Uganda aviation news update – CAA cleared of tender wrongdoings
NO FOUL PLAY IN CAA TENDER AWARD ‘That was pure malice from complainants and frankly incompetence from the PPDA for falling into that trap in the first place’ was the tenor of comments made off the record by sources close to the Civil Aviation Authority, when news broke yesterday that the tender award for the […]
Uganda news update – Parliament gets a does of their own medicine
PARLIAMENTS EGO TRIP ENDS IN DARKNESS TOO The Ugandan public wasted no time in jubilating when word spread yesterday that Parliament, the source of much of the country sitting in darkness at present night after night, was finally given a dose of their own medicine when ‘loadshedding’ reached the chambers of the house. MP’s reportedly […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – KQ to get B747-400F to start cargo operations in October
KENYA AIRWAYS GOES CARGO IN A BIG WAY A source within Kenya Airways has answered in the affirmative a short while ago to the question asked earlier in the afternoon: ‘yes we will be getting a B747-400F in September’. This ends months of speculation over the level of the airline’s entry into the cargo business, […]
Seychelles news update – Investment Forum in Jo’burg also serves to promote tourism
SEYCHELLES PROMOTES INVESTMENTS AND TOURISM IN SOUTH AFRICA A two day investment forum in Johannesburg, organized by the Seychelles Investment Board in conjunction with the High Commission in Pretoria is ending today, after successfully attracting scores of interested companies and potential investors for projects across the archipelago. Participants reportedly came from the wider South African […]
Kenya aviation news update – WHO will survive the hard times
KENYA’S AVIATION SECTOR – WHO NEXT TO FALL TO THE HARD TIMES Aviation in Kenya is a generally thriving industry with the number of aircraft registered and the daily flights recorded, at the main airports, at Wilson and across the entire country’s airfields and airstrips dwarfing the entire rest of the East African Community. No […]
Kenya aviation update – A380 for Jo’burg in October but NBO?
EMIRATES A380 FOR KENYA? ‘Kenya is our third biggest market in Africa after South Africa and Nigeria’ was the statement made earlier in the week, when Emirates’ Nairobi office launched the airline’s premium product upgrades now in place in all of the flying giant aircraft. The A380 will first come to Africa in October, when […]
Seychelles news update – Parliament accepts court ruling, dissolves itself again
PARLIAMENT DISSOLVES ITSELF AGAIN – WITH DUE NOTICE Following the ruling of the Constitutional Court, that they vote for the dissolution of parliament was not valid as the prescribed notice was not given in accordance within the law and the regulations governing such a vote, the Speaker of the Seychelles parliaments promptly accepted the ruling […]
East Africa news – It is officially a FAMINE now
IT IS OFFICIALLY A FAMINE NOW At least 11 million people in the Horn of Africa and wider Eastern African region are now said to be suffering from a famine, which has been described as the worst in decades, aggravated by the civil war in Somalia and the hostilities and tension between Eritrea and Ethiopia. […]
Mauritius tourism news – EU helps to finance new tourism strategic plan
EU CO-FINANCES TOURISM PLANNING FOR MAURITIUS Clearly stung deep by the success of fellow ‘vanilla island’ Seychelles, which has over the past two and a half years re-positioned itself as THE Indian Ocean island destination of choice and became the darling of the global media, Mauritius is now embarking on clawing her own position back […]
Kenya conservation news – BURN IVORY BURN
LET ACTION FOLLOW THE GOOD WORDS SPOKEN AT THE IVORY BURNING Burn Ivory Burn was the motto yesterday afternoon at the Kenya Wildlife Service’ Manyani Training Centre in Tsavo National Park, where the conservation who is who from Eastern Africa was joined by President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, a number of his ministers and senior […]
Seychelles news update – Constitutional Court overturns parliamentary dissolution vote
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REVERSES PARLIAMENTARY DISSOLUTION The dissolution of parliament last week was quashed by the Seychelles constitutional court in an emergency hearing, granting a petition to restore parliament to life by the opposition, after it was found that the format of notice required to decide on such a matter was not legally met. This will […]
Kenya aviation news – Parliament now summons KAA management
KAA SUMMONED TO PARLIAMENT Although the Kenya Airport Authority belatedly issued apologies to the general public and the entire aviation fraternity at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, incidentally rejected by a number of airlines as ‘insufficient as long as no compensation is offered’, parliament was even swifter in summoning the KAA management to explain what […]
Uganda aviation news – Entebbe fuel stocks run low again
FUEL SHORTAGE AT ENTEBBE ADDS TO REGIONAL AVIATION WOES Following the repeated power outages at the region’s largest airport in Nairobi did news emerge that Entebbe has been suffering of a lack of aviation fuel again last week. While scheduled flights were able to get refueled before leaving for ‘home’, airlines flying on the route […]
Kenya conservation news – Poachers arrested with 40 tusks
ANTI POACHING MEASURES YIELD ARRESTS News emerged in Kenya late yesterday that police and other security operatives have arrested a gang of poachers transporting ivory from Isiolo to Nairobi. Over 40 elephant tusks were confiscated in the operation together with the truck, as it was used in carrying illicit contraband. Three suspects are due to […]
Weekly roundup of news from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean region, Third edition July 2011
TOURISM, AVIATION AND CONSERVATION NEWS from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean region A weekly roundup of reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome Get daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome or read the daily postings on my blog via: www.wolfganghthome.wordpress.com Third edition July 2011 […]
Tanzania conservation news update – UNESCO World Heritage Committee ‘insignificant entity’ says Tanzania’s tourism minister
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE ‘AN INSIGNIFICANT ENTITY’ The utterances of politicians in East Africa are legendary and legion, but the Tanzanian Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ezekiel Maige outdid himself when calling the UNESCO World Heritage Committee an ‘insignificant entity from which we (meaning the megalomaniac us as in I) cannot take orders’. Maige […]
Kenya aviation breaking news – Drama at JKIA continues with another major power outage
SACK THEM, ALL OF THEM, AND DO IT NOW A second major power failure hit Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last night, again forcing airlines to divert flights to other airports in Kenya and the region, while awaiting power to be restored. Only two days earlier did the same happen in the early morning hours, […]
Rwanda news update – Country now eyes geo-thermal energy sources
RWANDA EYES GEOTHERMAL ‘CLEAN AND GREEN’ ENERGY SOURCES Rising energy costs through the use of thermal electricity plants using heavy fuel oil or diesel have brought plans back to tap into geo-thermal sources in Rwanda to produce affordable power. Details published in Kigali yesterday speak of up to 30 MW of initial geo-thermal electricity potential, […]
Seychelles aviation news update – Helicopter Seychelles brings Augusta 109 back
HELICOPTER SEYCHELLES SPLITS WITH ZIL, BRINGS BACK AUGUSTA 109 While all parties concerned are keeping their own counsel and are at this stage not going on record over the reasons for the failed merger between Helicopter Seychelles and Zil Air, the fact remains that the merger attempt, reported here when it went underway, had not […]
Rwanda conservation news update – Renewed focus on re-forestation
RWANDA’S RE-FORESTATION GATHERS MOMENTUM Efforts to increase forest cover to 30 percent of Rwanda by 2020 have gathered momentum with a broad based forestry workshop taking place in Kigali from today. 2011 is the United Nation’s ‘Year of the Forests’ and Rwanda has taken the lead in the region to commit to major forest restoration […]
Uganda aviation news – Entebbe cleared for A 380 emergency diversions
ENTEBBE INTERNATIONAL CLEARED AS AN A380 EMERGENCY LANDING AIRPORT The Civil Aviation Authority over the weekend released information that the airport was cleared by an inspection panel of Emirates, Dubai’s award winning airline, to serve as an emergency landing airport, following successful ‘simulations’ being carried out. It is understood that the airline was seeking landing […]
Tanzania conservation news update – Wild Dog Project gets Vodacom (T) financing
WILD DOG PROJECT GETS VODACOM SUPPORT Vodacom, one of Tanzania’s leading mobile telecom companies, has pledged to support a wild dog, aka hunting or painted dog conservation project in the Serengeti National Park, following reports that an increasing number of these increasingly rare animals have been poisoned by cattle herders. It is the Tanzania Wildlife […]
Kenya aviation news – JKIA hit by another power failure
ANOTHER POWER OUTAGE HITS JKIA – AIRLINES DEMAND ACTION / RESIGNATIONS Earlier this morning was East Africa’s most important aviation gateway, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, again hit by a power outage, delaying incoming and outgoing flights. Kenya Airways just moments ago tweeted their return to normal operations to their thousands of followers on Twitter, […]
Kenya conservation news update – KWS hands over new sites in Meru Conservation Area
MORE LODGES FOR MERU CONSERVATION AREA Kenya Wildlife Service handed over two sites for development to investors, who are now tasked with putting up tourist facilities in the Kora National Park and the Meru National Park, both part of the greater Meru Conservation Area. The conservation area, comparably less visited than other better know national […]
Rwanda aviation news update – Bugesera International Airport consultants’ report due out next month
BUGESERA AIRPORT DESIGN AND CONSULTANTS REPORT DUE OUT NEXT MONTH Information was received overnight from Kigali confirming that the long awaited consultants’ report about the design proposals for the new international airport ‘Bugesera’ will be published next month, allowing stakeholders and the public at large to study it in detail. Rwanda is presently connected to […]
South Sudan news update – Liaison offices turn into embassies
SOUTH SUDAN LIAISON OFFICES UPGRADE TO EMBASSIES The former liaison offices of the South Sudan have been turned into fully fledged embassies only days after the South attained the long awaited independence from the regime in Khartoum, and several ambassadors were already appointed across East Africa. Now that the United Nations have formally admitted the […]
Seychelles news update – Somalis jailed for 24 years
SOMALIS SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS IN PRISON 6 Somali ocean terrorists were yesterday ‘sent down’ for 24 years for their participation in seajacking a Seychelles fishing vessel, taking Seychellois citizens hostage and attempting to sail the ship to Somalia. The verdict was extra heavy as they then attempted to attack a Seychelles Coast Guard vessel […]
South Sudan aviation update – ET named ‘Official Independence carrier’
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES NAMED ‘OFFICIAL INDEPENDENCE CARRIER’ The government of the Republic of South Sudan has recognized Ethiopian Airlines as the ‘Official Carrier for South Sudan’s Independence Celebrations’ in a statement released yesterday. ET, now operating flights not just to Juba but also to the city of Malakal, brought well over 1.000 VIP’s and other passengers […]
Kenya conservation news – Laikipia conservancies under siege by poachers
KWS FINALLY ACTS ON RHINO KILLING SPREE China, thought to be the main driver for demand in rhino horn, over its alleged but sadly mistaken ‘properties’ to revive ‘ageing men’, is coming under renewed scrutiny and attack by wildlife conservationists, as poaching of rhinos in Kenya is reaching a new level again. Last year over […]
Kenya aviation news update – Kisumu extension works coming to an end
KISUMU INTERNATIONAL – FINALLY Construction on the expanded runway, taxiway and apron is gradually nearing completion at the Kisumu airport, after the terminal building and other facilities had been upgraded and expanded before already. The ‘new’ Kisumu airport, which on the occasion of ‘inaugurating’ it by the end of July is expected to be named […]
