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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.
Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.
Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo and Kumi Municipality MP Monica Amoding last week during a press conference said they had been informed by their friends that money was being dished out but that they had failed to access the venues where the distribution was taking place.
The two were joined by Ntungamo Municipality MP Gerald Karuhanga and Kalungu West MP Joseph Ssewungu who attacked NRM MPs for wasting taxpayers' money.
Addressing a press conference yesterday at Parliament, the ruling party MPs accused the above mentioned MPs of hiding under immunity of Parliament to blackmail their colleagues.
\"Any person who said that I was giving out money to NRM MPs was under the influence of drugs.
\"I have never received or distributed any money to any MP.
Malawi's governing party has called for a third presidential election, citing irregularities and intimidation in this week's re-run vote as unofficial tallies show incumbent President Peter Mutharika losing to the opposition leader.
Voters in the southern African country went to the polls on Tuesday for the second time in 13 months after the Constitutional Court scrapped the initial May 2019 presidential election over mass fraud.
The governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) called Friday on the electoral commission to annul the results collated so far of the second vote and declare a third poll.
DPP administrative secretary Francis Mphepo said in a statement: \"We wish to highlight several incidents that may potentially affect the integrity and credibility of the presidential election results.\"
In February, Malawi's top court found the election was marred by widespread irregularities, including the use of correction fluid to tamper with result sheets.
CHIVHU district development coordinator (DDC) Michael Mariga yesterday stripped two MDC Alliance councillors of their posts and barred them from attending council meetings after they defied orders to resign from the civil service following their victory in the 2018 harmonised elections. BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA Edwin Maseva (ward 11) and Emmanuel Punungwe (ward 10), who are both primary school teachers, were stripped of their titles just before the beginning of the Chikomba Rural District full council meeting. Addressing other councillors during the meeting, Mariga said Maseva and Punungwe had failed to comply with a directive from the Public Service Commission (PSC), which ordered them to resign from the civil service 30 days following 2018 their electoral victory or stop serving as councillors. According to a letter dated April 15, 2020, written by the PSC secretary Jonathan Wutawunashe, which Mariga read out to councillors, civil servants serving as councillors would be violating the Constitution and the Public Service Regulations Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 as stated in Circular 10 of November 2018. “Given the fact that it is a misconduct to engage in any other employment or service for remuneration without the written consent of the commission, it is advisable that you act immediately to correct the situation,” the letter read. “For avoidance of doubt, the commission hereby directs that as a civil servant, you should cease to serve as a councillor with immediate effect. Failure to comply with this directive will result in disciplinary action taken against you.” Maseva said Mariga had misdirected himself by relying on an old prohibition order which had been overtaken by events. “We are still in talks with the PSC on this issue and we have also engaged lawyers. As it is right now, the DDC’s dismissal is null,” Maseva said. Punungwe described the decision by PSC to dismiss them from council as part of political persecution of opposition officials. “This is a selective application of the law aimed at pushing certain agendas. I wonder why PSC decided to fire us from council instead of the civil service,” he said. Following the PSC directive, three Zanu PF councillors in Buhera Rural District Council who were also teachers, resigned recently from the civil service to continue serving in council. Follow Florence on Twitter @FloMangwaya
Vice-President Saulos Chilima has returned to court Tuesday to press President Peter Mutharika to sack Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson, Jane Ansah and her fellow commissioners after Parliament, the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal found them incompetent and their positions untenable.
Chilima has been accusing the head of the electoral body of misconduct and is backed by electoral stakeholders that Ansah should not preside over the fresh presidential elections.
But Ansah, a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, has defiantly refused to step down.
This month Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the ruling of the High Court sitting as the Constitutional Court which found Ansah and MEC incompetent.
On April 1 2020 MEC chief elections officer Sam Alfandika told Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee that the commission wrote President Peter Mutharika to consider hiring new commissioners as the current ones' tenure is expiring on June 5.
President Museveni on Monday warned of \"serious trouble\" if all the two million Ugandan citizens trapped outside the country because of the virus induced lockdown returned home.
According to Mr Museveni, only 2,500 Ugandans have expressed interest to return home.
According to the president, easing lockdown will be tied to the use of facemasks in public.
We believe that with the masks you do not infect others and you also do not get infected,\" Mr Museveni added.
This will need two weeks for Ministry of Education to plan how the learners can go to school,\" he added.
There were also tax measures such as increased import duty on agricultural imports to 60 per cent, up from 25 per cent.
In Kenya, the tax bracket for people earning rental income was moved up to Kshs15m (Shs525.9m) from Kshs10m.
Kenya, Mr Muhammed Ssempijja, partner tax, E&Y says, also reduced the corporation tax rates and PAYE to 25 per cent from 30 per cent.
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, while appearing on NTV recently said the measures taken by government are expected to address concerns on purchasing power.
Uganda currently might not afford to amend tax rates since the finance ministry in the Shs45.5 trillion budget set a higher target for the taxman.
Eight new cases of Covid-19 have been registered by the Ministry of Health pushing Uganda's tally to 665.
Additionally, 31 foreign truck drivers (16 Kenyans, 8 Tanzanias, 5 Eritreans, 1 Burundian and 1 South Sudanese) were handed over to their respective countries of origin after testing positive for the virus.
In his Heroes' Day speech on Tuesday, President Museveni warned of tough times ahead if Ugandans are not keen on adhering to the given guidelines to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
He said having done his best in guiding the country, Ugandans should not blame him in case of any deaths.
Mr Museveni's remarks come in the wake of a rise in the virus spread, which has now reached community level.
If you are registered and have a photo-id, you can walk into the Circuit Clerk’s office in the William M. Branch County Courthouse, or any other Circuit Clerk’s office in the state, and vote absentee now, early, without putting your ballot in the mail, for the November 3, 2020 General Election.Since September 9 and until […]
The Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday announced the 2021 revised electoral roadmap and told all those interested in elective offices in the next election to use the media for campaigns.
Mr Henry Muguzi, the national coordinator for Alliance for Campaign Financing Monitoring (ACFIM), a loose coalition of civil society activists advocating for transparency in financing political parties and election campaigns, said the decision to do virtual campaigns may double the cost of campaigns.
Media houses will also aim to make a killing out of the campaigns with high costs of talk-shows,\" Mr Muguzi said.
Also to suffer the blunt of high costs to get media space will be the new comers, women and youth who may not have the financial muscle to manage such expensive campaigns.
Mr Muguzi also warned that Opposition politicians are likely not to have equal access to the radios and TVs because most media houses are either owned by the NRM party members or its sympathisers.
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.
[Monitor] President Museveni yesterday kick-started his re-election campaign trail at Kawumu in Luweero District.
Some governments across the African continent are cautiously coming out of Covid-19 lockdown, such as Nigeria, which on Tuesday reopened churches and mosques, with social distancing restrictions in place.
In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni announced that schools for final-year students would be postponed one more month as not enough test kits are available to test students every two weeks as proscribed.
Boda boda's employ over 1.2 million youths in Uganda, their source of income provides a livelihood to over 6 million Ugandans,how will they survive if they are to wait for the Covid pandemic to subside, President Museveni should rethink his decision #WhatIMissAboutMyBodaGuy pic.twitter.com/p8ZnXBISFu
- Nick Spartan (@nicksakwa) June 2, 2020
Part of the government concern is the slight spike in coronavirus cases over the weekend, with 84 new infections.
Nigeria returns to places of worshippers
While churches and mosques in Uganda remain shut, Nigeria has decided to open all places of worship on Tuesday as part of lifting its Covid-19 restrictions.
Surge in Covid-19 cases in Africa after lockdowns lifted in some countries
Nigeria needs to increase food production to feed itself, experts say
The coronavirus task force stipulated that only regular religious gatherings would be possible, and social distancing necessary in order to keep the churches and mosques open.
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'.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said total of 609 133 South Africans have been registered to vote in the by-elections on “Super Wednesday”
