Kenya: KQ Saga continues with “KALPA not withdrawing the strike notice but rather deferrring it to later date” (17.10.2016)

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Kenya Airways Statement: Flights Cancellations (16.10.2016)

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Kenya: Press Statement addressing Budgetary Allocation in Counties (14.10.2016)

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Members of the Press,
Citizens of Kenya,
We address you today after recent coverage in the dailies portraying counties to be misusing funds allocated to them. County Governments have achieved much since the inception of the devolved system of governance and each county can readily demonstrate what they have achieved in each sector.
In line with this, the Council of Governors would like to clarify some things and the set the record straight.
ACCESS TO OVERDRAFT FACILITIES
• Counties are now able to access overdrafts from the Central bank for operations at 5% of the latest audited revenue and to be repaid within a year.
• The Central Bank of Kenya is in the process of preparing guideline since they have clearance from the Attorney General on the interpretation of the law in line with Article 212(b) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and Sec 140(1) of the PFM Act 2012.
The borrowing will cushion Counties financial constraints necessitated by delay in disbursement of the equitable share from the National Treasury.

UTILIZATION OF FUNDS BY COUNTY GOVERNMENTS
• According to the Controller of Budgets report for the past nine months, County Governments spent Kshs.7.15 billion on domestic and foreign travel of which Kshs.2.9Billion by the County Assembly and Kshs.4.115 Billion by the County Executive.
• The National Government Ministries and departments spent Kshs.8.023Billion in the same period of which Kshs.2.6Billion was spent by the National Assembly.
• The report further indicates that the National Government spent Kshs.107.862Billion being 26.9% of the total recurrent expenditure (Kshs.400.33Billion) on other unclassified expenditure.

WHAT DEVOLUTION HAS DONE FOR THE PEOPLE OF KENYA
• Since the advent of devolution, there is evidence to show that the people of Kenya have experienced a lot of positive change especially in service delivery. Health services are more accessible in the rural areas and more affordable. In 2012, there were 8,466 health centers and dispensaries, currently the numbers stand at 10,032 health facilities.
• Counties have employed more health care personnel. In 2013 there were 874 doctors and 6,620 nurses, the statics today stand at 1,302 doctors and 8,903 nurses in the county health facilities.
• Infant mortality rate has dropped to 39% per every 1000 live births as opposed 62% per every 1000 live births before devolution.
• In Agriculture there has been an increase in crop and livestock production. 132 Value addition projects have been instituted in 34 Counties; 1,021 greenhouses installed in 36 Counties; and 911 cattle dips have been constructed and rehabilitated in 28 Counties.
• 541,627 farmers have access to extension services with the aim of improving productivity.
• Counties have witnessed a 20% increase in enrollment of students in the ECD centers. In 2013, the ECD enrollment stood at 1,691,286, today it stands at 2,074,060. Additionally, 30,049 teachers and assistants have been recruited to cater for the increased enrollment.
• County Governments have refurbished over 598 centers, built over 5,951 ECD centers and equipped them with desks in a bid to ensuring that pre-school children learn in a conducive environment.
• Counties have embraced innovative and advanced technologies like the Pro-base road construction technology which is cost effective, durable and easy to maintain. Between 2013 and 2016, County Governments have tarmacked 379 kilometers of road and constructed 35,934 kilometers of all-weather road. Furthermore, 19,148 kilometers of new roads have been opened up and 9,572 kilometers of road rehabilitated.
• In trade, new markets for locals have been constructed to facilitate trade in the counties. The numbers of markets have grown from 362 markets to 651 markets.
• In 2013, there were 1,396 cooperatives which have since grown to 1,806 cooperatives with a turnover of KES 56 billion. The Cooperative societies in Kenya are now employing more than 300,000 people besides providing opportunities for self-employment to many more.

Kenya: GoK demands action from Kenya Airways (KQ) as Kenya Airline Pilots Association planned strike (13.10.2016)

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Dadaab, Kenya: Return of Refugees to Somalia in Current Conditions ‘Inhumane and Irresponsible’ (13.10.2016)

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NAIROBI, Kenya, October 13, 2016 – As the announced closure of the world’s largest refugee camp draws closer, and thousands begin the return to war-ravaged Somalia,[1] Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for other alternatives to be urgently considered by the Government of Kenya and the UNHCR, supported by donor countries.

In a report released today by MSF, ‘Dadaab to Somalia: Pushed Back Into Peril,’ more than eight out of ten refugees surveyed say they do not want to return, with the main concerns cited including fear of forced recruitment into armed groups, sexual violence and the non-availability of healthcare. [2]

In the report, MSF also highlights the severe medical consequences of such a massive return.

It is clear that refugee camps are not the best way to manage a protracted 25-year crisis but closing them now without offering other durable solutions pushes them back to a conflict zone, where medical care is dangerously absent,” says Bruno Jochum, MSF General Director. “This decision is yet another blight on refugee protection globally, where again we see total failure in providing safe haven for people in danger. The UN itself has recently declared that five million are at risk of hunger inside Somalia. Sending back even more people to suffer is both inhumane and irresponsible.”

Somalia: an acute lack of medical care
In Dagahaley, one of the five camps which make up Dadaab, MSF medical teams have seen children arriving from Somalia having not been vaccinated against a range of preventable diseases, a telling indication of a health system torn apart by more than two decades of war where even basic care is barely existent. Pregnant women will have minimal care, putting their own lives and their unborn babies under threat. People with chronic medical conditions are also at risk – whether they are diabetics who need life-saving insulin, or people with hypertension who need ongoing treatment.

Additionally, mental health patients are in danger. In Dagahaley, 70% of MSF’s mental health patients are on medication. “If a patient with psychosis is forced to come off their medication, their cognitive function and behaviour development goes into reverse. Stuck in a country where mental health services are basically non-existent would put their lives in severe jeopardy,” says Liesbeth Aelbrecht, Head of Mission for MSF in Kenya.

A call to Kenya, the UNHCR and donor countries: other solutions urgently required
Eighty-six percent of surveyed refugees in Dagahaley do not want to go back to Somalia. Fears around insecurity were acute with nearly all – males and females – stating that the risk of sexual violence is high. MSF is therefore questioning the ‘voluntary’ nature of the returns that the UNHCR is helping facilitate.

“The fears that the refugees tell us about are real,” says Aelbrecht. “It is crucial that any return is voluntary, and refugees must have all necessary information about the services and conditions which will meet them in Somalia.”

MSF reiterates that setting up Dadaab style camps across the border is shifting responsibility and abandoning the protection of refugees. Other more durable solutions, such as smaller camps in Kenya, increased resettlement to third countries, or integration of refugees into Kenyan communities, should be urgently considered. Additionally, MSF appeals to the international community to share the responsibility with the Government of Kenya.

“It is unacceptable that – without any other solution being offered – thousands are essentially being pushed back into conflict and acute crisis: the very conditions they fled,” concludes Aelbrecht.”Kenya should not shoulder this burden alone. Funding from donor countries needs to be directed to providing sustained assistance in the country of refuge, not to supporting what will essentially be a forced return to a warzone.”

MSF does not accept any government funding for its project in Dadaab – all funding is provided by private donors.

MSF first started working in Dadaab in 1992 and is currently the only provider of medical care in Dagahaley camp. Staff are working in the 100-bed hospital in Dagahaley camp and at two health posts, providing outpatient and mental health consultations, surgery, and antenatal, HIV and TB care. Overall in 2015, teams carried out 182,351 outpatient consultations and admitted 11,560 patients to the hospital.

[1] Some 30,000 refugees have returned to Somalia since a tripartite agreement on voluntary repatriation between the Governments of Kenya and Somalia and the UNHCR was signed in November 2013. The majority of these – 24,000 – have left during the course of 2016.

[2] To understand the refugees’ concerns and needs, in July and August 2016 MSF conducted a series of discussions and interviews, and a household survey, with refugees in Dagahaley camp about their current situation and the prospect of a return to Somalia. Focus group discussions involved 75 people (42 male and 33 female) in Dagahaley camp. Interviews were carried out with 31 people including patients, MSF incentive workers and community members. The survey polled 838 heads of households (53% male and 47% female) in Dagahaley camp, with households totalling 5,470 individuals.

Kenya Airline Pilots Association Press Statement on Kenya Airways (11.10.2016)

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Murang’a County on the Northern Water Collector Tunnel (12.10.2016)

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Statement attributable to the Principal Public Information Officer, UNMISS, on Increased Incidents of Violence in South Sudan (12.10.2016)

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JUBA, South Sudan, October 12, 2016The United Nations Mission in South Sudan is extremely concerned over increased reports of violence and armed conflict in various parts of the country in the last few weeks.

UNMISS Force in Leer town have reported heavy artillery and gunfire exchanges between SPLA and  SPLA in Opposition leading to several reported deaths and the continued displacement of the civilian population in the area into the bush and swamps.

We have also received continued reports of clashes in the Equatorias, and we are verifying accounts of attacks by unidentified armed men on a civilian convoy travelling from Yei to Juba, which led to the deaths of over 20 people, including women and children, and retaliatory actions by responding military personnel, which led to the deaths of a further five civilians. The Mission is yet to be granted access to these areas to place us in a position to independently verify the reports on the ground. UNMISS has attempted to launch a number of patrols to the scene of the incident, and have been stopped on each occasion. We are in direct communication with several government agencies, including the SPLA, in order to have these restrictions to our movement lifted, as yet without success.

The Mission condemns in no uncertain terms these acts of violence and attacks against non-combatant civilians, and reiterates its urgent call for an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities, and more particularly, an end to any form of violence perpetrated against unarmed civilians, reminding all parties that such attacks may constitute serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The Mission further calls on all parties to immediately end the fighting throughout South Sudan, and further demands that they ensure that their commanders control their forces and protect civilians and their property, cease all hostilities, and work together for the good of the people of this country.

UNMISS condemns in the strongest possible terms, any calls for a return to the violence that has plagued this country, and urges all parties to cease the rhetoric of incitement, which is not the answer to South Sudan’s problems.

We encourage all parties to put the people of South Sudan first, and work to bring an end to suffering of the people of this country.

The Worsening Crisis in South Sudan (11.10.2016)

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Somalia: International Community notes Nominations for Upper House and Urges Rapid Review in line with NLF Commitments, particularly on Woman’s Representation (10.10.2016)

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