Kenya

Double hurdle for William Ruto, Raila Odinga talks as deadline approaches

Allies of President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday maintained hardline positions ahead of a crucial meeting with National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u this morning on tax matters.

The National Dialogue Committee is facing a double hurdle of resolving the highly contentious high cost of living issue and beating the November 26 deadline set by Parliament for the team to conclude the talks.

Mr Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition has insisted on a review of the Finance Act, 2023, with proposals to scrap the housing tax and halve the Value Added Tax on petroleum products from the current 16 per cent to 8 per cent.

(Source: Nation Africa)

Tanzania

PM puts ‘greedy’ men on notice

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed Songwe Regional Commissioner, Dr Francis Michael, and all District Commissioners within the region to search for people accused of impregnating schoolgirls.

“Since January to date, this region has recorded 59 cases of schoolgirls who have dropped out of school due to pregnancies, but there are only two cases which have been taken to court. Where are these 57 cases… who is preventing these cases from landing in court … why is the police force not taking these people to court,” posed the Premier.

He added: “The DCs and RCs should meet with their respective defence and security committees to identify the culprits and make sure that stringent actions are taken against them,” while inspecting the construction of Ileje Girls Secondary School.”

(Source: Daily News)

Uganda

Chief magistrate, prosecutor accused of corruption granted bail

The chief magistrate and a state attorney from Sembabule District who are accused of corruption in connection with soliciting a bribe from court users, were Thursday granted bail after spending the night in prison.

Ms Jackline Bako, the Resident State Attorney and Ms Sylvia Nvanungi, the Chief Magistrate are facing seven charges of corruption regarding soliciting and receiving bribes from different persons undergoing trial before the court in Sembabule District.

Ms Joan Aciro, the Chief Magistrate of the Anti-corruption Court Thursday ordered Ms Bako and Ms Nvanungi to deposit Shs1 million and Shs800,000 respectively as one of the conditions for bail, while each of their sureties were bonded at Shs50 million and 40 million respectively, not cash.

(Source: Monitor)

Rwanda

EAC lawmakers convene in Kigali to discuss regional matters

Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) – the legislative arm of the East African Community (EAC) – are convening in Kigali to deliberate on regional affairs.

Their two-week-long meeting will take place from November 23 (the day of arrival) till December 7, at the Parliament of Rwanda’s premises in Kigali, according to information from EALA. The meeting includes sittings of the assembly’s standing committees and plenary. A provisional programme issued by EALA indicates that its various standing committees will sit from November 24, while plenary will be held from December 4.

Among activities at the plenary level is the consideration of the EAC Supplementary Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2023 – which is legislation that seeks to allocate more funds to specific organs/institutions of the community.

(Source: The New Times)

Ethiopia

UK may more than double bilateral assistance to Ethiopia, says Ambassador

The United Kingdom (UK) may more than double its bilateral assistance to Ethiopia next year, Ambassador Darren Welch told ENA.  “We are looking to increase our bilateral assistance may be more than doubling it next year,” he said.

That will help build trade and investment, supporting the government’s plans to reform the economy and make the business environment even better, the ambassador added.

The enhanced support will be directed towards fostering trade and investment opportunities, aligning with the Ethiopian Government’s economic reform initiatives and efforts to enhance the business environment. Ambassador Welch also emphasized the importance of a robust business environment in Ethiopia.

(Source: ENA)

Sudan

Sudan govt ‘terminates’ UNITAMS, UN Secretary-General appoints new envoy

The Sudanese government has issued a decision to “terminate the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) with immediate effect”. The move follows months of friction between the government and the mission. The office of the UN Secretary-General has confirmed that it received notice of the decision.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General confirmed on Friday said, “we have indeed received a letter from the government of Sudan announcing the government’s decision to terminate UNITAMS… with immediate effect”. Dujarric added “the government also communicated their commitment to engage constructively with the Security Council and with us, the [UN] Secretariat, on a new, appropriate and agreed-upon formula.”

(Source: Dabanga)

Somalia

Somalia names new ambassador to Kenya to boost collaboration between the two countries

Somalia Federal Government has appointed a new Ambassador to Kenya following the conclusion of the tenure of duty of Ambassador Mohamud Ahmed Nur (Tarsan), who had served as Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya since 2018.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud named Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle as the new envoy to Kenya.

The appointment of the new Ambassador is according to different quarters set to improve the diplomatic and bilateral relations between the two countries which severed for a while during the regime of former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.

Kenya Foreign Affairs Ministry had earlier this month bade farewell to the former ambassador Tarsan in a ceremony held in the capital Nairobi.