May 2019 - Page 2 of 19

Telecoms Giant EE Launches Britain’s First 5G Services

Posted on 05/30/2019 by SeeEU

British mobile phone operator EE on Thursday became the first in the country to launch a high-speed 5G service, but without smartphones from controversial Chinese technology giant Huawei.

EE, which is a division of British telecoms giant BT, has launched 5G in six major cities comprising Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London and Manchester — and more hubs will follow.

“From today, the U.K. will be able to discover 5G for the first time thanks to EE,” it announced in a statement, after an official launch featuring a performance from chart-topping grime act Stormzy on a boat on London’s River Thames.

Next-generation 5G mobile networks offer almost instantaneous data transfer that will become the nervous system of Europe’s economy in strategic sectors like energy, transport, banking and health care.

EE had announced last week that it would make its 5G network available to the public — but would not sell Huawei’s first 5G phone, the Mate 20 X 5G.

However, the Chinese company still provides 5G network infrastructure equipment to EE.

“We are very pleased to be one of the partners supporting EE with a new era of faster and more reliable mobile connectivity over 5G in the U.K.,” a Huawei spokesperson told AFP on Thursday.

Rival British mobile phone giant Vodafone will launch its own 5G services on July 3 in seven UK cities — but it has also paused the sale of the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G smartphone.

Vodafone does not use Huawei in its core UK network but uses a mixture of Ericsson and Huawei technology in its radio access network or masts, according to a company spokesman. He added that there are “multiple” layers of security between the masts and the core network.

Huawei faces pushback in some Western markets over fears that Beijing could spy on communications and gain access to critical infrastructure if allowed to develop foreign 5G networks.

The Chinese company flatly denies what it describes as “unsubstantiated claims” about being a security threat.

US internet titan Google has meanwhile started to cut ties between its Android operating system and Huawei, a move that affects hundreds of millions of smartphone users, after the U.S. government announced what amounts to a ban on selling or transferring technology to the company.

Earlier this week, Huawei asked a U.S. court to throw out US legislation that bars federal agencies from buying its products.

The U.S. moves against Huawei come as the Washington and Beijing are embroiled in a wider trade war.

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Boris Johnson Has Star Quality, but Can He Run a Government?

Posted on 05/30/2019 by SeeEU

He is loathed and feted in equal measure.

But no one gainsays his star quality,’ his disarming knack at prompting chuckles from foes for his foibles and, until recently, shambolic appearance as well as his witticisms.

Nor to be discounted is his deftness at connecting with ‘Middle England’ — with the tweed-wearing middle-class Conservative faithful in the rural shires of the country, who are incensed that Britain has not already left the European Union.

Boris Johnson, who unlike most other British politicians has international name-recognition, is the front-runner to succeed Theresa May as Britain’s Conservative leader, and prime minister — that is as far as the bookmakers and many party activists are concerned.

He has made no secret over the years about his ravenous hunger for the job, announcing precociously when a teenager at Britain’s storied private boarding school, Eton, that one day he would be prime minister. The onetime journalist and former mayor of London was furious, reportedly, when David Cameron, an Eton contemporary but three years his junior, acceded to the party leadership.

Cameron, who campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union, resigned immediately after a slim majority of Britons voted to leave the bloc in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Johnson switched on the eve of the referendum campaign from being pro-EU to a Brexiter, an unabashed career-enhancing move, say his critics.

Crowded field

Johnson was seen as a shoo-in three years ago to replace Cameron. But he lost out to Theresa May, partly thanks to the defection of his Brexit ally Michael Gove, who withdrew as his campaign manager, stood against him, saying his friend and Oxford University contemporary was unfit for the highest office.

Gove, a brainy politician with greater ministerial experience than Johnson, is running again and is seen by some party insiders as the dark horse in the febrile contest to succeed May. The competition also features the current foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, who is running on his businessman credentials and positioning himself as a compromise candidate, and Dominic Raab, a former Brexit minister, who is trying to compete with Johnson as the man who can deliver Brexit.

With Gove, the current environment minister, in the race, the Conservative leadership contest, which will take nearly two months to conclude, has the whiff of fratricide about it.

“I want the job! I want the job! I want the job!” Johnson reportedly told one Conservative lawmaker last week as his opening gambit when pleading for the parliamentarian’s vote in the crowded leadership race featuring nearly a dozen aspiring contenders. Naked ambition, though, may not be sufficient for Johnson, a short-lived and gaffe-prone foreign minister.

The 54-year-old has under the supervision of his latest partner, a 30-year-old former Conservative party communications official, spruced up his appearance, trimming his trademark tousled hair and modernizing his suits. But a neater appearance and ambition cannot compensate for seriousness and ability, say his foes.

What the critics say

In a devastating column in The Sunday Times, Dominic Lawson, a former national newspaper editor who gave Johnson a job, describes him as “epically unreliable.”

He noted his star quality, describing how once when walking with him in Britain’s capital city “men of no obvious Tory persuasion [and certainly not of Johnson’s class and background] called out to him as if he were their favorite drinking companion.” People, he noted swarmed around him “as if he were a soap opera star.”

But he added: “He manifests chaotic jollity. The jollity is, as so often, the mask of a depressive character. But the chaos is genuine — and the last we need in a new prime minister.”

Lawson’s public dismissal of Johnson’s steadfastness reflect the criticism expressed by Conservative lawmakers. They argue Johnson, popularly known just as Boris,’ is too reckless and unpredictable to plot a course out of the Brexit mess the country — and the fractious Conservative party — has been mired in for nearly three years.

His foes maintain he might light up a room, attract crowds and has a startling ability to recover from grave missteps, but he is too tumultuous to occupy Downing Street — especially at a time Britain is facing its thorniest and potentially biggest policy challenge since the 1954 Suez crisis, which risked Britain’s important ties with the U.S..

Conservatives in crisis

Last week, in the elections for the European Parliament the Conservatives were trounced by Nigel Farage’s newly-formed Brexit Party, suffering their worst ever electoral setback, attracting just over nine percent of votes cast.

With Brexit overturning traditional two-party politics, some Conservatives fear their party is in an existential crisis and could easily split in two. “The future survival of the Conservative party is at risk,” according to onetime deputy prime minister Damian Green. “Too much political blood has been spilt,” he argued.

As the Conservative leadership race accelerates, and more rivals enter, Johnson’s supporters, many firm Brexiters, counter he remains the best candidate for the job — and the only one able to match the blustery Farage for campaigning nous.

“With Boris what you see it’s what you get and some people find it very attractive and other people have concerns,” said Jacob Rees-Mogg, lawmaker and Brexiter. “Boris is the real deal,” he told a British broadcaster.

While acknowledging his shortcomings, the editor of the Conservative-supporting Spectator magazine agrees.

“In an era when exasperated voters seek mould-breaking politicians, he is the best candidate to present the Conservatives as a force for change,” argued Fraser Nelson. “In fact, he might be the only candidates able to do so.”

Potential court action

His supporters say Johnson’s inventiveness is what his party needs. But his creativity has got him in trouble in the past: he was fired while a journalist at The Times for making up a quote. This week a private prosecution against him was unveiled for lying during the referendum campaign, a court action that might cloud his leadership bid.

One sobering fact has Johnson and his backers nervous. No initial frontrunner has won in eight Conservative leadership races since 1965. And the knives are out for him. While opinion polls suggest Johnson is the favorite among Conservative activists to be the next leader, he is deeply unpopular among his fellow party lawmakers.

Many of them disdain his unbridled opportunism, envy his showmanship and worry about his chaotic private life, which include serial relationships, children fathered out of wedlock, terminated pregnancies and a couple of divorces, one of which is being wrapped up now.

But for all of that Johnson is the key candidate — the one his rivals know has to be knocked out of the race quickly or he will only get stronger. His backers say Johnson has the Midas touch when it comes to lifting party morale.

“The bottom line is that the only person who can deliver Brexit and defeat Labour is Boris Johnson,” said former defense secretary Gavin Williamson. “He reaches out to a lot of people,” he added.

Unlike most of his rivals, Johnson is upbeat when describing what he sees as post-Brexit benefits for Britain.

“He has a very bold vision for the country and very much wants to see the opportunities that Brexit can present realized,” said Williamson. His optimism fires up the party faithful. He is also liberal when it comes to social policy — a clear electoral benefit for the Conservatives, who have struggled to shake off the tag that they are the “nasty party.”

The resistance to him among fellow Conservative lawmakers is a possible race-killer.

Conservative lawmakers hold a series of knockout votes to reduce the field to a pair of candidates to present to the broader party membership in a head-to-head runoff. Currently Jermey Hunt has more public endorsements from lawmakers than Johnson.
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Israel to Hold New Elections After Netanyahu Fails to Build Coalition

Posted on 05/30/2019 by SeeEA

Israel is heading for new elections after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a new government by Wednesday. Netanyahu won the April 9 election on the assumption that he would be able to garner enough support to form a governing coalition. After weeks of negotiations with smaller parties, he failed to secure 61 seats in a 120-seat parliament. As VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports, Netanyahu is also battling allegations of corruption, which could have contributed to his political woes.
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Turkey Brings Home Dozens of IS Children from Iraq

Posted on 05/30/2019 by SeeEA

The Iraqi Central Court of Investigation Wednesday handed over 188 children of Islamic State (IS) Turkish citizens to Turkish authorities in a process to repatriate dozens of IS fighters, as well as their children and wives, held in Iraqi prisons.

The Turkish foreign ministry and its embassy in Baghdad told VOA the move is part of Turkey’s effort to bring home its citizens, particularly minors, ahead of Eid al-Fitr or Festival of Breaking the Fast at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan early next week.

“For those who have not been involved in crimes and identified as Turkish citizens, especially children, our embassy in Baghdad has taken necessary steps for them to be handed over to our country by the Iraqi authorities at the soonest possible date,” a diplomatic source at the Turkish Foreign Ministry told VOA.

Thousands of Turks joined IS

The diplomat did not disclose the number of Turkish suspected IS fighters and their family members in Iraqi detention, but said efforts were under way to bring home those facing charges.

“It has also been requested to extradite those who received the final judgment by Iraqi courts in order to stand in trial in our country,” the Turkish source said.

According to the Soufan Center, a nonprofit global security organization, nearly 1,500 Turkish citizens have crossed into Iraq and Syria to fight for IS since 2014. When IS lost its control of territory in Iraq and Syria, those who were not killed in the battles were arrested or fled with family members and mostly caught in Iraqi and northeastern Syria’s prisons.

In Iraq alone, more than 328 women and 600 children of Turkish nationality are believed to be held by security forces.

Prison living conditions

The source at Turkish Foreign Ministry said it has directed its embassy in Baghdad to ensure the rest of the detained Turks received proper living conditions and medical access until their transfer.

“Iraqi authorities say the conditions are being kept well as much as possible,” said the diplomatic source, adding, “the health conditions of our citizens who are detained in Iraq and their children are closely monitored by our representations in Iraq, and medicine has been provided for those to protect them against infectious and epidemic diseases.”

Iraq began its proceedings against suspected IS foreign fighters and their family members shortly after declaring its final victory over Islamic State terror group in December 2017.

A Reuters investigation in March found that about 1,100 children of IS fighters were held by Iraqi authorities with nearly 200 children as young as 9 years have been sentenced. It said the youngest stayed with their mothers in prison, and at least seven children have died because of poor living conditions.

In a statement Wednesday following the handover of the children to Turkish authorities, the spokesperson of the Iraq Supreme Judicial Council, Abdul Sattar Birqdar, said the figure included “a few grownups” who were convicted on charges of illegal border crossing and overstaying.

“The extradition was made in the presence of a representative of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, the Turkish embassy in Baghdad, and international organizations such as UNICEF,” Birqdar said.

Before Turkey, Iraq earlier this year handed over dozens of IS children with Russian, German, and Tajik nationalities to their respective governments.
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Former Georgian Leader Returns to Ukraine

Posted on 05/30/2019 by SeeEU

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has returned to his adopted homeland of Ukraine a day after its new leader reinstated his citizenship.

Saakashvili became a Ukrainian citizen in 2015 after giving up citizenship of his native Georgia, where he faced abuse-of-power charges related to his time as president in 2004-13.

He moved to Ukraine and was appointed governor of Odessa region by then-President Petro Poroshenko. The two fell out, and Saakashvili was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, restored Saakashvili’s citizenship, allowing the former lawmaker to return.

Saakashvili praised Zelenskiy for a “quick and brave” decision.

He also hinted at a possible return to the political arena, promising reporters gathered at Kyiv’s airport on Wednesday that he would help make Ukraine “the most successful country in Europe.”
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Canada Moves to Ratify North American Trade Deal

Posted on 05/30/2019 by SeeUS

Canada moved to ratify a new North American trade deal by formally presenting it to parliament Wednesday, less than 24 hours ahead of a visit by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented the bill to the House of Commons, confirming a Reuters story from Tuesday that said the legislation would officially be offered up to parliament Wednesday.

Canada, Mexico and the United States signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in November 2018.

However, the deal, which would replace the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has yet to be ratified by any of the three countries. Canada is the first member country to move toward ratification.

“The new NAFTA will secure access to a trading zone that accounts for more than a quarter of the global economy,” Trudeau said. “It is now time for the members of this House to ratify it.”

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland has said Canada will press ahead with its ratification plans in tandem with the United States.

Time running short

With Canadian voters set to head to the polls in October for a national election and the U.S. presidential election in 2020, time is running short. Canada’s parliament is scheduled to start its summer recess June 21 and is not expected to sit again until November, after the general election.

The trade deal faces a tricky path in the United States ahead of presidential and congressional elections next year.

Some lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives have said it needs stronger enforcement provisions for new labor and environmental standards.

President Donald Trump said last week that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will control when any initial vote on the plan takes place, does not understand the deal.

Pence takes point

Pence, Trump’s point person for getting the deal through the U.S. Congress, is scheduled to meet with Trudeau Thursday to discuss USMCA ratification and other issues.

Pence has been traveling through U.S. states dependent on trade with Canada and Mexico to make the case for the deal.

“We’re calling on Congress to bring this up for a vote,” a senior U.S. official told reporters, previewing Pence’s Ottawa visit, the first time the vice president has traveled to Canada in an official capacity.

Pence’s visit also comes after the United States agreed to remove tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum products earlier this month, ending a yearlong dispute.

Tariffs an issue

Canadian officials had said Canada probably would not pass the pending trade pact until the tariffs had been lifted.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Wednesday his party will “reluctantly support” the new trade pact in the House, but criticized Trudeau for caving to U.S. demands.

“The prime minister had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to negotiate a better deal — and he failed,” Scheer said. “He gave (U.S. President) Donald Trump everything he wanted and more.”

The Conservative Party of Canada would “work to mitigate the damage this deal has done” if elected in October, he added.

A May 28 poll by Nanos Research had the Conservatives leading with 35% of the popular vote and the Liberals in second place with 29%.
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Texas Bus Company Settles Worker-Bias Charges

Posted on 05/30/2019 by SeeUS

A Texas-based passenger bus operator has reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to settle charges it discriminated against American job seekers by hiring temporary foreign drivers, the department announced Wednesday.

The settlement with El Expreso Bus Co. of Houston, Texas, is the sixth under the department’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which investigates and penalizes employers that discriminate against qualified U.S. employees in favor of foreign guest workers.

In a statement, the Justice Department said its investigation of El Expreso found that the bus operator had turned down applications by U.S. workers and then petitioned for temporary visas for foreign drivers to fill the positions.

H-2B visa program

The H-2B visa program allows U.S. companies to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary, nonagricultural jobs, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employers are required to consider recruiting qualified American job seekers before turning to foreign guest workers. El Expreso is accused of violating this requirement.

Under the settlement, El Expreso has agreed to pay $31,500 in penalties, set aside $197,500 to compensate U.S. workers it refused to hire, and be subject to compliance monitoring by the Justice Department.

The department said it has opened dozens of investigations under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative. As part of the probes, employers have agreed to pay or distribute nearly $1 million in penalties and back pay.

“Employers cannot discriminate against qualified U.S. workers because they prefer to hire visa holders,” Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

A phone call to a number listed on El Expreso’s website went unanswered. The company provides intercity passenger bus service for several cities across the South and Southwest U.S.
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US Senate Bill Targets Chinese Influence in Cambodia

Posted on 05/30/2019 by SeeUS

Three U.S. senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that they say is aimed at restoring democracy in Cambodia in the face of deteriorating human rights and rising Chinese influence.

The Cambodia Accountability and Return on Investment Act of 2019 (CARI Act or S-1468) was put forward this month by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.,who say they want to see the full implementation of the Paris Peace Agreement that Cambodia signed with the international community in 1991.

The bill provides for stiff financial penalties on Cambodia if it fails to make a number of specified reforms. These penalties include U.S. opposition to loans to Cambodia by international institutions such as the World Bank or International Monetary Fund and visa restrictions on government officials who violate human rights. Some Cambodian officials could also have American-held assets frozen.

Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told VOA’s Khmer service he was also “very concerned” about the growing Chinese influence in Cambodia and called for the Cambodian government to stop its persecution of opposition politicians.

“It’s very important to push back,” Graham said.

The CARI Act requires Cambodia to “protect its sovereignty from interference” by China and demands the release of and the dropping of all criminal charges against the nation’s opposition leaders. The bill, a copy of which was provided to VOA, specifically calls for the “immediate and unconditional release from house arrest of opposition politician Kem Sokha and the dismissal of the politically motivated charges against him.”

The bill also demands the dismissal of politically motivated charges against other opposition leaders and supporters, including opposition leader Sam Rainsy as well as dissidents, government critics and journalists. It specifically mentions Radio Free Asia journalists Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who have been charged with espionage.

The bill also demands that Cambodia repeal restrictive changes to the law on political parties passed in 2017 and early this year.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was dissolved in late 2017 by Cambodia’s supreme court, and its 118 officials were banned from politics for five years. In a fresh crackdown, 140 former local officials of the party have recently been summoned by the courts and police for questioning in relation to alleged violations of the court’s ruling.

“Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his regime continue to wield their totalitarian iron glove and violate the rights and freedoms of the Cambodian people,” Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., told VOA Khmer by e-mail. “We must not be fooled. We must not be distracted. No matter what [Hun Sen] says, these recent incidents show clearly that he has no desire for a multiparty democracy in Cambodia.”

Lowenthal added that Hun Sen’s “only desire is quite simply to hold the reins of power and continue ruling.” He said the U.S. Congress “must move forward, quickly and intently, to bring the full weight of the U.S. government against Hun Sen before he destroys, once and for all, the possibility of Cambodia returning to a democratic nation.”

Modest steps toward increased democracy in Cambodia were reversed in the run-up to elections last year in which Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party won every seat. Opposition leaders were arrested or forced into exile, new restrictions were placed on social media and more than 30 radio frequencies were shut down while critical news outlets were pressured into closure.

Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, told VOA Khmer via e-mail he believes there “should be consequences” for Hun Sen’s continued harassment of his opponents. “In light of his recent actions it is even more important that Congress pass legislation like the Cambodia Trade Act,” a separate bill that would require the Trump administration to reconsider certain trade preferences granted to Cambodia.

The Cambodian government has dismissed the CARI Act as “political propaganda” that does not “reflect the truth” in Cambodia.

“This is just a dream aiming to interfere and control Cambodia,” said government spokesman Phay Siphan. “If the politicians are happy to help Kem Sokha, they should find a fund to hire the right lawyer to represent him at the trial. I personally advise those senators to reduce their action so that it will not add more burden on Kem Sokha, who has been accused of being a foreign puppet or working with foreigners to overthrow the elected government.”

Siphan maintained that Cambodia is not under China’s influence but remains a good friend to the United States and respects its interests.

China is Cambodia’s largest investor, donor and trading partner. Military-to-military relations between the countries have been steadily progressing since 2010. At the same time, military relations with the United States have been deteriorating since 2017, when Cambodia announced the indefinite suspension of its annual joint military exercise between the two countries.

The United States is also concerned that China will use Cambodia as a naval base in the future.

CNRP activists abroad have welcomed the CARI Act, describing it as a first step toward resolving the political crisis in Cambodia.

“This law does not only serve the interests of democracy and bringing back the CNRP as well as the release of President Kem Sokha and the dropping of all charges against acting president Sam Rainsy, but it is also an action plan to achieve the U.S. goal to bring back democracy to the country,” said Saory Pon, secretary-general of the CNRP Overseas.
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Finance Minister Retained in Leaner S. African Cabinet

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeAF

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday retained Tito Mboweni as finance minister in a new, leaner cabinet, following on from a pre-election pledge to reform and revive an ailing economy and attract foreign investors.

Ramaphosa, who was sworn in as South Africa’s president on Saturday for his first full five-year term, trimmed the cabinet from 36 ministers to 28.

That will serve as an early barometer of his ability to push through change more efficiently, having struggled to implement tough reforms since he succeeded scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma last year.

“All South Africans are acutely aware of the great economic difficulties our country has been experiencing and the constraints this has placed on public finances,” he said in a televised national address. “It is therefore imperative that in all areas and spheres of government, we place priority on revitalizing our economy while exercising the greatest care in the use of public funds.”

Analysts described Ramaphosa’s cabinet picks as a market-friendly outcome that maintains important allies in key ministries while sidelining some top officials in the ruling African National Congress accused of corruption and

mismanagement.

“In all, the cabinet appointments announced tonight speak of a new confidence in the Ramaphosa administration,” said Razia Khan, chief Africa economist at Standard Chartered Bank. “Should this momentum and seemingly newfound confidence be built on with the pursuit of further structural reform, then markets would be correct to react positively.”

Some analysts, however, expressed concern over the number of deputy ministers, which remained at above 30.

“Trimming the size of cabinet by the size he did is a strong message, but creating so many deputy ministries is a problem. So, no, it’s not enough yet,” said Ralph Mathekga, an independent political analyst.

The immediate task of the new cabinet will be to help Ramaphosa revive Africa’s most industrialized economy and preserve its last investment-grade credit rating.

Ramaphosa’s long to-do list also includes generating jobs, acting against entrenched corruption in and outside the ANC, resolving policy uncertainty in the mining sector, and speeding up reforms of power utility Eskom and other state-owned entities.

Familiar faces

Markets are likely to welcome the reappointment of Mboweni, a former central bank governor who is well-respected by investors. He was first appointed to the Finance Ministry in October and has spoken out about trimming government spending and selling some state companies that are acting as a drain on public finances.

Ramaphosa’s decision not to reappoint some senior ANC figures who have been tainted by scandal is also expected to win praise from investors. They include the former minister for women, Bathabile Dlamini, who serves as president of the ANC women’s league and is considered a staunch ally of Zuma. She has denied wrongdoing.

But investors will scrutinize Ramaphosa’s decision to retain David Mabuza as deputy president.

Last week, Mabuza had requested a delay in his swearing-in to parliament to clear his name before an ANC integrity commission, following allegations of impropriety during his decade-long premiership of the mineral-rich eastern Mpumalanga province. He, too, has denied wrongdoing.

Mabuza was finally sworn in on Tuesday after he was cleared by the ANC of bringing the party into disrepute.

Ramaphosa kept on Pravin Gordhan as public enterprises minister. The ministry oversees state-owned companies, including Eskom. The management of Eskom’s restructuring is key to reviving the economy after power cuts in the past year undermined broader efforts to kick-start growth.

His appointment is, however, likely to face criticism from opposition parties after the country’s anti-graft watchdog found Gordhan acted improperly in granting an early pension payout to a revenue service executive when he was finance minister.

Gordhan is challenging the findings in court.

The president also appointed Gwedwe Mantashe as mining and energy minister after combining the two ministries. Mantashe previously headed the mining ministry. Naledi Pandor, previously higher education minister, was appointed as foreign affairs minister.

Half of the new cabinet members are women, making South Africa one of three African countries, with Rwanda and Ethiopia, to achieve gender parity among ministers, according to U.N. Women.
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Israeli Parliament Dissolves in Favor of Another Early Election

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeEA

Israel’s parliament voted early Thursday morning to dissolve itself and hold a second early election after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to put together a coalition government.

The lawmakers voted 74-45 to break up and hold a new vote on Sept. 17.

Netanyahu had a midnight deadline to form a new government after winning the April 9 election. He was hoping to form a coalition between his conservative Likud party, ultra-Orthodox lawmakers and another conservative bloc led by former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

WATCH: New Elections for Israel After Netanyahu Fails to Build Coalition

But the talks fell apart when Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox refused to heed Lieberman’s demands that ultra-religious Jews be drafted into the Israeli army and serve just like other young Israeli men and women are required to do.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews consider military conscription a violation of their religious beliefs, fearing that military service will lead to secularization. But such exemptions from military service are widely resented by other Israeli Jews.

“Everything stands in the same place where it was,” Lieberman said, while Netanyahu said he was confident his Likud party would win again in September.

“We will run a sharp, clear election campaign, which will bring us victory. We will win, and the public will win,” Netanyahu said after the parliamentary vote.

Opposition leader Benny Gantz — who lost to Netanyahu in April and most likely would have been given a chance to form a government had parliament not dissolved — angrily accused Netanyahu of being more concerned about his own political future instead of what was good for the country.

Gantz said Israel was in for “three crazy months” of another political campaign costing millions of dollars.

He also called Netanyahu “legally incapacitated” because of possible corruption charges.

Netanyahu had been hopeful a new parliament would approve legislation granting him immunity.

Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, reached a plea bargain Wednesday in a separate corruption case. She agreed to pay $15,215 in a reimbursement and a fine for spending almost $100,000 in state funds on catered meals at the prime minister’s residence while concealing the fact that the residence also employed a cook.
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Kenyan Villagers Use ‘Digital Wells’ to Cope with Record Drought

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeAF

Kenya is facing one of the worst stretches of drought in years, causing underdevelopment, fights over water, and fears of starvation. However, a village in western Kenya is using a high-tech solution to water scarcity with so-called “digital wells” in a bid to improve local livelihoods and prevent waste.

In Nakuru County’s Solai village, a group of women carry jerrycans to the local well to collect water.

Solai villagers have long been dependent on seasonal rivers and salty Lake Solai for their animals and irrigation.

But drought ravaging much of Kenya has reduced the local river into a stream.

Residents like Anne Chesire said the drilling of so-called “digital wells” in December has been a lifesaver.

Previously, she said, they would have to wake up very early to beat the queue at the watering hole, which is kilometers away. The water was salty, said Chesire. But, since receiving the new taps, she said, life has become so much easier.

World Vision Kenya and the Nakuru County government funded the wells, giving residents access to clean drinking water, but also using a high-tech solution to prevent waste.

Villagers use cards fitted with microchips and pre-loaded with money to dispense and pay for the water, helping to fund the costs of drilling wells.

Charles Kimutai is the Chepkulu Water Project Chairman.

Kimutai said the card system has been very helpful since he no longer has to chase people down to get them to pay their water bill.

The project has brought much-needed water closer to home and extra income for locals, like mother of two Brenda Chepngetich.

She said she is now growing vegetables in her backyard which she also sells. It has helped her sustain a comfortable livelihood, said Chepgngetich.

Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui called on residents of Solai to take advantage of the new water access to grow and sell produce.

“As we move forward we will want to get the water not just into the water kiosks but even closer to the homes and actually into the homes, eventually,” Kinyanjui said.

Project manager for World Vision Kenya John Mwaura said they have built 11 boreholes and water dispensing machines in the area since December 2018.

“Since we entered into the area, life has changed,” Mwaura said. “As per an evaluation we did, water penetration was at 37%. And to date we have gone to 54%. So we can say this is an achievement and all this achievement is due to the project that World Vision is doing. And we hope to go far with the partnership we are doing with the government.”

For the villagers of Solai, the access to clean, safe drinking water has literally taken a load off their backs.
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Norway Sees Progress in Venezuelan Peace Talks

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeEU

The Norwegian government said Wednesday progress has been made in negotiations between representatives of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The Foreign Ministry said the two sides “have demonstrated their willingness to move forward” toward a negotiated solution to the Venezuelan crisis.

A second round of talks in recent weeks were held in the capital, Oslo, in an effort to find solutions to the political and economic crises that have gripped the country for months.

The Foreign Ministry did not provide more information about the talks but urged both sides to exercise “utmost caution in their comments” about the negotiating process.

The talks are held amid growing tension between Maduro and Guaido, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly who declared himself president in January with the backing of the United States and about 50 other countries.

The declaration followed the May 2018 presidential elections which Guaido deems fraudulent.

The political crisis has been compounded by Venezuela’s worst economic crisis in recent memory, with food shortages and power outages common occurrences. The International Monetary Fund predicts inflation in the oil-rich country will reach 10 million percent this year.

Guaido agreed to talks in Norway after initially saying any dialogue should result in Maduro’s resignation and new elections.

Norway has a history of playing the role of facilitator in peace negotiations. The Scandinavian country hosted talks that led to the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accords in the 1990s and a deal reached in 2016 between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
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The significance of Uganda’s Buganda Kingdom – Straight Talk Africa

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeAF

In this episode of Straight Talk Africa, host Shaka Ssali interviews the Prime Minister of Buganda Charles Peter Mayiga. Buganda is a subnational kingdom with 6 million citizens, in the central region of Uganda, including the capital, Kampala. Since 1993, Buganda is considered a kingdom monarchy with a large degree of autonomy from the Ugandan government. The head of Buganda’s government is the Prime Minister or “Katikkiro” who was appointed by the current head of state or king in 2013.

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White House Adviser Kushner in Jordan to Promote Peace Plan

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeEA

Presidential adviser Jared Kushner is in Jordan as he tries to rally Arab support for a U.S. peace conference next month in Bahrain.

Jordan, a key U.S. ally, has not yet said whether it will attend.

Kushner, who arrived from Morocco, has said the conference will focus on the economic foundations of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The conference will not include core political issues, such as Palestinian statehood. The Palestinians have rejected the conference.

The White House confirmed Kushner was in Amman on Wednesday, but gave no details.

Reliant on American political and military support, it will be difficult for Jordan reject the invitation. But with most of its people of Palestinian descent, it will be difficult to embrace a plan that does not include a Palestinian state.

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US Official Accuses Iran of Tanker Attacks Off UAE

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeEA

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that Iran was “almost certainly” responsible for attacks earlier this month on oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the Abu Dhabi for what he called talks on “important and timely regional security matters,” Bolton did not give any evidence to back up his accusation, but said the tankers were hit by naval mines.

Iran previously denied responsibility for the attacks, and on Wednesday foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi rejected Bolton’s accusation as ludicrous.

Tensions between Iran and the United States have escalated in recent weeks since President Donald Trump announced his decision to try to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero to pressure the Iranian government to alter its behavior in the Middle East, and his move to boost the U.S. military presence in the Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has accused Bolton and others of engaging in “warmongering” and said the Trump administration with its re-imposition of sanctions against Iran is conducting “economic terrorism.”
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US ‘Concerned’ Iran’s Intranet Project Will Repress Internet Freedom

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeEA

This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. Nike Ching contributed from the State Department.

The Trump administration has expressed concern about reports that Iranian authorities have made progress in developing a domestic intranet and firewall system to shield Iran from the global internet.

In a written response to VOA Persian questions, a State Department spokesperson said its concern centered on new measures in Iran to create a “so-called National Information Network” and “repress internet freedom through draconian surveillance.”

“Countries that take such desperate actions prove to the world that they are afraid of their own people,” the State Department said in its May 23 statement.

Recent Iranian state media reports have cited officials as saying Iran’s yearslong development of the intranet and firewall system that it calls the National Information Network (NIN) is 80% complete.

The reports described the NIN as an “ongoing project to develop a secure and stable infrastructure network in Iran.” Officials have said the NIN will protect Iran from cyberattacks and enable Iranians to access high-speed, low-cost and Islamic-friendly content through an intranet isolated from the rest of the online world.

Iran’s state-approved Financial Tribune newspaper has said the NIN comprises several projects, including the expansion of the local fiber-optic network, installation of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and giving a boost to Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).

The first mention of Iran’s NIN being 80% complete came in reported remarks by Iran’s Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution (SCCR) Secretary Saied Reza Ameli to a May 19 ceremony marking World Telecommunication Day. SCCR is a policymaking body that has an influential role in shaping internet governance in Iran in accordance with Islamist principles.

Iran’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi also cited the figure in a tweet on Sunday, saying 80% of Iran’s tasks in relation to the NIN have been completed.

The two officials’ statements did not explain what those tasks involved. But some of the recent state media reports said Iran has connected 80% of its rural population to the NIN.

Former U.S. National Intelligence Manager for Iran Norman Roule, in a recent VOA Persian phone interview, said Iran has been developing the NIN since 2006 with several goals in mind.

“By 2006, the Iranian regime saw that the internet meant a vast amount of foreign culture coming into the country. It also allowed opposition elements to freely interact and promulgate their ideas among the Iranian people. And this was intolerable,” Roule said. “The NIN allows Iran to monitor what its people are looking at and make progress in turning off the virtual private networks (VPNs) they have used to get around censorship of foreign websites. So in essence, this is about stifling opposition.”

Iranians have used VPNs to access foreign websites and social media sites that their government has blocked in recent years. In a speech Sunday reported by state news agency ISNA, Iranian Brigadier-General Golamreza Jalali of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said Tehran will tighten blockages of foreign social media sites if recent U.S.-Iranian tensions escalate into a war, in order to stop the U.S. government from using them to influence Iranian public opinion.

In his May 19 speech, SCCR Secretary Ameli said Iran’s investment in the NIN has amounted to 120 trillion rials in government funds and 70 trillion rials in private sector funds, or $2.85 billion and $1.66 billion, respectively, according to Iran’s official exchange rate.

“There is an economic benefit to the NIN, too, because it creates an Iranian cyber industry,” Roule said. He said the only apps and software permitted in the NIN are those created within Iran, which he described as one of the foremost producers of engineers in the world.

But Roule said the exclusion of foreign technology from the NIN also could have a negative impact on Iran’s job market.

“It may well contribute to the brain drain that Iran is seeing, because their best engineers want to work with the best technologies being developed across the region, and they simply will not be in Iran,” he added.

Iranian ICT Minister Azari Jahromi, who appeared at the same May 19 event as Ameli, used the event to highlight the NIN’s role in protecting Iranian industry from external cyberthreats, such as the Stuxnet computer worm, which damaged Tehran’s nuclear enrichment facilities in 2010.

State media said Azari Jahromi announced that Iran has installed the NIN’s firewall on industrial control systems manufactured by German conglomerate Siemens and will soon do the same for industrial control systems made by other brands. Industrial control systems are used to operate and automate industrial processes.

Siemens’ website says it has contributed to key infrastructure projects in Iran for almost 150 years. A Germany-based Siemens spokesman declined to comment to VOA Persian on Iran’s assertion that Siemens equipment has been incorporated into the NIN.

“It is not imprudent that in time of a conflict you would want to maintain infrastructure if you were under international cyberattack,” Roule said. “The NIN has advantages in terms of cyber protection, but by isolating itself from the world, Iran is relying on decades-old cyber technologies that are increasingly creaky.”

The retired, 34-year veteran of the CIA said it would be a challenge for Iran to bring those dated technologies into the NIN. “I suspect that they probably have a lot more problems than they are willing to admit,” he said.

In its statement to VOA Persian, the State Department said it will continue to work with technology companies and the U.S. Treasury Department to support the free flow of information in Iran.
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Severe Storms Spawn Tornadoes Near Kansas City

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeUS

Tornadoes damaged homes and knocked down trees and power lines Tuesday in the U.S. state of Kansas in the latest round of severe weather that has repeatedly battered the central part of the country since last week.

The tornado activity just west of Kansas City injured at least 12 people, while severe storms sparked warnings as far east as New York.

Residents of the Midwestern states of Ohio and Indiana spent Tuesday sifting through the ravages of a series of powerful tornadoes that killed at least one person, injured more than 130 others and destroyed homes, schools and business.

Two of the devastating twisters struck the Dayton, Ohio, suburbs of Beavercreek and Trotwood, while a third touched down 128 kilometers northwest in Celina, Ohio. The National Weather Service classified all three as EF3s on the Enhanced Fujita scale, meaning they packed estimated wind speeds of between 218–266 kilometers per hour and were capable of severe damage.

At least a dozen communities suffered damage late Monday and early Tuesday as storms raced through the area.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said as many as 55 tornadoes may have touched down late Monday into Tuesday across eight states stretching eastward from Idaho and Colorado. Storm reports posted online by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center said 14 suspected tornadoes touched down in Indiana, 12 in Colorado and nine in Ohio. Seven were reported in Iowa, five in Nebraska, four in Illinois, three in Minnesota, and one in Idaho.

The storms tore roofs off homes, toppled trees, downed power lines and created so much debris that cleanup crews had to use a snowplow to clear one highway in Ohio.

According to NWS, Tuesday was the 12th consecutive day where multiple tornadoes were reported in the United States. While the high number of twisters is not unusual, they are usually not as widespread.

As the stormy weather plagued the central U.S., several cities in the South experienced record-shattering high temperatures.

Over the weekend, Augusta, Georgia, tied a 141-year-old record high, as the temperature soared to 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Savannah, Georgia, tied the record for the earliest occurrence of triple-digit heat in the city, and Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, reached 100 for the first time ever in May.

Meteorologists predict the scorching trend will continue, and high temperature records will be set in cities from Louisiana to Virginia.

Also breaking records was flooding along the Mississippi River in eight states. NWS said the flooding is the longest-lasting since the “Great Flood” of 1927. The river has remained above flood stage since February 17, while in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, it has remained there since early January.

By contrast, instead of sunshine and warmth, California has been hit by a rare late May snowstorm, bringing record low temperatures. In the mountains of Northern and Southern California, surprise snowfalls have extended the ski season. Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort announced plans to stay open into August.
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US Identifies 6 Americans’ Remains from N. Korea

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeUS

Carla Babb contributed to this report.

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM — A total of six American troops have been identified so far from 55 boxes of human remains that North Korea turned over last year, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Ken Hoffman, a spokesman for the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Account Agency (DPAA), said four families have been notified of the remains, while two other families are awaiting notification.

The remains were returned to the U.S. by North Korea after a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June 2018. The two leaders had signed an agreement allowing for recovery of the remains of U.S. soldiers from the 1950-53 Korean War.

However, after a second summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi in February ended with no agreement, the military said earlier this month it had suspended efforts with North Korea to recover U.S. soldiers’ remains.

The DPAA, based in Hawaii, recovers U.S. soldiers’ remains from around the world.

Military officials say about 5,300 American troops are believed lost in what is now North Korea.
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Severe Drought Puts 2 Million Somalis at Risk of Starvation

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeAF

Severe drought in Somalia is putting over two million people at risk of starvation and forcing thousands out of villages and into a relief camp outside the capital. The United Nations has called for emergency aid to help those in need, including nearly a million Somali children facing hunger. Mohamed Sheikh Nor reports from Mogadishu.
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Intense Rainfall in Central US Causing Southern Flooding

Posted on 05/29/2019 by SeeUS

Historic flooding is hitting communities along the Arkansas River despite little rain in the region, thanks to downpours in areas farther north and efforts by officials to control the powerful surge of water.

Intense rain in Kansas and northeast Oklahoma strained aging dams and levees, and a reservoir in Oklahoma that drains a massive watershed hit record water levels. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened a large dam to control the river flow, which put Fort Smith — the second-largest city in Arkansas — in the path of record-breaking flooding expected to last all week.

Among the drenched: Rick and Cindy Gering, whose Fort Smith home flooded as the river swelled its banks over the weekend. The river also overtopped two levees southeast of the city on Tuesday.

Rick Gering said the house survived flooding in 2015, but that he and his wife got nervous Saturday after the National Weather Service increased its flood crest prediction. The couple built a wall of sandbags around their home and headed for a hotel.A neighbor later told them it didn’t help much. The home is now filled with about 3 feet (0.9 meters) of water. Gering said he was thankful they had time to leave, but said it was like “watching a slow brutal death to your home.”

The Arkansas River was forecast to peak at record level in the area Wednesday. The river levels also prompted the temporary closure of two major bridges into the city, and forecasters said more rain was possible in already waterlogged areas up the river.

A state official said most residents had already been warned to evacuate areas protected by the levees that breached Tuesday, though it’s unclear how many did.

The Army Corps of Engineers has ratcheted up the flow from a hydroelectric dam northwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to 275,000 cubic feet (7,787 cubic meters) per second to help drain the swollen Keystone Lake reservoir.

The popular recreational area drains into the Arkansas River, but water levels as of Tuesday were above normal — by a record 34 feet (10 meters).

The reservoir drains a watershed of more than 22,000 square miles (57,000 square kilometers) in areas of northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas, where up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain has fallen in the past month. In all of 2018, the same areas recorded between 30 and 45 inches of rain (76 to 114 centimeters).

The release of water from the Keystone Dam is necessary to prevent the reservoir from spilling over the flood-control structure, which would allow floodwaters to flow uncontrolled down the river, said Preston Chasteen, deputy chief of public affairs for the Corps’ Tulsa District.

“The whole purpose of a dam is to capture that flood water and not let it run freely down the river,” he said. “If these dams weren’t in place to control these releases, I think the circumstances would be far worse than they currently are.”

Flooding was also hitting communities in Oklahoma.

In Tulsa, officials warned that levees built in the 1940s were facing higher flows for longer periods of time than they’ve ever seen. By Tuesday, hundreds of homes in Sand Springs, Webbers Falls, and other Oklahoma communities along the Arkansas River had been evacuated. More than 1.2 million people live in the Tulsa metropolitan area.

In addition to the dam’s releases, two other rivers that drain separate watersheds are also contributing to flooding, Chasteen said.

The Neosho River, whose watershed includes portions of Missouri and Arkansas, and the Vertigris River, which drains parts of Kansas and Oklahoma, merge with the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Oklahoma, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa.

In Fort Smith, residents awaited Wednesday’s record-breaking crest, predicted at 42.5 feet (13 meters). By Monday night, the Arkansas Department of Transportation closed four bridges that typically carry more than 100,000 cars daily into Fort Smith, redirecting traffic to a single bridge that has a capacity of about 8,200.

Two bridges were reopened around noon on Tuesday because water levels weren’t as high as expected. But officials said they were keeping an eye on both amid the flooding conditions. Officials also noted that public drinking water was drinkable and safe.
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Thrill-Seekers Can Zip Down Eiffel Tower

Posted on 05/28/2019 by SeeEU

Daredevil visitors to Paris will be able to leap off the second-floor balcony of the Eiffel Tower, albeit for a limited time.

A zipline will allow some of the visitors to travel 800 meters in a minute at speeds of 90 kilometers an hour from the iconic tower to the 18th-century military complex of Ecole Militaire.

The zipline was set up by the French mineral water brand Perrier to celebrate the French Open and to coincide with the 130th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower.

The free ride will be available to thrill-seekers picked by an online lottery on social media and a select few who manage to get some spots set aside for an onsite drawing.

One visitor to the tower posted a video of one of the zipline riders on Twitter saying, “Don’t try this at home.”

The zipline will be in place until June 11.

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Ghana Aims to Capture Vulnerable Populations in First Digital Census

Posted on 05/28/2019 by SeeAF

In Accra’s district of Old Fadama, the largest slum in Ghana’s capital, a government official interrupts a group of men playing cards. The official carries a tablet and asks if anyone has time for a few questions to test an electronic questionnaire.

Ghana is preparing for its first digital population and housing census next March, joining Swaziland, Malawi and Kenya as one of the first countries in Africa to collect data electronically.

Long-time resident Mohammed Basiru volunteers. He was missed out of the head count during Ghana’s previous census in 2010 because he was traveling overnight from the northern city of Tamale.

At that time, questionnaires were on paper. It took months to gather and assemble the data, and around 3% of the population was left out of the survey.

Now the government will be going digital, using tablets and satellite images to improve the reach of enumerators and make sure everyone in Ghana on census night is counted.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said the data would help fight inequality.

“We must count everyone and make everyone accountable to pay their fair share in taxes that would be used to target assistance to those who may not have had access to critical social services previously,” said Bawumia at an event last week.

The census is expected to cost $84 million, around 50% more than the last census. The government has contracted around 60,000 enumerators, but is still working with the United Nations on how best to source the 65,000 tablets required to conduct the surveys.

Officials say Kenya may be able to lend out the tablets after it completes its first digital census later this year.

Araba Forson, chief statistician for the Ghana Statistical Service, said technology would prevent enumerators from under-staffing densely populated areas — a problem encountered in 2010 as the population maps they used were out of date.

“Satellite imagery will tell us that there are people living in this part of the country that the enumerator may not have visited,” she said. “[And] using electronic data collection we will be able to make sure that everyone has been covered.”

Ghana’s urban population has more than doubled during the past two decades, rising from 7 million in 1997 to almost 16 million in 2017, according to the World Bank.

Many people have moved from poorer rural areas in search for work, and joining the millions of street vendors and waste pickers who make up most of Ghana’s informal economy.

Together with the homeless, they are the “floating population” whom government statisticians want to capture better in their database.

And the stakes are higher this time, as the census will play a key part in the nationwide rollout of biometric ID cards launched by President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2017. The new Ghana Card requires a digital address code, many of which will be generated by enumerators during the census.

In Agbogbloshie district, notorious for housing a toxic junkyard of electronic waste, community member Naa Ardo-Acquah said some slum dwellers were suspicious of the ID registration process.

“In the Choko community they thought the card means to tax,” she said. “The authorities didn’t sensitize them on it.”

Ardo-Acqhua hopes the new digital address system will stop city authorities from removing slum dwellers from their homes.

But distrust remains an issue, and officials testing tablets and marking houses in poorer areas said some of their numbers were later removed by informal residents who feared eviction.

“Our publicity and communication team has developed communication materials, both print and audiovisuals, that will be used to educate the people,” said Omar Seidu, a social statistician for the Ghana Statistical Service.

Seidu said his team would be working closely with community leaders before the census to make sure the process is understood.

Ardo-Acqhua has said she still worries the government will not send enough staff to Agbogbloshie. She spent days helping people register for their ID cards at centers set up by the National Identification Authority, and said many were discouraged by long lines.

“They only came for three days and less than half the community was able to sign up,” she said. “I don’t know what they are going to do about that.”
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Uganda Seeks $927 Million to Support Refugee Population

Posted on 05/28/2019 by SeeAF

The Ugandan government and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees are calling on the donor community to extend $927 million to support the over 1.2 million refugees living in Uganda. But the appeal is complicated by the alleged misuse of previous contributions.

Located next to several countries in conflict, Uganda has become host to huge refugee populations. Currently there are 792,000 South Sudanese, 417,000 Congolese and more than 35,000 Burundians, among others.

The $927 million sought would pay for water, sanitation, food, health care, shelter and other basic needs for the refugees.

Jens Hessemann is the senior field coordinator for the U.N. refugee agency in Uganda.

“Uganda is Africa’s largest refugee situation of over 1.2 million refugees and the number is growing with continued influxes to the country. And over 100 partners, U.N. and NGO partners have been supporting the Uganda government in managing this humanitarian situation and deliver life saving services. That needs to continue,” said Hessemann.

However, the appeal is weighed down by what donors are calling unsatisfactory investigations over abuse of funds. In early 2018, four Ugandan officials under the Office of the Prime Minister were asked to leave their positions, pending investigations into alleged abuse of funds, fraud and exaggeration of refugee numbers.

Uganda’s junior minister for refugees, Musa Ecweru, said the probes are still ongoing.

“We are saying, the investigation is systematic, is thorough. Those gentlemen and ladies will not step in these offices, until, they are either cleared or brought to book if they are found to have committed a crime.”

He also accuses Uganda’s development partners of misusing donor funds.

“The partners have also had a challenge. You over cost your administrative response. The money that the international community gives, three quarters of the money goes to your welfare. You drive big cars, you sleep in big hotels,” he said.

Hessemann declined to comment on Ecweru’s remarks.

He said the UNHCR has been working with the government to verify actual refugee numbers using a biometric system that the agency named Progress. He said the system will reduce fraud and corruption.

“Priority of all the partners is accountability. We are accountable to refugees. To deliver services, meeting their rights and their needs. But we are obviously also accountable to donors to ensure that funding is value for money and is used in the right way,” said Hessemann.

The appeal follows critical remarks from German Ambassador Albert Conze, who said Germany has re-established financial dealings with UNHCR but will not dispense half of the $52 million it had pledged until the Ugandan government limits corruption.

“I am a bit surprised that this takes 15 months. Not a very convincing response. We are getting the response that this is now with this or that agency and that they should come up with something, but nothing has come up so far. You can do what you want with your own money, but when you get money from friends, I think your accountability is increased,” he said.

UNHCR states that in 2018, only 57 percent of the Uganda refugee response plan was funded, leaving many unmet needs. The contributions in 2019 have been particularly slow in coming, with less than 20 percent of the needed funds received so far.
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