Kenya conservation news update – Ol Pejeta excells again in community relations
COMMUNITY CONSERVATION TAKEN SERIOUSLY Ol Pejeta, one of Kenya’s leading mixed conservancies – they are rearing cattle side by side with an impressive array of wildlife, including predators – has just completed another community support project, harvesting rain water. Ol Pejeta’s community outreach programme has in recent weeks distributed and installed about 40 water tanks […]
Tanzania conservation breaking news – The corridor of destruction from the coast to the lake
THE CORRIDOR OF DESTRUCTION – FROM THE COAST TO THE LAKE A fuller picture is starting to emerge about the extent of the Tanzanian government’s plans to ‘modernize’ the country on the fast track, after looking at seemingly unrelated but upon closer review very directly related and interlinked projects. When breaking the news a […]
Seychelles news update – Archipelago wins joint claim to extended sea bed
SEYCHELLES WIN JOINT CLAIM TO SEABED AREA The United Nations’ Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea has now formally recognized the claims jointly made by Seychelles and Mauritius over the ‘ownership’ of the seabed along the ‘Mascarene Plateau’, adding a total area of almost 400.000 square kilometres to the control exercised […]
Tanzania conservation news – Tourism minister speaks out against poaching
WITH POACHING IT IS FOREIGNERS TOO ‘Foreigners’ seems to be one of the key word these days in Tanzania when it comes to apportioning blame for a range of assorted crimes and society ills, as the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism has learned too. He blamed the increase of poaching, as seen in Tanzania […]
Rwanda tourism news update – New record first quarter for Rwanda tourism
RWANDA’S TOURISM INCOME SHARPLY UP COMPARED TO 2010 The first quarter results of tourism’s sectoral performance were released yesterday and the earnings confirmed by government sources are in the region of US Dollars 56 million, compared with a figure of only 43 million US Dollars last year, which ended as the best ever nevertheless. Visitor […]
Aviation news update – AFRAA takes issue with EU ‘Blacklist’
AFRAA ATTACKS EU AIRLINE BLACK LISTING The African Airline Association, based in Nairobi, has come out strongly against the ban on LAM Mozambique in the most recent blacklist edition published by the European aviation oversight body. Citing a ‘flawless record’ since 1989 AFRAA questioned which rationale was used to include LAM in the list of […]
Kenya conservation news – Park communities denounce officials
PARK COMMUNITIES DENOUNCE OFFICIALS Community leaders around the Masai Mara, one of Kenya’s best known game reserves, have minced no words recently when denouncing the Narok County Council and other officials for perpetuating poverty amongst the people living near the park boundaries. While the Kenya Wildlife Service is in charge of most of the national […]
Uganda news update – My heart cries for my country
MY HEART CRIES FOR THE PEARL OF AFRICA Rent-a-mobs, assembled and allegedly paid for overnight, descended into the streets of Kampala on Friday morning, and in fact some other towns upcountry too, to do the bidding of their political master, cause chaos, loot and steal and make Uganda look bad in the international media. Alongside […]
Kenya conservation breaking news – Another Chinese nabbed with 100 KG of blood ivory
ANOTHER CHINESE NATIONAL NABBED WITH 100 KG OF BLOOD IVORY Airline security in conjunction with customs and police deployed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi have last night arrested yet another Chinese national, transiting in Nairobi with blood ivory in his baggage. This latest find is again attributed to the increasingly alert officers […]
Sudan news update – Bashir threatens renewed war
KHARTOUM’S REGIME THREATENS RENEWED WAR Stung by an internal revolt last week leading to the sacking of his national security advisor, Khartoum’s regime leader Bashir, true to his colours finally shown in public again, threatened to go back to war to keep the disputed oil state of Abyei under Northern domination. This was learned overnight […]
Tanzania conservation news – MP blames ‘foreigners only’ for anti highway opposition
IT IS ONLY THE FOREIGNERS WHO ARE AGAINST THE HIGHWAY – OH REALLY The member of parliament for Ngorongoro, one Ole Telele, raised a storm of heated arguments yesterday in Dar es Salaam during a WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature – sponsored dialogue over the pro’s and con’s of the proposed highway across […]
Uganda news update – Libyan owned UTL suffers defeat in court
LIBYAN OWNED UTL IN DIRE STRAITS One of the frozen assets owned by Gadaffi Libya, Uganda Telecom, has suffered a severe blow in court yesterday, when the Commercial Court delivered judgment on a pending suit brought by telecoms giant MTN against UTL over ‘interconnection fees’. Once one of Uganda’s most promising companies, after being privatized from the former […]
Uganda aviation news update – Shell rockets AVGAS price to USD 2.71
SHELL RAISES AVGAS PRICE TO USD 2.71 Shell has been accused by sections of the aviation fraternity of blatant exploitation, with the word ‘racketeering’ not being formally spoken but certainly floating between the lines, when their latest price for AVGAS rockets to US Dollars 2.71, compared to Nairobi’s Wilson Airport, where the commodity sells at […]
Uganda aviation news update – Aero Club adds Twin Otter – 400
KAMPALA AERO CLUB TAKES DELIVERY OF TWIN OTTER – 400 Information was confirmed this morning that the Kampala Aero Club and Flight Training Centre, aka KAFTC, has taken delivery of their long awaited twin engined De Havilland Twin Otter – 400 aircraft, which is now being integrated into the growing fleet of the ‘charter only’ airline at […]
Seychelles news update – Tourism Academy set for expansion
COMMITTED TO SECTOR EXCELLENCE STA GETS NEW CAMPUS The Seychelles Tourism Academy remains at the centre of the governments’ efforts to increase the skills of the workforce in the tourism and hospitality industry, supporting the ‘affirmative action programme’ of absorbing more and more Seychellois citizens into the workforce. Tourism is the number one foreign exchange […]
Rwanda news/aviation update – RwandAir in Brazzaville exhibition
Aviation news update – Emirates starts A380 flights to Shanghai
EMIRATES’ A380 USE ON SHANGHAI ROUTE EXCITES TRAVELLERS Yesterday saw the first of now daily flights by Emirates from Dubai to Shanghai, using the sky giant A380 aircraft. The introduction of the world’s biggest passenger aircraft was welcome news to travelers from East Africa to China, where much of the continent’s business is now conducted and […]
Tanzania conservation news update – Serengeti highway plans get more ‘sycophant support’
MORE MOUTHPIECES FRONTED ‘IN FAVOUR OF SERENGETI HIGHWAY’ In the face of continued global lobbying against the controversial Serengeti Highway plans, which have considerably damaged Tanzania’s public image as a conservation minded nation, has the government in Dar es Salaam resorted once again to ‘fronting’ locals. A village chairman was this time round selected to […]
Seychelles aviation news update – Reorganization of HM continues
AIR SEYCHELLES CONTINUES RE-ORGANIZATION The Seychelles national airline has according to the latest reports from Mahe continued its drive towards becoming a more efficient organization with the introduction of ‘deputy directors’ positions for all of the presently eight directorates of the airline. The directors of flight operations, technical operations and ground handling services, freight, marketing, […]
Uganda news update – Libyan embassy ‘hunted by creditors’
BANKS AND CREDITORS NOW AFTER LIBYAN EMBASSY A notice has reportedly been served on the Libyan Embassy in Kampala about the imminent auction of top of the range vehicles financed by a local bank, and notably not the Libyan owned Tropical Bank, which assets were recently frozen by the Ugandan government and had a new […]
Kenya aviation news update – Kenya Airways to resume Abidjan flights
KENYA AIRWAYS TO RESUME FLIGHTS TO ABIDJAN It was learned overnight that ‘The Pride of Africa’ will, effective 02nd May, resume their operation into the Ivory Coast’s capital city of Abidjan, following months of unrest which ended with the capture of defeated former president Gbagbo recently, after he had refused to step down and make way for […]
Aviation news update – Multiple options for B787 training
MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR EAST AFRICA’S B787 PILOT CONVERSION TRAINING The approval by the US FAA, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, by EASA and Far Eastern agencies of recently established Boeing 787 simulator facilities has now set the stage for formal conversion training of pilots selected by the respective airlines. Training will now be offered in Seattle, […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, Fourth edition April 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 Fourth edition April 2011 Africa News A HARD LOW SEASON LOOMS FOR EASTERN AFRICA […]
Kenya conservation news update – Tsavo East elephants raid farms to escape drought
TSAVO ELEPHANTS SEEK TO ESCAPE DROUGHT The game rich but drought hit area of Tsavo East National Park and the adjoining Taita Hills Game Reserve are traditionally the home of large numbers of elephant, traversing the protected areas in search of food and water following an age old pattern. However, the present drought condition has apparently prompted several […]
South Sudan news update – ‘It is all Khartoum’s doing’
IT IS ALL KHARTOUM’S DOING The present wave of militia incidents in Southern Sudan, combined with aggressive threats by leading operatives of the Khartoum regime in regard of the consultations and elections in South Kordofan – due for the 02nd of May – and issues surrounding the disputed oil state of Abyei have confirmed long harboured […]
Tanzania conservation news update – Lake Natron soda ash factory, by hook or crook
LAKE NATRON SODA ASH FACTORY – BY HOOK OR CROOK The long Easter weekend produced some startling information from Tanzania, when it became known that the Minister for Industry and Trade stated categorically that even if the still in the making Environmental Impact Assessment study would recommend against the building of a soda ash plant […]
Kenya news update – World Bank to finance key infrastructural projects
WORLD BANK TO FINANCE MOMBASA AIRPORT AND KENYA TO SOUTH SUDAN ROAD WORKS Information was received over the Easter weekend that the World Bank has reportedly agreed with the Kenya government to extend a soft loan of up to 25 billion Kenya Shillings to co-finance two crucial infrastructural projects. One, important to tourism, is the modernization and […]
Rwanda news update – Akagera NP investments ‘on course’
ADDED INVESTMENTS IN AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK ON COURSE News emerged from Kigali that a top level meeting between the Akagera partners, the Rwanda Development Board on behalf of the Government of Rwanda and the African Parks Network, which own the Akagera Management Company, have reaffirmed their commitment to invest an initial 12 million US Dollars this year. The […]
East Africa news update – A hard low season looms as Easter rush ends
A HARD LOW SEASON LOOMS FOR EASTERN AFRICA As the Easter season comes to a close, domestic, regional and international tourists begin their journey home from the beaches across the Eastern African Indian Ocean shorelines and from the safari lodges in the national parks. Hospitality stakeholders have expressed their concern to this correspondent about occupancy […]
The Good Safari Guide Awards now just over a week away
GOOD SAFARI GUIDE AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED With the annual award ceremony for ‘Africa’s Best’ now only just over a week away – to be held on the eve of the annual INDABA tourism trade fair dedicated to safari tourism in Southern Africa and beyond – ‘things’ are heating up for the nominees, of which over […]
