DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania (Xinhua) — The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and the National Railways Company of Democratic Republic of Congo (SNCC) have agreed to aggressively market their services to increase the volume of freight between the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and the DR Congo, a TAZARA senior official has said.
A statement issued by TAZARA Head of Public Relations Conrad Simuchile in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam said both TAZARA and SNCC had posted substantive improvements in their performances.
“Transit time between Lubumbashi in DR Congo and Dar es Salaam has been scaled down from over 40 days to less than 10 days in the recent past,” said the statement.
It added that TAZARA alone was moving cargo between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri-Mposhi in Zambia in five days on average.
“With transit times reduced to such low levels, the incidences of theft of cargo have also been eliminated,” said the statement.
It said these improvements have come as a result of changes of leadership in both railways as well as measures taken by the shareholding governments to stabilize and boost railway operations by injecting funds and equipment.
Both TAZARA and SNCC expressed regret that despite the abundant volumes of cargo being moved along the Dar es Salaam Transport Corridor covering DR Congo, Tanzania and Zambia, the railways’ share of less than 2 percent was unacceptably too low.
The two railways pledged to pool their efforts together in allocating wagons and to address the co-ordination amongst the three railways, including Zambia Railways Limited, said the statement.
TAZARA has been going through turbulent times for many years now, but hit the lowest ebb in the last financial year 2014/2015, when only about 88,000 metric tons of freight were transported, the lowest figure recorded since 1976 when TAZARA operations officially began.
In November last year, TAZARA received four new diesel-electric mainline locomotives and 18 new passenger coaches valued at 22.4 million U.S. dollars.
The new equipment was expected to register a substantial impact on the operations of TAZARA, which has been struggling from diminished capacity due to aged equipment.
Aged between 25-30 years, most mainline locomotives that are currently in operation have outlived their life spans and are frequently breaking down, a situation that has been exacerbated by the authority’s failure to adhere to maintenance schedules due liquidity challenges.
Over the years, the passenger service operational levels had dropped drastically to the very minimum, where four trains per week with barely 455,000 passengers were transported in the 2014/2015 financial year, compared to ten years ago when the authority used to run six trains per week and convey more than 900,000 passengers annually.
TAZARA was constructed as a turnkey project between 1970 and 1975 through an interest-free loan of 500 million US dollars from the People’s Republic of China, with commercial operations starting in July 1976, covering 1,860 kilometres from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia.
KINSHASA Democratic Republic of Congo (Xinhua) — Security officials from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have met in Ituri, east of DR Congo, to harmonize security operations along the border between the two countries.
The meeting brought together security committees from four Ugandan districts and a Congolese territory, the administrator of Congolese territory of Mahagi, Jean Bosco Ngamubiem, said Thursday.
Local authorities said the meeting is essentially meant to discuss security concerns along the common border, especially around Lake Albert where there are always clashes between Ugandan police officers and the DR Congo navy officers. Such clashes recently led to the death of three Ugandan police officers.
The four Ugandan districts are Nebi, Zombo, Obilisa and Oima, while the DR Congo territory is Mahagi in Ituri district.
“We have informed security services in our two countries on how they are supposed to behave around Lake Albert,” Ngamubiem said.
He said the meeting, which was the third of its kind, was aimed at evaluating the agreements that were signed, especially with regards to execution, with a view of making recommendations to address the failures.
Tens killed during protests by ex-militia fighters in Democratic Republic of Congo
.KINSHASA Democratic Republic of Congo (Xinhua) — Tens of people have died during a protest by former militia fighters at Kamina military base in Lubumbashi, southwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), eyewitnesses have said.
A group of demobilized ex-militia revolted on Wednesday morning to protest the delay by DR Congo military authorities to re-integrate them.
“They were protesting against their continued stay at the military base after undergoing professional training to facilitate re-integration in society,” local sources told Radio Okapi, a UN-run radio station.
“At first, we were very peaceful. We did not want to hurt anyone. But the soldiers attacked us and started shooting live bullets. There are about 27 people who were killed,” one of the former fighters told Radio Okapi.
Local civil society actors said at least ten ex-militia were killed and several others were injured. No official source confirmed the incident on Wednesday.
Thousands of ex-combatants from various parts of the country have been living at Kamina military camp.
About four days ago, some 4,000 ex-militia fighters wrote a memorandum to authorities asking to hold a peaceful march to say “goodbye” to the people of Kamina, arguing that they had completed their professional training.
Over 8,000 children rescued from armed groups between 2009 to 2015
KINSHASA Democratic Republic of Congo (Xinhua) — Over 8,000 children were rescued from armed groups by the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the Congolese army, from Jan. 1, 2009 to May 31, 2015, head of the interim MONUSCO office in Goma, Josiah Obat, has said.
Obat was speaking in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) during celebrations to mark the International Day of the African Child.
This year’s event was marked under the theme “Conflicts and crises in Africa Let us protect rights of all children.”
He said 56 percent of those children were rescued in North Kivu province in the east of the country.
“There are some rebels who do not want to surrender.
“I believe it is time they put down their weapons and support efforts to restore peace in eastern DR Congo,” Obat said.
On Wednesday, MONUSCO and the Congolese Football federation signed an agreement for elimination of the phenomenon of “child soldiers.”
MONUSCO will use football tournaments to sensitize armed groups to end the phenomenon of “child soldier” in DR Congo, so that they can rejoin their families.
Insecurity impedes humanitarian efforts in Democratic
Republic of Congo and United Nations
UNITED NATIONS Democratic Republic of Congo (Xinhua) — The increasing insecurity is constraining the access of humanitarian organizations to thousands of civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), humanitarian organizations have warned in a joint statement.
“Eleven aid workers have been abducted in North Kivu so far in 2016, and 31 in 2015, which is five times more than the previous year,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.
Aid agencies are particularly alarmed by the impact that this growing insecurity could have on some 1.6 million vulnerable people who need humanitarian assistance in North Kivu province, including 780,000 displaced people, the spokesman said. “Eighty percent of them are women and children.”
Three Congolese employees of international charity Save the Children who were kidnapped in eastern DRC on March 3 were released five days later, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
The three were reportedly abducted on March 3 by armed men in Lubero territory in the eastern part of North Kivu province.
In March 2015, two employees of a non-governmental organization were held hostage for 48 hours by unidentified kidnappers in Rutshuru territory (south of North Kivu province) before being rescued by security forces.
The eastern part of DRC has been plagued for two decades by chronic instability caused by local and foreign armed groups who have perpetrated ethnic violence while fighting for mineral resources.
Democratic Republic of Congo international
partners voice support for political dialogue
KINSHASA Democratic Republic of Congo (Xinhua) — Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) international partners have expressed support for the proposed political dialogue.
The partners made their position known in a joint statement that was respectively released in Addis Ababa, Brussels, New York and Paris by the African Union, European Union, United Nations and the International Organization of the Francophonie.
The four DR Congo partner organizations pointed out the importance of successfully holding political dialogue to achieve consensus that will enable the country to hold free and fair elections within the constitutional timeline.
Dialogue is aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the country, as well as deepening the democratic and rule of law processes, the statement said.
The four organizations reaffirmed their support to facilitation efforts led by Edem Kodjo, a facilitator to the dialogue who was named by the African Union commission.
They also agreed, in the statement, to put in place a group to support the facilitation, comprising of representatives from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region as well as the Southern Africa Development Community.
Further, the partners agreed to mobilize the necessary resources and expertise to maximize the chances of success of the dialogue.
In their statement, DR Congo’s partners reiterated the primary role that the Congolese government and political parties have in preserving peace and stability in the country.
“In this regard, we urge all Congolese actors to engage in dialogue and fully cooperate with the facilitator.
“We appeal to them not to engage in any actions that will increase tension and lead to violence.
“Restraint and a sense of responsibility are the two major requirements at this particular time in DR Congo’s history,” the statement continued.
At the same time, the partners urged the government to continue promoting respect for the rule of law and freedoms outlined in the Constitution. Kabila assures elections will be held at all levels.
Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph
Kabila assures elections will be held at all levels
KINSHASA Democratic Republic of Congo (Xinhua) — Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) President Joseph Kabila has said that “the country will definitely hold elections at all levels.”
The president was speaking during the closing ceremony of a governors’ conference in Lubumbashi, the capital of Haut-Katanga province in southeast DR Congo.
“I want to take this opportunity to affirm that the electoral process in our country is irreversible.
“Elections will definitely be held at all levels,” Kabila said.
“It is because of my desire to find broader consensus around the electoral process in our country, that I convened all Congolese political and social actors to a national political dialogue, which I hope will be inclusive,” he said.
“With the virtue of negotiations and dialogue that is strongly anchored in our culture, nothing will prevent the Congolese people from sitting down to talk and find solutions to the problems facing our country,” he insisted.
Since June 2015, Kabila has been calling for a national dialogue, but opposition parties have refused to take part, arguing that the president is looking for ways to remain in power yet his second term ends in November 2016.
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.Over 7,000 tourists visited Democratic Republic
of Congo Virunga national park in 2015
KINSHASA Democratic Republic of Congo (Xinhua) — Over 7,000 tourists visited Virunga national park in 2015, officials of the park which is situated in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has said.
The park officials said the main reason for the increase in the number of visitors was improved security situation in the park; expansion of the runway at Goma airport, awareness campaign carried out by Congolese and foreign tourism operators as well as the documentaries produced on mountain gorillas and Nyiragongo volcano. In addition to this, is the booming hotel business in Goma and its environs.
Virunga national park is one of the most diversified biological zones on the planet. Half of the biodiversity in Sub Saharn Africa is found in Virunga.
The park is also a marvellous geological site and contains two of the most active volcanoes in the world.
In 1979, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the park as a World Heritage Site.
Virunga national park was founded in 1925 by King Albert 1 of Belgium. It was the first national park on the African continent and it was specifically created to protect mountain gorillas that live in the massive Virunga forests.
For a long time, however, Virunga national park was heavily disrupted due to armed conflicts. UNESCO has classified it as “an endangered” World Heritage site.
Since 2013, the security situation has remarkably improved, thus attracting visitors and tourists each year.
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Democratic Republic of Congo media oppose increase of Internet fees

KINSHASA Democratic Republic of Congo (Xinhua) — The Congo National Press Union (UNPC) on has announced it will be observing a “day without media” every Monday to protest against increase of mobile Internet tariffs.
UNPC president Kasonga Tshilunde said the initiative dubbed “Monday without media” was launched to protest against increase of Internet connections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).
UNPC has realised that there was a 35 to 500 percent increase of mobile Internet without prior announcement by the operators.
“We have decided that each Monday, we shall be observing a day without media, meaning that there will be no newspapers as well as radio and television programs.
This is because we shall be protesting against an increase of Internet tariffs, something we consider repressive,” Tshilunde said.
DR Congo’s Minister for Posts, Telephone and Information and Communication Technologies Thomas Luhaka said on Wednesday that an expert from the World Bank is expected in Kinshasa on Monday to help Congolese telecommunications operators in fixing the real Internet price.
On May 31, Luhaka asked the Congo Telecommunication Regulatory Authority to investigate the increase in Internet prices.
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.Source: Coastweek

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