Africa: The leading hotel operator is targeting a projected growth of 150,000 rooms operational and pipeline in 38 countries by 2022 across Middle East and Africa

Marriott International Announces Dynamic New Sales and Marketing Leadership Team to Support its Rapidly Growing Middle East and Africa Portfolio

The leading hotel operator is targeting a projected growth of 150,000 rooms operational and pipeline in 38 countries by 2022 across Middle East and Africa

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,  -- Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) (www.Marriott.com) today announced the expansion and strengthening of its Sales and Marketing Leadership Team for ...

Dangote Cement records 12.6% Sales volume increase across Africa

Half year: Dangote Cement records 12.6% Sales volume increase across Africa

Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest cement producer, has announced its unaudited results for the six months ended 30th June 2017

LAGOS, Nigeria- Dangote Cement (www.DangoteCement.com), Africa’s largest cement producer, has announced its unaudited results for the six months ended 30th June 2017, posting a 12.6 percent increase in sales volume across Africa.

Top GOP senator: Party is in 'denial' about Trump

Top GOP senator: Party is in 'denial' about Trump

In an op-ed column, Sen. Jeff Flake says the White House is in "chaos" and laments GOP tactics that allowed Donald Trump's ascent.

His 3 suggestions »

MAGAZETI YA TZ NA NJE LEO AUG 1,2017

Arusha college introduces gas courses

DEUS NGOWI in Arusha

AS the country moves to gas and industrial based economy, Arusha Technical College (ATC) has come up with special programmes in the gas sector.

The public college will offer the courses in collaboration with the Canadian Government, with the views address the shortage of gas experts in the country.

CRDB saluted for aiding Zanzibar’s economic drive

ABDUEL ELINAZA in Pemba

ZANZIBAR President Dr Ali Mohamed Shein, CRDB Bank Board Chairperson Ally Hussein Laay (third left) and the bank’s Managing Director, Dr Charles Kimei, cut a ribbon to officially inaugurate the bank’s branch at Madungu area in Chake Chake, yesterday. (Photo Courtesy: CRDB)

ZANZIBAR President Ali Mohamed Shein has said the country needs large and strong banks in order to spur the economic development agenda to the next level.

Tenants decry inflated power rates

DAILY NEWS Reporter

OWNERS of the tallest buildings in Dar es Salaam are allegedly charging their tenants high electricity tariffs, contrary to the approved rates, the ‘Daily News’ can reveal.

Technology trims NBS survey costs by half

LUDOVICK KAZOKA in Dodoma

THE National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has halved the survey costs from 2bn/- to 1bn/-, thanks to technological adoption.

Majaliwa orders security reinforcement at borders

DAILY NEWS Reporter in Kyela

PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed security organs to reinforce surveillance at all borders, saying the government will never allow illicit drugs to penetrate easily.

Parties in disputed sale of Tigo shares lock horns

FAUSTINE KAPAMA

PARTIES in the 34,479 share sale dispute have locked horns on whether the Court of Appeal should review its decision on the matter.

Chinese firm given 14 days to pay 70bn/-

FAUSTINE KAPAMA

A LOCAL Company, ST. Martin Co. Limited, has given a Chinese firm, China Railway 15 Bureau Group Corporation, 14 days to pay them over 70bn/- for consultancy services offered on construction of 10,000 houses countrywide for Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) staff members.

Over 500 children to benefit from envisaged 6bn/- centre

JIMMY LWANGILI

THE Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) eastern and coastal diocese is planning to build a vocational training centre for the children with special needs at Mlandizi in Coast Region, the thrust being to develop their skills.

Dar appreciates UN agency on poverty war

DAILY NEWS Reporter

THE government has thanked the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) for its support in helping Tanzanians in the fight against poverty through various programmes.

Telecoms turn to data as voice revenues dip

By: Julius Bizimungu

With more and more subscribers preferring to use messaging services, local telecoms operators need to rethink strategy to stay relevant and competitive. / File.

with growing competition and diminishing voice revenues, Rwanda’s telecom firms are increasingly turning to the data market segment to ...

2017 Election: EAC observers laud conduct during presidential campaigns

By: James Karuhanga

EAC team flag off mission activities. T. Kisambira & Nadege Imbabazi.

The mission leader of the East African Community election observer mission (EOM) in Rwanda, Moody Awori, has commended the people of Rwanda for conducting themselves with maturity in the...

South Sudan's president orders govt officials to surrender bodyguards drawn from army

The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers stand at attention at a containment site outside Juba on April 14, 2016. PHOTO| AFP 

In Summary

• The presidential order was discussed and endorsed by the Council of Ministers at a meting on July 28.
• Information Minister Michael Makuei said that the police were the only section in the security sector mandated to guard constitutional post-holders

Top Trump staffer to be sworn in amid White House shakeup

Newly-named chief of staff John Kelly. The US president on Friday announced via Twitter that he had picked Kelly to replace outgoing chief of staff Reince Priebus, rumored for weeks to be on the verge of being sacked.  AFP PHOTO | SAUL LOEB 

In Summary

• The US president on Friday announced via Twitter that he had picked Kelly to replace outgoing chief of staff Reince Priebus, rumored for weeks to be on the verge of being sacked.
• The staffing overhaul has been greeted with relief by some in Washington who have been alarmed by a White House often criticized as undisciplined and wracked by leaks and internal squabbles.

Future of Rwandan motorcycle business is in co-operatives

The motorcycle taxis will benefit from being in co-operatives. PHOTO FILE | NATION 

In Summary

• Graft and abuse of power by officials of the co-operatives remains a major impediment.
• Under the 2013 transport sector regulation, Rura stopped authorising permits for individuals and gave that role to co-operatives, companies and associations.
• In June last year, the motorists under their apex federation of taxi moto co-operatives petitioned parliament over the graft.

Anti Zuma vote: South Africa's ruling party calls for action against defiant MP

African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament Mondli Gungubele. ANC chief whip in parliament Jackson Mthembu described Gungubele as “the worst form of ill-discipline.” PHOTO| PETER DUBE 

In Summary

• Mondli Gungubele said last week he had lost confidence in President Zuma
• ANC chief whip in parliament Jackson Mthembu described Mondli Gungubele's declaration as “the worst form of ill-discipline.”
• In a statement issued on Monday‚ Mr Mthembu called on the party leadership to take action against the MP
• Mr Gungubele joins Makhosi Khoza, who also faces disciplinary action in her province KwaZulu Natal

Safaricom rallies to $0.24 on dividend deadline

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore. The telecoms operator becomes first listed company in Kenya to touch the Ksh1 trillion mark in market valuation during trading. PHOTO | FILE | NATION 

In Summary

• The stock closed Friday at an average price of Ksh24.50, earning it a market capitalisation of Ksh981.6 billion — which is 42.9 per cent of the total value of all the 63 firms listed on the NSE.
• The Telecoms operator becomes first listed company in Kenya to touch the Sh1 trillion mark in market valuation during trading.
• The telecoms operator now accounts for about 42 per cent of the entire NSE valuation of Ksh2.32 trillion ($22.3bn), meaning that any move on the stock has a significant effect on the main indices — raising concerns over its influence on the Nairobi bourse.

S.Sudan: Division in Machar team threatens Entebbe unity deal

Rebel troops of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) with their weapons at their military site in Juba on April 25, 2016. PHOTO | FILE 

In Summary

• The pact was signed by SPLM-In Government, SPLM-In Opposition and SPLM-Former Detainees at State House Entebbe in Uganda,
• A source said a rift in Dr Machar’s camp became clear when the widow of South Sudan founding fallen leader John Garang appeared alongside the former detainees at a meeting held on July 20 2017 at State House Entebbe.

Uganda on high alert as Kenya, Rwanda go to polls

Uganda's Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda. On Thursday, he called a meeting of select Cabinet ministers to chart a blueprint about Uganda’s state of preparedness in relation to the upcoming elections in neighbouring Rwanda and Kenya. PHOTO FILE | NMG 

In Summary

• Uganda's Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda on Thursday morning called a meeting of select Cabinet ministers to chart a blueprint about Uganda’s state of preparedness in relation to the upcoming elections in neighbouring Rwanda and Kenya.
• Sources, who attended, intimated that the meeting largely deliberated on the August 8 Kenyan polls
• In the aftermath of the 2007 post-election violence, Uganda reached out to Tanzania, and the two-signed a Memorandum of Understanding for development of the Central Corridor (transiting through Dar es Salaam Port). 

IEBC Director of ICT Chris Musando dead

In Summary

• Kenya's electoral agency IEBC Director of ICT Chris Musando, who went missing on Friday, is dead.
• Members of Mr Musando's family went to the mortuary and positively identified him. 
• Many burst into tears, with attendants and friends having a hard time calm them down.

By STELLA CHERONO
More by this Author

Kenya's electoral agency IEBC's Director of ICT Chris Musando, who went missing on Friday, is dead.

Police on Monday said his body and that of an unidentified woman were found in Kikuyu, Kiambu County, and taken to the City Mortuary.

Attendants at the mortuary told The Nation that the two bodies were brought in on Sunday at 11pm.

The bodies, they said, were brought in by police in their vehicle and Mr Musando's was booked as that of “an unknown adult”.

Members of Mr Musando's family went to the mortuary and positively identified him.

IEBC Commissioner Roselyn Akombe mourns the death of Mr Msando at the City Mortuary on July 31, 2017. PHOTO | STELLA CHERONO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Related Content

• IEBC's ICT manager goes missing

Many burst into tears, with attendants and friends having a hard time trying to calm them down.

The bodies were found hours after Mr Musando’s vehicle was found behind Thika Road Mall, off the Thika Superhighway in Nairobi.

Members of Mr Msando's family mourn his death at the City Mortuary on July 31, 2017. PHOTO | STELLA CHERONO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Police said they found the grey Land Rover Discovery near the mall's parking and towed it to Kasarani Police Station.

Nairobi County Police Commander Japhet Koome said the vehicle was dusted for fingerprints early Monday morning. 

Friends of the Msandos mourn his death at the City Mortuary on July 31, 2017. PHOTO | STELLA CHERONO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Mr Musando's family reported his disappearance at the Embakasi Police Station on Sunday.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati and CEO Ezra Chiloba were among the commission’s top officials who rushed to the mortuary on getting the sad news.

Tanzania, gold giant Barrick start discussions over tax row

As Tanzania went into the negotiations, it insisted on meeting with Barrick officials, saying it does not recognise Acacia, as it is not registered in Tanzania. PHOTO COURTESY | THE CITIZEN 

In Summary

• The government team is led by Constitutional and Legal Affairs Minister Prof Palamagamba Kabudi while Barrick’s team is led by its chief executive officer Richard Williams.
• As it went into the negotiations, the government insisted on meeting with Barrick officials, saying it does not recognise Acacia, as it is not registered in Tanzania.
• Acacia operations in Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi, which account for about six per cent of the company’s 2017 gold production, have been impacted by the current ban.

K-Shoe retailer issues profit warning

The K-Shoe shop along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NMG 

By JAMES NGUNJIRI

More by this Author

Summary

• Firm attributes drop in profits to delay in securing additional funds to finance its working capital requirements.
• NBV's second half of the year witnessed low sales volumes due to subdued consumer spending even during the festive season.
• NBV operates six outlets in Nairobi under the K-Shoe brand

Kenyatta Hospital nurses go on strike amid cholera crisis

HEALTH WORKERS ON STRIKE. FILE PHOTO | NMG  

By STELLAR MURUMBA

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Summary

• KNH nurses down tools in solidarity with their counterparts in county hospitals.
• The nurses serving the largest referral facility in the country earlier citing work overload.
• They say an overwhelming number of patients are flocking KNH from county facilities, which remain shut due to an ongoing strike.

Cytonn converts into a public company

Cytonn chief executive Edwin Dande. file photo | nmg 

By JAMES NGUNJIRI

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Summary

• Cytonn chief executive Edwin Dande said the conversion is part of its continuing enhancement of corporate governance at the firm.
• The investments management firm, with offices in Nairobi and DC Metro in the US, yesterday announced its conversion from a private to public company and changed its name to Cytonn Investments Management public listed company (Plc).
• Cytonn said it has more than Sh80 billion in investments and projects under its mandate, mainly in real estate, largely held by high net-worth individuals, global and institutional investors.

Diaspora remittances hit a new monthly record

Diaspora remittances have become a key support of the shilling. file photo | nmg 

By CONSTANT MUNDA

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Summary

• Month-on-month, the rise is 16.5 per cent compared to $138.60 million (Sh14.40 billion) the previous month the CBK, which tracks inflows from formal channels, reported.
• The inflows in May have now slightly overtaken December 2016, which previously held the record at $160.94 million (Sh16.72 billion).
• The North American remittances accounted for nearly half, at 48 per cent, of the total inflows in May, but the share was slightly lower compared to April’s 51.1 per cent ($70.8 million or Sh7.36 billion).

Little to celebrate about the digital economy wave

It might so appear that the much hyped digital economy has lived up to the expectations people had for it 20 years ago. file photo | nmg 

By TIMOTHY ORIEDO

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Summary

• The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) released Q1 report with glaring reports of Airtel had lost market share by five million mobile money and 16 per cent voice.
• The digital economy has transformed communication , consumption of information, and entertainment.
• Productivity growth, which many assumed would be invigorated by the impact of digital technologies, has been dismal for much of this century.

Why income tax compliance levels are low in Kenya

If the government wants its people to pay their taxes, they need to improve the quality of services provided. file photo | nmg  

By IBRAHIM KHALIF

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Summary

• Employment statistics also paint a grim picture for tax compliance level.
• According to the 2017 Economic Survey, an estimated 15.1 million people were in employment in 2015, with a projected increase rise to 16 million in 2016.
• This means that less than 20 per cent of eligible individual taxpayers filed their returns for 2016 in time.

Ruto home attacker killed, says police

Deputy President William Ruto. file photo | nmg 

By BD TEAM

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Summary

• Police said an assailant was shot and killed on Sunday morning, ending a 20-hour siege, just over a week before the August 8 election.
• Sources say the machete-wielding man attacked a GSU officer manning the gate before he gained entry into the house and into an armoury where he accessed the weapons.
• The attack occurred despite the round-the-clock presence of GSU guards at the property.

More details have emerged after the daring attack at Deputy President William Ruto’s rural home in Sugoi.

Police said an assailant was shot and killed on Sunday morning, ending a 20-hour siege, just over a week before the August 8 election.

Rift Valley regional co-ordinator Wanyama Musiambo told the press at the scene that a police officer was shot dead by the assailant during the raid.

“From the exchange of fire we thought it was more than one attacker, because he used different firearms, but after we subdued him, we found only one man dead, plus our officer whom he had killed,” said Mr Musiambo.

Sources say the machete-wielding man attacked a GSU officer manning the gate before he gained entry into the house and into an armoury where he accessed the weapons.

Musiambo said the attacker initially had no gun but managed to break into the police armoury once inside the compound.

He declined to comment on the motive of the attack, or the attacker’s identity. The deputy president’s residence is guarded by an elite paramilitary police unit.

But several security sources said on Saturday that the assault was staged by several people using guns.

The attack occurred despite the round-the-clock presence of GSU guards at the property.

READ: IEBC man disappears hours to kit testing

EDITORIAL: Give IEBC staff security

Grief-stricken relatives of Chris Msando, the IEBC’s acting ICT director, whose body was found in Kiambu, at City Mortuary yesterday. photo | evans habil | nmg 

By EDITORIAL

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Summary

• While it is not yet clear whether his killing is linked to the upcoming polls or not, what is clear is that the State needs to beef up the security that is provided to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials.
• As IEBC chair chairman Wafula Chebukati rightly noted yesterday, tight security must be provided to all the agency’s staff to enable a free and fair election.
• Authorities must ensure that the public is kept appraised as much as possible of how the investigations are progressing.

Resistance to drugs hampers HIV treatment

International Aids Society president Linda-Gail Bekker (left) and President of the French National Ethics Advisory Committee and conference chairman Jean-Francois Delfraissy. PHOTO | AFP 

By ANGELA OKETCH

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Summary

• Experts say there is a big risk in treating and preventing the condition if early and effective action is not taken.
• WHO has developed new tools to help countries to monitor HIV drug resistance, improve the quality of treatment programmes and transition to new HIV treatments, if needed.
• The dose is one pill daily for seven days and is meant to build adequate protection before exposure to risk of infection.
• Many Kenyans are still reluctant to go for test because of the spectre of stigmatisation.

Resistance to drugs used for treating HIV/Aids has increasingly come under the spotlight given the impact this could have on the progress made in managing the disease.

Experts say there is a big risk in treating and preventing the condition if early and effective action is not taken.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on countries to urgently review their treatment programmes.

Detailed findings in The WHO HIV drug resistance report 2017, based on a national research conducted in several countries, reveal that in six of the 11 countries surveyed in Africa, Asia and Latin America, over 10 per cent of people starting antiretroviral therapy have a strain of HIV that is resistant to some of the most widely used HIV medicines.

READ: Kemsa now shifts blame on theft, sale of HIV drugs

The WHO recommends that once the threshold of 10 per cent has been reached, the countries should review their HIV treatment programmes immediately.

“Antimicrobial drug resistance is a growing challenge to global health and sustainable development,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“We need to proactively address the rising levels of resistance to HIV drugs if we are to achieve the global target of ending Aids by 2030.”

Drug resistance develops when people do not adhere to a prescribed treatment plan, often because they do not have consistent access to quality HIV treatment and care.

Individuals with HIV drug resistance will start to be unresponsive to therapy and may also transmit drug-resistant viruses to others. The level of HIV in their blood will increase unless they change to a different treatment regimen, which could be more expensive and in many countries, still harder to obtain.

Of the 36.7 million people living with HIV worldwide, 19.5 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2016.

The majority of these people are doing well, with treatment proving highly effective in suppressing the HIV virus. But a growing number are experiencing the consequences of drug resistance.

In addition to the report, guidelines and the global action plan on HIV drug resistance that countries should adhere to, the WHO released seven new key guidelines and tools at the 9th International Aids Society Conference on HIV Science in Paris, France last week.

The set of guidelines include a new information note on point-of-care early infant diagnosis ASSAYS (investigative procedure in laboratory, pharmacology) to support timely detection of HIV in children.

It also requires that countries monitor the quality of their treatment programmes and take action as soon as treatment failure is detected.

Countries are also encouraged to prioritise research for children and adolescents to address low treatment and quality care for this group.

New guidelines on advanced HIV infection and rapid initiation of antiretroviral recommends screening, treatment and prophylaxis for major opportunistic infections (such as tuberculosis), and rapid initiation of ART and adherence support for people with advanced HIV.

A new technical update advises countries on what to consider when transitioning to a new treatment regimen, including dolutegravir.

The new report also outlines how countries can provide differentiated, carefully-tailored services for various needs of patients. The ninth International Aids Society conference on HIV Science last week, in Paris. PHOTO | AFP

“We need to ensure that people who start treatment can stay on effective treatment to prevent the ...

Stop being a glass and be a lake to dissolve worries

Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but takes you nowhere. file photo | nmg 

By SRI BHARATAM

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Summary

• If a problem can be solved, then you don’t need to worry about it; if a problem cannot be solved, then there is no point in worrying about it.
• The more you let your worries take over you, the more power they get to become your master.
• The less you worry, the less complicated life becomes for you: As they say, worrying does not take tomorrow’s troubles but they for sure take away today’s peace.
• So, stop just worrying, start taking action on how you can solve your problems.