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FOUNDATION BAILS OUT GIRLS WHOSE HOSTEL WAS BURNT DOWN

MALAWI: DONATION/MBC/6/6/18 SABANews 1

Fires can disrupt school work drastically (Pic. Face of Malawi)

LUNZU – The DREAM SHARE Foundation in MALAWI has come to the rescue of more than 50 girls whose hostel burned down in the LUNZU area of the SOUTHERN REGION.

MBC News says the group has donated clothes and other items to NAMIKASI Secondary School following the tragedy.

It quotes ONE of the beneficiaries as saying much as the donated items are not replacing everything they lost, they are very grateful to DREAM SHARE for remembering their plight.

VANNESSA GEORGE, a Form THREE student sponsored by the group, says for many of the girls, the clothes and beddings have given them something to start from, and the items have even relieved their parents in a very big way.

NAMIKASI Deputy Head Teacher GEOFFREY NALI has commended DREAM SHARE Foundation for being there for the children since the tragic event.

He says the organisation helped when the incident happened and it has come back to reach out to more, which makes the school highly indebted to the group.

DREAM SHARE Foundation Executive Director CHARLES KABENA has also thanked all people who donated to the organisation and calls on them to do more for the children in need.

He says the goal of his group is to help provide school fees for underprivileged kids so they stay in school and achieve their GOD-given potential.

Mr KABENA says their gathering at NAMIKASI has come after people heard the story about the children and gave his team all the items donated to the school; but there many other kids in need.

The MALAWIAN humanitarian group has come to the rescue of the school girls after the fire destroyed most of their belongings in APRIL./Sabanews/cam

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BRITISH INVESTORS HAPPY WITH NEW DISPENSATION

ZIMBABWE: ECONOMY/THE HERALD/6/6/18 SABANews 1

President Mnangagwa addresses the media at an investors roundtable in Harare (Pic. The Herald)

HARARE – A delegation of visiting BRITISH investors has commended the new political and social climate in ZIMBABWE.

THE HERALD quotes the leader of the group as saying the SADC country is now set for a major economic take off and join the fastest-growing economies in the world soon.

It says the delegates represent 21 organisations and have met with President EMMERSON MNANGAGWA as well as other senior government officials in the capital, HARARE.

The Head of State has expressed amazement at the size and diversity of the BRITISH mission, the FIRST of its kind he has met since independence in 1980.

The head of the delegation, who is also Chairperson and Chief Executive officer of the LONDON-headquartered INVEST AFRICA, has addressed journalists in HARARE.

ROBERT HERSOV says his team chose to come in early to explore opportunities ahead of an influx of foreign capital into the former BRITISH colony due to positive investor sentiment.

THE HERALD quotes him as saying organisations represented in the delegation have interests in energy, mining, infrastructure development, tourism, hospitality, and agriculture.

Mr HERSOV says their visit is a follow-up to an invitation by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister SIBUSISO MOYO.

He says President MNANGAGWA and his ministers were very open, honest, and frank about the situation that ZIMBABWE is in right now; but also the potential the country has.

Mr HERSOV says the BRITISH are great believers in ZIMBABWE, the most literate country in AFRICA, with almost every mineral and metal; and it has a very diverse and extraordinary investment opportunity.

Although he has not revealed how much they intend to invest, Mr HERSOV says delegates with interest in energy and infrastructure development are talking what he describes as big figures.

He says his delegation will organise another trip to the SADC country after the forthcoming elections on 30 JULY.

ZIMBABWE and BRITAIN fell out with each other after the ROBERT MUGABE Administration allowed a chaotic and violent seizure of farms owned by white farmers of mostly BRITISH origin.

The former Head of State, who ruled for 37 years, also worsened international antagonism after he became a vicious dictator and started victimising perceived as well as actual political opponents until his ouster last NOVEMBER.

The new Head of State quickly launched a vigorous diplomatic campaign to return ZIMBABWE on to the international arena and persuade foreign investors to help rebuild the battered economy./Sabanews/cam

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TEACHER SEVERELY ATTACKED FOR ALLEGEDLY SODOMISING PUPILS

SWAZILAND: SODOMY/TIMES OF SWAZILAND/5/6/18 SABANews 1

High Court of Swaziland (Pic. Agencies)

KANDINDA – Residents of KANDINDA area in the SWAZI commercial city of MANZINI have severely assaulted a teacher accused of sodomising THREE pupils at a local school.

The TIMES OF SWAZILAND has named the teacher as SITHEMBISO MBETSE (28), saying he has since appeared before Magistrate XOLILE NXUMALO at MALKERNS Circuit Court.

It says the police arrested the suspect and charged him with FOUR counts, including indecent assault and contravening the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act.

The Court has heard Mr MBETSE would allegedly call the pupils for extra lessons and study at his house, situated within the teachers’ quarters at KANDINDA Primary School.

The prosecution claims he would then drink red wine with the kids until they got drunk, and later start kissing them, perform indecent acts and then sodomise them.

A colleague of the accused, who preferred anonymity, says the alleged crimes went on until ONE of the pupils decided to report the matter to his family, and the school is still shocked.

The SWAZI teacher allegedly sodomised the pupils without using protection, which means he could have exposed his victims to sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS./Sabanews/cam

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GOVERNMENT IN MOVE TO LIMIT NUMBERS OF FOREIGN WORKERS

SEYCHELLES: LABOUR/SNA/5/6/18 SABANews 1

President Faure addressing members of the media in Victoria (Pic. SNA)

VICTORIA – SEYCHELLES has announced a number of plans, including limiting the number of foreign workers entering the country.

The national news agency, SNA, says President DANNY FAURE has revealed the development during a media conference in the capital, VICTORIA.

He says the authorities have also set up training institutions to educate SEYCHELLOIS (SEY-CHE-LLWA) workers to take up positions currently occupied by the foreigners.

However, President FAURE says the country will always need foreign labour to ensure continued development and to fill in gaps in the labour market.

In another development, he says all staff being laid-off at the AIR SEYCHELLES will receive a SIX-month package including the allowances.

SNA says AIR SEYCHELLES has announced it will retrench 126 workers, instead of the around 174 announced earlier this year.

It quotes President FAURE as saying his country will no longer contract INDIA to build a military base on ASSUMPTION Island.

He says the state will put funds for us to build the coastguard facility because it is vital to have a military post in the area.

SEYCHELLES and INDIA signed an agreement earlier this year to build military facilities on the remote island of ASSUMPTION, but the project quickly became controversial.

The national news agency says while the government supported the plan opposition members in the National Assembly and many private citizens were against it.

Meanwhile, President FAURE says the recent reshuffle of the Cabinet did not include the reallocation of the principal secretaries and chief executives, as all changes were at the head of the ministries.

He says the current situation did not allow him to put other people in the positions, but the changes should not affect State business; and there needs to be continuity in the work while priorities should not change.

The SEYCHELLES Head of State held his SECOND live press conference for 2018 this MONDAY at State House in VICTORIA./Sabanews/cam

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AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT BANK IN TROUBLE OVER LOANS

TANZANIA: FARMING/DAILY NEWS/5/6/18 SABANews 1

Tanzanian farmers at work (Pic. Newstime Africa)

DAR ES SALAAM – A large number of farmers in TANZANIA are failing to access loans for production, despite a government scheme to finance them.

President JOHN MAGUFULI has expressed anger after learning that officials at the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank have used the State-sourced money for other purposes.

The DAILY NEWS says the Head of State has ordered stern measures against top managers of the financial institution involved in the diversion of the 88-MILLION US dollars.

It says he has addressed delegates to the launch of Agricultural Sector Development Program SECOND Phase, where he directed the ministries responsible for the bank operations to act fast.

President MAGUFULI says the government had taken over the 88-MILLION-dollar loan to help the Agricultural Development Bank to provide loans to farmers.

He has condemned the Finance and Planning Minister and his Agriculture counterpart, as well as the Bank of TANZANIA, for failing to discipline the bank officials who have denied farmers the loans they desperately seek.

The DAILY NEWS says the Controller and Auditor General Report for the year ending JUNE 2017 also reveals the bank failed to use the money for the planned objectives.

It says the study, which came before Parliament this APRIL, shows the Agricultural Bank, set up to finance the sector, diverted huge amounts of cash while farmers were facing shortages of funding.

The TANZANIA Controller and Auditor General Report says the financial institution failed to perform its real functions, and it has instead been investing most of the funds in fixed deposit accounts./Sabanews/cam

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FORMER LIBERIAN LEADER COMMENDS WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

NAMIBIA: GENDER/NBC/5/6/18 SABANews 1

Women empowerment is one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Pic. UN Photos)

WINDHOEK – Former President ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF of LIBERIA has commended NAMIBIA for taking the lead in laws that enhance women’s welfare.

She says the SADC country has laws and policies that break the portrayal of women as inferior to men, and bring them on par with their male counterparts.

Ms JOHNSON-SIRLEAF says the ruling SWAPO Party’s policy of equal gender representation in decision-making shows such will.

NAMIBIA now has 47 women out of the 106 lawmakers in the National Assembly, and 10 out of 42 members in the National Council.

However, some senior female civil servants have pointed out access to post-natal healthcare, teenage pregnancies, poverty, and sexual abuse as some challenges facing women in general.

The AFRICAN UNION Special Envoy on Women, Peace, and Security, BINERA DIOP, has in turn commended Ms JOHNSON-SIRLEAF’s advocacy for the rights of women while she was President of LIBERIA.

The UN Goodwill Ambassador on Ending Child Marriages, NYARADZAYI GUMBONZVANDA says renaming child marriages to child rape or such harsher names will reduce the practice.

Former President JOHNSON-SIRLEAF is the FIRST woman Head of State in AFRICA and she won the MO IBRAHIM Award last year for stepping down after serving LIBERIA for TWO terms.

The UNITED NATIONS says women and girls, everywhere, must have equal rights and opportunity, and be able to live free of violence and discrimination.

The world body says women’s equality and empowerment is the FIFTH of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and it is integral to all dimensions of inclusive and sustainable development./Sabanews/cam

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SUSPECTED ISLAMIC TERRORISTS KILL SEVEN PEOPLE IN THE NORTH

MOZAMBIQUE: TERRORISM/RM/5/6/2018 SABANews 1

Fundamentalist groups spread terror worldwide (Pic. Agencies)

CABO DELGADO – Suspected ISLAMIC fundamentalists have violently killed SEVEN people in the CABO DELGADO Province of Northern MOZAMBIQUE.

RADIO MOZAMBIQUE says the Police General Command Spokesperson has confirmed the killings, which occurred in NAUDE Village in the MACOMIA District.

It says INACIO DINA has addressed the media in the capital, MAPUTO, saying the raiders injured FOUR other people, burned down 164 houses and set FOUR vehicles ablaze.

He says the assailants used machetes to kill the SEVEN people and maim the others, before using a cigarette lighter to set huts on fire, which was spread rapidly by a strong win.

Mr DINA says the suspects may be part of a group the police have been chasing since the events of 27 MAY when 10 people were beheaded.

He says the suspected ISLAMIST insurgency is an ongoing conflict with ANSAR AL-SUNNA, a terrorist group attempting to establish an ISLAMIC state in MOZAMBIQUE.

The authorities say they have not made any arrests so far, but the defence and security forces are working on the ground to hunt down the criminals and restore order throughout MACOMIA.

The national broadcaster quotes military commentators as saying the country has not been a focal point for ISLAMIST militant activities before, and the police have been reluctant to blame attacks on such groups until now.

MUSLIMS make up about 18 percent of the population, while CATHOLICS comprise the largest single religious grouping with close to 30 percent of MOZAMBIQUE’s about 29-MILLION people./Sabanews/cam

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LENGTH OF PAID PATERNITY LEAVE INCREASED

SEYCHELLES: EMPLOYMENT/SNA/31/5/18 SABANews 1

Seychelles new fathers to get extended paternity leave (Pic. SNA)

VICTORIA – New fathers in SEYCHELLES will now have more days of paternity leave following revision of the law governing workers’ rights and obligations.

Employment officials say the doubling of the time a new father takes off work at the birth or immediately following childbirth means the country has taken the lead in the INDIAN Ocean Region in the category.

It says the Ministry of Employment, Immigration, and Civil Status has increased the length of paid paternity leave from FIVE to 10 days, effective since 15 MAY.

The national news agency says the revised law places SEYCHELLES SECOND behind KENYA in terms of paid paternity leave.

It says MADAGASCAR, BURUNDI, MAURITANIA, and TOGO make provision for 10 paid days for family events, while a father in the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC can get up to 15 days for special circumstances.

Employment Department Labour Relations Director General STEVE MONNAIE says after creating a ministry for the family, the government found there is need for more programs for families.

He says the increased paternity leave will encourage fathers to play their role in the lives of their newly born children by helping the mothers.

The revision of paternity leave comes at the same time when working mothers who have given birth as of 15 MAY are entitled to 16 weeks maternity leave, instead of the previous 14 weeks.

National Family Council Chairperson ROBERT MOUMOU says an increase from FIVE to 10 days is reasonable and a good initiative that recognises both parents are vital in the life of the child.

He says the bonding period is equally important for both parents, and his group appreciates that the government has seen the importance.

The official says although 10 days is not enough, there are economic factors that can disturb the working place and the economy of SEYCHELLES, which has a population of just about 95-THOUSAND./Sabanews/cam

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POLICY ON TEENAGE PREGNANCIES SPARKS CONTROVERSIES

NAMIBIA: EDUCATION/NBC/31/5/18 SABANews 1

Teenage pregnancies on the rise in Namibia (Pic. NBC News)

RUNDU – A number of parents, teachers, and members of school committees in Northern NAMIBIA say they are not happy with the current Education Policy on Teenage Pregnancy.

NBC News says the law aims to reduce teenage pregnancy in schools, but parents feel a large number of girls fall pregnant, give birth, and return to school within a month.

It quotes some of them as saying the new policy creates a situation where pregnant learners do not respect themselves, their fellow learners, and even their teachers.

The parents say they believe the young mothers lose interest and concentration in class, a situation that results in poor performance.

The national broadcaster says a smaller number of teachers have commended the regulations for giving pregnant teenagers SECOND chances to education.

On the other hand, some learners say they believe the policy gives an opportunity to female school children to continue their education after delivering babies.

Others, however, say they feel it is a bad experience to be pregnant as a teenager, and they are calling for the policy to change.

The authorities say the regulations apply to all primary and secondary schools in NAMIBIA, while tertiary and other educational institutions should develop responsive policies for pregnant learners, expectant fathers, and learner-parents./Sabanews/cam

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HIGH COURT THROWS OUT ACTIVIST BID TO REVISE COMMUNICATIONS ACT

TANZANIA: COMMUNICATION/DAILY NEWS/31/5/18 SABANews 1

Tanzania High Court (Pic. Agencies)

MTWARA – The High Court of TANZANIA has dismissed an application by rights campaigners calling for a review of the Electronic and Postal Communication Act.

The involved groups also wanted the removal of the Online Content Regulations of 2018, which the government drafted to create help sanity in online platforms.

The DAILY NEWS quotes the ruling by the MTWARA Zone of the High Court as saying stakeholders who filed the case failed to prove beyond doubt how the regulations would affect their rights.

The newspaper says following the decision, the State has urged operators of blogs, as well as online radio and television stations to register their outlets.

The government says registration with the regulator – the TANZANIA Communications Regulatory Authority – will ensure formal recognition of the entities.

Information Services Director General HASSAN ABBAS, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson, says the regulations also aim create sanity in new media.

He says even developing countries in the EUROPEAN UNION have such rules, and the government is open to better and closer working ties with stakeholders to enforce the rules.

Petitioners wanted the Court to review the draft regulations from the Minister of Information, Culture and Sports, whom they claimed had acted outside his authority; while the new rules violated principles of natural justice.

The High Court early this month issued a temporary injunction preventing implementation of the regulations, including registration of all online platforms by the deadline set for FIVE MAY this year.

The petitioners include the LEGAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE, the MEDIA COUNCIL OF TANZANIA, TANZANIA MEDIA WOMEN ASSOCIATION, TANZANIA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, and the TANZANIA EDITORS FORUM.

Advocates ALESIA MBUYA, LADISLAUS KOMANYA, KILLEY MWITASI, and ABUBAKAR MRISHA from the Solicitor-General’s Office, as well as Communications Regulatory Authority lawyers FILIPO FILIKUNJOMBE, JOHN DAFFA and JOHANNES KALUNGULA, represented the State.

The DAILY NEWS says the petitioners had hired advocates FULGENCE MASSAWE, JAMES MARRENGA and JEREMIAH MTOBESYA to stand for them in the case.

The government entered THREE injunctions and asked the Court to dismiss the contending arguments, because the applicants did not state definitely how the regulations would violate their constitutional rights.

The TANZANIA Information Services Director General has thus advised all owners of online television, radio, and blogs to proceed with registration processes as required by the law./Sabanews/cam