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ty Audit)
registration, which means that an airline meets all IOSA
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News from East Africa Click on pasge below
for a 4 page pdf magazine version of this report
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here MORE
HOT NEWS FROM EAST AFRICA BY PROF. WOLFGANG
THOME MORE
FLIGHT NEWS
, More
Hotnews
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By Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome Second edition November 2008 QUEEN ELIZABETH LIONS UNDER
THREAT The population of lions, which stood at
nearly 250 a decade ago, according to census figures on file
from those days, has now literally halved due to revenge
killings by illegal herders driving their cattle into the
park in search of pasture. Only now are reports emerging in
the local media that another two lions were found poisoned
recently. Other predators too are said to be under threat by
herdsmen such as hyenas and leopards, all of which consider
cattle in the park as prey and follow their instincts of
hunting when hungry. Tree climbing lions within the Southern
or Ishasha sector of the park have been a major attraction,
as there are few places in Eastern Africa where lions can be
seen on trees (only at Kidepo Valley National Park in North
Eastern Uganda and the Lake Manyara National Park in
Tanzania) and a further reduction in the lion population
would put this priceless resource at major risk of
extinction. Watch this space. AGREEMENT ON NILE WATERS STILL
DISTANT News have emerged in Kampala of
fundamental disagreements over the use of the Nile waters by
Sudan and Egypt, with the objections being raised by
primarily Uganda and Kenya. Both governments demand that the
1929 and 1954 treaties, imposed on the East African
countries by former colonial power Britain, be scrapped and
the water be treated as a natural resource of the source
countries, rather than having Sudan and Egypt carry literal
veto powers over any and all developments in Eastern Africa
using contributory river waters, lake waters and Nile
waters. It was also learned that the Egyptian monitors based
in Jinja as the main power plant have been stopped from
accessing water flow data for the time being, probably a
pressure measure to compel the lower Nile countries concede
major points in the ongoing negotiations. A meeting on these issues between the
Nile Basin countries presidents did reportedly not take
place. The latest development also puts to rest allegations
from other East African countries that Uganda had struck a
one-on-one deal with Egypt following a brief stopover by
Egyptian President Mubarak in Entebbe a few weeks
ago. KLM ADDS 5TH FLIGHT TO
ENTEBBE In a welcome development for Ugandan
exporters and travellers the Dutch airline has now announced
the addition of another non-stop flight between Entebbe and
Amsterdam, operating every Monday on A330-200 equipment. The
flights will commence in early December, in time for the
busy holiday season and arrival and departure times at both
Amsterdam and Entebbe will remain the same. The airline also
announced extra flights to New York and Washington, making
connections to and from the US even easier. MORE COURT ACTION ON 'KAMPALA
HILTON' (07th November 2008) The High Court in Kampala, on repeat
application, stayed an earlier order for the immediate sale
of the property when it issued an interim stay until the
main issue will be decided in court on November 11th,
according to local media reports. Earlier court decisions
way back in May 2008 in related matters saw Aya's previous
lawyers being awarded nearly 2.5 million US Dollars in fees
and VAT, arising from services rendered when securing a
loan. Watch this space as the saga continues, none of which
is doing the reputation of the project any good. Meanwhile, another AYA company has
reportedly also ran into financial trouble, when the High
Court in Kampala ordered the attachment and sale of assets
of Pan Africa Commodities Ltd., a subsidiary of Aya
Investments. Again at the heart of the issue are unpaid
legal fees, in this case worth over 250.000 US Dollars. It
is expected that more full mouthed denials will be peddled
in public by representatives of the 'Aya' brothers, and
again such denials will largely be removed from reality.
Appeals in higher courts are not ruled out but this latest
case against the brothers companies simply speaks for
itself. AIR UGANDA MAKES 1 YEAR The Ugandan private airline has now
marked its first anniversary since taking to the skies a
year ago. The past 12 months were dominated by a global
aviation crisis over exploding fuel prices and an economic
downturn with reduced passenger numbers, making the survival
of upstart airlines in this environment even more
remarkable. KENYA AVIATION UPDATE This column is publishing a hard hitting
piece from the regular 'Aero Club of Kenya' newsletter, in
which the (predicted) fallout of the hastily introduced new
air services regulations is highlighted: KENYA CIVIL AVIATION
REGULATIONS BEGIN TO BITE Three months after the new Kenya
Civil Aviation Regulations were bulldozed over the objections of the Stakeholders,
the first cracks appear in their implementation. Stakeholders' fears are
being vindicated as hapless KCAA staff are overwhelmed trying to enforce
the overly detailed and disorganized KCARS. Formerly routine
paperwork is now being subjected to in depth scrutiny and unnecessary red tape
as overburdened inspectors and employees are trying to adhere to
performance contracts and make no mistakes. As warned by the stakeholders,
the micro-control mechanisms that have been imposed on Kenyan aviation with
1400 pages of rules and penalties are leading to a paperknot. All aspects
of aviation in Kenya have been criminalized, from failure to renew a
licence, to forgetting to advise a change of address, to not fencing even
the smallest bush airstrip....... Many components of aviation have been
regulated with a 'one-size-fits-all' system whilst others that should have
been regulated have not been addressed at all. KCAA staff who are burdened with
implementing the regulations have resorted to the "CYA principle" and are
interpreting every rule and definition to the letter, avoiding any semblance of
lateral thinking. As a result, even the most routine applications for any
sort of licence, permit or unusual aviation activity are being shunted
around from department to department since now several sections of KCAA must
give their OK before a piece of paper is granted. The wheel is being
re-invented on routine matters that had been in force in Kenya for many
years. Operators and pilots are unanimous that the bureaucracy created by
KCAA is not only unnecessary, but fundamentally fallacious and
counter-productive. And that in a day and age where many formal organizations like FAA
and the EASA are offering rewards to those who point out ways to reduce
paperwork. Unfortunately, the Kenyans fell into the same trap that slowed down
economic growth of countries like India and Egypt for a hundred years,
before leaders from those countries realized that "micro-control" of all
human activities is counter-productive and hinders development. India, China,
Egypt, Russia and many other countries in which centralized control
was practiced before, have all relaxed their systems and are now
experiencing above average economic growth. Kenya is "on the other bus" as
their bureaucrats think they are smart enough to be able to foresee all
eventualities and have a rule in place for everything. Kenyan aviation stakeholders have gone to
the High Court over the KCARS, pointing out that operators and pilots
are not "against Regulations per se" but that the regulations must be
reasonable and not damage their livelihood and injure the economy. KCAA , in its
defence, keeps pointing to the ICAO as a culprit, saying that Kenya must
adhere to international regulations. Stakeholders have pointed out many times
that ICAO Regulations are intended to guide primarily international
commercial aviation, and domestic operations for commercial
aircraft weighing more than 5700 kg AUW. Yet, KCAA applies the stringent
regulations intended for airliners to even the smallest airplane or
airfield. For the last three years, air operators
had objected to the KCAR proposals, pointing out that they will
lead to bureaucratic "Gridlock". KCAA staff are blaming their current
difficulties on "teething problems". Further, in a bout of chauvinism, some
KCAA seniors are also quoted as saying that "only the (expletive
deleted) from the Aero Club are complaining". Talk about being out of
touch. Stakeholders maintain that to enforce the new Regulations as written,
an army of KCAA inspectors will have to be engaged and trained.
They contend that these inspectors will have to be paid by the stakeholders who
did not ask for the KCARS and on whom they were imposed with only 'token'
consultation. (See next story). KCAA EXPLORES NEW SYSTEM OF CHARGING
NAVIGATION FEES In view of the story above, it is perhaps
not a coincidence that KCAA on 28 October unveiled a proposal to revise the
system of charging Air Navigation Fees. KCAA needs money, that is clear,
and it needs it because it is operated on a so-called `cost
recovery basis`, without an upper limit or any accountability to those who have to
pay. This was not new as the KCAA had already attempted to introduce more
fees in 2002 and again in 2007. The new ANS system, derived from the ICAO
method of charging in accordance with a complex formula based on aircraft
weight and distance flown by the aircraft in the FIR, is considered more
fair than the present method of collection in which only those who fly
into or out of an airport with a control tower and AIS office are
charged. Aircraft flying into or out of unmanned aerodromes essentially pay no
Nav Fees because there is no way for KCAA to collect. Of course, this also
brings up the issue of "Navigation Fees" for aircraft flying in accordance
with VFR. The vexing question is: `Who is doing the navigating - the pilot
or KCAA?` The KCAA proposal unveiled at the
Workshop contains a special `Deal` for aircraft weighing less than 2500 kg. Such
smaller, mostly "private" aircraft would be subjected to a yearly
fee of KShs. 50,000 rather than the weight-distance formula. The annual fee
is to be paid by all aircraft at C of A renewal time. Whilst in principle
this would simplify things for a lot for private operators who do not have
staff to run around and do flight planning and pay ad hoc fees for them,
the Aero Club of East Africa questioned the amount. At present rates
of Shs. 1200 (approx.) per flight plan, a pilot would have to undertake
some 40 + cross-country flights a year to reach a figure of 50000
shillings. Most pilots of small aircraft fly much less than that. The ACEA has
requested the KCAA to lower the figure from 50,000 to what KCAA proposed
a year ago: KShs. 30,000. In many countries, Navigation Fes are either not
charged at all (e.g. USA) or small aircraft are not charged. This is part of
an effort by those Governments to promote aviation and protect the
grassroots of flying, without which aviation would be dead. KCAA has yet to
learn that. Tanzania introduced the weight and
distance formula in July 2007, but in a discriminatory fashion: it only
applies to `foreign-registered aircraft`. That, of course, is contrary to ICAO
SARPS. It also led to countless arguments at the fee collection points as
TCAA attendants, not well-versed in algebra (the formula requires
derivation of a square root. Remember how to do that by hand?) tried to calculate
the applicable fee. Hopefully this scenario will be avoided in Kenya where
KCAA stations are now computerized. In that context it is also hoped that the
collection of KCAA fees will soon be taken away from the Kenya Revenue
Authority and located where it belongs - the KCAA. The savings in staff
and hassle would be immeasurable. Under the new KCAA proposals, aircraft
above an AUW of 2500 kg would be charged in accordance with the
weight-distance formula and it is not clear how payment would be enforced on aircraft
flying between unmanned airports where collection points are not in
position, unless of course KCAA or KRA places an employee at every one of 650
airfields in Kenya. That it has promised to do in its new KCAR Security
Regulations which stipulate that ALL airfields must have a Manager,
Security Manager, etc. Those who require a copy of the KCAA
Proposals (as a pdf file), please contact the Chairman of
the Aero Club of East Africa at harro@trumpetnose.com or
trumpetnose@gmail.com Adds this correspondent that there are similar complaints
from other parts of Eastern Africa, including from Uganda,
about what more outspoken aviators castigate their
regulators for 'institutional arrogance, incompetence and
incomprehension' … Oooops! And much blame must go to
the FAA consultants who were pushing for the revision of the
former regulatory framework, but who could obviously not
understand one thing the East African aviators told them
time and again during the consultative stages in regard of
light aircraft operations under VFR rules and how their
input would potentially shut this element of aviation down.
Oooops again! 'OBAMANIA' KEEPS DOMINATING THE REGIONAL MEDIA Following the election victory of Barack Obama in the US
presidential elections, the regional media keeps the story
on the front and inside pages of all publications, a trend
expected to reduce only marginally as time goes on, at least
until the date of Obama taking office in late January. Much expectation is also being expressed on what Obama
will do for Kenya, Eastern Africa and the continent at
large, often leaving reality out of the equation when
writing up wish lists, which the readership is happily
gobbling up. AIR TANZANIA WOES CONTINUE Only weeks after having several of their aircraft out of
service due to a failed engine and a cracked cockpit window,
this time round it seems to be the absence of tyres for
their Airbus A320, which caused the airline to cancel some
of their flights. Comments were also sought from reliable
sources within and near the airline about the governmental
subsidy, which appears not to have been paid for a while
now, hampering the restructuring of Air Tanzania to the
benefit of other airlines in the country. Meanwhile, former managing partner South African Airways
has taken the Tanzanian flag carrier to court over alleged
outstanding loans advanced to the airline during the period
of cooperation. This is again casting doubts over
government's commitment to put the airline on a sound
financial footing by meeting, as agreed under the separation
between the two carriers, all related cost and obligations.
There are fears now that the Air Tanzania aircraft may be
impounded at some stage in the future when landing in
Johannesburg, if the debt worth over 4 million US Dollars is
not settled soon. Watch this space. PRECISION AIR CEMENTS MARKET POSITION Further to the previous report on Air Tanzania, news have
also been received that Tanzania's leading private airline
(Kenya Airways holds 49 percent of the shares in this
company) has now formally launched the second of their
ordered seven brand new ATR 72-500 fleet. The fast turboprop
aircraft is offering greater flight economics, very
important at this day and age of volatile fuel prices. The
first new aircraft joined Precision already in March this
year as reported in this column and five more ATR's will be
delivered in coming months to support route and capacity
expansion. Precision Air's investment in the new fleet is
valued at nearly 130 million US Dollars, a firm commitment
to the future of the airline in difficult times for the
global aviation industry. With the arrival of the new aircraft Precision will in
early December begin to offer twice daily Mwanza flights and
expand their Nairobi schedule too to meet the extra demand
for seats. RWANDA MERGES ORTPN INTO 'RWANDA DEVELOPMENT
BOARD' The Rwanda Office for Tourism and National Parks was
recently merged together with several other governmental
bodies and authorities into the new 'Rwanda Development
Board', which will under one combined governmental budget
oversee several functions, including that of tourism
promotion and wildlife management and conservation. The Director General of the former ORTPN, Mrs. Rosette
Rugamba, is now holding the position of Deputy CEO in charge
of tourism and conservation at the new organization. New
email and web contacts will be availed in due course.
Congratulations to Rosette and all the best in the future
within the new organization. ONLY IN AMERICA The election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the
United States of America is a clear sign that many things
are indeed changing in that country and have changed
already. Unthinkable some 40 years ago, when the civil
rights movement made their stand in the 60's and demanded,
and grudgingly and slowly got the recognition it sought for
US citizens of colour, the election of Obama was as much a
result of the African American communities standing together
as it was reaching into the voter pool of other minorities
&endash; but most important getting a substantial white
vote. This is proof that the race barrier has at last been
bridged and a person can be elected because of his or her
qualities, personality and capabilities and no longer being
subject to the question of race, gender or religion. Had he remained in Kenya with his African father, instead
of growing up with his white mother in Hawaii, would he have
had the same opportunities and chances? Not likely. First,
being of mixed race would have been a serious obstacle for
getting into politics, although several non African MP's
were elected and some even appointed to cabinet positions in
both the Kenyatta and the Moi eras. But his biggest obstacle
would have been the tribe of his father. With the Luo tribe largely shut out of national politics
since the Kenyatta presidency, but also under the Moi
government, especially after the August 01st 1982 coup
attempt, he would have had a near impossible task entering
politics, unless as a regime sycophant, something almost
impossible to imagine for a man of his calibre. This too has
changed somewhat in Kenya after the December 2007 elections,
but as memory serves right at a high cost to the country
considering the post election violence from which a power
sharing deal emerged only after months of wrangles. Yet, in America, the long in the tooth song of equal
opportunities and equal rights has at last come true, and in
what a way considering that Hillary Clinton was the
forerunner for the Democratic Party nomination way into 2007
and Obama literally unheard of on the national scene until
his convention speech in 2004, and even less known on the
international scene. Who or what prompted him to seek the highest office in
America will be for him to reveal in his memoires but that
day's decision rocked America's establishment, relegated
Hillary to an albeit close runner up in the nomination
process and pitched a 'novelty' against the Republicans, who
had worn out the goodwill of the American electorate. A
deepening economic and financial crisis and the blatant
deception before going to war with Iraq, had after nearly 8
years of the Bush presidency disillusioned the voters in
America and long term allies of America around the world had
been alienated in those years. Obama will be a welcome
breath of fresh air and hopefully bring a 'wind of change'
to American politics, although I am under no illusion that
he will be first and foremost having America's interests at
heart, but hopefully leaving enough sentiment to give Africa
some more attention. He has come a long way since the Rev. Jesse Jackson tried
his luck so many years ago, and he now inherits some of the
greatest challenges America had to face since the great
depression and after the second world war or the Cuban
missile crisis. Then a young Kennedy faced down the Soviets
and his youthful enthusiasm set America on the way to the
moon, while sending the Peace Corps across the developing
world to make friends for America. Maybe Obama can rekindle
that 'Camelot' spirit, which then carried right through
America and across the world. Time will tell, but for now he has our prayers and our
best wishes to do the right things, for America, for Africa
and for the rest of the world. CONGO UPDATE The information received last week from usually
well informed sources in Rwanda, that Zimbabwean troops were
fighting alongside Kinshasa regime units and their allied
militias, has now been amended. It has been confirmed in
both Kinshasa and by UN sources in Eastern Congo, that
Angolan army units were indeed flown into the Congo and have
been deployed. Angola in an earlier Congo conflict was
fighting on the side of Kabila senior (who had welshed on
earlier commitments made to his erstwhile supporters Rwanda
and Uganda), alongside Zimbabwe, which could have been the
cause of the erroneous naming of the outside country now
involved again in the struggle. Meanwhile calls have been emerging to break up the Congo
into more manageable and cohesive regional units of
government so that peace could return to those self-governed
areas, but Kinshasa is likely to resist any moves to have
parts of the country like the mineral rich Katanga region
secede and taking the revenues accrued and so far largely
kept in Kinshasa with them. The presence of foreign, non UN or AU troops in the Congo
may also draw the other protagonists back into action, as
the political lines continue to be drawn as sharply as they
were back in the 90's. The peace summit in Nairobi last week also failed to
reach a lasting conclusions and negotiations and discussions
on how to best solve the problems of Eastern Congo are said
to be ongoing at regional, continental and international
levels. Also, contrary to reports in some select
international media, there is no evidence of any direct
involvement in the fighting from either Rwanda or Uganda and
both governments have issued strongly worded denials to the
allegations, which were likely peddled by the Kinshasa
regime trying to deflect international attention from their
own sorry situation. Meanwhile, the provocative and irresponsible arrest by
German border police of Rwanda's Chief of Protocol upon
arrival in Frankfurt, where she arrived to prepare for the
visit of President Kagame a day later, was condemned by both
Rwanda and Uganda in the strongest possible terms. It is
understood, that 23 French nationals, leading politicians
and military personnel, will be indicted soon by Rwandese
prosecutors, while another 10 cases are nearing the
completion of investigations. This is for their alleged
complicity in the 1994 Rwanda Genocide, where France played
&endash; to put it mildly &endash; a most dubious role.
Relations between France and Rwanda have now again hit rock
bottom and the German Ambassador in Kigali has also been
asked to leave the country within 24 hours. The African
Union is in full support of Rwanda's position and has
equally lodged protests with the European Union. This 'side
show' will obviously not be helpful for a swift and
comprehensive solution of the conflict in Eastern Congo, so
watch this space as future news break. VOLCANIC ERUPTION REPORTED FROM ETHIOPIA News have been received from Addis Ababa about a recent
volcanic eruption in the North Eastern region of Afar.
According to additional information some 30 square
kilometres have been covered by lava from the eruption,
which also registered as a minor earthquake.
News from 'Uganda &endash; Gifted by
Nature' By Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H.
Thome First edition November
2008 KLM HITS MARKET WITH
UNBELIEVABLE USA FARE The Dutch national airline
has advertised, for a very few select dates only, a return
fare from Entebbe to the US starting from US Dollars 660.
Needless to say, in the newspaper advertisement a rider was
added in the very smallest print possible '*terms and
conditions apply' &endash; for which inspite of using
regular reading glasses this correspondent required a
magnifying glass to even read the text. When calling the
airline's Kampala office to find out what extras would be
applicable on the fare and which US airport could be reached
on which dates, the sales agent then suggested that one best
comes to their offices in the city to discuss it as giving
the information by phone may be 'complicated'.
Oooops!!! Consumer watchdogs in the EU
have now banned misleading advertising by airlines, some of
which promoted a 1 Euro fare but then loaded huge amounts on
to it for all sorts of charges, leaving honest consumers
befuzzed over what to believe. Calls have been getting
louder in Eastern Africa too to ban such types of
advertising and compel airline companies to only give the
rate which a traveller then has to pay, inclusive of taxes,
fuel surcharges and other add on's created by the airlines,
airports and regulators. EMIRATES TO COMPLETE MOVE
TO TERMINAL 3 The Kampala office of
Dubai's award winning airline has now confirmed that
commencing on November 11th the fourth and final phase of
their move to the new terminal will begin. The remaining
flights to India, Asia and Australia will move arrivals and
departures to link with all other flights already operating
out of the new terminal. The move so far has been without
hick ups and problems, a vote of confidence for the
excellent planning and preparation, unlike the bodged
Terminal 5 situation of BAA and BA earlier in the year in
Heathrow. Travellers from Uganda and
the rest of Eastern Africa will then enjoy unprecedented
short ways, increased comfort in the new departure lounges
and state of the art shopping while in transit when flying
with Emirates. FUEL SHORTAGE HITS
AGAIN (Sunday, 02nd November
2008) While over 100 fuel tankers
are reportedly 'stuck' at the border as a result of a
driver's strike and the alleged snail's pace clearance by
customs, Kampala and other urban centres have run short of
fuel and the international airport too is said to be
affected with no new deliveries for the past two days. This
however could not be independently confirmed by the time of
going to press. The fuel companies
predictably blame delayed clearances at the border for fuel
coming from the main end-of-pipeline depot in Eldoret /
Kenya and the wildcat strike of drivers protesting against
the appalling conditions of the customs parking yard at
Malaba of course has added further woes to the supply
situation in the country and beyond. As a result of the shortage,
said to last several more days at least, prices have gone up
again and fuel stations began to ration their remaining
stocks selling only small quantities to customers or even
closing for the day. Safari operators normally
have sufficient stock at their depots to operate booked
safaris without running out of fuel but visitors arriving
imminently in Uganda are advised to consult their agents in
case of any doubts. Meanwhile, President
Museveni demanded an immediate report on the border cargo
clearance situation from the Uganda Revenue Authority,
having summoned earlier in the week several cabinet
ministers to Malaba to investigate the terrible state of the
parking yards, after hearing complaints from the drivers
when driving to Nairobi for the IGAD Summit. SITUATION UPDATE ALONG
THE UGANDA / RWANDA / CONGO BORDER In view of the present
situation in Eastern Congo, and the increased flow of
refugees from that area to the borders with Uganda and
Rwanda in search of safe haven, the travelling public can be
reassured that tight security is in place along the Uganda /
Congo border to prevent any transgression by Congolese
soldiers or their allied militias. Refugees reaching
official border posts are being processed in an orderly
fashion as present resources on site permit. There is no danger for
tourist visitors to the gorilla national parks of Bwindi,
Mgahinga nor for visitors to the Rwandan gorilla national
park, where sufficient security measures are in place
already to ensure the safety of visiting
tourists. The Rwandan and Ugandan
government are closely monitoring the situation across the
border in the Congo to ensure that no harm comes to their
own citizens or visitors to the two countries travelling at
present to or from the national parks in the
area. It is however recommended to
use only duly licensed tour and safari operators when
travelling to the national parks in the border areas as they
are kept fully informed of developments and can react
swiftly in case of any changes in the situation. KINGS SELECTION DELAYED
BY COURT (Thursday, 30th October
2008) The court action brought by
a minority of the Busoga Kingdom's chiefs has resulted in an
interim order to halt the selection of a new king, initially
due for the end of October, until the merit of the case
itself has been heard and decided by the Constitutional
Court in Kampala. This may mean a lengthy delay in selecting
a new king from amongst the qualified chiefdoms and is
likely to anger the kingdom's subjects to no end. However, the majority
section of the kingdom, and in particular officials
organizing the selection process claimed not to have been
served with any court order and would go ahead with the
process unless formally receiving the court papers. This
column will continue to update readers on the
situation. CHIEF'S ASSEMBLY SELECTS
NEW 'KYABAZINGA' (Friday, 31st October
2008) The assembled chiefs, three
of them inexplicably missing, went ahead on 31st October and
selected a new 'Kyabazinga' or King for the Busoga Kingdom.
They gave their vote of support to Prince Edward Columbus
Wambuzi Muloki, a son of the late king, who formally
accepted to serve his subjects and assume the throne.
One of the contestants
walked out of the assembly in obvious protest, complaining
about the strong presence of security personnel around the
venue, but he could not change the outcome of the selection
process. The newly anointed king was
then driven to Busoga's main township of Jinja and given a
rousing welcome by the population there. This column will
inform readers when the formal coronation ceremony will take
place. No comments could be
received in regard of an earlier Constitutional Court ruling
from Kampala, as intimated in an earlier column item and
there is some speculation that the chief's assembly had not
been formally served with the injunction before embarking on
the selection of their new king. MTN KAMPALA MARATHON
'FULLY BOOKED' The 2008 edition of the
annual Kampala marathon had a brief registration extension,
which has since closed to allow for processing of the data
and production of tags for the participants. The race will
take place on Sunday 23rd November and several key traffic
arteries as well as parts of the city centre will be fully
or partly closed for ordinary traffic to allow the race take
place without danger for the participants. Over 10.000
runners are expected in what has become one of the biggest
sporting spectacles in the country. TELECOM COMPANIES TO
SHARE MASTS The ongoing telecom's boom
in Uganda had a visual effect across the country, with urban
neighbourhoods and many hills around the city and elsewhere
now dotted with transmission masts. The Uganda
Communications Commission has now concluded that this is no
longer desirable and issued a statement last week that in
the future the telecom companies will be compelled to share
masts to minimise fresh building to parts of the country
still in need of coverage. A commendable initiative says
this correspondent which was long overdue and which is
likely to keep expansion cost down for the benefit of many
Ugandans in particular in rural areas. KENYA AIRWAYS PROFITS
DROP SHARPLY Faced with the fall out of
the political post election violence earlier in the year and
subsequent near collapse of tourism, and passenger numbers,
the Kenyan national airline is now faced with sharply lower
profits, down by nearly two third for the first half of
their financial year compared to 12 months ago, when all
pointed to another record breaking year. Besides the loss of
revenue, following the situation in the country, fuel bills
escalated by over 70 percent inspite of sensible fuel
hedging. The airline however is
committed to modernize its fleet and is set to exchange
their ageing B767 fleet with the modern B787 'Dreamliner',
as and when this plane eventually becomes available. This
column has in the past extensively reported on the Boeing
Corporation's production problems with this aircraft and the
additional strain put on them through the recent strikes.
The Kenya Airways management also made reference in their
recent annual general meeting to the likely delays of the
B787 but pointed out that alternatives are being sought and
explored to, if necessary lease more fuel efficient aircraft
as a stop gap measure, while waiting for their turn to take
delivery of the ordered aircraft. It was also learned that
at least two new B737-800 will now join their fleet late,
due to the nearly two month long strike at
Boeing. Meanwhile, and in stark
contrast &endash; a tell tale of what Kenya Airways could
have achieved without the political violence &endash;
Ethiopian Airlines has just announced a sharp rise by over
one third of their year on year profits, adding evidence
that well managed African airlines can indeed make a success
as other global giants struggle. Watch this
space. KENYA CELEBRATES OBAMA
WIN WITH PUBLIC HOLIDAY The US election victory of
Barack Obama, now due to become the 44th President of the
United States in late January, has also spurned celebrations
across Kenya. The Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki promptly
announced a public holiday for Thursday this week to allow
the Kenyan people celebrate the success of one (half) of
their own. Obama was born to a Kenyan father and a US
citizen and brought up by his mother and later his maternal
grandmother, while the father's family continues to live in
Nyanza province in Western Kenya. Global media were camped at
the home village of Kogelo, near the city of Kisumu, and
once the victory became clear a bull was slaughtered for the
entire family, friends, clan and other well wishers
attending the live broadcasts on satellite television.
Pictures from the outburst of joyous ululations by the
entire village went around the world, just as soon as
Obama's election victory became evident, as he rapidly
accumulated the required number of votes in the Electoral
College. His election victory is also
thought to attract many more visitors to Western Kenya in
particular in coming years, not only from the US but from
across the world, probably making it a place of near
pilgrimage for the global Obama fan club. Good news for
Kenya and hopefully also a reminder that a proper democratic
process simply cannot be beaten when it comes to
elections. LAMU FESTIVAL FOR
NOVEMBER 28TH TO 30TH The ancient town of Lamu is
getting ready for their annual Swahili Cultural Festival at
the end of November. The UNESCO World Heritage Site township
will celebrate age old customs and give a platform for
performing arts of music and handicrafts. Both local and
regional artists are expected to perform and show their
skills while open air restaurants will prepare the
traditional coastal foods for visitors. Scheduled flights to
Lamu from Nairobi are available on Kenya Airways, Fly540,
Air Kenya and Safari Link and air charters can also be
arranged from Mombasa and Malindi. TANZANIA GETS NEW
WILDLIFE LAW News were received that the
Tanzanian parliament was discussing a new wildlife bill with
very substantial changes compared to the present status. One
of the major changes will be the formation of a professional
anti poaching 'Wildlife Protection Unit', which will be
better equipped and better trained to meet the challenges of
today's often commercial type of poaching. Also contained in
the new bill are stronger enforcement measures for
encroachers of wetlands and cattle herders entering national
parks and game reserves. The new bill is expected to be
presented to parliament soon after ongoing stakeholder
consultations have been concluded. RWANDA AVIATION TRAINS TO
ICAO STANDARDS A four day training course
last week educated staff of Rwandair, other airlines and
from the Civil Aviation Authority on the latest procedures
and standards as prescribed by IATA and ICAO, in order to
improve aviation safety and security. High ranking sources
from Rwandair commended the effort and vowed to continue
upgrading skills and staff capabilities until they reach the
highest standards and attain IOSA certification for the
airline. RWANDA TO PLANT 40
MILLION TREES During the forthcoming
national tree planting week Rwandan society is expected to
plant as many as 40 million tree seedlings to boost
environmental protection and replant forest areas where an
excess of trees were cut in the past. Tree cover extends
presently to about 20 percent but governmental policy
expects to raise this to about 30 percent in 2020, a tall
target but achievable. RWANDA &endash; TANZANIA
RAILWAY WORKS TO START NEXT YEAR A study financed by the
African Development Bank has underscored the political
intent of the countries involved to begin construction work
for the planned railway between Tanzania's inland port of
Ishaka to Rwanda's capital Kigali and then on to Burundi.
The project, said to be costing in excess of 4 billion US
Dollars at current prices, would take at least 5 years to
complete. Once ready the cost element of transportation in
goods will fall from the present whopping 40 percent to just
5 percent, making imported items more affordable for the
land locked countries of Rwanda and Burundi. Presently,
besides air cargo, all goods for import and export have to
be transported by road, mostly via Uganda, and the railway
to the alternative Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam would
create a second viable transit axis. UGANDA
GETS BIG VOTE FOR UN SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT As intimated
some weeks ago, Uganda &endash; on behalf of Africa &endash;
was standing for elections to become a non-permanent member
of the UN Security Council for the next two years. During
the vote late last week Uganda gathered 181 votes out of a
total of 192, a very sound, if not outright overwhelming
vote of confidence about the standing this East African
nation nowadays enjoys in the international
arena. Uganda's
term will commence on 01st January 2009 and run until 31st
December 2010. I congratulate and salute the nation for
attaining this great honour. KAMPALA
HOSTS ANOTHER MAJOR CONTINENTAL MEETING The heads of
state and government of SADC, COMESA and the EAC have met in
Kampala during the week to strategize over future
cooperation, aimed at making economic relations, trading,
joint infrastructural developments and investments across
Eastern, Central and Southern Africa easier and forming a
formidable joint global force for negotiating trade deals
and international agreements. It was
agreed that the three existing trading blocks would sign a
harmonization and integration agreement within six months,
also aimed at cushioning the effects of the global financial
and economic crisis. COMESA, the East African Community and
SADC would form an economic powerhouse block in the
continent and the massive domestic market alone would
encourage trading within, as exports to the EU and America
are expected to stagnate or even fall, until their economies
are getting into gear again. Population in the three blocks
presently comprises nearly 530 million people and the
combined GDP of the 26 member states last year reached over
600 billion US Dollars. The meetings
took place not far from this correspondent's residence at
the Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort and the Speke Resort and
Conference Centre Munyonyo, also venue of the Commonwealth
Summit a year ago. 'NDEGE
JUU' TAKES TO THE AIR 'Up with the
bird' is the plain translation from Kiswahili into English
and also the name of Uganda's latest domestic airline, now
based at the fully refurbished 'Old Terminal' at the
Kajjansi airfield. The small airline is specialising in
banner advertising, but is also offering sightseeing flights
and even charters. The principal promoters of the new
airline &endash; licensed in March and recently awarded an
AOC under the sharply tightened new CAA rules &endash; are
Capt. Emma Carter, who used to fly several years for the
Kampala Aero Club and Flight Training Centre, and Tim
Cooper, who is the co-owner of Bulago Island. The young
airline is presently operating a Fuji FA-200 but planning to
add more aircraft in due course. Visit their website at
www.ndegejuu.com for more information. KAMPALA
HILTON' DEVELOPMENT IN 'A BIG MESS' More and
more questions are being asked why the notorious Hamid
brothers of 'Aya' fame were initially chosen to develop a
major hotel at one of the best sites in the city, on top of
Nakasero Hill, for which the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation
had to hurriedly shift to other premises. The project,
which the brothers promised would be completed within a year
after breaking ground in 2006, never took off and was bodged
with financial, planning and other problems. Instead of
'building a floor a week' the project is stuck at fourth
floor level and no visible activity is taking place on the
site. Started nearly three years ago, CHOGM has come and
gone and other major summits have since then taken place in
Uganda, leaving the place as a miserly building site moving
at snail's pace or standing still. The latest set back,
reported in the local media, is a claim of nearly 2.5
million US Dollars by the project's lawyers, apparently
already confirmed in court, leaving the brothers again
reeling, yet more discredited in the public eye and as
always resorting to more full mouthed statements bare of
reality. The High Court in Kampala has in the meantime
ordered the sale of the property, a decision likely to be
appealed in higher courts, but also indicative that time for
the brothers may finally run out. Sources from
within the hotel industry openly question the capacity of
the brothers to complete the project and suggestions have
been made for government to take over the project and seek a
more capably and competent party to complete it under a
joint venture. Watch this space. HITS TELECOM
NOW TEAMS UP WITH 'ORANGE' The long
silence from HITS Telecom was at last broken during the
week, when news were released that the company had been
entering a joint venture with Orange, the mobile brand of
France Telecom. The new company will reportedly be called
'Orange Uganda' and the French telecoms giant will under the
new arrangement own 53 percent of the company. Orange
recently also entered the Kenyan telecoms market when
acquiring 51 percent of Telkom and further regional
expansion cannot be ruled out. HITS was licensed well ahead
of Warid, the latest entrant in the profitable telecoms
market in Uganda, made their test calls first but then left
the field for over a year to Warid to roll out and go
operational, while pondering their options and reportedly
seeking a strongly branded partner. It was also
learned that the Uganda Communications Commission has
granted HITS / Orange a little more time to go operational,
after the initial grace period had expired some weeks ago,
leading to speculations over the future of the company in
Uganda. The Uganda Investment Authority's CEO Prof. Dr.
Maggie Kigozi also hailed the development, expressing her
hope that once Orange starts operations tariffs would come
down further, making telecommunications affordable for a
broad range of new users mainly from the rural areas. Watch
this space. FOREST
REPLANTING UNDERWAY Following
alarming reports in the local media over shrinking forest
cover across the country, some good news were received from
areas surrounding Kibaale national park. Information availed
to this column indicates that some 150.000 indigenous tree
seedlings were planted in recent months with the support of
the National Forest Authority. NFA sources also say that
over the past three years nearly a million indigenous tree
seedlings were planted countrywide in an effort to restore
forests. HERITAGE
OIL ANNOUNCES ANOTHER BIG FIND Recent test
drilling in different but equally promising area has
produced yet more confirmed crude oil reserves, bringing
commercial production nearer to reality. Tullow Oil has
already signed a production agreement with government and
the latest find by Heritage may now also pave the way for a
similar contract to be signed with the Ugandan
government. Meanwhile,
Tullow Oil has take out double page adverts in the local
media advertising employment opportunities for Ugandans,
bringing the first major job bonanza for qualified young
people. SHILLING
PLUMMETS The global
financial fall out has now also reached Eastern Africa,
where the currencies have taken a hit. In Uganda alone the
value of the shilling versus the dollar has plummeted in an
unprecedented way from the mid 1600 range some weeks ago to
nearly 2000, as remittances from Ugandans living and working
abroad are reducing and orders for exports like flowers,
fruits, vegetables and fish are slackening from the main
consumer markets in Europe. The trend is thought to benefit
tourist visitors however, who will get more value for their
dollars. At the same time however the value of the Euro and
the UK Pound has equally dropped, reflecting the global
trend in currency markets. FUEL
PRICES REMAIN HIGH Frustration
is setting in with motorists in Uganda as fuel prices remain
high inspite of a sustained fall of the price of a barrel of
crude oil on the international market, now down over 60
percent since nearly touching 150 US Dollars a few months
ago. Fuel companies however have not passed on the savings
to consumers, while they were swift in raising prices at the
pumps when the crude oil price went rocketing. KENYA
NEARS NEW POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK K The Kenyan
Tourism Minister last week announced plans to look into the
establishment of a tourism business council, which would be
expected to advise government from time to time on matters
concerning the sector's development as well as current
affairs and matters arising. The promise was made during a
tourism policy consultative workshop, which was aimed at
advancing the new Kenyan tourism policy towards its
completion. The workshop also discussed the status of the
tourism draft legislation, which would bring the Kenyan
tourism sector's legislative framework into the 21st
century. During the
proceedings the minister also intimated that the pending new
telecommunications bill would also cater for e-transactions,
which would allow credit card payments for bookings and
tourist services in Kenya in a regulated and secure
way. Uganda
published her tourism policy in 2003 and finally passed the
new tourism bill earlier this year, after it was
inexplicably kept pending since 2005 without much progress
in between. The tourism industry in Uganda is now also
awaiting the new regulations to be promulgated by the
minister, which should have happened shortly after the bill
was signed into law by President Museveni. No sound reasons
could be established however why the regulations are not
published yet and what is again holding up a crucial
component governing the sector's development. KENYA
OPENS ABASUBA CULTURAL MUSEUM Mfangano
Island in Lake Victoria is the location of a recently opened
cultural museum, celebrating the Abasuba traditions in a
formal setting. The effort is part of Kenya's drive to
diversify tourism and open up new circuits and attractions
for the expected visitor boom resuming after the post
election violence early in the year. Should Senator Obama
win the US presidential elections on November 03, the area
&endash; Nyanza Province &endash; is expected to rake in
tourist Dollars and Euros from curious visitors, as Obama's
father hailed from the area and part of his 'Kenyan' family
still live there, making it a unique 'tourist attraction'
for Obama's global 'fan club'. AIR
ARABIA TO START NAIROBI FLIGHTS This weekend
will see Air Arabia, a UAE based low cost carrier, starting
their long awaited flights between Sharjah and Nairobi,
adding pressure on fares on the lucrative route to the heart
of the Gulf. Presently Kenya Airways, Emirates and Qatar
Airways are flying to various destinations in the Gulf
region from Nairobi, but with Sharjah only a few kilometres
from Dubai, the new flights are thought to become an instant
success with money conscious travellers. KENYA TO
BENEFIT FROM EXPEDIA CONTRACT Vintage
Africa has now signed an agreement with global e-marketing
giant Expedia to market products from Kenya and the wider
East African region. Hotels like the Nairobi Hilton and the
hotels and lodges of Fairmont Kenya can now be accessed via
Expedia, which increases global exposure and helps selling
the East African region around the world. FLY 540
EXPANSION TO TANZANIA ON HOLD Politics are
suspected to be preventing Fly540 to bring low fares and
reliable services into the Tanzanian market, for the time
being at least. Issues arising from restrictions placed
through the bilateral air services agreement seem to suggest
that all available slots from Kenya are taken up already,
and Tanzania being rather notorious in erecting non tariff
barriers for airlines from the region appears to stick to
their guns not allowing Fly540 on the route. The airline
however seems to have also lodged an application in Tanzania
to obtain an air services license and commence operations
from there, as they have successfully done in Uganda
already. That all
said, the intransigence of regional aviation regulators, as
often mentioned in this column before, is legendary and
their approach to integration is largely one of holding on
to their little fiefdoms instead of opening up the
regulatory regime across the East African Community. The
Yamoussoukro Agreement on aviation, but also the respective
clauses of COMESA (Tanzania is a member of SADC and
therefore not bound by COMESA rules) should dictate a more
proactive regulatory regime, but at least for the time being
the bureaucrats seem to think otherwise. AIR
TANZANIA PLANES FUTURE UNCERTAIN Reports have
surfaced in Tanzania that the two leased B737 aircraft are
due for heavy maintenance any time soon, putting the
schedules of the airline in doubt unless they can secure
replacements in good time. Information from usually well
informed aviation sources in Dar es Salaam also indicates
that the two aircraft's leases are due for renewal too or
else the Boeings may have to be returned to the lessors
abroad. EMBATTLED
'TAZARA' RAILWAY BOARD SEEKS CULPRIT The
company's board of directors has now put much of the blame
for the company's precarious financial and operational
position on the CEO (since suspended), accusing him during
the week of misappropriation of up to 10 billion Tanzania
Shillings. The company has been in the news of late over a
series of misfortunes, overshadowed by the developments over
the Rift Valley Railway Corporation at the time, which
meanwhile seems back on the straight and narrow after a
total overhaul of management, board and shareholders, which
included a substantial reduction of former lead investor's
Sheltam of South Africa's overall shareholding. The Tanzania
&endash; Zambia Railway however is now reeling from the
impact of the financial losses and the board, also presently
seeking a strategic investor, is now seemingly hell bent to
blame someone. A strike also reportedly erupted last week
but was quelled when the board gave in to worker's demands
and re-instated the Acting CEO whom they also sought to get
rid of. The Railway
was built by the Chinese government in the late 1960's and
assumed operations in the mid 1970's. ZANZIBAR
TOURISM TURNS TO INDIGENOUS INVESTORS Information
was received last week that over 250 Zanzibaris have been
registered as significant investors in the tourism industry,
putting more local interest into the sector. No data on the
type of these investments or the value of the investments
could be obtained at the time of going to press but it is
evident that more and more local investors have of late
committed themselves to the tourism industry, reducing the
reliance on foreign investments. PLANS FOR
NEW RWANDA CONVENTION CENTRE READY The
architectural drawings for the new Kigali International
Convention Centre have been completed, it was revealed
earlier in the week in Kigali. Construction for the centre,
which will also include a hotel, shopping arcades and an
office park, is due to kick on in February 2009 and expected
to take two years towards completion. The centre will be
able to cater for meetings, conferences, conventions and
events with up to 2.500 participants at a time. Meanwhile it
was also learned, that Rwanda will only pass a half year
budget for the period of January until June 2009, whereafter
they will move their annual financial year, in line with
other East African Community countries, to the July &endash;
June period. RWANDAIR
RESUMES JOHANNESBURG FLIGHTS As indicated
in this column some weeks ago, Rwandair has indeed now
commenced flights again from Kigali to Johannesburg,
operating three times a week at present. Sources from within
the airline however did confirm that more flights could be
added in coming months, subject to traffic growth on the
route. Rwandair had to book their passengers to South Africa
over the past six months on other airlines, often connecting
through other airports. The same source did however not
comment on the date for the announcement of the airline's
partnership with Fly540 Aviation, which is according to
unconfirmed information nearly ready to sign. Follow this
column for regular updates on aviation news from the entire
region. SOUTHERN
SUDAN SET FOR NEW TOURISM LAW AND REGULATIONS The Ministry
for Wildlife Conservation and Tourism has now formally
signed a contract to develop their new tourism legislation
and subsequent regulations, aimed to provide a comprehensive
framework based on which development partners and donors can
then assist in institutional capacity building to put the
re-emerging sector on a sound growth path. The ministry
has already, with internally generated resources, started to
document some of the main attractions on DVD to eventually
prepare a marketing tool for the promotion of tourism, first
in the region and then further abroad. Presently
however there is no tourism marketing body in place and
wildlife management is still part of the ministry itself,
rather than operating in an autonomous or semi-autonomous
setting as most counterparts in the region now
do. JUBA
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION STALLS After the
initial contractor for the new terminal building in Juba at
the international airport was 'sacked' &endash; other
sources allege they simply disappeared after obtaining some
substantial payments, a new search is going on to find a new
contractor. Work meanwhile has come to a standstill on the
new passenger terminal located right next to the present
terminal, which is now overcrowded whenever more than one
flight arrive and depart at the same time. JUBA
BRIDGE ACROSS THE NILE FIXED The much
utilised bridge across the river Nile in Juba, one section
of which had collapsed over two years ago when an heavily
overloaded truck brought part of the structure down, has now
been re-opened for traffic in both directions. During the
period of repair traffic was strictly one way regulated,
slowing down entry into the city as well as traffic leaving
Juba. The main road across the bridge leads to Nimule,
before crossing into Uganda, thus forming a major supply
route for Juba and the rest of the Southern
Sudan. TARMAC FOR ROAD TO
PARK During a visit to the
Rukungiri district in Western Uganda as part of his
nationwide poverty alleviation tour, has President Museveni
announced that the recently completed magnificent road to
the area will be extended towards Kanungu (where traffic
branches off to the Bwindi Gorilla National Park), Kihihi
and the Congo DR border point at Ishasha. This will allow
for faster and easier access of tourists to the Southern
sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park but equally
important provide farmers in the area an outlet to reach the
urban markets across the country via the new road. Driving
time to the Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth parks may reduce,
once the road extension is completed, by more than an hour,
giving tourist visitors more time inside the parks or
allowing for visits to cultural attractions en route to the
park, making best use of the time gained. The park road
between Katunguru and Ishasha however, which crosses the
Queen Elizabeth National Park from one end to the other and
traverses the Maramagambo Forest, is still in great need of
repairs and upgrades. POWER PLANT DEVELOPER
PULLS OUT, GOVERNMENT TAKES OVER The second new hydro
electric power plant developer, NORPAK, has just announced
that they are pulling out of the project following
disagreements with the World Bank, without giving more
specific reasons however. The project was in an on / off
mode since the first proposals were floated over a decade
ago. Government however was swift in stepping into the
breach and announced it would acquire the plans, designs and
intellectual property from NORPAK to ensure the project
would be developed within the expected time frame. It is
likely that a restricted bidding process might unfold soon
towards finding a new developer, but it is equally likely
that government may go it alone. It was also learned that
the designs of NORPAK, which wanted to build a 'tunnel'
version as opposed to the highly contentious dam type, would
be re-examined with the aim to raising the output of power
from the projected 200 MW to as much as 600 MW. It is not
clear at present how this is to be achieved however, so
watch this space. FORESTS KEEP
SHRINKING The latest in a series of
reports on the status of forests in Uganda has again
underscored an alarming trend of fast reduction in tree
cover across the country. The State Minister for Environment
was quoted having said in parliament that: 'the situation is
getting serious and worrying. We have so far lost forest
cover equivalent to 28 percent'. No comparative time frame
could however be obtained, during which this reduction is
said to have taken place. The situation appears
particularly bad in Northern Uganda, where formerly
displaced people, returning to their home areas, are
reportedly cutting trees rather indiscriminately for
firewood, charcoal burning and construction timber. The
National Forest Authority has apparently been given a budget
equivalent to 2 million US Dollars for replanting of trees
in 'central forest reserves', which are managed by the
national body, but clearly more has to be done to prevent a
further de-forestation and subsequent desertification of the
country, which once was green from one end to the
other. Meanwhile, the National
Forest Authority has called upon companies with unutilised
concessions to either start planting trees in accordance
with the agreements or else have their contracts cancelled.
Under a joint forest management scheme several applicants
had been awarded 49 year long agreements, covering some 600
acres. TANZANIA'S POWER
OUTPUT TO REDUCE &endash; BY LAW The effects of what
appears now to be an ill thought out law, signed into effect
in June this year, are now likely to further cut the
available power in Tanzania, where only two weeks ago the
country was struggling with extensive power cuts, when one
of the key power plants developed serious technical
problems. The new law prohibits any
and all companies with current contracts as 'independent
power producers' to re-apply for fresh contracts or have
existing contracts renewed for 5 years, leading to the
Aggreko plant to be shut down shortly. With it goes a
capacity of at least 40 MW, as the company has to terminate
operations. The new law came into effect over a scandal in
the private power generation sector, which cost several
government ministers their jobs at the time. However, the
intent of the law overshot its aim and objective and the
real effect, already pointed out by independent observers
and the power industry at the time now seems set to inflict
serious electricity shortages in the country. Business
leaders and associations are now leading the battle to
suspend the law or urgently amend it to avoid the
un-intended side effects hit the economy at this time of
global financial market turmoil and recessionary tendencies
around the globe. Watch this space. NEXT LEON SULLIVAN
SUMMIT GOES TO KIGALI During the week the
formal MoU was signed between the summit organizers and the
Rwandan government to host the next Leon Sullivan Summit in
2010 in Kigali. The most recent event was held earlier in
the year in Arusha, Tanzania and was judged an overwhelming
success of the summit's objectives. No specific dates were
available however at the time of going to press. RWANDA OPTS FOR
ENGLISH In yet another step to
put their past firmly behind, Rwanda's cabinet has now
decided to accelerate and increase the teaching of English
in schools across the country. English will now be the sole
medium of instruction from nursery schools to university.
Previously, that is until the 1994 Hutu perpetrated
genocide, French and Kinyarwanda were the only two official
languages in the country but this has changed over the past
nearly 15 years with English substituting French more and
more. The joining of Rwanda of
the East African Community and her application to join the
Commonwealth have undoubtedly played a role in this
significant decision, but rubbing the French nose a little
&endash; in view of the strained relations &endash; may be a
welcome added 'benefit' for the Rwandan
leadership. SOUTHERN SUDAN TOURISM
POLICY NEARLY THERE The long awaited tourism
policy for the government of Southern Sudan in Juba is now
on its final stretch with ongoing intense consultations
amongst public and private sector stakeholders, civil
society organizations, NGO's and development partners
leading up towards a final consultative workshop, where the
new policy final draft document is due to be presented and
adopted. Immediately after that final workshop, which will
be held in Juba during the last week of October, the new
policy document is then expected to be formally handed over
to the Minister of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism for
processing and presentation to the Council of Ministers,
Government of Southern Sudan. It was also learned that work
on a new draft tourism legislation and draft tourism
regulations would commence soon afterwards to complete the
task of establishing a new policy, legal and regulatory
framework for the tourism sector in Southern
Sudan. Meanwhile, the
environment portfolio has been taken out of the tourism
ministry, leaving it as 'Ministry of Wildlife Conservation
and Tourism' within the Government of Southern Sudan. The
environment department is now part of the Ministry of
Housing and the Director General for Environment, Mr. Victor
Lotombe also moved to his new ministry in the same
position. FRAGILE CONGO PEACE AT
THE BRINK Fighting has spread again
in Eastern Congo during the past week, now also involving
areas around Bunia / Ituri. 'Government' or better regime
forces are coming under pressure there, as they have been in
the Goma area, where the Tutsi self protection units of
General Nkunda have gone on the offensive, after the regime
troops openly sided with the former Hutu militias, which
committed the Rwanda genocide in 1994. General Nkunda in
fact sent a stark message to the Kinshasa regime that he
would take the fight to them, if their attitude and
behaviour would not change fundamentally in coming weeks,
starting with containing and disarming the Hutu militias.
The intransigence and alleged deceit of the Kabila led
regime in Kinshasa seems to have brought things to a head,
and their open alliance with the killer militias, with the
tacit support of the UN MONUC 'peace keeping' force is
possible now leading to a renewed larger conflict in the
torn jungle nation. Rwanda has in the
meantime categorically refuted reports from Kinshasa that
Rwandese troops had allegedly entered the DR Congo, a denial
supported incidentally by UN observers in the area who found
not evidence to that effect. HAPPY
INDEPENDENCE DAY Uganda was
celebrating her 46th Independence Day on 09th October,
commemorating the day when it attained full independence
from the former colonial master Great Britain. As always,
the nation took a day off to join the party with many
extending the Thursday holiday into a very long weekend,
visiting their upcountry homes or retreating for some
R&R to the national parks and game reserves, where
lodges and camps reported brisk business from Ugandans and
expatriate residents. Security across the city was stepped
up to ensure the revellers could enjoy a safe celebration
environment. Since taking
power in January 1986, when the National Resistance Army led
by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni drove the last of the
former dictators out of Kampala, the country under the NRM
government has undergone a well near miraculous revival and
the steadfast economic policies have aided political
stability, reconstruction of infrastructure and sustained
growth ever since. We proudly celebrate 'Uganda &endash;
Gifted by Nature'. Visit the Ugandan exhibition stand at the
forthcoming WTM to learn more about this outstanding
ecotourism destination or look up the following important
and useful websites: www.visituganda.com, www.uwa.or.ug,
www.theeye.co.ug, www.africa-ata.org and
www.traveluganda.co.ug FLY540
UGANDA BRINGS IN AIRCRAFT Having been
granted an AOC by the Ugandan Civil Aviation Authority
&endash; an expensive duplication of a process already in
place in Kenya but required by stubborn regulators still
unwilling or unable to delegate part of their oversight and
control functions to another East African Community member
state CAA &endash; Fly540 has now acquired and put on the
Ugandan registry initially two converted F27 freighters,
which will operate out of Entebbe into the region and
provide sufficient capacity to cater for transit air cargo
destined beyond Entebbe. Often times in the past cargo
reached Uganda by air through European or Middle Eastern
airlines on pallets, but then had to be delivered by truck
to its final destination in Eastern Congo or Southern Sudan
due to lack of adequate palletized or loose cargo capacity
on onwards flights. This problem has now finally been solved
to the relief of air cargo agents in Entebbe. News are
also expected on passenger operations originating from
Uganda's main aviation gateway, so watch this space for
breaking news on Fly540's plans. BRUSSELS
AIRLINES EXTENDS ETIHAD CODESHARE Information
was received from SN sources that the main Belgian airline,
of late the newest member in the Lufthansa family, has
extended their codeshare arrangements with Abu Dhabi's flag
carrier Etihad. The Gulf airline can now offer 'through'
tickets for their four weekly flights to Brussels to connect
their passengers to the Scandinavian capital cities of Oslo,
Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki. All connecting flights
will be operated on Brussels Airlines equipment. Brussels
Airlines also confirmed that their tie up with Lufthansa and
eventual entry to Star Alliance, the world's leading global
airline alliance, will have no affect on their present
contracts and long term cooperation plans with Jet Airways.
For the coming winter season around 20 European destinations
connect Jet Airways passengers within two hours of landing
in Brussels through SN flights, a substantial increase from
the previous schedule. The cooperation is expected to
initially feed some 6.000 passengers a month to Brussels
Airlines flights and these numbers are expected to increase
further by 2009. AIR
UGANDA NOW GOES DAILY TO JUBA Information
was received that Air Uganda has upped their frequencies
from 5 per week to daily flights between Entebbe and
Southern Sudan's capital Juba. Load factors on this
particular route show the best performance within their
route network, justifying the extra flights. Royal Daisy
Airlines in the meantime is still without their Embraer 120,
which also plied the route with daily flights but is now
undergoing heavy maintenance with no replacement aircraft in
sight as of going to press. Third contender on the route,
Eagle Air Uganda, reduced their scheduled flights to three
times a week via the Southern Sudanese town of Yei,
basically leaving the profitable Juba route without serious
competition at this time. Eagle Air however has commenced
scheduled operations to Bunia in Eastern Congo using
Beechcraft 1900B and LET 410 aircraft. Brussels Airlines has
also recently signed an agreement with Air Uganda to cater
for connecting passengers in Entebbe to and from
Juba. ETHIOPIAN
OFFERS OUAGADOUGOU Information
received from the ET offices in Kampala indicates that from
end October onwards they will fly six times a week from
Addis to the West African destination, using a B757
aircraft. The flights will be routed via Accra and Abuja,
although Lome is also still a possibility for a stopover.
Ethiopian
Airlines, together with Kenya Airways, offer the most
comprehensive inter African networks and are largely
responsible to not only connect Africa within but also
connect Africa to the rest of the world. DATES SET
FOR MARATHON The annual
'MTN Kampala Marathon' will this year take place on 23rd of
November. Participants from abroad can register online via
www.mtnkampalamarathon.co.ug or send an email for more
details to mtnmarathon@mtn.co.ug. Registration is open until
31st of October and the cost for individual entries and
teams can be obtained on the official website. The Kampala
Marathon is one of the annual 'must see' sporting events and
has established itself over past years in Eastern Africa as
a premier event. Much of the proceeds this year will go
towards supporting formerly displaced people in the North of
the country, who have now returned to their home areas and
are beginning to rebuild their lives which were disrupted by
the LRA terror gangs. SSISSA
CLUB TO HOST 'WOODSTOCK MEMORIAL' The Ssissa
Club, located not far out of the city along Entebbe road,
will be hosting on 26th and 27th October a weekend music
festival, featuring the music which marked the initial
'Woodstock' festival of the late 60's. The fete will start
mid day on Saturday the 26th and last through the night
until mid day Sunday. Admission is for ticket holders only
due to limited space and the accommodation at the club is
reportedly already sold out, although camping sites are
available for those bringing their own tents. For more
information write to Nari Patel at nari@cell2cell.co.ug or
call +256 772 777727. MORE
EFFORTS TO UNITE EAST AFRICA Negotiations
between the 5 EAC memberstates went on during the week in
Kampala aimed to reach agreement on the next protocols
governing the common market, freedom of movement of capital,
labour and people and common transportation policies. In a
commendable development Tanzania had a week earlier
consented to remove restrictions place on other EAC citizens
wishing to work or live in Tanzania, seen as an important
step towards eventually lifting all existing internal
boundaries and making East Africa truly one common area for
citizens and visitors alike. The East African 'domestic
market' is to come into effect by 2010 and will include over
120 million people. KENYA
AIRWAYS BREAKS NEW GROUND &endash; AGAIN In a ground
breaking investment for Eastern Africa the Kenyan flag
carrier has now ordered for the installation of a B737
flight simulator at its Embakasi base, where it has also put
up a state of the art training academy and centre, as they
strive to meet the highest global standards in piloting,
maintenance, in flight service and ground handling
operations. The investment is thought to safe the airline
substantial amounts of money in coming years as they further
expand both fleet and network and training of pilots and
other staff has to increase. KENYA
DEPORTS OBAMA CRITIC If you
intend to speak out against Senator Obama, best don't
consider doing it in Kenya! Jerome Corsi, the American
author of the book 'The Obama Nation', apparently highly
critical of Obama, was ejected from the country ahead of the
formal launch of the book at the Grand Regency Hotel in
downtown Nairobi. In doing so the Kenyan authorities not
only showed a remarkable intolerance to the freedom of
expression but also in fact unwittingly played into the
hands of the author and his publishers, by giving global
exposure to the hitherto little known book by creating
headline news around the world. The author's handlers in
Kenya reaffirmed that all legal requirement for the visit
were fulfilled, i.e. Visa, passport and return ticket were
all at hand and in good order, but apparently government
apparatchiks thought the book launch event was a possible
'embarrassment' to the Kenyan government, which through the
hasty expulsion it indeed has now become. Question remains,
are any US Republicans welcome in Kenya ahead of their
elections and will keeping their mouth's shut be a condition
of obtaining a Visa? Oooops. COLONIAL
'MASTER' ATTITUDE MAKES UNWANTED RETURN Kenyans were
left bewildered last weekend to learn that several Western
countries had allegedly threatened members of the Electoral
Commission of Kenya with travel bans, should they not resign
their offices forthwith. Kenya's foreign ministry was swift
to call the nearly unprecedented attempt on the sovereignty
of a Kenyan institution 'a blatant breach of diplomatic
protocol', reminiscent of true colonial 'master / servant'
practice and the worst neo-colonial behaviour witnessed for
quite some time now. The Kenyan
Electoral Commission has indeed been under public scrutiny
and pressure following the aftermath of the end 2007
elections and publication of results, but it must be
stressed that this is entirely for the Kenyan government and
people to resolve without overt or covert interference by
certain Western powers, who have their own agenda with Kenya
and are trying to use this domestic issue to re-assert
themselves and carve out concessions over the use of
harbours, airports, airspace and related matters, where the
Kenyan government in the past has stood firm and promoted
their own interests first and foremost. The
'bullies' are notably some EU memberstates but also the US
and it is understood that a formal protest note was sent to
those countries diplomatic missions in Nairobi. Allegations
had earlier surfaced in Nairobi that some 'diplomats' had
visited the Chairman of the ECK's office and demanded he and
his fellow commissioners resign or else have their Visa
clearances withdrawn, prompting accusations of blackmail not
befitting for accredited diplomatic staff. SAUTI ZA
BUSARA 2009 DATES PUBLISHED The 'Sounds
of Wisdom' or Sauti za Busara annual music festival in
Zanzibar will take place next year from February 12th to
17th. The annual event has gained global attention and some
400 performers and groups have so far performed in past
years to the delight of thousands of visitors who come to
Zanzibar every year. The festival
will start of with a 'carnival' parade and street events on
the 12th February next year and will then be followed by
performances of about 10 groups each day at the 'Stone
Town's' 'Old Fort'. Local food delicacies, handicrafts and
curio items will be on sale at the venue throughout.
Entrance is free from up to sunset every day but passes or
tickets will be required in the evenings. The final
event will take place on 17th February at 'Kendwa Rocks' on
one of Zanzibar's best beach locations and an all night
party will then conclude the celebrations. The Sauti za
Busara festival this year will be preceded by workshops in
art, journalism and music and specially tailored sound
engineering and lighting courses, aimed at building greater
capacity amongst East Africans. Sponsors for
some of the events are still invited and the festival
organizers can be reached via www.busaramusic.org or email
Busara@zanlink.com Meanwhile,
the Busara organizers have also confirmed their
participation in 'WOMEX 2008', arguably the world's biggest
showcase event for international music and folk. Meet them
at the showground in Sevilla, Spain between 29th October and
02nd November. BAGAMOYO
FESTIVAL KICKS OF NEXT WEEK A cultural
feast of traditional music will take place in Bagamoyo,
north of Dar es Salaam, from 13th until 18th October.
Details are available via www.sanaabagamoyo.com. Other
upcoming performing art and related events include the
'Diani Beach Music Festival' (South of Mombasa) on 18th
October at the 'Forty Thieves Beach Bar', 'Visa 2 Dance'
contemporary dance festival from 22nd until 24th October in
Dar es Salaam's Jubilee VIP Hall, the 'Makutano Arts and
Craft Fair' at the same venue from 21st to 22nd November and
the Lamu Cultural Festival in Kenya from 28th until 30th
November (www.tourism.go.ke). The growing number of regional
arts and cultural events underscore the diversification of
tourism related activities in a region rich in tradition and
culture. MORE BAD
NEWS FOR TATA'S SODA ASH PLANT The plans of
India's TATA Corporation, in conjunction with a local
Tanzanian partner, to build a soda ash extraction and
processing plant at or near Lake Natron (northern Tanzania),
have been dealt another blow by environmentalists, as the
latest studies and projections came to light. Participants
in the globally attended 'Pan African Ornithological
Congress' recently held in South Africa, were presented with
a gloomy outlook for East African bird populations, in
particular the 'lesser flamingo', which is using the Lake
Natron shores for breeding, the only such breeding ground in
the entire region. Birdlife International expects more
pressure to be piled upon the Tanzanian government to halt
the project permanently as any unilateral decision would
contravene the mechanism of consultations and agreement
under the Ramsar Convention, to which Tanzania is also a
signatory. The more
than a million strong flamingo populations are major tourist
attractions along the lakes in the Kenyan rift valley,
notably of course Lake Nakuru, but also lakes Elementaita
and Bogoria, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every
year, but the birds must return every year to Lake Natron
for breeding. Any disruption of this cycle would likely
result in a rapid reduction in numbers and the birds could
be extinct within a decade, should their breeding
environment be irreversibly changed. Meanwhile,
East African cooperation has extended to certification of
'eco friendliness', where Kenya has in recent years
developed an acknowledged scheme of accreditation and
certifications. News reports from Tanzania now indicate that
the industry there may well adopt the functioning system
from Kenya instead of 're-inventing the wheel', which would
of course strengthen the objectives of eco certification.
In Uganda,
efforts were made by this correspondent some years ago in a
week long series of workshops and seminars, presided over by
Hugh Cresser, a US based expert, to elaborate on eco
friendly behaviour and explain the global benefits of such
schemes, but alas, being again ahead of the times little
interest was shown at the time by most hospitality
businesses, other than a few sworn core supporters of 'going
green and remaining green'. Maybe the Tanzanian initiative
is belatedly going to change this for the benefit of the
tourism industry, where globally claims to be 'green' or
'eco-friendly' are coming under ever greater scrutiny to
ascertain the facts. RWANDA
INAUGURATES NEW PARLIAMENT Following
the peaceful and yet decisive elections recently, won by
President Kagame's RPF, the new parliamentarians were sworn
in earlier in the week and parliament then officially opened
by the President. In a remarkable development some 55
percent of all seats are now held by women, making Rwanda a
global leader in this regard. In fact a lady parliamentarian
was elected as Speaker during the inaugural session and this
equality is also expected to feature in the new
cabinet. In another
development it was learned that the planned railway
connection from Dar es Salaam to Kigali was to be extended
into Eastern Congo with support from the African Development
Bank, which together with other agencies was also funding
the feasibility study. CHINESE
INVESTORS TO BUILD NEW HOTEL IN KIGALI An
investment consortium from Hong Kong and China has now
unveiled plans for their new 5star hotel in Kigali, on the
site of the former Jali Club. This column reported about the
negotiations some weeks ago and the grand design presented
to the public has stirred the hospitality sector in Rwanda
into a new phase of activities. Construction of the new
hotel is due to start early in 2009 and is expected to take
two years towards completion of the project. The 200 room
and suite hotel will also feature a major conference
facility, building yet more capacity for Rwanda in the
tourism industry. The initial investment is said to be worth
about 40 million US Dollars. Other new
projects in the hospitality sector are underway by Dubai
World with a US Dollars 250 million investment package for a
luxury hotel cum golf course, two new safari lodges and the
refurbishment of the main lodge in the Akagera National
Park, and a multi million dollar rehabilitation of the Hotel
Mille Collines. PIRACY
&endash; ANOTHER EVIL ALONG THE HORN OF
AFRICA Not much
more needs to be said about the political situation in
Somalia, where since the overthrow of the former dictator
Siad Barre in 1991 no real central government existed.
Radical Islamists, allegedly in the employ of Al Qaida and
its sympathiser groups, had for a time taken over the reigns
in the country but were then kicked out of the capital
Mogadishu by an Ethiopian intervention force, aimed to
create some sort of stability along their common borders and
keep the country from turning into another safe haven for
terror groups and their training camps. While Ethiopian
troops are still in country, the African Union eventually
sent a peace keeping force comprised of largely Ugandan army
units to keep law and order. The
Islamists who were driven out of the main towns in the early
stage of the intervention, have since regrouped and are
constantly engaging the AU force and transitional government
troops in hit and run attacks, a situation which is a
potential cinderbox for the entire region, as these problems
could easily spill over into Ethiopia and Kenya and the
wider region. But what has
come into the main focus of international attention in
recent months is the increasing problem of piracy emerging
from the lawless harbours and hideaways along the Indian
Ocean cost and the growing threat to global shipping traffic
from the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the ports of Eastern
and Southern Africa, and vice versa. Coalition
forces have for several years now established a forward base
in Djibouti, where naval and air force units from a number
of countries are based to prevent Islamic militants and Al
Qaida supporters from travelling freely across the narrow
strip of ocean between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. In
fact French forces (thought to be based in Djibouti) have on
several occasions freed French citizen kept hostage by the
pirates but no forceful policy has yet been presented by the
UN or coalition force member governments to patrol, police
and if necessary by force prevent more acts of piracy along
the sea lanes around the Horn of Africa. The latest
developments, where pirates are holding a Kenya bound ship
with military hardware for the Kenyan army &endash; maybe to
be used for strengthening and re-enforcing Kenya's defences
along the land border with Somalia to prevent Islamic
militant groups from entering or maybe not, going by
speculations in the international media &endash; have only
served to hasten the inevitable. International navy forces
are surrounding the pirated ship &endash; while other
vessels are held in hideaways and natural harbours, while
the global community is still pondering their action plans.
It is time
now to grant a UN mandate to coalition forces based in
Djibouti to go into hot pursuit of pirates and use airborne
rapid intervention units to find, target and eliminate the
pirate's nests along this stretch of the East African
coastline and around the Horn of Africa to make and keep the
sea lanes safe, not only for cargo traffic but also to once
again attract what used to be substantial leisure traffic by
cruiseliners and private yachts, wanting to explore the
Eastern African coastlines enroute from or to the Suez
Canal. UGANDA TAKES WORLD
TOURISM DAY CELEBRATIONS TO THE RWENZORIS The annual World Tourism Day
celebrations took place this year in Kasese, a township on
both the doorsteps of Queen Elizabeth National Park and the
foothills of the 'Mountains of the Moon' or Rwenzori
Mountains. Emphasis this year was on climate change, a
matter often addressed in this column in past years. One of
the main elements of the Millennium Development Goals is
environmental sustainability and the largely nature based
tourism industry in Uganda, and the entire region for that
matter, depends overwhelmingly on intact biodiversity, the
protection of the region's wildlife and conservation and
preservation efforts. The official position in Uganda has
been both hot and cold in this respect, as ongoing arguments
over the future of the Mabira Forest, the Cycad Forest
outside Queen Elizabeth National Park, open quarry mining
for limestone inside Queen Elizabeth National Park and other
controversial projects show. Encroachment on duly gazetted
protected areas like national parks, game reserves and
forest reserves alike, due to human pressures has fuelled a
political debate to find a balanced way forward, taking
human needs into account while at the same time maintaining
wetlands, maintaining the country's rich biodiversity and
entering global best practise in all aspects of commerce,
industry and human lifestyle in general. Commitments made by
governmental representatives during the WTD celebrations
will undoubtedly be measured in coming months on the reality
on the ground to see if lip-service to these high aspiration
goals can indeed be transformed into concrete action on the
ground. MWEYA REFURBISHMENT ON
COURSE The premier safari lodge in
Queen Elizabeth National Park, strategically located on a
peninsula protruding into Lake Edward and lined by the
Kazinga Channel, is now finalising their refurbishment of
furniture and soft furnishings at the lodge, aimed to retain
their 5-star rating when the grading of hospitality
businesses will eventually unfold. Marasa Limited, the
tourism and hospitality subsidiary of the Madhvani Group,
expects the exercise to be concluded ahead of the upcoming
high season. It is also understood that
the sister lodge in Murchisons Falls National Park, the
Paraa Safari Lodge, will be refurbished too once the work at
Mweya is complete. From usually well informed sources this
column also learned that the group has developed an interest
in both Rwanda and Zanzibar and that formal announcements
could be made sometime soon. Watch this space RULING ON LIMESTONE
MINING DUE TODAY October 03rd will see the
long awaited ruling delivered, whether Hima Cement, a
subsidiary of French conglomerate Lafarge, can indeed
commence open quarry mining inside the Queen Elizabeth
National Park &endash; with all its environmental side
effects &endash; or if conservationists carry the day and
have the company prevented from despoiling a national park
area for which immense sums of money have been spent over
the past two decades to restore it to its former glory. The
court case was brought by NAPE, the national association of
professional environmentalists on behalf of a number of
conservation watchdog groups and is generally considered a
land mark case, determining the approach for other related
cases presently under public scrutiny. Watch out for details
of court's decision next week. BUSOGA KING SELECTION
PUSHED TO END OCTOBER News have emerged from the
Busoga Kingdom's administration that the much awaited
selection of a new 'Kyabazinga' has been pushed from 03rd
October to 31st October, as 'the chiefs were not yet ready'
for the exercise. The monarchy in Busoga is not hereditary
and has traditionally rotated between the chiefdoms in the
past, aimed at promoting unity and allowing opportunity for
leadership. The position of 'chief' however is hereditary
allowing for a succession by the first born son. The Ugandan
traditional kingdoms form a major part of the country's
heritage and allows for unique culture tourism
opportunities. Watch this space for emerging
news. UGANDA CONFIRMS WTM
PARTICIPATION The Uganda Tourist Board,
aka Tourism Uganda, has confirmed their participation in the
forthcoming World Travel Market in London, after they
secured a strategic partnership with the Civil Aviation
Authority, which is co-underwriting the exhibition cost. A
new 'double decker' stand is to be constructed for the event
portraying the country's tourism attractions from the very
best perspective. The Uganda Wildlife Authority has also
already confirmed their participation in the trade fair.
Make early appointments with the stand management via
utb@starcom.co.ug and visit www.visituganda.com or
www.uwa.or.ug for their latest updates from 'Uganda - Gifted
by Nature'. TREMOR RATTLES
KAMPALA On Wednesday late afternoon,
some 20 minutes past 5 p.m., a noticeable earth tremor
rattled the city and its suburbs and caused consternation,
and a little unfounded panic in some quarters. The 15 second
long earthquake is thought to have its epicentre some
distance away from the capital, and similar rumbles in the
past were found to have emerged from the Rwenzori region or
Eastern Congo, where near Goma a volcano is active and has
erupted only a few years ago. However, no reports from these
areas were available when going to press. The quake was
estimated to have been in the 4+ on the open ended Richter
Scale. WANTING COMPETITORS NOW
TRY POLITICAL MEANS The parliamentary committee
on tourism, trade and industry was told last week, that
'exclusion zones' around existing lodges 'must go', walking
the slippery road of breaking existing contracts signed in
good faith by investors in the tourism industry. When the
first concessions were offered in the mid 90's by the then
Uganda National Parks &endash; now the Uganda Wildlife
Authority &endash; arrival numbers of tourists were
ridiculously low and marketing of the country nearly absent.
Investors at the time took a considerable risk pouring money
into a sector, which was soon afterwards then hit by a
series of negative events, impacting on tourism performance
right till the end of the last century. In fact, tourism only
started picking up again from 2000 onwards, causing those
early investors substantial financial losses during the
first half of the concession period to sustain and often
heavily subsidise their operations. The far from conducive
business environment, as it unfolded then forced at least
one major company from Kenya out of their Ugandan business,
when the court appointed 'receivers' moved in and took over
the Paraa Safari Lodge, before selling it some time later to
the tourism subsidiary of the Madhvani family. The Madhvani
Group however, inspite of their deeper pockets, too had to
absorb substantial losses in their early years of ownership
and yet kept the lodge open when most of the park was under
'anti travel advisory' due to rebel activities. It is
understood that this was done as a well near 'public
service' and in support of governmental policies, to see the
tourism sector through a most difficult period. Occupancies,
now conveniently forgotten by the proponents to break the
contracts, lingered for long in the single and low double
percentage margins before starting to recover only by the
middle of this decade. The financial losses carried
forward are only now being fully absorbed by gradually
evolving profits, some 10 &endash; 15 years after the
initial concessions were signed for a 30 year period. One of
the conditions offered at the time by UNP was an exclusion
zone around these early lodges, to not only protect the
investors from someone else building within the lines of
sight but also out of environmental concerns, that
accommodation 'clusters' in the parks should be avoided. The
latter school of thought then led to a number of other
investments just outside several park boundaries, some of
which however poorly regulated and causing fresh concerns
over environmental impacts of such developments. Some companies, intent of
building in the vicinity of the existing lodges in the face
of environmental concerns and changing global practise
[to build outside parks] had been trying to overturn
those contracts through the back door, using the political
avenue, after the initial investors rightly pointed out that
the contracts they entered into must run its course or else
massive claims could be made in court. It is understood from
usually well informed sources, that governmental legal
advisors have pointed out that the existing concessions are
legally 'watertight' and need to be upheld for their
duration. Meanwhile, the re-building
of the Chobi Safari Lodge in the upper &endash; above the
falls &endash; part of Murchisons Falls National Park is
well on course and opening is anticipated to be around
Easter of 2009. Besides the main Chobi Lodge there will also
be an upmarket safari camp nearby, dedicated to fishing
aficionados. In the 'old' days of Ugandan tourism glory
Chobi was a focal point for fishing competitions with
participants coming regularly from all over Eastern Africa
and in fact from many parts of the world to exhibit and try
their fishing skills. These developments will add
further beds inside this particular park, where incidentally
the derelict 'Pakuba Safari Lodge' also still awaits an
investor to restore it. That option however was reportedly
dismissed as 'unsuitable' by some of those trying to now get
into the fray elsewhere in the park. Much ado therefore for
what…. The River Nile from the
Chobi Lodge (re)construction site at Murchisons Falls
National Park B787 DELIVERIES FOR
AFRICAN AIRLINES TAKE FURTHER KNOCK The latest news coming out
of Boeing in regard of their planned B787 'Dreamliner'
production is all gloom now, as the ongoing strike action
has pushed an already late schedule into the unknown
territory. East African airlines like Kenya Airways and
Ethiopian will both be scratching their heads before
engaging in fresh talks with Boeing over delivery dates and
compensation, since both airlines had ordered the B787 to
increase their fleets and replace their ageing B767
aircraft. Watch this space E-TOURISM CONFERENCE SET
FOR NAIROBI The first conference of its
kind in Eastern Africa for e- and online tourism experts is
now set for Nairobi starting on October 13th, bringing
together a range of African and international experts in the
field of e-marketing, e-commerce and the use of the latest
technologies. Meanwhile, the Kenyatta
International Conference Centre in Nairobi has launched its
first edition of what is to become a regular e-newsletter,
sent out by email to a wide range of recipients. Interested
parties not yet receiving it can visit the website at
www.kicc.co.ke and request to be included in the mailing
list for the present and future editions or write to them
at: "KICC"KICC@mail.vresp.com CONTROVERSIAL HOTEL SALE
UPDATE 'I was betrayed' claimed the
former Kenyan Minister of Finance when he handed in his
statement before the Commission of Enquiry, looking into the
circumstances of a deal which enraged the Kenyan public and
split friends and foes in parliament and government right
down the middle across party lines. The former Minister also
accused cabinet colleagues of having had a hand in the
affair, trying to bring him down, as he was generally
perceived as a close ally of President Mwai Kibaki.
Mr. Kimunya himself did not
testify in person, as his lawyer had successfully argued
that no adverse evidence had been produced against his
client, compelling the Commission to forego a personal
appearance and accepting a 6 page written statement in turn.
The judicial commission of enquiry also had its term
extended once again by another month to allow for completion
of investigations. Watch this space for the outcome of both
the parliamentary and judicial commissions' findings.
MORE POWERCUTS FOR
TANZANIA The breakdown late last week
of turbines in a major power station brought immediate
consequences for industrial and domestic users of
electricity, when parts of the country were loadshedded both
during the day as well as in the evening. Even the
commercial capital Dar es Salaam was not spared and
reportedly hit by prolonged power outages. The station
normally produces some 110 MW of power, almost 20 percent of
the overall power generation. Hotels and restaurants in
particular suffered from the development and had to use
their stand by generators to keep their clientele and
patrons happy, but at substantial additional expense. The
Tanzanian economy is reported to loose billions of Tanzania
Shillings each day the power crisis continues. TANZANIA LIFTS SOME
OBJECTIONS ON EAC INTEGRATION News have reached from
Tanzania that during recent EAC meetings they at last
dropped their previous objections on nationals from the four
other East African Community memberstates to move and settle
freely under the forthcoming protocol of freedom of movement
of people. For the time being however Tanzania is said to
limit this to investors and business people from the region,
before the wider rights to all citizens of the EAC are being
granted. This has been a contentious issue on the domestic
political front while it is understood amongst experts that
eventually all the internal borders will have to come down
to permit a situation as existed in the 'old' East African
Community, which fell apart in 1977, when Tanzania closed
her borders with Kenya and subsequently went into steep
economic decline. RWANDAIR LEASES AIR
NAMIBIA B737 It was now learned that
Rwandair has finally settled their search for a replacement
of their previously leased Air Malawi B737-500. The Rwandan
flag carrier has acquired a similar model on a long term
ACMI lease (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) from
Air Namibia and flight operations are due to commence in
October. This means that the airline can at last resume
direct flights from Kigali to Johannesburg, initially three
times a week, which had to be suspended when the Air Malawi
plane was returned over technical issues earlier in the
year. The Boeing will offer 20 business class seats and 88
economy class seats, giving an overall capacity of 108 seats
on the aircraft. An announcement is also
expected from the airline in early October over their
negotiations with Fly540 / Lonrho Aviation for their
purchase of 49 percent of the shares of the Rwandan national
airline, after previous bidders Brussels Airlines and
Meridiana from Italy had withdrawn from the privatisation
process. 51 percent of the shares will remain in Rwandan
hands, both government and institutional investors, to meet
the nationality requirements for bilateral air services
agreements, which govern routes between
countries. MULTI MILLION DOLLAR
UPGRADE FOR HOTEL MILLE COLLINES The 'grand old dame' of
Rwandan hotel keeping, the 'Mille Collines' in Kigali, is
now due for a massive upgrading and refurbishment exercise,
due to commence shortly. Owners 'Miko Investments', which
purchased the hotel from the former Sabena Belgian airline,
will be using funds secured under a special scheme from the
International Finance Corporation, the private sector
lending arm of the World Bank. The hotel will close for much
of October, when most of the heavy duty work will be carried
out, before then embarking on replacing furnishings and
fabrics. The exercise is expected to last until middle of
2009, when the 115 rooms and suites hotel will then shine in
its former glory once again. Tourism and business visitors
to Rwanda have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years and
have encouraged a range of new investors to come to 'the
land of a thousand hills' as Rwanda is fondly known amongst
her many friends. And some more tourism
titbits from Gill Staden in Livingstone / Zambia, plus the
first part of another safari report, this time to Lake
Kariba &endash; enjoy. A Trip to Lake
Kariba It was the road that did it
for me. I almost gave up the journey &endash; my back ached,
my kidneys were scrambled and my brain could no longer
concentrate on potholes. Of course, it is September and is
hot, so tempers don't survive too long. Venice, a friend, and I were
taking a couple of days off to go to Lake Kariba to visit
Peter, my son, who is managing The Guest House at Sinasowe.
The journey took us over 6 hours from Livingstone - a
journey of 340 km. It must have been the 80 km from
Livingstone to Zimba which started the pain in my body and
brain. One of Zambia's main trunk roads is in pieces
&endash; on the road one faces potholes in tar which
suddenly appear and are there just to break any vehicle that
lands in them. I spent most of my time on the verge of the
road which did not have potholes but was corrugated and
… not always there. So it was on road, off road for the
whole time … a time of 2 hours. Zimba to Batoka is good tar
&endash; not a pothole in sight, so that was OK. Then we
turned off to the lake and the road again was bad … not
as bad as the Zimba Road but bad enough just to take me to
suicide corner. Let me tell you about my
car. It is a 20-year-old Toyota Hilux. It will take me
wherever I want to go, just about. But the suspension is the
hardest suspension I have ever known. None of the bumps are
smoothed out so they end up jarring through the body like a
power drill. I had wanted to admire the
scenes along the road … but didn't get much chance with
the roads so bad. The road to the lake is pretty in places
as it travels through the escarpment. The hills are
beautiful, or should have been, but many of them were on
fire; and those that weren't had already been burned.
Finally, though, we did
arrive. And found an oasis on the side of the Lake. The
Jordaan family have owned this place for many years &endash;
they came here to do kapenta fishing. They then started the
crocodile farm and then came the guest facilities. So now it
is like its own village right by the lake. They have several
self-contained units for visitors who want to do their own
thing &endash; there are all the cooking pots, plates …
absolutely everything your own house would have. Just a short walk through
the enormous trees you find a swimming pool, bar and
volleyball court. Here also are the offices and workshops.
Of course, our first port of call was the bar and a cold
Mosi. After a few of those I felt a bit better although my
back would still not straighten up without huge
pain. We chatted as the sun went
down over the lake. The sun dipped behind the haze and went
all wishy-washy. That evening we had a very good meal served
up from the kitchen and then my eyes could no longer keep
open and I went to bed. In the morning I felt a lot
better and admired the view in front of the lodge - one of
calm water with heaps of islands sticking out. We took a
boat out onto the Lake to see some of the islands … but
I will tell you about that next week Livingstone Holiday
Home This week I went to
investigate The Livingstone Holiday Home. This Guest House
is owned by Nick and Annie Katanekwa. It has been open since
2005 and has 11 rooms. Three of the rooms are
air-conditioned; all have TVs, tea/coffee facilities. There
are 4 double rooms, 6 twin rooms and 1 family
room. The cost of a room (around
K180,000) includes bed and breakfast. Other meals can be
ordered. Most of the guests at the guesthouse are Zambians
who come to Livingstone for conferences. Nick says that it
is very popular with church groups. They even have a group
of Australians who come every year. They are also popular
with school groups who come to Livingstone on trips to see
the Falls and other sights in Livingstone. Annie, I know, loves her
garden. And it is plain to see that it is Annie's work that
has gone into the gardens around the guesthouse. The plot is
quite small but every spot is planted with pretty
flowers. To find Livingstone Holiday
Home, is a bit tricky … I got lost … Take the road
as signposted on Mushili Way (into Elaine Brittell). You
come to a crossroads and take a right (you will see a new
church being built) and from that road you take a left onto
Sinazongwe Street. To contact Livingstone
Holiday Home: Email:
holidayhomelivingstone@yahoo.com Livingstone Tourism
Association Nick is Chairman of the
Livingstone Tourism Association. So, after we had talked
about his guesthouse, the conversation obviously turned to
tourism matters in general. Nick commented that from now
until at least November, there are few Zambian visitors to
Livingstone because the Victoria Falls is dry on the Zambian
side. He said that discussions had been going on between
ZESCO and the Tourism Association about reducing the intake
of water at the Falls for electricity generation. However,
since the onset of power-shedding, this had become
impossible. Interestingly, there has been another
development - the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
between Zambia and Zimbabwe that the Falls are a shared
resource. We already accept that boats can move on the
Zambezi without worrying about the border line. We know,
also, that helicopters can move in the airspace freely above
the Falls. So, why do we not do the same with the land
space? Well, apparently this was discussed at length last
year and it was agreed that this should happen. The only
problem now is the implementation. If visitors to the Falls are
to move freely from the Zambian to the Zimbabwean side and
vice versa, there is a need for Immigration officials to
accept this (and forgo any income they may have received on
visa fees …). The way forward, according to Nick is to
put gates into the National Parks on either side from 'no
man's land', ie before people reach the Immigration check
point. These gates would have to be manned, of course, so
that only legitimate visitors to the Falls are allowed
through … can you imagine the great joy that marketeers
would view a new gate through which to smuggle their wares?!
But why should this not happen … we need to push this
agreement into reality. From the Zambian
Ornithological Society Herewith is a plan for
the next few months. Some of these activities
require making a advanced booking. Please do this for
yourselves, and it would be useful if you could let me know
and then I have an idea of numbers involved. 18th and 19th October -
Zambian (Chaplin's) Barbet weekend at the Bruce-Miller's
farm in Choma. A wonderful opportunity to see the Zambian
Barbet - the only endemic species here, so not to be missed.
The options here are camping or self catering chalets at
Nansai Farm - booking essential - phone Emma 0977766260
or email nansaibm@zamtel.zm or staying at Masuku Lodge
run by Bill and Sue Somerset phone 0977532650 or e-mail
masuku@zamnet.zm On the Saturday night we
will have a joint braai at the campsite so please remember
to bring your own supplies for that. November 15th and 16th -
birding weekend on the Kafue River near Lubungu
Pontoon. The options are camping call
Guida 0977485446 or e-mail prohunt@iconnect.zm or staying at
a self catering camp called Kashikoto e-mail Darryll
buffgrass@yahoo.com Booking essential. Please mention
that you re from ZOS and please copy the e-mail to
me. December 7th - Combined
WECSZ and ZOS birdwalk on a farm near Lechwe Lodge in
Kafue - details to be given nearer to the
time December 13th and 14th -
African Pitta weekend at Tamarind Lodge on the Zambezi. The
Pitta is around at this time of the year and this is a good
opportunity to see it. Booking essential e-mail Paddy and
Corrie Lawton tamarindtree@zamnet.zm This is a lodge on
the Zambezi River near Luangwa Town (Feira). It is well
priced but not very large, so book early and mention that it
you are a member of ZOS.
www.tamarindtree-lodge.com January 18th 2009 -
birdcount at Huntley Dam - details to follow closer tot he
time February 13th to 16th and
February 20th to 22nd - 2 birding weekends with Robin Pope
Safaris. This year the February trip was enjoyed by all, so
two weekends have been set aside for
the outing next year. Booking essential e-mail
gerald@robinpopesafaris.net and mention that you are from
ZOS (see enclosed leaflet) We also have 2 upcoming
talks - one by Bennie Van Der Brink on the results of the
barn swallow survey he did in Zambia last year and one
by Fainess Lumbwe on North Swaka - details will be
sent out in due course. I'll send out individual
reminders of the outings ahead but please do your
bookings in advance for any out of town events. If you need any further
information please give me a call 0977 485446 "Birds of the Luangwa
Valley" by Fil Hide hot off the print line! This ZOS
publication is a wonderful checklist of birds in the
eastern side of Zambia. The book has useful
descriptions of the birds of the Valley as well as pen and
ink drawings by Pete Leonard. A must if you are travelling
to Luangwa and it will make a perfect stocking filler for
someone in the family. Available from Patricia
Bingham at Kachelo on the Leopard's Hill Road for
K50,000, Moondogs Cafe in Luangwa or Planet
Books at Archades. 'TWENDE & TN' MAKE
FIRST APPEARANCE For well over a decade TN,
formerly also known as Travel News & Lifestyle, made a
name for itself as East Africa's premier travel magazine.
Two months ago the news broke that TN was merging with
'Twende', an equally appealing magazine with a large
readership across the entire region. September saw the first
joint edition hit the market with a bumper issue of over 100
pages. Key former TN staff like publisher Tony Clegg-Butt
and editor Lucy McLean remained on board and are part of a
larger team now, tasked to capture an even wider audience
and attract more subscribers and readers to the magazine
with the usual excellent editorial content and mouth
watering pictures, making one want to get away that instant.
And that's what 'Twende & TN' is all about! RIFT VALLEY RAILWAYS BACK
ON COURSE The 'new boys' at Rift
Valley Railways, led by long time friend and well respected
businessman Brown Ondego as Executive Chairman, moved
swiftly since their installation to show both the Kenyan and
Ugandan governments that they not only mean business but
have the capacity to transform the two railway companies
into a viable entity. The former South African majority
shareholders have now also reduced their stake at RVR
allowing the new partners to not only take up a
significantly higher percentage but also to allow for
subsequent capital injection. Loans from German Development
Bank KfW and the International Finance Corporation, the
World Bank's private sector lending arm, also seem back on
course to the tune of over 50 million US Dollars for the
acquisition of new locomotives and rolling stock. These
loans were withheld for the former management team as
increasing doubts over their ability to delivery the
objectives of the business plan arose and when one set of
bad figures and bad news seems to have chased the
next. The new management has
earlier in the week presented a phased plan for the company
to improve the quality of the rail line and installations,
rehabilitation of existing locomotives and wagons and key
upgrades of the existing railway line. The capacity of the
railway for goods transport from the Indian Ocean port of
Mombasa to Kampala is presently not enough to cater for the
increased traffic volumes and average train speed is also a
multiple below industry average, with trains taking up to
two weeks to reach Kampala from the Kenyan coast. The plans are now due to be
examined by the two governments but are expected to be
approved, putting to rest speculations that the RVR contract
may be cancelled. Ugandan business magnate Charles Mbire has
meanwhile been appointed to the RVR Board of Directors,
increasing the Ugandan representation at senior level within
the company. The Board of the company also visited the
Nalukolongo railway workshops, which were rehabilitated some
years ago under a German funded assistance package and where
the rehabilitation and upgrades of locomotives and wagons is
likely to take place in coming months. It was learned that
under the former South African led management this key asset
was being neglected and underutilised, a situation likely to
fundamentally change from now on. BRUSSELS AIRLINES JOINS
LUFTHANSA FAMILY Excitement swept across the
travel industry in Uganda, when news broke over the
acquisition of initially 45 percent of Belgian's flag
carrier Brussels Airlines by German aviation group
Lufthansa. SN is presently flying 4 times a week with an
Airbus A330-200 from Brussels via Nairobi to Entebbe and has
also established its regional crew base in Uganda. The
possibility of SN eventually joining the Lufthansa led 'Star
Alliance' would bring new options to Ugandan travellers, as
far as earning air miles and the use of Star Alliance'
lounges is concerned but more importantly could lead to a
substantially greater range of code shared flights,
originating in Uganda on Brussels Airlines and then
connecting to the Star Alliance partner services across the
globe from Brussels. With bookings to Entebbe
then also channelled to SN and more seats being booked by
alliance partners to the hitherto less frequented
destination Entebbe &endash; only South African Airways and
Egypt Air are presently flying the Star Alliance banners
into Uganda &endash; there may also be an increase in
flights on the drawing board some time down the line, to
initially 5 per week before hopefully going daily at some
point in the future. In a related development
Lufthansa has also made headway with their plans to acquire
SAS, after the Norwegian government withdrew their
objections to the deal. The German airline group has also
lodged a bid for Austrian Airlines, where it is competing
with 6 other airlines for the right to buy majority shares,
while their interest in seemingly doomed Alitalia has
apparently waned over the intransigence of the Italian
labour unions towards cuts in staff and sale of
'unproductive' units. ENVIRONMENTALISTS FIND
ALLIES IN NORWAY The Norwegian government,
with an offer of logistical and advisory support on the
table for the country's nascent oil industry, has now
qualified the offer to the delight of the environmental and
green lobby. The Norwegian Minister for International
Development and Environment has reportedly asked the Ugandan
government to ensure international best practise when
permitting the oil companies to drill near or inside the
country's protected areas, and also transparently deal with
oil issues, i.e. open files for public scrutiny to the
opposition in parliament, the media and the public at large.
It would 'otherwise be hard for Norway to support oil
drilling against environmental concerns' the minister was
quoted in the local papers. Uganda had requested for
bilateral support from Norway some time ago, when oil
deposits were initially discovered. Environmental and
conservation groups demanding strictest standards when it
comes to protected areas have taken heart in their struggle
to reach sustainable and lasting agreements over their
concerns and the Norwegian support has reportedly
re-invigorated the green lobby in their
activities. NEW KING TO BE SELECTED
ON OCTOBER 3RD Following the passing of the
Kyabazinga &endash; or King &endash; of Busoga, the 11 clan
chiefs were now given notice to assemble in early October.
The constitution of the kingdom requires that a new king is
elected by the chiefs within 90 days after the passing, as
the kingship in Busoga is not hereditary but changes over
time from clan to clan, a clear effort to promote harmony
within the kingdom. While some wrangles amongst the clan
leaders have already been reported in the local media, the
elective process however is expected to follow the laid down
rules and regulations and a new 'Kyabazinga' is due to be
announced soon after the clan chief meeting. QATAR AIRWAYS EYEING
ENTEBBE Information was given by a
staff of Qatar Airways from Nairobi during a recent visit to
Uganda that the airline was considering to add Entebbe to
their African destinations in late 2009 or early 2010, as
the '5 star airline' was seeking new markets. Presently
Emirates flies daily from Dubai to Entebbe and should indeed
Qatar Airways commence operations in a year's time, this
would add not only further choices and destinations for
travellers but also cargo capacity for Ugandan exports like
fresh fish, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Qatar Airways presently
flies daily from Doha to Nairobi and passengers need to use
connecting flights to reach Entebbe, making the journey more
expensive and cumbersome. The choice of Entebbe would be a
sound vote of confidence in the recent re-developments at
the airport and the growing economic strength of the
country, now that oil has been discovered. Watch this
space. ARGUMENTS PERSIST OVER
FORESTS Earlier in the week a
committee of parliamentarians visited the Mt. Elgon National
Park to get first hand information over the resettlement of
squatters, who were found inside the park and evicted while
others were still to be forced out from the park. Earlier in
the year this particular park was a hot topic over park
boundaries adjustment, which some of the residents sought,
but as the boundaries were only set a few years ago, this
was neither judged politically opportune and the president
himself then denied a request by a minister travelling with
him to the area, as this column had reported at the
time. Meanwhile, the minister
responsible for forests has called for the degazetting of at
least two forest reserves, due to 'population pressures in
the Rakai area after being confronted by a group of people
about to be evicted for living in the forests illegally.
Talk of contradictions. FUEL COST REMAIN
HIGH Inspite of the recent fall
in the cost of crude oil on the world market, little if any
movement of petrol, diesel and kerosene prices was seen
across Uganda. The oil companies are now being blamed for
profiteering, as they were swift to raise price levels to
new record heights, when the global crude oil prices went
upwards, but since the global price for a barrel of oil has
reduced by over 50 US Dollars since reaching its peak, fuel
has still remained at peak levels. No comments could be
received from selected petrol companies approached in
Kampala and Nairobi at the time of going to press. Inflation
has meanwhile come to a halt at just over 17 percent with
food prices now stabilising again and once fuel cost reduces
inflation is also expected to drop back into the single
digit range. This will also reduce
pressure on the power companies using heavy fuel oil and
diesel propelled plants to ask for higher tariffs and there
may even be some hope that power tariffs may in the medium
term reduce again, before the new hydro electric power plant
near Bujagali goes on line. EMIRATES WEST COAST
SERVICES NEWS News have emerged in
Kampala, confirmed by a leading travel agent, that the
planned introduction of the Emirates flights to Los Angeles
and San Francisco later in the year will be 'staggered' and
might not be daily flights as initially planned. Flights to
LAX and SFO were to commence in late October and December
respectively. Airline sources not wishing to be named
indicated upon raising the issue with them, that the flights
might only operate three times a week during the launch
period, as apparently Boeing's present strike has delayed
the delivery of B777 long range models to Emirates,
impacting on the route launch and related plans. Emirates
has earlier this month taken their first A380 out of their
New York service and going daily may also take a little
longer, as their second A380 delivery has reportedly been
delayed by Airbus Industries by several weeks. In a related development
travellers from Entebbe via Dubai to Houston were also
advised earlier in the week that owing to the storm damage
done by Hurricane Ike to wide areas of Texas, flights would
be suspended until the weekend. ENTEBBE INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT SECURITY STEPPED UP It was learned earlier in
the week that the 'joint anti terrorism squad' has now
joined the present security arrangements at the Entebbe
airport, including control of the access gates. The
development is a result of having reviewed security measures
at the airport and is aimed to strengthen the overall
effectiveness at Uganda's main aviation gateway. Security in
the entire Entebbe municipality area has also been stepped
up since President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni moved to the
rebuilt and refurbished State House in Entebbe and
presidential security is now in place, a move welcomed by
many. KENYA AIRWAYS ADDS
MADAGASCAR From the beginning of the
coming 'winter season' three flights per week will be added
by KQ from Nairobi to Tananarive / Madagascar. The flights
will leave Nairobi at 8 a.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday and the return flights will allow passengers from
Madagascar convenient connections into most of the KQ
network. The airline has not ruled out to increase the
number of flights once the service has taken hold and
passenger numbers have increased. FLY540 ADDS
ZANZIBAR The regional low cost
airline has now added a daily flight between Nairobi, via
Mombasa to Zanzibar following growing demand for affordable
air travel on the route. The flight links directly to the
morning departure of the airline from Entebbe, allowing for
a through connection to either Mombasa or Zanzibar. The cost
of a one way ticket from Nairobi is said to be 99 US
Dollars, plus regulatory charges but no fares were available
at the time of going to press for the Mombasa to Zanzibar
sector. NEW FERRIES FOR
MOMBASA Following the report a few
weeks ago, that three out of four ferries had gone
unserviceable in one day, causing tourists to miss flights
and commuters to miss work and other appointments, the ferry
company has now released information that they expect
delivery of two new ferries early next year. The new vessels
were ordered already in 2004 and the ferry company blamed
the delay on court action by an unsuccessful bidder at the
time, which caused construction to commence late. The two
new vessels are being built in Germany and should hopefully
live up to expectations on 'Made in Germany' in regard to
reliability and durability. FLY540 NOW IN
TANZANIA As indicated several times
in the past in this column, Fly540, East Africa's first true
low cost carrier, has now formally established a Tanzanian
operation after concluding the legal pre-requisites for the
company formation. It is understood that an application has
also been launched already with the Tanzanian Civil Aviation
Authority obtain an air services licence, to be followed by
the formal steps towards obtaining an air operators
certificate &endash; AOC before going into operation. This
column maintains that under the spirit of the East African
Community this process however is an expensive, and with due
respect unnecessary duplication of the entire licensing
process which Fly540 has already undergone in Kenya &endash;
and in Uganda for that matter and runs contrary to political
expressions of intent by the political leadership across the
EAC. It is therefore high time that the regional, and still
independent aviation regulators cede individual oversight
rights to a joint EAC aviation body, as they have done
already with the administration of the upper airspace for
overflights across the region. Fly540 has started their
Tanzanian recruitment process recently, seeking qualified
pilots for their ATR fleet but also managerial and
administrative staff to fill open positions at their offices
in Dar es Salaam and Arusha. Interested parties may apply to
jackie.arkle@Fly540.com before the 25th of September and
should include relevant details of previous experience and
positions. However, as East Africa
grows further together, licensing processes should be
uniform and recognized across the present national borders
within the East African Community, as it will lead to lower
cost for the companies involved, not only in air transport
but across the board, and result in lower fares and prices
for the consumers, without compromising ICAO licensing
requirements for designated scheduled and non scheduled
airlines. The recent formation of a
joint East African Civil Aviation Safety and Security
Oversight Agency is a first step in the right direction and
shows in fact that it is possible to cooperate across the
national borders in the aviation field. This column did
report that a joint re-certification exercise is being
undertaken for the core members of the EAC, i.e. Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda [Rwanda and Burundi are having a
grace period to harmonize their legal and regulatory
framework first] and once the results are out, all
airlines registered within the EAC and complying with
nationality clauses, i.e. national ownership of at least 51
percent of the shares, should then be able to operate across
the entire region and enjoy full traffic and cabotage rights
without any further restrictions and red tape. It is high
time that non-tariff barriers in the aviation sector are
brought to an end. AIR TANZANIA TO GET
GOVERNMENT BACKING FOR LOANS The funds required for the
ongoing fleet renewal will be guaranteed by the Tanzanian
government to allow the national airline proceed with the
additional aircraft acquisitions, it was learned earlier in
the week. The grounding of some aircraft last week due to
technical problems seems to have triggered the response, in
particular as some sources from within the airline blamed
government to have reneged on some promises made in regard
of financial support. All of ATCL's aircraft are meanwhile
back in the air after spare parts arrived and the required
repairs were carried out. Meanwhile the airline has
formally launched their Dar es Salaam &endash; Tabora
&endash; Kigoma flights earlier in the week, making good of
their promise some months ago &endash; which was reported in
this column &endash; that with the arrival of their new
Bombardier Q 300 aircraft domestic air services would be
stepped up again and formerly suspended routes be resumed.
ATCL's CEO used the opportunity to call upon government to
make further efforts to rehabilitate and expand domestic
airports. Flights will initially operate on Monday,
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. LION KILLED IN DAR ES
SALAAM SUBURB Reports have reached that a
village on the outskirts of Tanzania's commercial capital
Dar es Salaam was recently attacked by a lioness, which in
the process then injured several people. Wildlife authority
staff and police officers were called to the scene by the
terrified village people and eventually had to kill the
lioness as trapping or darting the raging animal proved
impossible. RWANDA'S ELECTIONS
PEACEFUL AND DECISIVE Rwanda held parliamentary
elections early this week, after the month long campaign,
held in an overwhelmingly peaceful and transparent
environment, concluded the previous weekend. The EU observer
team however was reportedly fighting amongst themselves,
with some unnamed observer mission officials from certain
countries trying to peddle complaints about the RPF's
election campaign, something however rejected by the
delegation leader and other observers. The spat seems to
suggest that a hidden agenda was at work by some
'observers', trying to smear President Kagame's ruling RPF
party and casting doubt over their overwhelming election
win, which presently stands at 42 out of 53 elective seats
for the RPF. The results will ensure that Rwanda will remain
firmly on course for further economic growth and predictable
domestic policies aimed at further reconciliation. A record
number of women were elected to parliament, marking another
milestone for equal opportunities development, when the
'fairer sex' took over half of all seats. The turn out in
Rwanda greatly exceeded 90 percent of registered voters, and
Rwandans abroad, including those in Uganda, were also
allowed to participate in the elections. Participation by
Rwandese in Uganda was reported to be near 100 percent,
showing the keen interest in Rwanda national affairs. No
interruptions for tourists were encountered during the
election period anywhere across the country. Congratulations
to the RPF for their extraordinary achievement. CALTEX WITHDRAWS FROM
KIGALI AIRPORT Bakri, a Saudi Arabian fuel
company, has now taken over aviation fuel supplies at the
International Airport in Kigali, after Caltex has ended
their contract. Air operators gave a warm welcome to the
company and said the supply situation had immediately
improved and fuel was now readily available at a moment's
notice. ZAIN'S ONE NETWORK
EXPANDS TO ZAMBIA What used to be Celtel
Africa's continental network, allowing calls to 16 African
countries at local call charges and free of charge roaming,
has now been extended by renamed Zain to include Zambia and
also Zain's Middle Eastern home markets of Saudi Arabia and
Bahrain as well as Jordan and Iraq. It is expected to
eventually cover most of Africa, in particular new markets,
where Zain is said to be interested in either new licences
or acquisitions. BRANSON'S VIRGIN NIGERIA
NIGHTMARE Reports have reached from
acquaintances in Nigeria about the latest developments over
Sir Richard Branson's Nigerian aviation (mis)adventure.
Virgin Nigeria, which started operations a few years ago and
was seen to restore sanity to a scandal and accident ridden
industry, was then greeted almost like a saviour and given
the proverbial 'red carpet' from the political leadership in
Nigeria. Much has changed since then as the airline has been
under immense pressure to move its domestic operation to a
new terminal. The problem with this move however is, that
passenger links from the international arrivals terminal are
virtually absent and take reportedly some 15 or more minutes
driving in the best of circumstances. More sinister however
was the finding that one of the terminal's owners appears to
be the legal advisor to the Nigerian president, immediately
entering a political dimension to the case and suggesting
top level influence peddling and potentially another case of
prominent corrupt practices. Probably to 'strengthen'
their case for Branson's Virgin Nigeria to reconsider their
move to the new terminal, a gang of thugs then trashed the
Virgin lounge, with airport security and other security
organs conspicuously absent until the posh business class
lounge was laid to ruin and the criminals had escaped into
thin air again. Virgin Nigeria claims to
have a valid annex to their Memorandum of Mutual
Understanding, under which the airline was formed some years
ago and in which Branson's Virgin Atlantic holds 49 percent
shares to comply with Nigerian aviation laws on ownership,
under which they were granted both international and
domestic operations from the same terminal. The Nigerian government, now
with egg all over their faces, subsequently hastened to form
a governmental committee comprising the transport and
justice ministers amongst others, and claimed that the annex
to the MoMU was 'not valid' and 'only stamped' by the
aviation authorities but not mutually signed and therefore
invalid and insists that Virgin Nigeria has to move its
domestic operations to the new terminal. Branson has in recent weeks
already made it clear that he would wish to sell his stake
in the Nigerian airline offspring, probably then also
withdrawing his brand from the carrier. The latest violent
attack on the lounge has undoubtedly worsened situation and
will do little to persuade him to stay on. Nigeria has long been
perceived as one of the most corrupt countries in Africa and
in fact globally, and while much detail has emerged since
the end of the military dictatorships over the massive
personal enrichment of the former military rulers, little if
anything seems to have changed since the country returned to
civilian rule. There is however a silver
lining in this whole story. Virgin is also flying to East
Africa, namely Nairobi, on a daily basis from London and
should the Nigerian (ad)venture collapse Branson has the
option to shift his attention to Eastern Africa. Since
starting operations to Kenya last year, the airline has
stuck to the destination inspite of the political wobbles
earlier in the year and subsequent drop in passenger numbers
but this has since stabilised and the route is again on
course to become a profitable destination. Sir Richard
Branson visited Kenya repeatedly in the past and has engaged
in conservation support on a significant scale. It is
therefore not entirely out of question that Virgin Atlantic
may at some stage in the future consider forming a 'Virgin
East Africa' once the aviation industry has stabilised again
from the current global turmoil. Nigeria's loss would
without doubt be a potential gain for East
Africa. POWERSHARING FOR
ZIMBABWE After months of political
wrangling and at least from Mugabe's ZANU-PF's side more
violence and intimidation, a deal has finally been struck
between the true election winners in Zimbabwe, Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC and the former ruling party. Presidents,
Prime Ministers and dignitaries from across Africa arrived
in Harare to witness the historic agreement being formally
signed on Monday, under which Mugabe will remain nominal
head of state with sharply reduced powers while Morgan
Tsvangirai will become Prime Minister. The cabinet
composition will also reflect the MDC majority in
parliament, taking 16 seats including key ministries, while
ZANU-PF will be left with 15 seats. The cabinet sessions
will still be formally chaired by Mugabe, but the power
sharing arrangement nevertheless strips him of this absolute
dictatorial powers, which he misused in recent years to hunt
down his political opponents and in the process economically
ruin the formerly rich and prosperous nation. Notably absent today for the
event are sections of the international media, banned by
Mugabe's regime in the past, and it is hoped that those
global media organizations will now be allowed to return to
the country to watch and report back, what will begin to
unfold in Harare and the rest of the country under the new
government. The international community
will undoubtedly monitor the situation for a while to
establish that true change is now underway in Zimbabwe and
see that the arrangements, like in Kenya, are actually
beginning to work, before considering the lifting of the
massive sanctions imposed on Mugabe, his cronies and the
country at large. That will to no little reason be due also
to the ranting, raving and spats by Mugabe in his speech
where he exposed himself again as a relic of the past
&endash; standing firmly glued in what has been and offering
not one glimpse into the future of Zimbabwe. This stands in
stark contrast to Morgan Tsvangirai's address, which was
statesman like and offered hope for reconciliation to the
torn nation, as he put the future of Zimbabwe before his own
suffering. He was clearly showing that he was indeed ready
to lead his nation, for now as Prime Minister and sooner
rather than later hopefully as President. However, a ray of hope has
indeed crept across the horizon, much of it credited to the
unwavering pressure by the international community, not the
least of which was brought to bear on SADC and its key
'negotiator', South African outgoing President Tsabo Mbeki,
who was in a tight corner over his hands off approach prior
to the Zimbabwe elections and in the immediate aftermath,
when he even denied that there was a crisis. Particular
mention is due here to the late President Mwanawasa of
Zambia, Rwanda's President Kagame, Kenya's President Kibaki
and a handful of other African leaders, who minced no words
as they condemned Mugabe's tactics and regime for the ills
they inflicted upon their own population. There is now hope for the
millions of Zimbabweans who were forced into exile, either
for political reasons or for economic reasons, that they
will one day soon be able to come back home and help
re-build their ruined country. For this reason the
agreement is also potentially good news for Zimbabwe's
tourism industry, which had suffered as much as the whole
Zimbabwean economy from a near total collapse, but with a
new government coming into effect today, the global tourism
fraternity sending business to the rest of the African
continent is now also called upon to review their plans and
re-integrate Zimbabwe into their African itineraries, after
normality and sanity returns in coming weeks and supplies
stabilise. And once again more tourism
news from further down South, this time the first part of
her safari to the Kafue National Park from Gill Staden in
Livingstone / Zambia. I found her narrative of an effective
Tsetse fly defence particularly intriguing: Kafue National
Park 8-11 September
2008 As usual, we were late
starting out for our trip into Kafue National Park. We
eventually left Livingstone at 10.30am laden with meat pies
and cans of Coke and finally took off for the trek into the
bush. Although we had only a drive of about 270km to go the
roads were reported to be not of the best and the trip was
to take us until dusk. The first stretch of the
journey was along the Zimba Road towards Lusaka. The road is
very badly broken up in places and it took us 2 hours for
the 80km journey. Not a happy start to a trip to the wilds,
but we made it. However the next 50km to Kalomo was on good
tar and we managed to make up some time and overcome the
frustration of driving on bad Zambian roads, which
unfortunately is quite commonplace. At Kalomo we took a left
through the village and the main market, then over a narrow
bridge and onto the bad dirt road north through the Kalomo
Hills to Dundumwezi Gate at the south of Kafue National
Park. We noticed a number of signs at Kalomo for the
Administrators House, which is marked as a National
Monument. We followed the signs but found ourselves in the
middle of township with no more signs to follow … so we
gave up and backtracked onto the Dundumwezi Road. The road to the Park passes
through many villages. It is stony in places and at one spot
there was a tricky bridge crossing. If there is no
maintenance on this road before the next tourist season, the
chances are that it will become impassable. This leg of the
trip took us about 2 hours. Finally we arrived at the
Gate and were met by Mudenda, the Game Scout, who was to hit
us for about K490,000 for the privilege of being in the park
for 4 days. It is US$15 per person per day and K15,900 for
the vehicle for the day. Mudenda took about 20 minutes to
write the receipt, which was a bit frustrating as it was now
4.30 and we still had a long drive to Nanzhila Plains Camp.
I did, however, manage to bite my tongue and say nothing
about the slowness of his receipt-writing. Admittedly,
Mudenda doesn't get much practice writing receipts &endash;
the previous entrants into the Park at Dundumwezi had been
three days ago and there had only been a handful of tourists
coming through the gate in the last couple of months. I
suppose it is not a surprise when one considers the state of
the road and the cost of going in there. Finally we were on our way
into the park and we felt that the 'holiday' was finally
started. A few kilometres from the park gate there is a fork
in the road. The one that goes left takes you onto the
cordon road which can be used all year round. The one that
we took was a dry-season road which goes through the
Nanzhila floodplain, which we were reliably informed was
dry. In the past the south of
Kafue National Park has been hit badly by poaching and the
animal population was decimated. We had heard reports that
there was nothing left. I had, in the past, travelled
through the park myself and seen nothing. So, on this trip,
we were not anticipating to see much game so were excited
when we saw a mongoose fleeing across the road. However,
there were plenty of game trails through the bush and a lot
of spoor including elephant poo. Finally, though, just as
the sun was going down we saw some magnificent kudu
bulls. The road through the park
was fine. The only marginally difficult place was going
through the Nanzhila riverbed which was now dry. The rest of
it was good and, as we neared the camp, the road had been
graded. We arrived at the Nanzhila
Plains Camp and were welcomed by Andre and Lara, the
managers. They had not been told that we were coming but
said that we were welcome and that they would soon have a
room organised for us. We were handed a welcome beer to wash
down all the dust from our trip and were soon shown to our
tent. Nanzhila Plains Camp is the
only functioning lodge in the southern section of Kafue
National Park. It has three thatched chalets and three new
tents. All are ensuite and face onto a perennial waterhole.
The boma area where we ate and lounged around was very comfy
and tastefully decorated. It is a large thatched area under
a huge jackalberry tree and two Ziziphus mucronata (buffalo
thorn) trees. The dining area is open to the stars, and the
lounge area is furnished with huge sofas and armchairs (just
right for a snooze), a shelf full of reference books and
finally an area where a campfire was lit in the
evenings. There were four other guests
expected that evening. Bob the Birdman had brought in three
Spanish guests and were on a special birding trip. Quite a
bit after dark we heard the sound of a land rover
approaching &endash; this was Bob and his clients. They had
had a tremendous day of bird watching and were full of tales
of what they had seen. One of the highlights of
this area of Kafue National Park is the black-cheeked
lovebird. Some years ago this bird was considered to be
endangered so a huge search was carried out to find out if,
and where, they still lived. It was found that there are
still quite a few black-cheeked lovebirds in Zambia but they
are localised &endash; and one of the places that you can
see them is here, by Nanzhila Plains Camp. After an interesting evening
chatting over a great meal, I collapsed in a heap on the
bed, tired from all the driving and fresh air. We had two
full days of touring this area of the park and I was looking
forward to it. The following day we were
woken up for early coffee and then bundled into the camp
touring vehicle. Andre did the driving and Aaron, a game
guide in training, the game spotting. Aaron, after a spell
in anti-poaching, had started at Nanzhila as a waiter but
when the managers noticed that he spent a lot of his time
with his head in the bird books, they decided to encourage
his enthusiasm. Now, he accompanies Andre into the bush to
help spot and identify the birds and animals. The vehicle was equipped
with the all-essential fire bucket. This bucket is
half-filled with sand and a lump of elephant poo placed on
top, which is then set alight and smoulders in the back of
the vehicle. This is tsetse defence. We went through a few
areas where the tsetse fly lived but they were put off by
the smoke and did not bother us too much. We travelled north and
stopped at several waterholes along the Nanzhila River and
the Kasha River. We saw the black-cheeked lovebirds and
loads of other birds. At one waterhole, there must have been
at least 50 hammerkops all digging about in the shallow
water for frogs and small fish. I had never seen so many
hammerkops all in one place before. Again, there were not huge
herds of game to see, but we saw quite a variety - kudu,
impala, warthog, hartebeest, baboons, monkeys, reedbuck,
waterbuck … and the odd mongoose running across the
road … as they do. There was plenty of spoor including
ele poo which was great for topping up the fire. Stopping by a waterhole for
some coffee, we enjoyed the ambience of the bush. South
Kafue is flattish, largely seasonally inundated open
grassland with scattered mopane and patches of miombo
between the open plains along the rivers. The river pools
were gradually drying up as the dry season continued but
some pools remain throughout the year and there were a lot
of signs of animals coming to drink. The animals are,
however, still quite skittish after all years of
persecution. Andre has worked in the area for two seasons
and has noticed an increase in the game population and he
also feels that they are getting more used to vehicles and
do not, always, run off into the bush at the sound of a
vehicle engine. Much of the plains had been
burned earlier in the year &endash; an early burn, as it is
called. This is supposed to encourage the grass to grow and
large areas of the plains were covered in green grass
&endash; looking a lot like a golf course. Also, I would
imagine, that the burning of woodland areas will get rid of
some of the tsetse flies. I don't know enough about
bush-burning and would like to know more. They say that
burning the bush late in the season is bad for the
environment, and I can understand that. If the bush is
seriously dry, the fires burn fiercely, burning everything
in their path. After our drive we returned
to the lodge for breakfast. It was hot and we lazed around
the boma reading and looking at photos. The lodge has solar
power, so I could hook up the computer, download photos and
choose the ones I liked. Late in the afternoon we decided
that we would like to go out for another drive for
sundowners at a pretty spot and then return during the dark
of early evening. Andre obliged and Aaron joined us. We went
to a place which is known as 'Ten Palms'. It was not far and
near a waterhole. There, Aaron showed his prowess at lobbing
palm fruits. He hurled them up into the palm trees which
were in fruit, thereby knocking some down. Aaron immediately
started to munch on the fruit and later gave them to me for
onward transport to Livingstone … for planting. The
palms in Kafue are borassus palms, not the ilala palms which
we have in Livingstone, although they look very
similar. At the same place we noticed
a heap of poo. This, I was told, was a civet midden &endash;
a poo spot for a civet &endash; they always come to the same
place when they want to poo and pile it all up
together. An excellent sighting on the
way to Ten Palms was a serval cat. A serval is rather like a
small leopard. It was wandering through the bush but did
stop and watch us for a few minutes as we looked at it
through the binoculars. That evening was a quiet
evening as Bob and his clients had moved on to Kaingu camp
along the Kafue River. We were alone in the lodge, except
for two Swiss tourists who were in the campsite. Here endeth the first part
of our trip …. More next week. To contact Nanzhila Plains
Camp, email info@nanzhila.com. Remember that the lodge is
seasonal and will close early November. So, if you want to
make a trip there, you had better organise yourself in the
next couple of months …. It is certainly worth going
for an amazing wilderness experience.
by Prof. Wolfgang Thome
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NEW AVIATION VENTURE FOR
UGANDA
Skyjet, a new airline licensed earlier in the year, has
finally secured an AOC according to reliable sources from
the Civil Aviation Authority in Entebbe. They reportedly
intend to begin operations with an ancient B737-200, not the
most credible of options for a start up airline in this day
and age. The new airline has sought permission to also fly
on the Entebbe &endash; Juba route before expanding to other
regional destinations. No other details on their future
plans are presently available.
News from 'Uganda &endash; Gifted by
Nature'