Nutanix a leader in hybrid multi-cloud computing, has announced the findings of its sixth global Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey and research report, which measures enterprise progress with cloud adoption. This year’s ECI report revealed 

The use of hybrid multi-cloud models is forecasted to double over the next one to three years as IT decision-makers are facing new pressures to modernise IT infrastructures because of drivers like AI, security, and sustainability.  This is according to the Nutanix sixth global Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey released recently. 

As organisations continue to grapple with the complexities of moving applications and data across environments, the ECI report highlighted the growing importance of hybrid multicloud infrastructure. The report found that security and innovation were the top drivers for moving applications from one environment to another over the past year. As AI takes centre stage for businesses, ECI respondents identified increasing investments to support AI strategy as their #1 priority, followed closely by investment in IT modernisation. 

“Whether it be because of AI, sustainability, or security imperatives, IT organisations are facing ever-increasing pressure to modernise their IT infrastructure quickly,” said Lee Caswell, SVP, Product and Solutions Marketing at Nutanix.

“80% of ECI respondents are planning to invest in IT modernisation, with 85% planning to increase their investments specifically to support AI. What this year’s ECI reveals is that organisations need to support the technologies of tomorrow by future-proofing their IT infrastructure today. Hybrid multicloud continues to emerge as the infrastructure standard of choice because of the flexibility it provides to support traditional VM and modern containerised applications and movement between clouds and on-prem.” Lee added. 

The report further found that 90% of ECI respondents are taking a "cloud smart" approach to their infrastructure strategy – leveraging the best environment (e.g., data centre, public cloud, edge) for each of their applications.  Given the pervasiveness of this approach, it is no wonder that hybrid and multicloud environments have become the de facto infrastructure standard. Furthermore, over 80% of organisations believe hybrid IT environments are most beneficial to their ability to manage applications and data. Most importantly, this is now becoming an executive priority, with nearly half of respondents noting that implementing hybrid IT is a top priority for their CIO.

Additionally, ransomware and malware attacks will remain existential threats to modern enterprises, with the cat-and-mouse game between malicious actors and enterprise security professionals set to continue throughout 2024. Yet, data protection and recovery remain a challenge, as 71% of ECI respondents who experienced a ransomware attack reported taking days or even weeks to restore full operations. To help address this, 78% of organisations say they plan to increase investments in ransomware protection solutions throughout this year.

The report also found out that enterprise workloads – including their applications and data – often find their way into the IT environment which best suits their needs, whether that environment is an on-premises data centre, the public cloud, a smaller edge location, or a mix of all three. 88% of ECI respondents also agreed that sustainability is a priority for their organisation. However, unlike in the previous report where action was limited, many organisations indicate they are already taking active steps to implement sustainability initiatives, with the most common being modernising IT infrastructure. 

ECI respondents also identified increased investment to support AI strategy as their top priority, followed closely by investment in IT modernisation. Furthermore, 37% of ECI respondents indicate running AI applications on their current IT infrastructure will be a "significant" challenge. In order to mitigate and overcome this challenge, organisations are prioritising IT modernisation and edge infrastructure deployments, which can facilitate faster processing and access to data. This, in turn, can help improve their ability to link data from multiple environments to give better visibility into where data resides across their sprawling ecosystems. BY NIXON KANALI, Africa Business Communities

The inaugural Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting will be held on 19 April 2024 in Cyprus, under the theme ‘Our Resilient Common Ocean: from Cyprus to Samoa’. It follows a call by leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda in 2022, to consolidate action on the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, seas, and marine resources.

The meeting will be attended by government ministers and senior officials from across the Commonwealth and is an opportunity to establish a voice for member countries on the ocean. Coastal states make up 49 of 56 Commonwealth members, yet all countries depend on the ocean for trade, transportation, access to resources and for security.

While in Cyprus, Commonwealth ministers responsible for ocean affairs will meet to establish the principles, priorities and actions for a Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, and to agree a roadmap which will pave the way for adoption of the declaration at CHOGM 2024 in Samoa.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, said:

“The livelihoods of billions of people depend on the ocean because it is directly linked to food security, global heating, economic resilience and trade. Yet climate change, sea level rise, acidification, biodiversity loss, overfishing and plastic pollution are increasingly depleting our seas.”

“No country can solve these challenges alone. The first Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting will place the ocean at the front and centre of Commonwealth action and provide a valuable forum for ministers to share experiences and progress on implementing international commitments and the Commonwealth Blue Charter."

April 19^th marks exactly six years since leaders at CHOGM 2018 adopted the Commonwealth Blue Charter and committed to work together on tackling shared ocean issues as well as to take action to safeguard the ocean for future generations.

Since 2018, the Commonwealth Secretariat has expanded its work in this area, by establishing and supporting country-led Blue Charter Action Groups, establishing an ocean project incubator, and through technical assistance on ocean governance, including accessing ocean climate finance. the global whole.

The government has effected a major reshuffle within ministries and State departments affecting a total of 135 senior government officials. 

Some of the most affected ministries and State departments include the Executive Office of the President, Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and the Ministry of Defence. 

The State Departments Internal Security and National Administration; East African Community Affairs; Investments Promotion and Public Works.

Also massively affected include the departments of ICT and Digital Economy; Co-operatives; Higher Education and Research; Roads; Agriculture; Devolution; Transport; Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development; Forestry; Lands and Physical Planning; Shipping and Maritime Affairs; Sports; Basic Education; Gender and Affirmative Action; Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs; and Labour and Skills Development among others.

Eight senior officials from the State Department of Internal Security have been transferred to other government departments. However, only one official was transferred there. 

Transferred from the department include Joseph Kanyiri who was moved to the Executive Office of the President as the Secretary in charge of Administration, National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and Amos Mariba who now becomes the Secretary Administration at State House.

Staff movement

Also moved from the department is Isaac Masinde who becomes the Secretary Administration at the Ministry of Defence), Patrick Mukiria who was moved to the department of Transport as the Director in charge of Administration and Tobiko Nayioma who was transferred to the Department of Wildlife where he becomes the Director ion charge of Administration.

Others transferred from Internal Security include James Ntabo who has been moved to State Department for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises as Director Administration; Jude Wasonga as Senior Deputy Secretary, Livestock; and Nahashon Thiongo as the Director of Human Resource Management at the OPCS.

Also transferred is Jane Mogire from the State Department of Medical Services has been moved to Internal Security as the Deputy Director, Human Resource management.
Director of communication

Former Nation Media Group journalist, Andrew Teyie has been named the Director of Communication at the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary. 

In a letter dated March 14, the Principal Secretary for State Department for Public Service Amos Gathecha directed the concerned ministries to release the affected officials immediately but not later than March 28.

Those transferred include former Administration Police officer Fred Mwei who has been moved from Devolution and appointed Director of Administration for Basic Education.

Five senior officials from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) have also been transferred to the Executive Office of the President.

Victor Vinya Mule, the outgoing acting deputy director in the Department of County Affairs and Regulatory Services at the ODPP and Grace Murungi, a Senior Assistant DPP and the head of Economic, International and Emerging Crimes Department have been named Directors of State Corporations Advisory Committee. 

Mule, an Advocate of the High Court joined the State Law Office as a State Counsel in 2008 and later transferred to the ODPP under the New Constitution of Kenya 2010, where he has served for eleven years. Mule and Murungi will be deputized by former ODPP Chief of Staff Lilian Akinyi Obuo.

Diana Christine Nanjala, also a Senior Assistant DPP is the new Deputy Director at the Inspectorate of State Corporations while Ebei Reuben Ekai has been named the deputy director in charge of Supply Chain Management. A number of officials were however retained.

Boniface Ngigi, Naomi Matheri, Paul Kiagu and Samuel Wambugu have both been retained as the Director Planning at the National Treasury.

Also retained is Isaiah Byegon as the Director Planning with the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action; Paul Wafula (NYS), Lawrence Muthamia (Forestry), Charles Ombuki Director Planning, Wildlife), and Isaac Muthoni (Water Trust Fund). 

Late January this year, the government also made a major reshuffle affecting support staff within different ministries.

The Ministry of Public Service said in a letter by Gathecha that an earlier request had been for the reshuffle. By Zadock Angira, People Daily 

King Kong Organics Rwanda, a subsidiary of KKOG GLOBAL, has made history by securing a 5-year license to cultivate cannabis for medicinal purposes on 5 hectares of land in Musanze, becoming the first local company to do so. The company's investment of $10 million underscores its commitment to unlocking the potential of the local market.

KKOG Rwanda is a subsidiary of KKOG GLOBAL. -a US corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of California, United States, whose mission is to become the market-leader in medical cannabis cultivation on the African continent.

The company capitalizes on its ability to cultivate world-class organic medical cannabis and develop industry-leading growing, propagation and crop selection techniques. With a focus on the African continent, KKOG Inc. has developed key partnerships and global distribution channels alongside a unique local community development model that allows for capacity building and economic growth opportunities.

Its operations are spread across African countries including Rwanda- where the company assisted the Government of Rwanda (GoR) in its framework, but also commenced the construction of Rwanda’s first cannabis facility on 5-hectares in Musanze district-which is scheduled to be completed in May 2024.

"The facility will be the first of its kind with extraction and research components as well as cannabis end product development. There are plans to begin distillation to create the first cannabis infused liquors at the facility in 2025," said Rene Joseph, the Founder and CEO of KKOG Rwanda.

In 2010, the Ministry of Health proposed a law to allow cannabis to be used for medical purposes in the country. In 2021, Rwanda passed an order making cannabis legal for medicinal purposes.

Although Rwanda legalized medical marijuana, recreational cannabis uses and sales remain illegal in the country and the Rwandan government enforces strict penalties for the illicit production, distribution, and consumption of cannabis.

For instance, Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said that they will ensure that in no way the cannabis growth can leak out of the farm to go to the domestic market or to the wrong users. RDB stated that the cannabis crops will be in a designated place, and there will be very strong measures, whether it is CCTV cameras, watch towers, street lights, and human security- meaning that the process involved will extremely secure.

RDB says the legalization of cannabis for medical use doesn’t affect the legal framework of the country but considers cannabis production as a top investment opportunity as global cannabis production were projected to grow from $28.3 billion raked in 2021, to $197.7 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate of 32 percent.

RDB has projected that Rwanda can attract at least Rwf19 billion (about $17.5 million) investment in the production of cannabis for export and KKOG has invested $10 million since coming to the local market to unlock this potential.

KKOG CEO, Joseph says he commends the government for embracing the economic potential of medicinal cannabis, the decision not only opens doors for exponential job growth but also signifies a progressive approach towards expanding Rwanda’s GDP.

“I extend my sincere gratitude to all parties involved. The Government of Rwanda has been integral in pioneering this legislation, we recognize their foresight and dedication to fostering growth and innovation,” Joseph said in a statement.

“I would be remiss to not mention the efforts of RDB staff of whom without their assistance and direction this endeavor would not have been as smooth and clear today,” he noted. There are others companies in Rwanda who already have “provisional license” to do the same but in order to get an actual license, the companies are required to purchase the land and build a facility on it just as KKOG - which is the only one to do so far.

KKOG is the largest licensed company in Africa with other multiple cannabis extraction facilities on the continent: 1000 hectares in DR Congo, 500 hectares in Zimbabwe as well as a extraction and research factory in Masasa in Harare, 200 hectare farm and seedbank in Malawi, 140 hectares in South Africa; as well as a presence in Lesotho, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Tanzania among others.

While other companies in Rwanda hold provisional licenses for cannabis cultivation, KKOG stands out as the first to acquire a full license, demonstrating its dedication to compliance and investment in infrastructure. With a presence in multiple African countries and a commitment to empowering local farmers, KKOG aims to lead the continent in medicinal cannabis cultivation, laying the foundation for sustainable economic development and prosperity.

KKOG says it has committed to fulfil its objectives to empower and train small and commercial farmers in financing their desire to enter the sector as well as be their exclusive Off-taker, thus sowing the seeds of financial prosperity for all. Africa Business Communities