By Paul Ndiho
November 30, 2011
Environmentalists say the African continent has warmed about half a degree Celsius over the last century. And some argue that Climate change is a key development issue for Sub-Saharan Africa given the region’s widespread poverty and unique geography. Earlier this year, The World Bank and other partners launched Connect 4 Climate (C4C) campaign, using the social media to reach out a community that cares about climate change. The goal is to raise awareness about climate change with a special focus on Africa. I recently talked to Teddy Ruge, Social Media strategist, connect 4 climate campaign.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Opportunity International providing small loans to businesses in DRC
By Paul Ndiho
November 16, 2011
Opportunity International provides financial products and strategies to millions who are working their way out of poverty.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo there are providing small loans to emerging entrepreneurs to start or expand small businesses. And over the years, the microfinance sector has expanded its financial service offerings to better meet client needs.
I recently talked with Gilbert Lagaillarde, Chief Executive Officer of Opportunity International - DRC.
November 16, 2011
Opportunity International provides financial products and strategies to millions who are working their way out of poverty.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo there are providing small loans to emerging entrepreneurs to start or expand small businesses. And over the years, the microfinance sector has expanded its financial service offerings to better meet client needs.
I recently talked with Gilbert Lagaillarde, Chief Executive Officer of Opportunity International - DRC.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Hotel Rwanda Hero Awarded The Tom Lantos 2011 Human Rights Prize
By Paul Ndiho
November 16, 2011
The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice today awarded its 2011 prize for human rights. It was established in 2009 to honor heroes of the human rights movement. It is awarded annually to an individual or organization that best exemplifies the Foundation’s mission for the world.
Throughout his tenure in Congress, Tom Lantos was the leading advocate for human rights, calling attention to thousands of individual cases of torture, denial of rights, and abuse. Founder and Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Lantos was a voice for the rights of persecuted racial, religious, and ethnic minorities worldwide. He died in 2008 at age 80. This year, the Lantos Foundation is honoring Paul Rusesabagina, widely hailed as a hero of the Rwandan genocide. An estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in 1994 after extremists in the majority Hutu population turned on the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus. A luxury hotel manager, Rusesabagina provided shelter to more than 12-hundred Hutus and Tutsis, saving them from certain death. His efforts are chronicled in the 2004 award winning film, "Hotel Rwanda," and his autobiography, “An Ordinary Man.”
In 2005, then-U.S. President George W. Bush awarded to Rusesabagina the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civil award.
“He was a hotel manager in his native Rwanda when the horror began to unfold in 1994. The hotel soon became heaven amidst carnage, with Paul, his family and more than 1000 other men women and children inside the compound. Without that shelter every one of them would almost surely been killed during those weeks and months of merciless terror.”
I spoke to Paul Rusesabagina recently, and he said he fears for his life because of threats from President Paul Kigame's government. Rusesabagina and Kagame don't have kind words for each other, and they challenge each other's actions during the genocide:
“I never told you anything for ins-tense threats from the Rwandan Government... I noticed that from the very day Hotel Rwanda came out, that was in September 2004. President Kagame, the president of Rwanda himself was the only person who felt very much threatened... Because he thought that Rwanda had one person and only he was supposed to be called a hero. Because he had talked to the international community, he had friends all over the world, he had made each and every one of them understand that he was the savior of the Rwandan nation, he had stopped the genocide and this was his message.”
In 2006, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, in a VOA press conference, played down Rusesabagina’s heroism. Kagame said that Rusesabagina’s story of saving hundreds of people is misleading.
“He claims to have saved people in hotel Millcoline. One he had no possibility of saving them in the first place and secondly including our prime minister of Rwanda who was also there, including the lady here Senator Ordate - she was there in fact and she is the only one who can maybe say she was saved by Rusesabagina’s on the basis that they knew each other. Because while others were freeing going to the hotel to seek refuge, he contacted her and brought her to the hotel to seek refugee with others who were there.”
Paul Rusesabagina, dubbed by some as the "Oskar Schindler of Africa,” questions Paul Kagame's claims that Kagame stopped genocidal killing in Rwanda.
Oskar Schindler was a German Industrialist who outwitted Hitler and the Nazis to save more than 1200 Jews from the gas chambers by employing them to work for him in his factories during World War II.
“My whole question is this... Is President Kagame apart of the genocide solution or the genocide problem? Kagame has been a part of the genocide problem.”
Paul Rusesabagina, winner of the Lantos Foundation's 2011 award for Human Rights, the annual prize that commemorates the late Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress. Former recipients of the Lantos Prize include another Holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate and writer Elie Wiesel, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who has dedicated his life to fighting for equality and basic human rights in Tibet.
November 16, 2011
The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice today awarded its 2011 prize for human rights. It was established in 2009 to honor heroes of the human rights movement. It is awarded annually to an individual or organization that best exemplifies the Foundation’s mission for the world.
Throughout his tenure in Congress, Tom Lantos was the leading advocate for human rights, calling attention to thousands of individual cases of torture, denial of rights, and abuse. Founder and Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Lantos was a voice for the rights of persecuted racial, religious, and ethnic minorities worldwide. He died in 2008 at age 80. This year, the Lantos Foundation is honoring Paul Rusesabagina, widely hailed as a hero of the Rwandan genocide. An estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in 1994 after extremists in the majority Hutu population turned on the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus. A luxury hotel manager, Rusesabagina provided shelter to more than 12-hundred Hutus and Tutsis, saving them from certain death. His efforts are chronicled in the 2004 award winning film, "Hotel Rwanda," and his autobiography, “An Ordinary Man.”
In 2005, then-U.S. President George W. Bush awarded to Rusesabagina the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civil award.
“He was a hotel manager in his native Rwanda when the horror began to unfold in 1994. The hotel soon became heaven amidst carnage, with Paul, his family and more than 1000 other men women and children inside the compound. Without that shelter every one of them would almost surely been killed during those weeks and months of merciless terror.”
I spoke to Paul Rusesabagina recently, and he said he fears for his life because of threats from President Paul Kigame's government. Rusesabagina and Kagame don't have kind words for each other, and they challenge each other's actions during the genocide:
“I never told you anything for ins-tense threats from the Rwandan Government... I noticed that from the very day Hotel Rwanda came out, that was in September 2004. President Kagame, the president of Rwanda himself was the only person who felt very much threatened... Because he thought that Rwanda had one person and only he was supposed to be called a hero. Because he had talked to the international community, he had friends all over the world, he had made each and every one of them understand that he was the savior of the Rwandan nation, he had stopped the genocide and this was his message.”
In 2006, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, in a VOA press conference, played down Rusesabagina’s heroism. Kagame said that Rusesabagina’s story of saving hundreds of people is misleading.
“He claims to have saved people in hotel Millcoline. One he had no possibility of saving them in the first place and secondly including our prime minister of Rwanda who was also there, including the lady here Senator Ordate - she was there in fact and she is the only one who can maybe say she was saved by Rusesabagina’s on the basis that they knew each other. Because while others were freeing going to the hotel to seek refuge, he contacted her and brought her to the hotel to seek refugee with others who were there.”
Paul Rusesabagina, dubbed by some as the "Oskar Schindler of Africa,” questions Paul Kagame's claims that Kagame stopped genocidal killing in Rwanda.
Oskar Schindler was a German Industrialist who outwitted Hitler and the Nazis to save more than 1200 Jews from the gas chambers by employing them to work for him in his factories during World War II.
“My whole question is this... Is President Kagame apart of the genocide solution or the genocide problem? Kagame has been a part of the genocide problem.”
Paul Rusesabagina, winner of the Lantos Foundation's 2011 award for Human Rights, the annual prize that commemorates the late Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the U.S. Congress. Former recipients of the Lantos Prize include another Holocaust survivor, Nobel Laureate and writer Elie Wiesel, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who has dedicated his life to fighting for equality and basic human rights in Tibet.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Rights Activists warn that poll in DRC could spark off new violence
By Paul Ndiho
November 16, 2011
Tensions are high in the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of this month's presidential election, with several people injured after supporters of the main opposition party clashed with supporters of incumbent President Joseph Kabila, during a rally earlier this month.
The national elections are due to be held on 28 November 2011 and will mark only the second time since its independence in 1960 that the DRC will be holding democratic elections. But human rights activists warn that the poll could spark off new violence. Ravina Shamdasani, is the Spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“We are very worried about security in the upcoming election and this is why we are sounding an alarm bell at this point. To try and prevent the kind of violence that accompanied the previous election in 2006.”
Incumbent president Joseph Kabila is favored to be re-elected. But Kabila facing stiff competition from tweleve other candidates Human rights activist Yussa Bunzigiye Prosper, says the opposition is prepared to take their political struggle to the streets.
“This time around the guy who is the leading opponent of Kabila has no blood, has no crime on his hands, he has never used army, he has never been a rebel, this guy he has been an advocate of people's rights and good governors for the past 30 years… he did it during Mobutu time. The only difference is that during Mobutu’s time is he was only advocating. But this time around the world environment is different; he has been given the chance to go to the battle… So what does that mean? It means that when the elections are over and it’s clear that Kabila has rigged the election, Tshisekedi Is going to run a parallel administration from the street.”
The human rights report released this week notes that the situation in the East of the country is of particular concern. Political parties have reportedly been targeted and their members detained, ill-treated and threatened. Most of the violations committed are said to involve elements of the Congolese National Police, or the National Intelligence Services.
“We've seen people destroy voting cards of citizens of the DRC so that they will not be able to vote. We've seen police prevent demonstrations from taking place; prevent press conferences from taking place from opposition political leaders. This has to stop and the Government has to send a clear message that there will be accountability for such violations. According to Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Violations have targeted the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) and the Union pour la Nation Congolaise (UNC) parties.
President Kabila faces a struggle to hold onto the eastern provinces that sealed his victory in 2006, where voters now blame Kabila for failing to provide peace and security.
The Human Rights report calls upon the international community to step up efforts to train security forces and judicial officers, and to promote monitored, free and fair elections.
In Katanga Province, Governor Moise Katumbi supports the Kabila government, which he says has made great strides in the troubled east in just one term.
"In my view, we need to start a system of rotation. What has ruined Africa today are presidents who want to stay in power indefinitely or politicians or governors who want to stay in office for life. Thankfully, our constitution here only allows for two terms in office."
But human rights activists say that President Kabila has failed to deliver for Congo.
"There is no peace in the Kivu region I come from there … One of the biggest challenges Kabila has, is that he has failed to live up to the standards of his father."
Kabila promises that he will improve road infrastructure and higher education. The president's support base is in the east of the country, where he was born, and an area rich in minerals. Congo has about 4 percent of the world's copper reserves, about half its cobalt and is the largest supplier of tin ore in Africa.
November 16, 2011
Tensions are high in the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of this month's presidential election, with several people injured after supporters of the main opposition party clashed with supporters of incumbent President Joseph Kabila, during a rally earlier this month.
The national elections are due to be held on 28 November 2011 and will mark only the second time since its independence in 1960 that the DRC will be holding democratic elections. But human rights activists warn that the poll could spark off new violence. Ravina Shamdasani, is the Spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“We are very worried about security in the upcoming election and this is why we are sounding an alarm bell at this point. To try and prevent the kind of violence that accompanied the previous election in 2006.”
Incumbent president Joseph Kabila is favored to be re-elected. But Kabila facing stiff competition from tweleve other candidates Human rights activist Yussa Bunzigiye Prosper, says the opposition is prepared to take their political struggle to the streets.
“This time around the guy who is the leading opponent of Kabila has no blood, has no crime on his hands, he has never used army, he has never been a rebel, this guy he has been an advocate of people's rights and good governors for the past 30 years… he did it during Mobutu time. The only difference is that during Mobutu’s time is he was only advocating. But this time around the world environment is different; he has been given the chance to go to the battle… So what does that mean? It means that when the elections are over and it’s clear that Kabila has rigged the election, Tshisekedi Is going to run a parallel administration from the street.”
The human rights report released this week notes that the situation in the East of the country is of particular concern. Political parties have reportedly been targeted and their members detained, ill-treated and threatened. Most of the violations committed are said to involve elements of the Congolese National Police, or the National Intelligence Services.
“We've seen people destroy voting cards of citizens of the DRC so that they will not be able to vote. We've seen police prevent demonstrations from taking place; prevent press conferences from taking place from opposition political leaders. This has to stop and the Government has to send a clear message that there will be accountability for such violations. According to Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Violations have targeted the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) and the Union pour la Nation Congolaise (UNC) parties.
President Kabila faces a struggle to hold onto the eastern provinces that sealed his victory in 2006, where voters now blame Kabila for failing to provide peace and security.
The Human Rights report calls upon the international community to step up efforts to train security forces and judicial officers, and to promote monitored, free and fair elections.
In Katanga Province, Governor Moise Katumbi supports the Kabila government, which he says has made great strides in the troubled east in just one term.
"In my view, we need to start a system of rotation. What has ruined Africa today are presidents who want to stay in power indefinitely or politicians or governors who want to stay in office for life. Thankfully, our constitution here only allows for two terms in office."
But human rights activists say that President Kabila has failed to deliver for Congo.
"There is no peace in the Kivu region I come from there … One of the biggest challenges Kabila has, is that he has failed to live up to the standards of his father."
Kabila promises that he will improve road infrastructure and higher education. The president's support base is in the east of the country, where he was born, and an area rich in minerals. Congo has about 4 percent of the world's copper reserves, about half its cobalt and is the largest supplier of tin ore in Africa.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Empowering the next generation of Women leaders
By Paul Ndiho
November 15, 2010
Earlier this year the U.S. Government, in partnership with Century Entrepreneurship Development Agency or CEDA a Ugandan based NGO launched the “Rising Stars Mentoring Program.” The program seeks to empower girls and women to become economically independent and socially responsible. The program enables girls to focus and re-frame their thinking, transform their lives, take charge of their destiny, and improve their communities. VOA’s Paul Ndiho recently spoke to Rehmah Kasule founder of CEDA International. She says Women in Uganda lack confidence, self-belief, negotiating skills, and have limited access to mentors and role models to inspire them.
November 15, 2010
Earlier this year the U.S. Government, in partnership with Century Entrepreneurship Development Agency or CEDA a Ugandan based NGO launched the “Rising Stars Mentoring Program.” The program seeks to empower girls and women to become economically independent and socially responsible. The program enables girls to focus and re-frame their thinking, transform their lives, take charge of their destiny, and improve their communities. VOA’s Paul Ndiho recently spoke to Rehmah Kasule founder of CEDA International. She says Women in Uganda lack confidence, self-belief, negotiating skills, and have limited access to mentors and role models to inspire them.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Africa’s Next Cheap Source of Light
By Paul Ndiho
November 8, 2011
As power cuts persist, many Africans who can’t afford expensive generators or solar panels have resorted to torches made of discarded computer discs, strips of wire and wood to light up their homes.
Many homes and businesses are forced to rely on generators for electricity because of the lengthy and frequent power cuts that happen regularly in most African countries. Some areas go for days at a time without electricity. Millions who cannot afford generators use kerosene lamps or candles. In order to solve this problem I have invented a new environmentally friendly source of light, and I’d like to produce it on a large scale to help out struggling families in my country, Uganda, or across the continent.
My home-made torches have become popular with people looking for cheap sources of light. The torches cost between (1-3 US dollars) depending on the configuration of the bulbs. People who have tried it in my rural village in southwestern Uganda say the three-battery kind lasts for a month, and is much cheaper than kerosene lamps.
The idea for the torch started as a result of the lengthy and frequent power cuts I experienced when I was in Africa. As a young kid growing I was always bothered by the “frequent power cuts” or “road shading” I decided to apply my simple knowledge of generating more light from my High School science project. Several years later, it became a reality and many people have benefited from this clean source of light.
Students in remote villages use the torch to study at night and others use it to see while cooking. At the moment there is no mass production of the torch, but the people I have entrusted with the business of assembling the torch and selling it say they are able to sustain their families and the extra money is spent on taking their kids to school.
Environmental experts who have used it say it’s a solution for dealing with the frequent power cuts in most rural communities, it’s a change from the norm, and does not burn fossil fuels.
“Africa’s Next Cheap Source of Light” is an alternative source of lighting for poor people; it’s made from recycled products, is affordable and is a ready remedy for Africa’s unreliable electric power delivery.
November 8, 2011
As power cuts persist, many Africans who can’t afford expensive generators or solar panels have resorted to torches made of discarded computer discs, strips of wire and wood to light up their homes.
Many homes and businesses are forced to rely on generators for electricity because of the lengthy and frequent power cuts that happen regularly in most African countries. Some areas go for days at a time without electricity. Millions who cannot afford generators use kerosene lamps or candles. In order to solve this problem I have invented a new environmentally friendly source of light, and I’d like to produce it on a large scale to help out struggling families in my country, Uganda, or across the continent.
My home-made torches have become popular with people looking for cheap sources of light. The torches cost between (1-3 US dollars) depending on the configuration of the bulbs. People who have tried it in my rural village in southwestern Uganda say the three-battery kind lasts for a month, and is much cheaper than kerosene lamps.
The idea for the torch started as a result of the lengthy and frequent power cuts I experienced when I was in Africa. As a young kid growing I was always bothered by the “frequent power cuts” or “road shading” I decided to apply my simple knowledge of generating more light from my High School science project. Several years later, it became a reality and many people have benefited from this clean source of light.
Students in remote villages use the torch to study at night and others use it to see while cooking. At the moment there is no mass production of the torch, but the people I have entrusted with the business of assembling the torch and selling it say they are able to sustain their families and the extra money is spent on taking their kids to school.
Environmental experts who have used it say it’s a solution for dealing with the frequent power cuts in most rural communities, it’s a change from the norm, and does not burn fossil fuels.
“Africa’s Next Cheap Source of Light” is an alternative source of lighting for poor people; it’s made from recycled products, is affordable and is a ready remedy for Africa’s unreliable electric power delivery.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Women Conserving the Environment in Tanzania
By Paul Ndiho
November 8, 2011
Recently here in Washington Mary Mavanza, manager of the Jane Goodall Institute’s (JGI) TACARE program in Tanzania was recognized as one of six women heroes of global conservation on Capitol Hill, at an event sponsored by the United Nations Foundation, the Alliance for Global Conservation, and the Green Belt Movement. VOA’s Paul Ndiho talked to Mary Mavanza about her role in helping rural women in Tanzania conserve the environment.
Mavanza says that in most sub Saharan African countries, women are the main providers of water, firewood, food, medicine and other basic necessities. And because they are the most directly connected to the environment, women are the most directly affected by environmental degradation.
The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) works in western Tanzania with local communities living near key chimpanzee habitats make a living in ways that do not destroy the forest. The program targets 52 villages that surround Gombe National Park, Masito and Ugalla. VOA’S Paul Ndiho’s talks to Emmanuel Mtiti, director, Gombe Masito-Ugalla Ecosystem Program.
Mtiti says that Jane Goodall Institute also educates local communities about global climate change, and sustainable agriculture practices and livelihoods.
November 8, 2011
Recently here in Washington Mary Mavanza, manager of the Jane Goodall Institute’s (JGI) TACARE program in Tanzania was recognized as one of six women heroes of global conservation on Capitol Hill, at an event sponsored by the United Nations Foundation, the Alliance for Global Conservation, and the Green Belt Movement. VOA’s Paul Ndiho talked to Mary Mavanza about her role in helping rural women in Tanzania conserve the environment.
Mavanza says that in most sub Saharan African countries, women are the main providers of water, firewood, food, medicine and other basic necessities. And because they are the most directly connected to the environment, women are the most directly affected by environmental degradation.
The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) works in western Tanzania with local communities living near key chimpanzee habitats make a living in ways that do not destroy the forest. The program targets 52 villages that surround Gombe National Park, Masito and Ugalla. VOA’S Paul Ndiho’s talks to Emmanuel Mtiti, director, Gombe Masito-Ugalla Ecosystem Program.
Mtiti says that Jane Goodall Institute also educates local communities about global climate change, and sustainable agriculture practices and livelihoods.
Ugandan Students design an Electric Car
By Paul Ndiho
November 8, 2011
Students from Makerere University faculty of technology test drive an electric car they have built and plan to use the prototype to entice potential investors to start mass production.
Like many capital cities, Kampala in Uganda has its share of pollution. A fast growing population and rapid urban development has meant more cars on the road and more fumes in the atmosphere.
Environmentalists warn the high level of urban pollution is set to rise, leaving Kampala residents at risk of health problems and adding to the country's carbon footprint.
But all that could change if a group of students from Makerere University in the capital have their way.
They've designed their very own version of the electric car, already making waves elsewhere in the world where it’s been touted as the solution to eradicating global car emissions.
Appropriately painted green to demonstrate its environmental credentials the Kiira EV can reach speeds of up to 60mph and lasts for three to four hours before it needs to be recharged.
It was test driven through to streets of Kampala last week. Jonathan Kasumba, a local resident who turned out to witness the green car's virgin outing said this is the best thing that has come out of Uganda in a longtime.
"To me it is a great achievement, it is something I would personally say, it's a change to the norm, everybody thinks this is from outside, this is from outside, now they can see, it is coming from within,"
The prototype for Kiira EV cost around 35,000 US dollars but engineers say that cost could be bought down to as little as 15,000 US dollars when it is mass produced.
Meanwhile, its designers already have their sights set on expanding the brand to include bigger vehicles. Paul Musasizi lead EV kiira engineering team.
"You know Uganda is well endowed with solar energy, we would like to tap that and put it into that commuter bus so that is where our energies are focused now that we know we can build a car, that one we have done, that one is history”.
The car was assembled by a team of eight engineers, supervised by one of Uganda's leading professors in electrical engineering and computing, Tickodri Togboa. It was funded mostly by a government grant given to the engineering department to propel technological research over a period of five years.
Mukibi Dan, a Ugandan environmental activist says the car represents an important milestone for Uganda, not only demonstrating a level of commitment to top level teaching and design in Kampala but also an assurance that green issues are high on the agenda.
"The issues as we talk now is about environmental protection and I think this prototype, being that it is not going to use fossil fuel as it were to be able to move, I think it is an innovation that as a citizen and an environmental activist am proud off,".
The car is yet to be fitted with a speedometer or a system to power its electric windows, but according to students they have already had requests from interested members of the public hoping to buy one when they hit the shops sometime in the future.
November 8, 2011
Students from Makerere University faculty of technology test drive an electric car they have built and plan to use the prototype to entice potential investors to start mass production.
Like many capital cities, Kampala in Uganda has its share of pollution. A fast growing population and rapid urban development has meant more cars on the road and more fumes in the atmosphere.
Environmentalists warn the high level of urban pollution is set to rise, leaving Kampala residents at risk of health problems and adding to the country's carbon footprint.
But all that could change if a group of students from Makerere University in the capital have their way.
They've designed their very own version of the electric car, already making waves elsewhere in the world where it’s been touted as the solution to eradicating global car emissions.
Appropriately painted green to demonstrate its environmental credentials the Kiira EV can reach speeds of up to 60mph and lasts for three to four hours before it needs to be recharged.
It was test driven through to streets of Kampala last week. Jonathan Kasumba, a local resident who turned out to witness the green car's virgin outing said this is the best thing that has come out of Uganda in a longtime.
"To me it is a great achievement, it is something I would personally say, it's a change to the norm, everybody thinks this is from outside, this is from outside, now they can see, it is coming from within,"
The prototype for Kiira EV cost around 35,000 US dollars but engineers say that cost could be bought down to as little as 15,000 US dollars when it is mass produced.
Meanwhile, its designers already have their sights set on expanding the brand to include bigger vehicles. Paul Musasizi lead EV kiira engineering team.
"You know Uganda is well endowed with solar energy, we would like to tap that and put it into that commuter bus so that is where our energies are focused now that we know we can build a car, that one we have done, that one is history”.
The car was assembled by a team of eight engineers, supervised by one of Uganda's leading professors in electrical engineering and computing, Tickodri Togboa. It was funded mostly by a government grant given to the engineering department to propel technological research over a period of five years.
Mukibi Dan, a Ugandan environmental activist says the car represents an important milestone for Uganda, not only demonstrating a level of commitment to top level teaching and design in Kampala but also an assurance that green issues are high on the agenda.
"The issues as we talk now is about environmental protection and I think this prototype, being that it is not going to use fossil fuel as it were to be able to move, I think it is an innovation that as a citizen and an environmental activist am proud off,".
The car is yet to be fitted with a speedometer or a system to power its electric windows, but according to students they have already had requests from interested members of the public hoping to buy one when they hit the shops sometime in the future.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
ANALYSIS - AFRICA’S LONGEST SERVING RULERS
By Paul Ndiho
November 02, 2011
The death of Moammar Gaddafi, one of Africa’s longest serving rulers, has put a spotlight on other African rulers who have been in power for decades. The way in which Mr. Gaddafi was brought down may have other dictators in sub-Saharan Africa wondering if they also might be the target of revolutionaries.
Three of the 10 longest serving rulers in Africa have fallen this year - Ben Ali of Tunisia, who ruled for 23 years, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, in power for 30 years, and Libya’s Col. Moammar Gaddafi who was in power 42-years
Now, Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea and Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola take the number one spot as the longest serving Presidents with 32 years of ruling their countries respectively. There are other long serving leaders in Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Uganda, Swaziland and Burkina Fasso.
Guinea's President has been in power for 32 years, after he seized power in a military coup in August of 1979.
In November 2009, he was re-elected for a seven-year term, winning over 95% of the vote.
In power for 32 years, Angola's President Dos Santos assumed the presidency of the mineral-rich country also in 1979, four years into a civil war with UNITA rebels that ended only in 2002. His ruling party won a landslide 2008 victory, leaving rivals in tatters; dos Santos changed the constitution and boosted his powers.
Following independence, Robert Mugabe became Zimbabwe’s prime minister in April of 1980. He became president in 1987, an office he still holds today. In February 2009, Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change were forced into a coalition government.
Cameroon's President Biya has been in power for 29 years. He was re-elected by almost 80% of the vote in October 2011 for another seven-year term. A 2008 constitutional amendment removed term limits in Cameroon.
The Congo's president has ruled the West African nation for 26 years.
In power all but five of the last 32 years, Sassou Nguesso seized power in a 1979 coup but then lost the country’s first multi-party elections in 1992 to scientist Pascal Lissouba. Nguesso regained the presidency in 1997 after a civil war and was re-elected in 2004 for another seven-year term.
Uganda's General Museveni has been in power now for 26 years.
He seized Kampala after a five-year guerrilla war in 1986, and Museveni banned multi-party politics until 1996. Museveni was re-elected 2011 with 68 percent of the vote, and his main rival Kizza Besigye received 26 percent.
Analysts watching sub-Saharan Africa say although recent rebellions have so far been limited to North Africa, increasingly there are protests against regimes in other parts of the continent, triggered by economic conditions - high food and fuel prices, poor job opportunities or service delivery. And they say that African leaders could be taking notice of this trend, as in Zambia, where ex-president Rupiah Banda graciously accepted defeat this year and made a voluntary exit from power.
November 02, 2011
The death of Moammar Gaddafi, one of Africa’s longest serving rulers, has put a spotlight on other African rulers who have been in power for decades. The way in which Mr. Gaddafi was brought down may have other dictators in sub-Saharan Africa wondering if they also might be the target of revolutionaries.
Three of the 10 longest serving rulers in Africa have fallen this year - Ben Ali of Tunisia, who ruled for 23 years, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, in power for 30 years, and Libya’s Col. Moammar Gaddafi who was in power 42-years
Now, Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea and Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola take the number one spot as the longest serving Presidents with 32 years of ruling their countries respectively. There are other long serving leaders in Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Uganda, Swaziland and Burkina Fasso.
Guinea's President has been in power for 32 years, after he seized power in a military coup in August of 1979.
In November 2009, he was re-elected for a seven-year term, winning over 95% of the vote.
In power for 32 years, Angola's President Dos Santos assumed the presidency of the mineral-rich country also in 1979, four years into a civil war with UNITA rebels that ended only in 2002. His ruling party won a landslide 2008 victory, leaving rivals in tatters; dos Santos changed the constitution and boosted his powers.
Following independence, Robert Mugabe became Zimbabwe’s prime minister in April of 1980. He became president in 1987, an office he still holds today. In February 2009, Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change were forced into a coalition government.
Cameroon's President Biya has been in power for 29 years. He was re-elected by almost 80% of the vote in October 2011 for another seven-year term. A 2008 constitutional amendment removed term limits in Cameroon.
The Congo's president has ruled the West African nation for 26 years.
In power all but five of the last 32 years, Sassou Nguesso seized power in a 1979 coup but then lost the country’s first multi-party elections in 1992 to scientist Pascal Lissouba. Nguesso regained the presidency in 1997 after a civil war and was re-elected in 2004 for another seven-year term.
Uganda's General Museveni has been in power now for 26 years.
He seized Kampala after a five-year guerrilla war in 1986, and Museveni banned multi-party politics until 1996. Museveni was re-elected 2011 with 68 percent of the vote, and his main rival Kizza Besigye received 26 percent.
Analysts watching sub-Saharan Africa say although recent rebellions have so far been limited to North Africa, increasingly there are protests against regimes in other parts of the continent, triggered by economic conditions - high food and fuel prices, poor job opportunities or service delivery. And they say that African leaders could be taking notice of this trend, as in Zambia, where ex-president Rupiah Banda graciously accepted defeat this year and made a voluntary exit from power.
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