KAMPALA (AFP) – Uganda said Thursday it can provide up to 10,000 troops for deployment to Somalia where it already has soldiers in the African Union mission protecting the country's embattled government.
"We have the capacity, as the army leadership has indicated, to raise up to 10,000 soldiers to fill up the gap," army spokesman Felix Kulayigye told AFP.
The African Union pledged to boost its forces in the Horn of Africa country in the wake of the July 11 deadly suicide bombings in the Ugandan capital which left 76 people dead and were claimed by Somalia's Shebab rebels.
The AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) currently numbers around 6,000 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers, some 2,000 troops short of its intended full strength.
The forces are the only hurdle between the Al Qaeda-linked Shebab and their total takeover of Mogadishu, where they have waged relentless battles with the AU troops to oust the transitional government.
"All those that have pledged assistance to AMISOM, including America, should deliver as soon as possible so that we are able to carry out our mandate," Kulayigye said.
But the he did not say the size of force the United States is ready to support for deployment.
"We have the capacity to raise a big force including calling up the reservists but the challenge is logistics which we hope America will look into. "Should the assistance come in time, I can assure the world we can raise 10,000 soldiers for deployment in Somalia in a short time," said Kulayigye.
Daily Monitor
Ritah Sanyu wailed when a private clinic attendant asked her to raise Shs12,000 for the required malaria treatment prescribed for her critically ill son. She had just left a public health centre where the son was examined and referred to Mulago Referral Hospital because the centre was short of essential drugs.
Considering the distance to Mulago and the condition of her three year-old boy, Sanyu opted to visit a nearby clinic to buy the drugs. She had only Shs3,000 while a full dose was going at Shs12,000. “I can’t raise that money, yet the condition of my son is worsening. I presume the situation has deteriorated because he (son) has not got proper medication since falling sick. I’m about to give up,” Sanyu, a resident of Nabweru said, as she wiped tears off her face.
Sanyu is one of the many despondent people whose children often fall sick of common disease such as malaria and fail to afford proper medication because drugs are always out of stock in public health centres and expensive in private health institutions.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that approximately 40 to 60 per cent of Ugandans visit private health institutions when they fall sick. But since drugs in the private sector are expensive, many of the patients continue to go without medicine.
Mr Martin Oteba, Assistant Commissioner, Health Services in charge of pharmaceuticals at the Ministry Health, says the absence of essential medicines which ought to be available in public health centres is due to lack of transparency and accountability.
However, the Ministry of Health, the private sector and civil society organisations have initiated an alliance dubbed -the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA)-Uganda Chapter, to improve access and affordability of essential medicines through the principal of transparency and accountability.
The pilot project is funded by UK Department for International Development and with active participation of the World Health Organisation and World Bank. “The purpose of this coalition is to improve trends in availability and affordability of all essential drugs, particularly Artemether-Lumefantrine, first line anti malarial drugs,” Mr Oteba, who is also the co-chairperson of MeTA Council, says.
According to the official, MeTA would bring together stakeholders both at national and international levels to find ways of improving information flow and increase transparency and accountability in selection, regulation, procurement, sale, distribution and use of medicines in the country as well as in other developing countries.
Experts from MeTA say the country should be in position to offer treatment of common diseases to every citizen. According to National Bureau of Statistics 85 per cent of the Uganda population lives in rural area and majority of them often fail to access drugs because they are either expensive or scarce. “It is this imbalance that has made it necessary to initiate a global movement to see how the trend can be changed. The rural poor should have equal access to drugs,” Mr Oteba explains.
KATILA LOCALITY (2 Sep .) - Five people were killed and ten others wounded in renewed clashes between members of the Gimr tribe in Garli area of Katila Locality in South Darfur Locality on Tuesday. Sources reported that an armed group came from southwest of the area Khor Shmam, riding camels and horses and two Land Cruisers. They launched an attack on the citizens of Garli at about eight o'clock Tuesday morning.
Source: Radio Dabanga
Kenya National soccer team Harambee Stars trip to Guinea Bissau that was set for Thursday has been differed for Friday morning. The team led by head of delegation Hussein Swalleh jets off in the wee hours at 6.00am (Kenyan time).
The team will face their opponents in the first round of the Africa Cup of Nations this weekend in a day yet to be confirmed .
France AJ Auxiere striker Dennis Oliech finally reported at the teams training camp at Marist International college grounds in Karen after missing two day's of training. The team did not train on Thursday but opted to relax and share few ideas amongst themselves.
Oliech who avoided talking with the press spend virtually the entire day with the team at their hotel. Head coach Twahir Muhiddin said the team is all set for the trip and promised to come back with maximum points.
Regarding the absence of Oliech, Twahir said the France based striker had two major problems which he did not want to share with members of the team. He disclosed that the player had a serious toothache problem and his passport had some anomalies which he had to sort out with the immigration department.
''Oliech is quite fine although he has a swollen toothgum. He went early in the morning to see the dentist before linking up with the team.He had also issues to sort out with immigration department regarding his passport and that is why he was unable to join us the previous two days”Observed Twahir.
The long serving coach defended Oliech saying he was one of the best striker in the country adding that its not easy to get a player of his calibre.
“'Yes, we have good local players but still they cant match with his standard.Oliech is a gem of a striker. Despite his shortcomings,i still have faith with him since he has been performing well for his club and the National team in the previous years”Observed Twahir.
Twahir confirmed today that he had not made any changes in the 18 man squad he had named on Wednesday evening. However, he called upon those who were dropped both local and foreign based players to hang around since he will consider them when they come back from Guinea Bissau.
Nairobi City Stars new call-up Levi Mwaka described his selection in the team as a major boost in his playing career.He said if given chance in the starting line-up, he will prove that he is a worthy material for the National team.
Meanwhile,discharged football instructor James Sianga has called upon the Harambee Stars technical bench to instil discipline in the team and stamp their authority.
He said it was wrong for a player to fail to report at the National teams training camp noting that there is no player who is indispensable. He said discipline is paramount noting that any player without that vice does not deserve to be considered in a team.
“'When I was in Tanzania, I instilled discipline in all the clubs I handled. I didn't entertain indiscipline and that is why the youthful players I handled in Gor Mahia are performing well.A player like Dennis Oliech should not hold the entire team at ransom. We have many talented players around who can take that position effectively.”noted Sianga on phone. - Super Sport
The polls team on Thursday summoned the nine candidates vying for the Makadara parliamentary seat following a wave of violence in the area during their campaigns.
Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) deputy chief executive Gladys Shollei warned the candidates that they risked being barred from vying for the seat if they were involved in violence.
“Those who will be involved in acts of violence will be barred from vying for the seat since they will have breached the electoral code,” Ms Shollei said.
On Thursday, Ms Shollei said she expected to receive a full report on the violence from the Buruburu police boss Friday morning. The chaos has resulted in the arrest of two people.
Ms Florence Mogaka, the constituency’s elections coordinator, said the incidents of violence had been reported in Buruburu during nominations and during campaign rallies held in Makongeni and Viwandani estates.
Ms Shollei said: “Today’s meeting is just the first warning to the candidates reminding them that they should adhere to the electoral code by avoiding violence or any misconduct that could result in their disqualification.”
The Makadara parliamentary seat was declared vacant by the High Court following a petition filed by former MP Reuben Ndolo against the election of assistant minister Dick Wathika.
The by-election will be held on September 20.
Following the meeting held at Railway Training School in South B, Nairobi, Mr Wathika held a campaign rally in Makadara Estate, where he appealed to the area residents to re-elect him due to his development record.
Other candidates traversed the constituency in door-to-door campaigns soliciting for votes (Daily Nation).
A woman narrowly escaped death when her husband allegedly set her house ablaze thinking that she was inside on Litari Beach, Rusinga Island, Mbita District.
Ms Evaline Achieng, 25, survived because she had decided to spend the night in her mother-in-law’s house.
Villagers claim the man had a quarrel with Ms Achieng, her inherited wife.
If the woman had opted to spend the night in her house, this would have resulted in another bizarre killing of an inherited widow.
On the fateful night, family members found the door locked from outside, a move that was meant to ensure that she would not escape.
Neighbours and other family members, however, failed to retrieve any of her belongings as they were consumed by the raging fire.
On Thursday, the hunt for the suspect was launched by villagers with the assistance of Rusinga West chief Samwel Otieno Onyango.
The incident occurred hardly 24 hours after a man who had inherited a widow in Matogo Village, Migori District, killed her and two of her children.
The man, Mr Silvanus Owuor Lwamba, who had killed Ms Esther Akinyi and the children, was later lynched by villagers.
Stoned to death
They caught up with the man as he tried to escape into Tanzania. He was stoned to death before his body was burnt.
The killer’s body was later taken to the same hospital mortuary by police, where the remains of his victims are preserved. It was placed next to the body of Ms Akinyi and those of the two children at Oruba Hospital mortuary (Daily Nation).
Five hyenas believed to have eaten about 260 goats in Hola have been killed. The beasts also attacked a woman and her son in Haroresa and Wayu locations two weeks ago.
The acting Kenya Wildlife Service warden in Tana River, Mr Alio Adan, said the animals were trapped following a public outcry.
He said the operation to eliminate the rogue hyenas was still going on in all affected areas.
He said the woman and her 14-year-old boy were severely injured by the animals that had attacked goats in their homestead.
The two were treated at Hola district hospital and discharged.
Mr Adan said elephants which had invaded irrigation scheme farms had been chased away and were now in Kora game reserve, Merti district. (KNA)
By Opheera McDoom
Sudan needs structural reforms to broaden its economy and encourage private business to reduce a 46 per cent poverty rate, and qualify for relief on its $35 billion external debt, the World Bank’s vice president for Africa said yesterday.
Obiageli Ezekwesili told Reuters in an interview that Sudan needs to work on reducing poverty through small business and agricultural incentives, and developing infrastructure before it can qualify for relief on its debt.
"On the macro fiscal side of things, you can’t take it away from them that they’ve actually done some interesting things," Ezekwesili said. "On the structural reform side though they could do a whole lot more."
Since signing the peace deal in 2005 that ended Africa’s longest civil war, which claimed two million lives, Sudan has asked for relief on its debt, which makes Khartoum ineligible for major international loans.
Ezekwesili said Khartoum was not on track to achieve millennium development goals set by the United Nations, and must invest in health, education, infrastructure, human development and agriculture to diversify its economy, which depends on oil for 60 per cent of its revenues.
Propagate war
Such investment was needed to accelerate any path to relief on Sudan’s debt, some of which was racked up by previous governments to propagate the north’s war against the south.
A co-founder of anti-corruption agency Transparency International, Ezekwesili, a former government minister in Nigeria, said Sudan should also work equally hard to encourage private local businesses as it did to attract foreign investors.
"How easy is it for a private individual in Sudan to just set up a business and thrive in that business without being tied up in all kinds of rules and procedures?" she said.
"How do you create an environment where the average Sudanese wants to pull themselves out of poverty?"
The World Bank plays a lead role in determining how to spend $4 billion pledged by donors to rebuild Sudan following the 2005 north-south peace accord, although much of the aid was diverted to a humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
Ezekwesili said the economy’s structure was hampering Sudan’s ability to meet UN millennium development goals (MDGs), which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, providing universal primary education, reducing child mortality and promoting gender equality by 2015.
"When you look at the poverty indicators in the country, it’s clear that the structure of the economy has not enabled the MDGs to be positively on track," she said.
The World Bank, donors and Sudan have jointly spent $414 million on development projects throughout the country since the 2005 peace accord.
Comprehensive approach
Ezekwesili said the World Bank and donors would likely develop a more comprehensive approach for aid to develop semi-autonomous south Sudan, which will vote on a referendum for independence in January. Most analysts believe it will secede from the north.
-Reuters
Source: United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
Any residual effects of development trickling out of the booming Southern Sudanese capital of Juba seem to have avoided Terekeka County, Central Equatoria State, located only 51 miles away.
Home to the Mundari tribe, Terekeka ("the forgotten" in local dialect) continues to suffer high illiteracy levels, poor roads, dilapidated buildings and rife insecurity.
"The rate of literacy is less than 20 per cent," said Terekeka County Education Director Abdullagadir Juma. "Some parents do not want their children to go to school, but to look after animals."
Some 6,000 children who actually enrolled in the county's 49 primary schools in 2010 had the benefit of only 52 teachers. "We badly lack teachers. I have to go in the morning to teach and come back in the afternoon to do office work," Mr. Juma said.
Classroom space and furniture are also sadly inadequate, according to Gideon Vitale, an English teacher at Terekeka Basic School. "A single class accommodates over 80 students. There are no chairs, some students sit on the floor and others on window (sills)…this makes their work untidy and illegible."
Only four of the 49 schools had been rehabilitated and many others desperately need a face lift.
Once out of primary school, children have a choice of only two secondary institutions, graced with only five teachers. Total attendance in 2010 for both came to no more than 300 students.
The county's ministry of education is ill-equipped, lacking basic modern equipment like computers. "When the state ministry of education in Juba receives hand-typed documents, they already know without thinking that these are Terekeka County's," Mr. Juma said.
Despite these setbacks, Terekeka performed well in this year's Sudan School Certificate, noted Mr. Juma. St. Mary's Secondary School was among the top 10 in the south.
Economically challenged
Students graduating from Terekeka schools are met with a less than thriving business environment when they enter the job market.
Economic growth in the county has been greatly hampered by the overdependence of Southern Sudan on imported commodities from the capital Juba, the north and neighbouring countries.
Traders' Union Information Director Joseph Malarapie noted that it took eight days to bring goods from Khartoum to Terekeka by road, reducing turnover. "We buy a 50-kilogram bag of sugar from Juba at 150 SDG ($70), and transport plus taxes brings the cost to 179 SDG ($76). Yet we sell it for 180 SDG ($76.1). Is there any profit?"
Another hindrance to area finances is the lack of banks, vital in any developing economy. "If you work here, you have to devise your own avenues of keeping your money safe," Mr. Malarapie said.
The hospitality sector is also faring poorly, with some hotels struggling for days without a single guest.
"Sometimes we go a week or so without customers. Nonetheless, we charge customers only 20 SDG ($9) per night," said Naivasha Hotel Acting Manager Moses Kenyi.
Limiting communications to the area, Terekeka receives no radio signals.
"The referendum (on whether Southern Sudan will continue unity with the north or secede) is at our door, but we do not have any radio station airing in the area," said Mr. Juma. "How do we get information about what is going on in Southern Sudan?"
Raiding and looting
While towns lack basic economic necessities, insecurity hampers development in Terekeka's rural areas.
"It is now six years since the signing of Sudan's peace accord, yet the Dinka Bor of Jonglei State and Dinka Alyap of Lakes State continue raiding cattle," said Terekeka Paramount Chief Alifons Modi Lodu.
Firearms had been collected from his people last year, but the Dinka were still armed, the chief said. "They are a threat because we cannot fight back in defence."
A government-sponsored civilian disarmament exercise was carried out in 2009 in Terekeka, leaving residents powerless in the face of attack.
"More than 80 people have died since January, around 10,000 cattle have been looted, and about 4,000 people have been internally displaced, mainly from Muni, Tombek, and Zemeza payams," Mr. Modi said.
In July, Matheo Lumangat, an internally displaced person (IDP) from Tombek Payam now residing at Terekeka internally displaced person (IDP) camp, was shot in his right arm after the Dinka Alyap attacked police who were returning stolen cattle.
"I wasshot by the Dinka Alyap," said the elderly man. "My child was shot dead in that incident. I was just praying in the church, and I don't know why they shot us."
Santina Nyandik Mayo, a widow and mother of six, also fled Tombek Payam, two years ago. "We were chased by the Dinka in 2008; they wanted to kill us, so we ran away."
UNMIS Wau's Pakistani Aviation unit today donated assorted drugs worth more than $3,000 to support Wau Teaching Hospital in meeting patient demands from four neighbouring states.
"These drugs are meant for our treatment during our mission here in Sudan, but as no one (at UNMIS) is falling sick frequently, we thought of helping the needy," said Maj. Intisar Ul-hag, commanding officer of Pakistani Aviation in Wau, during a ceremony to mark the event.
As the Pakistani people were currently suffering from floods, the major said his unit could identify with hardships endured by the Sudanese, who had just emerged from war. His contingent had inherited the practice of donating medicine from its Pakistani predecessors, who had been coming to the mission for the last four years.
UNMIS Wau Commander Col. Johnson Ondieki said, "Now that peace has come, there is a great need to improve health services for the people," assuring the gathering that the mission military contingents would continue to support the local community during their stay in Sudan.
Thanking UNMIS for their concern for local people, Wau Teaching Hospital Director General Dr. James Okello Marjan said, "I call upon the people of good will like the Pakistani Aviation to extend a helping hand to the needy people of Southern Sudan."
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