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[Monitor] Finance minister Matia Kasaija was last night on the defensive following accusations that he irregularly dangled a top government job to secure the exit of his opponent in a parliamentary contest.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
He also said whereas government will distribute free masks to all Ugandans aged six years and above, others are free to buy their own facemasks.
Dr Aceng recommended that facemasks should preferably be made of cotton fabrics and have filters that they can wash or replace after use.
Dr Julius Lutwama, a virologist at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, said one has to change their facemasks at least three times a day, especially those working from public places such as markets, since the mask lets in tiny particles due to moist from saliva.
Dr Aceng said there is a shortage of fabric masks, especially N95, and urged Ugandans to reserve them for health workers.
A person wearing a mask needs to stay two metres away from other people while in public because coronavirus can still go through the eyes and touching other surfaces.
Government has said it has so far implemented 77.9 per cent of its manifesto in the last four years and that the remaining threshold will be completed before the next General Election.
Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, during the launch of the manifesto week at the Office of the President last Friday, said government is on course to achieve its targets.
Dr Rugunda also mentioned other achievements as completion of the one-stop border points to facilitate cross border trade, completion of Entebbe-Kampala Expressway and the Nile Bridge.
Dr Rugunda also said while implementing the manifesto, there have been some challenges such as delays in acquisition of land for flagship projects across sectors.
Ms Esther Mbayo, the minister for Presidency, under which the Manifesto Implementation Unit operates, said the manifesto week offers Ugandans a chance to take stock of the achievements made in the year and analyse the government performance.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it has submitted a second formal request to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry to urgently investigate what it calls the ongoing role played by the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment in 'capturing, corrupting and collapsing the South African state'.
June 5, 1956
OPINION BY: RIVES
Statement of the Case
The purpose of this action is to test the constitutionality of both the statutes of the State of Alabama n1 and the ordinances of the City of Montgomery n2 which require the segregation of the white and colored races on the motor buses of the Montgomery City Lines, Inc., a common carrier of passengers in said City and its police jurisdiction.
[Footnote]
n1. Title 48, § 301(31a, b, c), Code of Alabama of 1940, as amended, which provide:
§ 301(31a). Separate accommodations for white and colored races. -- All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races, but such accommodations for the races shall be equal. All motor transportation companies or operators of vehicles carrying passengers for hire in this state, whether intrastate or interstate passengers, shall at all times provide equal but separate accommodations on each vehicle for the white and colored races. The conductor or agent of the motor transportation company in charge of any vehicle is authorized and required to assign each passenger to the division of the vehicle designated for the race to which the passenger belongs; and, if the passenger refuses to occupy the division to which he is assigned, the conductor or agent may refuse to carry the passenger on the vehicle; and, for such refusal, neither the conductor or agent of the motor transportation company nor the motor transportation company shall be liable in damages. Any motor transportation company or person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars for each offense; and each days violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense.
The provisions of this section shall be administered and enforced by the Alabama public service commission in the manner in which provisions of the Alabama Motor
Malawians return to the polls on Tuesday for the second time in just over a year to vote for a new president after Peter Mutharika's re-election was annulled over rigging.
The election is much anticipated after the Constitutional Court early this year ruled that the May 2019 vote, won narrowly by Mutharika, was fraught with \"grave and widespread irregularities\" including the use of correction fluid on results sheets.
Tuesday's election is practically a two-horse race between the president and his main rival Lazarus Chakwera, who lost the May 2019 election by 159,000 votes.
Last week Kachale vowed \"the highest commitment of myself and the entire commission to deliver a credible election whose results will be acceptable by all stakeholders\".
Gift Trapence of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, which led months-long countrywide street protests against last year's election results, has high hopes this time around.
[Monitor] By Simon Peter Emwamu
President Museveni has rejected a proposal to split oversight over the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), saying it should be placed wholly under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
However, in a separate letter that Daily Monitor has seen and addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, President Museveni indicates that the full control of NSSF must be transferred to the Finance ministry.
Ms Margaret Rwabushaija, the Workers MP, said NSSF is a fund for workers and cannot be managed by the Ministry of Finance.
Mr Kenneth Lubogo, the Bulamogi County MP in Kaliro District, said the Ministry of Gender should not be completely locked out of NSSF because NSSF funds are private funds contributed by workers and not appropriated by Parliament.
Meanwhile, Mr Patrick Isiagi, the vice chairperson of the Finance Committee, said he okayed the proposal of President Museveni having the Ministry of Finance control the fund since it has more knowledge as far as financial modeling is concerned.
[Monitor] President Museveni has directed the Covid-19 National Taskforce to discuss reopening of schools across the country in a phased manner starting with candidate classes.
President Museveni yesterday told Parliament that after analysing the 2020/2021 Budget, they found a lot of wastes, which will necessitate a review to align the expenditure to the country's priorities.
we are coming back to engage our people,\" Mr Museveni said during the 2020/2021 televised Budget address at State House, Entebbe.
Mr Kasaija is going to review the Budget,\" the source said.
Presenting the Budget from Parliament, Mr Kasaija said the interventions for the pandemic came in after the Budget was approved.
Consequently, the budgets of all ministries, agencies and local governments will be revised to align them with the nine strategic priorities and fourteen production lines.
The Catholic church in the Democratic Republic of Congo has waded into the political crisis that has gripped the country calling for a divorce between the two coalitions running the affairs of the state.
On Tuesday (June 30) Archbishop of Kinshasa, Frindolin Ambongo has called for the dissolution of the political alliance between President Tshisekedi and his predecessor Kabila.
The cleric cited mistrust among members of Kabila’s Common Front of Congo, FCC and the president’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress, UPDS.
He noted the current political tension has been stoked by MPs of former president Joseph Kabila’s Common Front for Congo which has a parliamentary majority.
Monsignor Ambongo also accused the president of the Congolese national assembly of ‘contempt’ by renewing the mandate of the head of the country’s electoral commission.
[Monitor] State minister for Planning David Bahati yesterday came under fire from Parliament over failure to compensate traders who lost property during the 2013-2015 insurgency in South Sudan.
President Museveni's message on the effects on Covid-19 was yesterday delivered by the Secretary General of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), Ms Justine Kasule Lumumba, to the Inter-party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) meeting where Justice Forum (Jeema) took over its leadership from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.
Appeal
Ms Lumumba also challenged Jeema to prioritise a meeting between the IPOD members and the Electoral Commission officials to discuss alternative ways the elections can be conducted based on the recommendations from scientists.
However, the FDC party president, Mr Patrick Amuriat Oboi, said it should not be scientists to determine the fate of the elections but stakeholders including the political parties.
The deputy president of the Democratic Party (DP), Mr Mukasa Mbidde, told the meeting that elections are not \"scientific expeditions\" for scientists to decide.
Follow Constitution
The president of Jeema, Mr Asuman Basalirwa, said elections are guided by the Constitution and other electoral laws and it should not be scientists to determine how, when and who should contest for elections.
As Covid-19 hit South Africa and schools closed as a result of the lockdown, approximately 13 million pupils were affected.
Kampala — The presentation of the stimulus package in which government seeks to tackle the economic impact of the Covid-19 has been pushed to the next session of Parliament after Speaker Rebecca Kadaga rejected it yesterday.
Mr Kasaija has for the last two months not been able to present the economic stimulus after a Parliament's taskforce on Covid-19 presented key issues that need urgent attention as a result of the pandemic's impact .
The measures include lowering or suspending some taxes such as mobile money levy, Over the Top Tax (OTT) and those on essential commodities, reduction of lending rates by Bank of Uganda, and government to provide funds for fuel reserves, among others.
Other recommendations adopted by the House included capitalising the Uganda Development Bank to offer loans at zero interest rates, making budget to reflect the realities of the current situation, providing funds to procure air ambulances and supporting medium and small scale industries from collapsing.
Daily Monitor reported last week that some of the measures being planned by government included cheaper loans to small and medium enterprises, tax cuts for sectors badly affected by the pandemic, and defending the shilling to prevent imported inflation.
It also focused on the non-payment of invoices by state departments, service delivery during the Covid-19 lockdown and grievances brought before the organisation which investigates, monitors and evaluates how public service is administered.
Seloane added the public works and infrastructure and water and sanitation departments continued to default with 173 and 137 invoices, respectively, which were older than 30 days.
Seloane said the commission noted the government, like others across the globe, was under severe pressure because of the Covid-19 pandemic and welcomed efforts by the government to establish the Solidarity Fund which would assist with relief efforts during the crisis.
Seloane said the pandemic also challenged the behaviour of public servants, raising concerns over incidents of ill-treatment meted to citizens by law enforcement officials along with reports of maladministration, ill-treatment or lack of care of particular patients at some medical facilities and poor service delivery.
READ HERE | Alexandra residents say they are losing faith in law enforcement after Collins Khosa death
\"The value of human dignity as well as the principle of high standards of professional ethics should at all times guide the behaviour of government officials when delivering government services.\"
Our plan is to distribute between 2 million and 3 million kilograms of additional maize seed targeting districts in Eastern, Northern and parts of central regions whose rainy season goes up to July.
So with our efforts to provide additional seeds to farmers, we believe that the country will be food secure during and after Covid-19 pandemic.
Could this pandemic be a blessing in disguise in terms of emphasis on food production and household income or its disruption in normal flow of work?
We want to see farmers earning more income, households living quality lives and food security becoming part and parcel of the routine fixture.
We have also selected some 17 districts which are tea growing areas in regions across the country and working with Uganda Developed Corporation tea factories will be established there.
The virtual meeting of the ad hoc commission for the normalisation of relations between Uganda and Rwanda ended on Thursday evening without a position, especially on the opening of the Gatuna border point.
The meeting was the first of the commission since the fourth Quadripartite Heads of State Summit of President Museveni, Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Angola's Joao Laurenco, and DRC's Felix Tshisekedi on February 21 at the Katuna/ Gatuna border.
Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa chaired the video conference meeting, also attended by Rwanda's delegation led by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Vincente Biruta, and DR Congo's Deputy Prime Minister Gilbert Kankonde Malamba, and Angola's minister for External Relations, Mr Tete Antonio.
\"Uganda's stance in the meeting was that the border opens as the issues raised by Kigali are discussed further but which Rwanda vehemently shot down,\" sources told this newspaper on condition of anonymity as only Foreign Affairs Minister Kutesa is mandated to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic turn of events, diplomatic sources further intimated that Uganda's UN Permanent Representative Adonia Ayebare, whom President Museveni named as Special Envoy on normalisation of relations late last year, was locked out of yesterday's virtual meeting on directives of Mr Kutesa over yet unknown reasons.
The Law Society of Kenya has filed a case challenging the legality of an Executive order issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta that allegedly sought to place the Judiciary, commissions as well as independent offices under ministries and government departments.
Through lawyers Manwa Hosea and Arnold Ochieng, the LSK terms the move as unconstitutional since the executive arm of government cannot restructure or assign functions to other arms and independent commissions.
The LSK claims the disputed Executive order No. 1 of 2020 offends the principles of the constitution, doctrine of separation of powers, democracy and independence of constitutional offices.
According to the LSK, the May 11 Executive Order titled 'The Organisation of Government' can impair the independence of the Judiciary, commissions and independent offices.
The order, the LSK argues, places the various tribunals, constitutional commissions and independent agencies under the control and direction of the respective departments.
I maintain that Public Servants have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear from a PPP/C Government.
However, the “political appointees” in the Ministries and Agencies who have recently renewed contracts (some, days after the recount confirmed a PPP/C victory) should be put on notice that this is improper, unconstitutional and unlawful.
I reiterate that it is wrong to tie a new Government down with clauses in new contracts to pay tax dollars to political operatives whose services would have concluded.
Public servants, who professionally execute their functions and mandate, will continue to do so freely.
That is to say, public servants irrespective of race, age, gender, ethnicity, class and political affiliation will work and benefit under a PPP/C Government.
Many were waiting for Ivorian opposition leader Henri Konan Bédié to speak, but instead it was FPI's P ascal Affi N'guessan who spoke for the opposition parties.
N'guessan confirmed they rejected the October 31st vote , and stated once more the opposition no longer recognized Alassane Ouattara as the country's president.
\" The Ivorian opposition political parties do not recognize the election of october 31st 2020. They note the end of president Ouattara's mandate as of October 31st 2020, and call on the international community to duly record it.\"
\"Therefore, the Ivorian opposition political parties demand the opening of a civilian transition, in order to create conditions for a just, transparant and inclusive presidential election \" N'guessan said.
Affi N'gessan also called for a transitional government to be instaured shortly with all opposition forces.
In the meantime, partial results have arrived at the electoral commission , which, department after department, continues to gather reports.
\" The key point tonight remains the turnout rate of this vote . This is what everyone is waiting for \" added Africanews' Abidjan correspondant Yannick Djahoun.
Despite seeming to have softened his stance on the Ush10 billion ($2.6 million) that Ugandan legislators allocated themselves as part of the Covid-19 supplementary budget, President Yoweri Museveni is said to have ordered an audit of the expenditure.
In a letter dated April 28 to the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, President Museveni said he instructed the Auditor-General to go over how the funds were used.
In a recent televised address on coronavirus, President Museveni described the Covid-19 cash as a trap that the MPs had laid for themselves and “morally reprehensible.”
Despite Speaker Kadaga’s efforts to explain that MPs were to use this money to sensitise their constituents about the pandemic and for maintenance of ambulances in their constituencies, President Museveni and the Cabinet insisted the allocation was illegal and inappropriate.
As at April 12, the number of MPs that had returned the money stood at 101 out of a total of 458 legislators.
In its 142-page decision the seven judges in Malawi's Supreme Court of Appeal, among them the Chief Justice, Andrew Nyirenda, are unanimous in upholding the finding of the Constitutional Court: the May 2019 elections failed in their aim of 'duly electing' a new President.
That's because the country's electoral commission, commenting on the Appeal Court decision, has suggested that it might not be possible to have the new President sworn in by the court's deadline if the original re-run schedule prevails.
In fact, it would be hard to read the Appeal Court's decision as anything other than a sharp rebuke to the commission about the way it handled matters, particularly as the votes were being collected and tallied, and then again when the validity of the polls was tested in court.
The position of Malawi's courts had been that if the results were not affected by irregularities, the elections should stand.
Stating its revised position on the matter, the judges said that it would be hard for a court in Malawi to uphold an election where its conduct was 'largely compromised', especially since voting numbers in such a case could be the result of flouting electoral law.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on Thursday asked UK citizens to be cautious and cited \"possible clashes throughout the country\" during the November 28 inauguration.
\"Political tensions are high and demonstrations and clashes are possible throughout the country, particularly in the western region; you should exercise caution and, where possible, avoid travelling around areas where demonstrations may take place,\" the FCO said in a statement.
The office is anticipating possible demonstrations and clashes during the inauguration and Britons planning to visit Kenya during this period have been asked to exercise caution and, where possible, avoid travelling around areas where demonstrations may take place.
The areas where FCO advises against all but essential travel does not include Kenya's safari destinations.
In April, when political parties were scheduled to hold their nominations ahead of the deadline by the electoral commission, UK advised its nationals against all but essential travel to north eastern counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera as well as Eastleigh in Nairobi.
