Until his death, the late Robert Kochalle had a successful career in public service, with his highest appointment being Tourism and Wildlife assistant minister.
Kochalle’s appointment exposes one of the routes ghost workers use to land on the public service payroll—poor vetting or just lack of it.
Following public uproar, the minister on Friday replaced Kochalle with his widow Charity.
Kenya’s Information and Communication Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru is on the spot after he re-appointed a dead man to occupy a top seat at a film body.
In a gazette notice dated October 16, Mr Mucheru picked the late Robert Kochalle, who died on May 28, 2018, as a board member of the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB).
Until his death, Kochalle had had a successful career in public service, with his highest appointment being Tourism and Wildlife assistant minister.
But on Tuesday, he was re-appointed to help regulate the film industry in Kenya for three years.
According to Mr Mucheru, Kochalle was supposed to take up his post and earn a salary from Monday, October 21.
His appointment exposes one of the routes ghost workers use to land on the public service payroll—poor vetting or just lack of it.
“54 countries, 1.2 billion people Africa marks the creation of the world’s largest economic and free trade area,” International Trade Centre Director, Arancha Gonzalez reacts as the African Continental Free Trade Area is born
On Tuesday, Gambia became the 22nd country to ratify the accord, reaching the threshold for it to be implemented. It’s hoped the deal will reduce tariffs and trade rules, and create jobs for a market of 1.2 billion people. But Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, isn’t on board with the agreement. So will the deal succeed?
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday received the first two of four CRJ900 aircraft ordered by the Uganda National Airlines Company at Entebbe International Airport.
The planes received the customary water cannon salute, as new aeroplanes operating commercially for the first time.
The Bombardier CRJ900 planes will operate under the revived Uganda Airlines, following several unsuccessful attempts to start a local-based airline.
In 2018, President Museveni told Parliament that the government would revive Uganda’s defunct national carrier.
One of the Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft belonging to Uganda Airlines after it touched down at Entebbe International Airport on Tuesday, April 23 2019.
Uganda Airlines was established in May 1976 as the national carrier of Uganda. The airline was liquidated in 1990 after years of losses and mismanagement. Efforts to privatise it failed.
The two planes, ordered in July 2018, were officially handed over to the Ugandan government on April 16 in Quebec, Canada.
The third and fourth planes are expected to be delivered in July and September 2019 respectively.
The revived national carrier is expected to begin commercial flights in 90 days, first within the East African region before extending to other African countries.
During this period, the final stage of certification will be met with the training of cabin crew and marketing of the routes to be flown.
President of Bombardier, Alain Bellemare, said the planes will fly to South Africa on Wednesday on their first leg of marketing of that route.
US tourist and safari guide freed after kidnap in Uganda/AIWAI! NO!
BY STEFAN BECKET/ CBS NEWS
An American who was kidnapped along with her driver in Uganda last week has been recovered unharmed, a spokesman for the Ugandan government said Sunday. The pair were recovered along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mountain gorilla Bwindi, Uganda
Kimberly Endicott, 56, and tour driver Jean-Paul Mirgene Remezo were taken hostage at gunpoint while on safari in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park last Tuesday. Their four kidnappers had demanded a $500,000 ransom and had not backed down from the demand as of Friday, authorities told CBS News last week. The abductors had been using Endicott’s phone to negotiate her release and were in contact with authorities nearly everyday, officials said.
The Uganda Police Force said the pair were rescued during a joint operation and are in “good health.” A spokesman for the Ugandan government said Ugandan security forces were involved in the operation. The two were brought back to the lodge where she had been staying, while the kidnappers managed to escape.
Kimberly Endicott with a Ugandan commando shortly after she and her driver were rescued April 7, 2019.OBTAINED BY CBS NEWS
Wild Frontiers Uganda, which operates the lodge in the park where Endicott was staying, released photos of Endicott and Remezo meeting with Paul Goldring, the company’s managing director.
Kimberly Endicott shakes hands with Paul Goldring of Wild Frontiers Uganda on April 7, 2019.WILD FRONTIERSJean-Paul Mirgene Remezo shakes hands with Paul Goldring of Wild Frontiers Uganda on April 7, 2019.WILD FRONTIERS
The kidnapping spurred a massive search effort along the edge of the park, which borders the DRC. The park is one of 10 national parks in Uganda, where tourism remains a major driver of the economy. Hundreds of thousands of visitors travel to the parks each year.
Endicott, an esthetician, runs a skin care clinic in Costa Mesa, California.
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Photograph: EPA/STR
The relatively new aircraft type involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash is popular with Irish lessors – Peter Hamilton
Ireland’s main aircraft lessors have had at least 224 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft delivered or are on order, figures compiled by The Irish Times show.
The relatively new aircraft type has recorded two fatal crashes since its entry into service, including that of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 and Lion Air flight 610.
Dublin-headquartered SMBC Aviation Capital appears to be the biggest owner of MAX 8s that operates out of the Republic, with five owned, three managed and about 110 committed. The company recently delivered one to Icelandair, and in December signed a deal with US budget carrier Southwest for 12 MAX 8s in a sale and leaseback agreement.
There are 13 Boeing 737 MAX 8s on the Irish aircraft register, the Irish Aviation Authority has said. It will not follow the lead of regulators in China, Ethiopia and Indonesia, all of whom ordered carriers to ground the 737 MAX model in the wake of the latest crash, which displayed similarities to the earlier Lion Air incident.
Norwegian Air has no current plans to withdraw its 737 MAX aircraft, and Ryanair has said it is reserving judgment on similar models it has ordered. The Irish airline is due to take delivery of 200 Boeing 737 MAX-8s out to 2024.
Some of the aircraft grounded by Chinese and Indonesian authorities include aircraft owned by Irish lessors including SMBC and Avolon.
In December, SMBC delivered the first MAX 8 from its order book to Chinese carrier Lucky Air, with three more to be delivered in the first and second quarter of this year.
In the summer of 2017, Avolon delivered two MAX 8 planes to Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air having originally delivered the world’s first MAX 8 to Malindo Air in May 2017.
Lion Air flight 610 crashed in October 2018, killing all passengers on board, but that specific plane was not owned by any Irish aircraft lessor.
In total, Avolon has agreed to firm orders for 55 MAX 8 aircraft, with options for an additional 20. Goshawk, meanwhile, owns 24 MAX 8s, while AerCap appears to hold five. However, it’s not clear whether AerCap has more on order. The lessor declined to comment.
Operations
Other entities which have operations in the Republic with MAX 8s include BBAM and GE Capital Aviation Services.
Fly Leasing has two Boeing 737 MAX 8s. The company’s chief executive, Colm Barrington, has been dealing with Ethiopian Airlines for more than 20 years.
“They’re a fantastic airline who I’ve recently used myself. We’ve had nothing but good experiences with them.”
Mr Barrington added that Fly Leasing has no more orders in for MAX 8s.
It is believed that the aircraft that crashed on Sunday was directly owned by the airline rather than leased.
US manufacturer Boeing has faced questions over the safety of the aircraft given the fact that two have been involved in fatal crashes despite its relatively recent introduction into airline fleets.
The company said in a statement that a technical team would be travelling to the crash site to provide assistance to the Ethiopian accident investigation bureau.
