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Ugandan President Museveni promotes son to full General after threatening to capture Kenya

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President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has promoted his first son, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to full General which is the highest rank in the hierarchy of Uganda People’s Defence Forces.

The promotion of Muhoozi, which was announced by the country’s Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs in a statement on Tuesday, also said he has been dropped from his role as Commander of Land Forces, will continue serving as senior presidential advisor for special operations.

General Muhoozi had on Monday, sparked a storm on social media when he tweeted about capturing the Kenyan capital Nairobi, a statement the Ugandan government has since distanced itself from.

In a series of tweets which went viral before he deleted them, Gen Muhoozi who is seen as the heir apparent to the East African country’s Presidency, said he blamed former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for not contesting for a third term in the August 2022 polls, adding that the retired President could have easily won the election.

“My only problem with my beloved big brother is that he didn’t stand for a third term. We would have won easily!” Muhoozi wrote on his Twitter account, (@mkainerugaba.

He then went on to tweet about leading the Ugandan military to capture Kenya and going on a tour of the conquered territory with his wife.

“It wouldn’t take us, my army and me, two weeks to capture Nairobi,” he tweeted.

“After capturing Nairobi, I shall take my wife on a tour of our district,” he wrote.

“I’m happy that members of our district in Kenya, have responded enthusiastically to my tweet. It’s still 2 weeks to Nairobi! After our army captures Nairobi, where should I live? Westlands? Riverside?” He wrote in another tweet.

However, following the backlash he received following the tweets, the 48-year-old Muhoozi took down the tweets and went to write that he was only joking with the earlier tweets.

“I’m glad that I have scared you Kenyans a bit! Two weeks is long. Nairobi in one week for sure! Aided by my brothers from Carnival!”

He then went on to assure Kenyans that he would never wedge a war on the Kenyan army.

Metro

Zimbabwe in food shortage as El Nino drought strikes harder

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Residents of the Zimbabwean community of Buhera are waiting in groups outside a primary school, hoping to be called by name to collect life-saving gifts of grain, peas, and cooking oil following a situation of below-average rainfall caused by El Nino once more this year, according to Francesca Erdelmann, the country director of the World Food Programme for Zimbabwe.

“We are grateful, but the food will only be enough for one month,” said Mushaikwa, 71, who lives with her elderly husband, as she trudged away with her bag of grain. “My crops are wilted.”

Since former president Robert Mugabe took over farms held by white people in 2000, Zimbabwe has been unable to feed itself. This disruption in production has resulted in severe drops in productivity, leaving many Zimbabweans dependent on food help to survive.

A drought brought on by El Nino that has affected several countries in southern Africa has made the situation worse. Though the actual figure may be higher, the government has projected that 2.7 million people will go hungry this year.

Poor harvests in drought-ravaged areas, where people depend on small-scale farming for sustenance, have resulted in food shortages that have put over 20% of Zimbabwe’s population at risk of starvation.

El Nino is a regular and natural weather phenomenon that warms regions of the Pacific and modifies global weather patterns. It affects different areas differently. Erdelmann said during a press conference that it makes a big difference when the rains don’t fall or come late.

A cabinet minister told journalists that the government is debating whether to impose a state of emergency. A natural weather phenomenon known as El Nino is linked to a change in wind patterns and higher ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific.

It usually lasts nine to twelve months, happens every two to seven years on average, and can cause extreme weather, including tropical cyclones, protracted droughts, and ensuing wildfires.

“When you drive around, you will see that many crops have wilted,” said World Food Programme acting country director Christine Mendes in Buhera, about 220 km (140 miles) southeast of the capital, Harare.

In four areas that are vulnerable to drought, WFP has assisted 270,000 individuals between January and March; nonetheless, Mendes stated that more funding will be required to feed even more people.

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Zambia receives $100m World Bank grant to support energy sector

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The Zambian government has announced receiving a $100 million grant from the World Bank Group to support its energy sector.

The new grant is coming barely a month after the World Bank approved a grant of $270 million under the Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) Project.

Finance and National Planning Minister, Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, who disclosed this in a statement in Lusaka on Sunday, said the grant would be implemented under phase one of the Zambia National Energy Advancement and Transformation (NEAT) programme, covering the period 2023 to 2033.

Musokotwane stated that the NEAT programme was “designed to increase financial sustainability, operational reliability and resilience of the electricity sector in Zambia.”

He stressed that the programme’s total resource envelope would gulp $700 million for over a period of 10 years and the World Bank’s first energy project in Zambia since 2018.

Musokotwane explained that the NEAT programme would adopt a Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach (MPA) over the estimated 10 year period.

“Under phase one of the NEAT programme, a grant of $100 million had been approved for disbursement from the pledged total of US $700 million, scheduled for disbursement between 2024 and 2026,” the minister said.

Musokotwane also explained that the World Bank disbursement of the grant was a “clear demonstration of the confidence the Bank had on Zambia’s home-grown strategic reforms and in the country’s recently strengthened public financial governance credentials, among other factors.”

“The Government of the Republic of Zambia conveys a special appreciation to World Bank Group, President Ajay Banga, and his teams at headquarters, in the region and the country office, for the exceptional generosity,” Musokotwane said in the statement.

“The World Bank’s approval of the NEAT Programme is timely because it will deliver immediate financial boost to ZESCO and support the procurement process for non-hydropower renewables at this critical time when Zambia is experiencing an extensive drought.”

The Minister added that for the Rural Electrification Authority (REA), the grant would be “channeled towards operationalization of the Rural Electrification Fund to ensure financial sustainability of capital expenditure for social objectives while increasing energy access for the country’s outlying areas.”

He noted that the NEAT Programme would further augment the government’s efforts in enhancing reliability and climate resilience of the electricity sector by supporting implementation of the ZESCO strategy for improved customer management, reliability of supply and system resilience to climate change.

“Save for the devastating effects of the drought, which we will able handle to ensure that none of our fellow citizens starve, our reform process is on course,” Musokotwane said.

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