Musyoka said Australia is fast becoming Kenya’s crucial development partner as evident by the recent famine relief intervention and assistance in addressing refugee problem.

He said Australia has recently transformed itself from a continent that was largely ignored a few years ago to its current status where it is a major destination for students and other immigrants.

He said Kenya has welcomed the adoption of a new policy towards Africa by Australia whose aim is to promote economic growth and prosperity in the impoverished continent.

Speaking when he addressed guests at the residence of the Australian High Commissioner, Nairobi, VP said the new policy, the “New African Strategy” which is hinged on accelerated investments and trade will help the continent realize its MDG while promoting peace and security among other priorities.

“We are confident that with her expertise and experience in these areas, Australia can make unique and positive contributions to Africa’s quest for prosperity,” Musyoka observed at the Australian day celebrations.

At the same time, Musyoka lauded the cordial relations that have existed between Kenya and Australia saying that it had been of great benefit to their citizens.

He particularly commended Australia for assisting Kenya develop its human resource base through extending scholarships and admitting many students to her universities.

“We look forward to increased opportunities with the expansion of Australia’s scholarships programs and technical assistance especially in the area of science, technology and innovation”

The Australian High Commissioner to Kenya, Ms. Lisa Silitette, assured that her country will continue to partner with Kenya in various spheres of development including education, health and water supply.

Source African Press Agency

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According to a statement issued to the press in Nairobi on Sunday, he is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with senior Kenya leaders in an effort to boost bilateral relations between the two East African countries.

Kenya’s Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka will be hosting the Tanzanian leader and his delegation.

The visit comes in the wake of Musyoka’s four-day official tour of Uganda and is expected to highlight regional integration efforts ahead of the coming into force of the East African community custom union protocol this July.

From July 1, 2010 the East African Member States of Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya will have free movement of people, goods and services across their borders.

Tanzania is a major investment destination for Kenyan companies, already Kenya Commercial Bank, East Africa Breweries, Equity Bank and Kenya Airways are among over 250 Kenyan firms which have set base in Tanzania.

Among the areas the Tanzanian VP is expected to visit include The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Samia Industrial Park in Nairobi, the Kenya Oil Refinery and the Kenya Ports Authorities in Mombasa.

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The leaders said that the police operation amounts to ethnic discrimination which is unconstitutional and oppressive.

“We believe some people in Government have an agenda to economically disenfranchise the Muslims under the guise of fighting insecurity. This must stop immediately,” said a joint statement read in Nairobi by Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, National Muslim Leaders Forum, and Muslim MP’s among others.

The police on Sunday night mounted a countrywide police crackdown leading to the arrest of over 1000 aliens mainly from the Somali community.

Many of them had forged documents. Police say they arrested 1,240 foreigners, but government spokesman Alfred Mutua placed the figure at 2,000.

Most of them are from lawless Somalia, and they include two army generals, 11 MPs and other officials of the Transitional Federal Government, embroiled in a war with the al-Shabaab militia.

At the same time, the leaders lashed out at the police for using live bullets in last Friday’s demonstrations confining worshipers in Jamia Mosque in Nairobi for 7 hours.

The demonstrations were called to protest the arrest of already deported radical Jamaican cleric, Abdullah al-Faisal.

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World Bank country director, Johannes Zutt said in Nairobi that last years prolonged drought saw the economy registering no growth in the last quarter of the year. More emphasis needs to be placed in the water and energy sectors, he said.

Last year’s growth rate fell below projections of over 3% and registered just 2.5% owing to the drought that occasioned power rationing in the country stalling the manufacturing industry.

The drought also forced the government to use funds budgeted for development and rehabilitation as emergency funds for relief food.

Zutt said that the World Bank has placed the energy and water sectors in high priority of its projects this year in a bid to cushion the economy from such a re-occurrence.

Zutt added that the bank is in the process of reviewing its funding strategy in line with government vision 2030 that aims to make Kenya a middle income country.

He made the remarks as he announced the World Bank’s new country partnership strategy with Kenya.

The strategy provides the framework for World Bank financial assistance to Kenya till 2013.

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In a technical agreement signed during the Premiers visit, Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) was tasked to conceptualize, implement and manage three special economic zones in Kenya’s major towns to enhance Kenya’s quest towards the realization of vision 2030 that aims to make the country a middle class country.

According to a statement issued in Nairobi, the government of Kenya also agreed to engage SCE in planning and implementation of affordable and sustainable public housing system.

It was further agreed that the two countries would collaborate in the development of ports, e-government, and Mass Rapid Transit System dealing in both rail and road transport in major urban areas in Kenya.

Singapore and Kenya also agreed to ease air connections between the two countries by allowing Kenya Airways and Singapore Airlines to operate in the two countries.

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Visiting Kenyan Vice President, Kalonzo Musyoka visited the plant a joint venture between Indian drug maker Cipla and Ugunda’s Quality Chemicals and praised the technology transfer taking place at the complex.

He said he would advice the relevant health authorities in Kenya to consider sourcing ARV’s from the firm after the necessary assessment and approvals from the Kenya Drug and poisons Board, a statement issued in Nairobi disclosed.

The firm that was established at a cost of 4 billion shillings ($53 million) producing 100 million tablets of ARV’s per month, mainly the Duovir-n brand. It also produces anti-malarial drug Lumatern.

Uganda’s Minister for Health, Richard Nduhura said his country took the decision to manufacture generic ARV’s after India, the traditional makers of generic drugs, ratified the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Accord under the World Trade Organization.

“This will bar them from continuing to provide us with these cheap alternatives,” said the Ugandan Minister.

He said Africa needs low cost medicines, which are safe and effective, and the continent needs to produce these drugs and be less reliant on outside help.

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The demonstrators took to the streets in Nairobi’s Central Business after Friday’s prayers waving placards chanting anti-government slogans and demanding the release of the cleric.

However, hell broke loose after confrontation between the police and the demonstrators ensued.

The demonstrators pelted the police with stones and at one time seemed to have overpowered the police, but the police later fired teargas canisters towards the surging crowds dispersing them.

Thereafter, the two groups engaged each other in cat and mouse chase all over the streets in an ordeal that lasted one hour.

The police were forced to storm Jamia Mosque located at the heart of the capital to flush out youths who had sought refuge there. The police were later seen using water cannons to flush out the youths.

APA saw at least five people injured in the demo.

Al-Faisal who is on an international terror watch list is currently held at the Jommo Kenyatta International Airport cells with the government desperately trying to deport him to Jamaica following several other botched attempts.

According to sources, top government officials met with diplomats to enhance his deportation.

An earlier plan to deport him to his home country on Wednesday night failed after an international airline declined to fly him because the US was yet to grant him a transit visa.

The airline was to make a stopover in Geneva en route to Jamaica via Miami in the US. This was after Switzerland agreed to grant the cleric a transit visa.

Faisal was deported from Britain in 2007 for preaching racial hatred and urging his audiences to kill Jews, Hindus and Westerners.

He entered Kenya from Tanzania on Christmas Eve and later arrested in Kenya on December 31.

Attempts to deport him have remained futile as international bound airplanes reject him.

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Speaking Thursday at his office in Nairobi when he held talks with the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, Kibaki said his Government remained committed to supporting all initiatives by the international community geared towards restoring peace in Somalia.

Noting the contribution of Kenya and Italy in the restoration of peace in Somalia, Kibaki hailed Italy for her continued support to a peaceful and lasting solution to the Somali conflict.

He hailed the Italian Minister’s visit, saying besides strengthening the ties between the two countries, it would enhance Kenya’s efforts in the war on piracy in the Indian Ocean and security in the region, a statement issued in Nairobi said.

The Head of State also thanked Italy for converting a Kenyan government debt of over 4 billion shillings ($53 million) to development aid channeled to education, health and water sectors.

Kibaki said the conversion of the outstanding debts through a Debt for Development swap agreement would go a long way in supporting the Government’s efforts to uplift the living standards of Kenyans.

The President welcomed tourists from Italy and other countries to visit renowned attraction sites in the country and sample the diverse wildlife, culture and hospitality of the Kenyan people.

Frattini, on his part, said Italy views Kenya as a strategic ally in pushing for peace in Somalia.

The Minister expressed his country’s commitment to working closely with the international community in seeking a lasting peace in Somalia.

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He noted that more people are dying of AIDS in Africa than in the developed countries and expressed the need for concerted efforts to address the inequality.

The visiting executive director has called for rapid implementation of programs in Africa that would eliminate mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) of HIV in the next five years in time to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

He made the remarks as he held talks with President Mwai Kibaki in Nairobi and further thanked Kenya for supporting his campaign that led to his appointment as the Executive Director of UNAIDS.

Kibaki said that the Government has stepped up the fight against HIV/AIDS to reduce its prevalence rate in the country.

“Indeed, Kenya is responding positively to the epidemic and has heavily invested in HIV prevention and treatment, “said Kibaki.

Kibaki said his Government is tackling the war against HIV as part of Kenya’s national medium and long term development strategy.

It is estimated that over 40 per cent of adult Kenyans have tested for HIV, making the country one of the few countries in sub Saharan Africa to have reached that level.

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Kibaki noted that continued denial of relief food to Somalia was exerting more pressure on Kenya which is already hosting thousands of refugees.

The UN agency announced on Tuesday it had suspended food aid to southern parts of the war-torn country following rising threats and attacks on humanitarian operations by Al-Shabaab making it impossible for the aid agency to reach one million people in southern parts of Somalia.

WFP claimed the Islamist group was imposing strings of unacceptable demands among them demanding payments to be able to operate in the country.

Kibaki made the remarks in Nairobi when he met and held discussions with the Country Director of the World Food Programme Burkard Oberle and WFP goodwill Ambassador Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussien of Dubai.

Kibaki expressed the government’s appreciation to the World Food Programme and other relief agencies for the commendable humanitarian work undertaken in the country and the region over the years.

He at the same time appealed to the UN body to consider extending assistance to the flood victims in the country.

The floods have claimed over 20 lives and displaced thousands in the past two weeks.

Meteorologists have blamed the unusual heavy rains on El Nino.

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According to the organizers, AITEC Africa, the conference will play an important role in reinforcing Nairobi’s role as the region’s financial services centre, and the theme “Leadership through Innovation” reflects the country’s leadership position in mobile banking.

Announcing the conference in Nairobi, Sean Moroney, Chairman of AITEC, said the event is an important platform to showcase the exciting mobile payments innovations currently being implemented in Africa.

“When we started this conference series four years ago, the emphasis was on East Africa learning from the rest of the world, now bankers, mobile operators and others wanting to learn about mobile banking will be coming to Nairobi to learn from innovators in the region,” he said.

The event will include a specialized exhibition on products and services for the financial services sector, with over 40 local and international exhibitors.

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At a meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Yang Jiechi who paid him a courtesy call at his office in Nairobi, Kibaki described China as a true friend of Kenya, pointing out the many infrastructure projects funded by China.

The President also thanked the Government of China for its commitment to funding parts of the Northern Corridor and their interest in a new Mombasa-Kampala standard gauge railway line.

“Kenya highly appreciates the development assistance extended by China. The assistance has been substantial in financial terms and has a considerable impact on Kenya’s socio-economic development,” Kibaki said in a statement issued to the press in Nairobi.

The Head of State outlined the importance of Lamu Port and the second transport corridor that will link Kenya to Ethiopia and Southern Sudan via Garissa and Isiolo in northern Kenya.

During the meeting, China extended a 540 million shillings ($7.2 million) grant to support various projects in the country.

Kibaki and Jiechi also discussed issues centered on further enhancing the existing Kenya-China cooperation raised during the 4th Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Ministerial conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in November last year.

The 4th FOCAC ministerial meeting adopted an action plan which lays out strategies for China-Africa cooperation over the next three years in which China seeks to build a new type of China-Africa Strategic Partnership covering several sectors of socio-economic development.

China and Kenya have in the past signed agreements and MOUs in various fields including technical and cultural cooperation, trade, education, health, energy, agriculture and cooperative development.

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For a month at least, passengers departing from Cameroon will arrive in Angola on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

This will cost CFA 670, 000 francs for a round trip ticket, regardless of other travel services.

Many Cameroonians consider this rate as “prohibitive”, saying “the Angolan airline should rather lower the airfare price to allow many people to travel for the games.”

Without giving specific figures, TAAG officials acknowledged that the number of bookings that has significantly “increased” is also one of the reasons behind the increase services to Angola.

Other than TAAG which has direct flights from Douala to Luanda, other airlines like Kenya Airways and South Africa Airways will serve Angola via Nairobi and Johannesburg, respectively.

Each company also intends to improve its turnover “given the fact that Cameroonian football enthusiasts will travel en masse to support their national team.”

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According to KWS, twelve black rhinos (2% of Kenya black rhino population) and six white rhinos (1.5%) of Kenya Southern white rhinos were illegally killed last year.

Most of the poaching incidents were recorded in the private ranches with the rhino poaching gangs armed with high caliber semi – automatic weapons. KWS blamed increased poaching on the rising price for black-market rhino horn.

“Kenya calls upon the countries of concern to come to CITES COP 15 in March in Doha, Qatar with specific actions they have undertaken to show their commitment to stopping this poaching and protecting rhinos in the wild,” KWS director, Julius Kipng’etich told a press conference in Nairobi.

He said that Kenya has heightened rhino protection and in a number of cases, the poachers have been arrested and horns intercepted before leaving the country.

He further added that Kenya has also proposed amendments to a CITES resolution on rhinos, with the aim of strengthening the resolution and placing greater responsibility on countries consuming rhino horns.

According to KWS, South Africa and Zimbabwe have similarly been affected by the rampant global rhino poaching.

In 2009, the two nations lost more than 250 rhinos, and the poaching is escalating. The illegal trade is being driven by Asian demand for rhinoceros horns, noted KWS.

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Addressing the high-level segment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen, Denmark, Kibaki expressed Kenya’s readiness to host an upgraded UNEP that will effectively spearhead global efforts towards environmental conservation.

“We stand ready to host a revamped UNEP that will have the mandate to help lead the global fight against environmental degradation,” Kibaki said.

The President, once again, restated Kenya’s commitment to environmental conservation, saying Government efforts to address climate change concerns have been stepped up including the formulation of a National Climate Change Response Strategy which details key measures and a resource mobilization plan.

Kibaki added that through relevant ministries, the Government has developed a program that will guide an environmental investment plan at an estimated cost of $2.2 billion per year over a 20 year period.

In this regard, the President said Kenya is set to achieve an increased forest cover from the current 2 percent to 10 percent by the year 2030.

The Head of State said, as part of his Government’s environmental investment blueprint, Kenya also plans to shift to a low carbon emission development pathway as its contribution to the fight against climate change.

“We are also committed to making further investments in renewable energy technologies such as wind and geothermal power production,” the Head of State pointed out in a statement copied to APA.

He estimated the cost for green energy production in Kenya is 25 billion U.S. dollars over the next 21 years, and underscored the need for transfer of technologies, financing and capacity building.

Kibaki restated Kenya’s support for the African position on Climate Change which is guided by the Bali Roadmap with its five pillars of adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer, capacity building and finance.

The President, particularly, underscored Africa’s stand to give top priority to adaptation programs that are funded predictably and sufficiently.

Source African Press Agency

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