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Home Blog Page 3071

Sh39bn Set For Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone

By
John Mutiso
-

Trade, Investments and Industry Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria has said plans to put up Sh.39 billion Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Mombasa was underway to accelerate and diversify economic growth at the coastal city.

Speaking at the Kenya Ports Authority headquarters in Mombasa, Kuria said preparations to launch the SEZ were at an advanced stage to ensure that the envisaged industrial and logistical hub in the port city of Mombasa was a reality.

He said the Dongo Kundu SEZ’s main objective was to improve the country’s trade imbalance, investments, job creation and effective administration.

SEZs are geographically delimited areas within which governments promote industrial activity through fiscal and regulatory incentives and infrastructure support. They go by many different names, including free-trade zones and industrial parks.

“There is a need for the government to take deliberate steps in developing reliable infrastructure to facilitate investors to make long-term investment plans,” he said.

Accompanied by Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir, Principal Secretaries (PSs) Abubakar Hassan Abubakar (State Department for Investment and Promotion) and Alex Wachira (State Department of Energy), Kuria said the SEZ will be developed on 3,000 acres of land.

Kuria said the project that will be a game changer for growth in the region will have a free port, free trade zone, industrial park, logistics zone and public utility area with a 12-kilometer supporting road network.

“We are currently working to float a tender for land development in the local and international media to attract investments, hopefully, the tenders will be issued within one or two weeks and the work will start on 31st March 2023,” he said during a press briefing.

“The Special Economic Zone Development project at Dongo Kundu is one of the Vision 2030 flagship projects in the region,” he noted.

He said they will advertise for expression of interest to attract investments in key sectors of the economy such as agro-processing industries, oil and gas, petrochemical industries, green energy and renewables, blue economy and water desalination and service provision.

Others are heavy metal and steel, cotton, textile and apparel, pharmaceuticals, automobile industry, transport and freight logistics services, warehousing, cargo bulk-breaking and consolidation services and business support services.

The Trade CS added that the special economic zone is expected to be operationalized with effect from July 2023 noting that infrastructure is the bedrock of socio-economic development in any Country and that is what this mega upcoming project exemplifies.

He revealed that KPA has set aside Sh.1.4 billion to compensate persons who will be displaced by the mega project.

He added that the resettlement and compensation process will be spearhead by the National Government Administration Officers under the stewardship of the Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha.

Governor Nassir welcomed renewed efforts to kick start the project saying it will address unemployment in the coastal city and other neighbouring coastal counties.

The Mombasa County boss said SEZs need national government support from strategy to implementation while working closely with other relevant stakeholders including public and private-sector players.

Onyancha assured the residents that the resettlement and compensation of 1,582 project affected persons will be done above board.

High Court To Dispose Over 800 Pending Cases During Service Week

By
John Mutiso
-

The Judiciary has deployed two judges to the Murang’a High Court to speed up the disposal of a backlog of over 800 pending matters during this year’s judiciary service week.

The service week which started on January 16, ends on January 27 and is expected to expedite the hearing of backlog cases so that justice is served to residents.

Two judges Justice Prof (Dr). Sifuna Wanyama and Lady Justice Chirchir Chebet will handle the cases.

The two visiting judges will hear and determine matters pending at the court that include succession cases, criminal appeals, hearing of applications and other cases pending hearing at the High Court.

Murang’a Law Court Executive Officer, Mr. James Soi, said that the court has already screened, listed and notified respective parties for hearing of the cases. This is to ensure that pending cases shall be heard and finalized.

“The court is keen to fast track the cases and it has requested the listed people to take this opportunity to come and ensure their cases are heard and justice is accessed in a timely manner,” Soi noted.

The executive officer also emphasized the importance of the service week stating that long-standing cases will be heard and determined. He further stated that the cases will be heard at the High Court and added the Judiciary is committed to ensure that cases are disposed to enhance justice.

Gov’t To Construct Ultra-Modern Market In Eldoret

By
John Mutiso
-

The government is set to start construction of an ultra-modern market in Eldoret Town to the turn of Ksh6 billion.

Lands Cabinet Secretary Zachary Mwangi announced that the multi-storey market funded by the National Government will be put up in the Central Business District at an estimated cost of Sh6 billion.

He told residents during a visit at the proposed site that the construction of the project may commence in a months’ time.

“We are going to fast track the exercise and I urge those responsible for this project to move with speed so that by the end of January or early February 2023 we invite the President to launch it,” said the CS.

Mwangi added that the ministry will advertise tenders for the construction of the market to ensure that more traders were accommodated at the premises.

Governor Jonathan Bii expressed optimism that the establishment of the market will provide a solution to the overcrowding of traders that has kept the current market facilities under pressure.

“The new market will have installations for cooling and packaging to enable value addition on fresh vegetables and fruits, two levels of underground parking and five storeys that will accommodate different businesses,” he said.

“As a County, we are more than ready to have such an initiative that will be advantageous to our residents; we are grateful to the government and in particular to the president for honouring our request to develop a new market,” he said.

The project comes after the town witnessed conflicts between traders and the county officials that has sparked ugly confrontation as hawkers forcefully jostled for little spaces for their business.

President Kagame’s Son Joins Presidential Security Detail

By
John Mutiso
-

Ian Kagame, the son of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, has joined the Rwanda Defense Forces Presidential Guard months after graduating from the Rwandese army.

On Sunday, he made his first public appearance, dressed in a black suit and a white shirt, at the National Prayer Breakfast in Kigali.

The presidential guard, which is in charge of the security of the President and the First Family, is one of the National army’s three elite units.

Ian graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), the UK’s most prestigious military college, in August of last year.

Ian was promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and given a guard of honour before joining other parents and guardians to watch the graduates march.

He was one of 568 officer cadets commissioned at RMAS who graduated in November, with 24 studying abroad.

Ian is the third-born and second-youngest son of President Kagame with the working theory being that he is being groomed to take over from his father. With this training, he is expected to be promoted to the Army.

News that the 2nd lieutenant will be a bodyguard for his own father has divided many online with some seeing it as signs of a dictatorship while others applauded the move praising Ian’s hard work and grit.

Royal Military Academy is attended by sons of world leaders, including Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni’s controversial son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who graduated in 2000.

Ian’s military courses generated interest in the East African region months after he joined the college, with Muhoozi encouraging him to focus on the course and wishing him all the best in his studies.

“Be strong, be very fit, and let nobody intimidate you! You were always strong even as a young child!”

In the recent past, many strong African men have been sending their sons and heirs apparent to train and study military leadership at the RMAS.

Other former cadets from Africa Include Luhlabo Dhlamini, the son of King Mswati III of Swaziland and Prince Dawit Mekonnen – the Grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.

11 Soldiers Killed In Attack On Somali Army Camp Claimed By Shabaab

By
John Mutiso
-

Eleven soldiers including a senior commander were Tuesday killed in an attack on an army camp north of Mogadishu claimed by Al-Shabaab, a militia commander in the area told AFP.

“Eleven members of the army, including a senior military commander, died in the attack, and dozens of the terrorists were killed,” Mohamed Osman, a local clan militia commander allied with the government, said by phone of the attack in Hawadley.

He said the Islamists detonated a car packed with explosives outside the camp 60 kilometres north of Mogadishu before armed men stormed the compound.

Ahmed Mohamud, a military commander with the Somali National Army (SNA) in the nearby town of Balcad, said more than 10 people had died in the attack but added the toll was provisional.

“The terrorists have been repelled and the Somali army are in full control of the area,” he said.

Al-Shabaab, a militant group allied with Al-Qaeda that controls swathes of countryside in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack via its communication channels.

The attack comes a day after the army captured the strategic coastal town of Haradhere that had been under Al-Shabaab control for more than a decade.

Somali Forces Capture Strategic Town From Al-Shabaab

By
John Mutiso
-

Somalia’s armed forces on Monday captured a strategic coastal town that  Al-Shabaab jihadists had held for more than a decade, officials said.

Government forces, which have been waging a major offensive against the Al-Qaeda-linked group since the middle of last year, took control of Haradhere without any fighting, according to government and army officials.

Haradhere is a port town 500 kilometres (300 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu in central Somalia, and was a key supply route for Al-Shabaab, deputy telecommunications minister Hussein Ahmed told AFP.

Ahmed, who is one of several senior government officials embedded with the forces that advanced on Haradhere, described it as a “historic victory” for the Somali people.

In recent months, the army and local clan militias have retaken swaths of territory in the centre of the country in an operation backed by US air strikes and an African Union force.

“I commend the members of the national armed forces and those from the local community who have taken control of another important district from the kharijites (renegades),” Prime Minister Hamzi Abdi Barre said in a statement, using a government term for Al-Shabaab.

He added: “2023 is the year of freedom and the eradication of Al-Shabaab, and our whole country will be liberated from the desperate kharijites.”

Al-Shabaab has been waging a bloody insurgency against the weak internationally-backed central government for 15 years, carrying out attacks both in Somalia and neighbouring countries which sent troops to help in the fight against the militants.

Although forced out of Mogadishu and other main urban centres more than a decade ago, Al-Shabaab remains entrenched in parts of rural central and southern Somalia

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared “all-out war” on the jihadists after taking office in May last year.

But they have frequently retaliated against the offensive with bloody attacks in the capital and elsewhere.

On Saturday, eight people were killed in a roadside bombing in a city in central Somalia where government forces and clan militias have been battling the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents since the middle of last year.

At an anti-Al-Shabaab rally last Thursday, Mohamud urged the crowds to flush out the Islamist militants, likening them to “bedbugs”.

Nyamira: Two Senior HR Staff Arrested Over Ghost Workers

By
John Mutiso
-

The Directorate of Criminal Investigation has arrested two top human resource officials from the Nyamira county government for employing ghost workers.

According to Nyamira South Sub County Criminal Investigations Officer Paul Makonge, the officials were arrested after investigations revealed that they had employed close family members who continued to draw huge salaries from the devolved unit since June 2021 without reporting for duty for a single day.

“The suspects work in the human resources department, where staff files are done and payroll is processed that’s why we believe they were involved in enlisting ghost workers,” Mr. Makonge said.

The arrests follow complaints by Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo, who previously revealed that ghost workers had been fleecing the local government of millions of shillings and undermining taxpayer services for several years.

Mr Makonge stated that the police are looking for a third employee, a support staff member in the same human resource department.

“The suspects employed at least two people. One is an engineer while the other is a senior inspector in the Environment and Lands department,” added Mr. Makonge.

He added that the HR officers forged documents from the County Public Service Board in order to justify the fake employment of the two senior officers.

According to Mr. Makonge, the two fake employees will also be arrested to face criminal charges.

Kitengela: Thugs Drill Hole In Phone Shop, Steal Goods Worth Sh700,000

By
John Mutiso
-

Two robbers drilled a hole through a phone shop in Kitengela and made off with merchandise worth at least Sh700,000 in a daring heist.

The incident occurred on the night of January 12 and was captured on surveillance cameras.

According to Daily Nation, the two men booked two rooms in a lodging adjacent to the phone shop at around 4 p.m. last Thursday, and it took them at least eight hours to drill a hole in one of the rooms.

At 5.08 a.m., surveillance footage shows two well-dressed men entering the main shop area from the back. They ransacked the store and left at 6.20 a.m. with the merchandise.

The first suspect can be seen squeezing himself through the hole, then turning off one of the CCTV cameras and signalling his accomplice to follow him.

According to the shop’s owner, the crime was planned.

“It was a premeditated crime. I lost new phone handsets, credit cards, EarPods and cash,” he said.

The caretaker of the lodging, Cornelius Nzioka, 51, said the two suspects approached the receptionist on duty on Thursday evening and booked two rooms.

“One of the suspects was a regular customer and always preferred room 106 which is adjacent to the phone shop,” Mr Nzioka said. 

He also stated that the suspects’ identification and personal information provided to the receptionist were discovered to be false.

They also provided mobile phone numbers which could not be reached.

The theft was reported at Kitengela Police Station as investigations commenced.

Former CS George Magoha Takes Up Maseno University Teaching Job

By
John Mutiso
-

Former Education Cabinet Secretary Professor George Magoha has joined Maseno University’s School of Medicine as a professor of surgery.

According to the varsity’s Director of Public Relations, Dr. Owen McOnyango, having the ex-CS on campus is a valuable development.

“He is an asset to us due to his vast experience and strong professional background. Our School of Medicine is relatively new and to get an experienced and strong personality like Magoha is definitely a plus for us,” said Dr McOnyango.

He also stated that his experience will be beneficial to both graduate and post-graduate students.

Prof Magoha was Vice-Chancellor at the University of Nairobi (UoN) for ten years before being appointed to cabinet five years ago (2005 to 2015).

He was also a Professor of Urological and Transplant Surgery at the UoN’s College of Health Sciences.

His medical career has taken him to Nigeria, Ghana, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. He also received Executive Management training at Stanford University.

Maseno’s School of Medicine was founded in 2011 and graduated its first class in 2019.

According to Dr. McOnyango, the School of Medicine was intended to handle referral cases that were previously sent to Nairobi or Eldoret.

The Dean of the School of Medicine, Prof Stephen Ogendo, stated that Prof Magoha’s networks would benefit the institution.

“Apart from his academic standing, his networks will definitely benefit Maseno and enable us to develop ourselves even more,” said Prof Ogendo.

Prof Magoha took over as Education CS in former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration in March 2019, after Dr Fred Matiang’i left the ministry for the Interior.

As CS, he oversaw the complete transition of all students from primary to secondary school. He was also in charge of the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

SA Begins Days Of Mourning For Anti-Apartheid Heroine

By
John Mutiso
-

South Africans will on Tuesday begin seven days of mourning in in honour of Frene Ginwala, who became the founding speaker of South Africa’s first democratically elected parliament.

Ms Ginwala died on Thursday night aged 90.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast around the country until the evening of Tuesday 24 January 2023, according to a statement from his office.

More details will be announced later on an official memorial service that will take place in Johannesburg next Tuesday.

During the 1960s and 1970s Ms Ginwala lived in exile in Mozambique from where she helped many prominent members of the banned African National Congress (ANC) escape abroad.

Ms Ginwala also travelled around the world drawing international attention to the abuses of the apartheid era.

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