battling out for the presidency after President Mwai Kibaki exits on March 4^th.

It is a fact that either Raila or Uhuru will become the fourth President of Kenya.

It is also evident that the two political rivals have mobilised billions of shillings to woo voters across the country so that one can clinch the top most coveted seat in the country.

We at the Kenyan DAILY POST went ahead to investigate the size of the campaign machinery both Raila and Uhuru have mounted on the ground. Here are facts about Raila and Uhuru campaign machinery;

RAILA AMOLLO ODINGA: Prime Minister Raila Odinga is making his third stab at the Presidency. The size of his campaign machinery reaches to a tune of billions. Raila Odinga campaign secretariat has hired four branded choppers and two fixed –wing aircraft to move candidates and key staff over the next one month. A total of 135 four wheel drive vehicles including land rovers, landcruisers, pickups, motorcycles and also ad-trucks have been hired.

Source of the money: Raila Odinga campaign machinery is being funded by Western nations including US and Britain.

UHURU MUIGAI KENYATTA: Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is making his second stab at the Presidency. Uhuru’s campaign machinery also hits tens of billions of shillings. Uhuru has purchased six helicopters and four–ten seater planes to ferry staff from campaigns. 47 land lovers have also been released to county co-ordinators and hundreds of branded four wheel vehicles have been provided.

Uhuru has also hired 1450 road show vehicles, five for each of the 290 constituencies.

Source of the money: Uhuru, who is among the richest people in Kenya, is bankrolling Jubilee campaigns from own personal savings.

A song for Peace – Kenya

 
In anticipation of Kenya’s national election in March 2013, East Africa’s most-beloved singer Samba Mapangala has recorded “Chagua Chagua” (Vote in Peace), an important new song that encourages people to choose their leaders wisely.
Echoing the call by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and others for a fair democratic process free of fraud and violence, Samba reminds Kenyan citizens that a peaceful country will succeed economically in the future to the benefit of all, and can set an example for other African nations to follow.
Samba Mapangala is renowned in East Africa for his many songs that counsel, teach and warn people to consider the consequences of their actions. The idea for “Chagua Chagua” was suggested by a Virunga fan in Kenya who asked him to compose a  ”message song” for the upcoming elections, saying Samba should encourage all citizens to register and to vote, and not to sell their voter’s cards: “With your music, you can save the country because in Kenya everybody listens to your music.”
Samba took the suggestion to heart and created a lively soukous track that delivers the message to his audiences all over the world, stating: “I was happy to contribute to the country that I love, people that I love. Kenya is my home. I grew up there. I want to advise people to vote in peace. The violence that happened in 2007 must not happen again. I know people will listen and stand together. I’m doing my part and I call on all Kenyans to do their part for the good of the nation–all Kenyans, at home and abroad.” Although composed with Kenya in mind, “Chagua Chagua” has universal implications for all nations facing the challenge of democratic elections.
The unique video clip for “Chagua Chagua” was created by Maddo (Paul Kelemba), the groundbreaking editorial cartoonist for Kenya’s The Standardnewspaper. His widely popular comic strip “It’s a Madd Madd World,” which has run weekly for 23 years, comments on political and social life with humorous but informative anecdotes. itsamaddworld.com
Chagua Chagua was recorded in Arlington, Virginia and Paris, France, with John Bashengezi on guitars, bass and chorus, and Komba Bellow Mafwala on drums and percussion.