Ambulance shortage now at crisis levels

 

With the Ministry of Health facing a crisis as a result of a shortage of ambulances, the Assistant Minister of Health, Gaotlhaetse Mathabaphiri, has told parliament that his ministry has engaged the Central Transport Organisation to make an exception and allow the ministry to take charge of its fleet.

Currently, the CTO is responsible for buying, maintenance and repairing of all government vehicles.

Responding to a question by Okavango MP, Bagalatia Arone, during the minister’s question time on Friday, Matlhabaphiri acknowledged that the ministry is faced with a crisis owing to a shortage of vehicles.

Many patients across Botswana, especially in rural areas, are unable to access health facilities because of the unavailability of ambulances.

Matlhabaphiri said that out of a total of 577 vehicles, 130 had been declared unusable by CTO. He also said a total of 193 vehicles were currently at different CTO depots awaiting service and tyre changes.

“We are in talks with CTO to see if we cannot manage and fix our own fleet,” he said.

The minister said that it could expeditiously fix some of their vehicles by outsourcing to reputable garages, adding that recently the ministry distributed a number of vehicles to be used across the country in primary hospitals. He said that a total of 6 vehicles were distributed across the Okavango region.

However, subsequent to that, five vehicles broke down and were taken to CTO for repair.
“The only solution is to outsource,” added Matlhabaphiri.

“In other places, we have directed district primary health centres to seek assistance from the district offices,” he said.

Matlhabaphiri said this while responding to a follow up question by MP Reggie Reatile, who had wanted to find out what the ministry is doing as a temporary measure to remedy the state of affairs.

The minister was unable to give a time frame as to when government hopes to have addressed the transport crisis within government hospitals and clinics.

Meanwhile, MP Kentse Rammidi has expressed concern that the Ministry of Health’s proposal to take over its fleet from CTO could affect the ministry’s budget and lead it away from its core business.

Details of BDF intelligence illegal spying on former deputy commander kept secret

Details of how beMobile cellular phone service provider helped Botswana Defence Force military intelligence to eavesdrop on dismissed former Deputy Commander, General Pius Mokgware’s cellular phone conversations may be kept secret following an out of court settlement on Monday.

Mokgware had launched a lawsuit against BDF and beMobile after he was dismissed from the army allegedly following an extra-judicial surveillance against him, which he described as “systematic monitoring and tapping of phone calls, communications from his cellular phone and general surveillance”.

It is believed that President Lt Gen Ian Khama and the BDF fired the former deputy commander on the strength of intelligence illegally gleaned from his BeMobile cellular phone conversations.

Mokgware has since withdrawn his case against BDF following an out of court settlement. The lawsuit against beMobile, however, is still before court.  

Indications are that beMobile will take cue from the state and opt to settle out of court.
Mokgware had wanted a total of P12 million; P6 million from BDF and P6 million from beMobile.

In an amended affidavit, Mokgware is demanding that BTC and beMobile furnish him with documents he requires for purposes of his law suit against the two state-owned phone service providers.

The former BDF boss states in his statement that beMobile General Manager, Anthony Masunga, had told him that they had recently taken disciplinary action against employees they had found to be accessing customers’ accounts without authority and that the system had provided the information necessary to trace the employees in question.

Mokgware was responding to beMobile’s reasons for declining to produce the print out showing persons who had accessed his cellular phone account claiming that beMobile system does not create logs or print outs from which it can be determined who has accessed an account.

“This runs contrary to the information that I was given by Mr Masunga when I first reported my complaint a day following receipt of the sms subject of litigation,” said Mokgware. He said at the time, Masunga assured him that each user with access to customer’s accounts has a password and once such password is used at any given time the system records who has accessed information and what particular account they were accessing.

“Mr Masunga assured me at the time that they would thus be able to trace such user, if any, in their investigation into my complaint. I, therefore, dispute the current about turn taken to claim that such information is not generated at all,” states Mokgware.

He also accuses BTC of attempting to deny the existence of documents generated by BeMobile consequent to his lodging a complaint with Masunga.

“I wish to point at this juncture that such denial cannot be correct as upon following up progress on enquiry into my complaint some in February/March 2012 with Mr Masunga, he told me personally that since I have also reported the matter to Second Respondent (The Director General, Directorate of Intelligence and Security) Second Respondent office was not in a position to give any feedback directly back to me on the matter. He advised me in this regard to take up the matter with the Second Respondent,” says Mokgware.
He said he was advised by the DIS Director, Isaac Kgosi, that statements had been taken from persons referred to and records obtained from beMobile, including a report from beMobile.??“He further advised that his office was not in a position to divulge to me the contents of the documents and their report on the matter in the absence of a court order to that effect,” he said.

In an earlier letter to the Attorney General Athaliah Molokomme and retired BDF Commander General Tebogo Masire, General Mokgware had alleged that around January 2010, a BDF Intelligence Officer (known to this paper) erroneously sent him a text message requesting details of his communication on his private mobile number.??He states that from the text message, it was clear the message was a request to a beMobile employee and “it was self evident from the sms that this was not the first time that such information had been requested”. ??Mokgware further claimed that his investigations pointed to the involvement of the army’s high ranking officials who instructed junior officers to tail him.

Abia politics gets messier as…T.A. Orji moves to revoke Kalu’s ABSU degree

Abia State governor, Chief Theodore A. Orji may have taken the fight against his predecessor and benefactor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu to a more desperate level as Daily Sun reliably gathered that he is making subterranean moves to revoke the degree awarded the former governor by the Abia State University (ABSU) in 2002.
Gov. Orji who is invoking his powers as Visitor to the university is said to be behind a move compelling the varsity authorities to consider the recommendations of a kangaroo investigative panel that allegedly looked into a spurious petition lodged against the award of the degree to Kalu by the university several years ago. Kalu who had abandoned his degree programmme at the University of Maiduguri had his transcript records and other details transferred to ABSU while he was serving as governor and eventually completed the programme some eleven years ago.
In fact, photos of the then Governor Kalu sitting among other students to write his semester exams made interesting news for several newspaper houses then, as they lavishly splashed them in their publications. Eleven years down the line, however, Gov. T. A. Orji is said to be desperate to withdraw the degree to score a political point against Kalu whose return to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sent cold shivers down the spine of the governor and his allies.
Daily Sun gathered that the Senate of the University met last Tuesday to consider the report of the investigative panel hurriedly set up to look into the curious petition filed by a yet to be unmasked petitioner. The panel alleged, in an excerpt of its report obtained by Daily Sun, that although there indeed “was a student by name Kalu, O.U. with Matriculation Number 00/42226, who supposedly transferred to Abia State University,” the process of the transfer and the documentation was incomplete and that “In effect, the said transfer of Kalu, Orji U. into Abia State University was irregular ab initio.”
The Senate was, however, said to have dismissed the report and recommendations of the panel, saying it was hurriedly put together and did not follow due process. Apart from the fact that the report was hurriedly done, the Senate also noted that the Vice Chancellor as at the time of the report, was never invited to give evidence during the so-called investigation. Similarly, the Senate noted, neither Kalu who is a central figure to the petition nor any other key figure to the matter was invited to testify.
Not satisfied, however, those believed to be bent on scoring cheap political point with the matter are said to have mounted pressure on most members of the Senate to re-visit the matter. Consequently, an emergency meeting at the university Senate has been convened tomorrow with Kalu’s degree as the only item on the agenda. A member of the Senate who spoke to Daily Sun last night on the condition of anonymity said the development is dangerous. “They should not bring politics into academics because it will destroy the institution,” he said.
Confirming that some members of the university Senate have been under pressure since Tuesday, the source said: “Yes, offers have been made to some members after majority of us rejected the bid on Tuesday. With the way things are now, I doubt whether we will have quorum on Friday.” Reacting to the move yesterday, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu who is abroad said that the Abia State government’s latest move has shown the level of desperation of the government. Kalu who spoke through his aide, Kunle Oyewunmi, said that “it is obvious that this shameless desperation was provoked by my return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
If the governor is popular as he claims, why is he jittery and desperate that one man is re-joining a party he co-founded.” Kalu called on well-meaning Abians and Nigerians to call Gov. T.A. Orji to order, adding that Abians are yearning for dividends of democracy and the governor has the responsibility to provide them. Sounding philosophical, Kalu said that he is confident that this “move will also come to pass because no human being except God has the power to determine any other person’s destiny.”

Govs can’t dictate to us –Bamanga Tukur

Still basking in the euphoria of a successful coup against some governors perceived as enemies of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan, PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has said that governors on the platform of the party would not pick presidential candidate for the party in 2015.
Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio was picked to lead a new platform, the PDP Governors’ Forum last weekend at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, even as the party’s national leadership has said that the PDP Governors’ Forum was not meant to undermine the larger body, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Those opposed to the purported ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan were not bemused that Akpabio’s nomination to lead the new platform was taken at the Presidential Villa.
Niger State Governor and Chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, had openly declared his interest in the presidential race, alleging that President Jonathan signed a pact with PDP governors in 2010 before he was supported for the party’s presidential ticket. There had been unconfirmed reports that Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido was also eyeing the 2015 presidential ticket that would see the embattled NGF Chairman and Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate.
Tukur however, told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that PDP governors would not choose for the party, as he noted that the party had its own process of picking its candidate. He noted that there was nothing to worry about if some of the governors decide to back Jonathan for the ticket as it was being speculated. “Let me tell you, that is in order in politics. Jonathan is the President under our party and what is wrong if he decides to run? The others have the same opportunity to promote their candidate, if they have… But the Governors’ Forum isn’t the platform for electing candidate; we have our own system.’’
On Governor Aliyu’s allegation that the PDP Governors Forum was created to undermine the NGF, Tukur said that the Niger State governor was expressing individual opinion, not the position of the party. “Well, it is an opinion. It doesn’t mean that all our governors agree with him. He can say so but I have explained to you as the chairman of this party that they are all my governors, we may not share the same position on the formation of PDP Governors’ Forum. But I have explained to you our intention, as a party.
We want our governors to come together.’’ Meanwhile, the PDP leadership has commended President Jonathan and the leadership of the National Assembly for the successful signing of the 2013 budget, even as it urged all government agencies to ensure its full implementation for the benefit of Nigerians. The party said the delay in assenting to the budget was as a result of Jonathan’s and the PDP-led National Assembly;s insistence on thoroughness and to ensure that the provisions were in the best interest of the country.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said in a statement yesterday that the party was highly impressed by the fatherly role played by the President in being meticulous with the budget. The party also commended Senate President David Mark and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal for their roles in ensuring understanding between the two arms on the budget. “The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) commends President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the National Assembly for the successful signing of the 2013 budget.
“The party commends the two arms for ensuring that they played their constitutional roles of checks and balances to guarantee that the provisions of the budget were in the best interest of Nigerians. “The successful signing of the budget after proper checks were made to confirm that its provisions are in the best interest of the Nigerian people indicates that the Presidency and the National Assembly have been on the same page in ensuring the welfare of Nigerians which is the hallmark of the PDP-led administration”, the statement said.
The PDP urged the executive to ensure proper implementation of the budget even as it charged the National Assembly to strengthen its oversight capacity to guarantee effective utilization of resources. It also thanked ‘’Nigerians for their calmness and patience even in the face of inciting statements from opposition groups’’. The statement said such is an indication that Nigerians have confidence in the PDP-led administration in the country.

Tanzanian in list of top young African entrepreneurs

Dar es Salaam. The winner of the second episode of Tanzania’s Top 100 Mid-sized Companies Survey, Mr Patrick Ngowi of Helvetic Solar Contractors, is one of the brainiest young African entrepreneurs, according to Forbes magazine.
 The 28-year-old features in the latest list of the American bi-weekly business magazine that is renowned for its original articles on finance, industry, investing and marketing.
According to Forbes, Mr Ngowi is one of 30 Africans under the age of 30 who are changing the face of Africa.
He was picked by a panel of 12 judges from across Africa who took part in identifying the entrepreneurs and innovators who are making the most dramatic impact across the continent.
A statement in the magazine puts it this way: “These 30 young African entrepreneurs, disruptors and innovators featured on this list are impatient to change Africa. Together, they represent the entrepreneurial, innovative and intellectual best of their generation. They’re solving problems like healthcare and electricity shortages, proffering innovative solutions to waste management, building virtual and physical communities and creating lots of jobs.”
Mr Ngowi, the CEO of Helvetic Solar Contractors, ventured into business nine years ago after receiving a Sh2.3million loan from his mother, Emmy. He earned about $3 million (about Sh4.8billion) last year. With Sh2.3 million, Patrick ventured into vending Chinese mobile phones but, having discovered that only 14 per cent of Tanzanians have electricity, he decided that the solar energy business would be more profitable. A Swiss contact, Philippe Glauser, gave him extra funding. The firm, now six years into business, is a pioneer in the supply, installation and maintenance of solar systems throughout the Northern Circuit of Tanzania. In his first year of business, the 28-year-old had a turnover of Sh30 million, rising to Sh4.6 billion last year—making it the fastest growing medium-sized firm in the country, according to a leading consulting and auditing firm, KPMG.
Ngowi’s father Ephra and his mother are secondary school teachers. He credits the exposure he got from his family’s time living in Botswana and South Africa for setting him on the path to success.
On being recognised by Forbes, he says: “I’m honoured to be on the list of under 30 Best Entrepreneurs in Africa. This goes to show that Tanzania’s economy is growing and that its policies support small and medium business start-ups...It is my hope that this will inspire more of my fellow entrepreneurs to follow their dream and maintain peace and harmony through engaging in their work with absolute commitment.”
The Forbes list of 30 under 30 best African entrepreneurs also includes eight Kenyans, seven South Africans, seven Nigerians, two Ghanaians and one each from Uganda, Malawi, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Kenyans are: Lorna Rutto (28), a Green Tech Entrepreneur and founder of EcoPost; 26-year-old Evans Wadongo, the chairman of SDFA Kenya; 26-year-old Eric Muthomi, the founder of Stawi Foods & Fruits and the two founders of Serene Valley Properties Kimiti Wanjaria and Ian Kahara, who are both in their late 20s.
The other Kenyans are 26-year-old Cosmas Ochieng, the founder of Ecofuels Kenya, 20-year-old Joel Mwale, the founder of Skydrop Enterprises, and 25-year-old Mark Kaigwa, a partner in the Afrinnovator.
The brainy young entrepreneurs from South Africa include 28-year-old Jonathan Liebmann, a real estate developer and chief executive officer for Propertuity; 28-year-old Justin Stanford, the founder and chief executive officer for 4Di Group and 28-year-old Rapelang Rabana, founder of Yeigo Communications.

Stop grumbling and pay your debts, Tanesco told

Dar es Salaam. Tanesco should honour its contract with power supplier Songas and pay its debts, the government declared yesterday.
Speaking on the phone from Britain, Energy and Minerals Minister Sospeter Muhongo expressed surprise that Tanesco had failed to live up to its obligations. “I know Tanesco has a contract with Songas,” Prof Muhongo told The Citizen. “It should stick to it.”
Tanesco owes Songas Sh80 billion ($51 million) in outstanding bills covering the past six months. Songas has threatened to switch off Tanesco’s power supply if the state-owned firm does not pay up.
Prof Muhongo said the government was not involved in the transaction. “I wonder why the ministry should intervene when the contract is between the two,” he added. “You should go back to Tanesco and they should not escape from their duty…..I do not know how much the public utility owes Songas.”
Songas supplies about a quarter of the electricity Tanesco passes on to its own customers. Should it go ahead with the threat, most of the country will be plunged into darkness. According to Mr Chris Ford, managing director of Songas, the firm needs the money to maintain its facilities and it may have to shut down if it does not receive payment soon.
Tanesco Acting Managing Director Felchismi Mramba admitted that there was an outstanding debt but maintained that some of it had been cleared though he did not have precise figures. He added: “I understand that we have a contract with Songas but it is not proper to talk about the details in the media….we are bound by the contract. It’s true that we owe Songas billions and there is no way we can run away from that fact.”
Since Tanesco has a contract with Songas, Mr Mramba said, the public should not worry. He added: “Things are under control. Tanesco needs services from Songas and, as at yesterday, they were still consuming power from the firm.”
The face-off comes against a backdrop of reports that Tanesco is experiencing a severe financial crisis. There have also been unexplained power cuts lately.
Mr Ford was quoted saying Songas was trying to avoid switching off its plants because it was likely to result in significant disruptions of the power supply and the economy.
Throughout 2011 and 2012, he said, Songas patiently operated its facilities while working with the government and Tanesco to craft a solution to the problem. “Unfortunately,” he added, “the situation has continued to deteriorate and neither the government nor Tanesco can provide any clarity on when Songas can expect to receive any payments or when Tanesco’s financial crisis will be resolved.”
With such high levels of uncertainty on the prospects of receiving money from Tanesco, he explained, Songas was unable to commit to purchasing critical spare parts (many of which require many months to manufacture and deliver) and the safe and reliable operation of Songas’ facilities are now in jeopardy.
“This decision (to suspend operations) is not being taken lightly and Songas has already made the government and Tanesco aware of the situation,” Mr Ford said. Songas also delivers natural gas to another 225MW of additional generating plant (on top of its own 180MW) from the processing plants on SongoSongo Island and through its natural gas pipeline. Power generation from natural gas is less expensive than using liquid fuels.
Seventeen regions are currently served by the national grid and the demand stands at around 800 megawatts. If Songas were to take away 180mw, which is 22.5 per cent of the total generated, regions connected to the national grid would face an acute power shortage. Songas sent out a distress signal in June last year threatening to switch off its plant if Tanesco failed to settle a $30 million (about Sh48 billion) bill for services provided that year.

Venson fears for a BDP that does not want to embrace Change

 

In announcing that she will be standing for the position of BDP chairman, Pelonomi Venson, has said she will not be producing alongside herself a list of other people she wants elected to help her run the party in the event she gets elected.

She said that will be the task of the BDP faithful to decide.

While becoming a BDP chairman will bring with it new and added responsibilities, Venson is emphatic that she is at ease with retaining her executive position as Minister of Education.

She said she has made known her ambitions to the party leadership, but fell short of saying what the response she got was that leadership.

Effectively launching herself, Venson said she was very much aware of public apprehensions from some sections, especially in the wake of recent poor school examination results.

“I am fully aware of where the ministry is going. There is a roadmap. So far it is clear that turnaround will not be easy. But this is mainly because of where the ministry was. I have my ducks in a row,” she said as she enumerated the new changes and reforms she will be bringing to the Ministry of Education, ostensibly to improve delivery in the medium to long terms.

She said her decision to run for position of Chairman is the one that has not been taken easily, let alone lightly.

The decision, she said, came after serious thought and consideration.

“I have a family – I am a mother, I am a wife and a grandmother. Before I make a decision to take added responsibilities I have to make a thorough consideration. I can tell you that my home base is strong and solid,” she said in reference to support from her family to run.

The same, she said, also applied to her constituency, Serowe South, where she said she has received blessings to run for the party’s second most senior position after president.

“A few have expressed some reservations, but by and large people in my constituency think I have what it takes.”

But can she really be a minister and BDP Chairman at the same given the prevailing circumstances?
“Yes I can do both. I have done it before. At one point I held four responsibilities at one time; Member of Parliament, Minister, Deputy Secretary General and Acting BDP Executive Secretary,” she said.

She said after all there is nothing at the moment that stops her from being both a Chairman and minister since the rules have once again been changed to allow for it.

All she wanted to do, she said, was to bring her administrative capabilities and experiences acquired over many years to transform the BDP.

At one point, President Ian Khama came out strongly to say people would have to choose between cabinet and party executive positions.

Only Daniel Kwelagobe resigned from cabinet in favour of retaining his position as BDP National Chairman. The rest, including the BDP Secretary General at the time, Jacob Nkate, opted for cabinet.
That moratorium has since been lifted.

“There is an advantage in being at both party and cabinet at the same time,” said Venson this week.
Perhaps, as a sign of what she would use as her campaign rallying cry, Venson vaguely but strongly hinted at a BDP that is running out of time to reinvent itself and align itself for future changes, including a role as an opposition party.

She decried the lack of depth and modernization within the party ranks.

“BDP structures need to be more aligned. Perhaps because we have never worked as an opposition we do not even know how to respond to a war cry. But society is changing. The next generation will be more demanding. I am the only Member of Parliament who is active on Facebook. And that gets me worried,” she said.

Reference of BDP’s future role as an opposition party was first made by Daniel Kwelagobe, the current Chairman and Venson’s longtime mentor.

Kwelagobe has in the past said there is no longer any guarantee that the BDP, in power since independence, will win the 2019 General Elections.

And that, it seemed was a mantra that Venson echoed when she said BDP should learn to respond to a “war cry.”

But just what is it that Venson will be bringing? She makes explicit and countless references to administrative experiences, a theme that also comes out quite clearly in her resume.