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BY STAFF REPORTER Three former senior officials at Mutare town council, including former town clerk Obert Muzawazi have been arrested following an investigation by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) for selling residential stands without authority. Muzawazi, Christian Sithole, who was a former senior community officer, and Isdore Bingura, who was former legal officer at the council, were yesterday arraigned before Mutare magistrate Nyasha Kuture who remanded them to December 30. The trio, which is denying corruption allegations, was granted $10 000 bail each. The State alleges that on January 19, 2008, Muzawazi corruptly sold stand number 7539 Murambi East measuring 3 000 square metres at $2,5 million to Tinotenda Muzawazi. Bingura and Sithole witnessed the signing as representatives of Mutare City Council. No tender procedures were followed.
Critics have called it a stunt to invite sympathy. Yet Amuriat says campaigning without shoes is a protest and that those who do not get its symbolism are missing a point.
Uganda is due to hold a general election on January 14. Amuriat and another opposition candidate, Bobi Wine have had their rallies violently dispersed by security forces or been arrested.
In mid-November, scores of people were killed as security forces attempted to quell protests against the arrest and detention of Bobi Wine.
Police has accused the candidates of addressing huge gatherings in contravention of regulations on COVID-19 prevention.
Swollen feet
In an interview with one of the dailies in Uganda, Amuriat said his feet hurt a lot and has to pour cold water on them in between campaign stops for some relief.
Doctors have cautioned him on the potential danger of contracting tetanus from cuts to his feet.
Yet Amuriat remains adamant. He says by refusing to wear shoes, he’s standing in solidarity with people whose wealth and opportunities have been stolen by the country’s longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni.
JUST IN: FDC presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat has been arrested at the border of Rubirizi and Bushenyi districts. The reason for his arrest is yet to be known📹 @MukhayeD#MonitorUpdates#UGDecides2021 pic.twitter.com/xopK4FMoD0
— Daily Monitor (@DailyMonitor) December 4, 2020
Museveni, in power since 1986 is seeking a new term. In 2017, he changed the constitution to remove age limits that would have stopped him from seeking re-election.
FDC is Uganda’s largest opposition party. In 3 previous elections, the party fronted veteran activist and retired army colonel Kizza Besigye for president.
Military sales by the arms industry’s 25 largest companies totaled US$ 361 billion in 2019, 8.5 per cent more than in 2018, according to a new study released Tuesday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The top five positions are occupied by US defence giants. Together with seven other US companies, they represent 61 per cent of global sales.
After the USA, China accounted for the second largest share of 2019 arms sales by the top 25 arms companies, at 16 percent. The six West European companies together accounted for 18 percent.
The two Russian companies in the ranking accounted for 3.9 percent.
For the first time, a Middle East company has become a top arms supplier in the world.
Edge, based in the United Arab Emirates, occupies the 22nd position, and accounts for 1.3 percent of total arms sales of the top 25 firms.
For senior SIPRI researcher Pieter Wezeman, the high demand for weapons from local governments and the will of the countries in Middle East to become independent from foreign manufacturers are favouring the growth of Middle Eastern companies.
The contest is a walk up to the crucial Jan. 5. Runoff.
Ever since the start of the global pandemic, the world has been eagerly awaiting the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines. Not only will these save lives, but kick start the economy and pave the way to a return to normality. Americans have welcomed recent news, with cautious optimism, that two vaccines (by Pfizer and […]
ANC MP Pumza Dyantyi has died after spending a brief period in hospital.
Watch BET UK on Sky 173, Virgin 184 Freesat 140
NNPA NEWSWIRE — \"Fifty years of making a seat at the table and building a pipeline for those to come, and 50 years as the 'Conscience of the Congress,'\" said Congresswoman Bass, adding, \"On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee for the 117th Congress.\"
An Eco-Friendly Manufacturing Plant is Turning Plastic into Bricks
After Kenya imposed a ground-breaking law in 2017 on the use, manufacturing and import of plastic bags as part of global efforts to limit plastic waste, four engineers in Nairobi saw an opportunity in the estimated 500 tonnes of plastic waste the city generates daily and founded Gjenge Makers — a company that recycles plastic bottle tops and cooking oil containers into environmentally friendly bricks. Nzambi Matee, a co-founder of Gjenge Makers, explains how it came about.
\"So we started by collecting plastic waste and selling it to recyclers. That was in 2017, and then we realised three to six months later that we were collecting more waste than we could sell, than the recyclers could absorb. So that's when we decided what more we could do with the remaining plastic, as a value-added aspect, to see if we could put a product on the market using the plastic waste, and that's how we started making the paving stones\".
Grey pavers sell for around 8 euros per square meter, while coloured pavers sell for around 10 euros.
Matee describes the logic behind the ecologically-sound operation, \" Once the manufacturers package the soft drinks, or whatever product they are packaging, once the consumer finishes with that product, they have nowhere else to take it other than the litter box. And so, with that, we decided why don't we create a plug where instead of having the plastic to go the dumpsite, we intercept it on the way, and hence we started the making business.\"
The waste is then crushed into small pellets, sorted according to colour, mixed with sand and the desired colour pigment — before being taken onto the production line where they are moulded and put into a hydraulic press.
Ann Muthoni, the Programme Coordinator at Mukuru Slums Development Projects, shares some inside information, \"We had used the ballast before, but most of the trainees were complaining the ballast was damaging their shoes, so the Gjenge pavers, we find them very friendly. Walking on them feels like you are walking on rubber*
Gjenge Makers can currently produce up to 1,500 bricks a day with homeowners and schools as clients.
The West Dumping Plastic Waste in Africa
Although many African countries are making an effort to overcome the pressing issue of plastic waste, their efforts are often thwarted — as many countries in the Western world have used many nations in Africa as their plastic waste dumîng ground.
In April, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) - whose members include Shell, Exxon, Total, DuPont and Dow, companies already guilty of polluting many rivers in Africa via oil drilling and oil spills, proposed investments in recycling in Kenya with a catch.
The recycling investment deal is one only provided that the recipient country accepts US plastic waste i.e. Kenya would get about 500 million tonnes of plastic waste exports from the US per year.
Plastic But Not a Superficial Issue
According to a 2018 United Nations (UN) report, an esti
BULAWAYO youths linked to the militant Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) on Friday stopped a mining syndicate from prospecting for gold in the Matobo Hills World Heritage Site. BY NQOBANI NDLOVU In September, government bowed to pressure from Domboshaba villagers in Matobo district, Matabeleland South, and stopped a mining syndicate from conducting mining operations within the heritage site. This was after miners calling themselves Mazinahue Syndicate wanted to engage in mining activities armed with a fake prospecting licence from the Mines and Mining Development ministry to prospect for gold, but they were stopped by locals. In the latest incident, the mining syndicate returned to resume operations but was overpowered by locals who ganged up with MRP youths to stop them. “It appears the measure (evict ion of the syndicate in September) was just temporary, meant to blindfold MRP and Matobo community,” the MRP president Mqondisi Moyo said. “This is confirmed by the return of the invaders two weeks ago, and this time bringing with them fake letters from the Mines ministry and Matobo Rural District Council. “However, the MRP youths could not brook the nonsense, but ordered them to pack all their equipment and other stuff into the MRP truck… this was a victory worth celebrating by ululations.” Matobo District Development Co-ordinator Obey Chaputsira could not be reached for comment on his mobile phone. In September, Chaputsira said no mining would take place at the heritage site. He promised villagers that any such activity would be stopped. Land disputes involving villagers and mining syndicates are on the increase in Matabeleland South, where there are gold mining deposits. Reports indicate that mining syndicates work in cahoots with Mines and Lands and Resettlement ministry officials to evict villagers to ensure easy access to gold deposits.
Zane Killian, who has serious charges against him, has to isolate after coming into contact with a cellmate who showed COVID-19 symptoms.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense, according to four people familiar with the decision. If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would be the first Black leader of the Pentagon. Biden selected Austin over the longtime front-runner candidate, Michele Flournoy, a former senior […]
Votes are being counted in Ghana following the presidential and parliamentary elections on Monday.
Despite the election being largely calm, heavy security is surveilling the count in the capital Accra's Jamestown neighborhood, where Ghanaians are already celebrating the victory of their candidate.
There are 12 candidates in the running but it is expected to be a two-horse race between incumbent president Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and his longtime rival and former president John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress party (NDC).
\"We are supporting the New Patriotic Party, which is the NPP. Probably we’ve won already, so we have nothing much to say. Total knock out,\" said NPP supporter Awo 'Rasta.
But NDC supporter Yunis Day said \"These people are NPP’s people. They are the disturbance. We are the NDC.\"
\"They haven’t finished counting the ballot papers, but they are already making noise. Empty barrels make the most noise.\"
Ghana has ensured peaceful transfers of power on seven occasions its step towards multiparty democracy in 1992.
The two main parties have always accepted electoral outcomes and pursued any issues through the courts.
A few polling stations opened late and isolated cases of ballot tampering were reported by the electoral commission but there were no major incidents across the country's 38,000 polling stations.
Early election results are expected later on Tuesday.
Nigeria is Blacklisted by the USA
On Monday, the United States placed Nigeria - for the first time, on a religious freedom blacklist; A core issue for the outgoing administration which often counted on strong evangelical Christian support while playing down other human rights concerns among allies. Mixed Reactions
Frank Tietie, a local human rights lawyer, shares his reaction to the news, \"I think it's coming quite a bit late because we are looking at facts that have been on the ground for many years, a situation where religious minorities in this country suffered helplessly, persecuted and the most painful part of it is there hasn’t been that kind of strong commitment on the part of the government.\" Nigeria is the base of Boko Haram, Islamist extremists whose 11-year insurgency has taken over 36,000 lives and spread to neighbouring countries.
Anegbe Gideon, a civil servant, takes a defiant stance - believing that national issues should be resolved internally, \"Nigeria cannot lay low to the US whatsoever because what binds them is different from what binds us together. We are Africans, they are out there on their own and they cannot force us to dance to their own tune, it is not possible.\"
A Religious Melting Pot
Isaac Akpegi, a trader, wants more visibility and respect for all Nigerians found within the country's borders, \" The sentiment that is in this country is the same one religion, they ((Referring to President Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim) didn't even put any other religion. It is only one religion that is ruling and the ruling that they are doing now is bondage to indigenous (tradition) of Nigerians.\" As a multi-religious society, Nigeria navigates a delicate balance between Muslims, Christians and others in between. However, the Nigerian people's rising concerns require action for a truly harmonious co-existence.
Maryland officials announced Tuesday that the first batch of 155,000 coronavirus vaccines could be distributed as soon as next week.
The formal bail application of Willah Mudolo has been delayed after it was postponed on Tuesday.
Egypt and France signed various declarations of intent on Tuesday in the field of transport and economic cooperation.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi together with the French Prime Minister, Jean Castex held a meeting on Tuesday that was followed by signing of various agreements between the two countries.
The pact will also see both nations benefit from joint cooperation in other fields like education, security, trade and investments.
President Macron had earlier said that France will also not condition arm sale to Egypt.
The comment was in response to criticism by rights groups against what they allege are human rights violations by the Egyptian government.
Sisi who is now on his third day of visit to France has faced a backlash from Egyptian rights activists
The rights groups accused France of having \"long indulged President al-Sisi's brutal repression of any form of dissent\" and said it was \"now or never\" for Macron to stand up for human rights.
Breakdancing is now an official Olympic sport.
Living with HIV as a Refugee
For most of the Ethiopian refugees who fled the conflict in Tigray to Eastern Sudan, life at the camps has been hard. But there are even more challenges for those living with chronic illnesses without access to medication. Aksamaweet Garazgerer, an HIV+ Ethiopian refugee, explains the stark difference in how she feels depending on the availability of her prescription drugs, \"When I take the medication with the food, I am good. I don't get sick. I don't have a fever. I don't have a cold. But now my supply has finished. I am so tired. I keep fainting.\"
Many living with HIV are going without antiretroviral medication. A situation compounded by the inadequate shelter and difficult daily survival conditions — fearing for their lives for different reasons.
Terhas Adiso, another Ethiopian refugee living with HIV, is worried about her health as time goes by, \"This week if I don't find this medication, I will suffer. Now when you see the dead they don't get up. I'll be as good as dead. I am scared for myself and my son, he is young. He will be left alone. For my son, I am crying and I am scared.\"
Exhausted, stressed and having to stay strong for their families in light of the already dire situation at the camp is a lot for anyone to carry, but all hope is not lost for these Ethiopian war survivors.
THE National Social Security Authority (Nssa) says it plans to scale up it’s shareholding in the pan African development financial institution, Africa Import Export Bank (Afreximbank) by deploying funds generated when it hived off its shareholding in ZB Financial Holdings Limited (ZBFHL). BY MELODY CHIKONO In 2017, Nssa splurged US$20 million for a stake in Afreximbank, as part of a broad strategy that is meant to bolster the fund’s balance sheet through diversifying investments. A Nssa executive told NewsDay Business last week that the fresh investment into Afreximbank formed part for the State-run pay-as-you-go fund’s ambition to continue unlocking value for thousands of pensioners with savings under its stewardship. The authority recently offloaded its 37,79% stake in ZBFHL where it pocketed US$ 11,46 million in the deal. It was not clear if the entire package would be invested in Afreximbank. But the fund is also mulling to expand its pan-African holdings with an investment in the Lagos headquartered Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re). Africa Re is one of the region’s biggest reinsurers with a footprint in 41 Africa countries through approximately 107 insurance and reinsurance companies, which was founded on February 24 1976 in Yaounde, Cameroon, making it Africa's first continental reinsurer. It says it is continually combing through the markets to find the right assets to invest in. Nssa communications manager Tendai Mutseyekwa said the authority had pocketed US$1,18 million in dividends out of its Afreximbank investment and was determined to make fresh inroads into one of the region’s most influential financial institutions. “For our offshore investments, we are currently invested in Afreximbank, Quilter and Nedbank, which are both offshoots of Old Mutual,” Mutseyekwa told this paper. Quilter Plc, formerly known as Old Mutual Wealth Management Limited, is a financial services company formed to take over the United Kingdom wealth management business of Old Mutual Plc, after its separation of business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. “With these proceeds we are looking at enhancing our investments in Afreximbank because of the dividend and then also look at other equity investments. But mainly we want to shore up our investments with Afreximbank. We are actually trying to unlock value for the benefit of the scheme,” he said. Generally, Nssa’s investment portfolio is valued at $30,48 billion. It is spread across a wide spectrum of asset classes and industries including equities, properties, offshore investments and fixed income. These include investments in equities on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange valued at $19,1 billion, investments in shares of unlisted companies valued at $149 million and foreign investments valued at $1,9 billion. The authority’s fixed income is valued at $770 million. Nssa received more than $60 million in dividends from companies it invested in during the first half of this year. Follow Melody on Twitter @melodychikono
