Breaking News – Ol Pejeta’s Northern White Rhinos in ‘mating mood’
OL PEJETA’S NORTHERN WHITE RHINOS ‘IN THE MOOD’ Information was received over the weekend from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in the central Kenyan highlands, that the Northern White Rhinos, now just over 15 months on site since their relocation in December 2009 from a zoo in the Czech Republic, have started to begin ‘mating’ activities. […]
Breaking News – Uganda ‘expecting’ three more rhinos
UGANDA ‘EXPECTING’ THREE MORE RHINOS The Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary of the Rhino Fund Uganda has just released information, that the three female adults are all in the family way once again. Ziwa presently is the only sanctuary in Uganda where rhinos can be seen it he (semi)wild, and 6 adults and 3 now adolescents are roaming the […]
Uganda’s tourism minister gets into fresh controversy
THAT MUSEUM MUST GO – SAYS MINISTER Uganda’s controversial tourism minister Kahinda Otafire, by his own description aka minister of crocodiles, has again stepped into the spotlight when dismissing the pleas of members of the East African Legislative Assembly and civil society by saying categorically that ‘the museum must go’. He accused those lobbying for the […]
Aviation News Update – WikiLeaks got it wrong about Kenya Airways
WIKILEAKS ALLEGATIONS TOWARDS KENYA AIRWAYS ‘BASELESS AND TOTALLY WRONG’ The information WikiLeaks published about the alleged ‘blocking’ by Kenya Airways of direct flights by Sky Team alliance partner Delta between the US and Kenya are ‘outrageous and totally false’ according to a regular and highly placed source in Kenya Airways. WikiLeaks documents suggest that KQ was opposed to […]
Aviation news update – Brussels Airlines to release several AVRO 85, opts for A319
BRUSSELS AIRLINES GETS MORE SHORT HAUL AIRCRAFT TO MEED GROWING DEMAND A regular source at the Brussels Airlines office in Kampala has broken news that the airline is going to phase out part of their AVRO 85’ fleet, as a handful of their leases is coming to the contractual end. Instead the airline is introducing initially […]
Breaking News – Kenya’s Yala Swamp under threat of drying up as drought bites and rice growers divert water
RICE OR ENVIRONMENT – ANOTHER CONTROVERSY UNFOLDS An investor in growing rice in Kenya has found themselves at cross roads – and crossing swords – with the environmental community, when it became known that the single inflow of water of the River Yala has been largely blocked and diverted to water the rice fields. This measure, […]
Aviation news update – Kenya Airways planning for ‘all ladies’ crews on International Woman’s Day
KENYA AIRWAYS SET FOR ALL LADIES CREW ON WOMEN’S DAY It is understood from a usually very reliable source that Kenya Airways aka ‘The Pride of Africa’ is planning to honour the International Woman’s Day with ‘all lady flights’, whereby crews on certain flights and aircraft are ‘womanned’ by an entirely female crew in the […]
Breaking News – Tanzania Tourism launches rebranding, new images and logos today
TANZANIA TOURIST BOARD PRESENTS NEW BRANDING AND SLOGANS The Tanzania Tourist Board is expected to launch a new logo and branding for Tanzania Tourism today, when presenting the tourism industry, a wide section of stakeholders and the general public with the results of months of intense soul searching, brainstorming and hard work. TTB felt that the […]
Aviation news update – COTWU asks for sacking of managers and financial bailout for ATCL
NOW UNIONS DEMAND SACKING OF ATCL MANAGEMENT The Communications and Transport Workers Union in Tanzania has, following a series of negative headlines and scandals, also demanded from government to sack the ‘inept’ management of Air Tanzania, a call which can only be supported. What cannot be supported though was the instantly made second demand that […]
Breaking News – Uganda’s national museum under threat for ‘progress’
DON’T TAMPER WITH UGANDA’S NATIONAL MUSEUM SAY EALA DELEGATES The presence of EALA (East African Legislative Assembly) members in Kampala, where they arrived two days ago to assess the implementation and impact of various tourism and wildlife related programmes the East African Community has currently underway, was also used by ‘friends of the museum’ who enlisted […]
Breaking News – Tanzania’s tourism minister proposes another regional airline ?!?
FORM A REGIONAL AIRLINE TO GET MORE TOURISTS? Tanzania’s tourism minister Ezekiel Maige yesterday advised tourism stakeholder to ‘form a regional airline’ aimed at allowing tourists to visit other countries within the Southern African Development Community, in short SADC. He went on to cite lack of connections to for instance Namibia or Angola from Tanzania, displaying […]
Aviation news update – Kenya Airways sends another batch of pilot trainees to South Africa
MORE PILOTS FOR ‘THE PRIDE OF AFRICA’ It was learned this morning from a source in Nairobi that Kenya Airways, currently already employing almost 380 pilots, is sending yet more for the initial basic training to South Africa, where the ‘aspirants for wings’ will join another 45 colleagues, presently undergoing their induction into flying a […]
News Update – Fairmont Kenya Hotels to participate in WWF’s ‘Earth Hour’
FAIRMONT TO TURN THEIR LIGHTS OFF TO HONOUR ‘EARTH HOUR’ Fairmont’s Kenyan properties will join their global colleagues on the 26th of March at 20.30 hrs (08.30 p.m.) to honour the World Wildlife Fund’s request to reduce energy consumption in a bold visible action. The Kenyan properties of Fairmont, most notably The Norfolk Hotel and […]
Breaking News – East African Legislative Assembly members to assess EAC’s tourism and wildlife programmes
EAST AFRICAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY MEMBERS TO CONDUCT TOURISM SURVEY Information was received overnight that members of EALA will begin a region wide assessment and survey of the tourism sector to get first hand feedback of how the EAC’s programmes towards tourism and wildlife management are being received, implemented and effective. The first ‘destination’ will be […]
Stop Press / Breaking News – Air Seychelles Executive Chairman retires from airline
AIR SEYCHELLES EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN RETIRES The ongoing restructuring of Air Seychelles is going into an even higher gear following the retirement of Capt. David Savy as Executive Chairman of the archipelago’s national airline. Only last week was it reported here that the expatriate CEO of Air Seychelles had also left the airline and a young […]
Weekly roundup of news from the Eastern African and Indian Ocean region, First edition March 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 First edition March 2011 THE DEATH OF THE YACHTSMEN When news were confirmed […]
Breaking News – Eastern Black Rhino gives birth in Serengeti
RELOCATED EASTERN BLACK RHINO GIVES BIRTH IN SERENGETI One of the rhinos relocated mid last year from South Africa has reportedly given birth in the Serengeti, ‘replacing’ the one which was cruelly butchered a few months ago for its horns. The source in Arusha asked not to specifically point to the location or area of […]
Breaking News – Tanzania’s tourism PS sent away for ‘special duties’
MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND TOURISM GET NEW PS Political analysts and tourism stakeholders are trying to interpret the proverbial tea leaves right now, when it became known that long serving Permanent Secretary Ladislaus Komba was yesterday sent to the foreign affairs portfolio for ‘special duties’ but notably not as their new PS, and has been […]
Breaking News – Revival of Air Tanzania hangs in balance
PLANS TO REVIVE AIR TANZANIA COME UNDER IMMEDIATE FIRE The Tanzanian transport minister earlier in the week claimed to have several interested parties willing to invest in moribund Air Tanzania, the erstwhile national airline now literally broke and being sued in South Africa and elsewhere for multi million US Dollars claims. The minister reportedly would […]
Breaking News – Burundi becomes latest country to sign on to new Nile treaty
BURUNDI SIGNS ON TO NEW NILE TREATY The apparent absence of constant diplomatic pressure from Egypt, attempting a last moment carrot and stick offensive to stop the remaining Nile Basin Initiative member countries from signing on to the new treaty version, has taken a setback when Burundi put pen to paper. Joining Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda […]
Stop Press / Breaking News – Gadaffi’s companies in Africa face uncertain future, may be subject to asset freezes too
LIBYAN OWNED COMPANIES FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE Concerns are growing amongst management and staff of Libyan owned companies like LAICO Hotels and Uganda Telecom about their future and their biggest shareholder’s ability to inject further capital into the companies for expansion, modernization and system upgrades. LAICO Hotels for instance owns the Lake Victoria Hotel in Entebbe, but […]
Stop press – Breaking News – Kenyans home from Libya, Ugandans on next flight to Entebbe
AFRICAN EVACUEES LAND IN NAIROBI The Kenyan contingent on the Kenya Airways special flight KQ 1322 were given a tumultuous welcome by relatives and friends, when the KQ B767-300 touched down at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport a short while ago. Unlike many others rescued by the same mission, who will now make their way home […]
Stop Press Update – Libya evacuees from East Africa now in Cairo
EAST AFRICAN LIBYA EVACUEES NOW SAFE IN CAIRO 151 passengers were airlifted out of Tripoli last night under what has been described as ‘chaotic circumstances’, with navigation, ground handling and check in suffering from the political upheavals now witnessed across much of Libya. The mercy flight, which was initially due to take off from Tripoli for […]
Breaking News – Egypt’s thoughts on the Nile waters laid bare by WikiLeaks
WIKILEAKS CONFIRM EGYPT’S HOSTILITY OVER NILE WATER AGREEMENTS The government of fallen ‘Pharaoh’ Hosni Mubarak has now finally been exposed by more WikiLeaks cables published last week, confirming what East African countries for long suspected and what a Ugandan diplomat a few weeks ago ‘spilled’ – reported here at the time: Egypt did consider the use of […]
News update – Kenya plans two tier strategy to sell off hotel, lodge and resort shareholdings
KTDC’S SALE IN HOTEL SHARES TO BE A TWO TIER AFFAIR Information from Nairobi about the upcoming sale of shares in hotels, lodges and resorts, held by the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation on behalf of the Kenyan government, talks of a two tier strategy in selling off these holdings, or as it appears turning some […]
Stop Press – Breaking News – Kenya Airways mercy flight to Tripoli underway
KENYA AIRWAYS COMES TO THE RESCUE OF EAST AFRICANS IN LIBYA Information just received gives an update of the planned Kenya Airways evacuation flight, operated on a wide body B767-300 from Nairobi via Cairo to Tripoli this afternoon. The Libyan Civil Aviation Authority eventually did grant a landing permit on humanitarian grounds, as the aircraft was already […]
News Update – Kenya keeps Visa fee low
SMART MOVE KEEPS KENYAN VISA FEES AT 25 USD The Kenyan government, according to a well placed source in Nairobi, is set to keep the fees for a tourist Visa at 25 US Dollars per person, and will only review this by July 2011. The savings, for instance for a family of four, runs into […]
Breaking News – Uganda habituating two more gorilla groups in Bwindi
MORE HABITUATED GORILLA GROUPS TO ‘COME ON LINE’ BY MID 2011 Information was received from a regular source at the Uganda Wildlife Authority that the habituation of two more groups of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is in its final stages. Hence, later this year a further 16 permits for gorilla tracking will be available […]
Breaking News – UWA makes more bad headlines
UWA BACK IN ‘BADLINES’ More headlines emerged this weekend, when the Daily Monitor made further sweeping allegations about the state of affairs at Uganda Wildlife Authority and blamed the tourism minister Kahinda Otafiire – aka Minister for Crocodiles by his own words – for usurping executive powers in contravention of the existing law. The newspaper reportedly obtained […]
Breaking News – Kenya Airways signs extended agreement with TravelPort
TRAVELPORT AND KENYA AIRWAYS EXTEND PARTNERSHIP This morning both Kenya Airways and TravelPort put pen to paper in Nairobi and extended a successful 14 year old partnership, confirming continued cooperation for distribution services. KQ mainly uses the Galileo platform for their links with the travel trade and corporate clients ‘big enough’ to install the system on their premises. Said […]
