PETER MUNAITA

Private sector calls for tax uniformity across EAC

Wednesday May 25 2022

The region recorded losses and shortages in January when truckers went on strike on the Malaba highway after Uganda demanded Covid-19 retesting at a fee. Tax rate uniformity will render such actions unnecessary. PHOTO | FILE

Summary

Kenya has already unveiled its budget due to the upcoming elections in August. But Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda will unveil theirs in June. Burundi is yet to align their budget same as South Sudan and latest entrant DR Congo.
As far as excise duty in the EAC region is concerned, the EABC wants to see rates that will lower the cost of doing business.

By LUKE ANAMI

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The private sector in the East African Community has proposed harmonisation of several taxes including value added tax, income tax and excise duty in the 2022/2023 budget, arguing this will ease the cost of doing business in the region.

“Tax harmonisation is extremely important for all of use as East Africans. Tax matters impact businesses and most importantly impact our people,” said Simon Kaheru, the East African Business Council (EABC) chairperson, Uganda chapter.

“What matters for us is to see a pro-people budget in all of East Africa in the 2022/23 financial year.”

Kenya has already unveiled its budget due to the upcoming elections in August. But Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda will unveil theirs in June. Burundi is yet to align their budget same as South Sudan and latest entrant DR Congo.

However, the budgets will all be effective starting July 1.

“We want to see harmonised taxes so that we have positive effects on the rights and freedoms of people and businesses in East Africa. This will enhance the integration of East Africa region,” said Mr Kaheru.

He added that harmonisation of domestic tax rates will enable partner states to move ahead together as a bloc.

Each partner state is expected to charge the same VAT percentage on goods.

As far as excise duty in the EAC region is concerned, the EABC wants to see rates that will lower the cost of doing business.

Data/airtime rates

Tanzania charges excise duty on fewer services compared with the rest of the region. Indeed, excise duty is applicable on telecommunications as well as on financial institutions. For telecommunication firms there are two different duties are applicable. Duty of 17 percent is applicable on data and airtime making it expensive for telephone calls from out of Tanzania.

In Uganda, excise duty is 12 percent for data and airtime while in Kenya the rate applicable is 20 percent. Rwanda is 10 percent.

When it comes to money transfer, Tanzania charges excise duty at the rate of 10 percent, Uganda is at 15 percent for money transfer as well as additional 0.5 percent on the value of transaction at the time of withdrawing the money.

For Kenya, money transfer attracts excise duty of 12 while Rwanda at 10 percent.

In Uganda there is an additional rate of 0.9 percent per dollar per minute that applies to all incoming calls.

The EABC wants excise duty curbed at 10 percent in all the EAC partner states.

“A good tax regime is one that has the following components; convenience, flexibility, equity and optimal economy. These should guide the reforms in terms of harmonisation of domestic tax in the East African region,” said John Kalisa, CEO, EABC.

“The private sector wants the excise duty harmonised in the region to allow for cheaper telephone calls and lower charges on communication.”

On banks, Tanzania charges excise duty at 10 percent (fees and commission), in Uganda 15 percent, Kenya at 20 percent while Rwanda does not charge any.

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Somalia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdisaid Muse Ali.

PM Roble's office said he has also ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the Foreign ministry's authorisation of the shipment.

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Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

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Africa records strong recovery in remittances despite high cost

Wednesday May 25 2022

A sign of international money transfer system MoneyGram. A recent report shows that Nigeria dominates Africa in remittance receipts. PHOTO | AFP

Summary

According to the latest World Bank Migration and Development Brief dated May 2022, aggregate regional remittance costs averaged 7.8 percent between October and December last year.
The average cost of remitting $200 from countries in the least expensive corridors amounted to 3.4 percent while costs for the most expensive corridors registered 31.5 percent during the same period, an increase of 12.3 percent from the year earlier.
According to the report, a strong motivation by migrants to assist families in home countries under pandemic conditions underpinned these extraordinary increases.

By JAMES ANYANZWA

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Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa grew 14 percent to $49 billion in 2021, the strongest gain since 2018, even as the continent remained the costliest developing region to send money.

According to the latest World Bank Migration and Development Brief dated May 2022, aggregate regional remittance costs averaged 7.8 percent between October and December last year.

The average cost of remitting $200 from countries in the least expensive corridors amounted to 3.4 percent while costs for the most expensive corridors registered 31.5 percent during the same period, an increase of 12.3 percent from the year earlier.

The report titled “A war in Pandemic: Implications of the Ukraine Crisis and Covid-19 on Global Governance of Migration and Remittance Flows,” notes that though intraregional migrants in Africa comprise more than 70 percent of all international migration, remittance costs are high due to the small quantities of formal flows and use of black-market exchange rates.

The fee for sending $200 in remittances from Tanzania to neighbouring Uganda, for example, would cost 29.7 percent of the transaction amount.

The report, however, shows the continent recorded strong growth in remittances in 2021, largely as a result of a firm pace of economic activity in Europe and the US, although facing rising headwinds from inflation tied to distortions in supply chains and surging commodity prices.

In 2020, remittances to the region fell by eight percent due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As Covid-19 incidence eased in the industrial economies, job prospects improved, allowing African migrants to supplement remittances to home countries that continued to experience sobering consequences of the virus,” says the report.

“A major factor in improving 2021 out-turns was a restoration of recorded inflows to Nigeria, which had plummeted by 27 percent in 2020 due to increased use of informal channels.”

The surge in flows to Nigeria by 11.2 percent to $19.2 billion in 2021 accounted for nearly one-third of the overall $6.3 billion increase in remittances to Africa.

Nigeria dominates the region in remittance receipts, having historically accounted for a half of sub-Sahara Africa inflows followed by Ghana. South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo also saw upturns in flows in the period.

Extra-ordinary increase

According to the report, a strong motivation by migrants to assist families in home countries under pandemic conditions underpinned these extraordinary increases.

Kenya benefitted from a 20 percent growth in remittance receipts, with continued momentum in the first quarter of 2022 nearing 25 percent.

Tanzania’s receipts grew by 60 percent and the Gambia enjoyed a 30 percent growth in remittances grounded in a new government and new currency.

Mozambique’s migrant workforce finally responded with some force (a two-thirds increase in flows to $570 million) to support the hard-hit residents of Cabo Delgado, amid an insurgency against mega liquefied natural gas projects in the region.

The report notes that there is uncertainty for remittances to Africa for 2022–23 and risks in the outlook are exceptionally high against the background of global conditions affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A key staple commodity for the region – wheat– gained 24 percent over the course of 2021, and an additional 22 percent since the February invasion.

Higher oil prices are expected to dominate external accounts for the 36 net oil-importing countries in the region, and expectations of deeper current account deficits and worsening debt positions are widespread.

Medium-term risk

Africa stands as the developing region most exposed to the fallout from the Ukraine invasion, as indirect effects build over time.

Most countries are now facing a steep decline in trade, which is increasing deficits and debt, boosting inflation, and cutting into real incomes and growth.

The continent is highly exposed to price hikes in wheat, maize, edible oils and fertilizers; the latter could impact farmers heading into the new agricultural season.

Sub-Saharan Africa imports 85 percent of its wheat supply, almost one-third (28 percent) of which comes from Ukraine and Russia.

In the headlines

Somalia suspends minister over charcoal export

PM Roble's office said he has also ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the Foreign ministry's authorisation of the shipment.

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Loans from multilateral lenders were the country’s lifeline in the Covid-19 pandemic, she says.

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PM Roble suspends Somali minister over charcoal export to Oman

Wednesday May 25 2022

Somalia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdisaid Muse Ali arrives for the first day of a European Union- African Union summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, February 17, 2022. PHOTO | JOHN THYS | POOL via REUTERS

Summary

The UN Security Council banned such shipments a decade ago to cut funding for the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda franchise fighting Somalia's central government.
PM Roble's office said he has also ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the Foreign ministry's authorisation of the shipment.

By REUTERS

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Somalia's Prime Minister Hussein Roble on Tuesday suspended Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali, citing the authorisation of a ship exporting charcoal to Oman in violation of international sanctions.

The UN Security Council banned such shipments a decade ago to cut funding for the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda franchise fighting Somalia's central government.

PM Roble's office said he has also ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the Foreign ministry's authorisation of the shipment.

Ali could not be reached and the Foreign ministry spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.

The status of the shipment was unclear.

In the headlines

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Loans from multilateral lenders were the country’s lifeline in the Covid-19 pandemic, she says.

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Ethiopia's Tedros re-elected as WHO boss

Gunman kills 18 children at Texas elementary school

Police catch up with Besigye in Kampala CBD

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Monkeypox explainer: how do you catch it and what are the risks?

Wednesday May 25 2022

This rare smallpox-related virus causes flu-like symptoms and a nasty rash, and it can be deadly. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK

By THE CONVERSATION

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The latest outbreak of monkeypox has, at the time of writing, reached 17 countries with 110 confirmed cases and a further 205 suspected cases. It’s a fast-moving story, so if you need to catch up on the latest, here are answers to some of the most pressing questions.

How is monkeypox spreading?

The first patient in the current outbreak had returned to the UK from travels to Nigeria where monkeypox is endemic. However, cases are now spreading among people who have not travelled to west or central Africa, suggesting local transmission is occurring.

Monkeypox usually spreads by close contact and respiratory droplets. However, sexual transmission (via semen and/or vaginal fluid) has been posited as an additional possible route. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says: “Studies are needed to better understand this risk.”

Most cases in the current outbreak have been in youngish men, but the virus can spread to anyone.

What are the symptoms?

Early symptoms are flu-like, such as a fever, headaches, aching muscles and swollen lymph nodes.

Once the fever breaks, a rash can develop, often beginning on the face and then spreading to other parts of the body – most commonly the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

How deadly is monkeypox?

Monkeypox is mostly a mild, self-limiting disease lasting two-to-three weeks. However, in some cases, it can cause death. According to the WHO, the fatality rate “in recent times” has been around 3% to 6%. The west African monkeypox virus is considered to be milder than the central African one.

Monkeypox tends to cause more serious disease in people who are immunocompromised – such as those undergoing chemotherapy – and children. There have been no deaths from monkeypox in the current worldwide outbreak, but, according to the Daily Telegraph, one child in the UK is in intensive care with the disease.

Why is it called monkeypox?

Monkeypox was first identified in laboratory monkeys (macaques) in Denmark in 1958, hence the name. However, monkeys don’t seem to be the natural hosts of the virus. It is more commonly found in rats, mice and squirrels. The first case in humans was seen in the 1970s in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Is monkeypox related to smallpox and chickenpox?

Monkeypox is related to smallpox – they are both orthopoxviruses – but it is not related to chickenpox. Despite the name, chickenpox is a herpes virus, not a poxvirus. (How “chicken” got in the name is not entirely clear. In his dictionary of 1755, Samuel Johnson surmised that it is so named because it is “of no very great danger”.) Nevertheless, the vesicles (little pus-filled blisters) caused by monkeypox are similar in appearance to those of chickenpox.

Are cases likely to continue rising?

Cases are likely to continue to rise significantly over the next two-to-three weeks, but this is not another pandemic in the making. Monkeypox doesn’t spread anywhere near as easily as the airborne virus SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19.

Has monkeypox evolved to be more virulent?

RNA viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, don’t have the ability to check their genetic code for mistakes each time they replicate, so they tend to evolve faster. Monkeypox is a DNA virus, which does have the ability to check itself for genetic mistakes each time it replicates, so it tends to mutate a lot slower.

The first genome sequence of the current outbreak (from a patient in Portugal) suggests that the virus is very similar to the monkeypox strain that was circulating in 2018 and 2019 in the UK, Singapore and Israel. So it is unlikely that the current outbreak is the result of a mutated virus that is better at spreading.

How is monkeypox diagnosed?

In the UK, swab samples taken from the patient are sent to a specialist laboratory that handles rare pathogens, where a PCR test is run to confirm monkeypox. The UK Health Security Agency has only one rare and imported pathogens laboratory.

Is there a vaccine for it?

Vaccines for smallpox, which contain the lab-made vaccinia virus, can protect against monkeypox. However, the vaccine that was used to eradicate smallpox can have severe side-effects, killing around one in a million people vaccinated.

The only vaccine specifically approved for monkeypox, Imvanex, is made by a company called Bavarian Nordic. It uses a nonreplicating form of vaccinia, which causes fewer side-effects. It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency in 2019 – but only for use in people 18 years of age or older.

UK health secretary Sajid Javid said that the UK government will be stocking up on vaccines that are effective against monkeypox. The UK currently has about 5,000 doses of smallpox vaccine, which has an efficacy of around 85% against monkeypox.

Are there drugs to treat it?

There are no specific drugs to treat monkeypox. However, antivirals such as cidofovir and brincidofovir have been proven to be effective against poxviruses in animals and may also be effective against monkeypox infections in humans.

By Ed Feil
Professor of Microbial Evolution at The Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath

In the headlines

Somalia suspends minister over charcoal export

PM Roble's office said he has also ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the Foreign ministry's authorisation of the shipment.

Samia: How Tanzania used IMF, AfDB loans

Loans from multilateral lenders were the country’s lifeline in the Covid-19 pandemic, she says.

Ethiopia's Tedros re-elected as WHO boss

Gunman kills 18 children at Texas elementary school

Police catch up with Besigye in Kampala CBD

Paul Russo to replace KCB boss Joshua Oigara

Digital connectivity an economic imperative for East Africa

Wednesday May 25 2022

Minister for Information, Communication and ICT, Nape Nnauye (left), handing over a recognition certificate to Vodacom Tanzania PLC Managing Director Sitholizwe Mdlalose in recognition of the company’s efforts to bridge digital divide in the country. On the right is Mwananchi Communications LTD Managing Director Bakari Machumu. PHOTO | COURTESY

Summary

“Vodacom Tanzania’s vision is to take Tanzania to the digital age while changing lives through technology. We are ready to continue to support government, industry and social sector institutions to expand and broaden digital offerings, foster an enabling environment for rapid digitisation and speed up infrastructure investments…” said Sitholizwe Mdlalose, Vodacom MD.

Digital connectivity provided by Telco’s and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) is well placed to make a positive impact on the access to resources by women, ‘formalise’ informal employment and improve on the access to education for all. Communication and internet access are transformational, they empower citizens to meaningfully contribute to their countries’ economies, and shape sustainable economic futures.

“The ever evolving supply of technology gives rise to life enhancing opportunities. The more technology penetrates into our communities, the more we can expect everyday problems to be resolved by its use. One fascinating example is of tele-medicine where patients need not travel vast distances to reach doctors, rather get to a connected centre and get consultations and in some cases, have surgeries performed remotely,” said Sitholizwe Mdlalose, Vodacom MD

Connectivity is an economic imperative

It is evident that connectivity is key to unlocking broader economic growth across Africa. According to the GSMA Mobile Economy 2020 report, mobile technologies and services generated 9 per cent of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2019 – a contribution that amounted to more than $155 billion of economic value added. The mobile ecosystem also supported almost 3.8 million jobs (directly and indirectly) and made a substantial contribution to the funding of the public sector, with $17 billion raised through taxation. By 2024, mobile’s contribution will reach around $184 billion as countries increasingly benefit from the improvements in productivity and efficiency brought about by the increased take-up of mobile services.

Vodacom Tanzania PLC came up with a cost-free website named E-Fahamu which provides approved education content to both Pupils and Teachers. The platform, which is being controlled by the firm's CSR arm Vodacom Tanzania Foundation, uses the firm’s wide coverage network to deliver the content. PHOTO | COURTESY

We must connect more people with more services

Internet connectivity across Africa is still low, and there is a need to use innovative ways to connect the unconnected and the underserved. The GSMA found that the mobile market in sub-Saharan Africa will reach several important milestones over the next five years: half a billion mobile subscribers in 2021, 1 billion mobile connections in 2024, and 50 per cent subscriber penetration by 2025. These achievements will be underpinned by operators’ continued investment in network infrastructure.

To support broader digitalisation, major infrastructure expansions will be required, including those in backbone networks and last-mile connectivity. It is estimated that governments, development finance institutions, companies, and investors will need to spend $100 billion on key ICT infrastructure by 2030 to achieve universal broadband access— including 250,000 new 4G base stations and 250,000 kilometres of fibre cable. And with 5G on the horizon, although not yet at the point of roll-out in most African countries, there is no question that there is a significant task ahead.

The digitisation of our continent will not happen overnight. This is a long-term commitment that is only possible through sustained, robust and authentic collaboration. Partnerships with governments, businesses, and organisations, both local and international, are an important cornerstone of continued success in digitalisation. We must maintain a collaborative approach to build a future that is fair, inclusive, and sustainable. Initiatives such as the African Union Commission Digital Transformation Strategy and the UN Digital Cooperation Roadmap provide sensible frameworks for how this could progress.

“Vodacom Tanzania’s vision is to take Tanzania to the digital age while changing lives through technology. We are ready to continue to support government, industry and social sector institutions to expand and broaden digital offerings, foster an enabling environment for rapid digitisation and speed up infrastructure investments, among other things. Collaboration will be crucial to moving digitisation goals forward and enabling more citizens to reap the benefits of access to our connected economy,” said Sitholizwe.

Inclusive connectivity

The COVID-19 pandemic clearly highlighted the crucial role that digital connectivity plays in enabling economies to run smoothly but also revealed a digital divide across Africa. This divide goes beyond being connected or unconnected. It divides those who are connected to rudimentary services through 2G from those who have access to the breadth of the internet offered by 4G. It divides those who have the digital skills to use broadband from those who do not. It divides those who can consistently afford connectivity from those who must use work-arounds to get online. During the pandemic an affordable smartphone with a fast, low-cost connection was no longer a luxury. It was a lifeline, essential for everything from accessing health data to following school classes, from finding a job to paying bills – not to mention connecting with friends and family.

Vodacom Tanzania PLC Managing Director Sitholizwe Mdlalose. Vodacom Tanzania’s vision is to take Tanzania to the digital age while changing lives through technology. We are ready to continue to support government, industry and social sector institutions to expand and broaden digital offerings, foster an enabling environment for rapid digitisation and speed up infrastructure investments. PHOTO | COURTESY

User cases

Digital connectivity enables greater delivery of social services, when partnered with the appropriate institution or government organ. For instance, Vodacom’s free to learn portal (e-fahamu) offers free access to educational content for students at all levels of education from primary to secondary school and leverages on partnership with Tanzania Institute of Education and the Universal Communication Service Access Fund (UCSAF) to ensure wide reach. Another crucial partnership between the government of Tanzania and Vodacom Tanzania Foundation saw the collaborative design and roll-out of m-mama solution in Sinyanga regions which contributed to a reduction of 38 per cent in maternal deaths and 45 per cent in perinatal deaths by providing pregnant women and children with emergency transportation when needed.

In the last few years, there has also been a fast acceleration of tech services offered to telco users that affect their regional activity directly. Vodacom expanded its international money transfer portfolio to allow remittance from over 200 countries worldwide, making trade easier and faster. A partnership with M-Pesa-VISA allows subscribers to create virtual debit cards for on-line transactions. The central banks of the EAC countries also came to an agreement about regional financial interoperability, and the MNOs jumped on the opportunity, with Vodacom being among the first to offer full regional financial interactivity, not just on mobile money platforms, but also to banks. This made East African trade immediately more convenient and inclusive.

Vodacom Tanzania, through the M-Pesa platform, allows for micro-loans to its users and enables the informal economy to flourish by empowering micro and small enterprises to be able to sell their wares online. Digital connectivity is being used to connect farmers, who are a significant base of the Tanzania economy, to vital information on weather, inputs, markets as well as access to financial resources. In doing so, the farmer is empowered to maximize harvests and income as well as ease bottlenecks in sales caused by lack of information.

These are all aspects of tech services that have a direct impact on local economies and, consequently, the region. A strong local economy will make that country more attractive to investment, and it will also be a better trading partner for the rest of the bloc and, as the saying goes, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats,’ what is good for one country in the grouping will have positive ramifications for all.

In the headlines

Somalia suspends minister over charcoal export

PM Roble's office said he has also ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the Foreign ministry's authorisation of the shipment.

Samia: How Tanzania used IMF, AfDB loans

Loans from multilateral lenders were the country’s lifeline in the Covid-19 pandemic, she says.

Monkeypox Q&A: An expert explains

Ethiopia's Tedros re-elected as WHO boss

Gunman kills 18 children at Texas elementary school

Police catch up with Besigye in Kampala CBD

Paul Russo to replace KCB boss Joshua Oigara

Samia: How Tanzania used IMF, AfDB loans to improve livelihoods

Wednesday May 25 2022

A screengrab of a video showing Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan speaking in Ghana on May 24, 2022 at the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank. VIDEO | COURTESY via IKULU, TANZANIA

Summary

Tanzania, like several African countries, was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tanzania’s economy shrunk from 6.8 percent growth to 4 percent after Covid-19, even though the country, unlike its neighbours, did not go on a lockdown and did not initially order compulsory mask wearing, nor tap into vaccines.
But after Samia was sworn in as president in March last year following the death of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli, she made changes, including calling for citizens to take up preventive measures, such as mask wearing and hand hygiene, to curb the spread of Covid-19.

By AGGREY MUTAMBO

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Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has defended her usage of loans from multilateral lenders, telling an audience in Accra that the institutions were her country’s lifeline in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Samia, appearing on a panel alongside Presidents of Ghana, Mozambique and the Comoros, said the loans received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Fund (AfDB) helped her stabilise the economy, improve the quality of learning environment and expand the reach of clean water supply.

“With the support of the AfDB and other multilateral lenders, I have done well,” she told an audience on Tuesday during the Presidential Dialogue on Africa’s Development challenges and opportunities, part of the Annual Meetings of the AfDB this year in Ghana.

Covid funds

“Due to Covid-19, IMF gave us some money as economic bailout. Most of the countries used that money for purchasing sanitisers and those [other] items needed to fight Covid-19. But for me, I thought Covid-19 meant decongestion of students in the classroom.

“[We] had 100-120 pupils in one classroom. I have been able to decongest them and now I have 45-50 pupils in one classroom. I thought Covid-19 means availability of water, I have taken that money and used it for supplying clean and safe water to most parts of my country. When I came in, availability of water was 72 percent and I have moved it close to 80 percent. I am expecting, in 2025, it will be 95 percent in urban areas and 85 percent in villages.”

Tanzania, like several African countries, was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Tanzania’s economy shrunk from 6.8 percent growth to 4 percent after Covid-19, even though the country, unlike its neighbours, did not go on a lockdown and did not initially order compulsory mask wearing, nor tap into vaccines. But after Samia was sworn in as president in March last year following the death of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli, she made changes, including calling for citizens to take up preventive measures, such as mask wearing and hand hygiene, to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Nonetheless, the country drew benefits from multilateral lenders keen to aid a response to Covid-19.

Covid response

Under the Crisis Response Budget Support Programme, the AfDB disbursed $50.7 million loan in 2020 to aid response measures, including strengthening health systems and emergency responses.

And after President Samia came to power in March 2021 and Tanzania agreed to share data on Covid-19, as well as coordinate response with international bodies, the IMF Executive Board approved a $265.2 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), equivalent to about $372.4 million. Given under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), the money was meant to aid Tanzania’s balance of payments as the country faced a shortage of revenues.

The IMF said at the time that the money was also to help catalyse support from development partners to support Tanzania, if it strengthens governance and transparency around the pandemic.

“I have also used that money for health. Covid-19 means treating people at the level of villages. So I have constructed about 350 health centres using that money plus modern equipment,” President Samia told the audience, during a panel discussion that included Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, Mozambican leader Felipe Nyusi and Comoros President Azali Assoumani (who appeared virtually).

It also included Ivorian Vice President Tiémoko Meyliet Koné and Prime Minister of Rwanda, Mr Édouard Ngirente.

Leadership

The Tanzanian leader, visiting West Africa for the first time since she took power in March 2021, was responding to a question on challenges faced in her one year of leadership. She said she had to earn the trust of Tanzanians as the first female president.

“I had to prove to them that I could do it, that women could do it. I think in the course of one year, I have proven that women can do it. I have led the country in the same way that men did and in some circumstances better than men did.”

During the session, she hinted that she would keep going back to the lenders as the country targets crucial infrastructure like airports, ports, roads and an expanded national airline.

“We have to raise our voice to the multilateral lenders to allow AfDB to access the SDRs because those are going to benefit Africa,” she said, voicing support for AfDB’s call to have SDRs reallocated to Africa for countries to benefit directly.

The Tanzanian leader is this year’s recipient of the Africa Road Builders–Babacar Ndiaye Trophy, an annual prize sponsored by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and organised by Acturoutes – an information platform on infrastructure and roads in Africa, as well as the Media for Infrastructure and Finance in Africa (MIFA) – a network of African journalists specialising in road infrastructure. According to AfDB, the prize is awarded to leading figures in Africa who have demonstrated their commitment to the development of transport infrastructure on the continent.

Her trip also comes as the continent discusses technology to boost energy investments and deal with the continual crisis of food shortage. The Bank’s theme this year is on climate resilience and a just energy transition.

In the headlines

Somalia suspends minister over charcoal export

PM Roble's office said he has also ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the Foreign ministry's authorisation of the shipment.

Monkeypox Q&A: An expert explains

Ethiopia's Tedros re-elected as WHO boss

Gunman kills 18 children at Texas elementary school

Police catch up with Besigye in Kampala CBD

Paul Russo to replace KCB boss Joshua Oigara

Gunman kills 18 children at Texas elementary school

Wednesday May 25 2022

Law enforcement work the scene after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. The suspected gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was reportedly killed by law enforcement. PHOTO | JORDAN VONDERHAAR | GETTY IMAGES | AFP

Summary

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the 18-year-old gunman was believed to have shot his grandmother before heading to Robb Elementary School at around noon, abandoning his vehicle and entering with a handgun, and possibly also a rifle.
Footage showed small groups of children weaving through parked cars and yellow buses, some holding hands as they fled under police escort from the school, which teaches students aged around seven to 10 years old.
It was the deadliest such incident since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut, in which 20 children and six staff were killed.

By AFP

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A teenage gunman killed 18 young children in a shooting at an elementary school in Texas on Tuesday, in the deadliest US school shooting in years.

The attack in Uvalde, Texas -- a small community about an hour from the Mexican border -- is the latest in a spree of deadly shootings in America, where horror at the cycle of gun violence has failed to spur action to end it.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, addressing a news conference, said the 18-year-old gunman was believed to have shot his grandmother before heading to Robb Elementary School at around noon, abandoning his vehicle and entering with a handgun, and possibly also a rifle.

The governor said the suspect, whom he named as Salvador Ramos, a local resident and a US citizen, was also dead adding that "it is believed that responding officers killed him."

"He shot and killed, horrifically and incomprehensibly," Abbott said.

Families gather and hug on May 24, 2022 outside the Willie de Leon Civic Center in Texas where grief counselling will be offered for those affected by the mass shooting. PHOTO | ALLISON DINNER | AFP

Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez told CNN that three adults had also died in the attack, though it was unclear if that toll included the shooter.

Footage showed small groups of children weaving through parked cars and yellow buses, some holding hands as they fled under police escort from the school, which teaches students aged around seven to 10 years old.

It was the deadliest such incident since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut, in which 20 children and six staff were killed.

The White House ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in mourning for the victims -- whose deaths sent a wave of shock through a country still scarred by the horror of Sandy Hook.

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, and was to address the nation later on Tuesday.

Robb Elementary -- which teaches more than 500, mostly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students from second through fourth grade -- called on parents not to pick up their children until all were accounted for.

"Students need to be accounted for before they are released to your care. You will be notified to pick up students once all are accounted for," the school said on its website soon after the attack.

'Happens nowhere else'

"Enough is enough," said Vice President Kamala Harris in the wake of the tragedy. "Our hearts keep getting broken.

"We have to have the courage to take action."

Ted Cruz, a pro-gun rights Republican senator from Texas, tweeted that he and his wife were "lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde."

But Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, where the Sandy Hook shooting took place, made an impassioned appeal for concrete action to prevent further violence.

"This isn't inevitable, these kids weren't unlucky. This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day," Murphy said on the Senate floor in Washington.

"I'm here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues: Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely."

The deadly assault in Texas follows a series of mass shootings in the United States this month.

On May 14, an 18-year-old man shot 10 people dead at a Buffalo, New York grocery store.

Wearing heavy body armor and wielding an AR-15 rifle, the self-declared white supremacist livestreamed his attack, having reportedly targeted the store because of the large surrounding African American population.

The following day, a man blocked the door of a church in Laguna Woods, California and opened fire on its Taiwanese-American congregation, killing one person and injuring five.

Despite recurring mass-casualty shootings, multiple initiatives to reform gun regulations have failed in the US Congress, leaving states and local councils to strengthen -- or weaken -- their own restrictions.

The National Rifle Association has been instrumental in fighting against stricter US gun laws. Abbott and Cruz are listed as speakers at a forum that is being held by the powerful lobby in Houston, Texas later this week.

The United States suffered 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 percent compared to 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest data.

In the headlines

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Ethiopia's Tedros re-elected as WHO boss

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Ethiopia's Tedros re-elected to lead WHO for a second term

Wednesday May 25 2022

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva on May 24, 2017. He was on May 24, 2017 re-elected as director-general of the World Health Organization. PHOTO | FILE

Summary

Tedros, a former Ethiopian Health minister and Foreign Affairs minister, is the first African to head the WHO. He was first elected as WHO director-general on May 23, 2017.
Last year, when deadline for nominations elapsed, Germany officially nominated Tedros and sought support from other European Union member states.

By TESFA-ALEM TEKLE

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Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was on Tuesday re-elected as head of the World Health Organization, for a second five-year.

The director-general received more than two-thirds of votes cast in the secret ballot, with 155 votes for him out of the 160 cast. Tedros was the only nominee.

Read: Ethiopia withdraws support for WHO boss for ‘backing’ TPLF

Also read: WHO chief speaks of 'personal pain' over Ethiopia conflict

“I am humbled and honoured to be elected to serve a second term as WHO Director-General,” he said in a tweet.

“I am deeply grateful for the trust and confidence of member states. I thank all health workers and my WHO colleagues around the world. I look forward to continuing our journey together.”

Read: WHO ‘sets aside’ Ethiopia's request to probe Tedros links to TPLF

Tedros, a former Ethiopian Health minister and Foreign Affairs minister, is the first African to head the WHO. He was first elected as WHO director-general on May 23, 2017.

In the run up to new election, Tedros gained global support to head WHO for a second term after championing the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read: WHO in new strategy to ramp up global vaccination

Last year, when deadline for nominations elapsed, Germany officially nominated Tedros and sought support from other European Union member states.

Later, at least 17 EU members, backed by countries in other regions, formally nominated Tedros for his re-election.

African countries, with the exception of his home country Ethiopia, have broadly supported Tedros who fought for more access of Covid-19 vaccines to Africa.

Read:WHO warns on danger of vaccine apathy as EU chief mulls mandatory Covid jabs

Also read: WHO says 'never again' as nations weigh pandemic treaty

In September, last year, the director-general called for vaccine equity globally.

“More than 5.7 billion doses have been administered globally, but only 2% of those have been administered in Africa,” Tedros said at a press conference on September 14, 2021.

“This does not only hurt the people of Africa; it hurts all of us. The longer vaccine inequity persists, the more the virus will keep circulating and changing, the longer the social and economic disruption will continue, and the higher the chances that more variants will emerge that render vaccines less effective,” he added.

In the headlines

Somalia suspends minister over charcoal export

PM Roble's office said he has also ordered an audit and judicial investigation into the Foreign ministry's authorisation of the shipment.

Samia: How Tanzania used IMF, AfDB loans

Loans from multilateral lenders were the country’s lifeline in the Covid-19 pandemic, she says.

Monkeypox Q&A: An expert explains

Gunman kills 18 children at Texas elementary school

Police catch up with Besigye in Kampala CBD

Paul Russo to replace KCB boss Joshua Oigara

Tanzania's Samia among Time 100 most influential people

Tuesday May 24 2022

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. PHOTO | PSCU

By BEATRICE MATERU

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Tanzania’s first female president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has been named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

President Suluhu joins other prominent figures in the 2022 list, including US President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list is divided into six categories: Pioneers, Icons, Artists, Titans, Leaders and Innovators. Samia is named under the Leaders category.

Although not new in Tanzania political scenes, she was sworn in as president on March 19, 2021 following the death of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli.

In her one year as president, Samia has appointed more women to her cabinet to lead prominent ministries, including ministries of Health, Tourism and Security. She has also held talks with opposition leader Freeman Mbowe three times.

“Her leadership has been a tonic,” noted Time magazine.

“That year has made a big difference to Tanzania. A door has opened for dialogue between political rivals, steps have been taken to rebuild trust in the democratic system, efforts have been made to increase press freedom, and women and girls have a new role model.”

Born and raised in Zanzibar Island, President Samia began her political career in 2000 when she was elected as a special seat member to the Zanzibar House of Representatives.

Contrary to her predecessor, President Samia is a soft politician, who has recently insisted on peaceful, decent political campaigns.

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