Back Issues

Selected headlines from Pambazuka News 171

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/highlights/24192

SMS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS

* Use your mobile phone to sign the petition in support of the ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Send a message to: +27832933934, with the word ‘petition’ and your name in the message. You will only be charged the cost set by your network provider for sending an international SMS. More information http://www.pambazuka.org/petition/smssocial.php or sign online at http://www.pambazuka.org/petition/

HOW TO SUPPORT THE SMS PETITION

* Send text messages to your colleagues and friends alerting them to the petition and informing them how to sign by SMS. You can also use email and word of mouth to help spread the word.

* Distribute leaflets about this initiative. If you work in a human rights or social justice organisation in Africa, volunteer to distribute leaflets for us about the petition to your networks and contacts. Send your details to sms-support@pambazuka.org and we will post you pamphlets to distribute.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS ISSUE:

* Pan-African Postcard: A prophet has honour – but not in his village
* Conflict and Emergencies: ICG issues new report on Darfur
* Human Rights: How to complain to the UN human rights treaty system
* Refugees and Forced Migration: Update on the education of refugee children in Uganda
* Women and Gender: Update on the campaign to ratify the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
* Elections and Governance: Election offices open in Mozambique
* Development: Letter from Uganda
* Education: The brain drain and education
* Media and Freedom of Expression: Commonwealth parliamentarians adopt recommendations on access to information

>>>>> Africa, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

This year marks what many activists have dubbed the unhappy birthday of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. It is 60 years since the creation of these institutions in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and in that time period both have come to have a profound and controversial influence on the world.

Pambazuka News is profiling a series of articles that aim to examine the role of these institutions in the context of Africa. This week we carry the second article which looks at the struggle against water privatisation in Ghana. We encourage activists, academics or anyone interested in the role of these institutions in Africa to respond to the articles or to submit articles for inclusion in the newsletter. Contributions can be sent to editor@pambazuka.org

The rains do not fall on one person’s roof…

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/24190

Throughout the Global South, public goods or services such as water, electricity, education and health care have become the subject of privatization under a free market ethos pushed by international financial institutions. This ethos dictates that allowing private companies free rein is the only sure way to ‘development’. The privatization of water is one of the hotly contested areas where activists who argue that water is a human right have squared up against water barons represented by powerful transnational companies. In Ghana, the National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water has fought against a major water privatization project backed by the World Bank in a campaign that has wide resonance for movements against water privatization worldwide. In this question and answer article, Rudolf Amenga-Etego from the National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water, answers questions from Pambazuka News.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: First of all, why is privatization of water wrong?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: Water is about life. The saying that “water is life” cannot be more appropriate. Privatizing water is putting the lives of citizens in the hands of a corporate entity that is accountable only to its shareholders. Secondly, water is a human right and this means that any philosophy, scheme, or contract that has the potential to exclude sections of the population from accessing water is not acceptable both in principle and in law. Privatization has that potential because the privateers are not charities: they are in for the profit. Price therefore becomes an important barrier to access by poor people. Water is the collective heritage of humanity and nature. The rains do not fall on one person's roof so why should a few shareholders appropriate it to line their pockets? Water must remain a public good for the public interest.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: How does privatization - and the problems with access to water - impact on the lives of Ghanaians?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: Market principles were introduced into water provisioning. A social service to tax paying citizens and their dependants suddenly became a business returning profits to a greedy few. Those who cannot afford safe water turn to unsafe sources such as rivers, ponds and dams for their supply. The health implications are obvious. Take the northern region of Ghana for example. As soon as the World Bank came in and introduced their demand driven policies, which meant safe water went only to the communities that paid for it, guinea worm increased drastically in the poorer communities who could not afford to pay. Ghana, which was on the way to eradicating guinea worm, over a span of only two years became the second most endemic country in the world, second only to the Sudan which we all know is at war with itself. Ghana is not at war, the blame is squarely on the head of the World Bank that arm-twisted the Ghanaian government into accepting the demand driven policy. The worst impacts have been on women and children (especially girls) who now walk long distances to access safe water from government and charitable institutions and individuals who let them draw water free.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: What do you believe to be the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's agenda in pushing for the privatization of water?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: These institutions were originally set up to help reduce poverty on earth and help nations withstand post-war difficulties and grow their economies. They have become instruments in the hands of the United States government acting through its treasury office and are used to compel non-industrialized countries to adjust their economies to suit the US hegemonic agenda. The other western powers profit by this (French, German, British and Dutch corporations are into the multi-billion water trade) and they therefore turn a blind eye. The WB and the IMF are also acting ideologically. Public bad, private good is the message ala the Washington consensus. They go at length to present the private as the “engine of growth”. But it is basically robbing the people (public) to pay the private. For example, the WB gives a loan to the government of Ghana to expand and rehabilitate its water sector and then through the imposition of conditionalities compel the government to hand over the facilities to private multi-national companies to run for profit. The loan agreement then becomes a mere book transaction between the government and the WB - the private corporations go dancing to the bank to cash cheques, reaping where they have not sown.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Your profile on the Goldman Environmental Prize (which you won earlier this year) website says: “The WB and IMF have offered to loan Ghana $400 million to rebuild the publicly owned and controlled water system - but with a catch: the Ghanaian government must abandon its practice of making wealthy and industrial customers subsidize the cost of water to poor communities. In addition, water must be sold at full market rates.” With this in mind, what is the current status of water privatization in Ghana? Is it true that the government has backtracked on its privatization plans?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: Not really. They wanted originally to hand over the water supply to two Multi-national corporations through a lease arrangement. The Coalition Against the Privatization of Water (CAP of Water) stopped that in January 2003. But the WB has a privatization fixation. So they have re-strategized on how to grab Ghana’s water. They have changed the country director in Ghana. The new man is trying to get soft-speaking Ghanaians to accept a 5-year management service contract, which will roll back into a lease at the end of the term. The Lessor (the government of Ghana) may however terminate the service contract after two years and lease the assets out immediately. So you see, they are taking one step backwards in order to take two steps forward. Not yet UHURU!

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: If privatization of water is not the answer, what alternative model do you propose?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: The alternative is simply an accountable public system. The privateers came and met a system -a public system - which they have sought to convince us is not working. But they have failed to convince us that privatization is better. Privatization globally has led to an increase in water tariffs beyond the pockets of most people, it has led to low water quality (private companies are always cutting costs in order to maximize profit) and like in Cochabamba in Bolivia; uprising, repression and death. For small rural communities, community owned and managed systems are worth trying. Some such systems exist in Ghana and are fairly successful. In Ghana we are also experimenting with a variant called “Public-Community Partnership”. A state provider supplies metered bulk water to a community which does the distribution (retailing) to households and institutions with public standpipes for the poor (who are assessed and listed by a water and sanitation committee which also serves as the management board for the community). Through this arrangement the governance issues of accountability, transparency and participation are addressed.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: To what extent has the National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water linked up with other organizations in Africa fighting water privatization? How important do you see this in building a united front?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: The links are under-development. Don't forget Africa is a huge continent - effective networking costs money but we are at it. We have links with a significant number of civil society groups in Africa. Our links with the Anti-privatization Forum in South Africa and ORCADE in Burkina Faso has been very useful. We had a Pan-African conference on the right to water in Accra in May 2003. A committee was set up under my interim stewardship to work towards a meeting in South Africa, which will set out an agenda for a Pan-African Network on Essential Services. We are working at it.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: How can activists in the rest of Africa support your cause?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: It is not my/our cause. It is the cause of Africa, of all those at the screwing end of corporate globalization and US monoculture [Washington consensus]. The way to support is to start an anti-water privatization cell in your own backyard and then link up with us.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS:. What strategies have you used in fighting water privatization that has been particularly effective?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: A combination of actions or methods. Mass protest, leafleting, sign-on letters, petitions, and public awareness campaigns using radio, TV, and the print media. Also screening documentaries about struggles in other countries for mass viewing. We also organize seminars from time to time to review and upgrade our strategies.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: You have been frequently jailed for your political activities. What motivates you?

RUDY AMENGA-ETEGO: Those who produce the wealth must share in its benefits. So long as a neighbour (neighbour here is not defined geographically) is denied water, electricity, education, healthcare etc because of his/her station in life I will remain in my trench!

* This interview was conducted by email. Rudolf Amenga-Etego is the founder and campaign coordinator for the National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water in Ghana. In 2004 he won the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work against water privatisation. A full profile is available at http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipients/recipients.html

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

Darfur: Crisis management or genocide prevention?

Patrick Burnett

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/24191

When the United Nations (UN) Security Council passed a July 30 resolution on Sudan demanding that the Khartoum Government halt killings in Darfur within one month or face economic and diplomatic action, aid agencies slammed the decision as providing more time for killings and rape by militias known as the Janjaweed. Nearly one month later figures indicate that there are currently 2.2 million conflict-affected people in Darfur and Eastern Chad. And as the UN deadline to the Khartoum government rolls to a close on August 30, activity by the Janjaweed is reportedly on the increase in West Darfur.

It now appears unlikely that strong UN action will be taken against Khartoum and that instead support will be given to the African Union’s efforts to solve the crisis. Sudanese government and rebel leaders are currently meeting under AU auspices in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, in an attempt to reach a political settlement and end the violence. The AU already has 80 observers in Darfur, protected by 150 Rwandan troops. However, an AU plan to send nearly 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the region was rejected on Monday by a senior Sudanese official.

It may be that intervention under the auspices of the AU will be the favoured approach, because broader international action in Darfur through the UN is more complicated than it seems. One reason for this is that although Darfur is a charged topic in the United States ahead of the elections in that country, the most powerful member of the UN Security Council has been stung by its intervention in Iraq. It is unlikely that the US, even driven by the prospects of lucrative oil contracts, would risk an intervention in Sudan while it is embroiled in a disastrous occupation in Iraq. In any case, a “humanitarian intervention” in Sudan led by the US would be farcical while more than 100 000 of their troops are terrorising Iraq.

The US position is further complicated by the contention that the US has only become interested in the Darfur crisis because it threatens a peace deal between the Government of Sudan and the Southern People’s Liberation Army that would have opened up Washington’s access to Sudan’s plentiful oil supplies in the south of the country. Lastly, theories are circulating that the US supports the Darfur rebels against the Khartoum government because it is not sufficiently pro-American. All these factors leave the US hopelessly compromised with regards their credibility in leading an international intervention that is purely aimed at ending the conflict and does not contain insidious connotations related to political and economic ambitions. That this complicates an international response is to say nothing of other factors that might impact on the UN Security Council, such as the largely supportive role that the Arab League has lent Khartoum.

But whatever the UN decision on August 30, criticism remains as to the inadequacy of efforts to date. Part of the reason why it seems like attempts to end the crisis have been half-hearted is that genocide inevitable develops its own myths. The result is that it appears as if a particular situation has spun out of control and is too complicated for immediate action. In this scenario, the various parties are doing all that they can to rescue a seemingly irredeemable situation. But it is important to engage in an unmasking of myths because often they serve to perpetuate genocide.

The first myth to uncover is an obvious one. This is that the increased media attention of the last few months mirrors the timeline of the crisis and that therefore the time for response has been too short to yield results. In fact, the Darfur crisis played itself out throughout last year, so that in October, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) noted that tens of thousands of people who had fled from Darfur in western Sudan to neighbouring Chad were “invisible” to the humanitarian community, receiving practically no assistance.

The myth that the Darfur conflict is a crisis of the last few months is central to the failure of the international community because it shows that the early warning signs were ignored - or that at the time the conflict did not carry the political relevancy needed for international action. What has been opted for now is a kind of genocide crisis management, with a strong sense that more time is needed and that diplomatic ventures must be allowed to run their course. But both the international community and the Government of Sudan have known about the crisis in Darfur for far longer than it has been in the media spotlight. How much more time exactly would they like? How many more people must die?

This is linked to the idea that genocide somehow ‘just happens’. In reality, genocide has its own social, economic and political aspects. It has been argued that in Africa, the legacy of colonialism, economic problems and inequalities mean that governments or powerful groups can promote differences and conflict as a mechanism of power rather than addressing the root causes of desperation.

Another area that needs to be challenged is that of the “peace process”. There is a sense that once a “peace process” is underway or the perpetrators engaged in diplomacy, then whatever crisis that is underway is about to be solved. But this, as the organisation Genocide Watch points out, often obscures the fact that genocide is not conflict but rather one-sided violence of one group against another. Therefore it is the “genocidal nature of the government in Khartoum” that needs to be confronted. A peace process will not necessary result in a solution. Often, the “peace process” - and this would also apply to other diplomatic efforts - can work to distract attention from genocide or result in the international community being more lenient towards a perpetrating regime.

Often, genocide is characterised as an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dichotomy. In Sudan, it has been argued that what is happening there is a result of a kind of clash of civilisations between ‘Africans’ and ‘Arabs’. But as Alex de Waal has pointed out, this obscures a “complicated reality”. “Darfur's Arabs are black, indigenous, African and Muslim, just like Darfur's non-Arabs, hailing from the Fur, Masalit, Zaghawa and many smaller tribes.”

The ‘African’ versus ‘Arab’ theory may act to obscure the original causes of the conflict such as conflicts over resources, especially water and land. It may also work to obscure the historical causes of conflict, such as the fact that Sudan was a colonial construct arbitrarily created, in which the British entrenched divisions between a wealthy North and the rest of the country. Understanding complicated historical and political factors is important in understanding why the Darfur crisis has developed and is crucial in any solution.

In conclusion, the shameful response of the international community to the Rwandan genocide should have resulted in lessons being learnt on how to deal with similar crisis situations. But not even the obvious reminders presented by the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Rwanda genocide in April helped to move the world from genocide crisis management to genocide prevention. That these lessons have not been learnt indicates that those institutions responsible for protecting international human rights standards have not been made accountable for the decisions that they make with regards the lives of those who suffer as a result of inaction, nor have they been able to move towards clear decision-making that is based not on the interests of the powerful but in the interests of ordinary people who suffer most at the hands of violence.

* Patrick Burnett works for Fahamu. Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

Reference URLs:
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/sudan/darfur.html
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37069
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=16865
http://www.pambazuka.org/index.php?issue=150
http://www.genocidewatch.org/Never%20Again.htm
http://allafrica.com/stories/200408021131.html
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/comment/0,11538,1285443,00.html
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3276493
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4449674,00.html

A prophet has honour - but not in his village

2004-08-26

Tajudeen Abdul Raheem

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/24173

"A prophet has honour" as the saying goes - but "not in his village" is the concluding refrain. How else could one begin to understand the recent tragedy that befell prominent African literary and political figure, Ngugi wa Thiongo and his wife on their maiden visit to Kenya meant to end Ngugi's almost two decades of exile from the dictatorship of the KANU regime that had detained him without trial and persecuted him into and even in exile.

They were violently attacked and viciously robbed in the apartment they were staying in -a relatively secure area of Nairobi, a city that is dubiously mimicking the Nigerian commercial city of Lagos or South Africa's Joburg in notoriety. It is no wonder that Nairobi is now infamously referred to by residents as Nairobbery!

The couple took a very brave and courageous stance of disclosing the full details of their ordeal, which included the rape of Ngugi’s wife. What a way to be welcomed back to a country that you have given so much of your life, energies and resources for. It is an Afropessimist’s wish come through and true!

Our hearts go out to Ngugi and his partner and we send our solidarity at this grave hour and wish them the courage and conviction to weather this storm. If Ngugi had imagined this and written it in one of his novels or political essays many people would have dismissed it as fantasy. It is indeed true that life is, unfortunately, often stranger than fiction.

If this had happened during the nightmarish days of the Moi dictatorship many, including myself, would have been quick to point to the ruling regime and its hirelings as the culprits, thereby giving the criminal attack a political colouring. While Ngugi may not be a card carrying member of either the ruling Rainbow Alliance parties or any of the formal opposition parties no one is seriously suggesting that the attack was politically motivated. From all the reports of his hugely welcomed return home there has been nothing to suggest that he has uttered or done anything to ‘provoke’ this attack.

Despite several years of exile and political activism his return had largely been non political, to the great disappointment of many of his former comrades and youthful activists who had hoped that Ngugi's temporary return would fuel some political fires and provide a focus for more sustainable opposition to the faltering leadership of the Rainbow politicians. But Ngugi had stuck to his literary, cultural and academic activities.

So one has to conclude that the attack was criminal rather than partisan. However it does have many political implications. If a prominent "son of the soil" well known locally and internationally cannot feel and be secure in his native capital city then who on earth is safe in that city? Kenya has become like Nigeria where the minister of Justice was murdered by hired killers and up to now the killers and their sponsors "have not been found".

If a Minister of Justice cannot get justice where is the rule of law in that country? Who will blame Ngugi if he goes back to the U.S. and never makes any attempt to return to Kenya again? I hope and trust that this tragic incident will not diminish their political activism and vision for a secure and democratic Kenya in a humane world.

Crime against persons and property and the gratuitous violence that often attend them are serious problems for many African countries. Standard left-wing, progressive views will try to explain away these things as symptoms of deeper structural problems of inequalities and injustices in "the system" whereas right-wing persons will see these as "just criminals who deserve no sympathy". I don't know whether it is old age catching up with me but I am beginning to find faults with many of my comrades on the left. I am still not comfortable with the rightist instinct to personalize the issues but I am more and more drawn to "personal responsibility" of the offenders no matter the circumstances.

Nobody forced those people to plan and execute their violent crime against Ngugi and his partner. Worse still they needed not rape their victim and the physical torture suffered by both of them were simply gratuitous. The physical wounds will heal but the psychological stress and trauma will take long for both his partner and Ngugi.

Let us hope that their courage in not hiding the horrible truth may actually help them to deal with it in their private lives and may also provoke further action and debate on general insecurity across the country but especially the gender dimensions of generalized violence in many of our countries. Rape remains a taboo topic in many of our societies yet it is taking place everyday in all kinds of situations, armed robbery being one of the extreme contexts including war. It is about time we stop the denials and defensiveness around it and face it squarely: Rape is worse than death therefore its perpetrators must be dealt with sternly and victims supported by various means.
Pole Sana, to our good friend, Ngugi, and his partner.

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa (Tajudeen28@yahoo.com or Tajudeen@padeap.net)

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org

Detailed and up to date

Liu Haifang

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/24144

Global Health Watch – Call for case studies and testimonies

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/24177

Participate in the first Global Health Watch by submitting case studies. We are calling activists, health workers and academics from around the world to submit case studies and testimonies to supplement the first edition of the report.

The Global Health Watch is a non-government initiative aimed at supporting civil society to more effectively campaign and lobby for 'health for all' and equitable access to health care. This is not a matter of finding a technical or economic prescription, but is one that requires political mobilisation to shift resources and attention towards the needs of the poor, and to reform the very political and social institutions that have generated the state of ill health today.

The Global Health Watch provides a platform for academics, activists and non-government organisations to:
- Promote the accountability of governments and global institutions that affect health (such as the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the World Bank)
- Identify policies and practices at the global and national levels that are unfair, unjust and bad for health
- Highlight the needs of the poor and reinvigorate the principle of 'health for all'
- Shift the health policy agenda to recognise the political, social and economic barriers to better health and to advocate alternatives to market-driven approaches to health and health care.

But Watch aims to do more than just produce another document - it also aims to provide a voice for health workers and the academic and non-government community from as many countries as possible. For information on how to submit a case study see http://www.ghwatch.org/english/casestudies/call.html, for more information about the Global Health Watch see www.ghwatch.org, to contact us e-mail ghw@medact.org

Good work

Prof. Moustapha Hassouna, Tanzania

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/24143

Human rights are women's rights

Obiagali Adaure, Nigeria

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/24148

The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa is beyond doubt the missing link in the Charter's protection of women. It’s adoption not only anchors into African soil the message and recognition that the injustices plaguing African women will no longer be tolerated, but it also affirms that human rights are women's rights too.

Although it is a document of great conceptual wealth, without the co-operation, political will, and commitment required from the members of the AU, its ambition to "ensure that the rights of women are promoted, realised and protected in order to enable them to enjoy fully all their human rights" will never come to fruition. It will be nothing more than a piece of paper with writing.

I thank the pioneers of this initiative, for their efforts on behalf of the larger half of humanity, from (in God we trust) saving the Protocol from such a miserable fate.

Now or never for women's rights

Ezekiel Mwenzwa, Kenya

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/24147

African Agenda

2004-08-26

http://twnafrica.org/africanagenda.asp

African Agenda is a bi-monthly magazine in English with lead articles translated into French. African Agenda published since 1994 reflects Third World Network's concerns and campaigns around issues of economic policy, sustainable development, trade and investment, gender, environment, politics, culture and civil society. African Agenda provides cutting-edge analysis on economic and social issues.

African Film: Re-Imagining a Continent

Josef Gugler

2004-08-26

http://www.africanreviewofbooks.com/

History is an important element of any undertaking relating to African art and culture and the story of African film, predictably, is the ‘story of the white man’, with the native African as the listener, the audience or an appendix. In African Film, Josef Gugler recovers/re-imagines and re-represents the historical experiences of Africans before, during and after colonialism through a perspective that celebrates the peculiarities and diversity of the continent.

African Journal on Youth Studies

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/books/24052

The African Journal on Youth Studies is a biennial journal established to provide researchers, agencies and others related to youth development in Africa and elsewhere the opportunity to report their findings, and exchange ideas among themselves.
Central Educational Service
Announces.

AFRICAN JOURNAL ON YOUTH STUDIES [AJOYS]

. Guidelines for Authors:
The African Journal on Youth Studies is a biennial journal
established to:
- provide researchers, agencies and others related to youth
development in Africa and elsewhere the opportunity to report
their findings, and exchange ideas among themselves.
- To showcase youth contributions to development.
- To provide an avenue for youths to express their view on
issues affecting them and development
- To empower youths in Africa for greater national
development
-
Submission of Manuscripts. Please make sure your contact
address information is clearly visible on the outside of all
packages you are sending to Editors.
Papers accepted become the copyright of the Journal, unless
otherwise specifically agreed. Contributors should bear in
mind that they are addressing an international audience.
Manuscripts that do not conform to the requirements listed
below will not be considered for publication or returned to
their authors.
Manuscripts of not less than 15 pages [tables, figures,
references etc. included] in Times New Roman letter size and
printed on A4 size white paper in laser quality should be
sent to Tola Olujuwon,African Journal on Youth Studies,
Central Educational Service, 374,Bornu Way, Alagomeji,
Sabo,Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. Email cenduserve@yahoo.com
Manuscripts can also be submitted electronically. Articles
can only be considered if three complete copies of each
manuscript are submitted on or before October 31st, 2004.
They should be typed on one side of the paper, double spaced,
with ample margins, and bear the title of the contribution,
name(s) of the author(s) and the address where the work was
carried out. Each article should be accompanied by an
abstract of 100-150 words on a separate sheet, and a short
note of biographical details including institutional
affiliations [if any] The full postal address, telephone, fax
and email address. Authors will be required to pay a
publication charge of US$50.00 to defray the high cost of
publication.

Footnotes to the text should be avoided
All tables and figures should be properly captioned and well
displayed. Preference should be given to figures in
illustrating results involving a large set of data. The
approximate position of tables and figures should be
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symbols. Titles of Journal and names of publishers should not
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References should be indicated in the typescript by giving
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parentheses. If several papers by the same author and from
the same year are cited, a, b, c, etc. should be put after
the year of publication. The references should be listed in
full at the end of the paper in the following standard form:
For books: SHANTZ,C.U & HARTUP,W.W (1995) Conflict in Child
and Adolescent Development, [Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press).
For articles: Khan,Imran. (2003) Making an Impact, Index on
Censorship, 4, pp. 62-66.
For chapters within books: BABAWALE, T (2003) The Youth,
Democracy and National Development in Nigeria: Limitations
and Possibilities, in: AOK. Noah & A. Ayodele (Eds.) Youth
Management in Nigeria [pp.1-10] Lagos, Central Educational
Service

Proofs will be sent to authors if there is sufficient time to
do so. They should be corrected and returned to the Editor
within five days. Major alterations to the text cannot be
accepted. A copy of the journal will be sent by post to all
corresponding authors after publication.

Copyright: It is a condition of publication that authors vest
copyright in their articles, including abstracts, in Central
Educational Service. This ensures that both the publishers
and the authors are protected from misuse of copyright
materials. Authors may, of course, use the article elsewhere
after publication without prior permission from Central
Educational Service, provided that acknowledgement is given
to the Journal as the original source of publication. Authors
are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to
reproduce copyright material from other sources.

Complimentary Copy of AJOYS.
All contributors will receive a complimentary copy of AJOYS
in which their articles has been published. In case of joint
or multiple authors copies will be sent to the principal
author.

Tola Olujuwon
cenduserve@yahoo.com

More...

Endgame in the Western Sahara

Toby Shelley, José Horta

2004-08-26

http://www.palgrave-usa.com/Catalog/product.aspx?isbn=1842773402

Toby Shelley has talked to Moroccan, Western Saharan Polisario and other diplomats, as well as contacts in the oil industry. He has visited the territory and had access to both the Moroccan administration and the underground opposition. What emerges is that there is now a real prospect of a definitive resolution to this long-running, often bloody, conflict between Morocco and the Sahraoui people.

What Women Do in Wartime: Gender and Conflict in Africa

Meredith Turshen and Clotilde Twagiramariya (Eds.)

2004-08-26

http://www.peacewomen.org/resources/Liberia/liberiaindex.html

This is the first book to describe and analyze the experience of women in African civil wars. A mixture of reportage, testimony and scholarship, the book includes contributions from women in Chad, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa and Sudan. The political context of these conflicts is outlined in an introduction to each chapter. The book profiles women's responses to war, as combatants as well as victims, and describes the groups women organize in the aftermath.

Africa: Update on the Campaign to Ratify the Protocol On the Rights of Women in Africa

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/24159

Updates on eleven national campaigns taking place to lobby for the ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa shows that steady progress is being made in cementing strategies to ensure country ratifications. Organisations involved in the national campaigns include Union Nationale des Femmes Djiboutiennes in Djibouti; ACDHRS in The Gambia; Cellule de Coordination sue les Pratiques Traditionelle Affectant la Sante des Femmes et des Enfants in Guinea; The Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW) in Kenya; Association des Juristes de Mali in Mali; Women Lawyers Association in Malawi; The Foundation for Community Development (FDC) in Mozambique; Sister Namibia in Namibia; Women Rights Awareness and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) in Nigeria; and Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMWA) in Uganda. Clicking on the link below will provide you with full updates compiled by Equality Now on national and regional campaigns, an update on the petition in support of the protocol’s ratification, the outcome of a mapping process for ratification in various countries and current and upcoming events.


Fourth Update on the Campaign to Ratify the Protocol On the Rights of Women in Africa
Prepared by Equality Now

Below are current updates that Equality Now has received from national/regional organizations that are actively working on the campaign for ratification of the Protocol on the rights of women in Africa. Also included are: (1) an update on the “text now 4 women’s rights campaign”, (2) the outcome of the mapping exercise on the processes of ratification in the different countries, (3) status of signatures and ratifications and (4) current and upcoming events.

Reporting on National Campaigns

Djibouti
The National Committee on Human Rights and UNFD (Union Nationale des Femmes Djiboutiennes) have conceived a plan to continue with awareness raising around the Protocol with a view to intensifying lobbying of officials as soon as the parliament reconvenes in September 2004. They are using as a campaign tool an article that appeared in the official local paper La Nation on 8 July 2004. It was a long interview with the country’s First Lady, Mrs. Kadra Mohamoud Haid, in which she voiced support for the ratification of the Protocol, thereby giving a boost to the national campaign. In June, Equality Now had written to Mrs. Haid to request her support for the campaign. The article is included below this update.

The Gambia
ACDHRS has been lobbying MPs extensively. They have sent copies of the special issue of Pambazuka to the Vice-President of the Republic who is also in charge of Women’s Affairs, the speaker, the deputy speaker, the majority leader as well as the minority leader of the Assembly. ACDHRS received communication from the National Assembly informing them that a session is scheduled to take place from 19 to 21 August and wanted to know of issues they would like to be included in the agenda. In response, ACDHRS mentioned the pending ratification of the Protocol and sent its text along with their response. ACDHRS has also planned meetings with some key parliamentarians, including both the minority and majority leaders and the Vice-President during 16 to 18 August and hopes to equip them with sufficient information to support the ratification of the Protocol when it comes up for discussion. In addition, ACDHRS has planned a consolidation meeting with members of parliament to further discuss the Protocol. NGOs working on projects benefiting women and children are also expected to attend. A network for the implementation of the Protocol is hoped to be one of the outcomes of the meeting to promote further work around the popularisation and implementation of the provisions of the Protocol.

Guinea
CPTAFE (Cellule de Coordination sue les Pratiques Traditionelle Affectant la Sante des Femmes et des Enfants) continued campaigning and is currently lobbying hard for a special parliamentary committee to take responsibility for pushing through Guinea’s ratification. They are trying to avoid ratification by the entire National Assembly, as this requires an ordinary session that only takes place once a year. The following weeks are crucial for the campaign.

Kenya
The Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW) wrote a brief on the Protocol for the Minister of Gender and planned to discuss it with him to use it to seek the Cabinet’s approval for ratification. Unfortunately, the reshuffle of the Cabinet hampered their progress as this meant fresh lobbying of the new minister. The brief is now with the Assistant Minister and COVAW has written a request to meet the Minister to discuss the brief on the Protocol. In addition, COVAW prepared information packs including fliers, to use in their campaign. They met with the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) to brief them and solicit their interest to do a feature article on the campaign. They have also been in touch with Capital FM Radio, the Parents Magazine and Eve Magazine to also get involved in the campaign. COVAW held a meeting of NGOs on 12 August 2004, which was also attended by representatives of AMWIK and Capital FM Radio. Equality Now’s Africa Regional Director together with Mary Wandia (FEMNET) and Anne Gathumbi (COVAW) briefed the participants about the campaign. Ideas for lobbying the Kenyan Government were floated and COVAW is taking these forward.

Mali
AJM (Association des Juristes de Mali) continued to campaign for ratification of the Protocol. They visited the Minister for Gender for an update on the status of ratification. The Minister confirmed that the cabinet has approved ratification and submitted it to the National Assembly for consideration. The Assembly is in recess at present and is expected to reconvene in October 2004 and the Protocol is expected to be among its agenda items. AJM also held a consultation meeting with the Law Commission with a view to strategizing together regarding soliciting the support of the MPs for the bill of ratification.

Malawi
Although at present there is no partner organization working in Malawi, Equality Now has learned that the Women Lawyers Association has integrated activities around the Protocol into its current program and so Equality Now plans to approach this group about coordinating efforts.

Mozambique
The Foundation for Community Development (FDC) is in the process of finalising its work-plan. They are thinking of hosting a meeting for women parliamentarians to secure their commitment for the ratification of the Protocol. They plan to use the meeting as a hook to involve the media in the campaign also. In addition, they are coordinating with the Ministry of Women to join efforts and include the ratification of the Protocol in their Beijing +10 consultation process as a way of disseminating information and lobbying for the Protocol.

Namibia
Sister Namibia continued to monitor the progress of the ratification debate in the lower and upper houses of the national parliament. The document is now with the upper house and expected to be approved soon.

With funding from UNICEF Sister Namibia launched a series of workshops in various parts of the country to educate marginalized rural and urban women on their human rights, using the AU Protocol as the basis for their training and linking this to the reality of the participants' experience in the areas of health, education, employment, etc. Sister Namibia is in the process of finalising an activity plan for public awareness raising in the form of panel discussions and a media campaign using the print media, radio and television.

Nigeria
Women Rights Awareness and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) briefed the minister for gender who expressed her willingness to support the ratification campaign. She also endorsed the initiatives to support her submissions to the Federal Executive Council. As follow-up to the discussion, WRAPA and the Legal department of the Gender Ministry prepared a draft memorandum for the minister, which they hope that she will review and present to the cabinet for approval of ratification. They will have a follow-up meeting with the minister in the coming week. WRAPA also drafted a simplified booklet on the Protocol that emphasizes the provisions, principles and benefits for women. They will be using this as an advocacy tool beginning with a meeting of MPs which they plan to host in early September. WRAPA has also prepared an overview of the Protocol highlighting the role played by civil society in the processes leading to the ratification and beyond. This will be directed at civil society organizations to solicit support for pressure on the President and now Chair of the African Union to have Nigeria lead by example by an early ratification and domestication of the Protocol. WRAPA also prepared articles that they will submit to two national dailies and some state owned media papers at an appropriate time. The purpose is to sensitize and solicit support for the ratification and subsequent domestication of the Protocol.

South Africa
A training course titled "Gender Equality in Africa - Exploring New Horizons" hosted by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria under its Good Governance Programme is scheduled to take place during 6 to 10 September 2004. The Centre is using this opportunity to raise awareness, generate informed debate and hone advocacy, lobbying and research skills in order to take the fullest advantage of opportunities offered by the African Union and the new Protocol on the rights of women, to promote gender equality at all levels. Elize Delport continued to monitor the ratification process. The Protocol is now with the Justice Portfolio Committee in Parliament.

Uganda
Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMWA) hosted a strategy meeting on 19 July 2004 to create awareness of the Protocol among women’s groups and define a strategy for its ratification. Two of Uganda’s MPs to the Pan-African Parliament, the Hon Miria Matembe and the Hon Loice Bwambale, attended the meeting and lent support to the campaign. The Hon Irene Ovonji-Odida, a Member of the East African Legislative Assembly who chaired the meeting, also voiced support for the campaign. Aside from the women’s organisations, officials from the Ministries of Gender and Foreign Affairs were also present. The meeting agreed to petition for a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni on ratification. Media campaigns using the Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA) were also agreed on as one way of popularising the Protocol and winning public support. AMWA is closely following the ratification process and is at present in touch with the Ministry responsible for gender.

Status of signatures and ratifications
Total signatures – 31
Total ratifications – 3

Mapping of the ratification process status
In consultation with the national and regional groups, Equality Now did a mapping exercise to get a sense of how far the process of ratification of the Protocol has progressed in the targeted countries. There is more information available for some countries than for others, but below is set out a general picture of the process in the countries concerned:

Djibouti
Ratification is approved by the National Assembly, which votes during the sessions on laws and bills. It is however possible for ratification to be effected by a special committee convened in an extraordinary session.

Ethiopia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives its views on the substance of the Protocol and the applicability in the context of Ethiopia. It then passes the Protocol with the Ministry’s views to the relevant line Ministry in this case the Ministries for Women and Justice. After review by these Ministries the Protocol is passed to the Council of Ministers who after discussion and if in agreement, passes the treaty to parliament for ratification. The first stage has been completed. The line ministries are now working on preparing a submission to cabinet.

The Gambia
A state or private bill is tabled in the National Assembly moving a motion for ratification. The Assembly deliberates on the matter and then approves or rejects it. When approved it goes through the governmental process of sealing the ratification. The Foreign Ministry then deposits it at the African Union.

The Republic of Guinea
Ratification is approved by the National Assembly, which votes during the sessions on laws and bills. It is however possible for ratification to be effected by a special committee convened in an extraordinary session. CPTAFE is lobbying for the latter option to secure ratification before October 2004.

Kenya
The relevant Ministry puts the ratification process into effect. In this case it is the Ministry of Gender, Sports and Culture. The Ministry prepares a Cabinet Memorandum on the Protocol, which it tables at a Cabinet meeting. The Attorney General’s Chambers is assisting the Ministry in preparing the Memorandum. Cabinet discusses whether it should ratify or not. Once approved, the Secretary to the Cabinet then requests the AG to prepare the ratification document, which is then given to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for deposit with the relevant treaty body, in this case The African Union.

Mali
After adoption of the Protocol, the Ministers for Women’s Affairs and Foreign Affairs do a joint submission to the Cabinet for approval of a draft Bill with the Protocol and an explanation on the merits for ratification annexed to it. Once the draft Bill is approved, the Cabinet authorizes the ratification procedure to be presented to the National Assembly, which makes a decree to pass the documents to the different committees for study and opinion particularly the Legal and Foreign Affairs Committees. The opinions of these two committees determine whether or not the treaty will be ratified. Once the draft Bill on the Protocol has been approved, the National Assembly authorizes the government to ratify the Protocol. The draft Bill is then passed into law for the ratification of the particular treaty.

Mozambique
In Mozambique ratification is done either by Cabinet approval or Executive decision. Where done by cabinet approval the procedure goes through the National Assembly, which votes during the sessions on laws and bills. It is however possible for ratification to be effected by a special committee convened in an extraordinary session.

Namibia
The National Assembly has approved ratification of the Protocol and has sent it to the National Council (i.e. the Upper House of Parliament) for consideration. The National Council can now either confirm its acceptance of the bill for ratification or refer it back to the National Assembly with amendments. It would then be considered further by the National Assembly, but would not be referred a second time to the National Council. Once passed by the National Assembly, the speaker then sends it to the President for assent. Thereafter it becomes law and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deposits it at the African Union.

Nigeria
A memorandum seeking the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to ratify an international treaty or instrument (the Protocol in this case) is submitted by the focal government department (in this case the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Youth Development). An extract of the approval for ratification is then forwarded to the Ministry of Justice to prepare the instrument of ratification. This will then be forwarded to the Foreign Affairs Ministry for depositing with the African Union. When it comes to approval for domestication then it will require parliamentary approval and so it goes through the parliamentary processes.

South Africa
Ratification is effected by both houses of parliament based on advice given by the state law advisors. An international treaty binds the Republic of South Africa only after it has been approved by resolution in both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The Protocol is now with the Justice Portfolio Committee in the National Assembly for consideration.

Uganda
Responsibility for ratification of treaties falls on the Executive. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs starts the process by informing the relevant ministry, which then prepares a memorandum for the Cabinet requesting the Executive ratify the instrument. Once ratification is agreed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deposits the instrument of ratification with the relevant treaty body. Parliament then makes any necessary laws to implement the treaty (i.e. domestication). AMWA has reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has passed the Protocol to the Gender Ministry to start the process of ratification.

Zimbabwe
The President has the power to enter into international agreements/treaties. Where any convention/treaty has been acceded to, executed or concluded by or under authority of the President it is subject to the approval of Parliament and will not form part of the law of Zimbabwe until it has been incorporated into the law by an Act of Parliament, unless otherwise provided for by the Constitution or Act of Parliament.

Text Now 4 Women’s Rights campaign
This is a new component to the campaign whereby Fahamu with support from Oxfam and the Canadian Development Agency (IDRC) aimed to recruit mobile users in Africa to support the online petition currently running at the Pambazuka website. This creative move is receiving popular attention even outside Africa and coalition members have been disseminating information to interested groups in and outside Africa. Several groups, for example, were urged to put up an announcement about the campaign on their websites as well as mobilize their members to take action in support of the campaign.

Current and upcoming Events

1) ICJ Annual Conference – The Kenyan section of the International Commission of Jurists will be discussing the Protocol at its annual conference to be held in Mombassa from 11 to 14 August. Equality Now’s Program Officer will participate in a presentation with Advocate Judy Thongori, a practicing lawyer in Kenya and a human rights activist, addressing what this important document is all about, what it means for women in Kenya and how far the Kenyan government has advanced in its ratification and implementation. Equality Now has already held a discussion with Judy, briefing her on the campaign and sharing ideas on mobilizing Kenyan lawyers in support of the campaign. The plan is to inspire Kenyan lawyers to take concrete action to exert more pressure on the Kenyan government to act fast on ratification.

2) International Conference on Female Genital Mutilation on developing a political, legal and social environment to implement the Maputo Protocol – Equality Now’s Africa Regional Director is invited to this conference organized by the Kenyan Government and No Peace Without Justice (an Italian NGO) in partnership with AMWIK (Association of Media Women in Kenya) and due to take place in Nairobi during 16-18 September 2004. This would serve as another excellent opportunity to persuade the Kenyan government to ratify the Protocol quickly while at the same time popularizing it among the participants. Participants from other countries in East Africa are also expected to attend and will be briefed on the campaign. In addition, Equality Now’s Africa Regional Director is writing an editorial for the Pambazuka news, which will be released around the conference dates.

3) FEMNET’S Regional Training Workshop on Advocacy 20-24 September 2004 – All activists are invited to this workshop which takes place in Nairobi; and one day (24th) is set aside for discussion about the campaign for ratification of the Protocol on the rights of women. We hope to see all of you soon.

4) Seventh Africa Conference on Review of Progress made on Women’s Equality a Decade after Beijing Conference - With WiLADF and other coalition members, Equality Now is committed to participating in a panel discussion featuring the Protocol during the upcoming NGO Forum on “Review of Women’s Equality 10 years after the Beijing Conference”. This will take place in Addis Ababa on 6-7 October 2004. It will be an excellent opportunity to inform and mobilize women activists just before the commencement of the governmental meeting on the same.

For a dignified and respected Djiboutian Woman

During the recent national celebrations of independence, women of Djibouti women launched a petition through the UNFD. Among the signatories to the Petition was the First Lady Madame Kadra Mahamoud Haid who added her voice to the call for a Djiboutian woman who is dignified and respected. The petition presented a long awaited opportunity for an interview with the first lady who also took the opportunity to join her sisters in Africa in calling for the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. The First Lady is also the chairperson of the UNFD.

The Nation: National news that has been dominated by the festivities of the celebrations of the 27th anniversary of our country has not failed to leave a special place for the expression of a new found dynamism of the women of Djibouti who have been mobilized around a Petition for the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Could you tell us a little more about this initiative undertaken by your organization?

First lady: Let me start by thanking you for the interest you have shown in the cause of the women of Djibouti women by taking the initiative to conduct this interview. I remain firmly convinced that the privileged channel for the promotion of women is through the media whose noble mission is certainly to inform the public but also to fight the prejudices and stereotypes that alter the image of women of Djibouti. The celebration of the national independence of our country is an important date for all the citizens and a memorable date for all the children of the country.

UNFD chose these commemorative moments bringing together emotion and joy to launch a sensitization campaign for the ratification of the African protocol on women’s rights. The women of Djibouti had wanted to celebrate this anniversary in their own way by carrying this time round the torch of the promotion of the women in Africa. We wanted to express a hope at the time of this anniversary, a hope that all the African women and particularly the women of Djibouti will fully enjoy their rights.

The launch of the advocacy initiative for the ratification of the African Protocol on the rights of women in Africa at the time of the commemoration of the National independence flows from a well thought out strategy, which carries along with it deep messages for the keen observer.
Is it not necessary to give tribute to the women of Djibouti who fought for independence? The occasion has turned out to be favorable to make heard the voice of women in Djibouti, the fight of the UNFD for a dignified and respected Djiboutian woman.

The Nation: Why have you chosen a Petition to support your advocacy initiative?

First lady: First of all I would like to emphasize that the action taken by UNFD is far from being an isolated initiative. It takes effect from within a framework of a large coordination of women’s organizations that have taken up for themselves this noble fight against discrimination and a mission for the promotion of the condition of women. The objective of lobbying for the ratification of the African protocol on the rights of women, being to sensitize African states and governments whose heads are expected to meet within the context of the African Union at the beginning of July 2004. Furthermore, an online petition is also circulating on the Internet. UNFD found it appropriate to try out the technique of a petition, something virtually unheard of in the predominantly nomadic culture where issues are handled by word of mouth. This for us was a sufficient and efficient measure not only in the strategy of information but also in the sensitization activities hoped for. The conduct of this Petition by the activists of UNFD has revealed a new mode of expression of the collective conscience of women. From another angle the Petition supports close communication as it reaches the investigators and the investigated.

The Nation: What are the reasons that are motivating the UNFD and the women of Djibouti in general to advocate for the ratification of the Protocol on the rights of women by Djibouti?

First lady: In the first place it is judicious to recall the mission of the UNFD. The birth of our organization was almost concomitant with the acquisition of the national sovereignty of the Republic of Djibouti. After independence the fight by the women of Djibouti for the self determination of the people of Djibouti turned into a new form of fight: that of claiming the rights of the women of Djibouti. It is not on the agenda to review the actions of the UNFD but I must emphasize that our organization has as one of her achievements her contribution to the improvement of the status of the women of Djibouti woman. To cite but a few of the well known achievements, allow me to mention the penalization of FGM through the introduction of the article 333 in the new Penal Code of 1995, the creation of a new bureau charged with the promotion of women, a process that has been completed today by the creation of a ministerial department led by a woman. UNFD could therefore not miss out on this important event in African history.

Secondly, the status of women has undergone some notable changes in Djibouti thanks to the unwavering support of the government of the Republic of Djibouti as is evidenced in the actions of the minister for the Promotion of Women. The adoption of a national strategy for the integration of women, the appointment of 7 women to Parliament through affirmative action, the appointment of women to head public institutions of administration, the promulgation of a new Family Code, the reform of the justice system are just some of the concrete examples of the manifestation of a new political vision with regard to women. No obstacle can therefore stand in our way as we aspire for the protection of our rights within the framework of the African Union.

Finally, our current advocacy initiative in the campaign for the ratification of a regional convention clearly denotes the new phase that has been established by the women of Djibouti in their claims. By the commitment made in regard to the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women, we are deliberately moving away from the national framework and are raising our expectations to a higher level that unites the women of Africa.

The Nation: What does the Protocol provide for the women of Djibouti?

First lady: It would be an error to confine a discussion of the benefits of the Protocol to the women only. The provisions of the Protocol are in the first instance aimed at the protection of the rights of women. Yet they have the advantage of having a strong impact on governance policies, development policies on the society and on the family. The Protocol holds the key to a change of mentality towards better consideration of the woman as a partner to the man. We emphasize in passing that in changing mentalities we do not intend to ape other cultures.
The women of Djibouti can aspire to increased liberty in action and expression without recourse to any change of culture, but having regard to the respect for her religion, her culture and her education. Be that as it may, I insist that the Republic of Djibouti has ratified the main conventions that form the International Charter on Human Rights. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights are incorporated in the Preamble of our Constitution of 15th September 1992 and form an integral part of that Constitution. Consequently we have at our disposal a legislative arsenal protecting human rights and guaranteeing human dignity. Our legislation is therefore ready with the necessary judicial base to conform to the Protocol.

Nation: Madam First Lady, tell us about the conformity of our legislation with the Protocol

First lady: One of the merits of the Protocol is that it reinforces already existing foundations for the protection of women’s rights such as is the case in Djibouti. Our legislation, passed with reference to the citizen will, as indicated here below, recognize that when we talk of human beings we talk about men and women. The search for equality through the rule of law, the introduction of measures of affirmative action are from now on the means by which to consolidate the status of the law in Djibouti. The challenges of underdevelopment cannot be overcome unless by the joint efforts of all, men and women alike.

The Protocol fits within the principles of CEDAW. I commend the action of the African Union, as a regional convention protecting the rights of women will receive more response. The Protocol is a document ahead of its time for the promotion of the rights of women in Africa. It will constitute a solid reference for the definition of the policies for the promotion of women. It is a guide for all the African states that desire to make the woman an equal partner to the man. The ratification of the Protocol will without doubt have positive spin offs on the status of woman all over the continent. In fact, Comoros, an Islamic country like Djibouti is the only state that has to date ratified the Protocol. The UNFD encourages Djibouti to do the same. Our country signed the Protocol on the 18th December 2003.

The Nation: What are the strong points of the Protocol?

First lady: The Protocol takes ownership of the contemporary aspirations of the African people. It is conceived on the plinth of the three pillars of democracy: democracy, peace and human rights. It recognizes the woman as being equal to man in the sense that Africa cannot surmount the challenges of under development unless by the contribution of all, men and women.

Besides the rights that are traditionally recognized in international conventions, certain rights have been given a legal meaning in the Protocol: the right to peace, environmental rights and the right to development, the right to political participation etc.

More...

Africa: Women's Discrimination Now a Global Concern, says UN

2004-08-26

http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=24958

More time, not a new deadline, is needed for universal ratification of the convention to eliminate discrimination against women, says Feride Acar, chairperson of the U.N. committee on the convention. The initiative to have the treaty signed by all the world's nations could get a boost from the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Acar suggested in an interview.

Burkina Faso: Female Genital Mutilation Still Widespread

2004-08-26

http://www.africana.com/newswire/homepage_article.asp?ID=979

The arrest this week of a 63-year-old woman in Burkina Faso accused of circumcising 16 young girls has brought home to many that genital mutilation is still widespread in the west African state, despite being outlawed eight years ago. Since 1996, when the landlocked state formally declared genital mutilation illegal, the number of excisions practised in Burkina has fallen sharply, from a prevalence rate of 66 percent to 40 percent, according to the national watchdog group, the CNLPE.

Somalia: Women's Representation in New Parliament at Issue

2004-08-26

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=25188

Women from Somalia have expressed concern at the fact that they risk being under-represented in their country's new transitional parliament, which was sworn in Sunday, August 22. According to an agreement reached in negotiations for restoring central government in the East African nation, a minimum of 12 percent of the 275 legislators should be women. However, only 16 women were inaugurated as members of parliament at the swearing in ceremony.

South Africa: Common law on same sex marriage challenged

Press Statement

2004-08-26

http://www.equality.org.za/press/2004/08/22ssmar.php

The Supreme Court of Appeals will on 23 August 2004 hear the matter of Fourie v Minister of Home Affairs. This case presents a challenge to the common law definition of marriage. According to the common law definition, marriage is a union only between one man and one woman. This makes it impossible for same sex couples to be married to each other. The Equality Project has been admitted as an amicus curiae (friend of the court) in this matter. The Equality Project recognises that the removal of the common law prohibition against marriages between people of the same sex would represent a major advance in the struggle toward securing and equal position for lesbian and gay people in the law and society.

Sudan: Help Stop Violence Against Women in Darfur

2004-08-26

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=1953

The civilians of Darfur in western Sudan have been victims since February 2003 of coordinated attacks by the Sudanese government and bands of Arab fighters on horse and camelback known as Janjawid militias. Amid the killing of tens of thousands of people, women in Darfur's towns, villages and camps have experienced grave human rights abuses, including abductions, sexual slavery, torture and forced displacement at the hands of the Janjawid.

Zimbabwe: Women in Politics Support Unit

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/24152

Women in Politics Support Unit (WiPSU) has just launched its website which can be accessed on www.wipsu.org.zw The site covers WiPSU programs and activities, women's participation in local government and Parliament, as well as profiles of Zimbawe's current women MPs. Please send comments and enquiries to wipsu@wipsu.co.zw

Zimbabwe: Women push for more leadership positions

2004-08-26

http://www.sarpn.org.za/newsflash.php#1875

Zimbabwean women are urging greater representation in the next parliament ahead of the country's sixth general election, to be held in March next year. Thenjiwe Lesabe, secretary of the ruling ZANU-PF party Women's League, said at the weekend that women would push for a 50 percent quota in parliament and other ZANU-PF organs at the party's congress in December.

Africa/Global: How To Complain to the UN Human Rights Treaty System

2004-08-26

http://www.bayefsky.com/unts/index.html

The website www.bayefsky.com now provides an easy-to-use guide for making a complaint to the UN human rights treaty bodies on civil and political rights, discrimination against women, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and racial discrimination.

Angola: Urgent work needed to improve human rights

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42803

The Angolan government should listen to civil society, be more open to humanitarian workers and quickly rebuild its judicial system if it wants to improve its human rights record, the UN special representative for human rights defenders said on Sunday. Approaching the end of a 10-day visit to the country, including a two-day trip to Cabinda, Hina Jilani said it was vital to see more concrete action. "For me it's very important to see things happening on the ground. Unless measures are in reality in existence, human rights work is difficult and human rights defenders remain vulnerable," she told IRIN in an interview.

Burundi: Massacre Highlights Lack of Rights

2004-08-26

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=25190

Following the massacre of the 160 Congolese refugees in a temporary camp in Burundi, the US Committee for Refugees (USCR) has said that too little is being done to ensure the basic human rights of refugees who are confined to camps or segregated settlements. "Refugees are frequently warehoused in remote, desolate and dangerous border areas in conditions of hopelessness and despair, subject to aggression, sexual exploitation, and risk of attack and murder," said USCR's statement, issued last week.

Equatorial Guinea: No translator for 14 suspected mercenaries as trial opens

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42808

Fourteen foreigners went on trial in the tiny oil-rich state of Equatorial Guinea on Monday, charged with plotting a mercenary invasion to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, a government official in the capital Malabo said. The eight South Africans and six Armenians were arrested in Malabo on 6 March. They were charged with conniving with 70 South African mercenaries who were arrested 24 hours later in Zimbabwe as they were allegedly on their way to Equatorial Guinea to mount an invasion.

Kenya: Civil Servants to Sue State

2004-08-26

http://allafrica.com/stories/200408250578.html

The Union of Kenya Civil Servants has announced its intention to sue the Government for allegedly flouting the Labour Act and violating their human rights. Announcing the move, the deputy national organising secretary, Mr Mbuthia, said that the Labour minister Newton Kulundu and the Directorate of Personnel Management Simon Njau had flouted labour laws by under-paying workers in seven job groups. The union is demanding they reimburse the salary differences.

Senegal: President Takes on Islamic Groups in Death Penalty Debate

2004-08-26

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=25223

A move to outlaw the death penalty in Senegal has ignited a debate about capital punishment in the country. "It is my point of view and my opinion that only God has the right to take someone’s life," said President Abdoulaye Wade during his July 15 announcement of a bill to ban the death penalty.

South Africa: Rights Group to Investigate Alleged Abuse of San

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42859

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is to launch an inquiry into the alleged mistreatment of members of the Khomani San community of the Northern Cape Province. Announcing the inquiry, an official of SAHRC said that: "There have been claims and accusations that the community...had been routinely mistreated by the police...and after the death of Optel Rooi (a master tracker) it was decided that an inquiry should be conducted."

Uganda: Museveni and Kony Both Should Face War Crimes Tribunal

2004-08-26

http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/1917.cfm

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni recently asked the International Criminal Court at The Hague to investigate and prosecute rebels and rebel leader Joseph Kony of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). To anyone who is unfamiliar with the war in Northern Uganda that started in 1986 when Museveni had just come to power, Museveni's quest to prosecute Kony might sound like a sound idea coming from a responsible person. However, to those who have suffered through the years and experienced atrocities perpetrated by both the rebels and the Ugandan army, the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF), Museveni is just as criminal as the Kony he is trying to prosecute.

Zimbabwe: Govt Defends Controversial NGO Bill

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42806

The Zimbabwean government this week defended its controversial NGO bill which would ban foreign NGOs concerned with "issues of governance" and deny registration to NGOs receiving foreign funding for "promotion and protection of human rights". In a statement issued by the Ministry of Labour and placed in all Sunday Newspapers, the Government described the organisations as a "threat to national security" and accused donors of employing "local puppets to champion foreign values."

Africa/Spain: Madrid will no longer turn back immigrant boats

2004-08-26

http://tinyurl.com/4yljb

The Spanish defence minister, Jose Bono, said that the navy would no longer intercept immigrant boats in Spanish waters unless they needed immediate help. The decision is a recognition of the increasing dangers faced by would-be immigrants. A quarter of the immigrants entering the EU illegally do so through Spain and the summer months bring feverish activity across the Gibraltar Straits. Many prospective immigrants head out into the Atlantic in flimsy wooden boats in an attempt to avoid border patrols.

Burundi/DRC: Government offers new sites for DRC refugees

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42786

Thousands of Congolese refugees in Burundi are to be relocated away from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an official from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday. The announcement comes a week after a massacre of 160 refugees last Friday on a transit camp at Gatumba, which is only 1 km from the border.

Liberia: Liberian returnees find out it takes more than resilience to remain home

2004-08-26

http://tinyurl.com/6qa2c

Liberians impatient to return home after 14 years of civil war are finding out that it takes more than resilience to begin a new life in the face of so much destruction, lack of income-earning opportunities and insecurity in some places. Juliet Massaquoi, a 24-year-old mother of four children, came back to Ganta in northern Liberia's Nimba county two weeks ago.

South Africa: New law monitors asylum seekers

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42781

New legislation will help the South African government to monitor the entry of asylum seekers into the country, an official told IRIN on Friday. The Immigration Amendment Bill, approved by parliament last Thursday, requires all asylum seekers to report to a refugee reception centre within 14 days of entry, said Mike Ramagoma, a spokesman for the ministry of home affairs. Ramagoma noted that the existing law allowed asylum seekers "as soon as they have received their asylum transit permit at the port of entry to travel anywhere in the country and stay for whatever length of time".

Sudan/Chad: 30,000 displaced Darfurians may cross into Chad unless security improves

2004-08-26

http://tinyurl.com/4g2yy

The UN refugee agency has heard that the continuing insecurity in western Sudan's Darfur region could drive some 30,000 people into Chad, a new influx that could strain UNHCR's ability to care for the refugees in its swelling camps.

Uganda: Update on the education of refugee children in Uganda

2004-08-26

http://www.refugeelawproject.org/working%20papers/Refugee%20Education%20Update.pdf

In June 2003, the Refugee Law Project published Working Paper No. 9,"Education of Refugees in Uganda: Relationships Between Setting and Access." This report related the findings from the first year of a longitudinal study that follows the same schools, teachers, pupils, and families over a three-year period.

Angola: Electoral timetable announced

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42868

Angola's main opposition party, UNITA, on Wednesday said it was "still considering" government plans to hold the country's first post-war general elections in 2006. According to an electoral timetable, presented to opposition parties on Tuesday, the national poll will be held in September 2006 following an electoral campaign in August.

Burundi: Polls possible by October deadline, Nkurunziza says

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42804

Organising general elections in Burundi by 31 October, the deadline for the conclusion of a three-year transitional period, is feasible, says Pierre Nkurunziza, the head of the former largest rebel movement in the country, the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD). The CNDD-FDD recently transformed itself into a political party.

CAR: UN launches "awareness campaign" for elections

2004-08-26

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=11697&Cr=central&Cr1=african

The United Nations Peace-Building Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA) has launched a nationwide "awareness campaign" to prepare for elections in January that it is hoped will end years of instability and violence in the country.

Guinea-Bissau: UN warns of tension building ahead of presidential poll

2004-08-26

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=11698&Cr=guinea&Cr1=bissau

The United Nations Peace-Building Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) has warned that "the current verbal escalation among the political actors" is endangering the political process in the small West African country ahead of presidential elections next March after years of conflict, including a coup d'état last year. "The Office calls on all political actors to show restraint and to settle all disputes in a peaceful manner as provided for by the law," it said in a statement, offering to help ease the current tension in the framework of its mandate.

Malawi: Election chief summoned to explain flawed poll

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42759

A parliamentary committee has reportedly summoned the chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to explain why the May general election was condemned as flawed by local and international poll observers. MEC chairman Justice James Kalaile is expected to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Appointments and Assets Declaration next month.

Mozambique: Election offices open

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/elections/24174

Mozambique's third multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections will be Wednesday and Thursday 1 and 2 December. Formal campaigning only begins on 17 October, but both major parties have opened their elections offices and begun campaigning in earnest. Elections will be carried out in a manner very similar to previous elections. But there are two significant changes. After widespread complaints about Frelimo using government vehicles and facilities, there is now a ban on the use by a party of any government goods or property ("bens"). And polling station staff, police and journalists can now vote at any polling station; in past years they had been effectively disenfranchised because they were only allowed to vote at the polling station where they were on the register.
MOZAMBIQUE
POLITICAL PROCESS
BULLETIN

Issue 30 - 27 August 2004
Part 2 of 2

Editor: Joseph Hanlon (j.hanlon@open.ac.uk)
Deputy editor: Adriano Nuvunga

Material may be freely reprinted.
Please cite the Bulletin.

Published by AWEPA, the
European Parliamentarians for Africa
=================================================

IN THIS ISSUE

Registration and run-up to Mozambique's third multi-party presidential and
parliamentary elections on Wednesday and Thursday 1 and 2 December.

Part 1:
Registration and register book chaos
Mozambique probably has 8.1 million voters

Part 2:
Looking ahead to the December elections
Election law changes
Election calendar
Violence in Tete
Final reports on 2003 local elections

=================================================
LOOKING TOWARD
THE DECEMBER
ELECTION

Mozambique's third multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections
will be Wednesday and Thursday 1 and 2 December. Formal campaigning only
begins on 17 October, but both major parties have opened their elections
offices and begun campaigning in earnest.
Elections will be carried out in a manner very similar to previous
elections. But there are two significant changes. After widespread
complaints about Frelimo using government vehicles and facilities, there
is now a ban on the use by a party of any government goods or property
("bens"). And polling station staff, police and journalists can now vote
at any polling station; in past years they had been effectively
disenfranchised because they were only allowed to vote at the polling
station where they were on the register.
But the law has not made any changes to the non-transparent and confusing
counting process at national level which takes so long that it has never
met the legal deadline. So it seems unlikely that final results will be
available by 17 December.
But approximate results will be known much earlier. Provincial results
are supposed to be announced within a week (although some of those, as
well, will probably be late). Both major parties are doing their own
counts and will have reasonably accurate results within two days. Radio
Mozambique did a good parallel count of the local elections, using its
journalists, and something similar is expected this year.
The total cost of presidential and parliamentary elections will be $21.5
million. The European Union has provided 12 million Euros (now about $14
mn) and UNDP will provide $1 million. The rest of the money will come from
the government budget. The EU has paid for past elections and controlled
the money very tightly; this time the money was provided as special budget
support, handed over in June. Thus all funding for the election this year
(other than the UNDP money) is part of the government budget and is
controlled directly by government and not by the donor community.

OBSERVATION AND PARALLEL COUNT

There will again be both national and international observation. The
Electoral Observatory has now expanded to six local NGOs, including all of
those active in election observation. It will have up to 2500 national
observers and will also do a sample count of the presidential election.
The sample count, known as a "quick count" or "parallel vote tabulation"
(PVT), will involve collecting results from several hundred polling
stations or polling centres selected to give an accurate national picture.
The Observatory did full counts for several municipalities and sample
counts for some others in the local elections last year, which provided an
accurate prediction of the results. There was some opposition to the
process last year, particularly from Frelimo, but that opposition has
evaporated after the experience of the local elections. In effect, the
Observatory results served to validate the accuracy of the official count.
And the Observatory did not publish its results before the full official
results were announced, so the CNE did not see it as competition.
Switzerland, Sweden, Britain and the Netherlands have contributed
$900,000 to the Observatory for civic education, conflict management,
observation and the PVT. Separately (as always) the United States is also
contributing $500,000 to the PVT.
International observation will include the Carter Center and probably the
European Union. The EU wants to sign a memorandum of understanding with
the CNE and the government on observation. In a draft submitted to the CNE
in early August, the EU demanded more access to the final counting and
tabulation process in the CNE and STAE offices in Maputo. Observers and
press were excluded from those areas in 2003, but the EU says that without
access, its observation will not be useful. The EU in Brussels has still
not agreed to a Mozambique observation, and it could still decide not to
have one.
The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) is opening an office in
Maputo with $535,000 from Britain and Switzerland for a programme
involving conflict prevention and attempts to increase transparency.
In the 1999 national elections, there were 2000 national observers and
300 foreign observers.

NEW ELECTION LAW:
SIMILAR TO 1998 & 2003

The new election law (Lei no 7/2004 de 17 de Junho) is almost identical to
the law for the 1999 national elections (4/99) and very similar to that
for last year's local elections (19/2002).
The law retains the 5% threshold for parties to enter parliament -- a
party or coalition must obtain at least 5% of the national vote to have
MPs elected. Thus a party which wins enough votes to gain a seat in one
province, such as Zambezia, will not be given that seat unless it has more
than 5% of the total national vote.

. WITH SOME IMPROVEMENTS .

Eight significant changes have been introduced, all responding to problems
in previous elections:
+ Polling station staff, police and journalists can now vote at any
polling station. Previously voters could only vote at the polling station
where they were on the register, which disenfranchised most polling staff.
+ Following complaints from the opposition and observers about Frelimo
using government vehicles and facilities, there is now a ban on the use by
a party of any goods or property ("bens") of central government, local
government, or state owned or controlled companies. (This does not, of
course, apply to things available to all, such as the use of public halls.)
+ Following the omission of some party symbols from ballot papers last
year, parties now have the right to check proof copies of the ballot paper
before printing.
+ Party polling station agents (delegados de candidaturas) will receive
their credential from the district election commission, ending a confusion
in previous elections.
+ Counting will still be done at provincial level, but results will also
be published district-by-district.
+ Voting can no longer be extended for a third day.
+ In an attempt to reduce the large number of errors made by tired polling
stations staff, on the formal results sheets compiled after the count
("actas" and "editais") the number of votes gained by each candidate must
be written in both figures and words.
+ In the event of other documents being missing, the copies of actas and
editais given to party polling station agents can be used for the count.
(This follows an incident in Beira in the 2003 local elections, in which
records from several polling stations disappeared, and Frelimo refused to
allow the copies of actas to be used.)

Four changes introduced last year for local elections are maintained:
+ Exit polls are effectively banned. No opinion polls can be published
between the start of the campaign and the declaration of results.
+ Because some party polling station agents (delegados de candidaturas)
are illiterate, they were not able to write down accurately the results
after the count, for use by parties for their own parallel count. Now
delegados in each polling station are given a copy of the official summary
sheet (edital) and formal minutes (acta) to take back to their party.
+ At least two of the five polling station staff must speak the local
language.
+ Polling station staff are hired in a public competition and parties are
allowed to suggest candidates.

. BUT MANY PROBLEMS REMAIN
OVER SEATS AND COUNTS

Four serious problems in past electoral laws have not been resolved.
+ First, the method for allocating the number of parliamentary seats to
each province has not been changed and remains arithmetically wrong; there
are supposed to be 250 seats, but when the method was used in 1999 it led
to the allocation of 251 seats, and one seat had to be arbitrarily taken
away from one province to bring the number back down to 250.
+ Second, all spoiled ballot papers (nulos) must be sent to the National
Election Commission in Maputo and rechecked. In 1999, the CNE reassessed
500,000 ballot papers and accepted 130,000 as valid and added them to the
results. There simply is not enough time to recheck that many ballot
papers, and results have been late in every previous election because of
this. It has often been suggested that this rechecking could be done at
provincial level.
+ Third, with the exception that the number of votes be given in both
figures and words, no change has been made in procedures for polling
station staff to complete editais. Staff are tired after two days of
voting and then an all-night count, and many mistakes are made. In 1999,
6.6% of presidential editais and 8.7% of parliamentary editais were
excluded from the final count because of errors which could not be
resolved. (The CNE could still issue regulations and design a better
edital form, but this is not set out in the law.)
+ Fourth, there are no rules on the transparent development, timely
testing, and publication of computer software used in the tabulation in
Maputo. Renamo has often complained about the use of computers, and the
secrecy makes tampering possible. Although parallel counts provide some
check, the law does not require the publication of clear polling station
by polling station results, making comparisons harder.

OBSERVERS CANNOT TALK TO VOTERS
WITHIN 300m OF A POLLING STATION

The law clarifies previously confused rules about limits to activities
near polling stations. Now, within 300 metres of a polling station, no
voter can say who they voted for or planned to vote for. Observers and
journalists are not allowed to talk to voters within this area. Also,
within 300 meters of the polling station there can be no campaign posters
or material, and no one is allowed to display a party symbol or other
political symbol, nor wear a party t-shirt or party cloth (capulana).

ELECTION CALENDAR

The election calendar is set by law, and is:

2 October: deadline for presidential nominations; each presidential
candidate must submit 10,000 signatures and other required documents to
the Constitutional Council.

7 October: deadline for parliamentary nominations which must be submitted
to the National Election Commission (CNE); requiring certificate of no
criminal record plus various other documents for each candidate.

16 October: list of candidates published by CNE

17 October - 28 November: official electoral campaign; gives parties and
candidates extra rights. No opinion polls.

1 November: CNE must publish list of all polling stations

10 November: deadline for parties and candidates to submit names of
polling station agents (delegados), and to which polling station they are
to be assigned, to the district election commission.

29, 30 November: quiet period, no campaigning allowed

1,2 December: election

2 December into morning of 3 December: count in polling station

4 December: all polling station summary sheets (editais), minutes (actas)
and spoiled and protested ballot papers must be submitted to the
provincial election commission. Copies of editais and spoiled and
protested ballot papers then go to CNE.

9 December: deadline for publication of provincial results.

17 December: deadline for publication of national results by CNE, with
copies submitted to the Constitutional Council for verification.

There is no deadline for action by the Constitutional Council. But after
the validation and proclamation of the results by the Constitutional
Council, the calendar is:
+ Within 2 days of proclamation, order publication in Boletim da Republica.
+ Within 15 days of publication, new parliament opens.
+ Within 8 days of parliament opening, new President is inaugurated.

Deadlines for registration of observers and journalists remain to be
defined by the CNE.

THE BULLETIN PREDICTS
RESULTS WILL BE DELAYED
AGAIN THIS YEAR

Although the law requires the CNE to publish results by 17 December, the
results will surely be delayed, as they were in 1999 and 2003. Parliament
(AR), the CNE and STAE have all failed to tackle the fundamental problems
which caused the delays. There are five key problems: errors in editais,
reconsideration of invalid votes (nulos), counting procedure in the CNE,
dealing with protests, and the size of the CNE.
EDITAIS: In 1999, nearly one-fifth of the summary results sheets
(editais) submitted by polling stations contained errors. Mistakes are
made by tired polling station staff finishing the count in the early hours
of the morning, after two nights with little sleep. Some of these errors
are simple, for example listing the parties in the order of number of
votes, instead of in the order they appeared on the ballot paper, or
columns which do not add up correctly. These are resolved at provincial
level.
But some errors have no obvious resolution, and there is no mechanism for
recounts. These editais are often sent on to the CNE at national level. In
1999 the CNE had to look at nearly 2000 editais. The CNE corrected and
included 297 presidential editais but it rejected and excluded 550 - 6.6%
of all polling stations. For the parliamentary election, the CNE corrected
and accepted 300 editais but rejected and excluded 727 - more than 8.7% of
polling stations. That means the votes of more than 300,000 people were
not counted in each of the presidential and parliamentary elections,
because of errors in the editais. This provoked a Renamo walkout of the
CNE on 22 December 1999.
Two changes have been made which will slightly reduce the error rate: all
numbers must be written in both words and figures, and polling station
staff now have calculators. Changes in the design of the edital and
changes to the law allowing recounts would be required to really reduce
the number of errors, but these changes have not been made. So we can
expect more than 1000 editais to be passed to the CNE for reconsideration,
causing an unexpected delay in the counting process.
NULOS: In past elections, about 8% of all ballot papers have been ruled
invalid by polling station staff, usually because of multiple marks or
because the X or fingerprint overlaps two candidates. The law requires
that every invalid ballot paper (nulo) be reconsidered in Maputo. In 1999,
the CNE reconsidered 194,345 presidential votes and accepted 30% of them
as valid -- that is, it decided that even with multiple or inaccurate
marks, the will of the voter was clear. It reconsidered 309,139
parliamentary votes, and accepted 23% as valid. This process is carried
out by STAE under the supervision of CNE members from both parties, but it
remains time consuming to ship to Maputo and reprocess more than 500,000
ballot papers. A similar number can be expected this year.
COUNTING: The law says that provincial election commissions should add up
the editais, and that the role of the CNE is simply to add the revalidated
nulos and declare a result. Reconsideration of editais passed on from
provincial level is not even mentioned in the law. Furthermore, copies of
all editais are faxed to the CNE, which does its own alternative count to
compare to that done at provincial level. There is no clear procedure for
bringing together the two counts and the reconsidered editais and nulos.
In both 1994 and 1999 this generated considerable delays, confusion and
Renamo walkouts, and is sure to create delays and conflict this year.
PROTESTS: Protests and complaints should be dealt with first at local
level and only later passed to national CNE level. But the failure to
respond to Renamo protests at local level this year underlines the lack of
systems to do this. In the 2003 local elections, the CNE did not develop a
smooth or consistent way of dealing with complaints. This means that
consideration of each protest becomes very time consuming.
CNE SIZE: The current CNE has 19 members and many want to speak in every
discussion. This means that even the simplest issue can take several hours
to decide. CNE President Litsure tries to reach consensus, which means a
discussion can go on all day. If a vote is taken, voting is always along
party lines, and Frelimo has a majority. This polarisation means that
Renamo feels its protests are never given fair consideration. This, in
turn, increases tension and distrust, which generates either longer Renamo
speeches or Renamo absences, which further slows the process.
Taken together, this suggests it will be impossible for the CNE to reach
an agreed and accurate result by 17 December, and that a delay until after
Christmas is likely.

IN LONDON TOO

Invalid ballot papers are not just a problem in developing counties.
Britain uses ballot papers similar to Mozambique. In municipal elections
in London in June this year, more than 500,000 ballot papers were invalid.
That was 7% of the total, or about the same level as Mozambique.

RENAMO HARASSED
IN TETE -- AGAIN

Renamo reports that its election monitors have been harassed were
confirmed by the Bulletin correspondent in Tete, Estevao Lichowa. He
reports that in Magoe district, in the far west of the province, four
houses of Renamo members were destroyed by Frelimo party supporters and
that Renamo party workers were stopped from accompanying the registration
process in Frelimo brigades. In Chifunde district, in the north of the
province, our correspondent reports that the Renamo delegate was detained
by the administrator for flying the Renamo flag. In both districts, this
was enough to frighten Renamo and reduce the number of party monitors
accompanying the registration process, he reports.

Renamo claimed on 5 July that its party monitors had been expelled from
Changara and Chifunde districts, and that monitors in Magoe, Songo and
Zobue district had been beaten.

Tete was the one place where Frelimo violence against Renamo was confirmed
in the 1999 national elections. The Mozambique Peace Process Bulletin 24
(Jan 2000) reported that Renamo had been expelled from Changara district
and there were no Renamo monitors in polling stations in that district.
Without opposition monitors present, there were indications of ballot box
stuffing in Changara in 1999. There were also indications of tampering
with results sheets in Chifunde in that year.

Renamo party workers have also been attacked in the north of Cabo Delgado
province. In an incident in Muidumbe district, our correspondent reports
that local people expelled Renamo representatives. Muidumbe on the Mueda
plateau was the location of Frelimo's "central base" during the liberation
war and has always been vociferously pro-Frelimo. In the 1994 election,
Renamo head Afonso Dhlakama was stoned when he appeared here.

Renamo also reports harassment in Mueda and Nangade districts in northern
Cabo Delgado, but this has not been confirmed.

'PRE-CAMPAIGN' BEGINS

All the parties have started campaigning, in what in Mozambique tends to
be called the "pre-campaign" as it comes before the 43-day official
campaign period. Frelimo presidential candidate Armando Guebuza has
already visited most districts at least twice. Frelimo also benefits from
more extensive and favourable coverage in the state-owned daily Noticias,
which is only bound by balance and fairness rules during the official
campaign.
In local elections, Renamo only won four cities, many fewer than
expected. Renamo officials were shocked, and admit now to having been
overconfident, expecting people who voted for them in 1999 to also vote
for them in local elections. In fact, Renamo's vote was strong only in
those areas, such as Beira, where it had a strong campaign and was able to
mobilise its supporters to actually go to the polling stations. Frelimo,
on the other hand, showed that it had the organisation necessary to ensure
its core vote.
Renamo has started its campaign much more slowly, and seems short of
money. This year, in contrast to 1999, there is no donor fund for the
political parties.

DOMINGOS TO STAND

Raul Domingos and his Party for Peace, Democracy and Development (PDD,
Partido para a Paz, Democracia e Desenvolvimento) will stand in the
general elections, Domingos announced on 21 July.
Domingos, number two in Renamo until he was expelled, could take votes
away from Dhlakama in the presidential contest. Domingos' group stood as
IPADE in last year's local elections. It did worse than expected, only
winning a single seat in Beira and one in Dondo, both Renamo strongholds,
taking 3% and 6% of the vote. The 1999 race was close, with Chissano
gaining only 52% of the vote, so Domingos' candidacy could be a boost for
the Frelimo candidate, Armando Guebuza.

LOOKING BACK
AT LOCAL
ELECTIONS

Local elections in 33 municipalities on 19 November 2003 gave Frelimo
victory in 28 cities and towns, Renamo victory in four (Beira, Nacala,
Ilha de Mocambique and Angoche), and in Marromeu a Renamo president
(mayor) and a municipal assembly controlled by Frelimo. The Bulletin
estimated turnout at 28%, ranging from a low of 15% in Nampula to highs of
47% in Moatize and 46% in Mocimboa da Praia (which was one of the closest
and probably the most intensely fought contest).
This was the second municipal election. Renamo boycotted the first
elections in 1998, which means this is the first time Renamo has ever had
real governing power and responsibility.
There were more than 900 independent domestic observers and 150 foreign
observers who had high praise for the election day. The largest foreign
observer group, the European Union, said "election day was an example of
good electoral management and professional performance by polling station
officers during the voting and counting." The Carter Center reported "a
generally well conducted election day".
But both criticised the tabulation process at CNE level, which was seen
as confused, non-transparent, and subject to errors. The EU said that the
CNE and STAE were inefficient, non-transparent, and sometimes
misinterpreted the election laws. The Carter Center cited delays, errors
and "a general lack of public transparency". Both were highly critical of
the electoral registers.
The results in terms of which parties won in each city were judged as
correct because they corresponded to parallel counts done by observers,
the parties, and Radio Mocambique. But the details could not be confirmed
or verified; indeed, it was possible to show that mistakes had been made.
Both Carter and the EU complained of administrative obstruction which
gave them less freedom of movement and less access than in earlier
elections.
The EU report is on:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/
human_rights/eu_election_ass_observ/mozambique/
while the Carter Center report is on
http://www.cartercenter.org/documents/1645.pdf

CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL
REVISED RESULTS &
REJECTED CNE CHANGES

The CNE and STAE found it impossible to get a correct set of results. The
first results of the 19 November election were posted on 4 December.
Although riddled with obvious errors, this was submitted to the
Constitutional Council. A revised set of results was published on 11
December, after which further corrections were made and a new set of
results submitted to the Constitutional Council on 18 December. (This
version was published in MPPB 29.) Even that had mistakes, and the
Constitutional Council made corrections to the final results.
In the case of Manhica, the CNE and STAE made a mistake in using the
d'Hondt method to distribute seats in the municipal assembly, giving 15 to
Frelimo and 2 to Renamo. The Constitutional Council redid the calculation
and gave 16 to Frelimo and 1 to Renamo. The CNE also made mistakes in the
lists of winning candidates taken from party lists.
But the biggest slap in the face to the CNE was a decision to reject an
attempt to correct the number of seats in the assemblies of eight
municipalities. The number of seats is based on the number of registered
voters. On 20 August, the CNE published numbers of seats in each of the 33
municipalities. But in its various versions of the results, it changed the
numbers of registered voters, and in a decision on 6 December, it changed
the number of seats of 8 cities. The Constitutional Council ruled that the
CNE could not change the number of seats after the election, and that the
list published on 20 August should stand, even if it was wrong.
The final, correct set of results was announced by the Constitutional
Council on 14 January and published in Boletim da República on 26 January.

MAPS OF PAST ELECTIONS

Excellent maps of 1994, 1999 and 2003 elections results are available on
the website of Cruzeiro do Sul (Southern Cross:
http://www.iid.org.mz/html/6__eleicoes_94_99.html

SLOW START FOR NEW COUNCILS

New presidents (mayors) elected last year have made a relatively slow
start in the first months of the new terms, mainly due to the lack of a
proper handover from the old administrations. Where presidents have been
re-elected, administration has continued much as.
The main exception is Nacala, which was widely seen as the best run
municipality in the 1998-2003 period. The new Renamo mayor, Manuel dos
Santos, has kept most of the vereadores from the previous administration,
which ensured a smooth handover, but resulted in a major political
backlash from both parties. Renamo members were outraged, saying that all
high officials should be replaced and the jobs given to Renamo members.
Manuel dos Santos came under intense pressure from his own party, but he
resisted, saying he wanted to keep vereadores who had shown they could do
a good job. Precisely those vereadores came under intense pressure from
Frelimo, who said they should quit and not help a Renamo president
succeed. But they, too, have largely decided to stay. Thus, despite
pressure from both parties, dos Santos and his vereadores have put the
good of the city over party demands.
Marromeu is also an exception. It is the only city with a Renamo
president and a Frelimo majority (of 1) in the assembly, but Frelimo and
Renamo have proved to be cooperative. This may reflect that fact that
Marromeu is a small and isolated town, and the president and senior
assembly members all work for the local sugar company.
But these have been the exceptions. Even where a new Frelimo president is
taking over from an old one, there has been no proper handover and no good
will. Outgoing Frelimo presidents are angry at having been replaced by
their own party, and offered no handovers, and indeed sometimes even
sabotaged the transition. In one city, the outgoing president stripped the
official president's house, and the incoming president has not yet been
able to move in. In some places, outgoing vereadores have not returned
their official cars.
Meanwhile, the new Frelimo presidents are sweeping away the old
vereadores and appointing mainly new ones, and starting from scratch.
Perhaps the most difficult transition has been in Beira. The most serious
problem is that the funding from a World Bank infrastructure programme
which had been paying for important major works has been suspended because
of alleged corruption by the previous, Frelimo, administration. Renamo is
angry, alleging that the only time World Bank money has been halted due to
Frelimo corruption is when Renamo is taking over.
Meanwhile, Renamo President Davis Simango is facing demands from the
Renamo dominated assembly for salary increases and other benefits. This
continues a sad history; in the previous five years, Beira saw intense
battles between the Frelimo president and the Frelimo assembly.
Finally, in both Beira and Marromeu, the Renamo president, as expected,
has replaced the old neighbourhood secretaries. These are traditionally
political appointments, and they served as both the lowest level of city
administration and as local Frelimo secretaries. In Beira the issue has
been compounded by a dispute as to whether the offices of the secretaries
belong to the city or to Frelimo. But Frelimo's claim to the buildings is
a tacit acceptance that neighbourhood secretaries are party, and not city,
workers.

FIRST BI-ELECTION

There is again one woman mayor, after the country's first bi-election. The
mayor (president) of Xai-Xai died soon after being elected in November.
The bi-election was held on 19 May, and Rita Muianga of Frelimo was
elected with 95% of the vote. Renamo holds only one seat on the city
assembly, in this staunchly Frelimo area. Turnout was 27%, average for the
local elections but down on the 38% in November.
In the 1998-2003 period there had been one woman mayor, in nearby
Manhica, but she was not reselected by Frelimo and no women were elected
as presidents in November.

MUNICIPAL STRUCTURE

The 33 municipalities have almost the same structure as central
government, with the same presidential system. Every five years, a
municipal president and municipal assembly are elected. The municipal
president then chooses local ministers, known as vereadores, who
administer the various departments of the municipality.

=================================================

MOZAMBIQUE
POLITICAL PROCESS
BULLETIN

Issue 30 - 27 August 2004
Part 2 of 2

Editor: Joseph Hanlon (j.hanlon@open.ac.uk)
Deputy editor: Adriano Nuvunga

Material may be freely reprinted.
Please cite the Bulletin.

Published by AWEPA, the
European Parliamentarians for Africa

Prins Hendrikkade 48, 1012 AC Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (20) 524 56 78 ; Fax: +31 (20) 622 01 30
e-mail: awepa@awepa.org

Rua Licenciado Coutinho 77 (CP 2648) Maputo
Tel: +258 (1) 41 86 03, 41 86 08, 41 86 26
Fax: +258 (1) 41 86 04
e-mail: awepa@tvcabo.co.mz

Formerly Mozambique Peace Process Bulletin

=================================================

More...

Nigeria: Police Prevent NLC Rally

2004-08-26

http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/teasers/article_1

3,000 armed anti-riot policemen prevented the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)'s proposed protest rally by laying siege to its headquarters it was alleged this week. The Congress president, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, castigated the police for trampling on the people's right to peaceful assembly and vowed that the Congress would not give up engaging the government over the labour reform bill. In a further blow to the opposition, the Abuja High Court also declined an order of injunction sought by the NLC to restrain the National Assembly from further deliberation of the bill.

Somalia: Transitional parliament inaugurated in Nairobi

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42791

Some 206 members of the Somali transitional federal parliament took oath of office on Sunday, paving the way for the formation of a government in the Horn of Africa country that has been ravaged by factional violence since 1991. A total of 214 MPs were scheduled to swear-in, but eight did not make it to the ceremony held in the United Nations complex in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, officials said.

Zambia: No Drop-Outs for Zambia's Presidency

2004-08-26

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1093344661486Z511

Candidates running for the presidency in Zambia will have to hold a high school diploma, a government-appointed committee has recommended in a report into proposed changes to electoral law. The report also suggests that a candidate must collect more than 50% of the vote to win the presidency to avoid minority leaders. President Levy Mwanawasa has said that new electoral regulations will be passed early in 2005 to pave the way to the 2006 elections. The proposed requirements for a minimum academic attainment could keep Michael Sata, leader of the opposition, out of the presidential race.

Zimbabwe: Opposition poll 'boycott'

2004-08-26

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3598204.stm

Zimbabwe's main opposition party says it will not take part in future elections unless the government implements democratic reforms. In a statement, the MDC said that it wanted a new legal framework for elections, with acceptable levels of transparency and fairness.

Zimbabwe: US Seeks 'Coalition' to Force Regime Change

2004-08-26

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/story.jsp?story=554794

The United States has called for the building of a "coalition of the willing" to push for regime change to end the crisis in Zimbabwe. The new American ambassador to South Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said quiet diplomacy pursued by South Africa and other African countries in its dealings with the Zimbabwe president needed a review because there was no evidence it was working. She said her country would be willing to be part of a coalition if invited.

Global: World Bank, Corruption and Acres

2004-08-26

http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1686809-6078-0,00.html

A recent article in South Africa's Business Day has highlighted further concerns over the World Bank's handling of the Canadian company, Acres, which was barred from participating in the Bank's projects for three years in July for corruption. The article notes that a month before, Acres was taken over by another engineering firm, Hatch. At present it is not clear if the sanctions will apply to the new firm, and in a recent statement, the Bank said that "it was aware of the acquisition" but has no comment as to how the move relates to the sanctions committee hearing into Acres.

Kenya: Seizure of Looted Assets to Begin in Earnest

2004-08-26

http://allafrica.com/stories/200408230494.html

The drive to seize and repossess billions of shillings in assets and cash believed to have been looted from public coffers in the past few decades kicks off in earnest this week with the inauguration of the rejuvenated Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission. The potentially controversial exercise, which is likely to be underlined by heavy political overtones, has been slated as one of the first tasks awaiting the new director of the Commission, impeccable sources told the Sunday Standard.

Nigeria: Corruption Among Law Enforcers Hinders Anti-Graft War, Commission Head says

2004-08-26

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/nationalx/nr325082004.html

Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association's conference, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Ribadu told delegates that "the principal reason for the failure of our law enforcement agencies is corruption, and that invariably there was no law because those that are supposed to enforce the law became the worst culprits of breaking the law."

South Africa: SAHRC Denies Reports of Financial Irregularities, Whistle-Blower Suspended

2004-08-26

http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,86337,00.html

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has denied allegations of financial irregularities made by its head of finance and administration department, Colin Braude. In a statement, SAHRC said that "there is simply no basis to the allegations...as is evidenced by the findings of an independent external forensic audit." The statement followed a report by a newspaper claiming that the SAHRC had suspended a whistle blower (Braude) at a time when the public prosecutor was urging the protection of people who exposed corruption.

Uganda: Government Files Corruption Report Appeal

2004-08-26

http://www.monitor.co.ug/news/news08252.php

The Ugandan Government has filed a notice of appeal against the High Court ruling that quashed the report on corruption in the Ugandan Revenue Authority. Justice of the High Court John Katutsi nullified the report in a ruling on 16th August, describing it as a "naked report without any legal clothing." The Chief Commissioner of the report, Julie Ssebutinde had opposed Katutsi's ruling saying that he had no jurisdiction to nullify her report.

Zambia: Anti-corruption Drive Hits Difficulty

2004-08-26

http://admin.corisweb.org/index.php?fuseaction=news.view&id=114805&src=dcn

Corruption charges against the former intelligence chief Xavier Chungu and Attan Shansonga, the former Zambian ambassador to the United States, were dismissed last week when it was ruled that they were beyond the jurisdiction of Zambian courts after they jumped bail and fled abroad. Chungu faces more than 100 charges of corruption and theft of public funds but his current whereabouts are unknown. Shansonga is in Britain where he is a citizen through marriage.

Zimbabwe: Anti-graft chapter set for relaunch

2004-08-26

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/news/2004/August/Friday20/1330.html

The African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (Apnac), Zimbabwe chapter, which seeks to strengthen the commitment and capacity of MPs to fight corruption, will be relaunched next week, public accounts committee chairperson Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga has said. Apnac is a continental network which seeks to build the capacity of parliaments to exercise accountability with particular relation to financial matters, undertaking projects to control corruption and cooperating with organisations in civil society with shared objectives.

Africa: African legislators want more say in foreign loan talks

2004-08-26

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=&fArticleId=2200292

African parliamentarians wanted powers to endorse or reject loans from foreign lenders as a means to manage spiralling debt, legislators from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said. African parliamentarians had little say in negotiations for external loans, and too much power was vested in the finance ministries of many African countries, legislators from the 14-member bloc said after a two-day meeting in Zimbabwe.

Africa: New Peoples' Initiatives in development

2004-08-26

http://www.tni.org/archives/keet/altreg.htm

As pressures build up from Brussels for countries in Africa (and the Caribbean and Pacific) to enter into inter-regional 'reciprocal' free trade agreements with the EU, through the so-called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) under the EU-ACP Cotonou Agreement, the threats to the alternative regional integration and development programs and potential in SADC, and all such regional projects in Africa and elsewhere, are becoming more evident, writes Dot Keet from the Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC).

Africa: Total Debt Cancellation Is Not a Sustainable Solution, says World Bank

2004-08-26

http://allafrica.com/stories/200408130764.html

World Bank vice president for Africa Dr. Callisto Madavo has said total debt cancellation was not a sustainable solution to Africa's debt problem. On suggestions that Africa refuses to pay back its foreign debt, Dr. Madavo said such unilateral action would be inappropriate. He noted that while Africa's debt burden was a hindrance to the continent's development, there was need for "a negotiated and shared approach to the issue" rather than a refusal to pay.

Africa: U.N. development goals fall short

2004-08-26

http://washingtontimes.com/world/20040822-114354-5453r.htm

The world's poorest countries are in severe danger of failing to meet ambitious economic and development goals set for the next decade, according to a new report from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The report, issued last month, said developing countries are not getting the economic aid they need, blaming contradictory economic policies on trade and aid in the world's industrial countries.

Africa: World Bank's Private Arm Pledges to Listen

2004-08-26

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=25134

The World Bank's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is opening its doors for talks on its rules and guidelines for lending, a move that could influence billions of dollars in future loans to the private sector annually. The IFC says it is launching public consultations as it updates its environmental and social safeguard policies and reviews another policy on information disclosure.

South Africa: Cosatu looks to Ghana, Nigeria to influence Africa's agenda

2004-08-26

http://www.sarpn.org.za/newsflash.php#1876

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says it will work with its labour federation counterparts in Nigeria and Ghana to influence decisions in the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Cosatu said that joining forces with the other two unions would strengthen the labour movement in Africa's regional powerhouse economies. This will ensure that the plight of workers and the poor remain key to the agenda of regional bodies such as the Southern African Development Community and the Economic Community Of West African States.

Uganda: Letter from Uganda

2004-08-26

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040830&s=rice

On December 22, 2002, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni paid a ceremonial visit to a textile plant in Kampala, his country's capital city. Two years later the government-subsidized textile factory, built to be an exemplar for the rest of the nation, has suffered worker unrest, as politicians allege exploitation and government corruption. Museveni may still believe, as he once said, that the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act is "the greatest act of fraternity towards Africa by the USA." But to many Ugandans, their country's experience has become an object lesson in the bruising realities of life in the global marketplace.

Africa: Drug resistant malaria 'migrated from Asia'

2004-08-26

http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=1564&language=1

Resistance among malaria parasites in Africa to a widely used drug is due to 'migration' of resistant parasites from South-East Asia, according to research published in Science. The study, led by Cally Roper of the UK London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, compared the genetic makeup of malaria parasites from South-East Asia and Africa. Its results suggest that parasites resistant to sulfadoxine pyrimethamine (SP) originally arrived in Africa from South-East Asia, where resistance is common.

Africa: Global fund deadline extended

2004-08-26

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=25327

Ambassador Randall Tobias, head of the State Department's Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator said he will extend a deadline for other countries to contribute to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to ensure that the United States can supply the maximum amount authorized by Congress for the fund. Congress authorized $547 million for the fund for fiscal year 2004. However, the bill authorizing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief stipulates that the total U.S. contribution to the fund cannot exceed 33% of total contributions to the fund.

Africa: Majority of World Population Growth To Occur in Developing Nations Despite HIV

2004-08-26

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=25307

The majority of world population growth by 2050 is expected to occur in developing nations despite higher HIV prevalence and infant mortality rates than those of developed nations, according to the annual Population Reference Bureau report released on Tuesday. The world's population is expected to rise 45% to nearly 9.3 billion by 2050, including a 4% increase in the population of developed countries to more than 1.2 billion and a 55% increase in developing nations' populations to more than eight billion.

Africa: Polio spreads to more African countries

2004-08-26

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=11716&Cr=&Cr1

The polio outbreak that originated in northern Nigeria after suspension there of immunization last year has now spread to 12 other countries, underscoring the threat of a major epidemic across West and Central Africa and the urgent need to fill a $100-million funding gap, the United Nations health agency has warned.

Africa: Traditional medicines 'must be registered and studied'

2004-08-26

http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=1559&language=1

A World Health Organisation official has urged traditional medicine practitioners in Africa to register their products to gain more benefits - including international trade - from their use. Speaking at the first scientific meeting of the Western Africa Network of Natural Products Research Scientists, which focused on malaria and HIV/AIDS, Charles Wambebe said that only 22 of 46 African countries have policies or laws covering traditional medicine.

Burundi: Meningitis outbreak in the north

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42811

A meningitis vaccination campaign that began on 24 July in parts of northern Burundi was extended on Monday to two areas where six people were reported to have died from the disease last week, a health ministry official told IRIN. The six deaths occurred in the two communes in the northern province of Kayanza.

East Africa: Negotiations over cheaper AIDS drugs take place

2004-08-26

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=25376

The East African Community - which consists of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania - on Friday agreed to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to manufacture generic antiretroviral drugs locally and distribute them at a lower cost in the region, Xinhuanet reports. EAC reached the agreement during a meeting at the group's headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Currently, only 10% of people living with HIV/AIDS in the region are able to afford antiretrovirals.

Kenya: Alarm Over High Maternal, Infant Deaths

2004-08-26

http://allafrica.com/stories/200408190397.html

Kenya's maternal and infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world. One out of every 20 women is likely to die during child delivery, said Dr Metin Gulmezoglu, a scientist based at the World Health Organisation headquarters in Geneva. This compares unfavourably to one in every 1100 women in most countries in Europe, he said, adding: "The risk of a woman dying before or during child birth is 200 times more in Kenyan than is the case in Europe."

Liberia: Some patients in southeast have to travel by canoe to get healthcare

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42856

There are so few working hospitals and health clinics in southeastern Liberia that patients in one district have to be ferried by canoe to neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire to receive any treatment at all, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a report on medical facilities in the area. The report, based on an assessment carried out by an ICRC team between 15 and 25 July, said the health services in the six remote counties of southeastern Liberia had virtually collapsed during 14 years of civil war.

Malawi: Malawi crippled by nursing crisis

2004-08-26

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3590764.stm

Malawi is facing a health crisis as trained nurses leave to seek better wages abroad. More than half come to Britain to work for the NHS and private hospitals. Last year over 12,000 nurses from outside the European Union registered to work in the UK. In contrast Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, trains around 60 nurses each year.

Niger: Cholera epidemic in riverside villages threatens to spread to capital

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42787

A cholera epidemic in villages along the Niger river has killed 27 people over the past four months and threatens to spread to the capital Niamey, a senior government health official said. Doctor Kiari, the head of the National System of Health Information (SNIS), told IRIN that 1,426 cases of cholera had been recorded between 3 May and 15 August, the last date for which figures were available.

Nigeria: Government plans ambitious expansion of anti-retroviral therapy

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42789

Nigeria is appealing for US$248 million to help it provide subsidised antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2005, Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo said. Lambo told journalists on Wednesday that most of the money for this ambitious programme would probably come from the United States.

South Africa: Third phase of AIDS drug roll out set to begin

2004-08-26

http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=3794

The Health Department of South Africa's Gauteng province says it is ready to begin the third leg of its antiretroviral (ARV) rollout, scheduled for early September. The rollout forms part of government's national Comprehensive Plan for the Management, Care and Treatment of HIV/AIDS, which aims to have 10,000 HIV-positive people on treatment by end of March 2005.

Swaziland: New rapid HIV test makes determining status easier

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42805

The University of Swaziland last week became the first site of a new rapid HIV testing procedure which allows a greater number of people to be tested. "The approach of 'Negative Determination' is designed to make it easy for those who may still be negative to find that out, without having to go to hospitals or special voluntary counselling and testing centres (VCT)," said Tizzy Maphalala, programme coordinator for the UN children's fund (UNICEF).

Africa: African principals discuss the quality of education

2004-08-26

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=32886&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

The 3rd African Convention of Principals Conference opened on August 23 in Nairobi, Kenya. Some 600 delegates from mainly English-speaking Africa were to discuss the challenges facing the provision of quality education in Africa.

Africa: At what age?

2004-08-26

http://www.right-to-education.org/

Children's right to education is currently under threat from early marriage, child labour and imprisonment; States have not adapted their legislation in favour of the right to education, and they do not have agreed standards for the transition from childhood to adulthood either internationally or nationally. In the same country, it is not rare to find that children are legally obliged to go to school until they are 14 or 15 years old but a different law allows them to work at an earlier age or to be married at the age of 12 or to be criminally responsible from the age of 7.

Africa: Evaluating the price of school fees

2004-08-26

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=32571&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

As countries are calling a halt to school fees, millions more children are exercising their right to education. But after securing a place in school, how much are these children learning in overcrowded classrooms? The latest issue of UNESCO's Education Today newsletter looks at the trade-off between access and quality.

Africa: Teacher motivation and incentives

2004-08-26

http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/docdisplay.cfm?doc=DOC15160&resource=f1educ

This paper focuses on teacher motivation and incentives in low-income developing countries (LICs) in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In particular, it assesses the extent to which the material and psychological needs of teachers are being met. This includes overall levels of occupational status, job satisfaction, pay and benefits, recruitment and deployment, attrition, and absenteeism.

Africa: The brain drain and education

2004-08-26

http://www.emeagwali.com/interviews/brain-drain/temp-2.html

"The problem is that Africans who completed their studies in Europe and the United States are not returning to Africa. Since one in three African professionals will live outside Africa, African universities are actually training one third of their graduates for export to the developed nations." This is one of the replies to a feature on the brain drain and education in Africa in an edition of Africa Journal.

South Africa: Forgotten schools: right to basic education for children on farms

2004-08-26

http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/DocDisplay.cfm?Doc=DOC15453&Resource=f1educ

This document argues that the South African government is failing to protect the right to a primary education for children living on commercial farms by neither ensuring their access to farm schools nor maintaining the adequacy of learning conditions at these schools. The document provides a brief history of primary schools on commercial farms in South Africa and discusses the obstacles to the right to education children experience on these farms. The report also explains the current legal status of farm schools, as well as the rights of children living on commercial farms.

Africa/Global: World commemorates end of slavery

2004-08-26

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3589646.stm

The UN's cultural organisation, Unesco, set 23 August as International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.The UN General Assembly has also proclaimed 2004 as International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition. Koichiro Matsuura, head of Unesco, said, "Although abolished and penalised in international instruments, [slavery] is still practised in new forms that today affect millions of men, women and children across the world."

Switzerland/Africa: NGO accuses Swiss police of racist tactics

2004-08-26

http://www.nzz.ch/2004/08/23/english/page-synd5165345.html

According to the Swiss-based anti-racism platform, known as “CRAN”, police brutality and racism against blacks is on the rise across the country. “More and more, we’re seeing young blacks, especially foreigners, being targeted by the authorities as part of a crack-down on drug traffickers,” said CRAN’s secretary general, Kanyana Mutombo. In its annual 2004 report, Amnesty International also condemned the country’s police for using excessive force against foreigners and asylum seekers.

Africa/Global: New Eldis guide on biotechnology and governance

2004-08-26

http://www.eldis.ids.ac.uk/agriculture/biotech_governance.htm

A new series of guides from Eldis, developed in collaboration with the Environment Team at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, examines the current scientific, legal and governance processes surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and agriculture. Emerging research suggests that in order to respond better to the concerns of more marginalised farmers and consumers, policy and regulatory processes must be 'democratised' to become more responsive and accountable.

Africa/Global: Scientists say risk of water wars is rising

2004-08-26

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-08-24/s_26656.asp

The risk of wars being fought over water is rising because of explosive global population growth and widespread complacency, scientists said recently. "We have had oil wars," said Professor William Mitsch. "That's happened in our lifetime. Water wars are possible." Scientists at the World Water Week conference, which began on Sunday in Stockholm, said ignorance and complacency were widespread.

Africa: The importance of women in plant biodiversity

2004-08-26

http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC14934

Gender bias has prevailed in scientific research about people-plant relationships, and conservation policies and programmes are still largely blind to the importance of the domestic sphere, of women and of gender relations for biodiversity conservation, and to the importance of plant biodiversity for women's status and welfare. Traditional knowledge and indigenous rights to plants are everywhere sex-differentiated, and gender inequalities are also implicated in processes leading to biological erosion. This is according to a paper from the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods Programme.

Chad: 4 by 4's cause duststorms

2004-08-26

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1287212,00.html

Dust storms emanating from the Sahara have increased tenfold in 50 years, contributing to climate change as well as threatening human health and destroying coral reefs thousands of miles away. And one major cause is the replacement of the camel by four-wheel drive vehicles as the desert vehicle of choice. Andrew Goudie, professor of geography at Oxford University, blames the vehicles for destroying a thin crust of lichen and stones that has protected vast areas of the Sahara from the wind for centuries.

DRC: Hydroelectric Scheme Awaits DRC Approval

2004-08-26

http://allafrica.com/stories/200408230341.html

A multibillion-dollar project designed to boost South Africa's diminishing power-generation capacity could be up and running by 2007 if the Democratic Republic of Congo signs an inter-governmental memorandum of understanding by the end of the year. Many have now pinned their hopes on the construction of a $7.3-billion hydropower station at Inga Dam, on the Congo River, as the key to reducing future power shortages.

Namibia: Namibia: Proposed Dam on Okavango River Has “Fatal Flaw”

2004-08-26

http://www.irn.org/pubs/wrr/issues/WWR.V19.N4.pdf

The Popa Falls Dam proposed for the Okavango River in Namibia has a “potential fatal flaw,” according to the project’s preliminary environmental assessment. The report, which was released in June, warns that the dam would pose “significant ecological risks” to the Okavango Delta by trapping the river’s vital sediment, which serves a variety of key functions in the complex ecosystem. Twenty-six additional environmental impacts are listed that would require effective mitigation if the project is to move forward.

Nigeria: Shell ordered to pay US$1.5 billion

2004-08-26

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-08-26/s_26728.asp

Nigeria's Senate has ordered a subsidiary of petroleum giant Royal/Dutch Shell to pay a Nigerian ethnic group US$1.5 billion (euro1.2 billion) for oil spills in their homelands, but the legislative body can't enforce the resolution, an official said Wednesday.

Uganda: At least 25 hippos die of mysterious disease

2004-08-26

http://www.terradaily.com/2004/040822103933.vbf3jbcs.html

At least 25 hippopotami have died of a mysterious disease in Uganda's sprawling Queen Elizabeth National Park, authorities said Sunday. "We have sent experts to get samples from the carcasses and live ones to investigate the cause of these strange deaths," the Uganda Wildlife Authority's executive director Arthur Mugisha told AFP by telephone.

Kenya: Land Protestors Clubbed and Arrested

2004-08-26

http://www.eastandard.net/headlines/news07070418.htm

Police this week violently dispersed hundreds of protesters from the Maasai community who had gone to present a petition to the British High Commissioner, Edward Clay, demanding back land now in the hands of ranchers. Scores of demonstrators were arrested and clubbed by police in Nairobi when they defied an order against the march.

Kenya: One Killed In Masai Protests Over Land

2004-08-26

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-08-25/s_26651.asp

Kenyan police shot dead a 70 year old Masai man whilst he was grazing his cattle on private land given to British settlers 100 years ago. Four other herdsmen were also injured in the incident last Saturday. A local Masai leader said that the police opened fire after herdsmen were forced by drought to graze their cattle on private ranchland. Police and farmers say the grazing is part of a Masai campaign to illegally seize land.

South Africa: 30% of Land Should Be In Black Hands, Government states

2004-08-26

http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/land_affairs/0,2172,86411,00.html

The department of agriculture and land affairs has reiterated that 30% of farm land should be owned by black South Africans in the next 10 years. Briefing Parliament's committee on agriculture and land affairs, Bongi Njobe, the department's director general, also said that established farmers should make 10% of their agricultural land available to farm workers for farming activities.

South Africa: Free State Residents Compensated For Dispossed Land

2004-08-26

http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/land_affairs/0,2172,86228,00.html

At least 46 residents in the Southern Free State's Naledi Municipality, whose families were removed from their homes thirty years ago to create a buffer between Blacks and Whites, have been compensated. Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Land Claims Commissioner, Tozi Gwanya, said that they had orders from the President to settle all of the country's 27,000 outstanding claims by the end of 2005.

Africa: Commonwealth parliamentarians adopt recommendations that promote access to information

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/24080

A group of Commonwealth parliamentarians, meeting in July under the auspices of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the World Bank Institute, adopted a set of Recommendations for Transparent Governance. The Recommendations address a wide range of important measures to be taken to promote access to information and openness more generally.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_______________________________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE - INTERNATIONAL

23 August 2004

Commonwealth parliamentarians adopt recommendations that promote access to
information

SOURCE: ARTICLE 19, London

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 20 August 2004 ARTICLE 19 press
release:

PARLIAMENTARIANS CALL FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT

A group of Commonwealth parliamentarians meeting recently in Accra, Ghana,
adopted a very progressive set of Recommendations for Transparent Governance
(1).

A group of Commonwealth parliamentarians, meeting in July under the auspices
of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the World Bank Institute,
adopted a set of Recommendations for Transparent Governance. The
Recommendations address a wide range of important measures to be taken to
promote access to information and openness more generally. Some of the key
Recommendations include the following:

- States should adopt legislation providing for a right to access
information held by all public bodies, as well as for these bodies to
actively publish key categories of information.
- Effective systems of record management should be put in place to ensure
that the right of access may be implemented properly.
- Public education campaigns should be undertaken to ensure wide public
awareness of the legislation.
- The whole regime should be overseen by an independent body.

The Recommendations also foresee an important role for parliament, including
passing the legislation, and overseeing its implementation and the
operations of the independent body. They also call for concrete measures to
promote parliamentary openness, including by establishing a strong
presumption that all parliamentary committee meetings are open to the
public.

1. The Memorandum is available on the ARTICLE 19 website at:
http://www.article19.org/docimages/1829.doc

For further information, contact Toby Mendel, Law Programme Director, tel:
+902 431 3688, e-mail toby@article19.org, or ARTICLE 19, 33 Islington High
St., London N19LH, U.K., tel: +44 207 278 9292, fax: +44 207 713 1356,
e-mail: info@article19.org, Internet: http://www.article19.org

The information contained in this press release is the sole responsibility
of ARTICLE 19. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please
credit ARTICLE 19.
_______________________________________________________________
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Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_______________________________________________________________

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Benin: Journalist Patrick Adjamonsi released, journalists face retrial

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/24081

At least four Beninese reporters face criminal defamation charges and two of them have already spent time in prison this year - the first journalists to be imprisoned for their work since 1996 in the West African nation. The defendants include Patrick Adjamonsi, publication director of the private daily L'Aurore, who was released after spending six days in prison. Adjamonsi, whose original sentence was overturned, faces a new trial.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE/UPDATE - BENIN

20 August 2004

Journalist Patrick Adjamonsi released, journalists face retrial

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**New cases and update to IFEX alert of 18 August 2004; for further
information on the Hounkonnou case, see alerts of 4 May, 30 April, 23 and 19
March 2004**

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 19 August 2004 CPJ press release:

BENIN: For first time since '96, journalists imprisoned for their work

New York, August 19, 2004 - At least four Beninese reporters face criminal
defamation charges and two of them have already spent time in prison this
year - the first journalists to be imprisoned for their work since 1996 in
the West African nation.

The defendants include Patrick Adjamonsi, publication director of the
private daily L'Aurore, who was released today after spending six days in
prison. Adjamonsi, whose original sentence was overturned, faces a new trial
in the fall.

The charges against Adjamonsi stem from an article he wrote for L'Aurore in
November 2003, which criticized the distribution of government subsidies for
the private press by Benin's communications authority La Haute Autorité de
l'Audiovisuel et de la Communication (HAAC). According to local sources, the
article alleged the subsidies were not properly distributed, and suggested
their distribution could have been influenced by corruption.

In February, 2004, two administrative employees of the HAAC, Amélie Amoussou
and Noël Sohouénou, pressed defamation charges against Adjamonsi. On June 8,
Adjamonsi was sentenced to six months in prison and a symbolic fine of one
CFA franc (less than one U.S. cent). According to local sources, Adjamonsi
was not present at his trial and had not hired a lawyer, so the conviction
and sentencing took place in absentia.

On August 13, Adjamonsi was arrested and imprisoned in Cotonou, Benin's
largest city. A lawyer subsequently hired by the journalist successfully
challenged the sentence on procedural grounds. The court ordered a retrial,
for which a hearing has been scheduled on October 19.

Amoussou and Sohouénou also pressed charges against two other journalists,
stemming from an article in the private daily La Pyramide on the
distribution of press subsidies. John Akintola, the author, and Christophe
Hodonou, publication director of La Pyramide, were sentenced July 20 in
absentia to six months in prison and a fine of one CFA franc. Their
sentences were also overturned on procedural grounds, and the warrant for
their arrest was rescinded today. They also face retrial, with the first
hearing on October 19.

Jean-Baptiste Hounkonnou, publication director for the independent daily Le
Nouvel Essor, continues to face criminal defamation charges for an article
published in December 2003. Hounkonnou was imprisoned on March 16 after he
received a six-month prison sentence for defamation, but was granted a
provisional release in May after he appealed. His case is ongoing and he
could face additional imprisonment if his appeal is rejected. (See CPJ's
alerts: http://www.cpj.org/news/2004/Benin22mar04na.html and
http://www.cpj.org/news/2004/Benin03may04na.html)

"It is troubling that two journalists have been imprisoned on defamation
charges so far this year, the first journalists to be imprisoned for their
work in Benin since 1996," CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. "Benin
should live up to its reputation for upholding press freedom by removing
criminal penalties for press offenses."

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.org

For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford
or Research Associate Adam Posluns at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
africa@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/update is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
_________________________________________________________________
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Botswana: Minister instructs producers to re-record television show

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/24082

On 17 August 2004, Minister of Land and Housing Margaret Nasha instructed the producers of "The Eye" programme to re-record a segment of the show in order to exclude opposition party member Dumelang Saleshando, who is seeking election as a member of parliament. In an interview with MISA-Botswana, Saleshando said he, Nasha, who belongs to the ruling party, and Robert Molefhabangwe, of the Botswana National Front, were interviewed on 16 August for a "The Eye" show that was to be aired on Botswana Television (BTV) the following day. After the interview, Saleshando said the minister allegedly gave instructions for the programme to be re-recorded, saying that Saleshando was "too political in his deliberations".
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

ALERT - BOTSWANA

20 August 2004

Minister instructs producers to re-record television show

SOURCE: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Windhoek

(MISA/IFEX) - On 17 August 2004, Minister of Land and Housing Margaret Nasha
instructed the producers of "The Eye" programme to re-record a segment of
the show in order to exclude opposition party member Dumelang Saleshando,
who is seeking election as a member of parliament. Saleshando is a member of
the Botswana Congress Party.

In an interview with MISA-Botswana, Saleshando said he, Nasha, who belongs
to the ruling party, and Robert Molefhabangwe, of the Botswana National
Front, were interviewed on 16 August for a "The Eye" show that was to be
aired on Botswana Television (BTV) the following day. After the interview,
Saleshando said the minister stayed behind at the studio. She then allegedly
gave instructions for the programme to be re-recorded, saying that
Saleshando was "too political in his deliberations".

Saleshando confirmed that he received a call from one of the producers who
said that the programme had been re-recorded featuring only Molefhabangwe
and Nasha. He said he was surprised that he was not invited and that the
programme was aired on 17 August without his views.

"I felt abused because I took time to prepare for the programme and I
strongly feel this is a denial of freedom of expression," he said.

He said that Nasha felt threatened by the comments he made regarding the
Lesetedi Commission Report, a report of the judicial commission of inquiry
into state land allocation in the capital, Gaborone, and that this was why
she was uncomfortable with the broadcast of the programme. Saleshando is
reportedly contesting the same seat as Nasha in central Gaborone.

MISA-Botswana Chairperson Amilia Malebane-Lopez said citizens should be
informed and given the opportunity to hear how those they want to vote for,
or are considering voting for, handle land issues in Botswana. Lopez said
this case needs to be pursued further to understand why Saleshando was
denied a voice during a critical election period.

BACKGROUND:
On 28 July, the "Daily News" reported that the Lesetedi Commission had been
appointed by President Festus Mogae to investigate and report on state land
allocation in Gaborone following the adoption by parliament of a motion put
forward in December 2003 by Gaborone West Member of Parliament Robert
Molefhabangwe.

The commission's terms of reference were to establish whether the minister
of lands and housing had powers to allocate state land and the circumstances
under which the minister could do so. Three cabinet ministers, Daniel
Kwelagobe, who was local government, lands and housing minister from
December 1998 to October 1999, Jacob Nkate, who was lands and housing
minister from October 1999 to 2002, and the current minister, Nasha,
appeared before the investigating team.

During public hearings, ministers and public officers found themselves on a
collision course and each party accused the other party of misleading them.
However, what became apparent to both parties, as well as the commissioners,
was that laws and procedures were contravened in the allocation of some of
the land.

For further information, contact Zoe Titus or Kaitira Kandjii, Regional
Information Coordinator, MISA, Street Address: 21 Johann Albrecht Street,
Mailing Address; Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel: +264 61 232 975,
fax: +264 61 248 016, e-mail: research@misa.org or kkandjii@misa.org,
Internet: http://www.misa.org

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of MISA.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit MISA.
_________________________________________________________________
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EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Suite 403, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
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DRC: Journalist interrogated

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/24079

Simplice Kalunga wa Kalunga, producer and host of the "Nouvelle Donne" ("New Order") show, broadcast on the privately-owned, Kinshasa-based Channel Media Broadcasting (CMB) television station, was summoned for questioning by a Gombe court judge on 19 August 2004. Kalunga was interrogated at length about a 9 August programme during which he had discussed with his guest, well-known Kinshasa lawyer and clergyman Pastor Théodore Ngoy, the various deficiencies of the Justice Ministry's "Nationality Bill", which is currently before Parliament.
IFEX- News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

ALERT - DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

23 August 2004

Journalist interrogated

SOURCE: Journaliste en danger (JED), Kinshasa

(JED/IFEX) - Simplice Kalunga wa Kalunga, producer and host of the "Nouvelle
Donne" ("New Order") show, broadcast on the privately-owned, Kinshasa-based
Channel Media Broadcasting (CMB) television station, was summoned for
questioning by a Gombe court judge on 19 August 2004.

Kalunga was interrogated at length about a 9 August programme during which
he had discussed with his guest, well-known Kinshasa lawyer and clergyman
Pastor Théodore Ngoy, the various deficiencies of the Justice Ministry's
"Nationality Bill", which is currently before Parliament.

The proposed law was introduced in Parliament by Justice Minister Kisimba
Ngoy, who apparently claimed to have done so against his better judgement.
When asked about the justice minister's attitude, Théodore Ngoy offered
examples of politicians in other countries who had not hesitated to resign
from office when they felt they had been forced to act against their will.

Kalunga told JED that before his interrogation he had received several
anonymous telephone calls telling him he would be arrested. He also said
that he received a phone call from the justice minister in which the
minister angrily accused him of "colluding" with the pastor to "tarnish" his
name.

Meanwhile, Théodore Ngoy was arrested on a Kinshasa street on 14 August and
taken to Kinshasa's central penitentiary, where he remains to date. The
judge in charge of his case told JED that the pastor was being prosecuted
for "offending the transitional authority and insulting the court". Théodore
Ngoy and Kalunga have both denied the charges. The videotape recording of
the episode in question was seized by the Gombe High Court.

For further information, contact D. M'Baya Tshimanga, president, Journaliste
en danger (JED), B.P. 633 Kinshasa 1, Democratic Republic of Congo, tel.
+243 99 29 323/345, fax: +243 88 01 625, e-mail: direction@jed-congo.org,
alertes@jed-congo.org, Internet: http://www.jed-afcentre.org

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of JED.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit JED.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
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Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
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Nigeria: Media Bill before parliament

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/24083

A Bill seeking to establish a Media Practitioners Complaints Commission (MPCC) has been introduced in the House of Representatives, Nigeria's lower house of chamber. The Bill, titled "Journalism Enhancement Bill", seeks to establish an MPCC in each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Commission shall have the power to take "disciplinary" action against media practitioners who flout the law.
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), alerts@mfwaonline.org

Nigeria: Media Bill before parliament

A Bill seeking to establish a Media Practitioners Complaints Commission
(MPCC) has been introduced in the House of Representatives, Nigeria's lower
house of chamber.

The Bill, titled "Journalism Enhancement Bill", seeks to establish an MPCC
in each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The
Commission shall have the power to take "disciplinary" action against media
practitioners who flout the law.

The proposed MPCC, according to the Bill, shall also have power to initiate
inquiries into cases of professional misconduct, summon practitioners for
evidence and prescribe punishments for offences committed by journalists.

Section 27 of the draft Bill states: "A journalist shall not present or
report acts of violence, religious or inter-ethnic or tribal conflicts,
armed robberies, terrorist activities, national controversies such as
inter-governmental and or parliamentary conflicts, natural disasters, vulgar
display of wealth, or other negative trends and tendencies in the society or
polity, in a sensational way, or in a manner that glorifies such acts in the
eyes of the public, or foreign observers."

It further provides that publication of "inaccurate and or misleading"
stories in the media will attract punishment for both the reporter and the
media organization.

Further, the Bill provides that any journalist who solicits or accepts
inducement to publish or suppress a story will be liable to one-year jail
term or pay a fine of N100,000.00 (approximately $770.00).

Section 37 says: "Where a journalist is found liable by the Commission for
professional and or ethical misconduct, it shall have power to reprimand, or
suspend him/her for a period not exceeding twelve (12) months or impose any
other appropriate punishment."

The draft legislation also reserves at least 25 per cent of board
appointments in media establishments to registered, practicing journalists.

It seeks to make publication of information on the personal life of
individuals subject to "public interest".

The Bill has already come up for first reading in the House, but no date has
as yet been fixed for debate on its contents.

Prof Kwame Karikari
Executive Director (MFWA)
Tel: 233-21-24 24 70
Fax: 233-21-22 10 84

**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole responsibility
of MFWA**

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Sudan: Attacks on freedom of expression in Darfur

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/24130

Rather than taking decisive action to curb widespread human rights violations in Darfur, the Sudanese government instead is seeking to gag those who are speaking about the abuses, Amnesty International said in a new report published this week. Under increasing international pressure, the Sudanese government is attacking freedom of expression, so as to control information which would reveal whether or not the government is fulfilling its commitments, Amnesty said.
Amnesty International Press release
AI Index: AFR 54/106/2004 (Public)
25 August 2004

Rather than taking decisive action to curb widespread human rights
violations in Darfur, the Sudanese government instead is seeking to gag
those who are speaking about the abuses, Amnesty International said in a
new report published today.

Under increasing international pressure, the Sudanese government is
attacking freedom of expression, so as to control information which would
reveal whether or not the government is fulfilling its commitments.

"Instead of arresting those who commit human rights violations, the
Sudanese authorities are arresting those who are exposing the
perpetrators," Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International
said.

Despite the risks attached, people are speaking and will continue to speak
out against human rights violations in Darfur because of the feeling they
have nothing more to lose.

On 30 August the UN Security Council will discuss the Secretary-General's
report on the situation in Sudan: "As long as people who want to speak out
about these violations are intimidated and arrested, the commitments of
the Government of Sudan to the international community remain hollow,"
Irene Khan said.

Freedom of expression has been notably absent in political discussions
between the Sudanese government and the United Nations or others. Freedom
of expression is essential not only because it is a right in itself, but
because it acts in defence of other rights. Unless people are allowed to
speak freely it will be difficult for UN and AU observers to make an
accurate assessment of any progress in Darfur.

Among the cases in Amnesty International's latest report are those of
seven people arrested for giving information to the African Union's
ceasefire monitors in Abu Dereja near Al Fasher on 15 July and 17 July.
They were reportedly still being detained in the National Security centre
in Al Fasher as of 20 August.

The Sudanese authorities are also trying to stop civil society from
discussing the causes and solutions to the crisis. People have been
arrested for presenting petitions, trying to organize public meetings and
opposing the return of those displaced by the conflict to unsafe areas.
Control over the independent Sudanese press is tight, and government-owned
television and radio give a one-sided view of the crisis, portraying
foreign media reports about human right violations in Darfur as a
"conspiracy against Sudan". As one Sudanese lawyer said: "One problem is
the lack of information in Khartoum about the conflict. People in Khartoum
do not know what is happening in Darfur. On the television and the radio
the government says that everything is all right in Darfur, that people
receive aid and that the situation is under control,".

The Sudanese government has further sought to control information on the
crisis by not granting access to Darfur, in spite of numerous requests, to
international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International,
which have been critical towards Khartoum.

The Sudanese government should lift all restrictions on the right to
freedom of expression and release all those detained solely for expressing
their opinions.

The right to freedom of expression must be protected in Sudanese
commitments, in peace talks, and in any monitoring of the situation in
Darfur.

Read the report "Sudan: Intimidation and denial - Attacks on freedom of
expression in Darfur":
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR541012004

More...

The Gambia: arson attack on BBC correspondent's home condemned

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/24084

During the early morning hours of 15 August 2004, BBC Banjul correspondent Ebrima Sillah's house was set ablaze by suspected arsonists. Sillah, who was alone in the house, was sleeping when the arsonists attacked. According to Media Foundation for West Africa sources in The Gambia, the incident occurred in Sillah's home village of Jamburu, 30 km southwest of the capital, Banjul. The attackers reportedly doused the house's sitting room with petrol before setting it on fire.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_________________________________________________________________

ACTION ALERT UPDATE - THE GAMBIA

19 August 2004

MFWA condemns arson attack on BBC correspondent's home, anonymous threats to
journalists

SOURCE: Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Accra

**Updates IFEX alert of 16 August 2004**

(MFWA/IFEX) - During the early morning hours of 15 August 2004, BBC Banjul
correspondent Ebrima Sillah's house was set ablaze by suspected arsonists.
Sillah, who was alone in the house, was sleeping when the arsonists
attacked.

According to MFWA sources in The Gambia, the incident occurred in Sillah's
home village of Jamburu, 30 km southwest of the capital, Banjul. The
attackers reportedly doused the house's sitting room with petrol before
setting it on fire.

Upon noticing the fire, Sillah jumped out of a window and fled. He suffered
partial burns to his body. Personal belongings in the house, including a new
laptop computer and accessories supplied by the BBC, were all gutted by the
fire. Other items destroyed in the fire included a television set, furniture
and clothing. No arrests have been made.

The attack came barely one month after President Yahya Jammeh warned
"opposition journalists" to be careful not to misquote him as they would
"pay a high price should they err." The president had alleged that some
journalists in the country were members of the opposition. He made the
allegation while addressing a rally in Banjul as part of celebrations of his
10 years in power.

Prior to the arson attack on Sillah, Gambia Press Union President Demba Jawo
received an anonymous threatening letter. Jawo's wife found the letter,
which was placed at the gate of his house, on the morning of 7 August.

The letter bore no address, but read, "Dear D. A. Jawo, your writings
against President Yahya Jammeh and Gambia generally [sic]. We have noticed
that you are always happy to go hard on our good President and the work he
is doing. Your constant ranting and lies about development in the Gambia
speak volumes of your character as the enemy of truth. No right thinking
Gambian would say that Gambia has not seen development since H.E took over
power in 1994. But idiots like you are agents of the West and we are closing
our nets on you. Very soon we will teach one of your journalists a very good
lesson so that all of you will learn one or two things from him. We have
laid our lives for this revolution and therefore we will not allow rats like
you to spoil the good gains that we have already made. We know where you are
staying in Kanifing Housing Estate. We therefore warn you in advance to calm
down or we will tame you. I am sure you do not want your bones and flesh to
be thrown to dogs and vultures. Peace, In defence of the revolution!!!"

The MFWA condemns the arson attack on Sillah's home and calls on President
Jammeh's government to conduct a full-scale investigation to bring the
culprits to justice. The organisation also urges the government to ensure
the security of all journalists in the country.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Send appeals to authorities:
- condemning the arson attack on Sillah's home
- calling on President Jammeh's government to conduct a full-scale
investigation to bring the culprits to justice
- urging the government to ensure the security of all journalists in the
country

APPEALS TO:

H. E. Yahya A. A. Jammeh
President of the Republic of The Gambia
C/o The Director of Press/Public Relations
President's Office
New Administration Building
Quadrangle, Banjul, The Gambia
Tel: +220 201 031 / 226 316
Fax: +220 226 696

Minister of Foreign Affairs
4 Muammar Ghadaffi Avenue
Banjul, The Gambia
Tel: +220 223 577
Fax: +220 223 578

Please copy appeals to the source if possible.

For further information, contact Jeannette Quarcoopome, Media Foundation for
West Africa, P.O. Box LG 730, Legon, Ghana, tel.: +233 21 24 24 70, fax:
+231 21 22 10 84, e-mail: events@mfwaonline.org, Internet:
http://www.mfwaonline.org

The information contained in this action alert update is the sole
responsibility of MFWA. In citing this material for broadcast or
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Zimbabwe. Food reports highlight need for independent press

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/media/24085

The urgent need for additional alternative daily sources of information, including an independent national broadcaster, was further confirmed by the government-controlled media’s censorship of reports disproving claims that the country had produced sufficient food, according to the latest edition of the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ).
The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Monday August 9th – Sunday August 15th 2004

Weekly Media Update 2004-32





CONTENTS


1. GENERAL COMMENT
2. INTERNATIONAL CRITICISM SUFFOCATED

3. EDUCATION – DECLINING BY DEGREES





1. General comment



THE urgent need for additional alternative daily sources of information, including an independent national broadcaster, was further confirmed by the government-controlled media’s censorship of reports disproving claims that the country had produced sufficient food.

These only appeared in the private media.

The Zimbabwe Independent (13/8) for example, reported that the World Food Programme (WFP) had asked the Zambian government to mobilise maize for Zimbabwe in light of growing fears of looming food shortages in the country. This, according to the paper, coincided with the South African Grain Information Services revelations that about 40,000 tonnes of maize had been brought into Zimbabwe through South Africa between April and July this year. Studio 7 (12/8) carried a similar report.

More evidence of food shortages appeared in The Standard (15/8) which reported that three governors from Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Masvingo had written to government seeking food aid as their provinces had run out of food. Masvingo governor Josiah Hungwe was quoted confirming the report.



The government media ignored these reports.

Instead, these media sought to present a rosy picture of the country’s food situation, particularly ZTV (9/8, 8pm), which quoted the chairman of the government’s Taskforce on Food Procurement and Distribution and State Security, Minister Nicholas Goche, claiming that, “Maize deliveries to the GMB are high, indicating that levels of production are high.” However, Goche let the cat out of the bag when he stated that only 125,000 tonnes of maize had been purchased so far from the farmers, two months before the onset of the new farming season.

Even more revealing were his projections that between 600,000 and 700,000 tonnes of maize would be delivered to the government-run Grain Marketing Board (GMB).

This was in stark contrast to Agriculture Minister Joseph Made’s assertions earlier this year that the GMB would receive about 1,2 million tonnes of maize this season, almost half of what he claimed the country had produced.



ZTV did not subject these conflicting projections to analysis. Rather, it diverted attention from Goche’s startling revelations by showing footage of maize stacks at one GMB depot in a bid to buttress official claims that the country had produced enough food.

Although the private media did expose these discrepancies, their effectiveness was compromised by the fact that they are niche market sources of information that are not readily accessible to most of the people subjected to official propaganda in the dominant government-controlled media.

It is against this background that civic organisations should intensify their lobbying for the repeal of repressive media laws, which have severely curtailed citizens’ rights to access information through media of their choice.





2. International criticism suffocated


THE government media’s reluctance to cover criticism of the authorities’ human rights violations manifested itself in the manner in which they tried to stifle reports on renewed international pressure on President Mugabe’s government to restore civic and political liberties ahead of the March 2005 elections.

These media avoided a full discussion on the concerns of the international community. Instead, they accused Western “imperialists” led by Britain of conspiring with civic organisations and the MDC to oust the ruling party from power. As a result, the substance of the critical views on the country’s poor governance remained elusive.



In fact, the official media’s claims that Zimbabwe was under siege from the West were reinforced by President Mugabe’s Heroes Day rhetoric. He was quoted on ZBC (9/8, 6 & 8pm), The Herald and Chronicle (10/8) calling on Zimbabweans “to defend and protect” the country’s independence from “imperialists”, adding that “the country was prepared to go back to the trenches to defend the gains of independence if the need arose”.

However, the private media cited regional and international bodies noting that it was actually Zimbabweans who were under threat from their own government, which, among other deprivations, had stripped its citizens of their basic freedoms through authoritarian laws.

The Financial Gazette (12/8) and The Zimbabwe Independent (13/8), pointed out that the international community’s intervention was aimed at forcing government to adopt fundamental democratic reforms.



However, the government media was reluctant to accurately identify the source of Zimbabwe’s problems. This was illustrated by their failure to fully explain the reasons behind Greece’s decision to bar Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere from attending the 2004 Olympics. The move is in line with the European Union’s (EU) targeted sanctions against the Zimbabwean leadership, which stands accused of gross human rights violations.

Instead of fairly explaining the reasons for Greece’s decision, ZTV (11/08,7am) attributed the ban to the EU’s attempt to “extend its focus from politics to sports.”

The Herald and Chronicle (12&13/8) followed suit.

They also censored the full reasons behind Chigwedere’s ban thereby giving the impression that Greece’s move was malicious. Neither did the papers acknowledge that besides Chigwedere, Brigadier Thura Aye Myint of Myanmar had also been barred from attending as part of the EU’s sanctions against leaders it accuses of human rights abuses (The Daily Mirror 12/8).

Instead, the papers passively quoted Chigwedere vilifying government’s favourite punch bag, Britain, of having influenced Greece to bar him from the Olympics.

The Daily Mirror (12/8) quoted him as saying government would object to the ban, while the Chronicle’s comment (13/8) claimed that “Zimbabweans will never miss the so-called glamorous cities built using stolen resources such as Athens”.



A sober coverage of the matter only appeared in the private media.

They reported the public condemnation of the human suffering in Zimbabwe.

For example, SW Radio Africa (12/8) reported that about 30 Roman Catholic Bishops “from four different countries in Southern Africa” who recently met in South Africa had “condemned the suffering in Zimbabwe and called on various organisations to impose targeted sanctions on the Mugabe regime.”

Studio 7 (12/8), SW Radio Africa (13/8), the Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard cited the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report which criticised government’s “lack of transparency” on the food situation in the country. HRW noted that this threatened “citizens’ access to food”.

SW Radio Africa (11/8) also reported that an international human rights organisation, Redress, had accused government of “a widespread, systematic and planned campaign of organised violence and torture to suppress normal and democratic activities…” Redress revealed that, “almost 9,000 human rights violations (occurred) between 2001 and 2003.”



In an effort to counter these reports, the Chronicle (13/8) accused the MDC, the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference and NGOs of issuing “damning statements” about Zimbabwe “in a co-ordinated effort tailored” to “foist the Zimbabwean issue onto the agenda” of the annual SADC summit in Mauritius. The paper dismissed Redress’ torture claims as “a regurgitation of numerous old ‘torture’ reports” but did not explain how these civic calls for a democratic Zimbabwe translated into an “anti-Zimbabwe” campaign.



The Standard (15/8) reported US Secretary of State Collin Powell attributing Zimbabwe’s problems to government’s political intolerance, which had seen the country become “a drain on the region and a calamity-in-the-making for the international community”. Powell reportedly noted that solutions to Zimbabwe’s problems included the restoration of the rule of law, a free Press and Zimbabwe’s former pluralistic political life.

The Financial Gazette also revealed that growing concerns over government’s “gross human rights abuses” was likely to see the intervention of the United Nations (UN) “amid revelations the world policing body is on the verge of tightening its stance against Harare”. The Gazette reported that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was expected in Harare before the end of the year to “gauge the political temperature” in the country and “hear it from the horse’s mouth (the Zimbabwean government)”and other major stakeholders, including the MDC.

The paper also reported that government’s non-reformist culture might be put to the test after an electoral commissioner from Namibia, a key ally of Zimbabwe, made “a surprise call” for the establishment of a tribunal to punish errant SADC states that fail to conform to regional electoral standards during a SADC electoral reforms conference in Victoria Falls recently.



The Zimbabwe Independent meanwhile, reported on the MDC’s efforts to lobby SADC leaders at their regional summit in Mauritius to step up pressure on Mugabe’s government to accept regional electoral standards. And it quoted the party’s deputy secretary-general Gift Chimanikire saying it was “too simplistic and indeed deeply misleading to assume Mugabe has the support of all African leaders.”

In fact, claims of a shift in African opinion on the Zimbabwean situation appeared to have compelled the Sunday News (15/8) to bemoan the death of SADC “brotherhood that we had grown accustomed to”.

The paper accused “some African countries” that were now vocal against government’s human rights record as being “manipulated” by the West against the “interest of fellow Africans”.

A more vitriolic attack however, was reserved for Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, whom The Sunday Mail (15/8) accused of being used by the British to clandestinely fund the MDC’s campaign ahead of the 2005 parliamentary election.

The attacks, carried in two stories written by the paper’s columnist William Nhara and its political editor, Munyaradzi Huni, were conspicuous by their coarse language rather than facts.

The Sunday Mirror, (15/08) reported that a “diplomatic row” had erupted between (the) erstwhile buddies” over the matter. The paper cited unnamed diplomatic sources dismissing earlier Sunday Mail allegations (8/8) that Britain was funding the MDC through Nigeria as based “on faulty intelligence, which the paper and relevant state organs did not bother to check”.

The Sunday Mirror claimed that the Nigerians had been infuriated by the report, which resulted in their foreign minister Olu Adeniji, summoning Zimbabwe’s Charge d’Affairs in Abuja to explain the government paper’s onslaught against their country.

Adeniji was also reportedly sent to the SADC summit in Mauritius to meet with his counterpart, Stan Mudenge, over the matter.





3. Education – declining by degrees


THE authorities’ penchant for exerting a stranglehold on all spheres of Zimbabwean life under the guise of defending the country’s sovereignty was underscored by continued government interference in the administration of private schools and President Mugabe’s pronouncement that his government was considering revamping the country’s education system to produce “patriotic” students.

But the most absurd development was the Zimbabwe Independent’s revelation that Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere had outlawed “extra lessons during school holidays without the ministry’s approval”. Quoting a circular to parents by a Harare primary school headmaster, the paper reported that anyone defying the ministry’s directive would be arrested.

Said the document: “Authority can be sought in writing by parents through the school head. Any teacher or child doing extra lessons will be reported to the police.”

But while the private media questioned some of these bizarre education policies, the government media were more notable for their passivity. For example, ZTV (11/8, 8pm), Power FM & Radio Zimbabwe (12/8, 6am) and The Herald (12/8) simply quoted Chigwedere defending his ministry’s objections to the “compulsory donations” demanded by some schools to supplement government-fixed school fees and failed to challenge government interference in the day-to-day running of private schools.

Power FM quoted Chigwedere saying: “The economic environment has been improving for the past six months…there is no reason why the schools should be raising school fees.” But the station failed to relate this misleading reasoning to economic realities.

None of the government-controlled media provided a detailed background to the donation problem, which emanated from Chigwedere’s decision to slash fees at these schools to unviable levels.



But The Financial Gazette comment was categorical in blaming Chigwedere for the education sector’s demise.

The paper accused him of destroying private schools on the basis of his “ruinous ‘wisdom’” that they were a “bastion of capitalistic privilege and racial discrimination” despite evidence that the majority of the pupils at the schools were black.

It argued that Chigwedere’s stance had resulted in the schools facing the “spectre of bankruptcy”.

The Zimbabwe Independent agreed in its Editor’s Memo. It noted that Chigwedere had embarked on a systematic policy to ensure that well-run and well-equipped schools were reduced to the same condition as other dilapidated non-performing government institutions.

In addition, the paper quoted Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) president Luxon Zembe lashing out at Chigwedere, saying he had no right to meddle in private schools’ fees as long as the parents were prepared to pay for the quality facilities offered by these schools, which the government ones did not have.

However, The Sunday Mirror, quoted an adamant Chigwedere arguing that contrary to the parents’ “ignorant” perception that his ministry was “interfering” in the management of private schools, it was merely “enforcing” the Education Act.



Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s education system was thrown into further disarray following President Mugabe’s Heroes’ Day announcement that his government was considering overhauling the education system to ensure it produced “patriotic students who cherish the gains of independence”, ZBC (9/8, 6 & 8pm), The Herald, Chronicle and The Daily Mirror (10/8).

Mugabe claimed that “in the past they (education institutions) produced graduates who became enemies of the struggle. If our institutions have a capacity to produce enemies of the struggle, then they are ill-equipped or do not deserve to be there.”

While the government media buried this revelation in the main body of Mugabe’s address, The Daily Mirror gave it greater prominence, drawing parallels between this plan and government’s earlier creation of a similar programme under the National Youth Training Scheme, which critics charged was designed to indoctrinate youths with ZANU PF propaganda.

Ends.



The MEDIA UPDATE was produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, 15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 703702, E-mail: monitors@mmpz.org.zw



Feel free to write to MMPZ. We may not able to respond to everything but we will look at each message. For previous MMPZ reports, and more information about the Project, please visit our website at http://www.mmpz.org.zw

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Africa: Billions struggle without clean water and basic sanitation

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/welfare/24199

More than 2.6 billion people - over 40 per cent of the world's population - do not have basic sanitation, and more than one billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water, warns a major report released by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Entitled 'Meeting the Millennium Development Goals drinking water and sanitation target - A mid-term assessment of progress', the report details the progress of individual countries, regions, and the world as a whole between the MDG baseline year of 1990 and the half-way mark of 2002.
UNICEF Press release

WHO/UNICEF report warns that vicious cycle of ill-health and poverty could
defeat human development efforts, with children first to suffer

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 26 August 2004 - More than 2.6 billion people - over 40
per cent of the world's population - do not have basic sanitation, and
more than one billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water,
warns a major report released today by WHO (the World Health Organization)
and UNICEF.

Entitled Meeting the Millennium Development Goals drinking water and
sanitation target - A mid-term assessment of progress, the report details
the progress of individual countries, regions, and the world as a whole
between the MDG baseline year of 1990 and the half-way mark of 2002. It
makes two significant predictions on reaching the 2015 goals, based on
progress to date:

* The global sanitation target will be missed by a staggering half a
billion people - most of them in rural Africa and Asia - allowing waste
and disease to spread, killing millions of children and leaving millions
more on the brink of survival. * The world is on track to meet the
drinking water target, but population growth may outstrip improvements,
with 800 million people still drinking unsafe water by 2015.

This severe human and economic toll could be prevented by closing the gap
between urban and rural populations and by providing simple hygiene
education, say UNICEF and WHO.

The agencies warned that a global trend towards urbanization is
marginalising the rural poor and putting huge strain on basic services in
cities. As a result, families living in rural villages and urban slums are
being trapped in a cycle of ill-health and poverty. Children are always
the first to suffer from the burden of disease caused by dirty water and
poor hygiene, while the wider impact of unhygienic environments drags back
economic progress and erodes good governance.

"Around the world millions of children are being born into a silent
emergency of simple needs," says Carol Bellamy, UNICEF's Executive
Director. "The growing disparity between the haves and the have nots in
terms of access to basic services is killing around 4000 children every
day and underlies many more of the 10 million child deaths each year. We
have to act now to close this gap or the death toll will certainly rise."

"Water and sanitation are among the most important determinants of public
health. They are amongst the top of WHO's list of components of primary
health care. Wherever people achieve reliable access to safe
drinking-water and adequate sanitation they have won a major battle
against a wide range of diseases." says WHO Director-General Dr LEE
Jong-wook.

Developing regions of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, are most at
risk. But the report also highlights some worrying trends in the
industrialised regions**, where coverage figures for clean water and basic
sanitation facilities are estimated to have decreased by 2 per cent
between 1990 and 2002. In the former Soviet Union, only 83 per cent had
access to adequate sanitation facilities. With economic and population
pressures growing, these percentages could decrease.

The consequences of inaction today are severe, according to WHO and
UNICEF. Diarrhoeal disease currently takes the lives of 1.8 million
people each year - most of them children under five - with millions more
left permanently debilitated. Over 40 billion work hours are lost in
Africa to the need to fetch drinking water. And many children,
particularly girls, are prevented from going to school for want of
latrines, squandering their intellectual and economic potential.

Reversing this trend and moving towards universal coverage for water and
sanitation will take more than money, said Bellamy and Lee. National
policies based on the principle of "some for all" rather than "all for
some" have been the key to improvements in many countries. And at the
local level, resources have to be retargeted to include the poorest
communities, with local government and the private sector co-operating to
bring affordable solutions.

"To meet the 2015 targets, countries need to create the political will and
resources to serve a billion new urban dwellers, and reduce by almost 1
billion the number of rural dwellers without access to adequate sanitation
facilities - otherwise we risk leaving millions, if not billions, out of
the development process," says Dr Lee.

WHO and UNICEF say the report, which is the first in a series looking at
progress in water and sanitation coverage, should be a wake up call to all
global leaders. Every country still has work to do to eliminate
disparities in basic services and the data shows clearly how that can be
done before the MGD deadline of 2015.

There are also very encouraging signs. Great gains in water and sanitation
coverage have been made against considerable odds in many countries. This
progress came as a direct result of political prioritisation and a drive
to find locally effective solutions.

"This report is important because it proves that significant improvements
are possible in a short space of time, even in the poorest countries."
says Ms Bellamy. "By identifying trends now, and committing to course
corrections, we have a real opportunity to ensure that by 2015 these basic
essentials of life are available to all."

More...

Kenya: 'Miracle baby' home raid

2004-08-26

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3582828.stm

Police have seized 10 children for DNA testing from the Kenyan home of UK-based evangelist Gilbert Deya. A total of 21 children are now being held by Kenyan police investigating a suspected child-trafficking ring. The children, aged between five weeks and 11 years, were found locked in the house of Archbishop Deya on Friday morning in the capital Nairobi.

Madagascar: UN launches anti-measles campaign

2004-08-26

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/breakingnews/view.asp?msgID=6876

The U.N. children's agency UNICEF is launching a measles vaccination campaign in Madagascar designed to reach 7.5 million children and halt a potentially deadly epidemic, the agency said last Tuesday.

Sierra Leone: aid workers held for child smuggling

2004-08-26

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23181088.htm

Police in Sierra Leone have arrested the head of a local aid agency suspected of helping to smuggle 29 children out of the country for adoption in the United States, a senior police official said on Monday. Roland Kargbo, director of Help a Needy Child International (HANCI), was arrested with three co-workers following a report by Interpol into child trafficking to Western Europe and the United States, Inspector General Acha Kamara told reporters.

Sudan: Malnutrition's insidious impact on children

2004-08-26

http://www.theirc.org/index.cfm/wwwID/2067

If they can escape slaughter, endure rape and survive outbreaks of infectious diseases, the thousands of young people uprooted by ethnic conflict in Sudan’s Darfur province still face food shortages that threaten to stunt forever the physical and intellectual growth of their formative years. The sheer immediacy of the moment in Darfur - the scene of one of the great humanitarian crises of the post-Cold War era - overshadows what could be the lifelong consequences of malnutrition on a generation of displaced youngsters.

Uganda: Insecurity, poverty leaves northern children vulnerable to military recruitment - UNICEF

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42730

Insecurity and widespread poverty caused by the 18-year warfare pitting government forces against insurgents in northern Uganda has made desperate children vulnerable to recruitment as rebel fighters, the United Nations children's Fund (UNICEF) said. "The poverty and insecurity in northern Uganda could make children vulnerable to recruitment into the armed forces," UNICEF's protection officer in Gulu, Rebecca Symington, told IRIN by telephone from the northern town. Many of the children, she added, saw fighting as a form of employment and saw the carrying of arms as the only way to protect themselves and others.

16 Days of Action Against Gender Violence

2004-08-26

http://www.iwtc.org

The 16 Days Campaign of Activism Against Gender Violence, now in its fourteenth year, is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates, November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This sixteen-day period also highlights other significant dates including December 1, which is World AIDS Day.

World Day Against the Death Penalty

2004-08-26

http://www.worldcoalition.org/bcoaljm12.html

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty calls for local initiatives for the 2004 edition of the World Day Against the Death Penalty. For the 10th of October 2004, the Coalition calls upon NGOs, teachers, lawyers and magistrates, town councilors and members of Parliament, religious organizations, artists, journalists, and citizens to prepare new initiatives.

A Political Atlas of the African Diaspora

2004-08-26

http://diaspora.northwestern.edu/

Global Mappings: A Political Atlas of the African Diaspora is an interactive website that demonstrates linkages between transnational black politics, social movements and world historical events of the 20th century.

Database of African organisations

2004-08-26

http://www.afford-uk.org/resources/database/

AFFORD maintains an online Database of UK based African civil society organizations engaged in development activities both in the UK and in Africa. The Database is one stage in a strategic effort to document and assist increased partnerships and linkages between African organisations in the diaspora and civil society organisations in Africa.

Ethiopia: Nothing Like Home

2004-08-26

http://allafrica.com/stories/200408130667.html

Many Ethiopians, who left the country for either political or economic reasons, are often heard confessing that in all respect life for Ethiopians in the Diaspora is not as glamorous as one is led to believe. Obviously, it is always a bitter struggle to survive in an alien society. As the saying goes, you have dignity only in your own country. Most Ethiopians in the Diaspora do not seem to be comfortable in their second home.

Ghana Cyber Group to host 2004 Ghana Conference on Technology Parks & the IT Economy

2004-08-26

http://www.ghanacybergroup.com/newsletters/letter.cfm?BookID=172

At One United Nations Plaza on September 16-18, the Ghana Cyber Group (GCG) will host the 2004 Ghana Conference on Technology Parks & the IT Economy, in cooperation with the United Nations. The conference should bring together corporate executives in the United States to learn about the growing IT economy in Ghana.

Organization of Women Writers of Africa

2004-08-26

http://www.owwa.org/

The Organization of Women Writers of Africa (OWWA) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1991. The focus is in the promotion of greater interest in the oral and written literature of African women, introduction of emerging writers to the public, and the addressing of challenges relating to translations, publishing, distribution, censorship, new technology, cultural policy, democracy and human progress.

Africa/Global: Military spending nears $1 trillion

2004-08-26

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/FH19Dj01.html

After declining in the post-Cold War era of the early 1990s, global military spending is on the rise again - threatening to break the US$1 trillion barrier this year, according to a group of United Nations-appointed military experts. The 16-member group estimates that military spending will rise to nearly $950 billion by the end of 2004, up from $900 billion in 2003. By contrast, rich nations spend $50 billion to $60 billion on development aid each year.

DRC: Rebel group leaves government

2004-08-26

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3592174.stm

The former main rebel group during the Democratic Republic of Congo's civil war are to suspend their participation in the power-sharing government. RCD-Goma leader Azarias Ruberwa, one of Congo's four vice-presidents, said the peace process had "broken down" and needed to be reassessed. The transitional government was set up to end the five-year conflict. But the massacre earlier this month of 160 Congolese refugees in Burundi prompted renewed warnings of war.

Great Lakes: DRC, Rwanda and Uganda agree on armed groups' disarmament

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42875

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda have agreed to disarm groups operating in their territories within a year as a way to pacify the region and attend to an issue that has been source of disagreements between the three countries. At a tripartite meeting held on Wednesday in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and mediated by the US government, the three countries also agreed to establish a permanent commission to implement the disarmament process that was agreed upon in a 1999 agreement that was meant to end a war in the DRC as well as to address fears of neighbouring countries.

Ivory Coast: Monitoring Group finds progress in peace process

2004-08-26

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=11701&Cr=ivoire&Cr1=

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent a report to the Security Council showing that Côte d'Ivoire's Government has made progress in following the path to peace and unity, a United Nations spokesman said. Three opposition cabinet ministers have been reinstated and President Laurent Gbagbo has turned over some responsibilities to Prime Minister Seydou Diarra, according to the report of the tripartite Monitoring Group, made up of representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and the UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire.

South Africa/Equatorial Guinea: Mark Thatcher held over coup plot

2004-08-26

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3596948.stm

Mark Thatcher, the son of the former UK prime minister, has been arrested at his home in Cape Town. He has been detained by police investigating an alleged coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea. A spokesman for South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority said he was held on suspicion of providing funding and logistical assistance.

Sudan: Government snubs offer of more African troops for Darfur

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42810

Africa's latest effort to resolve an 18-month-old conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region hit an immediate bump on Monday when the Sudanese government rejected a proposal for African Union (AU) troops to disarm rebel groups while Khartoum dealt with the pro-government Janjawid militia. Nigerian President and current chairman of the African Union, Olusegun Obasanjo, had floated the idea ahead of the latest round of AU-sponsored peace talks which opened in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Monday.

Sudan: ICG issues new report on Darfur

2004-08-26

http://www.icg.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=2920

One week before the UN Security Council's Darfur deadline expires, it is clear the international community needs to get much tougher, says the International Crisis Group in a new report. "Failure now would not only mean many tens of thousands more dead, but likely condemn Sudan to more years of war and further spread instability to its neighbours. Khartoum has not met its commitments to neutralise the government-supported Janjaweed militias responsible for the massive human rights violations and humanitarian disaster. The Security Council should authorise the African Union to send a peacekeeping mission to protect civilians."

Sudan: Peace talks teeter back from brink of collapse

2004-08-26

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42871

Talks aimed at bringing peace to Darfur teetered back from the brink of collapse on Wednesday, as rebel leaders temporarily shelved their objection to discussing the confinement of all fighting forces to designated bases, an African Union (AU) spokesman said. "We have finally agreed on the agenda," spokesman Assane Ba told IRIN after three days of preliminary wranglings at the AU-sponsored talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

Africa: Country Internet Profiles Published

2004-08-26

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profile1.html

A publication detailing the Internet profiles of 22 African countries has been launched by the resource portal Balancing Act. The publication contains key statistics, descriptions of the principal issues involving the Internet in each country and summaries of initiatives under way to combat the digital divide.

Africa: Tectonic Expands Coverage of OSS

2004-08-26

http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?inc=feature_schedule

Tectonic is expanding its coverage of open source software in Africa. Over the next four months it will be publishing three full-length features on key issues including a look at the strategies needed to migrate to an open source software environment and how to benefit from the Linux desktop.

Global: Text Messages For Critical Masses

2004-08-26

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64536,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3

A new tool, known as TxtMob, is being used to help protestors in America. Launched at the Democratic Convention, TextMob enables an individual to send an SMS message to the mobile phones of hundreds of other subscribers in an instant. If the technology proves successful, "it could prove to be a crucial tool for anyone trying to organise groups of people amid rapidly evolving circumstances", says Emily Turrettini, author of textually.org

South Africa: Christmas Launch for 3G

2004-08-26

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3576260.stm

South Africa's biggest mobile phone company, Vodacom, has set itself the ambitious target of launching a 3G mobile phone service by Christmas this year. The company has spent R500m developing and upgrading its existing network for 3G capability and amongst other benefits analysts have noted that 3G offers the potential of bringing internet access to areas where it is currently limited.

South Africa: Women in ICT Portal Launched

2004-08-26

http://allafrica.com/stories/200408231099.html

The South African minister of communications launched the first portal specifically for women this week. Speaking at the launch of www.wict.org.za, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri told guests that "the portal will broaden the resources for women and nurture them in the ICT sector". Amongst the programmes identified as focus areas for WICT are "ICT for Girls" and "Rural ICT Capacity Development".

Mozambique WHO Documentation Center newsletter

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/enewsl/24075

The WHO Documentation Center in Mozambique compiles electronic news daily, selected from more than 100 pressrooms and sites. The information comes in 4 languages (EN, FR, SP, PT) and covers public health topics like the new WHO publications, news, non WHO documents, etc. You can make a request to receive the newsletter through the email address below.

New issue: World Rivers Review

2004-08-26

http://www.irn.org/pubs/wrr/

World Rivers Review, produced by the International Rivers Network, is the foremost international publication devoted to river issues and appropriate freshwater management. It draws on an extensive international network of information sources and writers, including many non-governmental organizations representing indigenous, human rights and environmental issues.

‘Interim Developments’ Newsletter

2004-08-26

http://www.interimsfd.com/Interim_Developments_2.pdf

With its focus on skills development, capacity building and employment practice in Africa, this issue of Interim Developments examines recent activities in careers, training and development in Africa and highlights some of the work Interims for Development is doing to build the skills and capacity of Africa’s professional base.

2005 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders: Call for nominations

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/24194

The Martin Ennals Foundation invites nominations for its 2005 Award. The deadline is 1st October 2004. The MEA application form and more information on the Award can be obtained from the MEA website: www.martinennalsaward.org, ready for electronic submission.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS : THE 2005 MARTIN ENNALS AWARD
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS (MEA)

The Martin Ennals Foundation invites nominations for its 2005 Award. The deadline is 1st October 2004. The MEA application form and more information on the Award can be obtained from the MEA website: www.martinennalsaward.org, ready for electronic submission.

The Award is granted annually to an individual, or exceptionally an organisation, in recognition of their commitment and ongoing endeavour in the defence and promotion of human rights. Nominees must currently be involved in work for the promotion and protection of human rights. Special account is taken of those who have demonstrated an active record of combating human rights violations by courageous and innovative means. The MEA aims to encourage individuals or organisations, particularly those who are working in conditions hostile to fundamental human rights and who are in need of protection.

The present value of the annual Award is 20'000 Swiss Francs (Euro 14.000), to be used for further work in the field of human rights. Following last year's success, the 2005 award ceremony is expected to be broadcast live by Swiss Television on Monday 14 March 2005 (in the afternoon of the opening of the UN Commission on Human Rights) and re-transmitted worldwide via TV5. The following organisations participate in the Jury: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, Diakonie Germany, the World Organisation Against Torture, International Alert, International Commission of Jurists, Defense for Children International, International Service for Human Rights and HURIDOCS.

Past recipients are : 2004 Lida Yusupova (Chechnya, Russia), 2003 Alirio Uribe Muñoz (Colombia), 2002 Jacqueline Moudeina (Chad), 2001 Peace Brigades International, 2000 Immaculée Birhaheka (D.R. Congo), 1999 Natasha Kandic (ex-Yugoslavia), 1998: Dr. Eyad Rajab El Sarraj (Palestine), 1997: Msg. Samuel Ruiz García (Mexico), 1996 Clement Nwankwo (Nigeria), 1995 Asma Jahangir (Pakistan), 1994 Harry Wu (China).

Martin Ennals (1927-1991) was instrumental to the modern human rights movement. A fiercely devoted activist, he creatively pursued ideas ahead of his time and was the driving force behind other organisations. His deep desire was to see more cooperation among NGOs. (For more information, please visit our website.)

For more information, contact the MEA Secretariat:
c/o World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
8, rue du Vieux Billard, PO Box 21, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland.
Tel: +4122 8094925 fax: +4122 8094929 e-mail: info@martinennalsaward.org

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Engendering ICT Policy Call for Proposals

2004-08-26

http://genderwsis.org/179.0.html

The World Summit on the Information Society is launching a program of small grants to support innovative research on gender and information communication technologies. The successful applicants will present their findings at the World Summit in Tunisia in November 2005.

Khoisan Language Student Scholarship Scheme

2004-08-26

http://www.casas.co.za/khoisan_language.htm

In order to create a cadre of Khoisan linguists capable of facilitating the preservation and development of the Khoisan languages of Southern Africa, Centre for Advanced Study of African Societies (CASAS) administers a scholarship scheme for University linguistic studies in Cape Town, at the undergraduate level with possibilities of advancement to post-graduate studies thereafter. The KLSSS is supported by Brot fur die Welt, Stuttgart, Germany. The scholarship scheme started with the first cohort in the academic year starting in January 2002. Scholars are Khoisan mother-tongue speakers, with good academic achievements to date at Grade 12 or matric level, from any country in Southern Africa.

Scholar Rescue Fund Fellowships

2004-08-26

http://www.comminit.com/Fellowships2004/sld-8653.html

This fund provides fellowships for scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. The fellowships permit scholars to find temporary refuge at universities and colleges world wide, enabling them to pursue their academic work and share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community at large.

Financial management training for NGOs

2004-08-26

http://www.mango.org.uk/training/

Mango provides practical financial management training for NGO staff working in development and humanitarian aid. Mango’s courses are carefully designed to meet the real needs of staff working in the field and behind the scenes at head office.

The 7th African Regional Conference on Women

2004-08-26

http://www.sardc.net/Editorial/Newsfeature/04700704.htm

Preparations for the African Women NGO Forum on Beijing + 10 to be held in October this year have been initiated with the appointment of an organising committee. A meeting convened by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Centre for Gender and Development (UNECA ACGD), from 22 – 23 July 2004 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, brought together more than 50 women activists from all five sub regions of Africa to prepare for the forum, to be held in the same city, from 6 – 7 October 2004.

Central & Eastern Africa: Regional Expert

International Criminal Court

2004-08-26

http://www.icc-cpi.int/jobs/vacancy_details&type=p&id=302.html

The ICC is seeking applicants for the position of regional expert to perform relevant analytical research on issues in Central and Eastern Africa. In addition, the position holder will assist in developing local support networks for ICC investigations and support the investigation teams in approaching and developing a rapport with witnesses. The successful applicant will hold a university degree in law or social sciences and have proven ability to undertake analytical work.

DRC: Humanitarian Programme Coordinator

Oxfam UK

2004-08-26

http://www.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_oxfam.asp?s=luWtZEbOmDPuRrDmj&jobid=16421,8848652541&key=2095798&c=338735862123&pagestamp=serktijdnojincmwdp

You will be responsible for managing Oxfam's strategic planning for, and immediate response to, humanitarian emergencies in eastern DRC and for co-ordinating all emergency response staff in the field. You must have at least three years of field experience in humanitarian work, some of it in a management position, and have an excellent knowledge of issue relating to emergency programming, humanitarian law and community empowerment.

DRC: Programme Manager

Concern Worldwide

2004-08-26

http://www.oneworld.net/job/view/10064

The position has three chief responsibilities. 1) The management and development of Concern's Kinshasa programme; 2) the provision of technical support for the mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS in all programmes and 3) assisting in advocacy initiatives related to Livelihoods, HIV/AIDS and conflict-based issues. The successful candidate will hold a degree in a relevant field and have at least 2 years experience in livelihoods programming, including HIV/AIDS, in Africa and preferably in the Great Lakes Region.

Ethiopia: Economic Affairs Officer

UN Economic Commission for Africa

2004-08-26

https://jobs.un.org/release1/vacancy/display_vac.asp?lang=1200&vacid={226A32C8-44B9-4756-BB5D-F3BCA321ED6D}

The incumbent will be responsible for coordinating and conducting economic research on African development and for undertaking macroeconomic studies through the application of quantitative and qualitative methods, including econometric modelling. The successful candidate will hold an advanced degree in economics and have practical experience in trade and/or regional integration in Africa.

Kenya: Pan Africa Policy Officer

Oxfam GB

2004-08-26

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/24193

Oxfam GB's Pan Africa Programme enables platforms for staff, African civil society networks and affected people to change international and continental public policies and practices that negatively impact on citizens rights, security of lives and livelihoods in Africa. A new position has opened up for a dynamic person to coordinate the administration and communications function based in Nairobi supported by the Pan Africa Policy Advisor.


VACANCY
Pan Africa Policy Officer
(Based in Nairobi, Kenya)

A challenging job, a rewarding experience and an opportunity to work with teams making a real impact on poverty and suffering. These are some of the things you can look forward to when you join us at Oxfam.

Oxfam GB’s Pan Africa Programme enables platforms for staff, African civil society networks and affected people to change international and continental public policies and practices that negatively impact on citizens rights, security of lives and livelihoods in Africa. A new position has opened up for a dynamic person to coordinate the administration and communications function based in Nairobi supported by the Pan Africa Policy Advisor.

You will be expected to exercise knowledge of Africa and a wide range of inter-personal and administrative skills. You will need to have relevant experience working on development, advocacy, and public policy issues in Africa as well as demonstrate evidence of your commitment to social justice and human rights. You will possess excellent communication skills in English, and knowledge of French would be an added advantage.

You will have a minimum experience of two years in applied research, media or communications and a first degree in Social Sciences. You will possess excellent organization and administrative skills and demonstrate the ability to take initiative and inspire others.

This is an open-ended contract with competitive pay and comprehensive benefits.

If you believe we have been describing you, please submit your application and CV detailing your experience for the post including daytime telephone contact and two referees, preferably your current line managers. Please use the title Pan Africa Policy Officer in your application to hecajobs@oxfam.org.uk

The closing date for applications is 30th August 2004 with interviews scheduled for the 3rd September 2004.

Only short listed candidates will be contacted

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Zimbabwe: Organisational Development Advisor

Catholic Institute for International Relations

2004-08-26

http://www.ciir.org/ciir.asp?section=jobs&page=story&id=1129

The position holder will be responsible for assisting two organisations in the development of their fundraising strategies and for training their staff in the writing of funding proposals and the creation of marketing strategies. Candidates should hold a relevant degree or qualification and have a minimum of three years experience in organisational development of NGOs or CBOs as well as proven experience in training.

Fahamu