Author: staff reporter

Kenya Transport Association has urge all transport sector that their is a need for a national conversion to better the economy.

Speaking during the first day of Transport Conference and Exhibition at the KICC, Nairobi, regardless of the challenges facing the sector we need to engage soberly,she notes

KTA Chief Executives Officer, Ms Mercy Ireri said for a good recovery and more investment in the transport sector, the sector needs each other’s back to progress for the safety in our roads ,she said.

“Kenya Transport Association takes this opportunity to thank the Kenya National And Highway Authority and Kenya Roads Authority for the work they are doing and we must see and appreciate as a sector”,

More so we must thank media and other partners must preach the positivity done by government and other partners.

” Because we have seen more regulations along our highways and roads being don’t therefore the only thing is to encourage and support.

Green hill cable one of the top manufacturing company in East and Central Africa.

The electric cable manufacturer expect to ride on Kenya infrastructure and to expand its supply to the unreachable customers as well as cut cost.

The capital city on the recent months have been grappling with fake and aging imported cables.

The multi-billion manufacturing company plans to provide alternative supply and to expand its footsteps to other East Africa countries.

Speaking during this year Manufacturing and innovation conference held at the KICC , Nairobi ,Mr. Vinod Patel,Head of the Plant said, ” Our increased penetration in the east and central has been on the increase courtesy of our quality cables we offer to our customers “,.

He adds that most of the local manufacturing companies have lost billions of shillings through electricity theft and leakages as a result of aging cables network.

Mr. Vinod Patel say Green Hill manufacturer has been supplying quality material for the last 4 years and exporting to top countries in Africa as a result of quality cables.

Kenya power the biggest customer of electric cable has been championing for local manufacturing cable company in order to invest locally.

Report shows that youths are the most affected in Kenya.

Out of 35,000 HIV infected patients only 8,000 are under treatment according to the National Aids Control council.

Grace Masha ,CEO National Aids Control say mostly affected are youths under the age of 18years old who are school dropout and unemployed youths.

“High use of drugs like marijuana and heroine,peer group influence plays a biggest part ” she say

However she say they are working with all stakeholders to increase the number under the treatment.

The survey done shows HIV infections prevalence among our prisons is on the increase.

“We want to build centres of testing and treatments at our prisons including Shimo la Tewa,Industrial area and at the GK prison,” said Fayzal Sollimoni ,Head Health and Social Development UNODC,Regional Office.

New poll shows Kagure leads in Nairobi gubernatorial  race.

A new poll released on Monday shows that Independent candidate Agnes Kagure leads the Nairobi gubernatorial race.

The survey shows that  85.9% of Nairobians can also vote for an Independent Candidate.

Victor Paul, director Gallup Research said that Agnes Kagure has 37.4 percent of nairobians voters behind her.

Kagure will be deputized by Onchari Oyieyo.

Her closest competitor is  Johnson Sakaja of UDA at 20.6 percent while Polycarp Igathe of Jubile is at 18.7 percent.

Paul said that the majority of respondents consider the candidate’s manifesto to be the main factor at 43 percent, followed by Integrity at 37 percent.

* The U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe have been piled on since 2001, following a government decision to repossess land from minority white farmers for redistribution to landless indigenous Zimbabweans.

* The sanction-induced economic mire has inflicted a myriad of real challenges on Zimbabweans, especially amid an unprecedented global pandemic.

* Given the distressing effect of the sanctions on the viability of businesses in Zimbabwe, there have been outcries against the economic punishment in and outside the country.

by Tichaona Chifamba, Zhang Yuliang, Cao Kai

HARARE, July 11 (Xinhua) — Opposite the U.S. embassy northwest of the Zimbabwean capital of Harare sits an anti-sanctions camp marking 1,200 days of protest.

On July 4, the organizer of the camp — Broad Alliance Against Sanctions (BAAS), organized a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy compound while the Americans were observing their Independence Day.

“We’re demonstrating against the Americans for celebrating their Independence Day while we are suffering because of their sanctions,” said protestor Jesca Vhiyai, a BAAS member and mother of five.

The 48-year-old woman spoke out partly due to the agony afflicting millions of Zimbabweans from decades of sanctions imposed by the United States and its western allies. The anti-sanctions lobby BAAS said their camp set up on March 29, 2019, would only be removed when the sanctions are lifted.

UNREMITTING ANTI-SANCTION FIGHT

The sanctions against Zimbabwe have been piled on since 2001, following a government decision to repossess land from minority white farmers for redistribution to landless indigenous Zimbabweans.

Though the Zimbabwean government said the land reform would promote democracy and the economy, Western countries launched repeated sanctions with little regard for the average person’s suffering.

Over the years, Zimbabweans have spoken out against the sanctions. BAAS is one of the staunchest. “So we are here to stay until they remove these illegal embargoes that they have enforced on our nation,” said BAAS spokesperson Sally Ngoni.

“We realized that most industries closed due to sanctions, meaning that sanctions are actually the major cause for all our other problems in Zimbabwe,” she said.

Ngoni said they would soon build an anti-sanctions village at the campsite, which will be molded along the traditional African huts in rural areas, adding that they want the Americans to “feel the pinch” by seeing firsthand how the sanctions have impacted the lives of the poor.

Sally Ngoni, spokesperson of the Broad Alliance Against Sanctions, shows the pool where members of the group fetch water to the tents they live in Harare, Zimbabwe, on June 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang)

According to BAAS Chairperson Calvern Chitsunge, officials from the U.S. embassy have tried to bribe the group’s four leaders.

“They even offered us money,” Chitsunge said, noting the American staff have promised them each 100,000 U.S. dollars, a car and free accommodations at a location of their choosing.

“We said no. Paying us will not empower the 15 million Zimbabweans. Paying us will not change our industry,” he said. “We want our industry to function. We want our people to go to school. We want our people to seek medication which will be affordable.”

The U.S. embassy in Harare did not comment on the alleged bribe in its reply to Xinhua.

Linda Masarira, president of the Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (LEAD) political party, said sanctions have been used as a tool of economic warfare against Zimbabwe.

“It was an action that the United States of America decided to do on Zimbabwe to ensure that they make our economy scream, they make things hard for Zimbabweans and imply that black Zimbabweans, native Zimbabweans cannot do their own farming, or run their own economy,” she said.

REAL PAIN FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE

When asked about the impact of the sanctions, the U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe directed Xinhua to a 2021 briefing by U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price in which he repeated that the sanctions target only 83 individuals and 37 entities, denying the Zimbabwean people as the targets.

However, the sanction-induced economic mire has inflicted a myriad of real challenges on Zimbabweans, especially amid an unprecedented global pandemic.

Members of the Broad Alliance Against Sanctions hold anti-sanctions placards in front of the U.S. embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 4, 2022. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua)

“The sanctions are slowing down our progress, inhibiting our economic recovery and punishing the poorest and most vulnerable in our society,” said Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Celia Rukato, founder of Chjaa Enterprises, a textile print and garment manufacturing company based in Harare, is one of the entrepreneurs suffering under sanctions.

Like many modern retailers, her brand promoting a Zimbabwean identity has utilized online platforms to reach a more extensive customer base in and outside Zimbabwe. However, payment options have been a problem due to Western sanctions.

“There are certain companies that are not allowed to interact or work with Zimbabwean-based companies,” she told Xinhua, citing U.S. firm PayPal.

“We have to make alternative plans that cause the customers to pay more for transaction costs or a middleman’s commission in a third country,” said Rukato, adding that these barriers have made Zimbabwe-based startups miss opportunities and funding.

In early June, The Herald newspaper reported that Andela, an international job placement network for software developers, had denied Zimbabwean national Michael Nyamande’s attempt to join the service because he resided in a country under U.S. sanctions.

“Sanctions are actually targeted at the ordinary men and women in the street, in the townships, in the rural areas,” said Obert Gutu, member of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and former deputy minister of justice and legal affairs.

Describing the sanctions as a weapon of mass destruction, Gutu said Zimbabwe has failed to build new roads, hospitals, clinics or even rehabilitate old infrastructure because it “has been denied access to affordable finance by international institutions.”

“Since 2002 when the sanctions were effected, this economy has never been the same again because the most deadly effect of sanctions on Zimbabwe was just to first and foremost paint Zimbabwe as a pariah state,” said Gutu.

Denford Mutashu, president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers, said the sanctions had a devastating impact on the Zimbabwean economy and the competitiveness of local businesses.

“The business operating environment changed for the worse, and foreign direct investment ceased to flow into the country,” he said.

“We will not allow the U.S. to continue lying to the people of Zimbabwe that the sanctions are targeted,” LEAD President Masarira said.

OUTCRIES FOR LIFTING SANCTIONS

On a public occasion in March 2022, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the country is reeling from the effects of sanctions. “Banks lost over 100 corresponding resources. We experienced massive loss of jobs, and we were unable to create jobs easily.”

The minister said foreign direct investment was 95 million dollars in the 1990s before plummeting to around 20 million yearly in the 2000s.

Given the distressing effect of the sanctions on the viability of businesses in Zimbabwe, there have been outcries against the economic punishment in and outside the country.

“You cannot do much when you are under a yoke,” said Mutashu, adding that some regard the sanctions as a new form of neo-colonialism.

“We should be seeing countries being able to determine and chart their own destiny according to their own traditional cultural, political, socio-political and socio-economic backgrounds,” Mutashu said, urging an immediate removal of the sanctions.

Led by President Mnangagwa, Zimbabweans embarked on a march to demand an end to foreign sanctions in 2019, which has gained support from various regional and international organizations.

In a statement released in October last year, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat said the AU calls “for the immediate and unconditional removal of sanctions imposed against the Republic of Zimbabwe.”

The Southern African Development Community, a 16-country regional bloc, has designated Oct. 25th of each year as Anti-Sanctions Day since 2019 to show solidarity with Zimbabwe against illegal Western sanctions.

The United Nations special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, Alena Douhan, also called for the lifting of the sanctions after her 10-day visit to Zimbabwe to assess the impact of the sanctions in October last year.

“Over the last 20 years, sanctions and various forms of over-compliance with sanctions have had an insidious ripple effect on the economy of Zimbabwe and on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights, including access to health, food, safe drinking water and sanitation, education and employment,” Douhan said.

Despite minimal progress with several individuals and state entities removed from the sanctions list, mainly by the European Union, Zimbabwe and its anti-sanctions fighters have never given up.

Photo taken on June 22, 2022 shows two tents pitched by members of the Broad Alliance Against Sanctions in front of the U.S. embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang)

“We have seen some institutions such as the Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe being removed from the sanctions list as well as some individuals,” said BAAS spokesperson Ngoni, who is confident that their efforts yielded some results.

“We can’t really say it was a direct result,” said Ngoni, “but it did contribute to the removal of those sanctions.” (Video reporters: Zhang Yuliang, Sukala; video editors: Yang Zhixiang, Li Qin)■

HARARE, July 11 (Xinhua) — A Zimbabwean group has been demonstrating for around 1,200 days and nights near the U.S. embassy in the country, calling for the removal of U.S.-imposed sanctions that have lasted more than two decades.

In a bid to encourage more youths to join the construction sector , Jane Muigai,Founder and Director of ToolKit ISkills has partnered with National Construction Authority to provide youths with more opportunities and enough skills in the construction labor market.

Speaking during when they signed agreement, she said most youths don’t survive in construction sector due to lack of skills.

“Its is our responsibility as organization in partnership with government to come out and create that platform and room for our youths for jobs opportunities” ,she adds

National Construction Authority Director General Eng. Maurice Akech said this will ensure quality of jobs and more employment opportunities for the youths.

Engineer Maurice also added that as government, we have laid down policies and frame work to support the partnership.

Recognition of prior learning is expected to boost employment in Kenya Jane Muigai Kamphuis TTI founder and CEO said that due to lack of appropriate qualifications, a large number of the youth are disadvantaged when it comes to decent jobs and accessing further education.

‘This is the sad reality because even though these individuals may have some skills, they find themselves locked out of the opportunities that emerge,” Muigai said.

In a bid to encourage cycling culture and ease movements for those who cannot afford motorbikes,ebee a kenyan company has launched electric bicycles which uses 36volts battery that on fully charge goes for 70kilometers at a maximum speed of 35kpm.

The bicycles have received a major welcome by delivery companies like jumia,My Dawa and Glovo among others companies.

Speaking to journalists at Ebee offices General Manager Mrs.Olivia Lamenya said they target having over one million bikes across sub saharan Africa and currently have over 70 bicycles which they lease to anyone who wants to use them for a period of one month or more,the lease involves all service on the company even puncture repairs.

The company has two main types of bicycles one with a load of 130kgs and the other one 35kgs with a maximum of 7gears.

The bicycles are insured and has tracking system therefore ensures safety of the riders who undergoes 6months training.

The company currently has 16 permanent employees which oversees the operations of the exciting bicycles.

AVSI is currently implementing a project that will boost education for refugees at Dabaab camp.

AVSI Foundation country representative Romana Koech said in Nairobi that the goal of the project is to strengthen the quality and resilience of the education system in Dabaab refugees camps and host communities.

“The objective of the project is to increase and expand support for teachers and administrators,” Koech said during a roundtable meeting organized by NACONEK.

Koech observed that the project will also empower education actors with the knowledge and skills needed to support for life-long learning in light of a durable solutions perspective.