Burundi: Strengthning of Security Measures at Bujumbura International Airport – All Airlines Operating at Bujumbura International Airport (05.12.2016)

burundi-airport-05-12-2016

The nominations of Mnuschin and Ross proves that Donald Trump is not ‘draining the swamp’!

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The Economic Policies of any United States administration are usually bound by the people that are running two key positions; these are Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of Commerce. The Economy is bound by the decisions these ones do. This here will prove what kind of administration that Trump will run and what kind of regulations of trade, business and economy in general. Therefore the picking of personnel is central to how the state of affairs at the top of the food-chain in Washington.

Donald Trump the Presidential-Elect that has been all and mighty on draining the swamp. So he proves that it was just words during the campaign to sell to his supporters, he even pledged this earlier in the year:

“We have to give new voices a chance … so we can have a government that works again and can function properly …” Trump said” (Hughes, 2016).

Draining the Swamp:

“There is another major announcement I am going to make today as part of our pledge to drain the swamp in Washington. If I am elected President, I will push for a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress” (…) “Decades of failure in Washington, and decades of special interest dealing, must come to an end. We have to break the cycle of corruption, and we have to give new voices a chance to go into government service. The time for Congressional term limits has arrived” (…) “Not only will we end our government corruption, but we will end the economic stagnation” (Trump, 2016).

We will first see what the Treasury are supposed to do and what the department will do:

“Treasury’s mission highlights its role as the steward of U.S. economic and financial systems, and as an influential participant in the world economy” (Treasury.gov – ‘About – Role of Treasury’). So the Secretary of Treasury is important for the financial system, therefore it’s important to look at the nominee. So we have to look into the nominee who has influence of the financial systems.

Also, we have to see what is special about the Department of Commerce: “The Department works with businesses, universities, communities, and the Nation’s workers to promote job creation, economic growth, sustainable development, and improved standards of living for Americans. Through its 12 bureaus and nearly 47,000 employees located in all 50 states and five U.S. territories and more than 86 countries worldwide, the Department administers critical programs that touch the lives of every American” (Commerce.gov – ‘About Commerce’). So we can see the importance of the person leading these 12 bureaus that should make it possible to create jobs and commercial business in the United States, therefore the person leading here has to know how to improve the economic growth.

With this knowledge the persons acts before and their economic framework together with the economic platform; that means their faith in the markets or the regulations. That he will give way to free regulations for the financial markets instead of regulating them.

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Steve Mnuchin is the nominee for Secretary of Treasury:

Mnuchin worked at Goldman Sachs for seventeen years, where he eventually became an executive vice president. According to the Wall Street Journal, he left in 2002 “at the age of 39 with a reported $46 million stake in the bank.” He was recruited by his Yale roommate, Eddie Lampert, to join ESL, a hedge fund, as vice chairman. A few months later, he jumped to SFM Capital Management as its CEO. But within a few months he changed jobs again, leaving SFM to co-found Dune Capital with his former Goldman colleagues Daniel Neidich and Chip Seelig” (…) “In 2009, Mnuchin helped assemble a group of investors (including computer capitalist Michael Dell, financier George Soros, private equity investor Christopher Flowers, and hedge fund titan John Paulson) to buy IndyMac Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as part of a sweetheart deal. They renamed it OneWest Bank and kept its headquarters in Pasadena” (Dreier, 2016).

Relativity bankrupt:

Relativity explicitly blames the bank, founded by Steve Mnuchin, who until recently was one of studio founder Ryan Kavanaugh’s best friends and a company director, for violating bankruptcy procedures and for delaying the release of a movie recently considered to be the studio’s savior, a letter and an email from the company obtained by The Post reveal” (…) “ OneWest’s hoovering up of the $50 million, revealed in court papers, included $32 million drained from the studio’s library and $17.9 million from two other accounts” (…) “The bank’s actions placed Relativity in a precarious financial state, forcing it to largely “stop paying many vendor bills, to postpone production of certain film projects and to postpone the release of certain completed films,” Blackstone’s Tim Coleman, Relativity’s financial adviser, said in court papers” (McCaulay, 2016)

Foreclosure from OneWest:  

“According to Gudiel, when she tried to make the $2,500-a-month mortgage payment two weeks late in November 2009, OneWest refused the payment and instructed her to pursue a loan modification, a long process that ultimately ended in rejection in January” (…) “OneWest referred questions to the public relations firm Sard Verbinnen & Co., which said that Fannie Mae, which holds about one-third of the mortgages in the country, had not authorized them to modify the loan” (… ) “OneWest is pleased that it has been able to work with Fannie Mae, the owner of the loan, to authorize it to offer the Gudiels a loan modification that would allow the family to stay in their home,” the firm said in a statement” (Huus, 2011).

Fraud from his bank:

While the Rigalis were negotiating on the mortgage modifications, IndyMac Federal Bank failed in what would be the fourth-largest bank failure in U.S. history. What was left of IndyMac was acquired in March 2009 by a Mnuchin-led group of private investors for $1.55 billion” (…) “The Rigalis’ court filings “alleged they were led to believe, by representatives of several banks over a period of years, that their $560,000 loan would be modified. They believed they had entered into several forbearance agreements with several but related banks.” (…) “Crandall wrote in his denial of the motion that “the facts before the court are sufficient to defeat summary judgment” of most of OneWest Bank’s assertions, and he concluded that the Rigalis produced enough proven evidence to show that they could prevail in a jury trial. OneWest quickly offered a settlement, sources said” (…) “Recent legislative measures “provide an important lens” for the court to look through, wrote Crandall in denying OneWest’s motion” (…) “The judge was referring to the banking practice of dual tracking, in which a borrower in default seeks a modification while the institution continues at the same time to pursue foreclosure. By the time the borrower learns what is happening, it is usually too late to prevent the foreclosure” (Blackburn, 2013).

Just as he has become the nominee certain board positions he had to give up:

“NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT), cit.com, a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services, today announced that Steven T. Mnuchin has resigned from its Board of Directors, effective immediately. His resignation follows President-elect Donald J. Trump’s announced intention to nominate Mnuchin as the next Secretary of the Treasury” (…) “On behalf of the entire Board, I want to thank Steven for his contributions to CIT,” said Ellen R. Alemany, Chairwoman and CEO. “Steven has been a valued member of our Board, and we wish him well in this monumental role.” (CIT.com, 2016). He also stepped down from being a board-member at Sears.

So the OneWest CEO Steve Mnuchin is becoming the Secretary of Treasury in the Trump Administration. He been a board-member in CIT and Sears, as well as been speculative in foreclosures in people’s homes as well as Relativity studio or Film Company became bankrupt because of the loans and structure of funding through OneWest. So this speculative actions can be assured of will happen, but not with just one hedge-fund Wall-Street banker bravado, but now with the economic policies as underlining from the newly nominated Munuchin.

Than we have the other nominee that will lead 12 important bureaus that is now being delegated through the financial heavy weight Ross; which also have long history on Wall Street.

wilbur-ross

Wilbur Ross is the nominee for Secretary of Commerce:  

Wilbur is another fellow with a spreadsheet that is impressive, but also sees the cynical side of the economy, where the importance of business is profits; not actually creating work. Therefore his nomination is more about securing equity is the reality than the person who actually earns those fortunes. Therefore the way he salvaged the businesses and made profits on them, as well as the reality of the man behind those transactions and how many settlements for fraudulent acts from his companies and subsidiaries. Here is a little look!

Wilbur Ross is best known for his ability to find distressed companies and turn them around for a large profit – it is a talent that has given him an estimated net worth of more than $2 billion. And in recent years Ross’s sights have been firmly set on financial companies. Since 2008 he has invested a reported $1.8 billion into banks.  But now he has had enough. NBNK Investments, the investment company in which Ross took a 30% stake in 2013 and that tried and failed to buy TSB from Lloyds, is closing. In 2010 NBNK had raised £50 million in an IPO with the aim of financing European banks. Six years later, it didn’t have a single investment to show for it” (Avery, 2016).

WL Ross & Co. LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, is a private equity firm that was founded in 2000. WL Ross registered as an investment adviser with the Commission in April 2007. WL Ross is headquartered in New York, New York. Since 2006, WL Ross has been wholly owned by Invesco Private Capital, Inc., a subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., a publicly traded company (collectively, “Invesco”). WL Ross provides investment advisory services to the WLR Funds and other private equity funds, as well as to separately managed accounts and co-investment vehicles. According to its most recent Form ADV filing as of April 21, 2016, WL Ross has approximately $4.6 billion in assets under management” (Service Exchange Commission, 2016).

“Between 2001 and 2011, WL Ross adopted a Transaction Fee allocation methodology that resulted in WLR retaining a significant amount of those fees for itself rather than allocating them to the WLR Funds for the purpose of offsetting the management fee. Specifically, WL Ross allocated Transaction Fees that it earned from portfolio investments to the WLR Funds based upon their relative ownership percentages of the portfolio company without disclosing this practice. As a result, WL Ross retained for itself that portion of the Transaction Fees that was based upon co-investors’ relative ownership of the portfolio company, without subjecting such fees to any management fee offsets. WLR did not disclose to the WLR Funds and to the Funds’ limited partners that it would allocate Transaction Fees according to the above allocation methodology, and that WLR construed the ambiguous provisions in the relevant LPAs in its own favor rather than the WLR Funds’ favor. If WL Ross had instead adopted a methodology requiring the allocation of all Transaction Fees pro rata among the investing WLR Funds (and other WLR funds that also had offset provisions) and offset the WLR Funds’ management fees accordingly, the WLR Funds (and other WLR funds that also had offset provisions) would have received the benefit of all Transaction Fees received by WL Ross. WL Ross received approximately $10.4 million more in management fees using the selected methodology than if it had allocated Transaction Fees pro rata among the WLR Funds for management fee offset purposes during the relevant time period” (Security Exchange Commission, 2016).

Earning money on failing business:

“In May the board of NBNK, made up of private equity firm WL Ross & Co’s senior vice president Stephen Johnson, and Labour life peer and barrister Lord Brennan, voted in May to make the payment to WL Ross & Co for the “recovery of legal fees and other due diligence costs.” (…) “The vehicle’s most recent accounts revealed a loss for the year of £271,000, from a loss of £182,000 the previous year” (Bambrough, 2016).

“Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross has reached a deal to buy Nexeo Solutions Holdings LLC, a distributor of plastic resins and chemicals, for roughly $1.6 billion, including debt” (…) “Nexeo is currently owned by private-equity firm TPG, which purchased the company for nearly $1 billion from U.S. specialty-chemicals producer Ashland Inc (NYSE: ASH) in 2011. The deal is expected to be announced on Monday morning” (…) “WL Ross Holding will pay $500 million in cash and fund the rest of the purchase with debt, the sources told the newspaper. TPG will roll over some of its equity into the new public company, one of the people told the Journal” (DiSavino, 2016).

“The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday that the group failed to disclose its fee allocation practices, resulting in investors overpaying by $10.4m between 2001 and 2011. WL Ross was not allocating transaction fees to the funds to offset management fees, the SEC said” (…) “WL Ross also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $2.3m, but neither admitted to nor denied the SEC’s findings” (…) “We are pleased to have arrived at a resolution around historical management fee disclosure in a subset of our funds,” said Jeaneen Terrio, a spokesperson for Invesco, which bought WL Ross in 2006. “This resolution reflects a proactive approach to handling the matter and our commitment to exceeding the expectations of today’s private equity market.” (Sampson, 2016).

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Fixing Irish Economy:

As an investor in Bank of Ireland, it would be a surprise if Ross thought otherwise – after all he needs to recoup his investment and more. But he is one of the world’s most successful turnaround financiers – his involvement in the turnaround of over $200bn of distressed assets worldwide has earned him the nickname ‘king of bankruptcy’. So his words will be a boost to Ireland’s international standing” (…) “In the past few weeks of financial turmoil, Ireland has seen some faith in the international money markets restored, with 10-year bond yields down from 14% in mid-July to around 9%.” (O’Carroll, 2011).

So Donald Trump’s way of cleaning up the swamp is giving the idiom or a myth, because Wall Street connections with Washington D.C. cartels were not supposed to happen under the presidency. With the knowledge of the men he has picked in charge of the Economy, this proves that it was never a part of plan. If so Trump has a rare way of sending of the message with hiring and nominating Steven Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross.

These men have worked up fortunes and earned monies on the destruction of the American Dream. They have taken people’s hard-earned monies and created profits overnight. These men have used sophisticated limited liabilities companies, hedge-funds and transactions to earn monies on failed houses and companies. With ease the men and woman could be stifled even the government banks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the foreclosed homes has even been a bargain. These men are supposed to create industry and the regulations for the finance industry. Together with the creations of consolidation funds and the roll-over money from the government; so that the debt could be staying longer as Mnuchin believes even can be put into 100 year bonds. That could create an unknown inflation of funds and also of the regulations of the combined currency in the market. Something that Wall Street people sees it as an opportunity.

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Donald Trump has seeking to revamp the economy with men who are connected with the biggest investors of our time, with the families and using all kind of tricks to earn coins for themselves. Even the SEC has fined the companies of Mr. Ross for misbehaving with funds and with commissions, these men that has used ways of loop-holing the finance industry; the finance industry they now will steer. This can only be for the freedom of the giant companies and the wealth they have created in the market place on other people’s misery.

Trump has picked and nominated men who’s greed extend nearly no boundaries, these men will not drain a swamp or even follow up the promises on the campaign. They will continue and less regulates the economy. That might bring back the recession or even depression as the richer get wealthier and the poor will not become the middle-class.

These men has surely will secure the class there are set in and want to be part of. The one that they have been parts of and will secure the future of. These are not working-class friendly men who connect with the Indiana, Minnesota and Mississippi. So Trump clearly only a one-man show for the façade and not the real deal, sort of like a government acting on the Trump University philosophy: “You’re selling a feeling, not a product” and the same does the Trump Organization and now the Trump Administration.

The lie this time is the draining the swamp, the corporate parts of Washington D.C. politics and elites, as Trump chooses the same or even more wealthier businessmen who has more connections inside Wall Street and has more conflict of interest than before. The Trump Administration in the White House will be filled with men who have their business at heart and not the citizens who voted for him. Peace.

Reference:

Avery, Helen – ‘Banking: Wilbur Ross chases shadows’ (May 2016) Link: http://www.euromoney.com/Article/3551137/Banking-Wilbur-Ross-chases-shadows.html?copyrightInfo=true

Bambrough, Billy – ‘US billionaire investor Wilbur Ross picks up £280,000 from the ashes of NBNK’ (04.07. 2016) link: http://www.cityam.com/244546/us-billionaire-investor-wilbur-ross-picks-up–ashes

Blackburn, Daniel – ‘OneWest Bank pays 7 figures in mortgage fraud case’ (11.09.2013) link: https://calcoastnews.com/2013/09/onewest-bank-pays-7-figures-mortgage-fraud-case/

CIT.com – ‘CIT Announces Resignation of Steven T. Mnuchin from Board of Directors’ (02.12.2016) link: http://news.cit.com/press-release/corporate-news/cit-announces-resignation-steven-t-mnuchin-board-directors

Dreier, Peter – ‘The Worst of Wall Street: Meet Donald Trump’s Finance Chairman’ (10.05.2016) link: https://www.thenation.com/article/the-worst-of-wall-street-meet-donald-trumps-finance-chairman/

DiSavino, Scott – ‘Wilbur Ross to buy Nexeo from TPG for $1.6 billion: source’ (20.03.2016) link: http://www.streetinsider.com/Mergers+and+Acquisitions/Wilbur+Ross+to+buy+Nexeo+from+TPG+for+$1.6+billion%3A+source/11434492.html

McCaulay, Scott – ‘Controversial Film Financier Steven Mnuchin Joins Trump Campaign as National Finance Chairman’ (05.05.2016) link: https://filmmakermagazine.com/98428-controversial-film-financier-steven-mnuchin-joins-trump-campaign-as-national-finance-chairman/

Hughes, Trevor – ‘Trump calls to ‘drain the swamp’ of Washington’ (18.10.2016) link: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2016/10/18/donald-trump-rally-colorado-springs-ethics-lobbying-limitations/92377656/

Huus, Kari – ‘Homeowner taps ‘Occupy’ protest to avoid foreclosure’ (17.10.2011) link: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44908122/ns/us_news-life/t/homeowner-taps-occupy-protest-avoid-foreclosure/#.WEHO5fnhDIU

O’Carroll, Lisa – ‘Ireland will be ‘Celtic Tiger’ again – Wilbur Ross’ (31.08.2011) link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/ireland-business-blog-with-lisa-ocarroll/2011/aug/31/ireland

Samson, Adam – ‘WL Ross in $14.1m settlement with US over fee disclosures’ (24.08.2016) link: https://www.ft.com/content/e8424f8f-5031-3d50-941b-a51ccaa07980

Security Exchange Commission – ‘Release No. 4494 / August 24, 2016 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING File No. 3-17491’ (24.08.2016)

Trump, Donald J. – ‘TRUMP PLEDGES TO DRAIN THE SWAMP AND IMPOSE CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS’ (18.10.2016) link: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/trump-pledges-to-drain-the-swamp

Brexit: Davis Davis proposition today not such an exit after all; pre-Brexit has proven implications for Central Bank of Ireland and Ofcom!

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I am sure today that Yes Minister is fitting as the quotes in Parliament and the previous uttering words of Boris Johnson about free-movement that counter all the work of the Brexiteers during campaigning for the cause. The work that we’re to pretend that the separation from the continent would be peaceful and jolly; but the Brexiteers didn’t know and the Tories still doesn’t know.

Therefore I begin with this a re-cap of TV in 1981:

“Sir Humphrey Appleby: Well, Minister, I’m afraid that is the penalty we have to pay for trying to pretend that we’re Europeans. Believe me, I fully understand your hostility to Europe.

James Hacker: I’m not like you, Humphrey. I’m pro-Europe, I’m just anti-Brussels. I sometimes think you’re anti-Europe and pro-Brussels” (Yes Minister – ‘The Devil You Know (#2.5)” (1981).

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Today the Brexit-Minister Hon. Davis Davis uttered these wonderful words in Parliament:

“The simple answer we have given to this before is, and it’s very important because there is a distinction between picking off an individual policy and setting out a major criteria, and the major criteria here is that we get the best possible access for goods and services to the European market. If that is included in what you are talking about then of course we would consider it.” (Watts, 2016).

So the ones leaving is now changing terms, they want to set standards that opens the market. While still being outside the Union, so the Brexiteers wants now to get the full benefit while being outside. This doesn’t fit with the hazardous statements from Martin Schulz and Jean-Claude Juncker who has said their peace about an easy transition!

Certainly the European Union wants to make an example of the United Kingdom and their markets; they have to pay dearly to be part of it, while wanting to secure their borders and movement. Now, the Davis Davis wants its simplified.

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Irish Central Bank sees this already:

“He said the Central Bank’s workforce planning for next year reflects the additional resource needed to deal with applications and contingency has been built in as it is expected that the financial sector will grow materially” (…) “Mr Roux told reporters after the Dublin event today that the Central Bank was seeing applications for new business and the licensing of firms who are not present here” (…) “He also said it was seeing very significant indications from “regulated firms that are small today but want to be big tomorrow” (…) “We see the whole gamut of firms enquiring for establishing or growing in Ireland, it is MIFID (markets in financial instruments directive) firms, insurance companies, CSDs (central securities depositories) and payments institutions,” he added” (Rte, 2016).

So when businesses are looking towards Dublin, which is in EU and already part of the European Single Market; the London based firms might move to Dublin to secure their profit-lines and such. Even the Central Bank of Ireland is seeing this. This must really hurt the Brexiteers who fought well, but didn’t think of the implications. Davis Davis sees this now and wants to be able to go out of being EU Member State, but still being part of EU Single Market.

That is really the Norwegian EFTA model, but they will have hard time and pay lots of funds to get what they have now and would also betray the democratic values of majority vote that wanted a true separation, which this isn’t. Then the Tories will do the same trick as the Norwegian Government did to their public, when they signed the EFTA and made agreements to join the EU Single Market, but not having the EU Member State privileges. Something the United Kingdom is losing with triggering the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

This is so special and so weird. That Hon. Davis Davis are acting and flip-flopping like this. Surely the warning from Ofcom must say something as well:

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“Chief executive Sharon White said that the industries her organisation oversees are “inextricably European” and could be badly hit if they are not taken into consideration when arranging the UK’s exit for the EU” (…) “Making Brexit a success matters for communications – because these services are fundamental to our lives,” she told the Institute for Government in London” (…) “She said: “The country of origin rule is a good example of an EU law that benefits member states and supports broadcasters – providing a mass audience, and promoting cultural exchange by transcending borders” (…) “But keeping this principle after Brexit will demand constructive discussions with European neighbours. Country of origin cannot endure merely by virtue of existing in UK law.” (Sky News, 2016).

So with this the broadcasters like Ofcom and Central Bank of Ireland sees the implications of the Brexit with their bare eyes. The indications are not put in light of joy and positive future, as the Irish might get more business, this means that corporations moving to Dublin instead London, because of the safety of EU Single Market that the Hon. Davis Davis wish to keep and pay Brussels, but if the EU will accept it is mere speculation.

The Tories government has decides as the Prime Minister Theresa May has to make decisions that makes the Brexit successful. But early November 2016 a leaked memo showed that the government hadn’t done due diligence or check and balance for the industries. Which is evident with the corporations planning to move and Ofcom are sceptic to the Brexit itself.

Therefore the reactions to the Brexit will continue to come for businesses and for the Parliament; the House of Commons would surely be a bit shocked by the proposition from the Brexit Minister. We all are, not like Irish paying for Welsh roads, but still spectacular thinking about how the Brexit Campaign celebrated the idea of total freedom from EU. Now they want the perks, as long as the EU accepts the fixed payments for the entry to the Single Market. Peace.

Reference:

Rte – ‘Central Bank not seeking to dissuade UK financial firms from moving to Ireland – Roux’ (01.12.2016) link: http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2016/1201/835805-central-bank-says-not-dissuading-brexit-moves/

Sky News – ‘Ofcom boss warns of Brexit impact on UK communications sector’ (01.12.2016) link: http://news.sky.com/story/ofcom-boss-warns-of-brexit-impact-on-uk-communications-sector-10679371

Watts, Joe – ‘Brexit: David Davis says UK Government could pay money to EU for single market access’ (01.12.2016) link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-single-market-access-david-davis-eu-money-uk-a7449416.html

Hon. Moses Nagwon Petiton on UNRA continuing giving Contracts without “due-dilligence” on Dott Services (06.10.2016)

unra-dott-service-27-10-2016-p1unra-dott-service-27-10-2016-p2unra-dott-service-27-10-2016-p3unra-dott-service-27-10-2016-p4

Uganda Telecom Press Statement on the Economic Situation of the Company (25.11.2016)

utel-press-release-25-11-2016

Uganda: Letter on Officer’s of the ‘Food Security and Rainfall Awareness Country Campaign’ (18.11.2016)

uganda-awareness-campaign

Statement Regarding Revocation of Relief to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. from Certain Regulatory Consequence of Enforcement Actions (18.11.2016)

wells-fargo-18-11-2016

A look into the famine of Isingiro district!

famine-ug

Our economy is on a downward trend. The majority are hurting. Businesses are closing. Tax collections are down. Citizens are dying of famine in Karamoja and Isingiro, so far. But the President is quiet, only busy campaigning and buying votes for 2021 and wasting our scarce resources on numerous useless foreign trips” (Wafula Oguttu, 28.10.2016).

“Climate: Equatorial climate with Mean annual rainfall of 1,200mm and temperature range between 170C to 300C. Rain season during the months of March to April and September to November” (Isingiro District Economic Profile – Ministry of Trade Industry & Cooperatives, www.mtic.go.ug ). So you can see that the estimated rain has not come to the district as the rainy season has not happen and the annual rainfall must be less or none of what is expected in Isingiro. Therefore the draught and hunger happens as the government has none or no services or relief to their citizens. Therefore the dire reports is to show how neglectful and spread the news of the failure of the NRM and their 30 years an counting President delivers steady regress on yet another field.

“We shall get water from River Kagera but we have some problem with Tanzania, we wanted to build a power dam on River Kagera but they delayed to agree to the deal, that river is not ours only, it is shared. There is, however, a new leadership (in Tanzania). Let us see how we work with them. If it will not be possible, we shall turn to River Rwizi and Lake Nakivale,”Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on 11th January 2016 in Isingiro District during his campaign earlier this year.

m7-isingiro-clean-water

There are reports of famine and hunger crisis in Isingiro district in Uganda. Just of yesterday alone there people dying and that is just the beginning. This is a district that has been famous for great production of Banana (Matooki) farming, the worst hit district in Isingiro region is Bukahanga County. The river that has been necessary for watering the fields have become dry and less viable that is River Kagera; the severe draught has also caused the deaths of livestocks of the district as well.

On the 19th October it was reported that 9 people had died. On the 29th October 13 people died this last week.

“People in Isingiro district are dyeing due to total famine in the area, the famine in the area has been caused by prolonged drought in the area which is said to have been caused by swamp drainage and forest encroachment in the area, tens of people have already kicked the bucket in the county of Bukanga and others are following“ (Stillhope Foundation, 25.10.2016).

“Following a huge calamity that befell Isingiro district, in terms of floods, draught and hail storms most people have been seen leaving the district to other neighboring district for safety. Most affected sub counties include Bukanga, Kashumba,Rushasha, Ngarama, Rugaaga among others” (Glory 106.7 FM, 28.10.2016).

Just as the dying livestock, the number of cows that has died been reported up to 5,000 and the draught the prices of food is evolving, like a cow cost now 20,000 shillings. There reports that school children suffer through classes as they are not able to focus through class and memorize the knowledge, as they are suffering through the classes with empty stomachs. By October this draught has lasted for 7 months and still counting. There been also reports that the people of Isingiro now walk for 20 kilometers for water needed to boil their food, as the reports are even of people eating raw Papaya or Paw Paw to redeem their hunger for a while.

While this is happening there are no words from the Local Councilor (LCV) Jeremiah Kamurari over the draught or the famine. The utter silence from the state shows the desperation of the matter.

Old report of the River Kagera water system:

Kagera Water System: The secondary and tertiary tributaries of the water system are U-shaped with permanent and seasonal swamps and drains into Kagera River. It drains the parts of Bukanga and Isingiro Counties” (…) “The permanent swamps are dominated by Cyperus and Typha domingesis while the seasonal flooding edges and enchroached parts of wetlands are occupied by the sedges. The floating vegetation occurs in open waters especially the invasive weed of the water hyacinth which still exists in River Kagera, Kizimbi wetland and River Rwizi” (…) “Kagera System – Threats: Degraded river bank – with seasonal crops. Opening of virgin area for agriculture. A lot of siltation. Water hyacinth” (Jeconius Musingwe and Godfrey Rugyema – ‘FINAL DRAFT MBARARA DISTRICT WETLAND INVENTORY REPORT’ (P: 8, 11 & 17), September 2002).

With this in mind, the knowledge of making the Kagera Water System, that could lead into dangers, which are now evident. It is man-made created, not climate-change, but local produced water system that the drainage and river bank doesn’t work like they did, because of the local change of flow of water and such. We can question if the project and drainage together with the loss of rain has made the draught much worse. The implication if is there was a drainage and project on the River Kagera, than the draught might had less impact; that is something should be discussed and not forgotten. The man-made problems are not new anywhere, it is just about the happen and this time it was in Isingiro district. The sad thing is that families are powerless towards the Government and their will. The same is the Government is powerless to change weather and the rain falling from the sky.

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The good news from the district is that the Government has been able in recent month to build a Staff Quarter for the Isingiro Government Prison. So the Government has been able to do something, but not to get food for the starving public or gain interest of the media to see if the Central Government in Parliament to act upon the hunger. They are just waiting for the gravy train together with Tanzania, because of building a Power Dam, instead of thinking of the agricultural value and the livestock that is dying in the area. This is something to pound on? Yes! People should be more important than a Power Dam. Though the NRM seems to think differently; that is proven as the draught and such has not changed the behavior of the regime. Peace!   

Kingdom of Hawaii asks Wells Fargo to Cease and Desist Energy Trading Partners L.P. conserning Dakota Access Pipeline (29.10.2016)

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Kenya Airways Statement: Flights Cancellations (16.10.2016)

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