Kenya has suddenly decided to postpone the re-opening of schools by one week due to the floods that have threatened the safety of students.
Kenya's Ministry of Education issued a notice shortly after 1:00 on Monday to postpone the reopening of all primary and secondary schools due to the floods. The dates were changed from the 29th of April to the 6th of May.
The decision has come as a relief to many parents, but some are frustrated with the timing of the announcement.
Monday seemed to be just like any other school re-opening day after the holidays. Some students and their parents were about to board a bus when they received news that altered their plans for the whole week.
"This inconvenience has affected all of our plans," said Titus Githenji, a parent.
And it wasn't just parents. Frustrated transport operators were forced to refund their passengers, impacting their business.
It was seen to be a practical decision by the government, as some schools are housing displaced people from the local community due to the recent heavy rain. Meanwhile, the government said a significant number of schools have been adversely affected by the deluge. And until the safety of the students and school communities can be assured, they will remain shut.
Regina Otiende, a mother of eight, is among more than three hundred people who sought shelter at the Valley Bridge Primary School.
Six days ago, her home was inundated by a heavy downpour.
"All the houses were submerged. People were on the rooftops waiting to be rescued," said Otiende.
She said she has lost her livelihood and her children's school things, and she cannot afford to replace them.
"What we want to know is how the children will go back to school, uniforms and books were all destroyed," she said.
Heavy rainfall pounding several parts of Kenya and devastating flash floods have left 169 people dead, a government official said on Monday evening.
The East African nation is currently experiencing El Nino-induced above-average rainfall. The Kenya Meteorological Department has said that heavy rain will continue this week, with potential for flooding and landslides in some areas.
The recent heavy rainfall has resulted in major flash floods in Nairobi, Makueni, West Pokot, and Machakos counties, with loss of life and properties. The inundations have also cut off main roads, and disrupted business across the country.
Heavy rain in Kenya forces postponement of school reopening
Heavy rain in Kenya forces postponement of school reopening
Tanzania's Minister for Foreign Affairs January Yusuf Makamba has shared the fruitful results of his trip to China, hailing the strength of bilateral ties over the past 60 years and expressing high hopes for the upcoming China-Africa cooperation forum.
Makamba on Monday wrapped up a five-day official visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) the previous day, the Tanzanian official highlighted three key takeaways from what he described as a "very good meeting" with Wang during his visit.
"One is bilateral relations between our two countries. We positively assessed the past 60 years of our relations. We also talked about the upcoming FOCAC meeting, and the preparations, and the focus and issues that will be undertaken. We also touched on global affairs and regional affairs as well," he said.
The minister also traveled to south China's tech hub of Shenzhen City, where he said he experienced the high-quality implementation of China's opening-up policy and learned advanced concepts and methods from top Chinese tech companies that could be applied back in his own country.
"Shenzhen holds massive significance even in China's opening-up policy. It's the place where the Chinese government experimented opening-up -- manufacturing, industrialization, modernization -- and we in Africa want to do the same. So it's important to go and see and learn. We met the municipal government and we went to Huawei. So it was a busy, busy, busy trip," he said.
Makamba also outlined his expectations for the upcoming 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), set to be held in Beijing later this year, and believes the gathering will help build effective cooperation among all African attendees and between China and African countries.
Among the many topics and consultations likely to be on the table at the forum, Makamba expects particular emphasis will be placed on the fields of governance, cooperation through Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), achieving agricultural modernization, and on ensuring peace and security.
"We consult amongst us to establish our priorities and our focus areas. Then we come and engage with the Chinese partners. But what we've seen so far, what we've heard so far in initial preparations as focus areas for this FOCAC [is] very good, to build a high-level China-Africa community through modernization. This is a theme that is important for us. Even the four key areas that are going to be pillars of this FOCAC: governance, BRI, agricultural modernization, and peace and security, are important for us, and we're keen and ready to engage on those issues," he said.
China-Tanzania relations deliver fruitful results, show promising future: minister
