News Africa Extended

News Africa Extended

Zimbabwe to change black empowerment law

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 09:29 PM PDT

President Robert Mugabe says Zimbabwe’s controversial indigenisation and empowerment law will be amended.

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Harare - Zimbabwe will amend a black empowerment law that aims to transfer majority shares from foreign-owned firms to locals after it was blamed for deterring investment, President Robert Mugabe said on Thursday.

The indigenisation and economic empowerment law requires foreign companies, including mining firms and banks, to transfer at least 51 percent of shares to black Zimbabweans.

But implementing the policy has been difficult, with Mugabe's ministers often issuing conflicting statements.

Mugabe in April said the law was confusing businesses and made it hard for Zimbabwe to compete for foreign investment.

“The relevant Act will thus be amended to bring it into consonance with enunciated policy,” Mugabe told Parliament, without giving details.

In its current form, the empowerment policy requires foreign-owned miners like Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Aquarius Platinum to cede 51 percent shares in their local operations to the government, mining communities, employees and an empowerment trust.

Mugabe said in April mining companies would be deemed to have complied with the law if they retain 75 percent of the value generated from local minerals in Zimbabwe.

Mining accounts for more than half of all export earnings, but the southern African nation has struggled to attract large-scale investment due to the empowerment policy.

REUTERS

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Violence hinders aid in northern CAR

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 12:37 PM PDT

Fighting between rival armed groups and a string of attacks on humanitarians in northern Central African Republic has hindered the delivery of aid.

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Dakar - Fighting between rival armed groups and a string of attacks on humanitarians in northern Central African Republic has hindered the delivery of aid to about 120 000 people in need of food, agencies said on Thursday.

Violence in the town of Kaga Bandoro last month between the mainly Muslim Seleka group and Christian anti-Balaka militia killed six people and forced 3 200 to flee their homes, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

While the U.N. peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) has managed to quell the fighting and improve security, there has been a heavy spell of attacks on aid agencies, said Fabrizio Hochschild, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the country.

"The situation is always fragile in Kaga Bandoro. There is an uneasy calm at the best of times," Hochschild told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

There were more than 16 attacks on aid groups in the region in September, including assaults on humanitarians, break-ins and robberies, forcing many organisations to temporarily relocate staff and reduce or suspend their operations, according to OCHA.

"This has limited the provision of aid to one of the most desperate places in the country," said Mohamed Malick Fall of the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF), adding that one of his staff was visited at home in the night and threatened.

These staff departures have hindered the delivery of aid to 120 000 people in need of food and halted a UNICEF school feeding project for 25 000 children, OCHA said.

But aid workers who left the area are now preparing to return as security improves with an increased presence from MINUSCA, said the U.N. World Food Program (WFP).

"The improvement of the situation is evidenced by the absence of night shootings and no new cases of looting ... it has started to calm down," said Felix Gomez of the WFP.

The country has been plagued by inter-religious violence since 2013 when the Seleka seized power, prompting reprisals from the anti-Balaka militia. Despite a February election touted as a step toward reconciliation, violence is still frequent.

Eleven people were killed in clashes in the capital this week, set off by the murder of an army officer, MINUSCA said.

The fighting was a setback for the PK5 neighbourhood, a Muslim enclave in the majority Christian nation's capital of Bangui, which has been mostly peaceful since Pope Francis visited in November and urged an end to the cycle of violence.

Reuters

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The president who bulldozes graft - and other things

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 11:00 AM PDT

At first, Tanzania's new president appeared keen on smashing corruption. Then came John Pombe Magufuli's more startling decrees.

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Dodoma, Tanzania - At first, Tanzania's new president appeared keen on smashing corruption and wasteful government spending, capturing the admiration of many in the country.

Then came President John Pombe Magufuli's more startling decrees.

He banned all opposition rallies until 2020, when the next election is due. He approved a tough new cybercrime law under which some Tanzanians have been charged with insulting him in WhatsApp chats.

Less than a year after his election, Magufuli has split public opinion with what some describe as undemocratic attempts to reform the government.

Others see them as exhilarating.

The 56-year-old Magufuli has left the country only twice, to Rwanda and Uganda, since he became president, saying the savings should be directed toward social services, such as health care, to the poorest Tanzanians.

Government officials must obtain his permission before travelling abroad, and when they travel within Tanzania, they must go by road. The administrative capital, Dodoma, is more than 500km from seaside commercial hub Dar es Salaam.

The bald, bespectacled Magufuli has made unscheduled visits to hospitals, where he has been known to fire absentee physicians, and he has urged public institutions to reduce the money spent on refreshments during meetings.

Such measures were so popular that they inspired a Twitter hashtag in East Africa for situations that required strong leadership, #WhatWouldMagufuliDo. In neighbouring Uganda, some expressed longing for a president who would crack the whip on hefty allowances and fire corrupt officials.

But that initial warmth is slowly giving way to apprehension among some who are worried that Magufuli, who did pushups on the campaign trail to illustrate his fitness, may be just as impulsive as some other African rulers.

"He seems to believe in the philosophy of accountability without democracy," said Kitila Mkumbo, an independent political analyst and professor of political science at Tanzania's University of Dar es Salaam.

"He always believes he is right," said another analyst, Denis Mpagaze of Tanzania's St. Augustine University.

Ordinary Tanzanians seem divided over what to make of the president, who is genuinely popular in rural areas and among the working class, who might benefit from his efforts to cut unnecessary spending and stem tax evasion.

The country was ranked 117th out of 167 countries in Transparency International's corruption perceptions.

Emanuella Pascal, a primary school teacher in Dodoma, said she was pleased with the president's tactics, saying errant public officers are terrified of what might happen if they are caught.

"I love this man," Pascal said, calling the lack of accountability among public officials a thing of the past.

Years ago, Magufuli earned the nickname "Bulldozer" because of his apparently corruption-free efforts to improve Tanzania's road network as a government minister. He was never implicated in a corruption scandal despite being in charge of billions of dollars in contracts, a record that may have been key when the ruling party put him forward for president.

Jaffary Malima, a taxi driver in Dodoma, described the president as "a man of his word," but expressed fear that Magufuli's unilateral decisions and unorthodox tactics might destroy the country's economy.

Some worry that Magufuli's war on tax evaders might scare away foreign investors or lead to price speculation. The president recently warned that he would order the central bank to print new currency so that those who are hoarding cash suffer for it.

Tanzania has been a relatively stable, if impoverished, country in a region otherwise plagued by violent conflicts. Founding President Julius Nyerere, was known to be an authoritarian who nevertheless was beloved for his kinship with local people, a political style that some see in Magufuli.

But since Magufuli was elected in October 2015, the list of human rights complaints has been growing.

In August, authorities banned two private radio stations for broadcasting allegedly seditious material, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. It's not clear what statements the government considered troublesome.

The live transmission of parliamentary debates has been halted, and dozens of newspapers have been taken off the streets for alleged licensing violations, the CPJ group said.

Although Magufuli has managed to restore public accountability, "he has not succeeded in promoting human rights, especially people and political rights," said Helen Kijo-Bisimba, who leads Tanzania's Legal and Human Rights Centre.

AP

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Kenyans just love googling SA’s Mandoza

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 08:19 AM PDT

SA kwaito artist Mandoza ranked third among the most trending search terms in Kenya in September.

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Nairobi - Veteran Kenyan radio journalist, Waweru Mburu, was the most trending search term in Kenya in September. Mburu, who was the Head of Radio Citizen at Royal Media Services, died on September 28 at MP Shah Hospital while undergoing treatment for gastric cancer.

Google search trends released by Google in Kenya show that the second trending search was the late politician, William ole Ntimama. His family said he died of natural causes on September 2, at the age of 86.

Third on the list was South African Kwaito artist Mandoza – real name Mduduzi Tshabalala – after he died on September 18 at the age of 38 while undergoing treatment for a brain tumour.

Fourth on the list of trending searches was Kenya’s nominated Chief Justice, David Maraga, after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) announced in September that Justice Maraga, 65, had emerged the best of eleven candidates shortlisted for the Chief Justice position. The position fell vacant after former Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga retired in June.

Solar Eclipse was the fifth trending search after an annular solar eclipse occurred on September 1. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between earth and the sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the sun for a viewer on earth.

Other trending searches were Kenya Airports Authority employee, Ken wa Mwangi, after his controversial Facebook post about his alleged sexual encounters with underage girls enraged Kenyans online; Trey Songz, after the American RB icon visited Kenya for the recording of the fourth edition of the Pan African music show, Coke Studio Africa; US Presidential Debate as people went online to learn more about the first debate between American presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald trump which took place on September 27.

Other trending searches were Jubilee Party launch as Kenyans went online to find out more about the launch of the political party that brought together more than 10 000 delegates from varied parts of the country.

People also turned to Google search to find answers to their questions, including “What is constipation?” which was the most trending question, followed by “what is Kimoji?” as people turned to search to learn more about the mobile app that features a series of Kim Kardashian’s images as emoticons.

Other “what” searches were: “what is liver Cirrhosis?”, “what is the cure for heartburn?”, “what is parsley called in Swahili?”, “what is the meaning of ‘bae’?”, “what is the normal blood pressure?”, “what is Eid al-Adha?”, “what is emphysema?” and “what is gambling?”.

In the “How to” category, the most trending search was “how to cook fish”, followed by “how to gain weight fast”, and also “how to praise a lady”.

Other trending “how to” searches were “How to massage a newborn”, “How to get a clear face”, “How to marinate pork”, “how to bake mandazi”, “How to tell if a girl likes you” and “How to start a small business”.

African News Agency

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'We cannot be denied our constitutional rights'

Posted: 06 Oct 2016 02:11 AM PDT

Zimbabwean opposition parties have vowed to defy a ban on demonstrations.

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Harare - Zimbabwe opposition parties on Wednesday scoffed at a High Court ruling upholding the ban on demonstrations, saying it was of no substance as the Constitution allowed citizens to demonstrate peacefully.

The ruling was made by by Chief Justice George Chiweshe

In separate interviews with the African News Agency in Harare, political parties said they would not be deterred by the ruling and were mobilising for more protests to pressure the Zimbabwe government to implement electoral reforms before the next elections, which are slated for 2018.

Democratic Assembly for Restoration and Empowerment (DARE) President, Gilbert Dzikiti, said his party would rally all Zimbabweans to resist any attempts by government to introduce unjust laws, saying laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Public Order and Security Act were an injustice.

"We cannot be denied our constitutional rights by laws which are draconian and repulsive to the fundamental rights of liberty. We hope judge Chiweshe was not guided by (President Robert) Mugabe's statement in which he threatened judges," he said.

He said they were reviewing the judgment and reiterated that political reforms could only be achieved through political action, adding that those protesting were borrowing from former liberation fighters who mobilised people against the then Rhodesian regime.

"People already are taking and understanding electoral reforms as an institutional challenge and not a power-grabbing project. Our demands must be driven by the common man and woman who are understanding of the sacrifices ahead," he said.

He added: "We will map strategies to counter the kidnappings of activists, huge bail money demands and make sure that we are there for our people. The onus is on Zanu-PF to prove to the world that we are a true republic and democracy. We will put them to the test in our resolve for a level electoral field."

He said Zimbabwe should emulate Mahatma Gandhi's principle of non-violent confrontations to avoid exposing the country's citizens "to Zanu-PF's demons and degrees in violence".

National Electoral Reforms Agenda (NERA) chairperson for the Transitional Working Group (TWG), Joelson Mugari, concurred, saying: "The upholding of the ban on demonstrations by the High Court is nothing of substance to us since the Constitution clearly provides for citizens to demonstrate peacefully."

Mugari said the almost 20 political parties under the banner of NERA would first hold joint rallies as a strategy to mobilise for forthcoming demonstrations. "People are surely behind us but need to be educated on peaceful demonstrations. We met yesterday (Tuesday) with our provincial chairpersons and today (Wednesday) we have a TWG meeting, then on the 14th of October we will have countrywide joint rallies and demonstrations after," he said.

Political activist, Stern Zvorwadza, also added his voice, saying the competence of the judiciary should not be premised on who one knew or did not know, but should be guided by the principles of law.

"Zimbabwe has a constitution which clearly states that petitioning and demonstrating is authorised by the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land and all other provisions, including the Posa, can't override the Constitution in itself."

He said the judge president had displayed high levels of incompetence and also showed the country that he had direct allegiance to the ruling party. "And what we're saying is he has played in the hands of the oppressor and will not survive this level of incompetence. He can be tested on merit, not only by Zimbabweans, but by other internationally qualified jurists and lawyers," he added.

MDC-T spokesperson, Obert Gutu said the ruling by Justice Chiweshe was a temporary setback which would not divert the opposition parties from their mission to fight for people's rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

"As a lawyer, I respect the judgment of the court but the good thing about this judgment is that it has emboldened us and we are not giving up," he said. He said they would soon be noting an appeal against the judgment.

African News Agency

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