Kenya

US urges rejection of CS nominees with integrity issues

Via their official account, the US Embassy in Kenya has urged Parliament to consider rejecting Cabinet Secretary nominees with graft concerns. Particularly, the US has reiterated that Chapter Six of the Constitution places great importance on integrity in public service and urged the National Assembly to uphold its role in protecting Chapter Six of the Constitution.

(Nation)

Tanzania

Five key areas in Tanzania’s new trade policy

Tanzania has had a 2003 policy that had been overtaken by events and the new one, among other things, is expected to increase the competitiveness of the country’s products.

The new policy, launched early this week, aims to improve the country’s prospects in local and international trade.

(The Citizen)

Uganda

Museveni assents to VAT and NGO amendment bills into law

President Yoweri Museveni has assented to 19 Bills that Parliament recently passed. These include the VAT and NGO amendment bills. He, however, returned two Bills to Parliament for reconsideration.  These are the National Commission for UNESCO (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Higher Education Students Financing (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The signing into law of the Value Added Tax Amendment Act, 2024 will give the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) powers to collect VAT on donated goods or services given by an employer to an employee, while the president also approved the increase of the threshold for claiming for refund of overpaid tax from UGX 5,000,000 to UGX 10M. The government had initially proposed the threshold to be increased to UGX 50M, but Members of Parliament rejected the rate, saying it would negatively affect businesses.

President Museveni also signed into law the Non-Governmental Organisations Amendment Act, 2024, scrapping the NGO Board and returning its mandate of overseeing the operations of NGOs back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

(The Independent)

Rwanda

Rwanda, DR Congo, Angola intelligence experts to examine FDLR neutralisation plan

Intelligence experts from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola will meet on August 7 to examine a proposed plan for the “neutralisation of the FDLR,” according to a statement issued after the July 30 meeting of foreign ministers of the three countries in the Angolan capital Luanda.

The plan to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a DR Congo-based militia founded by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, was developed by the Congolese government.

(The New Times)

Ethiopia

PM Ahmed stresses need to understand macro-economic reform holistically

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stressed the importance of understanding the Macro-Economic Reform Programme Policy holistically rather than in isolation.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopia has embarked on the full implementation of a macroeconomic reform policy with a view to achieving high and stable economic growth, maintaining single-digit inflation, and building a globally competitive economic system.

(Ena)

Sudan

Civil aviation: ‘Safe air path’ opens in eastern Sudan

The Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority has issued a pilots’ bulletin (NOTAM) through the regional office of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Cairo, opening the eastern route to air traffic on Wednesday, July 31. This comes more than 15 months after the decision to completely close Sudanese airspace was issued on the morning of the outbreak of the war on April 15, 2023.

The decision means opening the airspace of the three eastern Sudanese states (Red Sea, Kassala and El Gedaref) to air traffic via the entry point in Halaib to Port Sudan and Tokar, providing a short and safe air path for flights coming from Europe to East African countries and some islands in the Indian Ocean.

(Radio Dabanga)