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[Monitor] Finance minister Matia Kasaija was last night on the defensive following accusations that he irregularly dangled a top government job to secure the exit of his opponent in a parliamentary contest.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
[Nation] Hundreds of people appointed as chairpersons and members of boards of State corporations between March and July 2016 were in office illegally, the High Court said on Friday.
[Monitor] The National Resistance Movement (NRM) is struggling to come up with a common mode of voting in their party primaries to identify their candidates for different elective positions in the 2021 General Election.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has outlined measures to curb spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as it laces its boots for the compilation of a new voters register.
Though it is yet to give an exact date for the exercise, the EC has given indication of compiling a new register once it gets the green light from health experts.
The EC had scheduled April 18 for compilation of the new voters register ahead of the December general elections but had to put it on hold due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.
The move to discard the old voter register, the EC contends, is in favour of the new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS) which would among other things have a facial recognition ability.
The NDC has however vehemently resisted attempts by the EC to register citizens for a new register amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
[Ghanaian Times] The Electoral Commission (EC), yesterday inaugurated a 16-member Adjudication Committee to clean the new voters register to ensure a credible 2020 polls come December 7.
Some governments have stared this bleak figure in the eye with all round economic stimulus packages which have included cuts to Pay As You Earn and corporation taxes like the Kenyan government.
Later that evening, she watched a news clip in which the Minister of Finance, Mr Matia Kasaija, said a prospective economic stimulus package was on its way.
To feed the national budget which Parliament had passed and also keep the economic stimulus package hopes alive, the ministry was banking on six quick loans from the World Bank, IMF, French Development Fund and the African Development to raise close to two billion dollars.
As heads of schools donated to the National Task Force on Covid-19, several teachers, especially in private schools, cried out for relief food saying they had not been paid since the president closed all education institutions in March to combat the pandemic.
The Uganda Hotel Owners' Association revealed that their members have been forced to send at least 400,000 employees on unpaid leave due to the Covid-19 lockdown that has plunged tourism, the country's biggest foreign exchange earner and other sectors of the economy, into disarray.
The electoral commission, INEC, has approved direct primary for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to select its candidate for the September 19 governorship election in Edo State.
The APC headquarters had approved direct primary while the Edo chapter of the party wanted indirect primary.
Festus Okoye, the INEC spokesperson, appealed to the various political parties to conduct their primaries in full compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2010 law.
\"In accordance with Sections 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), 15 out of the 18 registered Political Parties have notified the Commission of their intention to conduct primaries for the purpose of nominating candidates for the Edo State Governorship election slated for 19 September 2020.
\"The Commission appeals to the various Political Parties to conduct their primaries in full compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Political Party Primaries (2018) and the INEC Police COVID-19 Pandemic of 21\" May 2020.
The observers recognise that an electoral system governed by a whole series of constantly changing pieces of legislation \"responds to the outcome of political dialogue between the main parties, Renamo and Frelimo, rather than taking a holistic review of the electoral framework.\"
Stop the inclusion of fraudulent results: Under Renamo pressure, the parties agreed an electoral court system which could intervene to redress misconduct and errors by election commissions, STAEs, and polling stations.
Civil society members to be non-partisan
Members of the National Elections Commission (CNE) \"do not represent the public or private institutions or political or social institutions they come from, and defend the national interest\", says the electoral law.
For the 2008-9 elections, parliament (AR) agreed a dramatic change - a majority of CNE members, including the chair (presidente) were nominated by Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to try to force some independence and neutrality.
But this agreement between Frelimo and Renamo to select party aligned CSO members is not specified in the electoral law and clearly goes against the spirit of the law.
Benin was the seat of one of the great medieval African kingdoms called Dahomey. Europeans began arriving in the area in the 18th century, as the kingdom of Dahomey was expanding its territory. The Portuguese, the French, and the Dutch established trading posts along the coast (Porto-Novo, Ouidah, Cotonou), and traded weapons for slaves. Slave trade ended in 1848. Then, the French signed treaties with Kings of Abomey (Guézo, Toffa, Glèlè) to establish French protectorates in the main cities and ports.
However, King Behanzin fought the French influence, which cost him deportation to Martinique.
From a Colony of France to Independence:
In 1892 Dahomey became a French protectorate and part of French West Africa in 1904. Expansion continued to the North (kingdoms of Parakou, Nikki, Kandi), up to the border with former Upper Volta. On 4 December 1958, it became the République du Dahomey, self-governing within the French community, and on 1 August 1960, the Republic of Dahomey gained full independence from France. T he country was renamed Benin in 1975
Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought to power Major Mathieu Kérékou as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. The Parti de la Révolution Populaire Béninoise (Revolutionary Party of the People of Benin, PRPB) remained in complete power until the beginning of the 1990s.
Kérékou, encouraged by France and other democratic powers, convened a national conference that introduced a new democratic constitution and held presidential and legislative elections. Kérékous principal opponent at the presidential poll, and the ultimate victor, was Prime Minister Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo.
Supporters of Soglo also secured a majority in the National Assembly.
Benin was thus the first African country to effect successfully the transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system. In the second round of National Assembly elections held in March 1995, Soglos
The national Budget for the Financial Year 2020/2021 is the first in the third phase of the National Development Plan (NDP) III which runs until 2025.
The budgetary allocations placed said priorities at the bottom with Agriculture sector getting 2.91 per cent, Tourism with 0.44 per cent while Energy and Mineral development which superintends over oil and gas is placed among the 10 in the Budget with 5.72 per cent.
While unveiling the Budget, Mr Matia Kasaija, the Finace minister, revealed: \"The Agriculture sector plays a central role in Uganda's economy.
But NDPIII maintains that for successful implementation of its programmes, key development strategies such as; agro-industrialisation, fast-track oil, gas and mineral-based industrialisation, import replacement/promotion of local manufacturing, export promotion, harness the tourism potential, and provide a suitable fiscal, monetary and regulatory environment for the private sector to invest must be at the fore front.
Mr Kasaija cast the outlined priorities of the Third National Development Plan (NDPIII) FY2020/2021 to FY 2024/2025 at far bottom yet the plan is meant to guide the allocations.
Governor General Sir Patrick Allen says Jamaica should become accustomed to the new way of life ushered in by the coronavirus, which has sent millions of jobs around the world into homes and others into virtual spaces.
Sir Patrick, in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Gleaner, said that even with the pandemic reaching the island, the office of the head of state continues to carry out its full operation, including administrative functions, swearing-in for judges, and handling a flurry of gazettes announcing orders for curfews, quarantine and localised states of emergency.
My work hours have not been lessened as a result of the crisis,” disclosed Sir Patrick, who represents the head of state, Queen Elizabeth, in the island.
We, hopefully, will be a kinder and more gentler society, because this experience pulls all of these qualities out of us, so I do not see why we should revert to those things,” Sir Patrick said.
Sir Patrick called on Jamaicans to exercise tolerance, especially those operating in tight spaces, telling them the viral pandemic will not last forever.
It was supposed to be an iconic flawless structure and symbol of pride for Kayunga District, but the administration block is falling apart.
These visible defects in the structure have raised concerns from the staff and residents who visit the district headquarters.
Mr Robert Drate, the district water engineer, who was the acting district engineer then and oversaw the construction work, acknowledges that the structure is in a \"sorry state\".
Some of the district staff, who declined to be named, complain that in some cases, their documents are destroyed by water from the leaking roof.
Mr Tom Sserwanga, the Kayunga District chairperson, blames the problem on the original design of the building which he says does not favour proper water drainage.
Malawi's governing party has called for a third presidential election, citing irregularities and intimidation in this week's re-run vote as unofficial tallies show incumbent President Peter Mutharika losing to the opposition leader.
Voters in the southern African country went to the polls on Tuesday for the second time in 13 months after the Constitutional Court scrapped the initial May 2019 presidential election over mass fraud.
The governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) called on Friday on the electoral commission to annul the results collated so far of the second vote and declare a third poll.
DPP administrative secretary Francis Mphepo said in a statement: \"We wish to highlight several incidents that may potentially affect the integrity and credibility of the presidential election results.\"
In February, Malawi's top court found the election was marred by widespread irregularities, including the use of correction fluid to tamper with result sheets.
President Museveni's message on the effects on Covid-19 was yesterday delivered by the Secretary General of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), Ms Justine Kasule Lumumba, to the Inter-party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) meeting where Justice Forum (Jeema) took over its leadership from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.
Appeal
Ms Lumumba also challenged Jeema to prioritise a meeting between the IPOD members and the Electoral Commission officials to discuss alternative ways the elections can be conducted based on the recommendations from scientists.
However, the FDC party president, Mr Patrick Amuriat Oboi, said it should not be scientists to determine the fate of the elections but stakeholders including the political parties.
The deputy president of the Democratic Party (DP), Mr Mukasa Mbidde, told the meeting that elections are not \"scientific expeditions\" for scientists to decide.
Follow Constitution
The president of Jeema, Mr Asuman Basalirwa, said elections are guided by the Constitution and other electoral laws and it should not be scientists to determine how, when and who should contest for elections.
Uganda's 2021 election candidates will have to campaign online and through the media to reach voters as part of new rules to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Uganda's electoral commission banned mass gatherings during campaigning, which critics say will disadvantage opposition parties and voters, and may be unconstitutional.
Simon Byamukama, chairman of the electoral commission, says his team will meet with the minister of information, the Media Council and the Uganda Communications Commission about the guidelines.
The RDCs, along with the police, have been known to deny members of the opposition access to the media – which has Uganda election observers worried.
Sarah Birete, associate director of the Center for Constitutional Governance, a Ugandan NGO, says the new campaign rules put older and rural voters – who are less likely to be online or have access to electronic media – at a disadvantage during an election campaign.
[Monitor] On June 13, President Museveni appointed Ms Dorothy Kisaka as the new executive director (ED) of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to replace Ms Jennifer Musisi who resigned in October 2018.
As Covid-19 cases continue to rise, Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng on Wednesday, hinted on the possibility of the country being placed under another lockdown over what is perceived as complacency by the public in the fight against the spread of the virus.
Efforts to reach Minister Aceng to clarify on her comments were futile but but State Minister for Health, Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, said total lockdown is a possibility, but many people do not seem to appreciate the need for such a move.
\"At first, it was about the truck drivers, but the problem now is infection of the people in the communities,\" Dr Moriku said.
Arua Municipality MP Kassiano Ezati Wadri agrees that it would be necessary for the country to go back into lockdown if the virus spreads in the communities, but hastens to add that this time round government should be using the lockdown to increase preparedness of the health sector to deal with the virus and other medical challenges.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) has been suffering shortages of essential testing kits for the virus since May, a situation which government blamed on increasing number of truck drivers, limited supply from foreign manufacturers and delays in movement of cargo.
The virtual meeting of the ad hoc commission for the normalisation of relations between Uganda and Rwanda ended on Thursday evening without a position, especially on the opening of the Gatuna border point.
The meeting was the first of the commission since the fourth Quadripartite Heads of State Summit of President Museveni, Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Angola's Joao Laurenco, and DRC's Felix Tshisekedi on February 21 at the Katuna/ Gatuna border.
Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa chaired the video conference meeting, also attended by Rwanda's delegation led by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Vincente Biruta, and DR Congo's Deputy Prime Minister Gilbert Kankonde Malamba, and Angola's minister for External Relations, Mr Tete Antonio.
\"Uganda's stance in the meeting was that the border opens as the issues raised by Kigali are discussed further but which Rwanda vehemently shot down,\" sources told this newspaper on condition of anonymity as only Foreign Affairs Minister Kutesa is mandated to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic turn of events, diplomatic sources further intimated that Uganda's UN Permanent Representative Adonia Ayebare, whom President Museveni named as Special Envoy on normalisation of relations late last year, was locked out of yesterday's virtual meeting on directives of Mr Kutesa over yet unknown reasons.
[Monitor] The National Resistance Movement (NRM) party sub-county chairpersons from Gulu and Omoro districts have appealed to President Museveni to deliver on pledges he made to them in 2016.
The Law Society of Kenya has filed a case challenging the legality of an Executive order issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta that allegedly sought to place the Judiciary, commissions as well as independent offices under ministries and government departments.
Through lawyers Manwa Hosea and Arnold Ochieng, the LSK terms the move as unconstitutional since the executive arm of government cannot restructure or assign functions to other arms and independent commissions.
The LSK claims the disputed Executive order No. 1 of 2020 offends the principles of the constitution, doctrine of separation of powers, democracy and independence of constitutional offices.
According to the LSK, the May 11 Executive Order titled 'The Organisation of Government' can impair the independence of the Judiciary, commissions and independent offices.
The order, the LSK argues, places the various tribunals, constitutional commissions and independent agencies under the control and direction of the respective departments.
Evariste Ndayishimiye, a retired general, will take over from President Pierre Nkurunziza, after he beat the main opposition candidate Agathon Rwasa, and five others, avoiding a runoff by securing more than 50% of the vote.
The main opposition candidate, Agathon Rwasa, president of the National Council for Liberty (CNL), has already described these results as “fanciful” and accused the government of “cheating” and “pure manipulation”.
Election held in the midst of COVID-19
\tAccording to partial results compiled by AFP covering 105 communes, Mr. Ndayishimiye obtained an absolute majority of the votes in 101 communes.
The CNL is also outraged at the case of the Musigati commune (west), where Mr. Ndayishimiye received 99.9% of the vote.
Burundi is ranked among the three poorest countries in the world according to the World Bank, which estimates that 75% of the population lives below the poverty line, compared to 65% when Mr. Nkurunziza came to power in 2005.
A High Court in the Ugandan capital Kampala earlier this week ruled that the president had the right to decide who follows him on social media platform Twitter.
The court presided over by Justice Andrew Bashaija held that even though personal Twitter handles could be used for official communication by a public official, it remained an individual and private property.
A Ugandan national living in the diaspora, Hillary Innocent Taylor Seguya, took the president and two other public officials to court for blocking him on Twitter.
“The President is a public officer and a holder of a Twitter social media platform handle @KagutaMuseveni and there is no other official handle for his office.
He opened the Twitter handle when he was holding the office of the President and he has since been using it in his official and not in private capacity,” the petitioner’s suit read in part.
[Monitor] President Museveni yesterday warned the youth to stay away from poor leaders and listed four priority areas in the fight against the rampant youth unemployment in the country.
External budget support
From the external sources, Mr Kasaija projects that Shs2.9 trillion will come from budget support and another Shs9.6trillion will come from project support.
Budget support is a method of financing the budget through a transfer of resources from an external financing agency to the partner government's national treasury.
The government intends to fund the budget by 72.5 per cent while 27.5 per cent will come from the external pool.
Traditionally, Mr Mugunga explained that donors have provided aid either through the financing of specific projects (project aid), which often involved direct participation in their design and implementation, or through providing support to the recipient government's budget (conditional budget support) while imposing conditionality on how to allocate the available resources.
Parliament has already noted with concern that the country's total domestic revenue (inclusive of Local Government Revenue) in the 2020/21 financial year accounts for only 48.2 per cent of the projected resource envelope, leaving the country with unsolved shortfalls.
VIDEO
Confirmed cases = 18,630
\t
\t\tActive cases = 4,467
\t\tRecoveries = 14,046
\t\tNumber of deaths = 117
Ghana Health Service stats valid as of July 1, 2020
June 25: 15,473 cases; mask arrests, apex court ruling
\tCase load as of today hit a total of 15,473 cases with 11,431 recoveries and 950 deaths, according to stats released Friday evening by the Ghana Health Service.
Confirmed cases = 15,473
\t\tActive cases = 3,947
\t\tRecoveries = 11,431
\t\tNumber of deaths = 95
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 12, 2020
June 22: 14,154 cases; how recoveries jumped
\tGhana recorded a boom in recoveries over the weekend as over 6,000 patients were added to the tally which now stands at 10,473 according to authorities.
Confirmed cases = 14,154
\t\tActive cases = 3,596
\t\tRecoveries = 10,473
\t\tNumber of deaths = 85
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 21, 2020
June 15: 13,203 cases; law enacted to penalize mask flouters
\tCase load hit a total of 13,203 cases with 4,548 recoveries and 70 deaths, according to stats released Friday evening by the Ghana Health Service.
Total confirmed cases = 12,193
Total recoveries = 4,326
Total deaths = 58
Active cases = 7,809
\tFigures valid as of close of day June 16, 2020
June 15: 11,964 cases; schools reopen, masks obligatory etc.
Confirmed cases = 11,964
\t\tNumber of deaths = 54
\t\tRecoveries = 4,258
\t\tActive cases = 7,652
\tJohn Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 14, 2020
June 13: 11,118 cases, NDC advocates mass testing
\tGhana’s case load as of this morning stood at 11,118 cases with the disclosure of 262 new cases.
I maintain that Public Servants have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear from a PPP/C Government.
However, the “political appointees” in the Ministries and Agencies who have recently renewed contracts (some, days after the recount confirmed a PPP/C victory) should be put on notice that this is improper, unconstitutional and unlawful.
I reiterate that it is wrong to tie a new Government down with clauses in new contracts to pay tax dollars to political operatives whose services would have concluded.
Public servants, who professionally execute their functions and mandate, will continue to do so freely.
That is to say, public servants irrespective of race, age, gender, ethnicity, class and political affiliation will work and benefit under a PPP/C Government.
Guinea's main oppositon party published Friday a list of 46 people, aged between 3 and 70 years, killed during the repression of demonstrations after the October 18 election, officially won by the incumbent Alpha Condé.
Condé was declared re-elected on October 24 by the Electoral Commission for a controversial third term with 59.5% of the vote, but three of his opponents, including opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, are contesting the results before the Constitutional Court, whose decision is expected on Saturday.
Diallo's party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), denounced in a statement a \"wave of terror\" orchestrated by the government between October 19 and November 3.
\"The provisional toll of this repression is 46 dead, nearly 200 wounded by gunfire, about a hundred arrests and extensive material damage,\" according to the UFDG.
The opposition has so far reported a death toll of at least 27, while for the government, the post-election violence resulted in 21 deaths, including members of the security forces.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) Africa Officer Ida Sawyer on Twitter on October 24 accused Guinean security forces of killing \"at least 8 people, including 3 children.
Amnesty International for its part accused the same security forces of firing live ammunition at demonstrators, without giving a detailed account.
The Ministries of Security and Territorial Administration did not immediately respond to the multiple requests for a reaction from the AFP to the UFDG document.
This document includes a list of names, usually with age, profession, circumstances of death, contacts of a relative, and photos showing these people, dead or alive. In about fifteen cases, these are photos of bodies showing traces of violence.
Most of the presumed victims are young men and women between 15 and 30 years old: motorcycle cab drivers, mechanics, students...
The youngest are a boy and a girl of 3 years old, Mamadou Midiaou Diallo and Mariatou Bah, and the oldest Mamouna Camara, a housewife of 70 years old.
The UFDG also states that \"the overwhelming majority of the victims (...) belong to the same ethnic group as the opposition leader,\" in a country where community affiliations play an important role in elections.
Democratic Republic of Congo: President Tshisekedi reneges on justice pledge, leaving victims in despair
\tPresident Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has reneged on his inauguration pledges to strengthen the rule of law, fight impunity and ensure justice, leaving the families of hundreds of people killed during the country’s pre-election crisis in despair, Amnesty International said today.
“President Tshisekedi and his government must acknowledge the pain that victims and their families have been enduring and publicly commit to promptly and effectively prosecute those responsible,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.
Victims of 2015-2018 brutal crackdowns denied justice in the DRC, Amnesty International interviewed 115 survivors and victims’ family members, on their quest for justice.
Farcical investigations
\tUnder international pressure, former President Joseph Kabila constituted three committees to investigate the deadly crackdowns on protestors, none of which have resulted in any prosecutions.
A second committee created in February 2018 investigated the use of deadly force against protestors on 31 December 2017 and 21 January 2018, recommending prosecution of security officers who ordered or used excessive force against protestors.
Judy Rugasira, the managing director of estate agency Knight Frank, says closing retail businesses that depend on the day-to-day cash flows for 60-days was damaging.
But as the country started to close down, sales in the retail sector slumped by 68 per cent, Rugasira said.
For the real estate sector, coronavirus came at a time when it was already struggling to attract demand and more properties were flooding the market.
A lot of space was being given up by government ministries as they built their own buildings, there was reduced Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the sector and more expatriates were leaving the country.
Rugasira says coronavirus will have a long term impact on the real estate sector, indicating that the non-performing loans that might come out of this might see interest rates up and reduce the ability of developers to borrow.
Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika has appointed a new electoral commission chairperson ahead of a presidential re-run.
The country’s Constitutional Court in February ordered a fresh presidential election be held within 150 days after annulling last year’s re-election of President Mutharika – a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court.
The former commission chairperson Jane Ansah resigned amid criticism by the opposition on how she managed the disputed election.
President Mutharika on Sunday appointed Justice Chifundo Kachale to head the electoral commission.
The new chairperson is expected by voters to deliver a credible presidential election devoid of irregularities as ordered by the courts.
