Zimbabwe: United Bulawayo Hospitals – “Re: Industrial Action by Junior Doctors” (20.02.2017)

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UN allocates $21 million to help thousands in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan (20.02.2017)

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Black First Land First march to the South African Reserve Bank (19.02.2017)

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Public Protector’s preliminary report found that ABSA illegally benefited from apartheid cash injections from the South African Reserve Bank.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, February 19, 2017 – On Friday, the Black First Land First (BLF) movement marched to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) (APO.af/JsJaEi) to demand that the institution act on the Public Protector’s preliminary report which found that ABSA illegally benefited from apartheid cash injections from the SARB.

BLF joined the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) recently in a march to ABSA headquarters (APO.af/Y21xVq) to demand that #ABSAmustPay. The Public Protector, Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane, found that ABSA should pay R3.2 billion.

BLF said they wanted the SARB to take seriously and act on findings of the CIEX report, which investigated money stolen during the late stages of institutionalised apartheid. The report found that R26 billion could be immediately recoverable.

The aim of the march was to also implore the SARB to punish corrupt banks, ABSA, Standard Bank and Investec, which the Competition Commission found (APO.af/VsZ1A9) had manipulated and fixed the rand/dollar price.

Opinion: SPLM/A government has the wrong priorities with building Ramciel city!

South Sudan Cartoon

We can be sure that General Salva Kiir Mayardiit must be proud of the agreement done with the Kingdom of Morocco that has offered a fortune to build the new capital city of Ramciel. This is apparently very important for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) who is already mixed in a dozens of issues. That the movement of Juba capital shouldn’t be the focus, but here is the agreement made earlier in February!

The agreement between the nations:

“South Sudan and Morocco have signed four partnership agreements and five Memoranda of Understanding covering areas of health, education, mining and infrastructural development.

The deals include an agreement on the building of the South Sudan Capital in Ramciel which cabinet approved shortly after independence in 2011.

The agreements were on:

  • General Operation
  • The building of the Capital Ramciel
  • Promotion and protection of investment
  • Avoidance of double taxation and prevention of physical invasion with respect to taxes and income. The documents were signed by ministers from both countries in the presence of President Salva Kiir and King Mohamed VI” (Radio Miraya, 02.02.2017).

So the Kiir Government and Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) has focused on the wrong things these days, as even court justices, ministers and others are deflecting, as the fighting with rebels and other fractions are weakening the central leadership. So the news of this is absolutely bonkers:

“President Kiir appointed FVP Gen. Taban Deng Gai to head the Ramciel city project committee. The project is scheduled to start before May. Taban Deng Gai has been winning the trust of his career mate, His Excellency President Kiir” (South Sudan News, 17.02.2017).

So the man who took the place of Dr. Riek Machar who is fighting the SPLM/A government with his SPLM-IO fraction, the reality is that the Central Government is so fixated on the Ramciel building that they have continued to work on it:

“The order also named Nhial Deng Nhial, senior presidential advisor and special envoy for diplomatic affairs, as deputy chairperson of the committee. The committee members include the presidential advisor on legal affairs and constitutional development, Lawrence Korbandy, minister of finance, Stephen Dhieu Dau, minister in the office of the president, Mayiik Ayii Deng and minister of petroleum, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth” (South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, 19.02.2017).

So that President Kiir is using time forming a working committee to work on building a new capital, instead of securing peace and shielding the citizens. The government is not using funds or securing the inflation, they are not making sure the people who go without water, food or shelter. Instead they are fixated on building a new town to have the main buildings. A new administrational seat instead of the one they have had for a long time. So they are creating a new administrative seat, so they might have a commercial seat and the administrative in the South Sudan. Still, the issue is that nation is grappling with such giant issues that should not contain city or town building at the moment.

With over a million citizens abroad, with drought, with lack of food and armed battles with rebellion, as well as problems of raping soldiers and such, the administrative seat of government, should be the least of concern. The problem of getting petroleum export and pipelines sufficiently works, so the petro-dollars come’s safe in the state coffers too.

In 2011: “MP Andrew Acijok told Good News Radio that legislators representing Greater Yirol met on Saturday and they raised concerns about the governor’s appointment. He said an appointee from Greater Yirol would be more familiar with the background of the new capital and would be of greater assistance to the committee. Mr. Acijok stated that the communities around Ramciel have given the land for the development of the new South Sudan capital for free. Mr. Acijok said traditional songs show that Ramciel had local residents for close to two centuries. He added that Ramciel natives offered the land to Dr. John Garang be used by the national government. On September 2, 2011, South Sudanese ministers designated Ramciel as the site for a planned capital city. The place, an open space in Lakes state, is considered the geographic centre of South Sudan” (Catholic Radio Network, 14.09.2011).

So the modernization should be more than enough to focus on and to secure the current capital. Because the other dire issues and unfixed problems in the domain. All the people that are in the limbo, that is in refugee camps in Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya. That the spies of South Sudan are following into these camps and nations to pick-out the rebels inside the neighbour nations. This been told by resigned officials that they even went this far. So the missing South Sudanese could easily been taken by South Sudanese officials and their friends in EAC nations. When we know that the United Nations blue-helmets, MONUSCO could safely transfer SPLM-IO into the republic of Sudan and to Khartoum during the month of July, 2017.

The knowledge of all of this, the dying need for food for so many with the drought, the instability of the arms and battles between forces, as the government army and rebels are trying to controls areas. The government should use the manpower and the arms to secure the population and not to use time to build a new capital. That is waste of the Kingdom of Morocco donor aid and also the spent man-hours that the South Sudanese authorities shouldn’t need to use. The building of the Ramciel instead of Juba is misusing the capacity and the structures that already there. Instead of building stronger institutions and using the time to focus on needed restructuring and negotiating peace with rebels. The Government are getting busy on a project instead of trying to build a lasting peace.

The South Sudanese authorities and government should focus on building the nation, building the institutions, building the legal framework and the civil society, instead their focusing on building a town and city. That is not a key issue or pressing demand; the demand is to show up and be there for the citizens that fleeing violence, killing and lacking shelter. Even lacks peaceful villages to grow food and sell it on the market. Now, it is time for something else than fancy projects, but instead being there for the people. Peace.

Opinion: KANU might be steering wildfire between the camps of Ruto and Kenyatta!

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The new-born fresh party Jubilee Party and their marketing team has open wound after the signalled agreement between Kenya African National Union (KANU) party that even President Uhuru Kenyatta was the chairman of at one point. This is the party that is now lead by the son of former President Daniel Arap Moi, which is still not pivotal and important in the political landscape. So Gideon Moi and Nick Salat fate is in the hands of who they are vouching for.

Gideon Moi is living his father’s name his and his reputation, as the KANU still has suction. Therefore the meeting in Kabarak between Kenyatta and Moi, shows the fragmented and the way of buying in deals to hopefully gain a bigger piece of the pie in the coming election. So for Jubilee to have a wider and broader base, they are even trading ministerial posts to KANU ministers as well, as the ones who are stalwart candidates in the Jubilee, as the coalition went from a dozen parties into one. Certainly some must feel left behind in the trade-off as the KANU will gain more power with little effort, as Kenyatta sold some slots to Gideon Moi and Nick Salat.

Even Kenyatta wrote this himself on his position in April 2012: “I also made it clear to the KANU NEC that it is my desire to seek elective office in the coming general election. As a result, and in compliance with the new Constitution and the Political Parties Act that no State officer can hold a party position, I will, therefore, not seek any position in Kanu. It is thus incumbent upon the Secretary-General, as mandated by the NEC meeting at Naivasha last December, to ensure that Kenya’s mother party complies. I have twice called the National Delegates Conference, but called them off because of sideshows instigated by the Secretary-General, who has been an obstacle to the process of compliance. He must understand that his or others’ ambition in the party can only be achieved if the party complies with the law” (Kenyatta, 12.04.2012).

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So he is well aware of the party and their stakeholders, as he knows the legal terms of the party and their ways of dealing with candidates, as he himself was MP in the KANU party. Deputy President William Ruto must feel the challenge of his future, when the presence of the KANU clan arrives to the plate. Some thought that Gideon Moi was going to NASA, but that was certainly only to scare Kenyatta from having the Rift Valley voters in the bag. A certainty of this is needed for a second term of the Jubilee Alliance Party.

The questions remain if the Jubilee really tried to get Wiper Democratic Movement (WDM) Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka as the NASA/Cord still haven’t picked their Presidential Flag-Bearer, and wants to stop the progress of the opposition. We have also heard rumors that the Jubilee Alliance party have tried to drag in the Amani National Congress (ANC) Musalia Mudavadi to the National Party. So you know that Jubilee will offer anything to stop the alliance and the coalition of the opposition.

Jubilee under Kenyatta and Ruto has been through storms, created massive frauds and stolen funds like none before, as well as the state borrowed more funds to fix the budgets. Therefore the Kenyan state isn’t as strong as it should be. Also, they we’re also supporting the Presidential bid of Museveni, without getting his nod to build petroleum pipeline from Lake Albert basin to Lamu port. So the Kenyan government has also suffered their big risks without getting rewards.

So now the old dynasties are resurfacing with the Kenyatta and Moi collaborations. We can now see the DP Ruto is shadowed by the KANU ministers and candidates. William Ruto, the stubborn leader will not say this himself, but he should not like after the sealed agreement between 13 parties, that a fourteenth gets the front-seat without the negotiations. That must hurt the pride of the former leader of United Republican Party (URP). However, Ruto must feel a sting in his pride when knowing that Kenyatta went to trade favours with former President Moi.

That the Kabarak meetings were occurring and Jubilee trading places to safely securing votes of some districts before August. This even comes from the reliable blogger Robert Alai Onyango: “Jubilee scheming to replace Ruto with Gideon Moi. Moi has instructed Gideon Moi to do all he can to stop Ruto. Mama Ngina also met Moi to find ways of stopping Ruto. The politics is getting interesting and might see some realignments” (…) “But the schemers really fear that Ruto’s fight-back might be ruthless. Ruto’s camp not happy. Things are thick!!!” (Robert Alai Onyango, 19.02.2017).

So if this is true, the issues between the Ruto and Kenyatta will surface, as well as the mediator Moi will tangle in-between. Certainly the trade-off between Jubilee and Daniel Arap Moi servers them both; Ruto if he wants to keep his friendship and has put his all in the Jubilee, has to live in the midst of the Kenyatta and Moi dynasty. Ruto can still be power player and will be inside the midst of ruling regime. Jubilee are running and they cannot all of sudden change his position, but for 2022 there now will be a KANU leader wanting to throw shade, as Kenyatta second term would be over. Even as NASA/Cord tries to intervene and tries to challenge, you can put doubt, when Gideon has tried the waters and still played the cards for Jubilee.

Kenyatta Ruto Madaraka Day 2016

As Gideon wrote in January 2017: “However, the remarks made by Hon. Nick Salat, the Secretary General of KANU today at the Bomas of Kenya are his personal sentiments and do not reflect in any way the position of the party on the matter of an election coalition at this juncture” (…) “KANU policies and decisions are guided by the party’s constitution which stipulates that such a decision must first be discussed by the supreme decision making organ of the party, the National Delegates Conference (NDC) upon a resolution” (KANU, 11.01.2017).

Still we can now know that Daniel Arap Moi still has suction and still will use his political game-plan to still have his family in power, by any means and by supporting the family that gave him power as well. So the Kenyan politics is still filled with the men and woman, of the ones that was involved in the liberation of state from United Kingdom. Therefore we are speaking about Kenyatta and Moi, while Odinga is side-lined by the KANU yet again, just like his father back-in-day. Peace.

Embassy of Burundi in Tanzania: “Request the Government of Tanzania to arrest those wanted Burundians who are now in Arusha for Inter Burundi Dialouge” (17.02.2017)

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Opinion: Please, Pastor Evan Mawarire not run for President!

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“If the opportunity presents itself . . . why not?” Mawarire said after he was asked about his presidential aspirations during an interview on Thursday” (…) “I don’t want to close the door on myself,” he added” (…) “He said “let people be allowed to do things that they feel and see if they will be able to bring change” (Machamire, 2017).

Let’s be perfectly clear, I respect and want to honour the activist and caring citizen Pastor Evan Mawarire, for his struggle and commitment for a better Zimbabwe. I salute you and your work for a better nation. Zimbabwe deserves liberty, freedom and justices for others than just the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) elite, like President Robert Mugabe and Gucci Mugabe.

So the struggle and hard work for social justice and a transparent society is worth every second that Mawarire uses for it. That Mawarire has been and is the leading champion of the poor and the ones who doesn’t have the courage to stand against the Zanu-PF elite, is not only Noble, but a proof of that for him it isn’t just words for him. Mawarire is a man I look up-to and wished I had the same drive against corruption, impunity and unjust behaviour from central government.

Since of that, I want to say to him something that is strange, but what I had in mind when I saw his interview in clips on Al-Jazeera this morning. On the aftermath that the Zimbabwean people will be electing President Mugabe even when he is dozing off in his casket. That is sad state of affairs and the proof of lacking governance in the Republic. Still, I want to ask Evan Mawarire, don’t go for public office!

Why? You might risk your voice and your possibility to trade your ethics and your standing amongst the ones who fight for justice. Mawarire you will trade-off against a rigged system and in the midst of burning of fire. The opportunities to be traded and negotiated away as the offices and the positions are offered. Just look at how the little power and the lesser acts of government titles has eaten away the changing rhetoric and public standing for Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

With that in mind, I am afraid of the future of Pastor Evan Mawarire and his #ThisFlag movement, if it goes from an activist and political influencer to being a political party. Than the initial organization and acts will be to comply and working in harmony with the political structures, instead of changing and knocking on the doors of a rotten regime.

All that matters is rule of law and stop the impunity, it might resurrect and get people active in ways that never has happen before, might even create more havoc and more public uprising than when MDC and Tsvangirai in 2002:

“he Zimbabwe registrar-general, Tobaiwa Mudede, declared that Mr Mugabe had won a fifth term in office after the results from all 120 constituencies were returned. He said Mr Mugabe had won 1,685,212 votes against 1,258,401 for challenger Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)” (…) “We foresaw electoral fraud but not daylight robbery,” Mr Tsvangirai said. “We find ourselves unable to endorse the purported election of President Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s president in this election. It’s the biggest election fraud I’ve witnessed in my life.” (McGreal & MacAskill, 2003).

So when he did this in 2002 and was 78 year old, now that he is 93 years old and still going, even running for next term in the coming election. The place and time for Evan Mawarire is problematic. Tsvangirai was running a big campaign and even did everything right before losing to a fraudulent election in 2002.

The same might happen as the Zanu-PF machinery will be in all-out and with all force against anyone going to question the Mugabe Administration. They will all suffer and struggle a hazardous part, no matter on what ethical ground or what policies that Mawarire will run on, the risk of losing all goodwill and all the activists. You cannot drain the system and drag it automatically with you. The people will easily be behind a man who has integrity and has the moral backbone as you have Mawarire. You are a rare breath and one out of a few. Therefore I don’t want to risk what you have for the uncertainty.

The uncertainty, the lacking machinery and the strength against the biggest and longest serving party for one-man party under Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Mugabe has been able to get enough loyalist and enough monies to pay off the ones that could question him. Certainly he will pay and rig the next election like ever before. Mugabe will use security forces, the police and army veterans to vamp-up the people to be behind long-serving president by any means.

President Mugabe, will be fierce and unapologetic against Mawarire, he has already addressed him in unfavourable ways. Therefore don’t run if you want to weaken your station and your space. You have loyalty because you have nothing to lose! Your place as an activist and a voice for the people is more worth than a title and raise for public office. You might lose many on the way, as your views and ideas of health-care, industrial policies or taxes might shrug the people of Bulawayo off! Mawarire, you never know if your policies and your programme will be selling in the minds of all Zimbabweans. No matter how Draconian the current leadership and administration is.

So please honourable and steady freedom fighter, activist and the voice of the people, don’t run for public office, don’t trade off your place and risk losing your integrity and work for justice for silver coins in office and as a politician. So many good leaders and honourable men have been eaten by office and by political life. Don’t be another civilian loosing it’s wealth of integrity over cheap tricks in office. This is a little plea from far away. Just a reminder of your power and your reach as the man you are now! Peace.

Reference:

Machamire, Farayi – ‘I would run for Presidency’ (18.02.2017) link: http://nehandaradio.com/2017/02/18/run-presidency-mawarire/#sthash.JBnCg5eU.dpuf

McGreal, Chris & MacAskill, Ewen – ‘Mugabe victory leaves west’s policy in tatters’ (14.03.2002) link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/14/zimbabwe.chrismcgreal

RDC: Communique du Gouvernement – “Sur le film des militants du Kasai Oriental” (18.02.2017)

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RDC: Communique du Rassemblement par rapport aux images diffusées par les réseaux sociaux d’un carnage perpétré par les éléments des FARDC au Kasai (18.02.2017)

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Kenya: Misleading Media Reports on Regulatory Tool for Curbing Counterfeit Devices on Mobile Networks (18.02.2017)

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