The Coast tourism industry is mourning the loss of veteran hotelier Kuldip Sondhi.

Sondhi was the proprietor of Reef Hotels, Mombasa and Shimoni.

He was also an accomplished writer and poet who has been featured by BBC. He has written several short stories and plays which have been published in various anthologies.

His short story ‘Bad Blood’ was awarded the best East Africa story in the 1960’s and was published by Penguin.

The turning point in his writing career was in 1963 when the Orient Club of Nairobi requested him to write a play for their entry into the Annual National Drama Competition.

Sondhi also served as a nominated councillor for Mombasa during the defunct Mombasa Municipal Council.

Kenya Tourism Federation (KTF) Chairman Mohammed Hersi described him as a man who was passionate about the growth of the tourism industry.

"While he was in his 80's he still chose to hold my hand and guide me in matters Tourism leadership." said Hersi.

Adding "This is one man who believed in Kenya and fondly talked about it. He made a case for single gauge railway line way back in the 90s and it came to pass but not exactly as he wished though it moved huge numbers for Tourism."

President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a message of condolence to the family, relatives and friends of Mama Shariffa El-Maawy who passed away Sunday morning at her Nairobi home.

Mama Shariffa, 89, was the mother of former Public Works Principal Secretary, the late Mariam El-Maawy.

In his message of comfort and encouragement, President Kenyatta described the late Mama Shariffa as a devoted and patriotic Kenyan who served the country for decades with utmost commitment and distinction.

"As a nation, we owe Mama Sharrifa a debt of gratitude for her immense contribution to the development of our country's education and health sectors.

"Mama Sharrifa was among the pioneer group of registered midwives in the country and has, over the years, offered her services to Kenyans across the country, especially in the Counties of Lamu, Garisssa and Kwale where she trained and mentored many health workers," the President recalled.

The President said Mama Shariffa embraced education at a time when few women in Kenya had the opportunity to pursue their educational interests.

“Mama Sharrifa was a trailblazer, a strong and determined woman who embraced education at a time when very few Kenyan women had the opportunity to pursue formal education and training," the President eulogised.

 President Kenyatta prayed to God to give the family of Mama Sharrifa the strength and fortitude to bear the loss of their beloved matriarch.

Tanzanian singer Vanessa Mdee has spoken about being partially blind.

Speaking on her condition on Instagram live, Vanessa revealed that one of her eyes is critically blind. 

"Nilipata tatizo ambalo lilinipofusha Jicho moja, so kwa muda nimekuwa nikitumia jicho moja na hili linguine halioni. So ni ulemavu lakini, is not something naweza sema ni ulemavu kwa Sababu Mungu amenijalia na jicho ambalo linaona, so its fine. (I got a problem that made one of my eyes blind. For some time, I have been using one eye, the other is blind" she said.

On the video she also admitted to having pre-existing conditions that lead to her functioning with only one eye.

She made the revelation after rumors started swirling that she had severe difficulties with her eyesight with some even mocking her.

“Maana nimeona juzi watu wanajairibu kuleta stories ambazo si za kweli. (I have seen recently people try to narrate stories that are not true)” she pointed out.

In 2019, during an episode of East Africa Got Talent. Vanessa also talked about being clinically blind in one eye after being Impressed by a contestant.

“It’s unusual for someone so young to sing so soulfully, you can tell that you’ve been through stuff I’m clinically blind in one eye as well but that hasn’t stopped me from pursuing my biggest dreams. Let that be the fuel for you no matter what happens at the end of this competition to me you are a winner and you’re going to continue winning,” she said.

Clinically blindness is being impaired or having a complete loss of visio. Corrective eyewear such as eyeglasses or contact lenses cannot reverse the effect.

Vanessa has been living in Atlanta with her fiance Rotimi and was proposed to in December last year.   

President Uhuru Kenyatta has called for more trade and investment deals among member countries of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

President Kenyatta, who is the current President-in-Office of the Summit of OACPS Heads of State and Government, said the over one billion people that make up the 79-member multilateral body provides a huge potential for intra-OACPS trade and investments.

"With a combined population of over 1.1 billion people and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about US$ 3.2 trillion, the transition from ACP to OACPS presents enormous opportunities for intra-OACPS trade and investments; and the achievement of greater shared prosperity for all our people," the President said.

President Kenyatta spoke Thursday night at State House, Nairobi when he delivered the opening statement during a virtual townhall meeting of the OACPS. The meeting was convened to commemorate the first anniversary of the revised Georgetown Agreement.

The revised Georgetown Agreement, which came into force on 5th April 2020, was adopted during the OACPS 9th summit held in Nairobi in December 2019 and introduced several reforms among them, the renaming of the bloc from ACP Group of States to OACPS.

In his statement, President Kenyatta outlined his vision for the multilateral institution saying he envisions a transitionary OACPS that is united and progressive.

"We should aim for a transition that supports structural transformation to foster industrialization, diversification of our economies and an increase in value addition of our primary products.

"Secondly, the OACPS of the future should strengthen our solidarity and unity.    Underlying the establishment of the ACP Group was our desire to promote unity and solidarity of the ACP States," the President said.

He said OACPS needs to leverage on its past successes such as the existing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) to become a "more influential actor in the global economic arena".

President Kenyatta also spoke about the impact of Covid-19 on OACPS countries saying member states need to "use creativity and innovation to recover together and build back better".

"Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged our health and economic systems. Livelihoods have been destroyed rendering hundreds of millions of our people into unemployment and poverty. The services sector, in particular the tourism sector, has been crippled with devastating impacts on coastal and island states.

"As I said last June during the 1st Extraordinary Inter-Sessional Summit of Heads of State and Government, our solidarity and commitment to intra-OACPS cooperation has been tested by the pandemic. A key lesson is that we need to synergize our energies and use creativity and innovation to recover together and build back better," the President said.

On financing of development in OACPS, President Kenyatta called for a multi-pronged approach to resource mobilization and welcomed the various debt relief mechanisms.

"Regarding financing, we need to use the various multilateral platforms to mobilize resources for development. In this context, we welcome debt relief measures, which have created the needed fiscal space to reduce the negative effects of the pandemic.

"However, we seek a continuation of the debt suspension initiative; and debt cancellation, for the most severely affected countries. The prolonged pandemic requires continuous mitigation measures," he said.

The President welcomed the completion of a new agreement between OACPS and the European Union (EU) saying the pact will be initialed later this month.

Once again, President Kenyatta thanked the OACPS for backing Kenya's successful bid for the non-permanent UN Security Council seat and assured that Kenya will articulate the bloc's agenda during its tenure.

In his maiden state-of-the-organization address, OACPS Secretary General Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti affirmed the organization's commitment to multilateralism saying it will continue to be a strong advocate of global solidarity.

Mr Chikoti said the OACPS Secretariat fully supports the COVAX Covid-19 vaccine sharing platform, adding that the organization will soon roll-out a five-year strategic plan, 2021 to 2025, to bring on board the provisions of the revised Georgetown Agreement as well as the new OACPS-EU agreement.

Alongside the strategic plan, the Secretary General said the OACPS Secretariat was working of a communications strategy to help reposition the organization among its internal and external stakeholders.

President Kenyatta was joined at the townhall meeting, moderated by Trinidad and Tobago's Minister for Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Dr Amery Brown, by Foreign Affairs CS Raychelle Omamo and Head of Public Service Dr Joseph Kinyua.

Diamond Platinumz’ record label Wasafi Classic Baby - WCB on the spot after the Controller and  Auditor General (CAG) of Tanzania revealed the music company was illegally awarded a government tender.

Addressing reporters on Thursday 8, 2021 in Dodoma CAG Charles Kichere said Ministry of Tourism awarded Sh140 million to WCB without documentation. The said amount is equivalent to over Ksh 6 million.

The ministry paid the stipulated amount for artists to promote tourism through the Tanzania Heritage Month (Urithi)  festival  in 6 provinces in the Swahili-speaking nation.

The festival is an annual fete that promotes tourism in the country through culture and celebrating Tanzanians heritage.

“The ministry paid Sh140 million to Wasafi company. However, there was no contract signed between the two parties or any accountability of WCB’s services,” said Kichere.

Adding " This is totally against the law governing the  use of public funds"

AG Kichere noted that the transaction was against the Tanzanian law that governs use of public funds.

Wasafi Company are yet to comment on the AG’s observations.

The AG also outlined a deficit that occurred during the inauguration of Urithi festival.

According to the AG, there were no official documents to enhance investigate the usage of funds in the said festival.

The AG revealed that two leading broadcast companies in the country received a total of Sh600 million to air the festival. However, there were no receipts to show the said transactions.

He further disclosed an undocumented transfer of Sh487 million to 7 unnamed institutions that were to facilitate the festival. .

“There are insufficient documents to support the disbursement and usage of Sh585 million aimed at promoting tourism and the ministry has failed to back the legitimacy of the payments,” said AG Kichere.  

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has applauded the role nurses play in promoting primary healthcare.

The First Lady appreciated the sacrifices nurses make to deliver maternal and child health services especially during this COVID-19 period.

“That is why we shall be appreciating nurses who have been on the frontline working during the pandemic at the Beyond Zero Summit to be held in September this year.

“They have been exceptional. They have worked tirelessly and sacrificed themselves as dedicated caregivers,” she said.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta spoke Thursday during a virtual Beyond Zero technical working group meeting. The meeting drew participants from the Ministry of Health, National Aids Control Council (NACC), National AIDS and STI Control Programme (NASCOP), development and implementing partners as well as civil society organizations.

At the same time, the First Lady reaffirmed her commitment to continue contributing towards the improvement of Kenya's health system.

“Beyond Zero will focus on investment at the primary health level through the refurbishment of community life centres,” the First Lady said.

She commended members of the technical working group, saying their contribution has been crucial to the success of Beyond Zero's work of promoting the health and wellbeing of women, children and adolescents.

“Our successes have been many and the impact has been encouraging. There has been positive transformation in reducing preventable maternal and child deaths.

“The clarion call that 'no woman should die while giving life' remains central to Beyond Zero’s work,” First Lady Margaret Kenyatta said.

Beyond Zero's programs are guided by two blueprints, the Strategic Framework on Engagement for HIV Control and Promotion of Maternal Child Health of 2013 to 2017 and the Strategic Framework for the Engagement of the First Lady in the Promotion of Healthy Lives and Wellbeing of Women, Children and Adolescents of 2018 to 2022.

NACC Chief Executive Officer Dr Ruth Masha, in a speech read by Deputy Director Dr Emmy Chesire, expressed optimism that technical interventions and coordination will help in the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis in the country.

“I am hopeful that through technical interventions and collaborations with county governments, we will reduce the mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis from double digits to single digits in the next two years,” Dr Masha said.

She added that Kenya desires to join the rest of the world where HIV and syphilis transmission rates from mother to child has been sustained at below 5 percent.

County First Ladies Association Chairperson Maria Mbeneka, who is also the First Lady of Laikipia County, briefed the meeting on the achievement of 'empower clinics' in combating the spread of cancer, especially among women.

Other speakers included Chief of Staff in the Office of the First Lady Ms Constance Gakonyo, Beyond Zero Coordinator Angella Langat and Kenya Medical Training College Manager of Inter-Governmental Relations Dr Leah Bii among others.

President Uhuru Kenyatta today opened a new Government small arms factory in Ruiru, Kiambu County.

The Shs 4 billion factory, with a single-shift annual production capacity 12,000 assault rifles, is part of a broad multi-agency natonal security industries strategy. The factory draws 60 percent of its input from local sources.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, the President said Kenya seeks to enhance her self-reliance in security through local production of equipment and technologies in line with the Big 4 Agenda and Vision 2030.

He pointed out that the arms factory, will lower the cost of acquiring weapons for Kenya's security agencies and establish a sustainable national security industrial base that provides jobs for the Kenyan youth.

“This ground breaking initiative will allow us to lay the foundation for addressing the high cost of weapons acquisition, free us from the complex foreign export approval processes currently in place, provide Kenya with greater security sector independence and flexibility, and allow Kenya to design and produce high-quality weapons, customized to our unique needs and operating environments,” President Kenyatta said.

The Head of State commended the multi-agency security team overseeing the project for setting up the self-sustaining factory at a fraction of what the open market had proposed.

“I am also pleased to note that the diligence of our security organs has delivered this project well under budget, with the project having been completed at a cost of about Ksh.4 billion against private sector quotes of Ksh.15 billion, a saving of Ksh.11 billion," the President said.

Through the arms factory, the President said Kenya plans to create a weapons manufacturing surplus that will transform the country into an exporter of security equipment.

“This will not only boost our balance of trade position, it will also create employment for thousands of Kenyans, in addition to creating a skills and technology environment that will drive transformation in civilian industries,” he said.

President Kenyatta said the Government's decision to set up the arms factory was encouraged by Kenya's success in the local manufacture of some of the equipment needed in the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"As with pharmaceuticals, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and medical equipment generally; Kenya has identified a compelling urgency to create  domestic production and this also applies to the security sector equipment in order to free our country from the vagaries of international supply chain systems,” the President said.

President Kenyatta encouraged the leadership of the the factory, which draws 60 percent of its input from local sources, to continue adhering to international best practises and standards so as to ensure that it runs optimally by tapping into foreign technologies and knowhow.

By so doing, the President said the company will be able to synergize and leverage on economies of scale, expand market access for its products, and create and protect local jobs.

“The company must continue to invest in research and development, skills and technology transfer, secure international sub-contracting, production under license, multinational co-development and co-production, and the use of intellectual property rights to secure designs and processes,” the President advised.

Interior CS Dr Fred Matiang’i noted that the local manufacture of small arms will help eliminate exploitative brokers and cartels in the supply of weaponry, who he said, enrich themselves by manipulating the Government tendering system.

 “In our country, I have come to learn from my short tour of duty that if Covid-19 or HIV/AIDS does not kill us, the disease that will kill us is middlemanism,” CS Matiang'i said.

At the launch, attended by Kenya's top security chiefs led by Chief of Defence Forces General Robert Kibochi, the Interior CS observed that the country's security sector has suffered substantially from middlemen who supply equipment at highly inflated prices.

The Port of Mombasa handled 9.54 million tons in the first quarter of the year 2021 compared to 8.62 million tons in a similar period last year recording 10.7 percent growth rate.

During the period under review (January to March 2021), the Port also witnessed increased volumes in container traffic registering 389,515 TEUs against 340,812 TEUs recorded in a similar period in 2020. Transshipment traffic recorded 69,658 TEUs against 41,363 TEUs during the corresponding period in 2020.

The container traffic translates to an increase of 48,703 TEUs or 14.3 percent while transshipment traffic registered a growth of 28,295 TEUs or 68.4 percent. 

According to a statement from KPA, total imports during the quarter recorded 162,504 TEUs up from 151,998 TEUs in the corresponding period January-March 2020, registering a growth of 6.9 percent.

Equally, exports registered an upsurge by 6.8 percent from 146,049 TEUs in 2020 to 156,007 TEUs during the similar period in 2021.

The month of March 2021 boosted the Port of Mombasa’s performance registering a marked growth in both conventional and containerized cargo.  A total of 3.48 million tons were recorded in the month of March 2021 against 2.71 million tons realized in the corresponding month in 2020, representing a positive performance of 768,453 tons or 28.4 %.

The performance was mainly attributed to increase in handling of Wheat and Clinker cargo within the month compared to the same period in 2020.

For container traffic, the Port recorded a positive increment of 31,261 TEUs or 30.4% to register 133,904 TEUs in March 2021 against 102,643 TEUs witnessed in March 2020.

KPA acting Managing Director, Rashid Salim, noted that the month of February 2021 has been captured as the highest performer ever in terms of daily average container throughput traffic with 4,662 TEUs beating the record daily average throughput of 4,279 TEUs recorded in July 2019.

The Managing Director added that for Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the month of March 2021 has gone on record as the highest ever with 25,104 TEUs which is an average of 8.32 trains per day beating the daily record average of 8.1 trains recorded in February 2021.

Meanwhile, container vessel MV SL Tweety made her maiden call at the Port of Mombasa yesterday where she discharged 769 TEUs at Berth No.16.

The ship with a length overall (LOA) of 212 meters and capacity of 2,450 TEUs is owned by Volta Shipping Line, the local agent being Magellan Logistics.

The Ship Master Capt.  Vitaly Ochilov appreciated the Authority’s commitment on ensuring timely and quality port services and the mitigating measures in place against the Covid-19 pandemic to protect shippers, port workers and cargo interveners.

The Captain was briefed on the port’s ongoing capacity expansion programs including the ongoing construction of the second phase of the Second Container Terminal which will bring onboard additional annual capacity of 450,000 TEUs.

Captain Ochilov expressed gratitude saying that he looks forward to frequently calling at the Port of Mombasa.

Magellan Logistics Director for East Africa Mr. Sankar Venugopal, said the vessel which is part of Jambo service of Volta Shipping services will be calling at the Port of Mombasa on monthly basis with local containers, transit and transhipment cargo.

Another container carrier, Cimbria, of Diamond Shipping Line, operated by Gold Star Line Limited is scheduled to make her maiden call at the Port of Mombasa on April 24,2021.

Bongo Fleva singer Bernard Paul Mnyang’anga aka Ben Pol has reportedly filed for Divorced in a Tanzanian court, against his Kenyan wife Anerlisa Muigai.

According to a leading Tanzanian online media outlet Millardayo.com, the cause of the divorce is still not yet clear.

The two got married in a secret ceremony held in Daresalaam on May last year (2020).

A quick look into Arnelisa's Instagram account reveals that she unfollowed Ben Pol and deleted any photos she had on her profile with him including engagement photos. 

She has also dropped Ben Pol's surname 'Mnyang'anga' which she had also adopted as her name on Instagram.

October last year (2020) Ben Pol converted to Islam and changed his name to Behnam Paul Mnyang'anga.

http://ommydalla.co.ke/buzz/item/1808-benpol-converts-to-islam

Kenyan designer, Zedekiah Lukoye ( Zeddie Loky) of Blkburd Genes has apologized after printing a T-shirt with an image of Lamu's Riyadha Mosque.

This follows uproar from the mosque’s management and a section of muslims from Lamu county after American rapper and business mogul Jay Z was recently spotted wearing the T-shirt.

http://ommydalla.co.ke/buzz/item/2120-riyadha-mosque-management-angry-after-jay-z-donned-t-shirt-with-the-mosque-s-image

In a letter sent to Riyadh Mosque Secretary General Abubakar Badawy, the designer said he was sorry for using the image of the mosque confessing that he was unaware during research and design stage that portrayal of the mosque on the T-shirts would be perceived as sacrilegous.

"I must confess we were unaware during research and design period that theportrayal of the mosque on our tees will end up in sacrilegious joints and we appreciate you brought the matter to our attention. In this respect, we are willing to make this right with you. we will make sure to remove all the inappropriate portrayal Riyadha Mosque Lamu on our T-shirt." Mr Loky says in the letter.

Adding "We have alerted our friends and family whom received this design to that deserves the respect to respect the dignity of the Mosque, its Founder, to the congregation, and the general Muslim community within and outside Lamu by not wearing it in bars nor clubs if they happen to decide to wear it."

He further stated that the company will stop producing the T-shirts.

"Since we only produced 20 tees for some of our celebrity friends and family, we would not be reprinting this design anymore and have a different design. On top of that we would like to frame this entire collection and have it at the Museum for exhibition and storage for public to get to bring awareness of our work and continue to appreciate what we are doing." he states.

The famous Riyadha Mosque was constructed in 1892, in 2018 the government of Kenya through the ministry of tourism declared it a national monument under the national museums and heritage act.