In this week's Africa Media Watch: Kinshasa's long-suffering commuters struggle with the new curfew while Kampalans try to avoid the potholes.

Kenyans worry about their radioactive roads ; fishy tales from Somalia; a new career for Sudan's one-time strongman and tea time looms in Dar es-Salaam.

Curfew problems hit Kinshasa The plight of the ordinary commuter was probably not very high on the list of priorities for the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo when it declared a night-time curfew on Kinshasa last week-end.

But the problems for the ordinary citizen caused by the imposition of the curfew order, which runs from 9pm to 6am, were not slow to emerge.

Kinshasa's `La Tempete des Tropiques' newspaper reported that the announcement had created "a kind of hysteria" among the city's residents.

"Not only do the residents of Kinshasa like late night gatherings but they ... have to walk long distances either to get a small profit or to `beg' for assistance from a relative or for their business" in order to make ends meet, the paper wrote.

By late afternoon, it said, when people begin heading for home, all the city's bus stops get overcrowded "to the great pleasure of transport companies which charge twice the fare for the same distance to earn twice or three times as much as they would usually get" .

"Kinshasa residents are in desperate straits... In fact, living conditions have become unbearable," the paper said.

The government has said the measures are needed following a security threat to the capital from Congo's enemies.

Kampalans await the final pothole The humble pothole may be a bane in the lives of every car driver in Africa's urban areas but, according to a piece in this week's `East African', in Kampala someone now has at least two incentives to do something about them.

The city's newly-elected mayor, Ssebaana Kizito, is said to be the man responsible for what the paper described as the city's "fiercest ever" battle against the pothole menace.

Columnist Charles Onyango-Obbo said that, after a series of previous mayoral incumbents had failed to make much of an impact on the city, the new man in the job initially raised eyebrows when he apparently started out by ordering a new official car.

"Many city residents were unhappy about this, seeing this splashing out... as old-style gouging.

Those criticisms are dying out.

The joke now is that the new car helped Ssebaana push for the massive attack on the city's potholes - so he could fully savour the vehicle's comfort," he wrote.

The paper said that the people of Kampala would not be happy if the new "pothole killer" failed to deliver.

"It had better change.

Ssebaana is an opposition politician and cannot, like some of his predecessors, rely on the government to protect him if the city gets restless," the columnist wrote.

"He may be the best mayor Kampala has had in a long time, but Ssebaana is also the one whose next meal card depends most on the last pothole." Radiation scare rattles Kenyans Mending potholes might seem like an idea that meets universal favour, but Kenyans were alarmed this week to learn that the process of filling in holes in the road can have potentially serious health implications.

The worry follows disclosures that several more areas of the country have now been identified as subject to levels of naturally-occurring radiation.

Kenya's health ministry has admitted that earlier this year roadworkers used tonnes of murram soil to repair a 21-kilometre long road near Mombasa.

The soil contained the radioactive compound thorium.

Kenya's `Daily Nation' newspaper reported that the radiation levels from the soil were up to 53 times higher than normal, adding that it was thought that most of the 25,000 people who live in the area may have been exposed.

The news that similar radioactive hotspots have been found in at least seven other areas of Kenya led the paper's editorial to call on the government to take a more serious approach to environmental issues.

"We cannot afford to bungle this kind of exercise," it said.

Somalis upset by fishy exploits Environmental concerns of another sort were expressed in Somalia this week with reports that prominent civic leaders have called on the government of Djibouti to assist in bringing a halt to illegal fishing in Somalia's territorial waters.

A report in the Somali newspaper `Ayaamaha' described the scale of the abuse as "massive" , adding that the situation had been exploited due to the absence of a central government in Somalia.

It urged the Djibouti government to send surveillance ships to help protect Somali waters.

Meanwhile, according to a report in the `Xog-Ogaal' newspaper, police in the breakaway region of Somaliland seized five fishing boats and arrested at least 60 Yemenis caught fishing in waters claimed by the republic as its own.

Nimeiri back in business Sudan's former military leader, Jaafar Nimeiri, who returned home in May this year after 14 years in exile, has launched a private company with the aim of helping to develop the country' s natural resources.

According to a report by the Panafrican news agency, the Nimeiri development and Investment Company plans to invest in agriculture, electricity, water and health care.

"This is a company for development and not for profiteering and material gain," Nimeiri, who was responsible for introducing Islamic Sharia law in Sudan, said.

Nimeiri's decision to set up the firm appears to mark the latest stage in his rehabilitation since his return and the launch of his political party, the Alliance of the People's Working Forces.

For the last few weeks he has also been appearing regularly on TV to give an account of his days in office.

Nimeiri, who remains a controversial figure in Sudan, was ousted from power in 1985 by a wave of popular protests that received the support of the army.

Dar looks forward to tea time Dar es Salaam's tiny stock exchange is set to receive a big boost next month when the first privately-owned firm joins the market.

Tanzania Tea Packers Ltd (TATEPA) is only the third company to list on the exchange, which first opened for business in April 1998.

It follows in the footsteps of Tanzania Breweries Ltd and the industrial gas manufacturer, TOL, both of which were part-owned by the Tanzanian government.

TATEPA's share offering was oversubscribed when it closed earlier this month.

Despite problems with smuggling, the company currently controls an estimated 60 percent of the country's market for blended tea.

Tanzania's stock exchange may be one of the world's smallest but optimistic investors are already expecting big things, pointing to what they see as the huge potential for growth.

The market's chief executive, Hamisi Kibola, told the Panafrican news agency that a number of gold-mining firms as well as tobacco and oil companies are also planning to list in the wake of the tea firm's debut on 6th December.

Next Media Watch update is on 26 November