Dar-es-Salaam is to host the 9^th Inter-Parliamentary Relations Seminar (Nanyuki Series), scheduled for March 3 -4, 2016, to be officiated at by Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan, representing Tanzanian President Dr John Pombe Magufuli.

The Seminar organized by EALA in conjunction with the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA), is themed: ‘Compliance with African Union and Sub-Regional Blocs’ Election Benchmarks: A Case of the East African Community’, and will bring together an estimated 250 participants drawn from EALA, National Parliaments of the Partner States’ and EAC Ambassadors. Also expected to attend are representatives of the National Electoral Commissions, the Human Rights’ Commissions and the Civil Society Organizations.

The seminar is to be facilitated by high profile speakers from within and beyond the EAC region who will provide an opportunity for EALA and the National Assemblies to analyze and assess Partner States’ compliance with Africa, EAC sub-regional and Partner States’ national election benchmarks. Therein, the Seminar will showcase the relevance of Election Observation Missions in the contribution of strengthening Electoral Management processes in East Africa and delve into the role of Parliamentarians and the EAC in the prevention, management and resolutions of election related conflicts in the EAC region.

This seminar is taking place at a critical point in time when all EAC Partner States have either concluded, or are about to go through the electioneering period. On February 18^th, 2016, Republic of Uganda went to elections while the United Republic of Tanzania’s polls and those of the Republic of Burundi were held in October 2015 and May 2015 respectively.    On their part, Republic of Kenya and Republic of Rwanda are expected to go to elections next year.

The Inter-Parliamentary Relations Seminar thus shall act as a postmortem or checklist on whether all the EAC Partner States’ election did or do conform and or comply to the regional and sub-regional benchmarks in so far as fairness, credibility and transparency are concerned.

The Seminar shall revisit the three key concepts of democracy, elections and the rule of law and revisit the relationship among them. The Seminar it is hoped will enhance capacities of Parliamentarians to perform their core function in preventing electoral and related electoral conflicts is enhanced.

In addition, it is anticipated that Members of the National Assemblies will be provided with an opportunity to appreciate the progress made so far in the EAC integration process through the Election Observation Missions and therefore the issues discussed will subsequently find their way into the agenda of National Parliaments.

Conceived in 2003, the Inter-Parliamentary Relations Seminar (Nanyuki) is one of the avenues through which EALA and National Assemblies of the EAC Partner States interact as per the requirements of Article 49(2) of the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC.

The nature of the Nanyuki Seminars is rotational and is held in respective Partner States. Eight Seminars have so far been held under the title, “Nanyuki Series”, so named after the venue of the first one held in June 2004 under the theme “Roles and Mandate of EALA”.

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It appears there is another delay to the arrival in Juba of South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar’s forces, a crucial part to the implementation of the agreement signed last August between the Juba government and the SPLM-In Opposition.

A week ago, rebel leader Machar said he was ready to return to Juba once the city had been demilitarized and the first group of 1,370 of his forces had been transported to Juba.

Now SPLA-In Opposition military spokesman Colonel William Gatjiath Deng says the troops will not be arriving in Juba today as scheduled because the South Sudan government has not designated cantonment areas and food and medical care facilities for the troops.

“They supposed to go tomorrow to Juba, but we have a number reasons that can prevent our troops to go to Juba. These numbers can be numerated, like the government of South Sudan will designate cantonment areas within Juba, and also they can even provide transportation from Juba. When our troops reach the airport in Juba, they can also be picked up from the airport to our cantonment areas. And also we agreed that they can even provide basic life support like water, food, and medical care,” he said.

Col. Deng also said the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has yet to get guarantees from the Ethiopian government to allow the rebels passage through Ethiopia with their light weapons.

“Also, the JMEC agreed that they have to talk with the Ethiopian government so that they can approve the transit of our weapons from Gambella, including our ammunition and light weapons because our troops cannot just go without approval from the Ethiopian government,” Deng said.

He said the IGAD-Plus, which includes the East African Community, the African Union, China, the European Union, Norway, the UK, United States, and UN are supposed to transport the rebel troops to Juba. But once the troops arrive in Juba, the South Sudan government would be responsible for transporting the troops to the cantonment areas.

But the South Sudan government said the rebels are to blame the fact that their troops will not be arriving in Juba on Tuesday as part of the peace agreement. Information Minister Michael Makuei said the rebels have yet to submit the names of their troops to the troika that is supposed to transport them to Juba as well as the types of weapons they are bringing.

“The main issue is not the absence of food or non-preparation of the site for their accommodation, but the main problem is on the side of the SPLM-IO which failed to give the list of these soldiers to the troika and to the EU who are supposed to transport them to Juba,” Makuei said.

Makuei said government forces have begun moving out of Juba, but they slowed down because they don’t want to leave Juba without security.

Deng appealed to South Sudanese to have patience. He said the rebels are simply following what the agreement said.

“We need to go back to our country and our capital. We know that our people really need peace. And of course, we also need peace. But if these things are not being done, how could we just go [to Juba] without guaranteeing this,” Deng said.

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Monique Mukaruliza, a former Rwandan Minister for East African Community (EAC) Affairs is the new Mayor of Kigali City.

Ms Mukaruliza, who served as her country’s EAC minister for about two years, has been the National Coordinator for the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NICP) and was elected after garnering 182 votes against her challenger Régine Mukeshimana, who got only 8 votes, cast by councilors from the Council of Kigali and those from districts and sectors within the City.

In the elections held at the Kigali Regional Stadium in Nyamirambo, Mukaruliza garnered 182 votes, while her challenger, Régine Mukeshimana obtained only eight votes.

Mukaruliza, who becomes the third woman to head Kigali City since the coming to power of the Rwanda Patriotic Front/Army (RPF/A) after the genocide of 1994, will replace Fidèle Ndayisaba, who has since been appointed the Executive Secretary for the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation (NURC).

The other two women to head the city are Lt Col Rose Kabuye, the first post-genocide Mayor of Kigali and Aisha Kirabo Kakira, the first woman elected Mayor of Kigali.

Meanwhile, Parfait Busabizwa was elected as the vice mayor in charge of Economic Development while Judith Kazayire, the immediate former advisor to the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, was elected the vice mayor for Social Affairs.

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Nonagenarian Zimbabwe President Robert Gabriel Mugabe wants his birthday, which falls on February 21, declared a public holiday.

Media reports indicate that the 92-year old Mugabe, without elaboration, made the announcement at celebrations to mark his birthday yesterday, during festivities held a the Great Zimbabwe Monument in Masvingo, a run down city in the south east of the country that was declared a disaster area following a severe drought.

At the same occasion Mugabe, whose wife Grace has recently started showing interest in affairs of state by addressing rallies on behalf of the ZANU-PF Women League, reportedly took swipe at the party youth who have challenged his wife’s recent behavior, saying they must be disciplined.

“It is shameful the way Mrs. Mugabe is being criticized,” he said, accusing them of leaking scandals to the press. “Who may be the enemy among us?” Mugabe reportedly said.

Mugabe, who has ruled for 30 years since 1980, let 92 balloons into the air to start the festivities, which included school children performing military drills and reciting poetry praising Mugabe and criticizing western nations.

The event, dubbed the 21st February Movement after Mugabe’s actual birthday, has been held since 1986. Earlier in the week the Zimbabwean president marked his birthday in smaller celebrations that included blowing out candles on a multi-tiered cake with gold frosting surrounded by his family and a gala dinner attended the country’s elite.

The opposition has criticized the celebrations as insensitive to the many Zimbabweans facing hunger due to drought and a struggling economy.

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