Azimio leader Raila Odinga and Narc Kenya Leader Martha Karua during a press briefing at the Kalonzo Command Centre on May 24, 2023. Image:FILE
The Azimio la Umoja Coalition now says that President William Ruto's proposed budget is meant to ensure his allies live large.
According to Azimio principal Martha Karua, this is budgeted in the recently passed Finance Bill, 2023 by the National Assembly. The Bill was passed on Wednesday.
They claimed that it will happen through the provision of subsidies.
"This kind of dictatorship is new! This budget is selfishly tailored to ensure Ruto’s people live large and eat well. They are getting subsidies to import cooking oil, maize, sugar, rice, among other commodities at the expense of vulnerable Kenyans.
"Money for Ruto’s people is hidden in provisions like fertilizer subsidy, National Agricultural and Rural Inclusivity, National Agricultural Value Chain Development, Kenya Cereal Enhancement, Emergency Locust Response and Small Scale Irrigation and Value Addition, among others," Karua said.
Azimio said what was witnessed with the passing of the Finance Bill is what happens when rogue leaders are in charge.
They said ignoring the wishes of a majority of Kenyans and passing the bill signals the era of dictatorship.
"Yesterday, we saw what happens when a rogue and uncaring head of the Executive, branch of government, decides that the only thing that matters is his ego, his fantasies and his cronies' agenda.
"We also learnt the hard way that this illegitimate regime can ignore the people, their feelings, their fears, their circumstances, their hopes and aspirations and force its agenda on the people," she added.
Karua said the country is in a nightmare that will not go away anytime soon. "The Ruto regime ensured that the wishes of Kenyans were ignored. Instead, he retained punitive taxes on fuel, housing, turnover, mobile money transfer and salaries, among others." By Brian Oruta, The Star
A Islamist hate cleric’s talk has been cancelled, after a GB News investigation.
Enayet Ullah Abbasi was due to speak at a venue in London this evening(WEDS).
But after the council were told about his comments which included him saying those who critcised the Prophet Muhammad should have their head “chopped off” and praising of 9/11 terrorists, the event was scrapped.
GB News spoke to the venue in East London who confirmed talks with organisers, police and Newham Council resulted in the conference being pulled.
Yesterday (TUES) he delivered a speech in Birmingham after arriving in the UK last week.
And GB News understands Abbasi spoke in Nottingham as part of a country-wide tour.
The Home Office was blasted for allowing the Bangladeshi hate cleric into the country.
GB News revealed he had previously said: “If anybody dares to criticise our Prophet (Mohammed) that person should be declared as a disbeliever and hence his/her head should be chopped off.
The hate cleric also slammed the late Queen Elizabeth II and called Charles Darwin the “father of weed addicts” having discredited his evolution theory.
And in a sick rant Abassi praised Osama Bin Laden, the orchestrator of the September 11 attacks in America, and founder of the Taliban, Mullah Omar.
He said: “You will never have the merit to carry Laden and Omar’s shoes even after 50 years of pursuit.”
Abbasi went on to call those who flew planes into the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, “brave lions”.
GB News has seen correspondence from a London Borough of Newham councillor who wrote to a concerned citizen: “The event has now been cancelled, please could you let others know and thank you bringing this to our attention once again.”
A British Bangladeshi who raised concerns with GB News about the hate cleric said: “It is good to know that the Newham council has cancelled tomorrow’s event as there is possible threats to British society.”
On condition of anonymity due to fears of attacks for speaking out, they added: “Abbassi is a dangerous figure who should never have been allowed to come to Britain.
"No hate preachers should be allowed to come to Britain who might use extremist religious views to radicalise, encourage or influence any nation or communities.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Extremism has no place in our society.
"We work closely with law enforcement, local communities and our international partners to tackle groups and individuals who sow division and hatred.” Story by Charlie Peters, GB News
School pupils from two primary schools in Nairobi have created artwork to illustrate the urgent issue of household air pollution in sub-Saharan Africa, a matter that the University of Liverpool's Institute of Population Health are working with partners to tackle.
Pupils from Mukuru kwa Njenga and kwa Ruben primary schools in a slum area of Kenya's capital, Nairobi took part in the CLEAN-Air(Africa) project art competition, which invited them to create a drawing with the theme, 'clean air for community health'. The best drawing from each school was selected by the University's Prof Martin O'Flaherty, Head of Public Health, Policy & Systems Department.
During a research visit to the area, Dan Pope, Professor of Global Public Health at the University and Director of CLEAN-Air(Africa), together with co-Directors, Dr Elisa Puzzolo and Dr James Mwitari from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), were joined by representatives from the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Department of Health & Social Care. Here they were given a tour of one of the schools and saw first-hand the problem of air pollution from cooking with wood experienced by more than 90% of sub-Saharan African schools. They also saw the artwork produced by pupils from the school to represent air pollution in their communities.
During the visit, the two winners of the competition were presented with framed high-quality impressions of their artwork and participating schools received a selection of art supplies. The children who created the winning designs will also have the opportunity to present their work to the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya when she opens the CLEAN-Air(Africa) Air Pollution Centre of Excellence at KEMRI and is herself crowned as Patron of Clean Air for Community Health.
In sub-Saharan Africa, a substantial proportion of people rely on solid fuels (firewood, charcoal) for cooking and to heat their homes. However, the fumes they create are responsible for more than 680,000 premature deaths each year. CLEAN-Air(Africa) aims to provide policy-relevant evidence to raise population awareness of the issue and to support prevention through the transition to clean fuels and energy for cooking.
Professor Pope said: "Through our research we have seen that children have a good understanding of how air pollution impacts their daily lives so we set a pilot art competition to capture some of these perspectives. The use of art is a really effective way of engaging with children, teachers, schools, and families on the issue of clean air. Creating artwork allows children to express the challenges they and their families face, in cooking food and heating their homes with smoky fuels and provides a springboard for important discussion on the topic. Significantly, the artwork created also supports our research and is a key element of the data we collect. We plan to extend this initiative to other schools in Kenya and Rwanda."
Mrs Lena Kariuki, the head teacher from kwa Njenga primary school, said "We have been excited to work with CLEAN-Air(Africa) as reliance on firewood for us is a major challenge. The cooks are very unwell from the smoke and we are all affected as it spreads. For us scarcity of firewood represents another challenge. Children are very poor in this community and will only come to school if they can get a meal of beans and maize. When there is no wood we cannot cook and children will go hungry or not come to school. Since we have worked with Prof Pope and colleagues, we have started to make plans for switching to cooking gas. The art competition has been really exciting for the staff and children at the school and we look forward to future engagement with the team".
The NIHR CLEAN-Air(Africa) Global Health Research Unit is a collaboration of international experts in environmental public health from the UK, Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. The partnership implements research, health systems strengthening, and capacity-building activities across the five focus countries with the explicit objective to address the health burden from household and institutional air pollution from reliance on polluting solid fuels (e.g., wood, charcoal, coal, and biomass) and kerosene.
DAR ES SALAAM, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of granting citizenship to Burundian refugees staying in refugee camps in western Tanzania.
Sudi Mwakibasi, the director of the Refugee Services Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the government was instead mobilizing the Burundian refugees to volunteer to return to their country.
Mwakibasi made the remarks in a statement to mark World Refugee Day at Nyarugusu refugee camp in the Kasulu district of Kigoma region.
"I urge you to return to Burundi because the country is now peaceful," said Mwakibasi when he responded to appeals by some of the Burundian refugees to be granted citizenship on the ground that they have stayed in Tanzania for very long.
He said the criterion used by the Burundian refugees to be granted citizenship because they have stayed in the country for very long was not provided for in Tanzania's laws.
Mahoua Parums, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Tanzania, urged the international community to continue supporting the UN Refugee Agency. "The UN refugee agency is facing various challenges that make it difficult to provide for the welfare of refugees staying in Tanzania," said Parums. - Xinhua
Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente will lead Rwanda's delegation that will take part in a Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, France, from Thursday, June 22 to Friday, June 23. The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Uzziel Ndagijimana, alongside other officials, will also participate in the summit.
The primary focus of the summit will be on green financing as a means to address the challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity protection, and the fight against inequality, all in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Co-organized by France and India, with India holding the presidency of the G20 this year, the summit will facilitate high-level discussions among Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, representatives from civil society, foundations, funds, and the private sector.
The French Embassy in Rwanda said in a statement that, "Rwanda's high-level participation in the Paris summit demonstrates the country's commitment to improving climate finance architecture and sharing lessons from its own experience."
In 2013, Rwanda established the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) to mobilize funds for both public and private green projects, which has successfully raised $247 million so far. The government's goal is for a minimum of 30 percent of total fund commitments to target the private sector. The fund has financed 46 green projects, resulting in the creation of 176,188 green jobs.
Furthermore, the fund serves as a government tool to mobilize climate finance and implement Rwanda's $11 billion climate plan from 2021 to 2030.
Last year, President Paul Kagame launched "Ireme Invest," Rwanda's green investment facility, with an initial capitalization of $104 million (approximately Rwf109 billion). The facility aims to drive private sector ventures in climate-resilient projects and employs a blended finance approach, including debt, credit enhancements, and collateral support for commercially viable projects in the green sector.
These innovative financing strategies will be among the key topics discussed at the Paris summit.
During an online press conference on June 20, Ombeline Gras, an Advisor on Global Issues to the French President, emphasized that "we do not have to choose between fighting poverty, tackling climate change and its impact, and protecting biodiversity. A just transition is the only answer."
Gras highlighted the urgent need to address the financing gap and expand the coalition of donors, given the crises of Covid-19, worsening climate change, and the world's pursuit of sustainable development goals.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations will also attend the Paris summit to advocate for a reform of the international financial system, which currently lacks the necessary tools to address present-day challenges. Countries in the Global South, despite contributing less to global pollution, face the greatest threats from the climate crisis.
Natural disasters in 2022 alone cost these countries over $300 million, severely impacting their economies. Consequently, the "great financial divide" continues to widen, leaving Global South nations more vulnerable to shocks.
Developing countries lack the necessary resources for recovery, climate action, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, further exacerbating their setbacks and diminishing their potential to benefit from future transitions, including the green transition.
According to Secretary-General António Guterres, the global financial system, which manages around $300 trillion in financial assets, is inadequately equipped for its current purpose.
"Today's poly-crises are compounding shocks on developing countries—largely due to an unfair global financial system that is short-term, crisis-prone, and further exacerbates inequalities," Guterres said.
The Paris summit is one of many international events scheduled throughout the year, including the G20, the SDG Summit, and COP28. By Michel Nkurunziza, The New Times
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