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The World Social Forum at a Crossroad

Walden Bello

2008-01-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/45621

Walden Bello wrestles with the question: Has the WSF become simply a forum of ideas with no agenda for action?

A new stage in the evolution of the global justice movement was reached with the inauguration of the World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in January 2001.

The WSF was the brainchild of social movements loosely associated with the Workers' Party (PT) in Brazil. Strong support for the idea was given at an early stage by the ATTAC movement in France, key figures of which were connected with the newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique. In Asia, the Brazilian proposal, floated in June 2000, received the early enthusiastic endorsement of, among others, the research and advocacy institute Focus on the Global South based in Bangkok.

Porto Alegre was meant to be a counterpoint to "Davos," the annual event in a resort town in the Swiss Alps where the world's most powerful business and political figures congregated annually to spot and assess the latest trends in global affairs. Indeed, the highlight of the first WSF was a televised transcontinental debate between George Soros and other figures in Davos with representatives of social movements gathered in Porto Alegre.

The world of Davos was contrasted to the world of Porto Alegre, the world of the global rich with the world of the rest of humanity. It was this contrast that gave rise to the very resonant theme "Another world is possible."

There was another important symbolic dimension: while Seattle was the site of the first major victory of the transnational anti-corporate globalization movement -- the collapse amidst massive street protests of the third ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization -- Porto Alegre represented the transfer to the South of the center of gravity of that movement. Proclaimed as an "open space," the WSF became a magnet for global networks focused on different issues, from war to globalization to communalism to racism to gender oppression to alternatives. Regional versions of the WSF were spun off, the most important being the European Social Forum and the African Social Forum; and in scores of cities throughout the world, local social fora were held and institutionalized.

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE WSF
Since its establishment, the WSF has performed three critical functions for global civil society:

First, it represents a space -- both physical and temporal -- for this diverse movement to meet, network, and, quite simply, to feel and affirm itself.

Second, it is a retreat during which the movement gathers its energies and charts the directions of its continuing drive to confront and roll back the processes, institutions, and structures of global capitalism. Naomi Klein, author of No Logo, underlined this function when she told a Porto Alegre audience in January 2002 that the need of the moment was "less civil society and more civil disobedience."

Third, the WSF provides a site and space for the movement to elaborate, discuss, and debate the vision, values, and institutions of an alternative world order built on a real community of interests. The WSF is, indeed, a macrocosm of so many smaller but equally significant enterprises carried out throughout the world by millions who have told the reformists, the cynics, and the "realists" to move aside because, indeed, another world is possible…and necessary.

DIRECT DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
The WSF and its many offspring are significant not only as sites of affirmation and debate but also as direct democracy in action. Agenda and meetings are planned with meticulous attention to democratic process. Through a combination of periodic face-to-face meetings and intense email and Internet contact in between, the WSF network was able to pull off events and arrive at consensus decisions. At times, this could be very time-consuming and also frustrating, and when you were part of an organizing effort involving hundreds of organizations, as we at Focus on the Global South were during the organizing of the 2004 WSF in Mumbai, it could be very frustrating indeed.

But this was direct democracy, and direct democracy was at its best at the WSF. One might say, parenthetically, that the direct democratic experiences of Seattle, Prague, Genoa, and the other big mobilizations of the decade were institutionalized in the WSF or Porto Alegre process.

The central principle of the organizing approach of the new movement is that getting to the desired objective is not worth it if the methods violate democratic process, if democratic goals are reached via authoritarian means. Perhaps Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas best expressed the organizing bias of the new movements: "The movement has no future if its future is military. If the EZLN [Zapatistas] perpetuates itself as an armed military structure, it is headed for failure. Failure as an alternative set of ideas, an alternative attitude to the world. The worst that could happen to it apart from that, would be for it to come to power and install itself there as a revolutionary army." The WSF shares this perspective.

What is interesting is that there has hardly been an attempt by any group or network to "take over" the WSF process. Quite a number of "old movement" groups participate in the WSF, including old-line "democratic centralist" parties as well as traditional social democratic parties affiliated with the Socialist International. Yet none of these has put much effort into steering the WSF towards more centralized or hierarchical modes of organizing. At the same time, despite their suspicion of political parties, the "new movements" never sought to exclude the parties and their affiliates from playing a significant role in the Forum. Indeed, the 2004 WSF in Mumbai was organized jointly by an unlikely coalition of social movements and Marxist Leninist parties, a set of actors that are not known for harmonious relations on the domestic front.

Perhaps a compelling reason for the modus vivendi of the old and new movements was the realization that they needed one another in the struggle against global capitalism and that the strength of the fledgling global movement lay in a strategy of decentralized networking that rested not on the doctrinal belief that one class was destined to lead the struggle but on the reality of the common marginalization of practically all subordinate classes, strata, and groups under the reign of global capital.

WHAT CONSTITUTES "OPEN SPACE"
The WSF has, however, not been exempt from criticism, even from its own ranks. One in particular appears to have merit. This is the charge that the WSF as an institution is unanchored in actual global political struggles, and this is turning it into an annual festival with limited social impact.

There is, in my view, a not insignificant truth to this. Many of the founders of the WSF have interpreted the "open space" concept in a liberal fashion, that is, for the WSF not to explicit endorse any political position or particular struggle, though its constituent groups are free to do so.

Others have disagreed, saying the idea of an "open space" should be interpreted in a partisan fashion, as explicitly promoting some views over others and as openly taking sides in key global struggles. In this view, the WSF is under an illusion that it can stand above the fray, and this will lead to its becoming some sort of neutral forum, where discussion will increasingly be isolated from action. The energy of civil society networks derives from their being engaged in political struggles, say proponents of this perspective. The reason that the WSF was so exciting in its early years was because of its affective impact: it provided an opportunity to recreate and reaffirm solidarity against injustice, against war, and for a world that was not subjected to the rule of empire and capital. The WSF's not taking a stand on the Iraq War, on the Palestine issue, and on the WTO is said to be making it less relevant and less inspiring to many of the networks it had brought together.

CARACAS VERSUS NAIROBI
This is why the 6th WSF held in Caracas in January 2006 was so bracing and reinvigorating: it inserted some 50,000 delegates into the storm center of an ongoing struggle against empire, where they mingled with militant Venezuelans, mostly the poor, engaged in a process of social transformation, while observing other Venezuelans, mostly the elite and middle class, engaged in bitter opposition. Caracas was an exhilarating reality check.

This is also the reason why the Seventh WSF held in Nairobi was so disappointing, since its politics was so diluted and big business interests linked to the Kenyan ruling elite were so brazen in commercializing it. Even Petrobras, the Brazilian state corporation that is a leading exploiter of the natural resource wealth of Latin America, was busy trumpeting itself as a friend of the Forum. There was a strong sense of going backward rather than forward in Nairobi.

The WSF is at a crossroads. Hugo Chavez captured the essence of the conjuncture when he warned delegates in January 2006 about the danger of the WSF becoming simply a forum of ideas with no agenda for action. He told participants that they had no choice but to address the question of power: "We must have a strategy of 'counter-power.' We, the social movements and political movements, must be able to move into spaces of power at the local, national, and regional level."

Developing a strategy of counter-power or counter-hegemony need not mean lapsing back into the old hierarchical and centralized modes of organizing characteristic of the old left. Such a strategy can, in fact, be best advanced through the multilevel and horizontal networking that the movements and organizations represented in the WSF have excelled in advancing their particular struggles. Articulating their struggles in action will mean forging a common strategy while drawing strength from and respecting diversity.

After the disappointment that was Nairobi, many long-standing participants in the Forum are asking themselves: Is the WSF still the most appropriate vehicle for the new stage in the struggle of the global justice and peace movement? Or, having fulfilled its historic function of aggregating and linking the diverse counter-movements spawned by global capitalism, is it time for the WSF to fold up its tent and give way to new modes of global organization of resistance and transformation?

* Walden Bello is a senior analyst with Focus on the Global South, the Bangkok-based research and advocacy institute, and professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines. Published by Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF), a joint project of the International Relations Center (IRC, online at www.irc-online.org) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS, online at www.ips-dc.org) Copyright © 2007, International Relations Center. All rights reserved.

*Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

The heart of the Kenyan Violence

Karambu Ringera

2008-01-30

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/45762

Karambu Ringera, one of the few women to run for electoral office in the Kenya elections, gives a powerful vivid eye-witness account of the violence and the displacement.

Issues

When I left Nairobi for Nakuru to visit the internally displaced people's (IDP) camp, my aim was to be there for 2 days only. I arrived there on Wednesday January 23, little knowing that the events of that night would lock me in Nakuru for five days! On the night of January 23, all hell broke loose in Nakuru town. It was sad, scary and out of this world. I hardly recognized my country anymore. For three days, Kikuyus living in the Rift Valley were being evicted from their homes. The Nakuru violence was a spill over from Eldoret where many Kikuyus amng other ethnic groups had been evicted from their homes and their homes and property burnt. The week before, there had been similar clashes in Kisumu, once again targeting people from the Mount Kenya Region. The violence spread to Kericho, Burnt Forest, Elburgon, and areas surrounding Nakuru town. It was believed that Kalejins were in the forefront of these latter (Rift Valley) evictions and so, when loadfuls of Kikuyus landed into the Nakuru Show Ground (NSG) where these IDP were settled and attended to by the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), Kikuyus in Nakuru felt they needed to do something about it. To see lorry after lorry of people being dropped at the NSG left many angry.

What was more devastating were the stories of anarchy – burnt homes, slaughtered loved family members, raped mothers and daughters, as destroyed property. The Kikuyus organized themselves and on the night of 23rd they struck at Ponda Mali a few blocks from where I spent that first night. In the morning, a few dead bodies were found but more fundamentally, houses were burnt – this time mainly Luo and Kalejin houses. By Thursday, these attacks were spread to more residential areas around Nakuru town such as Ronda, Mwariki, Kaptembwa, Githima, Freearea, Lakeview, Lanet, Karatina, Kiti, pangani, Flamingo, and Mawanga) – a second IDP's camp was opened at the Nakuru Stadium for Luos and Kalejins. A 7pm to 7am curfew was also set up – the speed with which this curfew was set up saved Nakuru from more blood shed than had already been spilt. On Friday, a friend and I walked to the areas surrounded Langalanga residential area to see what had transpired the night before because we heard was a lot of gunshot sounds. We hardly slept that night because we did not want to be attacked or for the block to be set a fire while we were asleep. The newspapers said that 5 people had been killed but that day we found at least 12 bodies lying uncollected – some had been eaten by dogs overnight. Most bodies had deep cuts – some on the head, some with throats slashed, others with cut off limbs – it was ghastly!! Later in the day, a police Landrover was loaded full of bodies of dead people.

It came for a second round – we estimated over 40 people killed in just…… On Saturday, Nakuru town was a no go zone both day and night. Police and army personnel were all over the town. A helicopter was being use to comb the area and spot trouble points and dispatch soldiers there speedily. The roads were blocked and some people were attacking certain groups of people as early as 5pm. We all were advised to stay indoors. Sunday was more calm were I was although we kept hearing gunshots in the surrounding estates. I had to do what I had initially set out to do in Nakuru – visit the IDP's camp at the Nakuru Show Ground. I went there on Wednesday to arrange to go and hold peace talks with the people at the camp. I intended to work with the counseling groups as my entry point. When the coordinator of the counseling program asked me to explain my approach, I explained that I used a participatory approach where people speak from their experiences. I planned on using the circle model and three statements guide the dialogue. The three statements are: Peace for me is; Peace for me would be; and In the name of peace I commit to… (participants state a concrete action they will undertake) .

The women were asked to use these statements to guide their sharing. We used a talking piece (a piece of stick). Initially I had asked for about 20-25 people. I got 30 women. However about 15 of them had come the day before and had not been debriefed – so they had to leave the circle. Women who had not been debriefed were required to do so before doing any other form of talking to people about their experiences. We held the circle with the 15 or so women left. The main concerns for the women were their children's education; lack of enough food; and where they would go since they did not want to go back to their old places.

The camp

While waiting for the women to gather, I heard a child crying outside. He was crying with a lot of emotion – a child of about 6 years old. I walked over to him and started coaxing him to stop crying while at the same time asking him why he was crying. He was standing alone and I thought he had lost his mother or whoever was with him. After some time, he stopped crying – almost – and then I was approached by a pregnant woman who had stood at a distance watching us. She told me that she had pinched the child for running away from school. The school was across the main road outside the camp. The mother was angry with the boy for crossing the dangerous road (cars were driving by all the time) alone. She also wanted him to stay in school because other kids were there. I told the mother to be patient with the child for after all he had seen, he may have been afraid that when he comes from school he might fond the mother gone. The kid never told us why he ran away for school, even though I tried to ask him. All he did was cry. We tried to get his older brother to take him to school and stay with him there the rest of the day. I do not know whether the mother was able to enforce this because soon after, a KRCS personnel came and took away the mother and the child to talk to them.

The women we visited with started telling us what life was like at the camp. They said that they had a mug of porridge in the morning, no lunch, and very little dinner. The food at dinner was so little – "it is meant to keep the soul alive" – one old lady told me. The food is so little that even children do not get satisfied – so mothers normally shared out their own food to the children. Girls were known to exchange food for sex too. There was lots of sexual activity as evidenced by the number of used condoms found lying around the camp every morning – the KRCS medical team dishes out condoms at the camps. The disturbing part was the rapes that were happening at the camps. The women told us that at night men would scream to make people start running away in panic. Then they would time women and girls, catch them and rape them. So, women were being told to watch over their girls. Women were also being advised not to go to the toilets at night.

On Friday we were sitting in circle sharing when we heard gunshots. The women panicked and one of them worriedly asked "have they come for us here?" This made me realize how scared these people really were. Their fear was deep. I was sad that I could not be of any help in trying to alleviate it. We ourselves from the outside were sitting on edge not knowing whether we would be safe or not going back home. All I could do was encourage them, hope with them that things would change, and assure them that they were safe in the camp because it was guarded. This sense of security was short lived. On Saturday afternoon there was a panic stampede that took place because a run-away prisoner jumped in to the camp in white underwear, the dress code of the attackers of the people in their farms. The IDP thought the attackers had come for them right in the camp. The person who was the man screamed that the attackers had followed them into the camp and there was a stampede that caused the breaking of the NSG periphery fence – fracturing the delicate sense of security they may have felt in this place.

A lot of food and clothes had been donated to the KRCS for these IDP in the camps around Kenya. We saw many lorries loaded with stuff come to the camp. The KRCS also had an office in Nakuru town where they stored these things. The surprising thing was that the people told us they never received any good clothes. They got third rate stuff – the KRCS staff in the store selected clothes for themselves before letting the IDP get into the store to select – the women informed us.

The people also said that the store people let about 30 people to get into the small store and they gave the people only few minutes to select clothes. This meant that one had no time to select good stuff – so they ended up with old t-shirts and skirts. One woman who had brought in a selection of very good clothes found someone selling one of her dresses in the local market! In view of this, when the women told me that they need underwear and pads, I decided not to hand these to the KRCS office as I had done on Wednesday when I first went to the camp. Counseling is being done in the camps by many people. However when I asked whether there were any people talking about peacebuilding I was told "no one had thought of that."

I found my niche. So, I set up to come on Thursday January 24 to start the peace dialogue. Lack of information on where women can get help for educational needs of their children or for material needs is alarmingly much in the camp. At Nakuru many women came to ask me for assistance – where to take their kids for schooling; how they can leave the camp and reach their relatives; how they could earn a living – several girls were looking for househelp jobs (to be employed in people's homes) – and so on. One man approached me with a letter which had a female handwriting seeking assistance for relocation. Since I am from far (Meru – Nakuru is about 9 hours by car from Meru) and did not have the capacity to help, I told the women that they have to speak with the KRCS personnel in their camp so they can ask the questions they were putting to me. I know that the organization is meant to assist people the camps in various ways. So, I insisted that they talk to these people.

The Peace Circle Dialogue

We sat in a circle and I introduced myself, asked someone to open with prayers, after which I asked everyone to introduce themselves and say where they were from. We started off with 30 women, 15 eventually went for debriefing (they had arrived at the camp the night before), two of 15 were called to go to the hospital to check on one of them who had given birth to a baby (they said to me smiling: "we have been blessed with a new life even here"), and two others left for other business. In the end, we had about 10 women who stayed throughout the 2 and a half hour session. I introduced the peace dialogue idea and why we were doing it. I gave the three statements that were going to guide our dialogue, looked for a talking piece and then I began the process.

What emerged was very interesting. Each woman gave her story – most spoke about their history. Some gave incidents before the clashes (current displacement) as what gave them no peace, incidents that were exacerbated by the violence. Most were painful family issues – including wives being told to go where they came from because they were from a different ethnic group – being forced to leave with ones children because the children had the blood of the unwanted ethnic group. On the second day, the women were less personal and our discussions were more on what others had suffered. I was told of an elderly lady who was gang raped and then ripped open because the gangsters wanted to "see where they had been." The woman died. One woman came to me for assistance for her son who is beginning high school. She said to me, "one of the children has been taken to an orphanage. Now I need a place for my son who is attending a day school, but see where he is coming back every end of day. Please take him with you and help him get into a boarding school." At that moment I wished the community home we are building for AIDS orphans and other children in crisis was complete.

I would have taken this boy to stay there while we looked for a boarding school for him. I took the lady's contact so that when I got a school for the boy, I would call them. I have already asked the IPI Program Director to check out a school for this child whose name is Isaac Geita. His mom's name is Margaret Wambui. The women who followed the three statements guiding our peace dialogue had this to say about their view of peaceful being or otherwise and what they committed to do for peace. (i) I have peace when: Peaceful moments cited by these women included when they pray, read the Bible, and when they are able to provide food, shelter and health to their families, including being able to educate their children. (ii) Peace for me is: Some of the answers I got include: End of conflict and violence; all the children in this camp going back to school. Help for those infected by HIV/AIDS, widows, single mothers, and orphans. The women said that education is the only hope for their children considering all their property was gone and the parents were in no position to support them now that they had lost everything. (iii) In the name of peace I commit to: The women committed to praying for peace; supporting those who were in need like orphans; encourages each other to keep hope in God. The women felt that if they kept their hope in God, He would deliver them and prosper them wherever they are.

Conclusion

Before people massacre others, they dehumanize and demonize the enemy. While walking around Ponda Mali, area in Nakuru to see the results of the violence, we came across many bodies of dead people that lay all over the place. Two young people were walking past one body and they said "it is fat!!" They did not see this as a person – he had become an object, hence "IT.". Down the path we found another body and this time, a woman sold her tomatoes unbothered by the presence of a dead body near where she was selling. I wondered at this lack of … fear, respect… what did I expect them to feel for these departed ones – perceived as 'the enemy' by them?

It was sad to witness the disgrace we have come to as a nation – we have become so removed from our humanity – we have failed to see we were the 'other' we were butchering. To fail to 'see' that our humanity is inescapably intertwined with that of those whose lives we have cut short, is to fail to 'recognize' how inhuman we have become. I desire to participate in healing the broken cord that joins me to my sister and brother, no matter their ethnic origin; reconcile the severed human spirit broken by our fractured humanity.

Way Forward

Part of my reason for being in Kenya is to work for peace in Africa. Little did I know I would be doing this for my beloved country. I have already put in place a peace training program under Institute for Nonviolence and Peace (INPEACE) (INPEACE was launched in 2005 at the Women's Congress held in Nairobi that year). I intend to continue the peace dialogues in the IDP's camps that I started in Nakuru. I also intend to do a training for leaders, who will hopefully share what they learn with their constituents. Then I will start systematic trainings for civil society, with a focus to women and youth. I am already meeting with people and organizations willing to partner with IPI's INPEACE to run the trainings. The plan is to begin with trainings for women and youth in the camps and leaders and follow up with longer term programs for civil society and learning institutions. I also hope to continue helping with material and informational assistance to women and young girls in camps.

For those interested in supporting women and girls materially, IPI has been collecting clothes and food stuffs and taking to various collection points in Meru. However, from the experience of what the women in Nakuru told me, IPI will be distributing the stuff directly to women in their tents within the camps like we did the last time we donated underwear and pads to women and girls at Nakuru.

*Dr. Karambu Ringera was one of the few women who ran for elected office. She was the North Imenti Parliamentary Aspirant.

*Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

NIGER DELTA: Violence instigated by Politicians

Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO)

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/45782

A leading human rights advocacy group in Nigeria has declared that the reoccurring violence in Rivers State, South South of Nigeria is a culmination of years of unlawful patronage of cult groups by past governments and politicians in the state and called on President Umaru Yar’Adua to take urgent measures to arrest the situation by arresting and prosecuting the sponsors of the violence.

In a 36 -page report on the violence titled: NIGER DELTA: DECIMATED BY VIOLENCE: REPORT ON PORT HARCOUT VIOLENCE released on January, 29th in Lagos, The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) asserted that the violence in Port Harcourt in August 2007 which claimed over a hundred lives was primarily occasioned by a bitter power struggle between two cult groups, the Outlaws led by Soboma George and the Icelanders led by Tom Ateke (both armed by past governments) over territorial control, government patronage and several lucrative extortion rackets in Port Harcourt city. Underlying the violence were several key issues including government patronage of Soboma George, a one time second in command to Ateke Tom, the struggle for power among Rivers State politicians and the widespread availability of weapons and small arms in the entire Niger Delta.

The report concludes that “So long as the federal government neglects to take drastic measures to curb the unhindered flow of arms in the Niger Delta to ensure that politicians no longer use armed groups to rig election, as security guards, and to ensure accountability for past violence in the region, the chance of renewed violence will continue to be high”.

Established in 1987, the CLO is one of Nigeria’s leading human rights organizations with over 4,000 members and zonal structures and offices in the six geo political zones.

The violence in Port Harcourt has become intractable with thousands of people killed, maimed or displaced since 2004. There are over 100 armed cult groups operating in Rivers State with some of the groups sponsored and funded by politicians including government functionaries. In the run up to the 2003 and 2007 general elections, politicians in Rivers state armed several cult groups to help rig the elections. Large sums of money were also distributed to these groups while their leaders were given government contracts. The aim was to win the elections at all cost.

According to the report, despite the enactment of a law in Rivers State by the State House of Assembly in 2003 banning cultism, the cult groups have continued to multiply and at the same time become more violent and daring due to the support of politicians. No prominent leader of the cult groups including their sponsors has been prosecuted. The Report singled out the former governor of Rivers State Chief Peter Odili as being responsible for arming cult groups in the state which he effectively used to rig elections and intimidate political opponents during his eight years reign.

CLO also reports that “an unprecedented wave of human rights violations was unleashed on the city of Port Harcourt and its environs by members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the police who were brought in to manage the violence”. Scores of people including women and girls have been arrested, tortured and killed extra judicially by the members of the security force in the guise of fighting armed groups. A young man who challenged police men extorting money from motorists in Agip Road, Port Harcourt city was told in clear terms to count himself lucky.” If you mess up, I will shoot you and tag you a militant and that will be the end of it’.

Elsewhere around the city, members of the JTF set up ubiquitous road blocks where citizens are regularly harassed and brutalized.

Titus Mann, CLO’s President said: “Violence in Rivers State and indeed in the whole of Niger Delta has reached an unacceptable level. This is the time to address the root cause of the problem.”

On assumption of office last year, President Yar’Adua pledged to accord priority to the Niger Delta problems. The government subsequently sent the Vice President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, a former governor of Bayelsa State, one of the component states of the region on a fence mending mission. However the dialogue initiated by the government has since broken down due to perceived government insincerity.

The report includes recommendation to the Federal and Rivers State governments. To end violence and human rights violations in Rivers state, CLO urge Governor Amechi of Rivers state to:


1. Stop further dealings with militant and cult groups in the state, except for the purpose of facilitating the ongoing dialogue or for disarmament purposes. The use of cult groups for such purposes as rigging election or to provide security duties should be discouraged at all times.
2. Investigate all human rights abuse committed by law enforcement agencies during peace keeping in the state and prosecute any officer indicted or found to have committed any abuse.
3. Take step to implement the various poverty reduction strategies outlined in the State development plan.
4. Publicly condemn the excessive use of force, torture and extra judicial killings by the security forces during the crises.
5. Create employment opportunities in Rivers State as a first step to tackle unemployment, youth restiveness and gangsterism in the state.
6. Ensure that all victims of the violence including those who lost their houses, means of livelihood or families are adequately compensated.


The report also called on the Federal Government to bring all those responsible for the violence including highly placed Nigerians who have armed and encouraged the cult groups to perpetrate violence.

Damian Ugwu, CLO head of Advocacy Unit said; “So long as the federal government neglects to take drastic measures to curb the unhindered flow of arms in the Niger Delta to ensure that politicians no longer use armed groups to rig election, as security guards, and to ensure accountability for past violence in the region, the chance of renewed violence will continue to be high”.

*Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

*For the full report, please contact the Pambazuka News Editors at editor@pambazuka.org

Africans Should Rethink their Commonwealth Subscription

Ronald Elly Wanda

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/45779

With Africa getting so little out of the commonwealth and the legacies of colonialism, Ronald Elly Wanda suggests Africans should rethink their commitment to this institution.

Since the statute of Westminster that stipulated the formation of the Commonwealth in 1931, the purposes; benefits, representations and agency as well as the so called ‘rewards’ of the union have remained issues of contestations. This year’s Commonwealth’s Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Kampala, East Africa, rekindles this interest. In this edition, Wanda revisits the old debates and concludes that Africa needs to rethink its membership.

Every two years, fifty three heads of states belonging to a voluntary union known as the Commonwealth, (that lacks an official charter or a written constitution) gather at lavish hotels- that money can buy, in former and current British colonies, with the aim of discussing “common interests,” which often do not feature or entertain the needs of the most important person of all – the ‘common man’. As a Commonwealth citizen, the common man, (petty bourgeoisies’ and political elites asides), accounts for almost 30 percent of the total global population. Of the 1.8 billion Commonwealth residents, almost half continue to live below the poverty line, which the UN defines as living on less than a dollar a day. While at the same time, two thirds of the world’s HIV/AIDS cases and maternal deaths take place in countries subscribed to the Commonwealth, where it is also noted that more than half of the world’s 115 million children without education are to be found.

Last year, Uganda, according to the country’s foreign affairs minister, Sam Kutesa, was “blessed to be hosting the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) and in particular, welcoming her majesty Queen Elizabeth of England”, who is also head of the union.

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni’s ruling party, the National Resistance Organisation (NRMO) since coming to power in 1986 has devised a strategy to distance itself explicitly from pro-mwanainchi (citizen) policies that promote social and economically redistributive justice, each and every time it has been made aware of capital mobility. The government’s handling of CHOGM preparations is a case in illustration. NRMO leaders have reoriented party policies towards the interests of any ‘real’ or imagined mobile fraction of capital, yet again at the expense of the hardworking Ugandan mwanainchi. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sam Kutesa said that 65 billion Uganda shillings were allocated for CHOGM activities for this financial year in addition to Ush37b for completion of State House. The meeting, according the government, is expected to attract around 3,000 to 5,000 visitors to Uganda and is expected to cost the poor Ugandan tax payer around Ush102b.

It is abundantly clear, especially for those who live in Uganda that times are increasingly hard for wanainchi (the common man) in today’s Uganda which exist on the periphery of an international economy that is staggering under the afflictions of a prolonged recession- recently demonstrated by the ongoing collapse of the American mortgage industry.

Is it not surely time for us to start questioning the viability of the Commonwealth? Given the negative historical facts that it represents? The union is an amalgamation of former as well as present British colonies, and as such is representative of the British Empire. As Africans are or ought to be too aware, we suffered and continue to suffer a great deal of pain caused by the plights of; slavery, then imperialism, colonialism, globalization and now commonwealthisation. All of these planks were dedicated to the sole objective of the brutal extraction of Africa’s wealth to Britain and at the same time the erosion of the African human dignity.

So, as today’s local imperial agents -President Museveni and his regiment entertain her majesty and “friends of Uganda” to the best of what the pearl of Africa has to offer, isn’t it high time we questioned the essence and representation of this imperialist institution? We need to look with suspicion at imperialist agents such as Museveni- the so called “darling of the west” for their real motivation in promoting anti-wanainchi and neo-liberal agenda at the expense of the common man in Uganda under the auspices of privatization, structural adjustment, market liberalization and foreign direct investment. All of which have harmed and continue to subject the common man in Uganda in abject poverty, whilst the Ugandan government posits its fictitious and impact-less 6.4 percent economic growth.

Uganda is capable of attracting foreign direct investment that has no colonial strings attached to it, China et al is one such example. That said, the rapid integration and enlargement of the East African Community ought to be a lauded affair not only for the countries concerned but for the whole of Africa, because it is the hard but necessary beginning for the unification of a sustainable Africa. From this connection, it is thus foreseeable that cultural imperialism perpetuated by Britain and culminated by its agents through its pet project the Commonwealth will be a thing of the past. For, the commonwealth has served only one primary purpose, that of presenting Britain as structurally superior and continuing the exploitation and extraction of the common man’s wealth to Britain. It is high time we valued the real common man by doing away with this demeaning institution.


*The writer is a political scientist based in London

*Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Assessment of AGOA: implications for Namibia

Excerpts

Esther de Haan and Myriam Vander Stichele

2008-01-31

http://www.africafocus.org

This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains excerpts from two 2007 reports on the garment industry and AGOA, drawing on the cases of Namibia, Lesotho,and Swaziland.

1.1 Introduction

Sub-Saharan Africa has recently received substantial foreign investment in the garment industry, since the US drew up the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). This act is removing barriers to trade between the US and Africa, and has also facilitated the growth in trade in garments from Africa towards the US. Governments in the various countries have put a great deal of effort into attracting the garment industry, and have competed with their neighbouring countries in offering incentives for manufacturing companies to start production - and later on to continue production - in their countries.

Have these efforts been beneficial for the countries in question and who has really gained from these efforts? What have been the consequences of attracting what is known to be an unstable, footloose industry? This report brings together various case studies and analyses, and looks at the consequences of this investment for those that it should ultimately benefit; the population and workers in the garment industry in the various countries in Africa.

This report focuses on Lesotho and Swaziland as two countries that received a share of the foreign investment in the wake of the AGOA, and whose garment industries and exports have grown substantially. ...

6. Critical Issues

So far the AGOA has predominantly benefited the foreign investors that came to Sub- Saharan Africa to profit from the tariff benefits under the trade arrangements, and from the incentives provided by the various governments. In the race to attract this investment, African governments have provided substantial incentives to the industry, ranging from 0% taxes to full rebates on imports to providing factory shells and infrastructure. When they arrived in these countries, the investors identified the AGOA as the main attraction, and the incentives were more the icing on the cake. Nevertheless, for the countries in question these incentives could mean the difference between benefiting from the investments in the garment industry or totally losing out. ...

What becomes clear is that, following the MFA [Multi-Fibre Agreement] phase-out, a substantial number of companies closed down, most without paying benefits to their workers, some leaving large debts unpaid. Nevertheless, a considerable number of companies decided to continue producing, while still trying to squeeze out a bit more from the governments in their host countries. There are several interesting initiatives, notably in Lesotho, that could (potentially) improve the lives and working conditions of the workers in these industries, but a thorough study is needed to make sure that they are not, once again, geared towards benefiting the companies. ...


6.1 What have the countries gained?

The question is whether the AGOA has benefited the economies and the workers, specifically when looking at the benefits of the garment industry. ... Governments, with the support of donors, have put a great deal of effort into attracting investment, foregoing taxes, investing money in factory shells and in highly specific infrastructure, while turning a blind eye to labour abuses. ...


Neither downward pressure on labour rights nor government incentives have prevented companies from leaving the African countries where they temporarily had a presence. This creates ever more desperate attempts by countries to keep the investors, in an industry that has already cost countries too much, by offering better incentives. For instance, a company like Tri-Star was able to use the desperation of a country like Uganda for foreign investment to get the government to provide and invest in buildings and infrastructure, secure loans and credit facilities. The company left the country without repaying any of its debts, leaving behind a destitute workforce that did not even have enough money left to pay the bus fare home. And this happened after the company had already abandoned factories in Tanzania and Kenya, without repaying its debts or paying off its workers.

As is clear from the reports on the different countries, by focussing on the garment industry, countries have not accelerated industrial development in a way that enabled the countries to create new productions systems or develop the innovative capacity to input into new or existing industries.

The mostly Asian companies that have invested in the industry in Swaziland and Lesotho, for example, have invested very little in the local economies or in their own companies. Most of the companies were given factory shells, rebates, tax-free import of machinery, tax holidays, etc., without contributing much themselves. This has made it much easier for companies to start production in a country, sometimes even for a very short time period, and to leave without looking back. ...

6.2 Factory closures

As is clear from the chapters on Lesotho and Swaziland, there are no safety nets to assist workers if their factories close down or they are dismissed. Even if they are given terminal benefits, the amounts are so low that they have spent the payment within a few weeks. Companies are not informing the government nor the workers when they plan to leave the country, nor are there mechanisms in place that could stop companies from leaving. There is not enough effort being made to prevent companies fleeing the country. If they leave, there are no mechanisms in place to make sure that they pay their debts to the workers, to their suppliers, to the national banks, etc.. Governments do not set up funds for companies in which they can put deposits in case they declare bankruptcy or suddenly leave the country. Workers are often left in the cold, without their terminal benefits, sometimes without their wages for the last months and without a social plan to mitigate some of the adverse effects of the sudden unemployment.

The factories use their position to bargain for better investment conditions. For countries desperate for foreign investment and employment, this does not seem like such a bad deal. The costs incurred when companies close are high, however, both economically and socially. If the companies flee the country, they leave behind a shell and infrastructure that was constructed specifically for their needs, and for which the country has incurred high costs.

With factories closing or threatening to close, the workers are put in a complicated position. You have no real bargaining power if you expect your factory to pack up and leave at any time, and the threat of closure can always be used by the management, whether implied or real. In this situation, it is unlikely that workers will negotiate for better wages and improvement of labour conditions. As more and more factories are closing down, the possibility of finding employment elsewhere is also decreasing.

...

6.4 Employment in the garment industry

It is unquestionably the case that the most important sector in terms of employment under the AGOA has been the garment producing sector, due to the labour-intensive nature of garment producing factories and the surge in the industry. A proportion of these jobs in the sector in fact existed before the creation of the AGOA, or were associated with trade with other countries. Malawi, for example, used to export predominantly to South Africa. Since the AGOA came into existence, producers in Malawi have shifted their focus to the United States market, although employment in the sector has remained much the same.

Most of the jobs in this industry are low skilled, with very few people advancing or being trained on the job. Most of the foreign-owned companies fly in their own management, and other top and middle management are recruited in China and India, for example.

Drawn by trade agreements and other incentive programmes to countries desperate for foreign investment and jobs, investors, including Asian investors, have been able to circumvent local labour laws, as well as internationally agreed labour standards laid down in ILO conventions. In Swaziland, for example, violations documented at Asian-owned factories in the last 6 years include forced overtime, verbal abuse, sexual intimidation, unhealthy and unsafe conditions, unreasonable production targets, and anti-union repression. In 2001, when asked about their influence, the Department of Labour in Swaziland admitted that in an attempt to keep investors happy it did not pursue labour law violations to its fullest ability. They say they "can't push investors too hard," but instead are "very gentle and persuasive". Another example is the sacking of the 'AGOA girls' by the President of Uganda because the workers were "not disciplined" when they protested against bad labour conditions. While investors can see profitable returns on their investments, one wonders if workers and their communities really benefit when wages and conditions are substandard and tax abatements and subsidized infrastructure mean that little money goes back into the community. The argument that workers would otherwise have no jobs or no income should not be an argument to sustain exploitation that has consequences for generations because workers cannot even send their children to school.

* AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter. AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org

Humanizing the roots of the violence in Kenya

Aggrey Omondi

2008-01-31

http://www.ugunja.org

Much has been speculated about the causes of the ongoing civil violence in Kenya. With the perspective of more than two decades of experience in community work, my own view is that the root problems are not tribalism, and not even politics (which has only been an inciting spark), but rather, a long history of trenchant poverty and the once-simmering, now boiling desperation of a generation of Kenyan youths who have been denied basic life opportunities. The primary perpetrators of the ongoing violence and unrest are ambitious young men, aged 15 to 35, with nowhere to go thanks to a soaring unemployment rate. Their anger has seethed at the surface for a long time. The post-election fracas has merely provided an opportunity for tensions to explode, and the aggression by youth has been carried out in an effort to gain attention to their "cause," which, truth be told, is a thoroughly just one: economic opportunity, the ability to lead a life of purpose, the ability to provide for one's family.

For this reason, the solution to the crisis lies not in combating tribal enmity or perhaps even in bringing our country's political feuding leaders to a peaceful compromise. Rather, at the local level at least, we believe the solution requires addressing the deep-seated and psychologically debilitating material needs of our young people. This work has taken two main forms.

First, together with local community leaders and nationally-recognized peace activists, Ugunja Community Resource Centre has formed committees in our catchment area to address youths' concerns, to allow for the constructive rather than destructive venting of frustrations, and to discuss ways to move forward and achieve peace and justice. Thus far, these committees have been established in six constituencies: three in Siaya District and three in Kisumu, with a total of 70 committee members. In this work, UCRC adamantly stresses that the key to success is having local leaders serve as committee members, who in turn help to promote the leadership among youths that their community has lacked.

Second, UCRC has begun to directly support youths who lack income-generating opportunities and have, out of desperation, gotten involved in ongoing criminal activities. An association has been formed to provide small capital for small business revitalization. To date, the association has been a success; it meets twice-weekly, and the participants are developing business plans and capital budgets of roughly Ksh 1,000 each (USD 15). This program has already helped to decrease tensions and improve day-to-day security.

The emphatic position of UCRC is that there are no "good guys" and "bad guys" in this situation. The police, for example, have been widely villainized, but we must also show them compassion. The police have been traumatized. They were never prepared for the level of violence and chaos that has taken place. They have been enormously provoked and are totally, totally drained. They've received no time off, little to eat, no time for sleep, and have not seen their families in weeks. UCRC is working with the police in Kisumu to reduce the impulse to shoot civilians. One police officer told me, "Before you came we spent 1000 bullets, now we have not spent one."

Open Letter to Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga and AU Chairperson of commission and Chairperson of AU, John Kufour

African Editors’ Forum (TAEF)

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/45777

The African Editors’ Forum (TAEF) is a body of Editors and senior editorial executives from all over Africa. Our members have fresh and fond memories of Nairobi and the hospitality of Kenyan Editors and other journalists who hosted us during our biannual conference held in Nairobi at the beginning of November 2007.

We witnessed from close by as the preparations for the elections and the campaign were underway while we were there. We left Kenya buoyed by the mood of expectation and the enthusiasm palpable in the streets as motorcade after motorcade of campaigners blaring their messages made their way through the streets.

We knew that a new Africa was afoot, one based on regular mandate-seeking from the electorate but, even more importantly, one based on a citizenry staying engaged with the politics that determine who presides over government.

Since December 27, we have witnessed as the dream turned into an unending nightmare. Journalists, our primary concern, have become victims of the violence that has engulfed Kenya as people bicker about who the winner is.

But how could journalists escape the ferocious slide to anarchy that has now gripped Kenya? People killed in churches, a child thrown into a burning church, 19 people barricaded into a house burnt to death, an opposition party MP killed. The list is endless.

As Editors our responsibility is to reflect the reality on the ground, and our Kenyan brothers and sisters have been doing an excellent job in telling the unfolding story. But it is a story we should not tell, because it should not be happening. The barbarism that has emerged in Naivasha and Nakuru and the slums of Nairobi, and the militias that are now the new law, are an indictment to both President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

As an organisation representing Editors in Kenya and elsewhere, the behaviour of the marauding squads of killers tarnish our name as Africans and we stand to say, for all to hear: NOT IN OUR NAME!

We believe both Kibaki and Odinga should exercise leadership and bring the mayhem to an end. And if they cannot, they should step aside and allow a new interim structure to emerge that would calm the situation and bring Kenya back from the abyss it is in.

We call on both of them to recommit to respecting the rights of their own people to do what they are professionally trained to do, in all fields, whether medicine, law, human rights, media etc, without being accused of belonging one political group or another. In particular, we call for the immediate lifting of the restriction on live broadcasting, which was imposed on December 30.

Lastly, as the African Union Heads of State and Government summit takes place in Addis Ababa, and fully understanding the need for diplomatic niceties to be observed, we call on the leadership gathered in Ethiopia to realize that murders most foul are being committed not far from where they meet.

Africa expects to see leadership displayed there that would enhance the efforts by the Kofi Annan mission and we call on the summit to make its voice heard about wanton abuses of human rights by Kenyan authorities.

Above all, we call on the AU to reiterate its long-standing position of freedom of the media and in particular the rights of journalists to do their work in situations of conflict without hindrance.

TAEF and its members remain committed to tell the African story in its glory and its goriness as evidenced by the unfolding situation in Kenya. No amount of intimidation and abuse is going to stop us from reporting the truth as we see it, as that would amount to censorship.

TAEF salutes the Kenya media fraternity for their steadfast stance to report without fear or favour and exhorts them to remain committed to the highest forms of journalism.

Mathatha Tsedu, Chairperson, TAE

A Cry for Kenya

Cees van der Put

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/45776

I am writing this message in a desperate cry... a cry for the people who I love, who are me. Many of yours might live a comfortable life in peace in which you don't have to worry about your future, let alone the future of your family. You have a safe roof above your head and you like all your neighbors. Or maybe not all, but no one ever told you and you never felt the need to kill your neighbor.

Unfortunately this is not the case for many people living in Kenya... all longing for a good future, a future in which their children could grow up, a future in which the world is one... a future in which all could sleep at night, without having to worry about their children...

This is the moment I would like to ask you to act… to leave alone your daily problems, to start thinking... this is the moment we can tell our children, that we have said, enough is enough...we love the world, we live here, and we love the people of Kenya... please act!!!! Please help us... please don't let another Rwanda happen!

Call for mobile advocacy toolkit testing organisations

Becky Faith

2008-01-31

http://www.tacticaltech.org

Tactical Tech are looking for advocacy organisations to test their new mobile advocacy toolkit which they are producing in conjunction with Fahamu. We would like to narrow this first phase of testing to organisations who were represented at the meeting in Nairobi organised by Fahamu in June 2007.

The toolkit is made up of easily accessible tools and materials explaining mobile technologies. This project is carried out in collaboration with the African Human Rights organisation Fahamu.

This toolkit makes the most of the technologies that are currently available in this space to enable advocates and NGOs use mobile phones to:

* Provide access to information such as recorded voice or audio and news updates
* Increase participatory processes and facilitation through polling, voting, surveying and incident reporting
* Enable citizen journalism and remote publishing by using mobiles to blog or to create podcasts, and to upload photographs.
* Conduct awareness raising and outreach through demographically targeted or time based messaging, alerts, ringtones and games or small scale applications
* Co-ordinate meetings or organise ash mobilisation and calls to action
* Provide services allowing the creation of alert/SOS systems for migrant workers and other communities and of early warning and emergency response systems in general.

Tactical Tech is coordinating with a network of 50 of the worlds leading practitioners working with mobiles and advocacy to create the toolkit. It contains a range of tools, case studies and practical how-to guides as well as a set of references for additional resources and reviews of web-based services.

The organisation testing the toolkit should be looking to implement the use of mobiles in one of their projects so we will require some knowledge of the basics of mobiles and computers in order that the most effective use possible is made of the material.

Tactical Tech are looking for the following outcomes from this testing process;

* Feedback on whether the content is understandable, appropriate and well structured
* Feedback on the tone and presentation of the information; whether the language is understandable
* What is missing from the toolkit
* What isn't needed in the toolkit
* Whether the tools included are functional and appropriate

Feedback on the toolkit should be provided not just by the technologists in an organisation but also by programme staff and board members so that a broad range of opinion is canvassed this is vital to ensure that the material is appropriate for those working at different levels of an organisation be it strategic or technical. We will request that full documentation of the testing process is carried out by the organisations taking part.

This process will help us build the final official version of the toolkit in March 2008 so it can be of benefit to advocacy organisations around the world.

If you are interested in taking part please contact mobiles@tacticaltech.org

OneWorld's People of 2007 - Vote Today!

2008-01-31

http://us.oneworld.net/section/us/peopleof2007

The finalists for OneWorld's Person of 2007 award have been announced. Justine Masika Bihamba, Rajendra Pachauri, Betty Makoni, and Vicky Tauli-Corpuz lead the field. Be inspired by their amazing efforts to protect human rights, improve lives, and yes, even save the planet. Vote today!

In the zone of waiting, by Goretti Kyomuhendo

Reviewed by Mildred K Barya

2008-02-01

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/45850

Goretti Kyomuhendo’s novella, Waiting, as the title suggests, is about waiting. A strange kind of waiting where, as the narrative unfolds, one does not experience the feeling that the characters or the community that are the novella’s focus are trapped or static. Rather, there is a lot of ‘movement,’ especially internal, as the characters adjust and go ahead to make lives that are both meaningful and normal in a war situation.
In the zone of waiting

Goretti Kyomuhendo’s novella, Waiting, as the title suggests, is about waiting. A strange kind of waiting where, as the narrative unfolds, one does not experience the feeling that the characters or the community that are the novella’s focus are trapped or static. Rather, there is a lot of ‘movement,’ especially internal, as the characters adjust and go ahead to make lives that are both meaningful and normal in a war situation.

The novella is set in 1979, the period when a combination of Ugandan exiles and the Tanzanian army, simply known as the liberators, march to oust Uganda’s dictatorial Idi Amin. Events are presented through the eyes of Alinda, a 13 year old girl who provides a knit, family portrait in the village of Hoima. Life is normal, calm and sane. Alinda’s mother is pregnant. Kaaka, Alinda’s grandmother, is some kind of sage. When wind wafts through the trees and a lone leaf falls, she picks it up and pronounces that the leaf is announcing “a visitor who comes from far away, and has no intentions of returning—like the leaf.”

Throughout the book, the narrative is very descriptive, almost to a fault. Alinda takes on the role of an educator and provides details of the moon rising, the birds morning conversation waking her up, how logs are chopped and split, meanings of the Swahili phrases used in the book, unnecessarily. One lets this negative pass because Alinda is a young girl whose sense of wonder makes her observe and embrace life in its totality.

In the first part of the book, a communal thread of togetherness, with the spirit of neighborliness easily unify the individuals who come from different regions, and belong to various ethnic groups, into the community.
News of war arrive in the village. Staying inside houses at night becomes unsafe. Alinda’s family and others move out of their homes every night to a secret hideout in the bush. There is Uncle Kembo who is Father’s young brother. Nyinabarongo, a neighbour, the old man (no name), and the Lendu woman, who comes from Congo.

Eventually, Kaaka gets tired of rolling up her blankets to go out and sleep in the cold. Mother too thinks it’s futile for her to be outside. Given how heavy she is, she wouldn’t be able to run if the rebels showed up. Mother gets weaker and Alinda assumes the running of household chores, dividing roles for herself, Maya, her sister, and Tendo, her brother.
Mother’s time draws near. Kaaka talks with Father about finding help and in her prejudice we notice the first seeds of suspicion along ethnic differences. Nyinabarongo was chased away from home by her in-laws so she cannot be relied on to help a woman in labour. The Lendu woman is said to be childless so what could she know about childbirth and ways of Kaaka’s ethnic group? Nyinabarongo and the Lendu woman become the outsiders.

Part one ends in a dramatic and symbolic way. Gunshots ring out on the night when Mother is giving birth. Kaaka ends up being killed. Alinda finds herself helping Mother alone, without sufficient knowledge of what she’s supposed to do. Mother says:
“Cut,”
“Cut what?” Alinda asks.
“The umbilical cord.”
Alinda, trembling, cuts the “fleshy string coiling out of the bloody mess and winding its way to the baby’s stomach.”
It is as if by cutting the cord, Alinda has severed whatever tied her to childhood. She is forced to grow and enter the world of adulthood as Mother passes on to the world of ancestors.

In part two, Alinda is raising the baby who is sickly and cries a lot. The Lendu woman is accused of bewitching the baby. Father’s heart softens towards her when she visits and brings some sugar. She also knows herbs that restore the baby’s health and herbs that treat soldiers’ wounds. Privately, the Lendu woman reveals herself to Alinda and a bit of history. “When Patrice Lumumba was killed by the Americans in 1961, there was a lot of fighting in Zaire…There were no medicines, so we had to use herbs…That’s how I came to learn a lot about different plants…” She also puts up a defense for her husband who the people say is a bad man because he sells his fish expensively. “…he goes to a lot of trouble to get that fish from the river Congo, which is very deep and difficult to navigate.”

Uncle Kembo too has a survival story in which he changed his name to Abdullah, was circumcised, converted to Islam and rewarded.
Part two ends on the same theme note as part one. There is another misfortune and a new life introduced. The old man steps on a landmine and his leg has to be amputated. Jungu, Alinda’s friend whose father is Indian and mother African, joins the household.

In part three, the liberators arrive. Alinda is psychologically troubled and Nyinabarongo takes over most of the household responsibilities, including Father. Jungu minds the baby. Tendo is excited about the liberators and joins them. There is celebration in the village; slaughtering animals, eating and being merry. Hope happens. And much love. Jungu falls in love with Bahati, one of the liberators, and he gives her gifts of kanga. Bahati teaches Jungu Kiswahili and she teaches him English. The Lendu woman is pregnant and moves into uncle Kembo’s house. Just like Nyinabarongo has moved into Father’s bedroom.

You’d think Kyomuhendo would be satisfied to let the story end on such a happy note. Instead, she has to make another loss. The liberators pack their bags and vanish one night without warning. Tendo too. Jungu is heartbroken and goes in search of Bahati. Apparently, Bahati appears and scratches at Alinda’s window. He is looking for Jungu. He had left a message for her, which she did not get, affirming his love and promise that he would never leave her.
In the end, there is an earthquake and continuous heavy rains that crack up some houses and wash away others. Another symbolic image of old lives going away and new lives coming in. Bahati moves into Tendo’s bedroom. Father goes back to his job in the city.

Kyomuhendo presents most of her characters unscathed. They feel what happens. They touch death. Yet, they do not brood or become desperate, helpless. They give each other support and keep re-inventing themselves and their community. They are solid and stable with a sense of purpose and dignity. When one character fades, another slips in naturally and becomes a part of the community. Human needs and desires continue to be fulfilled; companionship, complementarity and genuine support, given and returned.

Kyomuhendo’s novella is 108 pages. One can read it in one sitting like a long short story. The author uses myths and careful character-naming to imply further stories that could have come out in a longer narrative. The generation of the nameless—Mother, Kaaka, old man—seem to be passing away. Only Father remains. But namelessness spreads its hold on a new generation—baby.

The major strength of Waiting is Kyomuhendo’s portrayal of the family - nation ideology. We see many characters coming to live in Alinda’s household and being taken on as family, respected, appreciated and welcomed. There is the initial suspicion but it does not last. One feels a sense of perfect ease it is admirable how the characters manage to leave all their ‘baggage’ behind. Nyinabarongo, the Lendu woman, Bahati, the old man, and Jungu represent five different nationalities. They do not turn against one another in hatred. Some of them co-habit, and all of them co-exist, peacefully, supporting one another. The family achieves cohesion and integration that Africa seeks after today. This is the most relevant lesson the book tackles. It defies the current borders and shows how meaningless today’s citizenship and national identities are to a group of people determined to live in one accord. They know everyone’s inside story and go on to share not in a gossipy manner but in a way that says: ‘I know who you are.’ What results is not confrontation but revelation. The Lendu woman is able to explain who she really is and how she happens to know what she knows. Kaaka’s story too is revealed through Nyinabarongo, blending with myth and reality. Alinda’s ‘sickness’ comes from the fact that she has seen too much and taken on heavy responsibilities due to circumstances, without being prepared for them. This sheds light into individuals who fumble towards national leadership roles without the training and knowledge required for such roles. What happens then is a sick state.

With such a plot, one wonders why Kyomuhendo did not let the novella grow into a novel, especially since one feels a need for more and more as the story grows but that ‘more’ is truncated. Perhaps she wanted to show the promise for Uganda (the setting) and Africa generally, but then remembered that to be true, Uganda is still in a state of waiting, and so is Africa. Therefore, the way forward is not to be divisive and continue occupying confining boxes that magnify our ethnic grouping and current country borders, but rather, to seek a centering that connects with the simple dignity of the ordinary people.

Publisher: The Feminist Press, US
Year of publication: 2007
Author: Goretti Kyomuhendo

Divide and Misrule

Stephen Derwent Partington

2008-01-30

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/African_Writers/45763

What does dug earth care at all about ethnicity?
A Mwangi fits a six-foot hole
as snugly as Owuor.

And tell me, where's the corpse that anyone
can teargas with success?
Or did you do it to augment the tears of mourners,
out of kindness?

Can you tell a foe from how he skins a cow
or peels a spud
or guts a fish?
Are these enough to skin his hide?
Perhaps it's speech, the way she shrubs?
And who's the carrier, his mother or his dad?
Can we locate the gene for Enemy?
Today, can we condone the fact
Kikamba's only got one word for 'enemy',
'Masai'?

Reflect: that family you killed,
it had as little land as you.
Or did you see the old machete used to cut you?
Dented, rusty, cheap, like yours.
Reflect on this.

This warped deflection of your anger
isn't justice:
it's a coffinful of shit.

*Stephen Derwent Partington is a Kenyan poet.

* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Review of African blogs

Sokari Ekine

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/blog/45778

Kenerry Bird
Nigerian political activist Kayode Ogundamisi finally makes it to the blogging world in his blog Kenerry Bird! In this post Kayode is critical of religion as it is played out in Nigeria, particularly the “partnership between Pastors, Imams and other religious leaders with the corrupt people in government.” To get an understanding of the relationship between religion, the religious in Nigeria and corruption he points out some interesting facts:
“We do have the highest growth in Christianity and Islam in the world nonetheless remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
It is high time we start probing the finances of those who hide under the banner of religion to steal and deceive the people.........
A Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Joseph Itegbe, was on Tuesday arraigned at Tapa Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing N5.7 million tithe belonging to the church.”

African Gadget
African Gadget a blog about local alternative technology solutions has launched a new site and a new online project called “Grassroots Reporting”. The idea is to recruit volunteer contributors from across the continent to report on local technologies. Anyone interested should please leave a comment on the blog with your email address (which will not be published). In this way the blog will be able to spread the word about the huge range of local technologies and innovations being developed and used by Africans for Africans.
“One of the big goals here is to create a service that doesn’t just publish interesting stories about African micro-entrepreneurs, though we do plan on continuing that, but to also explore ways that we can be a conduit back to those very same people. This redesign already has our future plans for dealing with entrepreneurs built into it. Part of that is the future phases of the AfriGadget store, but we’re also looking at ways to partner with others and encourage direct investment into worthy entrepreneurs businesses.”

Sociolingo
Sociolingo reports on a project from North Western University in the US which is publishing ancient African maps online. The maps date from the 16th to the 20th century. An excellent project.



The Concoction
Concoction complains about the lack of news on Africa from all sections of the US mainstream media. 45,000 people die each month in the DRC but this is not reported instead one death of a Hollywood start is at the center of the evening news.
“You read about 45,000 people dying each month in DRC online while the death of some young actor found dead in his NY apartment dominates the evening news on major news channels - even BBC world had to say something about it. Although I liked Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain and it's sad he died so young..., still I can't help wondering when 45,000 people dying each month would get the same attention?”

Thinkers Room
From Kenya,Thinkers Room asks a series of questions and posts a list of ”shattered myths” about Kenya. Here are some snippets.
Questions:
Where is the President? Mr Kibaki cannot have it both ways. If he insists he is the duly elected president then it is incumbent upon him to act accordingly. He must not only do something, he must be seen to be doing something................. Where is the Church? I’m not impressed at all by any of the churches in Kenya. The Catholic Church, The Anglican Church, the Islamic community and the Independent churches have been very lethargic indeed.
Shattered Myths:
Kenya is an oasis of peace. Is it now?........... Kenya believes in the right of law. The ODM refuses to challenge the elections in court. While I understand their reluctance,”

You Missed This
Also from Kenya,You Missed This believes the Annan talks are “doomed to fail” due to pettiness on both sides and the fact Annan and his team really do not have any powers to influence the present stalemate.
“Even before the nominated teams begin negotiations, signs are already emerging that the Annan led mediation talks are doomed to fail. Yesterday, the talks were nearly sabotaged by Office of the President protocol officers who were insisting that Kibaki sits alone on the ‘high table’ because he is the ‘supreme presidential authority’. The ODM and Mr. Annan on the other hand, would hear none of it and in the end, Raila and Kibaki occupied the same ‘high table’ flanking Annan on both sides as equals. This was after Annan and the Speaker of the National Assembly as the convener of the meeting over-ruled the OP protocol officials. Such pettiness, emanating from the PNU side, clearly shows that they are treating their political adversaries as junior partners.”

Grandiose Parlor
Grandiose Parlor reports that $10 billion has been spent on Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure between 1997 and 2007. Despite this, the majority of citizens still do not have a regular electricity supply. An excellent example of corruption and mismanagement!



Kameelah Writes
Kameelah Writes comments cynically on the Obama fever presently sweeping across America.
“As my little imagination works, Obama will continue to pander to everybody and their mama until he becomes president. At night he sneaks to chat with his daughters about the end of the Gaza Blockade . Shortly after Obama is inaugurated, Obama and I are going to meet on U street in D.C. to jointly craft his inaugural speech. In the speech he will say all the things that he was previously far to smart to publicly assert.”

Black Looks
Black Looks publishes a video “fire in the delta” together with the response of a group of civil society organisations to the Nigerian government’s postponement (yet again) of the end of gas flaring by the multinational oil companies.
“In 2005, the High Court declared gas flaring illegal yet both the Nigerian government and oil multinationals have ignored the court ruling. Last year the Nigerian government once again promised to stop all gas flaring on the 1st January this year - a promise that goes back nearly 40 years. Companies defying the order were to be shut down. Once again the government has shown complete disregard and insensitivity to the communities in the Niger Delta and given into pressure from Shell, Chevron, Elf etc. The date has now been set for the end of the year but no one really believes that the government will once again bow to the oil multinationals.”

* Sokari Ekine blogs at Black Looks www.blacklooks.org and www.africanwomenblogs.com

"Sous les volcans"

Michael Gabriel Mudimbi

2008-01-31

http://www.pambazuka.org/en/broadcasts/podcasts.php

There seems to be no end in sight to the appalling violence against women in the Kivu region of eastern DRC. In North Kivu alone, there are 250 cases of rape reported each month and the unofficial figure could be much higher. Every hospital and health centre in both Kivus report cases of sexual violence on a daily basis, and the victims range from six months to 95 years of age. This is sexual violence in its most barbaric form, since rape is invariably accompanied by torture and mutilation leading some activists to describe what is happening to Congolese women as femicide. The trauma of these women is exacerbated by the fact that they are often rejected by their families and that perpetrators seldom brought to justice. All factions involved in the fighting in Kivu are accused of brutality against women though the majority of crimes are attributed to the Interhamwe militia, still active in Congo after fleeing Rwanda when the Rwandan Patriotic Front took control of the country and ended the genocide in 1994.

"Sous les volcans" talks to women of the Kivus, the victims and the activists in an attempt to break the silence about what is happening to women in eastern DRC. A documentary prepared and presented by Michael Gabriel Mudimbi of Contact FM.

Africa: Sudan doubles crude exports to China in 2007

2008-02-01

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article25671

Crude oil exports from Sudan to China more than doubled last year to top 200,000 barrels a day, with official data showing that China now takes 40 percent of the east African producer’s total output. Sudan exported 10.31 million tonnes to China in 2007, or 113 percent above 2006, ranking as Beijing’s sixth-largest crude supplier, with 6 percent of the total crude imports to the world’s second-largest oil user, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Africa: China donates US$500,000 humanitarian aid to Somalia

2008-02-01

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-01/22/content_6413076.htm

The Chinese government has donated US$500,000 humanitarian aid to Somalia through the World Health Organization (WHO) in Nairobi. China and Somalia enjoy cordial relationship, and the friendship cherished by the two countries and peoples have been developed continuously since China and Somalia established diplomatic ties in the year of 1960, said Zhang Ming, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, at the hand-over ceremony.

MDC to hold freedom marches in Mutare and Rusape

2008-02-01

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news310108/mdc_marches310108.htm

Thousands of people in Manicaland are expected to participate in freedom marches scheduled for Mutare and Rusape on Friday, according to party officials. Pishai Muchauraya, the spokesman for the MDC in the province said both marches have been given the green light by the police.

Mbeki to brief SADC leaders on failed Zim talks at AU Summit

2008-02-01

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news310108/sadc310108.htm

The African Union summit taking place in Addis Ababa will provide an opportunity for South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki to brief leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), on the failed Zimbabwe crisis talks that he mediated on their behalf. Reports say Mbeki is still making an effort to save the crucial talks that are supposed to lead to free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. Time is running out though as the polls are currently set for March 29th.

AU Monitor Weekly Roundup

Issue 122, 2008

2008-01-31

http://www.aumonitor.org/

This week's AU Monitor brings you updates and analyses from the 10th Ordinary Session of the African Union, where President John Agyekum Kufuor ends his term as Chairman of the African Union this week. President Kufuor is acknowledged for his many accomplishments and the progress that the AU has made during his tenure.

Lybian leader Mouammar Kaddafi is hosting a five-nation mini summit for African leaders ahead of the upcoming AU Summit. Also in preparation for the Summit, the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) of the AU member states opened its session, where participants will focus on important issues, including budgetary issues, contributions from member states and the problem of staff hiring for the Commission.

In other AU news, Sholain Govender provides in-depth reflections on the past, present, and future of the African Union. Also, Ousseynou Guèye reports on the audit of the African Union, noting that it reveals serious inadequacies of the organization that prevent it from reaching its goals. Lastly, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Professor Alpha Oumar Konare urged AU Foreign Ministers to insure implementation of principles adopted by Member States, including democracy, good governance, and gender equality. Chairperson Konare also showed concern about non-indifference, insisting that member countries assist one another during times of crises.

In peace and security news, the capability of the joint UN-African Union Peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has been thrown into question, following an attack earlier this month. Currently the mission is vulnerable to such attacks due to lack of proper equipment, particularly helicopters. Further, during a recent meeting of the AU Executive Council, Senegal expressed concern that the crises in Kenya was not on the agenda and asked the council to "breaks its silence on the issue".

In women's news, Solidarity for African Women's Rights (SOAWR) held its Review and Agenda Setting Meeting recently under the theme: "Building an Accountable African Union: Perspectives of the African Women's Movement". Also, the AU has commissioned a new report to study the role of female child soldiers in conflicts in Africa. Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Director of AU's Gender Development Directorate stated that "We need an African solution to the crisis and women have proved to be the best in post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation". Lastly, Ethiopian lawyer Meaza Ashenafi says that African governments have failed to domesticate gender equality laws into national policies and notes that "Irregularities in adapting and implementing various laws and agreements regarding women's rights and gender equality in Africa is a threat to the proposed union government of Africa."

Finally, Hiruy Amanuel analyses the phrase "ethnic politics", stating that appealing to ethnicity is sub-national, narrow and even dangerous", and can inhibit attempts at Pan-African unity.

Global: International Day against FGM/Cutting

2008-02-01

http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=1096

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, calls for stronger commitment to end female genital mutilation/cutting. We call on governments to protect the rights of women and girls. We call on leaders to take action to end female genital mutilation in line with the United Nations resolution adopted last year. In the resolution, governments reiterated that female genital mutilation violates the rights of women and girls. They said the practice constitutes an irreparable, irreversible abuse.

SOAWR Pre-summit meeting communique on the Protocol

2008-01-28

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/45711

The SOAWR Review and Agenda Setting Meeting was held at the United Nations Conference Centre, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 22 - 24 January 2008 on the theme: Building an Accountable African Union: Perspectives of the African Women’s Movement. The meeting reflected on the national and continental campaign experiences on the rights of women to date with a view to laying down continental strategies for the full ratification and the effective implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa by Member States.
SOAWR PRE-SUMMIT MEETING COMMUNIQUE ON THE AFRICAN WOMEN’S RIGHTS PROTOCOL
22 - 24 January 2008. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


The SOAWR Review and Agenda Setting Meeting was held at the United Nations Conference Centre, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 22 - 24 January 2008 on the theme: Building an Accountable African Union: Perspectives of the African Women’s Movement. The meeting reflected on the national and continental campaign experiences on the rights of women to date with a view to laying down continental strategies for the full ratification and the effective implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa by Member States.

Having deliberated on past achievements, challenges and lessons learned, and realising the African Union and Heads of State and Governments’ commitment to promoting women’s rights through the adoption and signing of the Protocol and other related international human rights instruments do call on the member states to honour their obligations to make these rights a reality for women.,

Deeply concerned about the post election conflict situation in Kenya the meeting resolved to issue a separate communiqué on the conflict in solidarity with Kenyan women and appealing to the government, political parties, African Union, civil society organizations and the international community to act to urgently resolve the crisis,

Applauding the progress made by the African Union Commission in facilitating the realization of women’s rights in the continent, reaffirm our commitment to continue working with the African Union Commission as a key partner, in the pursuit of actualizing the rights provided in the Protocol,

Appreciating the speed at which the Protocol came into force; nevertheless express concern about the slow pace of ratification by the remaining thirty countries (Algeria, Botswana , Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Rep. of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe) and domestication and implementation of the Protocol by the twenty-three countries ( Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia) that have ratified the Protocol,

Reaffirming our commitment to sustain the efforts for the ratification, domestication and implementation of the Protocol; hereby call on state parties to;

- ratify the Protocol without reservations and speedily domesticate and implement the provisions of the Protocol to ensure women enjoy all the rights therein

- maintain gender mainstreaming within the African Union in the truest spirit of having gender equality and hence ensure the 50/50 representation at all levels of the African Union Commission as provided within the Constitutive Act (Article 4

- ratify the Protocol Establishing the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and in the true spirit of human rights promotion and protection in Africa, follow the example of Burkina Faso and sign the declaration as provided in article 34(6) of the Protocol thereby removing the restriction on direct access to the court by individuals and civil society organisations

- take a common stand on trade negotiations with the European Union and refrain from bilateral/unilateral Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) which will compromise Africa’s development and in particular negatively impact on the lives of women and children.

- open the African Union summit spaces for the civil society organizations, by means of accreditation, as provided for in the AU Constitutive Act (Article…) thereby enabling them to effectively play their role as partners in development and human rights promotion. This would hence translate into the AU being truly an African peoples’ union!


24th January 2008 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Global: Access to safe abortion is a woman's right

2008-02-01

http://iwhc.org/resources/safeabortion.cfm

Safe abortion—the termination of a pregnancy by trained health care providers using correct, sanitary technique and proper equipment—is a simple, lifesaving health service. Nonetheless, of the 42 million induced abortions each year, an estimated 20 million are unsafe and 97% of those occur in developing countries. Every year, nearly 70,000 women die unnecessarily from the complications of unsafe abortions, and countless more suffer infections, infertility, and debilitating injuries.

Kenya: Women condemn sexual crimes and inter-ethnic killings in post-election strife

2008-02-01

http://tinyurl.com/2upzez

Kenyan women have called for an immediate end to inter-ethnic killings, impunity, and gross violations of human rights, especially the increasing cases of sexual crimes and gang rapes. In a communiqué handed over to the mediation team led by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, they demand the proclamation of a national disaster as well as the enhancement of security for the civilian population by the State.

Ghana: Tackling the taboo topic of teen pregnancy

2008-02-01

http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=1095

For Christiane and Yannick Milev, tackling teen pregnancy is a family affair. Together the mother-and-son team run Village Exchange Ghana, a community-based NGO offering support to young mothers and other youth in Ghana’s rural Volta region. "Teen-age pregnancy programmes used to focus only on girls – what not to do or punishment – no support," Ms. Milev says. “Men go on with their lives without consequences. Men have all the power and decision-making and don’t ask women what they think or want.”

Africa: African Civil Society and Women’s Movement - AU Pre-Summit meeting statement

2008-02-01

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/45812

We, members of the African Civil Society and Women’s Movement meeting under the aegis of “Gender is My Agenda Campaign” on the occasion of the 11th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 22nd to 23 rd January 2008, on the theme “ Industrial Development for Africa: The Gender Perspective ”, with the support of the Commission of the African Union (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Kingdom Department for International Development(DFID) and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA);
11TH PRE-SUMMIT CONSULTATIVE MEETING

SOLEMN STATEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS


Preamble

We, members of the African Civil Society and Women’s Movement meeting under the aegis of “Gender is My Agenda Campaign” on the occasion of the 11th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 22nd to 23 rd January 2008, on the theme “ Industrial Development for Africa: The Gender Perspective ”, with the support of the Commission of the African Union (AUC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Kingdom Department for International Development(DFID) and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA);

Building on the important achievements made by the African women during the last 10 pre-summit meetings;

Welcoming the decision of the Heads of State and Government to take a critical look at the operations and activities of the AU through the setting up of the High Panel on the Audit of the AU organs;

Recalling the decision of the Heads of State and Government on ensuring that Gender equality remains at the forefront of Africa’s development agenda in accordance with their commitment to ensure gender equality in the appointments at the AU organs/structures at all levels;

Recalling the decision of the Heads of State and Government to establish the African Women’s Fund as provided for in the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA);

Thanking His Excellency, Alpha Omar Konare, Chairperson of the African Union Commission for his commitment to gender equality during his tenure, especially for spearheading the adoption of the SGDEA;

Appreciating the decision of the Heads of State and Government to devote their 11th Summit to Industrial Development in Africa and cognizant of the role women should play in this process;

Bearing in mind the key issues contained in the SDGEA and our commitment to monitor, evaluate and report on its implementation;

Recommend the following:

On Industrialization

Member States should increase their budgetary allocation to research and development as a key support to industrial development;
Appropriate legislation should be enacted in order to protect the intellectual property rights in Africa, especially women inventions in various field;
Women associations should be set up to promote industrialization in Africa, especially in rural areas;
An industrial Transformation Fund should be established to assist in developing and implementing various programs relating to industrialization in Africa;
Women should be supported to engage in the industrialization programs and to ensure their economic self-sufficiency;

On SDGEA Reporting Obligation

AU Member States should continue to honor their commitments in reporting on their achievements and setbacks relating to gender mainstreaming in programs and activities at national, regional and continental levels ;
AU Member States should also endeavor to promote and coordinate national public and private initiatives on gender equality and integrate such a component in their periodic reports on the SDGEA;
AU Gender Directorate should be adequately empowered to play its pivotal role in monitoring national and regional initiatives to ensure the implementation of the gender parity principle.


On Good Governance

i) Panafrican Parliament (PAP)

While appreciating the involvement of a few women in the Panafrican Parliament (PAP), it is strongly recommended that all Member States should ensure respect for the Gender Parity Principle.

ii) Economic, social and cultural Council (ECOSOC)

The participants welcome the achievements made at national, regional and continental levels with regard to the integration of Civil Society Organizations in the process of establishing the ECOSOCC and recommend that the Gender parity principle be respected in the nomination of the candidates and in the subsequent election of the ECOSOCC members.

ii) The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights

The participants note with great satisfaction the new composition of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights with seven (7) Women Commissioners out of eleven (11) members as well as the Bureau composed of Women.

Nevertheless, they deplore the lack of Gender balance in the composition of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights and recommend that this principle be strictly respected in the future.

On Peace and Security:

Women should be appointed as Special Representatives and Envoys included in fact finding missions;
Women Peace advocacy groups should be given appropriate support for early response to crisis situations such as in Kenya;
The action and leadership role of Mrs Graça Machel in her mediation efforts in Kenya should be recognized and fully supported by appointing her as a Special Envoy;
The African women consultation on Darfur, organized by Femmes Africa Solidarite (FAS) and its partners, should be fully supported.

On Human Rights

The Human Rights bodies existing on the African continent should be reinforced by providing them adequate resources and political support;
The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) should establish networks in order to better monitor human rights situations in the continent and cooperate effectively with the AU Commission, the human rights bodies as well as other relevant institutions.

On Education

African Governments should consider as a priority free access to education for all as reflected in the MDGs;
Necessary legislative measures should be taken for the promotion of girls education, particularly through gender sensitive budgeting;
Appropriate measures should be taken to introduce as quickly as possible IT programs in school curricula.

On Health

African Governments should ensure availability of resources for the access of women to health care and their access to ARV treatment in case of HIV/AIDS;
Communication strategies should be devised to ensure sexual education at secondary school level and to promote behavior changing in the communities;
PMTCT (Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission) should be considered as an important challenge in AIDS control;
Health and poverty issues should be managed in an integrated approach so as to find a lasting solution to the recurring health problems in the continent.

On Economic empowerment

Considering that women are the majority of the population of Africa and that they are also the primary economic producers :

Member States should continue to develop infrastructures (water, electricity, roads, etc.) in rural areas with a special focus on their access to women entrepreneurs who are the backbone of SME development in Africa;
Member States should support all the public and private actors involved in women economic empowerment programs;
Member States should adopt appropriate regulations to give women access to finance and loan facilities;
The AU Commission should speed up action toward the establishment of the African Women’s Fund as adopted in the SDGEA.

On African Union Government

The participants to the 11th Pre-Summit Consultative meeting, building on the extensive debate on the African Union Government which started in Accra, Ghana, in July 2007, recognized that the Union Government will be an adequate tool for effective African integration as well as for conflict resolution and peace building. Furthermore, the participants recommend the following :

The African women should be given enough room for effective contribution to the debate on and the establishment of the Union Government;
The process leading to the formation of the United States of Africa should be expedited;

As African Women Networks, united in the “Gender is my Agenda Campaign”, we reaffirm our strong commitment to struggle for a United Africa where the rights of men and women will be guaranteed at all levels.

Done in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 23 rd January 2008




International Secretariat


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Tel: +41 22 328 80 50
Fax: +41 22 328 80 52
Email: info@fasngo.org

Regional Office for Africa

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Appt. No. 31C
P.O. Box 45077 Fann, Dakar, Sénégal
Tel: +221 860 20 48
Fax: +221 860 20 47
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Office in New York
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P.O. Box 360
New-York, New-York 10017
Tel: (001 212) 867 31 52
Fax: (001 212) 867 31 53
Email: infony@fasngo.org <mailto:info@fasngo.org>

East Africa: Human rights concerns - HURINET statement

2008-01-31

http://www.humanrightshouse.org/dllvis5.asp?id=6246

HURINET-Uganda is concerned that blatant acts of impunity and violations of human rights by the state have persisted at the on set of 2008. Ugandans continue to be denied their inalienable right to enjoy basic civil and political rights. Further HURINET-U is concerned about the plunder and bloodletting in neighboring Kenya following the disputed presidential elections that were held in December 2007.

Global: Democracy charade undermines rights - Human Rights Watch report

2008-02-01

http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=2&language_id=1&headline_id=6684

The established democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections for political expediency, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2008. By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the European Union and other influential democracies risk undermining human rights worldwide.

Guinea Ecuatorial: Government postpones visit of UN human rights expert

2008-02-01

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25445

A planned visit by a United Nations human rights expert to Equatorial Guinea has been cancelled after the Central African country's Government postponed it suddenly, citing “urgent activities.” The Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, issued a statement voicing “strong regret” about the postponement and reminding the “that fact-finding missions are planned long in advance and require extensive research as well as logistical and financial resources.”

South Africa: Police arrest Zimbabweans and the homeless at Methodist Church

2008-02-01

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news310108/sa-police310108.htm

South African police on Wednesday raided the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg that has been sheltering Zimbabwean refugees, asylum seekers and homeless people. Some of the police were heavily armed as they stormed the church compound around midnight, claiming they were searching for drugs and guns. Although they found nothing they arrested 1500 homeless people. Many have been released without charge but an estimated 300-500 are still in police cells. They are due to appear in court on Friday.

Chad: Attacks force UN refugee agency to evacuate staff

2008-02-01

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25470

The United Nations refugee agency today evacuated most of its staff from its office in a town in eastern Chad after a series of armed attacks this week on the agency and other aid organizations operating in the troubled region. Five vehicles belonging to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), its non-governmental partners and Médecins Sans Frontières Suisse have been stolen at gunpoint in the past 72 hours, while the UNHCR compound in Guereda was entered by armed men on two nights this week.

Africa: Somali refugee wins US State Department award for courage

2008-02-01

http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/47a1e2e02.html

A young Somali refugee has been honoured with a prestigious United States government award for her courageous work in fighting for the rights of women and girls in a Kenyan refugee camp. Farhiyo Ibrahim Farah is one of 10 recipients of this year's International Women of Courage Award. The 25-year-old is recognized for her work in Dadaab refugee camp, where she promotes an end to forced marriages and female genital mutilation, better treatment for rape victims and more education for Somali girls in her highly conservative and patriarchal society.

Tanzania: Voluntary repatriation of Congolese hits 50,000 mark

2008-02-01

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/45828

The number of Congolese refugees repatriated from Tanzania with UNHCR help has passed the 50,000 mark. The milestone was reached on Tuesday when the chartered ferry, MV Mwongozo, left the port of Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika with 184 returnees on board. Kengeta Kiza was officially designated the 50,000th Congolese refugee repatriated by the UN refugee agency since October 2005, when UNHCR launched the voluntary programme.

Somalia: Government seeks urgent help for drought regions

2008-02-01

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76488

People in drought-affected regions of central and southern Somalia need urgent help after losing most of their livestock, the deputy prime minister and minister of information, Ahmed Abdisalam, told IRIN on 30 January. "The reports we are getting are that the drought-affected areas are in a grave situation, with shortages of water, inadequate pasture for remaining livestock and the consequent destitution of many families," Abdisalam said.

Kenya: Kibaki says courts must settle dispute

2008-02-01

http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL01787449.html

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki blamed opposition leaders on Friday for instigating the violence that has killed more than 850 people in the once-stable East African country. Speaking at a meeting in Addis Ababa of the east African regional grouping IGAD, Kibaki also said the dispute over his re-election that provoked the violence must be settled through Kenya's courts - something rejected by the opposition.

Kenya: PGA Statement on the situation in Kenya

2008-01-28

http://www.pgaction.org/uploadedfiles/freetownstatement%5B1%5D.pdf

The Regional Round-Table Discussion on the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court that Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) organized in the Parliament of Sierra Leone in Freetown on 18 January 2008 presented a statement on the situation in Kenya.

Zimbabwe: MDC to make key decisions on Saturday

2008-02-01

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news310108/mdc_decide310108.htm

The MDC under Morgan Tsvangirai will meet on Saturday to make key decisions regarding participation in the March 29 election and will also decide on a unity deal with the Mutambara MDC. Party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the National Council will deliberate on the two critical issues before a press conference is convened on Sunday to announce the resolutions. Mugabe set February 8 as the nomination deadline for parties contesting in the elections to submit their candidates. Chamisa denied they had been forced into a hasty meeting by Mugabe’s timetable and that the meeting had been organised some time ago.

South Africa: Police chief in court

2008-02-01

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F0E870B0-BC70-4DF1-A554-B42D04CEF6D0.htm

South Africa's police chief has maintained his innocence from corruption charges during a brief court appearance. Jackie Selebi who appeared in court in Johannesburg on Friday is accused of having a "generally corrupt relationship" with Glen Agliotti, a convicted drug smuggler, and trying to shield him from criminal investigations.

Africa: AU takes decision on EPAs

2008-02-01

http://www.afrol.com/articles/27837

Executive Council of the African Union has approved that no African region should be allowed to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union "as long as the draft agreement is not submitted and discussed at the continental level." The council believed that the signing of any interim or complete EPAs will affect other regions in Africa, recommended "the need for a political intervention at the highest level to protect the interest of African countries."

Global: World leaders issue call to action on MDGs

2008-01-28

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/development/45713

World leaders have issued a joint statement at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos vowing to make 2008 a turning point in the fight against poverty. The world is facing a “development emergency”, they said. “We pledge to work together to help the world get back on track to meet the MDGs.”
World leaders have issued a joint statement at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos vowing to make 2008 a turning point in the fight against poverty. The world is facing a “development emergency”, they said. “We pledge to work together to help the world get back on track to meet the MDGs.”

Leaders spearheading the call to action include Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, New York; Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, President of Nigeria; Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; William H. Gates III, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, USA; Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum; Bono, Musician, DATA (DEBT, AIDS, TRADE, AFRICA), United Kingdom; and John T. Chambers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cisco, USA.

“We are here to say one thing loud and clear: Not on our watch!” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“I speak to those who are most vulnerable to climate change and those who suffer the most grinding poverty. Let 2008 be the year of the bottom billion,” he said.

“We all agree that it is time to move from promise to performance …. Let us put our promises back on track for all the world’s children,” said Queen Rania.

“This is a moral compact, not a legal contract. To take a concrete step forward, we must take this from a moral compact to legally binding contracts,” Bono told a packed press conference. “Thanks to African leadership and debt cancellation, 29 million children are now in school,” he said.

“For us in Africa, the achievement of the MDGs is our sacred duty,” said Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. “One of the major challenges in Africa is the infrastructure gap that is one of the key enablers of the achievement of the MDGs. I welcome this initiative from the global community.”

“It is right that, here in Davos, we tell the truth that there is a development emergency and that we must summon everyone in a call to action to take measures to meet the MDGs by 2015,” said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

“This [call to action] fits in with the idea of creative capitalism,” said Gates. “We can make more progress and it is important to be part of this endeavour,” he said. “I want to challenge the business community” to join the renewed efforts of governments and NGOs, said Chambers. “It’s the power of collaborative innovation that makes a difference,” he said.

The joint statement said:
“At the Millennium Summit in 2000 the international community – every world leader, every international body, almost every country – vowed to spare no effort to achieve the seven key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Halfway to 2015 we have made some vital progress:

* 3 million more children survive every year
* 2 million people now receive AIDs treatment
* There are 41 million more children in school
* 2 million lives are saved every year by immunization
* Polio, leprosy and neonatal tetanus are on the verge of elimination
* African economies have been growing at 6% for the past three years, and are set to grow faster in the years ahead

This progress inspires us all to do more. We know we can make a difference. But we still face an enormous challenge – a development emergency:

* 72 million children are still not in school and many who are receive a very poor quality education.
* Half of the developing world lack basic sanitation. If current trends continue, the world is likely to miss the MDG sanitation target by almost 600 million people.
* Over half a million women still die each year from treatable and preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
* Over 33 million people are living with HIV, and more than 1 million people die of malaria every year, including one child every 30 seconds.
* 980 million people still live on less than US$ 1 a day.

So without an extraordinary effort we will fail to achieve the MDGs. 2008 is a critical year. If we don’t begin to get back on track we will fail. Today in Davos we - the undersigned - commit to work to make 2008 a turning point in the fight against poverty. We are pleased to join the 19 countries and 21 private sector companies that are now signed up to the MDG Call to Action. And we pledge to work together to help the world get back on track to meet the MDGs.

We know we will only succeed if governments, the private sector, faith groups, civil society and NGOs work together.

And to catalyse, inspire and focus activity within this broad coalition - and to measure progress towards the 2015 pledges - today we agree that the world community should set some 2010 milestones towards our 2015 goals, including:

* 75 million more people lifted out of extreme poverty in Africa
* 25 million more children in school
* 4 million more children’s lives saved
* 35 million more births need to be attended by skilled health personnel between now and 2010
* 70 million more people given improved access to water

A series of international meetings throughout 2008 will identify what more we all need to do to meet these goals and agree concrete action plans:

* In the spring, the private sector will meet and announce new measures to help achieve the MDGs.
* In June, European leaders will set out what more the EU can do to accelerate progress towards the MDGs.
* In July, the Japan G8 Summit will focus on development and climate change.
* In September, at the UN - and for the first time ever - governments, businesses, civil society organizations, NGOs and faith groups will all convene to mark the halfway point to the MDGs, take stock of progress and agree additional steps the international community will take to accelerate action.
* And the Italians have agreed to take this forward into 2008 with their G8.
* The world is witnessing a development emergency, and we need a worldwide effort to get back on track to meet the MDGs. We commit to join and redouble our efforts.”

More than 2,500 participants from 88 countries are in Davos, Switzerland, including 27 heads of state or government, 113 cabinet ministers, along with religious leaders, media leaders and heads of non-governmental organizations. Around 60% of the participants are business leaders drawn principally from the Forum's members – 1,000 of the foremost companies from around the world and across all economic sectors.

The Co-Chairs of the Meeting are:
Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997-2007); Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008
James Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co., USA; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008
K.V. Kamath, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ICICI Bank, India; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008
Henry Kissinger, Chairman, Kissinger Associates, USA; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008
Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo, USA; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008
David J. O’Reilly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chevron, USA; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008
Wang Jianzhou, Chairman and Chief Executive, China Mobile Communications Corporation, People's Republic of China; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008

All participants of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008 can watch the responses to The Davos Question and are encouraged to reply directly to questions from the wider public in the first YouTube video booth set up for this purpose in the Congress Centre in Davos. Some of the best contributions will be used in key sessions in the programme.

Note to Editors

* Everything about the Annual Meeting 2008: http://www.weforum.org/annualmeeting
* Press Kit for the Annual Meeting: http://www.weforum.org/presskit
* Programme of the Annual Meeting: http://www.weforum.org/annualmeeting/programme
* Summaries of key sessions: http://www.weforum.org/annualmeeting/summaries2008
* High-resolution photos of the Annual Meeting, free of charge: http://www.swiss-image.ch/webwef/INDEX.htm (Login: world, Password: forum)
* The Annual Meeting on the Forum Blog: http://www.forumblog.org
* Key Davos snippets on Twitter: http://twitter.com/davos
* Live Webcasts of the Annual Meeting sessions: http://www.weforum.org/annualmeeting/webcasts
* The Davos debates on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/worldeconomicforum
* The Davos Conversation: http://www.davosconversation.org
* Video responses to The Davos Question: http://www.youtube.com/thedavosquestion
* The World Economic Forum Group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2440681615
* The Davos Universe: http://www.netvibes.com/davosconversation
* For further questions, e-mail: davosconversation@weforum.org
* Press Releases: http://www.weforum.org/pressreleases
* For updates about the activities of the World Economic Forum, subscribe to: RSS feed

Global: Gates Foundation's agriculture aid a hard sell

2008-01-28

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004135235_gatesagriculture200.html

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dramatically expanding its efforts to help the world's poorest farmers, with goals every bit as ambitious as its better-known global-health work fighting diseases such as AIDS and malaria. But the foundation's nascent agricultural program is encountering more resistance than much of its other work, with critics concerned that its market-oriented, technology-centric approach will open the door to big agribusiness interests and genetically engineered food.

Southern Africa: Building bridgesd out of poverty - Policy brief

2008-01-28

http://www.southernafricatrust.org/docs/Policy_brief.pdf

This policy brief looks at the potential of southern Africa’s regional infrastructure interventions to achieve the overall objective to provide support to regional integration and contribute to poverty eradication. It also identifies knowledge and policy gaps that may exist with a view to recommend interventions to
address them. The brief examines the transport, energy, water, and financing components of the regional infrastructure interventions.

Algeria: Rural renewal programme launched

2008-02-01

http://tinyurl.com/2jscex

Algeria's Rural Renewal Programme has officially begun, with the training of the first group of regional experts tasked with implementing and overseeing the projects in the field. The multi-billion dinar programme aims to stimulate economic activity in the rural areas that are home to 40% of Algerians.

Africa: One in five African born doctors work in developed countries - report

2008-02-01

http://www.eldis.org/go/country-profiles&id=35170&type=Document

This article in Human Resources for Health journal presents data on the extent of African health workers’ working in developed countries. It uses destination-country census data to estimate the number of African-born doctors and professional nurses working abroad in the year 2000, and compares this to the stocks of these workers in each country of origin. The paper finds that approximately 35,000 African-born physicians and 70,000 African-born professional nurses were working overseas in a developed country in the year 2000.

Global: EU trade threat to poor

2008-02-01

http://www.wdm.org.uk/news/EUthreat28012008.htm

Campaigners from War on Want, Friends of the Earth and the World Development Movement staged a demonstration today (Friday, 25 January) against European Union policies which they warn threaten millions of livelihoods in developing countries. The London protest at the European Commission office came on the eve of trade ministers’ special lunch on Saturday at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort Davos.

Burkina Faso: Project to benefit some 20,000 poor rural families

2008-02-01

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25463

A new United Nations-backed $19 million project in Burkina Faso will help approximately 20,000 poor rural households bolster their crop production and incomes through improved irrigation. The UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide an $11 loan to the Small-scale Irrigation and Water Management Project, which will be carried out in six provinces in the south-west of the country.

Ghana: Biofuels: Doing battle with the dragon himself

Bakari Nyari

2008-02-01

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/development/45851

A few days ago the members of RAINS came face to face with a Norwegian company called BioFuel Africa. In the words of Mr Finn Byberg, Director of Land Acquisition for BioFuel Africa a subsidiary of Bio Fuel Norway (http://www.biofuel.no) at a public engagement session in Kusawgu, a village in the Mid-Volta River Basin in the Northern Region of Ghana, “developing the largest jatropha plantation in the world, in Ghana”.
Kusawgu is the village where this battle to save the land in Northern Ghana from land grabbing began on Saturday 26th January 2008. But the skirmishes began in November 2007 when a team from land RAINS, discovered massive destruction of vegetation cover in a large stretch of land near a village called Alipe, five kilometers from Yapei, within the White Volta River basin about 30 kilometres from Tamale, the capital town of the Northern region of Ghana. The sight of huge agricultural machinery pulling down trees and decimating the area was soul destroying. The land had literally been stripped naked.

Upon enquiry I learnt that the land was being prepared for the first phase of a jatropha plantation. My heart sunk. We suddenly realised that the battlefields were now in our own backyard, not far away in India or Brazil as we have been reading. The land-grabbing dragon and community disempowerment is right here and we are ready for confrontation!

In collaboration with the Central Gonja District Assembly and the Environmental Protection Agency, work was suspended on that site.

BioFuel Africa, was waging a battle based on false promises of a better future for the local population under the guise of jobs opportunities.

An interesting aspect that emerged from the episode was seeing the strategy used by BioFuel Africa for the acquisition of the land. Firstly the imaginations of a few opinion leaders in the community is captured - about prospects that will arise from the project in the form of promises of positions in the company or of financial gain. These people then act as fronts for the necessary “groundwork” in the villages where they spread the word about job opportunities. A document is then prepared, essentially a contract to lease the land to the company. When it does emerge that there is no benefit for the community and things erupt the biofuel company claims they have a legally binding contract with the Chief. (Lesson No. 1: Never sign any document until you have had the opportunity to soberly reflect on its meaning and import, because as the Kusawgu Chief said, “they will use it to tie your hands” literally meaning you be bound by its contents). When the legality of the process is not adequately analyzed, the companies have their way, but when subject to proper legal scrutiny, the legality of such contracts fades which is what happened in this particular battle.

As a first step, we immediately contacted the District Chief Executive to inquire about the above mentioned project. He had no knowledge or information about it nor did the District Assembly. The District Chief Executive confirmed that he had noticed it and was making inquiries as to who was responsible. He promised to visit the site. To gain time, we advised the DCE to explore the possibility of using the planning powers conferred on the District Assembly under the Local Government Act 1993 Act 462 to get the activities suspended. (Note: under this act nobody can undertake any development of land without seeking the prior approval of the District Assembly of the area). Unfortunately the Assembly could not stop them due to the highly politicized nature of the Assembly process.

(Lesson No.2 : We cannot rely wholly on the District Assemblies to support us in this battle because of their vulnerability to political manipulation. After all, a DCE who cannot convince his staff to accept a project of this nature could be readily dismissed from his job!)
Eventually using the Environmental Assessment Regulations 199 LI 1652, we managed to get them to stop the destruction but not before more that 500 hectares of the earth had been stripped of its natural vegetation cover!

(Lesson No.3: Was his real position exaggerated to give the traditional rulers and the communities idea that he could enter any commitment with them and deliver on his commitment!)
Our next was to call on the Traditional ruler of the village to get information about any land grants he may have made to the proponents of the jatropha project. At this stage, the identity of the company doing the Project had not yet been disclosed. They were described simply as some “white men”. (Note that in this community, like in most parts of Ghana, over 80 percent of the land is held under communal ownership and more that seventy percent of this land is managed by traditional ruler-chiefs mainly on behalf the members of the traditional areas.) The chief categorically stated that he had not made such a grant and that he had also been battling with those “white people” to stop them without much success. However, he confirmed “thumb printing” a document which had been brought to his palace by "those white people” in the company of the Assemblyman of the area but he could not confirm its contents. He confessed that his efforts to get them to stop work on the site was proving problematic. Why? (Lesson No. 4: The developers have the tendency to raise the hopes and temporarily win the support of local communities by enticing the villagers with the promise of jobs and income.)

Initially the chief was unwilling to go against the wishes of his people in that respect. (Note also that during this time of the year most of the people in Northern Ghana are unable to farm due to the lack of rain and so, having harvested they are virtually idle. This year the harvest happened to be very small because of the devastating effects of the floods that hit this part of Ghana in the recent rainy season.)

(Lesson No 5: The devastating effects of climate change on the already poor rural communities renders local communities vulnerable to all sorts of situations thus making them easily amenable to all sorts of utopian promises.)
The chief confirmed that his efforts to stop the developers were being interpreted as “driving away opportunities for the people to earn some income during the season”.

(Lesson No.6: The strategy employed by the biofuel companies also appears to be to create conflict in communities by making community leaders appear anti-development which thus sets the people against them.)

We next proceeded to the surrounding villages to obtain first-hand information on the what they have been told about the project and how they felt about it. These interactions revealed the same initial picture that the chief had given - there was so much euphoria about jobs and possible income that they could not countenance any move to stop the project even in the face of the destruction of their environment, their means of livelihood and the basis of their survival. Fortunately there were a number of sceptics who were convinced that ”all that glitters is not gold” and that the manner in which they marshaled unto the land did not portend of anything good. These people naturally became our companions in the battle against the promoters of the project.

(Lesson No. 7: When interacting with communities, at first, do not appear to oppose the project but go through an analysis of it with the people and you soon you will convince them that “all that glitters is actually not all gold”.)

The facts then began to emerge: a big fish in Government was promoting that project and had deployed his business associates in the Region to front for him. This front was immediately employed as the Local Manager of BioFuel Africa. EPA insisted that they must go through the proceses of doing an Environmental Impact Assessment. We organised a public consultative forum in the community where we had a face-to–face confrontation with the Director of BioFuel Africa in the village square in front of the Chief’s palace. The audience and judges were the village communities affected by the proposed project.

When met again a few days later on 28th Jabuary 2008 in the chief's palace to discuss other issues pertaining to the acquisition of land. After the presentation by myself on behalf of RAINS and the discussion which followed, it became clear to all present that BioFuel Africa's promises were really a hoax. With the level of community engagements that we made in the villages, it was obvious to the local communities that the development would cause more danger to the survival of the community than any benefits that could accrue from it. They realized that indeed all that glitters is not really gold! They saw the dangers that such a project impose on their lives individually and on community cohesion in general. But how long will this hold as they sit idle for the rest of the year until the rains come in April? There was the conviction that the promises of jobs and a new improved life could not materialize because Mr Finn Byberg, the Chairman of BioFuel Africa himself confessed, during his presentation that he could not state categorically what commitments the company would make because as he said: “Commitments are not very easy and so when I am required to make these, I need to be very careful. I do not want to be caught for not keeping my word.”. This was hidden in the argument that the company was also still learning. So our land is the guinea pig for their experimentation! In other words his promise of jobs, shared prosperity and improved livelihoods that was the Company’s main benefit to the community were really not commitments for which the community could hold him to. But were mere campaign gimmicks. Most vocal indeed were the women at the session. Looking Mr Finn Byberg in the face a women asked, “Look at all the sheanut trees you have cut down already and considering the fact that the nuts that I collect in a year give me cloth for the year and also a little capital I can invest my petty income in the form of a ram and sometimes in a good year, I can buy a cow. Now you have destroyed the trees and you are promising me something you do not want to commit yourself to. Where then do you want me to go? What do you want me to do?”

The response that followed was to express regret and a promise not to repeat it. This was the tone in which the session ended.

The next Monday we assembled again before the Chief at the request of the Company. Here another battle began - the battle as to whether a contract exists between the chief and the Company around thirty-one hectares of land in four locations in the traditional area. Here too we won the battle because of the circumstances prior to the thumbprint of the document and also the subsequent events which shrouded the documentation process in mystery. The legal battle became fierce, but in the long run the battle was won.

But the questions we are asking ourselves hinge on whether we can win the war ultimately. I am confident that we can because we have the truth as our guide and the interest of the community is our goal. We cannot afford to fail otherwise there will be chaos. But the war is heating. I have started hearing about large tracts of land being acquired in various parts of the Northern Region. This is the most expansive region with the lowest population density and thus ideal for land grabbers! Another obstale is the government policy to have 10% biofuel of the total fuel content in Ghana by 2015 - a rather over ambitious proposition.

We need a more aggressive campaign to halt land grabbing. We need to engage with traditional rulers, District Assemblies and Politicians about this ominous phenomenon. We need visibility through print and electronic media to put our message across effectively to a wider audience. RAINS has a strategy to build on the rapport that it has developed through the OSIWA project with traditional rulers to open up another channel for engagement. We cannot afford to be caught unawares in this war with the dragons, the biofuel companies. The ancestors are on our side and we shall win the war!

Tanzania: Spread of HIV continues in rural areas

2008-02-01

http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/879B044D-47B3-47BC-A0BB-029864954667.asp

Samples taken over the past ten years indicate that HIV prevalence in rural northwest Tanzania increased steadily from 6.0% in 1994/1995 to a little over 8% in 2000/2001, levelling out thereafter. Incidence rose sharply from 0.8% to 1.2% per year over the same periods, remaining at 1.1% per year as of 2000/2003. Most recently, HIV incidence has been declining in Tanzanian roadside rural areas, especially among women, but has continued to rise slightly in more remote rural areas.

Africa: HIV risk growing among sub-Saharan Africa's least educated

2008-02-01

http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/B9D3338C-9CFD-47E7-9A3B-C883AA401AFE.asp

HIV is becoming most prevalent among sub-Saharan Africans at the lowest educational levels, according to a systematic review of published studies. Most data from before1996 indicated that HIV prevalence was either unrelated to education, or higher among more the highly educated. Since 1996, prevalence has been falling among the most educated while rising in the least educated. The review was published in January 30th edition of AIDS.

Southern Africa: Rural Zimbabwe fertile ground for HIV/AIDS

2008-02-01

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=41027

They left the country in search of jobs to better their lives, but village elders in rural Tsholotsho, say young men who left home to fend for their families are losing their lives at alarming rates to HIV/AIDS related ailments. Tsholotsho, about 150 kilometres south-east of Bulawayo, is one of many rural outposts in Matebeleland that have seen thousands of young men making the trek to neighbouring South Africa and Botswana in search of jobs.

South Africa: Government finally introduces AZT for HIV+ mothers

2008-02-01

http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20031867

After years of stalling and much criticism from the HIV/AIDS sector, the Policy Committee of the National Health Council on Friday finally adopted new guidelines for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT). At the heart of the new policy is the addition of second antiretroviral drug, AZT, for pregnant women with HIV and their babies to the current treatment with nevirapine only.

West Africa: Meningitis outbreak

2008-02-01

http://www.afrol.com/articles/27860

A meningitis outbreak that a number of deaths Burkina Faso this month has spread to other countries in the West Africa region, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has confirmed.The World Health Organisation declared meningitis epidemic in the region this year.

Zimbabwe: Getting harder to keep children in school

2008-02-01

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=40948

Alois Mufundisi, a media professional, earns 200 million Zimbabwean dollars, about 50 U.S. dollars on the thriving parallel market. On paper this amount appears huge, but in real terms it is just enough to buy essential foodstuffs for half a month. He is barely able to keep his three children in school. Seven years ago he could manage without any problem. Now he has to do private jobs to supplement his income.

North Africa: Morocco, male love and modernity

2008-02-01

http://tinyurl.com/22guz7

In December 2007, the Moroccan court of justice sentenced six men to jail terms of between two and ten months for the crime of homosexuality. The men had been filmed participating in a mock wedding of two men in the northern town of Ksar el-Kebir. Moroccans saw the video on the internet: someone, and than many people, loaded what appeared to be low-quality mobile-phone videos of the ceremony onto You Tube.

South Africa: Triple seven reaches Western Cape

2008-02-01

http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=southafrica&id=1802

The second anniversary that marks brutal murder of Zoliswa Nkonyane in Khayalitsha, Western Cape Province, met with a launch of ‘Call to Action’ by Western Cape Alliance for the 07-07-07-Campaign. ‘Call to Action’ is aimed at ending hate and gender-based violence. “We chose to launch the ‘Call to Action’ on the second anniversary of the brutal death of Zoliswa because nothing has been done on her case yet. The case is still pending”, attested Marlow Valentine of the Triangle Project, which is spearheading the campaign.

Africa: African bishop spins homosexuality debate in tec diocese

2008-02-01

http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=AfricaAbroad&id=1800

A liberal African bishop, who has wrought havoc in his own diocese and the Province of Central Africa over his liberal views on homosexuality, told delegates to the 192nd annual meeting of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in Greensboro, recently, that the majority of African Anglicans, about 37 million, are not bothered by the debate about sexuality.

South Africa: Homosexuality could be part of school curriculum

2008-02-01

http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=southafrica&id=1801

OUT LGBT Well-being (OUT), which is a gay healthcare rights organisation in Tshwane, is collaborating with the Gauteng Department of Education to include homosexuality issues in the existing Life Orientation (L.O.) subject taught in South African schools.

South Africa: Makwerekwere, Black South Africa's Instant-Mix Kaffirs

Pius Adesanmi

2008-02-01

http://tinyurl.com/yum65b

The letters came within two days of each other. The first was an invitation from Professor Georges Hérault, Director of the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS). Three years after my last visit to South Africa to assess the perception of Francophone African literatures in that country’s Universities, IFAS was again inviting me as visiting scholar. The second was from Chris Dunton, the well-known British Professor of African literatures who is now Chair of the English Department of the National University of Lesotho at Roma.

Global: Protecting the disappearing forests

2008-01-31

http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/174688/280108environmentmeeting.htm

Commonwealth environment ministers will discuss the benefits of ‘carbon financing’ when they meet in February 2008. The ministers will meet next month in Monaco to look at how carbon financing can best be used to protect forests. They will also discuss the political and capacity constraints countries face when developing carbon finance initiatives.

Tanzania: Special rapporteur on toxic waste concludes mission

2008-01-31

http://tinyurl.com/35kpyl

The Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, Okechukwu Ibeanu, made the following statement at the end of his mission to the United Republic of Tanzania from 21-30 January 2008

Ghana: Pollution forcing farmers into illegal mining?

2008-01-31

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40999

Environmental groups have for several years accused mining companies in Ghana of destroying the environment. In a strange twist of events, it now seems that farmers have turned to illegal mining as a result of the devastation of the pollution caused by mining activities. Ghana’s ranking among gold-producing countries by volume improved from 11th in 2005 to 10th in 2006. Production from new mines such as Chirano Gold Mines and Newmont Ghana Bold have offset the effects of the declining output from established mines, according to Jurgen Eijgendaal, president of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.

Southern Africa: Unexpected benefits of water project

2008-01-31

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41005

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) was conceived and built primarily to supplement the water supply of the industrial hub of South Africa. The additional water has however, provided an important benefit beyond the original aims of the project -- it is reducing the salinity of the Vaal Dam reservoir. The reservoir near Vereeniging -- about sixty kilometres south of Johannesburg - is the principal water reservoir for Gauteng Province, the largest industrial and mining centre on the African continent.

Tanzania: Communities reject soda plant

2008-01-31

http://www.afrol.com/articles/27834

Communities close to Tanzania's Lake Natron had publicly opposed to the proposed plans to erect soda ash plant in the area. The plant will threaten the survival of the world's largest population of Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor. A traditional chief from Pinyinyi, a village in the area, who questioned why they would "accept a project that will later destroy us," described it as "taking a fish and throwing it into the bush."

Global: African, Asian crops 'to be hit hard by climate change'

2008-02-01

http://tinyurl.com/ytd64m

Crops in South Asia and Southern Africa are likely to be worst hit by climate change and need greater investment in agriculture development and adaptation strategies, say US scientists. The conclusions, reported today (1 February) in Science, are based on an analysis of climate risks for crops in 12 food-insecure regions.

Madagascar: Cyclone death toll rises to 12

2008-02-01

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=331236

The death toll from a cyclone that hit Madagascar on Sunday has risen to 12 people from two and 5 000 others are in need of aid, a senior relief official said on Friday. "The latest official count is 12 dead, with more than 5 000 victims," Jean Rakotomalala, executive secretary of the Malagasy government's National Office of Disasters, told journalists.

Global: World Bank Independent Evaluation requests input for survey on land

2008-01-28

http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/landreform/

This is an invitation to NGOs to register for a short on-line survey (10 minutes) which the World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) will launch in the next two weeks. The registration process will only take about a minute of your time. The survey is being conducted by IEG to get the feedback from NGOs on the Bank's work on land reform, policy and administration in client countries.

DRC: Journalist jailed for investigating mining sectors

2008-02-01

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_georgian_080122_journalist_jailed_in.htm

An organization defending press freedoms in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the National Union of Professionals of the Press (SNPP), attacked the incarceration of a reporter who has investigated the country's mining industry. Investigative journalist Maurice Kayombo has been behind bars in the Democratic Republic of Congo since January 9 on charges of “blackmail and bringing (the mining) authority into disrepute,” according to Journalists in Danger and the International Federation of Journalists.

Gambia: ECOWAS Court to give judgment in the case of "disappeared' journalist

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/45775

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is expected to give its judgment on the case of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a Gambian journalist at the pro-government Banjul-based Daily Observer newspaper, who has been "disappeared" since July 2006.
ECOWAS Court to give judgment in the case of "disappeared' Gambian journalist on January 31

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is expected to give its judgment on the case of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a Gambian journalist at the pro-government Banjul-based Daily Observer newspaper, who has been "disappeared" since July 2006.

At the last hearing, on November 28, 2007 the court deferred decision to January 31 to allow the panel of three judges ample time to write their judgment. This followed the final submission from Manneh's lawyer, Femi Falana, a Nigerian human rights lawyer and a member of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) Journalists' Legal Defence Network.

In June 2007, the MFWA brought a legal suit at the sub-regional court against the government of President Yahya Jammeh over Manneh's arrest and subsequent disappearance in July 2006.

On November 26, 2007, the court heard testimonies from three witnesses. One of the witnesses told the court that he was present and witnessed the arrest of Chief Manneh by personnel of the notoriously feared National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on July 7, 2006 at the Daily Observer premises.

Another witness said he had since spotted Manneh in a police station in the eastern town of Fatoto, about 500 kilometres from Banjul, the capital.

The Gambian government has consistently refused to appear before the court.

The last time Manneh was seen was on July 26, 2007, at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, the Gambia's largest hospital, in the custody of state security personnel, while he was hospitalized. Issued by the MFWA, Accra on January 30, 2008. The MFWA is a regional independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Accra. It was founded in 1997 to defend and promote the rights and freedom of the media and all forms of expression.

For further information: Please Contact:
MFWA
P.O. Box LG 730,
Legon Accra,
Ghana Tel 233-21 242470
Fax 233 -21 221084
Email: mfwa@africaonline.com.gh

Uganda: Authorities urged to stop harassment of newspaper staff

2008-02-01

http://www.ifjafrique.org/anglais/index.php?page=lire&id=487

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on Ugandan authorities to put an end to the harassment of journalists in the country after five journalists and editors of the privately-owned Daily Monitor newspaper were charged with defamation after they published stories alleging the government’s Inspector General is involved in a salary scam.

Zimbabwe: Private newspapers face collapse - MISA

2008-02-01

http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/misa310108.htm

imbabwe’s private newspaper publishing companies face imminent collapse in the wake of prohibitive production costs which have since been compounded by an acute shortage of locally produced newsprint. Mutare Board and Paper Mills (MBPM) warned of severe shortages of newsprint owing to intermittent power cuts, coal and foreign currency shortages. Executives in the newspaper industry confirmed to MISA-Zimbabwe that the dire situation had forced them to drastically reduce their print runs.

Haiti: U.N. troops accused of human rights violations

2008-02-01

http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/3056.cfm

The United Nations Security Council decided in October 2007 to extend the mandate of the MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) through Oct. 15, 2008. The Brazilian government is responsible for coordinating the MINUSTAH forces that include approximately 9,000 troops. Yet there is very little discussion in Brazil about the country's role in the occupation of Haiti, and especially, about the accusations leveled against the United Nations troops for their participation in human rights violations.

Africa: Paris admits Rwanda failings

2008-02-01

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/54398662-92AE-4324-B832-D86CAE712C3C.htm

France's foreign minister has said that his country was at fault politically in Rwanda, but bore no "military responsibility" for the 1994 genocide, in which 800,000 people were killed. Bernard Kouchner arrived in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, on Saturday on brief trip aimed at improving relations between the two countries.

Somalia: Government orders military to quit residential areas

2008-01-31

http://www.somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/14497

Somalia's interior minister Muse Nor Amin said on Wednesday that the allied Somali-Ethiopian forces have left some of their key bases inside the capital, Mogadishu by a government order facilitate the displaced people to return to their homes in the city. Speaking in a press conference in Baidao, the country's southwest city, Mr. Nor has described the withdrawal by the troops as a road map of bringing people's freedom back and ending the military presence in civilian areas.

Africa: Beyond shadow-boxing and lip servicethe enforcement of arms embargoes in Africa

The enforcement of arms embargoes in Africa

2008-02-01

http://www.eldis.org/go/country-profiles&id=35176&type=Document

There are no international standards and treaties governing the import, export and transfer of arms. Some states and regional bodies, such as the European Union (EU), have policies and legislation regulating the trade in arms. This paper, employing a comparative case study approach, seeks to analyse the monitoring and enforcement of UN arms embargoes in Africa. Case Studies include Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia and Somalia.

Chad: Rebels 'heading for capital'

2008-01-31

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7220455.stm

Rebels in Chad are advancing from the east of the country towards the capital, N'Djamena, after seizing a strategic central town, officials say. Armed forces have gone to intercept a column of 300 rebel vehicles, advancing along the main road to the capital.

Kenya: Ban Ki-Moon to visit strife-torn Kenya

2008-02-01

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25464

Warning that violence in Kenya could spiral out of control, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced plans to visit the country, where more than 800 people have already lost their lives in intensifying ethnic clashes triggered by the aftermath of recent elections. Speaking to reporters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Mr. Ban called on the Kenyan people to “stop the killings and end the violence now, before it is too late.”

Chad: Army battles rebels, EU deployment delayed

2008-02-01

http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnBAN130395.html

Chad's army fought to hold off advancing rebels 100 km (60 miles) from the capital N'Djamena on Friday and the renewed combat delayed the deployment of European peacekeepers to the central African country. Up to 3,700 European Union troops were due to arrive in coming weeks on an urgent peacekeeping mission to eastern Chad, but anti-government rebels pre-empted the deployment with a lightning offensive this week towards the capital in the west.

Somalia: French aid group quits

2008-02-01

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FF7C25AB-3A1E-46FE-ABBE-92007AE57891.htm

Medecins Sans Frontieres, a French aid group, has pulled its international workers out of Somalia after what appeared to be the targeted killings of a number of its staff. The suspension came on Friday, four days after a roadside bomb in Kismayu, south-west of the capital, Mogadishu, killed three employees and two other people.

Nigeria: No shortage of Niger Delta youth ready to join militias

2008-02-01

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76521

Tiophelis spends his days running. He won't say exactly where, but, like hundreds of other boys and men in the creeks of Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region, he is constantly on the move for fear of attacks by the Nigerian military. The soft-spoken boy’s voice cracks over the phone - Tiophelis refuses to meet in person. He is a militant, a member of one of countless groups that claim to be fighting for freedom from poverty, underdevelopment, and political oppression for the people in the Niger Delta region.

Uganda: Government, rebel delegations resume talks in Juba

2008-02-01

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76509

The government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have resumed talks aimed at ending the 22-year conflict in northern Uganda and agreed to extend by a month the cessation of hostilities deal signed in August 2007. The talks, in the Southern Sudanese town of Juba, are being attended by observers from the US, the UN, European Union and several African states.

Uganda: Government ministries go on-line

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/internet/45770

The Uganda government ministries and departments are now connected to each other and teleconferencing between them is possible. According to a statement issued by the information communication technology ministry, the network is being refined and will be officially launched in Kampala soon.
Highway Africa News Agency

The Uganda government ministries and departments are now connected to each other and teleconferencing between them is possible.

According to a statement issued by the information communication technology ministry, the network is being refined and will be officially launched in Kampala soon.

The statement went on to say that the network is part of the national backbone infrastructure project whose construction has so far covered the city of Kampala, towns of Entebbe and Jinja town that is located in Eastern Uganda.

The system works with multiple users and through the network users can hold discussions with other ministries or departments can communicate with each official without leaving the office. Officials can also make Powerpoint presentations on screen and others can give their response to the presentation through the click of a button. On his part the ICT Minister Dr. Ham Mukasa Mulira attributed the success of the project to the government?s structured approach to the implementation of information communication technology in the country.

"ICT implementation has got three phases that include establishment of the infrastructure, use of applications and then the users. As we were infusing ICT?s, we also started on the infrastructure such that as government liberalized the sector many investors were attracted but at the same time it established the national backbone," he said Following the liberalisation of the sector, Uganda's telecommunications industry grew steadily and led to the introduction of wireless networks that include the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), WIFI among others and the ultimate being the Blackberry.

He said the first phase of the infrastructure has been completed with E-government that is going to be established throughout the country.

"In the next phase we are planning to connect health centres where an expert surgeon for example who is in the northern town of Lira can guide an operation in a Kampala hospital using the same system," he said.

Uganda: World Bank report lauds Uganda

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/internet/45771

A World Bank report has applauded Uganda for embracing new technologies in her development process. The report 'Global Economic Prospects 2008: Technology Diffusion in the Developing World' examines the state of technology in developing countries and the pace with which it has advanced since the early 1990s. "The report reveals both encouraging and cautionary trends," the bank said in a statement issued recently.
Highway Africa News Agency

A World Bank report has applauded Uganda for embracing new technologies in her development process. The report 'Global Economic Prospects 2008: Technology Diffusion in the Developing World' examines the state of technology in developing countries and the pace with which it has advanced since the early 1990s.

"The report reveals both encouraging and cautionary trends," the bank said in a statement issued recently.

On the one hand, the pace of technological progress in developing countries has been much faster than in high-income countries - reflecting increased exposure to foreign technology as a result of linkages with high-skilled diasporas and the opening of these countries to international trade and foreign direct investment.

On the other hand, the technology gap remains large, and the domestic factors that determine how quickly technologies spread within developing countries often stymie progress, especially among low-income countries.

The report gives an insight on how Uganda is using ICT4D to enhance sustainable development with some examples such as the country's ability to introduce a smart card that uses existing mobile phone technology to provide low-cost, electronic banking services that include savings and payments for low income customers by Remote Transaction Systems (RTS).

The Report also says that out of the surveyed including Uganda, between 7-47 percent of the unbanked population has access to mobile phones including shared access and this number is rising.

The report also demonstrates that low income and poor health deter skills development for technological progress even if more investment in new technologies are made. The report also applauds the country's success story of deploying ICTs in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Africa: Malawians study Uganda ICT projects

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/internet/45772

A delegation of eleven government officials from Malawi is in Uganda for a study tour on the implementation of information communication technology (ICT). The delegation also includes officials studying energy projects among others. "We are here to learn how the Uganda government is implementing universal access through various information communication technology projects," said the Malawian government manager for the Wide Area Network Patrick Machika who is also the leader of the ICT group.
Highway Africa News Agency

A delegation of eleven government officials from Malawi is in Uganda for a study tour on the implementation of information communication technology (ICT).

The delegation also includes officials studying energy projects among others.

"We are here to learn how the Uganda government is implementing universal access through various information communication technology projects," said the Malawian government manager for the Wide Area Network Patrick Machika who is also the leader of the ICT group.

He said that Malawi is about to start implementing the same programme of achieving universal access. "As at the end of the year 2007, Malawi?s teledensity was 8.12 percent and we want to implement programmes that would see the sector gorw," he said.

"We understand that Uganda has implemented this project through a number of policy reviews, so we are here to share experience, know the problems involved and how to solve them," he told HANA in Kampala.

The ICT Minister of Uganda, Dr. Ham Mukasa Mulira said that when Uganda liberalized the sector in the year 2006, there were 2.2m subscribers who have now grown to 4.7m.

"But the figure is expected to grow to 8.5m within the next twelve months when the two new companies that include Warid Telecoms and Hits Telecoms start operating. Our government is also implementing various projects that are aimed at enabling all Ugandans to have universal access to services," he said.

He said the projects include the national infrastructure data backbone and the electronic government project.

"The first phase of the infrastructure covered Kampala, Entebbe, Jinja but when the whole country is covered this would lower the internet costs," he said.

"In order to bring ICT services to schools we are planning to give out computers to eighty schools and connect health centres," he concluded

South Africa: Social networking trends

Deshanta Naidoo

2008-01-31

http://www.sangonet.org.za/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8717

This year will signal the next phase in social media development in South Africa with more enterprise companies playing in the space as well as the growth in open source development of enterprise 2.0 platforms in the first quarter of 2008. A look at 2007's biggest trends reveals the key areas of development going forward into the New Year. Teenagers are not the only generation bent on enjoying the online media space, and what new technologies have to offer South Africa. Many companies are starting to join the numerous networks that have been promulgating the Internet in a quest to keep up with the growing demands of an informed public.

Kenya: Violence slows down high-speed Internet project

2008-02-01

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/internet/45843

Consumers of Internet services will have to wait much longer for faster and cheaper access that was to come through the National Fibre Optic Backbone. Industry insiders said construction of the terrestrial fibre optic cable that was commissioned last year is running behind schedule as a result of political skirmishes that followed the December 27 presidential election raising the prospect of delayed launch.

Global: Activist social network, Change.org

2008-02-01

http://www.change.org/

The social network, Change.org provides information on particular issues (global warning, poverty, HIV/AIDS), by providing a space for people to form communities and educate themselves on different topics and interests. It also provides links to non-profit organizations, fundraising campaigns and other networks that are useful for activists, academics and practitioners alike.

Global: Activist Toolkit, Africa Action

2008-02-01

http://www.africaaction.org/campaign_new/toolkit.php

The following tools can help you take effective action on Africa Action’s top three priority campaigns in U.S. Africa policy. Please find Action Ideas, Workshop and Presentation Tools, Advocacy and Organizing Tools, and Materials.

Global: Top 10 Social Activist Sites

2008-02-01

http://www.humanity.org/imagine/activism/social/

According to Humanity.org, these are the top 10 Social Activist Sites: The World Revolution, Ashoka, Changemakers, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Earth Fund, Afribike, Grupa hajdeda da…, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), Youth Against Aids (YAA). The website also provides information on websites related to political, environmental, economic and volunteer sites.

Global: Top ten open source tools for e-Activism, Designing for civil society

2008-02-01

http://partnerships.typepad.com/civic/2004/01/top_10_open_sou.html

Dan Bashaw and Mike Gifford have put together a terrific list of Open Source tools that can be used by activists to spread the message and promote interaction by enewsletters, forums, blogs, wikis and epetitions. They wrote an article for Steven Clift's excellent Democracies Online Newswire.

Africa: 2008 young women leadership programme

2008-02-01

http://eassi.wordpress.com/category/women-leadership-and-training-programs/

EASSI is an eleven year old sub-regional support initiative for women that boasts of having a hand in the implementation of Government commitments to women and girls’ advancement. This program targets women from the ages of 18 to 35 from any of the eight countries of the sub-region, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. Every year we target four women. In 2008, we specifically seek women from Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania.

CODESRIA National Working Groups: A Call for Proposals for 2008

2008-01-31

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/45784

One of the most important vehicles by which CODESRIA has sought to mobilise national-level research capacities and to channel these into organised reflections has been the National Working Groups (NWGs) which it has encouraged African researchers to organise autonomously on priority themes of their choice. The Council invites proposals for the constitution of NWGs under the 2008 competition for the research grants that are available.
CODESRIA National Working Groups

A Call for Proposals for 2008

One of the most important vehicles by which CODESRIA has sought to mobilise national-level research capacities and to channel these into organised reflections has been the National Working Groups (NWGs) which it has encouraged African researchers to organise autonomously on priority themes of their choice. NWGs have been supported by the Council in over forty African countries and have resulted in some of the most interesting studies on politics, economy and society in contemporary Africa. Within the framework of the new CODESRIA strategic plan for the period 2007 - 2011, it has been decided to retain this vehicle as an important instrument for promoting research into and publications about different national-level experiences pertinent to the pre-occupations of African scholars active in the Social Sciences and Humanities. For this purpose, the Council invites proposals for the constitution of NWGs under the 2008 competition for the research grants that are available.
An innovation which the Council has decided to pursue within the NWG programme is the encouragement of a more systematic anchorage of the projects which it supports within specific departments, faculties, and research centres of African universities or independent and established research networks and centres, as well as the allocation of resources for the dissemination of the results of the work of the NWG to a cross-section of the local research community in the country in which the study was undertaken. All proposals submitted for consideration for support by CODESRIA within this programme have been required since 2007 to demonstrate this institutional anchorage and budget for an end-of-study dissemination workshop.

There is no fixed amount for the grants that are awarded for the constitution of NWGs, although, for indicative purposes only, applicants may wish to note that in the past, awards of between USD7,500 and USD20,000 have been made by the Council. Also, no particular format is prescribed for the presentation of the budget of an NWG. However, it is recommended that the budget section of the proposals which are submitted should include allocations for:
(i) a methodological workshop to launch the NWG;
(ii) a mid-term review workshop to assess the progress of the work of the NWG;
(iii) a final/dissemination workshop at which the results of the work of the group will be presented to a wider audience;
(iv) the allowance that will be needed for any fieldwork that will be undertaken by the members of the group;
(v) the honoraria of the members of the group; and (vi) books which might be purchased by the group and which will be lodged in the departmental or faculty library of a designated African university, or the library of an established research network or centre. The size of an NWG will vary from country to country but on average, most of the groups sponsored by CODESRIA in the past have had between five and seven members. It is advantageous to ensure that a proposed NWG is multidisciplinary in composition, sensitive to gender issues both in its composition and research concerns, and accommodating of younger scholars who might simultaneously benefit from being mentored through their participation in the research project.

Proposals, which could be on any topic relevant for an understanding of the economy, politics, culture, environment and society in any African country, should:
i) indicate clearly the problematic that will be addressed;
ii) include a review of the relevant literature, including literature produced by the local research community on the subject;
iii) indicate the methodology which would be employed in undertaking the study;
iv) spell out the composition of the working group;
v) define the time frame for inauguration and finalisation of the work that would be undertaken;
vi) specify strategies for anchoring the activities of the working group within a department or faculty of an African university, or an African research network or centre;
vii) indicate a strategy for the dissemination of the results of the work of the group;
viii) include an outline budget for the realisation of the research project; and
ix) indicate the expected final outcome of the project.

Proposals for consideration for possible funding within the framework of the 2008 competition should be sent to CODESRIA by 31 May, 2008 at the latest. All proposals received will undergo an independent review process the outcome of which will be announced by 01July, 2008. All proposals should be addressed to:

CODESRIA National Working Groups Programme,
CODESRIA,
BP 3304, CP 18524
Dakar, Senegal.

Tel: +221-33 825 98 22/23
Fax: +221-33 824 12 89
E-Mail: nwg@codesria.sn
Website: http://www.codesria.org

Global: Book Launch - No Easy Victories

African Liberation & American Activists over Half Century, 1950-2000"

2008-02-01

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/45792

No Easy Victories makes clear that our lives and fortunes around the globe are indeed linked." - Nelson Mandela Hundreds of thousands of Americans mobilized to oppose apartheid in the 1980s. That successful movement built on decades of behind-the-scene s links between African liberation movements and American activists, both black and white.
"NO EASY VICTORIES: African Liberation & American Activists over Half Century, 1950-2000"

Book Launch & Reception at the La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley

"We were part of a worldwide movement that continues today to redress the economic and social injustices that kill body, mind, and spirit.

No Easy Victories makes clear that our lives and fortunes around the globe are indeed linked." - Nelson Mandela Hundreds of thousands of Americans mobilized to oppose apartheid in the 1980s. That successful movement built on decades of behind-the-scene s links between African liberation movements and American activists, both black and white.

No Easy Victories draws on the voices of activists of several generations to explore this largely untold history. Today Africa and the world face global injustices as deadly as apartheid. Understanding this history of solidarity is essential for finding new paths to a future of equal human rights for all.

This event is a special gathering and celebration of Africa solidarity and anti-apartheid movement veterans.

Thursday, February 7 6:00 PM


RSVP requested, call (510) 238 8080 ext. 309 or write to BayAreaNoEasy@Yahoo.Com
Event sponsored by Priority Africa Network (PAN)KPFA Radio, Africa World Press, Africa Focus, U.C Berkeley Center for African Studies, California Newsreel

Priority Africa Network Mailing Address: P O Box 2528 Berkeley CA 94702 Office: AFSC Office/PAN
1730 Franklin St. Ste 212 Oakland CA 94612 Tel: (510) 238 8080 ext. 309 Fax: (510) 238 8088 PriorityAfrica@yahoo.com www.priorityafrica.org

International Conference Academic Freedom and Higher Education Reforms in North Africa - CODESRIA

2008-02-01

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/45790

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Institute for African Studies of the Mohammed V-Souissi University are pleased to announce the organisation of an international conference on Academic Freedom and Higher Education Reforms in North Africa in Rabat, Morocco, from 27-28 March 2008.
CODESRIA

International Conference Academic Freedom and Higher Education Reforms in North Africa

Rabat, 27- 28 March 2008

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Institute for African Studies of the Mohammed V-Souissi University are pleased to announce the organisation of an international conference on Academic Freedom and Higher Education Reforms in North Africa in Rabat, Morocco, from 27-28 March 2008.

This conference, aimed at strengthening one of the main missions of the Council -- the promotion of freedom of thought and of research in African universities, is organised within the framework of the CODESRIA Academic Freedom Programme. The meeting is part of a series of debates started by CODESRIA in 2007 on ongoing reforms in African universities and the impact of these reforms on academic freedom. More concretely, the conference is a follow up on an earlier conference on Academic Freedom in African and Arab Countries: Problems and Challenges, which was jointly organised by the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO Regional Forum for Arab countries, the Arab-African Research Centre, the Swedish Institute in Alexandria, and CODESRIA, and which held in Alexandria, Egypt, from 10-11 September 2005.

In the last three decades, issues of freedom of expression and academic freedom, as well as human rights have been at the centre of social and political struggles in North African countries. This region, which boasts some of the oldest universities (Al Azhar in Egypt, Al Karaouine in Tunisia and Morocco) and some of the oldest political systems in the world, has is testimony of a long and complex relationship between knowledge producers on one hand and wielders of political power on the other. The modernisation of these societies, as well as their integration in the globalisation process, come with a consciousness amongst the younger generation on issues of civil, political and cultural rights, especially universal access to quality scientific teachings, the rights of women to participate on the same level as men in the social and economic development of their country, as well as the right to information at all levels. This consciousness translated into extremely complex struggles and has not left researchers and academics behind, underscoring the strong link between the quest for civic rights and the struggle for academic freedom. The notion of academic freedom enables academics the right to enjoy all forms of freedom of expression within and outside institutions of higher education, as well as the freedom of dissemination of results of academic research.

Particular attention will be paid to the relationships between State, civil society, political players, military and economic powers. To better understand the collaboration and confrontation between State and Intellectuals, the participants are invited to seek to clarify the complex relationships that exist between the State, civil society and intellectuals. The various political contexts experienced by these societies, the period of one-party state and of so-called democratic reforms in particular, and their impact on academic freedom will also be discussed. Is there a difference between the way monarchies and other political systems have impacted on academic freedom? How to understand “direct democracies” in relation to the challenges posed by academic freedom? Equally of interest will be the relationship between religious movements and freedom of expression. To what extent is it true to claim that religion has always been the dominant ideology in North African states, and the main political legitimization and social mobilisation tool? Otherwise, what has been the role of religion in limiting or promoting academic freedom? Have we gone past the “conservative revolution” ofAlgeria in the beginning of the 1990s, which in the name of religious values, demanded not freedom or freedoms, but the power to institutionalise and normalize the right to forbid? At what costs was the Islamist wave that wanted to silence intellectuals as bearers of “sense” as active representatives of another cultural hegemony, opposite to that of Islamists of yesteryears overcome in that country in the beginning of the 1990s? Looking back at the struggle for these freedoms, the conference will undertake a critical assessment of academics in relation to these struggles. Since the Kampala declaration that took place in a context of trampled liberties, and that, among others, dwelled on the social responsibility of researchers and academics, a long way has been travelled. The freedom of expression and of association has become reality in many African countries, including North African countries. However, important challenges still exist. We could ask what has become of these hard earned freedoms? What new challenges face intellectuals in North Africa with the rise of terrorism?

The envisaged debate on academic freedom will not be limited to its political dimension. The conference will be the occasion to revisit the thorny issue of the universalisation of Arab universities against the arabisation and africanisation of curricula. In the last two decades, African universities in general and universities in North Africa in particular have undergone influences and trends that have affected the practices and norms of academic freedom. Globalisation has brought opportunities for academic freedom, particularly in terms of knowledge production, research and teaching possibilities. But it poses a certain number of constraints and of challenges that less developed countries must face. The issue of the impact of western values, often considered as universal, on academic freedom, must have the place it deserves in the debates, as well as the question of the weight or hegemony, of the neo-liberalism in the search for solutions to the problems of higher education.

The objective of the conference is the strengthening of capacity in higher education in Africatowards quality training and research, for the production of knowledge and techniques necessary for the development and well being of African populations. This is only possible with concertation amongst the various actors working in the higher education sector (lecturers, governments, civil society and international partners) and promotion of a frank and open dialogue that will contribute to the transformation of the situation.

It is noteworthy that in the past few years, there is growing interest on the part of national and international decision makers in issues of higher education reform in Africa, stemming from the computer revolution and the global mutation towards an information society where knowledge has taken, nowadays, the place of capital as source of wealth for the present and for the future.

To face the challenge of the acceleration of knowledge production, Morocco has undertaken, since 2002, a series of national initiatives for human development whose first objective is to integrate Moroccans in the new world order. The reform of higher education introduced in 2002-2003, is part of these initiatives. It is based on a national charter of education and training that defines the rights and obligation of the various partners in this endeavour – the lecturers, the students, the State and civil society. At the heart of this reform, there is the issue of human rights as defined by international conventions and declarations signed by Morocco, and that comprise “academic freedom”, “institutional autonomy” and “social responsibility”.

From the Moroccan experience in human rights and in higher education reforms and taking into account experiences of other countries in this regard, CODESRIA and the Institute ofAfrican Studies invite experts and decision makers in higher education as well as Moroccan and other human rights advocates to reflect in a comparative perspective on the following points:

• Concepts of “academic freedom”, “institutional autonomy” and of “social responsibility” in the frameworks of reforms in higher education in Africa; • History and the present state of African higher education in general, in North Africa and in Morocco in particular • Contexts – national, regional and global – of higher education reform in North Africa, the implications on the democratisation process and to what extent the present reform has consolidated academic freedom, developed capacity in knowledge production and contributed to the promotion of social progress in North Africa • Strategies for the strengthening of academic freedom and social responsibility in North African contexts • Development of private universities and the privatisation of certain services in institutions of higher education and their impact on academic freedom • Impact of the universalisation of higher education reform in North African countries on academic freedom • Social actors in the struggle for academic freedom • Autonomy of university and the State The abstracts of contributions must reach the email of the CODESRIA Secretariat on 10 February 2008, latest. The abstracts must not exceed one page (font: Times New Roman, font size: 12, single space) and must contain the title, the contacts, affiliation and biography of the applicant. The results of the selection committee will be made public on 25 February 2008, latest. The final contributions selected must be sent by email to the secretariat in a time frame of two weeks. The languages used during the conference are French, English and Arabic. The participation expenses of selected participants and identified contributors will be paid for by CODESRIA.

All applications must be sent to the address below:

CODESRIA Conference on Academic Freedom in North Africa
CODESRIA
Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop x Canal IV
P.O. Box 3304 Dakar,
Senegal
Tel.: +221 33 825 98 22/23
Fax: +221 33 824 12 89
Email: academic.freedom@codesria.sn
Web: http//www.codesria.org

Johannesburg: Creating an environment for sustainable development, oikos International, 27 Feb, 2008

oikos Johannesburg organizes African Development Partnership

2008-02-01

http://www.oikos-international.org/standards/newsdetails/news/date/2007/dezember/14/article/oikos-johannesburg-organizes-inaugural-african-development-partnership.html

On 27 February 2008, oikos Johannesburg organizes the Inaugural African Develoment Partnership (ADP), titled "Creating an Environment for Sustainable Development", in which the task will be finding a role for young leaders in sustainability-orientated action. The ADP is an African youth initiative that aims at strengthening the development of human capacity for leadership by bridging the gap between today's leaders and the change agents of tomorrow. The ADP's goal is to create an environment for engagement between the two generations and to establish a framework to influence behaviour and actions towards sustainability orientated practice and policies.

South Africa: Global launch of the International Apartheid Week

2008-02-01

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/45791

The Palestine Solidarity Committee is proud to participate in the fourth consecutive International Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), the key event being a public rally with Azmi Bishara on the 3rd of February at the Careers Centre in Soweto. The rally will be broadcast to the other participants of the global Israeli Apartheid Week in the US, Canada, UK, Palestine amongst other countries and will serve as the international launch pad for their respective IAW campaigns.
Global Launch of the International Apartheid Week

The Palestine Solidarity Committee is proud to participate in the fourth consecutive International Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), the key event being a public rally with Azmi Bishara on the 3rd of February at the Careers Centre in Soweto. The rally will be broadcast to the other participants of the global Israeli Apartheid Week in the US, Canada, UK, Palestine amongst other countries and will serve as the international launch pad for their respective IAW campaigns.

Azmi Bishara, is an acclaimed international speaker, prolific writer, activist, academic and former member of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament). His resignation from Parliament came last year in April amidst allegations of espionage and treason, allegations that he dismisses as completely ridiculous. Other speakers at this public rally will include spokespersons from the South African Council of Churches, trade unionists, the Social Movements Indaba, the Wits PSC, Muslim Judicial Council and others.

The aim of the Israeli Apartheid Week is an international initiative to push forward the analysis of Israel as an apartheid state and to bolster support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions of Israel campaign. The South African leg will culminate with this public rally in Soweto on Sunday. Attached find the poster advertising the event; if any further details are needed do not hesitate to contact us.

Transport to and from the event, for Wits students, will be available from the AMIC Deck Bus Stop, on Yale Road, East Campus at 12h30 on Sunday.

Main Speaker: Azmi Bishara
Day: Sunday, 3rd February 2008
Time: 14h00 Venue: Careers Centre, Old Potch Road, Diepkloof, Soweto
Info: info@psc.za.org / witspsc@gmail.com / 084 574 2674 /
084 211 9988 / www.apartheidweek.org / www.psc.za.org

Geneva: Research Fellow, UNRISD

Closing date: 1 Feb 2008

2008-01-29

http://www.unrisd.org/vacancies

As part of a new UNRISD Fellowship Programme for Researchers from Developing Countries, UNRISD invites applications from African social science scholars, based at an African research institution. The visiting fellows would spend 9 to 12 months working at UNRISD in Geneva. Successful applicants should be engaged in innovative research in the field of Social Policy in Africa. At UNRISD they will continue research in this area, prepare a paper for publication under the UNRISD Programme Paper series and develop ideas for future research.

Fahamu