East African will begin using new EAC electronic passports from January next year after Heads of State from the member countries launched the international travel document at a Summit held in Arusha, Tanzania, yesterday.
Each member nation will have up to December 2018, to phase out their national passports.
This latest development is further demonstration of progress for the ongoing integration agenda.
The EAC is made up of six member countries. Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan which officially joined the bloc yesterday.
” The Heads of State further directed partner states to undertake awareness creation programmes and other continuous outreach programmes on the new international ea e- passport,” reads part of the Communiqué that was issued after the Summit.
The bloc’s new electronic is said to be highly secure and difficult to duplicate when compared to the existing passports.
Electronic passports provide travellers with benefits such as use of automated border clearance or “E-gates”, automated issuance of boarding passes, and faster travel arrangements with airlines.
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9 South African State-Owned Companies That Could Be Privatized
Several South African state-owned companies are currently experiencing tough financial times. On several occasions the government has been forced to dip into its coffers for bailouts to keep afloat. Corruption and poor management have also been blamed for the billion of rands in losses these companies have recorded in recent years.
In 2015, the South African government spent nearly 10 percent of its total annual budget in servicing debts and paying money to help these companies.
Here are nine state-owned companies that could be privatized to lighten the burden of running inefficient state companies;
This article was published here
East Africa: New EAC e-Passport to Be Used From January 2017
Each member nation will have up to December 2018, to phase out their national passports.
This latest development is further demonstration of progress for the ongoing integration agenda.
The EAC is made up of six member countries. Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan which officially joined the bloc yesterday.
” The Heads of State further directed partner states to undertake awareness creation programmes and other continuous outreach programmes on the new international ea e- passport,” reads part of the Communiqué that was issued after the Summit.
The bloc’s new electronic is said to be highly secure and difficult to duplicate when compared to the existing passports.
Electronic passports provide travellers with benefits such as use of automated border clearance or “E-gates”, automated issuance of boarding passes, and faster travel arrangements with airlines.
This article was published here
Burundi: Fears As Burundi Starts Census to Register Foreigners
The Burundian government has launched a census to register all foreigners, sparking fears among overseas nationals that the scheme could be a pretext for state surveillance.
All non-Burundians in the country will be required to report to border police offices within the next two months, a public security ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
Several foreigners told the AFP new agency they feared it was a pretext to track them. Many Rwandans said the process could lead to their community being victimised.
Last month, Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, Burundi’s public security minister, said the move was aimed at granting foreigners a biometric ID card.
READ MORE: Only mediation can stop the violence in Burundi
Foreign nationals will be required to attend police stations in person and carry their travel documents.
This article was published here
Western Cape to become conferencing hub
According to Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro, the official destination marketing, investment and trade promotion agency for the province, the World Ophthalmology Congress will take place at the CTICC in 2020 and the International Fiscal Association in 2022.
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“These two conferences combined will bring a total of 16300 delegates to the province generating some R262 million (€15 million) for the economy.”
Harris said conferencing and events was an increased focus of the organisation that had a dedicated conferencing team who were tasked with promoting Cape Town and the Western Cape to the world.
Harris said business confidence in Cape Town in particular was growing and it was being seen as a world-class conferencing destination.
This article was published here