Category: Infrastructure
Press Release: DP World Wins 30-Year concession for Port of Berbera in Somaliland (05.09.2016)


Letter: “Cancelation of Mira Operation” – Somalia (04.09.2016)

Kenya: Public Inquiry on the Impact of Mining Activities on the Enjoyment of Human Rights in Taita-Taveta County (18.08.2016)


Malema hints on proposal to scrap water, electricity bills for the poor (Youtube-Clip)
“EFF leader, Julius Malema says his party will propose scrapping of water and electricity bills of the poor. But the pro- poor mandate may not be viable. Economists say wiping off the bad debt is feasible but its the tax payers that could end up footing that bill” (SABC Digital News, 2016)
Press Statement: Appoinment of Executive Director for the PAU (18.08.2016)

Kenyatta with a Statehouse Summit on Transport and infrastructure; not a good look for the Jubilee!

“I understand that everyone in the rural areas,the MPs, the MCAs,Governors and all aspirants are claiming responsibility for any upcoming infrastructural project.They are fighting about who lobbied for what and who talked with whoever and who met whoever……..it’s not a question of who lobbied for any development be it roads,electricity connection,building of schools and many more….it’s a question of giving service to the forty to forty two million Kenyans who pay taxes.Hii Maneno ingine yote haina maana” – Uhuru Kenyatta
President Kenyatta has today a State House summit on transport and infrastructure projects in Kenya under his leadership and the Jubilee Government. That has soon finished their first term in the presidency. They had pledges upon pledges when they went into government.
They wanted to build a giant and fantastic electric quick railway. The Standard Gauge Railway and also develop the Lamu Port through the LAPSSET project with fellow neighbors. The Pipeline of crude-oil from the Northern Kenya in Kerio Valley in the Lokichar Basin to the upgraded Lamu Port; where the Jubilee Government also wanted the Lake Albert crude oil from Uganda to go to. Something that fell through as the licensed companies in Uganda though it was too costly to build through Kenya compared to Tanzania. So the Kenyan Government has to do it on they’re own. As the LAPSSET it is waiting for private enterprise to engage and use their monies on the planned infrastructure.

The other issues are stadiums not built in regions where it was promised the fields of glory never came. It was easy to promise the district towns a sports facility, but none of them came to fruition. The others developments we’re that from Kenya had 30 Air-strips before Jubilee and by now they have 50 of those. Still, the discussion on the failed development project and upgrade of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) have not been an issue as the embarrassing project it is for the ruling regime and their PR team.
“There is corruption at the port. Find out who among the people in this room are thieves” – Uhuru Kenyatta.
There are always some issues and even after years in power and set change with rule of law. The Jubilee government tends with the same fractured system, the corrupt Mombasa port where the monies that makes all import more expensive and still they haven’t instilled checks and balances to Ports and therefore the extra taxation of the imports happen on a daily basis. As the corrupt mind and bodies continues to thrive with the speaking up against it, but not dealing with it in Parliament or by sanctions of law.
The Jubilee government has dozens of plans and pledges, as much as they have foreign loans to build the projects from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the Chinese. The extent of debt collected by the recent new loans has come to 49% of GDP. In April 2016 the Jubilee Government had collected $1.35 billion in debt, while fixing a massive deficit in the Kenyan budget. Still, this is worrying as the debt and interest has to be repaid to the International lenders and development banks which the tab is taken from.

This was not discussed at the Summit and where is the money for the development projects coming from as they shouldn’t just surface out of thin air. Just like the roads and rails need wages, plans, dialogue and trade to get built. As the landowners need to be compensated together with the companies building the roads need paid for service rendered. Therefore the business of infrastructure is expensive as the giant projects cost a fortune because they are supposed to stay for long and be kept for decades on.
The same with all the roads not taken care of as the feeder roads of the Northern Kenya, which is left in mud and dust; the focus on three Nairobi by-passes to fix the congestion of the capital. Not thinking of other towns who could need extra bypasses like Eldoret or other where the Jubilee doesn’t deliver the needed infrastructure, except if it is fitting with the border-passes and agreement with nation on the other side who needs roads of exporting through Kenya there. Therefore the Summit is more a PR Show, than proving real progress as the corrupt, the debt and all the other problems are destroying the champion sound and roar from the Jubilee Government under President Kenyatta. Peace.
Uganda: UETC notice on Partial Black Out (about yesterday’s no electricity!)

We thought we seen the worst; but the here comes the 20 Point Programme from Mzee!

Sometimes I think President Museveni is a bit too smart for himself, that must be it, as he have since start of his reign added and amended more plans than useful laws. That is something the world should know by now. He entered his first term after rebellion with the 10-Point Program that was supposed to reinvent and remake the democratic, accountability and facilitate the development of Uganda. Something that has been stalled for wish to stay in power and also his own nepotism, corruption and cronyism in government and state functions in general; together with no-need to leave the militaristic maneuvers of government.
“The NRM under the leadership of President Y. K. Museveni came up with the ten point programe of action. In 1987, Basing on the ten point program, President Museveni launched a Minimum Economic Recovery Programme followed by a series of reforms aimed at restoring macro-economic stability to provide a favourable environment for economic growth and private sector development. The key reforms were, liberalization, privatization, currency reform, changes in tax and fiscal policy plus restraining expansion in government expenditure while maintaining focus on economic recovery and growth” (Uganda 25 Years of Nation Building and Progress, Jan 1986 – Jan 2011, Printed: May 2011).

That is why that when I read that President Museveni had the genius idea of a 20-Point Program, I was latterly laughing and crying in sadness of this so-called leader. Who supposed to lead and make change; after thirty years in power with a 81 Cabinet and created astonishing amounts of districts and sub-counties, that every town and nearly all villages have either one or two central LCV and other councilors to be bribed by the central-government. And in his genius attempt to spoilt the trade, he comes with another plan to cover over the atrocities and pledges that we’re recycled under campaigning in 2015 and 2016.
This comes from the leader who of late has already these wonderful plans to hold onto and supposed to finish in his lifetime, as he wants to promise the Ugandans the middle-Income position and also economic progress in the levels of South Korea and Singapore. Though, the corrupt and donor-friendly behavior is still necessary since the Petroleum money, is still not certain as it is still needed more development and investment before the profits from the black-oil drilled in the Lake Albert basin and Albertine region.
The first plan that was supposed to take over the failed 10-Point Program from the Economic and Development of the Republic, where the magical and all-covering; the Second plan the famous ‘Vision2040’, where all pieces of government and private sector we’re interconnected as the NRM-Regime had plans to reconfigure and also establish what they had did between 1986 and 2013. The plan that we’re released in 2013 said this: “a transformed Ugandan society from a peasant to a modern and prosperous country within 30 years”; I do not feel the need to say how much further they have come in the last three years.

The third plan that comes to mind was the National Development Plan II (NDPII) who we’re drafted and surely released during the 2015, and we’re written March 3, 2015. This was a plan for the infrastructure projects and the defining projects that we’re interconnected with railroads and also the major road projects of the UNRA, which is certain a magnifying economic prospect as the investments in infrastructure as the unfolding economic problems, that recently was reported from UNRA. So the President has issues with this alone, before releasing the 20-Points Program of 2016.
So with the hearing of a new plan from the grand National Resistance Movement and the Presidency of 30 years, if he had finished or wished to finish the first plan, the 10-Point Program. But, that wouldn’t make the political battlefield and the regression of progress so obvious; if anybody believes he will ever finish a program or even sufficiently have due-diligence behind a new program, you should dream on or reconsider you thought pattern.
With the newly released 20-Program Plan of 2016, is a rehash of old-ideas into a new format with the mix of the Vision2040, 10-Point Program and the National Development Plan II. That is a combined of these visions, as the 10-Point program is totally out of whack, the 2040 is in the midst of it and been in the works for three years without any real progress on the matter. The NDPII is a framework for basic transport and infrastructure that are parts of all the three other plans. So, this is far from finish and with the UNRA troubles, the World Bank suspension and the others issues with financing the grand infrastructure projects of late, while the Standard Gauge Railway and the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP), which is a collective planning of infrastructure between the East African nations we’re it need cooperative effort from the countries.

So with all of this in mind, when reading the progressive, the revolutionary, the rebels new plan like the monstrosity levels of belief that he can sell yet another amazing plan to the public and donors. The reassessment the donors should do is that this in the mass of affairs and tricks the NRM-Regime have come with for three decades and was supposed to be new-found governance; instead it has been more of the same, just in another name, another package and another head-honcho who been able to smile with Bill Clinton, Gadaffi and all the dignitaries that wanted spend money on his government and newly created institutions under his leadership. This has all happen, while the Western countries have accepted the atrocities and brutality against civilians for the peace and assurance of progression of democratic values that over time have been proven as fool’s gold.
The reality of this new Plan is to repackage the same of promises and the so-called progression of the government institutions and the civil service delivery as hospitals, schools and roads. Through the neo-liberal structural adjustment plan that we’re accepted to get more World Bank loans in the 1980s, while now because of less donor-funding adding more loans into the bloated government budgets together with bigger government spending on growing parliament, growing districts and sub-counties, while the added expenditure on the projects as the rising prices on roads with little due-diligence, higher interests on the fallen loans and the expenses on military equipment. This all with the steady level of inflation and proved little will to change the service delivery from the NRM-Regime, as the international community have let most of it go without any impunity or real care.

As even the European Union proudly did this recently after the fraudulent election they discredit in their own report, still they we’re so giddy to do this:
“Goverment of Uganda to hold political dialogue with European Union as mandated in Art 8 of Cotonou Agreement” (Emma Were Tinka, 28.06.2016). So the true ethics of the European Union and democratic values can be traded of with a decent agreement and when the NRM-Regime can even be validated by EU, this talk and consider, even sign the agreement, but they might not implement it; as the due-diligence have never been a thing for Museveni, so after all this year? Why should it all of a sudden matter?
This new plan is another one of his schemes and plot to get donor-aid and get funding for his nepotism, his cars and airplanes as the direct budget and the over-priced infrastructure projects have silenced his critics as that have been used on tear-gas, Russian fighter-jets and other needed procurement, not on fixing schools and buying school-books for the students. That is no-need and not proved added value. This 20-Program plan is just non-sense and the ones that buys into it, are long lost causes like Ofwono Opondo and Andrew Mwenda. Peace.
UBOS: Uganda’s Inflation Rises To 5.9% (Youtube-Clip)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWpfG_5JLm8
“Uganda’s annual headline inflation has increased to 5.9 per cent in June from the 5.4 percent recorded during the ended year may 2016. Uganda National Bureau of Standard Principal Statiscian Vincent Nsubuga Musoke says the rates were driven by the annual core inflation which registered 6.9 per cent for the year ending June 2016. This is lower than the 7.0 per cent that was recorded during the ended May 2016” (NBS TV Uganda, 2016)

