Passengers board a Kenya Airways (KQ) plane at Entebbe International Airport
An outspoken Ugandan legislator has urged the Ugandan Parliament to consider boycotting Kenya Airways, because of the ‘exorbitant’ fares it charges in the region.
WANTS KQ BOYCOTT: Jinja West MP Moses Grace Balyeku
Jinja West MP Moses Grace Balyeku made the remarks earlier today, while contributing to debate in parliament during the vetting of ministers.
Aviation sources indicate that the KQ fare charged between and Entebbe and Nairobi, an hour’s flight that costs about US US$225 (about UGX793.000), is one of the most expensive in the world.
By press time it was not possible to establish why Balyeku raised the matter in Parliament but sources say Kenya Airways, which operates 8 flights between Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and Entebbe Airport everyday, is the major carrier of Ugandan legislators flying from Entebbe and connecting to various destinations across the globe.
Meanwhile, other airlines that have tried to ply the Nairobi-Entebbe route like Air Uganda, Fly540 and Fastjet have failed to sustain the consistency or pulled out altogether.
Tamale Mirundi addresses journalists at a recent function
Controversial Senior Presidential Advisor on Media Tamale Mirundi has said ejected Busiro South constituency MP-elect Peter Sematimba is innocent.
Mr. Ssematimba who on Tuesday took part in the August House proceedings lost his seat after the High Court on Friday declared it vacant over inadequate academic papers.
And Tamale Mirundi articulated that it was not Peter Sematimba’s role to verify his own academic papers but that of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).
This followed a petition filed by Democratic Party’s Stephen Ssekigozi, who contested against Mr Sematimba of the ruling National Resistance Movement and lost.
Hon. Sematimba listens to debate in the House.
However, Mr Sematimba had told court that his academic papers have security features to prove that they are authentic.
Today, Hon. Sematimba was pictured listening to debate in the House as Appointments Committee started vetting the 81 newly-appointed ministers.
During closed door session, MPs while seeking to establish whether the ministerial appointees have the requisite academic papers and integrity, Makindye West legislator Allan Ssewanyana queried whether Sematimba’s presence in the 10th Parliament was in order.
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga replied that there is no court order yet on his disqualification.
Jack Ma speaks during the 2016 Global Smart Logistics Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, June 13, 2016
The world’s largest e-commerce platform, China’s Alibaba, is aiming for a record 6 trillion yuan ($912 billion) in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in 2020 from 3.09 trillion this year, Reuters reports, quoting the company.
According to Alibaba founder Jack Ma, the company also wants to quadruple the number of customers to 2 billion by 2036, up from 423 million buyers in 2016.
Ma has pledged to intensify the fight against counterfeit products and intellectual property rights violation.
“I promise you guys that counterfeits, fake products, and intellectual property theft – we are more and more confident than ever that we can solve the problem,” he said.
In April, Alibaba became the world’s largest retailer, surpassing Walmart. The company says its online trading accounts for 10 percent of all retailing in China and has generated 15 million jobs.
Last November, Alibaba hit a record $14.3 billion in sales on Singles’ Day, a Chinese holiday intended to celebrate single life. This is more than double the e-commerce sales in the US from Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday combined. Alibaba has been holding these sales since 2009. November’s $14.3 billion smashed 2014’s total of $9.3 billion in gross sales.
The company also holds the title of the biggest IPO in history, raising $25 billion in four days in September 2014, $7 billion more than Visa and $9 billion more than Facebook and General Motors.
A man throws chair as minor skirmishes continue between soccer fans, in the streets of Marseille, France, ahead of the England vs Russia France Euro 2016. Photo/sltrib.com
English and Russian teams at the ongoing Euro 2016 have been warned they risk discontinuation from the tournament in France, if their respective fans don’t tone down on violence.
VIOLENCE: scene of violence between the English and Russian fans
The warning by Europe’s soccer governing body UEFA follows violence that erupted after the Saturday game between the two teams in Marseille.
Meanwhile, the head of the Russian supporters group Alexander Shprygin has said that France wants top deport about 50 Russian fans.
Shprygin made the remarks today after French police intercepted a bus carrying Russian fans from Cannes to Lille.
“They want to deport almost 50 people including women who did not take part in anything,” Shprygin, president of the Russian Supporters Union, said.
“The police are making up for their mistakes three days ago. We are in a bus in Cannes and we have been blocked in by riot police. We are not going anywhere for the time being.”
He later said the Russian consul had arrived on the scene, preventing what he said was a planned storming of the bus by the police.
There was no immediate comment from French authorities, who have said about 150 hard-core Russian fans took part in serious violence after Saturday’s match, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
In a related development the Russian national football team has been handed a suspended disqualification from Euro 2016 and a 150,000 euro (118,828.56 pounds)fine after their fans were involved in violent clashes in Marseille, the governing body UEFA has said.
“Charges relating to crowd disturbances, use of fireworks and racist behaviour had been brought against the RFU (Russian Football Union),” UEFA said in a statement.
It said the ethics committee had decided to impose a fine of 150,000 euros and a suspended disqualification of the Russian national team until the end of the tournament.
“Such suspension will be lifted if incidents of a similar nature (crowd disturbances) happen inside the stadium at any of the remaining matches of the Russian team during the tournament.”
Sudan minister of mining Ahmed Mohamed Sadiq al-Karouri. Photo/sudantribune.com
Talks on oilfields between Sudan and South Sudan are on in Khartoum, co-chaired by Sudan’s Minister of Minerals Ahmed Sadiq Al-Karouri and South Sudan’s Minister of Mining Taban Deng.
South Sudan’s Minister of Mining Taban Deng
The talks focused on previous memoranda of understanding signed between the two sides and on South Sudan’s desire to be provided with geological information concerning oil fields in the country held by Sudan’s Geological Research Corporation, the technical arm of the Ministry of Minerals.
State media in Sudan said the geological body in Khartoum has valuable geological information about South Sudan, and Minister Al-Karouri said in press statements that Sudan would provide South Sudan with all such information, besides training South Sudanese technical cadres. He also stressed that the coming period will witness full cooperation between the two countries.
Sudan takes a share of oil revenues produced in South Sudan through pipeline fees, providing it with an incentive to see oil production increase in South Sudan.
GOVERNMENT TO HELP MOBILISE FUNDS FOR REFUGEES: Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda.
Parliament has approved Dr Ruhakana Rugunda as the Prime Minister.
Under the chairmanship of the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, two hundred and sixty two (262) MPs voted in favour of Dr Rugunda by show of hands, while three were against his appointment and four abstained from the vote.
Other ministers-designate to be vetted later today include Moses Ali (1st DPM/Leader of Government Business), Ali Kirunda Kivejinja (2nd DPM/ Minister for East African Affairs), Janet Kataha Museveni (Education and Sports), Mukasa Muruli (Public Service), Amelia Anne Kyambadde (Trade, Industry and Cooperatives), Gen Jeje Odong (Internal Affairs), Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja (Agriculture,Animal Industry and Fisheries), Matia Kasaija (Finance, Planning and Economic Development), Sam Kahamba Kutesa (Foreign Affairs), Dr Jane Ruth Aceng (Health), and Eng Monica Ntege Azuba (Works and Transport).
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament has said that her office has not received a communication about Hon Peter Sematimba’s ejection from Parliament.
Ms Kadaga was responding to point of order raised by Makindye West MP Allan Sewanyana, who sought to know why Mr Sematimba, the recently court-ejected legislator for Busiro South was in the house.
KICKED OUT: Lucy Aciro Otim, the MP-elect for Aruu Constituency who has lost her seat for induiging in electoral malpractices
Lucy Aciro Otim, the Member of Parliament for Aruu Constituency has become the third legislator to be thrown out of the August House.
An Independent candidate in the 2016 elections, Aciro’s fate was earlier today determined by the Gulu High Court, which ruled that the MP indulged in electoral malpractices.
In the race for Parliament Ms Aciro contested against rivals Nabbinson Nock Kidega (NRM), Lawrence Odong (Independent), Bernard Ology Obina (Independent) and Bernard Onen Okeny (FDC).
By press time it was not clear if Ms Aciro would appeal the ruling.
Ms Aciro’s ejection from the 10th Parliament follows that of Busiro South and Lugazi Municipality MPs Peter Sematimba and Isaac Mulindwa Ssozi, respectively.
Both Sematimba and Mulindwa Ssozi were kicked out of Parliament for lack of the requisite academic qualifications.
Joshua Wanume Kibedi, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Iddi Amin’s regime between 1971 and 1973 is dead. Kibedi was a brother to Maryamu Amin, one of the former dictator Amin’s many wives.
According to the deceased’d cousin, Second Deputy Prime Minister Al Hajji Kirunda Kivejinja, arrangements are underway to return the body of Mr Kibedi who died at the St Thomas hospital in London yesterday.
A long time diplomat, Mr Kibedi, a lawyer, served at various Uganda missions abroad including at the United Nations.
Lately, he also served as the Chairman of the Immigration and Citizenship Board.
Former ANC Deputy Secretary General Cheryl Carolus
Former ANC secretary general Cheryl Carolus says that adding up President Jacob Zuma’s legal costs over the past decade, would exceed a billion rand.
Carolus said the president is dividing the ANC more than he is uniting it, and that he should do the right thing by stepping down – adding to the voices of former ANC stalwarts who have called for the same.
Carolus was the ANC deputy secretary general between 1994 and 1997, and served as the acting secretary general of the party between 1997 and 1998.
Carolus said that Zuma is ‘capable of good judgement’ and has exhibited such in the past. However, she said that he needs to take a ‘step back, and see what he is putting (the ANC) through’.
“He’s asking branches to look at his misdemeanors, and make decisions on his behalf. The biggest problem…is he is abdicating responsibility for his own personal wrongs, and making it a national crisis.”
South African President Jacob Zuma
She said that Zuma is prepared to divide the ANC on something that he has acknowledged he was wrong about. She also believes the president has not apologized sufficiently for the matters he faces.
Carolus said that adding up all the costs of the legal matters Zuma has faced since pre-Polokwane (when he was elected), it amounts to hundreds of millions of rands of taxpayers’ money.
“I’m telling you, it’s over a billion rand, in legal costs” Carolus said.
“All from one person – who should be the most exemplary citizen of this country – who has taken this country into the most divisive period of politics that the country or the ANC has ever seen or imagined.”
“That one individual can divide us – not around policies, not around values, but with misdemeanors that have to do with his own enrichment or benefit – I resent that,” Carolus said.
“That’s why I asked for him to step aside, and I stand by that. He must allow the ANC to re-find its real purpose and stop wasting all our time and taxpayers money defending him and his misdemeanors.”
DOLLAR BILLS: Remittances to Somalis have been eased
The past two years have seen closure of bank accounts of Somali remittance companies by many banks in the US, UK, Canada and Australia due to the purported risk of money laundering and links to terrorism.
The World Bank started working with the UK in 2015 to develop mechanisms in case of severe disruption of remittances flows between the UK and Somalia, but the Bank is now working with the Federal Government of Somalia to ensure the continued flow of remittances, a critical source of income to people in the Horn of Africa country.
Activities are currently focused on formalizing and improving the transparency and compliance in Somalia’s money transfer business sector, and the World Bank has appointed management consulting firm Abyrint as the Central Bank of Somalia’s (CBS) ‘Trusted Agent’ to regulate and supervise money transfer businesses.
Remittances to Somalia support 23 per cent of the GDP and were estimated to reach a total of $1.4 billion in 2015.
Abyrint helps to rebuild institutions and systems, especially finance governance, in failed or fragile states.
“The deployment of the Trusted Agent is a critical step toward improving supervision and formalizing the money transfer business sector in Somalia,” said Bella Bird, World Bank Country Director for Somalia, Tanzania, Burundi and Malawi.
Abyrint and CBS staff will conduct joint on-site and off-site supervision of registered and licensed remittance companies and work to build capacity within the CBS Department of Licensing and Supervision.
The World Bank is also assisting the CBS to draft and implement new regulations and guidelines for the money transfer business sector, within the new regulatory regime established under the AML/CTF Bill passed in April this year.
Phil Evans, Head of the UK Department for International Development (DfiD) Somalia added: “Ensuring that the Diaspora is able to safely and cost-effectively send money home to families remains vitally important, given the lifeline that money represents for many in Somalia.”
Abyrint was selected through a publicly advertised and competitive process.
