TANZANIAN MINISTER OF ENERGY &MINERALS RESIGNS OVER ESCROW SCANDAL

Tanzanian Minister for Energy and Minerals Sospeter Muhongo resigned from his post on Saturday over the fraudulent transfer of some $120 million of public funds to a private energy firm in a scandal known locally as the "Tegeta Escrow Account."

"I'm stepping down from my ministerial post right from today," Muhongo said in a statement.

"Before reaching the decision, I have contacted President Jakaya Kikwete on this issue and he agreed," he added.

Muhongo was one of four government officials, who the parliament asked President Kikwete to sack from their post over the scandal.

"I have done so much to my country. I'm wondering today people are looking [to me] as a thief who took billions of public money from escrow account," Muhongo told The Anadolu Agency.

"They have even forgotten that I was not in the position when the escrow account agreement was signed. But today people consider me as a thief because of something which came to implantation when I was not there in the office," he said.

Muhongo, a nominated member of parliament who was a lecturer to the University of Dar es Salaam before he was appointed a minister, insisted that he had no role in the escrow scandal.

"I still believe my hands are clean on escrow account scandal," he said.

Controversy gripped Tanzania for months after the Public Account Committee released a report accusing senior government officials of having fraudulently authorized the disbursement of at least $122 million of public funds from an escrow account to a private company.

It has since been shown that certain officials benefited from the escrow account money, receiving millions of dollars from James Rugemalila, a shareholder in the Independent Power Tanzania Limited company.

The National Assembly has asked President Kikwete to sack four top government officials with ties to the scandal: Muhongo, Attorney-General Frederick Werema; Energy and Minerals Permanent Secretary Eliachim Maswi; and Minister of Land, Housing and Human Settlement Anna Tibaijuka.

Since then, Werema has voluntarily resigned, while Kikwete sacked Tibaijuka after confirming that over $1.2 million from Rugemalila had been deposited into her personal bank account. Maswi, for his part, has been suspended from his post.

AfRICA’S FOOD SECURITY THREATENED BY DEADLY MAIZE DESEASE

More than 150 participants are meeting  in Nairobi for an international conference to share knowledge on the latest diagnostics and screening methods for the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease, and assess ways of curbing its spread across Africa to help mitigate its effects, particularly large-scale crop losses for smallholders and seed companies.

The conference is timely because quality seed is the pillar of agriculture in Africa and the world. It is therefore important to protect the maize seed value chain from MLN through concerted action by both the public and private sectors.

“The maize lethal necrosis disease has caused losses worth millions of dollars for farmers and seed companies in the affected regions in sub-Saharan Africa, where maize is both a food and cash crop. It is also affects food consumers since farmers have no maize crop to release to the market. This therefore calls for urgent need to find a sustainable and widely applicable solution as key stakeholders,” said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

To this end, AGRA, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) have organized a conference on MLN Diagnostics and Management in Africa. The event will bring together scientists, policymakers, seed companies and regulators to take stock of current knowledge and best practice in managing MLN, and to build consensus on the actions needed to check its spread.

The situation is particularly critical as most of the maize varieties in East Africa’s seed market are vulnerable to MLN. In Kenya for example, the disease is widespread across most maize-growing areas causing an estimated loss of 10 per cent of national maize production per year (equivalent to USD 50 million).

This means that Kenya and neighboring countries (DR Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda) where the disease has been reported are on the verge of serious food insecurity, unless urgent and intensive action is taken.

“The profound implication of MLN for Africa’s most important grain – maize – is a reality that cannot be ignored. We have a responsibility to work together and control its spread, as

scientists continue to work hard in developing maize varieties that can effectively resist the MLN viruses,” said Dr. Prasanna Boddupalli, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program.

The rapid spread of the MLN disease is a major concern for scientists, regulators and maize seed companies. The conference will therefore focus on finding practical solutions to strengthen MLN diagnostics and surveillance capacity. Other solutions include MLN-free seed production and safe exchange to non-endemic areas, which is a key step in controlling further spread and impact of MLN in sub-Saharan Africa.

“At AGRA, we have years of experience in working with seed companies to produce quality, certified seed. We hope to draw on that experience as we collaborate with all stakeholders involved in the MLN mitigation effort to ensure that Africa’s farmers continue to access quality, MLN-free seed to safeguard their livelihoods and food security,” said Dr. George Bigirwa, AGRA’s Head of the Regional Team for East and Southern Africa.

Collaboration with national agricultural research bodies like KALRO has been instrumental in the ongoing efforts to identify and develop MLN-tolerant maize varieties. The establishment of the MLN screening facility in 2013 at Naivasha, Kenya, by CIMMYT and KALRO in response to the MLN outbreak in East Africa was a welcome and much-needed intervention. Recently, a few MLN-tolerant maize varieties have been released in East Africa, and several more are in the pipeline.

“This facility was a critical breakthrough in our efforts to manage MLN. So far, more than 40,000 maize accessions have been evaluated and promising lines with levels of resistance to MLN have been selected. Our collaboration with key partners will remain steadfast until we eliminate MLN in Kenya and Africa. This is a commitment that KALRO will faithfully uphold,” said Dr. Eliud Kireger, Director General of KALRO.

Dr. Anne Wangai, KALRO’s Chief Researcher, who played a key role in reporting the disease in Kenya in 2011, adds, “The occurrence of MLN in Kenya was a new phenomenon that meant scientists had to initiate basic research to understand this new disease and seek urgent measures to manage it both the short and long term. Research will remain a pillar of MLN management, integrating various technologies that our farmers must adopt at their level to control the disease.”

The decisions from the conference will be critical for seed companies in Africa to produce and exchange MLN-free seed, and for helping smallholder farmers to effectively tackle MLN to safeguard their subsistence and livelihoods

SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK WARDENS RAZE 114 MAASAI BOMAS ,HUNDREDS STRANDED

I  cant believe what Iam seeing 'Oleperes from Loosoito Village told the media showing his boma which has been torched to ashes

We have no homes Maasai women told journos





MORE than three thousand residents of Arash, Loosoito and Maaaloni   villages in Ngorongoro District have been left homeless after the Serengeti National Park security rangers burned 114 Maasai bomas leaving them without                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 necessary supplies.

Journalists visiting the area yesterday witnessed groups of women and children moaning and showing fear as fully armed park rangers continued burning other bomas in nearby villages.

Narrating the ordeal to the press, traditional elders said burning of their homes is outrageous, irreparable losses in their lives, and the government should intervene immediately to save the situation. 

 “This is our homeland. Our fathers were placed here after they were evicted from Serengeti in an agreement way back in 1959 between the colonial government and the community during the establishment of the Serengeti National Park. We have lost almost everything, ’’said Peter Meleton.

Meleton said the agreement stipulated clearly that the Maasai will not face any other evictions from their land and wondered why it is happening now.
 He blamed the park management for conducting the operation and treating common harmless citizens as criminals.

 “Those who showed signs of protest were forced to get out of their houses by force and at times pointing a gun and threatened to be killed if they refused to obey orders,” he elaborated.

 Another elder, Kantuli Lekakin said the exercise has been going on as a military operation, as we heard a lot of gunfire in the village for several hours yesterday.

Traditional leaders from three villages maintained that even though their homes have been turned into ashes, they will not leave the area because it is their heritage.

 “We will not leave, even by an inch. We are willing to die for our land; our community has lived in oppression, injustice and has continued to be poor. But enough is enough, no quitting,” insisted Kantuli.

 He said they are 5 to 10km away from the park border; however park authorities claim the villagers are living one kilometer into the park area.

For his part William Sayelek said his boma was torched with the entire food produce inside, and now his children have nothing to eat.

 “The operation was brutal. They sometimes shot into the air causing great confusion in the whole village. We need food, temporary shelters and medical services to survive,” he stated. 

Families are now living under trees and children have started getting sick due to cold weather, the villager noted.

Speaking on behalf of women, Noorki Saruni, a resident of Arash,   said women and children are starving and facing health complications resulting from food shortages.

 "I lost seventy kilograms of maize, milk and bread dough. The situation is getting worse every minute. Our government should help us,” she said. 

According to the Park rangers who could not avail their names to the media for fear of being victimised, the Serengeti National Park management is conducting the operation to remove villagers who have put permanent settlements near the border of the park.

However the Maasai were quick to refute the claims saying this is a government move to allocate their ancestral land to the Arab Emirate royal family for hunting.  

Serengeti chief park warden William Mwakilema told The Guardian on Sunday in brief responses by phone that the burned bomas were inside the Serengeti National Park.

“We have documentary evidence on what we did.  We are protecting the park; these pastoralists have been bringing large group of livestock to graze inside the park. We are clearing them out,” the warden affirmed

NON GOVT ORGANISATION ON MOVE TO FIGHT GBV

A local NGO has embarked on movement against domestic gender based violence in its quest to address historical injustice in Kilimanjaro region.

Kilimanjaro HIV/AIDS Control and Prevention Program (MKUKI) says that domestic gender based violence (GBV) is a silent, but deadly social menace mostly affecting women and children.

To start with, Mkuki Executive Director, Linnah Mlay says they have resolved to carry out awareness campaign and so far about 50 the local and clan leaders from nearly 16 villages in Moshi rural district have been reached out.

“Why clan leaders, it is because they are dealing with GBV cases, so we believe if educated, they are better placed not only to decide fairly, but also to spread the message among their clan members” Ms Mlay explains during a workshop held in Himo small town.

She believes that awareness raising, advocacy, and community mobilization with clan as well as local government leaders would help them recognize their roles in responding to GBV and develop strategies to take action.

According to her GBV is a grave reality in the lives of many women in Tanzania. It results from gender norms, social and economic inequities that give privilege to men over women.

“We can no longer pretend that we don’t know that in Tanzania there’s a gender discrimination and gender equity in different facets of life” Ms Mlay says.

Mkuki campaign includes how prevalent gender-based violence is and the ways and extent to which it harms not only women and girls but also men and boys and, furthermore, the country’s developing economy and health and social welfare systems.

Aginatha Rutazaa, trainer says that in most incidents the chagga and Pare tribes handle GBV cases by using traditional systems where women are always the losers.

“By educating clan leaders, then the clan meetings can become the agents of change as far as GBV is concerned” Ms Rutazaa explains.

One of trained clan leader, Michael Shirima, from Kilema village commended MKUKI for coming up with such kind of training package for them because it gives them insights.

In their declaration after training, the clan leaders vowed to do utmost to eradicate not only GBV, but also other harmful traditions.

“We are going to break the silence and dare to be transparent on this issues to both men and women. We will also educate our members on how best can spend incomes to avoid GBV” reads the declaration presented by Ismail Sevuri.

The clan leaders promised to empower their members both men and women on importance of reporting the GBV when occur to them.

They also implored the government to enforce international and local human rights protocols such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 in Paris.

The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled.

 “The government needs to provide education on the harmful effects of GBV and review existing laws on gender violence in a bid to be effective” reads part of their declaration.

Mkuki, an NGO registered way back in 1994 with its catchment area in Kilimanjaro region, has its vision that desire community that is free of new HIV infections and vigilant in upholding equal rights for men and women, as well as those infected and affected by the scourge.

EAST AFRICAN LEADERS URGE BURUNDI TO POSTPONE ELECTION

Elections in Burundi should be delayed by at least a month and a half and all violence must stop, East African leaders said Sunday after a regional summit on the crisis.

"The summit, concerned at the impasse in Burundi, strongly calls for a long postponement of the elections not less than a month and a half," the East African Community (EAC) said in a statement read out by its secretary general Richard Sezibera after the meeting of regional leaders in Tanzania.

The statement called "on all parties to stop violence," for the "disarmament of all armed youth groups" -- a clear reference to ruling party supporters accused of attacking opponents -- and for "the creation of conditions for the return of refugees" who have fled the turmoil.

The crisis in Burundi erupted after the ruling party designated Nkurunziza, in power for 10 years, as its candidate for upcoming elections.

The opposition and rights groups say this violates the constitution as well as a 2006 peace deal that ended a 13-year civil war.

The war left hundred of thousands dead, and there are widespread fears that the current crisis could push the impoverished, landlocked country back into conflict.

Burundi's government has insisted that parliamentary elections will take place on June 5 despite weeks of civil unrest that has left at least 30 people dead. The presidential election is scheduled for June 26.

The summit has been seen as an important opportunity to resolve the crisis, with talks between Nkurunziza's camp and the Burundian opposition deadlocked.

However the leaders stopped short of telling the president to back down, only calling for a "return to the constitutional order" in Burundi.

- Nkurunziza 'campaigning' -

The Burundian president, however, failed to turn up: his spokesman said he instead would be pushing ahead with his re-election campaign.

It was during a first crisis meeting on May 13 in Tanzania's economic capital, attended by Nkurunziza, that a top general launched an unsuccessful bid to oust him -- and the president was seen as being wary of again leaving the country. 

There was no immediate response from the Burundian government to the call for an election delay.

According to a diplomat close to the talks, Nkurunziza will also be expected to "give the opposition and independent media an opportunity to freely express themselves".

The EAC summit was attended by leaders from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a key regional player and Burundi's neighbour, sent a minister to represent him, although South African President Jacob Zuma did join the talks.

Nkuruniza, a former rebel leader from the Hutu majority and a born-again Christian, insists he has every right to stand again, arguing that for his first term in office he was appointed by parliament and not after a general election.

Asked to rule on Nkurunziza's candidacy, Burundi's constitutional court found in favour of the president, but not before one of the judges also fled the country, claiming that its members were subject to death threats.

- Demonstrators disappointed -

Key international donors have withdrawn their support for the polls, as has the influential Catholic Church in Burundi, and on Saturday it emerged that a senior member of the election commission had fled the country -- further plunging preparations for the polls into disarray.

The country's main opposition leader, Agathon Rwasa, also said elections would be a "masquerade" if they go ahead.

UN special envoy Said Djinnit said on Friday that talks between the Burundian government and opposition had made progress on several issues -- including the reopening of independent media and the release of detainees -- but not on the key issue of a halt to protests in return for Nkurunziza's agreement not to stand again.

He said both sides "have agreed to resume their talks after the summit in Dar es Salaam".

But demonstrators on the streets of Bujumbura said they were disappointed by the outcome of the summit.

"It doesn't change anything. One month is not enough. there are lots of problems -- independent media has not reopened, the rights of protestors are violated. All of this needs to be resolved before elections can be held," said Antoine, an anti-Nkurunziza activist who asked that his full name not be published.

"It shows that the heads of state don't have the will to deal with Nkurunziza," said another demonstrator. "The crisis will continue, even get worse."