PAMBAZUKA NEWS 111
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 111
The broad trends are international: the crisis in farming is global. In poorer countries the situation is even worse. Half of the world's people still make their living from the land - and it is they who feed the majority of the world's poorest people. In South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa more than 70 per cent of the population makes a living from the land. Agriculture counts, on average, for half of total economic activity. Why is the crisis happening? Somebody, somewhere, must be benefiting. The answer is not hard to discover. It lies not in the soil, but inside the corporations which have become known collectively as 'agribusiness'.
While Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang made it clear in her R8,38-billion Budget speech earlier this month that the decision to provide anti-retroviral drugs in the public sector rested with Cabinet, her speech contained other good news. Government has finally decided to set aside R500-million to recruit and retain rural health professionals, for increases in allowances and salaries.
Many world health advocates are concerned that they are not sure how to ramp up existing small-scale HIV/AIDS treatment programs in Caribbean and sub-Saharan African nations now that the "new reality in the fight against the killer pandemic is that once seemingly insurmountable financial barriers have fallen".
Civil society actors have become more visible, active and influential within health and health systems. Understanding their role, the factors influencing them and the health outcomes they produce is important to anyone wishing to improve public health. This website presents an annotated bibliography of research on civil society and health prepared as a collaboration between the World Health Organisation's Civil Society Initiative and Training and Research Support Centre. The research focused on three theme areas: Civil society - state interactions in national health systems; Civil society contributions to pro-poor, health equity policies; Civil society influence on global health policy. The website and database were developed by Fahamu.
Fewer than one in five people at risk of HIV infection today have access to prevention programs, and annual global spending on prevention falls $3.8 billion short of what will be needed by 2005, according to a new report released today by the Global HIV Prevention Working Group. The report, Access to HIV Prevention: Closing the Gap, is the first-ever analysis of the gap between HIV prevention needs and current efforts, and provides recommendations for expanding access to information and services that could help save lives and reverse the global epidemic.
As of 30 April 2003, the Ugandan Ministry of Public Health has reported a total of 277 cases of cholera with 35 deaths in March and April 2003 in Bundibugyo district, with most cases located along the Semliki and Lamia rivers.
Patrick Bond and his co-authors have researched and campaigned on behalf of social and environmental justice for years: offering alternatives to a huge minerals smelter at Nelson Mandela Metropole, opposing the Lesotho mega-dams, helping township activists end electricity/water disconnections and advocating free lifeline services. The hope lies with grassroots protest movements rising everywhere: against globalisation, privatisation, unemployment, poverty, the denial of healthcare and social services, and ecological degradation. In South Africa, what de-commodifying alternatives do they present?
Edited by Dele Olowu, Soumana Sako
Governance is now an important term in development policy discourse, yet its relationship to development, institutional reforms and public policy processes, and even its definition, remain ambiguous. This book brings together analysis of these issues by prominent scholars and practitioners of African development policy. The book’s three main objectives are to describe recent governance changes in African countries, to analyze the consequences of these changes for institutional reforms, and to highlight the challenge of building different types of institutional capacities to consolidate the ongoing processes of economic liberalization and democratization within African countries.
It could turn out to be the biggest political movement of the twenty-first century: a global coalition of millions, united in resisting an out-of-control global economy, and already building alternatives to it. It emerged in Mexico in 1994, when the Zapatista rebels rose up in defiance of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The West first noticed it in Seattle in 1999, when the World Trade Organisation was stopped in its tracks by 50,000 protesters. Since then, it has flowered all over the world, every month of every year. The 'anti-capitalist' street protests we see in the media are only the tip of its iceberg. It aims to shake the foundations of the global economy, and change the course of history. But what exactly is it? Who is involved, what do they want, and how do they aim to get it?
Capitalism is going senile. Its ambition is now restricted to maintaining the wealth of the wealthy in the world, while the poor, condemned to remain out of the loop, are increasingly demonised as the enemy. This is the theme of Samir Amin's major new book, in which the celebrated analyst presents a synoptic view of capitalism's future. He depicts a world in which NATO has taken over the role of the United Nations, in which US hegemony is more or less complete, in which millions are condemned to die in order to preserve the social order of the US, Europe and Japan.
Wole Soyinka provides a foreword to this visceral account of a prominent newspaper editor's arrest, interrogation and imprisonment between 1995 and 1998 under the regime of Nigeria's military dictator Sanni Abacha. The author captures the loneliness and betrayal of political imprisonment and calls for collective responsibility to guard against tyrannical rule.
The treason trial of 22 alleged members of the rightwing Boeremag organisation was postponed in the high court here for a week to address problems with legal aid. Judge Eben Jordaan directed that a meeting be held this week between defence lawyers, the prosecution and the Legal Aid Board to resolve issues in dispute.
Up to 10,000 people have escaped Liberia after the latest upsurge in fighting, the United Nations refugee agency has said. The newly-formed rebel Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model) says it captured the south-eastern town of Harper over the weekend.
Since the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 the refugee regime has evolved with our modern state system, reflecting changes in international law, politics, economics and ideology. Responding to a history of religious and political persecutions, a comprehensive refugee regime finally emerged under the League of Nations after World War I. This regime underwent dramatic change during World War II to create a permanent framework to cope with the refugee problem through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The Cold War had an overwhelming influence on the norms and rules of this regime, and in the post-Cold War era the regime has struggled to reflect and adapt to emerging global concerns - from internally displaced persons to gender and race distributional issues. As UNHCR is forced to reconsider its definitions, laws, and policies, the larger evolving regime must give way to a form of global governance in which the international authority of the UN body has more meaningful influence on the implementation of national law and policy.
There is no sanctuary here. Across West Africa, the bleak settlements of people fleeing war have become military recruiting grounds. With a spreading web of interrelated conflicts raging through the region, rebel and government forces alike have been drafting refugees to fill their ranks. The new recruits include refugees fleeing to foreign countries as well as those displaced within their own. Bored, hungry, impressionable teenagers appear to be among those in greatest demand. On the outskirts of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, a camp for internally displaced people has been so plagued by the conscription campaign of government militias that residents recently created a neighbourhood watch group, aid workers in the camp said. When the telltale pickup trucks of militia forces are seen approaching the camp, word is spread and young men are sent to hide in the woods.
A report published on Tuesday by the influential centre-left think tank, the Institute of Public Policy Research, shows that people are driven to seek asylum by war, ethnic violence, repression, and human rights abuses, rather than by poverty. In order to identify the 'root causes' of forced migration to the European Union, the IPPR focused its attention on the ten countries from which the majority of asylum seekers have come over the past decade.
Kubatana.net believes it is important that abuse of power is monitored and reported. “You have the ability to help curb human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Become vocal, become active and participate in creating democracy in Zimbabwe. Instead of just listening to stories of brutality and feeling outraged and then bottling it up, use the telephone to express your concerns. Let the authorities know that you are aware of what is happening. The more calls they get, the more difficult it will be for them to continue with their violent actions. The idea is to express your concern,” says the organisation.
The chairman of the Media and Information Commission (MIC), Tafataona Mahoso, has demanded that journalists recruited by the privately owned Daily News newspaper two weeks ago must surrender accreditation cards issued to them by the MIC.
President Sam Nujoma has sold his dream of 'piping' water from the Congo River to the rest of southern Africa. The President boasted how his initial vision of a pipeline from the mouth of the Congo River to Namibia is now being translated into reality.
Bush Tale is a stage play and is currently showing at the Windybrow Theatre for the Arts in Hillbrow. It closes on Saturday 24 May. It is written by Martin Koboekae, and directed by Walter Chakela. Bush Tales is a hilarious story set in the Platteland. It enables both black and white South Africans to look back at their past and laugh at themselves.
The Tanzania government has said recently that it is committed to institutionalizing gender within its structures. According to the Minister, the change of focus made by the Ministry of Community, Gender and Children Development from "Women" to "Gender," the creation of the National Gender and Development Policy and the adoption of the Gender Budgeting Initiative by six government sectors is a clear indication of the government's commitment to institutionalize gender within all its spheres.
Dispatch Online reports that due to R20 000 and R25 000 donations from the FNB Foundation and the Joan St Leger Lindbergh Charity Fund respectively the Border Community Chest this month recorded its best fundraising result ever.
The Greater Johannesburg Welfare, Social Service and Development Forum (GJWSSDF) hosted a meeting on the funding crisis in the welfare sector on Thursday 8 May. The meeting was a follow up to a meeting held in October of last year. The meeting attracted more than 80 people but was marred by the last minute cancellation by key speakers from the Department of Social Development and the National Development Agency (NDA).
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is backing a multi-million dollar project to combat "the scourge of violent conflicts" in Africa. The scheme, which will cost $6,4-million, is part of a three-year project aimed at boosting efforts by the newly formed African Union (AU) to tackle wars on the continent. Among the areas that the project will help finance is the AU's much-heralded Peace and Security Council (PSC), which has yet to get off the ground.
The purpose of this position is to provide strategic leadership, direction and good management in order to fullfill the goal of the Resource Centre.
Policy-makers should recognise the obligation of the international community to curb multinationals which pursue extractive development of natural resources, sustain counterinsurgency and condone human rights violations, according to a paper from the Institute of Development Studies that examines the assets management strategies of war-affected households in Sudan's Bahr el Ghazal region. Policy-makers further need to understand that conflict in southern Sudan cannot be ended without a massive injection of international resources to tackle long-standing deprivation and horizontal inequalities.
How does trade impact on the environment? Why do many southern governments regard environmental protection as a low priority? Are they justified in thinking that pressures to clean up their environmental act are part of a deceitful northern trade protectionism agenda? Could the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) have benefits for the south?
In the build-up to Zimbabwe’s controversial presidential election in March 2002 the South African government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees met to prepare for a potential refugee influx. What lessons were learned? As drought and political instability hit southern Africa, could South Africa cope with massive famine-induced displacement?
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have jointly called on the U.N. Security Council to authorize the deployment of a rapid reaction force to protect civilians in Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In an open letter to the Security Council, the two human rights organisations called the situation in Ituri "a critical test" of the Security Council's commitments to prevent mass killings and protect civilians, and noted that the United Nations Observation Mission in Congo (MONUC) has been unable to adequately protect civilians.
The International Federation of Journalists has described the decision by Zimbabwe to deport Andrew Meldrum, veteran Africa correspondent, as a low point in the continuing struggle for press freedom in the country. "The twilight world of independent journalism has been rendered dark by this malicious and spiteful act from the regime of Robert Mugabe," said Aidan White, General Secretary of the IFJ.
The Otumfuo Education Fund (OEF) has collected a total of 2.2 billion cedis cash from individuals and organisations since it was established in 1999. Nana Brefo-Boateng, Executive Secretary of the Fund, announced this at a press briefing in Kumasi on Monday to launch Otumfuo Education Fund Week and Fund Raising Dinner Dance, starting from June 2.
A Kinshasa-based organisation has protested against the harassment of journalists at a May 17 public rally attended by President Joseph Kabila. Journalists at the event are alleged to have received death threats.
The Media Monitoring Group, a coalition of members of the Nigerian Union of Journalist and the Nigerian Guild of Editors, has commended the Federal Government, INEC and the people of Nigeria on the conduct and outcome of recent elections. The group noted a great improvement in terms of preparations by INEC as materials arrived on time at polling centres - a clear departure from the previous elections when there were reports of late arrivals at some polling units.
The Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) announced last week that it is to coordinate the African activities of a new international effort to promote research and development into drugs for diseases that impact the poor. The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) — an initiative spearheaded by Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) — will facilitate collaboration between research institutes, non-governmental organisations and pharmaceutical companies in both rich and poor countries in a bid to develop drugs against diseases currently ignored by market-driven drug development.
The European Union (EU) has agreed to grant Senegal 307 million (US$351 million) over a five-year period to fund development programmes and debt relief, the European Commission office in Dakar said in a statement.
Food insecurity and rural stagnation continue to plague the African continent and the answer to this situation necessitates greater productivity and profitability in the agricultural sector. Constraints to crop production include insufficient pest and disease control, inadequate access to improved crop varieties, degraded soils, limited access to markets and market information and unreliable extension services. Where technical solutions exist to these constraints, development specialists must find means to deliver them in a form understandable and acceptable to farmers. When these solutions are lacking, agricultural scientists must focus their efforts upon assisting farmers to solve their problems through improved technologies.
UNICEF has identified a loophole in the British legal code that allows children to be smuggled into the United Kingdom for non-sexual forced labour. The U.N. agency, which plans to publish a major study on child trafficking this summer, says that although the British government has made the smuggling of children for prostitution an offence punishable by up to 14 years in jail, those who traffic children for labour in sweatshops or private houses face no such penalty.
Nigeria has passed a policy on female genital mutilation 10 years after it was drafted, Panafrican News Agency reported Saturday. At a conference in Abuja, the Ministry of Health's director of community development, Morrison Amaeshi, said a recent survey had shown that four types of FGM were still practiced in the country. Amaeshi, who blamed tradition and cultural beliefs for "the slow progress towards its elimination," added that FGM "is not required by any religious injunction" and "causes great pains and damage." Amaeshi said general ignorance and substandard professional knowledge of the practice worsened the situation.
On World Telecommunications Day last Saturday, the question of the digital divide—the difference between the so-called "developed" and "less developed" countries in terms of the availability and use of new information and communications technologies, particularly regarding access and use of the Internet—was one of the main topics of debate. However, less is understood about the growing knowledge and participation divide between "developed" and "undeveloped" countries on decisions regarding the global structure of the Internet that is currently under the mandate of the Internet Corporation for the Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
One of the biggest promises of the Internet was the transformation of political activism. No longer would change come about solely through the actions of large organisations, claimed the Web's early enthusiasts. Now, several years after these enthusiastic pronouncements, there has been a reconsideration of the effectiveness of online activism.
The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has sent a letter to each of the G8 heads of state, prior to their Summit at Evian, France from June 1 to 3, 2003, raising concerns about the implementation of the G8's Africa Action Plan in light of the ongoing human rights violations being committed in Zimbabwe. In the letter, the Lawyers Committee urges the G8 members to ensure that the current crisis in Zimbabwe receives sufficient attention at the Summit in Evian. The letter points out that resolution of the crisis in Zimbabwe is not only a legal and moral imperative, but fundamental to the successful implementation of the G8's Africa Action Plan and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
Cabinet ministers, MPs, judges and other top public servants have until the end of June to declare their wealth or face prosecution. Anti-corruption declaration forms were being processed and should be available to all government departments and organisations mid-next month, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Kiraitu Murungi said.
The government's final report on the R60-billion arms procurement deal was heavily edited and it left out findings on gifts received by key players in the controversial deal, Business Day reported on Wednesday. The final report, handed over to Parliament last year, also omitted "inaccuracies" in a defence department presentation to Parliament's select committee on public accounts (Scopa), the newspaper said.
There is widespread concern that citizens are being sidelined from having a say in decisions about their welfare taken by inter-governmental organisations (IGOs). This has recently led to new mechanisms apparently aimed at solving the problem. These measures have focused primarily on the role of civil society organisations (CSO’s), but have ignored the role of parliamentarians. Parliamentarians – unlike CSO’s – are democratically elected. As elected representatives they should have responsibilities for holding global decision makers to account.
So why are parliamentarians excluded? There are a number of reasons, including the startling rules of some IGO’s that prohibit parliamentarians from influencing decision-making. However, the main reason is the reluctance of member states to share power with parliamentarians. Things are changing, however, as parliamentarians from around the world are beginning to demand greater power.
What has become known as the “democratic deficit” was analysed a couple of years ago by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) itself, whose then head Mike Moore noted: "If the WTO is to succeed it must reinforce its democratic credentials.” Mr Moore was responding to what he stated was “a very real feeling amongst many people that decisions which are having a fundamental impact upon their lives are being devised behind closed doors."
Unfortunately, the problem was and is not unique to the WTO. Nearly all IGOs operating on the global sphere are suffering from a “democratic deficit”. The problem stems from a disconnect between decisions taken at the global level which impact upon local communities and the power of local communities to hold those decision-makers to account.
The almost exclusive focus up until now on developing new mechanisms to enable global organisations to engage directly with CSOs as a means of closing this gap is undoubtedly important and in need of deepening. However, of equal, if not greater importance, due to their democratic credentials, is the need to strengthen parliamentarians’ ability to hold global organisations to account. Sidelined up until recently, work is just beginning on strengthening the power of this important and often neglected group to do this task.
Flick through the pages of any self-respecting inter-governmental organisation’s annual report and you will be overwhelmed by the amount of engagement these organisations have with civil society organisations, from formal institutional links like the World Bank’s Committee for Non-governmental Organisation’s (NGOs) or the WTO’s NGO forum to project level partnerships and policy level consultations. Seen as important articulators of the views and needs of the most marginalized, engagement with civil society organisations is fast becoming common practice.
The idea is to provide new channels to re-connect the local citizen to the global decision-maker. It is a good one, if, and it is a big if, it is meaningfully carried out and actually enables citizens to really have an impact. Unfortunately, it appears that much of it, at this point in time, is far from meaningful. Work needs to be done to deepen this form of engagement. However, this process, vital though it may be, is no substitute for more democratic means of bridging the divide.
Civil society organisations, though often incredibly well informed and articulate, do not formally represent local communities. Only parliamentarians are democratically elected to represent their constituencies and as such have unparalleled legitimacy to do so. Parliamentarians are also intimately linked with the process of passing decisions taken at the global level into national law, placing them in a position to be able to hold global decision-makers to account.
At present this potential power is hindered because IGOs do not provide good access to information to parliamentarians and informal and formal mechanisms for engagement are extremely limited, especially in comparison to the array of mechanisms available to civil society organisations. As Norbert Mao, a Ugandan MP and member of the African Parliamentary Network on the World Bank, notes, international financial institutions (IFIs) have “historically engaged with the executive branch of governments and the legislative branch has been largely left out of the relationship”. However, he adds: “It is just as important for the World Bank and other IFIs to interact with the legislative branch of governments since it represents the “voice” of the people”.
So why has there been so little engagement with this group? Well, firstly, there are legal blockages, which prevent some IFIs from certain forms of engagement. The World Bank’s articles of association, for example, astoundingly prevent Bank staff from briefing legislative bodies either verbally or in written form. Secondly, parliamentarians have also, until recently, not been as vocal as civil society organisations in demanding a seat at the table. High profile public campaigning by NGOs, for example, have made them a force that simply cannot be ignored. Thirdly, and most importantly, there is a reticence by the member governments to share their power and include parliamentarians in greater engagement at the global level. This appears to still be the major stumbling bloc.
Things are changing though. UK and French parliamentarians, for example, have recently made moves to demand greater accountability of their governments at the global level. The UK Parliament asked Clare Short, former Minister for International Development, to give evidence in parliament on the UK influence in the World Bank. This is the first time this has happened. The French parliament has also recently made an International Monetary Fund (IMF) request for greater money conditional on its government providing an annual account of its activities within this institution. Both initiatives highlight parliamentarians placing pressure on their member governments to provide greater disclosure of decisions taken at the global level.
As for more direct engagement between IGOs and parliamentarians, in 2000 the ‘Parliamentary Network on the World Bank’ was established as an independent organisation of key parliamentarians collaborating with the World Bank in order to increase legislative involvement in international development. The network has regional chapters and an Africa chapter was opened this year that will adopt its own regional agenda. The network is looking into how parliamentarians can be more involved in World Bank PRSP processes, amongst other things. Other global organisations are watching with interest (read the IMF) on how this relationship develops in recognition that it is no longer possible to ignore parliamentarians in global decision-making.
Much more work needs to be done to increase the ability of parliamentarians to do their job and hold global organisations to account. Both parliamentarians along with civil society organisations are important actors in bridging the disconnect between local and global decision-making. Increased disclosure of information from global organisations and greater means of participation and readdress for both of these groups is vital for the future.
* Hetty Kovach is manager of the Global Accountability Project at the One World Trust, Houses of Parliament, London.
* Send your comments on this editorial to
ABOUT THE GLOBAL ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT:
The One World Trust’s Global Accountability Project (GAP) was started in 2000 and is a unique project assessesing the accountability of inter-governmental organisations (IGOs), transnational corporations (TNCs) and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). At the heart of the project is a novel framework which explains what accountability means and identifies eight core organisational dimensions crucial to fostering greater accountability.
GAP has recently published its first report ‘Power Without Accountability’. The report assesses eighteen of the world’s most powerful organisations including the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The results show wide differences between the organisations, clearly indicating leaders in the field and those that fall behind. For more information about GAP and a full copy of the report please visit http://www.oneworldtrust.org
In its latest bid to suppress any discussion of the rights of indigenous peoples, the government of Botswana has banned Survival International's human rights education pack from the country's schools. The Gana and Gwi 'Bushmen' and their neighbours the Bakgalagadi were evicted from their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002, and forced to live in grim resettlement camps.
In what its supporters hailed as a milestone in the U.S. commitment to fighting the global spread of HIV/AIDS, the Senate approved by voice vote a five-year, $15 billion anti-AIDS package in the pre-dawn hours of May 15th. But Africa and anti-AIDS activists complained after the vote that the bill retained serious flaws and warned that the $15 billion provided by the package still faces a number of legislative and executive obstacles before the money can actually be spent. "This bill is a check given to countries fighting AIDS, but it will come back marked 'insufficient funds'," noted Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance.
Beatrice Mtetwa, a lawyer representing deported Guardian correspondent Andrew Meldrum, has said that she will petition the High Court to compel the government to bring her client back. Mtetwa says that she will petition so that a High Court order granted by Justice Hungwe on 16 May 2003 barring the deportation of Meldrum is honoured. "The court directed that he should be brought back and I am still pursuing that," said Mtetwa.
Eldis, the gateway to development information, has launched its latest guide, focusing on ICTs for development. Eldis provides links to over 12,000 editorially selected and summarised research documents on development issues, as well as issue features and dossiers, news, jobs and more. The Eldis ICT for development guide provides regularly updated: Summaries and links for key documents - available free online; Descriptions and links for organisations; Regular features, synthesising research on an important issue or debate; Quick access to key subject areas; Quick access to messages from key discussion lists in ICT for development; Listings of coming events, conferences, jobs, funding and prizes; Listings of where to go for country specific information; Free regular email bulletin of latest research and news, with documents emailed to users with low bandwidth; and A free newsfeed through which webmasters can quickly add Eldis content to their own websites.
Top investors urged companies toward greater openness over the cash paid to governments for oil drilling and mining rights in an initiative launched on Tuesday. Political violence in Nigeria, where decades of corruption have wasted tens of billions of dollars of western oil money since an oil boom began in the 1970s, has been a catalyst for the initiative.
In 1998 seventy thousand people formed a human chain around the G8 Summit in Birmingham, UK, demanding an end to Third World debt and rocketing the issue to the top of the G8’s agenda. As the leaders of the G8 group of rich countries prepares to meet in Evian, France at the beginning of June, this report from Jubilee Research, Cafod and the Jubilee Debt Campaign examines in detail the progress that has occurred to date – to the benefit of millions of impoverished people – but also delineates the immense progress that remains to be achieved. The report notes that only eight countries have so far received substantial debt write-off under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. HIPC was failing to restore countries to debt ‘sustainability’ even according to its own, narrow criteria – 19 of the 26 countries currently in receipt of assistance will not have ‘sustainable’ debts even after completing their passage through HIPC, says the report.
The Centre is pleased to provide information and links to four ODR workshops at upcoming conferences and meetings. These include a special session on ODR and the Legal and Regulatory Environment and A Second Forum on Online Dispute Resolution. Click on the link for more information.
Baobabconnections is an award winning online monthly magazine focused on one of the critical issues of our times - globalisation and its related themes. The newsletter promotes the de-globalisation of corporate power and the inauguration of south-north development predicated on the dignity and worth of the human being and the natural environment. The newsletter produces its own content and has 832 members in 66 countries.
In the 1950s, an African farmer produced ten quintals of grain, says Marcel Mazoyer, professor at the national agronomical institute in Paris. He kept eight to feed his family, and had two left over to sell on the market at $29 per quintal (at current rates). He thus had $57 of income to cover basic expenses. Today, with a quintal fetching less than $14, he must sell four to obtain the same amount and purchase vital necessities. He can no longer feed his family, much less make a profit that would enable him to invest in ways to increase production.
Angola's children are finally beginning to enjoy the fruits of the end of the country's long civil war with back-to-school-campaigns, free birth registration and a decrease in malnutrition rates.
Somali communities have reacted with shock and dismay over a decision to close the Saudi-based Al-Haramayn aid agency after the US government accused it of links with terrorists. The Islamic agency closed its doors in Somalia on Saturday after the Saudi government ordered its international staff to leave the country, Nur Alasow, a Somali employee of the agency told IRIN.
Nigeria's main opposition presidential candidate has filed a court petition to nullify the re-election of President Olusegun Obasanjo on the grounds of widespread vote rigging and other irregularities. Muhammadu Buhari, who came a distant second to Obasanjo in the 19 April ballot, filed his claims on Tuesday at the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The court serves as a tribunal to consider complaints arising from the elections. No date has yet been fixed for a hearing.
Ethiopia has vowed to combat the problem of child labour in the country, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said on Wednesday. The Ethiopian parliament has backed an international convention that aims to wipe out the “worst forms” of child labour and could result in jail sentences for businesses employing children.
Although Malawi is making some progress towards improving its human rights, the areas of education, health, freedom of expression and women's rights remain problematic, says a new report by the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC).
Vital documents requested by defence lawyers in the treason trial of the country's opposition leaders have been destroyed, Zimbabwe's top intelligence chief said Wednesday. Retired brigadier general Happyton Bonyongwe, who heads Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), told the High Court that some documents relating to government payments to Canadian-based political consultancy firm, Dickens and Madison, have been destroyed.
"Freedom is God's gift to every person in every nation," President Bush said recently, explaining what he claimed to be the ultimate goal of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The president will have to excuse history professor Didier Gondola for not buying it. "Double talk," he calls Bush's pronouncement. "It is so hypocritical, because it is not in American interests to have democracy everywhere. In Iraq, there was a government holding valuable resources the U.S. could not control. So the U.S. took action. In Congo, the U.S. controls the government and the resources, so it doesn't really matter that millions of Congolese are dying."
African governments and major international oil explorers are meeting in Angola to discuss how to exploit offshore oil from West and Central African nations. The government of host nation Angola has been criticised by international donors for failing to stop corrupt officials pocketing oil revenues.
The recent 2002 report of Transparency International, which gave Namibia reasonably good ratings on the corruption index has probably led to a false sense of complacency and may inadvertently serve to indicate to government and the public at large that Namibia is not a worst-case scenario and that therefore there is little reason to worry.
There has been progress in achieving gender equality and women's empowerment around the world - but the pace is too slow in many regions. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest levels of achievement, primarily because of a devastating combination of national poverty, conflict and the effects of HIV/AIDS. These are among the findings of Progress of the World's Women 2002, the groundbreaking report on women's empowerment produced by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
Africa Section is happy to announce that the Workshop on Preservation of African Heritage which was postponed last year is now back on track and will be taking place on the dates and venue as specified above. The Workshop will focus on the preservation of collections housed in libraries archives and museums.
I am happy to make this presentation on behalf of the National Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Mining in Ghana's forest reserves. The presentation I am about to make focuses on concerns we as a coalition have about national decision-making efforts for mining in Ghana's forest reserves. Knowing that we are all interested in the sustainable development of our natural resources we are hopeful that by the end of the presentation many would see our campaign as justified and worthy of support. The Government of Ghana has declared her intention to release portions of Ghana's closed forest reserves for mining. Five mining companies are already lined up for mining leases to exploit mineral resources in the forest reserves. Therefore, we the Civil Society Coalition against mining in forest reserves are concerned about this decision by the government, and we call on her to withdraw the decision and to revoke those mining leases if already granted.
The Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) has announced its Seed Grant and Small Innovative Projects Fund (SGSIP Fund) for the year 2003. Supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), GKP invites project proposals for pilot projects or from new or ongoing small-scale initiatives, not exceeding US$25,000, with a focus on developing countries.
ARTICLE 19 has agreed to lead in the drafting of a Charter that will set out the standards to which the disclosure policies of the international financial and trade institutions (IFTIs) should conform. This will form a centrepiece of ARTICLE 19's campaign to promote broader notions of the right to access information and the obligations of global governance actors.
An oil spillage has occurred at Egbebiri in Yenagoa local government area of Bayelsa State. The oil spillage was from Idu, Well 5, one of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) facilities, and was said to have devastated farmlands, fish ponds and the only source of drinking water in the area.
As wildlife authorities step up anti-poaching operations to curb illegal trafficking of endangered birds, poachers of the African Grey parrot have devised ways of beating the system. The New Vision has learnt that poachers illegally hunt the parrots and later get permits from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
As one way of reducing poverty in the country, the Mzuzu Environmental Education Centre has embarked on a campaign to educate the community around Mzuzu on bee and guinea fowl farming. Parks and wildlife Officer, Obedi Mkandawire, told The Malawi Standard that the Centre has decided to assist government to fight poverty in the country by teaching, identifying funds for farmers and encouraging the community to practice bee and guinea fowl farming because honey and guinea fowl eggs are on high demand.
In 2001, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change revealed that although due to underdevelopment Africa emits negligible amounts of greenhouse gases, it will suffer the most from the impact of climate change. Africa's fate will lie squarely on the doorsteps of the industrialised countries responsible for spewing out greenhouse gases. Their reluctance to reduce these emissions will only make matters worse.
Flooding in eastern Africa has claimed the lives of more than 160 people and has displaced some 167,000 others. The worst affected area is the Gode Region in eastern Ethiopia where 69 villages are under water, and other villages are impossible to reach due to severe flooding. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reported malaria outbreaks, measles and diarrhoea cases in flooded areas, and says the risk of acute respiratory infection and cholera is increasing.
In Africa there are profound concerns that the war in Iraq will strain relations between countries that have joined the ‘coalition of the willing’ and those that have not. In particular there are concerns that this, along with the costs of war and reconstruction, may reduce aid and investment commitments from the G8 countries, hindering the implementation of Nepad and development generally on the continent. The Southern African Regional Poverty Network (SARPN) and the Open Society Foundation (South Africa) recently hosted a discussion forum in Pretoria where Baroness Valerie Amos, the United Kingdom Minister for Africa, responded to some of these concerns. The meeting was attended by representatives of a number of G8 countries, of the SADC and of government, civil society and academia in South Africa and other SADC countries.
The Eritrean government is to introduce a new school curriculum for the next academic year aimed at boosting productivity. According to the official Shaebia website, Education Minister Osman Saleh said the new curriculum for the 2003-2004 academic year met international standards and "will enable students to be productive citizens once they finish school".
They are young and gorgeous, dressed scantily, if at all, and with sex on the brain. When not unbuckling belts, rolling in bed, entwining legs and sliding hands towards nether regions, they are talking about sex. And they are everywhere. On billboards and television, in newspapers and magazines, suffusing South Africa with what resembles a racy advertising campaign for Coca-Cola or Levis. In fact this is an HIV/Aids prevention campaign, one of the most audacious and controversial to be attempted in Africa, and the use of branding techniques is intentional. If it works, safe-sex will become as hip and ubiquitous as Coke.
The Labour Court ruled the week that the 12-day strike by teachers is illegal and ordered all the strikers to report back to work within 48 hours. Most teachers across Zimbabwe have been on strike since schools re-opened for the second term on 8 May.
Human rights campaigners in Zambia have won a major victory when President Levy Mwanawasa recently refused to sign death sentences, and commuted all sentences to life imprisonment. The criminal justice system in Zambia imposes the death penalty for three offences: murder, treason and aggravated robbery. Home Affairs Minister Ronnie Shipakwasha, a close ally of Mwanawasa, who is opposed to the death penalty, says: "The president, in his own wisdom, has gone ahead and refused to carry out the death penalty and commuted them to life imprisonment.” There are about 250 people on death row in Zambia.
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Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa's former special assistant for press and public relations, Arthur Yoyo, and a former managing editor of the Times of Zambia, Emmanuel Nyirenda, were on Wednesday arrested for corruption.
Ivory Coast's new reconciliation government is preparing to meet for the first time in the rebel stronghold of Bouake. Prime Minister Seydou Diarra has now arrived there, in the latest move towards healing splits from an armed rebellion last September.
Four associations fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in Burundi have appealed to the government to improve access to anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) for children orphaned by AIDS.
Goodwill ambassador Miriam Makeba launched a women's skills exchange project between South African and West African women on Thursday. Makeba said the project was aimed at allowing women from different backgrounds to share their work experiences and challenges facing them in their respective countries.
Women's organisations in Uganda have voiced mixed reactions to Vice President's Specioza Wandira Kazibwe decision to resign from her post. Kazibwe, a medical doctor by profession, reportedly wrote to President Yoweri Museveni asking to be relieved of her position in order to pursue a PhD at the Harvard School of Medicine in the US. A presidential spokesperson confirmed Kazibwe's resignation, but told IRIN that the president had not yet appointed a replacement. Until her resignation, Kazibwe was the only female vice president in Africa. She was appointed after Museveni came to power in 1986. However some Ugandan women argue that although her appointment as vice president raised the profile of women in politics, she failed to use her position to positively influence key policies in favour of women.
A United States proposal on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health at the 56th World Assembly asserts that strengthening intellectual property (IP) protection is the best way to stimulate investments in R&D. But this assertion disregards mounting evidence to the contrary: the emerging global consensus that the current system of IP protection is failing to stimulate R&D for diseases of the poor.
Nigeria is to get more funding and attention from international bodies in the area of polio eradication following the decision by the Global Polio Eradication initiative to revise immunisation campaigns in 93 countries where polio transmission has already been stopped.
There is a growing global tide of awareness that combating corruption is integral to achieving more effective, fair and efficient government. Several countries now view bribery and corruption as a serious obstacle to sustainable human development, and are asking the United Nations to assist them in gaining the requisite set of tools to curb such practices. Hence the Vienna-based United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention (UNCICP) has launched a Global Programme against Corruption (GPAC), with pilot projects in selected countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 110
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 110
This document presents an overview of the situation of increasing numbers of orphans and children affected by HIV/Aids worldwide. It states that both communities and governments are reaching crisis point in trying to cope with these children.
The Lesotho Gender and Media Baseline Study initiated by the Media Institute of Southern Africa in collaboration with Gender Links, a South African non-governmental organisation that promotes gender equality in and through the media shows that women’s views and voices are under-represented in Lesotho’s media.
South Africa's Freedom of Expression Institute has called for the withdrawal of the draft Anti-Terrorism Bill, saying that, if passed, it will impact seriously on individual civil and political liberties such as the rights to freedom of expression, association, security of the person, belief, opinion, assembly and demonstration.
The Zimbabwe Supreme court has passed a landmark judgment against the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act by declaring Section 80 unconstitutional. The full bench of the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Daily News reporter Lloyd Mudiwa and former Editor in Chief of the same paper, Geoff Nyarota.
This article reviews major issues involved in achieving the objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Using a simple framework for evaluation, the analysis highlights considerations relevant to policymakers in the areas of poverty reduction, macroeconomic policies, trade promotion, attracting capital flows, and governance and institutional reforms.
Red Cross officials have described the situation in eastern Caprivi as "very serious" after floods from the raging Zambezi River submerged settlements and schools. "The floods have so far claimed two lives," they said. The Emergency Management Unit dispatched a team to assess the floods. Humanitarian agents from the Namibia Red Cross Society, assisted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from Botswana, are also in the area assessing the situation.
A journalist of Radio Television Nationale Congolaise sustained serious injuries during a beating by local authorities in the eastern city of Kindu in Maniema Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, a local source told IRIN that Dieudonne Bulongo Muzaliwa was making a good recovery.
Activists of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress opposition party in Kinshasa physically assaulted Baudoin Kamenda, a Radio France Internationale correspondent.
A life-saving measles vaccination campaign has reached 2.1 million Angolan children so far, the UN Children's Fund said. The vaccination campaign was launched in late April and is spearheaded by the Ministry of Health with key financial, logistical and training support from UNICEF.
West and central African cotton-producing countries have applied to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for financial compensation from industrialised nations whose agricultural subsidies threaten the survival of their cotton industry.
Study papers presented at a two-day consultative workshop organised by the World Bank (WB) and the Ministry of Capacity Building (MoCB) revealed that Ethiopia stood lowest among developing countries in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Since the 19th century, South Africa's economy has been sustained by the migration of cheap labour from neighbouring countries. But the end of apartheid, the consequent search for a new national identity and the accompanying tensions of a nation in transition have also fuelled deep suspicion and hostility against such migrants, who are now viewed increasingly as 'aliens'.
I would like to express my anger at the ruling government, the police and Dr.Ignatius Chombo for showing gross incompetence on everything in this state. Starting with Dr.Chombo, why are you tampering with the Honourable Engineer Mudzuri's high profile post? To remove an elected figure like Mudzuri from office is unfair, an unwelcome move, based on nothing but flimsy political grounds. It's really a disgrace.
ExxonMobil and other leading oil companies are to face an investigation into how up to $500m (£310m) came to be paid into a private US bank account, said to be solely controlled by the President of Equatorial Guinea. Global Witness, a London-based anti-corruption campaign group, has written to John Ashcroft, the US Attorney General, asking him to look into allegations that Equatorial Guinea's ruler, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, has between $300m and $500m deposited in the Dupont Circle branch of Riggs Bank in Washington, DC.