Thursday, 31 January 2013
The case against secretary of the Council of Muslims’ Organisations, Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda,hearing of the case continues on February 18.
Ponda supporters to meet over their leader’s fate
A section of people believed to be followers of Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda yesterday circulated some leaflets calling upon all Muslims to meet on Sunday afternoon in Temeke District in Dar es Salaam to discuss the fate of their leader.
The secretary of the Council of Muslims’ Organisations, Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda. Sheikh Ponda, who is the Secretary General of the Council of Islamic Organization, is in remand prison waiting the conclusion of his trial alongside 49 others, pending at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in the city. He has been denied bail on grounds of national security.
“All Muslims are called upon to meet at Nuurul Yaqiin area at 2pm near Mwembe Yanga grounds on Sunday, February 3, this year,” one of the leaflets circulated at the court premises shortly after the adjournment of Ponda’s case reads. The leaflet further states, “Our sheikhs are being denied even their rights for bail simply because of defending Muslims’ properties.
Let us all meet to show our solidarity and give a common position on what should be done. Justice must be done to all. Send this information to your colleague.”
Before circulating such information, the situation at the court premises changed all of a sudden when Ponda supporters started cheering at their leader, while chanting a Muslim slogan, “Taqbir Allah Akbar,” as he was being returned to remand in heavily guarded prison vans.
Sheikh Ponda could be seen waving at the crowd while in one of the prison vehicles taking him back to Segerea Prison until February 14, when his case will be mentioned. In the case, Ponda and his alleged followers are charged with conspiracy, trespass and criminal possession of property owned by Agritanza Limited on a plot situated at Markaz, Chang’ombe area in Temeke District.
Other charges, according to the prosecution, include stealing building materials from Agritanza limited including 1,500 bricks and 36 tonnes of aggregate and iron bars, all worth 59.6m/-.
During Thursday’s court proceedings, the prosecution called two witnesses to give their testimonies, with one William Milanzi, accounting how on October 12, last year, a group considered to be Muslims invaded the plot, which is claimed to be the centre of dispute in the case.
While the second witness, Hamis Salum, a mason narrated that Ponda came at the area five days before it was invaded and directed all those who were doing some developments on the plot to stop as the area was in dispute. Hearing of the case continues on February 18.
According to the court’s order is- sued on January 17, 2013, the pros- ecution is expected to continue calling other witnesses in attempt to prove the charges against the Muslims leader, who stands trial alongside 49 others.
The prosecution has charged Sheikh Ponda and his alleged followers with conspiracy, trespass and criminal pos- session of property owned by Agritanza limited on a plot situated at Markaz, Chang’ombe area, in Temeke District. They are also accused of steal- ing building materials from Agritanza limited including 1,500 bricks and 36 tonnes of aggregate and iron bars, all worth 59.6m/-.
The prosecution has already called five people to give their testimonies in the case, mostly leaders of the Muslim Council of Tanzania (Bakwata) and of- ficials from Agritanza limited. The last witness to be called was Hafidh oth- man, a consultant and business partner with the company.
In his evidence in chief, the wit- ness claimed that his company is the legal owner of the four-acre plot at Chang’ombe which it obtained from Bakwata in exchange with a 40 acres plot located at Kisarawe in Coast Re- gion.
During the trial, Senior State At- torney Tumaini Kweka, is leading the prosecution team, while Advocate Juma Nassoro and Counsel Yahaya Njama are defending the accused.
Malian musician Khaira Arby and her band Malian artist, to perform in Zanzibar ,Tumbuktu Taarab
They had their launching ceremony for the event, which is scheduled to be held in Zanzibar between February 15 and 17. It was also confirmed that out of the 22 professional artistes that are listed to perform on this year’s stage, 12 are from outside of the country, six from the Tanzanian mainland and four from Zanzibar.
With respect to this the question was raised, as to why there were not any Bongo Flava artistes within this line-up. “What we are looking for is to promote musicians that are producing their own music. But also the Tanzanian themselves, who form part of the audience, would like to see something live.
There is appreciation of the local recorded music, like Bongo Flava, but people want to see something live, someone using instruments, either traditional, modern or a mixture,” he replied. In reference to this issue Said, who is also the board’s acting chairman, made it clear during the press conference and in a one-to-one with him afterwards that the event is basically a platform for artistes to be identified for the type of music they want to play.
Also, it is part of the event’s organisers’ move to promote the whole of East African music, by building the arts infrastructure towards their strategy, of what they want to achieve. Before leaving the location, the opportunity to find out more about the reasons behind the local US Embassy’s assistance to the event, was taken-up.
In this regards their Public Affairs Officer, Dana Banks, told the ‘Daily News’ one of their main objectives here in the country is to support local culture. That is why they have been providing assistance in one way or another to this event.
In their zeal to do something special for this tenth anniversary year, they have agreed to cover all expenses for the Malian artist, Khaira Arby and her band with their roots, traditional and spiritual sounds, to come and perform.
“There is a bit of a crises right now in Mali and we thought it was important to bring a musician, especially female taarab musician to come to Sauti za Busara to demonstrate the linkage and the Pan-African metre from West Africa all the way to Zanzibar and to show support for the Malian people at this time,” she replied.
On a more personal note she thinks the music of this Malian musician and her band is “fantastic” with its’ mysterious cultural nature that makes one feel the culture of the people and get a sense of their struggles and joys expressed in their music.
East African Legislative Assembly supports formation of UN Parliamentary Assembly
Key resolution on the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly has sailed through at the East African Legislative Assembly.
The resolution, whose mover is Mike Sebalu, supports the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. It further urges the Arushabased, East African Community to take the initiative to promote the development of a common African position in support of the envisaged Parliamentary Assembly.
According to the EALA Resolution, the formation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly would improve transparency, accountability and effectiveness of the United Nations.
The Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community provides that Partner States shall accord special importance to co-operation with the African Union, the United Nations and its agencies and other international organizations.
Members who supported the motion with amendments, during debate include: Mr Makongoro Nyerere, Mr Frederic Ngenzebuhoro, Mr Adam Kimbisa, Mr Dan Kidega, Nusura Tiperu and Mr Abubakar Zein Abubakar. The members, however, called for caution and emphasize the need for equity and justice once established, if its mandate as an Assembly is to be fully realized.
The resolution outlines the growing role and involvement of international organizations such as the United Nations and its specialized agencies in key sectors such as the promotion of peace and security, economic development, health, education, the environment and sustainable development.
Currently, there is no formal parliamentary body that exists at the United Nations that allows parliamentarians to take part in its deliberations. According to Sebalu, the insufficient formal involvement of elected representatives limits the democratic legitimacy of the world organization.
The legislator thus re-affirms formation of a UN Parliamentary Assembly as a critical tool towards enhancing the transparency, accountability and effectiveness of the UN. With the approval of the resolution, EALA now joins a number of regional and continental parliaments that have pronounced themselves on the matter.
The resolution follows a similar one passed by the Pan African Parliament on October 24, 2007. Instructively, the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly could be established simply by a vote of the United Nations General Assembly in accordance with Article 22 of the Charter of the United Nations without an amendment of the United Nations Charter.
FIVE YOUNG POWERFUL AND ADMIRED POLITICIANS IN TANZANIA
White people in Kenya and the Chaos of African Democrazy !
President Obama was telling people democracy can be Messy but African Democacy is chaos .
It all happened at the CBD on December 31, at around 7.30pm. My friend and I were about to leave.
Kenya after 16 fabulous days, and just wanted to get some booze to celebrate the New Year at the hotel room.
There was an Ukwala Supermarket just around the corner and on our way, we got swallowed up in the masses of people. There were women hawkers with a child or two selling items from a rug in the street…
After shopping, we suddenly heard a huge blast. Then we noticed a grey cloud swarming into the doors of the supermarket. Seconds after the pain hit our eyes, our nostrils, our throats — tear gas!
My friend grabbed my hand and we squeezed fast out of the door. In the mob another voice cried into my ears “Welcome to Kenya, mzungu! Experience how Kenyans suffer.” I admit I am a spoiled brat from Europe.
I have a good job, I have never felt hunger (unless I want to lose weight), I have an apartment, etc. But how could any one just think of hurting women and children? That is what disturbs my heart. How can your government tolerate the askaris and their brutal power?
In my country we have had democracy for 150 years and I believe ethical thoughts are assumed for all.
I can use my voice to defend my opinion and I don’t have to agree with anybody.
In March you Kenyans must use your votes against these inhumane acts.
MARIA SJOQVIST, Denmark
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Mzungus have never been corrupt, that’s why Synovate poll is 1000% true !
Mzungus have never been corrupt, that’s why Synovate poll is 1000% true
Social media is a wonderful tool. For the first time in history anybody can literally read the mind of the public. In earlier centuries some people could only accurately guess public opinion but they profited enormously from their guesses, one wonders what those clever chaps would have done with the info freely accessible on social media today.
But spend a little time on social media and you will realize that our so-called elite and cream of society do not have any thoughts of their own. It is amazing how people repeat exactly what they have heard in the media like the obedient parrot. And folks that media iko na wenyewe and they have their very clear agenda. Or is the problem our educational system in recent years that encourages cramming and memorizing what is written in the text books so that you can reproduce it word for word in the exam room. There is never any time for students to delve into free thought, experimentation and discovery and the result of that seems to be coming out very clearly.
It is also crystal clear that most people don’t understand politics at all. They believe that American politics is “safi kama pamba” and Kenyan politics should be the same. I wish somebody could make a Nigerian movie (the only way a vast majority on social media learn anything about this life) that focuses on the global nature of politics. But meanwhile I would recommend a popular TV series called Boss which is captivating tale in the backdrop of big city politics in the US. Trust me it is anything BUT boring. Incidentally to most folks on social media that is the most dreaded six letter word (boring). Many young people fear it more than they fear Aids.
The other big problem Kenyans seem to have is this total trust for mzungus. I read between the lines of many comments and this clearly comes out. But I met this guy the other day who spelt it out for me and left no doubt. He reckons that just because the Synovate opinion poll is done by a mzungu it is 100 per cent accurate. He added that it is impossible to corrupt a mzungu because they have principles. This guy is a university graduate no less, albeit in the sciences. I kid you not. I pointed out to him that his perception of white people is dangerous and told him the story of this guy from Europe who went to Uganda a few years ago and started collecting cash all over the place from people who believed they were investing in a brand new airline that was set to be launched in East Africa. The poor Ugandans were falling over themselves to give that mzungu conman cash. They were sure he was not a conman because he was a mzungu. I will talk a little more about opinion polls in Kenya and their dark history in a future post very soon. But you can begin to understand why Kenyans have such short memories and nobody remembers the Synovate fiasco of 2007.
There is another friend who has suggested that the main problem online is the fact that all the major political players have too many of “their people” on social media and their mission is to make their candidate look good all the time.
Whatever the problem is, clear headed debate and political discussions are impossible. Many are even quick to accuse you of incitement when you start asking some hard questions or analyzing what should be obvious to a primary school kid.
Oh shucks what’s the point. Maybe I should just get used to supporting TNA because it has a lot of young guys with swag. Swag will probably create employment and solve our other pressing problems over the next 5 years. Or support Raila because he has suffered a lot for this country, never mind the fact that many others have suffered more like Kenneth Matiba who has had his health damaged permanently in his crusade for a better Kenya.
Or even better, lets vote for Peter Kenneth because he is the most handsome man to ever stand for president of Kenya.
Those Kenyans who have been calling for issue-based campaigns must be mad. To discuss what issues with whom? That’s rocket science in Kenya with the kind of “swag-related issues” being discussed by the elite of Kenya.
Monday, 28 January 2013
Kwaheri Balozi Maajar na Ushauri Kwa Balozi ajae!
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Sakata la OGONI LAND laitafuna CCM ?
TAMKO LA MAKANISA YA P.C.T MKOA WA MTWARA KUHUSU GESI YA MNAZI BAY MTWARA
Baada ya kufuatilia kwa undani, na kwa upana kuhusu swala la gesi ambalo linaendelea kuwa ni mgongano au, ni mgogoro kati ya Serikali na wananchi wa Mkoa wa Mtwara/Lindi kuhusu ujenzi wa bomba la kusafirisha gesi kwenda kinyerezi Dar- es –Salaam, tumebaini yafuatayo:-
1. Hakuna Sera ya gesi ambayo husababisha kupatikana Sheria baada ya kupelekwa Bungeni na kuidhinishwa bali kilichopo ni rasimu ya sera ambayo haina ushirikishwaji wa mawazo ya wananchi wa Mkoa wa Mtwara na Lindi, ambako vyanzo vya gesi hiyo ipo.
2. Elimu kuhusu gesi na manufaa yake kwa wananchi haikutolewa ili kujua haki zao kwa madhara yatokanayo na (Uvunaji) uzalishaji wa gesi hiyo, na jinsi watakavyonufaika.
Chama cha Mapinduzi katika Ilani yake ya uchaguzi ya mwaka 2010 inatamka wazi katika Ibara ya 63 kifungu cha H na K juu ya gesi ya Mnazibay Mtwara na Songo songo Kilwa, Lindi kuhusu umeme wa (240 MW) Kinyerezi na (300MW) Umeme wa Mnazi bay Mtwara……
-Vifungu hivi vinafafanua:
• Gesi ya Mnazi bay itakuwa kwa ajili ya Mitambo ya kuzalisha umeme ambayo itajengwa Mtwara (300MW)
• Mitambo ya kuchakata gesi kujengwa Mtwara
• Ujenzi wa viwanda Mtwara ili malighafi itokanayo na gesi itumike kutengeneza mbolea, plastic vikiwemo na viwanda vya Cementi
2. Gesi ya Songo songo inafafanua wazi kuwa gesi hiyo itapelekwa Kinyerezi . Dar –es –Salaam kwa madhumuni hayo hayo.
• Kuendeleza viwanda mbali mbali
• Kuzalisha umeme (240 MW)
• Kuchakata gesi kwa kujenga mitambo
Katika ahadi ya Rais wa Jahuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania alizotoa wakati wa Kampeni za uchaguzi katika hotuba yake ya tarehe 29/10/2010 alitamka wazi kuwa Mkoa wa Mtwara uwe tayari kwa maendeleo makubwa ambayo yanakuja kutokana na gesi iliyogunduliwa katika Mkoa wa Mtwara huko Mnazi bay
Alimainisha/aliainisha juu ya viwanda mbalimbali vitakavyojengwa hapa mkoani vya mbolea,cement, plastic n.k na kuwataka wananchi wajiandae kupokea maendeleo hayo kwa kujenga nyumba nzuri zenye sifa kwa ajili ya wageni. Pia wawasomeshe watoto wao ili wawe na elimu ya juu na kupata ajira katika Makampuni yanayokuja.
Hata baada ya uchaguzi Rais wetu alipokuja kuwashukuru wananchi wa Mkoa wa Mtwara kwa kumchagua, alitamka tena katika hotuba yake akisisitiza ahadi yake ya kujenga viwanda ambavyo vitaleta maendeleo kwa Mikoa ya Kusini na kusababisha ajira kwa wana kusini, na kuagiza kwa Meya wa Manispaa Mtwara/Mikindani kuwapa maeneo ya kujenga viwanda hivyo, kwa kile kilichoonekana kukosa maeneo ya ujenzi huo kwa makampuni hayo. Ahadi hizi alizozitoa kwa wananchi kwa ujumla wao wamezipokea na kuendelea kuzifanyia kazi.
Chanzo cha Matatizo: Mara baada ya kuonekana kile walichokitarajia wananchi wa Mkoa wa Mtwara kwa kutumia gesi ya Mnazi bay kuleta maendeleo yao kuwa imeamriwa kusafirishwa kwa bomba na kupelekwa Kinyerezi Dar –Es –Salaam ili kuzalisha umeme na kuchakata gesi na mitambo hiyo iwe huko.(Mgeuko wa Ilani ya Uchaguzi, na kutozingatia ahadi zake mwenyewe Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania kwa kuwa kinyume na kauli za usemi wake mwenyewe kwa kukitangaza kituo cha Kinyerezi kuwa ni sehemu ya mitambo ya gesi ya Mnazi bay-Mtwara na Songosongo-Lindi na kwamba bomba hilo litachukua miezi (18) mpaka kukamilika kwake, kwa matamshi haya ndiyo yaliyoleta hasira na chuki kwa wananchi wa Mtwara/Lindi kwa ujumla.
Hali hii imewafanya wananchi wa Kusini kutokuwa na Imani na Serikali na viongozi wake wahusika na sakata hili la gesi kwa semi mbalimbali za viongozi hawa-Mfano.
(1) Kwa hali yoyote gesi lazima itoke Mtwara (Kwa gharama yoyote ile) kwa kukubali ama kutokubali itakwenda Kinyerezi kwa bomba
(2) Kuitwa wahaini wananchi wa Mkoa wa Mtwara kwa kuandamana
(3) Kuitwa wajinga, hawakusoma na kuwa watu wa vijiweni wasio na elimu ya gesi
(4) Nitafanya lolote hata kama nitalaumika na Mataifa mengine lakini wapo watakaochekea yatakayotokea na kauli zinazobadilika kila kunapokucha.
(5) Usemi wa kuigawa nchi vipande vipande
Viongozi hawa hawajui kuwa chanzo kipo kwao wenyewe, kwa kutozingatia kuwa wananchi hao ambao hawana elimu kama yao wanao upeo mkubwa wa kufikiri na kutoa maamuzi kama wanavyotoa wao….
Mfano.
(1) Gesi haitoki Mtwara
(2) Tupo tayari kufa wote kwa ajili ya gesi
(3) Haiwezekan mitambo ya aina zote
-Kufua umeme
-Kuchakata gesi
-Kunufaisha viwanda vya Dar-es-Salaam kwa gesi yetu
-Mikataba ya gesi ya Mnazibay kufutwa ili kuanzisha mikataba iliyo na manufaa kwa Mkoa wa Mtwara na wananchi wake.
(4) Kwa nini bomba la gesi kujengwa kwa muda wa miezi 18 na bara bara kwa miaka 51 ya uhuru haimalizwi kujengwa. Je kwenye gesi kuna nini nyuma yake.?
Hiki ni kiini cha matatizo yote kwa wananchi wa mkoa wa Mtwara kuandamana na mikutano mbalimbali ya kuhamasisha kutokubali gesi kuondoka Mtwara
Nukuu za Wananchi wa Mkoa wa Mtwara/Lindi
1-Kung’olewa kwa Reli
2-Kung’olewa kwa mashine za maji Newala na kupelekwa Dodoma.
3-Kung’olewa kwa taa za kuongoza ndege uwanja wa Mtwara na kupelekwa Uwanja wa KIA Moshi
4-Kuondolewa kwa Mtwara Korido
5-Kuwekezwa kwa bandari ya Mtwara kwa muda usiojulikana inaonyesha jinsi Serikali na viongozi wake wanavyohujumu Mikoa ya Kusini na wananchi wake kwa ujumla.
-Wananchi wa Mkoa wa Mtwara na Lindi wamefikia ukomo sasa wa kutengwa kimaendeleo, kimazingira na kutendewa uonevu wa makusudi na kilio chao cha mwisho ni hiyo gesi ambayo kauli mbiu yao ni GESI HAITOKI MTWARA KWA BOMBA KWENDA KINYEREZI DAR-ES-SALAAM.
-Wananchi wote wameungana juu ya kuitetea gesi kutoka Mtwara, badala yake Serikali ifuate mikataba ya kwanza inayohusu gesi ya Mtwara pamoja na Ilani ya uchaguzi ya CCM ifuatwe na Rais atekeleze ahadi zote alizotoa hapo kwanza na afute kauli yake ya kupeleka gesi Kinyerezi, na wala Serikali isitumie nguvu katika swala zima la gesi ya Mnazibay Mtwara.
TAMKO LA UMOJA WA MAKANISA YA KIPENTEKOSTE –P.C.T MKOA WA MTWARA
1. P.C.T kwa kuzingatia mwono uliopo wa hali tete yenye mwelekeo wa kumwagika damu na kuigawa nchi vipande vipande na kuondokewa amani, yafuatayo yafanyike
• Serikali isitishe mpango wake wa kuondoa gesi kutoka Mnazi bay Mtwara kwa kuisafirisha kwenda Kinyerezi Dar –es Salaam kwa bomba.
• Mitambo ya kuchakata gesi ijengwe Mtwara ili gesi isafirishwe kama mazao ya gesi na mabaki yake kutumiwa katika viwanda vya mbolea na plastic.
• Mitambo ya kuzalisha umeme ijengwe Mtwara na kusafirisha umeme na kuunganisha gridi ya Taifa.
• Viwanda vilivyoahidiwa vya mbolea,plastic,cemet n.k vianze kujengwa sasa na isiwe propaganda tu ya kisiasa toka kwa viongozi kwa kuondoa dhana iliyotokea huko nyuma ya kuonekana Kusini ni ukanda wa vita usiendelezwe.
Mfano kule Kilwa Lindi ambako ahadi ya kujenga kiwanda cha mbolea kwa gesi ya Songo songo mpaka leo hakijajengwa kwa kuwapatia nafasi ya ajira na kujiajiri kutokana na viwanda hivyo
• Serikali iwe sikivu kwa kilio cha muda mrefu cha wananchi wa Mikoa ya Mtwara na Lindi ambako vyanzo vya uchumi wa gesi vipo kwa kutekeleza madai yao, kwa kuwa hawapingi kupelekwa umeme gridi ya Taifa na kuuza gesi iliyochakatwa tayari kwa kuliingizia Taifa mapato.
• Serikali ikamilishe sera za gesi na mafuta na kupatikana sheria ambayo italinda mikataba yote inayofanywa na serikali juu ya gesi na kulinda wananchi wa eneo husika mikoa ya Mtwara na Lindi kwa madhara yanayotokana na gesi kwa kuwashirikisha kutoa mawazo yao.
• Mazungumzo yafanyike kati ya Serikali na wananchi katika kupata ufumbuzi wa swala la gesi kwa njia ya Amani na wala isitumie nguvu zilizonazo kwani kufanya hivyo ni kuleta maafa yasiyo ya lazima kwa Taifa.
• -Serikali isisikilize wabunge wadanganyifu ambao hawana makubaliano na wananchi katika majimbo yao wanayotoka, ambao huchochea mgogoro huu kwa lengo lao binafsi.
• Viongozi ambao wametoa matusi kwa wananchi wafute usemi wao kwa wananchi wa Mkoa wa Mtwara ambao wamewaita wahaini kwa kuwaomba radhi bila masharti yeyote kwani semi hizo huleta chuki, uhasama, na matengano katika nchi, na kusababisha nchi isitawalike.
• Serikali ya Chama Cha Mapinduzi itekeleze Ilani ya Uchaguzi ya Mwaka 2010 Ibara 63 Kifungu H na K ambavyo vipo wazi, hasa kwa kuzingatia kuwa sera zinazotekelezwa sasa na Serikali ni zile zote zilizoandikwa kwenye Ilani ya uchaguzi.
• Serikali irudishe tumaini kwa wananchi wa Mikoa ya Kusini na amani inayoonekana kutoweka kwa matamshi yanayoashiria kumwagika kwa damu bila kujali kuwa nchi ilipatikana bila kuwaga damu.
• Serikali iwatambue wananchi wa Mikoa ya Kusini kuwa wana haki ya kutimiziwa matakwa yao kama wananchi wa mikoa mingine kwa kupata maendeleo kutokana na vyanzo vya uchumi vilivyopo katika maeneo yao.
-Sisi viongozi wa dini tunamwomba Mungu awape hekima viongozi wetu wa Serikali kwa sababu wamepewa dhamana na Mungu kuliongoza Taifa.
-Ukamilifu wao wenye haki utawaongoza, bali ukaidi wao wenye fitina utawaangamiza Methali 11:3
-Asiyemcha Mungu humpoteza jirani yake kwa kinywa chake, bali wenye haki watapona kwa maarifa. Methali 11:9
Imesainiwa na
BISHOP C. CHILUMBA
MWENYEKITI MKOA
PAMOJA NA:-
PASTOR SELEKWA
KATIBU PCT- MKOA WA MTWARA
Nakala:
• Mwenyekiti PCT Taifa-Dar –es –Salaam
• Maaskofu na Wachungaji wote wa PCT Mkoa wa Mtwara.
Saturday, 26 January 2013
The man who crush Kenya ruling party KANU out of power
THE BURDEN OF BIG NAMES IN POLITICS
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
It is time for the British people to have their say
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Obama on Aggressive Agenda for his Second term
Monday, 21 January 2013
The Performance of two sons of Kenyan Leaders.
As the presidential race enters the homestretch in the coming weeks, leading hopefuls for the top seat have now engaged their gears to making promises of what they will do when elected.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga of the Cord Alliance and his deputy Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Coalition have prepared elaborate policy statement in the form of manifestos on what they plan to do.
Notwithstanding the promises being made, the two have occupied top positions in government for the last five years with Uhuru also being in charge of Treasury.
While they make new promises, it is not clear whether Kenyans have been paying keen interest in the past performance of the two, who are currently perceived as the front-runners.
Raila Odinga
Raila became Prime Minister after the controversial 2007 presidential election which he accused Kibaki of having rigged him out of.
As PM, Raila was placed in charge of the coordination and supervision of government ministries. He would later cry foul saying that he did not have the powers to discipline ministers especially those on Kibaki’s side of the coalition.
Raila’s achievements in the last five years can be mirrored on those of the grand coalition government including the enactment of a new Constitution with an elaborate Bill of Rights given his history as a champion for human rights.
There is also infrastructure development which has included the modernisation of the Nairobi railway transport like the recently unveiled Syokimau station and improvement of the road network such as the Thika Superhighway.
The CORD alliance presidential hopeful has however insisted that since he was part of a coalition government, his party ODM could not achieve all that it had promised Kenyans ahead of the 2007 elections.
Renewable energy
Regardless, the PM’s office under Raila had its own share of successes and controversy over the last five years.During the initial stages of the grand coalition’s life, Raila spearheaded the search for alternative and renewable energy.
In 2009, Raila formed a task force charged with ensuring that the government expands the national generation of green energy by boosting the country’s power generation by a capacity of 2000 Mega Watts by 2012.
Through this initiative, the government has identified and started setting up wind power generation projects in Turkana and Ngong.
Unlike any other leader in the country’s history, Raila has during his time as PM spearheaded progressive foreign relations that are bringing investment to Kenya in many fields, most recently in the vital area of power-generation.
The PM has been involved in many negotiations with foreign governments on various development projects and investments aimed at creation of jobs.
Raila has also been spearheading cooperation between government and the private sector by holding regular round-table discussions.
The PM launched a sanitary towels initiative in August 2011. The framework for carbon trading was developed by the Climate Change Unit in Raila’s office.
Maize scandal
Raila has however attracted controversy in some of the projects that he has spearheaded. One of the most controversial projects was the one aimed at reclaiming the Mau forest which came with political consequences with some of his supporters in Rift Valley crying foul.
In 2009, Raila’s office was at the centre of a scandal that hit the agriculture sector over sale of maize from the country’s reserves. Though the PM has always insisted that his office was not involved, investigation reports and leaked US cables linked senior members of his office and some of his relatives to what came to be known as the “maize scandal”.
Another controversial project initiated by Raila was the Kazi Kwa Vijana which was a multi-billion youth empowerment programme. The World Bank cancelled its grant for the project over alleged graft in the scheme which was to benefit about 190,000 youths.
World Bank Audit Report titled: “Kenya Portfolio: Financial Management Supervision June 2011” claimed that some Sh10,723,663 of KKV project was paid out to or by OPM staff as unauthorized or misappropriated spending.
Recently the PM was under fire in parliament over a report on interference of air control signals by some of the country’s FM stations through their radio waves.
The Communications Commission of Kenya named Royal Media Services owned by businessman SK Macharia for illegally interfering with avionic communications frequencies.
A section of MPs accused Raila and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, who is his running-mate of shielding the company from prosecution for political interests. Macharia is part of the CORD summit and has publicly declared support for Raila’s presidency.
Uhuru Kenyatta
The Jubilee Coalition presidential hopeful joined Kibaki’s government after the 2007 elections when he was appointed as Trade Minister. His stint at the trade ministry was uneventful as this is one of the less prominent ministries despite its importance.
After the signing of the National Accord in February 2008, Uhuru was appointed as one of the two Deputy Prime Ministers. Uhuru was moved from Trade and appointed Minister for Finance in January 2009, while remaining Deputy Prime Minister.
During his time at Treasury, Uhuru spearheaded a number of reform measures that have seen a change in how the ministry and government by extension transacts it business.
During the 2009/2010 budget, Uhuru set aside Sh22 billion going towards the construction of schools, horticultural markets, jua kali sheds and public health centres in all constituencies under the Economic Stimulus Programme.
Uhuru has made this one of his campaign items insisting that even before the country adopted devolved government, through his leadership, Treasury had already kicked off devolution of public funds.
When he took over at the Treasury, Uhuru initiated that re-engineering of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS to curb fraud and other malpractices that stem from inefficiency.
Though the system, the government sought to seal all loopholes in the way public finances are used and in particular streamline procurement procedures.
Informal sector
In 2011, Uhuru launched an initiative dubbed as the Funds for the Inclusion of Informal Sector to allow Micro and Small Entrepreneurs (MSE) to access credit facilities, expand their businesses and increase their savings.
So far, the initiative has three banks - the Cooperative Bank of Kenya, Equity Bank and K-Rep bank - as partners. In his 2011/2012 budget, Uhuru sought to ensure Financial Inclusion of an estimated 8.3 million Kenyans working in the informal sector, through the fund.
Uhuru also initiated the investor compensation fund aimed to compensate investors who had lost money to defunct stock brokers. He also directed that interest on contributions made to the investor compensation fund be exempt from tax.
One of Uhuru’s highlights at Treasury was in 2009 when he directed that government officials to return in their Mercedes-Benz cars for Volkswagen Passats. Uhuru’s argument was would reduce vehicle costs by about two-thirds cost of running and maintenance.
In 2011, Uhuru moved to involve the public in the budget making process when it became a requirement in the Constitution. Citing Article 10 of the Constitution, which recognizes inclusiveness in governance, Uhuru said he was pursuing a more inclusive means of formulating the budget.
Uhuru also released the budget estimates to the public through the Treasury website, a week before the reading of the Budget and immediately the budget was read, his Budget Speech and Citizen's Guide to the Budget, were released through his various platform.
The ICC
On January 23, 2012, Uhuru was among four Kenyans whose charges were confirmed by the ICC for an alleged role in the 2008 post-election violence. They are to stand trial for crimes against humanity from April this year at The Hague-based court.
Three days after the charges was confirmed, Uhuru quit as Finance Minister but retained his position as DPM.
But his stint at Treasury was not without controversy with the most famous being the Sh9.2 billion computer error in the 2009 supplementary budget that nearly had him ousted through a censure motion.
The government required an additional Sh38 billion, but compromised on a figure of Sh22 billion but after voting on the bill, Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara brought up discrepancy question as to what exactly had been approved by the house.
Uhuru initially defended the budget that had been passed but later admitted that there were computer or typographical errors in budget bill. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the Joint Finance and Budgetary Committee on the issue.
The greatest dent in Uhuru’s candidature and political career is his alleged role in the 2007-2008 post-election violence that places him as one of those to be tried by the ICC.
Uhuru has been accused of, together with former Cabinet Secretary Francis Muthaura of organising the Mungiki, in the post-election violence. Uhuru maintains his innocence and wants his name cleared.
His opponents have been using this issue to campaign against him and have also termed him as a hot-tempered person after once he banged tables in full glare of the press.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Protests after Raila sister ‘declared’ winner
KISUMU, Kenya, Jan 20 – Protests rocked the lakeside town of Kisumu and its environs to denounce an alleged announcement that Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s sister Ruth Adhiambo had won the ODM Kisumu gubernatorial nomination.
The demonstrations were simultaneous in Kisumu, Nyando and Maseno where roads leading to Kisumu town were blocked and transport paralysed.
At Kondele in Kisumu town, the demonstrators lit bonfires blocking the Kisumu-Kakamega road as police officers led by the Kondele police chief Johnston Wanyama watched from a distance.
“ODM headquarters should come and tell us how many votes Ruth got to be declared the winner,” said one of the demonstrators.
Ruth was ‘declared’ winner at the Tom Mboya Labour College hall by someone who now turns out was not the returning officer.
The demonstrators said there was a plot to rig out Jack Ranguma who was the frontrunner for the position.
Carrying banners saying “No Ranguma, No Raila” the demonstrators vowed not to let go the nomination to Ruth whom they have accused of using her brother’s name to clinch the party nomination.
The standoff comes barely a day after Siaya County residents staged demonstrations to protest against former Bondo MP Oburu Odinga who is an elder brother to the PM after he was announced the winner for the gubernatorial position there.
Later on Sunday afternoon, the National Elections Board (NEB) of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) sent a statement denying it had declared Ruth the winner of the polls.
“The board categorically states that it has not issued any information regarding the Kisumu gubernatorial contest and urges the residents of Kisumu to remain calm and maintain peace.”
The board said reports in the mainstream media and information trending on social media “should be treated as rumours and therefore urges the public to ignore them.”
“The board chairman and his entire team will issue a comprehensive statement later in the day which will also include news on the Kisumu County nominations exercise,” the statement concluded.
NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 18 – The Prime Minister’s brother Oburu Odinga has finally been declared winner of the Siaya governor’s position by the county elections panel chairperson.
In other hand the Brother of Presidential candiadatefor CORD was also declared.
The declaration giving Oburu 62,232 votes against William Oduol’s 35,198 was made by Monica Amolo in Bondo under tight security.
The results were from four constituencies but omitted vote tallies from Gem and Alego Usonga, which supporters said are Oduol’s strongholds.
Observers had named Oduol the winner in the hotly contested elections with reports emerging as early as Thursday night that Oburu had lost the ticket.
Just before Oburu was declared winner, ODM Elections Board Chairman Franklin Bett was issuing a directive in Nairobi for a repeat of the Siaya nominations following the ‘disappearance’ of the returning officer.
Bett said the board had replaced the Returning Officer for the process to be finalised, as efforts to trace the missing officer were made.
The elections board ordered that all party nominations which were being repeated be completed by midnight on Friday to ensure that candidates were not locked out of the March 4 elections.
Bett said they had been advised by the Independence Electoral Boundaries Commission that results received past midnight Friday would be illegitimate.
He at the same time appealed to voters in Kisumu, Migori and Homa Bay to observe sobriety and peace.
Bett also expressed concern over massive reports of harassment and intimidation of various returning officers following the highly contested ODM primaries.
“These returning officers have been intimidated, they have been threatened with death, some of them have been beaten… as a human being they feel threatened they feel scared,” Bett told a news conference in Nairobi.
At the same time, he disowned a statement made by ODM Secretary General Anyang’ Nyong’o where he promised party members in Kisumu Central Constituency that there would be a repeat poll.
Bett urged the party supporters to raise complaints with the National Elections Board and “not the other noises coming from other members of the party or media.”
“I know the membership of the NEB. My good friend Anyang’ Nyong’o is not a member of the NEB,” he said.
He also dismissed claims that they were delaying announcing the results so that they could doctor them in favour of party favourites.
“I am not doing any monkey business, because I am not a monkey. I am a human being… I am always determined on fairness and the truth so I will comply with the results from the returning officers nothing that has been subjected to what you call monkey business has got anything to do with me,” he stated.
Bett also says all successful candidates must seek their confirmation from the Elections Board and personally pick their certificates.
“I want to urge people when they come for their certificates they don’t have to come with mobs. The certificates are not heavy, they are light papers and they can only be taken by the candidates themselves. I do not want agents to come for them, they are very crucial document,” he said.
He said he will issue nomination certificates on Saturday to those who have been clinched the tickets unopposed. Bett said that he will start issuing the certificates for those who won their nominations on Sunday.
Friday, 18 January 2013
What East African Muslim can Learn from Egypt.
After about 80 years of social, economic and political activism, the Muslim Brotherhood has produced a president in Egypt, thus throwing into the limelight the nature of what the media likes to refer to as Islamist movements. Muhammad Morsi (born August 20, 1951) is Egypt’s new president after being elected with a 51.7 percent majority vote in a run-off poll in June 2012. Before his election, Morsi was a Member of Parliament in the People’s Assembly of Egypt from 2000 to 2005, and a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood.
He became chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party; a political party founded by Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of 2011 Egyptian revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak. He contested on the FJP ticket for the May-June presidential election and won after a run-off with Ahmed Shafiq, Egypt’s last prime minister under Mubarak. However, in view of the prevailing geopolitics, especially with regard to global war on terrorism, an Islamist party coming to power in any country is likely to worry many people. But it is important to understand the history and nature of Muslim Brotherhood in order to draw some important lessons from such movements.
The term ‘Islamist’ is very controversial because many understand it to mean violent agitation for a theocratic government based on strict application of Islamic tenets. In fact, Islamism has always been equated with political agitation against Western economic, political, cultural, and military influence in the Muslim world— influence believed to be incompatible with Islam.
But the term ‘Islamist’ is indeed derogatory because it connotes an irrational opposition to modernity and democracy, yet Muslims consider their political beliefs and goals to be simply an expression of Islamic values just the way we have political parties like the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Germany led by Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland led by Rev Ian Paisley, and whose basic ideologies are derived from Judeo-Christian morality.
In this regard, the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt is a good example of how Muslims can organize themselves socially and politically in society without being antagonistic to other religious faiths. Sometime early this year, I was privileged to attend a conference on Muslim civilization held in Cairo, Egypt where I met a number of Muslim scholars, politicians, academicians and religious leaders from all over the world. In my interactions with delegates in Cairo, I also talked to members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which produced the country’s newly elected president Muhammad Morsi.
It is important to point out that the Society of the Muslim Brothers (Muslim Brotherhood) is the world's most influential, and one of the largest Islamist movements. Founded in Egypt in 1928 by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna, Muslim Brotherhood has spread its tentacles to become the most influential political organization in many Arab states. Its ideas earned it supporters throughout the Arab world and influenced other Islamist groups with its model of political activism combined with Islamic charity work.
Although the Brotherhood's stated goal is to pursue social, economic and political affairs based on Islamic teachings, it is important to point out that Muslim Brotherhood is vehemently opposed to violent means to achieve its goals— this is why the Egyptian revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak did not witness any extreme bloody violence from civilians despite Muslim Brotherhood having a huge following in Egypt.
Because of its non-violent approach to political agitation, Muslim Brotherhood called upon its supporters to protest peacefully against the Mubarak regime. During the protests at the famous Tahrir Square in Cairo, Muslim Brotherhood shared platforms with all Egyptians of different religious and political persuasion (including Orthodox Christians) to demand the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and open up the democratic space in Egypt. However, Muslim Brotherhood at one time encompassed a paramilitary wing and its members were accused of being involved in bombings and assassinations of political opponents— notably Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha.
Nonetheless, it is still important to point out that because of its opposition to violence to achieve their goals, Muslim Brotherhood has been criticized by al-Qaeda for its support for democratic elections rather than armed jihad. But the reason Muslim Brotherhood has earned respect is because it started off as a social organization that invested in education, setting up hospitals and even launching commercial enterprises in order to uplift its people economically.
The Muslim community in Kenya, marginalized for decades since independence, has a few lessons to learn from Muslim Brotherhood. Instead of always blaming successive governments for marginalizing and neglecting the community, Muslims in Kenya should embark on self-driven socio-economic activities that would uplift them economically.
And to set these activities rolling, Muslims in Kenya don’t have to wait for the government to step in— all they have to do is borrow a leaf from Muslim Brotherhood and start raising contributions from the community itself and other well-wishers to set up schools, universities, hospitals and commercial enterprises.
When I look around, the biggest challenges that many Muslims in Kenya face have to do with economic deprivation, not political marginalization as some people have tended to insist. Hence, if Muslims organize themselves into well-structured and acceptable economic entities, they will earn the respect of the rest of Kenyans and become a formidable political force to reckon with just the way Muslim Brotherhood had become in Egypt.
It is important to reiterate that the Brotherhood in Egypt is financed by contributions from its members and by the time it started seeking a stake in Egypt’s politics, millions of Egyptians, both Muslim and non-Muslim, could identify with Muslim Brotherhood because of its self-sustaining socio-economic programmes that benefit millions of Egyptians without discrimination.
The new constitution provides Kenyan Muslims with immense opportunities to empower themselves economically and get out of the state of marginalization. I have in mind Article 56 of the constitution, which provides that the State shall put in place affirmative action programmes designed to ensure that minorities and marginalized groups participate and are represented in governance and other spheres of life and are provided special opportunities in educational and economic fields among other things.
From my experience with the Muslim community, I have come to realize that Muslims face the same socio-economic challenges like any other minority or marginalized Kenyans, and if the community organizes itself appropriately, it can do a lot for its people.
To solve their problems, Muslims, like other minority and marginalized communities in Kenya, do not necessarily have to mobilize themselves into a special political entity— all that is needed is a focused, innovative, and right-thinking leadership that would pursue socio-economic programmes that uplift the community from poverty and deprivation. As already pointed out, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has uplifted its people by engaging in serious socio-economic activities than engaging in abrasive politics.
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