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[New Times] The prices are going to come down soon. The reduction in costs has been considered by the government and is in the process of being addressed.
South Africa is one of the hardest-hit countries in Africa with over 740,000 infections.
The country recorded 60 more virus-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 20,011.
Absa parent firm forgoes Sh1.2 billion in dividends
Tuesday, June 23, 2020 0:01
By VICTOR JUMA
Absa Bank Kenya Four Way branch in Nairobi.
FILE PHOTO | NMG
Absa Kenya #ticker:ABSA has kept Sh1.2 billion worth of dividends that it was to remit to its parent company this week, with the move aimed at boosting the lender’s capital position.
South Africa-based Absa Group waived its right to part of its dividend ahead of the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm’s annual general meeting on Friday last week.
Absa Group is the only investor waiving part of its dividend, with minority shareholders in the Kenyan unit receiving their payout in full.
The multinational says it will not receive additional shares in Absa Kenya as a result of the dividend loss.
[New Times] The National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) on Wednesday, September 9, said that genocide suspect Charles Ntahontuye Ndereyehe, alias Karoli, should be extradited to Rwanda to account for charges against him.
Speraton Ntawumenyumunsi, a farmer in the area has more than 10 hectares of coffee, banana, macadamia, passion fruits, tamarillos and pineapples among others.
The boom in farming activities around Karenge has inspired Jean de Dieu Ntanshutimwe and other 25 youth farmers grouped under Eden Farmer to venture tamarillo and passion fruit plantations.
The boom in banana production promoted the establishment four banana processing plants in Karenge
Some farmers, especially cooperatives growing maize have contracts to supply their produce directly to major processing plants like Africa Improved Food (AIF), Minimex, among others, which guarantees them market access.
Radjab Mbonyumuvunyi, Rwamagana District Mayor, told The New Times that \"Many people cannot believe it but 60 per cent of tomato and eggplants supplied to Kigali come from sectors of Karenge and Nyakariro,\" he said.
Karenge tops other sectors of the district in agriculture productivity, according to the mayor.
[New Times] The use of lime in acidic soils is credited for contributing to improved farm productivity, but funding deficit has hampered its use in affected soils in Rwanda.
[New Times] On July 29, the Cabinet approved a new National Land Use and Development Master Plan, a document that will guide how land in the country is used for at least the next 30 years, up to 2050.
According to reports, the famed Moonlight actor will bring the story of Jack Johnson to life in a new limited series for HBO.
Johnson was the first Black Heavyweight Boxing champ — and Mahershala, who previously portrayed him on stage, has gone on record to say that it is his dream to play the late athlete on screen.
From Deadline:
“HBO is developing Unruly, a six-part limited series about boxing legend Jack Johnson to be played by two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali.
The project hails from Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone and will be written by Dominique Morisseau based the PBS documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, produced and directed by Ken Burns, and its companion book by Geoffrey C. Ward.”
As for what fans can expect from the series, the site goes on to state…
“Unruly is described as an unapologetically Black, no-holds-barred telling of Jack Johnson (Ali), the world’s first Black Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
Kenya tyre maker Sameer Africa doubled its losses last year, with the management blaming its exit from the tyre production for the poor performance.
The Nairobi Stock Exchange-listed company is now operating on a negative working capital of Ksh134 million ($1.34 million), and incurred a net loss of Ksh1.06 billion ($10.6 million) last year compared with a net loss of Ksh529.32 million ($5.29 million) in 2018.
“The loss for the year significantly increased following a decision to exit from the tyre business leading to the impairment of the tyre business assets and accrual of staff redundancy costs,” the company said in a statement.
The company has announced its exit from the tyre manufacturing business citing difficult operating conditions for a turnaround, with total revenues for this year forecast to fall by a further Ksh1.49 billion ($14.9 million).
The board approved its exit from the tyre business in order to ring-fence the key profit units, reduce costs and capitalise on the rental segment of the business.
Rayon Sports skipper Eric Rutanga has completed his two-year move to archrivals Police after signing the Rwf15 million transfer deal on Thursday, May 28.
JUST IN: @rayon_sports captain Eric Rutanga has joined Police FC after signing a two-year contract this afternoon at a reported Rwf15 million fee.
pic.twitter.com/G7CKQowW40
- The New Times (Sports) (@TimesSportRW) May 28, 2020
Rutanga is the fourth player to depart struggling Rayon in the last ten days.
He joins teammate Eric Iradukunda who was also signed by Police on a two-year deal last weekend.
Rutanga, 26, is one of the most famous products of the Rwanda U-17 team that competed at the 2011 FIFA U17 World Cup in Mexico after finishing second in the Africa Cup of Nations.
The good news is that when it comes to monthly bill, there are ways in which you can cut costs.
In fact, a lot of people in Texas are paying far more than they need to when it comes to their monthly bills, which means a lot of wasted money.
What You Can Do
There are various ways in which you can reduce your monthly bills, some of which are outlined below:
1: Switch Utility Providers
One way you can save is to switch utility providers.
3: Switch to SIM Only Mobile
If your mobile contract has come to an end, choose a SIM only plan and keep your existing handset to avoid the high monthly costs and lengthy contract of getting a new handset.
8: Get Energy Efficient Bulbs and Appliances
The cost of electricity can really bump up your monthly outgoings.
WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand Cricket will cut up to 15% of staff and look to shave NZ$6 million ($3.72 million) in operating costs as part of proposals to cope with “challenging” conditions brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, Chief Executive David White has said.
White told New Zealand media he had informed NZC’s 80 staff yesterday about the planned cuts, which would allow the board to maintain funding levels at provincial and district levels, and avoid shrinking the domestic schedule.
“The cuts are coming from NZC, NZ$6 million, of which NZ$1.5 million is staff.”
New Zealand authorities have begun easing social restrictions in recent weeks with COVID-19 cases slowing to a trickle, and sports have been given the green light to restart domestic competitions.
“What we are experiencing is what I imagine most businesses in New Zealand are experiencing at the moment,” White said.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the St Ann Municipal Corporation, Rovel Morris, has said that the plug-in facility that was installed to charge the personal hybrid Porsche of the mayor, Michael Belnavis, has been removed.
Yesterday, Morris told members of Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee that the charging port has been taken down and “all costs that were associated with the installation will be recovered”.
He denied claims that the electricity costs of the St Ann Municipal Corporation had ballooned as a result of the charging port.
Committee member Fitz Jackson had pressed Morris to disclose the basis for installing the vehicle-charging facility.
However, Morris indicated that in meetings with the chief internal auditor, no regulations were found that prohibited the municipality from proceeding with the facility.
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday dismissed the DA's application for direct access in challenging the constitutionality of the Disaster Management Act.
The DA argued to the court that its application raised \"fundamental questions\" about the separation of powers between Parliament and the executive.
\"The nation is living through extraordinary times, and the executive's response to the pandemic, making use of Section 27 of the Act, raises urgent issues of profound constitutional importance about whether that section is constitutionally compliant.\"
In response, President Cyril Ramaphosa and government asked the court to not grant the DA direct access.
In court papers filed on 19 May, Ramaphosa and Dlamini-Zuma argued that the DA's application was not urgent and did not warrant the Constitutional Court's truncated time periods.
[New Times] Over 1,200 youth living with different types of disabilities will be equipped with technical and business skills as a part of the effort to create an inclusive and enabling environment to access and succeed in employment.
On the same day it was announced that Kanye West is the world’s highest paid musician, the entertainer used some of those funds to donate $2 million to the families of recent police killing victims George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery according to CNN.
West, who is no stranger to speaking out on issues affecting black people, has also set up a college fund to cover tuition for Floyd’s daughter, Gianna.
Attorney Lonita Baker, one of the lawyers representing Taylor’s family, said that West offered to pay the litigation costs to pursue the civil case.
Floyd, who was already in handcuffs and fully contained by police officers, died in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
He was filmed pleading for air, after yelling out that he couldn’t breathe, as a white police officer ignored Floyd’s please and knelt on his neck.
[New Times] Former first lady Agathe Kanziga Habyarimana and Capt Paul Barril, an ex-French military officer with links to Rwanda, should both be in the dock, according to Genocide researcher Tom Ndahiro.
[New Times] Results from the Rwanda Forensic Laboratory have indicated that musician Joshua Tuyishime, best known as Jay Polly, died from methanol alcohol intoxication which caused severe metabolic dysfunction.
Residents in Ngororero district have appealed for help following a heavy downpour that hit the area, earlier this month on the night of May 6.
The residents want authorities to come to their rescue after the heavy rains destroyed their property and crops.
Patrick Uwihoreye, the District's deputy mayor told The New Times that the heavy rains destroyed banana plantations and houses leaving a total of 1977 families homeless.
Even though the damage was immense, Uwihoreye said that the district was working together with the local government and other authorities to help the affected families.
The Minister of local government, Anastase Shyaka, who also visited the area on Friday, May 15, pledged support to the affected families and promised to closely work with the district to devise a long-term solution in the shortest time possible.
Second Period Applications Open Today
(MADISON) – The Department of Children and Families (DCF) awarded just over $32 million to 2,367 early care and education providers through the first period of the Child Care Counts: COVID-19 Emergency Payment Program.
The department estimated demand from eligible child care providers and set maximum amounts for the payment criteria according to those estimates.
The Child Care Counts: COVID-19 Emergency Payment Program is broken into three smaller programs targeted at the most common circumstances early care and education providers are facing in the wake of the public health emergency.
Incentive Pay – $5.38 million for period one
The Incentive Pay program provides additional wages for child care providers and individual educators.
Support for Temporarily Closed Child Care Programs – $2.41 million for period one
To assist providers who were forced to close, this program helps defray costs associated with retaining staff and reopening child care programs as Wisconsin’s workforce returns to work.
Drone firm Zipline is among players that have received a green light to operate drone flights to deliver much needed supplies and personal protective equipment in the US, a country where the company has struggled to find a commercial foothold.
Last week, Zipline sent flight operators from Rwanda to the United States to train their American counterparts after the company received a go-ahead from the Government to deliver supplies.
\"Last week, America took a page from Rwanda's playbook and launched @Zipline's drone delivery to help with #Covid19 pandemic response in the country,\" Zipline said in a tweet on Monday.
Melissa Rusanganwa, the Regulation and Aviation System Integration lead at Zipline told The New Times that Rwandan flight operators are training their American counterparts as part of the process to kick off operations in the US.
Zipline has its global training centre in Rwanda where a team of four certified locals have been training people from Ghana, the US and other countries in flight and fulfilment operations.
