GEM Sites Bi-Weekly Updates
April 05 - April 18th, 2024
Rwanda
President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame on Sunday, April 7, were joined by the global community to mark the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
As the country started the 100 days of remembrance, President Kagame and First Lady and other visiting dignitaries including heads of state and government laid wreaths in honour of the more than one million lives lost during the Genocide against the Tutsi. The President also lit the flame of remembrance at Kigali Genocide Memorial.
Among the dignitaries present also was Former US President Bill Clinton, Nicolas Sarkozy, the former President of France, former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, and heads of international bodies including the African Union, the European Union, La Francophonie, and the Commonwealth, among others.
A bill aimed at overcoming a U.K. Supreme Court block on sending migrants to Rwanda is due to pass Parliament after the government overcomes efforts to water it down in the House of Lords. The Rwanda plan is key to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ’s pledge to “stop the boats” bringing unauthorized migrants to the U.K., and Sunak has repeatedly said the long-delayed first flights will take off by June.
Lebanon
Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon have reopened their airspaces after closing them over Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attacks on Israel. Jordan’s state TV on Sunday said the country had resumed air traffic operations, citing aviation authorities. The opening of its airspace came more than three hours earlier than scheduled. Lebanon said its airport will resume its activities after the overnight closure, state TV reported.
Iraq’s aviation authority said security risks had now been overcome. Meanwhile, Israel also reopened its airspace as of 7:30am (04:30 GMT) on Sunday, adding that flight schedules from Tel Aviv were expected to be affected. Flag carrier El Al said it had resumed operations and was “working to stabilise the flight schedule as soon as possible”. “El Al will continue to operate as much as possible to preserve the air bridge to and from Israel,” it said.
The head of the U.N. agency that has helped millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for decades urged the Security Council on Wednesday to ensure its survival as Israel again demanded its dissolution, accusing the agency of becoming part of Hamas’ “terror war machine.”
Philippe Lazzarini told the council that dismantling the agency known as UNRWA would deepen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and speed up the onset of famine. International experts have warned of imminent famine in northern Gaza and said half the territory’s 2.3 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation if the six-month Israeli-Hamas war intensifies. Lazzarini said ending the agency's operations also would have other “lasting repercussions” on Gaza, leaving a half million children without education and “fueling anger, resentment and endless cycles of violence.” In addition, it would jeopardize the transition when the war ends by depriving Gaza’s population of essential services, including health care, food, and other humanitarian aid, he said.
Kenya
Dedan Kimathi University students' welfare sparked debate online for the better part of Tuesday afternoon. This was after a communique of a resolution to share Sh180 per student out of a Sh1 million donation by President William Ruto weeks ago emerged online.
According to the internal memo to students by Esther Nthiga, the Director of Students Welfare, the decision was reached after involving the students in a Google poll. In the poll results, Nthiga said students who supported the sharing of funds were 51 per cent. Some 36.4 per cent of students asked for a luncheon while the other 35.5 per cent said the money should be channelled to students' bursary. The students were therefore asked to collect the money on April 9 and should carry their national and student IDs.
MKU agreed with Hochschule Koblenz University of Applied Sciences in Germany to provide German language and preparatory courses to Kenyans as part of preparing them for employment as apprentices in Germany. Christian Lebrenz of Hochschule Koblenz University of Applied Sciences and the joint project leader received the graduates, who will work and study in Germany at Frankfurt International Airport. Read more:
The project's coordinator at MKU, Christopher Mutembei, said the project aligns with the government’s quest to increase opportunities for Kenyans abroad. The partnership between MKU and Hochschule Koblenz University of Applied Sciences of Germany offers paid apprenticeships and jobs to young Kenyans. This comes even as President William Ruto announced that the government had signed bilateral labour agreements with at least 19 countries to absorb Kenyan professionals into their workforces.
South African
The grille provides a bit of protection, until somebody stuffs a gun through it and demands all the day’s takings – something that has happened more times than Tekeste cares to remember.
Despite Eldorado Park’s reputation for drugs and gangsters, the interactions were good-natured when The New Humanitarian visited earlier this year. There was a steady flow of people from the surrounding streets popping round for loose cigarettes, sodas, sweets, papers for rolling spliffs, loaves of bread – or just to settle a credit tab.
Nearly everyone began their order with a “please may I have”, and Tekeste kept it amiable. In an Ethiopian accent tinged with the “coloured” cadence of Eldorado Park, he mock-chastised the schoolboys buying cigarettes, and tried to joke – cringe-inducingly – with some of the young women coming for airtime.
Malawi
In agreement with the report, Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) spokesperson Mark Lungu said the major source of Malawi's inflation is the shortage of food, which is why policies to unlock supply side bottlenecks remain critical in managing inflation.
"Much as the central bank has implemnted tight monetary policy to manage the demand side, avaiability of food remains critical to manage the supply side of the equation," Lungu Said. Titled 'Tackling Inequalities to Revitalise Growth and Alleviate Poverty in Africa; the publication ranks Malawi third with overall inflation recorded at 35 percent in January and 33.5 percent in February after Zimbabawe (34.8 percent in January and 47.6 percent in February) and Sierra Leone (47.42 percent in January and 42.52 percent in February)'
Speaking on Tuesday during the launch at Chinthembwe Primary School in Ntchisi, ILO country director for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique Wellington Chibebe said the project seeks to reduce child labourin the district through encouraging children to remain in school. He said: The donation of school materials resonates with our role as we want to ensure that there is social justice through provision of education and securing the future of children. “The elimination of child labour within supply chains necessitates coordinated and collaborative action by all stakeholders at all levels.” Chibebe appealed to the beneficiaries to put the materials to proper use.
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