The first passenger cruise ship of 2019 docked at the Port of Mombasa’s new world class cruise ship terminal today, Sunday 3rd November 2019.

She (Ms Albatros cruise ship) has 400 tourists on board and 300 crew members.

The tourists will then proceed to excursions in Maasai Mara Tsavo National Part, Simba hills and Mombasa city.

The terminal was constructed with contributions from Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and the Finish Embassy in Kenya, which contributed funding through TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).

The terminal is currently 96.5% complete; with practical handover expected to take place in the next two weeks.

The completion comes in time for the cruise season during the festive period. TMEA and KPA agreed to upgrade the old passenger terminal, which was first constructed in the 1920’s; and was initially designed for storage of conventional cargo.

It was later converted as a cruise terminal in 1960s. The key driver of the intervention was a need to provide safety for passengers and a modern facility that’s in line with the changing shipping technology; that’s now dominated by mega ships with high carrying capacity and depths.

This would therefore, position Kenya as a passenger destination via sea, and support its agenda to increase tourism. Port of Mombasa is one of the busiest Ports along the East African coastline.

The fact that it provides direct connectivity to over 80 Ports worldwide makes the terminal an economic logic and critical node in increasing tourism in the region.

Additionally, and obviously, the old terminal misrepresented Kenya’s tourism beauty; having been constructed with piled foundation, reinforced concrete beams and columns, hybrid of timber and steel truss and asbestos roofing sheets that had started deteriorating due to age, exposure to weather and general wear and tear.

The new terminal stands elegant; with modern high roofed structures whose primary source of energy is solar. Modern meeting rooms and eateries increase the utility of the terminal. A bio digester that will recycle water for re-use.

 The design has factored facilities for differently abled people to include special lifts, escalators, conveyor belts, scanners, air conditioning system and washrooms.

Making his remarks on the completed terminal, KPA Managing Director Dr. Daniel Manduku said; ‘KPA has prioritised cruise ships calling at the Port of Mombasa due to the high impact created in the coast region by arrival of a cruise ship through the Port of Mombasa. KPA has committed it resources to modernise cruise terminal to meet the international standards.

On her part, TMEA-Kenya Country Programme Manager, Ms. Elizabeth Mwangi reiterated the institution’s commitment to support key economic sectors in Kenya.

She said, “Tourism is Kenya’s second-largest source of foreign exchange revenue. It holds great potential to create jobs and reduce poverty. In this regard, TMEA-Kenya has marked tourism as a key intervention area. Specifically, in Mombasa, TMEA will roll out an export capability programme on tourism to increase revenues and amplify impact on local economy.”

Tourists received a kingly welcome; which is expected to be the norm for subsequent arrivals.

The various port service providers have held multiple planning meetings to rehearse smooth clearance procedures, including port health, customs and immigration.

Creating employment remains a central theme for the terminal; which is expected to directly create 300 jobs.

And indirectly boost local industries such as the transport sector, hotels, food providers and curio sellers. On sustainability, the ministry of tourism and KPA, Kenya Tourism Board and Ministry of Tourism will undertake extensive marketing abroad to raise the terminal’s appeal as an entry point for tourists to the region and Kenya

South Africa’s Bonang Matheba has won the newest and hottest contested category in the E! People’s Choice Awards, “African Influencer of the Year”.

The E! People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans and this is the first time, on a global scale, that E! Is recognizing some of Africa’s most iconic and influential talent.

The star studded awards ceremony will take place on the November 10^th, 2019, in Santa Monica, California.

“I am honoured to be the first to receive this award, especially as the world turns its attention to the African continent. Africa is special and unique and I want to congratulate all my fellow nominees who make our continent proud with their amazing talent,” said Bonang.

In the “African Influencer of the Year” category, Bonang was nominated alongside Africa’s finest talent including Wizkid, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Cassper Nyovest, Yemi Alade, Diamond Platnumz and Minnie Dlamini-Jones.

AliKiba has now threatened to expose his rival Diamond Platnumz for all his 'bad deeds'.

This after Diamond Platnumz tried to ask him to be part of the wasafi festival in Daresalaam.

Addressing a media briefing this afternoon ahead of the festival, Diamond  said "Boss  Tale called Ali Kiba before leaving for US. Despite our competition, we need to come together when it comes to something big like this, let us not allow to be divided by what people say, we will kill the industry. Lets take an example of Nigeria how they usually come together "

Diamond's sentiments see,s to have not gone down well with Ali Kiba who took to social media to dismiss him.

"Usiniletee mambo ya darasa la Pili unaniiibia penseli alafu unanisaidia kutafuta .(UNIKOME)" said Ali Kiba

Adding "Mwanaume huwa anaongeaga mara moja tu sasa ukitaka nikuweke uchi watu wajue unayonifanyia hata kwenye hilo tamasha hatokuja mtu sasa tuishie hapo nakutakia tamasha njema @diamondplatnumz"

http://ommydalla.co.ke/buzz/item/1293-diamond-platnumz-reaches-out-to-harmonize-and-ali-kiba

Tanzanian sensation Diamond Platnumz has pleaded with ex- colleague Harmonize and long time rival Ali Kiba to join him for the wasafi festival in Daresalaam.

The festival is slated for November 9 at the Posta grounds in Daresalaam.

Addressing the media this afternoon, the 'Kanyaga' hitmaker revealed that one of his managers Babu Tale has already reached out to Ali Kiba so as to have him perform at the festival.

"Boss  Tale called Ali Kiba before leaving for US. Despite our competition, we need to come together when it comes to something big like this, let us not allow to be divided by what people say, we will kill the industry. Lets take an example of Nigeria how they usually come together " said Diamond.

This is not the first time that Diamond is trying to reach out to Ali Kiba, last year as he was launching the festival Diamond said he would like to see Ali Kiba participate in the festival.

“Na kwa kudhihirisha kwamba hili ni Tamasha la kwetu wote, mpaka kaka yangu Alikiba ningependa kumuona anashiriki katika Wasafi festival, lengo si kuonyesha nani mkubwa bali ni kuuleta mziki wetu pamoja na kuifanya dunia kuona kwamba, kumbe na sisi Tanzania tunaeza shikamana na kufanya vitu vikubwa" said Diamond Platnumz.

In his response, Ali Kiba stated that he was ready to be part of the festival but as a sponsor through his Mo Faya energy drink.

Ali Kiba charged “ Pia ndugu zangu Wasafi tumepata salamu zenu, nashukuru kwa mualiko wenu ila bahati mbaya sitoweza kushiriki kwa sasa kutokana na majukumu ya kuzundua Mofaya katika nchi zingine. Hata hivyo tusingelipenda kuwaacha hivi hivi, tupo tayari kuwapa support kwa kudhamini tamasha lenu kupitia MofayaEnergydrink ili kuweza kusukuma mbele gurudumu la maendeleo ya sanna yetu Tanzania na Africa" 

Concerning Harmoinize, Diamond said "Like i said before Wasafi festival belongs to all of us, we will be very glad to have his presence at the festival. He is our homeboy, despite what might be going on but Harmonize belongs to wasafi, this is his home and he knows it well"

Adding " He might be having other commitments on that day but our prayer is that he joins us, we want to have different artists".

His sentiments comes just days after Harmonize revealed that he had to sell three of his houses to raise the required money of Tsh 500 million (Kshs 22 M) in order to leave WCB.

During the press briefing, Diamond further revealed that there will be different activities on the day of the festival including dancing  and singing competition.

He also noted that several artists outside Tanzania are also expected to perform at the festival.

Only a week after launching a new Branch in Eastleigh, DIB Bank Kenya has today launched a new branch at Bondeni in Mombasa, increasing its footprint in Mombasa to two branches.

The new branches are geared at enhancing the bank’s reach at key business locations to cater for its target customers segments of Commercial Enterprises, Small and Medium Enterprises and Individual customers.  

The opening of a second branch in the Coastal city of Mombasa, home to the largest and busiest port in East Africa, is a further step in the implementation of a plan that will see the bank expand its business activities in the Kenyan market to meet the needs of  its fast-growing Commercial Enterprises and Small and Medium Enterprises customer base across the country.

With a second branch in Mombasa, DIB Bank seeks to meet the growing need of Shariah-compliant financial services in a city with a vibrant economy largely driven by business emanating from the Port of Mombasa, general trade, tea, tourism and manufacturing including cement manufacturing.

“Since we launched the DIB brand in Kenya two years ago, we have continued to invest in the country with the objective of growing our business in Kenya and to widen our branch network in order to be closer to our customers” said DIB Bank Kenya Chief Executive Officer Peter Makau.

“The new branch, which is conveniently located at the Suhufi Plaza in Bondeni Mombasa along Abdul Nassir road, will give residents of Mombasa community the opportunity to benefit from DIB Bank Kenya’s Sharia-compliant banking products and services. Currently, DIB has presence in Nairobi and Mombasa with 5 strategically located branches in these cities,” added Mr. Makau

Those present at the launch included Mombasa County Senator Mohamed Faki Mwinyihaji, CEC Finance & Economic Ms Maryan Mbaruk, The Chief Officer Devolution Ms Illhan Abass, prominent Mombasa business personalities and DIB Directors Dr. Stephen Mainda and Mr. Michael Murphy.

Mombasa County has won the bid to host the International Desalination Conference in 2021.

The biennial IDA World Congress is the world’s most anticipated and prestigious desalination and water reuse event. 

The IDA flag was officially handed to Mombasa during the just concluded 2019 congress in Dubai. The flag was received by Water and sanitation cabinet secretary Simon Chelegui and the Mombasa County Water and Sanitation Executive Fatma Awale.

Also presented at the 2019 congress was Mombasa County speaker Aharub Khatrri

Awale was also elected as one of the directors of IDA.

The International Desalination Association (IDA) is the world’s leading resource for information and professional development for the global desalination industry – and the only global association focused exclusively on desalination and water reuse technologies.

The 6th Annual African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA) went down last evening in Dallas US with Kenya scooping several awards.

Among the winners of the night was the youthful  Mombasa governor Hassan Joho who scooped the community leadership award, present to receive the award on behalf of the governor was his Resilience and CVE advisor Tendai Mtana.

Akothee won the Best Female Artist East Africa artist for the second time defeating some of the big names like Vanessa Mdee (Tanzania), Juliana Kanyomozi (Uganda), Nandy (Tanzania) and Knowles Butera (Rwanda). Citizen presenter Willy Tuva scooped the Africa's best radio and TV presenter award.

Ommy Dimpoz from Tanzania won the Best East Africa Male artist of the year award, Burna Boy won the overall Artist of the year award.

AFRIMMA’s mission is to ‘provide a platform for African Musicians to gain recognition for their unique talents and achievements

Kenyan entertainment journalists in Nairobi were last evening left cursing after Tanzanian artist Harmonize walked out of a press conference ahead of the release party of his new song 'Uno', this despite keeping the journalists waiting for more than one hour.

The press conference had been pushed three times, the first communication from the PR firm handling the media briefing Clientele PR was that the press conference was to take place at 11 am at the Blue Door VIP lounge only for it to be pushed to 3 pm, the PR firm then sent a message to journalists that the briefing  has been pushed to 7 pm and not 3 pm.

The second edition of African Crossroads will be held in Mombasa, Kenya from 20 to 23 November 2019.

Themed “Sense The City”, the event cuts across scientific, artistic, technological and entrepreneurial lines and will be held at different coastal venues including: County Offices - Old Town, Swahili Pot Hub, Little Theatre Club, Swahili Cultural Centre and Fort Jesus.

African Crossroads is a community of future-oriented African thinkers and doers who meet to critically reflect on the most cutting-edge developments anchored in African intellectual and technological traditions.

Hosted and organized by Hivos, the event is also a retreat where African creatives and the tech community convene annually to exchange ideas and debate on subjects that enrich Africa’s development agenda.

This year’s “Sense The City” theme asks the participating artists, entrepreneurs, computer scientists, designers, researchers, philosophers and thought leaders to come up with innovations and solutions that will bring positive change and advances to African cities.

This follows last year’s successful “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” theme, focusing on our role in shaping the ongoing technological and intellectual revolution across Africa.

Hivos East Africa’s Regional Director Mendi Njonjo says, ‘’Hivos has been keen on expanding alternatives spaces of free expression where change makers - artists, creatives, designers and the tech community - can contribute to societal issues such as good governance, inclusion of repressed voices and minorities, access to sustainable food and renewable energy.

Adding "The African Crossroads gathering exudes this principle.”

The gathering will bring together 170 participants from 30 different countries for the first three days and will be open to the general public on the final day (Nov 23).

However, all participants will connect, collaborate and explore the diversity of African cities in all their multi-sensory aspects through activities including panel discussions, art installations, workshops and music performances.

African Crossroads 2019 is working with a curatorial board drawn from different sectors and countries across the continent.

They will guide the vision of the event by lending their expertise to shape the agenda and ensure this second edition has impact culturally and economically across Africa.

The curatorial board includes: Ayman Ismail (international expert in economic development and entrepreneurship), Chiraz Skhiri (Middle East and North Africa Program Development Manager for Sustainable Food and Renewable Energy at Hivos), Femi Longe (social entrepreneur, enterprise trainer, innovation consultant and speaker).

Others are Michael Kwame Nkonu (Program Officer with the Open Society Foundations’ Economic Justice Program), Mhoze Chikowero (Associate Professor of African History at the University of California), Mwalimu Gregg Tendwa, (designer, creator, innovator and performing artist), Dana Whabira (from Njelele Art Station, artist and architect), Njoki Ngumi (from The Nest Collective, writer and feminist thinker), Sheila Oparaocha (International Coordinator and Program Manager of the ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy), Stephanie Muchai (advocate for open, responsive and accountable governments) and Takura Zhangazha (Resource of Open Minds (R.O.O.M.) Project Manager for Hivos Southern Africa).

The Kenyan and Russian delegations last evening resolved to establish a Russia-Kenya business council to oversee the implementation of joint trade and investment programmes.

The delegations led by Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and his Russian host Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the first Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi.

During the bilateral talks, the two leaders underscored the need for the business council saying it will provide a framework within which Kenya and Russia will pursue partnerships in trade, investment and development.

The Heads of State said entrenching bilateral and multilateral partnerships would help their respective countries in achieving faster progress in trade and security.

"To enhance the shared development and modernization agenda of our two countries, I consider it important to deepen people-to-people contact and our cooperation in security and defence, trade and investment, tourism, energy, culture, science and technology," President Kenyatta said.

The President said although Kenya is the second largest trading partner of Russia in Africa, the full potential of the economic cooperation remains untapped. 

He said there is need to identify ways of improving trade between the two countries, which currently is in favour of Russia, with a trade deficit of 2.3 billion US dollars.

President Kenyatta said Kenya is keen on the establishment of regulatory environment that facilitate trade and investment flows and assured his host of his administration's agreement to the setting up of the business council.

He said there is need for Kenya and Russia to renegotiate the Bilateral Air Services Agreement so as to establish direct cargo flights between the two countries as a mechanism for boosting commerce between Moscow and Nairobi.

Russia mainly imports cut flowers, coffee, tea, fruits and vegetables from Kenya while cereals, iron and steel, fertilizers and paper, are the top Russian imports into the Kenyan market.

President Kenyatta invited Russians to invest in Kenya's Big 4 Agenda priority areas of manufacturing, affordable housing, universal health and manufacturing saying direct investments would help "enhance economic cooperation".

He singled out construction of affordable houses, tourist charter flight services and space technology as some of the opportunities available to Russian investors. 

In the sector of energy, the President said Kenya is interested in tapping Russia’s expertise as a leader in the sustainable exploration and development of renewable energy and natural gas resources.

The President asked the Russian government to expand its scholarship programme in engineering, medicine and related sciences to benefit more Kenyans saying the strong historical ties between the two nations will be strengthened further through such exchanges.

"Russia played an unforgettable and highly valued role in Africa’s struggle for liberation and independence.

“Africa’s aspiration for freedom and liberty is enriched by the relationship with Russia.  African heroes including Kenya’s founding father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta–drew from the vision of the Soviet Union," President Kenyatta said.

President Putin recalled the historic friendly ties that exist between Kenya and Russia saying the two nations share similar values and that Russia was among the first nations to establish diplomatic relations with Kenya.

“First of all, I would like to note that the history of friendly ties between Russia and Kenya goes back to the day when Kenya gained independence, which was proclaimed by your father, former President Jomo Kenyatta.

“And a day later, diplomatic ties were established, on December 12 and December 14, 1963, accordingly,” President Putin recalled.

He expressed hope that parliaments of the two countries will continue playing a key role in the development of bilateral ties as they were the first to initiate two Russian-Kenyan meetings in 2011 and 2012.

“I hope that this cooperation between our parliaments will also continue and will create favourable conditions for the development of our relations,” the Russian President said.

To bridge the trade imbalance that exists between Nairobi and Moscow, President Putin said the two nations need to prioritise cooperation in trade and investment.

“Last year it grew only a little, but it was still 1.2 percent growth. We are glad that several Russian companies have gained a foothold in the Kenyan market,” President Putin said as he encouraged more Russian private sector actors to invest in Kenya.

On peace and security, President Putin commended Kenya for her steadfastness in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in Eastern and the Horn of Africa region.

The Russia leader cited how Kenya swiftly and firmly dealt with the Dusit Hotel terrorist attack saying it was an indication of how effective the country's security agencies can become in dealing with emerging security threats in the country and the region.