Pambazuka News 637: Fury in Egypt, looting Africa and taxing the poor
Pambazuka News 637: Fury in Egypt, looting Africa and taxing the poor
The ANC is starting to fragment on the back of the governing party’s inability to reduce poverty, deliver jobs and effective public services. The party will continue to fragment as it remains divided and is unlikely to secure a two-thirds majority of votes as it has done in the past
Women in the Congo and other conflict torn regions in Africa experience rape and domestic violence as do their counterparts in Syria. Syrian women are suffering an epidemic of gender-related violence, both at home and in the countries where they have taken refuge.
Many workers were forced to retire in order to get a government secured pension. But unfortunately, more than six months after, the pensions are still unpaid
Nkululeko Gwala was assassinated in Cato Crest, the same area where another well-known housing activist, Thembinkosi Qumbelo, was killed in March. Nkululeko had received lots of threats
If Ghana be the land of my roots,
Then I'll celebrate the early scholars -
Resplendent in my ancestry.
Let me start with Muhammed al-Gamba;
The first imam of Kumasi.
The founder of Koranic education,
Deep in an Akan heartland -
The city of the Ashanti.
Service of prayers and amulets;
Trusted advisor to the royalty.
Respected representative,
Of the eminent ones -
The elders of northern Ghana.
He was known as 'Baba';
Son of the imam of Gambaga.
Some were born in Mamprugu,
Gonja or Dagomba.
Others came from Timbuktu,
Bonduku and Katsina.
Muhammed al-Katsiniwa came,
From that city of the Hausa.
Soloman Bagayogo came also;
Bringing scholarship to the Dagomba.
Let us go now,
To the town of Salaga -
Of kola nut and of slavery.
To meet a pupil of al-Hajj Umar;
The poet Muhammed al-Salghawi.
He wrote of celestial activity,
The recording of a comet -
Salaga of Islamic study.
Praises to al-Hajj Umar;
A poem to al-Tijani.
He wrote of conflict also,
The civil war that bloodied his town -
The exile of the scholar.
Born in beloved Salaga;
Dying in distant Accra.
© Natty Mark Samuels, 2013.
Some were born in Mamprugu,
Dagbon or Gonja.
Others came from Timbuktu,
Bonduku and Katsina.
Muhammed al-Katsiniwa came,
From that city of the Hausa.
Soloman Bagayogo came also;
Scholarship to the Dagomba.
Now we have spoken of the pupil,
Let us speak of his teacher -
Of al-Hajj Umar.
In the Salaga constellation;
He remains the shining star.
Born in Kano,
Great city-state of Nigeria -
Family migration to Gonja.
He wrote on diverse subject matter,
From corruption to influenza.
Founder of the first mosque,
And Koranic school -
In the district of Kete-Krachi.
He wrote of mosque construction;
And the social effects of poverty.
Some were born in Mamprugu,
Dagbon or Gonja.
Others came from Timbuktu,
Bondoku and Katsina.
Muhammed al-Katsinawa came,
From that city of the Hausa.
Soloman Bagayogo came also;
Bringing scholarship to the Dagomba.
Now we'll go further north,
To meet Muhammed al-Mustapha -
The imam of Gonja.
From the Kamaghate lineage;.
Of those known as Wangara.
The main writer of the chronicle,
Known as Kitab al-Ghunja -
From the mid-eighteenth century.
It tells of kings and Muslim clerics;
Of Asante and it's dynasty.
© Natty Mark Samuels, 2013.
A much respected figure,
Within the Gonja ulama -
Great historian of the Volta.
Served the Asantehene;
As well as the Yagbongwura.
Some were born in Mamprugu,
Dagbon or Gonja.
Others came from Timbuktu,
Bonduku and Katsina.
Muhammed al-Katsinawa came,
From that city of the Hausa.
Soloman Bagayogo came also;
Bringing scholarship to the Dagomba.
© Natty Mark Samuels, 2013.
.
Kenyans have this horrible habit of abandoning and forgetting those among them who fought hard to free others during both economic and political difficulties
The clan militia, supported by Kenya and Ethiopia, has defied the legitimacy and jurisdiction of the Federal Government and unilaterally declared a regional State called ‘Jubbaland’
Pambazuka News 634: Walter Rodney, unfinished liberation and compensation for Africa
Pambazuka News 634: Walter Rodney, unfinished liberation and compensation for Africa
There seems to be an unspoken foreign goal to prevent control of mining policy throughout Africa from falling into the hands of nationalist, pro-community political forces who will promote a vigorous resource nationalism agenda
It is generally held that decolonisation of Africa ended with the fall of apartheid in South Africa in 1994. But the truth is that Britain, France, Spain and Portugal continue to colonise a number African islands
Tunisians are concerned that the uprising that overthrew the Ben Ali dictatorship has failed to bear any meaningful result. The ruling coalition is only interested in its own survival and national institutions are very weak
Government acknowledges that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill treatment at the hands of the colonial administration, but refuses to accept liability for the atrocities
The plan looks fine, but in practice it means Kenya would become a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil haven for tax cheats and money launderers, governed by lax regulation that puts all the power in the hands of the multinational corporations
Humanitarian intervention provides the U.S. the perfect ideological cover and internal rationalization to continue as the global ‘gendarme’ of the capitalist order. America should leave the rest of the world alone
Capitalism has failed to provide adequate housing, jobs, medical, educational and other services to many people in the West. As well, China’s global influence is rising. These are some of the reasons behind the US quest for mineral resources and strategic dominance in Africa and Middle East
Israeli cultural and academic institutions, as well as cultural products like films, directly contribute to maintaining, defending or whitewashing the oppression of Palestinians, as the Jewish nation deliberately tries to boost its image internationally
June 12, the day 20 years ago when a national election was dramatically annulled, reminds Nigerians of the extra mile some of their opportunistic compatriots could go for self and group-serving purposes
The recent court ruling ordering President Mugabe to hold elections by July 31 strangely never took account of the enormous amount of legal work that needs to be done before polls can take place under the new constitution
Power changed hands in Sierra Leone, but has not meant improvements in the quality of life of ordinary people in terms of access to the basics of life. The people must not relent in demanding services
A coalition of civil society health experts respond to President Museveni's State of the Nation Address 2013
It would be very interesting to find out which hidden agendas "ART" is pursuing with its lopsided coverage of Angola's success in Venice
Today, June 13, 2013 is 33 years since world-renowned historian, academic and political activist Walter Rodney was killed on Bent Street in Georgetown, Guyana. To this moment there has been no credible enquiry into this dastardly act of cowardice. In the interest of justice, it is high time that every Guyanese and every decent human being the world over renew the repeated call made by his family, the WPA, and activists around the world for an impartial, independent, international enquiry into the circumstances surrounding his murder.
WHO WAS WALTER RODNEY
Because most of the population today was either very young, or were not born as yet when he was killed, I have included a brief timeline taken from his biography.
1. He was born in Georgetown, Guyana, on March 23, 1942.
2. He came from a humble working class family.
3. Won scholarship’s to Queens College, to the UWI, to School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
4. At age 24 completed Ph.D. with honors in African history.
5. His Ph.D dissertation was published in 1970 by Oxford University Press with the title, ‘A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800’.
6. An active partisan of the African liberation struggle (throughout his life)
7. Professor at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1966-1967)
8. Professor at the University of the West Indies (Mona 1968)
9. He was expelled from Jamaica in 1968
10. Professor at the University of Dar es Salaam (1968-1974)
11. Published ‘Groundings with my Brothers’ (1969)
12. Published ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’ (1972)
13. Came home to Guyana (1974) to take up the appointment as Chair of the History Department at the University of Guyana
14. Burnham government (1974) rescinded his appointment at the University of Guyana
15. He emerged as resistance leader in Guyana against dictatorial rule (1974-1980)
16. Together with others formed the resistance movement in Guyana, Working People’s Alliance (1974)
17. Completed the manuscript, ‘History of the Guianese Working People 1881-1905’ (1980). This manuscript published in 1981.
The person suspected of killing Rodney is reported to have died in 2002. However the Rodney family and his supporters still want to know who was behind the assassination of this great man
Before they can celebrate ‘democracy day’, Nigerians deserve to know the truth about Moshood Abiola’s stolen election twenty years ago which led directly to the country’s worst dictatorship, that of Sani Abacha
A recent conference on the theme ‘50 years after the founding of the OAU: Africa must unite or perish’ looked at strategies for achieving Africa’s integration. Focusing on past successes and reviving Ethiopianism are among some of the ways forward
The African Union and local judicial systems in Africa appear to support the impunity of African leaders who commit crimes against humanity, lock up journalists and civil rights leaders whilst exercising a double standards that fails to commit to accountability and genuine justice
Tensions and misinformation have arisen surrounding Ethiopia’s renaissance dam. To douse the flames of tensions an International Panel of Experts and their report must be allowed to promote trust and dialogue among the parties
The former Land and Freedom fighters, otherwise more popularly known as ‘Mau Mau’ have won compensation from the British government for the brutal mistreatment they endured. However, in Kenya many of those who have become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) since the violent elections of 2008 continue to languish in displaced peoples camps
New legislation in regards to local and international NGOs in Kenya is likely to exacerbate the mutual suspicion between the governments and NGOs
He spent his life struggling for democratic reforms in Kenya and suffered much for it, spending long years in prison under the Moi dictatorship. His commitment should inspire new generations of revolutionaries
Pambazuka News 633: Militarism, China in Africa and silencing truths
Pambazuka News 633: Militarism, China in Africa and silencing truths
cc D MThree activists – Jean-Louis Elijah Joseph, Esther Pierre and human rights lawyer Patrice Florvilus – are now in hiding and in fear for their lives because of defending the interests of people displaced by the 2010 earthquake
cc V M The increased use of drones raises not only questions related to efficiency and reliability, but also questions about ethics, human rights, legitimacy, sovereignty, and the morality of war
The excesses of our planet have reached toxic levels, with environmental destruction, carbon dioxide emissions, wealth and income inequality disparities and many other socio-economic injustices. This breakdown requires the urgent understanding and action of all humanity
Last weekend thousands of young people poured out into the streets of Addis Ababa demanding democratic reforms. The security forces did not attack them as in the past. Peaceful change is possible in Ethiopia
On June 1, Kenya marked 50 years of the declaration of self-rule ahead of the granting of independence on December 12, 1963. But do the country’s people enjoy full freedom?
The following statement by three members of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) laments the doctoring of the Land Chapter by the Office of the President. The authors point out ‘the irony of a Commission dedicated to truth, justice, and reconciliation suppressing the voice of a minority in clear violation of agreed upon procedures.’
Election year 2015 is around the corner. But the year may herald the coming of an undertaker if one of dewy-eyed and colourless governors of the north captures the presidency to further run the region aground as many governors have so far done their fiefdoms
The state has failed the poor in South Africa. Now they must organize themselves and demand an equal place in society, even when this is very difficult. It means that they must survive repression
In one of the most bizarre attacks on media freedom, police descended on certain news organizations in Uganda and closed them down for days because of publishing claims about divisions in the military. The officers’ action displayed lack of professionalism
My two countries are both in crisis: one is a failed state which has become almost permanently a terrorist-invested country; and the other is a recession-hit country with increasingly fragmenting society
cc J SOn the 50th anniversary of African Liberation Day a group of progressive Pan-Africanists and internationalist activists from around the world declare that the continued military presence of AFRICOM on African soil is profoundly detrimental to the short and long term interests of African people
cc A ZWith Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika facing ill health, speculations are arising as to whether he will participate in the elections scheduled for next year and whether real change will shift the prevailing status quo whether he stays in power or does not
cc C AAfrica is lacking a clear and unified policy in terms of how it relates to China. In developing further social, economic and political ties with China, African leaders must develop a coherent and structured plan to promote the interests of Africans
Adichie appears to be trying to demonstrate that all novels are full of lies but that readers prefer delightful lies to inconvenient truths. That is why novels sell millions of copies while boring scholarly tomes manage a few hundred copies in sales
Since March a combination of factors, including the fall in popularity of Zambia's ruling party PF, has led to a hate campaign against LGBT people in the country
Groups around the world accuse European business magnates Vincent Bolloré and Hubert Fabri of using intimidation to silence local opposition to African land grab
The Media Institute of Southern Africa's (MISA) Malawi Chapter is calling upon the National Assembly and the Police to act on Parliamentary Chief Security Officer, Youngson Chilinda, for assaulting photojournalist Thoko Chikondi
The biggest challenge for the continent’s economic take-off is climate change, which threatens to roll back multiple gains attained over the past years
Outrage sparked by the recent brutal murder of a British soldier quickly spread around the world. The deed was called depraved, sick, disgusting, savage, horrifying, but this killing was no more awful than those committed by the military from the U.S. or other NATO nations
Pambazuka News 636: Lies of empire, Obama in Africa and talking to the enemy
Pambazuka News 636: Lies of empire, Obama in Africa and talking to the enemy
Pambazuka News is planning a special issue on ‘BRAZIL IN AFRICA’
As we reach an audience of approximately 26,000 subscribers weekly, we are calling on our readers and writers to submit articles for this special issue to cover any of the following themes (or a theme or issue of your choice):
• The historical links between Brazil and Africa
• South-South geopolitical links between Africa and Brazil via BRICS
• Issues relating to gender, youth, multinationals, social justice, environmental issues, the media, cultural links (i.e. music, literature, the arts) between Brazil and Africa
• Ideas on how to advance greater links and understanding between Brazil and Africa
Texts must be submitted to: or [email][email protected]
WORD LENGTH: Texts must be between 1000-3000 words
DEADLINE: is 30th June 2013 for submission
Your name and a two line bio must be submitted at the end of the article.
THE EDITORS
The current US-Taliban talks now remove any pretexts Kagame and Museveni might have not to talk to the FDLR and to the LRA, respectively. Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete’s proposal for talks involving all parties in the Great Lakes region to find a permanent political solution to the problems of the region must be urgently heeded
Without identifying the structural causes of sexual violence which emanate from cultural, political and economic factors on the national and global scale, the problem will remain. Sexual violence has been feminized, though it includes men and is not an isolated crime during war time but normalised and systematised as highlighted in the Congo
Walter was an institution. He left a huge shadow on the left, on the African left, and in Tanzania itself. His own learning and foundation were laid in the east African nation
Post-conflict reconstruction in Liberia has primarily focused on building state structures at the expense of solidifying national cohesion. The author contends that in this context the proposed dual citizenship legislation should undergo national deliberations, beginning with the Liberia Rising 2030 consultations
Many museums in Europe and America are facing a financial crisis and from recent reports, it would not be unreasonable to assume that they may be tempted to sell, loan, transfer, or exchange African artefacts they are illegally holding, such as the Benin bronzes without anybody taking much notice
Britain’s recent offer of £20 million to survivors of Kenya’s Mau Mau anti-colonial revolt though a somewhat good idea reopens the vexed question of the impact of British colonial rule in Africa and other parts of the world
In recent years, the United States has increasingly been sidelined in areas of deep economic transformation in Africa because US engagement with Africa has been primarily through militarism and military relations. The current visit of US President Barack Obama to Africa should be viewed against this background.
As we celebrate the 23rd edition of the Day of the African Child (DAC), it is fitting to consider how to ensure better protection for the African child in view of new and emerging harmful social and cultural practices hampering their development.
How will Africans remember President Obama? How can his current visit to the continent create value for African and the American people? Here is some open advice
'I would like to see you make enough of a recovery to flirt with a nurse, shout at a doctor, condemn the ANC for tolerating incompetence and fostering corruption, and send the journalists sloping back to their lairs thinking it’s another false alarm. Then, quite unexpectedly, you go off to heaven to organise an armed uprising against the tyranny of God'
Although the recent forum on Africa in Ottawa did not solve all the issues surrounding foreign natural resource extraction in one sitting, it did get policy-makers listening, which is the first step to bringing about meaningful policy change
The Kenya government’s frenetic and wasteful sorties to the UN and AU trying to stop the ICC cases against President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto show, if proof were needed, just how easy it is to be busy without being productive
The U.S. reprises Iraq, inventing a WMD threat from Syria. The FBI concocts home-grown terror through stings, while the NSA claims it has secretly saved many lives. “Why this steady stream of government-invented terror, if the real thing is so abundant?” And, isn’t the U.S. arming and funding the same jihadists they are supposed to be listening for on our telephones?
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is an enthusiastic supporter of Monsanto, but now pressure is mounting on his government to reject GMO technologies as solutions to end hunger
The Tribunal ruled that the landlord was interdicted from levying the irregular charge in future, and ordered the landlord to repay the tenants all the service charges levied against them since May 2009
A top Zimbabwean poet, novelist and essayist says the practice of branding men ‘fathers of’ certain exploits is dangerous and can contaminate the minds of the world’s men and boys, entrenching patriarchy in the process
Yash Tandon’s was launched on 21 June. It is the beginning of the digital repository of his life's writings.
Tandon, who has contributed more than 40 articles to Pambazuka News, is from Uganda and has worked at many different levels as an academic, a teacher, a political thinker, a rural development worker, a civil society activist and an institution builder. He was involved in the democratic struggles in Uganda and was member of the interim Uganda Parliament (1979-80).
Pambazuka News 632: Profiting from poverty: African struggles for dignity and freedom
Pambazuka News 632: Profiting from poverty: African struggles for dignity and freedom
The African humanity currently generates, overwhelmingly, the capital resource that at once sustains it and is exported to the Western world. The notion that Africans are in any way dependent on a European/Western world or any other overseas ‘handout’ is at best a myth, at worst an all-out lie
This latest development is consistent with a trend in the West to justify continued detention in Western museums of artefacts from Africa, Asia and Latin America. The artefacts, mostly acquired through violence, should have been returned to former colonies at independence
Gender based violence is entrenched in the strong patriarchal ideologies of control, subversion and subordination of women and girls. Efforts to resists this has mostly been undertaken at individual level. As a result, patriarchy continues to thrive
Many progressive people in Africa were genuinely outraged on learning that the late President Burnham of Guyana, during whose regime the great black intellectual Walter Rodney was killed in mysterious circumstances, was set to be recognized by South Africa as a champion of African liberation. Thankfully the plan aborted
In all my years in the United States and there are a few cultural tendencies I still have not been able to get used to: bagels, children talking back or ‘sassing’ their parents, and public acts of defaming a parent or sibling
No matter how vibrant the so-called modern world is and how much technological development exists, it is still be over-shadowed by the impoverished and neglected world within it
The Democratic Alliance desperately needs struggle credentials because they realise that, in order to advance the agenda of white capital in South Africa, they need to legitimatise themselves in the eyes of backs by dressing in the regalia of the liberation struggle
United States President Barack Obama appears to never pass up an opportunity when addressing Afrikan Americans to shift the responsibility for their success to personal effort and not the removal of structural barriers that are connected to white supremacy, sexism and capitalist exploitation
For the cultural initiative to accomplish its good intentions in Africa, it needs to take into cognizance in its plans the cultural and ethnic diversities as well as the size of Africa. The continent is too big and diverse to be treated as a mono-cultural entity
The recent ‘Occupy Parliament’ protests in Kenya elicited negative comments from certain quarters on the use of pigs to equate the rapacity of pigs with that of parliamentarians seeking rapacious salary increases. A defense of the protesters and their means to protest and make their message heard is made
Muhildeen Shikh Mohamed is one of the few Somali men who stood up to defend his wife, Lul Ali Isman when she was gang raped by government security men. His story is among many of the hidden acts of sexual violence in Somalia in which more men need to stand up against this abuse against women
Though little acknowledged, one year prior to the founding of the OAU, Pan African Women’s Organization was formed in 1962 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It could be said that PAWO was the building block, the impetus, for the establishment of the OAU
The disastrous garment industry in Bangladesh is a perfect example of capitalist expansion to the Global South where labour is cheap and abundant. But such foreign investments, now highly sought by governments of poor countries, often mean deplorable conditions of work and high profits for the companies
While the heads of state busied themselves with neo-liberal discourses about ‘poverty reduction and governance’ at last week’s AU Summit, the intellectuals, activists, artists and writers focused on acceleration of the full unification of the peoples of Africa and the need for concrete steps towards a government that can defend Africans at home and abroad