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Gangsters, politicians, cocaine and bankers

Lessons from the saga of Dudus in Jamaica

Horace Campbell

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65437

cc D S SChristopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, alleged drug lord and leader of Jamaican gang, the Shower Posse, was arrested on 22 June. Coke’s arrest, writes Horace Campbell, opens up the possibility to ‘reveal the full extent of the corruption of the politics of Jamaica and the Caribbean by their rulers in collaboration with the intelligence, commercial and banking infrastructures of the United States’. Noting that 'political retrogression, gangsterism and violence have now reached the proportions that were similar to the period of enslavement', Campbell says the 'struggle against the cocaine business in the Caribbean is a struggle for a new form of society.'

The arrest of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke in a road block in Jamaica on Tuesday 22 June 2010 opens the possibility once and for all to reveal the full extent of the corruption of the politics of Jamaica and the Caribbean by the rulers in collaboration with the intelligence, commercial and banking infrastructures of the United States

From the streets of West Kingston to the hills of Port of Spain, Trinidad to Guyana and down to Brazil, gunmen (called warlords) allied and integrated into the international banking system had taken over communities and acted as do-gooders when the neo-liberal forces downgraded local government services.

From the garrison community of Tivoli gardens, Christopher Coke was hailed as a force more powerful than politicians. Such was power of Coke (called the ‘Pres’ by his supporters and the media) that the prime minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, tried to block his extradition to the United States. For a short period from August 2009 to May 2010, the Jamaican government protected Coke and hired a US law firm to lobby against his extradition. The US government intensified pressures against the Jamaican middle classes, threatening them with the withdrawal of their visas. This pressure and public opinion forced the government of Jamaica to issue a warrant for the arrest of Coke on 17 May 2010.

After the warrant was issued, the military and police forces entered the garrison stronghold of Coke to capture him. After the shooting stopped, 73 persons in Tivoli, three members of the occupation forces and ‘accountant’ Keith Clarke were killed and large numbers injured. Coke was in hiding because he feared ending up like his father, Jim Brown, who had been the don of Tivoli and had died mysteriously in a fire while he was incarcerated in Jamaica awaiting extradition to the United States.

Although the western media has spun this story to exclude the US intelligence agencies as well as Israeli mobsters, the tales of Christopher Coke reveal the reality that peace and reconstruction in the Caribbean is inseparable from demilitarisation and exposure of the US banking and intelligence services.

THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA), GUNMEN AND POLITICS IN JAMAICA

The arrest of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke in Kingston has reopened the issues of the use of thugs and gunmen to intimidate the poor in Caribbean. From Mexico to Guyana and from Brazil to Trinidad, gunmen and criminal elements integrated into the cocaine, guns, politics and banking business terrorise the poor and ensure that international capitalism thrives on the backs and bodies of the most oppressed. Dudus had inherited a criminal infrastructure from his father (also known as Jim Brown) that had been organised by politicians to coerce and intimidate the working poor.

At the height of his power, Dudus had taken over the community of Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston and was from a long line of political enforcers with names such as Claudie ‘Jack’ Massop, Bya Mitchell and Jim Brown. These enforcers had been active in the community of Tivoli Gardens established as a base for counter revolutionary violence by a sociologist-turned-politician named Edward Seaga.

Edward Seaga had exploded on the political scene in Jamaica after 1959 speaking for the ‘have-nots’. With the victory of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the elections for independence in 1962, Seaga emerged as a powerful minister and had established Tivoli in 1965 as a base for the JLP.

The establishment of Tivoli was not an accident. As one facet of the redevelopment of downtown Kingston and ‘urban renewal,’ Tivoli was created to counter the positive and radicalising influence of the Rastafari community that had its biggest base in an area then called Back o’ Wall. The sociology of oppression was backed up by bricks, mortar and guns; Tivoli was built on the destruction of Rastafari communities. (I have documented the important role of the Rastafari in Jamaican society in the book, ‘Rasta and Resistance: From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney’).

The Rastafari had understood the importance of the establishment of this community against them; in the early seventies Bob Marley made the Reggae song on this community, ‘Concrete Jungle’. Those who supported the Peoples National Party were bulldozed out of the area and drifted to the eastern part of Kingston, where they established communities with names such as Dunkirk. Political rivalry that had been conducted with knives, barbs, sticks and stones was now dominated by men armed with guns.

Michael Manley was swept into power in Jamaica in the elections of 1972. Tivoli achieved notoriety during the seventies as a stronghold for gunpersons loyal to the JLP and in response to this form of housing complex. Michael Manley built his own housing complex for his supporters. The emergence of these competing housing schemes in the urban areas was reinforced by a system of contracts where the political henchmen were given government contracts for construction and other make work schemes. These communities were called garrison communities in Jamaica.

Instead of denouncing and critiquing the manipulation of the oppressed, sociologists called the gangster political love-fest patronage and clientism. Innocent sounding academic phrases such as ‘the disbursement of the discretionary favours of Government’ concealed a more deadly relationship between the poor and the government.

One continues to witness the poverty of the sociological cover-up with the op-ed contribution of H. Orlando Patterson in the New York Times (May 28) entitled, ‘Jamaica’s Bloody democracy’. It is this kind of social science that obscures the depth of oppression of the poor in the midst of the capitalist crisis.

THE CIA AND MICHAEL MANLEY

Despite espousing a brand of democratic socialism, Michael Manley did not break the relationship between political enforcers and the political parties. In fact, Manley surrounded himself with notorious gunmen such as Burry Boy, and the militarisation of politics intensified in this period.

If Michael Manley did not take seriously his own rhetoric about Democratic Socialism, the US government and the CIA was sufficiently unnerved by the radicalisation of the Jamaican society under the PNP leadership to embark on wholesale destabilisation of Jamaica. The whole world was now paying attention to the leftward turn of Jamaica and this turn to peace and justice was most manifest in the lyrics of Reggae artists in the seventies. Bob Marley also became a victim of the indiscriminate violence in 1976 when he offered a free concert in the midst of the CIA inspired violence and killings in Jamaica. Peter Tosh was also consumed by this violence and met an early end.

It was at this time that the CIA found a ready pool of gun-men and political contractors who were already ensconced in Tivoli Gardens. Lester Coke, also known as Jim Brown, father of Dudus, was one of the major enforcers who benefitted from the CIA relationship with the party headed by Edward Seaga. The 1980 elections were one of the bloodiest in the history of Jamaica, with hundreds dead and thousands dispersed.

This counter revolutionary phase in the Caribbean reached new levels in the Caribbean as the CIA supported the Contras in Nicaragua, the militarists in El Salvador and the conservative military forces throughout the Caribbean. It was in this period that Walter Rodney was assassinated in Guyana and Archbishop Romero was assassinated in San Salvador. Manley was defeated in the elections of 1980.

TIVOLI GARDENS, THE SHOWER POSSE AND THE COCAINE BUSINESS

When Edward Seaga became the Prime Minister of Jamaica in 1980, the society was deployed at the service of the US counter revolution in the region. It was not by chance that the Prime Minister of Jamaica was at the forefront of those giving military, diplomatic and political cover for the US invasion of Grenada in 1983. In this period when the CIA was fighting against the Contras, the export of cocaine from Columbia was one means of providing the financial resources for the campaign of destabilisation. This has been established by the Senate Committees of the US that revealed that, while Ronald Reagan was carrying forth a war on drugs, the CIA was importing cocaine into the US using the US military and the air force. Gary Webb has also detailed for posterity the role of the CIA in the cocaine business in the book, ‘Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion’.

Jamaica became central to this dark alliance during the period when the JLP government was in power, 1980-1989. In order to establish a firm entrepreneurial basis for the distribution of cocaine in the Caribbean, the forces of Lester Coke organised the Shower Posse in Tivoli with a worldwide reach into Canada, the USA, Europe and other parts of the Caribbean. The gang got its name from the JLP election slogan 'Shower', which was a response to the PNP's 'Power' that was coined from Manley's 'Power for the people' slogan in the 1970s. One other source noted that the name shower had been taken from a speech by Edward Seaga where he promised that: ‘Blessings will shower from the sky and money going jingle in your pockets.’ Seaga knew that this money was not coming from the production of goods and services within Jamaica.

In tandem with the CIA contra wars, there were immense opportunities for entrepreneurs and militarists to be conduits for the cocaine trade with its multi-billion dollar payoffs. With high unemployment in the society, there was a steady pool of youths who could be ensnared into the business of running guns and drugs. Lester Coke who had succeeded Claude Massop as the top gun of Tivoli built the Shower Posse and exploited the cocaine trade to amass great wealth and opulence. Lester Coke (Jim Brown), managed the Jamaican operations from the political constituency of the prime minister of Jamaica, Edward Seaga, while confidante Vivian Blake, the other king pin of the posse, managed the North American operations, with cells of the Shower Posse in New York, Miami, Kansas City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and other cities. Vivian Blake went through trials, extraditions, business ventures until he succumbed to death in 2009. Many in Jamaica do not believe that Blake died of natural causes.

ISRAELI MOBSTERS, COCAINE AND JAMAICAN POLITICS

So lucrative was the business of cocaine and guns that there was an economic boom in the society, with the establishment of new banks and the growth of the Cayman Islands as a major offshore banking site to launder the billions of dollars of the cocaine business. The Shower Posse boomed in this period, and with the boom was an escalation in the levels of violence inside and outside Jamaica. One book entitled, ‘Born Fe Dead’, chronicled the savagery of this gang of mobsters tied to the ruling political party in Jamaica. The Jamaican Posses became notorious enough to be featured on the television programme, ‘American Gangster’. But this gangsterism was not confined to the Americas. The business was lucrative enough to lure Israeli mobsters into this booming business.

Eli Tisona (who was called one of the top Israeli mobsters by the Jerusalem Post) appeared on the Jamaican scene at this point as a business person involved with a supposed high tech agricultural scheme. Tisona, with no known experience in agriculture, was supposed to be the brains behind a scheme of the Prime Minister Edward Seaga for the establishment of an agricultural complex called Springs Plain that was supposed to sell winter vegetables to the United States. It turned out that this was just another front for the transfer of cocaine from Colombia to the United States through Jamaica. During the Seaga period, the planes that were leased to fly out the winter vegetables flew from Colombia before collecting the ‘vegetables’ from Jamaica. At this period International Lease Financing Corp (ILFC), the Los Angeles-based aircraft leasing division of AIG, was the biggest force in the leasing of planes. AIG worked closely with the US intelligence services to the point where the CEO of AIG was once under consideration to become the director of the CIA.

After the end of the Cold war and the defeat of Edward Seaga, Tisona was arrested and jailed in the United States on charges of fraud and money laundering. In 1997, an Israeli Knesset committee report named Eli Tisona and his brother, Ezra, as being the country's two most powerful drug lords. Tisona was jailed in the US in 1999.

GUNMEN AND NEO-LIBERALISM IN JAMAICA

While Tisona was functioning as an ‘agricultural expert’ in Jamaica, Lester Coke was growing in power inside the constituency of the prime minister. When the IMF proposed the reduction of government expenditures on health, education and other social services, the dons with their largesse from the cocaine trade became community benefactors doling out goodies to the poor. According to one press report, ‘As those street forces increased their trade in illicit drugs, more arms were brought in and the extortion racket, otherwise known as “tax”, was partitioned off along PNP and JLP lines. Much more importantly, the dons became the effective government as most of these taxes were used to fund the poor and send their children to school, feed them and assist in dealing with health matters and the funerals of old people.’

As the effective government in areas such as Tivoli, dons such as Lester Coke did not depend on elections for their power, and after Edward Seaga was defeated in the 1989 elections, Lester Coke, otherwise known as Jim Brown, was emerging to be more powerful than the former prime minister in his own constituency, Tivoli. Lester Coke was operating Tivoli as a state within a state beyond the reach of the official forces of the Jamaican government. In fact, the business of cocaine was so lucrative that the Lester Coke connections interpenetrated all levels of commerce, banking, the legal community, the media and the clergy as well as the political parties.

With unmatched resources, Lester Coke started to act as though he was above all laws, and beyond the reach of justice. After a series of high profile killings in the early nineties, the US sought to extradite Lester Coke to the United States.

Lester Coke was not to know that he was expendable. When he realized this and was ready to expose the vast web of guns, banks politicians and cocaine, he died mysteriously in a fire in police custody while awaiting extradition to the United States.

DUDUS THE INHERITOR OF THE CRIMINAL INFRASTRUCTURE

In the era of neo-liberal capitalism and imperialism, the international cocaine trade was one of the most lucrative businesses in the world. Neo-liberal ideas benefitted the purveyors of free movement of capital and drugs. In this neo-liberal world, the dons became powerhouses in Jamaica. They had more resources than the politicians and there was a degree of cooperation between them as they agreed on their geographic territory. While the PNP was in power under P.J. Patterson, PNP dons became powerful in the society and this power was manifest when Donald 'Zekes' Phipps was arrested and charged by the police for attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm and unlawful wounding.

Zekes was respected by the opposition dons to the point where they joined in a protest against his arrest. While he was being interrogated at the Central Police Station, Zekes' supporters rioted, leaving four persons – including two policemen – dead. It was not until Zekes appeared on the balcony of the police station and ordered his followers to return to their homes that the demonstrations ended. With Zekes in the eastern part of Kingston and Dudus in the western part of Kingston, the ruling class had the society sewn up so that there could be no real political organising by an independent force outside of the gangster political forces.

Dudus had inherited the infrastructure of his father after the murder of his elder brother, Mark ‘Jah T’ Coke. Another brother, Michael ‘Chris Royal’ Coke, was killed by the police. Edward Seaga was sufficiently threatened by the rise of the power of Dudus within Tivoli that Seaga labeled Dudus a ‘troublemaker.’

THE EXTRADITION SAGA

Dudus became so powerful inside and outside Jamaica that he was called ‘president’. Urban legend credited Dudus as being the decider as to who should inherit the constituency of Tivoli Gardens after Edward Seaga resigned from active politics in 2005. Earlier, as a leader of the opposition, Seaga had given the name of Dudus to the police but Dudus was not touched. Bruce Golding became the member of parliament for Tivoli Gardens – Western Kingston in 2005 and in 2007; his party the JLP won the elections. Bruce Golding became the prime minister. But Golding was never as resourceful as Dudus so he had to operate in Jamaica with the blessings of the organisation and resources of Dudus.

These facts are now known after the Prime Minister of Jamaica attempted to block the extradition of Dudus to the United States.

In August 2009, Dudus was charged by a grand jury in the southern district of New York with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine and to traffic in firearms during a period from 1994–2007. According to the charges, the acts described in the indictment violated the laws of the United States. Pursuant to an extradition treaty between the two countries, the US issued Diplomatic Note No 296 on 25 August 2009 requesting Coke's extradition.

Prime Minister Golding adopted a pseudo anti-imperialist posture opposing the extradition of Dudus and went on the offensive against the US claiming unspecified ‘breaches’ in the gathering of the US wiretap evidence. Golding avoided the obvious double standard of the US government in the whole question of extraditing terrorists and murderers. Luis Posada Carilles, a Cuban born and naturalised Venezuelan, is wanted in the Caribbean and Latin America, in connection with his involvement in the 1976 bombing tragedy of a Cubana aircraft off Barbados in which 73 people on board perished. Successive US administrators refused to hand over Posada Carilles who had been active in the Caribbean at the same time when the CIA was destabilising the region of the Caribbean. Golding did not mention this case when he was opposing the extradition of Dudus.

Prime Minister Golding’s weakness did not end at his pseudo anti-imperialism in attempting to block the extradition of Dudus. Progressive journalists in the Caribbean exposed the double standards of the US media in their claim to be opposed to gun violence in the Caribbean, but the prime minister of Jamaica aided and abetted both the forces of the US and the gangsters in Tivoli. This aid reached the point where the Jamaican government engaged the legal services of a firm in Washington, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, to lobby US government on the extradition issue of Coke. Urban legend among the poor suggested that it was Dudus that was paying the Jamaican government for the legal services of this top-notch legal firm in Washington. Inside Jamaica, Dudus was being represented by a senior senator from one of the royal families of the Jamaica Labour party, Tom Tavares-Finson.

After months of jockeying and manoeuvring between the Jamaican government and the government of the USA, the US started to deny visas to select members of the ruling class of Jamaica. Along with this pressure, the US issued its Narcotics Control Strategy Report of March 2010 stating that the ruling party's well-known ties with Coke highlighted the ‘potential depth of corruption in the government’.

Sections of the Jamaican ruling class panicked under this pressure and after months of declaring that the sovereignty of Jamaica had been breached, on 17 May, the government of Jamaica issued a warrant for the arrest of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

INVASION OF TIVOLI

Two days after the government of Jamaica issued a warrant for the arrest of Dudus, residents of the garrison community began to mount barricades as sections of West Kingston, including the downtown business district, became tense. One day later on 20 May, hundreds marched in support of Coke. Some compared Dudus to Jesus and said they were willing to die for him.

And they did die by the dozens after the soldiers and the police invaded Tivoli. Prime Minister Golding declared a state of emergency and unleashed the coercive powers of the state to catch a gangster who weeks before he had been protecting. In the ensuing battles between the citizens of Tivoli and the coercive forces, dozens were killed and hundreds wounded. Dudus was nowhere to be found in the dragnet of the house to house search in the garrison community.

But the actions of the police went beyond the dragnet in Tivoli. Houses were searched all over the upscale neighbourhoods of Kingston. In one such search, Keith Clarke was killed. Another urban legend said that Clarke was the accountant of Dudus and that he was assassinated so that he would not expose the full expanse of the Dudus empire.

During these high profile searches, other major political and religious leaders knew of the whereabouts of Dudus. In fact, the media reported that while the police were searching for Coke and killing innocent citizens, one member of the clergy had met with Dudus on 31 May. Twenty-two days later, Dudus was stopped in a roadblock with another member of the clergy. A report in the media was that Dudus wanted to be conveyed directly to the US embassy. He was afraid that if he were to remain in police custody in Jamaica, he would meet the same fate as his father.

TRUTH COMMISSION IN JAMAICA

The international market for illicit drugs is now a multi-billion dollar enterprise. The UN conservatively estimated that this branch of capitalism grosses over US$300 billion each year. From Afghanistan to Columbia and from Guinea Bissau to Mexico, this international trade and military forces intersect to create killings, confusion and fear. The coast of West Africa is now seeing a repeat of the history of the Caribbean as a transshipment point for cocaine. Recent stories of the uncovering of US$2 billion worth of cocaine in the Gambia exposed one indication of the growth of this form of capitalism in West Africa. Drawing from their experiences of covering the tracks of drug dealers in the Caribbean, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) now presents the fight against drug trafficking as one of the justifications for this US military force in Africa.

The Anglo-American media has worked hard to distort the true history of the linkages between cocaine and politics in the Caribbean. Despite the crisis, the opposition PNP dare not call for a full exposure of the truth of Dudus because the PNP dons are compromised by the trade in cocaine. Both political parties in Jamaica have been opposed to a truth commission to detail the extent of the relationships between gangsters, politicians, bankers and the cocaine trade. The violence and carnage in Jamaica that gave Jamaica the label of the murder capital of the world did not seriously affect the tourist industry. The political leaders had organised the garrison communities and the tourist industry in such a way that those profiting from tourism and gangsterism would continue to do business, regardless of whether there was a state of emergency in Jamaica or not. By the first decade of the 21st century there was not one poor community in Jamaica that was not besmirched by the violence and the killings. The rich lived in sealed and gated communities while the poor lived in constant danger. The real tragedy was that the scale of the violence acted as a prohibitive factor for real political organising of the poor.

This scale of gangsterism and neoliberalism is to be found in all parts of the Caribbean. New networks of peace, justice and truth remain throughout the region exposing the corruption of the societies. The traditional left, silenced by the quagmire of the implosion of the Grenadian revolution are sidelined as the youth search for new forms of political engagement.

Political retrogression, gangsterism and violence have now reached the proportions that were similar to the period of enslavement. This was the period when black life was worthless. Yet, it was in the midst of the most dismal period of oppression when the enslaved of Haiti rose up and built a revolutionary movement that shocked the world.

The politics of truth in the Caribbean will have to build on the lessons and positive features of the Haitian and Cuban revolutions to transcend the new traditions of gangsterism, fraudulent bankers, politicians and their gun-toting dons. The struggle against the cocaine business in the Caribbean is a struggle for a new form of society. In the interim, it is hoped that Dudus did make the tape while he was in hiding so that the entire political establishment can be exposed as enablers of the international gangsterism that is hidden behind the War on Drugs.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Horace Campbell is a peace activist who is working to realise the dream of the late Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem of building African unity by 2015.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Angola: The self-dealings of Sonangol’s CEO

Rafael Marques de Morais

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65422

cc WikimediaChair of the board and CEO of Angolan parastatal Sonangol, Manuel Vicente's 25 per cent shareholding in Grinaker LTA Angola – a company that was awarded two multi-million dollar construction contracts by Sonangol – involves ‘passive corruption and conflict of interest’, writes Rafael Marques de Morais. De Morais takes a look at Vicente's role in the murky relationship between the two organisations and the Banco Africano de Investimentos (BAI) in light of national and international anti-corruption legislation.

On 20 May 2002, the chairman of the board and CEO of Sonangol, Manuel Vicente, went into partnership with Grinaker LTA International Holdings, a South African company, the Banco Africano de Investimentos (BAI), and Mário Palhares in setting up Grinaker LTA Angola – Civil Construction and Public Works. Each partner took an equal 25 per cent shareholding.

A few months after it was set up, Grinaker LTA Angola – Civil Construction and Public Works in partnership with the Portuguese construction company Soares da Costa, got the contract for the new Luanda headquarters of the Angolan national oil company, Sonangol: a contract worth US$83.5 million . Work started in June 2003, and the 21-storey building was opened early in 2008.

The same partnership of Grinaker LTA Angola and Soares da Costa won the contract in 2006 to build the headquarters of Sonangol Research and Production, a subsidiary of the Sonangol group. The 14-storey building, with an initial budget of US$56.6 million, is in the final stages of construction.

In legal terms, Manuel Vicente’s participation as a 25 per cent shareholder in Grinaker LTA involves passive corruption and conflict of interest. Apart from his duties at Sonangol, at the time of the Grinaker agreement Manuel Vicente was and remains vice-chair of the board of directors of BAI, representing the majority shareholder, Sonangol. At that time Mário Palhares was chairman of the board of BAI.

THE BANK’S REACTION

On 15 May 2010, the Angolan weekly newspaper Semanário Angolense, published a summary of the present investigation after three weeks of unsuccessful calls to obtain an answer from Sonangol’s chair and CEO, Manuel Vicente as the main subject of the story.

The Banco Africano de Investimentos (BAI), in which Sonangol is the majority shareholder with 8.5 per cent of its capital, reacted to the disclosure of the investigation by Semanário Angolense by publishing a statement on the paper’s issue of 5 June 2010. In its statement BAI asserts that the report ‘contains false or untrue information, damaging to the interests of our institution.’

Furthermore, BAI states that 'Grinaker is a commercial enterprise of entirely private capitals, resulting from the transformation of a company of limited capitals to an anonymous society, in 2002, effected by a notarised deed, which also demonstrates that participation of a foreign company in its shareholding structure, the South African construction company Grinaker LTA, in partnership with the African Bank of Investiments. The first had 47% of the shares while the second controlled 51% of the capital.’

Furthermore, BAI indicates that both Manuel Vicente and Mário Palhares ‘underwrote 1% of the capital each, as members of the board of directors appointed by BAI’, and that ‘the shares they have underwritten are kept in custody of the institution.’

The statement reiterates that Sonangol awarded the contracts to Grinaker as a choice for the best proposals and in compliance with a public tender.

THE FACTS

As proof of its good faith, BAI defends both Manuel Vicente and Mário Palhares alluding to the notarised deed that establishes Grinaker LTA Angola, but without presenting any evidence to support its claims.

This investigation has also had access to the notarised deed BAI refers to, and it clearly states ‘the deed of May 20 2002, drawn up from pages 50 to pages 62, of the notary’s book for diverse deeds n° 198-A of the Second Notary (…)’. This deed establishes the division of shares at 22,500.00 kwanzas each for BAI, the South African construction company Grinaker LTA, Manuel Vicente e Mário Palhares. Thus, it grants 25 per cent of the shares to each partner.

The notary establishes that ‘as consequence of the deeds undertaken by the shareholders and upon their agreement transform, without dissolution, this company into an anonymous society (…)’.

Nonetheless, the bank’s statement reveals the same swiftness with which it convolutes public capitals with private capital of government officials, public managers and other high-ranking members of the regime, in contravention to the national legislation.

There are two immediate examples that are relevant to mention in this text. First, it pertains to the role of the head of Sonangol London, José Carlos de Castro Paiva, who represents the national oil company as chairman of the board of directors of BAI. Castro Paiva, has also the dual role of being the front for and representing Dabas Management, a private company established in Mauritius, which holds 5 per cent shares in the bank. The second case is of Sebastião Pai Querido Martins, member of the board of directos of Sonangol, who has one per cent of shares in BAI. His family company Gianni Janice Darlings, formally holds the share.

It should have been Sonangol to answer for the contracts it awarded to Grinaker, and not BAI, which does not represent the national oil company at any time. Nevertheless, the case of BAI, in the context of corruption in Angola, will merit, in due time, a disclosure.

THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

Corruption in Angola has revealed an extraordinary contradiction: At the same time as new laws have been passed to combat corruption, there has been increasing impunity for acts that alienate state resources, harm the well-being of Angolans, and corrode the moral fabric of society.

So it is important to put into context the legal norms and how these have been violated in this case. Until 10 June 2003, and including the period in which the Sonangol management granted the contract to the consortium of Grinaker LTA Angola and Soares da Costa, the Law on Economic Misdemeanours (Law 6/99) was in force. Article 48 of this law defines passive corruption as follows:

‘Anyone who, while working in an organ of the state, in a public enterprise whether wholly or partially publicly funded, whether in person or through an intermediary whom he has authorised or approved, solicits, accepts or receives money, goods, any kind of patrimonial benefit or benefit of any other nature, to pre-empt, delay, commit or omit any act, in a manner contrary to the duties of the office he occupies, will be punished in accordance with the value of the goods or benefits obtained, in terms of Article 421 of the Penal Code.’

Article 49 of the same law defines active corruption as follows:

‘Anyone who gives or promises to an employee of organ of the state or of a public enterprise whether wholly or partially publicly funded, whether in person or through an intermediary whom he has authorised or approved, money, goods, any kind of patrimonial benefit or benefit of any other nature not due to him, so as to secure the commission, the omission, the pre-empting or the delay of any act, will be punished according to the penalties set out in the previous article.’

Thus Manuel Vicente broke the law by using his public office to authorise the construction of the Sonangol building by a company in which he was a qualified shareholder, thus securing himself part of the revenue from the project. At the same time, as chief executive and vice-chairman of BAI, Manuel Vicente also broke the law in using his position as a representative of the bank, an institution set up in great measure with public funds, to go into partnership with the bank in Grinaker LTA Angola.

The foreign partners, Grinaker International Holdings and Soares da Costa, committed active corruption involving a public official, in terms of the article of the law quoted above.

Meanwhile, the Law on Economic Crimes (Law 13/03), which has been in force since 10 June 2003, has revoked part of Law 6/99, including articles 48 and 49 that are described above. This law defined public employment as exercising ‘functions not only in public service but also in public enterprises and publicly funded companies’. The same law refers to the Penal Code (articles 318 and 323) for the definition and criminalisation for acts of bribery and corruption of public services.

Consequently, Manuel Vicente’s position as chairman of the board and CEO of Sonangol had a bearing on his decision in granting a contract to a firm in which he had an interest. The Penal Code (article 322) defines such an action, receiving a promise of a share in the profits of an enterprise, as an act of corruption subject to a maximum penalty of between two and eight years in prison.

According to the Penal Code, through the continuation of the contract under the purview of the 2003 Law on Economic Crimes, the foreign partners, Grinaker LTA International Holdings and Soares da Costa committed an act of active corruption involving a public office bearer, Manuel Vicente.

It has become current practice for foreign firms to set up partnerships with powerful figures in the regime, such as Manuel Vicente. In this way the companies not only gain multi-million dollar contracts that are often over-invoiced, but also enjoy the same impunity as the leading members of the regime.

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

The awarding of the contract for the Sonangol Research and Production to a consortium of Grinaker LTA and Soares da Costa took place in a legal framework that includes the incorporation of the SADC Protocol Against Corruption into Angolan law. The Council of Ministers approved this treaty on 8 August 2005 in its Resolution 38/05, which brought a broader and more specific definition of corruption into Angolan law.

For the case in question, the Protocol (article 3, 1, c) defines corruption as ‘any act or omission in the discharge of his or her duties by a public official for the purpose of illicitly obtaining benefits for himself or herself or for a third party’. The Protocol (article 3, 1, f) also defines influence peddling as an act of corruption.

The Law on Public Probity, ratified on 25 March 2010 as the main instrument of the zero tolerance policy towards corruption, reaffirms the legal provisions discussed in this article.

The looting of state patrimony and illegal self-enrichment have led to the deepening of poverty and the blocking of human development for the majority of Angolans, as well as created the potential for socio-economic and political instability in the country. Institutionalised corruption violates the dignity of Angolans.

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* Rafael Marques de Morais is an Angolan investigative journalist and the editor of MakaAngola, a website reporting on corruption in Angola.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

The scramble for East Africa

Dana Wagner

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65419

cc C BThe East African Community has accelerated negotiations with Europe for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The race is on for negotiators and lobbyists to either let Europe in or keep it out. And so far, influential EPA advocates are in the lead, according to Yash Tandon, former head of the South Centre and critic of African EPAs with Europe. As corporate proponents advance the trade deal, negotiations threaten East African unity at a critical time in its still early development.

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to open trade between East Africa and Europe is still on the table. At a three-day conference in Dar es Salaam negotiators walked away from the disputed deal, but promised to come back to it.

A deadline was set at the 7-9 June conference to sign the EPA and usher in freer trade between the two regions by the end of November 2010. A deal was first initialed in 2007 between the East African Community (EAC) of Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, and the bloc across the table, the European Commission (EC). This was the Framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement (FEPA), drafted as a temporary stand-in to await a mutually agreed EPA, but a formal deal has not since been reached because of an impasse over several key issues.

In fact, the conference in Dar es Salaam was supposed to cut off the ‘Framework’ from FEPA to secure a legally binding deal, but the EC didn’t get the signatures it was looking for.

‘We would have preferred to sign,’ said Eric van der Linden, head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Kenya, whose sights are now on talks leading up to November. ‘In trade negotiations, you have to be optimistic.’

Van der Linden said while he was hopeful to close the deal, he was not surprised the EAC withheld because the week before the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) resolved to delay signing the EPA in its current form. The 3 June resolution urges the European Union (EU) to work with the EAC ‘to include interests of both parties’.

But critics of the EPA, glad for the latest hitch in trade talks thanks to the independent legislative arm of the EAC, should curb a positive outlook.

The November deadline comes when the EAC common market, which opens in July, will still be finding its feet, and the accelerated negotiation puts pressure on both sides to quickly resolve outstanding issues, said Yash Tandon, co-founder of the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute and former executive director of the South Centre.

Key unresolved issues are: Losing export taxes that protect domestic industries against highly competitive and cheap European goods; EU concessions on economic and development cooperation; and the most favoured nation (MFN) clause that would force the EAC to duplicate for Europe any external preferential trade agreements with, for example, China or India. The implications of these final bargaining chips have drawn an allusion from EPA critics like former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa of this latest European effort to secure access to East Africa to the infamous 1884 Berlin Conference, dubbed the Scramble for Africa.

‘Europe will not concede on these issues,’ Tandon said, an unsettling reality because the EC-EAC negotiations are ‘heavily asymmetrical’.

Tandon said negotiations are firmly in Europe’s favour as an established bloc with strong members, while the EAC is only recently a unified region and four of its five members are UN-classified least developed countries (LDCs). With its weight, Tandon said Europe is able to negotiate EPAs that are crippling for African regions by using deadlines like the one now set for the EAC; ‘carrot and stick’ bargaining like aid and threatening or imposing sanctions – as done to Zimbabwe; and by taking advantage of regional fragmentation.

REGION IN PIECES

A significant destructive consequence of EPA bargaining with Europe is the subtle corrosion of unity in the African economic regions. Regional division is to Europe’s advantage and fits their ‘divide and conquer’ strategy for Africa, Tandon said.

The EAC is still negotiating as one bloc, but fragmentation is not unknown in the African Economic Community in EPA negotiations.

In June 2009 four members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique, signed an Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) with the EC. Other key members of this community, like South Africa, rejected a similar deal. South African commentators criticised the negative impact of EPAs on regionalisation, among other reasons like the probable trade diversion from other continents and the expected loss from cut export taxes.

The SADC is now in a position where some members have opened trade with Europe and some have not, but a handful of countries in both camps are part of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) that promotes free trade between member states. To protect itself from an inflow of European goods via other SACU members friendly to EPAs with Europe – Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana – non-IEPA signatory South Africa could choose to drive a tariff wall through its own customs union, Tandon said.

The EAC should learn from the experience of its southern neighbours at a time that will critically test East Africa’s unity, Tandon said. The EAC Common Market Protocol will take effect from1 July and the varied preparedness and enthusiasm of member states have already sparked questions on their commitment to unity.

While divisions remain informal in the EAC, the powerhouse of the region has familiarly gone rogue, but unlike South Africa’s position in the SADC, top players in Kenya are leading the drive to let Europe in.

Kenya is the region’s EPA proponent, Tandon said, because Kenya stands to lose the most if it is not signed. As LDCs, the other four EAC members enjoy duty-free and one-way trade to rich country markets, including those in Europe. Kenya, a non-LDC, does not enjoy this benefit – as preferential trade under the Cotonou Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries (including Kenya) and the EU expired in 2007, to be replaced by EPAs.

The EPA is designed to end non-reciprocal preferential trade of goods from developing countries into European markets by taking down trade barriers against European goods flowing the other way. EPAs make open trade a two-way street. For LDCs though, duty-free trade can remain one-way – so of the EAC countries, it’s Kenya that’s sweating.

To maintain its duty-free ride into European markets, exporters in Kenya are lobbying to stamp and sign the EPA, and support letting East African protective tariff walls crumble to do it.

Kenya’s biggest exporting industry is horticulture, and flowers make up 90 per cent of its exports. This has landed the flower industry firmly behind the EPA.

Without this trade deal, the half million people directly employed by the horticulture industry and 4.2 million it indirectly employs would be heavily hit by the alternative – an end to duty-free access to Europe, said Jane Ngige, CEO of the Kenya Flower Council.

The industry currently benefits from zero-rated tariffs on some products and an average of 2.59 per cent on exports to Europe, its biggest foreign market where it enjoys a 24 per cent market share. During the airway disruption in April as volcanic ash drifted over Europe the horticulture industry lost an estimated Ksh231 million per day, CEO Stephen Mbithi of the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya told reporters. Last year the industry brought in US$924 million; Kenya’s biggest foreign currency earner.

‘If we lost the EPA we will not be competitive in the marketplace, so we will lose exports,’ Ngige said. ‘Kenya would be losing these jobs.’

But jobs in less established and developing industries in Kenya and the region would be lost if the EPA is signed, Tandon said.

‘Many industries [in the EAC] need a tariff wall,’ Tandon said. ‘Without it, you get deindustrialisation as a result.’

It is small and medium-sized industries that should oppose EPA membership but it is the big exporters as well-organised lobbyists that are whispering into the ears of EAC trade ministries, Tandon said.

A POLITICAL PLUS

Another tactical push for EPAs, despite drawbacks like flushing domestic markets with cheap EU goods and preserving that unsavoury privilege with the MFN clause, is the ‘carrot and stick’ benefits Europe is sliding over the table, Tandon said.

The 2010/11 budget recently made headlines in Kenyan dailies as a towering tab without the coffers to settle.

The Ksh997 billion budget projection will be supplemented by €500 million – US$602 billion – from the EU, a rise of 25 per cent from assistance in 2009/10.

Tandon called it a motivator from Brussels for the EC’s star proponent for an East African EPA.

Van der Linden refused comment.

‘I’ve never heard about this,’ van der Linden said. ‘If we are [supplementing Kenya’s budget], it’s news to me so I can’t comment.’

The supplement was announced on 12 June by the EU. Tandon said such financial giveaways erode African independence and strengthen the negotiating position of the donor.

‘All these countries are highly dependent on aid. Europe is going to leverage that.’

To even the standing leading up to the November EPA deadline, Tandon advised EAC members to continue to work as a unified region to guard against damaging concessions.

One way to ensure EAC members participate equally is to engage the countries’ parliaments in debate over what an EPA means for each member. Subjecting the Framework to parliamentary ratification would open dialogue to all players instead of leaving it to the few and influential, Tandon said.

‘The tail is wagging the dog right now. Kenya is wagging the rest.’

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* Dana Wagner is a recent journalism and political science graduate from Carleton University.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Somewhere over the Rainbow nation 2010

J. Mogwe

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65436

cc Shine 2010As the World Cup focuses attention on South Africa, J. Mogwe is unimpressed by Fifa and the international media’s presentation of the global soccer event, the first ever to be held in Africa, as a turning point in the destiny of the country and of the continent, that will transform the lives of ordinary people for the better.

South Africa continues to astonish the world with its generous helpings of the double whammy: The wondrous and the horrendous, the sublime and the tragic, the awesome and the awful.

Consider the star-studded concert organised on 10 June to celebrate the arrival of the 2010 World Cup in Africa; a feast of ‘African’ music was on the programme in Soweto’s shining new Orlando Stadium from international stars such as Shakira, Alicia Keys, The Black Eyed Peas, Angélique Kidjo, to name but a few of some eleven acts lined up at great expense by Fifa to mark its first ever global soccer event held on the African continent.

For some reason, it did not occur to the organisers to include some of South Africa’s own artists until the latter protested and threatened to boycott the concert via their union. Fifa finally relented at the last minute under pressure from the union and a furious ministry of arts and culture and included three South African items, but not in the main programme already sold to the international TV networks and scheduled to go on air at 8pm local time. The S outh African artists were allowed on stage in the early part of the show but were given no international TV coverage and no fees.

So much for the home-grown African touch from the host country that was promised from the famous Johannesburg township, Soweto (a name made up under the apartheid regime out of the acronyms for SOuth WEst TOwnship) most of whose inhabitants never made it to the concert where the tickets cost between ZAR450 and ZAR1500 , the equivalent of an average black worker’s monthly salary.

According to Time magazine (June14-21), the real stars of the Orlando Stadium show were supposed to have been Mandela and the late Siphiwo Ntshebe, a 36-year-old tenor whose ‘audacious journey from a township choir to a music scholarship in London and a five-album deal personified Africa’s transformation’…(we wish!). In gushing language, the magazine claims that the young singer was coaching the 91-year-old Madiba for their planned duet rendition of the ANC hymn, Nkosi Sikele Afrika, the music of which, by the way, constitutes the national anthems of Tanzania (adopted in 1961), Zambia (adopted in 1964) and the new South Africa (adopted in 1994). Tragically, says Time, this was not to be; Ntshebe caught acute bacterial meningitis and died in hospital on 24 May.

Nevertheless, continues Time in its prophetic prose, ‘on June 11, a billion people will tune in to watch the biggest event in the world-and find an African team about to play an ever more African game on the edge of Africa’s most famous township. And then the greatest man on earth will speak of hope.’

Back in the real world, South African jazz maestro Hugh Masekela said the World Cup was a ‘passing event’ and that he was more concerned with life in South Africa after it was all over. The one local act that the organisers did include in the line-up of the concert was the ubiquitous archbishop, Desmond Tutu, whose showbizz talents were in full flow as he pranced around the stage at the end in full Bafana Bafana colours in obvious ecstacy. It was his sacred duty to boom out the commercial at the end of the show by reminding the audience that “all this” had been made possible only because of Mandela.

The next day, the real South Africa asserted itself when we learnt that a little girl of 13 had died in a car crash while returning home from the concert. The driver, the son of a family friend, was found to be heavily drunk, and was immediately charged with ‘culpable homicide’ but two days later, the police announced that the case had been ‘taken off their books’. The case against him will be heard in court at the end of July, well after the World Cup circus will have departed. The little girl was Zenani, the great granddaughter of Nelson Mandela and his former wife, Winnie.

The Mandela family, in their grief, retreated from public view and ‘the greatest man on earth’ was not on stage on 11 June to officiate at the opening ceremony of what could be, according to Time magazine, ‘the most sublime of African revolutions.’ (Football as a model for liberation from racist rule!)

The grandiose claims being made by Fifa’s local and international officials and by some politicians about the football World Cup being Africa’s many-splendoured chance, its royal road to revolution, freedom, democracy, unity, national identity, prosperity and modern western civilisation is mind-boggling. South Africa’s special grand destiny was already spelt out by the-then president Thabo Mbeki in his letter to Fifa offering to host the World Cup; ‘In the name of our continent, we wish to organise an event which will send waves of confidence from the Cape to Cairo.’

Danny Jordaan, the head of Fifa’s South African organising committee, claimed that by delivering the Cup, ‘we will have finally dismissed the idea created by apartheid that there are greater and lesser human beings. We will be ready to take our place in the world.’ Archbishop Tutu, not to be outdone when it comes to matters of destiny, declared recently to the press that the nation deserved to pat itself on the back ‘because we were ready not only in terms of infrastructure but also in terms of self-confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, the international media is awash with positivism about us. They really do see us as the beautiful butterfly we have become.’

President Zuma, reading from the same script, claimed that the Cup was a ‘catalyst for development and jobs’ and that for the first time ever in 16 years of freedom and democracy, ‘we see black and white celebrating together.’

The prize for over-the-top exaggeration must surely go to Time magazine (dated as above): ‘Today, South Africa’s World Cup preparations give some hope that soccer might once again transform not just the nation but the world’s idea of Africa.’ The fact that billions of dollars have been spent on building airports, roads and ten stadiums explains the confidence and optimism coursing through South Africa and the whole continent. ‘The dark continent is the past, Africans are saying. The future is full of goals.’

Try telling all this guff to the shack-dwellers, soda and ice-cream sellers, souvenir stall-holders and other small traders who have had their homes and livelihoods destroyed and their goods confiscated by the police for plying their trade in townships and areas suddenly declared ‘restricted zones’. One of the privileges of playing host to Fifa consists of accepting its diktats on trade and commercial rights in the immediate surroundings of all World Cup sites. Fifa has exclusive rights over who sells what in a one kilometre area around these stadiums and only those holding special Fifa permits can operate in these restricted zones. However, Fifa does not give permits to South African street vendors and ladies who have been selling local food in the townships for years but to McDonalds, Budweiser and the like which have been granted exclusive licenses for the duration of the tournament.

The BBC correspondent in Durban, Pumza Fihlani, described the scene at the city’s new futuristic Moses Mabhida stadium in this way:

‘The new US$450m arena was named after an anti-apartheid activist and hero of the black working class but some South Africans say his memory is being trampled on by people who are using the stadium to harass the poor. According to Johannes Mzimela, who sells ice cream for a living, ‘they should have named this stadium after PW Botha – not Moses Mabhida, our father. It just makes a mockery of what he represented.’

Those ordinary South Africans who were given temporary jobs like security staff at the stadiums soon walked out on learning that they were not getting the wages they had originally been promised. As a result, it is the police that have replaced this staff at the major sites in Cape Town, Jo’burg, Durban and Port Elizabeth – at what extra cost, no one yet knows.

On 16 June, as the country marked the 34th anniversary of the Sharpeville shootings by the apartheid police, thousands marched in Durban to denounce Fifa and the government (to the chants of Get out Fifa Mafia) for spending millions of rands and of mistreating the locals in a country (in Africa) where 40 per cent of the population lives on less than US$2 a day. The government has spent at least US$4.3 billion in preparing for this event; Fifa has made much more than that in the four years since the decision to hold the 2010 series in S.Africa.

In order for the new South Africa to take the ‘place in the world’ that Danny Jordaan dreams of, the ANC government gave into every Fifa demand: Exemption from VAT, income tax, custom duties, levies on the import and exports of goods belonging to Fifa and its affiliates. Government guarantees were granted to broadcast rights holders, media and spectators and for the unrestricted import and export of all foreign currencies into and out of the country. Guarantees also extended to ownership of all media, marketing and intellectual property and complete exemption from any claims against Fifa arising out of its management of the tournament.

As for the ‘Get Fifa Mafia cry’, the daily paper, Mail and Guardian, last week obtained a high court decision to force the local Fifa organisers to provide information about the tender process followed (or not) in the context of these preparations. The newspaper had to go to court as a last resort since its calls for this information were being ignored by the local Fifa partners. The paper’s representatives said their purpose was to find out who had really benefitted from the vast array of commercial contracts engendered as a result of Fifa activity in the country.

Since 1994, post-apartheid South Africa has been the subject of a merciless and relentless campaign to turn itself into an African Disneyland with the help of the usual experts from the planet of the free-marketeers and re-writers and trash-merchants of African history. Unfortunately, tragically some would say, many of its leaders and its newly rich have been seduced by professional wizards of tosh and their scribblers in the press. But there are quite a few natives who remain lucid.

Against the drone of infantile ‘positivism’, butterflies and patronising comments on South Africa’s continental grand mission to sort out the place from Cape to Cairo, there is, for example, the lone voice of Hugh Masekela who says, ‘After 350 years of history, I don’t think the World Cup can change the lives of South Africans too much.’

Meanwhile, let the fat lady sing one more time…

Somewhere over the rainbow,
Footballs fly,
Fifa is milking a fortune,
Why, tell me, why can’t I?

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

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

Blowing down walls with vuvuzelas

Soccer World Cup, the Cup of Cultures, the notion of one nation and the ideal of one world

Mphutlane wa Bofelo

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65423

cc Shine 2010Inspired by the atmosphere both at the World Cup in South Africa and at the Cup of Cultures in Berlin, Mphutlane wa Bofelo sees ‘the possibilities for the development of national, continental and international identities, rooted in the acknowledgement and the celebration of diversity as well as the interconnectedness of humanity and the universality of human experiences.’ But, says wa Bofelo, ‘we cannot expect a one-off event like the World Cup to work like a magic wand and spontaneously heal the divisions and tensions of the past and the present.

The smell of sausage is in the air, a significant number of men, women and children are strutting around with vuvuzelas in their hands; some are clad in Bafana Bafana t-shirts despite it being three days after South Africa’s three-nil drubbing by Italy. In the midst of a chilling breeze, the pulsating strumming of Concord Nkabinde and the evocatively mellow voice and energetic acrobatic passionate choreographic moves of Zolani Mahola of Freshlyground sends a mass of bodies into overzealous grooving, swinging. There is thunderous foot-stomping, upbeat hands-clapping, and a crazy medley of ululations and whistles. I am chatting in a mix of Sesotho and isiXhosa to two soul-brothers that I have just met when a soulful sister greets me, enquiring when the Spoken Word show is taking place. ‘I saw it on Facebook,’ she says in Zulu, as she moves into the gyrating, jumping and cheering crowd, and Zolani Mahola leaves the crowds in stitches with her love stories before belting out more soul rocking, booty-shaking funky tunes, igniting the crowd to spontaneously and enthusiastically sing along: ‘lala lalala lala la la lala…’ The scene is not Long Street or Waterfront in Cape Town, Moses Mabhida Stadium or Ushaka Marine in Durban, Mary Fitzgerald Square, and Soccercity or in Johannesburg or any of the major popular spots in Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Nelspruit and Mafikeng. It is Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures) in Berlin, Germany and the occasion is the Cup of Cultures.

The Cup of Cultures atmosphere and the whole vibe in South Africa – where South Africans of all backgrounds, Africans from other countries and soccer lovers from around the globe are converging around their love of football, their support of Bafana Bafana and their solidarity with South Africa as the first African country to host the FIFA Soccer World Cup – provides a symbolic and inspirational signature of the possibilities for the development of national, continental and international identities rooted in the acknowledgement and the celebration of diversity as well as the interconnectedness of humanity and the universality of human experiences.

The converging of a myriad of flags, national anthems, songs and faces in one space and the adoption and utilisation of one instrument – the vuvuzela – by the international football community at the World Cup to sing and hum the screams and dreams of the divergent peoples of the world make it a bit easier for people who are often afraid to launch out of ethnocentric and narrowly constructed perceptions of being and belonging to perceive and dream of a sense of ‘nationhood’, ‘world community’, ‘national unity’, ‘continental unity’ and ‘international fellowship of humanity’ that transcends and demolishes the arbitrary walls and borders and barricades constructed around race, ethnicity, class, gender, religion and geopolitics.

But developing a pro-humanist and dynamic sense of being and belonging requires an open acknowledgement of the fact that the ‘one nation’ and ‘one world’ image projected by host countries and the world community of nations during and at world sport events does not reflect the everyday reality in that specific country and in the world. It is only when we accept ‘one people’ and ‘one world community’ as an ideal and a work-in-project or rather as a political and socio-cultural program that still need to be fully imagined, constructed, developed; and one that does not necessarily lead to a monolithic identity, that we can make tremendous progress in creating harmony out of plurality and building unity in diversity rather than creating discord out of difference and making conflict out of dissent.

This means that we cannot expect a one-off event like the World Cup to work like a magic wand and spontaneously heal the divisions and tensions of the past and the present. Transformation and transfiguration of attitudes and structures of social stratification and various forms of discriminations that have been entrenched for centuries cannot happen in a minute like a cup of cappuccino or a bowl of instant soup.

Beyond international sporting and cultural events there is a need to channel our energies, focus our minds, and invest our resources as individuals, communities, civil societies, progressive governments and responsible corporate citizens to vigorous and on-going programmes that promote the exploration of innovative and creative solutions, techniques and ethics and etiquettes of managing diversity in a variety of social settings.

Among others, this should take the form of continuous and intensive advocacy, training and education on diversity, Peace and Anti-Racism Education( PARE) programmes, multicultural/cross-cultural local and international arts and sports programmes and international arts, sports, academic, political and economic exchange programmes geared towards the construction and development of pro-humanist, pro-human rights, pro-equity, pro-justice notions of identity, nationhood and international community. Most importantly, the initiatives referred to here will not yield much results in the absence of serious attempts at policies and programmes addressing the structural, institutional and mindset /attitudinal dynamics that entrench and perpetuate poverty, inequality and socioeconomic, gender and environmental injustice upon which various forms of discriminations are grounded.

The fact of the matter is that people’s perception of themselves and others as well as their real capability is impacted upon heavily by the allocation and redistribution of power and resources in society, their living and working conditions, their income, livelihood and social capital; their access and utilisation of services and amenities and the quality of the amenities and services at their disposal.

It is therefore difficult to do away with complexes of inferiority and superiority in a society in which a certain sector of society lives under subhuman, squalid conditions and extreme poverty whilst another lives in opulence and extreme comfort.

When the structural arrangements are such that in statistical terms the disparities and social and power relations reflect a partnership between race, class and gender, it is not possible to build a truly anti-racist, non-racial, anti-sexist, non-sexist, humane society and therefore a heavy task to build an enduring and tangible sense of oneness and unity in diversity.

If our policies and programmes, practices and values as governments, communities and civil society organisations promote equitable allocation of power and resources, reduce inequalities and imbalances in income, livelihood, capability and on the quality of health, education, public transport and housing, we would have created the material and practical conditions in which it is much easier for complexes of inferiority and superiority, and therefore discriminative attitudes to be effectively challenged and destroyed. This was well captured by Stephen Bantu Biko when he said: ‘Integration cannot be imposed or worked for, it will automatically happen, when all doors of prejudice have been closed.’

This is not to say that we should wait until structural and institutional inequities and socioeconomic imbalances and inequalities have been addressed for us to embark on the project of building a unifying sense of South Africaness, Africaness and international community. We have to use moments like the World Soccer Cup and events such as the World Cup of Cultures not only to point out the glaring inequalities and injustices in society even within the World Cup itself such as the ruthless eviction and forceful removal of hawkers, displaced children, the homeless and refugees, the assault on our environment through the emission of huge footprints of carbon dioxide, and the marginalisation of local business and the informal sector by big capital and FIFA in collusion with the bigwigs of local football and the local political elites.

We also must and should use these events to highlight the ample and abundant possibilities and potentialities for the creation of an anti-racist, non-racial, participatory democratic and truly egalitarian, humane and peaceful society, where colour, gender and social standing does not define the worth of an individual in society. Cross-cultural, transnational and international sporting and cultural events are useful in promoting greater understanding that though there is always more than one conceptual and practical frame of reference, there are always sufficient common experiences, fears and dreams to build a universal culture of unity-in-diversity grounded on shared notions of peace and justice.

The more people interact, share stories and histories and are exposed to the human side of each others’ histories, it is the more they learn points of commonality and how much they can learn and benefit from each others’ stories, histories and from the manner in which they read and interpolate these histories and reconstruct these experiences.

These thoughts are racing in my mind as I walk through the colourful Berlin Gay Parade (an estimated 250,000 people and 50 floats carrying dancers waving though the centre of the city under the motto of ‘Normal is different’), and fellow poet and cultural worker Napo Masheane joyously shouts: ‘Hey, my friend, we are walking on the wall.’ We saw the wall yesterday but today we are right in front of the graffiti.

Thinking of stories of individuals who risked their lives and dared the infamous death strip to be with their beloved and loved ones, remembering East Germany artists who chose exile to free their creativity from bureaucratic strictures, the similarities between the experiences of the German people who were divided by the barrier of ideology and of the South African people who were divided by the barrier of colour become striking.

Listening to one of our hosts narrating how (though she was too young to understand the other implications of the Berlin wall and its fall) she was besides herself with excitement at the time of its fall to learn of relatives who had been barred from her family for decades and how ecstatic she was to meet her cousins, takes me back to the euphoric scenes of the freeing of prisoners, unbanning of the liberation movement, the returning exiles, and later the emotional moments of the returning and reburial of the remains of some of those who were buried in exile and others secretly buried at mine-dumps and in the bushes by Apartheid police.

Her account of how after centuries of being ashamed to fly their country’s banner as a result of stigma attached to it due to the ignoble Nazi past, Germans relearned attachment to the national flag when they hosted the World Cup and became much more happier to hoist the flag in the 2010, with scores of ‘German Vuvuzelas’ in every house, evoked in us the jubilant scenes of merry-making at SA’s re-entrance into international sport in the 90s, the patriotic fervour during the rugby cup and the jubilation of winning the Rugby World Cup CAF respectively.

Our host also recounted to us of that because of the huge numbers of people of Turkish descent in Germany, there was a tense situation at one moment in the country when Germany was going to play Turkey in a soccer match, but the clobbering of Germany by Turkey in the game was followed by scenes of native Germans joining German of Turkish origin in the celebrations rather than by the outbreak of violent clashes. This reminds us of the concern normally raised in South Africa about white South African citizens who seldom attend a football match between local clubs but will fill the stadium to the rafters when Manchester United plays any of the SA clubs, rooting for the Red Devils, to boot it all.

At the same time our observation of how the Haus der Kulturen de Welt in Germany sought to build on the patriotism and the global solidarity spirit of the World Cup by organising the Cup of Cultures alongside public viewing of matches during every Soccer World Cup, reminds us of how as soon as the rugby cup was over South Africans returned to the racial and ethnic cocoons; with most soccer matches predominately being attended by blacks, occasional scenes of the hoisting of the apartheid flag at rugby matches , and several acts of racial violence and discrimination such as the disgraceful and shameful incidents at the University of Free State where Afrikaner male-students urinated on meat and gave it to a group of black elderly women to eat, and filmed and distributed the DVD of them eating this.

Now that the FIFA World Cup with all its contradictions has made it possible for vuvuzelas to blow at a Rugby match in Soweto (Orlando Stadium) and for John and Gugu from Houghton to do diski dance, blow the vuvuzela, sing Shosholoza and move like a wave of flag alongside Jabulani and Joyce from Alexandra, it is the time for real, hard, painful work on the ground to start…the work of reconstructing and revolutionising the mindset of the people, instituting genuine public participation and accountable and transparent governance; and transforming the socioeconomic structures and equalising access and the quality of housing, education, health, public transport, sporting and arts amenities, water and sanitation.

Since governments can hardly be trusted with this kind of project, this requires more commitment from communities, civil society organisations and other progressive forces operating outside parliament to put more energies and resources in social activism and cultural activism, creative education and progressive literature and arts rooted in the quest for global social, political, economic, gender and environmental justice.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Mphutlane wa Bofelo is a South African cultural worker and social critic. He featured in the Spokenword component of the 2010 Cup of Cultures at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

‘Ambushing’, marketing and Fifa

Booze, women and South Africa’s World Cup

Alex Free

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65435

© abahlali.orgThe recent arrest of two Dutch women for ‘ambush marketing’ at South Africa’s World Cup Soccer City stadium has revealed the legislative influence Fifa has exerted on its host, writes Alex Free. Pointing out that Fifa has acquired the nickname ‘Thiefa’ among some quarters, Free takes a look at who is really doing the ‘ambushing’.

In the wake of recent reports on the arrests of two Dutch women accused of ‘ambush marketing’ for a non-official product, questions should again be raised about Fifa’s (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) role in the South African World Cup and the organisation’s drain on a country’s public finances. In an internationally reported incident, a total of some 36 women were ejected from the Soccer City stadium during the Netherlands–Denmark game of Monday 14 June – the majority of whom were reportedly white South Africans[1] – with Dutch nationals Barbara Castelien and Mirthe Nieuwpoort subsequently arrested and charged. The scandal led to the sacking of former Jamaica international and pundit for British broadcaster ITV Robbie Earle, who was implicated by virtue of having given tickets to a third party who subsequently sold them on to Bavaria, the brewer behind the contentious marketing strategy.[2]

‘AMBUSH MARKETING’

The stadium arrests were on the strength of alleged ‘ambush marketing’. At the 2010 World Cup this is a practice which consists of attempting to promote a product or service that is not officially sanctioned by Fifa, specifically via sneakily ducking under the official radar before ultimately emerging to great attention and fanfare. In this archetypal case, the ambushing apparently took the form of a group of female fans disguising themselves as Denmark followers, only to morph into a scantily-clad, dancing blonde troupe sporting orange dresses well known to Bavaria drinkers in Europe. The South African women involved were looked upon sympathetically by the authorities and not arrested, while the country’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ultimately dropped all charges against Castelien and Nieuwpoort following pressure from the Dutch government and the derision implicit within the attention of the media.[3]

Though on the surface a quasi-comic instance of an institution’s pretence towards a level of control beyond its status, the event has been most significant as a further example of Fifa’s capacity to bend the tournament to its own corporate interests at the expense of the broader benefits it has touted for South Africans at large. While it has speedily distanced itself in the face of pressure from a relatively powerful Western government and international media alert to a potential damsels-in-distress narrative, the governing body’s ability to oblige the South African state to restrict opportunities for local and ‘informal’ traders, divert public funding towards short-lived infrastructural projects and evict local residents has been well documented by alternative media channels. In many respects it is regrettable that Fifa has been forced through its actions to tacitly backtrack and admit heavy-handedness when faced with Dutch pressure and international media attention, while at the same time largely escaping mainstream, broader scrutiny around its own ambushing of the South African state and people when it comes to the fundamental structures underpinning the hosting of the World Cup.

DEVELOPING ‘THE BEAUTIFUL GAME’?

While it may publicly claim its greatest goal to be promoting and developing ‘the beautiful game’, the contemporary Fifa is arguably most concerned with protecting its profit base through a policy of official product sanctioning. In practical terms this means pursuing sponsorship agreements with the international owners of the financially strongest multinational brands, deals with whom are presumably the most lucrative.[4] Despite apparently falling short of this privileged elite, the Dutch brewer Bavaria does not appear to have done badly out of the episode. Fifa’s insistence on ‘official’ brands and its desperation to fortify a self-serving commercial enclave lends itself to easy derision, but Bavaria’s brand has achieved tremendous online exposure in the wake of a decidedly ‘any publicity is good publicity’ story.[5] (Incidentally, while Bavaria’s apparent scheme may come across as a cynical, unsophisticated attempt to marry sex appeal with brand exposure, it proved savvy given the habit of sports broadcasters to scour the crowd filming female fans they like the look of.)

Though ultimately politic enough not to entirely exclude local businesses and ‘informal’ traders from capitalising on the tourist boom, Fifa’s presence has been about protecting and maximising the profits to be derived from running the world’s most popular sporting event and trading on the pervasive sentimentality surrounding football. Belying a public rhetoric of economic benefits for all through a self-evident trickle-down form of distribution, in commercial terms hosting the World Cup has largely been about further opening up an ‘emerging market’ for global brands protected by a non-accountable, non-democratic international sporting entity seemingly aspiring to legal and judicial powers.[6] Though some local traders will have been able to carve out new financial opportunities, Fifa has been instrumental in imposing a corporate-friendly commercial milieu designed to enrich multinationals and well-positioned members of the South African elite, earning it the title of ‘Thiefa’ among some quarters. Public spending has been directed towards projects designed for private profit, just as local shackdwellers around major cities such as Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg have been evicted from their homes to make way for World Cup infrastructural developments.

FIFA-FRIENDLY LAWS

Responding to the arrest of the two accused, the Dutch government’s foreign ministry spokesperson Aad Meijer stressed: ‘We are not aware of any South African legislation that allows people to be detained for wearing an orange dress.’[7] Orange dresses may well not be fair game, but that is not to say that there hasn’t been other questionable legislation rolled out as a result of the South African government’s deference to Fifa. In a country in which many will have been unable to even afford to attend matches at a tournament taking place on their own soil, Fifa-friendly acts such as the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa Special Measures Act produce further costs and reportedly serve as legislation which ‘contravenes rights enshrined in South Africa's constitution’.[8] In its desire to show itself off to the world, the South Africa state has effectively been obliged to subordinate a slice of its law-making to an unaccountable, international body. Just as appropriating a state’s legal resources to pursue ‘unofficial’ brands represents a clear waste of national funds and detracts from tackling serious crime, it seems Fifa should instead concern itself with its own shameless ‘ambush’ on the public purse.

UNDERMINING SOUTH AFRICA’S PROGRESS

While the arrest of two Dutch women has become something of a cause célèbre, the incident must be seen as a further example of the dubious role Fifa has played in imposing itself on its hosts. Far from stimulating universal economic benefits, Fifa’s approach to World Cup management has at once leeched from the public purse, diverted funds away from serious legal matters and subordinated the South African judiciary to its commercially rapacious will. In much of the international media much has been made of the inequality and deep social divisions still endured by a majority of South Africans, but the sentimentality surrounding football should not work to conceal Fifa’s questionable role in the hosting of Africa’s first World Cup and the ugly side of the beautiful game.

If Fifa has been restrained and even made to look a bit silly (ultimately the brand it was trying to quash did very well out of the incident), the concern surrounds its own particular brand of ambushing and capacity to bend South Africa’s laws for its own benefit. While an easy-reading tale of a load of half-dressed young women being dubiously chucked out of a stadium may sell papers, the real story remains the social and financial costs of hosting the World Cup and the unfortunate self-subjugation of the South African state to an unelected, unaccountable and profit-thirsty external institution.

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* Alex Free is assistant editor of Pambazuka News and Pambazuka Press's publications officer.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

NOTES

[1] Sthembile Shelembe, ‘Fifa defends decision to only charge Dutch over Bavaria beer outfit’, 18 June 2010, Newstime, http://tiny.cc/iu0ty
[2] Owen Gibson, ‘World Cup 2010: ITV sacks Robbie Earle for breaking ticket regulations’, 15 June 2010, The Guardian, http://tiny.cc/c5nja
[3] Anon, ‘World Cup Dutch “beer stunt” charges dropped’, 22 June 2010, BBC News, http://tiny.cc/0g4aw
[4] Anon, ‘World Cup Dutch “beer stunt” charges dropped’, 22 June 2010, BBC News, http://tiny.cc/imxnl
[5] Katherine Levy, 'Bavaria Beer website traffic rockets after World Cup stunt', 18 June 2010, Marketing Magazine, http://tiny.cc/bqakl
[6] Sthembile Shelembe, ‘Fifa defends decision to only charge Dutch over Bavaria beer outfit’, 18 June 2010, Newstime, http://bit.ly/dzjGaA
[7] Sthembile Shelembe, ‘FIFA files charges, ITV fires its World Cup pundit for Bavaria beer stunt’, 16 June 2010, Newstime, http://bit.ly/ctpfCY
[8] Marina Hyde, ‘World Cup 2010: Fans, robbers and a marketing stunt face justice, Fifa style’, 20 June 2010, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/20/world-cup-2010-fans-marketing-justice-fifa

Another side to the World Cup in South Africa

Explo Nani-Kofi

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65415

© abahlali.orgAs the World Cup gathers momentum in South Africa, so do its critics. Explo Nani-Kofi investigates the real impact of this tournament on a nation still recovering from apartheid oppression. Nani-Kofi insists that poor South Africans ‘pay a big price’ for this monumental sporting extravaganza.

The World Cup has been touted as one of the greatest achievements in South Africa since the end of apartheid. In reality, it has brought into sharp focus glaring divisions. Let me make it clear that I am not against football or any form of sports. I recognise the contribution of sports to our health and also watching sporting events as a form of recreation from all the stresses of this world. However, I am uncompromisingly for social justice and this is where the problem begins.

One of the hypes of the characteristic features of the World Cup is that it will unite the nation. This is demonstrably false, since large sections of the poor people who should be better off in the post-apartheid period cannot even attend or watch the matches as they cannot pay for the tickets.

Poor people have been evicted from the homes they have lived in for years as these buildings are being taken over by property developers in preparation for the World Cup.

For the enjoyment and entertainment of the rich and the other World Cup tourists, ordinary South Africans have to pay a big price. People have been made homeless in order to make room for Coca Cola and other multinational companies to operate and make their profits. There are countless other examples in the rest of the world where the poor pay for the recklessness and leisure of the rich.

In a recent article by Richard Calland in Contretemps, he points to the anti-transformation conservative wing of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which is not interested in human dignity, equality and freedom but has ‘an agenda of greedy personal enrichment, concerned with transferring resources of the state and private sector to a ruthless few’, and added that ‘they are uncaring of the plight of the poor, arrogantly dismissive of inequality and contemptuous of democratic institutions that seek to protect the poor and vulnerable by insisting on accountability of the powerful’.

Scholar and activist Patrick Bond lists the World Cup’s six red cards as follows: ‘(1) dubious priorities and overspending; (2) FIFA super-profits and political corruption; (3) heightened foreign debt and imports amidst generalized economic hardships; (4) the breaking of numerous trickle down promises; (5) the suspension of democratic freedoms; and (6) repression of rising protest.’ The Centre for Civil Society (CCS), directed by Patrick Bond, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal is organising a daily-updated World Cup Watch along side its Social Protest Observatory.

Patrick Bond doesn’t only criticise but lists necessary actions to remedy these red cards. Among these actions are the ‘imposition of a windfall tax on profiteering construction companies, directing revenues straight to neglected township facilities, a full rethink of the government’s relaxation of exchange controls and its high-end infrastructure spending, re-imposition of the capital controls so as to halt capital flight and new housing/services subsidies for townships and rural areas’.

With regard to the repressive measures put in place against protest, he argues that ‘the necessary U-turn would include a formal ceasefire by a police force now aiming its guns at the people… South Africa’s securocrats should now point fingers and detective investigations at the real criminals, from Zurich, a wicked mafiosi group whose nickname now is “Thiefa”, for obvious reasons’.

Another aspect of the business logic of the games is the way the multinational companies are making profits that will be taken out of South Africa, whilst ordinary South Africans employed during the period are not being paid properly.

Groups of workers have resorted to street protests and in some cases litigation to win victories for the displaced and homeless. Last Monday there was a series of strikes at almost half of the World Cup stadiums as guards are being paid less than one tenth of what they were promised when they were employed. There have been violent scuffles between the police and guards.

Whilst the post-apartheid state organises this World Cup on behalf of the multinationals, ordinary South Africans are showing that the anti-apartheid fighting machinery is not dead. Evictions from properties are being fought by social movements like the Anti-Eviction Campaign, the Anti-Privatisation Forum and Abahlali baseMjondolo, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape, with thousands of ordinary people supporting them.

The fightback has not been limited to the internal issues of South Africa but linked to ongoing international solidarity. Last week the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and affiliated unions, namely: the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (CEPPWAWU), International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) and International Chemical, Energy and Mining Federation (ICEMF) held a press conference to brief members of the media and general public on the National Day of Action against the fascist Mexican government in the midst of the ongoing World Cup underway in South Africa.

The World Cup is being staged at a time that coincides with the 34th anniversary of the Soweto uprising, when school children marched against the introduction of Afrikaans as a compulsory academic subject. Alongside this is the fraudulent misuse of the image and names of fighters of the national liberation struggle. The Durban skyline has been changed by a state-of-the-art stadium named after the general secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Moses Mabhida. This former communist and guerrilla fighter must be turning in his grave over being associated with this feat in which the poor with whom he fought all his life are oppressed and marginalised.

Patrick Bond writes in The Mercury (Eye of the Civil Society) last month: ‘At a UKZN [University of Kwazulu Natal] community class on economic justice last Saturday [8 May], a student pointed out that if Greece’s hosting of the 2004 Olympics was partially responsible for the latest episode of world financial crisis and 5 billion Euro bailout, South Africa – with our untenable US$80 billion (R589 billion) foreign debt – may get the same treatment.’

Commenting on the post-World Cup scenario on 11 July, Richard Calland concludes, ‘At its best, sport can offer both vivid inspiration and all-consuming escapism. Thus, the World Cup may serve to remind South Africans of how much has been achieved since the days of sporting boycotts and the crisis of the 1980s and, in so doing engender a new sense of national purpose and pride. Or it may merely mask the cracks for a short time, obscuring the real fault lines and encouraging those who wish to loot the state to continue to do so, with a dangerous sense of impunity.’

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* This article was originally published by Counterfire.
* Explo Nani-Kofi is coordinator of KILOMBO – Centre for Civil Society and African Self-Determination and the KILOMBO Community Education Project, as well as editor of Kilombo Pan-African Community Journal.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Between satisfaction (off the pitch) and despair (on the pitch)

South Africa World Cup 2010

Dibussi Tande

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65418

cc Shine 2010With the 2010 World Cup at the halfway point, the blogosphere is starting to take stock of the performance of the six teams representing the continent, and of South Africa as the host country, writes Dibussi Tande.

With the 2010 World Cup at the halfway point, the blogosphere has begun taking stock of the performance of Africa’s six representatives and the host country.

Tomathon.com writes that contrary to what the doomsayers, particularly the Western media, predicted, the World Cup has gone on thus far without any major organisational or security, glitch; the World Cup has not turned out to be a chaotic crime-ridden fest:

‘I’ve so far noted one shocking fact: The South African World Cup is not riven by crime, corruption, shoddy workmanship, or terrorism. In fact, things are going swimmingly, the stadiums operations and infrastructure are beautiful, and the only deaths among the 450,000 visitors have been from road accident and falling off a mountain while admiring the scenery… so much of the press run up was so negative — even years of rumors that FIFA would move the cup at the last moment — that it may come as a shock how happy foreign fans are with what they’ve found in South Africa.

‘One report quotes a puzzled German fan. Puzzled because, despite the foreign press hysterics, he can go to a local bar and discover “I’m the only white guy in the room but I feel very safe.”

‘South African sports reporter Peter Davies has a wonderful piece entitled An Open letter to our Foreign Media friends, marveling at the gloom of foreign media outlets who quake in terror of “machete-wielding gangs roaming the suburbs in search of tattooed, overweight Dagenham dole-queuers to ransack and leave gurgling on the pavement.” But surprise! There’s no fear in walking the streets provided you don’t hang a wad of cash out your back pocket. There are also a surprising shortage of wild animal attacks and collapsing stadia. “For instance, you will find precious few rhinos loitering on street corners, we don’t know a guy in Cairo named Dave just because we live in Johannesburg, and our stadiums are magnificent, world-class works of art.”’

[url=http://postcardjunky.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/i-hope-the-usa-fucks-today-and-other-world-cup-wisdom]This is Africa analyses the poor performance of African representatives in what was billed as Africa’s World Cup:

‘I don’t find this all terrifically surprising. Much was made of the fact that this is “Africa’s World Cup,” and I suppose that on some level, playing on South African soil could have given some added inspiration to the African nations. But for all the rabid support of South African fans, the African teams left their staunchest supporters behind for 2010. Between the high cost of travel and the various ticketing fiascos with FIFA, most Ghanaians and Cameroonians are watching this World Cup from their couches, like the rest of the world.

‘More importantly, there’s the simple matter of tactical football (or lack thereof). I’ll leave it to the pundits to pile on with their usual criticisms of “undisciplined” African squads, but the fact is that absent-minded defense, poor finishing, and some shockingly bad decisions have led to the dreadful specter of a second round in the 2010 World Cup without a single African squad. In twelve matches so far, the six African teams have combined to score a total of six goals. As an Ivorian man put it to me last week, watching his country’s scoreless draw with Portugal: “You have a woman, you must make a baby. You cannot say, ‘She is always on top.’ You cannot make excuses.”’

Ethiopian Review is despondent over the fact that African states are drifting toward a new age of authoritarianism:

‘To a casual observer, the tens of thousands of people who poured into the central square of Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on May 25 to peacefully celebrate the country’s elections might have been mistaken for a massive symbol of democratic progress in a poor and troubled part of the world. In fact it was quite the opposite.

‘The demonstrators were there to denounce Human Rights Watch for criticising the victory of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies, who claimed 545 out of 547 seats in Parliament following a massive campaign of intimidation against opposition supporters…

‘In country after country, the recipe for the new age of authoritarianism is the same: demonization and criminal prosecution of opposition leaders, dire warnings of ethnic conflict and chaos should the ruling party be toppled, stacking of electoral commissions, and the mammoth mobilization of security forces and government resources on behalf of the party in power.’

Nigerians Talk joins the ongoing debate in Nigeria about decreasing the number of states to reduce corruption:

‘On the surface, I get it: If you want to reduce corruption, which tends to happen mostly at the local and state level, reduce the number of, well, local and state levels. Decreasing the number of states makes for a more effective federalism, and ensures that our oversight mechanisms work better.

‘Of course, one must ask: Does having less states mean having less corruption?

‘First of all, you’re trimming the number of states, not the size of the country, so basically you’ll be giving government officials wider mandates and, effectively more power. You can actually argue that this on-the-surface “pruning” is actually enlarging our government, so much so that it’ll make corruption easier. If Jigawa and Kaduna cannot run their individual corners competently, what makes you think it’ll be better to add Kano and Zamfara to the mix? What makes you think it’ll be easier to catch inefficiencies in larger, bloated states?

‘I don’t think having less police commissioners will make policemen stop being corrupt until they get some benefits with their jobs and get paid well and not live in squalid police quarters in Ikeja. I don’t think we’ll get much progress with our public education system by shrinking the number of state systems if the teachers aren’t paid well and don’t get enough benefits.’

In Africa Rising, Gregory Simpkins explains the factors that hinder inter-African trade:

‘The reason it’s easier to get from Lagos to London than from Lagos to Nairobi is that air linkages between the colony and colonial power were arranged that way because Nigeria and Kenya were intended to trade with the United Kingdom and not each other. This situation is slowly but surely being addressed, but old habits die hard, and African regional airlines have not been successful in competition with stronger European airlines.

‘It isn’t that there are no efforts to trade between African countries, but that trade which exists is plagued by four trends. First, there is a narrow pattern of trade involving unprocessed primary products. What incentive is there for one country to buy fruit from its neighbor that it already produces? Second, Europeans still dominate African trade. Gambia has historically traded almost exclusively with the United Kingdom even though it is surrounded by Senegal, whose major trading partner is France. If the former colonial power buys most of your products, how much do you have left to trade with your neighbors? Third, much of the intra-African trade that exists is done so informally and is untaxed and unregulated, so we really can’t say what the true level of intra-African trade is beyond estimates. Fourth, African payment systems are inefficient and costly. Electronic fund transfers taking minutes facilitate international transactions elsewhere, but checks for payment in Africa can take a month to clear. Given this discrepancy, who would you rather do business with?’

Loomnie posts a reader’s reaction to Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s new book, ‘Nomad: From Islam to America. A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilisations’:

‘Without undermining the intellectual capabilities and the personal achievements of Ms Hirsi Ali, she often comes across as self-overestimating and excessively self-benefitting. Since she stepped out of the Islamic faith, she seems extremely obsessed with projecting Islam in a negative light… She is celebrated in the West because of her anti-Islam crusade. I reside in the Netherlands and I know that she avoids public debates and discussions with people of authority and experts on Islam who do not share her views of Islam. My attention was drawn to Ms Hirshi Ali in the early nineties when she was a young member of the PVDA (The Workers Party in the Netherlands). As a young politician, she was out-spoken, well articulated and determined. She later cross-carpeted to the VVD (Liberal party). Following political scandals surrounding her acquisition of the Dutch citizenship, she had to quit her seat in the parliament. Since a few years she has been working for the extremely conservative American institution: The American Enterprise Institute. For a self-proclaimed liberal individual, her taking up a job position with this institution, suggests a great degree of contradiction to me, knowing the goals and objectives of this institute.’

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* Dibussi Tande blogs at Scribbles from the Den.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Warembo ni Yes

Civic education and Kenya's constitution

Dana Wagner

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65429

cc N B PA civic education session attracts women from Kabete, Nairobi, who listen to educators and MPs deconstruct Kenya's proposed constitution ahead of the 4 August referendum. The event is one of many organised by Warembo ni Yes, a movement conceived by the women's arm of community group Bunge la Mwananchi and created to educate and prompt women to vote yes. Event organiser and Warembo ni Yes sister Grace Ngugi explains why her group reaches out to women, and why women are responding.

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

Girlhood in southern Africa

(Podcast)

Agenda Feminist Media

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65433

‘Girls these days are experiencing a very different kind of childhood’, according to Professor Relebohile Moletsane, director of the Gender
cc M NDevelopment Unit at the Human Sciences Research Council.

The theme 'girlhood' is explored in the following programme [mp3] as a result of the realisation of the shortage of studies dealing with issues that affect girls in southern Africa.

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* Agenda is a feminist media organisation committed to transforming unequal gender relations based in South Africa.
* Agenda can be contacted at editorial@agenda.org.za.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Gender violence in education in South Africa

(Podcast)

Agenda Feminist Media

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65432

cc World BankIn the following programme [mp3], Agenda Feminist Media explores why gender violence remains an intractable problem in education in South Africa.

Guided through the issues by Dr Pholoho Morojele, lecturer in social justice education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, we come to understand the nature, form and extent of gender violence across the spectrum of education in South Africa.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Agenda is a feminist media organisation committed to transforming unequal gender relations based in South Africa.
* Agenda can be contacted at editorial@agenda.org.za.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Ethiopia: Speaking truth to the truth-seekers

Alemayehu G. Mariam

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65417

cc HonestFollowing the widely contested result of the Ethiopian elections in May, Alemayehu G. Mariam urges Ethiopian intellectuals to rise and become the ‘tip of the spear of social change’ in the country. Mariam persists to contend Meles Zenawi’s right to the presidency, whilst calling on fellow intellectuals to become advocates of peaceful change and democracy in their homeland through a focus of the intellectual ‘eye’.

WHERE HAVE THE ETHIOPIAN INTELLECTUALS GONE?

The Greek philosopher Diogenes used to walk the streets of ancient Athens carrying a lamp in broad daylight. When amused bystanders asked him about his apparently strange behaviour, he would tell them that he was looking for an honest man. Like Diogenes, one may be tempted to walk the hallowed grounds of Western academia, search the cloistered spaces of the arts and scientific professions worldwide and even traverse the untamed frontiers of cyberspace with torchlight in hand looking for Ethiopian intellectuals.

Intellectuals a – term I use rather loosely and inclusively here to describe the disparate group of Ethiopian academics, writers, artists, lawyers, journalists, physicians, philosophers, social and political thinkers and others – often become facilitators of change by analysing and proposing solutions to complex problems and issues facing their societies. Their stock-in-trade are questions; endless questions about what is possible and how the impossible could be made possible. There are engaged and disengaged intellectuals. Those engaged are always asking questions about their societies, pointing out failures and improving on successes, suggesting solutions, examining institutions, enlightening the public, criticising outdated and ineffective ideas and proposing new ones while articulating a vision of the future with clarity of thought. They are always on the cutting edge of social change.

The purpose of this commentary is not to moralise about the ‘failure of Ethiopian intellectuals’, or to criticise them for things they have done, not done, undone or should have done. The purpose is to begin public discussion that will make it possible to find ways of making them a powerful force of peaceful change in Ethiopia. I make no attempt here to conceal my agenda with the Ethiopian intellectual community; in fact, I proudly proclaim it. I believe Ethiopian intellectuals have a moral obligation not to turn a blind eye to the government wrongs in their homeland, and an affirmative duty to act in the defence of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. I see many of them religiously practicing self-censorship and self-marginalisation. I would like to see them enter the public arena and take on the issues. I see an artificial deficit in the supply of transformational and visionary Ethiopian thinkers, with revolutionary ideas to re-invent Ethiopian society. Such thinkers are out there but have chosen to remain disengaged. I would like to see them engaged more. At this critical time in Ethiopia's history, I believe Ethiopian intellectuals must take a leading and active role in the public debate to shape the future of their homeland. I am unapologetic in demanding their intense involvement in teaching, inspiring and preparing Ethiopia's youth within and outside the country to build a fair and just society and forge a united Ethiopian nation. I always pray that Ethiopian intellectuals will never become ‘whores’ to dictators as the distinguished Ghanaian economist George Ayittey has warned of African intellectuals in general.

As a member of the Ethiopian ‘intelligentsia’ and now its humble critic, I do not want to sound ‘holier-than-thou’. I will admit that I am just as guilty as any other for the sins of commission or omission I ascribe to others. Truth be told, I was just as invisible and silent on the issues in Ethiopia as those with whom I plead here until dictator Meles Zenawi slaughtered 196 unarmed demonstrators, and shot and wounded nearly 800 more in the streets after the 2005 election in Ethiopia. That act of total depravity, cold-blooded barbarity and savagery, vicious inhumanity and pure evil was a pivotal point in my own transformation from a complacent armchair academic to an impassioned grassroots human rights advocate, as the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 in which apartheid policemen opened fire on a crowd of unarmed black protesters killing 69 was a transformational event in the lives of so many South Africans

ROLE OF INTELLECTUALS IN AFRICA

An old Jewish saying teaches that ‘A nation's treasure is its scholars [intellectuals].’ Unfortunately, in Africa that ‘treasure’ has taken a decidedly loathsome character. Well over a decade ago, George Ayittey, arguably one of the ‘Top 100 Public Intellectuals’ worldwide who ‘are shaping the tenor of our time’, likened African intellectuals to ‘hordes of prostitutes.’[1]

‘Time and time again, despite repeated warnings, highly "educated" African intellectuals throw caution and common sense to the winds and fiercely jostle one another for the chance to hop into bed with military brutes. The allure of a luxury car, a diplomatic or ministerial post and a government mansion often proves too irresistible…

So hordes of politicians, lecturers, professionals, lawyers, and doctors sell themselves off into prostitution and voluntary bondage to serve the dictates of military vagabonds with half their intelligence. And time and time again, after being raped, abused, and defiled, they are tossed out like rubbish – or worse. Yet more intellectual prostitutes stampede to take their places…

Vile opportunism, unflappable sycophancy, and trenchant collaboration on the part of Africa's intellectuals allowed tyranny to become entrenched in Africa. Doe, Mengistu, Mobutu, and other military dictators legitimized and perpetuated their rule by buying off and co-opting Africa's academics for a pittance. And when they fall out of favor, they are beaten up, tossed aside or worse. And yet more offer themselves up.’

THE CRISES OF ETHIOPIAN INTELLECTUALS

Perhaps Professor Ayittey takes poetic license in his analogies to provoke serious debate over the role of intellectuals in Africa. I much prefer to think of Ethiopian intellectuals as their country's ‘eyes’ in the sense of the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson: ‘The office of the scholar [intellectual] is to cheer, to raise, and to guide men by showing them facts amid appearances. He plies the slow, unhonored, and unpaid task of observation. He is the world's eye.’ Though I will not challenge the fact that some Ethiopian intellectuals have ‘sold themselves off into prostitution and voluntary bondage’, I do not believe that the vast majority of them are the wretched members of the world's oldest profession ready to ‘hop’ in bed with the dictators lording over Ethiopia. I do believe, however, that many of us in the Ethiopian intellectual community could be fairly accused of turning a blind eye to the injustices in our homeland, not having a vision for our people and walking with blinders on so as to avoid making eye contact with the unpleasant facts of the current dictatorship in Ethiopia.

Many of us in the Ethiopian intellectual community have lost our ‘eye’ sights because we are in crises. Some of us are mired in a moral crisis of knowing what is right but being afraid to do the right thing, and ultimately doing nothing. When Zenawi massacred hundreds of unarmed protesters and jailed tens of thousands more, few of us stood up to publicly protest. When elections were stolen in broad daylight and the country sold in bits and pieces and given away, far too many of us stood by in silent indifference. It seems many of us have developed titanium-clad consciences to keep out the reality of corruption and brutality of the dictatorship in Ethiopia.

Some of us suffer a crisis of critical thinking. We are quick to make conclusions based on hunches and speculations than rigorous analysis based on facts. We are given more to polemics and labelling than evidence-based analysis. We rarely examine and re-examine our assumptions and beliefs but cling to them as eternal truths and propagate them as such. It is embarrassing to admit that the rigorous intellectual challenge to Zenawi's neatly packaged lies has come not from Ethiopian intellectuals but from the empirical research and analysis of foreign social scientists, researchers, journalists and human rights organisations. By failing to take a rigorous approach to the study and analysis of the myriad issues in Ethiopia, we have made it possible for Ethiopia's dictators to write a gospel of lies and erect monuments to celebrate the living lies of non-existent accomplishments.

In one form or another, many of us in the Ethiopian intellectual community suffer a crisis of self-confidence and a deficit of intellectual courage. We criticise and castigate the dictatorship in private but are afraid to repeat our strongly held views in public. Even in the diaspora, some of us feel compelled to use pen names to express our opinions in the blogosphere. We would like others to admire us and accept and act on our ideas while we hide our real identities behind aliases and fictitious names. Many of us are afraid to make our views known because we fear the ridicule and ostracism of our associates and peers. We are afraid to take ownership and responsibility for our ideas for fear of being proven wrong and mask our intellectual cowardice with meaningless dogmas and abstractions. Lacking self-confidence, many of us have resolved to live out our lives quietly and anonymously on remote islands of self-censorship and self-marginalisation.

Most of us also suffer from a crisis of foresight. We can argue the past and criticise the present, but we do very little forward thinking. As Ethiopia's ‘eyes’, we are ironically afflicted by myopia (nearsightedness). We can see things in the present with reasonable clarity, but we lack the vision to see things in the distance. We can see the potential problems of ethnicity in Ethiopia, but we are blinded to its solutions in the future. We see the country being dismembered in pieces, but lack the vision to make it whole in the future. We can see ethnic animosity simmering under the surface, but we have been unable to help create a new national consciousness to overcome it. We can articulate a present plan for accession to political power, but we lack the foresight and contingency planning necessary to ensure democratic governance.

We have a serious crisis of communication. Many of us talk past each other and lack intellectual honesty and candor in our communications. We pretend to agree and give lip service to each other only to turn around and engage in vile backbiting. We speak to each other and the general public in ambiguities and ‘tongues’. Often we do not say what we mean or mean what we say. We keep each other guessing. We do not listen to each other well and make precious little effort to genuinely seek common ground with those who do not agree with us. We have a nasty habit of marginalising those who disagree with us and tell it like it is. We hate to admit error and apologise. Instead, we compound mistakes by committing more errors. We tend to be overly critical of each other over non-essentials. As a result, we have failed to nurture coherent and dynamic intellectual discourse about Ethiopia's present and future.

We have a crisis of intellectual leadership. There are few identifiable Ethiopian intellectual leaders today. In many societies, a diverse and competing intellectual community functions as the tip of the spear of social change. In the past two decades, we have seen the powerful role played by intellectual leaders in emancipating Eastern Europe from the clutches of communist tyranny and in leading a peaceful process of change. No society can ever aspire to advance without a core intellectual guiding force. The founders of the American Republic were not merely political leaders but also intellectuals of the highest calibre for any age. They harnessed their collective intellectual energies to forge a nation for themselves and their posterity. Their conception of government and constitution has become a template for every country that aspires for the blessings of liberty and democracy. Despite some major shortcomings, the Americans got it right because their founders were visionary intellectuals.

ETHIOPIAN INTELLECTUALS THROUGH ZENAWI'S EYES

Zenawi regards himself to be an intellectual par excellence based on the available fragmentary corpus of his written work, numerous public statements and anecdotal narratives of those who have interacted with him. In August 2009, the Economist magazine described him as silver-tongued conversationalist with a ‘sharp mind, elephantine memory and ability to speak for two hours without notes. With his polished English, full of arcane turns of phrase from his days at a private English school in Addis Ababa, the capital, he captivates foreign donors’. Jeffrey Sachs, the celebrated shaman of Western aid to Africa and Columbia University professor, often patronises Zenawi for his ‘intellect’ and ‘vision’. In January 2008, Sachs expressed euphoric fascination over ‘Ethiopia's 11 or 12 per cent economic development year after year [which makes] people say oh… what's going on there?’ under Zenawi's leadership. Zenawi is said to be an assiduous autodidact. He reputedly harbours much distaste and contempt for the Ethiopian intellectual community in much the same way he does for his political opposition. His attitude is that he can outwit, outthink, outsmart, outplay, outfox and outmanoeuvre boatloads of PhDs, MDs, JDs, EdDs or whatever alphabet soup of degrees exist out there any day of the week. He seems to think that like the opposition leaders, Ethiopian intellectuals are dysfunctional, shiftless and inconsequential, and will never be able to pose a real challenge to his power.

Regardless of the merits of Zenawi's purported views, the fact of the matter is that few Ethiopian intellectuals have bothered to scrutinise his ideas or record them in a systematic and rigorous manner. When he made manifestly false and outrageous claims of ‘economic growth’ and ‘development’, few Ethiopian economists challenged him on the facts. It took foreign scholars, researchers and journalists to undertake an investigation to expose Zenawi's fraudulent claims of success in health, education and social welfare programs. Few Ethiopian historians, political scientists, sociologists and others have come forward to challenge his bizarre theory of ‘ethnic federalism’. Nor have there been any rigorous analyses of the slogan of ‘revolutionary democracy’ palmed off as a coherent political theory. Few Ethiopian lawyers have examined his constitution and demonstrated his flagrant violation of it. Given these facts, all that can be said in defence of Ethiopian intellectuals is: ‘If the shoe fits, wear it!’

THE CHALLENGE: BECOMING PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS

The challenge to Ethiopian intellectuals is to find ways of transforming themselves into ‘public intellectuals’. In other words, regardless of our formal training in a particular discipline, we should strive to engage the broader Ethiopian society beyond our narrow professional concerns through our writings and advocacy efforts. We should strive for something far larger than our disciplines, and by speaking truth to power metamorphosise into ‘public intellectuals’. Here are a few ideas for this enterprise:

GET INVOLVED

I hear all sorts of excuses from Ethiopian intellectuals for not getting involved. The most common one is: ‘I am a 'scholar’, a ‘scientist', etc, and do not want to get involved in politics.’ Albert Einstein was not only one of the most influential and best known scientists and intellectuals of all time, he was also a relentless and passionate advocate for pacifism and the plight of German-Jewish refugees. Others plead futility. ‘Nothing I do could ever make a difference because Ethiopia's problems are too many and too complex.’ The answer is found in an Ethiopian proverb: ‘Enough strands of the spiders' web could tie up a lion.’ Let each one do his/her part, and cumulatively the difference made will be enormous.

ARTICULATE A VISION

Ethiopian intellectuals need to articulate a vision for their people. It is ironic to be the ‘eyes’ of a nation and be visionless at the same time. What are our dreams, hopes and aspirations for Ethiopia? What are the values we should be collectively striving for? Why are we not able to come up with an intellectual framework that can provide a bulwark against tyranny, and restore good governance to a nation of powerless masses and broken institutions? As the old saying goes, ‘If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.’

CREATE AND MAINTAIN A THINK TANK

Think tanks are ‘policy actors in democratic societies assuring a pluralistic, open and accountable process of policy analysis, research, decision-making and evaluation’. There are thousands of them worldwide. It is necessary to establish such organisations for Ethiopia to conduct research and engage in advocacy and public education. On various occasions, I have publicly called for the establishment of an informal policy ‘think tank’ to research and critically evaluate current and emergent issues in Ethiopia. Would it not be wonderful if there could be union between concerned Ethiopian scholars, scientists, intellectuals and professionals who could come together as the tip of the spear in seeking to institutionalise democracy, human rights and rule of law in Ethiopia?

CREATE A LEGAL DEFENCE FUND

Frequently, I am asked why Ethiopian lawyers do not get together and from a legal action group to study and litigate human rights issues. Wherever I give a speech, I am always questioned about why ‘you Ethiopian lawyers are not doing something about human rights, political prisoners, violations of international law … in Ethiopia?’ There are many examples in the US of global campaigns for human rights undertaken by groups of dedicated lawyers supported by dozens of cooperating attorneys across the country. Ethiopian lawyers need to step up to the plate.

ESTABLISH EXPERT PANELS

We have few experts available to serve as resources on issues affecting Ethiopia. Many Ethiopian experts are unwilling to come forward and give interviews to the media or to offer testimony in official proceedings. We need a roster of experts to represent Ethiopia on the world stage.

TEACH THE PEOPLE

Zenawi often claims that Ethiopian intellectuals, particularly in the West, do not really understand the situation in the country and are merely speculating about conditions. He says our notions of democracy based on Western models are fanciful, desultory and inappropriate for Ethiopia and an ‘ethnic basis of Ethiopia's democracy [is necessary] to fight against poverty and the need for an equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth: peasants must be enabled to make their own decisions in terms of their own culture. Power must be devolved to them in ways that they understand, and they understand ethnicity…’ It is our role as intellectuals to discredit such manifestly nonsensical political theory by teaching the people the true meaning of democracy based on popular consent. We must teach the Ethiopian people that it is a travesty and a mockery of democracy for one man and one party to remain in power for 25 years and call that a democracy. We must find ways to empower the people by teaching them.

ACT IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE OPPRESSED

As intellectuals, we are often disconnected from the reality of ordinary life just like the dictators who live in a bubble. But we will remain on the right track if we follow Gandhi's teaching: ‘Recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless man you have seen and ask yourself whether the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he be able to gain anything by it? Will it restore to him a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj (independence) or self-rule for the hungry and spiritually starved millions of your countrymen? Then you will find your doubts and yourself melting away.’ Let us always ask ourselves whether our actions will help restore to the poorest and most helpless Ethiopians a control over their own life and destiny.

As I point an index finger at others, I am painfully aware that three fingers are pointing at me. So be it. I believe I know ‘where all the Ethiopian intellectuals have gone’. Most of them are standing silently with eyes wide shut in every corner of the globe. But wherever they may be, I hasten to warn them that they will eventually have to face the ‘Ayittey Dilemma’ alone: Choose to stand up for Ethiopia, or lie down with the dictators who rape, abuse and defile her.

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

NOTES:

[1] http://tinyurl.com/27k6qz5

Deadly silence: Rwanda’s never again, once again?

Alice Gatebuke

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65430

cc SchaconThe 1994 Rwandan genocide was a tragedy that the rest of the world overlooked, writes Alice Gatebuke, and sixteen years later the international community is still turning a blind eye to Rwanda. Recent human rights abuses – the maltreatment of a presidential candidate and the suspension of rights of an American lawyer – and Rwanda’s actions in neighbouring Congo have not been condemned by the international community. Gatebuke, a genocide survivor, argues that present-day violations of universal rights and norms must not be ignored, nor can they be excused by consideration of past acts of evil against Rwandanese people. Rwanda too, she says, must be held to a universal standard.

People often say ‘all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’. As a Rwandan genocide survivor, I would not be alive if not for good people who stood up, advocated for and protected me, and facilitated my ultimate survival amidst the deafening silence of the international community. I was nine years old when I found myself caught in a maelstrom of violence that threatened to destroy everything I knew and held dear. And in many ways, all of those things including family, friends, neighbours, home and communities were destroyed.

I remember having a group of men wrap me in a blanket and smuggle me to a safe house in a different neighbourhood. Petrified, I watched as these men accosted and negotiated with my would-be killers on a daily basis to save my life. I watched in horror and helplessness as my mother and brother were taken from my sister, young cousin and I to be killed. My mother and brother were told they had reached the end of their lives and were then given tools to dig their own graves. Through the intervention of old friends, strangers and new allies, the lives of my mother and brother were spared, and our family was reunited.

I cannot imagine how my life would have been different had these individuals not intervened. They placed themselves and their families in danger by advocating for us. In our darkest moments I witnessed the zenith of human compassion. I saw the beauty and potential of the human spirit when good people unite for a good cause. Farmers, street kids and courageous women with children raised their voices against a group of evil-doers.

Through their acts of solidarity, lives were spared. My faith in humanity was reassured even in the midst of so much violence, death and destruction. Sadly though, the international community remained silent about what was taking place in my country.

As I watch today the increasingly disturbing downward spiral in my country of birth, I am once again reminded of the international community’s complicity and silence in the destruction of an entire nation. In recent times, when the first woman to ever run for president in my country was attacked by a mob, there was silence. While local newspapers were shut down, their writers exiled and others incarcerated, I witnessed nothing but shrugs from the international community. When Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reported on the growing repression and jailing of an increasing number of people based on vague laws applied to political opponents of the ruling regime, I saw nothing but rationalisation from the international community.

Recently, an American lawyer and professor, who is representing a hopeful presidential candidate, was jailed in Rwanda. His arrest and subsequent charges were based on his work as a defence lawyer at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. He stands accused of genocide ideology and negationism, the same crimes his client is charged with.

As a genocide survivor, I take genocide crimes very seriously and strongly believe that each and every perpetrator of these crimes should be brought to justice and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I also believe that each accused deserves and must be accorded a fair trial. The right to a fair trial and due process is a highly valued universal principle. I am therefore perplexed by the silence around the professor’s arrest and the length of time it took the international community to intervene.

Due to Rwanda’s economic progress, some of which is unfortunately derived from Congolese minerals and ‘supply side economics’, human rights abuses are mere inconveniences to those strictly focused on economic growth. While Rwanda has become one of the most praised and progressive economies in Africa, the international community has watched it ravage neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo with impunity. An estimated six million Congolese lives have been claimed and, tragically, half of those deaths are children under the age of five.

The Rwandan genocide was catastrophic. I know; I was there. And I survived. However, it should not be used as a pretext for repressing the freedom of others and destroying innocent lives. Although the international community still remains silent in the face of all these grotesque abuses and human rights violations within and outside of Rwanda, the potential positive impact the international community could have on the situation should not be underestimated.

I witnessed first hand the power of good people who cared for a frightened nine-year-old girl and her family. Everyday people opened their mouths and raised their voices. My family, especially my mother and brother, were spared because of ordinary peoples’ courageous acts of generosity. I am eternally grateful to have lived to share my story. With all that is taking place in Rwanda today, especially the eerie similarities to the pre-1994 genocide period, will the international community intervene now? One can only imagine the millions of lives that could be saved.

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* This article first appeared in The Huffington Post.
* Alice Gatebuke is a Rwandan genocide and war survivor, human rights activist and graduate of Cornell University.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

In defence of South Africa’s working class

Rebuked by the status quo

Mxolisi Makinana

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/65420

cc D BOnce seen as an essential part of South Africa’s liberation struggle, today striking workers and their trade unions are more likely to be perceived as unpatriotic for ‘chasing away foreign economic investment’, writes Mxolisi Makinana. Although the ANC (African National Congress) presents itself as the government of the people, Makinana argues that legislation to regulate strikes is designed to ‘institutionalise the class struggle that continues in the post-apartheid period’.

The official discourse tells us that apartheid was dismantled in 1994. In the period preceding the 1994 ‘miracle’ there were many strikes involving quite a number workers. This massive strike movement certainly contributed to the elimination of apartheid by bringing the white minority regime to a negotiating table with the liberation movement. Indeed the trade union movement was very close to the nationalist movement – COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) close to ANC (African National Congress) and NACTU (National Council of Trade Unions) close to PAC (Pan Africanist Congress). Strikes then were seen as the essential part of the liberation struggle.

The apartheid machinery was smashed and a new constitution entrenched in 1996, but strikes continued unabated. It is no top secret that in recent times the ANC-led administration has on many occasions come down heavily against the striking workers and their trade unions. It seems the allies of yesteryear were now seen as chasing away foreign economic investment, as ‘moegoes’ – as the Sunday World called the SAMWU (South African Municipal Workers Union) striking workers – for throwing dirt on the streets whilst on strike, jeopardising the World Cup, denounced as unpatriotic etc.

Clearly, the state could not tolerate such ‘insolence’ of the workers. These tend to paint the working class as the enemy of the nation. But this is not a South African story – it is an African story. Even the great Nkrumah of post-independence Ghana, in 1961 declared that ‘this is no time for unbridled militant trade unionism in our country’. In South Africa many laws have been promulgated to regulate strikes. In essence these laws are meant to regulate and institutionalise the class struggle that continues in the post-apartheid period.

Post-independence African states may be differentiated a great deal in their rhetoric, but there is one common denominator amongst them all: They fear the working class. The trade unions are always seen as political threat. The working class is seen as a threat to neocolonialism long before it has reached its class consciousness status. The metamorphosis of the working class as a class in itself into a class for itself is feared like a tsunami. According to elementary Marxism, classes become socially significant groups only when their members become conscious of their interests as a class and the opposition of these interests to the interests of the other class. In ‘The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte’, Marx had this to say of classes, in as far as ‘the identity of their interests begets no community no national bond and no political organisation among them, they do not form a class’. The class-consciousness is reached only when class contradictions become politicised. This consciousness expresses itself in a rather ‘confused’ and spontaneous manner – the smashing of machines in a factory, throwing garbage on the street, etc. It is from this point of view that the struggle of the working class in our society should be seen. These are the forms of expression that should radicalise the class contradictions and help make working class consciousness more articulate and expressly political.

EXPROPRIATION OF THE WORKING CLASS IDEOLOGY

When workers are striking they are always admonished rhetorically: ‘Against whom are you striking? After all we are comrades, the ANC government is government of the people’! If the working class and its leaders do not expose this ideological expropriation, they would be lending credence to the expropriation of their ideology to legitimise their own exploitation. This must be exposed in order to demystify the dominant ideology, which belittles and ceaselessly vilifies the role and place of the working people in South Africa.

UNEMPLOYMENT AND EMPLOYMENT

This is one of the problems acknowledged by government in South Africa. At every opportunity, the determination to solve it is proclaimed. But it is doubtful as to whether this is reflected in actual policies and at the operational level. The basics of historical materialism teach that the human being/social being is first and foremost a worker and work is the most fundamental activity of society. It is by work that the human being fashions the means to stay alive, reproduce his kind and achieve civilisation. Therefore we are as we work.

One is not really employed if one’s productivity or wage or return is so low that one is hardly able to reproduce oneself. Nor is one really employed in a job that offers hardly any room for self-development. This is generally the case in Africa and South Africa in particular, where the extremities of poverty usually lead to the conflation of employment with working or having a job (like someone who cuts alien trees under the Working for Water Programme) and the dismissal of the notion of decent, satisfying and creative jobs as esoteric irrelevancies. Legitimate expectations of material wellbeing of the people are now represented as naïve, subversive or as reprehensible profligacy. This also leads some people to overstate, in a most misleading way, the point that having a job at all constitutes a remarkable improvement on prevailing conditions for a lot of people of South Africa. The pitfall of doing this is that we trivialise the concept of unemployment and with that, its status as a real life problem. Moreover, if we are as we work, we cannot settle for a notion of the work process which offers only a horrible existence.

CAPITALISM AND UNEMPLOYMENT

Mother Nature did not create people with property and capital on one side, and people with nothing but their ability to labour on the other side of the ledger. It is capitalism that produces the workless person. This was created through human agency in a socio-historical process.

Unemployment is a by-product of capitalism; by definition the capitalist system needs an army of unemployed people to control wages and truncate trade union militancy. It needs unemployment during periods of economic boom so as to draw labour and to which it can throw out workers during periods of economic difficulty – as happened during the recession.

The unemployed end up in the economy of desperation (euphemistically called the informal sector). The informal sector is a manifestation of the problem of unemployment. The unemployed enter this sector of the economy when the choice is between worklessness and starvation. This is an expression of the resolute will to survive in the face of seemingly hopeless odds, viz. the lack of a buyer for one’s labour power and the lack of means of labour to realise it. This Darwinism is achieved through stretching creativity, stamina and patience to the outer limits:

- The creation of capital from nothing as in the case of the street seller at the school gate whose stock is a packet of sweets/biscuits sold singly
- The improbable feat of substituting labour power for means of production and hands for tools achieved by someone who collects from the garbage dump and recycle paper, tins, cardboards, plastic, etc.

This sector is characterised by minimal availability of capital and supporting infrastructure, maximum physical exertion, inhuman hours, and paltry returns for effort. The informal sector represents one of the most hostile and horrible conditions of realising labour power.

There is some perversity in the tendency to represent the informal sector as an optimistic development – hopeful in the sense that it reduces social tension, provides employment, encourages creativity and self-reliance, the diffusion of skills and reduction of waste in human and material resources. Admittedly, it does all these things to a certain extent. But we cannot take any comfort in its existence and its daily growth. It arises from misery. While it may help people to stave off starvation, it subjects them to unacceptable and inhuman conditions of work.

To sum up, the current discourse now proclaims the end of social conflict – ‘our country is alive with opportunities’ etc, and everyone should apply his mind to the task. It is argued that the urgent task is hard work, not self-extravagance. In effect the dominant discourse has reduced politics to administration in so far as issues regarding the paramount goals of society and the legitimacy o the existing socio-economic order. Indeed questions concerning the justice of existing order (capitalism) are not even tolerated. It seems order (read conformism) is more emphasised than questions of liberty.

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* Mxolisi Makinana is an independent researcher with an interest on human rights, international criminal law, organised crime, terrorism and money laundering in the southern African region.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

A call for sex workers’ rights in Africa

Chi Mgbako

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/65431

cc G WA global conversation about the rights of sex workers is happening without African voices, writes Chi Mgbako. While activists on other continents have successfully organised to engage governments in dialogue, the criminalisation of the trade in Africa has pushed sex workers to the fringe, compromising more than economic protection in the industry as health, safety and legal rights are sidelined. Until African voices can be heard in the struggle, African sex workers will continue being denied their core rights as stigma and discrimination plague their ‘illegal’ livelihoods, argues Mgbako.

African governments must reconsider their legal and policy posture towards sex work in order to respect and uphold sex workers’ human rights.

African sex workers throughout the continent experience stigma, discrimination, and abuse at the hands of police officers, clients, pimps and societies that shun and revile them. African governments do not characterise violence against sex workers as an issue of violence against women. Hospitals and health centers sometimes refuse to provide sex workers with medical treatment. Police often bribe, harass and abuse sex workers. Clients assault sex workers with impunity. African societies often view women engaged in prostitution as morally compromised vectors of disease. Because of their illegal status, and the stigma and discrimination they face, African sex workers often have no recourse to justice and cannot fight for their rights.

Most African sex workers engage in prostitution because of economic pressures. Single mothers and young women with limited or no familial support may view part-time or full-time sex work as an economically viable option when alternatives prove elusive or undesirable. African women who choose to enter prostitution often receive no emotional or legal support. There remain few sex worker collectives in Africa, and African women’s rights organisations tend to shun issues on sex workers’ rights. There is no African country in which prostitution has been decriminalised; Senegal embraces a regime of legalisation and regulation, not decriminalisation. These realities make sex workers more susceptible to abuse.

African government officials have publicly characterised prostitution as incompatible with African culture. These public statements are often accompanied by mass raids resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of scores of sex workers.

Despite strong anti-prostitution sentiment on the continent, calls have begun to emerge for the realisation of sex workers’ rights in Africa. South African sex workers have advocated for the decriminalisation of prostitution in their country. There are examples of sex worker collectives forming in Cameroon, Zambia, Kenya and Senegal. However, these examples of African sex worker collectivisation are limited. The international sex workers’ rights movement blossomed four decades ago and although European, US, Latin American and Asian sex workers have been active participants in the global conversation on sex workers’ empowerment, African sex workers have been largely absent in this dialogue. The establishment of African sex workers’ collectives is a necessary step in the creation of a sex workers’ rights movement on the continent.

A critical reflection on the continent’s need for action around sex work is timely. In the past several years there have been encouraging regional attempts to engage the issue of sex workers’ rights. In 2008, women’s rights and development organisations held a sex workers’ rights conference in East Africa in order to identify the links between health and human rights and sex workers’ rights. During the conference, jointly sponsored by Akina Mama wa Afrika and the Open Society Institute, advocates accused East African governments of failing to condemn and address the rampant abuse of sex workers. Advocates also maintained that government tolerance of discrimination and abuse of sex workers increases sex workers’ vulnerability by driving them underground and out of reach of health, social, and justice services. Similarly in 2007, the Mozambique National AIDS Council and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) organized an ‘HIV and Sex Work’ conference. This gathering culminated in the Maputo Call for Action – a call for the elimination of violence, stigma, and discrimination against sex workers; the strengthening of legal and health support systems targeting sex workers; and the creation of partnerships advocating for sex workers’ rights.

The illegal status of prostitution in African countries directly effects sex workers’ ability to organise and demand their rights. Criminalisation of prostitution and thus criminalisation of sex workers themselves leaves these women without legal and health protection and further entrenches the stigma and discrimination they face. African states should reform their legal posture towards sex work and decriminalise prostitution.

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* Chi Mgbako is a clinical associate professor of law and director of the Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic at Fordham Law School.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Transcending conventional methods

On random thoughts

Amira Ali

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/65421

cc L NOur hope of changing the world has to transcend conventional methods, writes Amira Ali, if we want to create a world for our children in which they are able to live, to grow and ‘become their best possible selves’. This will not happen, muses Ali, ‘unless, we are transformed, re-developed and renewed’. The alternative is to turn ‘our backs on atrocities and malaise, contributing to the cataclysms of the world and succumb to the spiritual hollowness of our lives.’

If we are poignant by hardened images and ideas represented by words – euphemisms – our hope of changing the world has to transcend conventional methods.

At the limits of our historical context, we can think outside the system that define us, decide to arm ourselves with our unshakable truth and faith in humanity knowing that it is more important than power; even with doubt of knowing that some are more powerful beyond measure, by transcending what detains us the most, ‘fear’.

Still, we can recreate ourselves to become the kind of humanist who bypasses conventional traditions and approaches, employing instead an eclectic blend with the knowledge and awareness of our own self. Realising and allowing our light to shine and allowing it to transcend, first on ourself, and then building the capacity of compassion to offer strength to others, to see their light.

This will require wisdom, and thus, wisdom demands perspective, with the keen insight that the evolution of the world has not modified the balance of power. And through all the labyrinth and intricacies of our new world, as inhabitants of it we have an obligation to understand it and take all measures to make an attempt to change it for the better.

The alternative is to live life filled with contradictions and seemingly senseless juxtapositions, allowing it to go on the way that it always has, turning our backs on atrocities and malaise, contributing to the cataclysms of the world and succumb to the spiritual hollowness of our lives. For to be satisfied with mere moral condemnation would simply be a mistake.

If we choose not to accept and prefer to be of service to our world we have to recognise the global scenarios; understanding the real social injustice from a geopolitical and social perspective, and how it affects our culture and identity.

Through understanding, the operative principle is to open up avenues for real truth and openness, for we have entered an era, in this global world, where one needs to be courageous to speak the truth. But, with relentless truth and belief in humanity we ought to seek optimal solutions that will assert fairness and equality, rather than use it merely for propaganda and self-promotion purposes.

For to change the face of the world, namely consciousness, is power. Realising that, as described in Vincent Harding's picturesque language, there is a world waiting for us; indeed, many worlds await us. One is the world of our children, not yet born, or just beginning, but wanting to live, to grow, to become their best possible selves.

This will not happen unless, we are transformed, re-developed and renewed. The future of our children depend upon these rigorous transformations.

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* Amira Ali holds an MA in international relations and conflict resolution. She is a freelance writer, poet and activist.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Yes, hate speech can lead to bombs and bodies

L. Muthoni Wanyeki

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/panafrican/65434

The grenade attacks at the Sunday prayer-cum-‘No’ meeting in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park have dominated the news all week.

For the families of the six killed and all of those injured, it must be hard to comprehend that somebody could actually do such a thing. It is hard for all of us to comprehend.

Naturally, theories have flown fast and furious. Fingers have been pointed at the ‘Yes’ camp.

But that does not make sense – if anything, the grenade attacks win sympathy for the proponents of ‘No’.

In which case, the fingers point the opposite way. But they are a motley crew there.

It is unthinkable that Christian leaders would go so far – even if the counterparts of the more fundamentalist, right-wing evangelicals have been known to do so in countries other than this.

It is slightly more plausible, if cynical to an extreme degree, that some of the political leaders associated with the ‘No’ campaign would do so.

The more conspiratorial possibility is that the perpetrators are the so-called watermelons – green on the outside, red on the inside – believed to be behind the changes smuggled in during the printing of the proposed Constitution of Kenya at the Government Printers.

This is a possibility that would make the investigations farcical to say the least.

And last but not least, there is the scapegoat possibility – the idea that this was the work of the more fundamentalist Muslims among us.

Aware of this, it is unsurprising that several Muslim organisations were among the first to condemn the grenade attacks.

What is clear, however, is that the stakes are higher in some people’s minds than we would have assumed.

That, for some people, the lessons of the last general election have not been learnt.

That, for some people, the idea that people should be left to freely decide from an informed position whether or not they want the new Constitution, is unacceptable.

That only they can decide what people should do. And that resorting to despicable tactics is thus justifiable.

These people, whoever they are, are – to use a well-worn phrase – on the wrong side of history.

They are ignoring what the higher-than-expected results of the voter registration exercise told us; that despite everything, Kenyans still believe in and will exercise the power of their vote.

And they are ignoring what 2007 and 2008 should have taught us – that there is a difference between advocating for a position held strongly, and believing that in such advocacy any means justify the desired ends.

With that in mind, it is hard not to view the recent actions of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission with approval and sympathy.

In trying to seize hold of their conceptually unclear mandate with respect to equality and anti-discrimination, they are trying to respond to the public mood by addressing ‘hate speech’.

This is a good thing.

But we also have to ask whether we need new legislation on this – a small plethora of provisions still exist in our penal code to cover what we are concerned about, covering both public utterances as well as media coverage of such utterances.

Where there is clearly a gap is in respect of the new platforms on which hate speech is now primarily generated – on blogs, email, Internet discussion groups, list serves, as well as through our mobiles.

This is a whole new terrain and one on which criminalisation is near impossible.
In the meantime, however, we can signal – as happened through these first criminal charges – that we know speech has consequences.

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* This article first appeared in The East African.
* L. Muthoni Wanyeki is executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

ICJ to observe the trial of Farai Maguwu in Zimbabwe

International Commission of Jurists

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/advocacy/65424

The ICJ notes that Zimbabwe is a signatory to various international human rights standards that guarantee the right of human rights defenders to do their work in an environment free from threats, attacks and acts of intimidation. Zimbabwe has also guaranteed the right to a fair trial in a number of international instruments that it has signed and ratified including in its own constitution. It is against this backdrop that the ICJ is concerned at reports that Farai Maguwu has been denied unimpeded access to his lawyers, family and his doctors. The ICJ therefore urges the authorities to ensure that Farai Maguwu is accorded all his constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights as this matter is resolved.

“The bail application of Farai Maguwu is significant as he is a leading human rights defender who works in a dangerous but extremely important area of diamond extraction and sell. If governed and managed in full compliance with the requirements of the rule of law, the diamond industry is key to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery and will contribute significantly to Zimbabwe complying with its obligations to allow for Zimbabweans to realize their socio-economic rights and to once again live in dignity and harmony” said Martin Masiga the senior legal adviser at the ICJ Africa Programme.

“David Cote’s experience will therefore be invaluable in assisting the ICJ to come to a conclusion on the fairness or otherwise of the judicial proceedings against Mr. Farai Maguwu” added Martin Masiga.

For further information, please contact at the ICJ: +27 733 880 721 or Martin O. Masiga, Senior Legal Officer of the Africa Programme ICJ

'Championing common humanity and African education'

Review of 'Africa's Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere'

Amir Demeke

2010-06-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/65414

SANKOFA SELECTIONS: REVIEWING NYERERE IN YEAR OF ELECTIONS

For Africans at home and abroad who concern ourselves with Africa’s liberation, it becomes increasingly important to anchor our steps in the reality of our environment and to benchmark our progress to the giant leaps forward obtained by our elders. For those reasons, I recommend a book for review and reflection that uplifts the legacy of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, a servant-leader who helped to usher into existence the independence of Tanzania.

'Africa’s Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere' is an important contribution to the library of books bearing his name. During these times when in the continent, and notably in the diaspora, African leaders have been lauded institutionally for ‘promoting peace’ internationally without championing justice locally, interviews with Nyerere spring from the past to redirect attention to the truth: 'Injustice and peace are in the long-run incompatible.' In reading on Nyerere, one finds oneself captivated by a man who appreciated the urgent need for wealth redistribution to the poor and sought to steer national and intercontinental political will toward serving that aim. At the same time, the book offers critical and honest reminders to view his political career and controversial decisions made along the way as a sincere journey of a people-centred leader from humble beginnings.

As a practicing pan-African socialist, Julius Nyerere will forever be respected for his stance against neoliberal economic oppression, his works in the area of African liberation and the uplift of African culture and language, and notably, by many in the Arab nations for his support of Palestinian struggle for self-determination. Those who remember the anti-apartheid movement, hail Mwalimu’s contributions to the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) Liberation Committee and Pan-African Freedom Movement of East, Central and Southern Africa (PAFMECSA), the solidarity he extended to facilitate the establishment of Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College (SOMAFCO), and his outspokenness in highlighting American and British support of the apartheid government on different occasions.

The well-spoken Nyerere of the 1970s screams for a development framework rooted in empowering people to determine their future through skills acquisition and job creation. 'Africa’s Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere' captures the Mwalimu who was vocal about the need for a paradigm shift away from charity into investment in Africa, as well as African unity as a goal of highest priority for a sustainably prosperous future. It highlights his efforts to preserve and promote religious tolerance and to expedite an African cultural renaissance, but also offers balanced commentary from Helen Kijo-Bisimba and Chris Maina Peter on Mwalimu when considering the provision and protection of human rights in times when he perceived them to oppose the long-term aims of African independence and unity.

The Mwalimu of the 1990s was one who, as Horace Campbell aptly noted, 'raised his voice loudly against the genocide in Burundi, Rwanda and the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo' and served in his time as an African peacemaker. As a leader who voluntarily stepped down from the towers of executive office, Nyerere set the powerful precedent that African leadership must include succession planning. If only his words and works could rekindle within the minds of the demagogues the principles that guided them in their rise in power, I humbly request that one copy of this Pambazuka Press publication be sent to every head of state within the OAU.

The questions are simple that come after a night with Nyerere on the mind. Where is the Mwalimu of today to speak confidently and consistently call into question continued militarisation in Africa (e.g., through US Africa Command (AFRICOM))? Which African leaders are willing to host liberation movements and marquee individuals of nations within their borders while fighting for their own nation’s emancipation from poverty? Which leader today is championing common humanity and African education that incorporates traditional knowledge systems? How can African leaders of today more effectively collaborate with and leverage the capacity from other nations within the global South? Essentially, the book brings thoughts that may contribute to the growth of our next generation of leaders and could also serve in the development of pan-African curricula in the diaspora.

If you are a new student of African affairs, 'Africa’s Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere' is a worthy read from which one can draw insight in taking our people further, faster. If you are an African fighting for the real liberation of your community in Laayoune, Mogadishu, Chisimayu, Harare, Darfur or Cape Town, be encouraged to continue without hesitation toward the freedom which is your inalienable human right. Mwalimu said: 'The right of a man to stand upright as a human being in his own country comes before questions of the kind of society he will create once he has that right. Freedom is the only thing that matters until it is won.'

On the continent, you can get a copy of 'Africa’s Liberation' from Diaspora Books in Freetown, Editions Le Printemps in Vacaos, EPP Books in Accra, Shama Plc in Addis Ababa, The Nile Bookshop in Khartoum, Storymoja in Nairobi, Librarie Ikirezi in Kigali, Soma Book Centre in Dar es Salaam, Botswana Book Centre in Gabarone, Alabaster Books in Lusaka, the Book Café in Harare and Windhoek Book Den in Windhoek. As one of the latest books from Pambazuka Press to hit the stores, the book is likely to leave the shelves quickly, in which case you can order a copy from www.pambazukapress.org.

Disclaimer: In this great year of presidential elections around Africa (in Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somaliland and Togo), we should prepare ourselves by all means necessary to make the right decisions for Africa’s long term.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* 'Africa's Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere' is now available from Pambazuka Press.
* Amir Demeke is a contributing writer and photographer with Great Lakes Communications and Media Center and a Black Power Media ('Nothing more, nothing less') correspondent.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Liverpool’s 2010 Africa Oyé festival: Worth many more encores

Alex Free

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/65416

In its 19th and reportedly best-attended year yet, Liverpool’s 2010 Africa Oyé festival last weekend saw thousands descend upon the city’s Sefton Park to enjoy an eclectic selection of accomplished musicians from across the pan-African world. Completely free and open to all, Oyé boasted two days of exciting acts from countries as varied as Guinea, Cuba and Kenya and brought diverse crowds from across the city and far beyond.

Though visa problems reportedly prevented a couple of bands from participating and an initial period of technical hiccups proved disruptive to the festival’s opening act, the music on offer at Oyé was invariably highly entertaining. Cuba’s feisty To’Mezclao put in energetic sets on both Saturday and Sunday, while Modou Touré (Senegal), Victor Demé (Burkina Faso), Les Espoirs des Coronthie (Guinea) and Boukman Eksperyans (Haiti) also stood out as terrific musicians. In the UK’s biggest Africa-based music festival, the bands combined to thrill listeners with a magnificent mix of sound, language, musical genre, melody and rhythm. While the music of Andrew Tosh, son of reggae legend Peter Tosh, may arguably already be fairly well-known to UK audiences, other Oyé performers are certain to have gained myriad new fans on the strength of some great performances of their respective repertories.

In a city recognised as the home of The Beatles, Liverpool and Everton FC and as a erstwhile commercial hub of the Atlantic slave trade, Oyé’s ability on a packed World Cup weekend to pull in residents of a decidedly football-mad city was testament to its appeal. Boasting great weather not commonly associated with the northwest of England, the event was perhaps helped in no small part by a certain blue-sky cooperation throughout the weekend. As Bob Marley – whose own music was regularly heard during the breaks between bands’ performances – would have put it, ‘the sun is shining … the weather is sweet’.

Aside from the obvious musical attractions, many festival goers were perhaps also keen to wander around Oyé’s crop of different stalls and gazebos hosting a range of traders, not-for-profit organisations and food vans, which together offered diverse cuisine, arts & crafts, complimentary drumming workshops and the opportunity to connect with various activist and charitable causes. Indeed, in pulling in different groups of people united by their enthusiasm for a great pan-African line-up, Oyé also offered a far-from-everyday opportunity for a concentrated mix of festival goers interested in Africa at large to interact and meet-and-greet in an entirely relaxed, informal and non-partisan environment.

Perhaps more subtly, Oyé also stands out owing to its noticeable absence of the corporate sponsorship which can come to dominate other festivals. Being completely free to attendees, the event is generously and wisely supported by funding from Liverpool City Council and Arts Council England. In a looming climate of potentially brutal public spending cuts as the UK’s coalition government faces up to a formidable budget deficit, Africa Oyé deserves to be applauded loudly for its ability to showcase great musicians, bring Liverpool’s different communities together and provide a unique cultural hub for pan-African music in the UK.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Alex Free is assistant editor of Pambazuka News and Pambazuka Press's publications officer.
* Along with a great range of books, Liverpool's News from Nowhere stocks CDs of each of the performers at Oyé for those in and around the city.
* Thanks to all at Oyé who visited the Pambazuka Press stall. We look forward to seeing you all next year!
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Facts versus freedom of speech

A response to ‘The politics of denialism: The strange case of Rwanda’

Chizzy Mswahili

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/65428

I want to thank you for your article/essay ‘Review essay of a new book denying the Rwandan genocide on the genocide deniers in Northern America and Europe.

It saddens me that the world tends to listen to them more than the facts on the ground... they tend to protect the interahamwe militia and exterimist HUTU power by stating it’s all American... I would like them to explain what is happening in the Eastern DRC.. in the KIVUs where the HUTU extremists continue to kill and rape Tutsi... would that be the Americans as well... ironic enough the same people that committed the crimes in Rwanda in 1994 continued their crusade in the Congo (DRC).

I work with Congolese refugees and their testimonies are so consistent that when one reads the rubbish that these deniers publish, it goes to question the right of freedom of speech... I strongly believe that my rights end when they deny another individual of their own right. Freedom of speech is good but to write something that is baseless and has no proof is heartening.

All I know is the blood spilled in 1994 will continue to haunt us for generations...

Thank you.

Researching microinsurance for African migrants

Christiane Ströh de Martínez

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/65427

I am writing you as I am doing some research on formal insurance coverage of death for migrants and their families. Generally, the literature and programmes focus on the remittances receiver. In my research, I understand the migrant and his/her family as a transnational unit and I am looking for formal life and funeral insurance offered to the migrant, either to insure his/her death or the death of family members.

If you know about such kind of insurance or other insurance that is targeted at migrants or institutions providing such insurances, I would be very, very happy to know about it.

If this specific question is not related to your work, I would also very happy to get in contact with somebody with such a specialisation.

I am a fighter

Jwani Mwaikusa

2010-06-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/African_Writers/65413

I was once a fighter,
A fighter of great prowess,
A fighter of great calibre.
"I am a fighter!" I shouted,
And before I had realised it,
I had won the fight.

My opponents gave way
And surrendered with fear
"You have won," they said,
And grim faced, they left.
Without another glance at me, they saw the fighter,
Carried shoulder high by cheering supporters.

"I am a fighter!" I shouted
But there was nobody to fight,
So I had to relax.

But how can a fighter relax
Except by fighting?
How can a killer repose
Except by killing?
How can a dancer recreate
Except by dancing?
I had to relax too,
I had to repose,
I had to recreate.

"I am a fighter!" I shouted
But my enemies were no longer there,
They had long joined the mocking audience
Looking at me with nobody to fight.

So
I turned grimly to my supporters
Holding me high in worship:
"I am a fighter!" I declared to them.
_
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* Jwani Mwaikusa (1980: 63-64), 'Summons: Poems from Tanzania', TPH.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Fahamu and Syracuse University host Africa and China Conference

Michael Otieno and Hayley Herman

2010-06-24

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/africa_china/65425

The Africa Initiative of Syracuse University and Fahamu recently co-hosted an international conference to assess and deliberate on the nature and future of the pre-eminent phase of Sino-African relations. The conference, held from 8th–10th April 2010 on the main campus of Syracuse University in New York, brought together progressive intellectuals, scholar-activists, diplomats and civil society representatives. In his keynote and opening address, H.E. Ambassador Tete Antonio, permanent representative of the African Union (AU) to the United Nations, noted that the meeting was important not only because it provided a much-needed space to further this important debate on the emerging role of China in global politics and international development, but more importantly that the conference at Syracuse aimed to proceed from a perspective that sought to strengthen and better the relationship for the benefit of African and Chinese peoples. Noting the historical friendship between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and African nations through the decades, the African Union representative concurred with his Chinese counterpart Counsellor Du Xiaocong, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations, who traced the friendship to a much earlier time that went beyond 1971 when African nations voted overwhelmingly to allow for the admission of China into the United Nations.

The meeting brought together young and established scholars from Africa, North America and China, and underlined the increasing need for a sustained debate focused on how Africa-China relations can be harnessed for the good of the African peoples in ways that break away from underlying assumptions based on the traditional colonial debate that has focused on models of exploitation that have characterised the continent’s relationship with traditional powers, donors and their institutions. Subsequently, the meeting notably sought to transcend the emerging Sino-phobic scholarship and analyses that have conceptualised Africa-China relations only through the limited lens of exploitation, new imperialism and anti-democratic practices. The conference consciously chose optimism and constructive critique over fear and trepidation that dominate the debate and conversation about Chinese engagement with African peoples. This awareness aside, the conference sought to avoid falling into the traps of intellectual astigmatism associated with constant citation of the West’s dark legacy in Africa as sufficient justification for granting African governments the freedom to explore relationships with other actors and corporates that could equally not be conducive to the progressive development of African people. Subsequently, through their presentations, the participants’ critiques sought to provide an impetus and intellectual basis for a better relationship between China and Africa.

Subsequently, during the three days, participants took part in a rigorous intellectual exercise that covered topics ranging from the role and place of the African Union; a comparative look at labour conditions and rights of African workers both in Africa and China; and an analyses of China’s win-win strategy through the lens of actual Resources-for-Infrastructure (R4I) contracts involving the extractive industries in select African countries.

The conference deliberations were guided by, among others, the following concerns and questions:

1. How can we ensure and evaluate the tenets of ‘sincerity, political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and common development… ’ are realised as encapsulated in Beijing’s official policy on development cooperation especially in the context of the past five years of Africa-China cooperation?

2. What kind of scholarly output can break the old realist understanding of the new South-South relationship?

3. How can this cooperation be harnessed while at the same time be weaned off potential negative trends and legacies associated with Africa’s traditional development partners?

4. How can Africa and African institutions position themselves for a fruitful engagement with China and Chinese institutions?

5. To what extent can African peoples, workers, civil society organisations and institutions play a role in the development and respect of Chinese works rights through the Chinese workers’ proven use of protest towards treatment on projects implemented in Africa? In addition, attention was drawn to how Africa could, and has already managed to effect the implementation of Chinese foreign policy.

6. To what extent is there a ‘Chinese model’? And what is its potential impact on the democratic, economic and social transformation of Africa?

The level of preparedness and technical capability of African countries and their delegations to safeguard national interests during important international negotiations came into sharp focus during the conference. It was noted for instance that most African countries have yet to concretise their rules of engagement with China and Chinese companies. Similarly, Africa has remained largely reactive in response to proposals and initiatives developed by its partners who continue to set the priority for exchange, development and transformation. As such, there is an urgent need for African governments and the African Union to invest in research and skills training so as to better advance the strategic interests of African peoples in this relationship.

Participants learnt of Chinese engagement and contribution to peace and security in Africa as well as its cultural penetration through Confucius institutes in Africa, two areas that are not as prominent in public discourse on Sino-African relations as the economic, resource and political aspects. On the cultural front, it was noted that while China was establishing Confucius institutes in Africa, there was no similar trend of African cultural and philosophical institutions in China, as yet, to balance out the cultural exchange aspect of Sino-African relations. And because culture is transmitted principally through people-to-people exchanges and interactions, there has to be a better examination of the cultural context of the Africa-China relationship.

In his remarks, Ambassador Adonia Ayebare, Africa Program director at the International Peace Institute in New York, similarly spoke of the pivotal role played by China in resolving crises in Burundi, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Horn of Africa and suggested that China is contributing to peace in Africa through multilateralism and a new form of diplomacy that balances the stated commitment of political non-interference with a continuous behind-the-scenes engagement with regional organisations and specific African governments. This new strategy of conflict prevention adopted by the African Union ensures that resources, both diplomatic and financial, are invested in preventive diplomacy rather than reactive mechanisms like peace keeping.

It was noted that China may be taking lessons on how to deal with Africa from sources that may be less committed to Africa’s transformation and more to their strategic interests. As such, the meeting strongly felt that China should respectfully conduct dialogue with Africans rather than through the mushrooming of trilateral fora including the USA, China and Africa, and the EU, China and Africa. However, according to China, the requests for these dialogues have always originated from the EU and USA respectively.

Finally, there was a clear call to strengthen partnerships and collaborative work between scholars and research and political institutions, as well as progressive civil society organisations in Africa and China to support and complement the work done at the governmental level.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Michael Otieno is based with the Africa Initiative of Syracuse University, New York. Hayley Herman is programme officer at Fahamu’s Emerging Powers in Africa programme based in South Africa.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Pambazuka News 151: Les malentendus autour du «Mondial africain»

2010-06-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/summaryfr/65412

Doubts over Zimbabwe diamonds

2010-06-25

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51945

Three days of tense deliberations by members of the Kimberley Process have failed to reach consensus on whether diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange fields should be certified as conflict-free. Zimbabwe has already announced that it intends to resume exports of the precious stones immediately.

MDC activists abducted in Marondera during outreach exercise

2010-06-25

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news250610/mdcactivists250610.htm

Public hearings for a new constitution continue to be blighted by the endless persecution of people taking part, or those known to be aligned to the MDC. There were reports that 3 MDC activists were abducted by state security agents in Chief Svosve’s area in Mashonaland East province. Eye witnesses say Rodreck Shamu, Temba Masimara and another person identified only as Makunyadze, were abducted by a group of armed men driving a white double-cab CAM truck. Worryingly for the MDC the whereabouts of the activists remains unknown. The party says the three were targeted because they had been instrumental in mobilising MDC supporters in the area to participate in the outreach meeting

Soldiers sent to enforce ZANU PF views in outreach programme

2010-06-25

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news250610/joc250610.htm

The Joint Operations Command (JOC), a state security organization only accountable to Robert Mugabe, is spearheading ZANU PF’s campaign to foist the Kariba draft on the people of Zimbabwe. Since the constitutional outreach programme started on Monday SW Radio Africa has been inundated with reports of soldiers roaming towns and districts intimidating people to toe the ZANU PF line.

Africa: Annual Conference on Women in Political Leadership in Africa

Communiqué

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/wgender/65456

Participants at the Annual Conference on African Women in Politics held on the 7th – 9th June 2010, organized by the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)have called on governments to, among other things, strengthen legal and policy frameworks in their countries by aligning them with international and regional principles and standards of democracy in particular those supporting equal participation and representation of men and women in political leadership.
Communiqué from the Annual Conference on Women in Political Leadership in Africa

We, the participants gathered in Lusaka, Zambia on the occasion of the Annual Conference on African Women in Politics held on the 7th – 9th June 2010, organized by the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) in collaboration with the Zambia Association for Research and Development (ZARD), the Zambia Non – Governmental Coordinating Council (NGOCC) and the Zambia National Women’s Lobby;
Having come together in the spirit of sisterhood and guided by our common agenda of promoting respect, protection and fulfilment of women’s rights and women’s empowerment as essential elements for the achievement of sustainable development in Africa;
Recognizing that the leaders of our countries represented at the Conference namely Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Zambia and South Africa have at the international, regional and national levels made various commitments to promote women’s rights and in particular the right to equal participation and representation of men and women in leadership and decision making at all levels;
And taking cognisance of the fact that by making these commitments through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the Covenant for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and by endorsing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) of 1995 and the 2000 Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the state parties have the primary responsibility to ensure the fulfilment of all the rights entrenched therein;
Appreciating that the African Union as the main standard setting organ on the Continent has in the last 10 years taken leadership through its supreme body the Africa Union Heads of states and government Summit to adopt two key human rights instruments namely the Protocol to the Africa Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, 2003 (the Protocol on Women’s Rights) and the Africa Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, 2007 (Democracy Charter) that require member states once they become party thereto to take measures and actions to promote the achievement of gender parity in leadership and decision making at all levels;
Further Acknowledging with appreciation that many African countries have taken a number of commendable steps, measures and actions at the national and local levels to implement some of these commitments that have led to increased numbers of women in national parliaments and local government councils and several occupying key political leadership position;
Concerned that half of the countries represented at the Annual Conference have not ratified the Protocol on Women’s Rights which specifically requires state parties in Article 2 (d) to combat all forms of discrimination against women that hinder or obstruct their full and equal participation by taking corrective and positive actions in those areas where discrimination against women in law and in fact continues to exist;
Noting with concern that despite of the measures and actions taken to promote gender equality and women empowerment none of the countries represented at the Annual Conference has achieved gender parity in decision making structures and the key democratic institutions like parliaments at national and sub- regional levels and neither at the local government or administrative levels;
Greatly Concerned that the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance which sets out standards for the promotion, nurturing, strengthening and consolidation of democracy and good governance in Africa has not come into force more three years since its adoption in January 2007 and more importantly noting that if the Democracy Charter was to be fully enforced by all African countries it will greatly contribute to achieving the objectives and principles of the Constitutive Act of the African Union particularly Articles 3 and 4 which emphasize the significance of good governance, popular and equal participation, the rule of law and human rights;
Determined to promote and strengthen women’s participation in building strong democratic societies in Africa as one of the strategies for reducing wars, civil conflicts and insecurity in Africa;
Convinced of the need to entrench a culture of democracy as a way of life across Africa;
Reaffirming our commitment to work together with African leaders and governments, women in politics, and our partners operating at different levels, to promote the Africa Union standard of gender parity in leadership and decision making structures as an indicator of good governance and sustainable development in Africa;
Urge key actors mentioned below to urgently take the following measures and action:
African Governments
1. Strengthen legal and policy frameworks in their countries by aligning them with international and regional principles and standards of democracy in particular those supporting equal participation and representation of men and women in political leadership.
2. Aim to achieve universal ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa and its full implementation by the year 2015 as part of the framework for the achievement of the goals of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the global agenda for development articulated in the Millennium Development Goals;
3. Ratify the Africa Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance as a clear demonstration of their political commitment to achieve universal values and principles of democracy, good governance, human rights and the right to development;
4. Ensure that the political environment at local, national, sub- regional and continental levels is conducive for both men and women’s participation in the democratic processes of their countries by promoting a culture of peace and democracy, and securing a level playing field that is free from any form of discrimination, threats and intimidation;
5. Take preventative measures to protect all citizens, most especially women active in mainstream politics from all forms of violence, sexual harassment and intimidation;
6. Apprehend, adjudicate and subject all perpetrators of political related violence to appropriate punishment according to the law including those engaged in violence instigated by state security agents against political opponents;
7. Take corrective measures and affirmative actions to address the gaps and obstacles that hinder women’s equal and full participation in political leadership and decision making focusing attention to the need to overcome social norms, prejudices and practices that negatively portray women in political leadership.
8. Ensure that electoral laws in place make it an obligation for political parties to adhere to the gender parity principle in appointing or electing representatives to the governance bodies and choosing party candidates at different levels, development or review of their party constitution and manifesto, and the equal involvement of members in the party affairs;
9. Promote the use of ICTs to ensure citizens’ access to critical information on the democratization processes in order to facilitate citizens’ involvement and participation giving attention to information needed by different categories of women, the youth and special interest groups.
10. Condemn the killings of innocent civilians, the atrocities and human rights violations in the Darfur Region in Sudan affecting large numbers of innocent women and children and fully support the implementation of the Africa Union decisions made on Darfur particularly the recommendations made by the High Level Panel on Darfur and the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) adopted on the 29th of October 2009 at its 207th Meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria. The AUPSC decisions specifically focus on the urgent need to restore peace, justice, security and reconciliation among the people of Darfur and Sudan as a whole and the need to ensure that the peace process remains peaceful, inclusive and expeditious.
11. Support the implementation of the Plan of Action submitted by the Chairperson of the AUC to the HOSG Summit in January 2010 in order to achieve the goals of the 2010 Year of Peace, Security and Stability in Africa including building the momentum for achieving concrete results on the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia.
12. Continue to put pressure on the government of Zimbabwe to fully implement the Global Partnership Agreement, avoid the use of excessive force and abuse of human rights when dealing with political opponents and above all respect the rights of women and children and punish all those in its ranks that abuse women’s and children’s rights with impunity;
Governments in the SADC and East African Community
13. Take all measures to achieve the universal ratification of the SADC Gender Protocol by the launch of the Africa Women’s Decade which is scheduled to take place in October 2010.
14. Ensure that the countries in the East African Community that have not ratified the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa rise up to the occasion to accede to this Protocol and embark on its domestication and full implementation for the benefit of all the people within the Community.
Political Party leaders
15. Make amendments to the Party Constitution to incorporate the democratic values and principles particularly those that support equal representation and participation of men and women in the affairs of the party.
16. Ensure that women leaders within the Political party have equal access to the resources of the party.
Women in Politics
17. Recognize the progress made in the last ten years in changing the landscape of leadership in Africa and learn from what has worked for women to deliver on the common agenda of promoting peace, equality and development;
18. Build and strengthen networks within countries and across borders through which peer support and solidarity, learning and experience sharing and access to the much needed resources (including information, material and financial resources) can be enhanced;
19. Speak out strongly against any form of violence in the public or private and that which is instigated by state that is directed to any woman in politics irrespective of her party affiliation.
20. Join hands with African women’s rights activists to celebrate the successes of courageous African women politicians that are currently occupying or held in the past high ranking political positions and effectively used their presence and power to strategically promote the women’s rights agenda of transforming society by dismantling patriarchy, its cultures and practices and all forms of oppression and discrimination against women;
21. Enhance skills and knowledge on the strategic use of the media and ICTs for organizing successful campaigns, maintaining linkage with the people and the issues affecting the constituency, organizing on common issues of interest and concern to women irrespective of party affiliation, and engaging with civil society actors to secure their support and technical input on issues where they have demonstrated expertise and experience.
22. Reach out and encourage young gender – sensitive women with leadership qualities and potential to join political parties and be active in shaping the policies, manifestoes, and practices of the political parties.
23. Recognize the role of civil society and the women’s rights movement in mobilizing women as a constituency to support and propel the 50/50 campaign and take steps to create or strengthen strategic linkages and partnerships with the key actors, networks and organizations;
24. Explore and take advantage of insurance schemes and other social security arrangements available to create personal safety nets as a strategy for minimizing the risk of women taking part in mainstream politics;
Sub – regional and Regional Organizations
25. Profile women in high ranking positions including among others the first female president H.E Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf of Liberia; the former vice president of Uganda Specioza Naigaga Wandira Kazibwe; the Vice president of Zimbabwe Joyce Teuri Ropa,Mujuru; the two former vice presidents of South Africa, Pumzile Mlambo Ncquka and Bleka Mmakota Mbete; the vice president of the Gambia, Isatou Njie-Saidy; and the Vice president of Malawi, Joyce Hilda Banda.
26. Facilitate and remain engaged with the process of establishing an Africa Women’s Fund whose main function will be to provide financial and technical support to women in politics particularly those vying for the presidency to organize their election campaigns, rally the support of women as a strategic constituency for their leadership and develop and build strategic partnerships;
Africa Union Commission
27. Put more pressure on member states to ratify the Protocol on Women’s Rights in order to achieve Universal ratification by the Women’s Day celebration in 2013 as a milestone to mark the end of the first three years of the Africa Women’s Decade (2010 – 2020).
28. Call upon all countries that have or have had elections at any level or a referendum in 2010 which have not ratified the Africa Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance to take all necessary steps to complete the ratification process so that the Africa Democracy Charter comes into force in 2010, the Africa Year of Peace, Security and Stability;
29. In addition to suspension issue sanctions against any country in the Africa Union that illegally changes its political leaders and government and where human rights violations occur as a result of the chaos the AUC should undertake thorough investigations and all members states put pressure on the concerned leaders and government to restore democracy, the rule of law and punish perpetrators of such violence.
30. Accelerate the process of establishing the Africa Court of Justice and Human Rights, streamlining its functions, jurisdiction and engaging its staff team in addition to the Court Judges so that it is operational by the end of 2010 and in position to adjudicate cases where governments fail to make those accountable for human rights violations during elections, referenda and other democratic processes in their countries.
Partners, the private sector and friends of women in Africa
31. Support the efforts of Regional women’s organizations and national initiatives to establish a Special fund for African women aspiring to be candidates in public offices – presidential and parliamentary - to ensure that we deliberately address the resource limitations that female candidates face.

32. Create mechanisms through which younger and upcoming female politicians can benefit from leadership training and mentorship available through government and party training programmes and those provided by regional and national civil society organizations in Africa involved in women’s leadership development;

Africa: m-Health and e-Health must feature in this AU summit

2010-06-25

http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/view/547/1/

With the theme “Maternal infant and child health and the development of Africa” the forth coming 15th Afican Union (AU) summit scheduled for 25th to 27th July in Kampala Uganda is meant to find solutions to reduce on the high maternal deaths in Africa. Uganda has been chosen as the host for the 15th African Union summit because of her effort and contribution towards the fight for peace and stability on the continent. Uganda sent troops to Somalia to contribute to the peace in that region and she a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

DRC: Belgians accused of war crimes in killing of leader Lumumba

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/9yPOWt

A son of Congo's first democratically-elected leader, Patrice Lumumba, is to seek the prosecution for war crimes of 12 Belgian officials suspected of aiding his father's assassination in 1961. Lawyers for Francois Lumumba said on Tuesday that they planned to file the complaint at a Brussels court in October – a week before the Democratic Republic of Congo celebrates 50 years of independence from its former colonial master, Belgium.

East Africa: Kenya opens fast-track piracy court in Mombasa

2010-06-25

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10401413.stm

A court to mainly try suspected pirates has opened in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, funded by international donors. Pirates based in neighbouring Somalia have made the Gulf of Aden one of the world's most dangerous shipping lanes.

East Africa: Uganda reburies Lake Victoria's Rwanda genocide victims

2010-06-25

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10417150.stm

The last of three ceremonies to rebury victims of Rwanda's 1994 genocide who were washed up on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda has taken place. Nearly 11,000 bodies thrown into rivers in Rwanda were recovered from the lake and buried by Ugandan villagers. Their bodies have now all been exhumed from different places and buried at three special memorial sites.

Egypt: ElBaradei leads big anti-torture protest

2010-06-25

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE65O1E8.htm

Potential Egyptian presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei led thousands of people on Friday in an anti-torture protest that analysts said was significant for joining disparate groups in a common cause. Around 4,000 people, representing varied political views, and many ordinary citizens greeted ElBaradei, 68, the former nuclear inspector, as he visited the port city of Alexandria to offer condolences to the family of Khaled Mohammed Said, an Egyptian who rights groups say was beaten to death by police.

Kenya: Inmates win right to vote

2010-06-25

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10395633.stm

A court in Kenya has ruled that prisoners will be allowed to vote in a referendum on a new constitution. It is the first time that prisoners in the East Africa nation have been given the right to vote. The ruling applies only to voting in August's referendum, but correspondents say it may lead to further concessions for future elections.

Namibia: Zambian president Banda must speak about disappearances

2010-06-25

http://www.nshr.org.na/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=1355

Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) calls upon visiting Zambian President Rupiah Bwezani Banda to help establish the fate or whereabouts of several Namibian freedom fighters who had disappeared without a trace to date on Zambian soil between 1976 and 1978. The Zambian security forces, presumably acting on the instructions of then SWAPO President Sam Nujoma, rounded them up after they were accused of being “radicals” and or “rebels”.

Nigeria: Government urged not to resume executions

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/9S8m32

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Nigerian Bar Association Human Rights Institute and other Nigerian human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are deeply concerned by reports of a decision by the Nigerian government to resume the execution of prison inmates. The reason given by the authorities for the resumption is to ease prison congestion.

Rwanda: Government denies trying to kill exiled general as six are held

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/d9PxkK

South African police were investigating a possible conspiracy yesterday after making six arrests in connection with the attempted assassination of an exiled former Rwandan army chief of staff. Lt-General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, a dissident Rwandan military commander who fled the country earlier this year, is recovering in a Johannesburg hospital after an attempt on his life that his wife has blamed on the president of Rwanda. The authorities in Kigali have denied any knowledge of a plot to kill General Nyamwasa.

Africa: hundreds of refugees held at Sinai police stations

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/65459

Four hundred sixty-five refugees from different nationalities are detained in various police stations at Sinai. Within the framework of the EFRR’s follow up on the cases of detained refugees in Sinai police stations, a committee was formed by the foundation. The committee is made of 4 lawyers who have visited north Sinai governor.
Four hundred sixty-five refugees from different nationalities are detained in various police stations at Sinai. Within the framework of the EFRR’s follow up on the cases of detained refugees in Sinai police stations, a committee was formed by the foundation. The committee is made of 4 lawyers who have visited north Sinai governor.
The committee had been informed of the presence of more than 465 asylum seeker in the following police stations in North Sinai:
1. Arish first police station which has 44 female asylum seekers and 4 minors, and in addition to a baby that was born inside the detention center and whose mother was deported to her country.
2. Arish third district police station in Arish
3. Arish fourth district police station in Arish
4. Romana police station
5. Be’r El ‘Abd police station
6. El Sheikh Zweyed police station
7. Rafah police station
8. El Hassana police station
9. Nakhel police station hosting 143 asylum seeker who are detained inside the station.
The asylum seekers detained are from different nationalities. However but the committee was informed that most of them are from Eritrea among which some were sentenced for one year for one year but the punishment has been Suspended. They were accused of attempting to escape to Israel. The committee was also informed that these asylum seekers are waiting for deportation decision from the Egyptian Authority. Moreover, the Egyptian authority started to contact the Embassy of those asylum seekers in order to get Airline Tickets to deport them to their countries of origin. Due to the slow responses from the embassies part, their (refugees) detention at these police stations is critical and of a huge concern. The situation of the detainees is severely deteriorating due to the spread of diseases between them especially skin diseases.
Nevertheless, the committee was also informed that these detainees has been assisted and treated humanely by the police stations within the constraints of the available resources. Other in kind assistance has also been provided to the detainees by other institutions.

For more information please contact EFRR via this mobile numbers: (0198895588 - 0198895589 )

Africa: In Eritrea, the young dream of leaving

2010-06-25

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/world/africa/20eritrea.html?src=me

Long before he learned to dunk on warped wooden backboards, Awet Eyob nursed a dream: to play basketball in America. He is 6-foot-8, built like an oak tree, and seems to have mastered a behind-the-back dribble and crisp passes from the corner of his eye. But one big problem stood between him and his dream: his homeland, Eritrea, an isolated, secretive nation in the Horn of Africa that is refusing to let its young people leave.

Global: UNHCR launches field handbook for protection of IDPs

2010-06-25

http://www.unhcr.org/4c2357b76.html

UNHCR and other leading agencies in the protection of internally displaced people (IDP) have launched a new handbook that will help field workers to more effectively protect the rights of IDPs around the world. The ground-breaking "Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons" was presented at a ceremony in Geneva organized by the Global Protection Cluster, an inter-agency working group.

Mauritania: Sahrawi refugee to court: "I'm not a slave"

2010-06-25

http://www.afrol.com/articles/36352

Sahrawi refugee Fetim Salam Hamdi has been portrayed as a slave in a poorly translated documentary film. But Ms Hamdi insists she is a free woman and now goes to court to stop the film's screening. The Australian documentary film "Stolen", shot in the Algeria-based refugee camps housing over 100,000 Sahrawi refugees last year, portrays the Ms Hamdi as a slave.

Uganda: A Dangerous Impasse: Rwandan Refugees in Uganda

Paper launch

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/65443

The International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) and the Refugee Law Project have the pleasure in announcing the launch of a paper on the current situation of Rwandan refugees in Uganda entitled "A Dangerous Impasse: Rwandan Refugees in Uganda". The launch will be held on Monday 28th June 2010 at Hotel Africana starting at 3pm - 5pm.
The International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) and the Refugee Law Project have the pleasure in inviting you to the launch of a paper on the current situation of Rwandan refugees in Uganda entitled "A Dangerous Impasse: Rwandan Refugees in Uganda".

The launch will be held on Monday 28th June 2010 at Hotel Africana starting at 3pm - 5pm.

The paper examines why refugees living in Uganda's Nakivale settlement are refusing to return to Rwanda despite considerable push factors. Based on 102 interviews with Rwandan refugees, UN and government officials, the findings make it clear that there are legitimate reasons for the refugees' stance. To the extent that refugee groups can act as a barometer of the situation at home, the findings are a serious indictment of the current Rwandan government.

Refugees view the government as repressive, and dissent in many aspects of life is not tolerated. Those who question the regime are subjected to human rights violations that include discrimination in employment, imprisonment and forced disappearance. As a result, refugees are not only reluctant to return home, they are afraid.

Specifically, the horrific events of the 1994 genocide are being used by the government of Rwanda as a smokescreen for political repression, particularly through the association of Hutu identity with the genocide. Ongoing abuses of justice - particularly in relationship to grassroots gacaca courts - are continuing to feed ethnic divisions, compromising people's ability to live without fear and to reclaim or retain their land and other property. Far from burying the ethnic hatchet, the findings suggest that human rights abuses are taking place under the government of Rwanda's watch in the name of ethnic difference. Rather than addressing this root cause of violence, therefore, current attitudes and approaches promoted by the government and epitomised in the collective assumption of guilt attributed to Hutus, are only exacerbating the situation.

The findings also show that although repression is seen in ethnicised terms, the real issue is the fact that there is little space for any political opposition within Rwanda regardless of ethnicity. As a result, while the genocide and its immediate aftermath might have been the original cause of flight for many, ongoing political repression in Rwanda is not only preventing refugees from returning, but is generating new refugees. In fact, almost a quarter of all those interviewed had arrived in Uganda since 2001.
This version of the current realities of life in Rwanda, as seen through the eyes of a group of refugees who have suffered acutely as a result, suggests a different image from the one the government has presented to the outside world, and indicates that extreme caution needs to be taken with respect to the promotion of voluntary repatriation.

The official policy response has been to deny Rwandan refugees access to land and impose deadlines for return. This policy lacks recognition of the genuine protection concerns that many Rwandan refugees express and is jeopardising their safety. As a result, unwilling to return to Rwanda, tens of thousands of refugees continue to wait in suspense, either to be forcibly repatriated or to disappear and pretend to be Ugandan or Congolese. They are not only being denied effective national protection, but also most of the rights attached to refugee status. Until the structures and policies that dictate the lives of refugees on both sides of the border accommodate these political realities, their lives will remain profoundly vulnerable.

In light of these findings, the paper makes a number of recommendations to the governments of Uganda and Rwanda, and to UNHCR in order to improve protection for this group of refugees. Ultimately, however, such measures, while critical to the current protection of the refugees, will be palliative until root causes of flight and ongoing displacement have been addressed. In particular, there needs to be a far more honest appraisal of what took place during and after the genocide. Until this happens, the potential for ethnically-aligned violence to be reignited will remain, Rwanda may once again erupt into violence, and refugees will continue to fear return.
Moreover, the knock-on effect of the genocide will continue to be felt throughout the region.

Global: Connecting the dots from Detroit to Dakar

2010-06-25

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=51954

Africa's continued struggle for political and economic independence in many ways mirrors the very own struggles of communities in the U.S. that are now being tabled at the 2010 U.S. Social Forum in Detroit. Africa advocates and progressive foreign policy observers were pitching that message Thursday in introducing the "From Detroit to Dakar 2010" project, even as leaders of the powerful G8/G20 nations geared up for their meeting this weekend in Toronto, Canada next door.

Homeless World Cup selection tournament

Kenya Homeless Street Soccer Association (KHSSA)

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/socialmovements/65442

Kenya Homeless Street Soccer Association (KHSSA) is glad to take this opportunity to invite member organizations to the grand finals of our selection tournament for Kenya national street soccer team to the Homeless World Cup 2010 in Rio, Brazil from 19th -26th of September, 2010 at the Jericho Sports Ground on the 20th June, 2010 from 10am to 2pm.
INVITATION TO RIO-2010 HOMELESS WORLD CUP GRAND
FINALS SELECTION TOURNAMENT (THE ROAD TO BRAZIL)

Kenya Homeless Street Soccer Association (KHSSA) is glad to take this opportunity to invite you and member your organization to the grand finals of our selection tournament for Kenya national street soccer team to the Homeless World Cup 2010 in Rio, Brazil from 19th -26th of September, 2010 at the Jericho Sports Ground on the 20th June, 2010 from 10am to 2pm.

Street soccer is a relatively new sporting phenomenon worldwide. It is a smaller version of the regular football played by four players each side in an 18 meter by 26-meter pitch enclosed by a 1-meter wall. The game is played in two halves of seven minutes each with one minute rest. This makes the game more popular in urban poor neighborhoods since it requires less space, is much cheaper yet it encourages so much social contact. In fact this game is increasingly becoming a forum for addressing social issues more than it is for sporting competition. This is why the central agenda of the Homeless World Cup International (HWCI), a FIFA replica for street soccer, is to promote social integration through sports and to create inventive strategies in fighting homelessness and poverty worldwide. Since 2003, the HWCI has been organizing Homeless World Cups (HWC) annually. The HWC has already been hosted by the Cities of Graz, Austria 2003, Gothenburg, Sweden 2004, Edinburgh, Scotland 2005, Cape Town, South Africa 2006, Copenhagen, Denmark 2007, Melbourne, Australia 2008, Milano, Italy 2009 and the city of Rio, Brazil will host the 2010 world cup while Paris, France will host 2011. We hope Nairobi, Kenya will bid for 2012 and beyond HWC.
Your presence and moral support will be highly appreciated.

Yours,

Mohamed Ahmed Alex Mwangi
President, KHSSA Technical Director, KHSSA

South Africa: Unions will not strike at Eskom yet

2010-06-25

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE65O09L20100625

South African unions representing thousands of workers at power utility Eskom said on Friday they were not planning an imminent strike over wages, allaying fears a labour action could hit the Soccer World Cup. State-owned Eskom and unions failed to resolve a wage dispute after late-night bargaining on Thursday, union officials said. The two sides were not far apart on the size of a wage increase but hit snags mainly on housing allowances, they said.

Emerging players news roundup

Sanusha Naidu

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/emplayersnews/65462

Global: Emerging economies 'to enjoy food production boom'

2010-06-25

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10320149.stm

The emerging economies of Brazil, India, China and Russia will enjoy an agricultural boom over the next decade as production stalls in Western Europe, a report says. Agricultural output in the Bric nations will grow three times as fast as in the major developed countries, the joint United Nations-OECD study said. Livestock and crop prices will stay above long-term averages, it added.

Burundi: UN human rights expert warns of violations ahead of polls

2010-06-25

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35145

As the people of the small African nation of Burundi get set to cast their votes in Monday’s presidential election, an independent United Nations expert today warned of potential violence and human rights violations, citing a number of recent worrisome developments.

Cameroon: The dangers of a fracturing regime

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/bsq6Oj

This latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines Cameroon’s situation after 28 years under President Paul Biya. The ruling party is weakened by intense internal rivalries over control of resources and positioning for the post-Biya period. Having done away with the constitutional limitation on the number of presidential terms, Biya, who is at the same time feared and opposed within his own party, is deliberately maintaining uncertainty over whether he will stand again.

Guinea: Upcoming election significant, challenging

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/b2DWaE

The winner of Guinea's hugely significant upcoming presidential election should urgently focus on rebuilding the rule of law and holding human rights abusers to account, Human Rights Watch has said. The first round of voting is scheduled for June 27, 2010.

Madagascar: A strange 50th Independence Day anniversary

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/cxTYIR

Madagascar 50th Independence Day Anniversary is on June 26th and the festivities are already underway . In spite of a star-studded line-up of international entertainers, the atmosphere is not exactly festive because of the political uncertainty and the economic hardship that has resulted from the 18 month-long crisis

Niger: UN to support electoral process

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/baYCh0

The United Nations is prepared to support Niger to organise free and transparent elections next year, a UN delegation to the country said. Mr. Abderahamane Niang, who has just led a UN mission to Niger to evaluate its electoral needs, met with all the political stakeholders during the visit.

Rwanda: Opposition candidate denied run for office

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/bKrgyD

An ethnic Hutu opposition candidate who hoped to run for president in Rwanda has been denied the right to appear on the ballot because of charges of denying the country’s genocide, party officials said today. Victoire Ingabire returned to Rwanda in January after 16 years, a return she says she made because the country needs an open discussion to promote reconciliation.

Somaliland: Poll fuels recognition hopes

2010-06-25

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89616

As voters in Somaliland prepared to finally cast their ballots in a tight, oft-delayed presidential election on 26 June, there was one outcome for which almost everybody in the territory, regardless of political or clan affiliation, was rooting. Peaceful and well-conducted polls “will lead to international recognition of Somaliland”, said Mohamedrashid Sheikh Hassan, who is running for vice-president on the opposition Justice and Welfare Party (UCID) ticket.

Zimbabwe: PM reshuffles cabinet

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/aACqGT

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has reshuffled cabinet ministers, dropping four and re-assigning several others to new portfolios. The changes affected only ministers from his party, which formed a coalition government with President Robert Mugabe last year to end years of bitter wrangling.

Africa: EU’s ‘divisive’ trade deal comes under fire at SADC conference

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/aM4rEC

Southern African Development Community (SADC) Executive Secretary Tomáz Salomão on Thursday criticised the European Union (EU) for trying to “impose” a preferential free-trade agreement on countries in the region. Last year, the EU signed an interim economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland to facilitate the free movement of goods between the two regions.

Africa: Not spending enough on food

2010-06-25

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89566

"Africa is now facing the same type of long-term food deficit problem that India faced in the early 1960s", says a paper by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a US-based think-tank. In the early 1960s India faced a major food crisis. African countries are not spending enough on agriculture and the overall productivity of the continent has dropped since the mid-1980s, said the paper which looked at trends in public spending on agriculture in Africa.

Africa: Renewable energy key to development

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/akjCMi

Experts in renewable energy have met in Accra, Ghana to discuss how policy-makers can support the harvesting of abundant renewable energy and thus open the door for sustainable African development. The workshop organized by the World Future Council Foundation, in Hamburg, Germany, in cooperation with the Energy Commission of Ghana brought together representatives from utilities, regulators, industry and civil society from ten African countries who are determined to expand their cooperation under the umbrella of the African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA).

Africa: Top economists say African market luring international investors

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/b4HeeS

International business leaders, mostly heads of leading multinational firms, are meeting in Nairobi to discuss new strategies of increasing their business dealings within Africa. The meeting of some 40 senior international and regional business leaders, convened by the Economist Corporate Network's, a division of the leading Economist Magazine, opened this week. The first Africa Business Group meeting in Nairobi focused on changing market dynamics in East Africa.

Ethiopia: UN agency begins procurement scheme to benefit farmers

2010-06-25

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35134

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun a scheme to boost about 70,000 smallholder farmers in Ethiopia by buying the food they produce to use in the agency’s operations in the Horn of Africa country. Through the Purchase for Progress initiative, which is financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, WFP plans to buy an estimated 126,000 tons of food from local farmers over the next five years.

Global: Europe sounds alarm on minerals shortage

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/aesJJz

The European Union is facing shortages of 14 critical raw materials needed for mobile phones and emerging technologies like solar panels and synthetic fuels, according to a study by the European Commission. The commission is ringing the alarm bell on raw materials as China again plans to tighten its control over its rare earth minerals by allowing just a handful of state companies to oversee the mining of the scarce elements that are vital to some of the world’s greenest technologies.

Global: G8 nations meet amid aid shortfall

2010-06-25

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE65O0JD20100625

Rich countries were set to figure out how to catch up on their missed aid promises and find new ways to help the world's poorest nations at a time when their own budgets are squeezed. The Group of Eight (G8) nations meet in Huntsville, Ontario, north of Toronto, short by an estimated $18 billion on a 2005 pledge to raise their combined aid to the poorest countries by at least $50 billion.

Global: KP inter-sessional meeting end without resolution

2010-06-25

http://www.israelidiamond.co.il/English/News.aspx?boneId=1735&objid=7411

The Intersessional Meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP), presided over by Israel as Chair of the KP, concluded on June 24th. On the agenda of the meeting were a number of initiatives relating to the on-going work of the KP and to the consolidation of the process such the creation of an office for administration and support and the establishment of a Working Group on Trade Facilitation. The center of attention, however, was the KP minimum standards implementation in the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe.

Global: MDG advocacy group set up

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/adQIRy

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has set up a high-level Millennium Development Group (MDG) Advocacy Group, comprising 17 current and former political leaders, business people and thinkers from around the world to galvanise support for achieving the goals. Ban named Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero as co-chairs of the group.

West Africa: Gold mining in Mali: Who really profits?

2010-06-25

http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4157

A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper entitled “Mining Taxation: an application to Mali” analyses the structure of the mining taxation system in Mali. It follows the regressive path set forth by the World Bank, consisting of attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) by lowering royalty taxes in the gold mining sector at the expense of lower government revenues collected through these royalties.

Africa: African genomics project launched

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/94QYkV

Ten years after the first draft of the human genome was completed Africa hopes to jump on board the genomics revolution with a partnership announced on 22 June. The US$37 million Human, Heredity and Health in Africa project (H3Africa), sponsored by the US-based National Institutes of Health and UK medical charity The Wellcome Trust, will enable African researchers to conduct genetic population-based studies into non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease over the next five years.

East Africa: Uganda AIDS policy: From exemplary to ineffective

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/b8nRTa

In mid-July AIDS experts from around the world will gather for the 18th international AIDS conference. The focus will be on where AIDS is being defeated and where it is re-emerging. Unfortunately, Uganda will be discussed in the second category.

Global Forum on MSM & HIV launches new policy brief

2010-06-25

http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/mu1CM2d1zr

The MSMGF is pleased to announce the launch of our newest policy brief, HIV Prevention with MSM: Balancing Evidence with Rights-based Principles of Practice. This document details the current context for the development and implementation of HIV prevention efforts targeting MSM, provides an overview of available MSM-specific HIV prevention strategies, and offers a look at recent guidelines from global health institutions.

Global: Human migration maps reveal global flow of malaria

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/9PciRj

The first study to quantify the effects of human migration on malaria incidence on a global scale has been published — and could lead to more effective strategies for eliminating the disease, say scientists. Prompted by evidence that eliminating malaria in a single country is not possible if there is a steady influx of infected people from neighbouring countries, researchers mapped rates of migration and malaria transmission within and between global regions.

Global: World leaders are called upon to take action against AIDS funding crisis

2010-06-25

http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20032845

At the Gleneagles G8 Summit in 2005, the G8 countries committed themselves to providing Africa with $25 billion additional dollars by 2010. Three reports have emerged in the last short time assessing the actual achievements. According to the Muskoka Accountability report, released this week by the G8 itself, the commitment has fallen short by at least $7 billion. The report is so self-serving and opaque that it's frankly impossible to divine the exact figure, but even taking it at its best, it means that the G8 will fall short by almost 30%, says Stephen Lewis.

Kenya: PMTCT means rural families survive another generation

2010-06-25

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51926

When Samuel Mwangi’s one-year-old HIV-positive son died five years ago, he thought the death of his child also meant the death of his family’s legacy. "I wept. And to the bottom of my heart, I knew that that was the end of my generation," said HIV-positive Mwangi. The baby’s death had been a big blow to Mwangi and his partner, Miriam Wanjiru, because their child had been on an ARV treatment program at a health centre. They had hoped he would survive.

Malawi: Measles outbreak kills 82, infects thousands

2010-06-25

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE65O0ID20100625

A measles outbreak in Malawi has killed 82 people, mostly children, and infected more than 17,000 others, a senior health official said. Dr Storn Kabuluzi, director of preventive health services in the department of health, said efforts were being made to vaccinate those most at risk.

South Africa: Controversial plastic clamp used to circumcise men

http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20032844

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/hivaids/65500

KwaZulu-Natal’s health department is using a plastic device in its mass male circumcision drive that speeds up the procedure but has significant side-effects in adult men. Doctors who spoke anonymously to Health-e, expressed concern about the department’s use of the Tara Klamp (TK), a disposable device designed to stay on the penis for around seven days until it falls off with the foreskin.

South Africa: Who's tracking the world's biggest ARV programme?

2010-06-25

http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89624

The world's largest antiretroviral (ARV) programme may be operating in the dark most of the time, according to a long-awaited review of the HIV/AIDS national strategic plan (NSP) released by the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). Some of the news is good. SANAC's preliminary draft shows that since the NSP's inception in 2007, reported condom use has almost doubled, treatment coverage among adults living with HIV has almost tripled, and prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services among HIV-positive pregnant women has reached 76 percent.

Swaziland: Study shows mounting death toll

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/9sEvKE

Swaziland's death rate more than doubled in a decade, proof of the toll of AIDS, statisticians in this southern African kingdom has said. Nombulelo Dlamini of the Central Statistical Office discussed a new study comparing censuses in 1997 and 2007 in an interview on Wednesday. The study shows that in 1997, the death rate was 7.6 people in 1,000. By 2007, it was 18.03 per 1,000 people. Life expectancy over the period decreased from 60 to 43 years.

Global: Education aid – is it value for money?

2010-06-25

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89628

The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) has escaped drastic cuts despite a tough austerity budget, but in a new report the National Audit Office has told the government it should get better value for aid to overseas primary education, and take "a tougher, clearer stance" on costs and performance. Andrew Mitchell, the new development minister, said there would be a spending review.

DRC: Ex-commissioner calls Congo's colonial master a 'visionary hero'

2010-06-25

http://euobserver.com/9/30345/?rk=1

Louis Michel, the Belgian former EU development commissioner and current prominent Liberal MEP has shocked his home nation and its one-time central African subjects by calling King Leopold II, the Congo's colonial master responsible for between 3 million and 10 million deaths, a "visionary hero."

South Africa: United for Africa - Making it last

2010-06-25

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=51919

Perhaps Africa's World Cup began in earnest on Jun. 16, when a despondent green and gold-clad crowd began leaving the Loftus Versfeld stadium even before the end of South Africa's heavy defeat to Uruguay. Migrant African fans felt the first touch of cold post-tournament reality. In their final game on Jun. 22, Bafana Bafana, as the country's national team is known, went on to shine brightly for an hour against a pathetic France, but despite taking a two-goal lead, faded at the finish to make an unwelcome mark in the record books as the first host in the World Cup's 80-year history to fail to make through to the second round.

Africa: Kenya hopes to become carbon trade hub

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/cQ3Pxl

Kenya has announced plans to establish a regional carbon emissions trading scheme to steer Africa's carbon market. This would hopefully position the country as the continent's carbon credit trade hub, finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta said in his budget speech to parliament earlier this month (10 June).

Cote d'Ivoire: New Lab to monitor toxic waste

2010-06-25

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35137&Cr=UNEP&Cr1=

A new laboratory has been set up in the Ivorian port city of Abidjan to improve the monitoring of hazardous materials under a project backed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that aims to prevent a repeat of a notorious incident in which thousands of people were sickened by toxic waste.

Global: One Day on Earth documentary

2010-06-25

http://www.onedayonearth.org/

On October 10th, 2010, thousands of people from every nation around the world will film their perspective and contribute their voice to the largest participatory media event in history. The event will result in a feature documentary and dynamic video archive. Through an open forum of diverse perspectives, our community will reveal the basic human struggles and triumphs that unite us. We anticipate that this new understanding of the shared human condition will foster a greater sense of global empathy and interconnectedness, and ultimately, action towards a more sustainable and equitable planet.

Uganda: Oil finds trigger land grab near fields, say MPs

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/aiZDVJ

The discovery of oil in western Uganda has prompted a land grab around the oil fields, dispossessing impoverished local communities and providing a potential trigger for conflict, members of parliament from the area have said.

Mali: Rising food prices escalate undernutrition amongst children

2010-06-25

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/mali_53811.html

In the far south of Mali, one of the country’s main agricultural areas, the Sikasso region, is rich in fertile soil. But despite the region’s capacity to feed its people, the children of Sikasso are suffering from alarmingly high rates of undernutrition.

Africa: 2nd African Broadcast and Film Conference

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/crSOJF

The 1st African Broadcast and Film Conference attracted over 200 participants from across the continent, There was a real buzz in the air as many people within Africa’s broadcast industry met for the first time. This 2nd African Broadcast and Film Conference will take place over two days (28-29 July 2010) in Kenya at the Kenyatta Centre in Nairobi. Key topics include a session on Africa’s newest generation of Free-to-Air and Pay TV Challengers, a look at how broadcasters can generate local content and a look at multi-platform strategies with social networking and blogs.

Gambia: IPI concerned about journalist's death

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/aTYBlE

The International Press Institute (IPI) has expressed grave concern over the recent death threat against Gambian journalist, Abdoulie John, and called for an immediate and thorough investigation into the matter. "We are gravely concerned about reports of threats against Gambian journalist Ab doulie John," said IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills, adding: "particularly since journalists in Gambia operate under fear of death, harassment and physical harm.

Global: CPJ releases its 2010 survey on journalists in exile

2010-06-25

http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/06/23/exile_survey/

At least 85 journalists fled their homes in the past year because of attacks, threats and possible imprisonment, with especially high exile rates in Iran, Somalia and Ethiopia, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in its annual survey, released on 20 June to mark World Refugee Day. Since 2001, more than 500 journalists have fled their homes, and 454 remain in exile today. But life in exile is precarious and only the beginning of a new set of struggles.

Rwanda: 'Assassins' kill reporter Jean Leonard Rugambage

2010-06-25

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10413793.stm

A journalist working for a private newspaper has been shot dead in front of his house in the Rwandan capital. Witnesses say Jean Leonard Rugambage, the acting editor of Umuvugizi newspaper, was fired on by two men who then fled in a car. The authorities had recently suspended the paper, prompting it to start publishing online instead.

Zambia: Ministry of Information cautions Media Liaison Committee

2010-06-25

http://www.misa.org/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?category=2&id=1277370285

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Ronnie Shikapwasha has cautioned the Media Liaison Committee (MLC) to exercise sincerity when dealing with media issues. Reacting to comments from the MLC spokesperson Amos Chanda, that government had no role in the facilitation of study tours for the media to learn how media regulation was being implemented in the region, Shikapwasha said that his statement was deliberately misunderstood.

Zimbabwe: Journalists' case postponed again

2010-06-25

http://zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=6733&cat=2

The trial of Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and eight councillors on allegations of criminally defaming businessman Philip Chiyangwa in which five journalists will appear as witnesses, was on 22 June 2010 moved to 23 September 2010 by Harare magistrate Olivia Mariga.

Zimbabwe: Watered down media achievements

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/media/65448

After seven years of devastating effects of Access to information and protection of privacy act (AIPPA), the media and the population at large have welcomed the registration of four newspapers in Zimbabwe, which are Newsday, Daily News, Daily Gazette and The Mail. The latest is News Day, the new private daily newspaper that descended on the streets of Zimbabwe on 4 June 2010.
* By Tarisai Nyamweda

After seven years of devastating effects of Access to information and protection of privacy act (AIPPA), the media and the population at large have welcomed the registration of four newspapers in Zimbabwe, which are Newsday, Daily News, Daily Gazette and The Mail. The latest is News Day, the new private daily newspaper that descended on the streets of Zimbabwe on 4 June 2010.

Thanks to the Global Political Agreement (GPA), this could position these newspapers to provide alternative views from those bombarding the nation by state media. More so, pluralistic media could not have come at a better time than now, as 2011 could witness a referendum and election. This appears to be a stepping stone to the liberalisation of the public sphere that should live to see a secure and existent plurality.

However, as good as it may seem, this current reform is not in itself holistic and credible. These newspapers serve a particular social class who are mostly the educated urban population. It fails to cater for a differentiated audience, particularly the rural uneducated and marginalised, and so may not reflect diverse views from everywhere. Such a situation does not exist as an isolated entity but is reflective of the African problem in accessing information.

Again, this could be seen as a strategic political move that can only render these reforms superficial. A closer look at changes in this sector shows a huge gap between the changes in print as compared to broadcasting. Radio and television have been waiting for many years and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel concerning any concessions with such powerful propaganda tools.

With a look at radio, the government could have licensed community radios so as to reach a broader population, especially those in marginalised communities. This could mean people rarely heard can participate and increase their access to the media, but this seems to be neglected strategically.

By using the same broadcast styles and statements as used on all Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) radio services and putting Zanu-PF in good light, these propaganda messages may affect elections, especially in the rural areas where Zanu PF gain most votes. So, what these people consume from the media is still kept in check and no counter argument or alternative for democratic communication is offered.

It seems from the time of independence Zimbabwe inherited its restrictive media from the Rhodesian regime. Governments indeed changed but the ideology behind the laws that still benefit the government remained intact. These draconian laws are evident of the government’s fear, especially of criticism of the way they are handling situations in the country. An answer to why they might have allowed such laws to survive is that the government might still be using the laws existent in the country to consolidate its hegemonic powers.

Arguably, the Zimbabwean government still uses the concept of exclusion in its media operations. Just like the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) used to cater for a small group of white people and alienate the rest of the people in the country, ZTV seems to want to follow the same route. One could think that the ZTV2 launch of a syndicated version of ETV could provide an alternative for the nation at large. However, this only serves the capital city Harare just like Joy TV had before it ceased its operations.

The media should be a platform for all citizens to participate and receive information and news. So, how can only people in Harare and those in an 80-metre radius of the city be enabled to have free access to both the two ZTV channels when people in other areas like Nkayi can not even access ZTV alone and it is supposed to be a public broadcaster? ZBC is violating all the tenets of the normative role of public broadcasting.

The fact that ZBC still gathers, edits and distributes the news hinders the ability of ETV to be an alternative voice in Zimbabwe. This means ZBC still has a monopoly over the dissemination of information. Media activists have argued foreign content fills the station, which may mean that the station’s mandate to provide local content (since it is a public broadcaster is limited and in turn democratic development lessened.

The lack of legal reform waters down achievements towards pluralism. They are allowing them to exist but restricting them as draconian media laws like AIPPA, Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) are still intact. So of what use is pluralism without legal reform?

With the GPA, not being able to address the fundamental economic problems, will these newspapers be able to sustain themselves in an environment where the average Zimbabwean earns $200/month. Again, considering that newspapers survive on advertisers and Zimbabwe seems to have a small market of them this will give a blow to these newspapers existence as they compete for advertisers with the already existing newspapers.

Diversity and pluralism must thrive. The media should be a platform for all to speak and the public allowed to get information from a vast amount of players in print television and radio. Moreover, there should be an investor friendly environment to boost the growth of the industry.

Maybe, and only maybe, will Zimbabwe cease to be called a human rights abusive country. The lesson to learn is that the right to information and communication is an imperative human right and it should be recognised not only in a manner that suits certain people but everybody, especially after 30 years of freedom.

* Tarisai Nyamweda is a Journalism and Media Studies student working as a media intern at Gender Links. This article is part of the GL Opinion and Commentary Service.

Black Congress to convene in D.C. to set black agenda

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/diaspora/65440

As criticisms of President Obama’s war and economic policies mount, the group that first questioned his intentions regarding the concerns of the black community is holding a national Congress to define a black agenda to serve the interests of black people.
Black Congress, Critical of Obama, to Convene in D.C. to Set Black Agenda

What: African People’s Socialist Party’s 5th Congress
When: July 10-14, 2010
Where: Kellogg Center, 800 Florida Ave. NE, Gallaudet Univ. Campus, Washington, D.C.
Contact: Uhuru House, 727-821-6620

As criticisms of President Obama’s war and economic policies mount, the group that first questioned his intentions regarding the concerns of the black community is holding a national Congress to define a black agenda to serve the interests of black people.

From July 10–14, community activists from throughout the U.S. will converge on Washington, D.C. for the 5th Congress of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP). An organization with philosophical roots in the teachings of Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X, the APSP will unveil its program to address the current crises facing black communities across the U.S., including the unprecedented loss of homes through the subprime fraud, skyrocketing unemployment reaching 50% in some urban areas, increasingly widespread accounts of police brutality and discriminatory incarceration in private for-profit prisons.

Under the banner of “One People! One Party! One Destiny!” the Congress will be convened by African Socialist International Chairman Omali Yeshitela, a veteran of the African liberation struggle. Yeshitela issues a call to black communities to get organized. “The worldwide economic and political crises we are witnessing today present a great opportunity for black people everywhere to take back the power to control our own destiny as a people. African workers must organize ourselves into our own independent organization and prepare to govern.”

Also present will be APSP-USA member Diop Olugbala who got worldwide media coverage when he represented the Party in publicly challenging Barack Obama during a campaign event in St. Petersburg, FL in 2008. Olugbala demanded to know why the then-presidential candidate would not denounce police violence and economic exploitation in African communities of the U.S., leading a chant, “what about the black community, Obama?”.

A broad spectrum of black leaders will address the Congress, including Malik Zulu Shabazz, Founder of Black Lawyers for Justice and Chairman of the New Black Panther Party; Jackson, Mississippi City Councilperson Chokwe Lumumba, Chairman of the New Afrikan People’s Organization; Glen Ford, Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report, which has published scathing critiques of Obama’s policies; Efia Nwangaza, veteran of SNCC’s Atlanta Project, broadcaster, leader of the Malcolm X Grassroots Center for Self-Determination in South Carolina, and member of the Black is Back Coalition that held the first black-led protest in D.C. opposing the Obama regime’s war policies; Alex Morley, attorney and workers’ rights expert from the Bahamas; Nellie Bailey, leader of the Harlem Tenant’s Council; MOVE Family member Pam Africa, leader of the campaign to free Mumia Abu Jamal; Lawrence Hamm, Chairman of New Jersey’s People’s Organization for Progress; and Queen Mother Dorothy Lewis, a lifelong fighter for reparations to African people.

International allies of the black freedom struggle will also be present at the Congress, including Marcos Garcia, the Labor Attaché of the Venezuelan Embassy; Ernesto Bustillos of Union del Barrio, a Chicano-Mexicano rights organization in southern California; and a representative of the Nicaraguan Embassy.

The Congress will take place at the Kellogg Center, located at 800 Florida Ave. NE on the Gallaudet University Campus in Washington, D.C. and is open to the public. For more information or to register, visit apspcongress.org or call 727-821-6620.

Africa: 90-day countdown for continent’s guns to go silent begins

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/aoScAA

The African Union has began a 90-day countdown to the International Peace Day, when all guns in the continent’s conflict hot-spots are expected to go silent. But, just for a day. The countdown began on Tuesday and is special for the political bloc given its declaration of 2010 as “the year of peace and security.”

CAR: On the heels of Kony: The untold tragedy unfolding

2010-06-25

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MINE-86QSEH?OpenDocument

The Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, has been ruthlessly attacking civilians in the Central African Republic, or CAR, since February 2008. Attacks continued unabated in the country's isolated southeastern Haut Mbomou and Mbomou prefectures, and surged during the first three months of 2010. Despite this deadly track record, LRA violence in CAR, one of the world's poorest countries, has been badly under-reported and gone largely unnoticed. T

Cote d'Ivoire: Torrential rains kill 12 in Abidjan

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/bGR0hR

At least 12 people either died in landslides or drowned in rising waters following the torrential rains that fell in Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital, Thursday, according to the National Civil Protection Office.

Niger: Working to treat severe malnutrition

2010-06-25

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/niger_53774.html

Souréba, 3, is as light as a bird. Resting on her mother’s knee, the little girl seems indifferent to the noises and movements around her. When her mother, Habsatou, tries to give her some therapeutic food on her finger, the child turns away from the brown milky mixture. She is emaciated and has lost her appetite.

Sudan: Security Council deplores deadly ambush of peacekeepers in Darfur

2010-06-25

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35097

The Security Council has joined the chorus of United Nations condemnation of the ambush by unknown assailants in Darfur in which three soldiers serving with the African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force were killed and a fourth was seriously wounded. More than 20 gunmen opened fire without warning on the blue helmets as they were providing security to civilian engineers working near the West Darfur village of Nertiti, according to the peacekeeping mission, known as UNAMID.

Sudan: UN HC Statement on the Security Situation in Darfur

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/a9MFPF

The UN and humanitarian partners are very concerned at the increasingly insecure environment in Darfur in which the humanitarian community serves the people of Sudan. The steady deterioration of security conditions, particularly in the past two months, is not only affecting the population but directly targets the humanitarian community.

Africa: African fibre and satellite markets

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/bLrXej

Once Africa had few international connectivity options bit now it has a widening number of choices from new fibre connections (notably SEACOM and TEAMS in Q2, 2009) to cheaper satellite connectivity (03B Networks in 2010). Therefore this report has been expanded to look at the interplay between fibre and satellite prices and the speed at which the market is making transition to increased fibre use.

Africa: G8 Goals and promises

AfricaFocus Bulletin June 24, 2010 (100624)

2010-06-25

http://www.africafocus.org/docs10/g8-1006.php

The ritual is familiar, as leaders of the G8 countries gather for their annual meeting, this year in Canada, and followed immediately by the parallel meeting of the expanded G20 countries. Although they take backseat to major power debate on their own responses to global economic crisis, previous commitments to the development of Africa are to be reviewed and, in part, renewed. But even the upbeat spin from the G8's own evaluation cannot conceal the fact that fulfillment of commitments has at best been "a very mixed picture."

Africa: South-South cooperation

AfricaFocus Bulletin June 24, 2010 (100624)

2010-06-25

http://www.africafocus.org/docs10/unct1006.php

A new study warns that trade and investment flows with the South are reinforcing a longstanding trend in which African countries export farm produce, minerals, ores, and crude oil, and import manufactured goods. It says this situation should be reversed while the South-South trend is still in its early stages. A repeat of the traditional pattern will not help African countries to reduce their traditional dependence on exports of commodities and low-value-added goods.

Business in Ghana: Realities and opportunities

2010-06-25

http://affordevents.eventbrite.com/

Do you want an insight into the investment opportunities in Ghana right now? Have you been trying to locate means of finance for your enterprise in Ghana? Would speaking to a knowledgeable experienced and well connected business person from Ghana be of use to you? Then this event is where you should definitely be to get some answers!

CODESRIA National Working Groups: A Call for Proposals for 2010

DEADLINE REMINDER: 30 JUNE, 2010

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/65447

One of the most important vehicles by which CODESRIA has sought to mobilise national-level research capacities and to channel these into organised reflections has been the National Working Groups (NWGs) which it has encouraged African researchers to organise autonomously on priority themes of their choice. NWGs have been supported by the Council in over forty African countries and have resulted in some of the most interesting studies on politics, economy and society in contemporary Africa.
CODESRIA
National Working Groups: A Call for Proposals for 2010

One of the most important vehicles by which CODESRIA has sought to mobilise national-level research capacities and to channel these into organised reflections has been the National Working Groups (NWGs) which it has encouraged African researchers to organise autonomously on priority themes of their choice. NWGs have been supported by the Council in over forty African countries and have resulted in some of the most interesting studies on politics, economy and society in contemporary Africa. Within the framework of the CODESRIA strategic plan for the period 2007 - 2011, it has been decided to retain this vehicle as an important instrument for promoting research into and publications about different national-level experiences pertinent to the pre-occupations of African scholars active in the Social Sciences and Humanities. For this purpose, the Council invites proposals for the constitution of NWGs under the 2010 competition for the research grants that are available.

An innovation which the Council has decided to pursue within the NWG programme is the encouragement of a more systematic anchorage of the projects which it supports within specific departments, faculties, and research centres of African universities or independent and established research networks and centres, as well as the allocation of resources for the dissemination of the results of the work of the NWG to a cross-section of the local research community in the country in which the study was undertaken. All proposals submitted for consideration for support by CODESRIA within this programme have been required since 2007 to demonstrate this institutional anchorage and budget for an end-of-study dissemination workshop.

CODESRIA has also initiated since 2008 a National Coordinator’s Meeting. The main objectives of the meeting are to reflect on ways of improving and further developing the NWG programme, to strengthen and facilitate the work of NWGS at the national level, to enhance the quality of their outputs, and enhance their visibility both at the national and at the continental level, and to strengthen the CODESRIA identity of the groups.

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

Proposals, which could be on any topic relevant for an understanding of the economy, politics, culture, environment and society in any African country, should:
i) indicate clearly the problematic that will be addressed;
ii) should not exceed 12 pages (except for team member’s CVs); Font: Times New Roman; Size: 12; Space: simple;
iii) include a review of the relevant literature, including literature produced by the local research community on the subject;
iv) indicate the methodology which would be employed in undertaking the study;
v) spell out the composition of the working group;
vi) define the time frame for inauguration and finalisation of the work that would be undertaken;
vii) specify strategies for anchoring the activities of the working group within a department or faculty of an African university, or an African research network or centre;
viii) indicate a strategy for the dissemination of the results of the work of the group;
ix) include an outline budget for the realisation of the research project; and
x) indicate the expected final outcome of the project.

Proposals for consideration for possible funding within the framework of the 2010 competition should be sent to CODESRIA by 30 June, 2010 at the latest. All proposals received will undergo an independent review process the outcome of which will be announced by 31 July, 2010. All proposals should be addressed to:

CODESRIA National Working Groups Programme,
CODESRIA,
BP 3304, CP 18524
Dakar, Senegal.
Tel: +221-33 825 98 22/23
Fax: +221-33 824 12 89
E-Mail: nwg@codesria.sn
Website: http://www.codesria.org

East Africa: Great Lakes course moved to Uganda

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/65461

The Rift Valley Institute Great Lakes Course will now take place in Entebbe, Uganda, from 17 to 23 July. Due to security concerns surrounding the elections in Burundi, the course has been moved from the previously announced location in Bujumbura. The syllabus and dates remain unchanged. The Great Lakes course is a residential programme designed for aid workers, peace-keepers, researchers and diplomats.
The Rift Valley Institute Great Lakes Course will now take place in Entebbe, Uganda, from 17 to 23 July. Due to security concerns surrounding the elections in Burundi, the course has been moved from the previously announced location in Bujumbura. The syllabus and dates remain unchanged.

The Great Lakes course is a residential programme designed for aid workers, peace-keepers, researchers and diplomats.

The course offers an intensive, dawn-to-dusk, graduate-level introduction to Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, taught by world authorities on the region. Proceedings will be in both French and English, with simultaneous interpretation services available. The course follows the same model as the Rift Valley Institute's established annual courses on the Horn of Africa and Sudan.

Three distinguished scholars of the region are the latest additions to the teaching staff of the Great Lakes course. The first is René Lemarchand, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Political Science at the University of Florida, and author of several books on the region, including The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa, Burundi: Ethnic Conflict and Genocide, and Political Awakening in the Belgian Congo. The second is Dr Jean-Paul Kimonyo, author of Rwanda: Un Génocide Populaire, currently Policy advisor in the Office of the President of Rwanda. The third is Johan Pottier, Professor of Social Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, author of Re-Imagining Rwanda. Professor Lemarchand, Dr Kimonyo and Professor Pottier are part of a faculty that includes some of the greatest authorities on the region, including Catharine Newbury and David Newbury, Djo Munga, Julien Nimubona, Severine Autesserre, Séverin Mugangu Matabaro and Bob White.

The Director of the Great Lakes Course is Philip Winter OBE, formerly Chief of Staff for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and one of the founders of the Rift Valley Institute. The Director of Studies is Jason Stearns of Yale University, formerly Co-ordinator of the UN Group of Experts on the DRC.

A few places on the course remain. If you are interested, please write immediately for an application form to greatlakes.course@riftvalley.net

Please see also the Rift Valley Institute website

Project Cycle Management-1: Planning

Participatory planning and design of projects

2010-06-25

http://bit.ly/9Qdads

This one week course gives an introduction to Project Cycle Management emphasising project formulation. Crucial in proper project planning is a thorough analysis of objectives that the project intends to achieve. This course enables participants to employ clear, sequential planning methods such as the logical framework.

Campaign Manager – Demand Dignity

2010-06-25

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/65522

Campaign Manager – Demand Dignity
£38,975 + excellent benefits
Central London

Focusing on some of the key areas that keep people poor, Amnesty International’s flagship Demand Dignity campaign will help us achieve our overall goal: an end to human rights violations. By developing and implementing the strategies that underpin all Demand Dignity’s campaigning and activism work, you will help change people’s lives.

About the role
Whether it’s one of the billion people living in slums worldwide or one of the mothers who needlessly die in pregnancy and childbirth, you can help give them a voice. Exercising strategic leadership and sound judgment, you’ll lead the development and implementation of Demand Dignity’s global strategies and operational plans, making sure everything from methodologies to publications meet our high standards. As Campaign Manager you will be motivating a team as you oversee the creation and delivery of key projects, and integrate campaigning with other direct assistance and policy development work. At the same time, you’ll work closely with partner organisations, keep an eye on budgets and report on progress – all while representing Amnesty International externally.

About you
You’ll have already shown you can lead and develop campaigning at a national and international level and adopt innovative approaches. What’s more, thanks to first-hand experience of contemporary campaigning techniques for victims of human rights violations, you’ll be thoroughly familiar with the issues that surround this work, with a strong grasp of the ethical standards and principles that underpin professional work for these individuals. We’ll also be looking for the proven ability to write for a diverse range of target reader groups and to communicate organisational positions and views to external stakeholders or the media. Add a talent for co-ordinating, inspiring and developing a diverse team, and you could soon be making a difference on a grander scale, demanding dignity for all.

About us
Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people standing up for human rights. Our network extends to more than two million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries around the world. Each one of us is outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world – and together we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity.

For more information and to apply, please visit www.amnesty.org/jobs

Closing date: TBC

1st African World Cup: Is qualification a development indicator?

2010-06-25

http://community.eldis.org/.59d88350/

As South Africa hosts the 2010 World Cup what does the competition, football and sport in general have to contribute to development? As the spotlight shines on South Africa there is intense media scrutiny - and more than a little hype. At the same time development organisations globally are using the competition as an opportunity to promote their programmes and campaigns.

South Africa: 'Poor People's World Cup' shows exclusion of poor

2010-06-25

http://www.abahlali.org/node/7102

Leading up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, reports have come out alleging that South African authorities had made efforts to hide the homeless population to make areas seem more welcoming to tourists. Now, as the games go on, one organization is taking a stand to raise awareness about the negative impact of the World Cup on the poor and homeless.

South Africa: Labor conditions are 'almost like apartheid'

2010-06-25

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,701891,00.html

With World Cup security stewards complaining of poor working conditions and unpaid wages, a labor dispute threatens to overshadow the action on the pitch in South Africa. SPIEGEL spoke to union head Evan Abrahamse about the workers' complaints.

Fahamu