Uganda news update – Source of the River Nile secures 5 year support deal
SOURCE OF THE NILE GETS BREWERY SUPPORT The Municipal Council of Jinja and Port Bell based Uganda Breweries have yesterday put pen to paper, signing a 5 year support deal under which the Diageo owned brewers will invest as much as 2.5 billion Uganda Shillings in the site. Already now are Uganda Breweries signboards evident, […]
South Sudan news update – South Kordofan election results ‘rigged’
SOUTH KORDOFAN ELECTIONS RIGGED CLAIM SPLM SOURCES In the best tradition of the regime in Khartoum was the ICC indicted Ahmad Haroun declared winner of the gubernatorial elections in South Kordofan. He, as his ‘boss’ regime leader Bashir, are alleged to have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, and this spells certain doom for […]
Weekly roundup of news from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean region, Third edition May 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 via Twitter @whthome or on my blog: www.wolfganghthome.wordpress.com Third edition May 2011 Africa News GOOD SAFARI GUIDE WINNERS FOR ALL TO SEE […]
Uganda aviation news – Airport cleaners stage sit down strike at Entebbe Int’l
AIRPORT CLEANERS STAGE SIT DOWN STRIKE Information received late yesterday from the Entebbe International Airport spoke of an impromptu sit down strike on arrival on Monday morning, vowing not to start their work until they had been addressed by their managers over demands for higher wages. It reportedly took several hours before a senior airport […]
Seychelles news update – Interview with STB Chief Executive Alain St. Ange
(The author seen here with Mr. Alain St. Ange during a previous conference attendance) INTERVIEW WITH THE CEO OF THE SEYCHELLES TOURIST BOARD ALAIN ST.ANGE Periodically opportunity arises to speak with leading tourism stakeholders, and Alain St. Ange has established a reputation in recent years to be one of Africa’ foremost tourism gurus, considering how […]
Uganda conservation news – Low season tariffs for gorilla tracking in the offing
LOW SEASON GORILLA TRACKING FEES IN THE OFFING Although the information has been kept under tight wraps, details are beginning to emerge that the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Uganda tour operators association AUTO have struck a deal to lower the gorilla tracking permits, presently costing US Dollars 500 year round, during the ‘low season’ […]
Uganda/Rwanda aviation breaking news – Brussels Airlines offers ‘gorilla tracking rebate’
BRUSSELS AIRLINES OFFERS ‘GORILLA TRACKING DISCOUNT’ The Belgian flag carrier and member of the Lufthansa Group, Brussels Airlines, has just passed on information that they will with immediate effect offer a 10 percent ‘gorilla rebate’ for passengers flying to Entebbe / Uganda and Kigali / Rwanda, against proof of having purchased a gorilla tracking permit […]
Africa tourism news update – Good Safari Guide winners now on the web
GOOD SAFARI GUIDE WINNERS FOR ALL TO SEE The Good Safari Guide award ceremony on the eve of the INDABA tourism fair in Durban earlier this month has once again produced some deserving winners, honouring the at times stunning facilities, services and settings of safari camps, safari lodges, resorts and hotels. Proposed for consideration to […]
East Africa news update – New Nile Treaty now a ‘done deal’
NILE WATER PRODUCERS REMOVE EGYPT’S VETO RIGHTS Almost unnoticed did a key ceremony take place last week in Kampala, when the six signatory nations to the new Nile Treaty came together to formally pronounce the treaty ratified and valid, and becoming the ‘new law’ of how the Nile waters would be governed and shared. The […]
Kenya hospitality news update – Rezidor to open Nairobi hotel in Westlands
NAIROBI SET TO CEMENT REGIONAL DOMINANCE WITH MORE HOTEL News have emerged from Nairobi that the arrival on the hospitality scene by Rezidor, owner of the Radisson hotel brand, will invigorate the hotel market in the Kenyan capital. The company is reportedly going to open a medium sized hotel in the Westlands area of Nairobi […]
Kenya aviation news update – Anti KQ Facebook site ‘laughed off’
FACEBOOK ‘ANTI KENYA AIRWAYS’ SITE ‘BOUND TO FAIL’ Following the incident last week when a Ugandan opposition leader was denied boarding while the airline investigated reports that their flight would be denied landing in Entebbe – sufficiently explained later on and at least in aviation circles accepted as a prudent decision – a group of […]
Kenya conservation news – Going green to stay green
KENYA SET FOR MORE ‘GREEN’ ENERGY Geothermal energy sources are already in use in Kenya through the existing geothermal power station in the Rift Valley near Mt. Longonot, but the lastest results of test drilling near the Menengai Crater not far from the town of Nakuru are yet more promising. The ‘Menengai field’ as experts […]
Uganda news update – New Parliament starts swearing in from today
NEW PARLIAMENT COMMENCES SWEARING IN Starting from today the members of parliament will be sworn into office at the main chamber of the house in alphabetical order, with the entire exercise expected to last three days, before the 9th parliament of the Republic of Uganda will then formally meet for the first time, and elect […]
African tourism news – Seychelles makes waves at IIPT Conference in Lusaka
SEYCHELLES MAKE WAVES AT IIPT CONFERENCE IN LUSAKA Wherever the Seychelles Tourist Board and delegation goes, expect ‘big waves’ and a lasting impact, as now seen at the IIPT Peace for Tourism Conference in Lusaka / Zambia. This Pan African Tourism Conference, under the theme ‘Meeting the challenges of climate change to tourism in Africa […]
Kenya conservation news update – Sniffer dogs now for port of Mombasa too
SNIFFER DOGS TO BE DEPLOYED AT MOMBASA PORT Information was received overnight from Nairobi that the Kenya Wildlife Service is now set to use sniffer dogs at the seaport of Mombasa too, besides already deploying the canine detectives at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Moi International Airport in Mombasa. Recent seizures of blood ivory […]
Rwanda aviation news update – RwandAir adds more domestic and short regional flights
RWANDAIR EXPANDS DOMESTIC AND SHORT REGIONAL ROUTES The national airline of Rwanda has confirmed that they are adding two afternoon flights on their domestic route between Kanombe International Airport / Kigali to Kamembe. The daily 08.30 departure, using the airline’s Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, will now be supplemented with a Tuesday and Saturday 2 p.m. […]
Uganda breaking news – Ebola case confirmed
EBOLA REPORTEDLY STRIKES AGAIN The Sunday Vision has confirmed rumours emerging late last week that a case of Ebola has been identified. The reported alpha patient is said to have died in the Bombo Military Hospital some 60 kilometres outside the capital Kampala, and about three dozen individuals are now said to be under quarantine […]
Seychelles news update – Tourists flock to the islands ahead of presidential elections
TOURISTS FLOCK TO SEYCHELLES AHEAD OF ELECTIONS ‘Brand Seychelles’ not only rules the Indian Ocean it seems when it comes to visibility and magnetic attraction for seekers of exotic holidays in near eternal sunshine on white powder sandy beaches, but has seemingly also trumped the upcoming general elections, which are being held this coming weekend […]
Rwanda news update – Hoteliers on fact finding mission to Kenya
RWANDA HOTELIERS SEEK WISDOM FROM MOMBASA COUNTERPARTS The hotel and restaurant association of Rwanda has just embarked on a fact finding mission by at least 30 members to Mombasa, where they expect to meet and interact with their counterparts running beach resorts along the sunny beaches of Kenya’s coastline. According to information presently available they […]
Tanzania tourism breaking news – Kempinski drops Zanzibar property
KEMPINSKI DROPS ZANZIBAR Information was confirmed today that Kempinski Hotels will be ending their management involvement in the ‘Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski’ with immediate effect. The shock news for the Zanzibari tourism sector were elegantly smoothened over by information from Kempinski Hotels that the management agreement with the owning company ASB Tanzania Investments Limited had run […]
Rwanda tourism update – Kwita Izina programme now confirmed
KWITA IZINA PROGRAMME FRAMEWORK NOW AVAILABLE The annual gorilla naming festival, now in its 7th year, has grown in leaps and bounds and is today a weeklong celebration of conservation and tourism in Rwanda, paying tribute to the country’s ‘signature animal’ and most sought after tourism activity. Once a single day event the organizers at […]
Seychelles news update – Archipelago upstages ‘rivals’ by bagging ‘Royal Honeymoon’
SEYCHELLES EXPECTS ‘HONEYMOON BOOM’ FROM ROYAL CHOICE The choice of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to spend their honeymoon on the ‘North Island’ of the Seychelles, has catapulted an already very visible Indian Ocean island destination into the global spotlight like little else would have done. A concerted effort over the last two years, […]
Rwanda aviation breaking news – It is inaugural day for Libreville
IT IS INAUGURAL DAY FOR LIBREVILLE RwandAir has today operated its very first ‘extension’ flight between Brazzaville / Congo and Libreville / Gabon, using a B737-500 aircraft. The flight, with full traffic rights between Congo and Gabon, is the first of an East African airline to use that routing and passengers bound for these West […]
Seychelles aviation update – Air Seychelles gets new Director Flight Ops
SEYCHELLES GETS NEW ‘DIRECTOR FLIGHT OPERATIONS’ Captain Ralph Saminaden, already a senior captain and Deputy Director Flight Operations on the airline’s B 767 fleet, has earlier in the week been appointed as the new ‘Director Flight Operations’, a major career advance for Capt. Ralph considering the at the position has long been held by an […]
East Africa news update – New EAC Secretary General outlines his priorities
NEW EAC SECRETARY GENERAL OUTLINES PRIORITIES FOR HIS 5 YEAR TERM Dr. Richard Sezibera, just installed as the new Secretary General of the East African Community and based in Arusha, is the first Rwandan national to hold this important post, which habitually rotates amongst the member states. In one of his first media appearances Dr. […]
Tanzania news update – Karibu Tourism Fair in Arusha a ‘sell out’
KARIBU TOURISM FAIR ‘SOLD OUT’ The ‘safari capital of East Africa’ as Arusha is also known is bracing for the influx of as many as 8.000 more visitors in early June, when the Karibu Tourism show, the region’s one and only international tourism trade fair, is taking place between June 03 and 05. As many […]
Rwanda aviation news update – Kanombe International to undergo further upgrades
KANOMBE INTERNATIONAL UPGRADES TO CONTINUE Although the planning for the new Bugesera International Airport is continuing on schedule the Rwandan government is nevertheless committed to upgrade and modernize the present Kanombe International Airport to keep it user friendly and able to cater for the sharply risen traffic experienced in recent years. ‘We are a landlocked […]
Uganda news flash – President Museveni sworn in to new term of office
OUR OLD PRESIDENT BECOMES OUR NEW PRESIDENT, AGAIN All roads were leading to the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds today, as President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni took his oath of office for another term of 5 years. Tens of thousands of enthusiastic Ugandans had lined up along the perimeter, watching the ceremony unfold, after ‘M7’ arrived on the […]
Kenya conservation news – Tourism and conservation stakeholders oppose Lake Nakuru road
PLANS FOR ROAD THROUGH NAKURU PARK ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ ‘Have our planners learned nothing from the controversy about the highway project across the Serengeti’ asked a furious tourism stakeholder from Nairobi, when news emerged that the Nakuru council and the Kenyan Road Authority had put up proposals to create a ‘bypass’ for the traffic which presently snarls […]
Uganda news update – Samuka Island Lodge re-opens
SAMUKA ISLAND REOPENS ITS DOORS It was learned recently that the Samuka Island Lodge has opened its doors again to visitors, Ugandan and foreign alike. A new speedboat collects guests at the Source of the Nile for a ‘ride’ out onto the open lake and in less than an hour visitors reach Samuka Island offering […]
