Story by NATION TEAM
Publication Date: 11/25/2007 

Some 890 parliamentary candidates have been cleared by the Electoral Commission of Kenya to contest the December 27 General Election. 

President Mwai Kibaki presents his parliamentary nomination papers to an ECK official at the Othaya DO’s office .Photos by Michael Mute and Hezron Njoroge

ECK officials cleared the candidates in offices across the country to vie for the vacant seats in the country’s 210 constituencies.

Among those cleared yesterday were President Mwai Kibaki of Party of National Unity, who will defend his Othaya seat in Nyeri and ODM-K’s Kalonzo Musyoka, who will be defending his Mwingi North seat. Veteran politician Kenneth Matiba presented his papers in Kiharu.

The law requires the President to be an elected MP. 

All presidential candidates — ODM’s Raila Odinga, Mr Pius Muiru of Kenya People’s Party and Mr Kenneth Matiba of Saba Saba Asili have also been cleared without a hitch.

Violence continued in parts of the country with one person killed in clashes between the supporters of a former MP and his rival in Mathira.

And, as the parties prepared for the formal campaigns, defectors increasingly got the cold shoulder from their original parties. ODM announced that those who defected after losing the parliamentary nominations were unwelcome at a reconciliation meeting tomorrow to be addressed by Mr Odinga.

In Nyeri, the President campaigned for PNU candidates with the defectors denied a chance to speak.

The nominations closed yesterday and ECK has been adamant that it will not extend the process. The final list of candidates will be issued by the ECK once the returns from the constituencies are tallied.

According to the Sunday Nation’s provisional list, Coast Province has the highest number of candidates with at least 203 being cleared to run in various constituencies.

Bahari, Kaloleni, and Wundanyi constituencies attracted the highest number of  aspirants with 17, followed closely by Changamwe (16), Msambweni (15) and Kinango (13).

Rift Valley Province followed closely with at least 169 candidates nominated. 

Subukia constituency previously represented by Koigi Wamwere has attracted the highest number with 13 candidates. 

It is followed by Molo with 15, Nakuru Town and Eldoret East both have 12 candidates while Naivasha has seven. 

In Central Province, there are at least 116 candidates with Kieni constituency, previously represented by Dr Chris Murungaru, attracting 10 aspirants. 

Juja constituency also promises a tough battle with nine candidates seeking to dethrone outgoing MP William Kabogo. Other constituencies that have attracted a high number of candidates include Tetu and Kigumo, all having eight while Ol Kalou has seven aspirants. 

In Nairobi Province, there are at least 116 candidates cleared so far. Westlands and Kasarani constituencies have attracted the highest number of candidates with 22 and 20 candidates respectively.  Other constituencies include Embakasi (16), Starehe (14) and Kamukunji (13). 

In Eastern Province, 114 candidates had been cleared by the time of going to press. The constituencies with the highest number of aspirants include Kangundo (12), Mutito (12) and Kitui South (nine). 

In Nyanza Province, 103 candidates had been cleared with most constituencies in South Nyanza, especially in the Gusii areas, attracting more than 10 aspirants.  In Western, 62 candidates had been cleared and seven in North Eastern. 

There are tough battles ahead in some constituencies where giants will be facing not only each other, but also a crowd of other candidates.

Lifted and published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no source.nation.ke

Commentary 

Story by MUTUMA MATHIU
Publication Date: 11/25/2007 

My friend is a cunning politician. He is a life member of six political parties–just in case, he tells me. I have followed the progress of his career with horrified fascination. He campaigned very hard for his party nomination, and he was very confident he would get it. 
All politicians are incurable optimists.

His party, the Orange Democratic Party, is very popular on the ground, he tells me. Being nominated by it is as good as being elected. On the day of the nomination he worked hard, mainly to ensure that he was not rigged out. All the votes were counted, recounted and tallied.

The voter turnout, for such a popular party, was low. Only a handful of people turned out to nominate the candidate. My friend won with a margin of about 200 votes. His party’s election secretariat called to congratulate him. 

He set off happily for Nairobi to collect his certificate, go through the formalities with the Electoral Commission of Kenya and hit the road again for the lala salama (final) leg of campaigns.

The nominations had been cancelled in three polling stations because of violence. As soon as my friend was out of the picture, elections were hurriedly held there. The result was that one of my friend’s rivals, who had come in third, was declared to have received 2,000 votes more than he did. 

The “winner”, therefore, got 1,400 votes from 74 polling stations and 2,000 votes from three polling stations, which voted a day after the others and in the absence of key candidates.

My friend blames a Pentagon member for his woes and accuses him of rigging him out because he wanted “yes” men in the House. He has quit in a huff for a fringe party, although he says he will campaign for the ODM presidential candidate.

Another of my friends was seeking nomination on the Party of National Unity ticket in Central Province. He is a young businessman and very diligent. He has been going to his constituency for many years, every weekend to support projects — churches, youth groups, women’s groups, water projects, health clinics and so on. He has a football league supported by former soccer stars. He must have spent a fortune. He was much more involved in the development of the constituency that his MP.

But he told me something went wrong with the nominations — I didn’t have the heart to ask what — and he left in disgust. He withdrew his agents and went away. He didn’t bother trying to get another ticket or throw his weight behind anyone. 

My friends’ cases are so typical that you most probably know someone who received the same treatment in one party or the other.

What is democracy? It is the respect of the absolute right of the people to choose their own leaders. Do political parties respect this right? Absolutely not. That is why they tried to edit the will of the people. They preach democracy from the rooftops, but at the first test, they fall flat on their faces. 

They take people’s money, and it is only after such people win that the “owners” suddenly discover that the winner is not the kind of guy they want in their party. The has-been who came in number five would be more “valuable”, they figure. 

We have not seen this form of blatant, shameless rigging since 1988 at the height of the Kanu madness when a clear loser would be declared the winner.

To me it suggests two things. First, that for those in power — or their factotums — in the political parties, winning the election is as important as creating a class of toadies. They are  not envisaging creating a discussive regime where ideas are subjected to the collective depth and experience of a college of leaders. They are thinking of a comfortable dictatorship where the leader and his clique give directions.

Secondly, political parties are lacking in confidence. There was nothing to stop them from subjecting aspirants to an interview so that, on the basis of objective and fairly applied criteria, they can weed out the kind of guys they think are undesirable. Those with prison records, pending corruption cases and those of suspect character could have been invited to run on an alternative party of their choice. This would be much better than a ham-fisted attempt at rigging in this day and age.

As I always say, there is no such thing as an honest government (politician or party). A politician is kept honest by the vigilance of an electorate that holds the sword of Damocles — the possibility of electoral rejection — over his head.

Call 6422000  and demand to speak to someone in authority. Let them know what a lousy job you think they are doing. 

Alternatively, you can email Julie.mandu@kenya-airways.com, or you can visit the Kenya Airways offices on the 4th Floor of Barclays Plaza and demand an audience with the person in charge.

I called a duty manager at JKIA to find out why the hell they are running an airline that can’t keep time, and he explained that because of construction work at JKIA, they are having a shortage of parking bays. 

That means when many of their planes arrive at a go, as they do in the mornings, there isn’t a place to park them for preparation for the next flight. More bays will become available in the next eight days, he said. We’ll wait and see. 

Lifted and published by API/APN africanpress@chello.no source.nation.ke

Publication Date: 11/25/2007 

If a man and a woman lived together and behaved as if they were married, in Kenyan law, they are married. The principle of the presumption of marriage is established in law by a 1976 Court of Appeal judgment.

In a society that claims that the family is its foundation, then the perplexing state of the institution of marriage, its rules and the laid back nature of the contract establishing it, is difficult to understand.

If one were to ask: What, to a Kenyan, is marriage, you would be constrained to answer, it depends. There are nine separate laws governing marriage and marriage means different things in the many legal traditions — African customary traditions, Hindu culture, English law and Islamic law.

Of course the confluence of all these tributaries is the marriage certificate which is easily obtained after either a religious or simple civil ceremony. But a lot of conflict within (and after) marriage could be avoided if the rules — such as those concerning property, custody of children and polygamy — were clearly defined and uniformly set out in one piece of legislation.

Many efforts to do this since independence have failed because of chauvinism in Parliament. The Marriage Bill was condemned as “un-African” and shot down by MPs in July 1981. Its major failing was that it empowered wives by requiring that their husbands seek their consent before marrying another wife. It also wanted fathers to provide for children born out of wedlock.

Another law, the Marriage Bill 2007, is now in the works and it is likely to become as controversial as all other efforts before it. The proposed law looks like it suspiciously panders to male chauvinism and attempts to win acceptance by being very relaxed about its provisions, some of which are summarized below.

First, it seeks to make that widespread practice called come-we-stay respectable. Come-we-stay marriages, under the proposals, will become registrable. And the couple need not go to the Attorney-General’s chambers; there will be registrars of marriages all the place.

Secondly, it will be possible for the poor (and the mean) to get married on loan. Marriage will be a complete contract irrespective of the status of dowry. That is to say that you do not need to pay dowry for your marriage to be complete.

Third, unless otherwise specified, the come-we-stay marriage (like the ex-divided share) will be ex-community property. That is to say that what belongs to the wife is the wife’s unless it is specified that the property will be communal property and therefore in the event of a divorce, everything is shared 50-50.

Fourth, polygamy is okay. It will be legitimate and legal provided that the man tells his first wife that he intends to go multiple at some stage.

There are useful proposals in the Bill but it is also quite clear that its authors are too willing to grant men rights that are denied women. It is the kind of slant that would see a male-dominated, hypocritical Parliament pass it in record time.

Lifted and published by API/APN africanpress@chello.no, source.nation-ke

The Christian Democratic Movement of Kenya-(CDMK), wish to congratulate all the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) aspirants who won the just ended primary party election tickets.  The ODM secretariats did an excellent and commendable job, given the huge task to supervise the historic competitive party nominations without any assistance from the government security agents. The violence’s witnessed are normal in a growing democracy such as Kenyan, as a sign of democratic freedom and expression.

CDMK complement the ODM President Candidates, Mr. Raila for standing aloof in this duration giving voters their full democratic rights, to elect leaders of their choice; indeed, the Pentagon team set a high standard of leadership maturity in their regions by avoiding interfering with the election process in entirety.

Kenya since independence, did tast political party democracy, which the Late Kenyatta’s, Moi’s and Kibaki’s  dictatorial  3 regimes had robbed them for decades.

Kenyan must reject the defectors:

CDMK wish to urge Kenyan voters to reject all the defectors come December 27 2007, voting date and give ODM overwhelming 3 peace votes from Councilors, MPs and President, these defectors are agents of  anti-Majimbo group. They lack political discipline, are selfish and shameless opportunists whose political ideologies are their stomach, they are ready to sacrifice Raila’s Presidency bid for their personal gains. It is clear that their interests were not to serve Kenyan people but was getting power and the lucrative Parliaments allowances only.

These groups of political turncoats are out to implicate smooth ODM campaign winning strategy by confusing voters with mixed signals, their tactical move is an abuse of voter’s trust and loyalty to ODM. More importantly they are underrating the intelligence of Kenyans. ODM have no other alternative but needs to retain control of all it’s stronghold regional support, to usher majority MP’s in the 9^th Parliament, to enable Raila to structure new government and make radical changes for the long awaited Majimbo constitution. 

It is an obvious manipulation for some candidates to switch political parties from ODM strong holds regions, particularly Nyanza, jumping to Charity Ngilu’s Narc party, as if Ngilu’s admission to Pentagon membership was conditioned to be safe landing for losers from the ODM preliminary nominations.  

The former MP’s  Ochilo Oyako (Rongo), Owino Jalikowa (Migori), Eng Opon Nyamuga ( Nyando),  plus aspirants Mrs Monicah Amolo (Ndiwa), Prof Jackline Oduol (Alego Usonga), Prof Otieno Muga (Kaspul Kabondo), Stephen Mwanga (Ugenya) and Joseph Omulo Okal (Mohoroni) are all traitors motivated by greed to plant seed of discord in Pentagon leadership hierarchy.  This is an act of political arrogance, and provocation to voters for harsh a whipping of rejection come voting date December 27 2007.

Meanwhile, CDMK appeal for all the Christians in the Rift Valley, Western, Coast, Nairobi, North-East, Nyanza and Eastern Provinces to give ODM block votes by ignore the Kikuyus Church leaders in Central Province, they are of no difference with their political leaders and wealthy economical criminals, tribesmen who are openly practicing tribal by using the public offices to campaigns for Kibaki and adoring corrupt his government. 

The Christians and Muslim are neighbors, it is hypocritical for the Kikuyu’s clerics to blame Raila for showing love to our neighbors, Jesus command us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, the Muslims are  Christians neighbors. Therefore, CDMK supports Raila’s assurance for Muslim as marginalized minority group, Christians and Muslim got the numbers to vote ODM to power, let us give ODM block votes.

 By Rev Okoth Otura CDMK – Canada

Published by API/APN africanpress@chello.no

<Posted by Pauline Onyango,

API/APN in Kenya

The water hyacinth is suffocating lakes in Akagera National Park in Rwanda, threatening many species as well as tourism activities. Yet environmental specialists do not agree on what method to use to wipe it out.

A lake has reportedly dried up and many others are under siege by the free-floating water hyacinth
The lake in questions is Lake Mihindi, which has been infested by the invasive aquatic plant for many years. Many others, including Lakes Gishanju, Shakani, and Ihema, are also critically affected by the water weed, according to local tourism experts.

The experts say that tourism in Akagera Park could be affected greatly if the current rate of spread of the water hyacinth is not checked.

According to the University of Texas’s Center for Aquatic plants, water hyacinth is one of the worst weeds in the world – aquatic or terrestrial. Its growth rate is among the highest of any plant known: hyacinth populations can double in as little as 12 days. Its floating mats can weigh up to 200 tons per acre.

According to Edwin Sabuhoro of Ecotours, a local ecotourism company, these floating mats greatly affect the parks ecosystems (both water and land ecosystems), and in the end impact on tourism.

As he explains, the floating mat created by the hyacinth is a threat to the big, as well as the small aquatic animals; the hippopotamus and elephants are affected, just as are the small fishing birds, fish and the microscopic plankton they feed on.

Both ecosystems in the park in danger
Some of the species most threatened by the disappearance of the water bodies are hippos, crocodiles, and the shoebill stork. The hippos are blocked by the thick hyacinth mat from pushing their heads out of water to breath. Likewise they are trapped when they try to get out of the water to feed at night.

The shoebill stork is one of the rare birds that nests on water islands and mashes within the Akagera lake system. The fish eagle is also one of the biggest tourist attractions of Akagera. Together with the kingfisher, their livelihoods are threatened as the water hyacinth blocks their view of the fish in the water. “As the water bodies dry, we are loosing these rare and highly attractive species”, says Sabuhoro.

The fishing sport, also a big tourist attraction in the park is greatly affected. Water hyacinth infestations prevent sunlight and oxygen from getting into the water. Decaying plant matter also reduces oxygen in the water. The result is death of fish. In addition, the thick cover of the water hyacinth makes movement of fishing boats impossible, not to mention swimming.

Sabuhoro further says that Akagera National Park stands out because it is the only park in Rwanda with two ecosystems. Tourists like Akagera because it has both savanna and a chain of lakes, he says. However, these two ecosystems are interrelated so that if one is affected, the effects spillover to the other. He cites the example of elephants that use the lakes for bathing to cool their body temperatures.
Mechanical or biological method?

Tourism experts and environmentalists fear that not enough emphasis has been put on the fight against the water hyacinth; it poses a real threat to the countries biological diversity and tourism. The Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN) however says it is doing everything possible to keep the water weed under control.

According to Fidele Ruzigandekwe, ORTPN’s Director of Conservation, the fight against the water hyacinth has started with Lake Ihema, which will be followed by the other affected lakes in the park. ORTPN is partnering with the Rwanda Green Foundation, a local conservation organization which is funded by the UNDP.

Ruzigandekwe explains that Rwanda Green foundation hires local labor around the park that uses boats to pull out the water hyacinth. He says this mechanical method of removing the water hyacinth is more effective compared to the hyacinth eating insects (the biological method) that they tried before.

Antoine Kapiteni, the coordinator of the project Integrated Management of Critical Ecosystems (IMCE) that works under the Lands and Environment Ministry has another view. According to him, the mechanical method of hand pulling at the water hyacinth is not that effective. He cites the example of women associations in Bugesera who have been manually removing the water weed and using it to make handcrafts. In his words, “they keep removing it, and it keeps on coming back. We have realized that that method does not work.”

“So we have decided that it is necessary that a study be carried out to determine what really causes it and how best it can be controlled”, he adds. Asked whether his project and its supervising ministry are not moving too slowly on an issue that could have devastating consequences, he replies this is not the case. “We are trying to find a comprehensive solution, that’s why we want a study first, and we shall finish it before the end of this year”, he says.

In some other countries, the abundant plants are being used for cattle food and in biogas production. Recently, the water hyacinth has also begun to be used in wastewater treatment due to their fast growth and ability to tolerate high levels of pollution.

Please think of the solution to this hyacinth problem.

Published by API/APN africanpress@chello.no

By J. Cholo BrooksAPI/APN in Liberia

Following the shooting of an expatriate Manager of the Liberia Agriculture Company, a Belgium national, Bruno Michaels last week most Liberians are worried of their fate in this new dispensation.

The Belgium national was murdered last week by unknown men on the rubber plantation of the Liberia Agriculture Company, his remains as since been flown back home.

The Liberian government is investigating the reason behind his murder; several residents of Grand Bassa County where the plantation is located have reportedly accused a former presidential candidate of being behind the killing of the Belgium national.

Mr. Charles Brumskine and five other prominent citizens of the county accusing them of inciting violence in that county; however the County Superintendent, Mrs. Julia Duncan Cassell has condemned the anonymous leaflet.

In a widely circulated leaflet in the County, Liberty Party’s First Partisan Cllr. Charles Brumskine, others listed on the leaflet are the head of the Bassa Resilience Council of Elders, Dr. Baron Tarr; Grand Bassa County Districts #3 and 4 Representatives Gabriel Smith and Baron Brown and another citizen of the county, Bob Smith. They have been blamed for inciting residents of Districts # 3 and 4 against LAC.

The leaflet titled: “The Movement for the Exposure of the Assets of Evil in Grand Bassa County” described the individuals as evil geniuses in the county who want to obstruct development in the county.

According to the leaflet, the named individuals made threatening statements against the Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC) expansion project and admonished the citizens of the county to resist it; this was prior to the shooting of the LAC Plantations Manager Bruno Michiels.

However, Grand Bassa County Superintendent Julia Duncan Cassell has expressed serious concern about the circulated leaflet. She said that she had heard about the leaflet being circulated around the port city but personally had not receive a copy.

Superintendent Cassell said this kind of anonymous undertaking was not in the interest of the county. Justice Minister Phillip Banks makes a statement during funeral of Bruno Michiels in Monrovia. Banks has vowed to bring those responsible to Justice amid reports that some politicians, including Liberty Party’s Brumskine are behind the killing.

She condemned the killing of the late Michiels and clarified that all parties involved were invited to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between LAC and the Liberian Government.

Published by API/APN africanpress@chello.no

<Leo Odera Omolo

API/APN in Kisumu

21/11/07

The just concluded nomination exercise for parliamentary and civic aspirants by the ODM party in Nyanza Province was the most flawed.

In the first place lack of proper preparation and logistics was a matter of serious concern in many places, the voting ballots arrived as late as by 4 pm only after a large number of the voters who had turned up with enthusiasm had waited in vain and walked away from polling stations.

The lack of logistics coupled with the shortage of manpower to man the polling stations.

In the neighbouring Rift Valley Province it was even much worse. In Mosop constituency in Northern Nandi district the ballot paper did not arrive at all and the aspirants after consulting among themselves had to agree on queuing system (mlolongo).

In Konoin in Bureti district the ballot papers were nowhere aspirants had to travel back to Kericho town where they printed the ballot papers locally using computers.

The ODM nomination is a total mockery to the tenets of democratic principle. It was a sham viewed by many as a case of miscalculation and underestimation of the intelligency of the voters. Shame on the organizers.

Despite of hinches, the people eventually spoken. Fourteen (14) immediate former Luo  MPs were swept away by the enraged electorate and consigned to political limbos.

Some of the defeat were justified in some areas like Kasipul-Kabondo, Alego-Usonga, Rongo, Uriri, Nyatike, Ugenya,Karachuonyo,Nyakach,Ugenya and Rangwe.

But the trouncing of the likes of Philip Okundi (Rangwe) Charles Oyugi Owino Jakowa (Migori) and Zadock Madiri Syong’o (Gwasi) were not justified, but could only be attributed to the lack of adequate logistics and poorly arranged nomination exercise.

The defeat of the likes of Ochillo Ayacko (Rongo), Gor Sungu (Kisumu Town East), Dr. Paul Adhu Awiti (Karachuonyo), Peter Odoyo (Nyakach), Paddy Ahenda (Kasipul Kabondo) was inevitable and was eagerly awaited. And so is the defeat of the Rev. Ken Nyagudi in Kisumu Town West and his Kisumu Town East counterpart Erick Gor Sunguh.

Nyagudi had erroneously underrated the popularity and ability of his opponents, the eventual winner John Olago Aluoch and Shem Onyango Kwega. The presence of Rose (Dwasi) Buyu in the race played in favour of Aluoch.

In all the constituencies the CDF money and its disbursement betrayed the former MPs who had turned deaf ears to all sorts of complaints.

In Migori, Charles Owino had done well in disbursing the CDF money evenly in all the projects but lost touch with the electorate due to his lifestyle. I wish he could improve and behave maturely as a grown up!!

In Nyatike Ocholla Ogur the immediate former MP had banked his hope on the numerity of his Kakoth sub-clans hoping to capitalize on it. But this flopped badly. Ogur had ignored the cries of the electorate over the disbursement of CDF even when some residents moved to count and the CDF account frozen for several months on members on claims of it being misused.

The ousting of the aged Odhiambo Omamba in Uriri was long overdue. The former MP had become stale and irrelevant only surviving by way of invoking the name of Raila Odinga whenever he opened his mouth.

At the same time the ODM election Board under the retired Justice Otieno Kwach is seriously being faulted for causing chaos and panic among the ODM aspirants.

There were unconfirmed allegations that money had changed hands in some areas of irregular issuing of certificates from the party especially when it was being allegedly issued to election losers.

While the ODM nomination is much trashed, some of the aspirants also stand accused for ‘’betrayal’’

It has since emerged that some of the aspirants including the former MPs had secretly picked up nomination papers from other parties in anticipation of the fallout after the ODM nomination process so that they could quickly jump onto the bandwagon of other parties.

It is also a betrayal for aspirant who lost the ODM nomination to join Narc-Kenya headed by Madam Charity K. Ngilu whose party is collaborating with the ODM and declare that he would support Raila Odinga presidential election campaign. While contesting the election on a Narc ticket. These are the worst political turncoats.

In fact such declaration makes no sense at all, and if the insinuation that those who have lost the ODM nomination could at the same time campaign for Raila Odinga via Narc-Kenya are full of fallacy and deceitful politics. Similarly anyone who has crossed over to PNU after losing primaries in ODM cannot be relied upon as someone genuinely committed to Raila’s campaign! It doesn’t work that way in elective politics. All these parties are competing with ODM for votes.

In this respect, those who have lost the primary nominations should commit themselves to continue drumming up the support to the winners and help them win the elections proper on December 27^th 2007.

There is no short cut in the individual allegiance, which requires one to stick to only one party. An ODM supporter cannot at the same time play two games. Applying double standard is what has hurt most aspirants who were trounced during the primaries.

It is my contention and that of the silent majority others that those who have taken up nomination papers of other parties after losing the ODM party nominations are political prostitutes who cannot be trusted.

The ODM on its part should shun those who have ditched it for other parties and lock them out of its campaign.

Published by API/APN africanpress@chello.no

<Leo Odera Omolo

API/APN in Kisumu

21/11/07

Reports from Dar Es Salaam says a Canadian mining giant has started exploration work for diamonds in the mineral-rich Shinyanga district in north western Tanzania.

The firm, Douglas Lake Minerals announced last week that its partner, Canaco Resources, has initiated phase one exploration of the Magembe Diamond Project in Shinyanga region.

‘’Canaco has started exploration to evaluate indicated diamond potential from both alluvial and Kimberlite sources,’’ said Harp Sangha the firm’s CEO.

The mineral titled  the Magembe property is owned wholly by Douglas Lake, Canaco Resources Inc has the right to take up to a 75 per cent of Douglas Lake’s interest in the 46 per cent square kilometer Magembe Diamond property through payments of cash and shares and undertaking a commitment for exploration as defined in terms of an option agreement between the two companies signed in March this year.

‘’With all the local artisan mining activity, we believe there is considerable potential for commercially profitable diamond mine, said Mr. Sangha in a statement last week.

The exploration programme will follow up on the reconnaissance scale exploration completed earlier this year.

The initial works consisted of data compilation, remote sensing, geological mapping and prospecting environments favorable for hosting surficial and bedrocks diamond deposits.

The phase one exploration programme will evaluate the concentration of recoverable diamonds from alluvial material through systematic bulk sampling and processing.

According to the company, on the northern part of the property, regional geophysical data indicate the presence of four unexploded Kimberlite targets with magnetic expression similar to the Williamson Kimberlite.

The property in question is located next to De Beer’s Williamson Mine a D iamond, which is currently owned 75 per cent by De Beers and 25 per cent by Tanzanian government. It has produced over 20 million corals since 1940.

The Williamson pipe covers 360 acres, and at the time its discovery, was considered the largest economically exploitable pipe in the world. It is renowned for being the original source of pink diamonds and has produced notable stones, including a 54 coral flawless pink diamond and a 388 coral diamond found in 1996.

Douglas Lake Minerals focuses on exploring and developing gold, copper, nickel, uranium and diamond mining opportunities in Tanzania a country with vast amounts of underdeveloped mineral-rich natural resources.

It explores and develops a large portfolio of prospecting concessions through royalty-based joint venture partnership.

The man who is in-charge of the registrar and licensing section of minerals, Mr. Ally Samaje was recently quoted in the press as having confirmed that Douglas Lake Minerals holds two prospecting licenses for all minerals other gemstone or building materials.

It has for sometime been exploring for gold in Mvomero and Makuyu in Morosovo region.

Mr. Sangha said recently that the firm was pleased with the early exploration results at Morogoro.

Meanwhile the Shinyanga based Mwadui Williamson Diamonds Ltd (WDL) a joint venture company which is jointly owned by the De Beers Group and the Tanzanian government, has reportedly contributed USD 3 million to support education, health, water and infrastructure adjacent in Tanzania.

The company’s CEO Mr. Tony Devlin was quoted last week as having said that the company has provided more than USD 600,000 for education, development in the country mainly for the purchase of building materials, chairs, desks and computers for primary schools.

Mr. Devlin said the company has also donated more than USD 2.1 million for the provision of medicines, construction of public dispensaries and provision of free insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

The company runs the 56-bed Mwadu Hospital, which apart from serving mine residents and workers, also accept patients from communities neighbouring the Diamond mine fields and beyond.

The company also offers annual cash donations to the best students at the university of Dar Es Salaam and the best telecommunications-engineering student at the Dar Es Salaam Institute of Advanced Technology.

Company’s communication manager Mr. Nerys John said in the same context that WDL has contributed more than USD 17,000 to provide free water to villages around the company’s dam and during the country’s two-year drought, the firm pumped water to Shinyanga Municipality.

Mr. John said WDL also contributed more than USD 55,000 to the President’s Relief Fund.

Published by API/APN africanpress@chello.no