Thabo Bester, his girlfriend Nandipha Magudumana, and a third person believed to be a Mozambican national, were arrested on Friday night in Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border.

JOHANNESBURG - Tanzanian police remain tight-lipped regarding the details of where they managed to nab convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester and his partner Dr Nandipha Magudumana.

The duo were arrested in Tanzania at the weekend together with a Mozambican national, believed to be an accomplice.

They are currently being detained at a prison in Arusha - a popular tourist destination and home to Africa’s highest peak Mount Kilimanjaro.

Local media in Tanzania were nowhere closer to getting information about the arrests of Bester and Magudumana.

On Saturday, it was reported that the pair along with another accomplice were arrested while trying to flee the country into Kenya.

A journalist for the Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation, Gloria Michael, said Tanzanian authorities refused to divulge further information.

“The police in Tanzania work hand in hand with international police, Interpol, and according to their jurisdiction when they arrest somebody the international police take over.”

Bester and Magudumana were flagged on Interpol’s international red list of most wanted criminals soon after news broke that they could have possibly fled the country.

Police said they were working around the clock to ensure Bester and Magudumana are deported back to South Africa this week,. Eye Witness News

The Chairperson of President William Ruto’s Council of Economic Advisers David Ndii has accused the Kenya Kwanza government of wasteful spending, amid a biting cash crunch.

Speaking to Citizen TV on Monday night, Ndii said that the current state, in which salaries for civil servants have been delayed, was attributable to poor planning. 

"Government is extremely wasteful, there is not a single day that I am not exasperated by not just how wasteful it is but by how deliberate it is and how unbothered people are. It is true we have a very profligate government," said Ndii.

"I agree with some of the criticisms that are pointed out by the people, that we are not demonstrating frugality that is consistent with the situation we are in as an economy."

Ndii likened the current political and economic instability to "political mismanagement" that he claims happened during the late President Mwai Kibaki's time. 

"I watched Mwai Kibaki mismanage politics from 2003 to 2005, all that we did economically came to naught in 2007. What we had was bravado, hubris, and I think we're currently in a situation which is not dissimilar," Ndii said.

Ndii on independent government agencies

According to Ndii, independent government agencies including investigative agencies, the Controller of Budget and the Auditor General are unable to change things since they have no powers.

"The independent institutions (Auditor General, Controller of budget, Investigative bodies) in the country are totally helpless and are unable to solve the current situation of wastage. We need to strengthen the Auditor General's office so that it does a lot of value for money audit," he added. 

He says that the first step should be aimed at cutting government excesses and cutting down the budget to exclude unnecessary expenditures.

“It is true we are having challenges in paying salaries, giving money to governors. Because the handshake gov’t ripped this country, they borrowed money left right and centre. Because we are a responsible government, we have to pay this money,” Ndii said.  

He said revenue collections for this week will be used to pay civil servants salaries.

“What we collected the last two weeks was sufficient to pay the loans. What we are collecting this week will pay salaries and other requirements.”  By Francis Muli, People Daily

The Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition has vehemently opposed the move by the government to retrench public servants as a mechanism to reduce the huge wage bill.

The Raila Odinga-led coalition has expressed that public servants cannot be laid off yet the government was busy hiring Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS).

Currently, the government requires Sh50 billion budget to cater for the salaries of public servants without including the perks of the newly recruited CASs.

“We repeat.No civil servants is going to be retrenched while Ruto is busy hiring CASs and other personell the country doesn’t need.Not under our watch,” Wandayi stated.

Taxpayers are poised to bear the burden of Sh460 million annually in salaries for the 50 Chief Administrative Secretaries.

CAS are entitled to the same gross pay as Permanent secretaries whose pay was reviewed by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to ShSh765,188 from Sh874.500.

This comes even as the Chair of the Council of Economic advisors David Ndii stated that the government is mulling retrenching public servants due to the balloning wage bill.

Azimio has however blamed the financial situation to huge non priority spending by the Ruto led administration.

“Ruto must cut or completely abolish money being spent on political operations that are disguised as relief food distribution or fundraisers,”Wandayi asserted.

Azimio castigated the government for apportioning blame on the previous regimes over the current economic crisis urging them to offer solutions or exit from office.

Wandayi questioned why the economic situation has continued to deteriorate despite the removal of subsidies and increase in taxes.

“Where is the money saved from subsidies and those raised from taxes going?How can we save and raise taxes,only to get poorer?”Wandayi posed.

The Minority Leader raised an alarm that the situation could worsen in the coming days as the Kenya Revenue Authority has failed in meeting their revenue collection targets which is relied upon to finance several sectors.

In the financial year ending in June this year the taxman had a revenue target of Sh 2.1 trillion but according to the opposition they have managed to collect Sh 1.2 trillion facing a deficit of Sh 900 Billion.

“If you say you have met your revenue targets, then where is the money? Why haven’t you paid salaries to the workers?”Wandayi questioned.

He dismissed the declaration by the revenue collector body that they have met their targets and they anticipate a surplus in revenue collection by June,this year.

“And if it’s true that KRA has collected the money and remitted, then treasury must tell us where the money is? Why is it that just a few months after the regime of Kenya Kwanza, things are going south,”Wandayi said.

Ndii had blamed the current cash crunch on matured Chinese loans explaining that the government prioritized debt repayment first. 

The Opposition Coalition has however rubbished the explanation saying it’s a mere excuse calling on the government to offer Kenyans solutions instead of offering conflicting statements.

“Ndii has blamed the problem on matured Chinese loans.How Chinese loans stopped KRA from meeting its revenue targets,only Ndii knows,”Wandayi stated.

On his Twitter account, Ndii alluded that multiple loans are maturing in their billions, yet revenue is not growing in tandem.

He attributed the tax target misses to businesses not reporting profit growth, thus shrinking tax growth.

“Debt service is consuming 60 per cent plus of revenue. Liquidity crunches come with territory,” he tweeted.

This comes even as the government admitted to be broke as the state had yet to pay public servants their March salaries.

The devolved units are yet to receive their equitable share for the months of January, February and March due to the cash crunch.

As of March 2023,the National Treasury had released a partly Sh 141B out of Sh 370B for the financial year 2022-2023. By Irene Mwangi, Capital News

JUBA, APRIL 10, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) faction under President Salva Kiir Mayardit has launched a membership registration drive in Tonj East County as 2024 – the anticipated election year – approaches.

William Deng, a senior SPLM official in Tonj says that the party registration drive begun as a peace dissemination as the officials of the ruling party informed residents of Tonj East of the extension of the transitional period for twenty-four months.

“The main purpose of touring the counties is the dissemination of peace among our communities. We came to inform the people about the extension of the revitalized peace agreement and the roadmap because people don’t understand why additional 24 months were added,” Deng is quoted by Radio Tamazuj as saying.

“The extension was done so that the remaining provisions of the agreement are implemented and the other thing is the registration of SPLM party members because we preparing for elections,” he added.

Deng emphasized that there is political space for all parties in Warrap State and that the SPLM plans to cover all six counties in the state.

“Our members were not checked that is why we want to register party members because we are ready for the upcoming elections,” said Thokriel Chilou, the chairperson of the SPLM Party in Tonj East County.

South Sudan is expected to go to elections in December 2024.

Kiir has already been endorsed as the flag bearer in the 2024 elections by his part. First Vice President Riek Machar is also expected to run, but he has not yet been endorsed by his party, the main armed opposition SPLM-IO.

Meanwhile, former minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management and leader of the Other Political Parties Peter Mayen Majongdit on Sunday announced his intention to run for president against President Salva Kiir. - Sudans Post