KENYA

End of an era for Uhuru Principal Secretaries

The reign of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Principal Secretaries comes to an end today as those appointed by President William Ruto take over.

The new PSs will be sworn in from 7a.m. today at State House in Nairobi. Out of Kenyatta’s 44 PSs, six have been retained.

The ceremony comes after the PSs were approved by the National Assembly following the end of their vetting by various departmental committees yesterday.

(Source: Daily Nation)

TANZANIA

Air Tanzania plane held in the Netherlands in row over land title

A plane belonging to Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) has been seized in the Netherlands after a Swedish firm won a $165 million award against Tanzania due to a revoked land title in the Bagamoyo sugar project.

It is still not clear exactly which particular aircraft on ATCL’s fleet has been seized and under what circumstances.

The land title revocation was a major blow to the Swedish company, which had for over 10 years worked to develop the project and invested $52 million in a ready-to-go project for local production of sugar, renewable electricity and fuel.

(Source: The East African)

UGANDA

Leaders ask President to ease Ebola restrictions

Leaders in Mubende District have asked President Museveni to ease the restrictions instituted to curb the spread of Ebola.

Mr Michael Ntambi Muhereza, the Mubende LC5 chairperson, said: “The challenge with the extended lockdown is that a number of households have no food yet the children are home for holidays.”

The Mubende Resident District Commissioner, who is also the chairperson of the Ebola taskforce in the district, Ms Rosemary Byabasaija, said several businesses collapsed during the lockdown.

(Source: The Monitor)

RWANDA

Kagame speaks out on DR Congo conflicts

President Paul Kagame has stressed the need for collective efforts, by what he described as associated components, to bring an end to the security challenges in DR Congo, mainly in the restive eastern part of the country.

The problem, Kagame said, has a lot of components such as DR Congo, FDLR- remnants of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi who harbour a long-term sinister plan to stabilize Rwanda, M23-a Congolese rebel group, Monusco-the UN Mission for the stabilisation of DR Congo, among others.

“First of all it should be a shame for all these people that we cannot solve this problem,” Kagame said, adding that, “It is actually simple to resolve.”

(Source: The New Times)

ETHIOPIA

UN will fully support Ethiopia’s humanitarian, development activities: Secretary-General Guterres

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations will fully support Ethiopia’s humanitarian and development activities by mobilizing the capacity of UN agencies and appealing to the international community.

Guterres made the remark at the joint press conference he held with African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat at the end of the 6th AU-UN annual conference in Addis Ababa today.

Responding to questions posed by journalists, the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN will support the AU-led peace agreement implementation, the rebuilding effort, and humanitarian aid and development of the country.

(Source: ENA)

SUDAN

Sudan govt not invited to US-Africa summit

The White House has declined to invite Sudan, Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, to the US-Africa Leaders Summit, to be held in Washington DC from December 13 to 15. The Biden administration, hosting the summit, has invited the head of the African Union, as well as 49 African heads of state. The US does intend to engage with civil society organisations in those countries.

The US administration attributes the decision to the suspension of the membership of those countries by the African Union. However, “we have plans to involve members of their civil societies in the dialogue, and there will be a virtual part of the civil society forum during the summit to convey their voices.”

The US Dept of State says that the US-Africa Leaders Summit “will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of US-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities”.

(Source: Dabanga)

SOMALIA

Somalia promises incentives in bid to attract investors

Leaders of the Federal Government of Somalia, its international partners, and a cross-section of Somalis gathered in the capital on Monday and Tuesday for the country’s first-ever International Investment Conference–an opportunity for the world to appreciate the progress being made by Somalia on the political and economic front.

President Mohamud highlighted the efforts of his government to create a favorable investment environment to attract foreign direct investment through constitutional governance and stability based on the rule of law and democracy as the country rebuilds after years of conflict. Held under the theme: ‘Unlocking Sectoral Investments to Accelerate Economic Growth,’ the conference is organised by the Federal Ministry of Planning, Investment, and Economic Development, in partnership with the private sector and development partners, and is supported by the United Nations in Somalia.

In his address at the closing day of the conference, the Prime Minister of Somalia, Hamza Abdi Barre expressed the government’s commitment to implement legislative, economic, and security reforms to enhance the ease of doing business and create a favourable investment climate.

(Source: africanews.)