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Kenya's Draft Constitution: Progress, but room for improvement

Preliminary analysis and assessment

Yash Ghai

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60706

cc UmjanedoanCommenting on the Harmonised Draft Constitution produced by Kenya's Committee of Experts (CoE), Yash Ghai lauds a document envisaging a more open society and considerably enhanced socio-economic conditions for Kenya's people. With little time remaining to consider and scrutinise the draft however, Kenyans must take the opportunity to comment on and shape the document before it returns to the country's parliamentarians, Ghai emphasises.

Will the Harmonised Draft Constitution by the Committee of Experts (CoE) become merely another milestone in our never-ending constitutional journey or herald its end? Whether it leads to a new constitution depends fundamentally on what the people do with it. They now have less than three weeks to study and comment on it. It will then go to parliamentarians who may amend it before it becomes back to the people in a referendum. At that stage they will have a limited choice: they can approve or reject it. Now however, they can influence its contents, for the Constitution Review Act enjoins the National Assembly and other organs of review to 'ensure that the outcome of the review process faithfully reflects the wishes of the people of Kenya'. The purpose of this article is to enable Kenyans to evaluate the Draft Constitution and encourage them to submit their views to the Committee so that the draft which the National Assembly receives 'faithfully reflects' their wishes. Even those who agree with the approach and substance of the draft have an obligation to tell the committee of their approval.

The draft has all the key components to usher in a new political and social order based on democracy, rights and justice. It will remove the main defects of the present constitution which prompted the journey for constitutional reform. It also fully implements the objectives of reform set out in the Review Act, which are similar to the 2000 act. The main defects of the current constitution, as told to the CKRC (Constitution of Kenya Review Commission) by the people, are: (a) too much power concentrated in the hands of one person; (b) too much power and decision-making concentrated in Nairobi; (c) inadequate accountability (of the president, members of parliament, officials generally and the police); (d) inadequate prevention and control of corruption; (e) absence of guarantees of equal and fair use and distribution of national resources; (f) inadequate recognition of Kenya’s diversity; (g) inadequate recognition of the rights and concerns of vulnerable groups, including certain marginalised ethnic groups and persons with disabilities; (i) discrimination against women; and (j) generally, inadequate protection of human rights, and the total absence of those directed at meeting the basic needs of the people, the majority of whom are mired in poverty.

The rigging of the 2007 elections and the post-election violence not only bore out these criticisms but also highlighted the political culture that the constitution has nourished: the greed for power; disregard of the law; exclusionary politics and practices; the ready resort to violence; the politicisation of ethnicity; the undermining of independent institutions; and the total loss of confidence in state institutions, particularly the judiciary. Like a discredited and bankrupt company, we had to call in administrators from outside to keep even a semblance of a state – our ultimate national humiliation. It was generally agreed that just as a bankrupt company needs to be re-organised, our state needed to be restructured, with the help of a new constitution. The question I explore is whether the draft provides us with a framework for resolving conflicts and the suffering that have afflicted us for all of our post-independence history, for the growth of a culture of public responsibility and integrity, and the promotion of a sense of social solidarity that transcends tribes and defines us as a nation.

VALUES AND VISION

The draft, consistent with the objectives of the Review Act, incorporates critical ethical and national policies and provides an appealing vision of Kenya and its people. It aims to establish a state which is committed to the public good, seeking responsible and honest leadership, and setting high standards of integrity for politicians and public servants. The state exists for the 'well being and benefit' of the people. It sets as the objective of the exercise of state power to serve, not to rule, the people. It defines the relationship of the people to the state through the concept of an equal and active citizenship, not subjects but masters of the state. It empowers the people, encourages them to exercise their political rights sensibly and take responsibility for the democratisation of society, through active participation in the affairs of the state and by demanding accountability from officials. Power is not the monopoly of any group or region; it belongs to all the people and must be exercised in locations and through institutions and procedures that are both accessible and meaningful to them. The draft commits the state to the recognition of the role of civil society in governance in ensuring the accountability of government. It promises an open society, where debates on public issues are encouraged and power is exercised in transparent ways.

The draft demonstrates an admirable concern with human dignity and the rights of individuals and communities. It is particularly concerned about the inclusion and welfare of the disadvantaged and victims of prejudice and discrimination: women; the disabled; minorities and marginalised communities. It seeks to provide for all a life of dignity, and the ability to meet basic needs and to be protected from the humiliations, deprivations and vulnerabilities of poverty. It recognises the special needs of specific communities, moulding the Bill of Rights to a society with differing values and lifestyles, respecting identities that give them a sense of their own worth. It reminds us of our obligation to future generations through the careful husbanding of our resources and the protection of the environment. The Bill of Rights is without doubt the most comprehensive and humanistic of any constitution anywhere, with a careful specification of the permissible limits on rights, effective machinery of access, remedies, and enforcement, and links to the international and regional mechanisms of the protection of human rights.

The draft is animated by the mission of unifying us as a nation and strengthening our unity. The first of the national values is the 'promotion of national unity and the commitment of all citizens to the spirit of nationhood and patriotism'. While fully recognising our diversities of religion, language and traditions, it constantly balances them with national solidarity and our common concerns and hopes as a people. This balance is manifest in political structures and distribution of power and resources, as well as in the concept of citizenship, which are a great improvement on the current rules. National unity is also to be promoted through the 'elimination of disparities in development between the various parts of Kenya and sectors of society' as well as equal opportunities of access to state services and economy. Given the current fragmentation of our society into hostile camps due to the ethnic politics and incitements of the politicians, and the bitter memories of communal massacres and other injustices that many Kenyans live with, national reconciliation and solidarity must be, and is in the draft, the highest mandate and goal of the state and society.

TRANSLATING THE VISION INTO REALITY: STATE STRUCTURES AND POLITICAL AUTHORITY

The draft provides values and a vision suited to the predicament facing us. But the question is whether these values will materialise even if the draft becomes law. Some of these values are perhaps non-justifiable, that is to say, not enforceable in the courts. Others may falter because of the lack of will or courage of judges and other institutions charged with their implementation. Unless there is a serious commitment to the values on the part of those who gain control of the state, these values will elude us. It is therefore necessary to study the logic and dynamics of the structure and institutions of the state, to examine what pressures and compulsions they are likely to generate on office-holders to uphold values and implement policies such as in the draft. It is well-known that unless state institutions are 'human rights friendly', few liberties will be protected, however grand the Bill of Rights. So we have to turn to the design of the state and the allocation of powers in the draft.

INDEPENDENT INSTITUTIONS

It is not possible to analyse all the institutions provided in the draft, but it is evident from the draft that serious consideration has been given to the institutions and the distribution of power. Tasks which are politically sensitive (like elections or the auditing of state accounts), or require special skills (like the environment and land), or need impartiality (like the appointment of judges or the enforcement of codes of conduct or integrity) are entrusted to independent commissions. Our experience of the electoral commission and the judicial service commissions are not encouraging, but the commissions under the draft are designed to be more independent than under the current constitution. And if they operate under a more 'separation of powers' system, they may be better able to assert their autonomy.

IMPORTANCE OF LEGALITY

A fundamental weakness of our constitutional system ever since independence has been the absence of the rule of law. Under successive attorney-generals and chief justices, a culture of impunity or coercion (depending on which in the particular instance served the interests of the president or other favoured people) has flourished. The continuance of this culture would be the greatest threat to the implementation of the values of the draft, negating the status of the constitution as the supreme law of the land. The Draft addresses this problem head-on, even to the extent of requiring that all judges should either step aside or be subject to a vetting process and the retirement of the chief justice and the attorney-general. It provides a more independent machinery for the appointment of judges, and vests the prosecutorial powers in an independent official. Access to courts and to defence is secured through a new, independent institution, the office of public defender. The police will come under a measure of civilian control but not to the extent of being told what to do in particular cases. This framework offers the prospect of respect for legality, strengthened by the renewal of key legal and judicial offices.

DEVOLUTION

However, the critical institutions are those of government, the executive and the legislature. It is here that the draft is most radical. First the draft proposes a fundamental restructuring of the state. The highly centralised state is to be broken into vertical layers of authority, through the establishment of regions (replacing provinces) and counties (replacing districts).

This form of devolution is intended to achieve various political, social and economic goals: by enhancing the quality and practice of democracy by bringing power closer to the people and increasing arenas of participation and policy-making; by enabling greater responsiveness to local needs and opportunities; by establishing new centres of economic growth and breaking the stranglehold of Nairobi; by achieving the recognition of cultural diversity; and by promoting the more equal and equitable development of regions and counties. Devolution provides not only new centres of authority and policy-making, but also involves institutions for coordination, cooperation and equalisation across the country. Devolution can also ease the intensity of national politics, by dismantling one centre of power for which all (essentially tribes) compete in a winner takes all game, and establishing more centres where political battles can be won and lost. Where a region is composed predominantly of one ethnic group, local autonomy will be less likely to solidify it than to create or multiply political factions within it, which is good both for democracy in the region and for prospects of cross-regional cooperation (as India’s regionalism illustrates).

This is the rosy picture of devolution. But there is also a dark picture, one being strongly argued by the supporters of a centralised state: the creation of new minorities vulnerable to the ethnic tyranny of the local majority, even displacement; the ethnicisation of politics; the weakening of the national identity; confusion in the division of powers and responsibilities, resources and revenue; the waste of money expended on new governments and institutions; powers abused or unutilised because of lack of capacity; an increase in corruption with even fewer safeguards and less scrutiny than at the national level.

Both scenarios are plausible. Devolution is a set of powers and institutions; what values and policies are deployed through them depends less on the law than those who administer (or mis-administer) the law. The establishment of devolution or federalism is generally difficult, and takes time and patience for it to take root and give harvest. Local people can just as easily be disenfranchised as franchised. It is therefore critical to proceed with caution. Perhaps it is not the time to entrench a detailed system, which to some extent the draft does. A set of principles and layers of authority need to be guaranteed now, with some specification of powers and resources, but the full system must grow out of experience and expert advice. Certainly, the provisions on devolution need the most careful examination, and considerable revision.

REPRESENTATION

Bomas gave prominence to the representation of the people, with a separate chapter of that name, and the new draft basically retains that. But Bomas did not tackle the problem of the electoral system, which is defective. We have single-member constituencies with the 'first past the post' system, which generally produce legislatures that are not proportionate to the voting support of the parties overall. In Kenya there is a great disproportion also between the size of constituencies, which increases the distortion in the overall result. It is not unknown in countries like the United Kingdom for a party to win an election, because it obtains the largest number of seats, even though more people voted for another party. In 1997 about 37 per cent of the national vote gained the Labour Party about 54 per cent of the parliamentary seats. The smallest constituency (in population size) in the UK has 22,000 registered voters and the largest 110,000. The discrepancies in Kenya, however, are much greater. And, with a parliamentary system of government being proposed, the electoral system has become a source of anxiety for communities that feel themselves seriously under-represented. If Kenyan moved to a rigidly 'equal population' system it would either have to have a ridiculously large parliament or the sparsely populated constituencies, with poor communications, would have to be enormous.

Many countries in the world (about 36 per cent of the countries) use proportional representation (PR) systems and another 30 per cent used mixed systems involving both directly elected and proportional seats. The CKRC proposed a mixed system: the Mixed Member Proportional system, used in Germany and New Zealand among others. The Kriegler Commission raised some objections to this, about which there is no space to elaborate. But Bomas rejected this: many people did not understand it, few took the trouble to understand it and many confused it with the discredited 'nominated MP' system now used for 12 members of the National Assembly.

Although many have suggested some sort of PR, the CoE chose not to make any changes. Perhaps changing to some PR system would also take some of the heat out of the parliamentary/presidential debate. A full consideration of the voting system must also take into account its effect on the structure and functioning of political parties, integrative or fragmenting effects, and the impact on the formation and operation of the government. Neither Bomas nor, as far as one can tell, the Committee of Experts paid much attention to these important matters.

Unfortunately, like the current constitution, the draft makes it impossible to move to any other system without a constitutional amendment. Would it not be possible to have principles about constituencies applicable if relevant only, leaving it to parliament to introduce a new system without requiring the complex procedure of constitutional amendment? Or would it not be even better to try to devise a rational system now – since a parliament elected by one system is unlikely to want to change it?

LEGISLATURE

A number of provisions seek to enhance parliament’s capacity for law-making, powers of accountability, greater scrutiny over state finances, the promotion of public engagement in its functions, providing a role in the appointment of senior state officials, and greater control over the executive due to its power to remove it by a vote of no confidence. Some of these reforms, flagged in the Bomas Draft, are already law and have led to the more active role of parliamentarians. The adoption of the parliamentary (cabinet) system of government will greatly enhance the powers and prestige of the legislature.

EXECUTIVE

Politically, the most radical and also the most controversial proposal is the shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system. It is also an area where the debate is singularly ill-informed by principles or knowledge of comparative experience. It is essentially driven by the ambitions and greed of politicians, regardless of political or social consequences. The arguments for a parliamentary system that impressed the CKRC were the abuses of powers by the two presidents who had ruled Kenya by then: illegal accumulation of land and other resources of unimaginable proportions; the impoverishment of the many displaced persons; torture and illegal detention of opponents; the abolition of the freedoms of expression and association; the attrition or removal of independent institutions –all these were the cause as well as the result, in a vicious circle, of the extreme personalisation of power, the complete negation of legality. The strange hybrid system in which the president, with all executive power was also an MP, along with the cabinet, seemed to lack the underlying principles of the separation of powers or good governance. Moreover, presidential powers, exercised arbitrarily, seemed to give one ethnic community a special hold over the power and resources of the state, notwithstanding that only his cronies benefited. These policies highlighted the centrality of the state as a resource, and high prize that comes with its capture. These practices, facilitated by presidential powers without accountability, have powerfully and negatively shaped Kenyan politics and become a major obstacle to reform, particularly from those who feel that with the support of their ethnic community and affiliated groups, they can retain or capture state power.

The supporters of parliamentary government argue that it is a more collective form of executive, and can be a form of power sharing, thus reducing tensions that come from ethnic competition over the presidency. The collective nature of the executive through the cabinet means that reducing the debate to whether the president or prime minister should have primary power is to obscure the fundamental differences between the two systems. Supporters argue that the cabinet system encourages the growth of disciplined political parties and facilitates the continuous accountability of the executive to the legislature because of the possibility of a no-confidence vote. It enables a government that has become unpopular or inefficient to be removed even if in mid-term (not possible in a presidential system) and thus permits a government with greater legitimacy. Most countries of the world which are stable, prosperous and democratic, with the exception of the US, are parliamentary – certainly the two most democratic (and relatively well-off) states in Africa are parliamentary, South Africa and Mauritius.

As with devolution, there are two sides to the debate about the executive. Parliamentary systems can be prone to instability (as well as unruly coalitions) as well as prime ministerial domination. There are constitutional devices which can introduce stability in a parliamentary system as well as temper the dominance of the prime minister, but these are not reflected in the draft. Fortunately the draft does not promote what appear, to this author at least, to be the extreme difficulties of hybrid systems, as our own 'Grand Coalition' has shown.

CONCLUSION

The draft is a great achievement with many merits. It aims for a caring society, and people of diverse backgrounds bound together in love of the country and concern for all. It would establish an open society and strengthen participatory democracy. It would empower and energise the people. It would result in considerable improvement in the social and economic conditions of Kenyans. But in my view, there is room, within the broad framework of the draft, for improvements in substance and drafting. The CoE should pay attention to these deficiencies, not numerous nor fundamental, but a legitimate cause of criticism.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Yash Ghai is a professor of constitutional law. He is the head of the Constitution Advisory Support Unit of the United Nations Development Programme in Nepal and a special representative of the UN secretary general in Cambodia on human rights.
* Convened by Richard Bosire, an interview with Yash Ghai is available here.
* This article was originally published by The Star, Kenya.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Angola's presidential promiscuity has corrupted society

Rafael Marques de Morais

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60707

cc JF SebastianHaving sought clarification from Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos over his involvement in business activities contravening state regulations, Rafael Marques de Morais discusses the broad culture of corruption and questionable practices normalised within the country's government. Considering why the president's dubious actions enjoy the total support of members of the government, Marques de Morais concludes that the answer lies in mutual benefit: 'they do as the president wishes so that they too may act with impunity'.

In August, I sent a letter to the president of the Angolan republic, in which I drew attention to the fact that the attorney general of the republic was breaking the law by serving as the managing director of various private firms, something that is incompatible with the office that he holds.[1]

Several people have asked me about the lack of a response from the head of state and government regarding these complaints. My response has been that one cannot and should not expect any positive reaction from the president of the republic concerning corruption and respect for the law. I argued that José Eduardo dos Santos embodied the same promiscuity that he himself had condemned as the worst evil of his government.[2] I also stated that disrespect for the law was common practice for His Excellency.

In response to these questions, I present a brief investigation into the practices of the Eduardo dos Santos Foundation (FESA) as a case study of the president’s behaviour in relation to the institutions of state, current law and corruption. While serving as president of the republic, José Eduardo dos Santos also serves as chairman of his foundation, a private entity whose structures include members of the government, members of parliament, multinational corporations and private businesses. Research reveals several articles of legislation which have been ignored by FESA since it was founded in 1996, and which outlaw the use of public powers to personal ends, conflict of interests, influence-peddling and other corrupt practices.

Why has society seemed powerless in the face of the innumerable abuses of power by the president of the republic? This article tries to locate Dos Santos’s actions in the context of the collective mentality that is paralysing society: generalised corruption. The article questions the president’s political and moral legitimacy in continuing to rule the country after 30 years in power, while disrespecting the laws approved by his own government and allowing corruption to become institutionalised.

THE REIGN OF DOS SANTOS

According to Article 65 of the Angolan constitution, 'the President of the Republic is not responsible for acts carried out in the exercise of his duties, except for cases of bribery or treason to the Fatherland'. (Some lawyers argue that Angolan legislation does not define the crime of bribery and that the provision on treason does not apply to the president. Nevertheless, as a signatory to the SADC (Southern African Development Community) Protocol against Corruption,[3] Angola makes up for this omission since the state has incorporated the protocol into its domestic law.[4] ) Thus, with a constitutionally enshrined freedom from responsibility, the president can do as wishes. His slightest whim is law. Lawyers from the ruling MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola – Partido do Trabalho) party go to extremes to interpret the president’s violations of the law as acts of sovereignty and as demonstrations of the political wisdom of their leader.

The 30-year reign of José Eduardo dos Santos has been successful in two respects. First, in the accumulation of wealth beyond measure, in shadowy ways and with impunity, by the presidential family, the closed inner circle of government, generals of the Angolan armed forces, high officers of the Angolan National Police, the MPLA elite and foreigners partners. Second, in the absolute control of political, economic and social power through a web of corruption that is complemented by strategies of repression.

In a recent talk on Radio Ecclesia I drew attention to a number of concrete cases of corruption in the highest echelons of the state. I referred to the ongoing violation of the law by members of the government and by those who control public resources. I quoted in particular the flouting of the Law on Crimes Committed by Public Office Bearers[5] and the Disciplinary Regulations for Public Management[6], which both clearly prohibit officials from using their positions or engaging in state business for personal benefit, beyond the proper remuneration for their work.

Several citizens have spoken to me about this subject. Yet it seems that society in general is still not yet prepared to deal with the truth. People feel offended, and can even become hostile, when someone exposes the truth to public view. This is one of the effects of generalised corruption, not of fear of repression. Even though the looting of public wealth has been laid bare, a large part of society prefers to survive by hiding behind the illusion that everyday corruption is an act of benevolence by those in power.

'They [the power holders] plunder, but also allow others to plunder their share.' This seems to be the justification among the more enlightened sections of society.

The fear that is so often evoked as an explanation for the impotence of society is simply the fear of losing the property or benefits that are to be gained through dealings based on institutional, party-political or family connections. This is the condition of citizens who are aware of reality and capable of effecting change. This is a middle class riding on the back of opportunism.

THE PRESIDENT’S LAW

The president of the republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, is the chairman of FESA, a private organisation which the Council of Ministers, chaired by President dos Santos, ratified as a public utility institution.[7] From an ethical and legal point of view, this act in itself reveals a conflict of interest and influence-peddling, in that the president, acting through a collegiate institution of government, approved his private foundation as a public utility.

According to the Regulations for Associations and Other Public Utility Institutions,[8] public utility status is bestowed upon 'philanthropic or humanitarian associations, or aid and educational institutions founded by private individuals, of which the beneficiaries are the inhabitants of a particular place, and which are not administered by the State'.[9]

According to FESA itself, the foundation was created in 1996, 'with His Excellency President José Eduardo dos Santos as its founder'.[10] Bestowing upon FESA the status of public utility thus violates the regulation referred to above, which was approved by the president of the republic as head of the Council of Ministers, and which is supposed to apply only to institutions created by private individuals. The president of the republic is not a private entity.

As the chairman of FESA, the organisation’s highest authority, the president of the republic plays an active role, with the power to chair meetings of the trustees’ committee, to appoint the members of the same committee, to convene meetings, to appoint and dismiss the president and vice-presidents of the foundation and to 'determine the disposal of the foundation’s assets', among other tasks.[11]

From an ethical and legal point of view, the incumbent president of the republic may not exercise any private function. Although constitutional law is not specific on the matter, this conclusion can be reached through extensive interpretation, according to the constitutional expert Mihaela Webba. If parliamentarians and judges may not fulfil private functions other than teaching, then the president of the republic as the bearer of the highest state office certainly may not.

Moreover, in Angola the president is an executive entity, since he is head of government and as such should, at the very least, respect the judicial regime applied to members of the government, namely the Law on Crimes Committed by Public Office Bearers. Even if this law does not apply to the president of the republic, by association and by interpretation José Eduardo dos Santos ought to comply with this law as a member of the government.[12] This law prohibits the use of public office for personal gain, and combining private and public roles. Good sense should have persuaded José Eduardo dos Santos not to establish the foundation while in office as president of the republic.

The very nature of the foundation conflicts with the statesmanlike behaviour that is expected of the president, and damages the supposed separation of public power from private interests. FESA, in point 1.2 of article 3 of its constitution, provides for delivering special consultancy services 'with a view to technical assistance to public and private institutions (…)'. In point 1.3 of the same article, FESA intrudes into the realm of national politics by declaring itself ready to 'contribute to the formulation of national policy conducive to the sustainable development of the country'.[13]

Article 4 of FESA’s statutes states that the foundation must 'promote the creation of private business enterprises in which the foundation becomes a shareholder.'[14] This is something which has happened with great success. FESA’s participation in commercial business, with no line drawn between the state and the private sphere, makes the president of the republic the representative of the commercial interests of a private association in which local meets international capital.

As proof of his absolute power, José Eduardo dos Santos has brought part of the government and other bodies of state, such as the National Assembly, into the management of FESA, in disregard of the law. The sustenance of such a decision corrupts the workings of the public administration. This is demonstrated by looking at the management structures of FESA and of its sporting offshoot, the Santos Football Club.

FESA[15]





Santos Football Club[16]




Manuel Vicente, the chairman of the board of the Angolan state oil company, Sonangol, is breaking the Disciplinary Code for Public Management by serving as vice-chairman of FESA, a private function, even though he was mandated to do so by the president of the republic. On the other hand, Sonangol, a state company, is a member of the FESA general assembly, one of the main donors to the foundation and a partner in FESA’s investment arm, Suninvest, in the Empreendimentos Miramar project in Luanda.[17] This is a modern high-rise complex currently under construction next to the Alto das Cruzes cemetery, and which includes a five-star Hotel Intercontinental[18], the biggest casino in the country and three apartment towers, with the most expensive flats currently on the market. Sonangol holds 43 per cent of the shares and Suninvest 40 per cent, while the foreign business that is building the project, the Nankwing Rainbow Company, holds the remaining 17 per cent.[19] This raises the question of who is paying the millions of dollars needed for the construction of the project? Where is Suninvest getting its funds from? Or is Sonangol covering all the costs and offering shares to Suninvest? This information is not in the public domain.

Although the National Assembly has removed the explicit definition of acts of corruption from the Law on Economic Crimes, and its succeeding laws, Angola remains a signatory to the SADC Protocol Against Corruption,[20] the United Nations Convention Against Corruption,[21] and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption.[22] The legal mechanisms and definitions set out in these documents apply to Angola.

More seriously, there is a simple explanation for the total support that the president’s actions enjoy among members of the government, MPLA parliamentarians, and the leaders of the armed forces and the police: they do as the president wishes so that they too may act with impunity.

Let us take the example of the head of Sonangol, Manuel Vicente, whose personal businesses, such as Sadissa, engage in multi-million dollar deals with the state, but who has never been punished for such illegal acts.[23]

The same can be said of Manuel Rabelais. The minister of information is the managing director of various companies, some of which provide services to the state media outlets. Apart from giving away Channel 2 of TPA (Angolan Public Television) to the president’s children, Manuel Rabelais insists on breaking the law by keeping Tchizé dos Santos, the president’s daughter, as one of the interim directors of TPA.[24] Tchizé dos Santos is the managing director of Semba Comunicação, which is responsible for producing the content of TPA’s Channel 2. The law known as the Statute of the Public Manager prohibits the simultaneous holding of public and private office in the way that Tchizé dos Santos does. She has the double role of public servant and the main private supplier to TPA. What possibility does this leave for an oversight role by the state?

As members of FESA structures, ministers Manuel Rabelais, Francisca Espírito Santo and Mankenda Ambroise, vice-ministers Pinda Simão and Victória de Barros Neto, as well as the ambassador to UNESCO, Sita José, and the Africa and Middle East Director in the Foreign Ministry Nelson Cosme, are committing the crime of abuse of power, according to the Law on Crimes Committed by Public Office Bearers (Lei dos Crimes Cometidos por Titulares de Cargos de Responsabilidade).

The Members of Parliament Domingos Peterson and Teresa Cohen are violating Line H of Article 16 of the Deputies’ Statute (Estatuto dos Deputados), by serving on FESA’s Curators’ Committee.[25] Two of the longest-standing members of the MPLA’s political bureau – the parliamentarians Afonso Domingos Pedro Van-Dúnem 'Mbinda' and Magalhães Paiva 'Nvunda' – are also involved in the Santos Football Club.

The president in turn abuses the human resources that are put at his disposal for the fulfilment of his state duties and for his personal security by deploying them in the management of the Santos Football Club. This is the case with Manuel Paulo da Cunha and Generals Leopoldino Nascimento and José João Mawa.

Moreover, according to the Santos Football Club website, the club’s main objectives include commercial success through 'finding the best and easiest route to acquire resources through the international known model of the "business-club"'.[26] Since José Eduardo dos Santos continues his role in FESA, and the Santos Football Clube is a FESA project, it is fair to say that the president is directly involved in private business.

INFLUENCE-PEDDLING

Furthermore, FESA represents the most blatant example of influence-peddling ever seen in the country. The FESA general assembly includes representatives of the oil multinationals British Petroleum (BP), ExxonMobil, Total and of the Block 2 associates (Braspetro, Sonangol Chevron, and the Angolan private companies Somoil, Poliedro and Kotoil), as well as the diamond giant De Beers. The construction firms that have benefited the most from state contracts – the Brazilian Odebrecht and the Portuguese Soares da Costa, Teixeira Duarte and MotaEngil – enjoy presidential favour as members of the FESA general assembly and its main donors. The firm that is almost exclusively responsible for the overseeing of the main state construction projects, Dar, offered FESA office space while the foundation was being set up. Dar is a member of the FESA general assembly, while its proprietor, the Lebanese Ramzi Klimk, is also the chairman of the foundation’s fiscal committee. Klimk is also a shareholder in FESA’s investment arm, Suninvest, and of the German multinational Siemens, in Siemens Angola.[27] The main state-owned companies, Sonangol, TAAG (Angola Airlines), the diamond company Endiama and Angola Telecom also have seats in the FESA general assembly.

According to Article 21, point 1, line B of the FESA statutes, one of the requirements for a seat in the general assembly is the donation of at least a minimum sum 'determined by the Council of Curators'. However, there is no public information as to what this minimum sum is.[28]

In terms of current legislation,[29] the monetary and material contributions by these companies to FESA can be defined as acts of corruption since they involve direct or indirect gifts to the highest state official, the president, who as head of the Council of Ministers has the power to decide on the awarding of all relevant state contracts. Until recently, FESA’s President Ismael Diogo, who works with members of the general assembly on a daily basis, was also a public office holder with the position of Angolan consul general in Rio de Janeiro.

CONCLUSIONS

Over 30 years in power, José Eduardo dos Santos has never earned a democratic mandate as president. Appointed president of the republic by the MPLA in 1979, he did not win an outright majority in Angola’s first and only presidential election in 1992, and the required second round of that election never took place. His current behaviour deprives him of any political or moral legitimacy to continue in office. As Manuel Jorge points out, 'there is no legitimate power without respect for the law'.[30]

Since bribery is defined as an act of corruption, citizens ought to organise themselves to explore all the legal, civic and political means to insist on an independent audit of FESA’s activities, since there are plenty of indications that criminal action could be taken against the president of the republic, José Eduardo dos Santos.

Society urgently needs a debate on how to restore the legitimacy, honour and authority of the office of the president of the republic. The ongoing disrespect for the law is, in itself, a form of tyranny and the corruption of political power and of state institutions.

To take a stand against the political irresponsibility, impunity and corruption that are robbing Angolans of the prospect of a better collective future is an act that is in keeping with the constitution and with aspirations for a more moral society. Angola needs a leader who can restore morality to society and to government for the benefit of future generations.

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* Rafael Marques de Morais is an Angolan journalist and human rights activist. He was awarded the Civil Courage Prize from the Northcote Parkinson Fund in 2006, and runs Maka – Anti-Corruption Watchdog.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

NOTES
[1] See the author’s letter about the attorney general’s business activities, addressed to the president of the republic on 13 August 2009. A copy is available at http://makaangola.com/wp-content/uploads/Letter-to-the-President-of-Angola.pdf
[2] Dos Santos, José Eduardo (2008) 'Devemos corrigir todas as práticas negativas que afectam a imagem do Governo', address at the opening of the 11th Extraordinary Meeting of the MPLA Central Committee.
[3] Assembleia Nacional, Resolução n.° 38/05 de 8 de Agosto, Protocolo contra a Corrupção da SADC.
[4] According to the SADC Protocol Against Corruption, 'Corruption … includes bribery or any other behaviour in relation to persons entrusted with responsibilities in the public and private sectors which violates their duties as public officials, private employees, independent agents or other relationships of that kind and aimed at obtaining undue advantage of any kind for themselves or others.'
[5] Assembleia do Povo (1990) Lei n.° 21/90 de 22 de Dezembro.
[6] Comissão Permanente da Assembleia do Povo (1989) Lei n.° 10/89 de 30 de Dezembro. www.makaangola.com
[7] Conselho de Ministros, Resolução n.°14/96 de 20 de Dezembro.
[8] Conselho de Ministros (2001) Decreto n.° 5/01 de 23 de Fevereiro.
[9] Ibid., Artigo 2°, n.° 3.
[10] See http://www.fesa.og.ao/fundacao/estatuto.htm
[11] See section II of the FESA Statures on the foundation’s organs, particularly article 8, which defines the role of chairman, and article 9 which sets out the competencies of the chairman in six lines.
[12] The Supreme Court controversially ruled on 21 December 1999 that 'the President of the Republic is in a certain manner a member of the government since he presides over the formation of the government, having the power of decision in the Council of the Republic.' The Angolan lawyer António Paulo disagrees with this interpretation by the Supreme Court, and argues that from a constitutional point of view, the leadership of the government falls on the prime minister. Nevertheless, the president shelters behind this ruling as a way of legitimising his absolute control over the government’s decisions. He must therefore be held to account as a member of the government.
[13] See Fundação Eduardo dos Santos (2009) Alteração do Pacto Social da FESA, Diário da República, III Série, n.° 77, de 27 de Abril, p 3607.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Table based on information available on the FESA website. http://www.fesa.og.ao/fundacao/orgaos.htm
[16] Ibid. http://www.fesa.og.ao/projectos/sfc.htm
[17] See Miramar Empreendimentos, Limitada (2007) Constituição da sociedade Miramar Empreendimentos, Limitada, Diário da República, III Série, n.° 70, de 11 de Junho, pp.2169-71.
[18] See InterContinental Luanda at http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/new- hotels/luanda
[19] Ibid. p.2170
[20] Assembleia Nacional, Resolução n.° 38/05 de 8 de Agosto, Protocolo contra a Corrupção da SADC.
[21] Assembleia Nacional, Resolução n.° 20/06 de 23 de Junho, Convenção das Nações Unidas contra a Corrupção.
[22] Assembleia Nacional, Resolução n.° 27/06 de 14 de Agosto, Convenção da União Africana sobre a Prevenção e o Combate à Corrupção.
[23] Marques de Morais, Rafael (2009) Legal Doubts over Thales’ Angola Deal, text available at http://makaangola.com/?p=44&lang=en-us
[24] Gabinete do Ministro da Comunicação Social (2009) Despacho n.° 38/09, 28 May.
[25] According to this point of law, one may not 'use the position of member of parliament to benefit private interests, whether one’s own or of a third party, in any way'.
[26] See FESA (2009) Programas e Projectos, Santos Futebol Clube de Angola: Objectivos do Clube. http://www.fesa.og.ao/projectos/sfc.htm
[27] Vide Siemens, S.A, Diário da República, III Série, n.° 94, de 4 de Agosto de 2006, pp. 2629-33.
[28] A public disclosure by a former member of FESA’s general assembly, the then Norwegian oil company Norsk Hydro (currently StatoilHydro) revealed that it contributed with an annual sum of US$100,000 to the president’s foundation. See http://www.hydro.com/upload/33521/Final%20Libya%20Investigation%20Report%202008-10-06.pdf
[29] As an illustration, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption defines corruption, in Article 4, point 1, line B as 'the offering or granting, directly or indirectly, to a public official or any other person, of any goods of monetary value, or other benefit, such as a gift, favour, promise or advantage for himself or herself or for another person or entity, in exchange for any act or omission in the performance of his or her public functions'.
[30] Jorge, Manuel (2001) Poder e Autoridade: A Legitimidade em Questão, text sent to the Fórum sobre as Múltiplas Consequências da Guerra, 14-15 March, Luanda.

Socialists, the environment and ecosocialism

Why socialists need to safeguard nature

Trevor Ngwane

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60741

cc S O KThe causes of world’s ecological crisis can be traced to capitalism, Trevor Ngwane writes in this week’s Pambazuka News, but socialism still needs to give greater weight to environmental considerations – not least because it is the working class which is most vulnerable to the negative impacts of the crisis.

There is an ecological crisis in the world and this crisis can be traced to capitalism. There is deforestation due to the trade in timber. There is climate change due to unsafe production methods.

The working class is the class that suffers the most from the ecological crisis. Working class people are in the majority and their life conditions make them more vulnerable. Workers live in flimsy houses and shacks that are easily washed or swept away by strong rains and winds. When workers are sick or injured there is always not enough medical help for them.

Over the years not enough attention has been paid to this problem by socialists. What is worse is that some people who call themselves socialists have added to the ecological crisis. For example, the Soviet Union was responsible for one of the biggest nuclear accidents in human history in Chernobyl. The Chinese Communist Party continues to supervise the destruction of nature through its single-minded and ruthless adoption of capitalist production methods.

The distortions of Marxism and socialism, whereby the values and standards of capitalism are adopted and pursued by ‘socialist states’, needs challenging if we are to fight against the destruction of the environment by capitalism. In the 20th century it was Stalin with his theory of ‘socialism in one country’ and the resultant imperative to compete with and match the west in productive and destructive capacity. He succeeded somewhat but in the process exploited and enslaved the very working class in whose name he ruled. In the 21st century we have to disagree with Hugo Chavez’s ‘petro-socialism’ because the production of more oil might yield more petro-dollars but it means more carbon emissions.



Human beings are part of nature and socialism is humanistic. In today’s world this means there can be no genuine socialism unless it has an ecological component. To emphasise this some people have come up with the term ‘ecosocialism’. Other comrades have resisted this on the grounds that socialism is inherently ecological. Fine. I think that if calling it ecosocialism will focus our minds on the issue at hand then it is fine for socialists to embrace this new concept or use it when necessary. Remember the debate about ‘democratic socialism’? It was about the need to emphasise the democratic nature of socialism in the light of its distortions by ‘Marxist’ dictators.

The failure of socialists to take a serious interest in ecological issues has two dangers. The first one is that after the earth has been destroyed there won’t be a world where we can build socialism. The second danger is that ‘market environmentalism’ will take over, thus sidelining socialists and ultimately leading to the destruction of nature, including human beings.

‘Market environmentalism’ is the attempt to solve the ecological crisis without questioning the profit system – capitalism. The end result is that ordinary people think something is being done, when in fact the problem gets worse. For example, the 1992 Kyoto Protocol deal adopted carbon trading as a mechanism for reducing carbon emissions. But since that day, carbon emissions have increased and not decreased in the world. Another example is that of recycling. Many people do this but most of it does not help to reduce the problem because the same companies that pollute are often involved in the cycle of recycling.

The ecological crisis is an opportunity for socialists to reach wider layers of people because the environment affects everyone. Also, the ecological crisis can only be solved if the profit motive is severely restricted or eliminated altogether. Capitalism is incapable of solving the ecological crisis because it is the main culprit. Socialists can point this out in concrete ways and make concrete demands that are transitional in nature; drawing in more and more people and forcing the capitalists to either capitulate or show their true colours. Already some capitalists are sponsoring a denialist message and getting exposed in the process.

The obstacles to socialists embracing the ecological struggle are the following:

- The historical distortions of (what is) socialism
- No tradition of taking up environmental issues or ignorance about these traditions e.g. the less known revolutionary anti-nuke movement
- Viewing environmental issues as ‘liberal’ or ‘reformist’ or ‘soft’ e.g. the much ridiculed ‘save the whales’ campaign, the disparaging if humorous reference to ‘tree huggers’
- Allowing the adherents of liberal ideology to define and appropriate environmental issues and struggles e.g. Greenpeace, ‘we are the experts’, ‘it is our issue’, a kind of division of labour in the struggle
• Ignorance by socialists of the seriousness, gravity and nature of the ecological crisis. For example: As a socialist do you know what exactly caused the Tsunami?

THE SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST VISION

Workers produce all the wealth. With their hands they make the things we need in order to live. They do this together. Collective production is the foundation of modern existence. Imagine if workers not only produced but also organised and controlled production, that is, instead of the bosses controlling and owning the wealth, it was workers cooperating with each other in order to produce the things that they need. Imagine how this would allow the basic needs of everyone to be met. Life would be much better and happier. There would be no reason for anyone to oppress or dominate anyone because people, together, would control their lives and make sure that, through their direct control, no one is allowed to dominate, control, oppress or exploit anyone else. When that happens then people would become the best that they can be – and not the worst that capitalism makes them to be (competitive, aggressive and basically sub-human).

Socialism, by getting rid of the bosses’ system and private property, by reuniting producers to the means of production, lays the real possibility of society advancing to communism, the happy society without classes. In the 21st century, into this vision we must inject eco-awareness, what Joel Kovel calls ‘ecocentrism’, that is, respect for the world’s ecology. We need to take active steps to address the global ecological crisis by, at a conceptual level, stopping to regard ecosystems as mere commodities to be exploited for profit. Nature is not the ‘environment out there’ but rather, as Jacklyn Cock has cogently argued in her book, The war against ourselves: Nature, power and justice, human beings are part of nature. Kovel argues that we need ’ecocentric’ production processes rather than capitalism’s profit-driven production. Kovel calls for a struggle to replace the capitalist mode of production with ecosocialism. He defines this new mode of production in this way:

Ecosocialism [is] that society in which production is carried out by freely associated labour and with consciously ecocentric means and ends.

SOME IDEAS ON THE WAY FORWARD

To avoid losing the reader’s attention and to be as clear and short as possible I have organised this section in point form:

- Socialists need to explore carefully the notion of ecosocialism. In this respect we must engage with Joel Kovel’s writing on the subject, among others. We are fortunate in that he will be giving talks in South Africa very soon. Those who can must attend his talks, and if possible record them so that they can be shared with a wider audience of socialists. I think it is important to call on all socialist groups to include the ecological crisis and the ecosocialism in theory discussions and in study groups. Social movement and trade union education and discussion should be asked to do the same. Left intellectuals with access to students and the thinking public should expound these ideas and engage the masses. Ordinary people need to put their stamp on our vision of a future ecosocialist society.

- We (socialists and other progressives) need to encourage the social movements, trade unions, youth and other mass organisations that we work with to take up environmental struggles. We need to identify issues and campaigns that can help the working class learn more about the ecological crisis. This will involve taking up new issues or identifying an ecological component in present struggles.

Some examples of such issues and possible struggles are the following:

- The fight against ESKOM building more coal power stations to make electricity
- The promotion of the development and use of renewable energy as opposed to fossil fuels
- The struggle against dumping that is harmful to the environment and the people e.g. fighting for proper garbage collection and cleaning of open spaces in townships and informal settlements
- The fight against pollution e.g. Iscor on the Vaal, Engen in south Durban, the burning of industrial tyres on the East Rand, etc.
- The fight against capitalist marketing that promotes destructive mass consumption
- The fight against the use of the private car and the struggle for adequate and affordable public transport

- The left must develop a set of demands that can unify the struggle around the ecological crisis
- We need to popularise our perspective and demands through slogans e.g. Keep the oil in the soil! Keep the coal in the hole! Keep the tarsands on the land!
- The left must link up with environmental groups e.g. the newly-formed Environmental Justice Now! South African chapter.
- We need to demystify and simplify environmentalism and ecocentrism in order to couch it in workers’ language and align it to workers’ concerns
- We need to include ecological issues and demands in left platforms e.g. the Socialist Green Coalition election platform in the last elections and the call by the Conference for a Democratic Left
- We need to produce a generic/seminal pamphlet on the environment and the socialist approach to the ecological crisis. Such a pamphlet should explain eco-socialism in a practical way, which links it with current struggles in the country and the world.

CONCLUSION

This very brief paper set out to explain the basic argument why socialists should take up environmental issues and why there is a need to systematise this into a vision of ecosocialism. It is short, in order to be read and understood quickly. There are many aspects which have been left out, for example, an assessment of the idea of the ‘commons’ and how this can be construed to be an advance on the ‘human rights discourse’. Another important discussion left out is the current global economic crisis, which the great Immanuel Wallerstein, recently touring South Africa, suggested announced the death knell of capitalism. In writing this I tried to avoid preaching to the converted; my imagined target audience is ‘a fresh mind’, say, a young person still learning the ABC of the struggle, or an older comrade who has been too busy struggling on the ground to give much thought to these issues. To such comrades I say: The time has come to take up the struggle to save the earth and to safeguard nature from capitalist destruction and its structured ignorance. Animals and plants are part of nature. Human beings are also part of nature, they too inhabit the earth. We need a vision of a world where humans, animals, plants, forests, rivers, mountains, valleys and all other aspects of nature live harmoniously together. We cannot turn the clock back to the idyllic and uncomplicated stage of primitive communism. But we can embrace the idea of ecosocialism and struggle to realise it practically in order to advance to communism – the classless society.

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* This paper presented to the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation conference
The Global Crisis and Africa: Struggles for Alternatives in Randburg, South Africa on 19 November 2009.
* Trevor Ngwane is an organiser for the Anti-Privatisation Forum and the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Zambia: Riches to rags

Khadija Sharife

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60754

cc WikimediaOnce perceived as an icon of progress in Africa thanks to wealth from its copper mines, today over 75 per cent of Zambia's population lives below the poverty line. In this week’s Pambazuka News Khadija Sharife recounts the country’s ‘riches to rags’ story – a story that is being repeated in former resource colonies across the continent, which although ‘politically liberated’ have ‘remained economically chained’.

It’s the Cinderella story told in reverse; a tale of riches to rags. Once upon a time, following decolonisation, Zambia was perceived as Africa’s progress icon. Classified as late as 1979, as a middle-income country by the World Bank, GDP per capita was on par with Portugal, chased the heels of Spain and Turkey, and left African economic powerhouses like Egypt in the wake of its dust. The dust was coppery, the backbone of Zambia’s monolithically derived wealth, primarily mined from the region known as the Copperbelt, composed of major mining towns including Ndola, Kitwe, Chingola, Mufulira and Luanshya, and further north, the Congo’s Katangan deposit – Zambia’s genetic twin.

The ever-fertile copperbelt yielded an average of 700 000 tons per annum, declining in the early 1970s following the oil crisis of 1973 and the slump in global copper prices in 1975. Wages decreased as food prices increased by 650 per cent, coinciding with the ‘Volcker Shock’ – when the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates to shift the economic crisis to developing regions. Consequently, in an attempt to ensure adequate salaries, subsidies, pension schemes and state services, the Zambian state accepted extended loan facilities from multilateral and bilateral donors on the advice of the World Bank and IMF.

Within a few years, external debt skyrocketed from US$814 million to US$3,2 billion in the 1970s, doubling to US$6.9 billion in the 1980s, draining 83 per cent of every dollar earned through exports. In May 1987, faced with a nation at the edge of itself, Zambia’s lifetime leader Kenneth Kaunda declared that just 10 per cent of export earnings should be diverted to debt servicing. He initiated NERP, the New Economic Recovery Programme, aiming to diversify the economy, reduce dependence on dollar-purchased imports and ensure growth through redistribution. GDP grew at 6.7 per cent, with agriculture and manufacturing growing by 21 per cent and 15 per cent. But Zambia’s strengthening economy appeared to halt the flow of development finance from South to North, threatening to catalyse a dangerous trend. By July 1989, the Paris club (country donors) demanded immediate repayment of debt, if World Bank and IMF reforms were not implemented, and debt servicing resumed.

In that same month, Zambia kneeled, re-engaging the Bank. By this time, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) led by trade unionist Frederick Chiluba succeeded in removing Kaunda, after 27 years of lone-ranger rule. By this time, copper production had dropped to an all time low of 250 000 tons.



Chiluba’s 1991 manifesto committed itself to the ‘adjustment’ policies of the bank, specifically privatisation. From 1994-97, 244 of 275 copper mines were sold at artificially depreciated prices by the Zambia Privatisation Agency (ZPA); five Wall Street bankers with salaries financed by the United States Agency for International Development micromanaged the process. The World Bank labelled the privatisation process as the most successful in Sub-Saharan Africa, crediting the foreign private sector controlled ZPA with limited government intervention as the key

But the crown jewel, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, was privatised under the direct watch of the World Bank and IMF, with the aid of bankers Rothschilds and Son, and London law firm Clifford Chance, following Zambia’s qualification for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in 1996. Initially, the ‘Kafue’ Consortium – composed of the Commonwealth Development Corporation (formerly titled the Colonial Corporation), Noranda (Canada), Phelps Dodge (USA) and AngloVaal Mining Ltd (SA), representing mining multinationals – offered US$131 million in addition to a welcome investment package of US$1.1 billion.

Chiluba refused, stating that ZCCM ‘should not be sold for a song.’ He shifted the responsibility of privatisation from the ZPA – mandated to handle the transaction – to Francis Kaunda, the executive director of ZCCM from 1973-1991. Under Kaunda’s watch, Anglo-American, operating in Zambia since 1928, emerged the winner, exercising its pre-emptive rights by purchasing 65 per cent of the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) via Zambia Copper Investments (ZCI) at a cash price of US$90 million, with promised investment of just US$300 million.

According to Peter Sinkamba of the NGO Citizens for a Better Environment, Anglo used their position on the board of ZCCM to sabotage negotiations with the Kafue Consortium. One example was the separation of the Mufulira smelter from the Nkana mine package, rendering the bid incomplete and unattractive to potential buyers. PriceWaterHouseCoopers criticised Anglo’s position and preferential treatment; mining corporations such as Chambishi Metals descried Anglo’s tax exemptions, extending to safety, labour, health and environmental protection; they demanded similar treatment such as lower corporate tax rates, matching Anglo’s 25 per cent.

Anglo’s package included a bundle of mines such as Nkana and Nchanga, producing over 50 per cent of Zambia’s copper, and ZCCM’s glory – the Konkola mine. Previously, Paris Club donors refused to release US$530 million balance of payments until the sale of Nkana and Nchanga mines.

Two years after acquiring KCM for ‘a song’, Anglo sold the mine. ‘The coming of Anglo to Konkola Deep was like a sinking man clasping at a serpent…not that Anglo is a serpent,’ said Anderson Mazoka, former Anglo’s head in Zambia.

Martin Potts, an analyst with London-based brokers Williams de Broe stated, ‘Given Anglo's past history in Zambia, it's questionable whether they took the interest out of economic motivations, or if it was simply history and ego.’

Anglo’s move, as Abel Mkandawire then-chairman of Zambia’s Chamber of Commerce would later state, ‘was as good as closing Zambia.’

In October 2004, UK-based corporation Vedanta Resources acquired 51 per cent of shares in ‘the world’s largest mine’ for US$48 million cash. In the three-month period that followed, the company registered profits of US$26 million from the Konkola Copper Mines, Zambia’s largest employer following the state. A call option secretly negotiated in 2004 also allowed the company to exercise the right to purchase ZCI’s 28.4 per cent shares, effectively granting Vedanta a 79.4 per cent monopoly. The stock, purchased for US$213 million, was described by the director of South African-based investment company Southern Charter Wealth Management Bruce Barclay as, ‘Control of KCM has fallen into the hands of foreign investors and thereby ensures the current loss of millions if not billions of US dollars in value to Zambia, her citizens and ZCI Ltd shareholders.’

The Zambian government aided in the process, by removing the Competition Commission to enable Vedanta to become the majority shareholder. The sale, stated Southern Charter, amounted to ‘robbing Zambia of control of its most prized copper deposits for at least thirty years to come.’

But the roots of Zambia’s diseased political economy, indebted to 30 per cent of GDP, dependent on similar figures for strategic rents (foreign aid), is rooted in its failure to diversify the country’s political economy following ‘flag independence’ Instead the state continued along economic colonialism, rendering the country an export-oriented ‘rentier’ state dependent on multinationals for externally supplied income from liquidated finite resources.

Zambia itself was colonised in the late 1980s by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), a multinational formed by Cecil Rhodes, the corporate-magnate who proceeded to ‘conquer’ much of Southern African through royal charters granted by the British ‘Crown’. By 1920, major concessions had been secured by Rhode’s agents like Frank Lochner, the namesake of the Lochner Concessions. The latter provided Rhodes with all mineral rights in North-Western Rhodesia. BSAC’s desire to control Zambia’s copper-cobalt belt was so ardent that the company refused to hand over mineral rights on independence in 1964, ceding only when the Zambia government threatened to expel the company.

Come privatisation, and two critical pieces of legislation – the 1995 Investment Act, and the Mines and Minerals Act – were created to ensure that resource revenues, derived chiefly from taxes such as royalties (mineral taxes) and corporate taxes, were significantly eroded. More than a decade after privatisation, Zambian MPs, relevant ministries and even tax administrations and unions have yet to get a glimpse of the secretive development agreements, splitting ZCCM into seven units.

According to an official in the Department of Mining, ‘The private sector wanted concessions…so in the Mining Act you find provisions for these concessions.’

The legislation deliberately manufactured vacuums that shifted articulation to individual development agreements, such as reducing royalties to 0.6 per cent as opposed to the 3 per cent established. Provisions granted to multinationals included stability periods extending for up to 20 years, rendering multinationals exempt from legislation implemented by parliament and other national and legal alterations; the right to carry over losses throughout the stability periods; 100 per cent foreign currency retention, remittance and provision for capital investment deductions; zero withholding tax; and various other fiscal and para-fiscal exemptions ranging from customs duty to environmental pollution and penalties; pension schemes, and contracting of casual workers – accounting for 45 per cent of the workforce, amongst others.

Stated former finance Minister Edith Nawakwi, ‘We were told by advisers, who included the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank that…for the next 20 years, Zambian copper would not make a profit. [Conversely, if we privatised] we would be able to access debt relief, and this was a huge carrot in front of us – like waving medicine in front of a dying woman. We had no option [but to go ahead].’

Paris Club donors refused US$530 million in funds until such time as major mines were in the hands of ‘foreign investors.’ This remains in keeping with the World Bank’s Strategy for African Mining, ‘The overall drive of the Bank and donors should be directed at reducing country “risk” for the investors. Investors require competitive terms and conditions, and iron clad assurances that the rules of the game will not changes…’.

One decade later, and Zambia was locked out of the commodity boom that evidenced multinationals cashing in on copper, when price averages broke the commodity ceiling, increasing from US$2800 per tonne (2004), to US$9000 per tonne (2008). Zambia’s revenue actually decreased, by 50 per cent from 1.4 per cent (2003) to 0.7 per cent (2004), despite copper exports doubling (2005-2006), totaling US$2.78 billion.

Yet mining corporations remitted just US$1.5 million in royalties (2005), with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation admitting that the cumulative value of exemptions resulted in corporations effectively paying a tax rate of zero. Thanks to the World Bank-led privatisation, and IMF-imposed ‘tax competition’ policy, forcing developing countries to compete in lowering tax rates, Zambia soon became the seventh lowest tax region in the world. This is in spite of the fact that resource-exploitation remains location-specific.

‘Popular incentives such as tax holidays, serve only to detract value from those investments that would likely be made in any case’, revealed global consulting firm McKinsey (2004).

Vedanta’s KCM for example owed the government just US$6.1 million in royalties, from revenues of US$1 billion (2006-2007), yet according to the estimates in KCM’s own records, 50 per cent of the company’s tax contribution to the government is drawn from employee contribution via PAYE or ‘pay as you earn’.

Of course, Zambians subsidise multinationals in more ways than one, such as by accessing water through pre-paid meters, while corporations remit several thousand per annum only for water licenses. An average of 13-28 cubic metres per second is used by copper mines. Other resources such as timber, fertile land and rivers are part of cheapened concessions. In addition, multinationals are not bound by environmental regulations such as recommended levels of sulphur dioxide emissions. In Zambia, corporations are largely self-regulated, emitting 25 times acceptable levels. Companies adhere to an Environmental Management Plan, which takes precedence over national law, with no penalties for violation save for letters of warning and on the spot fines of £17 (2006). The World Bank’s Copperbelt Environmental Project described the Environmental Council of Zambia as, ‘very weak….existing regulations are seldom enforced…’.

‘The regulatory dispositions for the mining sector are currently so weak that they do not deter polluters…Identification and monitoring of environmental risks resulting from mining activities is often inadequate.’

Ecologically, though cultivated fertile land accounts for just 6 per cent of a total 48 per cent land mass, it contributes 20 per cent to GDP, employing 60-80 per cent of Zambians in the formal and informal sector. But the government has yet to factor in economic valuation of ecosystem services. Even Zambia’s national treasure, the Kafue National Park – the second largest in the world, hosting one of the planet’s greatest wildlife reserves, is jeopardised via the pollution emitted in the Kafue River, flowing through the Park adjacent to the Copperbelt. In 2006, KCM leeched massive quantities of acidic and toxic affluent into the river, caused by what the ECZ described as ‘gross negligence.’ Kafue is a major tributary to the Zambezi and one of Zambia’s main arteries.

It is a negligence that extends to the socio-economic policies of multinationals and the Zambian state. The Mines Safety Department is purely a reactive institution, chiefly inspecting mines after accidents, while the Mines Safety and Explosive Regulations Act had yet to be implemented, due to a lack of skilled personnel one decade after being drawn up. Prior to privatisation, the ZCCM sustained not only the nation through exports accounting for 80 per cent of earnings, but the Copperbelt province via subsidised housing, food, education, hospitals and clinics, pension schemes courtesy of Zambia’s ‘cradle to grave’ policy

These days, casual workers remain at the mercy of multinationals, unable to access pension schemes, while both permanent and casual workers are exposed to lethal and unsafe working conditions, in addition to a minimum wage that has yet to increase on par with ‘basic needs’, such as food, housing, water and sanitation.

These days, over 75 per cent of Zambia's population lives below the poverty line, with life expectancy pegged at 35 years – equivalent to that of a British person living in the 1840s. The country is ranked 163 of 179 nations by the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). But though Zambia provides the most brutal and clearest articulation of Africa's 'resource curse' – nakedly characterised by dependence on resource rents, enclave industries built on selective democracy between multinationals and states, and distorted tax bases, the leitmotif of deindustrialisation and demodernisation, is not particular to Zambia but Africa itself. This 'slipping backwards' represents nothing more than former resource colonies that were politically liberated, but remained economically chained.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Khadija Sharife is a journalist and a visiting scholar at the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) based in South Africa.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Equatorial Guinea: Resource cursed

Tutu Alicante and Lisa Misol

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60748

cc WikimediaEquatorial Guinea is perhaps the world's most striking example of why oil hurts, rather than helps, many of the countries that have it. In this week’s Pambazuka News, Tutu Alicante and Lisa Misol ask whether the US’s Obama administration will stop the country's President Obiang from sucking its people dry.

Imagine a tiny country flush with oil money, where the wealth per person is on par with that of Spain or Italy. Now picture a place quite the opposite, where nearly two-thirds of the population lives in extreme poverty and infant and child mortality rates are on par with those of the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Impossible as it sounds, these two sentences describe the same place: Equatorial Guinea, a West African country home to roughly a half-million people. Earlier this month, the country's president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, marked the 30th anniversary of the coup that brought him to power.

Few Americans have heard of Equatorial Guinea, but some US corporations – including ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Hess Corporation, and Noble Energy – know all about it. US companies dominate the country's oil business, and most of Equatorial Guinea's exports end up in the United States.

Equatorial Guinea is a textbook case of the resource curse: The country's leaders have squandered its oil wealth while its people have languished. The GDP of this once-poor country has shot up more than 125-fold since the mid-1990s, when oil was first discovered there, elevating its wealth per capita to the highest level of any country in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, the proportion of government spending dedicated to health and education in Equatorial Guinea falls well below the regional average. Rather than benefiting the people, vast sums of the country's oil revenues have gone to bankroll personal purchases for President Obiang, including two mansions in suburban Washington. Obiang's eldest son allegedly spent more on houses and cars in the United States and South Africa between 2004 and 2006 than the government did on the entire education sector in 2005. Corruption is endemic. And as if mismanagement were not enough, Obiang's government has overseen a litany of human rights violations, including forced evictions and rampant police torture.

Despite this record, Equatorial Guinea's relations with the United States have warmed in recent years. In 2006, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed Obiang to Washington as a 'good friend' of the United States, and Washington sent a resident ambassador to the capital, Malabo, after a dozen years of covering the country from the US Embassy in nearby Cameroon. It's not that the United States has been unaware of the profligacy of Equatorial Guinea's leader. Obiang's Washington homes were cataloged in a 2004 Senate investigation of Riggs Bank (now part of PNC Bank). Nor should Europeans be in the dark: Legal complaints filed in Spain and France allege that members and friends of the Obiang family misappropriated oil funds to purchase properties and sports cars in Europe.

Instead, it was oil that endeared Equatorial Guinea to the United States during the Bush administration. And it's a friendship that the Obama administration would do well to rethink – not least because the United States has the chance to address the resource curse in a country where US leverage could make a real difference.

Now is the ideal time to change tack. The Obama administration nominated a new ambassador in July, and Equatorial Guinea's presidential election is due in late 2009 or early 2010 (no date has yet been set). The US government should insist that Obiang's government stop harassing and jailing the beleaguered opposition and end the myriad other policies that stand in the way of a free and fair vote. Releasing political prisoners and opening up a genuine political dialogue would be a good start.

But what about the oil curse? With the United States a customer and major source of investment, the US government should stress transparency in its dealings with Equatorial Guinea. One good sign is that the Obiang government has signed on to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, an international project meant to promote greater openness about government oil and mining revenues. But the Obama administration should look for concrete results, including genuine civil society participation in the revenue-watching process. There might be an opportunity to encourage Equatorial Guinea to use its oil proceeds to benefit its people through the long-delayed Social Development Fund, financed by a portion of the oil money and administered through the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Now that the fund has approved financing for some development projects, it's essential that USAID ensure active civic participation in selecting and carrying out these projects, as well as robust monitoring and public reporting on the use of the monies.

There are changes to be made on this side of the Atlantic as well. The Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act, introduced in both the US House and Senate in 2008, is likely to be reintroduced in Congress this year. If enacted, the law would require oil, gas, and mining companies that are publicly listed in the United States, including those hailing from other countries, to reveal their payments to foreign governments. The United States should also use anti-money-laundering laws to investigate lavish purchases financed with proceeds of corruption.

In his recent address in Accra, Ghana, US President Barack Obama criticised 'leaders [who] exploit the economy to enrich themselves.' Yet in response to separate reports issued last month by Human Rights Watch and the Center for Economic and Social Rights, Obiang claimed that most people in his country 'are living very well' and that lazy citizens who 'don't want to work' should 'sweat a bit' to earn money. Most Equatorial Guineans live on less than a dollar a day.

US energy security need not come at the expense of human decency. That's a message that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed on her Africa trip, in the resource-rich capitals of Angola, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And it's a message that the United States should now deliver directly to Malabo.

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* This article first appeared in Foreign Policy.
* Tutu Alicante is founder of EG Justice, a new organisation dedicated to promoting dialogue about Equatorial Guinea. EG Justice issued a policy paper directed to the Obama administration in July.
* Lisa Misol is senior researcher on business and human rights at Human Rights Watch, which published Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea in July.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Lake Kivu's deadly secret

Khadija Sharife

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60742

cc WikimediaThe Lake Kivu basin, which Rwanda shares with the DR Congo, contains vast quantities of methane gas, which can be used to provide desperately needed electricity. But a deadly threat lurks beneath the waters of the lake, as Khadija Sharife finds out in this week’s Pambazuka News.

Tea and coffee, Rwanda's primary exports, have been the main drivers of an average increase of 5 per cent GDP growth in recent years. But the country, dependent on grants, possesses little of the lucrative finite natural resources that have traditionally attracted investment in neighbouring countries. Over 70 per cent of the nation's 10 million citizens live on the poverty line, with an average life expectancy of 45 years.

One reason why Rwanda is confined to primary agricultural initiatives is the acute shortage of electricity. National power plants generate just 60MW, while the country – dependent on imported oil and hydroelectric power – regularly experiences frequent blackouts. Power is accessed by 6 per cent of the population, chiefly residents of urban areas, but four out of five citizens live in rural areas.

Ironically, one solution to Rwanda's energy deficiency – its vast deposits of methane gas beneath the waters of Lake Kivu – could cause far more lethal problems than its current power shortage. The Lake Kivu basin, shared with neighbouring DR Congo, is seated in the groove forming the volcanically – and technically – active East African Rift Valley. The lake, with a surface area of 2,400 [km.sup.2] and a maximum depth of 485 metres, holds an estimated 55 [km.sup.3] STP of methane gas, with 120 million cubic metres (STP) generated per annum.

Thus far, the government of Rwanda has established one methane extraction plant, with another 50MW pilot project initiated by the Rwanda Energy Company, a 99 per cent subsidiary of the Rwandan Investment Group (RIG), already in operation.



In March 2009, international firm Contour-Global also announced a 25-year agreement signed with the Rwandan government to develop Lake Kivu's methane deposits, towards the goal of generating 100MW in two phases: 25MW to be realised by 2010, and 75MW going operational in 2012. Methane, extracted from below 280m – where high concentrations of dissolved gasses migrating upward from the earth's 'rifting' fractures are trapped by 'lids' of fresh water – will be processed and transported to Contour-Global's Kibuye-based power plant, thereafter to be domestically utilised, or exported to neighbouring regions. The deal, heralding Rwanda's largest foreign investment yet – at US$325m – signifies not only an increase in available energy, but also the recognition of a potentially deadly situation.

JUST LIKE GUNPOWDER

Methane is not the only lethal chemical locked in place by the layers of dense fresh water in Kivu, one of Africa's largest and deepest lakes – there is also 300-500bn cubic metres of carbon dioxide (co. sub.2).

The natural risk associated with such 'killer lakes' can be triggered by lava flows, earthquakes, landslides, storms, even dumped industrial waste, resulting in mixed and sinking solutions, disrupting stratification, and causing gases such as carbon to parachute to the surface. This nightmare scenario was brought to life at Cameroon's Laye Nyos in 1986, when a landslide shifted tonnes of rocks into the lakebed, resulting in the penetration of gases, including previously trapped carbon.

Like bubbles spilling from the neck of a bottle, 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide gas in waves, travelling at over 60 km/h, rolled through villages, quietly suffocating over 1,750 people. The lake 'overturn' concluded with a jet of water exploding from beneath the lake, where gas concentration remained at its highest, catalysing a 25 meter 'tsunami' that stripped surrounding regions of vegetation, and the lake itself of life.

Though every 'killer lake' maintains its own unique chemical fingerprint, Kivu remains particularly sensitive due to the historical frequency of earthquakes and eruptions such as recently occurred in Goma; unregulated extraction triggering 'champagne' gas bursts destabilising gas layers, and dumped waste generating methane that is not trapped within Kivu's stratified 'stair-like' structure.

Kivu's methane – explosive when exposed to air, in conjunction with the carbon – has considerably increased in recent years, saturating 40 per cent of the lake. However, in contrast to Nyos, which holds 300 million cubic metres of carbon dioxide, with a saturation of 71.5 per cent (10 litres of gas per litre of water from 210 metres), Kivu's saturation begins creeping upward from 250 metres, ie: 8 per cent at 280 metres, increasing to 57 per cent at 290 metres.

Stated Rwanda's Minister for Environment Vincent Karega, ‘One thing you should highlight about the Kivu gas is that the biggest concentration of methane is very much in the lake not at the shore.’

‘So by the time the lava goes to the lake, before it hits the methane deposits at the centre, the waters of the lake have the natural effect of cooling it off and the end result is that nature has a way of bringing in an equilibrium to some of these events.’

But the lake bed itself is slowly being pried apart via the rift phenomenon, which is slowly eroding the lake's natural defence system – such as internal waves dissipating 'influxes of energy' – including that of moderate lava flows.

The lake's internal mechanism is estimated to reach a critical tipping point in 100-200 years, while a 2002 study by an international scientific team investigating the impact of sub-water lava inflow emanating from the eruption in 2002 of Mount Nyamuragira, a volcano in DR Congo, just 32 km north of Kivu, revealed that although the ‘possibility of a huge gas outburst from Lake Kivu where all or most of the gas dissolved in it would reach the atmosphere is very low ... the impact of such an event on the whole Lake Kivu region of about 10,000[km.sup.2] could be very strong.’

The report's authors found that although the lava inflow ‘into the lake was limited by lake internal mechanisms ... if the lava had reached deeper parts of the lake, a hazardous situation would have been built up.’

THE CHAMPAGNE EFFECT

According to the report's authors – including Professor Michel Halbwachs, the French physicist previously charged with constructing RIG's pilot plant at a price of US$6m, and Dr Klaus Tietze, a German geophysicist, and the first to penetrate Kivu's chemical fingerprint as a young doctoral student – controlled degassing is the only solution.

But while Halbwachs maintains that reinjection of [CO.sub.2] separated from methane at a depth of 270 metres upwards, is the solution, Tietze disagrees, stating that lakes with high concentrations of gas are unsuitable as an energy source, that both carbon and methane must be permanently extracted and that reinjected [CO.sub.2] would disrupt stratification, destabilising gas layers. However, Eva Paul, Rwanda's minister of infrastructure revealed that the government's plants would not be bound by social and environmental legislation, and few regulations have been put in place.

Meanwhile, the managing director of RIG has indicated to the media that although the project can be classified as a financial risk, the long-term potential of a new power source ‘generating 100MW for 400 years’ was worthy of exploration. Already, extracted methane has been used to power up boilers at the Bralirwa Brewery in Gisenyi, and transported via three-kilometre pipelines, established in 1963 by the Belgian Chemical Union.

But the conflicted area of the Kivu basin and the hostility between Rwanda and the DR Congo, with Kivu as a natural border, does not bode well for Kivu's estimated one dozen extraction platforms, vulnerable to armed attacks with potentially deadly consequences.

Though Keraga claims that Rwanda would utilise the gas ‘in such a way that we do not encroach on the other country's share’, Rwanda is still being accused by the Congolese government of deliberately fermenting the looting of the Congo's mineral resources, such as coltan.

According to Rwanda's state minister for energy, Dr Alfred Butare, a US$1.5m-$2m feasibility study exploring joint exploitation of Kivu's methane will be financed by the European Commission. The study investigates three crucial components: Financing, technology and the social and ecological impacts, to be presented to potential donors for implementation, including the AfDB, World Bank and the EU. The project marks Rwanda's first carbon finance project under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), leading to a signed agreement between Rwanda and the World Bank.

‘These gas deposits have been existent for generations with no actions taken. We are proud as government that we are taking the calculated risks of tapping it,’ stated Karega recently. ‘By so doing, we are proving to the world that we can turn this potent gas into a valuable resource, into an asset.’

Despite differences on the methodology characterising the ecological and political elements involved in Kivu's methane between scientists and the Rwandan and Congolese governments, one thing is certain: Kivu must be degassed in a controlled and regulated manner. Failure to do so may result in yet another tragedy; this time it may be the exhausted ecosystem going to war.

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* This article first appeared in African Business.
* Khadija Sharife is a journalist and a visiting scholar at the Centre for Civil Society (CCS) based in South Africa.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

What Norway wants from Zanzibar

Chambi Chachage

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60746

cc B JohnsonIt is Norwegian interests in the island’s strategic location and offshore oil deposits that are behind Norway’s recent flurry of engagement in Zanzibar’s local politics and peace talks, writes Chambi Chachage in this week’s Pambazuka News.

Zanzibar is back on the national and international agenda. Of course it has always been on the agenda. But it’s a long time since it was such a mysterious agenda.

For a whole week we have been treated with puzzling news. ‘What are Karume and Seif up to in Zanzibar?’ queried The Citizen. ‘Z’bar’s strange bedfellows’, quipped the Sunday Citizen.

What I found particularly surprising is not ‘the recent rare talks between Zanzibar’s erstwhile political foes, President Amani Abedi Karume and the opposition Civic United Front leader, Maalim Seif Shariff Hamad’ (Sunday Citizen 15 November 2009). Why should I be shocked while I know if nothing, or anything, is not done now Zanzibar will explode? When? 2010!

Then what did I find surprising? Is it the claim that not even the ruling party let alone the presidency knew about the secrecy behind the meeting? Or is it the assertion that our friends in ‘war on terror’ and piracy are behind the new-found unity in Zanzibar? Could it be the oil factor?

Well, what I found intriguing is the energy that our partners in development, Norway, are putting into this agenda. I am particularly startled by the fact that the Ambassador himself has taken a lead on this. He has ‘been the busiest and most visible over Zanzibar’, affirming that ‘Norway strongly encourages’ Karume and Seif’s ‘efforts to bring lasting peace to Zanzibar’ (Ibid).

Surely we know why Tanzanians or Zanzibaris need lasting peace in Zanzibar. But what about Norwegians? Why should they be interested in such peace? For the sake of humanity? Maybe.



The clue to why our friends in development are so interested in our peace is found in what they have been up to in the past week. Tellingly, their minister for environment and international development was ‘the first international personality to send a congratulatory message, a few hours after news of the meeting emerged’ (Ibid). The ambassador even crossed the ocean to meet the president of Zanzibar. He also met the minister responsible for Union matters.

More tellingly the Norwegian Embassy ‘conducted two separate workshops for members of the National Assembly, and the Zanzibar House of Representatives to sensitise them on oil exploration and drilling for an impending Bill on the matter’ (Ibid). The possibility of oil discovery in Zanzibar has caused a lot of animosity between those who want its revenues to be shared as a Union matter and those who don’t. Why, then, is Norway so interested in this issue?

The official website of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) lists the 17 licensed oil and gas exploration companies that operate in Tanzania. Out of these only one is from Norway. Its name is Statoil Asa. Ironically, it is not operating in Zanzibar. Rather, it is operating on what is referred to as Deep Sea Block Number 2.

On the map this block is close to Mtwara and Lindi. According to this company’s official website, its total area is ‘11,099 square kilometres, and it lies in water depths of between 400 and 3000 metres’ off ‘the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean.’ If a Norwegian company is thus far removed from Zanzibar, who then is really involved in Zanzibar?

Apparently the company that is operating in Zanzibar/Pemba is a Canadian one. It is known as Antrim Resources among other names. Shell International from Holland is also operating, albeit in the Deep Sea Blocks Number 9, 10, 11 and 12 which, in a way, surround Zanzibar. As a matter of fact the whole on and off shore of the Indian Ocean in Tanzania is licensed for oil/gas exploration and companies from as far afield as Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom are involved.

It is thus quite clear that there is an international scramble for oil and gas in this Eastern board of Tanzania/Africa. This, I contend, is the one of the main reasons why Norway is so interested in what is going on in Zanzibar. As history has taught us Zanzibar has always been a strategic area.

Commenting on this historical legacy, Abdulrahman Mohammed Babu said: ‘A country like Zanzibar was quite strategic in superpower manoeuvres because of its historic role in influencing events in the region.’ This is the Zanzibar that attracted a whole Empire to move its capital from Muscat into it. It’s the Zanzibar that is facing the shaky Middle East. It is a Zanzibar that is a corridor to Somalia, the new zone of piracy. Who wouldn’t want to control such a Zanzibar?

Surely Norway, as a country that has used oil among other resources to develop, wouldn’t want to be a loser in a battle for the soul of Zanzibar. Neither would America. Nor would Tanzania.

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* Chambi Chachage is an independent researcher, newspaper columnist and policy analyst based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

* 'Nyerere's Legacy', edited by Chambi Chachage and Annar Cassam, is coming soon from Pambazuka Press.

* © Chambi Chachage.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Civil society participation and China–Africa cooperation

Yazini April

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60701

cc UptonChinese civil society differs from its African counterpart in that its constituent organisations commonly enjoy the direct support of the government in a way that those in Africa do not, writes Yazini April. Greater collaboration between these two parties should at the very least encourage African civil society to follow the Chinese example in becoming genuinely productive, April concludes.

As the African and Chinese ministers gathered to negotiate and bargain at the current Forum for Cooperation between China and Africa (FOCAC), it has become necessary to determine the impact of civil societies from both regions on this intergovernmental process. Driven by the accentuation of the globalisation process, and the need to seek potential energy and mineral sources, China in October 2000 organised a Cooperation-Ministerial meeting in Beijing which culminated in the formation of FOCAC. Due to FOCAC, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa has increased over the years. Africa registered 5.2 per cent economic growth in 2005, its highest level ever, in part because of Chinese investment. Despite the continent’s economic growth, FOCAC has come under immense criticism by the West as most of its critics argue that China’s non-adherence to the West’s approach of imposing aid conditionalities has the potential to nullify all the progress made in fighting corruption and improving governance in Africa.

The rivalry between China and the West is due to competition from natural resources such as oil, minerals and others. The concerns raised by the West were soon demonstrated by scholars through various case studies such as Sudan and Mozambique. China’s corporate practices became sensational news that guaranteed immediate research funding as scientific evidence was necessary to demonstrate the problems that could result from doing business with China. The West, which has always used civil society as a tool of democratisation, loudly proclaimed the need for civil society's involvement in order to monitor China’s errant ways.



Recently China hosted a China–Africa Civil Society Dialogue which I attended in Beijing. According to the organisers, this workshop was held in the context of FOCAC. The theme they maintained was on increasing mutual understanding, promoting exchanges and cooperation through various strategies that include developing a platform of exchanges and cooperation for NGOs from China and Africa within FOCAC. Given China’s stance of non-adherence to the West’s approach of imposing aid conditionalities on African governments, one questions what approach will be applied to civil societies. This is critical as most civil societies in Africa have now become an extension of the particular donor’s foreign policy objectives.

In the 1990s, the concept of civil society made inroads into the mainstream development and democratization discourse. There is, however, an ongoing debate on the applicability of the concept of civil society, with its inherent links to institutions based on Western ideologies such as the rule of law, individualism and capitalism within non-western contexts. The question is whether China will also utilise civil societies to influence a different level of thinking, and whether China will also apply its non-interference approach with civil societies with a focus strictly on partnership and collaboration?

The fact is international donors have always viewed civil society as a key ingredient in the processes of democratisation. The United States's foreign policy, which is steeped deep in promoting democracy in all corners of the world, viewed civil societies as a tool that could hold governments to account, serving as a watchdog on governments and thereby promoting governance. The official American developmental agency USAID funds civil society organisations as one of its four democracy sectors. Sweden’s International Development Agency (SIDA) maintains that Sweden funds NGOs in order to contribute to the democratic development of society. In April 2009, the World Bank implemented a new initiative called the Social Accountability Initiative which they argued is designed as a tool to expand good governance through transparency and accountability with a view to improving aid effectiveness. I was therefore not surprised to hear some African societies during their presentations request the Chinese government and its civil societies to assist them in promoting democratisation in their respective countries. It demonstrated how African civil societies are conditioned to assistance in exchange for aid.

The high level of support for civil society that we witnessed in the 1990s has begun to decline. Over the past five years, donor agencies have begun shifting more towards supporting governments directly, which has led to a reduction in the amount of aid flowing directly to CSOs (civil society organisations). This has not, however, reduced the proliferation of CSOs, which are now forced to spend considerable time competing for donor funding, proposal writing, submitting reports according to different donor requirements, monitoring their activities and being monitored.

The fact of the matter is that African CSOs have not necessarily managed to become the agents of democracy and development. Some CSOs have painted this industry as a fickle one that is only concerned with jet-setting for conferences, jostling for leadership positions and mismanaging funds. Some of the CSOs that attended the dialogue with me were actually defunct as donors had booted them of the funding list due to financial misappropriations. These CSO problems make it problematic to impose government accountability when they themselves are also involved in corrupt acts. Currently most international donors have CSOs on a tight leash regarding productivity and budget expenditure.

From the perspective of the Chinese government, the role of the civil society is to provide welfare gaps and to fill the holes where state support is diminishing, and not necessarily to become a tool to promote democratisation or to focus on being a government watchdog. Given the role and influence by most African civil societies dependent on Western aid and agendas, it is interesting how China will reconcile this under the FOCAC umbrella. How will Western mouthpieces, so to speak, objectively establish a relationship for mutual benefit between China and Africa? Equally, Chinese civil societies, even though government-supported, are developmental-based with very tangible outputs. The relationship between the China government and civil society is very collaborative and productive. This is not the case with many African CSOs and their governments. Most governments cannot afford to fund their local CSOs and, unlike their counterparts in China, most African governments are not necessarily promoting a strong governance agenda that will promote developmental growth. Therefore, even if some African CSOs wanted to collaborate with their governments to improve their country, they would not necessarily get the necessary support to succeed.

There is no doubt that a fruitful civil society relationship between the two regions is essential in establishing a win–win situation for both regions. It is essential that African civil societies become more citizen-focused and work more cohesively in establishing an Africa–China blueprint for FOCAC. China presents an alternative for African countries to develop and grow their economies. However, it is up to African governments as to how Africa benefits from FOCAC. African CSOs also play a significant role in helping African governments in creating the win–win situation. African CSOs however are also going to have to be willing to pull their weight and not expect the Chinese to do everything on their behalf and then complain that they are being treated like children.

Many questions therefore remain. How can China–Africa engagement among civil society benefit both regions effectively? Is the West along with various other critics not mistaken in thinking that civil society actors on both sides can engage one another and hold their respective governments accountable? Is it realistic for scholars to call for Chinese and African civil societies to engage their governments on human rights issues? The assumption by some African scholars is the view that Chinese civil rights groups will automatically join African civil societies to assess governance issues. The fact is that Chinese civil societies, unlike African civil societies, are not backed by international donors bent on implementing democratisation. Most Chinese civil societies are sponsored by their government and have good relations with it. This difference is essential for the African Union (AU) and China to determine the role of civil society in this process.

African civil societies have also become a cutthroat industry requiring constant financial injections to survive. Besides requesting that Beijing come to promote democracy through development, some of the other civil societies have continued promoting their own interests and calling for China to come and perform miracles in their backyards. The dialogue has demonstrated a stark reality to me that despite our history, Africans still have not grasped the understanding that there is no such thing as free aid.

The AU needs to get its internal house of civil societies in order. The current legal framework they operate under may not be adequate in ensuring accountable and honest conduct. African CSOs need to also strategise ways of effective implementation. Chinese CSOs are productive and do not waste time in endless meetings or become bogged down by the countless stories of misappropriation. It is not for the Chinese to produce the miracles that African civil societies are craving for. One good thing about this collaboration of civil societies is that African civil societies may learn what productivity means.

China needs to find a way for how it can make the collaborative tool effective in the same way they have managed to establish aid assistance projects such as infrastructure that have made FOCAC a success.

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* Yazini April is a research specialist with the China–Africa programme, Governance and Democracy Unit, Africa Institute of South Africa, Arcadia, Pretoria.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Ethiopia's great run to freedom

Alemayehu G. Mariam

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/60705

cc Clara SFollowing last week's Great Ethiopian Run, Alemayehu G. Mariam discusses an event that is more an act of mass civil disobedience than a running race. Drawing inspiration from Nelson Mandela's success in embarking on a continuous 'long walk to freedom' in South Africa, Mariam stresses that through undertaking its own marathon, Ethiopia will one day complete a route towards freedom, democracy and human rights.

In his epic autobiography, the great Nelson Mandela used the metaphor of the 'long walk' to describe his decades-old struggle against apartheid and minority rule in South Africa. In 'Long Walk to Freedom', Mandela described, among other things, his labour of love trying to steer his nation away from racial and fratricidal war by using dialogue and negotiation to achieve national reconciliation and build a multiracial, multiparty system. His long, hard walk to freedom across the veldt, the cities and townships eventually led South Africans to trade in their fears and tears for hope and faith in a free South Africa. In the process, Mandela became a formidable moral force and an exemplary teacher in the fight for human rights and racial equality throughout the world. In the annual Great Ethiopian Run that was held last week in Addis Ababa, one can see a fitting metaphor for a long and hard run for freedom in Ethiopia. The organisers and sponsors may have seen a clever money-making gimmick in the event, but for the Ethiopian runners it was their one and only chance a year to collectively breathe the fresh air of freedom. It was their annual festival and gathering of peaceful mass protest for freedom and justice, and against tyranny and dictatorship in Ethiopia. On the day of the Great Ethiopian Run, Ethiopians who could afford to pay at least 50 birr got to say out loud what has been burdening their hearts, distressing their minds, agonising their souls and searing every fibre in their bodies for the past year. The assembled crowd of 35,000 runners did not mind paying. Each one of them knew the fresh air of freedom, however fleeting and momentary, is priceless.

In the Great Ethiopian Run, Ethiopians kept on running down the streets and up the boulevards of the capital. They ran for their own freedom, and the freedom of their countrymen and women. They ran for the true champion of Ethiopian freedom, Birtukan Midekssa. In a deafening crescendo of defiance and daring, they cried out: 'Free Birtukan! Birtukan Mandela! Birtukan, the heroine!' Birtukan probably heard them chained in the bowels of Kality prison just on the outskirts of town. They called for the release of all political prisoners. The river of humanity that flash-flooded the city streets on the 10-kilometre stretch denounced the perpetrators of injustice. Thumping their way past the 'Federal High Court', they proclaimed, 'In this temple of justice, there is no justice.' Rolling past the 'Ministry of Justice', they charged, 'There is no justice in the Ministry of Justice.' Rumbling past the 'Ministry of Defence', they scoffed, 'There are no men of courage in this building to defend the people.' The Great Ethiopian Run proved to be fundamentally an act of mass civil disobedience thinly disguised as a running event; and to the great credit and dignity of the runners, there was not a single incident of violence or breach of the peace.

The multitudes were not just running for freedom, they were also running away from tyranny and dictatorship, despair and hopelessness, and from their daily life of indignity and humiliation under a ruthless dictatorship. Sadly, they were all running in circles in the prison nation Ethiopia has become. But as we have learned from President Mandela, to achieve freedom one must take a long hard walk. For Ethiopians, it will require much more – a long hard run, and there is much Ethiopians runners can learn from one South African walker. Mandela said, 'You may succeed in delaying, but never in preventing the transition of South Africa to a democracy.' The dictators in Ethiopia may temporarily thwart genuine multiparty democracy, but they can never, never prevent its ultimate triumph. Mandela defiantly told the masters of apartheid, 'Any man that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.' The dictators in Ethiopia may temporarily succeed in robbing us of our dignity and human rights, but as long as we remain truthful, principled, fair and irrevocably committed to the cause of freedom and democracy, we shall prevail, and they shall find their rightful place in the dustbin of history. On his long walk to freedom, Mandela discovered the defining truth about tyrants and dictators: 'A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred.' The wardens of prison nation Ethiopia are prisoners of a hatred that has churned and boiled in their hearts, minds and souls for their entire lives. They are consumed by it and driven to genocidal brutality. They deserve our pity for they cannot help themselves. But we can help them, by showing them the truth about their evil ways and the path out of the misery of hatred to the ecstasy of brotherly and sisterly love. Mandela taught us that: 'The victory of democracy in South Africa is the common achievement of all humanity.' If we keep on running for freedom, we can make the triumph of democracy in Ethiopia the common achievement of all of Africa. As Ghana has transitioned from a military dictatorship to a genuine multiparty democracy and South Africa succeeded in establishing a tolerant multiracial society, so can Ethiopia forge a real multiparty system, free of the poison of ethnic politics, and one day become the envy of Africa.

The 10-kilometre run is just a down-payment for a long and difficult marathon for freedom. That is why each one of us must develop the defining quality of the marathon runner: endurance. As she pounds the pavement for miles, the distance runner knows the route to the finish line is long, gruelling and hard. But she is prepared to give it her best and endure for the long haul. The marathon runner does not say, 'It is too long, too difficult… I could never do it.' He maintains a winner's state of mind and never gives into self-pity and defeatism. He does not use his energy in bursts of speed, but in sustained steps and calculated spurts. The marathon runner has a plan to win and paces his every step along the way to achieve his goal. The distance runner does not allow herself to be overwhelmed by the miles she has yet to cover. She is committed and focused on the next milestone, the next hill and the next bend in the road until she reaches the finish line. Some of us would much prefer the race to be a quick sprint to the 10-kilometre finish line. We are discouraged and dispirited by the very thought of a long-distance run. We are tired and ready to give up before taking the first step. But the marathon to freedom does not have a finish line. As Mandela said, 'After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.'

We can't sit idly by and expect freedom to run to us. As Dr Martin Luther King said, 'Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.' It could also be said that a man can't ride your back if you keep on running and chase after your freedom.

Ethiopia's great distance runners – Abebe Bikila, Mamo Wolde, Mirus Yifter, Haile Gebreselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Elfnesh Alemu, Fatuma Roba, Derartu Tulu, Koreni Jelila, Tilahun Regassa and many others – gave their very best for the glory of Ethiopia. We are so proud of them! It is now our turn to run and win the Great Ethiopian Run for freedom, democracy and human rights. Let us not be fooled by their 10-kilometre run. Our course will be much more challenging; we will have to climb the great hills and descend the treacherous canyons and gorges and crisscross the low deserts and the highlands. And those who can't or choose not to run with us should ready themselves to take a long walk…

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* Alemayehu G. Mariam is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino.
* This article was originally published by The Huffington Post.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

FAHAMU joins International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/Announce/60689

FAHAMU has joined the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA). ICVA is concerned with refugees around the world and is headquartered in Geneva where it works with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Membership of ICVA has been largely confined to agencies delivering humanitarian assistance but since 2005, NGOs concerned with refugee rights have begun to join ICVA. FAHAMU wants to encourage this shift in direction towards a concentration on refugee rights.

ICVA maintains targeted e-mail distribution lists to share information and analyses of on-going policy processes and debates and to maintain and foster active links and alliances with, and among its members. These lists are also used to solicit NGO input to help ensure a more adequate representation of NGO views on the international level.

One of its targeted mailing lists is open to NGOs who are not members of ICVA. FAHAMU therefore encourages refugee/human rights organizations to subscribe to this list by writing an email to information@icva.ch What you will receive is detailed below. Please indicate that you heard of this invitation through FAHAMU or Pambazuka News.

· Refugee/IDP Issues: ICVA is the focal point for coordinating NGO statements and other input to UNHCR’s governing bodies: the Executive and Standing Committees. ICVA uses this list to ask for volunteers to both draft and provide substantial input to the NGO statements for the two Committees or other meetings UNHCR may hold, and to consolidate NGO input for the Executive Committee’s Conclusions and Decisions. ICVA co-hosts UNHCR’s Annual Consultations with NGOs, and uses this list to engage NGOs in the preparations. Members on this list will also receive messages on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and other issues related to forced displacement, which come up in the context of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) or other international policy and coordination bodies like the clusters.

Conflict minerals: Cover for Western mining interests?

Kambale Musavuli

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/60757

cc J HarneisAs global awareness grows around conflict in Congo, a myriad of Western-based prescriptions are being proffered, Kambale Musavuli writes in this week’s Pambuzuka News, including the ‘conflict minerals’ approach. But this approach, devoid of social, political, economic and historical context, argues Musavuli, will simply perpetuate the root causes of the region’s challenges rather than resolve them.

As global awareness grows around the Congo and the silence is finally being broken on the current and historic exploitation of black people in the heart of Africa, a myriad of Western-based ‘prescriptions’ are being proffered. Most of these prescriptions are devoid of social, political, economic and historical context and are marked by remarkable omissions. The conflict mineral approach or efforts emanating from the United States and Europe are no exception to this symptomatic approach, which serves more to perpetuate the root causes of Congo’s challenges than to resolve them.

The conflict mineral approach has an obsessive focus on the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) and other rebel groups, while scant attention is paid to Uganda (which has an International Court of Justice ruling against it for looting and crimes against humanity in the Congo) and Rwanda (whose role in the perpetuation of the conflict and looting of Congo is well documented by UN reports and international arrest warrants for its top officials).

Rwanda is the main transit point for illicit minerals coming from the Congo irrespective of the rebel group (FDLR, CNDP or others) transporting the minerals. According to Dow Jones, Rwanda's mining sector output grew 20 per cent in 2008 from the year earlier, due to increased export volumes of tungsten, cassiterite and coltan, the country's three leading minerals with which Rwanda is not well endowed. In fact, should Rwanda continue to pilfer Congo’s minerals, its annual mineral export revenues are expected to reach US$200 million by 2010. Former assistant secretary of state for African affairs Herman Cohen says it best when he notes ‘having controlled the Kivu provinces for 12 years, Rwanda will not relinquish access to resources that constitute a significant percentage of its gross national product.’ As long as the West continues to give the Kagame regime carte blanche, the conflict and instability will endure.

According to Global Witness’s 2009 report, Faced With A Gun What Can you Do, Congolese government statistics and reports by the Group of Experts and NGOs, Rwanda is one of the main conduits for illicit minerals leaving the Congo. It is amazing that the conflict mineral approach shout loudly about making sure that the trade in minerals does not benefit armed groups, but the biggest armed beneficiary of Congo’s minerals is the Rwandan regime headed by Paul Kagame. Nonetheless, the conflict mineral approach is remarkably silent about Rwanda’s complicity in the fuelling of the conflict in the Congo and the fleecing of Congo’s riches.

Advocates of the conflict mineral approach would be far more credible if they had ever called for any kind of pressure whatsoever on mining companies that are directly involved in either fuelling the conflict or exploiting the Congolese people. The United Nations, the Congolese Parliament, the Carter Center, Southern Africa Resource Watch and several other NGOs have documented corporations that have pilfered Congo’s wealth and contributed to the perpetuation of the conflict. Some of these companies include but are not limited to: Traxys, OM Group, Blattner Elwyn Group, Freeport McMoran, Eagle Wings/Trinitech, Lundin, Kemet, Banro, AngloGold Ashanti, Anvil Mining, and First Quantum.

The conflict mineral approach, like the Blood Diamond campaign from which it draws its inspiration, is silent on the question of resource sovereignty, which has been a central question in the geo-strategic battle for Congo’s mineral wealth. It was over this question of resource sovereignty that the West assassinated Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister, Patrice Lumumba and stifled the democratic aspirations of the Congolese people for over three decades by installing and backing the dictator Joseph Mobutu. In addition, the United States also backed the 1996 and 1998 invasions of Congo by Rwanda and Uganda instead of supporting the non-violent, pro-democracy forces inside the Congo. Unfortunately – and to the chagrin of the Congolese people – some of the strongest advocates of the conflict mineral approach are former Clinton administration officials, who supported the invasions of Congo by Rwanda and Uganda. This may in part explains the militaristic underbelly of the conflict mineral approach, which has as its so-called second step a comprehensive counterinsurgency.

The focus on the east of Congo falls in line with the long-held obsession by some advocates in Washington who incessantly push for the balkanisation of the Congo. Their focus on ‘Eastern Congo’ is inadequate and does not fully take into account the nature and scope of the dynamics in the entire country. Political decisions in Kinshasa, the capital in the West, have a direct impact on the events that unfold in the East of Congo and are central to any durable solutions.

The central claim of the conflict mineral approach is to bring an end to the conflict; however, the conflict can plausibly be brought to an end much quicker through diplomatic and political means. The so-called blood mineral route is not the quickest way to end the conflict. We have already seen how quickly world pressure can work with the sidelining of rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and the demobiliation and/or rearranging of his CNDP rebel group in January 2009, as a result of global pressure placed on the CNDP’s sponsor, Paul Kagame of Rwanda. More pressure needs to be placed on leaders such as Kagame and Museveni who have been at the root of the conflict since 1996. The FDLR can readily be pressured as well, especially with most of their political leadership residing in the West. This, however, should be done within a political framework, which brings all the players to the table as opposed to the current militaristic, dichotomous, good guy/badguy approach where the West sees Kagame and Museveni as the ‘good guys’ and everyone else as bad. The picture is far more grey than black and white.

A robust political approach by the global community would entail the following prescriptions:

1. Join Sweden and Netherlands in pressuring Rwanda to be a partner for peace and a stabilising presence in the region. The United States and Great Britain in particular should apply more pressure on their allies Rwanda and Uganda to the point of withholding aid if necessary.

2. Hold to account companies and individuals through sanctions trafficking in minerals, whether with rebel groups or neighbouring countries, particularly Rwanda and Uganda. Canada has chimed in as well but has been deadly silent on the exploitative practices of its mining companies in the Congo. Canada must do more to hold its mining companies accountable as is called for in Bill C-300.

3. Encourage world leaders to be more engaged diplomatically and place a higher priority on what is the deadliest conflict in the world since the Second World War.

4. Reject the militarisation of the Great Lakes region represented by AFRICOM, which has already resulted in the suffering of civilian population: The strengthening of authoritarian figures such as Uganda’s Museveni (in power since 1986) and Rwanda’s Kagame (won the 2003 ‘elections’ with 95 percent of the vote); and the restriction of political space in their countries.

5. Demand of the Obama administration to be engaged differently from its current military-laden approach and to take the lead in pursuing an aggressive diplomatic path, with an emphasis on pursuing a regional political framework that can lead to lasting peace and stability.

To learn more about the current crisis in the Congo, visit www.friendsofthecongo.org and join the global movement in support of the people of the Congo.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Kambale Musavuli is spokesperson and student coordinator for Friends of the Congo.
* [URL=bodia@friendsofthecongo.org]Bodia Macharia[/URL] is the president of Friends of the Congo/ Canada.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

DRC: Putting the conflict in context

Phumlani Majavu

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/60761

cc T HunterOver 5 million people, mostly civilians, have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since its conflict began in 1996. In this week’s Pambazuka News Phumlani Majavu looks at why peace is so elusive, with reference to a recent report from human rights group Global Witness on the role the illegal trade in minerals plays in fuelling violence in the DRC.

The renowned intellectual, Noam Chomsky recently argued that the conflict in the Kivus is ‘the worst catastrophe in Africa, if not the world…’ This is because, to date, over 5 million people, mostly civilians have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the beginning of the conflict in 1996. Many more are displaced. And thousands of women – including the elderly and young girls – continue to be viciously raped.

Human Rights Watch reports that the ‘United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the agency coordinating work on sexual violence in Congo, estimates that 200,000 women and girls have been the victims of sexual violence since 1998. In 2008, it recorded nearly 16,000 cases; 65 per cent of the victims were children, mostly adolescent girls.’

The government and the rebel groups have signed numerous cease-fire agreements. And in 2006, the first democratic elections in more than 40 years were held. Yet, the rapes, plundering and violent death continue nonstop.

Why, despite the 2006 democratic elections, is there no peace in the DRC, particularly in the eastern provinces? And most importantly, can there ever be peace in the DRC?

Well, according to a report released earlier this year by Global Witness, a human rights group, the war in the DRC is likely to continue for many more years, unless the international markets stop supporting the illegal trade of minerals. The report entitled Faced with a gun, what can you do?, documents the militarisation of mining in the conflict-affected areas of eastern DRC.’

According to the report, the illegal trade, which is largely controlled by armed gangs, including the DRC’s military (FARDC), ‘is prolonging the armed conflict which has been tearing the country apart for more than 12 years’.

Perhaps to get a sense of the situation in the DRC, one needs to understand its history and put the conflict into an historical context.

Laurent Kabila, backed by Rwanda and Uganda, led a coup d’état, against Mobuto Sese Seko’s corrupt government, and forced the ailing tyrant to flee the country in 1997.

It was not long before another rebellion erupted in the eastern provinces, the Kivus, in 1998. Kabila’s former allies, Rwanda and Uganda, had become his fierce enemies and were supporting rebel groups that attempted to topple his government.

The second uprising, which claimed over three million lives, drew in six foreign forces, with Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe backing Kabila’s government, while Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda sided with the rebel groups.

Though the rebels failed to overthrow Kabila’s government, one of his bodyguards gunned him down in 2001, leaving his son Joseph to take over as the head of state.

Following years of negotiations between the government, rebel factions, and the foreign forces, the war officially ended in 2003. An agreement, which asked foreign governments to withdraw their troops, was signed. In the same year, a transitional government was set up.

And in 2006, the first elections in 46 years were held. After a second run-off, Joseph Kabila emerged as the winner and thus remained as the head of state.

Some parts of the country, especially the western provinces, have experienced less brutal violence since the 2006 elections. But the eastern provinces – North and South Kivu – continue to be ravaged by conflicts. And, as is always the case, women are the ones who are mostly affected as they continue to be raped. According to Oxfam ‘cases of children, some as young as four, being brutally raped were reported…’ at the beginning of this year.

Apart from being the hub of militias, the Kivus are rich with mineral resources. According to Global Witness, some of the most important minerals found in the Kivu’s are cassiterite, coltan, gold, pyrochlore and wolframite

Both cassiterite and coltan are useful in the ‘electronics industry. The former is ‘used among other things… for the production of tin cans.’ And the latter is used ‘as a component in electronic goods, such as circuits in mobile telephones, laptop computers, airbag protection systems, playstations, video cameras and digital cameras’ notes the report.

Wolframite is used in ’heavy industry, particularly to manufacture metal and stone cutting tools, mining tools and other machinery components’. And pyrochlore is used for the ‘production of steel.

Although it might be armed men who go through extremes of murdering, raping, and forcing people to mine and extract the minerals, ‘the international markets in Europe, Asia, North America and elsewhere’ not only benefit from this plundering, but they are actually fuelling the conflict.

After all, some of our computers, cell phones, iPods and other electronics – which continue to grow in demand – are produced by the minerals found in the DRC. Warlords do not tax multinational companies, thus it’s cheaper and more profitable for these companies to continue supporting the armed gangs.

According to Global Witness, ‘some of the most violent armed groups’ would not survive if it were not from the profits they make from selling the minerals to ‘the international markets’. Thus, one can safely argue that the conflict would not be as deadly as it is, if multinational companies were not supporting the illegal trade.

The Global Witness study concurs with the 2008 UN Group of Experts report that multinational companies from Belgium, UK, China and other countries ‘have been buying minerals’ from traders ‘known to be trading with armed groups for several years, apparently without adjusting their practices in light of the conflict or carrying out sufficient due diligence to ensure that their trade is not fuelling the violence.’

If peace and justice are ever to exist and prevail in the Kivus and indeed in the entire DRC, then those involved in the illegal trade – including multinational companies who are in cohorts with the armed gangs ought to face the law and be punished for the ‘the most horrific human rights abuses, including widespread killings of unarmed civilians, rape, torture and looting, recruitment of child soldiers…, and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people…’ that result from this deadly trade.

And as the Global Witness report further notes, ‘any lasting solution to the problem has to be centred on restoring [freedom, justice and peace] and in bringing those responsible to justice – be it rebel leaders, army officers, companies or traders.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Phumlani Majavu is an activist and a freelance writer based in Cape Town.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Climate change could increase conflict in Africa

Cyril Mychalejko

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/60759

cc C MontgomeryThe effects of climate change are likely to lead to increased levels of conflict across Africa, a new study has suggested. Cyril Mychalejko takes a closer look at responses to the report’s conclusions.

Darfur just may be the tip of the melting iceberg. A new study suggests that if world leaders fail to reach a meaningful agreement in Copenhagen to curb climate change, Africa will be ravaged by more wars and corpses in the coming decades. ‘If the sub-Saharan climate continues to warm and little is done to help its countries better adapt to high temperatures, the human costs are likely to be staggering,’ said UC-Berkeley's Marshall Burke, the study's lead author.

The study, Warming increases the risk of civil war in Africa, published online last week by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), states that there are ‘strong historical linkages between civil war and temperature in Africa, with warmer years leading to significant increases in the likelihood of war.’ Using climate model projections it estimates a ‘roughly 54 per cent increase in armed conflict incidence by 2030, or an additional 393,000 battle deaths if future wars are as deadly as recent wars.’ The study, which uses data between 1981-2002, shows that a 1 degree Celsius increase in temperature ‘represents a remarkable 49 per cent increase in the incidence of civil war.’

‘We were definitely surprised that the linkages between temperature and recent conflict were so strong,’ said co-author Edward Miguel, professor of economics at UC-Berkeley and faculty director of UC-Berkeley's Center for Evaluation for Global Action. ‘But the result makes sense. The large majority of the poor in most African countries depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and their crops are quite sensitive to small changes in temperature. So when temperatures rise, the livelihoods of many in Africa suffer greatly, and the disadvantaged become more likely to take up arms.’

The study comes on the heels of statements by scientists from the Global Carbon Project that if we don’t drastically reduce our carbon emissions the world is on course for a 6 degrees Celsius increase in temperature by the end of the century. Of course if this doomsday scenario comes to fruition we won’t have to worry about wars in Africa – the human race, along with all other forms of life, will be nearly wiped off the face of the earth.

While the study focused solely on temperature change, experts have argued that other climate change factors, such as changes in precipitation levels, water scarcity, lack of arable land and migration are also contributing to conflicts. The Los Angeles Times published an article appropriately asking: ‘Have the climate wars of Africa begun?’. The article examines recent tribal fighting in Kenya over water and pastures, which the UN believes is responsible for at least 400 deaths this year. Libya, another war torn country, is dealing with longer rainy seasons, rising sea levels and increases in flooding. Climate change is also believed to be a contributing factor in the escalation of violence in Darfur. Writing in The Washington Post, Ban Ki Moon, secretary general of the United Nations, noted that ‘amid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change.’

Another recent study conducted by a group of military experts contracted by the Institute for Environmental Security in The Hague supports the US researchers´ claims linking climate change to war.

‘Failure to recognise the conflict and instability implications of climate change and to invest in a range of preventive and adaptive actions will be very costly in terms of destabilising nations, causing human suffering, retarding development and providing the required military response,’ retired Indian air marshal AK Singh, who chairs the institute’s military council, told South Africa´s Mail & Guardian Online.

Nana Poku, professor of African Studies at the UK's Bradford University, told the BBC that the US-based study makes the case for ‘climate debt’, an idea growing in popularity around the world ‘that rich countries should pay reparations to poor countries for the climate crisis.’

‘I think it strengthens the argument for ensuring we compensate the developing world for climate change, especially Africa, and to begin looking at how we link environmental issues to governance,’ said Poku. ‘If the argument is that the trend towards rising temperatures will increase conflict, then yes we need to do something around climate change, but more fundamentally we need to resolve the conflicts in the first place.’

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Cyril Mychalejko is an editor at www.UpsideDownWorld.org, an online magazine covering politics and activism in Latin America. He also serves on the board of the Canary Institute.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Nigeria’s bank crisis and the limits of Sanusi’s capitalist reforms

Kola Ibrahim

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/60702

cc WikimediaCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Lamido Sanusi's financial reform, writes Kola Ibrahim, will do nothing more than re-assert the dominance of a rapacious capitalist class in Nigeria. While public ownership of services rooted in the welfare of Nigeria's people remains most desirable, Ibrahim contends, Sanusi and his ilk can be counted on to simply support the entrenched political class.

So much has been written about the Nigerian bank crisis and the ‘surgical’ operations being carried out by the capitalist financial doctors, led by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Lamido Sanusi. Revelations of crass swindles by the 'larger-than-life' bank ex-chiefs have generated bank fraud in Nigerian banking, provoking much angst against these hawks who lived like Shakespearean shylocks. While they lived opulently on shareholders’ wealth, country folks continued to live in unending misery, spiced with chronic unemployment and under-employment. It was not uncommon months ago to see our self-styled enterprising students and youths with multimedia gadgets, listening to the ‘sacred’ messages of our entrepreneurial gurus in the banks’ exquisite boardrooms. Today, the bank hawks earn the opprobrium of even their ex-fans. This explains why the Lamido Sanusi’s reform pills have at the beginning gained support from a sizable section of the populace. To the market women and men, the revelation about billions squandered and looted again brings out their anger and frustration about the state of the nation. However, without a careful analysis, and the labour movement taking a revolutionary position, the working class will be victim of another vicious cycle of capitalist crisis of plundering.

While the Sanusi reform has gulped over 600 billion naira (N), there is already a planned massive retrenchment of more than a quarter of bank workers in months to come. This is an attempt to place the frauds of capitalist class on the working people. Before long, several business concerns in manufacturing, services and other financial institutions – many of which are directly or indirectly involved in the bank crisis – will follow this vicious route. Ironically, the so-called reform has not been reflected in the labour practices of the banks, a situation that has seen bank and financial workers not only overexploited but also subjected to job uncertainty. Are the Christmas gifts of N620 billion from the CBN and the government’s N200 billion not justifying this? Otherwise, how will the CBN and the government give out close to a trillion naira to 14 banks without being concerned about the working conditions of bank workers?



Despite all the propaganda about the Sanusi reform, it is clear that it is just like building a skyscraper on a quicksand foundation – the bigger and costlier the structure, the greater the loss and despair that will accompany its collapse. The current reform is just an extension of the Soludo reform, which laid the basis for the current crisis. It will be recalled that just like Soludo’s consolidation and Sanusi’s reform, Abacha’s bank tribunal before it had also tried to scapegoat fraudulent bank bureaucrats in an economy enmeshed in con and decay. As if that was not funny enough, many bank spin doctors, who did the dirty jobs or were indicted during the Abacha era, are today in big business and political power. So, do not be surprised when those currently being prosecuted among bankers become policy-makers tomorrow.

The Soludo consolidation reform was so-called 'predicated on making Nigerian banks strong enough with adequate capital base to fund economic development'. But at the end of the day, the reform was nothing short of a massive fraud. In truth, Nigeria’s pre-consolidation 89 banks could hardly withstand any adverse effect of risks. But the character of Nigerian banks reflects the nature of the economy, which depends on the importation of semi- and finished goods, the export of raw materials, totally dilapidated infrastructures and an uneducated population. This has meant recurrent unemployment and the attendant mass poverty of over 70 per cent, which leads to an abysmally low purchasing power. This will be reflected in the rate of activities of the banks and their shareholder/customer base. To expect Nigerian banks to be more advanced than their economy will be daydreaming. Thus, these 89 banks, in search of quick profits, invested in speculative and unproductive activities – stock market manipulation, forex deals, money laundering for corrupt politicians and loans to elitist businesses – which only recycle the already made wealth from the poor to the rich few.

But Soludo’s CBN and the government, rather than stop this horrible drift, preferred to embolden the rapacious profiteers. Rather than expand public and social infrastructures and massively invest in manufacturing, using huge public resources, the CBN and the Obasanjo government, in collusion with capitalist local and multilateral vampires, expanded the reigning but ruining order by asserting by fiat the merger of banks. This in itself, despite the Obasanjo government’s capitalist ideological commitment, was against the free-market ideology that proclaims free competition. But the government was only interested in creating new set of global mega-billionaires, who will be the basis of measuring the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) and economic growth. They knew too well that massive investment in social and public infrastructure will reduce the money to be gambled upon by the looting class, while multinational vampires and their international strategists (the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank) will have little access to cheap wealth. They knew that it will be a class suicide to implement social programmes that will heavily tax the rich, who have amassed huge wealth from the public till.

After the consolidation, billions of dollars accruing from crude oil sales were handed over to these business shylocks. Money were given out to these banks to manage for government through various intervention programmes like agriculture loan funds, extortionate contributory pensions and a monetisation policy. While the government paid banks for these activities, the same government through the CBN will borrow the same monies from banks through issuing short-term bond papers and treasury bills at an exorbitant interest rate of up to 15 per cent – more than twice of the level charged by the CBN (MPR) on loans to banks! In 2006, Nigerian banks were allowed to participate in the arrangement of fraudulent debt buyback, which saw over US$12.4 billion of the nation’s wealth siphoned off to multinational financial vampires. Also, in 2007–08, Nigerian banks were given license to ‘manage’ over US$7 billion from the over US$60 billion excess crude wealth. Few months after, the same government issued treasury bills at huge interest rates. What a nice and legitimate way of robbing the nation.

With oil contributing over 90 per cent of the government’s wealth receipt, the CBN has already assured banks uninterrupted profits even if the productive sector continues to tumble at less than 40 per cent capacity utilisation. Banks, in a craze for mega profits, embarked on series of public offers so as to rake in billions from political looters and big business. These monies were recycled to gain from government neoliberal policies through the privatisation of oil wells, public corporations like cement companies, ports and fuel imports financed by the banks. Searching for more wealth, coupled with unprecedented wealth available to bank managers, maddening stock gambling and perfidious profit-taking, ensued with bank managers and shareholders sharing out profits from immature and unrealistic loans (in an infrastructure-deficient economy), and inflating bank share values by insider buying. The base for this madness is not farfetched: the huge wealth at their disposal and the bankruptcy of Nigeria’s business and political class.

All this continued far into the Yar’Adua government's tenure. In fact, the economic strategists of the Yar’Adua government saw nothing wrong in Soludo’s cheap loans to the banks and costly treasury bill. When Soludo’s CBN gave N200 billion to banks as an agricultural loan with a stringent condition that interested farmers should have a N200 million value (in a country where over 95 per cent of Nigerian farmers are peasants), the Yar’Adua government only concurred.

It took the near collapse of the world capitalist economy – which led to the downward spiralling of crude oil prices (which were themselves over-priced by mindless speculation on the stock market) – to expose the deep-rooted rottenness of the Nigerian economy. It also shows the bankruptcy of Nigeria’s economic strategists and IMF/World Bank spin doctors. Practically, the much-touted economic growth is predicated on oil wealth receipts, the fraudulent wealth of a few billionaires, and the paper wealth of financial institutions. At the end of Soludo’s reform there were over 30,000 bank layoffs and several thousands sacked through Obasanjo’s neoliberal reforms. The former bank managers and major shareholders who ruined the unsuccessful banks looted over N55 billion from these banks while poor depositors were made victims. Many of these bank managers and shareholders have found their way back to the banking system.

Having said all this, it is vital to ask the question of whether Sanusi’s prescription is a departure from a ruinous road. Without incurring the wrath of Sanusi's fan club, the fact does not place Sanusi’s reform on another path from the ruinous past. If, as Sanusi said in a forum, the indicted bank officers should be taken to the guillotine for the massive fraud they perpetrated, what about a government that played a central role in the handout spree to banks, which laid the basis for the whole shenanigan. Sanusi also commended Yar’Adua for being dispassionate on the reform even when his family interests in one of the banks are at risk. But Sanusi failed to tell us what the president and his family were doing when all the tomfoolery was perpetrated by his bank. Was the president’s family, as a significant shareholder, not a beneficiary of the massive racketeering perpetrated by the family bank? What was the role of the family in the operation and profit-making of the bank? That Sanusi, rather than address these issues, exhibited an already superfluous show of sycophancy, actually shows the direction of Sanusi’s reform.

Looking at the reform itself, it is glaring that it cannot go beyond the boundary of the existing shenanigan economy. Pumping N620 billion into 14 banks as a way of recovering the economy is itself a fraud. According to official data, just 8 per cent of the 20 per cent of Nigerians who have access to financial services control around 90 per cent of bank deposits, while just 1 per cent of Nigerians control 80 per cent of the nation’s wealth. Thus the N620 billion bailout benefits the top echelon of Nigerian economic strata. Worse still, it is those billionaires, who severely and collectively plunder these banks, who are also the major shareholders and depositors in these banks. Sanusi’s feeble excuse that the bailout fund belongs to the CBN is funny. Assuming without conceding that the N620 billion belongs to the CBN, the question is who funds the CBN? Is the banks’ reserve with the CBN up to half of the bailout fund to these banks? What this implies is that public resources are being used not to bailout teeming millions of Nigeria’s hoi polloi, but the few already rich who caused this crisis in the first place.

Then, what is the bailout fund meant for: Is it to fill the bottomless pit of bad debts or buoy up the economy? If it is to fill the pits, this is an assured failure. According to the CBN and the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), of the over N1.5 trillion bad debt, less than 20 per cent has been recovered. If the N620 billion is added to this, it is still less than 65 per cent of the bad debts. Even if this amount provides the fund to start some minimal activities, the banks will not restore to profitability in the immediate period. Whether the EFCC can recover a sizable amount of the bad debts will sake the weak foundation of Nigeria's economy as virtually every major player of Nigeria’s economy are directly or indirectly affected. If their estate or collaterals are liquidated, will that save an economy that depends on big business? Aside from the fact that the properties will lose value, which will reduce the cost to be recovered, those who will buy are the same rich few who are in one way or the other involved in the bank scams. What will happen to the ‘real’ economy?

Will the CBN’s N620 billion be used to fund small and medium businesses? This is not straightforward. In the first instance, what militates against small and medium industries is not only lack of credit, but the high cost of production which makes local products uncompetitive. To spur this sector of the economy will require government's massive investment in infrastructure – an integrated transport system, an adequate and stable power supply, the agricultural system – while there must be deliberate government investment in the provision of free, quality education and healthcare, and massive jobs through public works meant to raise the purchasing power of the over 70 per cent of poor Nigerians and make them participants in the economy. Contrarily, the government has further committed itself to anti-poor, neoliberal policies while corruption is rife, with cases like Halliburton, Willbros and Siemens being covered up.

What applies to the small and medium industries should simply be magnified for the big industries. What then do the CBN and the government expect the banks to spend the over N800 billion bailout fund on? The reality is that the monies will go through the past processes: investment in government treasury bills; funding of the oil importation-cum-privatisation of public corporations; and continued speculation. It is not accidental that the government is insisting on deregulation and privatisation. These are means of spurring profitability for banks and private big business, while avoiding the ‘rigours’ of committing themselves to developing infrastructures and improving purchasing power. Before long, the government will start borrowing at high interest the same bailout money by issuing bonds to banks.

Sanusi hinted of the possibility of handing over banks to foreign investors. This in the first instance is an acceptance of the bankruptcy of Nigeria’s business class, and indeed the capitalist political class at large. But an invitation to foreign investors is just an extension of bankruptcy. Sanusi’s attempt at portraying foreign investors as better capitalists is misplaced as the current global economic meltdown is a product of the perfidy of the Western capitalist class. In fact, foreign financial rating agencies clearly supported the banks’ racket through their dubious ratings. Furthermore, the foreign big business operating in Nigeria – in oil and gas, construction and finance – have only served as conduit pipes for massive capital flight and plundering.

Economically, it would be a second form of slavery. Foreign control of the financial sector will mean foreign control of the economy. It will mean that the government will have to implement further neoliberal policies – the commercialisation of education and health, the privatisation/re-privatisation of public utilities, massive job losses and salary stagnation through various anti-labour policies, and devaluation of the currency – meant to limit expenditure on social services in order to have a stable flow of profit repatriation. Furthermore, foreign investors cannot trust the Nigerian capitalist class, therefore they will have to have a stake in major sectors of the economy as a condition for funding the economy. Politically, direct foreign intervention in political and military policies will be necessary as a way of securing foreign business interests. This will imply increased spying activities in the country. Already many of these economic and political policies are currently being implemented as conditions for loan taking and servicing. With Sanusi’s pills, the next economic crisis, a normal occurrence in a capitalist boom-and-bust system, will be severe for the working people.

A sober analysis of the banking crisis will show that Nigeria’s capitalist business and political class are at a dead-end. Sanusi could not even attempt a partial nationalisation of the affected banks, as done by his masters in Western countries. If over 200 big companies could own trillions in bad debt, is it not sensible that such companies (and the affected banks) should be taken over by government and put under the democratic public control of workers, communities and consumer associations. Democratic public management and ownership of the controlling big businesses in Nigeria will mean a massive government commitment to the provision of free, quality education and healthcare; public mass housing, an integrated transport system (road, rail, air and water); mechanised, poor peasant-based, environmentally friendly agriculture; a sustainable power and energy system; decent job provision for all able-bodied citizens with a living minimum wage and pension; social security; and massive industrial development plans.

But it will be illusory to expect the political class and the capitalist spin doctors like Sanusi, who are part of the problem, to vote for public ownership. It will take huge movements of workers, the youth and the oppressed for this to be achieved. This explains why over 10 years of civil rule have meant continuous misery for the vast majority and wealth for the few. Therefore, as against the collaborationist and uncritical support of the labour leadership for Sanusi’s reform, this is the time for the labour movement to build a mass, democratic fighting platform which will mobilise the enormous anger, energy and commitment of the majority of working and impoverished masses for the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy under the democratic control and management of the organised working and poor people. The labour movement, pro-labour, socialist and youth organisations must be able to link the current struggle against deregulation and for a N52,200 minimum wage with the need to fight for the radical overhaul of Nigeria’s economy through a social revolution. This underlines the need for a national summit to build a revolutionary, socialist-oriented political platform. A genuine, socialist and workers’ government will serve as beacon for working and poor people, in not only Africa but the whole world. This is the lesson of the current bank crisis.

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* Kola Ibrahim is an activist based at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Enuwa, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

South Africa's National Planning Commission and tackling poverty

William Gumede

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/60704

To be really effective, South Africa's newly envisaged National Planning Commission must operate like the command centre of a country at war, meticulously planning, not against invaders, but the transformation of the economy, as if the country’s future depended on it – which it does.

South Africa’s extraordinarily high levels of mass poverty, unemployment and inequality are pegged at levels that were seen in many countries only during the Great Depression, during or immediately in the aftermath of debilitating wars.

Most successful developing countries since the Second World War, especially the East Asian tigers, have had a central structure, managing economic development around a well-thought through, long-term development plan.

Such central planning units make detailed assessments of the state of the economy, then draw up plans to improve their economies to specific timelines, closely monitoring these plans to see that implementation remains on schedule, if not, or if the policies appear to be inappropriate, make suitable interventions early on. They task individuals with responsibility for every facet of the delivery. They make a point of appointing only the best talent in the country to these central planning institutions. Those who don’t deliver are fired immediately.

In many countries these planning structures were set up after governments, society and citizens realised that their countries were in deep economic crisis and they had to do something very drastically and very quickly to lift their economies out of the morass. Failing to do so, these countries faced being annihilated by powerful external enemies, ready to pounce on their vulnerability.

Their task was to raise economic growth, spread prosperity to the largest amount of people in the shortest possible time and industrialise in the quickest possible time. These economic planning structures had the political backing from top leaders, all political parties, civil society and the wider population. Everything was given to them to make their work possible. These organisations were extremely accountable: they had to account for every cent, in circumstances where resources were so scarce that the country could not afford to waste the littlest of resources.

These central planning institutions were at the centre of these public services, and marshal them behind a common goal: to secure industrialisation in the quickest possible time, according to clear delivery timelines and targets. These institutions were backed up by extremely competent public service and led by the best talents; appointment to the public service was through strict entrance examinations.

South Africa’s public service is politicised, riddled with corruption and inefficiency, and appointing the most competent individual for the job is certainly not the norm. On current form the public service will not be able to deliver a successful developmental state along the East Asian developmental states. By setting up a national planning commission of the best brains in the country and giving them a clear mandate, targets and deliverables, and a long-term development plan to pursue, the National Planning Commission may possibly have to circumvent the public service, at least in the short term, when the service is being transformed into a more efficient and accountable one. In fact, any national planning commission may see the implementation of its policy stymied by an inefficient public service.

There are some lessons to be learned from South Africa’s 2010 World Cup Local Organizing Committee, in terms of pursuing targets and meeting deadlines, for the new National Planning Commission. South Africa’s 2010 World Cup Local Organizing Committee’s task is to plan, implement and deliver a successful World Cup for South Africa. If they don’t deliver on time, South Africa will be deeply embarrassed. This kind of urgency and resolve, where failure is not an option, and delivery must happen on time, must be the driving force for any new planning commission.

A national planning commission that has the backing of the president, can circumvent lethargic parts of the civil service, and which has the power to get individual departments and officials to actually do something to deliver, could be an option for South Africa. Fighting poverty, unemployment and inequality should be like fighting a war. Every resource, talent within the state, civil society and communities, must be marshalled to tackle these problems as quickly as possible. Finally, any national planning commission must have an extraordinary sense of accountability, transparency and internal democracy, but it must also allow for maximum citizen participation.

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* William Gumede is the co-editor (with Leslie Dikeni) of 'The Poverty of Ideas'.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Nyerere’s nationalist legacy

Issa G. Shivji

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/60700

Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a great nationalist of the first generation of African leaders who struggled for independence. His nationalism was rooted in pan-Africanism, which is what gave it a universal dimension transcending narrow territorial, ethnic or racial nationalisms. In his address to celebrate the 40th year of Ghana’s independence, Nyerere said:

'For centuries, we had been oppressed and humiliated as Africans. We were hunted and enslaved as Africans, and we were colonised as Africans… Since we were humiliated as Africans, we had to be liberated as Africans.'

This way of conceptualising nationalism is both political and universal. It is political in that it privileges the common experience of oppression of a people and their struggle for liberation as opposed to identity. It is universal in that it transcends narrow nationalisms based on identities of race, religion, tribe, ethnicity and even countries. In the case of Africa, in fact Nyerere characterised African countries as artificial entities, as vinchi (statelets) – as he derided them in Kiswahili – carved out by imperial powers. His clarion call therefore was for African liberation and African unity. Only thus could the African people overcome both oppression and humiliation.



This pan-Africanist nationalism found its succinct expression in the Arusha Declaration of 1967. Its rallying cry, whose echo resonated with the African masses all over the continent, including in the diaspora, was:

'We have been oppressed a great deal, we have been exploited a great deal and we have been disregarded a great deal. It is our weakness that has led to our being oppressed, exploited and disregarded. Now we want a revolution – a revolution which brings to an end our weakness, so that we are never again exploited, oppressed, or humiliated.'

This was a powerful statement. C.L.R. James described the Arusha Declaration as ‘the highest stage of resistance ever reached by revolting Blacks’, but as he said, a statement of intentions. It is true that Nyerere’s government went beyond intentions in taking concrete measures including nationalising the commanding heights of the economy and instituting the leadership code prohibiting party and state leaders from indulging in capitalist and feudalist practices such as owning shares in companies, taking directorships in private capitalist enterprises, receiving two or more salaries and owning houses for renting.

There has been considerable debate on whether or not the economic polices followed under the policy of Ujamaa or socialism were successful, whether the leaders were truly socialist or not and whether there was a genuine participation of the workers and peasants in the decision-making organs of the party and the state. Whatever the merits in this debate – no doubt some of the analysis of Tanzania’s ujamaa was powerful and irrefutable – the greatest legacy of Nyerere lies not so much in his economic policies but rather in his grand vision of pan-Africanist liberation in which African people could say: 'We have stood up!'

There are two fundamental premises of Nyerere’s nationalism. One, that African states should be able to make their own decisions, that is, to be able to exercise their sovereignty meaningfully and, two, the unity of Africa. The two are inseparable. In fact, Nyerere’s call for the unity of Africa was connected with his passion for the right of African states to exercise their sovereignty. He rightly believed and constantly argued that African mini-states would not be able to defend their sovereignty and independence without uniting. In this, he was one with Kwame Nkrumah. Unfortunately, these paragons of pan-Africanism did not succeed in actualising their vision during their lifetime. But like all great visions, today their arguments are as fresh, and perhaps, have greater relevance after the rude interruption of neoliberalism of the last two decades.

More than its economic impact, neoliberalism in Africa was a political and ideological onslaught on nationalism. For a while, it helped to rehabilitate imperialism morally, enabling it to go on a political offensive. Neoliberal policies were a frontal attack on the sovereignty and independence of African states as these states lost the basic right of a sovereign state – to make its own policy. Ironically, the neoliberal period laid bare the limits of territorial nationalism and vindicated Nyerere’s pan-Africanism – without unity, Africa would not be able to defend its independence.

Globalisation and neoliberalism have come full circle. In its extreme form of casino capitalism, neoliberalism entered a terminal state last August. As capitalist powers rewrite the rules of the game, African masses and their organic intellectuals are beginning to question the game itself. This was not possible during the neoliberal triumphalism when we were told by the Thatcherites of this world that ‘there is no alternative’ (TINA). The TINA syndrome gripped African rulers, and the prospects of integration into globalisation mesmerised them. Nyerere’s successors were no exception. They joined the neoliberal bandwagon with a vengeance. The ideology of neoliberalism seemed so strong then that the Arusha Declaration was not only forgotten but unceremoniously buried as politicians set to liberalise and privatise, turning over public assets to rapacious private interests at fire-sale prices. Public goods – education, health services, water and electricity – were all turned into commodities to be sold for private profit. State coffers were emptied as politicians turned public offices into a vehicle for accumulation. Politicians became rentiers as rentiers became politicians.

As neoliberal chickens come home to roost, the popular masses are re-membering, to use Ng’ugi’s felicitous phrase, the Arusha Declaration. Whereas only two years ago, no one remembered the 40th anniversary of the Arusha Declaration, this year, at the 10th commemoration of Mwalimu’s Nyerere’s death, Azimio la Arusha and miiko ya viongozi (the leadership code) was on everyone’s lips – from the lumpens of Dar es Salaam to the learned of the university. Even the officially organised ceremonies were forced to have a token presence of the critics.

On TV talk shows and in newspaper columns, ordinary people repeated tirelessly: Mwalimu gave us dignity; the Arusha Declaration cared for us, the oppressed and the disregarded. There could not be a better tribute to Mwalimu Nyerere’s great legacy – pan-Africanist nationalism. For truly, as he once put it graphically, African nationalism can only be pan-Africanism, otherwise it is ‘equivalent of tribalism within the context of our separate nation states'.

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* Issa G. Shivji is the Mwalimu Nyerere University Professor of Pan-African Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam.
* Shivji is the author of 'Where is Uhuru? Reflections on the Struggle for Democracy in Africa'.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

CIDA cuts to KAIROS will devastate human rights work overseas

KAIROS

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/60765

CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) has cut funds to KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, ‘with no transition funds and no explanation’. KAIROS, a church based non-governmental organisation that represents seven of Canada’s largest denominations, works on a range of social justice issues, including human rights in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

KAIROS and partners call on the networks and supporters of KAIROS to meet with their MPs to discuss this critical matter. Please, respectfully and politely:
- Speak about your own positive involvement with KAIROS
- Express grave concern about this decision
- State KAIROS’ desire to restore our long standing relationship with CIDA
- Emphasise the impacts of this decision on global partners and our work in Canada
- Ask them to call on the Government of Canada to reverse this decision.

Please also write to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Bev Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, and Margaret Biggs, President of CIDA , requesting a reversal of the decision. Please copy your letters to KAIROS.
The Canadian government’s decision to cut funding to KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives will have a devastating impact on KAIROS’ overseas partners and the thousands of marginalized people in local communities they support, KAIROS announced today.

KAIROS, a church based non-governmental organization that represents seven of Canada’s largest denominations, works on a range of social justice issues, including human rights in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

An official from CIDA called KAIROS executive director Mary Corkery on Monday afternoon, November 30th, to inform her that CIDA would no longer fund KAIROS. Corkery was told that KAIROS no longer fits CIDA priorities. No other explanation or information was provided.

KAIROS’ current contract with CIDA expired in September, but it had received an extension until November 30th, the day it was informed of the cuts.

“We are disheartened that this longstanding relationship and decades of support by the Canadian government has been ended,” says Corkery. “KAIROS and the millions of Canadians we represent through our member churches and organizations do not understand why these cuts have been made.”

In a message to Bev Oda, Minister for International Cooperation, requesting an explanation, Corkery writes, “I know of no precedent for the Canadian International Development Agency ending a decades-long funding relationship with a major Canadian organization without notice in writing, with no reason and no transition plan”.

The CIDA-funded overseas program received matching financial support from KAIROS’ member churches, church-related organizations and other donors. Since 1973, KAIROS, and the church coalitions from which it was formed eight years ago, had received funding from CIDA to support partners working in regions experiencing some of the world’s most egregious human rights violations.

KAIROS’ work is highly regarded in Canada and overseas. As the November 30th deadline approached, KAIROS member churches, its partners and other organizations had been writing Minister Oda to request that she approve the KAIROS contract which has been sitting on her desk since July awaiting her signature.

One of those letters came from a Colombian group, the Organización Femenina Popular (the Popular Women’s Group), which has been awaiting CIDA funding through KAIROS.

“As you know, we work in regions in Colombia where armed conflict has resulted in the denial of women’s basic rights. The economic support from KAIROS and CIDA permits us to implement programs which include legal and health services, community kitchens, and other humanitarian assistance that have saved many lives and given possibilities and opportunities to hundreds of women, mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and entire families,” Yolanda Becerra Vega, OFP Director General wrote to Bev Oda on Monday.

“In addition to the impact overseas, these cuts are a loss for Canadians,” says Corkery. “KAIROS educates Canadians across the country about Canada’s work for international development. Our work in Canada and overseas expresses Canadian values in upholding human rights, and is informed by excellent analysis of our partners in the Global South.”

The KAIROS contract that just expired received a positive audit and excellent CIDA evaluation this year. KAIROS submitted its new program proposal for 2009-2013 to CIDA in March 2009. It went through a lengthy approval process within CIDA up until the Minister’s level and has been waiting for approval from the Minister since July 2009.

The government’s decision comes a week after 57 people were massacred in politically motivated killings in the Philippines, including two lawyers from a human rights organization supported by KAIROS, and just days before Prime Minister Stephen Harper heads to China.

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

ICC Prosecutor's notice to Kenyan vicitms

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/60670

OTP PUBLIC NOTICE: VICTIMS OF POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE IN KENYA HAVE 30 DAYS TO
MAKE REPRESENTATIONS TO ICC IN THE HAGUE

The Hague, 23 November 2009

By this notice, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court informs
victims of alleged crimes committed in Kenya during the post-election
violence of 2007-2008 that he will request authorization from Pre-trial Chamber II to open an investigation into such alleged crimes, in accordance with Article 15(3) of the Rome Statute and Rule 50 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.

The Prosecutor considers that “there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an
investigation into the Situation in the Republic of Kenya in relation to the post-election violence of 2007-2008”.

According to Article 15(3) of the Rome Statute, “victims may make representations to the Pre-Trial Chamber, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Evidence”.

In accordance with the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (Rule 50), “the Prosecutor shall inform victims, known to him […] or to the Victims and Witnesses Unit, or their legal representatives, unless the Prosecutor decides that doing so would pose a danger to the integrity of the investigation or the life or well-being of victims and witnesses. The Prosecutor may also give notice by general means in order to reach groups of victims if he or she determines in the particular circumstances of the case that such notice could not pose a danger to the integrity and effective conduct of the investigation or to the security and well-being of victims and witnesses”.

Accordingly, the Prosecutor notifies victims of the post-election violence in
Kenya that they can send their comments to the Judges of Pre-Trial Chamber II
on whether an investigation on such alleged crimes should be opened. The
victims or their legal representatives have 30 days to make representations to the Pre-Trial Chamber.

Victims can make their representations in writing to Pre-Trial Chamber II, which
they should channel through the Registry to the postal address below:

International Criminal Court
Pre Trial Chamber II
PO Box 19519
2500 CM, The Hague
The Netherlands
Further information will follow shortly.

The Pre-Trial Chamber may request additional information from any of the victims who have made such representations, and may hold a hearing if it
considers it appropriate.

The Chamber will give notice of its decision on the Prosecutor’s request to
victims who have made representations.

Should the Judges authorize the opening of the investigation, victims will also
have the opportunity to present their voices and concerns during the
proceedings and, at a later stage, to request reparations.
The present notice has been posted as of today on the website of the Court, and
sent to the media of Kenya, and to a wide range of NGOs. The Registry has been
informed.

Petition against Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/60684

Ekklesia is calling on on Christians around the world, and particularly Christian leaders, to oppose the extreme and violent “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” proposed in Uganda by signing this petition. Ekklesia calls on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to end his silence on the matter, to condemn the bill in public and to urge Ugandan Christians to oppose it.

In addition to life imprisonment for consensual sexual activity between people of the same sex, the bill would introduce the death penalty for anyone whose same-sex partner is disabled. It would introduce imprisonment for anyone in authority – such as a priest or minister - who knew of homosexual activity but failed to report it.

Most Christians, who hold a range of views on sexual ethics, will be horrified by these measures. By speaking out, Christian leaders can expose the hollowness of the religious rhetoric used by the bill’s supporters. Given the place of Anglicanism in Uganda, it is important that Rowan Williams adds his voice to the opposition to the bill.

South Africa: Letter of protest against retrenchments at Wits

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/60758

Dear Professor Loyiso Nongxa and Dr Swemmer

We, the undersigned academic and administrative staff of the University of the Witwatersrand, are writing to express our disgust and opposition to the retrenchment of cleaning staff from the University in its aim to cut spending.

We are well aware of the economic challenges faced by the University but we are also aware of the economic challenges faced by many sections of society in the current recession. We are therefore opposed to the retrenchment of a large number of the most vulnerable and poorly paid staff currently employed within the University. In a climate of high unemployment, our cleaning staff are likely to be supporting numerous family members on their relatively small salaries. As low skilled workers, the retrenched are unlikely to find alternative employment, particularly as Supercare have made it clear that workers let go by Wits will not be redeployed elsewhere. If successful, the retrenchments will have huge and far reaching negative implications on families and communities.

In addition, the manner in which workers’ contracts have been altered to allow for these retrenchments appears to be illegal. This needs to be fully and immediately investigated and all retrenchments put in abeyance while this investigation takes place.

Further, as pointed out by many, the University is hardly a paragon of cleanliness. The reduction of cleaning staff is likely to make matters worse particularly in light of the expansion in the intake of students.

For these reasons, we the undersigned are opposed to the University’s decision to allow the retrenchment of the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers in the University.

South Africa: Raising awareness in the UK

Abahlali Solidarity Campaign

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/60753

KANERE Refugee Free Press editor assaulted

Qaabata Boru

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/60698

Dear all,

My name is Qaabata Boru and I'm the editor of KANERE, from Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya. I would also apologise to many of you with whom we have been in touch on a different issue that got interrupted.

I would like to draw your attention to the bad incident that I encountered that involves being a KANERE journalist. On 10 November 2009, I was assaulted by three men known to me in the same community and this case came as turning point when I produced my camera and was taking photos of my burning fence that was stretching towards the house and if it were not for my family friends my house could have been destroyed completely.

The authorities on the ground are aware of the case but the perpetrators were not yet arrested. On that the same evening my house was robbed when the door was broken in and several pieces of my property were stolen including: 1. A digital video camera; 2. Ksh 10,000; 3. Stationery, with damped on the ground and water poured on them; and 4. KANERE papers and previous publications stolen and other losses.

I'm terribly sad about this and request any ways possible that you think could be helpful.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Qaabata
KANERE Refugee Free Press

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

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

For how long will Kenya suffer?

Nicholas Oloo

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/60703

For how long will the members of parliament (MPs) guided by selfishness and ethnic chauvinism make decisions that the people they pretend to serve can applaud? These are MPs who in the majority are graduates of the Nyayo school of plunder, deceit, torture and tyranny, who are regrouping and apparently trying a Chinese hunting technique in which a hunter clothes himself as a harmless pig and confronts a smart tiger. To the over-confident tiger this is an easy prey that requires no effort to kill and eat, but to its surprise the hunter emerges from underneath the camouflage savouring and killing it instead. The old politics must die. Are we Kenyans ready to give a hyena a knife to cut the meat in a butcher?

Our politicians have no sense of national interest; they are propelled by personal interest, hypocrisy, greed and malice, and their overriding interest is the fate of their thirst for power. Their inclination is towards family interests, while the wider population gets poorer by the day. They are selfish, greedy, arrogant, insensitive, dishonest, incompetent, irresponsible and tribalist. They deal with a politics of tribe and self-preservation. They are suffering from an ideological rallying point. They should understand that they may drive this country to anarchy. The country is in a critical stage of its political life, but the monsters of parliament seem to be preoccupied with mismanaging the very establishment they are supposed to manage. They are behaving like irresponsible parents who sell all their meagre resources to go out and make merry while their children are starving to death at home. They don’t know we the young people exist. They only see us when they want to use us. And it is our future they are busy ruining. They have ruined the economy.

My heart bleeds when I see increasing levels of general degradation besetting our lovely country, only to see the fat cats feasting on the very resources which are supposed to be used to uplift poor people's living standards. I salute the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development with its partnership with donors on cash transfer on OVCs (orphaned and vulnerable children) and money for the disabled and the old aged. We need action as youths now, not tomorrow. As young people we have to defend our stake because we have seen that nobody else will. Let us arise from our slumber to be the giant that God ordained us to be – after all civilisation and mankind originated from Africa

We are going to be the generation that never grew old. Aids and drugs are finishing young people, the economy is crippled and the environment is being killed. Joblessness is so high that even though degrees do not guarantee one a job, the country has the prefect old Sicilian mafia system of government of which personnel of questionable competence are placed in crucial decision-making positions. People no longer earn merit or qualify for appointments; appointments are the rewards of a web of patronage. Merit has gone out the window. We may be wiped out before we do something meaningful with our lives. It is becoming crystal clear that this country does not merely need radical reform but a revolutionary transformation. There is no need of being alive in this political and economic disaster; some have died and others also must sacrifice for the sake of this motherland. A great leader has no end to his quest, and remember that the great dies to be remembered while the weak sits idle and condemn the world in favour of heaven. There is nothing so satisfying to the spirit of a dead victor than a great history achieved while serving his people. It is time for young men and women in this country to stand upright. It is also desirable for Kenyan society at large to depart from old traditions and cultures that a woman’s work is only confined to the kitchen – the men have failed us; we don’t need populist politics like the Mau issue.

Who the hell do they think they are? Why do they think they are indispensable?

The 10 million Kenyans starving are just numbers to them. The 2.5 million army of orphaned heads of families are mere stories, while IDPs (internally displaced persons) and street families are a non-issue and unemployment is nothing to them. So for whose welfare are they elected?

The problem of this country will not be solved by cheap politics, hatred speeches and resolutions of sycophants at public rallies, but through a politics of reconciliation and economic empowerment. Even if we have a good constitution that is as clean as the mother of Jesus Christ, without economic empowerment people will still gamble.

Our politicians have suddenly become strident adherents of spinozism 'wazee walisema aliye juu mgoje chini' ' lakini wahenga wakiongeza wakasema' aliyejuu mgojee chini, utamgoja milele na utakufa bila kilele' walimaanisha hata shuka na utakufa bila kusikika kwa hivyo lazima tuende tuwashukishe hata kama itabidii wao watumie barabara sisi tupitie msituni'. To the right honourable prime minister, the wananchi are behind you in the Mau issue and the same people who detained you and the late Titus Adongosi have resurrected from the grave and don’t be scared, you are going to win the battle. Joshua chapter one verse nine says:

'Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.'

I am aghast at the pitiless audacity of some cabinet ministers. I am horrified that the cabinet ministers and some MPs working in cahoots would actually have the temerity to politicise the Mau issue. 'Msifikiriye tukinyamaza sisi ni wajinga ' na hata wahenga hawa kukosea walipo sema mjinga akierevuka mwerevu huwa mashakani. Tume erevuka zaidi sasa. Mnajifanya ngangari sisi tutakuwa ngunguri.'

In fact we still have the newspaper copies of the 1990s which carried questionable dealings by those claiming to be the m essiah of this country come 2012. In fact we are going to take you to Guetano Mobey, not the Hague.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

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

Not everyone’s world is getting closer

Neoliberalism and globalisation in Africa: Contestations from the embattled continent

Claire Ceruti

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/60763

This collection of essays examines Africa’s special place in globalisation. Africa south of the Sahara often appears in cheery UN and World Bank reports after the phrase ‘the sole exception’. Its wealth has declined in the last 20 years, against the trend for other regions.[1] Globalisation skipped chunks of Africa, whether the issue is electricity, ‘space-compressing’ technologies such as the internet, or tourism. What Africa has more of is death – life expectancy here is regressing. The authors of this collection expose the ‘Washington consensus’ that Africa’s special predatory and protectionist states cause all its problems, while also avoiding bland generalisations about contemporary globalisation.

Joseph Mensah explores culture. Globalisation has not made everywhere identical. Africa has always acted back upon the rest of the world culturally as much as it has been acted on. Modern transport and communication have intensified the exchange between global and local, embodied in Asian rap, Chinese tacos, Irish bagels, dreadlocks and African music crossing the world. Mensah is no romantic. He knows this integration is deeply unequal. Not everyone’s world is getting closer. The woman collecting water on foot connects to the world differently from a jet-setter with a wi-fi laptop, although things going on in the jet-setter’s world might be directly responsible for the water-bearer having no water on tap.

Globalisation in the era of neoliberalism amplifies both integration and the inequality in an ‘overarching process that makes exclusion an integral part of globalisation’. A century ago Leon Trotsky called this uneven and combined development. Only Patrick Bond calls it by this name in this volume but the concept appears in other chapters.

In fact the new scramble for Africa’s resources creates predatory states. ‘Managing large-scale resource extraction requires strong geopolitical and military capacity, and given the failure of many Pentagon missions in Africa, local strongmen are required,’ writes Bond. He recounts a memorable measure of international looting, from a World Bank report called ‘Where is the Wealth of Nations?’. The report compared the existing productive capacity of various African countries with the capacity they could have had if the oil and mineral revenues had been reinvested, not extracted to distant headquarters. Nigeria could have had five times more productive stock than it has now, and it would have been less dependent on oil. On a personal scale the losses translated to more than US$2,000 for each Gabonese person in 2000.[2]

Unequal integration produces new kinds of criminal survivalism, described in William Tettey’s chapters, such as those emails from Kabila’s son who needs your bank details to help him secretly move millions from the country. Some young people in Ghana also try to exploit the power imbalance, hoping to escape dead-end situations by hooking up with an Obroni (a white person) from a richer country over the internet. Frequently, the power imbalance chews them up and spits them out.

Blair Rutherford’s chapter on land redistribution in Zimbabwe marries the local and the global to transcend the false dichotomy of either absolving the Western powers or of regarding Mugabe as anti-imperialist. Zimbabwe’s structural adjustment programme, begun in the late 1980s, kept the loans coming but impoverished most black Zimbabweans. It also enriched the mainly white commercial farmers who replaced food production with flowers and tobacco grown for export. Hence the land invasions. Many were later hijacked by Mugabe’s cronies, but even before that they failed to link up with the farm workers who were excluded from wealth grabbed by the white farmers.

I was shocked to learn that this is partly rooted in the fact that black farm workers could not vote in local elections until 17 years after Zimbabwe’s liberation and therefore were assumed to be with the white farmers. When their vote was debated in 1988 the minister of local government objected it might allow them to vote out their bosses and employers.

Most of the authors are healthily sceptical of existing African elites. Eunice Sahle’s chapter on ‘The New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development’ shows up the African leaders who drafted it, staking their claim to be doorkeepers to neoliberalism on their continent. I was therefore astonished by the claim in the closing paragraphs of the book that ‘internal leadership’ is the problem; the West ‘can only operate on the continent with the tacit agreement of local leaders’ and therefore perhaps what Africa needs is ‘visionary, tech-savvy…philosopher-kings’ who ‘understand the power geometries of the world’, acccording to Mensah and Roger Oppong-Koranteng. Of course solutions must come from within Africa but ‘false diagnoses and dangerous prescriptions’ such as those from the World Bank may also flow from the self-interest of Africa’s rulers.

Julius Kiiza’s discussion of protectionism versus deregulation observes that globalisation is not the opposite of economic nationalism but the economic nationalism of the dominant economies. Yet his solutions barely peek past the existing top-down order. ‘We need to recruit the best and brightest national skills… We also need to reclaim the state from neoliberal state elites and transform government into a key strategic player in the economy,’ he writes.

Carolyn Basset is much better. She observes that the people’s budget campaign in South Africa failed to challenge neoliberal budgeting because it relied on lobbying government rather than mobilising people. Bond outlines a set of responses a ‘genuinely left government’ could take (including defaulting on the debt, refusing tied aid and import-substitution) but acknowledges that no government is ‘genuinely left’, so ‘bottom-up social movements have to intensify their work’.

Bond’s measures could be an early bulwark for a Chavezista-type mass movement in Africa putting its foot down on looting, but it has to start out powerfully to outweigh the benefits politicans get and the international punishments they avoid when they play along with globalisation. It would eventually need to overturn all existing government. Real independence requires a movement powerful enough to take back mining interests, land rights, and workplaces from big corporations like Shell, De Beers and Anglo.

Africans need equal access to all the world’s riches, no more and no less. We could not afford to remain confined in an import substitution ghetto. The movement will have to reach into the very heart of the West’s shiniest financial districts and into the very heart of people like itself in every part of the globe. Such a movement could not long be limited to the ghetto of capitalism.

A sketchy chapter on mass resistance outlines social movements and social forums, but skims or misses the waves of democracy movements, ‘IMF riots’ and mass strikes that Bond mentions. These tidbits are important because all the way through the book what I missed was more discussion of how these forms of resistance can grow into a power able to overturn entirely the current order of things.

* Joseph Mensah (ed), Neoliberalism and Globalisation in Africa: Contestations from the Embattled Continent is published by Palgrave Macmillan, 2009 (ISBN: 978-0-230-60781-1).
* Claire Ceruti is a researcher at Centre for Sociological Research at the University of Johannesburg.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

NOTES

[1] Which is not to say that everyone was getting richer in the rest of the world-the gap between the richest and the poorest also increased over this period, and Mensah notes islands of wealth within the poorest puddles.
[2] A weakness in several chapters is an absolutely uncritical use of David Harvey’s phrase ‘accumulation by dispossession’. It is not wrong as a description of the daylight robbery of Africa but as several contributors to this journal have pointed out it is more problematic to see it as a form of primitive accumulation rather than some bonus loot on the side.

Review of Fantu Cheru's 'Africa’s Development in the 21st Century: Reshaping the Research Agenda'

Michael Keating

2009-12-03

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/60699

Frankly, trying to address the ills facing the African continent in 40 pages is like trying to gather in a school of tuna with a butterfly net. You have to wonder what the Nordic Africa Institute, the sponsor of this work, was trying to achieve.

Nevertheless, Fantu Cheru’s treatise, 'Africa’s Development Agenda in the 21st Century: Reshaping the Research Agenda', is an earnest attempt to provide a roadmap for a new path towards African development. Cheru’s dispassionate lens briskly sweeps across the major issues of agriculture, urbanisation, globalisation, peace and conflict in a survey of all the ills that the continent faces. Unfortunately, he misses some of the major and perhaps most intractable ones.

He states that 'the development challenge in Africa is multidimensional and conventional development orthodoxies are inadequate to address it.' He then proposes five pillars of development for rebuilding Africa: reverse the failure in agriculture; reverse the decline in higher education; strengthen regional integration; expand the governance reform agenda; and prevent deadly conflicts. These dictums should strike even the most casual reader as both obvious and conventional.

Search as I might, I couldn’t find one exciting new approach to the challenges of development. There was scant mention of issues like corruption, HIV/AIDS, the possibilities for communication and bio-technologies, the impact of transnational drug and weapons flows, the dangers of China’s unique brand of self-serving ‘assistance’, reforming the World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) agendas and the bilateral aid system, or the impact that climate change, economic meltdowns or the global jihad will have on Africa in the new century. What Cheru has given us is a policy paper that could have come directly off the World Bank’s website 10 years ago.

At this point one has to ask, what is Africa? Is it Botswana or Guinea-Bissau? Is it Swaziland or the Democratic Republic of Congo? Of course it is all of them. But they won’t develop in remotely similar ways. In fact, there should actually be a moratorium on the use of the word Africa in book titles related to development. Just that one modification would force well-intentioned thinkers like Famu to investigate more deeply and see what might actually work in a particular case, rather than what ought to work for everyone.

Famu should also pay more respect to the historical record. He calls the conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola 'the most deadly' without putting into the same category the war in the Congo, which has claimed several million deaths, or the wars in Mozambique, Sudan or even the wars of his own country Ethiopia with Eritrea. The section on conflict is the weakest in the text. In addition to committing factual errors such as claiming that Liberia’s President Samuel Doe was killed by supporters of Charles Taylor, rather than by Taylor’s arch-rival Prince Johnson (caught live on video tape), Famu submits that localising conflict resolution is the key to preventing conflict in African states in addition to 'changes in the social and political order'. Advice like this is veridical but hardly a reshaping of anyone’s agenda. He also promotes such dubious contrivances as the African Union inspired Panel of the Wise, which has accomplished nothing of significance since its creation in 2007.

If Africa must rely on the African Union or talk-shops like ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States) to solve its endemic conflicts, then pity the poor African. Even in West Africa, where Liberia and Sierra Leone seem to be making baby-step progress, Guinea is heading in the opposite direction. What good has the African Union been in Guinea, or Guinea-Bissau or Equatorial Guinea, where thugs rule civil society and the word democracy is a tasteless pretence on the tongues of vampire elites?

In fairness Famu’s text has two strong recommendations: the need to assist urban slum dwellers who are multiplying exponentially but who rarely get a nod from the donor community; and the need to strengthen tertiary education, which has been embarrassingly ignored by the donor community. There is a great danger that with the newly inspired focus on reforming agriculture, the millions of young people growing up in urban slums will simply be left out of everyone’s ‘agenda'. It is certainly a lot easier to give a bag of seeds to an impoverished farmer than it is to find jobs for slum-dwelling, semi-literate, 20-year-old ex-combatants. One problem is that when the world thinks Africa it thinks poor peasant farmer, while the reality is that Africa, like most of the developing world, is urbanising at a rapid clip, and to say in an unplanned manner would not be ungenerous.

Brevity can sometimes be a virtue, but in the case of Professor Famu’s agenda it undermines its message by leaving out the urgency and anger.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Fantu Cheru, 'Africa’s Development in the 21st Century: Reshaping the Research Agenda', 2008, The Nordic Africa Institute, ISBN: 878-91-7106-626-2.
* Michael Keating is the associate director of the Center for Democracy and Development, University of Massachusetts, Boston.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

The wrongs we as man do fellow man

An interview with Ugandan writer Ulysses Chuka Kibuuka

Conversations with Writers

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/African_Writers/60762

Ugandan writer, Ulysses Chuka Kibuuka has written and published three books: A thriller, For the Fairest (Fountain Publishers, 1991); a collection of short stories, Pale Souls Abroad (Fountain Publishers, 2004); and a novel, Saints and Scarecrows (Fountain Publishers, 2007). His first novel, For the Fairest, won the 1993 Uganda Publishers and Booksellers Association (UPABA) Award for best fiction and was reviewed by The New Vision and Radio Uganda, among others. In this interview, Ulysses Kibuuka talks about religion, writing and the state of publishing in Uganda.

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: When did you start writing?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: I started writing when I was a kid in p4 (Uganda) but first got published 1991, even though I had written For the Fairest in 1980.

Uganda had a real hell of a time, and education and all that goes with it went to the dogs – hence the deficit in publishers or enthusiasts. The difference is not much today – not in terms of security but in terms of respect for literature, writing, etc.

With the coming of the current administration into state power – I was part of the guerrilla detail that captured the city of Kampala and still serve in the armed forces aged 56! – it was relatively easy to get a publisher. Fountain Publishers are new, having begun in 1990. I am their first (fiction) published writer.

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: What are the biggest challenges that you face?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: The challenges a writer in Uganda must face are poverty – inability to afford paper or, worse still, a computer. The worst is that our publishers, very well and perhaps rightly knowing the difficulty in marketing fiction, only encourage us to write as long as we don't expect them to handle our manuscripts with any iota of urgency.

I wrote Fairest in 1981 and only got it published in 1991, after a lot of beseeching and cajoling the publishers. I am sure the print run of nearly 2,000 copies isn't sold out so many years down the road!

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: Who is your target audience?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: I never targeted any specific audience. All readers of books were in my mind as I penned down my words.

I – wrongly, of course – believed there were many readers in Uganda and that there was money to be made from writing a thriller.

Because I loved what I wrote, I believe it would be loved by everybody, it was almost as if I expected them to know my book was sweet even before they opened it!

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: Who influenced you most?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: I was influenced by early books I read as a child in primary school.

Henry Rider Haggard's Montezuma's Daughter, The Black Arrow and Treasure Island by R. L. Stevenson, Typee by Herman Melville and much later Alistair MacLean's and Mickey Spillane's thrillers helped sharpen my whodunit sense of the thriller.

MacLean greatly influenced my Fairest.

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: Have your personal experiences influenced your writing in any way?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: Yes, my personal experiences can be found in much of my writing. Some I've been unable to conceal!

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: What are your main concerns as a writer?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: My concerns as a writer are plenty. I hate organised religion, for instance, and know Africa might never get over the damage these 'faiths' have done to our spiritual and even moral fibre(s). In Saints and Scarecrows, I vent my anger at this and give my reasons, which I am 100 per cent sure nobody can dispute to win over me.

I am motivated to write by looking at all the wrongs we as man do fellow man unnecessarily. I see apartheid practiced amongst us Africans in extents nearly, if not as bad, as the Boers did in South Africa.

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: Do you write everyday?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: I don't write everyday. I even spend months without noting down anything. The reasons for this are many, but one of them is that I've been disillusioned with writing.

However, I have more than 20 books projected in my head! Writers' block? Maybe.

I want to try my hand at screenplay writing. There is money there.

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: How would you describe your latest book?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: My latest (last) book is Of Saints and Scarecrows, which came out in 2001.

I always find it easy to write on the subjects I choose. Of course, I put in a lot of research. I don't see any aspects of my book(s) that I don't find enjoyable.

My last book is a novel that touches on carnal love between a Ugandan muslim trader and a Munyarwanda (Rwandan) catholic nun exiled in Uganda. I can say I started that book two decades before the Rwanda genocide, but I cannot prove that I predicted most of the causes, since my publishers only accepted it long after the horrors.

CONVERSATIONS WITH WRITERS: If you do decide to continue writing, what will your next book be about?

ULYSSES KIBUUKA: I have projected four novels. One is to be titled The Dekabusa Autopsy. It is a thriller involving a Ugandan secret agent operating in Nairobi, who uncovers a plot by a group of post-apartheid South African supremacists who want to use East African politicians to bring back a sort of colonial rule.

The second novel, Flight of the Termites, takes place during the last days in power of Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada. The war that ousts him starts in Tanzania and enters southern Uganda. In a southern Ugandan town, an Arab man has left behind nearly a ton of gold and several precious stones. He hires an Idi Amin army deserter to collect together a number of men to pick this stuff from the deep south and bring it to Kampala before it crumbles...

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA

* This interview first appeared in Conversations with Writers.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Coltan, cash and oil

Sokari Ekine

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/blog/60764

The demand for the mineral coltan, 80 per cent of which is in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), continues to fuel the conflict in the DRC. Various rebel groups control the mines and according to a recent article (an excellent detailed resource and who’s who in the country by Robert Miller in Znet), many of the multinationals operating in the region are British. The one country missing at present is China, but not for long as Friends of Congo explain.

Friends of the Congo reports on a ‘deal’ sanctioned by the IMF between the DRC and Chinese governments. FOC believe the deal – which is a swap of minerals for infrastructure – will keep the DRC ‘impoverished for a generation or more to come:

‘Stated Benefit to Congo:
4,000 KM road network
3,200 KM Rail system
31 Hospitals with 135 beds each
145 Health Centers with 50 beds each
49 clean water distribution centers
4 large universities
A Parliament building

Stated Benefit to China:
10.6 million tons of copper and 626,619 tons of cobalt

Year concessions expected to come into production: 2013.’

The ‘deal’ runs alongside a debt relief plan by the ‘Paris Club’ (the DRC are not even present at the meetings), which would cancel between US$5 and $7 billion debt. This might seem a positive move until you unpack the small print ,which hopes the debt cancellation will enable the DRC to undertake even more loans and attract more foreign investment – with the continued exploitation of the country’s resources in the interest of foreign multinationals rather than the Congolese people.

Sokwanele reports on corruption in high places as rumours of a scam around the production of Zimbabwe dollars are circulating the country. The scam is that huge amounts of old Zimbabwe dollars are being produced and deposited in bank accounts waiting for the announcement of reimbursements which will then exchange the old Zimbabwean currency for the US dollar.

‘Currency manipulation wouldn’t be a new trick in their books and their past antics explain why Zimbabweans are so suspicious of them. Prior to dollarisation Gono and Co. had access to lots and lots of Zimbabwe dollars (while ordinary people had to queue for days and days at the banks to get their hands on a few notes at a time) and they also had access to foreign currency at a very favourable government rate. What they did was buy up foreign currency at a low rate, and then sell it on the streets at a much higher rate for a lot more Zim dollars, and then roll those Zim dollars into buying more currency which they would sell again, rapidly (and I mean rapidly!) enriching themselves.’


Thy Glory O Nigeria is presently without a leader as President Yar’adua is once again off sick in Saudi Arabia. It seems that Yar’adu forgot or refused to hand over power to his deputy Vice President Goodluck Jonathan who appears to be asleep amidst calls for his resignation. Glory wonders why the people of Nigeria are not out on the street in massive protests over this state of affairs for a leader who was not even elected in the first place:

‘The men and women who pretend to be in the national assembly are too busy with personal interests and political survival that they do not see or realise how USELESS they have become in their own existence. If they are not useless what are they still doing when Nigeria with a population of over 140m has no legal president? Their own personal individual emergence continues to haunt them and they know that trying to do anything ‘right’ will jeopardise their political future. I dare any member of the Nigeria Senate or House of Rep to sanely move for the removal of Yar Adua! They are all birds of the same feather-wicked and evil in colour.’

It gets worse. The imperial north demands a president from the North and since the VP is from the South – worse the Niger Delta – the calls for a northerner to take over the government is tantamount to ‘sowing seeds of secession’. I very much doubt this would happen unless there are some secret reserves of oil, coltan or some other mineral needed desperately by the West.


The Voice of the Oppressed reports on thousands of Albinos who have gone into hiding after a spate of killings for their body parts. Gruesome ugly stuff and one wonders why these stories of murder and selling body parts are just appearing in the past six months. What was happening two, four, 20 years ago? Is this something new or was it previously hidden?

‘The surge in the use of albino body parts as good luck charms is a result of ‘a kind of marketing exercise by witch doctors,’ the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies said.

‘The report says the market for albino parts exists mainly in Tanzania, where a complete set of body parts — including all limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose — can sell for $75,000. Wealthy buyers use the parts as talismans to bring them wealth and good fortune.

‘Albinism is one of the most unfortunate vulnerabilities,’ said International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies Secretary General Bekele Geleta. ‘And it needs to be addressed immediately at an international level.’

The chairman of the Albino Association of Kenya, Isaac Mwaura, called the murders deplorable but said the killings have given albinos a platform to raise awareness. Almost 90 percent of albinos living in the region were raised by single mothers, Mwaura said, because the fathers believed their wives were having affairs with white men.’

HIV Kenya. December 1st is World Aids Day and HIV Kenya takes the opportunity to call for the dismantling of UNAIDS.

Ultimately a self-serving and very expensive organisation, UNAIDS needs to be reabsorbed back into the overall agenda of public health, or some agenda that encompasses the health of everyone, not the sickness of a few. This is not to say that HIV positive people should not be entitled to treatment or care. Rather, they and all other sick people should be entitled to treatment and care. But people who are not sick should be enabled to stay that way. UNAIDS is good at diverting a lot of money for people once they are HIV positive but this is denying the right of HIV negative people to stay that way.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence continues and Zimbo Jam reports on a speech by Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga on domestic violence in the country, at the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF).

‘I know a country where women get beaten up till they abort their twins,’ said IIFF founder Tsitsi Dangarembga, just before the presentation of an award that honours a man who has understood the vision of IIFF and worked hard to assist the festival achieve its goals.

‘A country where the man who beats her up is arrested and then overnight, makes a deal with a police officer, and is set free. I know a country where distinguished gentlemen who sit on the boards of academic institutions make and break contracts with women at will- but still remain distinguished gentlemen.

‘A country where daily women get beaten up because the sadza was too hard, or not hard enough,’ Tsitsi went on in an impassioned impromptu speech that got the room pin-drop silent.

‘Does anyone know which country this is?’

‘Zimbabwe,’ members of the audience responded in unison.

‘Yes,’ Tsitsi continued, ‘I think we should be ashamed. I think we should be so ashamed that we resolve to make a change. We need to face it. We cannot pretend that these things are not happening. That is why this next award is very important. It goes to a man who has come out and said I will work with you. I will honour you.’

Black Looks comments on the recent consultation meeting in Port Harcourt which saw 117 organisations and individuals come together to discuss a post-oil Nigeria. The event, Envisioning a post petroleum Nigeria, published a communique which was highly critical of Nigeria’s policy in the Niger Delta.

‘The communiqué is scathing in its criticism of the present government which rather than address the issues raised has in fact exacerbated them in so many ways culminating in the recent amnesty deal with militants. Rather than tackle the cause of the militancy and criminal activities such as the huge environmental damage and lack of development, the government simply made a financial deal with a group of militants in exchange for their silence. The cost of doing so could well have been put towards building health centres, schools and other infrastructure for the communities and begin to erode the reasons behind the militancy in the first place.

‘Never before have so many people and organisations come together as one to condemn the Nigerian government’s actions from the continued deferral and failure to end gas flaring; failure to insist and regulate the oil industry according to international standards; contributing and being part of the land grab by oil companies and the promotion of agri-imperialism; fueling the corruption in the region which has itself contributed to the violence and the policy of militarisation and abuse instead of development and support.’

Finally a couple of new blogs I will be following: Zimbablog and Franco Techno Gap which aims to ‘monitor the Berlin Wall between French and English speaking Africa’.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Sokari Ekine blogs at Black Looks.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Dragon Slayers

Stephen Marks

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/africa_china/60743

Yoon Park has already written a fascinating study of South Africa’s local-born Chinese community ‘A matter of honour: Being Chinese in South Africa’. But this small group is untypical even of the majority of Chinese in South Africa, let alone of the growing number of Chinese across the continent - whether managers, traders, entrepreneurs or farmers.

Anti-Chinese feeling - and the distinct but interrelated phenomenon of anti-China sentiment - is increasingly referred to and discussed on a scale which implies that it must be growing. But when, where and how is a matter which has so far not been the subject of much systematic or comparative research.

So it was good to hear that Yoon Park, who coordinates the Chinese in Africa/Africans in China International Research Working Group at Johannesburg University, has teamed up with Barry Sautman from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on a project to research just those questions. They discussed their work so far at a recent seminar at the School of Oriental and African Studies [SOAS] in London under the title ‘Dragon slayers: political oppositions and anti-China/anti-Chinese mobilisation in Southern Africa’.

They admit that their initial working assumption was to posit a link between these mobilisations and the needs of pro-Western oppositions. But they found that the causal factors were more complex and varied. As well as the strength of opposition parties, the nature of bilateral relations with China, and the nature, freedom and inclination of the media, all made it onto the list.

What about the behaviour of the Chinese themselves? That makes an indirect appearance on their list as the ‘ability and will of the state to enforce its own laws’ and ‘the general level and tolerance of corruption’.

Also important, they argue, are the particular local heritage of colonialism; ongoing racial dynamics; local power relations, and the historical and continuing influence of South.Africa

Their research is confined to Southern Africa, and they are keen to point out that they make no claims about other countries. So far they have looked at Namibia, Zambia and Lesotho, with research continuing on South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Namibia’s Chinese population has been widely estimated at about 40,000 out of a total population of 2.1 milion. But Park and Sautman reckon this is a major overestimate, and believe the true total is nearer to 4-5,000.

The main sources of friction seem to be the South African-dominated construction industry, which is said to resent Chinese competition; and the Angolan border, where black Namibian businessmen are said to be frustrated at Chinese domination of the lucrative cross-border trade.The media, according to Park and Sautman, also shows clear anti-Chinese leanings, which are attributed to its white ownership.

Opposition parties also take up these and other issues but, it seems, target their criticisms at the SWAPO government for not enforcing immigration and labour laws, and for general corruption.

In Lesotho by contrast, the Chinese appear to total some 10,000, mostly arrived since the 1990s, out of a total population of 1.8 million. They have been the main target of successive waves of anti-foreigner riots in 1991, 1998 and 2007.

Traders are one of the major sites of contestation. Mostly recent arrivals from Fujian, they attract the usual accusations of ‘clannishness’, lack of English or Sesotho, and selling poor quality goods and time-expired foodstuffs. Their very presence is taken as proof of government corruption, as the law is supposed to reserve small trade for Lesotho nationals.

Labour conditions in Chinese-owned textile plants are another widely-quoted grievance, though labour union leaders told Park and Sautman that conditions had improved substantially since 2005. But the Chinese-owned factories are said to be ‘the only show in town’ still employing some 45,000 as against 57,000 before the recession began to bite.

Zambia has been central to any discussion of anti-Chinese sentiment, ever since opposition presidential candidate Michael Sata played the anti-Chinese card with considerable though ultimately unsuccessful effect in the 2006 elections.That campaign has joined the Tazara railway and the events at the Chambishi copper mine to make up a trio of what are probably the best known facts about China in Zambia.

Most of the current total of 44,000 Chinese in a total population of 12.3 million have arrived since 2004-5. Park and Sautman see Sata’s anti-Chinese campaign as an easy way for him to cash in on popular resentment at the effects of neo-liberal economic policies; which he could hardly attack directly as he shared responsibility for them when in government and his party had no economic alternative to offer.

Though Sata got a similar score in the 2008 elections to the 29 per cent he achieved in 2006 it seems the anti-Chinese rhetoric was toned down, partly because of the cooling in cross-straits relations following the election of the KMT in Taiwan and a consequent reduction in support for Sata from Taipei and from Taiwanese businessmen in Malawi.

On the basis of their research so far, Park and Sautman conclude that the common sites of anti-China and anti-Chinese resentment are chiefly to be found among traders fearful of Chinese competition, and among owners and workers in the construction industry. They also find journalists, especially in white-owned or pro-opposition media, are to blame, especially for presenting anti-Chinese mobilisations as ‘spontaneous’ or ‘patriotic’. This, they argue, aligns opposition groups that go in for ‘China and Chinese-bashing’ with the West and with ‘anti-Chinese NGOs’.

It will be interesting to see to what extent they find these tentative conclusions borne out by the rest of their research; as well as whether their negative view of the role of the media is backed up by a content analysis, and can be correlated with ownership patterns. The degree of reliance on Western news sources might be as important a factor, combined with economic pressures which encourage journalists simply to recycle releases and syndicated material without independent investigation of their own.

Their findings on negative attitudes to the Chinese mesh with anecdotal and research findings from other sources. But we can hope that they will also attempt to gauge the extent of positive reactions, including among those consumers who find cheap Chinese products which they can afford are more use than higher-priced but better quality alternatives which have previously been outside their reach.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Stephen Marks is research associate and project co-ordinator with Fahamu’s China in Africa Project
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Pambazuka News 125: Préjugés sur la 'sauvagerie' des Africains et réalités

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/summaryfr/60755

Economy starts to recover

2009-12-02

http://zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=6238

Zimbabwe's battered economy is on track to expand for the first time in a decade this year and to grow by 7 percent in 2010 as key sectors such as agriculture and mining start to recover, the finance minister said on Wednesday.

Fort Hare MDC students fear being sent to prison

2009-12-06

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news041209/forheare041209.htm

Twelve students from Fort Hare University in South Africa have expressed fears about returning home to Zimbabwe, saying they will be sent to prison for supporting the MDC.

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for WOZA and Mahlangu

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/zimbabwe/60683

For 41 years the Robert F Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights has worked for a more peaceful and just world. On Monday evening in a ceremony at the White House Magodonga Mahlangu and WOZA, represented by WOZA co-founder Jenni Williams, were presented with the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award by President Barack Obama and Mrs Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy.
A Proud Moment for Zimbabweans

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for WOZA and Mahlangu

For 41 years the Robert F Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights has worked for a more peaceful and just world. On Monday evening in a ceremony at the White House Magodonga Mahlangu and WOZA, represented by WOZA co-founder Jenni Williams, were presented with the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award by President Barack Obama and Mrs Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy. In remarks before presenting the awards President Obama explained that the late Bobby Kennedy’s legacy “wasn't a devotion to one particular cause, or a faith in a certain ideology -- but rather, it was a sensibility. A belief that in this world, there is right and there is wrong, and it is our job to build our laws and our lives around recognizing the difference. A sensitivity to injustice so acute that it can't be relieved by the rationalizations that make life comfortable for the rest of us -- that others' suffering is not our problem, that the ills of the world are somehow not our concern. A moral orientation that renders certain people constitutionally incapable of remaining a bystander in the face of evil -- a sensibility that recognizes the power of all people, however humble their circumstances, to change the course of history. Those are the traits of Bobby Kennedy that this award recognizes -- the very traits that define the character and guide the life of this year's recipient.” [Full text of President Obama’s remarks available on request.]

About the Award
Senator Robert F. Kennedy, former US Attorney-General, and a younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968 while campaigning for the US Presidency. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, instituted in 1984, honours human rights defenders throughout the world who stand up against injustice. The annual award includes on-going legal, advocacy and technical support for a six-year period through a partnership with the RFK Centre. Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert Kennedy, explained at the ceremony: “The RFK Centre for Justice and Human Rights defends heroes who are the champions of justice – the Martin Luther King’s and Cesar Chavez’s of their countries. People who face imprisonment, torture and death in the quest for protection of human rights. We partner with them for a six year period and provide capacity building, strategic advocacy and alliance opportunities to help achieve laureates’ social justice goals.....The worst form of abuse, say survivors of torture, is not the beatings and the cattle prods, but the taunt by wardens that you are alone. Forgotten. No one cares. This year’s RFK human rights award laureates have been collectively tortured too often to remember and imprisoned more than one hundred times. So, Magodonga and Jenni, I want you to know, that, from this day forward, you will never be alone. Today is the beginning of a long term partnership. Look around this room. No matter what the bullies do, we will stand with you, shoulder to shoulder in your struggle for women’s rights, peace and justice.” [Full text of this speech and of Magodonga and Jenni’s acceptance speeches available on request]

About WOZA
WOZA [Women of Zimbabwe Arise and also an Ndebele word meaning ‘come forward’], formed in 2003 as a women’s civic movement, now has a countrywide membership of over 70,000 women and men. It aims are to:
· Provide women, from all walks of life, with a united voice to speak out on issues affecting their day-to-day lives.
· Empower female leadership that will lead community involvement in pressing for solutions to the current crisis.
· Encourage women to stand up for their rights and freedoms.
· Lobby and advocate on those issues affecting women and their families.

WOZA bases its action on the principles of strategic non-violence, aiming to create space to allow Zimbabweans to articulate issues they may be too fearful to raise alone. WOZA has conducted hundreds of protests since 2003 and over 3,000 women and men have spent time in police custody, many more than once and most for 48 hours or more. Many have been assaulted during demonstrations, savagely beaten in police cells and had threats made against their lives. Some of their members have died as a result of their ill-treatment.

Williams and Mahlangu due in court again on 7th December
For over a year now Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu have been appearing in the magistrates court in Bulawayo on a charge of disturbing the peace in contravention of section 37(1)(a) of the Criminal Law Code. They were arrested in October last year following a peaceful WOZA demonstration calling on the government to provide food aid for all. They spent three weeks in Mlondolozi Prison outside Bulawayo before being released on bail. The proceedings are currently stalled awaiting the Supreme Court’s long-delayed judgment on their application to have the section of the Code under which they are charged declared unconstitutional. The Supreme Court heard legal arguments in June, but the early decision expected has not materialised. As the court vacation starts on 3rd December, judgment may not be handed down until the next term, which commences in January. This means the magistrates court proceedings will probably have to be postponed again.

Right to Demonstrate Not Yet Recognised
WOZA’s experience at the hands of the police over the last six years illustrates the ingrained hostility of some police and government authorities to the constitutional right of freedom of assembly, which embraces the right to demonstrate. This hostility still exists in spite of the amendments made to the Public Order and Security Act in January 2008, amendments which had been agreed by ZANU-PF and both MDC formations and were intended to open up democratic space for the expression of differing viewpoints. These amendments make it clear that breaking up a demonstration, even one not notified to the police in advance, should be a last resort, not the immediate knee-jerk reaction. The amendments also lay down strict rules for the use of force by police when dispersing a demonstration [where dispersal is really necessary in the interests of preventing damage to property or injury to persons.]

In July, the Government announced that it had directed police not to hinder citizens from demonstrating. Co-Home Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa [MDC-T] insisted that police had been instructed to allow people to demonstrate within the confines of the law. He said “the Ministry does not deny anyone from taking part in peaceful demonstrations. Let it be known to all and sundry that demonstrations are allowed in Zimbabwe.” and added "Only on rare occasions will police resort to the use of minimum force to deal with unlawful public gatherings" and those who do resort to the use of “minimum force” do so “within the precincts of their mandate”.

Doubts about the effectiveness of the Ministry’s directions to the police are justified by events since July. An example is what happened in Bulawayo in September when WOZA members participated in a demonstration to mark the International Day of Peace. WOZA and Men of Zimbabwe Arise [MOZA] organized demonstrations in Harare and Bulawayo. The Harare demonstration involving about 1000 people, and culminating in handing in a petition to officials at the UN offices asking the UN to help restore the health and education sectors, passed off peacefully, without police harassment –this in itself an eloquent illustration that these types of peaceful demonstrations should not be regarded as “opposition forces” and a danger to the public’s life, limbs and property. But in Bulawayo the demonstration in which 1300 activists in several separate groups attempted to reach the Mhlahlandlela government complex to present a petition for peace and social justice, was forcibly broken up by riot police who, to the horror of onlookers, viciously beat women and men alike to stop them reaching their target. The beatings resulted in over 20 participants needing medical treatment for injuries including broken limbs.

There was no reason for the police to break up this demonstration – it posed no threat to property, life or limb. Even when police do decide that a demonstration is a “danger” to public peace and security there are set rules for dispersing a gathering – none of which were followed. Was this the “minimum force” said by co-Minister Mutsekwa to be only rarely used in response to demonstrations? A recognised definition of “minimum force” in this context is: “the force required to be applied to reach one's objective, applied with a preventative and not punitive intent, and stopping when it is no longer necessary”. Those present at the scene in Bulawayo said that a senior police officer who arrived at the scene was heard to say, "you have not beaten them hard enough, that is why they regrouped, beat them harder." That sounded suspiciously like punitive intent.


Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.

Talks to continue over the weekend

2009-12-06

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news041209/talks041209.htm

Talks to resolve outstanding issues in the Global Political Agreement will continue over the weekend, amid reports the government will make an ‘important announcement’ next week. Speculation is rife in Harare that the principals might have agreed on the final composition of candidates to sit on the various commissions meant to reshape and democratize the country’s political arena.

ACAS Bulletin 83: Sexual and gender based violence in Africa

2009-12-02

http://concernedafricascholars.org/docs/Bulletin83.pdf

This Bulletin began in response to news reports of “corrective” and “curative” gang rapes of lesbians in South Africa. These were then followed by news reports of a study in South Africa that found that one in four men in South Africa had committed rape, many of them more than once.

Gambia: Women rights group to honour ex-circumcisers

2009-12-05

http://tinyurl.com/yjhjnor

Gambia women rights group, The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP) will honour ex-circumcisers and their communities at the Basse Stadium in the Upper River Region.

Morocco: Activists lobby for looser abortion regulations

2009-12-06

http://tinyurl.com/yzwf9pu

Many Moroccan women's rights groups and political parties, eager to change the country's blanket ban on abortion, are lobbying Parliament for changes to the law in cases of incest or rape.

North Africa: Activists demand wider role for blind women in Arab world

2009-12-06

http://tinyurl.com/yap7tec

Blind women, long marginalised in Arab society, should be allowed to rise from the role of mere workers to become dynamic leaders, according to local and international activists who convened in Tunis this week.

Southern Africa: Safe motherhood for disabled women

Bestina Magutu

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/60744

Men and women with disabilities face many challenges in Southern Africa, especially related to discrimination and access to services. For many women, this also means that they face challenges when accessing health care services at one of the times when it is most important – when they are pregnant.
Men and women with disabilities face many challenges in Southern Africa, especially related to discrimination and access to services. For many women, this also means that they face challenges when accessing health care services at one of the times when it is most important – when they are pregnant.

Some women with disabilities need special attention and care, socially as well as medically, during their pregnancies for their own health safety as well as their babies. Unfortunately, such care is usually not the case. Rather, it is the opposite.

According to Rebecca Elieza from Disabled Association of Tanzania, disabled mothers are two or three times more likely to suffer from poor services than other women looking for pre-natal and ante-natal services, including facing discrimination.

“The nurse will ask odd questions, like how did you get pregnant? Were you raped?” says Elieza. “Don’t we all have the right to love and to be love?” she asks, adding that disabled women have the same feelings and desires to become mothers as any other woman. Elieza makes it clear that women with disabilities are not looking for pity, but simply need special care because they deserve safe motherhood.

Elieza’s sentiments are echoed by Rehema Darwish, who has a sight disability. Darwish shared her shocking testimony on first day of a three-day popular tribunal on girls and women morbidity and mortality in Tanzania.

With the help of her twelve-year-old daughter, Darwish took the podium and started narrating with a clear and soft voice. “In 1997 went to Muhimbili National Hospital for my second delivery, where the doctor told me that I had two healthy babies,” recounts Darwish. “Five days later the nurse removed one of the two children’s identification stickers, which were attached to both my hands. When I asked if one of my twins passed away, the nurse said I didn’t have twins.”

The primary school teacher said she overheard other mothers in the maternity ward whispering, “they have taken one of the poor blind woman’s twins.” They handed Darwish a single child the day she was discharged to go home. When she inquired about the other twin, they again told her that she didn’t have twins.

Darwish was accompanied to the tribunal by the twin that left with her that day form the hospital, Salama John who currently in standard six. Unfortunately, Darkwish did not report the matter to the police or other authorities. When asked why, she says that she was sick at the time. She appealed to the government to ensure that reproductive health services cater for disabled mothers like herself.

Responding to Eieza’s testimony, the Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Professor David Mwakyusa called upon women to report such kind of incidents immediately, even if it meant to report to a minister’s office.

Francis Kiwanga, an advocate and human rights activist from Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) agreed that its hard to pursue the case now, because it happened more than ten years ago. However, Kiwanga pointed out that the incident is an indication of a poor administrative system that does not provide enough avenues for complaints.

Problems associated with safe motherhood are not limited to women with disabilities. Current figures show that one Tanzanian woman dies in childbirth every hour. According to the current figures, 578 out of one hundred thousand women die due to the complications associated with delivering.

Midwives are often blamed for cruel treatment towards the women they are supposed to help and guide while in labour. Meanwhile, medical personnel are overburdened and forced to attend more patients than they can handle. Current figures show there is less than 40% what is needed in terms of medical personnel. Most health centres, as well as dispensaries, which are in grass root lacks medical equipment.

In August 2008, leaders of the Southern African Development Community signed the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Among its 28 targets, this Protocol commits leaders to reducing the maternal mortality ratio by 75%.This includes developing and implementing policies and programmes addressing mental, sexual and reproductive health needs of women and men by 2015

To make this a reality, human rights and gender activists are calling upon the government to take firm measures to reduce and eventually put a stop to maternal mortality, particularly by allocating 15% of its budget to the health sector, as agreed in the Abuja resolution.

Along with holding governments accountable, individuals can help reduce maternal mortality by encouraging expectant parents to attend clinics as soon as they conceive. Safe motherhood should be a reality for all women, and for those with special needs, such as the disabled, this may also mean special care.

* Bestina Magutu is a writer from Tanzania. This article is part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service that offers fresh news on every day news. This article is part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service series for the 16 Days of Activism.

Global: The decolonizing struggle in France

An Interview with Houria Bouteldja by Saïd Mekki

2009-12-02

http://www.monthlyreview.org/mrzine/bouteldja281009.html

"We are the children of an illusion that consisted in believing that the independences of our countries signified the end of colonization." -- Interview with Houria Bouteldja, spokesperson of the decolonial movement in France known as the "Mouvement des Indigènes de la République"

Guinea: Free or charge rights defender

2009-12-05

http://tinyurl.com/yh2euk8

Guinea's military government should immediately release or bring specific charges against the human rights defender Mouctar Diallo, Human Rights Watch has said.

Kenya. Report to UNHRC on Samburu challenged

2009-12-02

http://blog.marsgroupkenya.org/?p=1642

Researchers on Northern Kenya severely contest the Cultural Survival Report to the UN Human Rights Council on the Samburu: The truth will only be known by an Independent Investigation into the Violence in Northern Kenya, says watchdog Mars Group Kenya.

Burundi: Stop deporting Rwandan asylum seekers

2009-12-04

http://tinyurl.com/yk88zvc

Burundi's government should immediately reverse a new policy of deporting Rwandan asylum seekers without considering their cases, Human Rights Watch has said.

Global: Podcast: Harrell-Bond lecture by Jan Egeland

2009-12-04

http://www.forcedmigration.org/podcasts/harrell-bond-lecture/2009/

On 18 November 2009 Jan Egeland gave the tenth annual Harrell-Bond lecture. Mr Egeland is the former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and currently director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. The lecture was entitled 'Beyond Blankets: in search of political deals and durable solutions for the displaced.'

North Africa: UN refugee chief urges end to impasse over Saharawi activist

2009-12-06

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33152

The United Nations refugee chief has appealed to Spain and Morocco to consider any measure to pave the way for the movement of a Saharawi activist who started a hunger strike last month and whose condition is rapidly deteriorating.

Emerging powers news roundup

Sanusha Naidu

2009-12-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/emplayersnews/60773

A. Trade, Investment & AID
1. S Korea pledges to double aid to Africa
South Korea pledged to double aid to African nations over the next three years in an effort to better reach out to the continent rich in energy resources, growth potential and business opportunities More

2. ETHIOPIA AND CHINA SIGN 112.5 MILLION BIRR GRANT ACCORD
Ethiopia and China here signed a grant agreement amounting to about 112.5 million Birr to implement different projects aiming at improving the livelihood of needy people. More

3. SA, China trade triples
Africa's trade with the world's four largest emerging markets, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC countries), has grown from $20.3bn in 2001 to about $162bn in 2008, said the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in an economic report. More

4. Mercosur, India and African nations begin trade and investment talks
Brazil launched this week in Geneva a round of negotiations to further liberate trade between Mercosur, India and the Union of Nations from Austral Africa with the purpose of ratifying south-south cooperation, while global negotiations in the framework of the Doha Round remain stalled. More

5. Botswana gets P20 million grant from China
Botswana and China have signed an agreement covering economic and technical cooperation entailing a grant offer of about P20 million. More

6. China, World Bank African factory plans: Zoellick
China and the World Bank are in talks on setting up low-cost factories in new industrial zones in Africa to help nations achieve higher economic growth, bank president Robert Zoellick. More

B. Tensions and Competition
1. For contracts, China ‘buys’ Namibia’s elite
So far this year, the Beijing government has secretly awarded scholarships to study in China to the offspring of nine top officials, including to the daughter of Namibia’s president, Hifikepunye Pohamba. More

2. Oil Companies Compete to Win Nigerian Oil Licenses
The race to control the world’s oil resources has heated up as China has ambitiously entered the contest to win leases in Nigeria, putting Western firms on notice. More

3. Links with West no help to Africa: S.Africa minister
Africa has not benefited from its links with rich nations and should ensure economic interactions with others are not one-sided, South Africa's Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said. More

4. Can Obama Deliver American Investment in Africa?
Many high hopes have rested on the shoulders of President Barack Obama following his historic election. Investors and NGOs hoped that the election of America’s first African-American president would bring a renewed spotlight on the tremendous challenges and opportunities throughout the African continent. More

5. Libya Cautions China: Economics Is No Substitute to Politics
Yet it is precisely this emphatic divorce between economics and politics in Chinese external activities, or between economic aid and political aid, which has triggered unprecedented criticism not heard of before from some African leaders. More

6. India did not knock on our doors
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has identified India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, together called the E-5, as countries with which it wants to enhance its level of engagement with a view to rope them in as members. In an interview, the agency's Secretary-General Angel Gurria tells Sidhartha that it is for India to decide when it wants to join the OECD, often referred to as a club of rich countries. More

C. Company News
1. Al-Amoudi’s efforts to initiate Saudi agro investments
Saudi Arabia recently hosted a Saudi-East African Forum to explore possible agro investments in East Africa. More

2. Always more behind a clothing label
With cheap labor, investment incentives and unrestricted exports, one Chinese textile group has turned to Egypt as an ideal location to produce its ready-made garments, beating stiff competition at home. More

3. Brazilian Company Offers Mobile Technology in South Africa
Mowa Sports will be responsible for all mobile services (mobile telephony) that are to be provided during Soccerex'09, the main world event for soccer businesses being held in South Africa. More

D. Partnerships
1. Negotiate with China as equal partners
It may be through the Chinese that Kenya strikes its first oil and gas ever. China’s presence in Kenya’s oil exploration process is just a part of the country’s involvement in searching for African natural resources. More

2. China, Africa to further cooperation in science, technology
China and Africa look forward to deepening cooperation in various fields, especially science and technology, industry, agriculture and environment. More

3. Priorities and Challenges in China's Naval Deployment in the Horn of Africa
Following the seizure of yet another Chinese commercial vessel by Somali-based pirates, Beijing convened a two-day conference to enhance international coordination of the many foreign fleets currently seeking to defend shipping around Somalia from pirate attack. More

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS
* Sanusha Naidu is the research director of Fahamu's China in Africa programme.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/.

ACAS Bulletin 84: The Politics of Jacob Zuma

2009-12-02

http://concernedafricascholars.org/docs/Bulletin84.pdf

Jacob Zuma, the President of Africa’s most powerful democracy since April 2009, and the recently chosen ‘African President of the Year’ (Sapa 2009), arouses strong passions from his supporters and detractors. A longtime ANC official from a humble peasant background in what is now Kwazulu-Natal province, Zuma was picked by the ANC to be the country’s deputy president under Thabo Mbeki in 1999.

Cote d'Ivoire: Presidential election holds 1st quarter of 2010

2009-12-05

http://tinyurl.com/ykvg2fd

The first round of the Ivorian presidential election will take place between the end of February and the beginning of March 2010, the Permanent Consultation Framework (CPC) on the Ivorian crisis announced here Thursday evening.

Kenya: Kenyans experiencing the bitter taste of impunity

The Special Tribunal Bill

2009-12-04

http://blog.marsgroupkenya.org/?p=1663

'The proof of the pudding is in the eating'. Meaning that for Kenyans to fully test something they need to experience it themselves. We have seen Parliament boycott the debating chamber whenever the Special Tribunal Bill came up for debate. Now Kenyans are experiencing the bitter taste of Impunity.

Madagascar: Rajoelina accused of stalling power-sharing deal

2009-12-02

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/816566/-/1267d7sz/-/index.html

Madagascar’s opposition has accused the country’s leader Andry Rajoelina of stalling negotiations on forming a consensus government. One of the Indian Ocean island’s two co-presidents accused Rajoelina, who took power in a military-backed coup in March, of denting hopes of restoring constitutional order and winning back frozen donor funds.

Malawi: Arrested Mutharika critic freed on bail

2009-12-02

http://tinyurl.com/y8n4j9s

Harry Mkandawire, Malawi president Binguwa Mutharika most senior northern region political ally-turned-bitter critic, has accused the president of political intolerance. The Mzuzu Magistrates Court late Monday granted Mkandawire a 300, 000 Malawi kwacha (about US$2,000) bail following his arrest last Friday on allegations that he was inciting violence and using insulting language against the president.

Namibia: Pohamba and Swapo party re-elected

2009-12-05

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8396576.stm

Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba has been re-elected for a second term after winning 76.4% of the vote in last week's poll, official results show. Mr Pohamba's governing Swapo party got 74% of the parliamentary vote, maintaining its two-thirds majority.

Namibia: Swapo takes comfortable poll lead

2009-12-02

http://tinyurl.com/yhkejab

The ruling Swapo has taken a comfortable lead as results of last weekend's national elections continued to trickle in. Also, the opposition Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) is fast emerging as the new official opposition.

Tanzania: Papers focus on public dismay over war on corruption

2009-12-05

http://tinyurl.com/yldxmqf

With less than a year to go to Tanzania's parliamentary and presidential elections, the people have started to give vent to their frustration with the performance of the present government in tackling rampant corruption, local newspapers reported this week.

Uganda: Ensure accountability for election violence

2009-12-05

http://tinyurl.com/yl2ugsx

Uganda's government should reform the country's election laws to improve accountability for election-related crimes and reduce the risk of violence in the upcoming 2011 elections, Human Rights Watch has said in a report.

Angola: Legacy of geopolitics

2009-12-02

http://tinyurl.com/yjbq3wx

As Angola celebrates 34 years of independence on 11 November, Khadija Sharife looks at the legacy of war, oil and geopolitics in a country where the future of its chief export, oil, has already been mortgaged.

Kenya: Corrupt elite "under threat"

2009-12-05

http://blog.marsgroupkenya.org/?p=1669

In his Kenya diary, Guardian journalist Xan Rice reports on how a decision by the prosecutor of the international criminal court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, to investigate the 2008 post-election violence in Kenya threatens the corrupt elite.

West Africa: Nigeria uncovers $15.3 million scam in schools fees

2009-12-06

http://www.afrol.com/articles/34871

Nigeria’s External Affairs ministry has uncovered $15.3 million of school fees racket allegedly perpetrated by some Nigerian diplomats. Minister Ojo Maduekwe said investigations were on, to determine the perpetrators, but vowed that those found culpable of defrauding the government would be dragged before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for prosecution.

Africa: Collaborating on sustainable solutions

2009-12-06

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=49555

Mauritian experts are helping set up cogeneration systems to feed the hunger for electricity in Tanzania, Zambia and elsewhere. An example of how appropriate technology can be applied to problems common to countries in the global South.

Central Africa: A humanitarian disaster in the making along the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline

2009-12-06

http://tinyurl.com/yc9thq4

The discovery of oil in Chad was supposed to allieviate poverty and human suffering, but it's only enriched Western Oil companies and the local dictators.

Global: Developing states cut tariffs on South-South trade

2009-12-06

http://tinyurl.com/ydwgohr

Twenty-two developing countries have agreed to cut tariffs on manufactured goods in a bid to boost South-South trade in the absence of progress in the Doha Round.

Kenya: Mukuru Community Center project approved for construction

2009-12-04

http://tinyurl.com/yjjrx3t

Construction is cleared to begin on the SIDAREC-Mukuru Kwa Njenga Center, giving the expectant community a powerful tool to end the cycle of poverty. The community center, designed for Slums Information Development Resource Center (SIDAREC) and the needs of Nairobi youth, will give Mukuru residents access to the Internet, computer and technology training, health clinic services, early childhood development programs, and a community theater.

South Africa: Time to realign agricultural policy

2009-12-05

http://www.sacsis.org.za/site/article/393.1

South African agricultural policy is obsessed with market driven agricultural models while disproportionately high numbers of our people remain hungry. This is a hangover from our historical legacy, which continues in the form of internal and external neo-liberal pressures on government to conform to the tyranny of the market.

Southern Africa: The battle for Angola’s oil

2009-12-02

http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6583

Resource-rich Angola was once known as the scene of Africa's longest-running civil war. Today, life expectancy hovers around 44 years — not unlike that of an average Briton living in the 1800s. Over 70% of the population lives in poverty, and the country has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world. And the nation's lifetime dictator of 30 years, Jose Dos Santos, leader of the liberation-party-turned-permanent-government, the MPLA, does not appear to have lost his lust for the throne.

West Africa: Humanitarian NGOs want the poor adequately funded

2009-12-05

http://tinyurl.com/ylaoudv

Representatives of several humanitarian NGOs have called on the international community to raise FCFA 160 billion (US$ 368 million) in a bid to help impoverished people in the 15 ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) member countries and Mauritania.

West Africa: Sierra Leone gets $4.0 million for reforms

2009-12-06

http://www.afrol.com/articles/34875

A US$4 million grant will help Sierra Leone to introduce major reform in its mining sector and revamp the industry. This follows the approval by the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank of a $4 million IDA grant for the Mining Technical Assistance Project (MTAP) in Sierra Leone.

Africa: UN health agency launches new tobacco control effort

2009-12-06

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33144

Although tobacco use is not as prevalent in Africa as it is in other regions, that will change unless immediate action is taken, the United Nations health agency has warned as it announced a new tobacco control effort for the continent.

Africa: What should Africa’s business executives do?

2009-12-02

http://tinyurl.com/ylmjjzo

HIV/AIDS remains a major health and development challenge in Africa. According to the 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update by the UNAIDS and World Health Organization, 22.4 million Africans live with HIV/AIDS. At least 1.9 million Africans contracted HIV in 2008 and 1.4 million died of AIDS in the same year. Every day in Africa, about 5200 Africans contract HIV and at least 3800 Africans die of AIDS.

Africa: Women, violence and criminalization of HIV/Aids in Africa

Chineze J. Onyejekwe and Norah Matovu Winyi

2009-12-06

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/60810

HIV/AIDS is an major issue in our times that is having diverse effects on the lives of women the world over and most especially in Africa. In 2007, an estimated 3.3 million people were living with HIV, 2.7 million people infected with the virus, and AIDS deaths also estimated at 2.3 million (UNAIDS, July 2008).
HIV/AIDS is an major issue in our times that is having diverse effects on the lives of women the world over and most especially in Africa. In 2007, an estimated 3.3 million people were living with HIV, 2.7 million people infected with the virus, and AIDS deaths also estimated at 2.3 million (UNAIDS, July 2008). HIV/AIDS cases have been reported in all regions of the world, especially in the developing countries. The pandemic is also becoming feminized. Almost 50 per cent of adults living with HIV today are women, for example, in Africa (UNAIDS, July 2008).

Currently, the benefits of combination antiretroviral therapy, a treatment that uses antiretroviral medicines to suppress viral replication and improve symptoms means, that at least, HIV no longer constitutes a death sentence particularly, in the developed countries. Yet, in the absence of a vaccine, preventive measures must remain extremely effective and affordable as interventions for slowing down the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

With the assumption that behavior is determined solely by a person's conscious decision HIV prevention has long been approached, at the level of targeting the individual behaviors. Yet, its spread continues! In the midst of the continued struggle to end this spread comes a new twist - the enactment of HIV-specific laws criminalizing the intentional or unknowing transmission (or risk of transmission) of the HIV virus. Several countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda (Moses Mulumba, Editorial, Equinet Newsletter, #85, 1 March 2008) and Mozambique (Plus News, 1 December 2008) in Africa often justify these laws and policies on the grounds of promoting public health. However, the WWW Campaign members have argued that these laws can impact negatively on access to health service, uptake of testing and experiences of stigma, particularly for the wider community of people living with HIV, especially women and may lead to increased violence.

Women have been dealing with the large repercussions of this pandemic due to stigma and discrimination associated with it, and these constitute major obstacles to effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care (United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS paragraph 13). Often, HIV-positive people suffer from being shunned by family, friends, and colleagues, are turned away from health care services, denied housing and employment. HIV-positive women and girls have suffered physical violence or murder, divorced or abandoned by their spouses, or evicted from homes by their families (in- laws). (IRIN News, 6 December 2007).

These limitations, especially the fear of discrimination make it more difficult for HIV-positive women to publicly acknowledge their status or, seek treatment. To avoid domestic violence many decide to live in denial or in constant fear thus not seeking for information about the disease, or tell their husbands/partners about their status. Many have delayed treatment or fail to take their medication regularly (Human Rights Watch 2007). Some cannot even guarantee their husbands’/partners’ fidelity yet, they cannot ask a HIV-positive husband/partner to wear a condom. Is criminalizing HIV/AIDS therefore integral to women’s fight against HIV/AIDS and violence against women and girls?

Criminalizing HIV/AIDS forgets that all human beings are not free to develop personal abilities and make choices without limitations set by gender roles. Physiologically, women are at greater risk of contracting the disease. However, gender inequality plays a crucial role in the feminization of HIV/AIDS, especially in patriarchal societies. Often, women lack information about their rights particularly those relating to sexual and health rights. Many have no control over their sexual and reproductive health, for example, they lack access to family planning services which are appropriate and are crucial for their health and lives and to the decline in the spread of HIV/AIDS. Moreover, ‘women have less access than men to education, credit, and formal employment’ thus limited resources to meet all their health needs (Long and Ankrah, 1996: 336-337). This also makes it very difficult for them to provide adequate support for their families and the dependence for many increases their vulnerability to different forms of violence.

Gender inequality, women’s disempowerment, and HIV/AIDS present women, particularly those that are HIV-positive, with a huge obstacle in their quest for socio-economic stability and independence. Part of the solution is to aim for women’s empowerment, that is, ‘the expansion in people’s ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them’ (Kabeer 2001). This can be achieved through increased access to information and education; participation in After HIV testing Support Groups and access to quality counseling services; ensuring that health centres provide for comprehensive health care which includes voluntary testing coupled with counseling and screening for violence for all patients that test for HIV whether positive or negative. This way, the women can be able to take control of their lives, especially making decision about their sexual and reproductive health by overcoming various social, cultural or economic limitations in their everyday lives and reducing the incidences of violence.

* A sociologist with specialization in "Gender and Development," Dr. Chineze J. Onyejekwe is currently adjunct faculty at the Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, Department of Women's and Gender Studies and Norah Matovu Winyi is the Executive Director of FEMNET

References
Human Rights Watch (2007) Hidden in the Mealie: Gender-based Abuses and Women’s HIV Treatment in Zambia. [online] URL: http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0002985/Zambia_gender_Dec2007.pdf

Kabeer, Naila “Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s Empowerment.” In B. Sevefjord, Naila Kabeer, Patricia McFadden, Signe Arnfred, Edme Dominguez and Sherin Saadallah (2001) Discussing Women’s Empowerment: Theory and Practice. Sweden: Sida Studies No. 3. [online] URL: http://www.sida.se/sida/jsp/sida.jsp?d=118&a=2080&tipStatus=1&language=en_US

IRIN News “PAKISTAN: Traditional marriages ignore HIV/AIDS threat,” 6 December 2007. [online] URL: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75716
Long, Lynellyn D. and E. Maxine Ankrah (1996) Women’s Experiences with HIV/AIDS: An International Perspective. First Edition, New York: Columbia University Press.

Mulumba, Moses “Sound Policy or Attack on Health Rights: Are Laws Criminalizing Deliberate HIV Transmission Good for Public Health? “ Editorial, Equinet Newsletter, #85, 1 March 2008. [online] URL:

http://www.equinetafrica.org/newsletter/index.php?issue=85

Plus News “MOZAMBIQUE: Proposed law a mixed bag for people with HIV,” 1 December 2008. [Online] URL: http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81755
UNAIDS: 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic

[online] URL: http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/GlobalReport/2008/2008_Global_report.asp

or http://data.unaids.org/pub/GlobalReport/2008/jc1510_2008_global_report_pp29_62_en.pdf

Women Thrive Worldwide, 9 May 2008. [online] URL: http://www.womenthrive.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=467&Itemid=0

Global: AIDS-free generation of children achievable, says UN report

2009-12-06

http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/0A553D04-5DB3-4BE6-BEA6-BE3E06F34EB0.asp

A generation of children free from AIDS is possible, according to the Children and AIDS, Fourth Stocktaking Report released by UNICEF in partnership with the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA). However, the authors note the world is not yet on track to meet targets for prevention, treatment, care and support.

South Africa: Finally, a World AIDS Day to remember

2009-12-06

http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20032599

President Jacob Zuma has announced the most significant government-led interventions to stem the AIDS epidemic since its emergence more than 20 years ago, stating that extraordinary measures are needed.

South Africa: Pretoria shifts HIV/AIDS policies

2009-12-02

http://tinyurl.com/yfl8cgj

The South African government has announced that it will provide treatment for all HIV-positive babies in a significant policy shift for the country which has been ravaged by the pandemic.

South Africa: Top scientists challenge denialists on AIDS stats

2009-12-06

http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20032601

South Africa’s top scientists and researchers have come out in support of health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi after the furore over Home Affairs supplied AIDS death statistics he quoted recently - which may have been incorrect.

Burundi: President calims honour for fighting homosexuality

2009-12-06

http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=burundi&id=2411

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, has stirred controversy by stating that one of the reasons he received the Assisi Pax Prize, awarded each year to people who are promoting peace in the world, was because of his success in fighting homosexuality in the country.

Cameroon: 10,000 nods to decriminalizing homosexuality

2009-12-06

http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=cameroon&id=2418

Cameroonian gay rights groups are optimistic that human rights of gays and lesbians could see a positive light, should President Paul Biya consider about 10 000 signatures inked in a petition calling for decriminalisation of homosexuality in that country.

Global: GLBTIQ issues make inroads at Commonwealth Summit

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/lgbti/60749

For the first time at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, at CHOGM in Trinidad & Tobago, there was significant representation of GLBTQ (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/queer) activists among civil society participants, and a concerted effort to highlight issues of sexual citizenship and rights.
For the first time at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, at CHOGM in Trinidad & Tobago, there was significant representation of GLBTQ (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/queer) activists among civil society participants, and a concerted effort to highlight issues of sexual citizenship and rights. A delegation of GLBTQ activists from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean participated actively in the thematic assembly discussions and drafting process in the November 22-25, 2009 Commonwealth People’s Forum (CPF), a gathering of civil society organizations that meets in advance of, and sends a statement to, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Working in partnership with gender, disabilities and other human rights advocates, they achieved visibility for a number of key concerns, and won inclusion of these issues in the broad civil society agenda for the Commonwealth.

The issues cut a wide swath: repealing laws criminalizing non-normative sexualities and gender expression; preventing and prosecuting bias-related murders and violence, including punitive rape of Lesbians; ending discrimination in accessing health services; creating safety in the school system from violence and bullying; addressing the need for support and resources for parents; and developing training and sensitization for a range of public servants and service providers. Both scheduled speakers and participants from the floor made moving contributions related to human rights violations on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in Commonwealth member countries. Especially powerful speeches came from Ashily Dior, a Transgender activist from Trinidad; Canadian Stephen Lewis, co-director of AIDS Free World and former UN Special Envoy on HIV in Africa; and Robert Carr, director of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition. Together, contributors raised a comprehensive range of concerns in several of the assemblies, particularly those focused on Gender; Health, HIV and AIDS; and Human Rights.

The final Port of Spain Civil Society Statement to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting includes language calling on “Commonwealth Member States and Institutions” to “recognize and protect the human rights of all individuals without discrimination on the grounds of…sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression”; to “repeal legislation that leads to discrimination, such as the criminalisation of same sex sexual relationships”; and for “the Commonwealth Foundation to facilitate a technical review of such of laws”. Further, it issues a call for “Commonwealth Member States to ensure universal access to basic” health “services for marginalised and vulnerable groups”, including “sexual and gender minorities”, and to “work to actively remove and prevent the establishment of legislation which undermines evidence-based effective HIV prevention, treatment and care available to marginalised and vulnerable groups, such as sexual minorities”. Its Gender section includes a distinct item on “Transgenders, Gays and Lesbians” (“We call on Commonwealth Member States to include gender and sexuality as a specific theme on sexualities, sexual and gender minorities, related violence and discrimination, making them no longer invisible”) and echoes the recognition in the human rights section “that gender equity implies equality for all and therefore issues related to non-normative sexualities, such as sexual and gender minorities”.

The Statement also makes reference to proposed “Anti-Homosexuality” legislation introduced in the Parliament of Uganda, home of current CHOGM Chair President Yoweri Museveni. The legislation would require reporting of homosexuals, provide a sentence of life imprisonment for homosexual touching or sex, and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, if the offender is HIV-positive. In remarks in more than one CPF assembly and in a special press conference, Lewis, Carr and a representative of the Caribbean HIV & AIDS Alliance, spoke out forcefully against the legislation, asking Museveni to take a clear position on it, and calling on others to condemn it. The Trinidad & Tobago Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation joined these voices, asking its own Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who will assume the chairmanship of CHOGM, and other CARICOM leaders, to do the same.

Eighty-six countries in the world currently have legislation criminalizing same-sex conduct between consenting adults as well as other non normative sexual and gender behaviours and identities; half of them are Commonwealth member states. Criminal provisions in these countries may target same sex sexual conduct, men who have sex with men specifically, or more generally any sexual behaviour considered “unnatural”. Some countries criminalize other non normative behaviours, such as cross-dressing, or utilize criminal provisions on indecency or debauchery, among others, to target individuals on their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. These criminal provisions not only constitute a violation of civil and political rights in and of themselves because they violate key provisions established by international human rights law; they also have significant human rights implications, representing a serious risk for the exercise of other fundamental rights, such as the right to association, the right to assembly, and the right to expression, the right to health, the principle of non discrimination, to mention a few. Furthermore, the mere existence of these laws is in many countries is an avenue for other human rights violations by state and non-state actors.

We acknowledge and welcome the civil society consensus on the above mentioned issues, and call on Commonwealth member states, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation to implement the recommendations of the Commonwealth People’s Forum.

You can access the Port of Spain Civil Society Statement to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 25 November here.

· Alternative Law Forum (ALF) - India
· Center for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana (CEPEHRG) - Ghana
· Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) - Trinidad & Tobago
· Gay and Lesbian coalition of Kenya (GALCK) - Kenya
· GrenCHAP – Grenada
· Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays – (J-FLAG) - Jamaica
· Knowledge and Rights with Young People through Safer Spaces (KRYSS) - Malaysia
· Lesbians and Gays Bisexuals Botswana (LEGABIBO) - Botswana
· People Like Us (PLU) - Singapore
· Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) – Guyana
· The Independent Project (TIP) - Nigeria
· United and Strong - St Lucia
· United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM) - Belize
· United Gays and Lesbians against AIDS Barbados (UGLAAB) – Barbados
· Global Rights
· International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)

Kenya: Gay Kenyans raise their issues on World Aids Day

2009-12-06

http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=kenya&id=2417

In its endeavor to bring to the fore, health needs of lesbians and gays, as a group that is also affected by HIV and AIDS, Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK) organized a march on World Aids Day, themed Universal Access and Human Rights.

Uganda: SMUG calls for inlusive heatlhcare for LGBTIs

2009-12-06

http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=uganda&id=2419

Following this year’s theme for Worlds Aids day which calls for Universal Access and Human Rights, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) has demanded non discriminatory HIVand Aids approaches to health care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people in Uganda.

"I" Stories: Back in my house

Etty Khoza

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/16days/60745

Last year I told my story about how a man in my community had harassed me, until one day he finally beat me so badly I had to go to the hospital, just because I am disabled. This day was a terrible day for me, it even left me with scars. Even worse, for four years after that day, I did not go back to that place. I even left my house there, and went to live with my mother. I did not want to see him or face him.
Last year I told my story about how a man in my community had harassed me, until one day he finally beat me so badly I had to go to the hospital, just because I am disabled. This day was a terrible day for me, it even left me with scars. Even worse, for four years after that day, I did not go back to that place. I even left my house there, and went to live with my mother. I did not want to see him or face him.

At the Gender Links workshop, I met lots of women who had also been abused. Meeting with these made a big change in my life. Meeting with different people who speak different languages really motivated me.

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I asked myself, why am I doing this person who hurt me a favour by leaving my own house. I said to myself, let me prove to myself that I’m a human being, my life is mine. No matter what he can do or say , to hell with him - this house belongs to me.

I went back to my house that I had left for so long. Since September last year until now I do as I please, so he can see that I do not care about him and I am not scared of him.

The man who abused me sent a neighbour to come and ask for forgiveness and I asked the neighbour “What forgiveness? Why can’t he come straight to me like he did last time when he came and hit me, insulted me saying I am a cripple?” I told her that he should face me himself.

I told the neighbor to go and tell him that I am fine. I do not care about him and I am moving forward with my life and I am proud of myself.

I thank Gender links for these meeting they do. It was great that I meet people who know how to comfort other people and share ideas. It encouraged me to forget many bad things I meet in life. You receive good results no matter how hard it is at first to talk about how people have hurt you. It is better than pretending as if everything is okay.

*This story is part of the “I” Stories series produced by the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service for the Sixteen Days of Activism on Gender Violence.

Global: Dealing with the interlinked crises of health and human rights

Neelanjana Mukhia

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/16days/60668

One of the key settings that is often a point of contact for women, including survivors of violence and HIV positive women, is health systems. It is for this reason that it is critical that an essential package of services delivered should be part of a comprehensive response to the two interlinked crises of HIV and violence against women and girls. What does this entail?
One of the key settings that is often a point of contact for women, including survivors of violence and HIV positive women, is health systems. It is for this reason that it is critical that an essential package of services delivered should be part of a comprehensive response to the two interlinked crises of HIV and violence against women and girls. What does this entail?

Firstly, all services must be gender sensitive and rights based, and no service should be mandatory. And these should be provided in line with human rights principles of being non-discriminatory, acceptable, accessible, and of the highest quality. The actual services should include voluntary counselling and testing centres, primary health car, family planning clinics; antenatal and post natal clinics, STI clinics, rape crisis/gender violence recovery centers, etc.

Protocols and integrated services need to be instituted so that if a woman presents as HIV-positive or wants to be tested for HIV, she is also screened for violence, and if a woman presents with signs or injury from violence she is also counselled and screened for HIV. If this is to have real impact, antenatal and postnatal clinics must, especially, adopt protocols and health providers must be trained and equipped to screen women for violence and respond to it, as it has been established that pregnant women’s risk for violence is heightened. Some of these services include, screening for violence, referrals and follow up for those who face violence, PEP, emergency contraception, safe and legal abortion, family planning, ART, etc.

All services must be voluntary, non-coercive and must be premised on privacy, confidentiality, informed choice and informed decision making by women and girls. For 3 years the Women WON’T wait. End HIV and Violence Against Women. NOW. campaign has monitored policies and practices of multilateral and bilateral agencies to see if a response to violence against women and girls has been integrated in their HIV portfolios, plans and programmes. There has been notable progress on the recognition of the link between violence against women and girls and HIV; some agencies have fared better than others in the last year. However, this recognition itself overdue, has not yet translated in to delivery of integrated services. In response to this gap, the campaign will release guidelines on an essential package of services soon.

* Neelanjana Mukhia works with ActionAid as the international women’s rights policy and campaign coordinator and manages the international secretariat for the Women WON’T wait. End HIV and Violence Against Women. NOW. Campaign

Human trafficking, the scary side of the World Cup

Rebecca Pursell

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/16days/60747

The Soccer World Cup represents major economic opportunities for South Africa. It represents the possibility of showcasing South Africa to the world, and everything it is possible of accomplishing. However, the less glamorous side is the possible increase in sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
The Soccer World Cup represents major economic opportunities for South Africa. It represents the possibility of showcasing South Africa to the world, and everything it is possible of accomplishing. However, the less glamorous side is the possible increase in sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

South Africa represents a beacon of hope to many poor and destitute people who come from countries across the continent in pursuit of a better life. Many people move with clear intentions and plans. However, many are also misled and find themselves in exploitive and dangerous situations.

In some cases, women move to South Africa’s cities, especially Johannesburg, on the promise of better opportunities. On arriving in the city, women quickly realise that this is far from what was expected. In some cases they may be exploited for cheap labour, and worse, sold into forced sex work.

The glamour of the World Cup will further contribute to the increased movement of women and children to major cities. A Project Manager of a local shelter had the following to say about trafficking and sexual exploitation “If we do not get the message out to rural and isolated communities, women and children will continue to come to Johannesburg. We need to help them know that trafficking happens, it can happen to anyone, and it can be done by someone you know.”

Children who arrive in South Africa from other countries are even more vulnerable. Sometimes these children are fortunate enough to escape. One such person is Jessie, a young girl from Angola.

Jessie* came to South Africa from Angola with a man who her mother knew. Her mother agreed for Jessie to travel to the country to go to school. She was taken to live with a family in Edenvale, close to the airport.

Jessie was kept inside to clean the house and forced to have sex with the man who brought her to South Africa. After a few months, Jessie escaped from the house and found herself in the inner city of Johannesburg. She was 14-years-old in a country with no family and in a place she did not know.

After two nights of sleeping outside, she was approached by another young girl who said she would show her how to get money. Jessie found herself working on the street as a sex worker, until she was identified and placed in a shelter. Jessie is recovering and now able to go to school. This case is one of the more fortunate ones. In many others, girls and women are not able to escape, and do not find the help they need.

The movement of people to South Africa for the Soccer World Cup is not solely fuelled by perceived economic opportunity. There is a curiosity and desire to be involved and witness to a major sporting event. It is expected that many young children, who will also not be attending school during the mega-event, will seek transport to stadium cities to be part of the festivities.

The absence of alternative recreational activities during this period and the large volume of local and foreign visitors are expected to contribute to increased risk for vulnerable children. Children may be travelling unaccompanied and may use cheap or free travel in the form of hiking from truck drivers or travelling in long-distance taxis.

Upon arrival in stadium cities, children will likely b unsupervised and easily susceptible to exploitation by adults. This can take the form of sexual exploitation or use of children to commit crime. These are the social faces of the Soccer World Cup which are not receiving the same amount of attention and resources as the stadiums, opening events and accommodation.

Child Protection organisations are lobbying at a provincial and national level for the decision regarding the closure of schools to be reviewed, and for additional resources to be earmarked for the protection of children during this period. Some such activities include the use of community volunteers in the areas surrounding the stadiums, community awareness of the nature of trafficking, and the particular risks faced by children who are unsupervised and located in proximity to stadiums, hotels and public gathering places.

Raising awareness about the problem of child trafficking during the 16 Days of Activism will ensure that communities and children know about this problem, and send the message to local and international visitors that South Africa cares about its women and children.

* Not her real name. Rebecca Pursell is a Social Worker with Khulisa Management Services. This article is part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service series for the 16 Days of Activism.

Survivors courage breaks the cycle

Maureen Xaba

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/16days/60676

Working in the field of violence against women has been quite a journey and experience for me, both empowering and at times very sad. Every year, Gender Links works in partnership with other organisations to provide survivors of gender violence with opportunities to tell their stories. Having participated in this project, I know that by telling their stories, survivors begin a healing process. I also know that each of these stories represent thousands more that never get told.
Working in the field of violence against women has been quite a journey and experience for me, both empowering and at times very sad. Every year, Gender Links works in partnership with other organisations to provide survivors of gender violence with opportunities to tell their stories. Having participated in this project, I know that by telling their stories, survivors begin a healing process. I also know that each of these stories represent thousands more that never get told.

On the one hand, working with survivors of violence has made me a better person, opening me up to other peoples experiences. I have become more knowledgeable about my rights as a woman and can educate other women about their rights and abuse.

On the other hand, I have had depressing moments. As a counselor you are exposed to a lot of sad and gruesome stories about women abuse. You want to help, you want to intervene but there is only so much you can do. You can’t hold the hand of the law and direct it to where you want it to go.

Just like the stories told in the “I” Stories, I see how the inherent injustices and unfairness of the criminal justice system continue to haunt a lot of women we work with. But we do not have the power to give women the verdicts that they want in court. Sometimes some of our clients end up being killed, murdered, shot, and as a counselor you begin to ask yourself, what could I have done differently? How could this have been avoided?

To the survivors who have the courage to take a stand and speak out, I want to say again - you are my heroes and you are my sixteen year-old daughter’s heroes. I hope and pray that she won’t become one of these stories one day. Because of you who have broken the cycle, because you took the decision to speak out, she will be more aware of her rights.

It is not possible to erase the pain and abuse of the past, but no one need to be permanently damaged by it, when I as a counselor look at women who come to People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) for counseling and who speak out to tell their stories and I see strength, determination, and power. That is what it takes to survive abuse and have courage to speak out.

The greatest gift a mother can give her children is to set an example, take control of her life now and thus help them to recognise the realities of the abuse and light the way for them. When our children, no matter how old, tell us of abuse, we must support them. We must not only see our children, but hear what they are saying – the time for silence has passed.

To women who are survivors of childhood incest, who have been silenced by their families and abusers, most of them they never talked about it hoping time will heal them, but time alone will not heal at one point or another in your life it will come back to haunt you. To mothers we are raising children who are hurting and angry if your child was abused you need to take her for counseling even if you don’t want to open a case.

Many people fear counseling because they are afraid of what they will find out. Sometimes they fear opening the door that might unleash monsters inside. Often they think that going to a counselor means they are crazy. This feeling is particularly threatening for abused or formerly abused women because they were taunted often by abusers as being “sick, crazy needing mental help or needing to be locked up.” They also fear what other people will think.

Counseling is an empowering option in helping you better understand you better and work through changes and problems. Do not be afraid of the word “problems.” Having problems is part of being alive and everyone has them. Finding ways to solve them is part of the adventure. For me, working on women's issues is not a job, but a passion, something I do to make women’s lives better, one woman at a time. We are all responsible and we can all make a difference.

* Maureen Xaba is a counselor with People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA), she also acts as a counselor during the “I” Stories Project. This article is part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service series for the 16 Days of Activism.

Global: Africa demands progress on Kyoto

2009-12-02

http://tinyurl.com/yf6bbpn

The Africa Group took the lead in Barcelona in demanding that there be progress in the Kyoto Protocol group on the numbers for emission reduction by developed countries. They insisted that this group focus first on the "numbers", and then only after that deal with other issues.

Global: International banks join to support strong climate deal

2009-12-06

http://www.bicusa.org/en/Article.11671.aspx

The major IFIs have appealed to the governments meeting at Copenhagen to come to a comprehensive agreement on climate change mitigation, pledging to use their own resources to contribute. Some are critical, however, of how ready these institutions are to tackle the issues involved.

Global: Race to save Kyoto Protocol — and Copenhagen

2009-12-02

http://tinyurl.com/ygp5ujs

The Copenhagen summit is set to begin, and all the preparations should have been completed - most of all, a draft of the final outcome. Instead, it seems the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are further apart than they had been, two years ago when the Bali Action Plan, was launched.

Global: Story of Stuff followup film on climate

2009-12-02

http://storyofstuff.org/capandtrade/

The Story of Cap and Trade is a fast-paced, fact-filled, entertaining look at the leading climate mitigation strategy being imposed by elites at the Copenhagen summit and in Washington and most other capitals and financial centers. Host Annie Leonard introduces the people at the heart of this scheme - energy traders and Wall Street financiers.

Kenya: Climate change affecting small-scale farmers

2009-12-06

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VDUX-7YERQZ?OpenDocument

Kenyan farmers are concerned about climate change as they see crop production decrease because of rising temperatures, unreliable rainfall, soil erosion and drought.

Kenya: Former president to lose land in Mau water towers

2009-12-02

http://blog.marsgroupkenya.org/?p=1618

It appears that former president Moi’s tenure at Kiptagich 900 hectares in the Mau may be ending soon. Writing in the Standard on Sunday newspaper, Juma Kwayera claims that the Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s communications office issued a despatch as follows: “On Monday we are sending emissaries to Moi to surrender the Kiptagich Tea Plantation or we take it by force.”

Nigeria: Farmers sue Shell over oil spill

2009-12-05

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8392801.stm

A group of Nigerian farmers is suing Royal Dutch Shell, claiming that the oil firm polluted their land in the Niger Delta region. The four farmers allege that oil spilt from the supply lines of a subsidiary of Shell contaminated fish ponds and farms, ruining villagers' livelihoods.

Africa: CSO network rejects ‘corporate takeover of Africa land’

2009-12-05

http://farmlandgrab.org/9527

As African countries attract foreign investors looking to rent agricultural land, a group of civil societies who met in Addis Ababa has called on African leaders to reject what they call the “corporate takeover of African land for food production”.

Ethiopia: Oromo rebels oppose farmland deals

2009-12-05

http://farmlandgrab.org/9501

As the Oromo Liberation Front has repeatedly stressed, the current Ethiopian regime has, since it came to power in 1991, dispossessed, displaced, and disenfranchised tens of thousands of the Oromo people. TPLF’s policies of dispossession and marginalization of the Oromo nation have remained at the root of today’s underdevelopment and the spectacle of mass starvation that has been witnessed throughout Oromia in recent years.

Mali: Land grab fears linger

2009-12-02

http://farmlandgrab.org/9454

In Mali the government has approved long-term leases for outside investors to develop more than 160,000 hectares of land. Government officials say the country could not develop its cultivable land otherwise, but local farmers say they fear being pushed out.

Global: Smallholder solutions to hunger, poverty and climate change

Food First

2009-12-02

http://www.foodfirst.org/files/pdf/Solutions5.pdf

With the worsening of the global food crisis, general international agreement has emerged regarding the importance of smallholder agriculture in the battle against hunger and poverty. However, public debate has been highly restricted and increasingly dominated by conventional, market-led, and corporate approaches to aid and agricultural development.

Africa: A24MEDIA East Africa Review - 2009

2009-12-05

http://www.a24media.com/

A24MEDIA has scaled the heights in its pursuit to give voice to Africa by letting Africans tell their own stories, their own way. In this end-year roundup, A24MEDIA presents East and Horn of Africa’s most viewed stories in the A24 Media’s online portal. The list however casts an apparently real but unfortunate situation that; even Africans prefer the so-called negative stories.

Africa: World Press Photo multimedia workshop for African photo/mulitmedia journalists

2009-12-02

http://www.roadto2010.com/about

The Twenty Ten project is inspired by the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the media opportunities this has to offer. It will be the first time that the FIFA World Cup competition takes place on the African continent. Football plays a vibrant part in life in communities across the continent. Taking a cue from this, Twenty Ten aims to give African journalists a voice, both in Africa and worldwide, by offering them an opportunity to express their own views of African reality, as opposed to having to depend on foreign news organizations.

Ethiopia: Government re-opens treason trial of 4 newspaper publishers

2009-12-05

http://tinyurl.com/y9fu8gj

The Ethiopian government has re-opened the trial of four major newspaper publishers in connection with the 2005 post-election violence in the East African nation. The ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) has successfully lodged an appeal against the Ethiopian Supreme Court's decision to pardon the four publishers, Siday, Zekarias, Fasil and Serkalem, in connection with the 2005 elections.

Somalia: Journalists killed in blast

2009-12-06

http://tinyurl.com/ykj6atd

The International Federation of the Journalists (IFJ) has strongly condemned the murders of Somali journalist Mohamed Amin Adan Abdulle, a reporter with Radio Shabelle and Hassan Zubeyr Haji Hassan, a cameraman working with Al-Arabia TV who were killed this morning in a bomb attack on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Tunisia: Presidential palace furious as it hunts down opposition

2009-12-06

http://www.ifex.org/tunisia/2009/12/02/journalists_imprisoned/

Despite consolidating his vice-like grip on power, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali continues to imprison journalists critical of his regime, say members of the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group in a joint action this week.

Zimbabwe: New report on Public Broadcast Media

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/60688

A new report entitled: Public Broadcast Services in Africa Series has urged the government of Zimbabwe to commit to media reforms. Citing the highly controversial Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), which established the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Commission, a body that has immense power to make or break all media in the country; the report, launched in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, urges the government to place top priority in ensuring that: ‘Laws inhibiting the free operations of the media are repealed without delay.’
‘Opportunity for media law reforms has come’- new report on Public Broadcast Media

A new report entitled: Public Broadcast Services in Africa Series has urged the government of Zimbabwe to commit to media reforms. Citing the highly controversial Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), which established the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Commission, a body that has immense power to make or break all media in the country; the report, launched in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, urges the government to place top priority in ensuring that: ‘Laws inhibiting the free operations of the media are repealed without delay.’

Evidence shows that since the introduction of AIPPA, in 2002, the Zimbabwe media has witnessed major setbacks, whereby freedom of expression was severely restricted. Authorities closed down three major private papers on the same day, and harassed, intimidated, tortured, abducted and jailed journalists for merely exercising their duties; thus causing the biggest obstruction to freedom of press since the days of the Rhodesian Front under Ian Smith.

“The laws that are currently in place in Zimbabwe are completely at odds with aspirations of any development oriented and democratic state. In fact it is to the contrary, whereby freedoms are systematically curtailed creating an atmosphere of domination and unchallenged power”, said Ozias Tungwarara, AfriMAP director.

The report urges the government of national unity under the leadership of President Mugabe and Prime Minster Tsvangirai to ensure that new media laws abide by the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa, as well as other international treaties guaranteeing freedom of expression, which Zimbabwe are a party to. These laws also include the country’s own constitution which also guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

The report, published by Open Society Institute and the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP), is part of a continental study which assesses public broadcast media in 11 African countries. Zimbabwe is the first of such countries to launch its report. The country report has made 44 key recommendations in the media laws and operations of the public broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), divided into 10 critical sections: media laws; access to public information; voluntary media council of Zimbabwe; the broadcasting landscape, digitalization; broadcast legislation; ZBC legislation; funding; programming; campaigns for broadcast reforms.

The report warns that democracy in Zimbabwe will be severely stifled if laws of media regulation are not urgently addressed. It points the way toward evidence of political commitment by enjoining the leaders at state level, as well as in the parliament to take advantage of the constitutional review process and throw out AIPPA, Zimbabwe Media Commission, Public Order and the Security Act (POSA). It also calls for the strengthening of the Voluntary Media Council, which is supposed to represent all media. These reforms, the report states, will demonstrate Zimbabwe’s commitment to embracing a democratic and development agenda, something that the South African Development Community (SADC) and the world anticipate with great expectation and hope.

Background:

The Public Broadcast Services in Africa Series is an 11 country survey (Benin, Cameroon, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) that seeks to collect, collate and write up information on regulation, ownership, access and performance as well as prospects of reform of public broadcasting. The research that started in 2008 is based on a detailed guide developed by African media experts and others from other regions of the world. The thirteen chapter report also include data from an audience survey of representative samples (about 15,000) of viewers and listeners to assess their use of media in general and opinions on broadcasting in particular. The premise that broadcast media is key to reaching people, led to a conclusion in which AfriMAP sought in-depth analysis of public broadcasting and in the process, made contributions to the democratization of Africa. Zimbabwe is the first country to launch its report.

The Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project - (AfriMAP), the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project, is an initiative of the Soros foundation network’s four African foundations, and works with national civil society organizations to conduct systematic audits of government performance in three areas: the justice sector and the rule of law; political participation and democracy; and effective delivery of public services.

www.afrimap.org

The Open Society Institute-(OSI), part of the Soros foundation network, works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve its mission, OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI builds alliances across borders and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. OSI places a high priority on protecting and improving the lives of people in marginalized communities.

www.soros.org

The Media Institute of Southern Africa - (MISA), is a non-governmental organization with members in 11 of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. MISA seeks ways in which to promote the free flow of information and co-operation between media workers, as a principal means of nurturing democracy and human rights in Africa. The role of MISA is primarily one of a coordinator, facilitator and communicator, and for this reason MISA works with all like-minded organizations and individuals to achieve a genuinely free and pluralistic media in southern Africa.

www.misa.org

For more information please contact:

Jeggan Grey Johnson – Mobile+ 27 836 200578- email: jeggangj@osisa.org

Tabani Moyo –Mobile +263 912 266 430/ +263 11 603 439- email: tabani@misazim.co.zw

CAR: Abductions disrupt aid work

2009-12-06

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87329

The UN has warned that the recent kidnapping of two aid workers in the northeastern town of Birao in Central African Republic will have a highly damaging impact on humanitarian activities in the remote, impoverished Vakaga region.

DRC: Trials not yet a deterrent to rapes

2009-12-06

http://www.alertnet.org/db/blogs/55866/2009/10/24-173935-1.htm

In the year since the start of the first trial at the international war crimes court involving an alleged Congolese warlord, rape on a mass scale has continued unabated in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sudan: UN peacekeepers killed in attack

2009-12-06

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33151

Three Rwandan peacekeepers from the joint African Union-United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID) were killed and others wounded in an attack by unidentified gunmen while collecting water in the north of the strife-torn Sudanese region.

West Africa: Guinea on edge after attack on junta leader

2009-12-05

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/818016/-/12663m6z/-/index.html

Guinea’s capital is on edge following a botched assassination attempt on the head of the ruling junta, with residents bracing for further violence between out-of-control army factions. Pickup trucks carrying heavily armed soldiers moved through the quiet streets of the normally bustling city searching for suspects in the attack, with shops open only part-time and most residents staying indoors.

Africa: Growing use of cellphones for family planning

2009-12-06

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html#useful

The growth of cellphone use, particularly in the developing world, is providing health experts with a new channel of communication to provide family planning information.

Africa: How Europe's discarded computers are poisoning Africa's kids

2009-12-05

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,665061,00.html

People in the West throw away millions of old computers every year. Hundreds of thousands of them end up in Africa, where children try to eke out a living by selling the scrap. But the toxic elements in the waste are slowly poisoning them.

East Africa: Uganda goes digital broadcasting

2009-12-06

http://www.africanews.com/site/Uganda_goes_digital_broadcasting/list_messages/28293

Five Ugandan television stations are switching from analogue to digital broadcasting with 200 viewers receiving the signal in the capital Kampala. They are Kenyan-owned Nation Television (NTV), WBS, East Africa Television and Nile Broadcasting Service.

Global: 10 tactics for turning information into action: new film

2009-12-02

http://www.tacticaltech.org/10tacticslaunch

10 tactics for turning information into action' will be launched at the Frontline Club in London, December 4. This event will be the first of a series of global screenings of '10 tactics', the documentary film by Tactical Tech. Locations include Nairobi, Kenya; Berlin, Germany; Beirut, Lebanon Sydney, Australia; Upington, South Africa; Tbilisi, Georgia; New Jersey, USA; Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil and Banjarmarsin, Indonesia.

Uganda: Mmobile operators to form rural power consortium

2009-12-06

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html

Africa faces two linked problems that are holding back the extension of mobile services into a wider range of rural areas: diesel supplies are sometimes unpredictable and prices are high. For the first time mobile operators in Uganda this week sought to address the power problem by forming a consortium.

Africa: Ending Malaria in Sight

AfricaFocus Bulletin Nov 27, 2009 (091127)

2009-12-06

http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/mal0911.php

On the Comoran island of Moheli, with a population of 36,000, malaria has been eliminated with the aid of a comprehensive Chinese-assisted treatment campaign. And at the 5th Pan-African malaria conference, held in Nairobi in early November, Kenya's minister of public health, Beth Mugo, announced that her country had set the goal of eliminating the disease by 2017.

Global: Fellowships for threatened scholars

IIE Scholar Rescue Fund

2009-12-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/60770

The IIE Scholar Rescue Fund is pleased to announce a call for applications for the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF). Fellowships support temporary academic positions at safe universities and colleges anywhere in the world for threatened academics whose lives and work are in danger in their home countries. Applications are due January 15 2009.
The IIE Scholar Rescue Fund is pleased to announce a call for applications for the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF). Fellowships support temporary academic positions at safe universities and colleges anywhere in the world for threatened academics whose lives and work are in danger in their home countries. Applications are due January 15 2009.

Who can apply:
Professors, researchers and lecturers from any country or field may apply. We invite you to refer eligible candidates and ask for your help in forwarding this announcement to any academic colleagues who may be interested.

* Qualifying applicants are currently facing or have recently fled from direct and immediate threats
* Professors, established researchers and other senior academics from any country, field or discipline may qualify.
* Preference is given to scholars with a Ph.D. or other highest degree in their field who have extensive teaching or research experience at a university, college or other institution of higher learning.
* Applicants must demonstrate superior academic accomplishment or promise.
* Applications from female scholars and under-represented groups are strongly encouraged.


*Students or professionals seeking funding to pursue academic studies or training are not eligible.

To apply:
Please download the information and application materials from:
http://www.scholarrescuefund.org/pages/for-scholars.php

For universities and colleges interested in hosting an SRF scholar:
http://www.scholarrescuefund.org/pages/for-hosts.php

Contact SRF@iie.org for questions.

How The Scholar Rescue Fund Works:
Fellowships are awarded for visiting academic positions ranging from 3 months to 1 calendar year. Awards are issued for up to US $25,000, plus individual health coverage.

Fellowships are disbursed through host academic institutions for direct support of scholar-grantees. In most cases, host campuses are asked to match the SRF fellowship award by providing partial salary/stipend support and/or housing, material support for researching/publications, and other in-kind assistance.

Applications are accepted at any time.

For a decision by early March please apply by January 15.
Visit www.scholarrescuefund.org for more details.

Kenya: Peace building practitioners training

2009-12-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/60767

COPA will for the period 15th to 25th February 2010 hold 10 day peace building training in Nairobi for peace and development practitioners from from Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. The training is ideal for persons wishing to build their skills in different thematic areas related to peace matters.
COPA will for the period 15th to 25th February 2010 hold 10 day peace building training in Nairobi for peace and development practitioners from Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda.

The training is ideal for persons wishing to build their skills in different thematic areas related to peace matters. The facilitation will start from basic applications and build up to the mid levels. This training is also ideal for people who may not have gone through some peace building trainings before and persons who may have attended basic trainings.
Specific areas of focus will be on:

Understanding conflict
- Understanding of concepts: conflict, violence, peace and development
- Perceptions, attitudes and behaviours in relation to conflict
- Introduction to conflict analysis

Conflict Transformation
- Approaches to conflict management
- Communication skills
- Conflict Early warning
- Facilitating dialogue, mediation, negotiation and arbitration
- Trauma healing in post conflict societies

Building Sustainable peace
- Conflict sensitive approaches to development
- Networking, coalitions and alliances
- Advocacy, Lobbying and Campaigning
- Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning

Training charges are US$900 for tuition to cover the whole duration. Full board accommodation will be charged at US$ 80 per day.

Martha Ndogoto
Programme Officer
Coalition for Peace in Africa (COPA)
Dhanjay Apartments, Valley Arcade,Rm 301
Lavington
Po Box 61753- 00200
Tel:+254-2-3870845
Tel/Fax:+254-2-3866686
Nairobi, Kenya
East Africa
Mobile: 254-723- 688851
Email: copa@copafrica.org/martha@copafrica.org
<mailto:copa@copafrica.org/martha@copafrica.org>
www.copafrica.org

System dynamics-based development planning course

April 6 - May 14, 2010 Bergen, Norway

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/60681

This course is an intensive introduction to System Dynamics, a unique framework for understanding and managing complex development problems. Through case studies and practical exercises, the course will equip participants with the knowledge and skills required to effectively understand, map, and analyze complex national and global development challenges using a systemic perspective, and to determine the best approaches to mitigate them.
This course is an intensive introduction to System Dynamics, a unique framework for understanding and managing complex development problems. Through case studies and practical exercises, the course will equip participants with the knowledge and skills required to effectively understand, map, and analyze complex national and global development challenges using a systemic perspective, and to determine the best approaches to mitigate them. The course is designed for professionals working in the field of development planning, especially policy advisors/analysts, and implementation and evaluation specialists from government institutions, research institutes, advocacy and civil society groups, private foundations, and international development agencies.


Full Course Description

The current global economic crisis, with its impact on trade, food production, energy supply and demand, and amid the growing concern about global warming, are a manifestation of complex development dynamics that we have failed to fully understand.

An increasingly complex and interdependent world demand that we understand how our social, economic, and environmental systems interact, so that we can preempt and mitigate the unintended consequences of policy decisions. It demands experts who think systemically and who combine comprehensive forecasting tools with other skills to develop policies grounded in knowledge of their likely impact decades in the future.

The System Dynamics-based Development Planning Course addresses this need. The course is an intensive introduction to System Dynamics, a unique method for understanding and managing complex development problems. Through case studies and practical exercises, participants will gain the knowledge and skills required to effectively analyze complex national and global development challenges, and determine the best approaches to mitigate them.

The course will also examine the Threshold 21 model, a scenario-playing model that represents a comprehensive and realistic view of how the economic and social relations work, and highlight the key factors that affect our lives and the environment. This framework has received favorable evaluations from UNDP and UNEP, and has been used by governments of many countries to prepare national development plans, especially poverty reduction strategies, and strategies to meet the MDGs.

Who Should Apply
The course is designed for professionals working in the field of development planning, especially policy advisors/analysts, and implementation and evaluation specialists from government institutions, research institutes, advocacy and civil society groups, private foundations, and international development agencies.

Course Fee
The course fee is US$2,730. The fee covers on-campus accommodation, course materials, and administrative fees.

Date
April 6 - May 14, 2010

Location
University of Bergen, Norway

Application Deadline
All applications must be received by January 8, 2010.

Further information
For further information and application materials visit http://www.millennium-institute.org/courses or contact ao@millennium-instititue.org

U.S. Engagement with the Muslim World: One year after Cairo

Call for paper proposals

2009-12-05

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/60771

The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy is announcing a call for paper proposals for its upcoming conference, U.S. Engagement with the Muslim World: One year after Cairo. The deadline for submitting paper proposals is December 10, 2009.
U.S. Engagement with the Muslim World: One Year After Cairo
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY
Call for Paper Proposals
Deadline for submitting paper proposals: Dec. 10, 2009
CSID's 11th Annual Conference
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Washington DC
In a much-anticipated speech in June 2009, President Barack Obama, speaking from the Egyptian capital, sought a "new beginning" in U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Promising to move beyond terrorism and security to focus on issues of mutual interest, the President laid out an ambitious agenda for overhauling ties between his country and the world's 1.57 billion Muslims. Since the speech there has been considerable debate over its meaning and significance: were Obama's words to be accompanied by new programs and concrete initiatives, or were they merely intended to signal a new diplomatic posture towards the Muslim world? Muslim audiences tended to welcome the speech, but indicated that they would reserve judgment until it was translated into action. Months after the speech-with the U.S. administration bogged down by healthcare reform, economic recovery, and ongoing challenges in Afghanistan-the path towards improved relations with the Islamic world remains unclear.
CSID's most recent conference invited reflections on what might be possible for the U.S. and the Islamic world under a new U.S. administration. Following naturally from this previous theme, its 11th annual conference will assess the state of U.S.-Muslim world relations a year after the Cairo speech. What, if anything, has changed in terms of how the United States approaches its major policy challenges in the Muslim world? Do we see signs that governments and other actors in the Muslim world regard the U.S. differently since the new administration came into office?

Paper proposals are invited from prospective participants on the following four broad topics related to the main conference theme. Prospective presenters are also welcome to submit papers that fall outside these topics, but must establish their relevance to the broader conference theme:

A. The Cairo Speech Agenda: Fulfilled or Deferred?

How have U.S.-Islamic world relations fared in the year following President Obama's Cairo speech? Has the new U.S. administration delivered on its commitment to a "new beginning" with the Muslim world? Can we detect significant differences in how the United States is viewed by the Muslim world?

B. Democracy Development in the Muslim World: New Approaches or No Longer a Priority?

The previous U.S. administration placed a premium on democratization in the Middle East and Muslim world, but received mixed reviews on its implementation. Some argue that so far the Obama administration has largely abandoned the democracy agenda in favor of regional security interests. How does the current administration view democratization in the context of other challenges it faces in the Muslim world, and to what extent can we detect any policy shifts?

C. The Role of American Muslims in U.S.-Islamic World Relations

President Obama made special mention of Muslim Americans in his Cairo speech. What role have Muslims in the United States played in promoting ties with the wider Muslim world and to what extent do they serve to promote economic development, political reform, and new thinking? Will the appointment of a Special Representative to Muslim Communities at the State Department have significant consequences for outreach to American Muslims and beyond?

D. The U.S. and Conflict in the Muslim World

From Afghanistan to the Israel/Palestine conflict, much of the U.S. relationship with the Muslim world continues to be defined by ongoing conflicts. How has the Obama administration dealt with these situations and have we seen any signs of new thinking?


Paper proposals (no more than 400 words) are Due by December 10, 2009 and should be sent to:

Prof. Peter Mandaville
Chair, Conference Program Committee
E-mail: conference2010@islam-democracy.org


Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by January 22, 2010 and final papers must be submitted by March 15, 2010.

Selected panelists and speakers must cover their own travel and accommodations to participate in the conference, and pay the conference registration fee by March 15, 2010. Speakers and panelists coming from overseas will receive a contribution of $300 from CSID to defray travel expenses.

Zimbabwe: Critical essays on the work of Chenjerai Hove

A call for contributions

2009-12-02

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/publications/60669

Chenjerai Hove is considered to be one of Zimbabwe´s foremost writers, and a volume of critical essays on all aspects of his work is being planned for publication by Africa World Press in association with Weaver Press. this is a call for proposals for contributions towards this planned critical volume.
Chenjerai Hove is considered to be one of Zimbabwe´s foremost writers, and a volume of critical essays on all aspects of his work is being planned for publication by Africa World Press in association with Weaver Press. We would currently like to invite proposals for contributions towards this planned critical volume. We intend that the range of essays will represent the full range of Hove´s work - fiction, poetry and essays - and we are amenable to a diversity of approaches: theoretical, historical, contextual, comparative, creative and so on. If you are interested in offering a contribution, please forward an abstract (up to 500 words), and a brief bio to the editors below by 15 January 2010. Please copy your emails to both editors.

Tinashe Mushakavanhu
Email - t.mushakavanhu@kent.ac.uk
Caroline Rooney Email - c.r.rooney@kent.ac.uk
Tolu Ogunlesi http://toluogunlesi.wordpress.com/
http://facebook.com/toluogunlesi
http://twitter.com/toluogunlesi +234 803 337 6685

Two International Programme Officers - War on Want

2009-12-04

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/60760

War on Want is a dynamic organisation working in partnership with people across the developing world. War on Want’s International Programmes Department works to change people’s lives in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. We are seeking two programme officers with extensive practical experience in international development programmes, one to lead our Informal Economy programme and the other our Conflict Zones programme.

International Programme Officer
(Informal Economy)

JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION
Job Title: International Programme Officer
Contract: Permanent
Reporting to: International Programmes Director

Salary: £28,161 rising towards £29,520 on an annual incremental basis, plus 6% non-contributory employer’s pension

Holidays: 27 days’ annual leave, including four days over the Christmas period; rising to 29 days after three years’ service and 30 days after five years

Benefits: Interest-free loan for season ticket or bicycle purchase

Hours: 35 hours per week. Some weekend and out of hours working is essential, for which time off in lieu will be given.

Based at: War on Want’s head office: 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
Overseas travel for a period of no less than eight weeks over a year will be essential.

Deadline for receipt of applications: 4pm, Friday, 15 January 2010

Date for interviews: Tuesday, 26 January 2010


JOB DESCRIPTION

War on Want is a small, dynamic organisation working in solidarity and partnership with people across the developing world while undertaking cutting edge anti-poverty campaigns in the UK and beyond. War on Want’s International Programmes Department works to change people’s lives in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

We are seeking a person with extensive practical experience in international development programmes and securing resources from statutory and non-statutory donors. You will be responsible for leading and ensuring financial sustainability of our Informal Economy programme, managing and maximising the relationships with key donors, producing high quality funding submissions and reports, and with partner organisations in developing countries.

You will be responsible to the International Programmes Director.

Specific areas of responsibility:

Partner capacity building and relations with donors: (65 %)
• To secure partners’ financial support through the development of funding applications and reporting to donors in conjunction with partners.
• To provide support to partners on project cycle management via email, telephone, skype and country visits of up to eight weeks per year.
• To develop and strengthen War on Want’s relationships with partners and donors.
• To support partners’ monitoring, evaluation, impact measurement and developing best practice from learning.
• To keep partners’ records up to date within War on Want’s systems.
• To ensure the timely and accurate monitoring of progress achieved by War on Want overseas partners.

Programme strategic development: (15 %)
• To lead the development and implementation of the Informal Economy Programme.
• To manage research in line with partners’ information needs.
• To contribute to specific advocacy activities on behalf of overseas partners and raise awareness in the UK, in cooperation with other War on Want departments.

Communications and networking: (15%)
• To communicate internally and externally about partners’ work and issues related to the Informal Economy programme.
• To represent and speak on behalf of War on Want to external audiences in relation to the Informal Economy programme.
• To liaise with civil society organisations in the UK and Europe on informal economy and related issues.
• To coordinate with other War on Want departments about partners’ activities.
• To coordinate visits by partners to the UK and Europe.

Team and organisational development (5 %)
• To participate actively in team discussions and organisational strategic events.
• To undertake other responsibilities commensurate with the post which have been agreed with the International Programmes Director.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential
• Substantial experience of working with international project partners, including experience overseas
• Proven experience of successful funding submissions and reporting to institutional donors
• Sound understanding of international development issues
• Experience of developing and managing budgets
• Knowledge and experience of project cycle management, including project planning, monitoring & evaluation techniques
• Ability to work within a team and on own initiative
• Flexibility and ability to work to tight deadlines
• Commitment to the aims and values of War on Want

Desirable
• Knowledge on informal economy issues
• Knowledge or experience of strategic planning
• Previous experience of organising events e.g. conferences, seminars
• Qualified to post-degree level, or equivalent

For an application pack, contact David Rudkin at drudkin@waronwant.org , tel 020 7549 0563 or download from www.waronwant.org

War on Want is a registered charity.
We actively encourage applicants from ethic minorities and aim to be an equal opportunities employer.

Fahamu