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South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa and Kenya's President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi on Wednesday, November 9, 2022. [Twitter]

Kenyans will no longer require Visas to travel to South Africa beginning January 1, 2023, Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and William Ruto have announced.

The announcement was made at State House, Nairobi where President Ruto held bilateral talks with President Ramaphosa who is in the country on a two-day State visit.

“From January 1, we will have a different regime. Kenyans holding ordinary passports will be able to enter South Africa on a visa-free regime for up to 90 days per calendar year. The two countries have also agreed on a return policy when immigration laws and regulations are breached to make sure that bad elements that try to infiltrate our borders are dealt with firmly and decisively,” said Ruto. 

The two Heads of State also agreed on a sustainable mechanism to identify, monitor and resolve non-tariff barriers that limit the trade potential between Kenya and South Africa.

“We can only reap the full benefits of the MOUs and agreements we have signed through the full and effective implementation of all the undertakings we have committed ourselves to,” said Ruto.

Ramaphosa on his part divulged more details of the visa-free agreement.

“You and I also took the opportunity to discuss the thorny issue between our two countries, of visas between South Africa and Kenya, with a view of allowing Kenyans to visit South Africa on a free visa basis. That is without having visas; we agreed that indeed Kenyans should be able to visit South Africa without requiring them to have visas and that this dispensation will commence on January 1, 2023,” he said.  

The two presidents expressed confidence that the issue will be expedited.

“Our officials will speed up the processes of putting this into effect. This dispensation will be available to Kenyans for a 90-day period in a given year. Meaning that you can use the 90 days cumulatively or separately,”

The duo also signed three memoranda of understanding touching on Kenya-South Africa relations.

They include co-operation in the fields of correctional services, cooperation in the fields of housing and human settlement, cooperation between the Kenya School of Government and the National School of Government of South Africa, and the agreement on audio-visual co-production. By George Maringa, The Standard

 

 
  • IG nominee Japhet Koome during vetting by the National Assembly Appointment Committee on Monday, November 8, 2022. THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 
  • A joint committee of the Senate and the National Assembly has approved Japhet Koome to be Kenya's next Inspector General of Police.

    Koome's approval, which took place on Wednesday, November 8, came just a day after he appeared before the committee for vetting.

    Since the departure of his predecessor Hillary Mutyambai on September 13, the position has been under the stewardship of Noor Gabow who served in an acting capacity. 

    Koome was nominated by President William Ruto on Tuesday, September 27 in accordance with the Constitution.

    Incoming Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome appearing before a Parliamentary Committee on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
    Incoming Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome appearing before a Parliamentary Committee on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. FILE

    While appearing before the committee, the police boss defended his candidature for the top job arguing that he was qualified having served for 31 years and kept a clean record all through. 

    He argued that Mutyambai, who resigned soon after President William Ruto took over the reins, had joined the service two years after him and had risen to the IG post after serving within the service for just 19 years.

    He also maintained that he served in the police service longer than former Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti.

    “The former DCI boss joined the service after me…The outgoing IG joined the service two years after me. At the time of his appointment, the former DCI boss had served 19 years yet I have served for 30 years. You can check my appraisals,” the former commandant said.

    “Fellow officers are now excited that one of their own, who joined the service as a constable is today being vetted to be the Inspector-General,” he told the panel.

    Koome, who is awaiting an approval by President William Ruto, also estimated his net worth to oscillate around the Ksh89 million.

    He explained that he made the wealth from his salary as a police officer and his exploits as a passionate farmer who bought two truckers to assist him in his agricultural activities. 

    "The land in my rural home is about seven acres. I have two plots of land within my rural home market centre.

    "I also have a plot of land in Nairobi, and that is where I currently live, and two other plots in Kitengela, which I bought through Police Sacco," Koome explained.

    He will rise to the top post from his role as the commandant of the National Police Service Training Campus in Kiganjo.

    The former Inspector General of Police, Hilary Mutyambai (left) and, the former DCI boss, George Kinoti.
    The former Inspector General of Police, Hilary Mutyambai (left), and the former DCI boss, George Kinoti. By Derrick Okumbasu, Kenyans.co.ke
    FILE
     
 

African farmers urgently need government support to increase their use of digital tools. This is according to a new survey conducted by Savanta ComRes, commissioned by Vodacom. Over 200 farmers across South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Egypt were asked how they feel about digitalising their farms, how they are handling different threats like environmental challenges, geopolitical and societal pressures, as well as supply chain issues, which have caused a rise in equipment and materials costs.

As expected, climate change is top of the list of threats facing farmers in Africa. Nearly all farmers surveyed in Africa (93%) say climate change is affecting the financial viability of their farms. And around half of African farmers say that they have been impacted to a great extent by climate change (45%). This number rises to 62% in Tanzania and 52% in Kenya. Other threats cited by farmers include low market prices for crops and livestock, increased operating costs and a lack of support from the public sector.

War in Ukraine impacting availability of crucial farming resources 

Results also show that the war in Ukraine is having an impact; creating concern among farmers around fuel and energy costs, as well as the availability of key agricultural resources. The African markets are mostly worried about increased fuel and energy costs (52%), and the availability of fertiliser (42%). In addition, there was increased concern expressed among farmers from Egypt (51%), and South Africa (44%) about being cut off from existing markets.

This is where technology can help. The survey results highlight how digital technologies can help farmers manage with fewer resources and secure the future success of their operations; 89% of respondents in Africa felt this way and more than half of farmers said they were optimistic about the future of farming as an industry. The use of digital agri tools is already widespread.

The survey found that close to half of the farmers in Africa  are already using digital tools to reduce water use (41%) and to improve soil health (42%). There is also clear evidence that farmers are willing to further invest in digital technology to help them combat issues like climate change. Almost all of the surveyed African farmers (94%) plan to invest more in digital tools in the next 12 months. But there are challenges.

While farmers are keen to invest in future digital technologies, adoption isn’t easy. The cost of devices and other hardware is another prominent barrier for 48% of African farmers surveyed; access to reliable mobile connectivity and the cost of applications and software are other challenges.

Sources and types of supply

With farmers expressing a clear desire to use technology to overcome the challenges presented by climate change, the question is: what support is needed to help them do so, successfully?

While most of the surveyed farmers acknowledge that they are getting some help from government already, it is not enough. Around half (55%) of surveyed farmers in Africa say their government is taking action to support them and 87% of African farmers want more government support.
 
However, they are not only seeking financial support. Around 54% of farmers in Africa want assistance with training to help them make better use of digital solutions, which indicates that addressing barriers to the adoption of digital technology may start with addressing the lack of confidence in using these new technologies. Connectivity is also a key ask; 36% of respondents say that better mobile internet connectivity is something their governments can do to enable them to use more digital tools and solutions on their farms.

Shameel Joosub, CEO, Vodacom: ''Our farmers are facing unprecedented challenges and they need help. It is incredibly encouraging to see that this community is already embracing digital solutions and that they understand the value these tools and technologies offer. But more must be done to ensure that African farmers fully embrace precision agriculture.

Our farmers are willing to invest in digital tools and they are keen to use these tools to transform their operations. Governments working together with the private sectors must take note of the issues they face so that they can help these farmers to mitigate the effects of climate change, use farming resources and inputs more effectively and better provide for themselves, their families and their communities.''

Vodacom has made great strides in heeding this call to action, increasing network coverage across rural areas in its markets, and making affordable handsets available to millions of Africans to date, In Tanzania, the M-Kulima mobile platform connects smallholder farmers to a wealth of information and resources via short message service (SMS), unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), and interactive voice response (IVR).

M-Kulima provides timely weather forecasts that help farmers plan around climate change and offers important market information to help farmers get the best price for their products. M-Kulima is also integrated with the financial-services platform M-Pesa, to nurture financial inclusion by providing a mobile-phone-based money transfer service and enabling payments and micro-financing.

Meanwhile, in Kenya, the end-to-end DigiFarm platform – available via USSD or via the app – provides everything from basic farming advice to more advanced and mechanised support, much in the same way that M-Kulima does.

Methodology

The survey was conducted online in Europe and by telephone in Africa by Savanta Comres in 13 countries: Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Turkey, for Europe; Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania, for Africa. Fifty farmers were surveyed in each market, except in Romania, where 21 were surveyed. Respondents were from a cross-section of farm sizes. Field work took place in September and October 2022. Source: African Business Community 

 

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has appointed Pal Mai Deng as the new Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation.

The presidential decree was read on state-owned television on Monday night. The appointment is in line with the 2018 revitalized peace agreement that came into effect on February 22, 2020. 

Mai replaces Manawa Peter Gatkuoth, the former minister of water resources and irrigation, who died in Egypt in June.

Mai is a member of the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by First Vice President Riek Machar.

“Congratulations to Hon. Pal Mai Deng on his appointment at this evening as South Sudan's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, effective from today, November 7, 2022,” the ministry wrote on its Facebook page.

Mai had served as deputy governor in the defunct Bieh State in the SPLM-IO-controlled territory before the implementation of the peace agreement.

The new national minister hails from the Lou Nuer community in Jonglei State. - Radio Tamazuj

Ramon Abbas had more than two million Instagram followers before he was arrested in 2020 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates [Instagram/Hushpuppi]

A Nigerian social media influencer who called himself Ray Hushpuppi and flaunted a lavish lifestyle supported by laundering millions of dollars was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles to more than 11 years in federal prison.

Ramon Abbas, 40, was also ordered by a federal judge to pay $1.7m in restitution to two fraud victims, according to a statement from the United States Department of Justice.

 

Abbas was “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world,” Don Alway, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said in the statement.

Prosecutors said Abbas and a Canadian man laundered money from various online crimes including bank cyberheists and business email compromise, or BEC, a prolific crime in which crooks hack into email accounts, pretend to be someone they’re not, and fool victims into wiring money where it doesn’t belong.

In 2019, he helped launder some $14.7m stolen by North Korean hackers from a bank in Malta, funnelling the money through banks in Romania and Bulgaria, prosecutors said.

He also helped launder millions of pounds stolen from a British company and a professional football club in the United Kingdom, got a New York-based law firm to transfer nearly $923,000 to a criminal account, and acknowledged in a plea agreement that he helped defraud someone in Qatar who sought a $15m loan to build a school, federal prosecutors said. 

In July 2021, a top Nigerian police officer, Abba Kyari, was suspended by the country’s police service commission following an FBI indictment linking him to Abbas.

At Monday’s sentencing, Abbas was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $922,857 in restitution to the law firm and $809,983 in restitution to the victim in Qatar.

“By his own admission, during just an 18-month period defendant conspired to launder over $300 million,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum, although they said much of the intended loss “did not ultimately materialise”.

Abbas, under the name “Ray Hushpuppi,” had more than two million Instagram followers before he was arrested in 2020 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Source: Aljazeera

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