Pambazuka News 508: Crisis of capitalism: Exploitation, resistance and solidarity
Pambazuka News 508: Crisis of capitalism: Exploitation, resistance and solidarity
'Land seizures by the Ethiopian regime, with the pretext of modernizing the country, is really intended to tear down the foundation of the Ethiopian society. Today, entire communities in Ethiopia are being forced out of their land and neighborhoods, and pushed into internal displacement and exile. Land and property owners are evicted by governmental decrees, and often paid only a fraction of what their properties are worth in compensations.'
Achieving universal gender equality is an ambitious goal, one that has been articulated in the UN Charter and many resolutions, conference outcome documents and decisions of governments. It will require a shift in the way we think about gender roles and financial resources will have to be made available. Compared to military spending, however, the amount seems ridiculously small. In 2008, the world's military expenditure was estimated to be US$1,464 billion.
Namibia's ruling party overwhelmingly won last weekend's local and regional elections, claiming 92 per cent of constituencies in regional voting, officials announced late last Monday. The South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo), which has ruled Namibia since independence in 1990, won 98 out of 107 constituencies in the regional vote, state broadcaster Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) said.
Two Egyptian opposition pages on the social network site Facebook were deleted ahead of Egypt's parliamentary election on Sunday then restored after discussions with the site's administrators, web activists who run the pages said on Friday. The activists said they suspected the Egyptian government had played a role in the disappearance of the pages, possibly by covertly bombarding Facebook with complaints about the pages that resulted in their removal, but offered no evidence to support the allegation.
A coalition of Mozambican non-governmental organisations has reported mining giant BHP Billiton to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Socially Responsible Investment Index (SRI) for 'intolerable conduct' in planned pollution at its aluminium smelter in Mozambique, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The coalition of environmental and human rights NGOs sent a formal complaint to the JSE at the end of October, Vanessa Cabanelas, spokesperson for the environmental organisation Justica Ambiental, told the South African Press Association (Sapa).
The first ever formal meeting between the two African Union bodies charged with promotion and protection of good governance and human rights on the continent took place in Gambia on 12 November to discuss freedom of expression. ARTICLE 19, in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR), organised the high level meeting between the African Union (AU), the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Secretariat and key freedom of expression experts from across the continent.
Researchers are working on nanotechnology cures for age-old diseases, but is it affordable, what are the risks and what policies would ensure the best use of an expensive technology? SciDev.net looks at whether developing countries can use nanotechnology for heath care, the relationship between nanotechnology and health equity and how it is already being used.
This case study describes some of the methods and activities developed by the Relay programme, which provides training and facilitates relationship-building among key stakeholders to support more in-depth, research-informed media coverage of complex, under-reported or misreported development. It describes how the methods and activities were applied in Kenya to the issue of tax and governance. Ultimately, the case study aims to inform the work of a broad group of actors, including researchers, communication specialists, media development practitioners, infomediaries, editors and media managers, as well as organisations interested in funding initiatives to improve research-informed development.
South Africa is Africa's largest economy and the continent's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. But at the just opened climate negotiations, South Africa most likely will try to avoid reducing emissions. South Africa's CO2 emissions per capita are on par with those of the United Kingdom, and more than twice as high as China's emissions by the same measure. The country is presently responsible for about half of Africa's emissions, with 80 per cent of its estimated 400 million metric tonnes of CO2 coming from the energy sector alone.
The aim of the research was to understand the lived lives of lesbian identified woman in Tshwane (Pretoria). The idea was to investigate their psychosocial and sexual histories through in depth qualitative interviews. Most funded research projects exclude lesbian, bisexual and transgendered women, since the focus is mainly on MSM. This translates into a lack of appropriate service provision to lesbian identified woman. The health, specifically sexual health issues of lesbian women, is often completely ignored, especially when it comes to HIV issues.
This Atlas is a visual account of Africa's endowment and use of water resources, revealed through 224 maps and 104 satellite images as well as some 500 graphics and hundreds of compelling photos. However the Atlas is more than a collection of static maps and images accompanied by informative facts and figures: its visual elements vividly illustrate a succinct narrative describing and analysing Africa's water issues and exemplifying them through the judicious use of case studies.
Every year thousands of Kenyans go without essential medicines because of poor supply chain management, corruption and insufficient funding of the health service, say civil society members. 'The health system lacks the capacity to run effectively - many health workers are not skilled enough, for example, to request for drugs before they run out,' said Christa Cepuch, programmes director for Health Action International (HAI) Africa. She noted that according to a 2008 government survey, 42 per cent of people administering drugs in the public health system are untrained.
In 2008, only six Somali women received prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services, although more than 2,600 women were estimated to need them. Not a single health centre delivered the complete PMTCT package which includes HIV counselling and testing, antiretroviral prophylaxis and infant feeding support. Earlier this year, however, a programme finally got off the ground, with PMTCT services starting to be offered at 21 sites in all three Somali regions - Puntland in the northeast, Somaliland in the northwest and south-central Somalia.
As wealthy investors continue to buy up agricultural land in the developing world, stakeholders disagree over how to regulate such transactions. 'Everyone agrees that you can't have a wild-west scenario where countries and companies are going into countries and getting land for next to nothing,' Michael Taylor, programme manager with the International Land Coalition (ILC), a global alliance of land rights organisations, told IRIN from Rome. 'The problem is that there are different entrenched interests and it's hard to reconcile the two sides.'
Olivier Mushiete sees himself as a pioneer: His ever-expanding acacia forest on the Bateké plateau, 120km east of Kinshasa, is central Africa’s first carbon sink plantation. 'Each hectare of acacia trees can capture 25-30 tons of CO2. They grow quickly and have no known predators, parasites or viruses. What’s more, they are leguminous so their leaves fertilize the soil. They’re great,' he enthused. Every day the plantation traps several tons of CO2. Mushiete, an agricultural engineer, has sold some of this sequestered greenhouse gas, in the form of carbon credits, for US$4 million, with the first payments due in 2012, once the first trees reach maturity.
Foreign aids inflow from donor countries are drying up and in the next 15 years, many poor African countries may not be able to access the window, Chief Economist of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Professor Mthuli Ncube has alerted. He attributed the new trend to several economic factors that are redefining economic relations around the world, some of which include the economic recession in Europe and America, and Africa's new economic partner - China.
The country’s agricultural sector will still be in a dilemma should the government continue to implement a temporary ban on food crop exportation. The government has stuck to its guns on the policy because it believes that it is crucial to safeguard food security in the region. But local experts on agriculture and economics have been challenging the authorities on the policy. They want the government to let farmers sell their agricultural produce across the borders to widen the market and develop the sector.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has suggested that African countries should set up a special fund for infrastructural development to accelerate productivity and growth on the continent. He suggested a $100 billion fund that will be guaranteed by the governments to address inadequacies in roads, power and transport, stressing that there must be regional co-operation to tackle the challenges of development in Africa.
Work migration is currently a contentious issue across Africa and the world. Developed countries are increasingly suspicious of work migrants who are perceived to be stealing jobs, increasing crime and diluting the national culture. Outright xenophobia, the ugly side of migration, is increasingly becoming an issue in many countries also. On the part of home countries, migration is also often viewed negatively due to the longstanding concern of the ‘brain drain’ of African professionals to developed countries.
Migrants who have crossed borders in search of work and a better life could exceed 400 million, or nearly 7 per cent of the present global population, by 2050, said a report issued on Monday. The report, by the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said movement within countries is also climbing as people move into cities, and has taken the global migrant total to one billion this year.
Crops are failing in Somalia because of poor rains, a unit of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said, raising the prospect of drought and increased hunger in a country where millions already depend on humanitarian aid. Below average rainfall in Bay, Shabelle, Gedo, Bakool and Hiran regions in southern Somalia has already led to early crop failure with planted seeds not germinating in some areas,' said the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), managed by the FAO, in a statement.
At least 1,500 south Sudanese civilians have fled areas along the north–south border fearing aerial attack on Bahr al-Ghazal by the Sudan Armed Forces, the UN and southern officials said. Northern government officials were unavailable for comment on the reports. The SPLA says northern forces are still flying fighter planes along the border to scare southern villagers.
Can Africa take the lead in taking advantage of e-books, as it has with the rapid expansion of mobile phones and innovations such as mobile banking applications? It is certainly too early to be sure. But there are some solid reasons to think this might be possible, more quickly than it seemed only a year or two ago. The advantages are clear, if internet access and bandwidth is available. There are literally millions of books now available free at various sites on the web, and the number is still growing rapidly. And Amazon's Kindle store has some 750,000 titles, most available at prices well under their paper counterparts. This issue of AfricaFocus contains links for sources of free books, as well as a sampling of Kindle e-books with Africa-related content.
Uganda Health and Science Press Association (UHSPA-Uganda), a network of groups and individuals working to mainstream minority rights in Uganda’s public health policies and laws is concerned about the omission/exclusion of sexual minorities from accessing vital health services in the soon to be launched Health Sector Strategic Plan III.
'After years of being told about the millions of illegal foreigners in the country who are responsible for the high crime rate and who deprive South Africans of jobs and housing, the government has suddenly managed to lose a million Zimbabweans. Where did they go?' asks this article on the Lawyers for Human Rights website. 'With the deadline for the issuing of special permits for Zimbabweans rapidly approaching, and with doubts surrounding government's ability to process all those seeking permits to avoid facing deportation, the government has adopted a new purpose - and a new set of numbers to suit this purpose.'
Clinical officer Silverius Kesanta uses his mobile phone to take pictures and notes of patients in remote areas of Tanzania and shares this information online with specialists from Dar es Salaam and abroad. Specialists view the information and provide advice so Kesanta can treat these patients himself. By using his mobile phone for distance diagnosis, Silverius Kesanta was able to treat a cheek infection of a young boy in the isolated Iringa region. Kesanta works at the Ilembula Lutheran Hospital and frequently visits people on location in the isolated Iringa region. As a clinical officer he treats patients, but for complex medical cases he needs specialist advice.
Kenya and South Africa signed agreements last Friday aimed at improving commercial relations between the two regional economic powerhouses before a planned visit by President Jacob Zuma next year. The deals were sealed during a visit by South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to east Africa’s biggest economy. He said his trip was to create a better environment for businessmen to trade freely between the two countries.
Ministers and heads of African states refused to pass a draft declaration on climate change at the Africa-EU summit, it is said. Participating ministers refused to pass the draft Joint Africa- EU Declaration on Climate Change because it only showed the EU position rather than the African countries’ stance, Ahmed Abul Gheit said after a ministerial meeting in the Libyan capital of Tripoli last Sunday.
Trade ministers from the East African Community (EAC) economic bloc plan to continue trade talks with the European Union despite missing a November deadline, a top Kenyan official said. David Nalo, permanent secretary to Kenya’s East African Community Affairs ministry, told Reuters he expected the negotiations to last another year. 'Ministers of Trade in Arusha have agreed to engage with (the European Commission) and complete the negotiations that will lead to the signing of a full EPA,' Nalo said by telephone.
Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a distressing reality effecting millions of women and girls in almost all societies around the world. The continuous violation of women’s basic human rights through GBV hinders not only their development, but also the progress of the communities and countries they live in. In Africa and in most parts of the world, the root cause of GBV is the unequal power relations that exist between females and males and the low status of women. FEMNET’s involvement in the Men to Men Project started with a men to men consultation held in December 2001. The consultation brought together men from Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and South Africa, representing community organisations, human rights and legal groups, religious organisations, universities and the police. Visit their site to find out more.
A widespread farming catastrophe could hit Africa if global temperatures rose by four degrees Celsius or more, according to a study that calls for urgent planning for a much warmer future and investment in technology to avert disaster. In most of southern Africa the growing season could shrink by as much as a fifth, according to scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya, who carried out simulation studies based on existing climate change models.
Government officials, representatives of United Nations agencies and members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines will be meeting from 29 November through 3 December to discuss their efforts and plans to implement the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. They are talking about national victim-assistance plans, including how landmine survivors are involved in designing, carrying out and monitoring such work. They are talking about issues that affect women like me.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has pledged a renewed commitment to address the continuing problems faced by refugee women and girls around the world. 'Clearly, many challenges remain,' Guterres said in a special message to staff to mark the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute in 1991.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter's talk of cleaning up the world's governing body belies its inherent corruption, suggests Gado.
The International Federation of Human Rights has compiled a Q&A about the trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba, the leader of the Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC), which is taking place before the International Criminal Court. 'This case is very important because, for the first time, the ICC focuses primarily on the prosecution of crimes of sexual violence, thus acknowledging that such crimes were widespread and systematic,' one of the answers says.
Uganda has lost more than two million hectares of forest since 1990, mostly converted to farmland by a growing population of smallholders. Carbon finance through the REDD programme is often presented as one way to arrest this destruction, but only if the benefits clearly translate to the grassroots. Almost a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide comes from the destruction of forests – second only to the energy sector. The idea behind REDD – reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation – is to give carbon stored in forests a financial value; financing the protection of forests in developing countries like Uganda with money raised from selling carbon stored in those trees to polluters in the developed world.
Tasha Ncube* has no kind words for the police. Early last month, the 31-year-old mother of two was beaten several times by her husband over what she says were small arguments. 'I reported him to the police.' But Ncube did not get the response she expected. 'They said I should go back home and ask relatives to mediate as they were getting many reports from women who withdrew charges after the husband apologised. I was so angry I did not know what to say…' Like many other women, she returned home to continue life with her abusive husband.
A thousand babies are infected with HIV every day - in pregnancy, during birth and through breastfeeding. Close to 400,000 African children are infected with HIV every year. The situation points back to the high HIV prevalence amongst women of reproductive age, especially in Southern Africa. Zambia is one of the countries recognised for making progress in addressing the problem.?? Seventy thousand Zambian women between the ages of 15 and 40 have HIV; the health ministry says 85 thousand children are living with the virus.
Baptista Macule is sitting on a sack of groundnuts in a dusty side-alley near the sprawling, makeshift Malanga market on the outskirts of Maputo. He squints into the sun as he tries to explain the extent of poverty in his country. 'People do not have enough food in their house,' he says. 'There are not enough jobs, and even when people have jobs, the salaries are very low. Salaries have not increased, but prices have.'
Southern Africa represents a region of diverse migration patterns including the movement of people within countries, across borders and between different continents. This paper from the International Organisation for Migration and the The Forced Migration Studies Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand focuses on South Africa, and explores the linkages between health and the diverse movements of people within the county and across its borders. One of its findings is that current health-system planning within South Africa does not adequately engage with the health of migrants when they are in urban and transition areas.
Peter W. Vakunta reviews Benjamin Kwakye’s ‘The Other Crucifix’, a book which he regards as ‘the handiwork of a literary virtuoso’.
I am here
I am here
Screamed
The Oak tree
Twenty-two years after the first World AIDS Day, it’s time to acknowledge that African governments have officially ‘disappeared’ the existence of three highly vulnerable populations - sex workers, people who inject drugs, and gay and other men who have sex with men (MSM). It’s time for the denial to stop, urges Joel Nana.
Gerald Caplan charts the bloodthirsty history of ‘the most awesome military power the world has ever known’. 'Look forward to a future of permanent war in the pursuit of peace,' he writes.
Villagers in Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe area in Mashonaland East province have expressed concern over mining activities by a Chinese company, which they accuse of endangering their lives and that of animals along the Mazowe river. The villagers in Zambu under headman Mushambi in Chief Chinhanga’s area complained of water pollution and siltation being caused by disposal of waste by a Mingehang Sino Africa Mining Investment gold milling plant, which is a few metres from the river.
Two Congolese student leaders in Harare were last week allegedly abducted by suspected state security agents, and grilled about their relationship with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) opposition leader Sapard Tshimanginda Kalala. The students claim they were held for over 24 hours. Kalala, a renowned academic who heads the National People’s Patriotic Party of the Congo will be challenging DRC President Joseph Kabila, who has very close ties with President Robert Mugabe, in next year’s elections.
South African poet and writer Rustum Kozain reviews ‘The Uprising of Hangberg’, Dylan Valley and Aryan Kaganof's portrayal of two days of violence in Cape Town. Watch a . This article first appeared on the website of The Africa Report.
Lamenting Somalia’s long-term problems, Warsan Cismaan Saalax stresses that it ‘is important to begin triangled negotiations and dialogue between the TFG [Transitional Federal Government], Puntland and Somaliland’.
The majority of the world's child soldiers are involved in a variety of armed political groups. These include government-backed paramilitary groups, militias and self-defence units operating in many conflict zones. Others include armed groups opposed to central government rule, groups composed of ethnic religious and other minorities and clan-based or factional groups fighting governments and each other to defend territory and resources. This document from the Child Soldiers Initiative provides key facts and figures about child soldiers.
According to UN-HABITAT’s State of African Cities 2010, the share of Africans living in cities is set to jump from 40 per cent in 2009 to 60 per cent in 2050. The projections of this report indicate that Lagos, Nigeria, will surpass Cairo to become Africa’s most populous city, while Kinshasha, DR Congo, is expected become the fastest-growing city on the continent and top Cairo’s population within a decade.
With the 2011 referendum rapidly approaching, there are expectations of a return to Juba of the 1.5 million Southerners still residing in Khartoum or in the diaspora, says this policy brief from the Overseas Development Institute. Extreme vulnerabilities facing many of Juba’s residents and chronic high levels of violence will have to be addressed. The paper argues that a gender perspective is of particular importance in such a process, because it will better inform an understanding of the causes of insecurity and violence and help inform more strategic peacebuilding programmes
Calling for greater recognition of the fact that ‘globalised’ action ignores the diversity of cultural, social, political and economic factors around the world, Fungai Machirori underlines that ‘we have to realise that when we talk gender and development, we are talking about human beings.’
Advocacy and investment on behalf of children affected by AIDS have had an impact, and the goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV appears within reach. But for every problem solved or advance made, new challenges and constraints have arisen. This Children and AIDS: Fifth Stocktaking Report examines current data, trends and the progress that’s been made - pointing out disparities in access, coverage and outcomes - and calls for concrete actions to benefit the millions of children, women and families worldwide who bear the burden of the epidemic.
Following her involvement in workshops and discussions around female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone, Chi Mgbako relates her experiences of listening to the views of young people from the country.
Sokari Ekine is in Haiti for the next four weeks and will be sending regular updates to Pambazuka. During her stay she will be meeting with women community organisers and members of youth groups with a view to documenting their work. Much has been written about the situation in the camps and neighbourhoods such as Cité Soleil and Bel Air, as well as those children and parents involved in SOPUDEP.
Anna Tibaijuka, until recently the executive director of the UN Habitat, has been appointed to the Tanzanian cabinet. Chambi Chachage writes to her and offers some sage advice.
Okachikwu Dibia takes a roadtrip to a village in Nigeria and is appalled at the state of the roads.
A group of Ugandan organisations and individuals have made an urgent appeal to civil society to support the inclusion of sexual minorities in national health policy.
Isis-WICCE will be actively participating in the 16 Days of Activism by hosting a cyber dialogue on its newly revamped website. As an organisation, we have had the privilege of working with women’s activists globally. Therefore, we would like to call upon our networks to create a forum where members can share their thoughts, opinions, and statements on the theme of ‘militarism and violence against women’.
Participants will be invited to contribute in the cyber dialogue which they can also share within their networks. The dialogue will commence on the first day of activism and continue for 16 days with every other day providing a new engaging question.
The theme of the 16 Days of Activism is pertinent to the work of Isis-WICCE. We have seen how conflict and post-conflict situations create atmospheres and situations where militarism increases violence against women, especially taking into consideration the role the military plays as either perpetrators of violence or as their mandated role in protecting them. Thus, it is important to open up a discussion on the structures of violence that do exist and navigate a way forward.
This is a call for all parties who are interested to visit the Isis-WICCE Blog beginning on 25 November 2010 to participate in the dialogue.
Vali Jamal writes about his forthcoming book on Ugandan Asians. The book is called ‘Ugandan Asians: Then and Now’ and should be available in July 2011.
Writer Chuma Nwokolo recently launched a creative venture that mixes the power of blogging with story-telling. He published a brand new story on his blog, but the story was told in six letters, each of which he published daily throughout this week, with the final letter published on Saturday. The catch was that if the six parts got a hundred comments between them, he'd promise his readers to start a brand-new serial on the following Monday. 'So if you want a new tale next week - or if you simply want to put me through the torture of writing one under pressure - get commenting and send this link around your friends too!' he wrote on his blog. Visit the blog to find out how the story went.
In this week's edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers.
From the Seychelles to Liberia, African countries are creating financial centres that demand little or no taxation. Khadija Sharife provides a run-down of the places to hide away money from the taxman.
The iron rule of Hosni Mubarak has dominated Egypt for three decades. The regime he heads is preparing for the succession and seeking to channel Egyptians’ hunger for change into a tool of retrenchment. The secular opposition is absorbed by the effort of staying in the political game; the Muslim Brotherhood has larger ambitions. What place does a parliamentary election have in this landscape? Tarek Osman provides an assessment from Cairo.
The question isn’t ‘whether Ethiopians in America have reason to be thankful for the blessings of liberty and the opportunities they have to make material progress’, it is whether they should be thankful to the US for providing billions of dollars to Zenawi’s repressive dictatorship, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam.
A closer look at Haiti’s history demonstrates ‘how deeply problematic it is to think that the US and France should play any role in the governance and internal policy-making of Haiti,' writes Anthony Morgan.
Even with Mbeki gone, South Africa remains plagued by quacks selling ZAR80 juices they claim can cure a disease that only ARVs can treat, writes Oliver Meth.
Diagne Roland Fodé
Saudi Arabia's strategy to outsource food production will be at the top of the agenda when several heads of state and high-level delegations from African countries arrive in Riyadh for an investor conference on 4 December 2010. In some of these countries, Saudi investors are already acquiring farmland and starting to put the Kingdom's policies into operation. One of their main targets is West Africa's rice lands.
As a new report reveals that global beverage company SABMiller uses no fewer than 65 tax havens including Switzerland and Mauritius, Khadija Sharife takes a closer look at the company’s history in apartheid South Africa.
In recognition of World AIDS Day, Dibussi Tande brings a message from the African blogosphere ‘to think positive, and stand in solidarity with those infected and affected’.
In the midst of a global economical crisis as well as a climate crisis, South Africa needs an employment plan, rather than a traditional ‘growth path’. Employment should take place where it is needed, not where private for-profit interests deem it ‘possible’. The shortcomings of the New Growth Plan (NGP) show that organised labour and popular movements must continue to engage in the debate and forge an alternative economic policy to neo-liberalism.
The Children’s Resources Centre, Black Sash, COSATU (Western Cape), the National Consumer Forum and five individual bread consumers have launched the second class action ever undertaken in South Africa. They are seeking damages for consumers to recoup financial losses from bread producers over the increase of bread prices. 'The outcome of the investigations by the Competition Authorities, upon which the merits of our case are based, confirmed what we already suspected and feared: that the increase on bread prices was not some unfortunate occurrence caused by unpredictable weather patterns or the fluctuating price of fuel. Instead, the increase was the result of a series of immoral decisions by companies less concerned about the livelihoods of consumers than about squeezing out competitors, breaking the law, and making profit.'
South African blacks must put aside political affiliations and work together if they are to develop schools that will provide their children with a good education and the freedom to decide their own destinies, writes Veli Mbele.
The Fahamu Emerging Powers in Africa Programme is pleased to announce a call for applications for its Journalist Study Tour to India. Four successful applicants will be chosen to participate in a 6-day study tour. African media professionals in print, broadcast, radio and online fora throughout Africa are encouraged to apply for this study tour. African lecturers from journalism schools and media programmes on the continent may also apply.
Four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from Africa have been selected to receive a prestigious award by UK-based charity, the STARS Foundation. Bungoma-based NGO, ACE Africa Kenya, Nairobi-based NGO, Childline Kenya, Hargeisa-based Africa Educational Trust and Cape Town-based, Home from Home Trust, will each receive a STARS Impact Award, consisting of $100,000 in unrestricted funding and tailored consultancy support. They will be presented to the charities’ Directors on 2nd December at a ceremony in London.
The Commission for Gender Equality has issued an invite for people to attend a two-day public hearing on gender transformation in the workplace.
Last year, the world spent $1.53 trillion dollars on the military. We can’t afford this price tag. We have too many other priorities that require our money: poverty, climate change, job creation. It’s time for people all over the world to come together and say no to the generals and the military contractors. Visit the website to find out more.
Economic growth that fails to take into account social and environmental impacts will not allow us to tackle critical global issues such as climate change and poverty reduction. The focus should be on quality not quantity, writes Muna Lakhani.