[Kenya and Tanzania have been urged to take tough action against illegal immigrants from the Horn of Africa, some of whom could be a threat to security in the region.]
BURUNDI :
Le Cinoche à l’heure de la fête de l’amitié Burundi-Suisse
www.journaldujura.ch/04.07.11
La traditionnelle fête africaine prévôtoise, organisée par l’Association des amitiés Burundi-Suisse et par le Cinoche, s’est déroulée samedi dès 17h30 et jusqu’au bout de la nuit.
La manifestation, qui se tient chaque année à la même époque, a démarré avec la projection du film «Africa United», à laquelle une quarantaine de personnes ont assisté.
La soirée s’est poursuivie par un repas au cours duquel le public nombreux a eu l’occasion de goûter aux saveurs burundaises, en particulier aux brochettes Tanganyika, qui tirent leur nom d’un des grands lacs d’Afrique. Autres mets au menu, des beignets et des samboussas qui ont su ravir les papilles des plus gourmandes.
RWANDA :
Bank of Kigali floats 45% shares
Monday, 04 July 2011 / Eugene Rugambwa /www.busiweek.com
.KIGALI, RWANDA- Bank of Kigali Limited has put on market its 45% shares for the public in an effort to increase its capital base.
The offer has been opened to investors of all nationalities as the government offers 20% of its share holding while another 25% new shares will be created and to be listed on Rwanda Stock Exchange end August.
The 45% shares represent 300, 304, 400 shares of the total 667, 337, 000 shares. The government is offering over 133, 467, 400 shares while the bank of Kigali offers 166, 837, 000 shares.
The Bank expects to earn an additional capital base of over Rwf 37.5bn (US $ 62. 9m) if all 45% shares are successfully sold.
Each share cost Rwf 125 (US $ 0.209732) and each slot of shares is supposed to be 100 shares.
Investors from the East Africa can apply for the 82,591,440 shares under a sub-pool and foreign investors beyond EA can apply for shares under the international pool.
During the initial public offer (IPO) late last week, the minister of Finance John Rwangombwa said that development of the capital market in Rwanda is a deliberate strategy to enhance the long term capital formation.
Rwangombwa who unsealed the Bank’s IPO said that government is keen to create the culture of savings and investment through wide spread ownership of shares and other financial assets in Rwanda.
The Bank’s Managing Director James Gatera told the press earlier that the selling of these shares will help them execute their strategies of evolving into a universal bank, with high capacity electronic banking channels, fund the growth and reduce the asset/liability maturity gap.
The government is also planning to sell its shares in MTN Rwanda and expects to raise Rwf25 billion(US $ 41.9m) from both bank of Kigali and the latter.
This is government’s move to encourage private equity investment among Rwanda’s citizenry and to promote development of the local capital markets.
The government embarked on privatization programme of state owned enterprises to reduce the shares it has in public companies thus alleviating the financial burden on its resources through the elimination of subsidies and state investment.
RDC CONGO:
Première visite en RDC pour le nouveau ministre des Français de l’étranger
(AFP)/04072011
PARIS — Le nouveau secrétaire d’Etat chargé des Français de l’étranger, l’ancien judoka David Douillet nommé à cette fonction mercredi dernier, effectue dimanche et lundi sa première visite à l’étranger en RD Congo, a indiqué le ministère des Affaires étrangères.
“Pour sa première visite à l’étranger, David Douillet, secrétaire d’Etat chargé des Français de l’étranger, se rend aujourd’hui en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) où il inaugurera la nouvelle ambassade de France à Kinshasa”, indique le Quai d’Orsay.
Lors de cette visite, M. Douillet aura notamment un entretien avec le ministre congolais des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération Alexis Thambwe Mwamba et rencontrera les représentants de la communauté française qui compte plus de 2.000 ressortissants.
“Pays francophone de première importance, la RDC accueille la 37ème session de l’Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie”, souligne le ministère.
Le secrétaire d’Etat se rendra ensuite en Afrique du Sud pour y soutenir, aux côtés du Premier ministre François Fillon, la candidature d’Annecy aux Jeux Olympiques d’hiver de 2018. Le chef du gouvernement conduira la délégation française, accompagné de la ministre des Sports de Chantal Jouanno.
UGANDA :
Ugandan officials defy EAC rules
Monday, 04 July 2011 /David Muwanga ./ www.busiweek.com
NAMANGA, TANZANIA – Ugandan Immigration officials at the border posts are not giving travelers outside Uganda the required six months as required by the East African Community Common Market Protocol.
According to Regulation 5 of the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, a citizen of a partner state who seeks to enter, transit or exit a territory of another partner state, has to present a valid common standard travel document or a national identity card where a partner state has agreed to use machine readable and electronic national identity cards as a travel document.
Upon fulfillment of the requirements, a person is issued with a pass which entitles that citizen to enter into the territory of the host partner state and stay for a period of six months.
However, due to the complicated processes and the many requirements of acquiring a passport and national identity cards which have only been introduced by Kenya and Rwanda, the other partner states citizens of Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi are mostly using temporary movement permits which they get at the border posts like Busia in Uganda at a cost of about $50.
The temporary movement permit issued at the border mentions your name, where you are coming from and going, purpose of visit and validity.
“For us in Tanzania we offer the temporary permits free of charge for one year and it is only when it exceeds one year that one is required to pay,” said the Tanzanian Officer in charge of the Namanga Immigration station Albert Kishe.
A traveler from Uganda to Tanzania who talked to East African Business Week at Namanga said that she paid Ush5000 ($2) to get the temporary movement permit at Busia border post.
The validity of her document is only 30 days as offered by the immigration officer at Busia.
“At Namanga we cannot give a Ugandan citizen more time which is beyond the validity of the 30 days offered by the immigration officer at Busia. It is them who limit Ugandan citizens on the time they should stay in another partner state,” he told journalists at Namanga.
“They are supposed to give an East African Citizen three to six months although the Kenya and Tanzania governments extended this period to one year aimed at encouraging East African integration process and this became effective after the operationalisation of the Common Market Protocol in July 1, 2010,” he explained.
Kishe said the protocol also allows a citizen whose pass is due to expire and who wishes to stay in a partner state longer to apply to the immigration office of the partner state for an extension of the pass before the expiry date.
“A pass issued under these regulations shall be issued without a fee,” he added.
Assistant Inspector, Immigration Azizi Kirondomara said they have received complaints from Tanzanians who travel to Kenya that they are issued with one week of one month stay even if they ask for the official six months when they are holding an East African Passport.
“The question is when the partner states’ governments will introduce a common travel document that serves all categories of citizens,” he asked.
He said most of Somali illegal immigrants use corrupt Kenyan and Tanzanian officials to allow them entry in their mission to transit to Mozambique and South Africa.
“Kenyans who are issued with temporary permits sell them to Somalis where they substitute their original photos and travel as owners of the documents,” he said.
“There have been cases where Kenyan passports have been issued to Somalis using forged supporting documents to the passport issuing authorities and use these to Mozambique and South Africa,” Kirondomara told journalists who visited the Namanga border post to assess the challenges facing Common Market Protocol in July 1, 2010.
Ugandan teachers used bomb as bell
July 4 2011 / Sapa-dpa
Addis Ababa – Students in a Ugandan school might not always have been happy to hear the sound of their school bell, but it turns out the alternative could have been much worse.
A group that travels the country to spread awareness about the dangers of unexploded mines – still a major problem in a region that has been scarred by conflicts over recent decades – was shocked to find that teachers were using an unexploded bomb as a school bell, reported the Daily Monitor on Sunday.
Worse, the bomb was still live, even as teachers at the primary school in south-western Uganda’s Kasese district banged it with a rock to call children to classes or assemblies, the newspaper reported.
About 700 children attend the school.
“It was a shock to us to find out that what the school was using as a bell was a bomb,” Wilson Bwambale, co-ordinator of the Anti-Mine Network Rwenzori, told the Daily Monitor. He said he noticed the problem when teachers used the bomb in his presence to call the students to order.
He said it was lucky that the teachers were only using a rock to bang on the bomb. Bwambale said the bomb was of a design that required a stronger force than impact with a rock to force detonation.
“Its head was still active, which means that if it is hit by a stronger force, it would explode instantly and cause untold destruction in the area. But we withdrew it to a cordoned place, where it will soon be exploded,” Bwambale said.
This was the second bomb found in a Ugandan school within six months. Teachers at a different school found students using an unexploded bomb as a toy earlier this year.
Uganda was ravaged by a massive civil war 20 years ago, with fighting between 1996 and 2002. Numerous bombs are believed to still be strewn throughout the region. – Sapa-dpa
Buganda now takes federo debate to UK
Written by Edris Kiggundu & Agencies / www.observer.ug/Sunday, 03 July 2011
As Beti Kamya, Lukyamuzi clash
Buganda recently renewed its demand for a federal system of governance during a conference in London, where prominent kingdom officials accused the government of deliberately ignoring Buganda’s demands. The London conference was organised by the Uganda Federal Confederates (UFC), a pressure group that campaigns for a federal system of governance in Uganda.
It was held at the University of East London, Docklands campus. Daniel Muliika, the former Katikkiro of Buganda, said the inadequate unitary system of governance, coupled with autocratic leaders, is the main cause of Uganda’s problems, such as corruption.
“The unitary system of governance does not take into account the role of traditional nations such as Bunyoro, Acholi and Buganda, among others, in building a coherent lasting peace,” he said.
Muliika, who presented a paper titled: ‘Embracing Federalism is Embracing Diversity’, added that the traditional entities that make up Uganda are never consulted by the central government on policies or bills, which causes friction between the traditional institutions and the government.
“Before the British colonialists left, they handed power back to Ugandans at a meeting in London at Lancaster House in 1961, where all the 14 nations that make up Uganda attended,” Muliika said.
“The names of these nations are inscribed at the entrance of the parliamentary building in Kampala; these are the true stakeholders and guardians of Uganda.”
The Leader of the Opposition, Nandala Mafabi, said without strong opposition parties, a free media and a healthy civil society, it is impossible to have good governance. He said these are all necessary checks against government abuses.
“In the case of Uganda, we have an arbitrary political system that leads to harassment of the political opposition. This places arbitrary obstacles in the way of ordinary citizens to hold free and fair elections,” Mafabi said.
The Budadiri West MP added that donors should use the tools at their disposal to promote good governance.
“Conditionality doesn’t have to be seen as a threat or a punishment. It should be a simple matter of good practice and common sense because no one would invest his or her family savings in a company with corrupt or bad management practices,” Mafabi said.
Kamya Vs Lukyamuzi
The conference had its interesting moments, like the exchange between the Rubaga South MP, John Ken Lukyamuzi, and Beti Kamya, president of the Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA). Lukyamuzi accused Kamya of hoodwinking Ugandans, pretending that she is opposing the government yet she is funded by President Museveni. Kamya, who looked disturbed by these accusations, shot back.
“It’s unfortunate for someone like Lukyamuzi to go ahead and level accusations against me even when he knows they are not true,” she said.
Kamya said the problem with most opposition leaders in Uganda is that they think Museveni is the problem, yet it is the system of governance that needs to be addressed.
Muliika criticised Kamya for turning UFA into a political party, arguing that it should have remained a pressure group. In her keynote speech, Carol Semanda, a trainee solicitor, said the aim of the conference was to consult on how Ugandans can take back ownership of their own country.
Muwanga Zaake, a senior lecturer at the University of Greenwich in London, said Buganda has been unfortunate in attracting the ire of Uganda’s dictators, who carefully circumvent the Buganda question.
“The Buganda question is truly a demand for fundamentals which constitute Buganda as a nation. Buganda is a multi-tribal nation. Yet, whenever someone wants to damage the federal debate, she or he scares people about tribalism and lies that Baganda will chase other nations out of Buganda,” Muwanga said.
Other speakers such as Salaamu Musumba, the FDC vice president for eastern Uganda, and Mustapha Semanda Magero, interim chairman of the Uganda Federal Confederates, urged Ugandans to continue assertively demanding better governance.
Norbert Mao (DP president), Olara Otunnu (UPC president), Erias Lukwago (Kampala Lord Mayor), Betty Nambooze (Mukono municipality MP), Ssemujju Nganda (Kyadondo East MP) and Hussein Kyanjo (Makindye West MP) sent apologies, having failed to attend.
ekiggundu@observer.ugThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Uganda hits $1.7b investments
Monday, 04 July 2011 / Eriosi Nantaba ./ www.busiweek.com
Kampala, Uganda – Uganda has registered planned investments worth US$1.7 billion over the last twelve months, a report by the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) has showed.
This is a 5.6% increase compared to the year before when UIA registered investments worth $1.55 billion.
Addressing the press at the media centre in Kampala recently, the State minister for Privatization Mr. Aston Kajara revealed the figures while presenting the UIA performance report for the just concluded financial year.
“UIA licensed 337 projects worth $ 1.7 billion with a planned job creation of over 130,000 jobs compared to the 340 projects licensed last year worth $ 1.55 billion,” said Kajara.
The electricity and gas sector topped the list with the highest number of planned investments in the country. “The sector registered a total of $445 million with 75,547 jobs between June 2010 and July 2011,” he explained.
Following closely was the financial, insurance, real estate and business services sector which recorded a planned investment of $ 432 million, 15927 jobs and 94 projects.
Expressing his gratitude to UIA for the notable figures, the minister stressed the need for more emphasis on job creation and adherence to the objectives of the National Development Plan (NDP).
“Over 30,000 graduates are released from universities every year, therefore emphasis must be placed on vocational training and entrepreneurship skills development as a stepping stone for job creation,” he said.
According to the Private Sector Investment Survey funded by the Bank of Uganda and UIA, net employment increased by 5.2% from 119,791 employees to 127,589 employees with the highest figures recorded in the manufacturing sector.
“Manufacturing leads in employment creation due to a good number of people employed as both skilled and unskilled,” he said.
CHINA/AFRICA:
No political preconditions for Africa
By Fang Lexian (China Daily)/ 2011-07-04
Mutual benefit, equality, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity are basis for China’s assistance to African countries
As Sino-African relations continue to deepen, the United States and some European countries have been trying to find some “negative factors” in China’s Africa policies in recent years.
They have unjustly said China’s policies are aimed at plundering Africa’s rich natural resources and are a form of neocolonialism. They have also poured groundless criticism on China for its normal trade and investment activities with African countries.
In their uproar, Western countries have shown particular dissatisfaction with Beijing’s assistance to African countries because it has no political preconditions attached, saying such a practice has weakened Western efforts to promote good governance and human rights improvement in Africa.
These Western accusations are groundless and inequitable.
That China attaches no political preconditions to its economic aid to Africa is based on its similar historical experiences with African countries. Both China and African countries suffered heavily from Western colonialism and thus both value their hard-won sovereignty, independence and dignity. Their similar experiences have caused China and a majority of African countries to share the stance that there should be no intervention in other countries’ internal affairs in international relations.
The colonial aggression and oppression endured by China and African countries has had a profound influence on China’s policies toward Africa, especially its economic assistance to the continent. It has also deepened China’s understanding that, as a provider of economic assistance to African countries, it should fully respect the recipients’ own development path and refrain from using economic aid as a way to interfere with the recipient country’s internal affairs. China’s stance is an important factor in the decades-long development of Sino-African relations.
Attaching no political preconditions to its assistance is an embodiment of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which uphold respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs.
China started offering economic assistance to African countries in the mid-1950s under the spirit of the Bandung Conference held in Indonesia in 1955. The Chinese government put forward eight principles on aid to foreign countries in 1964, including the principles of “equality, mutual benefit, and attaching no political preconditions”. The eight principles have become China’s basic principles for its foreign assistance, including its assistance to Africa.
As pointed out in a White Paper issued by the State Information Office in April, China is still a developing country, its economic foundation is still not very strong, its development is still unbalanced, and inclusive development remains an arduous task. So China’s foreign assistance falls into the category of South-South cooperation and belongs to “mutual help” among developing countries.
Africa is a continent with a concentration of developing nations. It is also a key area for China’s economic assistance. Africa has always benefited most from the Chinese government’s efforts to exempt foreign countries from some debts in recent years. China’s trade and investment activities in the African continent have also been in line with the principles of “equality, mutual benefit and common development”. China has no colonial history in Africa and it does not seek to colonize any country in the future.
As an important part of its foreign assistance, China’s aid to African countries aims to help the recipients improve their self-development capability. The international community, especially Western countries, should look at China’s cooperation with, and its assistance to, African countries with an objective and unbiased perspective.
As a model example of South-South cooperation, China’s assistance to African countries has never had, and will never have, any political preconditions attached. It will continue to inject new vitality into the traditional Sino-African friendship and their efforts to pursue mutual benefit and win-win results.
The author is an associate professor with the School of International Relations, Renmin University of China.
News Navigator: Why are countries so keen to control the South China Sea?
(Mainichi Japan)/ July 4, 2011
The Mainichi answers some common questions readers may have about why China and Southeast Asian countries are disputing ownership of the South China Sea.
Question: What kind of sea is the South China Sea?
Answer: It is an area of ocean surrounded by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines. It is blessed with abundant underground resources, and it has a warm climate and colorful wildlife. It also holds important shipping lanes, connecting eastern Asia, the Indian Ocean, Africa and Australia. Although called the “South China Sea” in English and Japanese, it is called different names in other countries: “South Sea” in Chinese, “East Sea” in Vietnamese, and — since last month — “West Philippine Sea” in the Philippines.
Counting coral formations and rocks that are submerged at times, there are over 250 islands in the South China Sea.
Q: What kinds of resources exist there?
A: According to data compiled by the United States Department of Energy and reported on in Vietnam, there are thought to be around 7 billion barrels of crude oil reserves there. This is around 13 times the strategic oil reserves of Japan, which were around 530 million barrels, or 199 days’ worth, as of the end of January last year.
However, China’s estimation of the South China Sea’s oil reserves is far greater at around 213 billion barrels. Vietnamese surveyors, meanwhile, say there is around 10 billion metric tons of crude oil buried in waters near its coast, with around 2 billion metric tons of that oil and one trillion cubic meters of natural gas already being developed.
Experts also say that there are underground gold, copper, zinc and manganese reserves.
Q: And that’s why China is interested in having the South China Sea as its territory?
A: That’s correct. To support its population of 1.3 billion and its continuing rapid economic growth, China has to secure energy resources. Although it brings in oil and other resources from Africa and other lands, these alone are not enough; securing the resources of the South China Sea has become an urgent task for the country.
Until the mid-20th century, the countries around the South China Sea were busy with other issues including trouble within their own borders, and they did not make definite claims of ownership over the South China Sea. However, from around the latter half of the 1960s, these countries began arguing their rights to the various islands, and disputes with China intensified.
Q: What could the effect on Japan be?
A: Around 25 percent of the world’s trade volume passes through the South China Sea, and resource-poor Japan imports many of its resources from the Middle East or Australia on ships that go through the area. From the standpoint of Japan, it is important that ships be able to pass safely through this area. If the disputes over ownership there intensify and the area becomes dangerous, then the flow of resources to Japan will be disrupted. (Answers by Akira Kudo, China General Bureau)
INDIA/AFRICA:
APO opens offices in India
4 Jul 2011 /www.bizcommunity.com
MUMBAI: The African Press Organisation (APO) announced recently the opening of offices in Mumbai, India. The APO now offers Indian companies investing in Africa the possibility to use APO’s communication tools including press release distribution and virtual press conferences.
“By starting this new venture in India the APO is filling an important gap in the communication landscape of Indian companies that have been boosting their commercial relation with countries in Africa. The opening of our India offices aligns with the important growth of South-South trade,” said Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, APO secretary general.
To manage this new office, the APO has appointed Rachana Chowdhary as country manager for India. In this position, Chowdhary will be responsible for setting up and expanding the local presence of the APO. She has over 15 years experience in the media industry in India.
“It is crucial for Indian companies investing in Africa to communicate on their activities with the local and international audience following Africa-related issues”, said Chowdhary.
MMTC drops proposal to buy overseas coal mines
Sun, Jul 3 2011/ www.livemint.com
Firm also discards plans for contract farming in Africa and local power generation; focus to stay on core businessesUtpal Bhaskar
New Delhi : In a major consolidation exercise, state-owned trader MMTC Ltd has dropped plans of buying overseas coal mines, commercial farming in Africa and generating electricity locally.
The company would instead concentrate on its core businesses such as minerals, metals and general trading, acting chairman and managing director H.S. Mann said.
To help meet a demand mismatch for coal in India, MMTC had tried to acquire equity in overseas mines.
The government has been unable to ensure coal supplies to sectors such as power and steel. This has lead to firms such as Coal India Ltd, International Coal Ventures Ltd and NTPC Ltd scout for coal resources abroad.
“Our balance sheet is not like Coal India. We have a small net worth,” said Mann. “We have taken a conscious decision of not getting into new areas and will consolidate our operations in the seven areas that we are present in.”
MMTC posted a 52% growth in revenue in the year ended 31 March to Rs68,833.27 crore, but net profit dipped by 47% to Rs112.77crore due to declining mineral exports.
Coal is abundantly available in India, but its exploitation has been hobbled by lack of investment and concerns over environmental damage. The country has known coal reserves of 264,000 million tonnes (mt), the fourth largest in the world, of which proven reserves are around 101,000 mt. Demand is currently around 600 mt per annum (mtpa) and is set to touch 2,340 mtpa by 2030.
“While there are success stories of firms venturing into mining, both in India and overseas, as part of their backward integration strategies, such initiatives may not be easy to see through,” said Dipesh Dipu, director of consulting, energy and resources, mining at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd. “This is more so when the industry is grappling through regulatory interventions.”
“There are mounting cost pressures, and increasingly, mining requires investment in infrastructure development as well. To further complicate the matters, while the good quality assets are difficult to get, the costs of acquisitions are on a rise,” he added. “These make mining ventures challenging.”
Attracted by cheap land and labour costs in Africa, MMTC was keen to grow pulses in Africa to meet shortages at home. To start with, the firm had plans to cultivate 2 mt of pulses in Tanzania and Kenya. India imports around 3.5 mt of pulses worth Rs14,175 crore every year.
MMTC was also awarded a 1,350 megawatts power project and a coal mine by the Chhattisgarh government, which was later scrapped.
“We don’t intend to go forward with the commercial farming plans,” said Mann. “We have dropped the power plans. It was discussed at the financial director’s level.”
“One also needs the management bandwidth to manage new businesses,” he added.
“One of the key ingredients of successful integration into mining ventures is a talent pool that can help analyse, assess, value, acquire and operationalize mining assets, which globally, and in India, have been on an acute short supply,” said Dipu. “Minus such human capital, strategies are unlikely to fructify.”
utpal.b@livemint.com
BRAZIL/AFRICA:
Brazilian minister calls for boost to Portugal-Brazil partnership for Africa
July 4th, 2011/ macauhub
Sao Paulo, Brazil, 4 July – Brazil’s minister for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Fernando Pimentel called Thursday in Sao Paulo for a boost to the partnership between Brazil and Portugal for expanding business by the two countries in African markets.
During a business lunch organised by the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Brazil, the minister said that the two countries could not be left out of Africa as he was convinced that it would be the stage for the great economic disputes of the 21st century, citing China’s growing presence there as an example.
“China clearly sees the African continent as a strategic part of achieving food security and the supply of raw materials over the next hundred years,” he said.
As well as the partnership to conquer African markets, Pimentel also said that the Portuguese economy had a lot to contribute to Brazil in sharing technical knowledge, despite the fact it was facing a complex situation, “from a financial point of view.”
He said that Brazil would benefit from adding the knowledge gained from its cooperation with Portugal, as the country needed to focus on innovation to develop its industrial sector in competition with china, which was, “a country capable of producing any goods at a price far below average.” (macauhub)
EN BREF, CE 04 Juillet 2011 … AGNEWS/DAM,NY, 04/07/2011
