The Deputy Director General of the National Housing Authority (NHA), Prince Wreh, has disclosed that the entity has allotted US$1 million to build permanent homes for former residents of the Township of West Point in the VOA Community.

According to Wreh, the goal of the NHA is to construct more affordable homes for low income earners, noting that the NHA is fully committed to its mandate and will continue to do so for the growth and development of the country.

It can be recalled that hundreds of residents of the slum community of West Point, a suburb of Monrovia, were rendered homeless by sea erosion that destroyed several homes early this year.

Making the disclosure in an interview with the Liberia News Agency at the temporary home of the West Pointers in the VOA community on the Bomi Highway Tuesday, the NHA official, however, disclosed that the money will be able to construct only 125 units, which are not sufficient to accommodate the 1,700 family heads who were rendered homeless by the sea erosion.

He lauded authorities of the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs for partnering with the NHA to construct a 32 two-bedroom temporary zinc apartments for residents relocated from the Township of West Point.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the relocated West Point residents, Rev. Denore W. Moore, lauded authorities of the NHA for constructing their temporary homes, but appealed to them to assist with food and other necessities to sustain them in their new homes.

By Neville Otuki
Chase Bank has made a big step towards full recovery after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) yesterday allowed the financier to resume lending to customers and take fixed deposits after four months of waiting.

The nod expands the lender’s basket of financial services after it was placed under receivership in April by the CBK – the banking sector regulator – prompting its closure and subsequent reopening later in the same month.

The bank had been limited to only a few services such as money transfers and automated teller machine (ATM), and was awaiting the approval to accept deposits and issue loans.

“The move marks a major milestone in the turnaround efforts of the bank, signalling that most of the major issues under resolution have been addressed, paving the way for full resumption of banking services to all customers,” the lender said in a statement yesterday.
The greenlight to take new deposits, the lender says, will provide more lending opportunities to customers and accelerate the pace of recovery.

It was placed under the receivership of the CBK arm – Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) in April.

The regulator early this month said it will next month pick a new investor to buy a majority stake in Chase Bank as part of efforts to fully revive the lender.

This came after KCB Group, which was appointed to manage Chase Bank, said that its role in reopening the lender is almost complete, paving the way for the regulator to call for bids from multiple investors interested in the buyout.

KCB is expected to be among companies that will bid for Chase Bank, whose model is focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Chase Bank represents an attractive franchise with 27,000 customers, largely SME businesses.It is also a banker to 341 non-governmental organisations and 147 savings and credit cooperative societies (saccos).

The lender has 62 branches and boasts subsidiaries Rafiki Microfinance Bank and investment bank Genghis Capital.

By James Karuhanga
Local entrepreneurs in agriculture are paying particular attention to neighbouring DR Congo as they look to boost their business.

As such, the Private Sector Federation (PSF), particulary the Chamber of Farmers, is organising a three-day agri-business trade mission to Goma, the capital of the vast neighbouring country’s North Kivu Province, next week.

Organisers say the August 24-26 trade expedition aims to formalise and facilitate cross-border trade between the two countries.
Stephen Ruzibiza, the PSF CEO said, “We need to facilitate our local producers to formally get access to the cross-border markets and, in this case, we are targeting DR Congo and hope to expand these missions to other countries like Congo Brazzaville as well.”

“It will help connect Rwandan traders to their counterparts in DR Congo and this is an opportunity to create trade links with other potential markets as we embark on promoting local materials,” he said.

Nearly 50 traders, companies and cooperatives, including Rwanda Farmers Coffee Company (RFCC), Inyange Industries, Rwanda Mountain Tea, and Bourbon Coffee will head to Goma to explore opportunities.

Christine Rukera, owner of Premium Cayenne Pepper, told The New Times that her expectation from the trade mission is “to secure market for my products, as well as promoting exports from my country.”

“It is important to my business because I will establish a long-term relationship to business (B2B) or business to client (B2C),” she said.
The main objective of the mission is to promote export of Rwandan products to the DR Congo market through formalising and facilitating cross-border trade.

Local traders will, specifically, look to identify market opportunities for Rwandan products in DR Congo, among others.

The mission will include a conference, exhibition to showcase Rwandan products, signing of a related Memorandum of Understanding and business to business meetings of Rwandans and their Congolese counterparts to network and explore opportunities in both countries.

Last week, President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila agreed to strengthen the two countries’ cooperation in energy generation, cross-border trade, and security.

The two leaders made the announcement after holding a bilateral meeting in rwanda’s border district of Rubavu.
The Rubavu border ranks as one of the most active borders across Africa.

The two countries are jointly putting up a one-stop border post in Rubavu to facilitate movement of goods and people.

Rwanda’s exports to the DR Congo represent the biggest share of its informal exports, representing 75 per cent of the total informal cross-border exports.

Apart from investing in building a one-stop border post with DR Congo, Rwanda is interested in building modern warehouses at the border.

In March, the Government of Rwanda signed a partnership deal with Alpha Logistics Limited to build a modern bonded warehouse at Petite Barrière border in Rubavu District for $8.6 million (about Rwf6.5 billion).

ANALYSIS
By Asafa Jalata, University of Tennessee
Country-wide demonstrations by the Oromo in Ethiopia have flared up again. Ethiopia’s authorities reacted with heavy force, resulting in the death of 100 civilians. The Conversation Africa’s Samantha Spooner asked Professor Asafa Jalata about the country-wide protests.

Who are the Oromo people?

The Oromo are the single largest ethno-national group in northeast Africa. In Ethiopia alone they are estimated to be 50 million strong out of a total population of 100 million. There are also Oromo communities living in Kenya and Somalia.

Ethiopia is said to have about 80 ethno-national groups. The Oromo represent 34.4% while the Amhara (Amara) 27%. The rest are all less than 7% each.

The Oromo call themselves a nation. They have named their homeland “Oromia”, an area covering 284,538 square kms. It is considered to be the richest area of northeast Africa because of its agricultural and natural resources. It is often referred to as the “breadbasket” of the region. 60% of Ethiopian economic resources are generated from Oromia.

The capital city of Ethiopia is located in the heart of Oromia. What the world knows as Addis Ababa is also known to the Oromo as their capital, “Finfinnee”. When the Abyssinian warlord, Menelik, colonised the Oromo during the last decades of the 19th century he established his main garrison city in Oromia and called it Addis Ababa.

Despite being the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia, the Oromo consider themselves to be colonial subjects. This is because they have been denied equal access to their country’s political, economic and cultural resources. It all started with their colonisation by, and incorporation into, Abyssinia (the former Ethiopian empire) during the Scramble for Africa.
Today, comprising just 6% of the population, Tigrayans dominate and control the political economy of Ethiopia with the help of the West, particularly the US. This relationship is strategic to the US who use the Tigrayan-led government’s army as their proxy to fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa and beyond.

The Oromo community has been demonstrating since November last year. What triggered the protests?

The Oromo demonstrations have been underway for over eight months, first surfacing in Ginchi (about 80 kms southwest of the capital) in November 2015. It began when elementary and secondary school students in the small town began protesting the privatisation and confiscation of a small soccer field and the selling of the nearby Chilimoo forest.

The sentiment quickly spread across Oromia. The entire Oromo community then joined the protests, highlighting other complaints such as the so-called Integrated Addis Ababa Master Plan and associated land grabbing. The master plan was intended to expand Addis Ababa by 1.5 million hectares onto surrounding Oromo land, evicting Oromo farmers.

Last year’s demonstrations were the product of over 25 years of accumulated grievances. These grievances arose as a result of the domination by the minority Tigrayan ethno-national group. Because of this dominance the Oromo people have become aliens in their own country, lost ownership of their land and have become impoverished.

What was different about these demonstrations was that, for the first time, all Oromo branches came together in coordinated action to fight for their national self-determination and democracy.

Which part of the Oromo community is organising the rallies?

It is believed that underground activist networks, known as Qeerroo, are organising the Oromo community. The Qeerroo, also called the Qubee generation, first emerged in 1991 with the participation of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in the transitional government of Ethiopia. In 1992 the Tigrayan-led minority regime pushed the OLF out of government and the activist networks of Qeerroo gradually blossomed as a form of Oromummaa or Oromo nationalism.

Today the Qeerroo are made up of Oromo youth. These are predominantly students from elementary school to university, organising collective action through social media. It is not clear what kind of relationship exists between the group and the OLF. But the Qeerroo clearly articulate that the OLF should replace the Tigrayan-led regime and recognise the Front as the origin of Oromo nationalism.

What are their demands?

Their immediate demands are for the Ethiopian government to halt the so-called Addis Ababa Master Plan, land grabbing, corruption, and the violation of human rights.

Their extended demands are about achieving self-determination and sovereignty by replacing the Tigrayan-led regime with a multi-ethno-national democratic government. These demands gradually emerged to create solidarity with other ethno-national groups, such as the Amharas, who also have grievances with the regime.
How has the government reacted to the protests?

The government reaction has been violent and suppressive. Despite Oromia being the largest regional state in Ethiopia, it has been under martial law since the protests began. The government has been able to use this law to detain thousands of Oromos, holding them in prisons and concentration camps.

Security structures called tokkoo-shane (one-to-five), garee and gott have also been implemented. Their responsibilities include spying, identifying, exposing, imprisoning, torturing and killing Oromos who are not interested in serving the regime.

There have also been deaths and reports of thousands of Oromos who have been maimed as a result of torture, beatings or during the suppression of protests. For example, during the Oromia-wide day of peaceful protest on July 6 the regime army, known as Agazi, massacred nearly 100 Oromos. According to Amnesty International, 400 Oromos were killed before July 6. But in reality nobody knows exactly how many Oromos have been victims of violence.

What impact have these protests had on the country?

The Oromo protest movement has started to change the political landscape of Ethiopia and shaken the regime’s foundations. Erupting like “a social volcano”, it has sent ripples through the country with different groups changing their attitudes and standing in solidarity with the Oromo. The support of the Ahmaras has been particularly significant as they are the second largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia.

For the first time in history, the plight of the Oromo people has also received worldwide attention. International media outlets have reported on the peaceful protests and subsequent government repression.

This has brought about diplomatic repercussions. In January the European Parliament condemned the Ethiopian government’s violent crackdown. It also called for the establishment of a credible, transparent and independent body to investigate the murder and imprisonment of thousands of protesters. Similarly, the UN Human Rights Experts demanded that Ethiopian authorities stop the violent crackdown.

Not all global actors are taking a strong stance. Some are concerned about maintaining good relations with the incumbent government. For example, the US State Department expressed vague concern about the violence associated with the protest movement. In sharp contrast they signed a security partnership with the Ethiopian government.
Nevertheless, the momentum of the Oromo movement looks set to continue. The protests, and subsequent support, have seen the further development of activist networks and Oromo leadership, doubling their efforts to build their organisational capacity.

Is this the first time that the Oromo have demonstrated their grievances in this way?

No. The Oromo have engaged in scattered instances of resistance since the late 19th century when they were colonised.

In the 1970s the Oromo started to engage in a national movement under the leadership of OLF. The front was born out of the Macha-Tulama Self-Help Association, which was banned in the early 1960s and other forms of resistance such as the Bale Oromo armed resistance of the 1960s. Successive Ethiopian regimes have killed or sent Oromo political and cultural leaders into exile.

How do you believe their grievances can be resolved?

Critics believe the Tigrayan-led minority regime is unlikely to resolve the Oromo grievances. Oromo activists believe that their national struggle for self-determination and egalitarian democracy must intensify.

I am sure that, sooner or later, the regime will be overthrown and replaced with a genuine egalitarian democratic system. This is because of the size of the Oromo population, abundant economic resource, oppression and repression by the Tigrayan-led government, the blossoming of Oromo political consciousness and willingness to pay the necessary sacrifices.

Coffee growers from Murang’a County have raised concerns with some of the new coffee regulations terming them as detrimental to the coffee sub-sector.

The Murang’a County Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union said some regulations published in the Kenya Gazette June 27, 2016 will restrict transportation, introduce cherry hawking and promote coffee theft.

According to Mr Francis Ngone, the board’s chairman, the gazetted rules will also kill the coffee co-operatives societies and promote cartels.

Mr Ngone said the transportation of parchment to the nearest mille is an affront to the growers’ right to property, adding that compelling coffee societies to deliver their coffee to uncertified millers will not only compromise on the quality but also the price.

He lamented that the process and bureaucracy involved in attaining the movement permit from the county government was too long and time consuming.
He added that as a result, the process will be exposing coffee societies to a lot of risk including theft.

RIGHT TO SELL OWN PRODUCE

“Pooling of coffee grower for marketing by the county government denies them the right to sell their own produce which they have toiled to maintain,” he said.

Speaking in Murang’a Town, the farmers added that they were strongly against farm-gate cherry and parchment trading since it will introduce cherry hawking and promote coffee theft.

Mr Ngone lamented that introduction of pulping stations, a major shift from the current model of cooperatives and estate-based pulping will kill coffee cooperatives since it will allow individuals to own pulping stations.

He said the gazetted rules will kill cooperatives as they will no longer handle any sales proceeds and consequently fail to fulfil their current role of financing their members.
CENTRAL DEPOSITORY UNIT

On the central depository unit (CDU), Mr Ngone noted that farmers already have accounts with various local saccos of their choice where they receive their coffee payment and advances.

‘Urging them to open other accounts with the CDU is uncalled for and will only lead to the collapse of these saccos,” he remarked.

“The concerned authorities should instead strengthen their corporate governance structure and enforce the existing laws,” he added.

He urged the government to give real-time information to the coffee growers on the true value of their crop on the global market so that they can make informed decision on where to sell their coffee.

“Murang’a County coffee farmers appeal to the concerned authorities to facilitate the national task force on [the] coffee sub-sector reforms to present their report to the coffee farmers, whom it was intended to benefit, through nationwide seminars,” he concluded.

The intention is to feed, on a permanent basis, with fine cotton its textile industries: Satec, in northern Cuanza Norte province, Textang II, in Luanda, and Africa Têxtil, in Benguela, which are industrial complexes rehabilitated under the country’s industrialisation programme.

For the start of the above plants set for this year, the country will import 20,000 tons a year in the first phase. According to the minister of Agriculture, Afonso Pedro Canga, some private investors are designing their projects to launch the production of the raw material for the textile industry. “In the first years, we are going to import the raw material, before we start producing slowly, as 20,000 tons a year with the new technology we can produce and need not much to reach this volume of cotton yarn ,” he explained. The minister said arrangements are in progress to assist family peasants that will engage in growing cotton, starting from Cuanza Sul province, where an area has been put in place, including technical assistance and water to respond to the needs of the emerging industry. According to him, lands have been allocated to private investors in the provinces of Malanje and Cuanza Norte, to grow cotton and later in Benguela.