Sudan Dam collapse destroys 600 houses

KHARTOUM, Sudan

A sudden collapse of a dam in Sudan’s Blue Nile State has destroyed 600 houses, local Sudanese media reported on Friday.

“Over 600 houses in the neighborhoods of Bout town in Blue Nile State have been destroyed due to a sudden collapse of Bout dam which is used to store around 5 million cubic meters of water coming from the valleys of Al-Angsana Mountains,” local media quoted Nusaiba Farouq Kalol, acting Executive Director of Al Tadamun locality in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, as saying.

“The water surrounded another 600 families in a neighbourhood, with no access to them as the water flooded the area from three directions,” she added.

The local official warned against a big wave of displacement in the area, noting that the Bout dam constitutes the backbone for the area where there is a large market and more than nine basic education schools.

Annually during June and July, Sudan witnesses waves of floods due to heavy rains.

On Thursday, Sudan meteorological authorities warned of medium to heavy rains, accompanied by high-speed winds on Friday that would continue until Saturday afternoon, in various parts of the country. - Agencies

Tanzania enters into 'Diplomatic Tiff' with Kenya

By Osoro Nyawangah, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania

A day after Kenya excluded Tanzania from list of countries that can fly into Kenya, the southern neighbouring country has banned Kenya Airways from  its airports putting the countries into diplomatic tiff.

In a letter to Kenya Airways, Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority Director General, Hamza Johari, said that a decision had been made to revoke Kenya Airway's (KQ) clearance.

He said that Tanzania had noted its exclusion in the list of countries whose people will be allowed to travel into Kenya effective Saturday when international flights resume in Kenya.

"The Authority regrets to inform you that, on a reciprocal basis, the Tanzanian Government has decided to nullify its approval for Kenya Airways flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar airports effective August 1, 2020 until further notice," the letter said.

Johari added that the letter rescinds all previous arrangements that permit KQ flights into Tanzania including a letter dated July 30, 2020.

Kenya on Thursday announced that Tanzania was not among the initial list of 11 countries allowed to fly into Kenya.

In a communiqué announced by Transport Cabinet Secretary, James Macharia, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Uganda, France, Namibia,  Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Switzerland  and  Morocco who have mild and limited community transmission of COVID-19 will be allowed into Kenya.

Macharia said the list will be reviewed on a regular basis depending on the circumstances on the ground and after a comprehensive global mapping of the intensity of the disease.

According to the communiqué, all the passengers arriving in the country will be required to produce a PCR based Covid-19 certificate whose test should have been done 96 hours before travel.

“Let it be clear that those who will have a certificate of tests done before the stipulated 96 hours will not be allowed to board in the first place. On arrival the passengers’ temperature should not exceed 37.5 degrees and not display any Covid-19 related signs,” Macharia said.

Speaking during his 10th Presidential Address on Covid-19, President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta told Kenyans not to think countries that are not releasing their coronavirus data are doing any better in handling the pandemic.  

“Let’s not compare ourselves and say some countries don’t have the virus. Why do we have it, and they don’t? Let me remind Kenyans, we live in a democracy where there is media freedom. As a state, we don’t have the power to hide anything. Whatever happens, we tell you.” He noted.

The President insisted that “There are others who have that power. But we are proud of the fact that we are a democracy and are able to tell each other the truth and face the reality instead of sweeping the truth under the carpet and have our citizens suffer quietly.” 

Uhuru fell short of naming Tanzania, which has been accused of sitting on Covid-19 data and restricting news reporting about the pandemic.

Tanzania stopped Covid-19 data provision in April this year, arguing that the country defeated the pandemic through prayers and that Tanzania is safe from the scorge. - Africa

Kenya Health ministry in trouble over irregular tender

By Samwel Owino, NAIROBI Kenya

Senators have questioned how a law firm that offered legal services to the Ministry of Health in the execution of the Sh63 billion Managed Equipment Service (MES) project was procured.

Afya House. Senators have questioned how a law firm that offered legal services to the Ministry of Health in the execution of the Sh63 billion Managed Equipment Service project was procured. 

The law firm, M/S Iseme, Kamau and Maema Advocates, gobbled up Sh56 million of taxpayers’ money in the MES project deal that is now a subject of investigations by the Senate ad hoc committee.

The Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo-led committee has raised questions how the Ministry of Health then under CS James Macharia resorted to restricted tender method in procuring the services of the law firm to advise it on the MES project.

Bungoma Senator and the committee vice-chairman Moses Wetang’ula questioned why Mr Macharia specifically went for M/S Isemeout of a list of many other law firms kept by the Attorney General, who are qualified to represent the government entities on various issues.

“The ministry should have written to the Attorney-General requesting for a list of law firms qualified to help government entities, and choose one. But in this case, the CS just picked Iseme Kamau advocates,” Mr Wetang’ula said.

Documents before the committee indicate that the scope of work of the law firm involved drafting, negotiating, amending and finalising the inter-governmental agreement between the ministry and counties.

Of concern to the committee is that the law firm failed to declare conflict of interest — one of the suppliers of the MES equipment who got the largest share of the deal was their client, and it is believed that they played a role in the awarding of the lucrative tender.

M/S General Electric East Africa Services, which supplied radiology equipment worth Sh23.8 billion, is said to be a client of the law firm.

The contract with the companies entailed leasing of assorted medical equipment – renal, laboratory, ICU, radiology and theatre equipment – to at least two hospitals in each of the 47 counties for seven years. It also included installation of the equipment and training of technical staff.

The committee is investigating whether the public got value for money for the MES projects as various reports have indicated that some of the expensive equipment are lying idle in counties due to lack of qualified personnel to handle them.

The committee is also investigating how the contract, which was initially valued at Sh38 billion, was later escalated after variation to approximately Sh63 billion.

The committee is questioning why the law firm signed a formal agreement in 2015 yet their scope of scope of work involved drafting of the entire MES project, which was done in 2014.

Appearing for the law firm, Senior Counsel Paul Muite said government agencies are allowed to pick a particular law firm to act for them hence there was nothing illegal in M/S Iseme clinching the deal.

He also denied that the law firm had knowledge of the suppliers and failed to declare conflict of interest that one of them was their client.

The senior counsel said there was nothing illegal in commencing work for the ministry before signing a formal agreement.

 The committee is supposed to table its report on August 4.

Rwanda investigating Minister of Infrastructure on embezzlement

By Edmund Kagire, KIGALI Rwanda

Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) Secretary General Col (Rtd) Jeannot Ruhunga says they are still investigating the Minister of Infrastructure Amb. Claver Gatete (pictured) on his alleged role in ongoing cases of misuse of public resources involving the ministry he heads.

Ruhunga confirmed during a joint press conference with the Prosecutor General Aimable Havugiyaremye on Tuesday that investigations on Gatete, which started at the end of June after the Minister was mentioned in several cases involving mismanagement or misappropriation of funds, are still on.

He pointed out that there are several investigations and cases in court in which the Minister has been mentioned, which prompted the investigative body to conduct investigations to ascertain his role but did not say if they have found anything incriminating for the Minister.

“At this point we cannot say we have enough evidence to suggest that he was directly involved in embezzling or mismanaging funds for us to arrive at a conclusion but the investigations are continuing. We will let you know the outcome,” Ruhunga said.

Last month, Gatete was at the receiving end of President Paul Kagame’s scolding during the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) expanded National Executive Committee (NEC). He accused him of looking on as public resources were being mismanaged.

Gatete’s troubles emanate from an ongoing case in which high ranking officials, including Caleb Rwamuganza, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, are accused of flouting tender procedures to cause a loss to the taxpayer by prompting the government to purchase a building at a price which is Rwf2bn higher than its actual cost.

PS Rwamuganza is accused alongside Godfrey Kabera, the Director-General in the Ministry of Finance, Eric Serubibi, the former Director-General of Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA) and Christian Rwakunda, who was Deputy Director-General in Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) until recently appeared before Gasabo Intermediate Court.

The officials are charged alongside businessman Aloys Rusizana, the owner of the disputed building located in Kacyiru, while the other co-accused is Bonaventure Munyabugingo, a private property valuer, who is accused of conspiring with the defendants to buy the building at Rwf9.85bn yet it had been proved that it was worth at least Rwf7.6bn.

President Kagame was incensed by the fact that Minister Gatete oversaw the transaction as well as other allegations of mismanagement of funds in the Ministry, requesting RIB to look into the issue.

Asked why Minister Gatate was still in office yet he is still under investigation. the RIB SG said that they have not found anything incriminating yet for the senior minister but ultimately it is the appointing authority to decide whether he remains in office or not.

“It is not in our mandate to answer why Minister Gatete is still in office. Our job is to investigate allegations and report to prosecution. The appointing authority determines whether one remains in office or not, when investigations are ongoing,” Ruhunga said.

During the media briefing, the Prosecutor General Aimable Havugiyaremye revealed that Former Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi who is facing charges of issuing bouncing cheques and breach of trust, additional charges which could be added to the file are being investigated. He said since his arrest, more people have appeared with more bounced cheques.

The Prosecutor General said that when he was arrested, the bounced cheques amounted to Rwf100m but since his arrest and subsequent arraignment, more people came forward with unsecured cheques, which are now worth more than Rwf200m. He said there were efforts to engage him to clear his debts but it was all in vain.

The Prosecutor General said that many people he owed money had not come forward and had decided to keep quiet, given Dr Habumuremyi’s status, but when he was arrested and arraigned in court, even those who had feared reported their cases, which is why he was denied bail, for investigations to go on.

“When we received his file, that time the unsecured cheques were just over Rwf100m but as we investigated, another person with a cheque of Rwf70m came forward and then a few more people showed up and now the cheques amount to more than Rwf200m,”

“Normally as a right given by the law, someone has a right to bail as the case continues but in his case we were continuing to receive more complaints of people he owed money. Some of these people had feared to come forward because of his status as former Prime Minister and a high ranking government official but when he was arrested and charged, they came forward,” the Prosecutor General said.

Prosecutor General Havugiyaremye said that on several occasions, Dr Habumuremyi was asked if he could clear the debts but he was non-committal, even when he was advised to sell of some of his properties to clear the debts.

It later emerged that there are more debts written under his name, including mortgaging most of his properties with banks.  This brought his liabilities to more than Rwf1bn.

He further said that efforts to give the former PM time to sort out his financial troubles, which he admitted to, yielded no fruits, leaving Prosecutors with no option but to press charges.

On whether he should have been treated differently, the PG pointed out that no one is above the law, regardless of their status. He pointed out that issues of issuing unsupported cheques is one of the most concerning crimes which are being committed deliberately, warning that this financial crime is going to be given due attention given the rate at which is being committed.

On recovery of mismanaged or embezzled public funds, the Prosecution has so far recovered Rwf1.9bn from people who cooperated while 928 files were successfully prosecuted, involving 1,187 people. From the cases, Rwf4.78bn has been recovered and fines worth Rwf2.65bn instituted.

COVID-19 death toll reach 299 as infections spike in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya

Kenya on Tuesday recorded 606 new cases of Covid-19, raising the country's total to 18,581.

Kagwe echoed President Uhuru Kenyatta's words by saying there will be no relent on anybody regardless of status when it comes to enforcing covid-19 rules.

The new positives were drawn from the 4,888 people whose samples were tested within 24 hours.

Health Cabinet Secretary, Mutahi Kagwe said in terms of gender, 409 were males and 197 were females. Age wise, the youngest was a four month old infant, while the oldest was 85 years.

On a positive note, 75 patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country so far to 7,908.

However, 14 more patients succumbed to the virus, raising fatalities in the country to 299.

Kagwe urged those working from home should try and operate from their own houses.

"I have become a bullet, you have become a bullet. We can kill somebody. We have become dangerous," he said.

He encouraged parents to insist their children to wash their hands, sanitize and be responsible.

Kagwe echoed President Uhuru Kenyatta's words by saying there will be no relent on anybody regardless of status when it comes to enforcing covid-19 rules.

He discouraged people from travelling upcountry or hosting visitors in their homes unless it's urgent.

Eight medical workers are among those who have succumbed to the virus in the country.

Consequently, the National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK) on Tuesday morning raised concern over the increase of Covid-19 cases amongst healthcare workers across the country.

NNAK president Alfred Obengo in a statement to the media revealed that as at July 28, more than 500 medics had contracted the virus.

"As this unfortunate scenario is happening, we have sadly lost eight healthcare workers in across the country with five from Nairobi and one each from Wajir, Kajiado and Mombasa Counties," he said.

Obengo urged both the national and county governments to move with speed and ensure that healthcare workers have adequate quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).

Mkapa: President and peacemaker

By Fred Oluoch, NAIROBI Kenya

After leaving power in 2005, former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa was involved in several peace mediation efforts in the region, especially in Kenya and Burundi.

President Mwai Kibaki with ODM leader Raila Odinga during a press conference at Harambee House, Nairobi in 2008. Looking on from left is Graca Machel, Kofi Annan and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa.

In the Kenyan peace talks that followed the 2007/08 post-elections violence, Mkapa was part of the Kofi Annan-led African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities that led the mediation between former president Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. The other member of the panel was Graça Machel, the former first lady of Mozambique.

In his memoir, My Life, My Purpose published in November 2019, Mkapa revealed how the Deputy President, William Ruto and former Constitutional Affairs minister, Martha Karua were the most difficult leaders to deal with.

He wrote that the talks only made a breakthrough after both Ruto and Karua were locked out. The negotiations led to a power-sharing agreement with establishment of the Office of Prime Minister and creation of a coalition government.

While the Kenyan mediation was a success, the Inter-Burundi Dialogue (IDB), which Mkapa was leading did not succeed given the intransigence of the government of the late Pierre Nkurunziza.

Mkapa was picked by the EAC as the facilitator of the IDB in 2015 after Nkurunziza’s decision to stand for a third time ignited political instability in the country and 300,000 fled abroad.

Mkapa had a hard time bringing the Burundi government and the opposition in exile under the umbrella; National Council for the Restoration of the Arusha Accord (CNARED).

The Burundi government has insisted it would not sit with people it accused of plotting the failed coup, a move that has stalled the talks for the past three years.

At one time, Mkapa tried to please Nkurunziza by appealing to the opposition to recognise his legitimacy — which further complicated the talks with the opposition accusing him of taking sides.

His statement that opposition officials under arrest warrants over the 2015 coup attempt were not included in the peace talks, put the talks in jeopardy.

Ultimately, Mkapa in February 2019 handed over the report to the EAC summit, in which he called for a review of the Burundi constitution to take into account the provisions of the Arusha Accord of 2000. The Burundi government rejected the report.

It was frustrating for Mkapa, who told the summit that the Burundi government either failed to attend the last two rounds of the talks, or sent junior officials incapable of making decisions.

However, Mkapa was credited for restoring Kenya-Tanzania relations that had remained lukewarm since the breakup of the first EAC in 1977.

Even though his predecessor, Hassan Mwinyi, had re-established relations with Kenya after succeeding Julius Nyerere in 1985, Kenya’s relations with Tanzania only improved with the ascendency of Benjamin Mkapa to power in 1995. He also acted as a go-between former president Daniel arap Moi and Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni, who were suspicious of each other from the time the latter came to power in 1986.

The late Moi was uncomfortable with Museveni on grounds that the former rebel leader was spreading revolutionary ideas in the region.

Mkapa was also the Co-Chair of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa; a Panelist in the High Level Panel on UN System-wide Coherence on Development, Environment and Humanitarian Assistance.

He also served as a Commissioner for the UN High Level Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor and is Chairman of the South Centre. – The East African

Tanzanian among 50 shortlisted finalists of 2020 “Africa’s Business Heroes” Competition

By Osoro Nyawangah, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania

A Tanzanian citizen, Samir Ibrahim, is among 50 shortlisted finalists of 2020 “Africa’s Business Heroes”Competition vying for US$1.5 million prize, with seven South Africans among others.

Samir is a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer for SunCulture, a Kenya based solar irrigation company in Africa.

Eight years ago, after graduating from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and quitting his job at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Samir who is a Zanzibari, ended up in Kenya where, together with a partner, co-founded SunCulture. 

2020 Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) prize competition, is a flagship philanthropic program established by the Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI).

The fifty entrepreneurs will continue their journey in the competition, for a chance to become one of the ten entrepreneurs that will compete in the grand finale later this year.

The top 50 finalists were selected from a pool of over 22,000 applications received from all 54 African nations.

The diversity of the finalist roster reflects the aim of Africa’s Business Heroes to be inclusive and grassroots, providing entrepreneurs from all over Africa with a platform to showcase their talent and business ideas, regardless of nationality, industry, age, or gender.

The 2020 top fifty finalists come from twenty-one countries (Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe) and eighteen sectors, such as agriculture, AI, Big Data, business services, construction, education, engineering, e-commerce, fashion, financial services, healthcare, ICT, logistics, manufacturing, management services, retail, renewable energy, and transportation.

The average age of the cohort is 37 with the youngest candidate aged 22 and the eldest aged 64. 50% of the candidates are female – a 24% increase from the debut competition last year, and 32% are francophone, reflecting this year’s competition opening applications in French for the first time.

Over the past month, a panel of 140 highly skilled and experienced judges reviewed the submissions, evaluating applicants’ leadership and vision, their ability to translate their innovations and ideas into sustainable and robust business models, and their commitment to create a positive impact to uplift their communities.

Judges, whose unrivalled knowledge and industry expertise has brought immense added value to the selection process, represented a variety of key sectors in Africa, such as agriculture, tech, retail and e-commerce, education, healthcare, finance, logistics, and tourism.

Before stepping into the second round of selection, which will determine the top 20 finalists, the fifty selected entrepreneurs will be invited to join an exclusive virtual boot camp hosted by Africa’s Business Heroes team on July 28.

The boot camp represents a further opportunity for aspiring candidates to access unparalleled knowledge and insights from across the ABH network.

It also aims to build up finalists’ management and leadership capabilities and ultimately increase not only their chance of progressing to the next stages of the competition but to further develop as entrepreneurs.

During the boot camp, they will have the chance to receive feedback from round 1 judges such as Rafeh Saleh, Director of the Founder Institute, and Omolara Awoyemi, Senior Program Manager at Facebook.

Participants will also have the opportunity to attend interactive workshops with industry and business leaders, who have been partnering with ABH this year, including Abdelhameed Sharara, Founder & CEO of RiseUp; Patrick Awuah, Founder & President of Ashesi University, and Sebastien Nony, General Partner of Janngo Capital.

It will also feature a few of the 2019 finalists who will provide advice and insights on their own journeys.

The selection process to spotlight the 2020 Africa’s Business Heroes finalists will continue throughout the summer.

Following round 2 interviews and the semi-finale pitch, the top 20 and top 10 finalists will be announced in August and September respectively. ABH will culminate in a grand finale show later this year, where the top 10 finalists will take the stage to pitch business legends – including Jack Ma – for a chance to win their share of a US$1.5 million prize pool.

A number of round 1 judges commented on their experience with Africa’s Business Heroes, noting:

“I am thrilled to have served as a judge for Africa’s Business Heroes competition. It’s been an honour to help identify business heroes from Africa that are genuinely committed to changing the game in their respective industries. In these challenging times, getting to discover how the ABH applicants manage to turn challenges into opportunities, with a real sense of purpose and dedication to improve the conditions of people in their communities strengthens my belief in the promise of entrepreneurship in Africa.” said Isadora Bigourdan Bryden, Team Lead at Agence Française de Développement.

“Driven by the spirit of entrepreneurship, the tangible benefits of social good, and a strong sense of community pride, this startup competition is special – showcasing many promising ideas and a diverse group of African startups. It’s been inspirational to see these founders, deeply rooted and passionate, create change in their world.” commented Triane Chang, Silicon Valley Startup Advisor.

“It is truly heartwarming to see that so many young entrepreneurs are working passionately to drive high-impact social projects across the African continent. The judging process was not an easy task as all participants submitted very high-quality applications with compelling business propositions. As the competition progresses, I look forward to following the finalists’ journey and how they will use their talent and skills to generate positive change in their communities and beyond.” added Firas Ezzeddine, Manager, Group Strategy at Philips. - Africa

WHO cites Rwanda among success stories in fighting COVID-19

GENEVA Switzerland

The Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus (pictured), has cited Rwanda among countries which are successfully implementing strict adherence to measures against New Coronavirus as the country plans to reopen airports on August 1.

WHO has urged countries to lift travel bans imposed due to COVID-19, by reopening airports and borders and instead direct efforts towards strict adherence to safety measures and precautions.

In the wake of a new wave of cases across the world, the global health body said on Monday that travel bans cannot be indefinite but strict adherence to health measures would help countries to manage the virus, mentioning Rwanda among the countries which are doing well in containing the outbreak.

Dr Tedros said during a virtual news briefing on Monday that countries should do more to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within their borders and allow travel to resume, signalling the possibility of the virus staying much longer than expected.

“Where these measures are followed, cases go down. Where they are not, cases go up,” emphasising that adhering to health measures including wearing masks, avoiding crowds, ensuring social distancing and hygiene would be key in managing the outbreak.

“Countries and communities that have followed this advice carefully and consistently have done well, either in preventing large-scale outbreaks – like Cambodia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Thailand, Vietnam and the Pacific & Caribbean islands – or in bringing large outbreaks under control – like Canada, China, Germany and South Korea,” Dr Tedros said.

The Head of WHO Emergencies Programme, Mike Ryan said that travel bans are not sustainable any more as economies continue to be hard hit.

“It is going to be almost impossible for individual countries to keep their borders shut for the foreseeable future. Economies have to open up, people have to work, trade has to resume,” he said.

Dr Tedros also said that the WHO emergency committee will convene to asses if the declaration that the outbreak constituted a “public health emergency of international concern” can be revised or maintained.

“As required under the International Health Regulations, I will reconvene the Emergency Committee later this week to re-evaluate the COVID-19 pandemic and advise me accordingly,” he said, adding that the virus has changed the world.

“It has brought people, communities and nations together, and driven them apart. It has shown what humans are capable of – both positively and negatively. We have learned an enormous amount, and we’re still learning,”

The robot, ‘Urumuri’ will be capturing temperature of arriving passengers at Kigali International Airport

If the status is revised and it is found that the pandemic no longer constitutes a global public health emergency, focus will be shifted towards containing the virus while allowing global economies to reopen.

This Thursday will mark 6 months since WHO declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern on January 30.

Dr Tedros said that it is the 6th time a global health emergency has been declared under the International Health Regulations, but COVID-19 has been by far the most severe pandemic.

“Almost 16 million COVID-19 cases have now been reported to WHO, and more than 640,000 deaths and the pandemic continues to accelerate. In the past 6 weeks, the total number of cases has roughly doubled,”

“When I declared a public health emergency of international concern on the 30th of January – the highest level of alarm under international law – there were less than 100 COVID-19 cases outside of China, and no deaths,” Dr Tedros said on Monday. - Africa

IMF approves $4.3 billion emergency loan to South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

The International Monetary Fund's executive board has agreed to extend a $4.3 billion (R70 billion) loan to support South Africa's response to the impacts of Covid-19 on the economy.

The decision comes after months of engagement between Treasury and IMF management, and it is part of R95 billion being sought from multilateral institutions to support job creation, protection and businesses negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. These loans are accounted for in government's R500 billion stimulus package to support the economy.

So far both the New Development Bank and the African Development Bank have agreed to loans of $1 billion and R5 billion respectively.

"The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved South Africa's request for emergency financial assistance," the IMF said in a statement issued on Monday evening.

Geoffrey Okamoto, First Deputy Managing Director and Chair of the IMF, noted that SA authorities responded "swiftly" to the crisis. The IMF said that SA had committed to manage the emergency financial assistance with "full transparency and accountability".

This IMF loan has been issued through a "rapid financing instrument" and is not subject to stringent conditions such as structural reforms associated with other IMF lending facilities. 

Treasury has been working out repayment terms of the loan with the IMF, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni previously explained at a press briefing following the tabling of the supplementary budget in June.

"The additional IMF funding is a low interest loan that contributes to government's fiscal relief package while respecting South Africa’s decisions on how best to provide relief to the economy and those worst affected by the current crisis," Treasury said in a statement.

"The country has been hard hit by the pandemic, and this required government to come up with fiscal and monetary measures that would respond to the struggling economy and contain its negative effects to society."

Commenting broadly on the R500 billion stimulus package, Mboweni said it is "one of the largest economic response packages in the developing world". "Going forward, our fiscal measures will build on our policy strengths and limit the existing economic vulnerabilities which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic," he added. - News24

Tanzania's Yanga fires International coach for racist remarks

By Our Correspondent, DAR ES SALAAM

Tanzanian giants Young Africans SC have fired Belgian coach Luc Eymael for racist remarks allegedly made on Wednesday when he compared the country's fans to monkeys in an astonishing tirade.

Following a 1-1 draw with Mtibwa Sugar in which he saw his team drop to third in the league, the 60-year-old tore into the club's supporters, claiming they were ignorant about football, and lambasting the conditions he had been working in since arriving in Tanzania.

"The fans can only shout and are like monkeys who are barking ‘babababa’," Eymael told local journalists in audio obtained by our reporter. "These fans do not know anything about soccer.

"This place is not for me, playing in pitches at a level of seventh or eighth division in Europe is not for me," he added. "The changing rooms, too, are not for me.

"I am not enjoying your country, you are uneducated people. I don’t have a car, what is that?

"I do not have wifi and I do not have DSTV. No, no, no!"

Eymael also announced that he was looking to leave the East African side and depart Tanzania.

"My wife is absolutely not enjoying here and this is disgusting to me, I am disgusted," he continued. "The only pleasure that I have is the pitches are always full when we are playing, full of our fans, but working in these conditions is not for me.

"I do not want to stay here. I would prefer that they release me let me just do my last game and let me go."

Eymael also proceeded to accuse the referees of bias, claiming that the country's officials were favourable to Yanga's bitter rivals Simba.

"You know, (the) officiating was always against us and (was) only favouring Simba, not giving us even a clear penalty," he complained. "Things like that are not for me."

"I said to the sponsor: Do your own things and you cannot be able to win the league because you are not an organised team, you are not an organised club.

"The officiating is always against you because you are a poor club."

Eymael's comments were not well received by the club's management and, as expected, action has been taken against the experienced coach.

"Yanga management has been saddened by inhumane and racist remarks made by coach Luc Eymael and reported by several media outlets as well as social media," the 27-time-league champions said in a statement signed by interim Secretary-General Simon Patrick and obtained by our reporter.

"Owing to those unsporting remarks, Yanga management has decided to fire Luc Eymael effective today, Monday, July 27 and will ensure he leaves the country as soon as possible."

The Jangwani-based side have also apologised to respective authorities for the remarks made by the 60-year-old.

"The management apologises to the country's leaders, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), members, Yanga fans and the citizens in general for the disgusting and demeaning remarks by coach Luc Eymael.

"Yanga SC values and believe in pillars of discipline and humanity, and is against any form of racism."

Eymael was appointed to lead Wananchi in January, taking over from Congolese tactician Mwinyi Zahera.

The Belgian coach, who has previously worked in South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia during a nomadic managerial career, is known for speaking his mind and has a history of making controversial remarks. 

During his tenure, Yanga struggled for consistency; he had a target of winning the FA Cup and ensure the team play in the Caf Confederation Cup next season, but a 4-1 loss to Simba SC in the cup semi-finals meant he missed out on his target of cup glory.