Pambazuka News 448: Emerging from the crisis of capitalism
Pambazuka News 448: Emerging from the crisis of capitalism
Nine solders serving in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) were killed Thursday after militant group, the Al Shabaab, hit the main headquarters of the mission, killing peacekeepers and wounding senior force commanders. The African Union (AU) immediately condemned the attacks and asked all the neighbouring countries to impose sanctions against the terrorist elements fighting efforts to restore stability in Somalia.
Kenya's civil society organisations have lauded Parliament's move to annul the unilateral re-appointment of Justice Aaron Ringera as Kenya's Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) Director. Executive Director Harun Ndubi of HAKI Focus, a civil society organisation, said Thursday the move signified a new era in Kenyan politics where all leaders were held accountable for their actions.
Participants attending a regional conference, entitled 'Regional Conference on Protection Challenges to Climate Change in West Africa', have ended their two-day conference in Lome, the Togolese capital, with a call for the use of a human rights-based approach to address climate change challenges in the region.
Africa registered 8,000 cases of the H1N1 A flu, called swine flu, 46 of which resulted in deaths, out of the the 164,152 cases reported throughout the world, a researcher with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Sénégal, Dr. Mang Coly, has disclosed. Coly said South Africa was one of the most affected countries in the continent with 5,877 cases of contamination, followed by Tanzania, with 96 cases, Mauritius , 69 cases, and Kenya, 85 cases.
Niger's president Mamadou Tandja is ready to dialogue with the opposition following a crisis triggered by a controversial referendum which has approved an extra three years for him, the head of a delegation of the Pan African Parliament (PAP), Mr Alassane Sawadogo, has announced. "President Tandja presented himself to us as a man ready for dialogue, anxious for peace, stability and Niger's supreme interest," Mr Sawadogo, PAPMP for Burkina Faso, said at the end of an audience with the Niger president.
The National Election Commission (NEC) of Cote d'Ivoire has postponed the publication of the temporary voters' list in the country, scheduled to take place on Tuesday. In a communique, made available to PANA here, NEC stated that the publication had been "moved forward a few days". It did not give further details but merely said that the display was postponed for reasons "beyond its control".
Rich countries must repay their climate debt by making big cuts to emissions and providing developing countries with the finance and technology needed, global anti-poverty agency ActionAid said in a release on the World Bank's annual World Development Report."A broad coalition from Bolivian President Evo Morales to the World Bank is united in saying that past emissions matter and that rich countries have to confront this rather than avoid it," Tom Sharman, ActionAid's head of climate change, said in a statement.
Sixteen people died and 49 others are missing and presumed dead in three separate incidents involving smuggling boats in the Gulf of Aden over the last 48 hours, the UN refugee agency has said. The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement that the first incident took place early Sunday morning off the coast of Radfan, some 150 kilometres east of the Mayfa'a reception centre.
The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has proposed a three-tier approach to deal with architects of the post-election violence. Mr Moreno-Ocampo, at a meeting with Lands minister James Orengo, proposed the creation of special courts in Kenya to try those who committed atrocities during the violence. The ICC will deal with those who bore the biggest responsibility for the chaos, he added.
Zimbabwe's minerals sector could attract investments of up to $16 billion once a more conducive business environment is in place, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said. That could help boost gross domestic product by $3 billion per year, Tsvangirai said.
A multi-country campaign in Africa is using cell phone technology to expose stock-outs of essential medicines at public health facilities and put pressure on governments to address the issue. "Stop the Stock-outs" was launched earlier this year in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia by Health Action International (HAI) Africa, a regional network of NGOs, healthcare providers and civil society organizations, in partnership with Oxfam, the UK-based aid and developmental charity, and civil society organizations in several countries.
Two weeks ago, Global Voices Online reported the story of Januário Alves de Santana, a black man who had been beaten and punched by security guards of one of the largest international retailers in Brazil. He was waiting for his family in the car park of a supermarket when he was accused of trying to steal his own car, under the argument that, being black, he would not be able to afford a luxury car.
The former head of Rwanda's tea industry has pleaded guilty to complicity in the 1994 genocide. Michel Bagaragaza admitted playing a role in the massacre at the international Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) which sits in Tanzania. He said he allowed a militia to use tea factory vehicles on their rampages.
Kenyan authorities have begun to move residents out of Africa's largest slum - the Kibera settlement in Nairobi. Officials expect to take from two to five years to clear the slum, which is home to about one million people. The first people to move are being rehoused nearby in 300 newly built apartments, each paying about $10 (£6) a month in rent. But some residents and landlords have gone to court in a bid to stop the moves as they claim they own the land.
The Ugandan government should immediately allow radio stations and programming that it closed down after protests in Kampala last week to return to the air and should investigate the arrest and abuse of a prominent journalist, Robert Kalundi Sserumaga, Human Rights Watch has said.
South Africa's Sumbandila Satellite blasted off into space on Thursday evening. The blast-off was accompanied by rousing applause and delight by keen South Africans who had traveled to Baikonur, Kazakhstan to witness the event. Among the guests were Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor. She said the launch of Sumbandila which is Venda for "lead the way" has paved the way for bigger and better things.
How can the EU and other donors support increased women’s political participation in post-conflict situations? What can be done to ensure that this results in meaningful change for women in general? This paper from the Initiative for Peacebuilding recommends practical strategies for the EU and other donors to guide the consideration of gender issues into their post-conflict governance interventions.
The World Bank and major non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are calling on leaders who will gather for next week's Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Pittsburgh not to forget the needs of the world's poorest countries, which have been severely affected by the last year's financial crisis.In a report released on Wednesday, the Bank said the global recession, whose repercussions are still being felt around the world, will have resulted in an additional 89 million people living in absolute poverty, or on less than 1.25 dollars a day, by the end of next year.
This week’s emerging powers news casts a spotlight on domestic developments in China; such as privatization of state-owned enterprises, the governance system, law and order. Elsewhere, China, India and Brazil continue to expand their investment footprint and hunt for resources in Africa and beyond.
Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Wednesday he had blocked possible "unprocedural use" of IMF aid allocated to the country under a global assistance agreement for member states hit by a global crisis. Biti dismissed as "rubbish" reports in state media that he had written to the International Monetary Fund effectively rejecting over $500 million in IMF special drawing rights extended to Zimbabwe because Harare has external debts of about $5.7 billion.
The World Bank is spending billions of pounds subsidising new coal-fired power stations in developing countries despite claiming that burning fossil fuels exposes the poor to catastrophic climate change. The bank, which has a goal of reducing poverty and is funded by Britain and other developed countries, calls on all nations in a report today to “act differently on climate change”.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the death threats issued against Kadi Adzuba and Delphine Namuto of Radio Okapi and Jolly Kamuntu of the privately-owned radio station, Radio Maendeleo, who were all threatened through an unknown SMS in Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province in the east of DRC.
Evidence indicates that the dumping of toxic wastes caused over one dozen deaths and dozens of illnesses in Côte d’Ivoire in 2006, an independent United Nations human rights expert have said.In August of that year, the cargo ship “Probo Koala” dumped 500 tonnes of toxic wastes, belonging to the Dutch commodity trading company Trafigura, at sites around the city of Abidjan, the West African nation’s largest city.
The number of incidents against humanitarian workers operating in the volatile North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surged by 26 per cent in the first six months this year, and the attacks are becoming increasingly violent, according to a United Nations report.
A United Nations-backed campaign to bring education to millions of children in Africa is expanding to reach millions more after exceeding its initial target by raising more than $50 million.The Schools for Africa partnership, set up in 2004 by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) and the Hamburg Society to raise money to help over 4 million children in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe, signed a memorandum of understanding on the expansion in New York recently.
The Liberian leader president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has filed a lawsuit against the New Broom newspaper for libel, amounting to $5 million in damages. The paper recently accused president Sirleaf of receiving US$2 million as kickback to favor a company for control of the Cavalla Robber Plantation in the south eastern region of Liberia.
Media watchdog, the Media Institute for Southern Africa – Zimbabwe, has expressed grave concern over the upsurge of hate speech against the private media and perceived opponents, by members of ZANU PF and the state controlled media. Earlier this week army commander, Lieutenant-General Phillip Valerio Sibanda, berated foreign based Zimbabwean radio stations, accusing them of being at war with Zimbabwe and urged the military to ‘guard against them’. This has been widely seen as meaning that journalists broadcasting into Zimbabwe are legitimate military targets because they threaten the state.
Millions of years ago, Madagascar separated from the other continents and evolved separately. Today it has about 12,000 plants most of which can be found nowhere else in the world. Many of these plants have medicinal properties, but their habitat is under threat. In the town of Tolear, people rely on herbs as the nearest hospital is far away. Traditional healers combine plants and a little bit of magic to cure patients.
A coalition of candidates who lost to Gabonese president-elect Ali Ben Bongo in last month's election lodged a complaint with the country's top court, the politicians said on Thursday. The group, which includes veteran opposition leader Pierre Mamboundou and former Interior Minister Andre Mba Obame, both of whom scored just over 25 percent, accuse Ben Bongo of rigging the poll to succeed his father as president.
The deaths of 73 African migrants who drifted for three weeks in the Mediterranean without rescue have heightened concern about Italy's crackdown on immigration, opening cracks in its ruling coalition and a rift with Brussels. Five survivors, picked up off the Italian island of Lampedusa, said their grey dinghy left Libya carrying 78 people. A day later, the motor died: two pregnant girls, raped by traffickers, were among the first to die of thirst and exposure.
Preparations for elections in Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique are now at an advanced stage with the respective electoral commissions announcing polling dates. Botswana and Mozambique will go to the polls on 16 and 28 October respectively, while Namibia will hold its elections on 27 and 28 November. Botswana is holding general elections to choose new parliamentarians. The Parliament will then act as an electoral college to choose the President.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres visited Sahrawi refugees in the Algerian governorate of Tindouf last week as part of an effort to reunite families separated by the Western Sahara conflict. Guterres, whose five-day tour of Algeria and Morocco ended Saturday (September 12th), said the UNHCR's proposal for a direct, straight-line land corridor between Tindouf and Laâyoune had been accepted as the best solution by all parties.
In the Niassa province of northwest Mozambique, one doctor has been working with local communities to overcome the delays responsible for three-quarters of maternal deaths each year. Dr Peg Cumberland, a slim, energetic English woman, has worked in Mozambique for over 13 years. She came to the Niassa region in 2004 when she heard that the community was asking for assistance.
Women need to get involved more actively and more equally in the reform of the security sector in post-conflict states, says Ecoma Alaga, a Gender and Security Sector Reform (SSR) expert of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa. Alaga presented a policy paper in a seminar on SSR and the Protection of Women in Africa on Tuesday, which was attended by leading experts in the field of gender, peacekeeping and SSR.
Researchers have been keen to assess the impact of emerging donors on the development paradigm. The particular aid policies of China, India, South Africa et al have been carefully considered to garner how emerging donor approaches differ from the ‘traditional’ OECD-DAC (Development Assistance Committee) funders. Yet little consideration has been given to the implications of the new aid actors’ activities for future OECD-DAC donor policy as a whole. This paper seeks to detail implications for donor policy.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains excerpts from several articles with commentary both on U.S. policy and on other aspects of the situation in Somalia. Elizabeth Dickson in Foreign Policy comments on disagreements within the U.S. government about the shipment of arms supplies to the government in Mogadishu. Minnesota Public Radio comments on repeated airport searches of two prominent Somali-American professors at the University of Minnesota.
On the day of the sentencing of the seven of eight men who gang-raped Buyisiwe, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) activists and members of the Joint Working Group (JWG), a network of LGBTI organisation South Africa came in numbers in support of the 1 in 9 Campaign. “Though the matter is not directly LGBTI - related, many members of the 070707 campaign have been very involved in the case as members of 1 in 9 Campaign”, said JWG co-ordinator Emily Craven.
Zimbabwe's prime minister has accused the country's president, Robert Mugabe, of violating terms of their power-sharing agreement. Morgan Tsvangirai told thousands of supporters marking his Movement for Democratic Change's (MDC) 10th anniversary on Sunday that despite guarantees of political freedoms in the unity deal, Mugabe's Zanu-PF party continued to persecute MDC supporters.
Nigeria's armed group fighting for a greater share of oil wealth has decided to extend a two-month-old ceasefire in the Niger Delta by 30 days but warned a government amnesty programme had not yet addressed key issues. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), with an estimated 10,000-strong force, has been behind deadly attacks on oil installations in Nigeria that have disrupted production.
The term arbitrage traditionally refers to taking advantage of the price differential (the gap) between two or more markets. One example is how search engine marketers use arbitrage to make money off of Google Adwords with keyword buying and landing pages. Another is when traders take advantage of differences in exchange rates on currencies in two separate markets.
In Tanzania albinos are still living in fear of being attacked or killed after nearly 50 were murdered in the past two years. It is thought that they are being killed because of the belief that certain body parts of albinistic people transmit magical powers. Witch doctors are willing to pay a lot of money for the body parts to create potions and tinctures for their clients. So far this year at least 12 albinos have been murdered in neighbouring Burundi. Al-Jazeera has reported that one of the murderers received $240 for the body, in a region where the annual wage can be as little as $10.
The health systems of Sub-Saharan Africa are being undermined by an exodus of medical staff. A new study from Zambia, led by an international team of doctors and researchers, reveals that staff burnout is fuelling the crisis. It shows that even though access to HIV treatment has rapidly expanded, the number of trained staff has not kept pace, meaning that delivering effective HIV care is proving difficult.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has signed a five-year poverty reduction compact granting $540 million to the Republic of Senegal for road rehabilitation and food security initiatives in some of the poorest regions of Senegal. The grant was signed by the Acting Chief Executive Officer Darius Mans and Senegalese Minister of Finance and Economy Abdoulaye Diop, with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal presiding at the signing held at the US State Department in Washington, D.C.
Floods in northern Nigeria’s Adamawa state have left over 2,000 people displaced, many of them with no access to clean drinking water, leaving officials worried about a potential cholera outbreak. Five districts – Fufore, Demsa, Yola North, Yola South and Numan – were flooded in August and early September, when the River Lagdo burst its banks, according to the Nigeria Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
AIDS activists around the world have welcomed a new UN General Assembly resolution to create a single agency to promote the rights and wellbeing of women, which they say is good news for women, who are bearing the brunt of the global AIDS pandemic. "This is a historic opportunity to advance the rights of women and girls," said UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé in a statement.
Carrying placards that read, "Huwezi Die Uki Abstain", Swahili slang for "You won't die if you abstain [from sex]", more than 3,000 young people recently marched through Nairobi in an effort to re-energize the campaign to keep teens from having sex too early. But beyond the placard-waving and slogan-chanting, march organizers were also trying to give young people the skills to avoid being pushed into sex before they are ready.
Average life expectancy in Swaziland has plummeted from around 60 years in the 1990s to just over 30 years today. Few would deny that HIV/AIDS is largely to blame, but the reasons why the epidemic has devastated this tiny, southern African country more than any other are less clear. "Foreign observers look at Swaziland and can't figure out why the numbers [of HIV infections] remain so high," said Harriet Kunene, of The AIDS Support Centre in the central commercial town, Manzini.
It was in many ways a shotgun marriage, except that both the parties in Zimbabwe's unity government were equally unwilling. On 15 September 2008 President Robert Mugabe, leader of ZANU-PF, and Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and Arthur Mutambara, leader of a breakaway MDC faction, signed the Global Political Agreement (GPA), paving the way for the unity government to be established in February 2009.
Dozens of farmers in northern Ghana claim they have been forced off their land with no alternative source of income after a multinational firm bought their farms to cultivate jatropha, a non-food crop whose seeds contain oil used to produce biofuel. Biofuel Africa Ltd has acquired over 23,700 hectares of Ghanaian land forcing out the inhabitants of seven villages – all of them farming communities -- in Tamale district.
Ugandan police have used excessive force during clashes with rioting supporters of a local monarch in which at least 10 people died, according to a human rights watchdog. The clashes erupted on 10 September in the capital, Kampala, sparked off by a planned visit by King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi of Buganda kingdom to the central district of Kayunga on 12 September.
The first issue of the Berghof Policy Brief builds upon a report the two authors had written on request by the UN Mediation Support Unit (MSU). The MSU commissioned the Berghof Center with this task as a part of its preparatory work for a report by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, to the UN Security Council earlier this year.
It is with profound shock and sadness that we announce the passing on of Kenyan actor, dance and choreographer Becky Gatu.
Family members, fellow artists, friends and well wishers met at wasanii restaurant to comfort each other and to pave way for the funeral arrangements,a lot was discussed but the burial date has not been concretised. A fundraising is set for Wednesday 23rd tentatively...welcome to subsequent meetings at Wasanii at 6pm daily and 2pm on Sunday. For details contact NYOKABI on + 254 722740412
The British oil trader Trafigura has offered to pay out in a historic damages claim from 31,000 Africans injured by the dumping of toxic waste in one of the worst pollution disasters in recent history, the Guardian can reveal. The compensation deal for the victims of toxic oil waste dumping in west Africa – likely to be confirmed imminently – means the full extent of attempts to cover up what really happened can be spelled out for the first time.
cc Elvira Van Noort In this week's blog roundup, Dibussi Tande reflects on the 4th annual “Digital Citizen Indaba” (DCI), which was held on September 5-6 2009 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. The Indaba brought together bloggers, podcasters, vodcasters, mobile journalists, citizen reporters, new media practitioners, online industry experts and civil society representatives from Africa and beyond.
Leading to Choices, developed by the Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) in collaboration with its partner organizations in the Global South, is based on a conceptualization of leadership as horizontal, inclusive, and participatory. WLP views leadership as a process that leads to greater choices for all by fostering communication among individuals who learn from each other, create a shared vision, and reach a common goal forged by consensus.
ICLR was founded in 2002 with the mission of supporting workers? and trade union rights internationally. Our resolution was to develop a network of lawyers who could provide quickly respond to the needs of labor movements, no matter where. Today, there are more than 300 Network members spanning more than 75 countries. And we continue to expand into new areas all the time. This is a model that we believe in and are recommitting to as we move forward with our work.
From The Local To The Global: Key Issues in Development Studies
2nd edition
Edited by Gerard McCann and Stephen McCloskey
Released October 4th 2009
PB / £ 17.99 / 9780745328423 / 215mm x 135mm / 320pp
With recent action by Africa a majority of the world's countries have now banned nuclear weapons from their national territory for the first time. The change happened when an all-Africa treaty entered into force in July. International civil society organizations including the World Council of Churches (WCC) played a catalytic role, writes Jonathan Frerichs.
The International People’s Health University (IPHU) and People’s Health Movement (PHM) in association with the Medical University of Cuba, the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Cuenca (Ecuador) and the Global Forum on Health Research are pleased to announce THE STRUGGLE FOR HEALTH - A short training course from 4-13 November 2009 In Havana, Cuba.
This Bulletin began in response to news reports of “corrective” and “curative” gang rapes of lesbians in South Africa. These were then followed by news reports of a study in South Africa that found that one in four men in South Africa had committed rape, many of them more than once. We wanted to bring together concerned Africa scholars and committed African activists and practitioners, to help contextualize these reports.
The government of Zambia’s decision to further delay the tabling of the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill and its failure to guarantee the introduction of the Bill in the next parliamentary session represents a huge setback in the nation’s fight against corruption. Indeed, the failure of parliament to enact or even debate this crucial piece of legislation appears astonishing when we consider the revelation of the Ministry of Health corruption scandal earlier this year.
Kenyans Against Impunity (KAI) reiterates its total rejection of both the TJRC in its present form and the embodying Act and warn everyone that if the process and the commission as constituted are allowed to proceed, Kenya will end up with worse chaos and mayhem than was witnessed after the 2007 elections.
With the prospects for development across the African continent severely undermined by the effects of the global financial crisis, Africa has seen Western countries break promise after promise, writes Lee Wengraf in this week's Pambazuka News. While the US continues to be nowhere near fulfilling its commitment of 0.70 per cent of national income towards foreign aid, it has had no trouble finding funds for militarisation programmes, with some US$500 million available for AFRICOM alone. As imperial competition heightens in the spectre of a global financial crisis, Wengraf writes, it is ordinary Africans who will continue to suffer under a system based on profit.
Zambia cannot afford to increase the number of its MPs, Henry Kyambalesa writes in this week's Pambazuka News, when many constituencies remain unable to generate sufficient tax revenue to meet the cost of maintaining existing parliamentary representatives.
Food sovereignty, the democratisation of food systems and the trouble with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa are among the topics touched on by Raj Patel and Eric Holt-Giménez, in a lively interview with Pambazuka News about their latest book, .
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/448/58800_think_pink-S_Leone_tm... Marke speaks to Cremelda Pratt, the founder of Sierra Leone's , about the need for greater awareness about breast cancer and the future of her foundation.
There are many African rulers that hang onto power, coming very close to the practices of a monarch, writes Okello Oculi in this week's Pambazuka News. This is a dynamic exacerbated by the involvement of the World Bank and NGOs in Africa, who supplement the income of these kleptocrats and who sustain themselves through refusing to condemn the practices of corrupt leaders. We must fight the creativity of leaders like Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville in hiding the sources of their wealth, Oculi urges, and support a common legal norm to bring those that are breaking the law against human dignity and development to justice.
Reflecting on the words of female participants at a recent gender festival, Chambi Chachage laments the continued bruising of African pride. The need to prove oneself as an African has never gone away, Chachage writes in this week's Pambazuka News, something which is only compounded in Tanzania by a 'collective imbecilisation'. It is now time that Tanzania and Africa as a whole make their own 'history' and 'herstory', to combat others' discrimination and restore the continent's pride, he concludes.
Appalled by President Yoweri Museveni's order that the 'Bafuriki' in Bunyoro speak Runyoro, Vincent Nuwagaba chastises Uganda's premier for a grave 'human rights' violation. If such sharp ethnicisation is not to get out of hand, Nuwagaba stresses in this week's Pambazuka News, Uganda and the global community at large must guard against government restrictions on political and cultural participation along ethnic and cultural lines.
Mainstream models for socio-economic development in Southern Africa focus on elites, Henning Melber tells Pambazuka News, but if the interests of the majority of the people are to be served, fundamental new approaches are needed.
The current global crisis, writes Samir Amin in this week's Pambazuka News, is neither a financial crisis nor the result of myriad systemic crises, but rather derives from the risk of a challenge of the power of the imperialist capitalism of the world's oligopolies by those marginalised. While global powers seek to restore the system to its pre-crisis state, the current crisis in fact allows us to conceive of a 'possible integrated front' involving all the social and political forces which collectively represent the victims of the exclusive power of the oligopolies, Amin contends. Challenging historical capitalism represents the core element in the emancipation of the oppressed, a challenge that will only be met when the peoples of the global South and North struggle together, and without which capitalism will ultimately be overtaken by the destruction of civilisation, and perhaps even life on our planet, Amin concludes.
Ama Biney reviews , edited by Anne V. Adams and Esi Sutherland-Addy. Finding the book to be a stimulating work on Sutherland's life and influence, Biney argues that Sutherland's ideas around the role of theatre in community development should be integrated into national curricula across Africa.
To survive the devastating impact of the global financial crisis, William Gumede tells Pambazuka News, African countries must learn one simple lesson they appeared not to have heeded since the end of colonialisation and apartheid: Do not listen to the advice of global financial institutions and leading Western nations. For that matter, do exactly what these Western nations do.
Ama Biney writes for Pambazuka News on the rush to acquire land in Africa by foreign governments and private investors, fuelled by fears for global food security in the face of climate change and volatile food prices on the international market. Warning that the ‘political and economic risks of these land purchases are colossal and outweigh any gains,’ Biney argues that ‘African governments must make food security and sufficiency for their own people paramount.’
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/448/58810_SA_Palestine_tmb.jpgIn an open letter to President Jacob Zuma, Hadar Eid, expresses his deep ‘disagreement and dissatisfaction’ with South Africa’s Middle East policy, in particular Zuma’s support for a ‘two-state solution’ for Israel and Palestine. Drawing parallels between Israel’s relationship with Palestinians and apartheid-era South Africa, Eid argues ‘The two-state solution is a racist solution, comrade Jacob. If you did not accept it for yourselves in South Africa, why force it on Palestinians instead of supporting us as we demand the right to our homeland?’
Oloiseer Mbattiany provides a detailed account of the ongoing eviction and harassment of pastoralist Maasai communities in Tanzania by the police, with the assistance of a private company.
In an open letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder, the National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) sets out the organisation’s concerns about US military operation Africa Command (AFRICOM), and calls for it to be dismantled. While officials insist that it is ‘a force for peace’, says NCBL, AFRICOM is ‘perceived as a military command that is designed to facilitate warfare’. The US has a ‘history of using military advisors to guide and direct troops in other countries to no good end’, says NCBL, and AFRICOM’s agenda ‘makes it possible for more lawsuits to be filed in the future, challenging US involvement in Africa’s conflicts.’
She belongs to
the corner
streets
whose whispers
never reveal
the secrets of
the owner,
streets
guard the shadow
of time
she
maiden-less
leaves her son
to the streets.
A time
so deformed,
words prostitute
themselves,
mothers
prostitute
a child's soul,
Thee Word is
silent
as necessity
bends
down
prostituting
itself.
Feminine divine
Losing her
eclipse
still night
suggesting, copulating
a pilgrim
of the night,
twisting her afro curls
accentuated
seductive moves
chases
nightly enchantment,
soul killer
empty delight.
Body traded
for the price
of kissing
her life,
reined in
the capricious horses
of passion
she lays
destiny down to
feel the slivers of pain
in dreams and when awake,
hidden pain
eyes reveal
what words conceal.
Pitiless life
making her stay
in a wild desert
smelling
black dust of body
desolated by floods
of mortal life
she heaps abet
in the abyss
of the night
living no more
survivor
of fate
alone.
On Friday, September 11, 2009, in a flagrant abuse of the immense power the people of Kenya have given them, the police at Central Police Station refused to receive our re-notification for peaceful demonstrations on Monday, September 14, 2009. They insisted and continue to insist that they have banned the peaceful demonstrations for security reasons, which they do not specify. This is in spite of the fact they know that we are non-violent agitators for self-determination.
The coherence of Jonathan Glennie’s is ‘impressive, given the complexity of the topic he has tackled,’ Lucy Corkin writes in this week’s Pambazuka News. The volume ‘adds its voice to a growing body of literature criticising the global aid architecture and its agents, the rich country donors.' What is interesting in Glennie’s account, says Corkin, is that his analysis ‘includes the role of aid advocacy groups and campaigners’ – a ‘bold step considering his own campaigning background’.
cc The China AnalystA substantial presence of Chinese OFDI on the world stage essentially dates from 2004 – a short yet vigorous history of barely 5 years. In this brief period, Chinese companies Going Global have become fundamental to the next stage of China’s integration with the global economy. Why is this happening Now, Who is at the forefront of this outward drive, and Where is it heading, asks Barry van Wyk.
A new community library in Mpumulanga is seeking hardcover and paperback books for people of all ages.
‘The idea that every single African who in their post-teenage years have left Africa for a life in a land which offers them more opportunity must be sad and depressed, is one that I am unwilling to acknowledge,’ Anengiyefa Alagoa writes to Pambazuka News, in response to .
A civil society group has been launched in the Senegalese capital of Dakar to advocate for the enforcement of human rights in The Gambia. The Coalition for Human Rights in The Gambia was formed by Gambians living in Dakar and Senegalese and other international human rights, media and civil society groups. These include Amnesty International Senegal branch, The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) Press Union (Synpics), African Assembly for the Defence of Human Rights (RADDHO), Inter Africa Network for Women, Media, Gender and Development (FAMEDEV), Network of Press and Parliament in Senegal (Reppas) and Radio Alternative Voice for Gambians (AVG).
Njeri Kabeberi is the winner of the inaugural “Prize for Outstanding Commitment to Law and Justice.”Announcing the award, Prof. Lutz Simon, President of the German Chamber of Lawyers said: “The Chamber of Lawyers Frankfurt am Main wishes to honour you for the many years of work fighting for justice, democracy and human rights in disregard of the private and professional drawbacks and threats.”
Young men in cars covered in Frelimo posters vandalised the MDM headquarters in Bairro 2, Chókwé, Gaza early Sunday morning. In Changara, Tete, young men in Frelimo t-shirts burned the Renamo headquarters and three houses. It was a violent start to the official election campaign, which began on Sunday 13 September.
International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) has received disturbing news of the arrest of journalist, filmmaker and talk show host, Kalundi Serumaga, on 11 September 2009. It is reported that he has suffered severe beatings, requiring hospital treatment. PEN urgently calls for the release of Kalundi Serumaga, who appears to be detained solely for having spoken on recent clashes in Kampala and nearby Kayunga.
There is mounting evidence that the government of Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'adua is set to launch a full-scale offensive in the Niger Delta when a ceasefire declared by rebels ends on Sep. 15. And this time, Nigerian military forces will be using special warships, helicopter gunships and troop transports, and unmanned drone intelligence planes and ships sold to Nigeria by Israeli, Malaysian, Singaporean, Dutch and Russian companies.
The Kirwan Institute is hosting its second biannual Transforming Race conference on March 11-13, 2010. The theme of the conference is Crisis and Opportunity in the Age of Obama. It will feature the following three thematic tracks:
* Racial Dynamics and Systems Thinking introducing the theory and application of systems thinking to social and racial justice.
* Race Talk exploring constructive, productive, and inclusive racial dialogues.
* Race, Recession and Recovery focusing on the impact of and solutions to the economic downturn for populations of color. The agenda is still being constructed and we need your input.
The Art and Social Justice conference aims to explore the role and relevance of the arts in addressing issues of social justice. In line with the objectives and principles of the conference organizers, Art for Humanity, the concerns of this conference are primarily directed towards advocacy. The conference serves as a platform for art practitioners and organizations to share experiences drawn from a variety of international contexts to discuss mutual concerns and find solutions to commonly experienced challenges.
The ILRF has created the Freedom at Work Toolkit to understanding one of the human rights most widely violated in the workplace: the right to associate freely around the world. Only when this right is in place can we say workers enjoy freedom at work.
People Power: Unarmed Resistance and Global Solidarity
Edited by Howard Clark
Released October 4th 2009
PB / £ 17.99 / 9780745329017 / 230mm x 150mm / 256pp
The first undersea fibre optic cable, Seacom, reached the east African coast in July 2009. This "Digital Express" is the most important infrastructure investment in eastern Africa since the construction of the Uganda Railway which integrate colonial east Africa into the British Empire.
5 to 10 October promises to be a stirring week of words, rhymes, performance and ideas, as the 13th Poetry Africa international poetry festival ignites Durban with poetry from around South Africa, Africa, and the world. Hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Centre for Creative Arts, Poetry Africa's intensive week-long programme kicks off with a pre-festival showcase of Durban-based poets at The Workshop Shopping Centre's Amphitheatre on 4 October at 11h00.
Guy Mvelle
We would like to alert our readers to a correction to a review entitled , published in issue 446 of Pambazuka News. The review was authored by Harry Verhoeven, Lydiah Kemunto Bosire and Sharath Srinivasan, and not simply Bosire, as previously stated in Pambazuka.
Pambazuka News 447: Morocco uses torture to silence Sahrawi activists
Pambazuka News 447: Morocco uses torture to silence Sahrawi activists
Nigeria has over the past 10 years recorded high enrolment and completion rates in primary school education. From 67 percent in 1990, enrolment jumped to 74 percent by 2000, and 91 percent by 2007. The schooling completion rate also improved from 60 percent in 1990 to 76 percent in 2003, and 82 percent by 2007. Enrolment continues to rise.
An alarming rise has been recorded in the number of Nigerian girls trafficked to Italy. Last year 1,782 young girls from Nigeria arrived in Lampedusa, compared to 166 in 2007, human rights organisations say. Lampedusa, an Italian island 205 km from the Italian coast, located between Tunisia and Sicily, is used as a holding centre for migrants, particularly from Africa.
For Katriena Anthony, being four months pregnant comes with hazards particular to her living conditions. The 38-year-old resident of Mandela Square informal settlement in the rural town of Montague, three hours drive from Cape Town, she lives in a two-roomed shack made of wood and zinc sheets. She has no electricity or running water, and every morning she has to walk long distances to collect wood, while water for drinking and cooking must be carried to her home from a nearby tap in a plastic bucket.
The Professional Women, Executives and Businesswomen’s Forum (PROWEB) organised a unique investment conference last week in Zimbabwe’s capital where businesswomen from South Africa and Zimbabwe got the opportunity to not only network but forge what may be a unique African association among businesswomen across national borders. The conference resolved, among others, to create an executive committee that will pursue women’s economic empowerment in both southern African countries.