Mombasa Now

The council has turned Kibarani, which was supposed to be a garbage dropping point, into a dump site. It lacks the means to transport the huge volume of garbage generated daily from Kibarani to Mwakirunge 20 km away.

Council workers often burn the rotting garbage at Kibarani, setting off clouds of thick smoke along the Makupa Causeway, that inconveniences motorists, commuters and tourists en route to their hotels from Moi International Airport.

At night, the dump site is used as a hideout by highway robbers who attack people along the Makupa Causeway.

Deputy Mayor Mcharo said the council will spend Sh50 million from the Local Authority Transfer Fund to upgrade the drainage system.

He said a second sewage treatment plant will be built in the North Coast.

"The drainage system was meant for a small population and it is now overstretched. We are also replacing the stolen metal covers with cement ones to secure the system from blockage," he said.

Patrick Mayoyo, Gitonga Marete And Mathias Ringa

Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804141072.html

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President Mwai Kibaki
Nairobi

The following is the edited version of President Mwai Kibaki’s speech when he announced the new grand coalition Government Sunday.

Fellow Kenyans,

I know that you have all been anxious to see the conclusion of the consultations on the formation of the new coalition Government.

I am, therefore, pleased to announce that following extensive consultations within the coalition, and taking into consideration the current challenges facing the country as well as the need to ensure regional balance in the leadership of this country, I am today announcing the Cabinet of the grand coalition Government.

The outcome of the General Election brought to the fore unprecedented political challenges. The situation has required statesmanship and sacrifices for the sake of national peace and unity.

The enactment of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act, 2008, and the agreement on the Cabinet underscores the commitment of our nation’s leadership to put the collective interest of the country and our people above everything else.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Honourable Raila Odinga, the Prime Minister-designate, and all the political leaders in the country for upholding the spirit of dialogue, which enabled us to unlock the political deadlock.

I also commend the religious leadership, trade unions, human and professional bodies in our country that have supported dialogue and reconciliation to ensure that a peaceful settlement is concluded within the shortest time possible.

Thank mediators

Furthermore, I thank the mediators led by His Excellency Kofi Annan as well as friendly countries, which have supported and encouraged us to overcome the political challenges we have been experiencing.

Above all, I want to thank you, my fellow Kenyans, for your tolerance and patience throughout this period. I want to assure you all that I will do everything possible to ensure that our country, Kenya, is steered along the path of peace, unity and stability.

The multiparty politics that this country has embraced over the last 17 years has posed serious challenges to our national cohesion.

But the experience we have gained over the years, and this period in particular, has enabled us to overcome the difficulties, while we undertake necessary reforms to ensure that our country and people will be assured of living in a secure, cohesive and prosperous nation.

The enactment of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act and the announcement of the new Cabinet today, demonstrate the commitment of the political leadership to move ahead and pay more attention to addressing the challenges facing our country and people.

Foremost is the plight of our people - men, women and children - evicted from their homes and farms by the recent mindless violence and hooliganism. In that regard, my Government has increased security presence in the affected areas in order to prevent a recurrence of the violence and mayhem.

We are also facilitating the displaced people to resettle back on their farms as we support them and the surrounding communities with farm inputs such as seeds and fertilizers. The new Cabinet will prioritise resettlement of the displaced people so that they can resume normal lives and play their part in nation-building. I urge Cabinet members to spearhead the message of peace in all the affected areas.

Another area, is the need to ensure equal opportunities for all our people. In this respect, when I took over the leadership of this country, I pledged to commit more resources for the development of the arid and semi-arid areas of our country, which have in the past suffered neglect due to inadequate resource provision and poor infrastructure.

In the Cabinet I am announcing today, I have, therefore, created a new ministry for the development of northern Kenya and other arid lands in order to focus on and address the unique challenges facing these areas.

The expanded Cabinet also introduces new ministries to give priority attention to areas that are critical to the transformation of our country into a newly industrialised nation status. These include the ministries of Industrialisation, Planning and Vision 20-30 and Nairobi Metropolitan Development.

Enjoy equal rights

Finally, I wish to reiterate and emphasise that all Kenyans enjoy equal rights under the law. In this respect, we cannot allow or tolerate discrimination of a Kenyan in whatever form. Every citizen must enjoy the right to work and to reap the benefits of his or her labour anywhere in the country without hindrance.

And therefore, the attitude, especially among some leaders, that communities should be restricted to particular areas or that some Kenyans can be perceived to be foreigners in some parts of the country is backward and unacceptable.

As we welcome foreign nationals to partner with us in developing our country, so must we welcome and embrace one another as brothers and sisters. Indeed, it is through such interaction that our country and communities can tap skills that will spur development.

The key to addressing the challenge of poverty is hard work to generate wealth and expand employment opportunities. So, my challenge to the new Cabinet members and the entire national leadership at all levels is - let us put politics aside and get to work. Let us build a new Kenya where justice is our shield and defender, and where peace, liberty and plenty will be found throughout our country.

I would estimate it would take until September 2008 before it all might be as it was last year same time. Europeans and Americans seems to either have a short memory or they doesn’t care for long. Or we might just like to put our lifes into the adventure!

/Peter

Government and key players in the tourism industry have launched a marketing campaign to add momentum to the sector’s recovery effort. As part of the offensive, over 200 international travel and lifestyle journalists from Europe, Asia, America and Africa are currently on a familiarisation tour of Kenya.

The campaign is aimed at countering the negative publicity the country received following January’s post-election violence.

However, it may face a rough time if the stalemate over a coalition government is not resolved soon.

Violent clashes between youth protesting the delay in naming a Cabinet and the police occurred in Nairobi, Western and Nyanza provinces.

Speaking during a cocktail party hosted in their honour in Nairobi, Tourism and Wildlife Permanent Secretary Rebecca Nabutola told the visiting journalists to write about their experiences while in the country. "Our hope is that you will tell your readers, viewers and fellow citizens your experiences while in Kenya," said Ms Nabutola.

Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) managing director, Dr Ongong’a Achieng expressed optimism that the industry would bounce back, despite the recent skirmishes.

"We believe the tourism industry will pick up and record the kind of growth we have experienced in the last four years," said Dr Achieng. The Tourism ministry, KTB and other industry players are hosting the journalists.

The journalists are expected to visit 16 carefully chosen sites that will showcase Kenya’s unique attractions from all the tourists’ circuits, including Western, Central, North Rift, Maasai Mara and the Coast, among others.

Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804100093.html

Not a funny but important news not to be neglected. We should not shut our eyes and ears but try to do our best to help stopping these kind of things! A grown up who hurt a child is the most cowardly one can do.

/Peter

Cases of child abuse are increasing in Nakuru, with over 1,000 cases having been handled and recorded by the Rift Valley Law Society of Kenya chapter in the past year.

The coordinator of the Juvenile Justice Project under the organisation said the number of cases reported last year were a tip of the iceberg since many more went unreported.

The coordinator, Ms Sandra Abuga Ntabo, said the law society had represented 1160 cases through the police and the courts in the larger Nakuru District.

Ms Ntabo said most of the matters reported to them were neglect, followed by sexual abuse, including incest and defilement. Girls between ages 17 and 18 also faced physical abuse.

She said the highest number of these incidents, 192, was reported in October, followed by September with 119 and January which recorded 138.

The children’s lawyer said her office was handling three cases of sexual abuse daily.

Relatives, she added, chose to keep quite about the abuse, leaving the matters to be reported by neighbours, friends of teachers.

The lawyer said the relatives feared victimisation while spouses were afraid of breaking their families.

"It is unfortunate that relatives, even biological mothers of the abused children, will keep quite and let their children suffer," said Ms Ntabo.

She appealed to members of the public to report any suspected cases of abuse against children to the nearest police station or to the law society.

Physical

Ms Ntabo said: "We are still early in the month and I have dealt with eight incidents of physical abuse against children. In the latest one a five-year-old girl had her private parts burnt with a hot object".

Wanjiru Macharia

Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804100080.html

Tourism has for several decades been the country’s single highest income earner, but has of late come under immense threats including from the effects of the violence related to last year’s disputed presidential elections.

Analysts have predicted that tourism could suffer further slumps due to continuing political uncertainty in the country as government coalition partners wrangle over the sharing of Cabinet posts.

But in a gesture to drum up activity for the struggling industry, President Kibaki yesterday urged India with a population of about 1.13 billion to take advantage of its new pact with Africa to promote tourism.

"I recognise the enormous economic benefits that arise from tourism and the fact that it promotes friendship and socio-cultural understanding among nations."

He said Africa has several reliable carriers such as Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways and Egypt Air that ply the Indian sub-continent daily, thus providing sufficient facilitation for enhanced commercial interaction in tourism.

Only last month in a bid to speed up efforts to woo back investors and tourists, President Kibaki formed a new State corporation to market the country and restore its image that has been in tatters overseas following two months of the presidential election related violence.

Through a legal notice, the President said the fully publicly-funded corporation, Brand Kenya Board, will co-ordinate all initiatives from marketing the country to maximising their efficiency and ensure the nation is positioned optimally in terms of investment, creditworthiness, tourism and international relations.

Allan Odhiambo

Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804091053.html