GEM Sites Bi-weekly Updated News

                                              January 12th- January 26th, 2024

Malawi

MALAWI ESCALATES ITS CRACKDOWN ON REFUGEES
The government of Malawi is extending its hostile policy towards refugees, this time with a crackdown on groups seeking to stop the violation of their rights. During World Refugee Day commemorations in 2000, the government of Malawi announced that all refugees and asylum seekers in the country with professional qualifications were free to move out of Dzaleka Refugee Camp and live among locals. The government went on to employ some of these professionals, including nurses, teachers, and social workers.

Immigration unable to issue passports

The Malawi Immigration Department says it is currently unable to issue passports due to technical challenges. The department had said this in a0ppp0ppppp0p00 statement to the Malawians. “We are informing Malawians that our passport printing machine has developed a technical problem and we are currently not issuing passports, but our technicians are working on it and we will let you know once the problem has been rectified.”

Many people have been complaining that the department is taking too long to issue passports within the fixed period.  For example, a MK90,000 passport is supposed to be out within ten (10) days, while a MK180,000 passport must be issued in three (3) days, but this is not always the case.

Lebanon

Cyprus rescues 60 Syrian migrants from rickety boat after 6 days at sea. Five minors hospitalized Cypriot police rescued 60 Syrian migrants from a rickety wooden boat that had been at sea for six days, and five minors had to be hospitalized, three of them in intensive care, authorities said Wednesday. The migrants were found some 55 kilometers (34 miles) off the island nation's southeastern tip and appeared to have run short of food and water, officials said. Police and army helicopters initially flew three children and an adult to a hospital after a passing merchant ship notified Cypriot authorities of the boat’s presence off the island’s coast in pre-dawn hours. Health Services spokesman Charalambos Charilaou told The Associated Press that three minors were in critical condition and two were listed as serious. The adult who was flown to a hospital was treated for hypothermia and released.

Strike kills Hezbollah official in Lebanon, amid apparent Israeli shift to targeted killings An Israeli airstrike hit two vehicles near a Lebanese army checkpoint in south Lebanon on Sunday, killing a Hezbollah member and wounding several other people, including civilians, Lebanese state media and health officials reported. The strike appeared to be part of a shift in Israeli strategy toward targeted killings in Lebanon after more than three months of near-daily clashes with Hezbollah militants on the border against the backdrop of the war in Gaza. Hezbollah announced that one of its members, identified as Fadel Shaar, had been killed in the strike in the town of Kafra. Local civil defense and hospital officials said seven people were wounded, including two women, one of whom was in critical condition.

Rwanda

Govt to support students displaced by Russia-Ukraine war
The Government has pledged support for students who were displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war and have since resumed their studies in Poland. This was revealed during the first day of the 19th National Dialogue Council Umushyikirano on Tuesday, January 23. The students, facing financial challenges due to tripled school fees compared to their previous fees in Ukraine, received assurance from President Paul Kagame that the government would address their concerns.  Délice Sine, a fourth-year medical student currently in Poland, expressed gratitude for the support received thus far but highlighted the ongoing struggle with increased tuition fees.

Burundi closes border with Rwanda in latest East Africa row
The Rwandan government says Burundi had decided to shut its border with the East African nation, weeks after its president accused Kigali of hosting a rebel group. In late December, Burundi’s president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, accused Rwanda of hosting and training the Red Tabara rebel group, which claimed responsibility for an attack near Burundi’s western border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Rwanda has rejected his allegations. A Rwanda spokesperson said on Thursday that the government learned about Burundi’s border closure through media reports, adding that it violated the principles of a regional bloc both are members of.

South Africa

Western Cape Education Department records a decrease in burglary and vandalism during school holidays
It said that despite providing security to 486 schools over the December holidays across the province, it has recorded 26 incidents of burglary and vandalism at 24 schools during this period. The Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier said while the incidents are a significant decrease compared to the same holiday period the previous year, when 48 incidents were reported at 42 schools, it is still a disappointment that schools have to pick up the pieces after criminal damage and theft. “Items stolen or damaged ranged from gas cylinders and food to computers and cameras. The damaged property included electrical boxes, windows, ceilings, doors, and security equipment. “It is unacceptable that funding has to be diverted from educational purposes each year to replace items that have been stolen or repair infrastructure damaged for no reason, especially in a significantly stressed financial environment,” Maynier said.

February 2024 fuel price outlook is getting bleaker by the day 
The latest data from the Central Energy Fund shows an underrecovery in the price of both petrol and diesel. However, the volatility of the South African rand and international oil prices this month has made it harder than usual to make an accurate fuel price prediction for next month. But take a deep breath, because the outlook is getting bleaker by the day. With the latest daily data being up to R1.68 in the red, the month’s “average-so-far” that usually allows us to predict the following month’s fuel price with reasonable accuracy is now a fast-moving target. So you might want to ignore what you’ve read on some other news websites that blindly regurgitate that average at any given time of the month.

Kenya

Take all children to school; education is still the key to prosperity

Parents with learners joining Form One showed off their children’s achievements and transition as they wished them well. The focus on schools' opening is exactly what we need because education is still the key to prosperity. The International Day of Education was marked yesterday. Its theme this year is learning for lasting peace. The world is divided because of war, conflict, violence, and hate speech. There are inequalities based on gender, race, tribe, and religion. Education is a mighty tool to address these challenges and prevent them in the future. Education imparts learners with knowledge, competencies, values, attitudes, skills, and behaviours which are critical for economic growth, good health, peace and security, and a prosperous society.

State agencies to team up against school invasions

The national government has laid down measures, including collaborating with the National Intelligence Service, to deal with insecurity in public schools posed by the public invading them and attacking teachers due to poor performance in national examinations.
However, the government also warned that the Ministry of Education will not protect incompetent teachers. Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang teachers must deliver to the expectations of Kenyans.
Dr Kipsang said the Ministry of Education is collaborating with the Interior and National Administration Ministry to provide security to all schools. Addressing journalists in Mombasa, the PS urged parents who are not satisfied with a school’s performance to follow the right procedures in dealing with the issue.

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