Distributed by APO Group on behalf of High Commission of the United Republic of Tanzania Abuja, Nigeria.

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mohamed El-Amine Souef, on Wednesday, visited the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) personnel, admitted to various hospitals in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

The SRCC was accompanied by ATMIS Force Commander Lt. Gen. Sam Kavuma and other senior officials from Mission Headquarters in Mogadishu.

“The patients are getting good treatment and the medical team is taking care of them. Some of them will be discharged very soon, and we are very glad to go back to Mogadishu with this positive message,” said Ambassador Souef at Nairobi Hospital. 

The ATMIS personnel are receiving specialised medical treatment and support in Kenyan hospitals after being evacuated from Somalia. 

Ambassador Souef wished the patients a speedy recovery and thanked them for their commitment to peace and security in Somalia. 

The Head of ATMIS also acknowledged the significant contributions of the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) of Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and Burundi in Somalia’s stabilisation efforts. 

“It is very important to highlight that we are in Somalia for the peace, security, and stability of this African country,” he added. 

Lt. Gen. Kavuma recognised and appreciated the doctors and hospital management for their efforts in treating the patients. 

“Today we visited six remaining patients, they are receiving excellent care, and they will be discharged from the hospital very soon. We are impressed and thankful to the doctors, coordinators, and other officers at this hospital for the job well done,” said Lt. Gen. Kavuma. 

The SRCC and the Force Commander also paid a courtesy call to the Eastern African Standby Force (EASF), a major player in promoting peace and security in the Eastern Africa region. 

“This is a follow-up from what we started [with ATMIS] because we realized that we are working to achieve the same goal, which is peace and security, and we do appreciate the briefing that we got from the Head of Mission and his team,” said the Director of EASF, Brig. (Rtd) Paul Kahuria Njema. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

On 8 August 2024, Chinese Ambassador-Designate to Zambia H.E. Han Jing presented a copy of the Letter of Credence to Hon. Mulambo Haimbe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Zambia.

Ambassador Han said that he was honoured to be appointed the 17th Chinese Ambassador to Zambia by H.E. President Xi Jinping and saw it as a huge responsibility. He thanked the Zambian side for all the facilitation provided to him and said that since the successful state visit by H.E. President Hichilema to China last September, the political mutual trust between the two countries had been strengthened and practical cooperation enhanced and upgraded. The Chinese side is ready to work closely with the Zambian side to implement what was agreed between the two heads of state and make good preparation for the upcoming Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). He also conveyed warm greetings from H.E. Foreign Minister Wang Yi and congratulated Hon. Minister Haimbe on his recent successful visit to China.

Hon. Minister Haimbe extended a warm welcome to Ambassador Han on behalf of the Zambian government and said that the Zambian side attached great importance to Zambia-China comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and all-weather friendship, and it stood ready to stay in close communication with the Chinese side on bilateral and multilateral cooperation and international and regional hotspot issues. Minister Haimbe assured full support for the upcoming FOCAC Summit and wished it a complete success. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Zambia.

Members of Parliament have called on government to improve access to electricity in rural areas across the country to boost value-addition in the agriculture sector.

They made the call while debating a report by the Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries on the status of implementation of the Agriculture Cluster Development Project (ACDP), and a report on food and animal feed security interventions in the country.

The project aimed at raising on-farm productivity and marketable volumes of selected agricultural commodities in 12 specified agricultural clusters comprising 57 districts.

The reports were adopted by the House on Wednesday, 07 August 2024 during a session chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.

Hon. George Bhoka (NRM, Obongi County) said there is need to extend electricity to rural communities at a time when the country is decentralising production processing and value addition to parish level.

“This move is running under the rural electrification programme and if we do not manage it well, we are setting ourselves up for failure because we are producing but we are failing to add value due to lack of electricity,” said Bhoka.

Kassanda District Woman Representative, Hon. Flavia Nabagabe, said there are no transformers in the district to enable the operation of food processing machines which beneficiaries received under the ACDP.

“We have two maize milling groups in Kassanda which have failed to work because their machines have been rendered redundant. Is there a way we can look at financing the transformers to avail the needed electricity for these machines,” Nabagabe said.

Hon. Julius Tusiime (Indep., Rwampara East County) noted that 179 factories were set up under the project in the district but only 86 of these have managed to access electricity for production.

“This is an appeal for the country to carry out a multi-sectoral approach where we can integrate all components of production. In my constituency, I have a water project which has failed to take off because it requires electricity to pump water uphill,” Tusiime noted.

While presenting the report, the committee chairperson, Hon. Linda Auma also noted that transportation of agricultural products was hampered by impassable roads due to the absence of road chokes.

Road chokes are non-tarmac roads that connect farmers to markets.

“The committee observed that all road chokes were either poorly constructed or suffered construction delays. There was obvious lack of supervision, and there was inflation of the cost of construction of some road chokes which was not commensurate to the work done,” Auma said.

Hon. Solomon Chelangat (NRM, T’oo County) added that poor road infrastructure has affected the ability of farmers in Bukwo District to get their produce to markets, yet provisions were made to improve market access roads.

The State Minister for Agriculture (Animal Husbandry), Hon. Bright Rwamirama, said contractors took on tenders to construct road chokes without the financial capacity to do so.

“Instead of the contractor starting with work on the choke, they start with the easy part of making the road and are given a certificate. So I supported my Permanent Secretary that if the choke is not done, we do not pay. This money went back to the Treasury rather than being paid for air,” said Rwamirama.

The minister also made an appeal for employment of more extension workers at local governments, and urged district leaders to monitor their work.

The Minister for Local Government, Hon. Raphael Magyezi, attributed challenges faced under the project at district level, to factors like late release of funds.

The House also adopted a motion by Hon. Elijah Mushemeza (Indep., Sheema County South) urging the Auditor General to carry out a forensic audit on the Agriculture Cluster Development Project, and give a report to Parliament.

The six-year ACDP project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries was financed by a US$150 million loan from the World Bank through the International Development Assistance.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.