Press Statement: Media exposed, Guptas cleared! (14.06.2016)

ANC Coal War

The big story over the weekend by City Press revolved around the alleged Eskom untoward “bail out” of the Gupta business. 

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 14, 2016 –  The Gupta family has now been cleared by over four entities of any wrong doing but you wouldn’t know this from the media reports. The big story over the weekend by City Press revolved around the alleged Eskom untoward “bail out” of the Gupta business. But Eskom has issued two detailed statements which clears the Gupta family business more specifically Tegeta which is one of the coal suppliers to Eskom. The Eskom statements come at the backdrop of the Gupta family also being cleared by the ANC NEC investigation which followed the alleged “state capture” by the family. It must be remembered that when the long term auditors of the family KPMG stopped its association with the family business it made it clear that there was nothing wrong with the books of the Guptas, an assertion which was confirmed by the new auditors who undertook their own independent “due diligence” on the state of the finances of the business. As if that is not enough, even the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has come out and denied that there is any investigation against the Guptas. These facts make a fair reader to ask; why is the media spreading lies?

The stories by both city press and Sunday times are devoid of any factual truth, are malicious and possibly illegal as well. City Press was given clarifications by Eskom which showed that their story had no basis in fact. But they ignored all that and continued to publish lies and fabrications.  City Press essentially alleges that the Tegeta was given preferential treatment on the Arnot deal to offset the losses on the Hendrina deal. The readers not familiar with the Eskom deal might know that once Guptas bought the Swiss company known as Optimum Coal, they continued to supply coal at  R150 a ton as opposed the R530 demanded by the Swiss company under threat of unleashing load shedding. That is the Hendrina deal which continues until 2018. What happened in between is that Eskom needed more supplies for the Arnot power station, and the request was opened to other suppliers which included Tegeta. The quality of the coal is different from that which is required by the Hendrina station. Eskom explained in its statements that, the quality of the coal for this station is “export grade”.

City Press chose to lie openly when it says, coal was ferried from 50km away to offset the loss making of Optimum Coal deal.  Eskom clarified to city press in a statement that, “The Optimum Coal Mine provides two coal qualities to Eskom.  The Optimum – Hendrina supply is a blended product of run-of-mine and washed product. This is supplied under the existing Optimum-Hendrina contract that expires in 2018.” Eskom was explicit that; “The second product from Optimum from their export mining compound.  It is a higher quality coal and this is supplied to Arnot under the current short term agreement”.

City Press deliberately omitted the distinction between the coal supplied on Hendrina and the one supplied to Arnot. Furthermore, City Press deliberately misinformed its readers by not disclosing that Tegeta was one of the seven suppliers for the short term contract named by Eskom. This shows that City Press has an agenda specifically against Tegeta because it’s partly owned by the Guptas. Eskom on Saturday issued a statement which made it clear that; “Eskom firmly rejects the suggestion that Tegeta was favoured or that due process was not followed”. But City Press is not interested in the truth it’s only interested in the agenda to kick the Guptas out of the coal sector because white owned companies now feel the heat of competition.

The racism of City Press report comes with how it does not believe that a black owned company can do better than a white owned business. White media asks how Tegeta can turn around a loss making company which whites had given up on. Instead of recognising Tegeta for business skills and innovation they cast aspersion suggesting wrong doing. “If whites can’t do it, blacks can’t do it either” is the philosophy behind City Press report supported by Sunday Times. Furthermore, City Press and Sunday Times in their campaign to destroy the Gupta family, failed to inform their readers that Eskom has declared that the deal with the Guptas has saved it R1 billion in mere 8 months. This is a big positive story, when Eskom saves money it means South Africans benefit. But such truth comes in the way of the agenda of the media.

The media is also silent about how Eskom explains how Tegeta has stepped in when there was a crisis at the Hendrina power station and has saved thousands of jobs. City Press furthermore, withheld information to its readers which would have shown that in fact the deal they claim is bad, comes at much lower price for Eskom than the deal before which was under the white owned Exxaro which sold R1 132 per ton as against the average of R500 by Tegeta. That is half the price the white companies use to demand, but such facts don’t support the campaign and are therefore suppressed.

The Gupta business tired of distortions and has called on all the media houses to a live debate on their stories. None are willing to do so because a live debate doesn’t allow for distortions. Oakbay Investments CEO Nazeem Howa has thrown the gauntlet and till date only Media24 has accepted the challenge to a live debate and the result is quite revealing on how the media is doing the bidding for white owned companies who are feeling the heat of the competitive edge of the Gupta owned companies. In the media 24 live interview, the public gets to learn a lot about selective reporting and the revelations that the media has ignored the Eskom own statement and the SARB. It would come as a big surprise to many readers to know that actually, Oakbay only supplies about 5% of the coal to Eskom. The other about 80% is supplied by white owned companies who are not being hounded by the media. http://m.fin24.com/fin24/Economy/exclusive-oakbay-ceo-speaks-out-on-coal-and-cash-reports-video-20160612

The media needs to be asked as to why it is not interested in the 80% coal suppliers of Eskom. The reason is patent to all fair people. The troubles of the Oakbay started when they out smarted the Swiss giant Glencore and bought their ailing company which was trying to blackmail Eskom by withdrawing its coal with the hope of hitting South Africa with another outage and then to be able to name the price it wants to sell coal to Eskom which would have been outside the agreement it had. It was the foresight and courage of the Eskom CEO Brian Molefe who stopped the whole scheme and quickly put the Swiss giant on a back footing and was forced to sell their business called Optimal Coal to the Guptas. This has infuriated white business and had led to the political attack sponsored by white capital and the Gupta must go campaign on the one hand and on the other the same white monopoly capital in competition with the Guptas has pressured the banks to close the accounts of the Gupta business. The media is not interested in the linkages including the serious impact on the 7500 workers and their families which comes to affecting over 50 000 people!

The renewed media attack on Oakbay seem to be linked with the realization that the Guptas are turning around the loss making Optimum Coal. A few months ago the business was on its dead bed but today has been removed from the ICU to the bitterness of white monopoly capital. This means Oakbay is establishing itself in the coal sector which is currently dominated by white owned companies. What is even more intriguing is that one of the companies which are major players in coal are those associated with Johann Rupert. Together with the companies linked to the Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa who is personal friend of Rupert their companies have respectively milked over R8 billion from Eskom. Clearly Rupert and Ramaphosa are concerned that their milking cow is now doing business with companies which are not linked to white monopoly capital.

Given the lies written by the media against black companies and businesses it makes sense that government should without any further delay institute a media tribunal and criminalize lies and slander by the media. The South African media is no longer held accountable by media ethics, it has become peddlers of lies and distortion for narrow racist ends.

 

Owen Jones meets Michael Moore | ‘Trump is like the sound of dying dinosaurs’ (Youtube-Clip)

“With the release of his new documentary, ‘Where to Invade Next’, director Michael Moore tells me that a vote for Brexit would be like asking for relegation from the Premier League. We also chatted about Donald Trump’s chances of becoming the next American President, whether Bernie Sanders should carry on fighting Hillary Clinton and why Moore believes Tony Blair is more responsible for the Iraq war than George W. Bush” (Owen Jones, 2016)

Eritea-Ethiopian rumors – Border skirmishes, again?

ethio-eritrea-boundry-map

There been rumors and reports, not yet verified from either governments of Eritrea or Ethiopia. This happens just days after the United Nations came with a staggering report of human rights violations and as the flames of Omoro continues. There are no clear indications, though some pictures of war and neither PM of Ethiopia or President of Eritrea have confirmed their violent intent towards each other.

So these reports are many from different sources. There are reported that the activity of military skirmishes have happen on both side of the border that follows river Gena Belesa, so even say this fights are also to let the mining interest of Ethiopia to go down close to the border, as the closing in of allies for the Eritrean nation is dwindling, but none of these rumors are confirmed, as much as the silence from the Governments are really making the uncertainty of actions.

Here take a look!

“Best to be cautious when receiving unsubstantiated reports of escalation of hostilities between Eritrea & Ethiopia” (Eritrean Movement for Democracy Human Rights – EMDHR, 12.06.2016).

What Eritrea answers with:

“#COIE ignored z voice of 45K+ #Eritrean all over z world but accepted nameless, faceless individuals.Repeating 1952“ (EPLF, 12.06.2016).

1952 Eritrea Foreign Affairs

First Report:

There are reports of fierce batteling between Ethiopia and Eritrea, as the skirmishes are at the river of Gena Belesa; This is between the Gerhu Sernay and Tserona towns like Egri Mekal, Kuba Weyba and Kulo Brdo (Addis Gazetta, 12.06.2016).

Second report:

Unverified SOCMINT and OSINT intelligence reports show Eritrean army has conducted a large scale ground attack against the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF)” (…) ”If verified, it’s likely Ethiopia will retaliate through both mobilization of military resources and heavy deployment of the resources at the affected area” (Goldman, 2016).

Ethiopia Eritrea 12.06.2016

Third Report:

“The isolated regime in Eritrea has launched a full-scale attack in northern Ethiopia last night, following the recent report by UN Commission of Inquiry, in which it says the regime has committed crimes against humanity, reliable sources confirmed to Awramba times” (…)”Isais Afeworki, who is now isolated both politically and diplomatically from the international community, has now chosen full-scale war out of frustration” (Awramba Times, 2016).

Fourth report:

“Eritrea army has moved its ground forces inside northern Ethiopia” (Aligato Africa, 12-06-2016).

Fifth Report:

“Arab Sunny Ethnic in the west have to be careful of rich Eritreans and their messengers. “Thanks to the Sugar daddies of Middle East, North Korea of Africa, Eritrea is provoking the south, Ethiopia at all fronts to abort the ongoing crime against humanity proceedings of Eritrean leaders in Geneva. Eritrean cross border surprises assault killed hundreds of Ethiopian forces at their bases in Zalambessa area east. Heavy artillery fires on Badme to the West, Tserona central and Bure from UAE base under expansion which was supposed for bombing Yemen “According to Eritrean sources. There is no doubt that Eritrea is getting arms from Saudi, UAE and Qatar because it is under UN arms embargo which is violation of UN Charter” (Meles Tekle, 12.06.2016).

Sixth Report: 

“The fighting is still going on around the town of Tserona. The Ethiopian army has successfully repulsed the Eritrean attack and is reportedly pushing towards Eritrean mainland.  TOL has credible information from residents in the area the town of Tserona might fall or already is under Ethiopian troops. The heaviest fighting was in the villages of Akran, Adi Mesgen, Kunnikunto, and other strategic positions. The fighting was supported with heavy artilleries, tanks, and RPGs. Small scale skirmish has been reported all along the border   The Eritrean army is reportedly moving mechanized units from a place called Mai Wurai to the heavy fighting area and Ethiopia might have mobilized some of its mechanized divisions towards the skirmish area. Some civilians around Egella are moving back from the reach of Eritrea heavy shelling” (Tigrai Online, 12.06.2016).

This is what I could collect of wisdom from now, but there are more to come, but none is verified from either government sources of either Eritrea or Ethiopia, Asmara and Addis Ababa have not yet said anything. Peace.

Reference:

Awramba Times – ‘[Breaking News] Isaias Afeworki Launches Full-scale Ground Invasion of Ethiopia, in retaliation to recent UN report’ (12.06.2016) link: http://www.awrambatimes.com/?p=14938

Goldman, David – ‘Reports Eritrea Army Attack Ethiopia; Large-Scale Ground Attack Reported By INT Assets’ (12.06.2016) link: http://intelligencebriefs.com/reports-eritrea-army-attack-ethiopia-large-scale-ground-attack-reported-by-int-assets/

Tigrai Online – ‘Heavy fighting erupted between Eritrea and Ethiopa’ (12.06.2016) link: http://www.tigraionline.com/articles/ethio-eritrea-war-erupted.html 

UN report on Eritrean Gov. oppressive behavior towards its Citizens and its Systematic Evidence of Human Rights Violations!

IsaiasAfwerki

“Eritrea will wait three or four decades, maybe more, before it holds elections. Who knows?”President Isaias Afwerki

As you read the quotes from the UN Human Rights Council on Eritrea, the amount of paperwork and people involved in the report, there we’re alone 44,000 submissions and also interviews from the Eritrean diaspora in Europe and United States. Just as the report says: “the Commission received 44,267 submissions from 39 countries. Of these, 30,517 arrived by mail and 13,750 by email. The submissions were mostly in Tigrinya and English but a sizeable number were in Arabic” (UN HRC, P: 11, 2016). So there are lots of material and an edge to the evidence in the report, it is not hearsay when those amounts of people are describing certain situations and the state of affairs in a country. I will take out what I see as most interesting findings in this report. As I am sure I am not alone in discussing the findings.

Why the information came from the Diaspora and not inside Eritrea:

“The Commission recalls that it has repeatedly sought permission from the Government of Eritrea to visit the country. The Government of Eritrea has failed to respond despite calls by the Human Rights Council to cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry. The Commission was nonetheless able to interview Eritreans in 13 countries with significant Eritrean populations” (UN HRC, P: 13, 2016).

Financial transparency:

Eritrea is one of the least developed countries in the world, and most of the country’s economic enterprises are state controlled” (…)”As Eritrea does not publish a budget, it remains to be seen whether this substantial new income will be used to enhance implementation of social, economic and cultural rights in the country” (UN HRC, P: 17, 2016). “With respect to sources of Government income, the source added “that is a mystery. Money is deposited at the National Bank. The Ministry of Finance does not know where the money comes from. Only the President knows.” (UN HRC, P: 37, 2016). “For example, witnesses told the Commission that a bank account with 40 million USD in mining revenue had been opened in Qatar in the name of the Director of the PFDJ Economic Affairs department” (…)”Other information suggests that there may be private accounts belonging to the president or members of his inner circle in the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Cyprus, and /or China” (UN HRC, P: 38, 2016).

Eritrea 25yrs

Freedom of Speech and the independence of the Media:

On Freedom of Speech and Media: “…since the media is Government-owned, you clearly are not supposed to cover anti-government issues. If interviewees say something anti-governmental, you listen but do not use it in your broadcast. A lot of items you didn’t broadcast. At first the bosses told me not to use such material, and then there’s self-censorship.” (UN HCR, P: 34, 2016). “Restrictions on freedom of speech are not limited to just those physically in Eritrea. A witness in Ethiopia told the Commission that after he had participated in a demonstration in Addis Ababa in late June 2015 in support of the Commission’s first report, his mother was arrested in Eritrea” (UN HRC, P: 35, 2016).

On Religious Freedom:

Government control of authorised religious groups also persists. The Government of Eritrea continues to detain under house arrest Orthodox Patriarch Abune Antonio, who was arrested over ten years ago for calling for the release of political prisoners and failing to excommunicate church members opposed to the Government” (UN HCR, P: 30, 2016).

On future Elections:

President Isaias Afwerki has regularly expressed his disdain for what he refers to as “western-style” democracy. In a 2008 interview with Al Jazeera, for example, the President stated that “Eritrea will wait three or four decades, maybe more, before it holds elections. Who knows?” The Eritrean delegation to the 2014 Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review stated that national elections would not be held until “the threats to national security and sovereignty had been eliminated” (UN HRC, P: 19, 2016).

asmara

Rule of Law:

“Although low level community courts exist, most Eritreans interviewed immediately dismissed any suggestion that they could file a complaint for a rights violation. There was a palpable resignation among people towards the endemic injustices in Eritrea, as well as a fear of re-victimisation. In the absence of a constitution, an independent judiciary, a national assembly, and other democratic institutions, the Commission has found no progress in establishing the rule of law” (UN HCR, P: 20, 2016). The Cost of freedom from detention: “Witnesses cited costs of avoiding imprisonment ranging from 50,000 Nakfa to 2,000, 000 Nakfa, as well as confiscation of property, including homes, suggesting that the assessment of “fines” may depend on the wealth of the family” (UN HRC; P: 40, 2016).

Military Service:

“On the issue of duration of military/national service, a witness who was conscripted in 2003 and remained in national service until he fled Eritrea in 2015 stated that: “…the national service is still for an indefinite period; in fact when I joined the national service I was never informed as to when I was going to be released from service. The Government has not announced that it will reduce the service period to 18 months; it is still indefinite and we are all very aware of this.” (UN HRC, P: 22, 2016). “According to an expert on Eritrea, those discharged from national service remain in the People’s Army or militia or “reserve army” after their discharge, and must be available at any time the Government chooses to call them. Thus, most cannot qualify for Eritrean exit visas, and those who opt to leave without such a visa remain liable for the crime of “desertion.” (UN HRC, P: 22, 2016).

Military Equipment Eritrea

Using Military Service as a Working force for the state:

“According to one witness, “the Generals receive salaries, but also receive income from agriculture [and other commodities] that is not accounted for. Production costs are low because they use free conscript labour. This income is not disclosed to the Ministry of Defence. The President knows about this but does not interfere” (UN HRC, P: 41, 2016).

““Air Force planes are outdated and there is no proper maintenance. So, the Air Force has shifted to plantation activities. For example, there was a piece of land near the airport… [The Chief of the Air Force] took that land for plantations. [He] would bring almost three quarters of Air Force conscripts to work on the plantations, and the equipment used on the plantation comes from the Air Force and Ministry of Agriculture. It was very hot on the plantations. [Conscripts] were not paid any money for this work. They were told it is part of our duties. If they refused to work there, they would be sent to the [nearby detention facility].” (UN HRC, P: 23, 2016).

Eritrea Army

Generals are handpicking woman who are on subscription to be their “Wife’s” and solitary responsibility to please the General: “One day, …a female soldier…from my unit was…assigned to General […] to prepare food and do cleaning; it was also made clear to her that she [was] supposed to please [the General] in bed whenever he wanted. […] She provided this service to [the General] for many years. [Three years after it started], she got pregnant [from] him and gave birth to a baby girl… She told me that she did not do this voluntarily but [because] she was afraid. She said she was not allowed to leave the house and sometimes she was locked up.” (UN HRC, P: 58, 2016). A former female trainee in Sawa, who described the situation of these young women stated that “[t]hey are their personal slave.” Another female military trainee reported a typical day to her friend: “Dreadful life starts in the morning: I prepare his breakfast, wash his clothes, prepare lunch, prepare coffee ceremony, prepare dinner, and then prepare to be ‘his wife’. I have had this life for the last six years.” And more from the Sawa: “We watched sexual abuses. Systematically, they forced girls to obey their instructions; to have a relationship with them. If she doesn’t obey, they find any kind of military punishment. It is commonly the [d]ivision leaders, the highest ranks who would do that. All people would go back to their [d]ivision at the end of the day. The leaders select girls personally. After six months, he would change her, take a newly arrived. The 11th grade students…have to pass their last year’s exam in Sawa. They take them. Once a woman is assigned to a General, they stay there [to] do office work, chores, etc. ‘there is no rule, no law.’ Sometimes when the girls see the car of the General approaching they hide. What if they become pregnant? […] When it happens, they make abortion traditionally. The girl doesn’t even want to let the colonel know. One of my best friends was a ‘personnel’ of the Colonel. He told me that the nick name used to get a girl is ‘goat’. Sometimes when newcomers arrive they asked assistants to bring new ones.” (UN HRC, P: 56-57).

Another said that “in 2014, there was military training. I was sick and even had papers certifying that I was sick. But they didn’t believe me and I was [detained] for six months without due process.” (UN HRC, P: 23, 2016).

What the Government says about the Military Service and their work:

“Indeed, Presidential Advisor Yemane Gebreab himself has stated that: “the challenge for us is to be able to find jobs, skills, training, and business opportunities for [conscripts] when they are released,”100 suggesting that prolonged military/national service is not, or is no longer, motivated primarily by national security concerns” (UN HRC, P: 24, 2016).

eritrean_troops_control_ministry

Shoot-To-Kill Policy:

The Commission received credible evidence that a shoot-to-kill policy was issued and that it has not been rescinded. The writers denying the existence of a shoot-to-kill policy did not explain the basis on which they concluded that such a policy does not exist. Very few, for example, said that they had passed through a border without interference or without the assistance of smugglers. The Commission is aware that the policy has been implemented in a less rigorous manner in recent years” (UN HRC, P: 15, 2016). “An example of extrajudicial killing reportedly took place on 3 April 2016, as military/national service conscripts were being transported through the city centre of Asmara. When several conscripts tried to jump from the trucks, soldiers reportedly fired into the crowd, killing and injuring a considerable but unconfirmed number of conscripts and bystanders” (UN HRC, P: 32, 2016). A witness said this: ““In September 2015, the battalion commander told me if anyone attempts to cross the border to Ethiopia just shoot at them. He told us to shoot people down if we see them crossing. I couldn’t ask about this order because I would have been killed or jailed; I had to implement it. If you don’t implement it you won’t be seen again. I know 3 soldiers who spent 20 years in service. They told me I had to implement the order.” (UN HRC, P: 33, 2016).

This happen to some of fleeing Eritreans:

On May 22 2016, Sudan collectively expelled 313 Eritreans back to Eritrea. Another 129 were similarly sent back from Sudan several days earlier. According to UNHCR, the prior to the forcible returns, the Eritreans had been tried and convicted in Sudanese courts of “illegal entry” into Sudan. According to corroborated reports by unrelated witnesses, in the days prior to the expulsions, Eritrean authorities visited Eritreans in a Sudanese prison to register the identities of those to be returned. The witnesses also reported that upon arrival in Eritrea, the returnees were arrested and detained. They further indicated that those who were in the national service, prior to leaving the country, were detained at Adi Abeito prison on the outskirts of Asmara, and that those who had not yet undergone military training are currently detained elsewhere, including in Tessenei and Hashferay, apparently awaiting transfer to military training centres” (UN HRC, P: 25, 2016).

asmara

Afterthought:

There is so much evidence that come into a 94 page UN report; this one shows so much of it, I have focused on the witness reports and their testimonies, as this is Eritrean citizens who have fled the regime in haste to Europe or America. There even some men and woman who are creating issues for their families left behind.

The Eritrean state is all controlled around the President Isaias Afwerki, as he knows all about the finances, state media and the military. The Military or the Army is both “free working force” as the extensive breaches human rights and committed to keep away the state from lawful activities, as the Generals and Army Officials are themselves skimming of the system and use woman and men, as they please. This creates unlawfulness in the militarized society of Eritrea. The witness reports are a sad sight and the totalitarian control from the President Afwerki shows the extent to how they control their citizens and uses their manpower to earn money for the Government, but not support or being there for their citizens.

And if they try to flee or desert from the military or the country, the other army command can shoot-to-kill fellow citizens, as they do not follow orders from above, as they are in the hands of the government and the army. This together with the torture of fellow citizens; they are detained without trial and kept in jail to infinite, as there are no constitution or rule of law in the nation.

150423183001-pkg-elbagir-djibouti-eritrean-refugees-00001711-exlarge-169

The damning evidence is clear, the Eritrean government cannot just silence this, as there are over 400,000 who has fled from the country, and 44,000 have written in to the United Nation Human Rights Council, with their experience and witness reports shows the level of system behind these actions, it is not just one rare coincidence that certain people are detained, tortured or becoming slaves for the Generals of the Military. That even the Air-Force is so depleted that the men who are assigned work on labor unites instead of becoming air-men for the Eritrean Air-Force.

That is enough for now. It is not grand state of affairs, the level of impunity and lawlessness and the attitude of how the Eritrean State are treating their fellow citizens and keeping their records only in the hand of the President Afwerki and nobody else. Peace.

Reference:

UN Human Rights Council – ‘Detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea’ (08.06.2016) – A/HRC/32/CRP.1

Press Statement: Inaccuracy, and biased positions of Troika would not help innocents in South Kurdofan and Blue Nile (08.06.2016)

Unbroken Conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, June 7, 2016 –  The Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan expresses its deep regret for the latest statement issued by the Troika  (USA – UK – Norway) on 27th of May 2016, on the situation in South Kurdofan. – The biased and unbalanced statement by the group has just repeated the old positions that don’t help bring peace to the people of the two areas, and only send the same negative signals to the rebels to continue their barbaric behavior in attacking innocent civilians without facing any consequences.

The Government of the Republic of the Sudan while confirming its commitment to the negotiations and dialogue as the only way for peace settlement in the two areas, expects clearer position from Troika towards the Road Map  by applying pressure on rebel movements who refused to sign it, sparing no efforts to impede peace process and dialogue in Sudan.
The Troika statement mentioned the Road Map but still there is a lack for strong position and firm commitment towards it.

The claims mentioned in Troika’s latest statement about the expulsion of the Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan  is completely inaccurate. The acting official was granted his work permission in January 2014 on the basis of transitional period, the Government has renewed his stay permit for extra period ends in June 2016 waiting for a new nomination for the position and still waiting for that.

The Government of Sudan while reiterating its keenness to work with the UN agencies in the humanitarian field has the full right to evaluate the performance of UN officials and their level of cooperation.
The Humanitarian Aid Commission in Sudan (HAC) has presented in its recent statement a brief assessment for the work period of the  UN official that witnessed tension in the relations and lack cooperation.

The official concerned was requested to be issued a provisional stay permit in his capacity as ACTING head of OCHA Mission in Sudan. Though the said status remained as is up to date, the Sudanese authorities  fully cooperated with him and secured renewals of his  tentative stay permit. However, ahead of the upcoming renewal , OCHA was advised of the situation. That step should in no way construed as rejection of the presence of this UN organ in Sudan or the appointment of a new resident head of it.

Mathews Phosa: ANC must stop ‘protecting corruption’ (Youtube-Clip)

“In an exclusive interview, journalist Melanie Verwoerd talks to anti-apartheid activist Mathews Phosa about the road travelled by the ANC, the Constitution and the expulsion of Julius Malema” (Eyewitness News, 2016)

Interim Order: KCCA ordered to stop using Nabugabo Updeal JV. to Collect garbage in Kampala (01.06.2016)

KCCA Interim Order June 2016

These quotes from KCCA this 13. February 2016: 

KCCA Garbage Quote Feb 2016

Mrs. Beti Kamya – “Where is Museveni’s Heart” (Daily Monitor Article of 28.01.2008)

Beti Kamaya 2008 Article P1Beti Kamaya 2008 Article P2Beti Kamaya 2008 Article P3Beti Kamaya 2008 Article P4

Uganda: New Cabinet List Out (Youtube-Clip)

Press Statement: IMF Executive Board Completes Sixth PSI Review for Uganda and Approves One-Year Extension of the Program (07.06.2016)

Bank notes Uganda

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America, June 7, 2016 –  The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund today completed the sixth review of Uganda’s economic performance under the program supported by the Policy Support Instrument (PSI).1.

In completing the review, the Board approved the authorities’ request for a one-year extension of the current PSI arrangement to facilitate policy continuity and allow sufficient time for ongoing structural reforms to progress and also granted a waiver of the nonobservance of the end-December 2015 assessment criteria on the overall deficit of the central government.

The PSI for Uganda was approved by the Executive Board on June 28, 2013 (see Press Release No. 13/78). Uganda’s program under the PSI aims at maintaining macroeconomic stability and alleviating constraints to growth. The program supports the authorities’ objectives on reforms to the monetary policy framework, tax revenue mobilization, public financial management, and financial sector development. It also backs efforts to improve the business environment, including by preparing the economy better for oil production.

Following the Board discussion, Mr. Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, made the following statement:

“Despite external shocks, and amid election-related uncertainty, Uganda’s economy demonstrated resilience, with robust growth, low inflation, and strong international reserves. However, structural reforms have lagged and need to be revitalized to enhance competitiveness, promote economic diversification, and foster sustained and inclusive economic growth.

“Economic policies will remain focused on keeping inflation low and boosting growth. Fiscal priorities include shifting public spending toward infrastructure and poverty-alleviating expenditures, boosting domestic revenue mobilization, and enhancing public investment efficiency. Continued fiscal prudence could facilitate further monetary policy easing, which would help ease tight credit conditions.

“More progress is needed on key structural reforms. Prompt parliamentary approval of the Public Financial Management Act regulations in line with international best practice, decisive action to reconcile and validate the stock of domestic arrears, and finalizing the charter of fiscal responsibility are paramount steps to further improve governance and strengthen the budget process. Final approval of legal amendments to the Bank of Uganda Act will strengthen the central bank’s independence and support the inflation targeting regime.

“Vigilance is needed to ensure continued financial stability. Plans to further strengthen prudential supervision in line with the Basel III guidelines are welcome. Ensuring that regulatory oversight keeps pace with financial innovation will help preserve financial stability. Prioritizing prompt parliamentary approval of the Amendments of the Anti-Money Laundering Amendment Act and the Insurance Act should help Uganda exit from the FATF gray list, further strengthening the investment climate.”

1 The PSI is an instrument of the IMF designed for countries that do not need balance of payments financial support. The PSI helps countries design effective economic programs that, once approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, signal to donors, multilateral development banks, and markets the Fund’s endorsement of a member’s policies (seehttp://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/psi.htm). Details on Uganda’s current PSI are available at imf.org/uganda.