Pambazuka News 405: Hope in USA, despair in Congo
Pambazuka News 405: Hope in USA, despair in Congo
A short term military operation without a coherent EU approach combining security measures, humanitarian aid, policing and reforming efforts would not be able to address the Congo crisis in the long term, participants at a joint hearing in the European Parliament learned on Tuesday (4 November). "If we take a dispassionate look at the situation in Eastern Congo these days, it is not difficult for us to realise that a consistent and coherent EU approach would provide a different panorama than the one we face today," Joao Gomes Cravinho, Portugal's secretary of state for foreign affairs and co-operation told MEPs.
The Travail of Dieudonne is a modern version of Meja Mwangi's Going Down River Road.
The main narrative in the novel is a biography of Dieudonne, a houseboy (that colonial term that refuses to go away) to an expatriate white couple teaching at a university in Mimboland.
Mimboland is a typical African nation-state wracked with poverty due to bad governance. It is reliant on foreign aid and the unbalanced trade relationship with the West (Remember Giles Poor Story?).
Dieudonne is an exile in Mimboland. He not only ran away from his homeland because of civil war, but also to escape the horrifying reality of his father's misery.
Nyamnjoh uses Dieudonne's life story as a metaphor to capture the degrading and depressing social reality in the post-colonial Africa. His family's life is traced from the colonial era into the present. His father sacrifices his life in the service of colonial masters during the European wars — passed off as World Wars. He dies a poor man with nothing to show for his contribution, only a stump of a leg after losing one in the war.
REFLECTIONS
Dieudonne's father's mirrors that of many African foot soldiers during the so-called First and Second World Wars who came back without limbs and ended up as beggars in their homelands.
The characterisation of Dieudonne's life with his master and mistress is a replay of the colonial relationship between Africa and Europe, in some sense. He lives at the mercy of the couple. Indeed, by the time we meet him, he has worked for a number of white couples always willing to 'fire' and 'hand him over' to another white couple.
In the hands of these expatriates, he matters little. Just like his country, which grows cotton for export to Europe, he can only offer service to the foreigners.
Life collapses around him. He takes to heavy drinking that leads to a testy relationship with his employers. Eventually, he loses his wife, Tsanga.
After the departure of his wife, Dieudonne spends most of his non-working time in the 'Grand Canari', a drinking den in the neighbourhood of Swine Quarter. The latter stands as the antithesis of Beverly Hills, where the rich of Mimboland live. And it is this contrast that Nyamnjoh is challenging us to examine in his story.
INSPIRATION
However, like most postcolonial African writers, it is easy to see where his sympathy lies — with the poor. Out of the desire to speak for the poor, the author relocates the story to the 'Grand Canari.’
It is in this drinking hole where the downtrodden wash away their sorrows with whatever type of alcohol their pockets can afford. When the pocket is heavy, one can drink the most expensive spirits; when light, there are equally poverty-friendly brands.
Dieudonne's life-story and the context in which he tells it serve many purposes in the theme of the novel. On one hand, he offers the reader the opportunity to critique Africa's history, especially its neocolonialist tendencies which have led to local leaders abdicating their responsibilities to serve and instead becoming parasitic.
Also, in Dieudonne the author celebrates the resilience of the underprivileged by highlighting their enduring sense of hope or sheer desire to 'live another day.'
However, most significantly, the subtext of the novel is a call to rethink the transnational linkages and shared cultures as Africans in a world where Africans are 'junior brothers.’ Indeed, Nyamnjoh tries hard to stress the pan-African connections in this book. His references to languages, music, foods, names and cultures from across anglo- and francophone Africa are a challenge to Africans, especially students of comparative literature, to engage more with arts from beyond their localities. This stylistic tendency is evident in his earlier book, A Nose for Money (2006).
The call to engage with a broader postcolonial African reality, especially the plight of the poor, is weakened by the bilingual/multi-lingual nature of the book.
* researches and teaches literature and communication.
* Francis B. Nyamnjoh is associate professor and head of publications and dissemination with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). Nyamnjoh’s Married But Available (Langaa Publishers, 2008) is available at the both . The Travail of Dieudonne is available from East African Educational Publishers.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/404/China_in_Africa_tmb.jpgWith China’s ‘rise’ prompting new questions around the country’s strategy and the motivations behind how it conducts its international affairs and foreign policy, Stephen Marks considers the direction the country may take in light of new developments. Dispelling simplistic interpretations of Chinese indifference to human rights and environmental concerns in countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe, the author that the Asia giant has an essential interest in promoting peace, social stability, good governance and equitable development in its African partner countries.
The Somali Diaspora traces, through photographs and essays, the journey of a family from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to new lives in the United States. The work takes readers from civil war in Africa to the culture shock of arriving in the United States, growing roots in the Somali community, learning English, finding work, and–in a remarkably short time–participating fully in American life.
‘The Somali Diaspora is remarkable in its ambition; it is a necessary book, very much worth reading and buying, and an important addition to the work done on the Somali presence in North America.’ Nuruddin Farah
‘Having travelled many of the steps of the Somali Diaspora, Abdi Roble always photographs what he knows and cares deeply about, making these photographs as much autobiography as photojournalistic narrative. The Somali Diaspora deftly chronicles the almost irreconcilably odd collision of cultures that emerges out of relocation, but with hope and sympathy throughout. It also performs the important job of making Minnesotans, and Americans at large, look at and take stock of the society we've created that they seek as refuge.’ George Slade, artistic director, Minnesota Center for Photography
‘Opening The Somali Diaspora is like finding a hidden doorway into the lives and experiences of Somali immigrants to the United States. This book will serve to give us all a deeper sense of connection to anyone whom we may come to call 'neighbor' and 'fellow citizen.'‘ Omar Jamal, executive director, Somali Justice Advocacy Center
* For more information, including the book's table of contents, please visit the .
* Abdi Roble was born in Mogadishu, Somalia. He emigrated to the USA in 1989, where he developed a passion for photography. Roble started the Somali Documentary Project in 2003, and won the Arts Freedom Award by the South Side Settlement House in 2006. Doug Rutledge is a poet, essayist and academic.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/
Cast aside your fears
For once,
Nervously
As on the day you wed,
Have faith in the universe
that beauty can be borne
of hope,
your hope
and positive energy
which we must radiate
not on the hurts of the past
or fear of ourselves
but because
history breathes
this whispered hope
because if we cannot hope now
then when?
Chris Colley’s article ‘China’s Maturing Foreign Policy’ sets out a convincing argument that the underlying principles of Beijing’s foreign relations will not dramatically change and that a growing pragmatism based on “market rationality” will dictate relationships. Given that the increase in China’s economic and political involvement in Africa is arguably the most momentous development on the continent since the end of the Cold War, the implications for the continent are of profound interest. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is now Africa’s second most important trading partner; though behind the United States it is ahead of both France and the United Kingdom, with Sino-African trade hitting approximately $US74 billion in 2007.
In this essay Chris Colley of China’s People’s University argues that the Olympics will not change the foundation of Chinese foreign policy. He argues that the most important contribution to Chinese foreign relations will be less noticeable including a newfound confidence among Chinese in their dealing with the world and a greater interest in the road China takes towards modernization. He also explains how Beijing is becoming more practical in its dealings with its neighbors.
Pambazuka News 404: Weeping for Angola
Pambazuka News 404: Weeping for Angola
The Southern Refugee Legal Aid Network is seeking contributors for its series of reviews of domestic refugee law in countries of the 'global south'. More detail and a list of Southern states with domestic refugee legislation can be found in the attached terms of reference. If you are interested in being a volunteer contributor, please e-mail your CV to [email][email protected]
HAI has been working in Sudan for over 20 years and has provided essential support and services to vulnerable older people and their dependants. HAI is committed to providing a community based approach to address the most pressing needs. As Programme Director, you will be responsible for the development, management and administration of HAI’s programme in Sudan and promote the development of a national capacity to meet the needs of older people. Please email your applications by the closing date of 17 November 2008.
According to the newly-released State of the World's Cities report, South African cities top the list of the world’s most unqual cities, followed by Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico. Urban inequalities in this highly unequal region are not only increasing, but are becoming more entrenched, which suggests that failures in wealth distribution are largely the result of structural or systemic flaws.
Zambia’s government has announced plans to get its people a greater share of the country’s vast copper wealth. But with its proposals still in the balance, action is still needed. These plans could provide an extra $415 million of copper revenue, allowing it to triple expenditure on health in a country where average life expectancy is 37. The proposals could net Zambia an extra $415 million in 2008 alone. Add your voice and call on Zambia's biggest copper company, KCM, not to undermine Zambia’s development – and abide by the government’s decision. Email them now!http://www.christianaid.org.uk/issues/powercorruption/actions/zambia.aspx .
The North-South Institute is pleased to invite applications for its annual Visiting Researcher position. The Fellowship is named after Professor Emeritus G.K. Helleiner, one of Canada's leading academics on international development issues, who has dedicated many years to working in Africa and other developing countries and is a founding member and former Chair of the North-South Institute.
A woman in Somalia has been stoned to death after an Islamic Sharia law court found her guilty of adultery. The woman was buried up to her neck and then pelted to death with stones in front of a large crowd in Kismayo.
In light of the 8th anniversary of the adoption of UN- Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; on the second of November, a three-week virtual discussion on "Planning for Action: Good Practices on Implementing UNSCR 1325 on a National Level" will be held. Policy makers, governmental representatives and civil society actors from all over the world are invited to participate and exchange experiences, good practices and lessons learned on implementing UNSCR 1325.
The course is aimed at those who want to learn how to use a project management tool such as Open Workbench (which is the same type of program such as MS Project) to create project plans on the computer. Delegates will be provided with the Open Workbench program on CD. Visit for more information about the program.
The Visiting Fellows Programme has been established to further the ARSRC’s commitment to increase Africa-focused research and publications on sexuality, issues, as well as, build links between scholars and practitioners working in this area in Africa. ARSRC is offering one (1) residential fellowship to a suitable candidate from the southern Africa countries. The fellowships of 1 to 4 months long will be based at the ARSRC’s office in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Skills Building Project Leader is responsible for the day-to-day project management of Tactical Tech's Skills Building projects, including the development of our toolkits, guides and training for advocates (see for details of these). Duties include planning, managing finances and negotiating supplier contracts. The role also involves supporting fundraising for future project development and providing strategic input on the application of digital advocacy tools to the broader fields in which Tactical Tech is working.
Pamoja Africa is a loose Network (Meta Network) of National chapters (Networks), which in turn consist of Organizations that practice Reflect and other participatory methods in the conduct of their development work. Pamoja requires the services of a competent and visionary person to fill the position of a network facilitator
A cholera outbreak has claimed its first victim in Zimbabwe's capital after causing death and illness elsewhere in a country too poor to provide clean water or clear garbage from the streets. Health authorities reported the death in Harare Thursday and said 20 other people had been hospitalized.
The United States says it regrets that the six-week impasse over implementation of a power-sharing agreement for Zimbabwe was not resolved at the recent Southern African Development Community-hosted talks. White House spokesman, Sean McCormack, said the US administration said it was unhappy with President Mugabe’s government for its refusal to implement a genuine and equitable power-sharing deal.
African leaders must take "decisive" action to end the deadlock between Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday. Both men remained deadlocked over who will control Zimbabwe's powerful home affairs ministry, which oversees the police, despite efforts to end the crisis early this week in a high-level security meeting.
An Anglican bishop from Zimbabwe was Tuesday named winner of a Swedish human rights prize for 'having given voice to the fight against oppression.' Bishop Sebastian Bakare was also cited for his work to promote 'freedom of speech and of opinion in a difficult political situation.' He was due to accept the 2008 Per Anger prize at a ceremony in Stockholm on November 10, Johan Perwe of the government agency Living History Forum told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Southern African leaders meeting in Harare on Monday have failed to get Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe to agree on who controls the home affairs ministry which has the police and the registrar general's office under its control. Mugabe and Tsvangirai's failure to agree means there is no cabinet deal yet with a Sadc troika comminque expected to be released in the next few hours. A full Sadc summit will be called soon.
Bowoto v Chevron is likely to test how the American legal system can be applied to human rights in other countries. The civil suit is being brought under the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act, one of America’s oldest laws (it was signed by George Washington). The act allows foreigners to bring civil cases before American courts arising from violations of law or treaty anywhere in the world. It was invoked just twice before 1980, when it was used by a victim of state repression in Paraguay.
French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner has suggested the EU should do more to help UN peacekeepers in Congo, but there is not enough political will among member states to send an EU battlegroup to the conflict-struck African region. "It's very difficult to say what we can do outside of diplomatic efforts, efforts at persuasion, and efforts so that peace can be achieved by leaning on the two countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda," Mr Kouchner said on Wednesday (29 October).
Fierce fighting between government and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, the Red Cross has said. It said the number of displaced people was growing by the hour and that the precarious security situation was making it difficult to deliver aid. Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to end the crisis, which has displaced a total of 250,000 people.
Prominent South African academic and writer Es'kia Mphahlele has died at the age of 88. He was best known for his autobiography Down Second Avenue, telling of his life as a herdsman, teacher and journalist for the celebrated magazine Drum. It ended with his exile from apartheid South Africa in 1957. He returned 20 years later and became the University of Witwatersrand's first black professor and founded the school's African Literature Department.
Ghana's election campaign could be tarnished by money from West African drug trafficking, an official has said. Kwesi Aning, head of research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, said the "very fabric" of Ghanaian society was under threat. His comments came as the UN warned in a report that West Africa risks becoming an epicentre for drug trafficking from South America to Europe.
The arms trade provides the destructive hardware used in conflicts across the world. It undermines development, contributing to the poverty and suffering of millions. A new report by War on Want, Banking on Bloodshed: UK high street banks’ complicity in the arms trade has exposed, for the first time, the extent to which the five main British high street banks are funding this violent trade.
Early in its new democracy, South Africa successfully rose to the challenge of ensuring political justice. It developed a progressive and ground-breaking constitution enshrining rights for all of its citizens. Much attention, debate and litigation has taken place around civil and political rights, and these have been further interpreted and secured.
Horn of Africa leaders attending a regional summit have lashed out at Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) for failing to restore peace and order in the war-torn country."Failed they have, as can easily be seen in the lack of progress in all areas in government. This is the truth that neither the Transitional Federal Government authorities, nor we, can sweep under the rug," Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's prime minister and IGAD chairman told the Oct. 29 summit.
OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, and the Chair of OECD's Development Assistance Committee, Eckhard Deutscher, have issued a call to the world's main aid donor countries to stand by their development pledges despite the economic slowdown. In a letter to heads of state and government of the countries that are members of the Development Assistance Committee, OECD invites these nations to join an "Aid Pledge" that would confirm existing aid promises and avert cuts in budgets for development aid.
Early results in Zambia’s knife-edge presidential election gave a clear lead to Michael Sata, the opposition challenger whose lavish pledges have unnerved investors, for control of Africa’s biggest copper producer. Totals from 19 of the 150 constituencies showed Mr Sata had secured about 60 per cent of ballots cast, with Rupiah Banda, the acting president, trailing on 30 per cent, and the balance going to two other opposition hopefuls.
Two weeks before U.S. President George W. Bush hosts an economic summit to address the six-week-old financial crisis that has wreaked havoc on the world's capital and stock markets, a coalition of nearly 600 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from 88 countries is calling for a "fundamental and far-reaching transformation on the international financial and economic system."
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the attack and attempted abduction of journalist and media advocate Geoffrey Ssebagala by unidentified men in the Ugandan capital, Kampala on Monday and called on authorities to ensure his safety. "The attempted abduction of Ssebagala is no doubt orchestrated by those who feel threatened by his work as a journalist and advocate for other journalists," said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. "
A lack of mutual trust between the signatories remains the main challenge to implementing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan, says a new United Nations report. “This lack of trust consequently permeates into all major pending benchmarks set under the Agreement,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes in his latest report to the Security Council on Sudan, which the 15-member body will discuss next month.
Twenty out of 40 cabinet ministers in Nigeria have been sacked for non-performance. President Umaru Yar'Adua said his decision is to reposition and strengthen his administration for effective service delivery, Presidential Spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi disclosed on Thursday. According to This Day newspaper, the President after taking a valedictory photographs with the sacked ministers said yesterday’s meeting will be the last for some of them.
The National Election Commission (NEC) of Somaliland has begun its voter registration exercise in Sahil region for about two weeks now. Over 100 NEC registration out-posts and registration-teams, numbering 1,400 were deployed throughout Sahil's districts. The registration teams are provided with an array of equipment and high-tech gear for registering the adult ‘voting’ population in Sahil who will cast their votes in the next general election and for all coming future elections.
African leaders are planning to establish a continental hydro power station to harness its huge energy potential. Country representatives attending the 20th Session of the African Hydro Symposium in Zambia said hydro energy is the cheapest and cleanest for the continent.
A new political party comprising of youths has been formed in Lilongwe, Malawi, as the country gears for its elections next year. Interim president of the yet to be registered Peoples Democratic Party Hebrews Misomali said the formation of the new party is the beginning of a new era in the country's politics.
Two Malawian journalists have been adjudged winners of this year`s John Manyarara Investigative Journalism Award in South Africa. Charles Mpaka and Mike Chipalasa both work for Blantyre Newspapers Limited. They won the regional award organized by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa), for their impressive coverage on the country’s leakage of the Malawi School Certificate of Education last year.
The SA Food Cost Review 2007 showed that between 1991 to 2007, food production growth only grew by 10%, while the population increased by 32%, and that increase excludes estimates of between one and 10 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the country. The report, which was compiled by The National Agricultural Marketing Council and the Department of Agriculture, said: “Population growth has outstripped agricultural production, in particular field crop production, by far.
Along the red dirt roads looping in and out of the jungle, they trooped in their thousands. The women clutching infants to their chests and balancing rolled-up mattresses, blankets and pots on their heads. Any child old enough to walk carried a jerry can of water or dragged a sack of food.
The UN says it has credible reports that camps sheltering 50,000 displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been torched. Aid groups say they are struggling to reach an estimated 250,000 people in the region fleeing fierce fighting between government and rebel forces. Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to end the crisis.
South African women’s rights activists, feminists and students are stepping up pressure on their government and parliamentarians to speak out about the increasing repression in Zimbabwe. Women’s groups in Johannesburg and Cape Town coordinated solidarity actions in support of detained WOZA leaders Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu.
Last weekend, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was in the spotlight in Benin. From 25-26 October 2008, participating African Heads of State and Government gathered in Cotonou for the first Extraordinary African Peer Review Forum. Most Forum meetings are traditionally held on the margins of busy African Union Summits, where other business frequently intervenes. In Egypt in June-July, Zimbabwe dominated.
Join Gauteng landless communities (Freedom Park, Protea Glen Bond Houses, Protea South Informal Settlement, Precast-Lenasia Extension 11, Chiawelo, Tembalihle Crisis Committee, Eldorado Park, Harry Gwala Informal Settlement)in a peaceful March demanding free basic services, the removal of the useless ward councillors and a halt to mass evictions.
Costs of Internet broadband in the country are expected to reduce from $3,000 to $25 for each Megabyte per second a government official has said. Nkubito Bakuramutsa the Director General of Rwanda Information Technology Agency (RITA) said that Rwandans will purchase much cheaper Internet bandwidth after the country's national Internet backbone is connected to the coastal submarine cables expected to be completed by 2010.
It’s early days but the conventional wisdom so far has been that Africa will avoid the worst of the backwash from the global financial crisis. Its banks are less over-committed as lenders and its relatively small number of consumers still struggle to find credit. However, as everything is connected globally, Africa is bound to take a hit like every other continent and that hit will impact directly on Africa’s telecom’s sector.
Widespread corruption scandals by judges and magistrates and inappropriate political interference in the judicial systems are denying people their right to a fair and impartial trial, said High Court Judge Stella Arach in an interview yesterday. Arach elaborated that the lower courts are the most affected with many magistrates receiving bribes from litigants.
Superinfection among heterosexual couples in sub-Saharan Africa may be surprisingly frequent, according to findings from Zambia presented on Tuesday at the 48th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Washington DC. Researchers from the Zambia Emory HIV Research Project presented evidence that 3 out of 34 people among heterosexual Zambian couples were superinfected during the time of the study.
Morocco's proposed 2009 budget, currently awaiting parliamentary approval, was released on October 20th amid speculation about the impact the global financial crisis may have on the Moroccan economy. Talking about the bill, Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar told the press last week that "the unfavourable international economic situation, marked in particular by dizzying price rises in raw materials and the financial crisis, will have negative repercussions on growth worldwide".
The United Nations General Assembly's Fourth Committee approved Tuesday (October 21st) a draft resolution that would have parties to the Western Sahara dispute "continue to show political will and work in an atmosphere propitious for dialogue in order to enter into a more intensive phase of negotiations". The Assembly would also support the process of negotiations "with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that would provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara".
Maghreb countries rank low in the newest Press Freedom Index, a worldwide annual report issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The 2008 report, made public on October 22nd and entitled "Only Peace Protects Freedoms in post-9/11 world", places Tunisia 143rd out of 173 countries. Although showing modest improvement, moving up two places, Tunisia is still the region's second-worst after Libya (ranked 154th).
Following pressure from Survival International, De Beers says it has stopped operations on the land of the Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana because those it consulted, including Bushmen living inside the reserve, did not agree with its plan to explore for diamonds near a Bushman community.
Hot on the heels of Mauritius, health experts predict Swaziland will be the second country in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to eliminate malaria. Malaria kills more than one million people worldwide most of whom are children under five years and almost 90 percent of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria killed five people last year in Swaziland.
Five years after the introduction of free primary education (FPE) in Kenya, the enrolment of girls in schools continues to lag behind in Garissa, in Kenya's North Eastern region. Most communities living in the North Eastern region are nomadic and semi-nomadic, and depend on livestock for their livelihood.
This sourcebook combines descriptive accounts of national and international experience in investing in agriculture with practical operational guidance on to how to design agriculture-for-development strategies that capitalise effectively on the unique properties of agricultural growth and rural development involving women and men as a high-impact source of poverty reduction.
Over the years, education has focused on access and parity — that is, closing the enrollment gap between girls and boys — while insufficient attention has been paid to retention and achievement or the quality and relevance of education. The primary focus on girls’ access to education may overlook boys’ educational needs. This approach also fails to confront the norms and behaviors that perpetuate inequality. This paper presents the Gender Equality Framework, which has been designed to address this inequality.
The tenth of this month marked the second anniversary of Abu Nawas which aims to fortify solidarity and provide support to the gay community in Algeria. On that special day this month, the Abu Nawas members intended to use the day to celebrate across ensuring belonging to the Arabic and Muslim world despite the sexual orientation which is largely despised in that environment.
As October marks breast cancer awareness month, a research conducted by lgbthealthchannel website (focusing on gay health and wellness issues) found that lesbians, bisexual women and women who have sex with other women are more likely to develop breast cancer than heterosexual counterparts. The findings emphasise that breast cancer can at times be associated with nulliparity – the state of not giving birth.
Text messages will be sent to mobile phones in South Africa to encourage people to be tested and treated for HIV/AIDS. Project Masiluleke will send one million texts a day to South Africans after it is launched on 1 December. The messages are written in English and local languages such as Zulu, and will include prompts to call helplines. Many of the messages were composed with the assistance of local communities.
At least two Africa migrants were reported dead after landing in a wooden fishing boat packed with 125 migrants in Spain's canary Islands. Another four migrants were taken to hospital after boat arrived early in the morning at a beach on island of La Gomera, a spokeswoman for emergency services said.
Food, water, health and sanitation facilities at several villages on the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border are overstretched as civilians continue to pour into Uganda, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said on 31 October. The agency said the facilities were inadequate for the more than 6,500 people scattered in 12 villages along the border who are being hosted by the local communities.
Five months after a specialised facility for multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients was established at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, the lack of isolation wards is raising concerns. "This is not the best place; TB is a highly infectious disease,” Catherine Koskei, a matron working at the facility, told IRIN. “The patients need to be restricted.”
The South African government should aim for free universal education, backed up by teacher training so as to make a significant impact on the quality of schooling, said the country's largest public service union. Jon Lewis, spokesman for the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) said the plan by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to extend free education to 60 percent of schools in 2009 should be applauded, but it was not without glitches.
Kenya will have to find new sources of funding to keep more than 200,000 people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment after the country's latest bid for support from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was rejected, a senior government official said. "We are too dependent on donor funding for programmes like these [related to HIV, malaria and tuberculosis], which are vital to the health of our people - we must start becoming more self-reliant," Danson Mungatana, Assistant Minister for Medical services, said on 27 October.
On 29 October 2008, Swazi journalists were kicked out of a meeting in which the newly-elected and appointed Members of Parliament discussed their pay. The journalists had been allowed to cover the earlier discussions, but when the legislators began to discuss their pay, the media was shown the door.
The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN protests the detention of the US-based blogger Jonathan Elendu, who has been held incommunicado without charge in Abuja, Nigeria, since 17 October 2008. There are fears for his health following reports of ill treatment. The WiPC believes that Elendu has been detained for his critical reporting on Nigeria. It calls on the Nigerian authorities to charge Elendu with a recognisable criminal offense or to release him immediately and unconditionally.
While the ODM rejects the Waki Report (Commission of Inquiry into the Post-Election Violence), the Kenyans for Peace through Truth and Justice (KPTJ) issue a strongly worded statement urging full implementation of the recommendations.
Dibussi Tande reviews the following from the African blogoshphere:
Grandiose Parlor
Ayobami Ojebode
Chris Blattman’s Blog
The Road to the Horizon
Aloysius Agenda
The Coalition for an Effective African Court was registered in 2007 as an NGO under the laws of the Republic of Tanzania. To continue the success achieved to date, the Coalition is recruiting an Executive Secretary to provide strategic and operational leadership for this newly registered organisation in Tanzania.
The Coalition for an Effective African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights will be holding its General Assembly during the 44th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on 11 November 2008 at, Abuja, Nigeria. The closing date for nominations is 31 October 2008.
Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) strongly condemns the extraterritorial hate expression attributed to African National Congress (ANC) Gauteng Province Youth Leader Jacob Kawe over the weekend.
Moremi Initiative for Women's Leadership in Africa (Moremi Initiative) recently launched its website as part of a re-introduction to partners and supporters. The new website provides an opportunity for visitors and users to learn more about our programs, partnership opportunities and critical issues affecting African women and girls as well as to get involved. Moremi Initiative was launched in 2004, with a mission to engage, inspire and equip young African women and girls to become the next generation of leading politicians, activists, social entrepreneurs and change agents.
Some 40 Somalis staying illegally in Nepal for the past three years have demonstrated outside District Administration Office (DAO) Kathmandu Wednesday seeking attention from the government to provide them the status of refugees. The UN refugee agency in Kathmandu has already registered them as refugees and has been extending financial assistance. However, government has not accepted them as refugees.
"The trustworthiness and reputation of the world's entire diamond industry should not depend on the willingness of NGOs to act as its watchdog." That is the key message in this year's Diamonds and Human Security Annual Review from Partnership Africa Canada. PAC, an NGO leader in the campaign against conflict diamonds, has turned its attention to evidence of a large and growing trade in illicit rough diamonds, running in parallel with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme that is supposed to eliminate the practice.
cc The ‘competent’ authorities of the government of José Eduardo dos Santos recently authorised the demolition of the Kinaxixe market. This architectural landmark in the centre of Luanda was an icon of Angolan urbanisation. Thus the government of this man destroyed the African patrimony inherited through the process of European colonisation, a patrimony with which we helped co-create this nation. The Kinaxixe market represented the cultural process that gave birth to our identity, as well as that of the leader of this government that destroyed it.
The Kanaxixe market was reduced to rubble by the new civil war underway in Angolan territory. This attack on the market is part of the war against all men and women in Angola carried out by agents wielding power promiscuously, and who conduct personal deals to amass fortunes through the use and abuse of this power and the property of the nation. This is a ‘pacific civil war’, as some think based on a lack of information, but one which at various times has been marked with the blood of the many victims of this attack on personal property, mostly urban land, and especially in Luanda. This war is a successor to that which took place between the ‘national liberation movements’, initiated to seize control of the state, which the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola – Partido do Trabalho (MPLA) was able to achieve in 1975.
Few are aware of this land war since up to now only one side has resorted to violence, the plunderers who make use of the authority and arms of the state against the people. The victims have not yet responded by using violence. Their only defence has been public denunciations of these attacks through national and international organisations. The organisation which I lead, SOS Habitat, has been one of the protagonists of this pacific approach to defence resulting, among other things, in defusing the potential for spontaneous violence by the many victims of land grabbing. Despite this, those responsible for these attacks are systematically guaranteed impunity.
Do not forget that the civil war in Angola was based on the legitimacy of a revolution, led by the MPLA, which proposed the end of capitalism in Angola. Long before the Kinaxixe market debacle, the ideals of this revolution had been thrown on the garbage heap of our history by the ex-‘revolutionaries’ who, despite this change in ideology, continue to rule via the domination of state administration by the MPLA. They are unwilling to abandon this inherited one-party dictatorship, despite the fact that it has been unconstitutional since 1991.
The government of José Eduardo dos Santos has destroyed and thrown away the material and cultural wealth of our country. In order to generate wealth for a few individuals, part of the collective memory of Luanda and the entire country has been transformed into historical ruins. Some rich individual or government insider will probably cover the land of the Kinaxixe market with a modern shopping centre.
Before this perpetration, this same government ordered the demolition of the Palace of Dona Ana Joaquina, building in its place a replica of the same building. In indignation over this crime, the MPLA Deputy Lúcio Lara took a piece of rubble from this landmark building into the National Assembly where, in the name of all of us – the millions of victims of this senseless act – he wept. It was a bold form of protest which (from my point of view) contested the actions of the head of his party (the MPLA) and of the dos Santos government. Dos Santos is the individual who is ultimately responsible for the decisions of the government and the state of Angola. He must necessarily be aware of this crime and the impunity with which it took place. But the gesture of the deputy, despite the seriousness it represented, had little impact on the continued impunity with which these types of malfeasances are carried out.
Following this, many houses of the poor were demolished in various Luanda shantytowns and their inhabitants abandoned among the remaining rubble or, under threat of arms of the state, dumped in ‘warehouses of the poor’ such as those the government of the MPLA has erected in Calemba, Zango, and Panguila. These new and emblematic colonial ‘native quarters’ have, paradoxically, been built in Angola following independence. The musical tradition of the common people, which the MPLA used extensively to mobilise the population against Portuguese colonialism has a line that says, ‘they rounded us up in corrals as if we were cattle.’ And now the government of the MPLA, led by José Eduardo dos Santos, is doing exactly the same thing as Portuguese colonialism. These ‘warehouses of the poor’ are a direct manifestation of endo-colonialism (internal colonialism) and the paradigm of urbanisation of the suburbs of Luanda adopted by this MPLA government, to expel the majority of the poor and marginalised population presently living in the capital from the city and outside the reach of basic government services and gainful employment. The phase of planned social apartheid, used by José Eduardo dos Santos to strengthen his regime of endo-colonialism, is now taking form.
At any time other public spaces and many of our homes already marked for demolition may be levelled, with our expulsion serving the private interests of a few. These same few amassed fortunes during the war, even as the war blocked most attempts to promote the general well-being of the population.
Many of our public and private spaces are about to be razed in order to serve or become the property of others for the development – as they see fit – of private projects, allegedly with some public utility, but in the planning of which we have not participated nor have we designated others to participate for us. It is evident that commercial enterprises serve the public in some way and depend on the public for their market. But is it necessary that this ‘public service’ provided by the private sector has to be based on the destruction of our collective property and the expulsion of the rest of us, as is presently taking place?
Various buildings in the city become the object of private appropriation following a predatory stage of negligent and rudderless ‘government management’, leaving them ready to be gutted and turned over to private interests.
The rights and aspirations of all of society are being extinguished in order to build the property base and illicit wealth of the ‘land lords.’ To the detriment of all (but a few), this process makes José Eduardo dos Santos, his agents and clients, co-proprietors of our country (without legal title), transforming it into an immense ‘Fazenda [plantation] Angola,’ which is becoming our collective space of suffering and death. Despite this, it is amazing that this fazenda is still being referred to by these same predacious individuals as a country and state enjoying democracy and the rule of law.
The international community – for whom human rights, the rule of law and democracy are considered essential for human development – is silent in the face of this endo-colonialism. It has become an accomplice rather than run the risk of losing business opportunities with Fazenda Angola. It fears the cooling of relations with the government of José Eduardo dos Santos if it were to contest the predatory crimes that are so abundantly evident. It shamelessly ignores the acts committed against us, as is evident in the praise which it continues to heap on the government of the MPLA led by José Eduardo dos Santos, as the prime minister of Portugal, José Sócrates, recently did at the International Exhibition of Luanda (FILDA). For the representatives of these countries – themselves historical predators of humanity on an international scale – everything is reduced to a question of economic opportunities and modernisation of the market, even claiming it to be a ‘well intentioned’ urban renewal, conveniently ‘understanding’ and accepting the justifications presented publicly to them.
Obviously for those intent on appropriating the state of Angola, the preservation of historical landmarks in the development of Luanda – of its physical configuration, its ancestral buildings and culture as foundations of the Angolan nation – have little interest for the ‘headmen’ of the Angolan ‘democratic market economy,’ presently being built in the mould of colonial economics.
As the history of humanity has long shown, the (persistence of) identifiable values of a dominated society always represent a danger for any dictatorship. These values keep the collective memory of communities alive, sustaining their cohesion and capacity for resistance. Thus in the case of Angola, these values are being erased in order to consequently erase our citizenship, transforming us into zero value in the account ledgers of a political economy which reserves for us a future of docile servitude within a dictatorship of endo-colonialism. This project of endo-colonialism seeks to reproduce in each of us the colonial slave (monangabê) which, in the absence of an irreverent poet like Jacinto, evokes neither lament of the situation nor the rebellion that the process threatens to generate.
If we continue in this direction all we will remember in the future is the work of ‘headman’ José Eduardo dos Santos and of ‘his’ party, the MPLA. The MPLA is the first and principal hostage of the personal hegemony that he exerts over the state and the country. We run the risk of getting to the point where available information will suggest that nothing existed before him and that all that we become, as individuals and as a country, we owe to his predatory saga of material and cultural possessions of the Angolan community. We will thus have the perception that Angola is the invention of José Eduardo dos Santos, which history (if written accurately) will show to be the destroyer of the patrimony and the collective memory of Angola.
If will permits this strategy to be carried to its final consequences by dos Santos and by his principal hostage, the MPLA – once our collective memory has been totally erased – all that will be left of our citizenship will be a shell. We will then, as citizens, be nothing more than an empty casing. Our loss of political space will have reduced us all to the mere appearance of citizens, a state, in fact, in which the majority of us live in the present context. Our situation as citizens, which at the present time is precarious, will, in the gloomy future that the endo-colonialism of José Eduardo dos Santos offers, be one that could result in our being abandoned in ‘warehouses of the poor’ amidst material and cultural rubble. In this Eduardian social apartheid our citizenship will wither away, under guard of a variety of mercenaries using against us the arms of the ‘state’ and Fazenda Angola, despoiled as the land has been and reduced to useless gente gentia, held hostage by the outlaw bands of this dictator.
In response to the invitation of endo-colonialism to develop its project, competent foreign predators have already formed partnerships with Angolan predators by creating companies claiming to be ‘nationalist’, where by co-ownership arrangements the Angolan economic agents own more than 50% of the respective capital. Paraphrasing the Angolan nicknamed the ‘great poet,’ we are objectively faced with the ‘scavenging of the lifeless African corpse’ which denounced the crime, except in this case the scavenging is taking place remorselessly under the direction of José Eduardo dos Santos, heir to the sceptre of Agostinho Neto – poet, physician and the first president of Angola.
If we all cease to struggle, if we anesthetise ourselves with the crumbs that are left on the palace table of the endo-colonial headman or from the fear of seeking freedom, the perverse economic, political and cultural project of endo-colonialism which will restructure the very essence of Angola will be concluded as an extreme but very successful and ‘refined’ violation of our natural condition as humans, free and endowed with basic rights, (theoretically) ‘respected’ in the Eduardian ‘democracy.’
Thus Angola will continue, endo-colonial in nature, to be a great place to live for everyone except Angolans, as denounced by the Angolan singer Dog Murras. As witnessed by its complicity, this situation is not a concern for the ‘democratic humanists’ of the international community, especially in its Angolan manifestation. In particular it does not bother the European states and their commission, whose agents and investors in the Eduardian endo-colonial economy long ago chose to close their eyes in order to satisfy their appetite for petroleum, the expansion of their markets, and the exploitation of other Angolan natural resources. They only see Angola as an el dorado where they can quickly ‘make a killing’ instead of, above all else, seeing our country as a place of human beings equal to themselves.
It seems to me that this will continue until, in another February, we write the names of new heroes in the history of the liberation of Angola. Unfortunately I have a few doubts about this, because our honest and fearless peaceful protests have been of little use. And of even less use still will be, following every new attack, to continue to ‘angelically’ carry to the National Assembly (as did Deputy Lúcio Lara of the MPLA) parts of our demolished lives and soak them with our tears in this ‘cathedral of appearances’ where they present the fantasy of ‘democracy to satisfy the foreigners.’ Mister José Eduardo has declared to us and the world, in all seriousness, that democracy and human rights won’t reduce hunger. Thus in his actions he is being coherent with what he believes.
Having arrived at this point of endo-colonial violence, we can only remind Mr. dos Santos, the headman of Fazenda Angola, along with his employees and the clients of his endo-colonialist project, that they who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. But I also wish, from the depth of my heart, that this harvest will take place through a September of voters rather than a February of heroes which, in reality, is what is being sown by dos Santos’s predatory. Free us, with urgency.
* Luiz Araujo is the director of SOS Habitat, an Angolan NGO.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/
Reviewing the entrenched state of crisis engulfing the eastern DR Congo, Joseph Yav Katshung argues that it is only through strong political will that the conflict will begin to stem. As the author underlines, this is will on the part of a range of domestic and international actors, whose ability to articulate a clear strategy for enhanced civilian protection will ultimately determine whether vulnerable populations see the consequences of armed conflict reduced. Only on the strength of sustained political commitment, Katshung emphasises, can rhetoric translate into reality.
Mamadou Koulibaly 2008-10-28
Mamadou Koulibaly, president of Côte d’Ivoire’s national assembly takes issue with France’s reticence in confronting the ills of its African colonial past. Unlike other western democracies that have by and large acknowledged their culpability, France continues to fall short of doing this. In July of 2007, Sarkozy gave a speech in Dakar that embodies this inability to speak frankly about France’s African past.
We are men and women of the earth, we are those who produce food for the world. We have the right to continue being peasants and family farmers, and to shoulder the responsibility of continuing to feed our peoples. We care for seeds, which are life, and for us the act of producing food is an act of love. Humanity depends on us, and we refuse to disappear.
Reflecting on the fifth International Via Campesina Conference held in Maputo, Mozambique, on 19 October, John E. Peck examines the ongoing struggle around ‘biofuels’ and unpacks the extent to which global discourses on solutions climate change have been commandeered by multinational corporations. With a particular focus on Jatropha, the author explores the crop’s likely impact in Mozambique and the consequences for food sovereignty, land use, and contested resources, and argues that true progress towards sustainable agriculture will only be attained once governments cease to emphasise agro-fuel subsidies.
The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) condemns in the strongest term the stoning to death of Aisho Ibrahim Dhuhulow a Somalian woman after an Islamic Sharia law court found her guilty of adultery.
Speaker: Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre
Yash Tandon explores the possibilities for change in the architecture of aid in his new book ‘Ending Aid Dependence’. Developing countries reliant on aid want to escape dependence, and yet appear unable to do so. This book proposes ways developing countries can free themselves from aid that has had varying degrees of success. Tandon argues in his book that exiting aid dependence should be at the top of the political agenda of all developing countries.
Tuesday 4 November 2008, 17:00-18:00
At: Chatham House, 10 St James's Square, London, SW1Y 4LE
The book is available from
Some four years after delegates met at Bomas to discuss Kenya’s constitutional review, the country’s National Youth Convention descended upon the very same location for the purpose of discussing Kenyan youth’s role and opportunities within the Kenyan state. As in other African countries, the NYC argues, young people in Kenya constitute a majority and deserve greater scope for influencing the direction of their nation and setting the agendas it follows.
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/404/Mine_Zimbabwe_tmb.jpgReflec... on an Institut Panos Afrique de l’Ouest (IPAO) training workshop for West African journalists held at beginning of October, Tidiane Kassé provides an introduction to the murky world of extractive industry in the region and the role of the media in informing public opinion.
Underlining the fundamental absence of an effective legal framework around the mining sector’s increasing presence and power in the West African region, Moussa K. Traoré assesses the social and economic impacts of an industry that has uncovered riches for countries’ leaders while leaving local populations excluded and deprived. Concluding that far greater information and dialogue are needed between the companies, authorities, and local stakeholders, the author argues for an increased role for civil society as a means of ensuring industry benefits become more widespread.
http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/404/China_businesses_lesotho_tm... an engaging piece highlighting the inherent one-sidedness of Western media coverage of China’s presence in Africa, Stephen Marks explores the extent to which the Asian giant’s presence on the continent is primarily visible in its economic and diplomatic links rather than any military presence. While concerns over a so-called ‘Yellow Peril’ are scarcely predominant within US policy circles, the author argues, the Chinese presence on the African continent is primarily characterised as military, a characterisation that belies the essentially economic basis of the country’s relations with African countries. But with Chinese military expenditure now conspicuously on the increase, what will be the consequences for a changing relationship with Africa?
In his work on the Sidis of India, Abdulaziz Y. Lodhi discusses the historical experiences of a group of prominent East African ancestry in the Indian sub-continent. Exploring linguistic developments and the role of Islam in their broader integration, the author discusses the new championing of the Swahili language of a group keen to revitalise their cultural links to Africa and reconstruct their heritage. With the group gaining wider scholarly and public recognition in recent years, Lodhi also reflects on Bantu linguistic data observable in contemporary Sidi speech and the effect of new efforts at cultural revival spearheaded by touring Sidi musical performers.
Drawing a broad contrast with South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, Margot Bokanga argues that the crisis in the DR Congo will only be overcome through effective engagement between regional stakeholders, governmental authorities, international organisations, and national civil society groups. Harnessing the momentum behind campaigns such as the recent , the author hopes the current struggles may one day prove a mere story of the triumph of civil activism for future Congolese generations.
Questioning the validity of a description suggestive of an unpreventable natural phenomenon, Astrid von Kotze explores the factors behind the onset of an ostensible ‘silent tsunami’ driving the world food crisis. Addressing core issues around global disparities in consumption and problematising received Malthusian wisdoms, the author argues that food encompasses far more than the purchase of mere commodities, reflecting social relations, use of the environment, and control of resources.
When capitalism fails the rich
(it always fails the poor), a jism
reinvigorates the corporate bitch:
let’s call it bow-wow socialism.
Good ol’ Uncle Sam, he saves the big banks
with tax-payers’ money, tax-payers’ sweat;
Wall Street billionaires, give him thanks
for winkling you fraudsters out of debt!
Dogknot socialism for plutocrats,
the broker-dealers’ contingency plan;
ill-gotten gains made by ill-gotten brats
devilling themselves in the frying pan.
Where Bob’s your uncle, the Reserve Bank feeds
cronyism, and the First Lady’s needs.
* John Eppel is a poet, novelist, and short-story writer from Zimbabwe. He won the MNet Prize in 1994 for his novel, D.G.G. Berry’s Great North Road (1992).
* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/
Member States from the East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Common Markets of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) met in Uganda to discuss the merger of the three economic blocs and the current financial crisis. Leaders of the three communities signed an agreement defining the roadmap for the project that seeks to create Africa’s largest trading bloc with a combined population of over 527 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $624 billion. The plan will be implemented with the signing of a comprehensive accord within six months. Within a year, the three regional communities will develop a legal framework and measures to facilitate the movement of business people, will have a single airspace and an inter-regional broadband Internet network, and will coordinate regional transportation and energy.
Meanwhile, military and defense officials from the EAC member states attended a seminar in Rwanda, the fourth of the five regional series, to discuss strategies on managing defense and sustainable peace in a democratic society and to formulate the East African defense protocol to further the political integration agenda. Meanwhile, climate experts and ministers of the Economic Community of West African States have committed to coordinate their national efforts to combat climate change as a new report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that ‘warming global temperatures can cut West African agricultural production by up to 50 percent by the year 2020’. SADC, one of many regional and sub-regional organisations invited by Zambia to observe this month’s presidential elections, has sent its electoral observer mission to ensure the promotion of common political values and to observe the management and conduct of the elections.
African ministers responsible for mineral resources met to discuss how African mineral exporting countries can gain optimum benefits from increasing exports and the price boom. They have adopted the ‘Africa Mining Vision 2050’, a document prepared by the African Union (AU) to provide a credible scheme for addressing the various challenges crippling the mining sector. The AU Commission chairperson, while addressing the 9th meeting of the Regional Consultation Mechanisms of the United Nations agencies and organisations working in Africa on food crisis and climate change, called for an urgent review of African agricultural policies to prioritise and better integrate them in national budgets and development interventions. In addition, the department of trade and industry of the AU Commission in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the government of South Africa organised the Conference of African Ministers of Industry (CAMI-18) under the theme ‘the Acceleration of Industrial Development of Africa - the need for Value Addition and Industrial Transformation’.
The African Development Bank in partnership with the AU Commission will organise a conference of Africa’s finance ministers and central bank governors to examine the effects of the global financial crisis on African economies and how to mobilise a common response to the crisis. African ministers in charge of public service, at their sixth conference, adopted, among other resolutions, the draft of the African Public Service charter with the amendments for presentation to the assembly of heads of state and government of the AU. African heads of state and government who are members of the African Peer Review Mechanism attended their first extraordinary summit in Benin to further look at the review report on the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to begin examining the report on Burkina Faso. In his introductory statement, the president of South Africa Kgalema Motlanthe, recognising that the land issue ‘represents a harsh manifestation of the colonial legacy and the gross historical injustices that shape land ownership patterns in Africa today’, addressed the topic in the context of resource control and management.
Meanwhile, the European Union Commission has expressed their willingness to work with China to develop African infrastructure and to ensure that its natural resources are well managed while identifying and addressing other areas for trilateral cooperation. African Development Bank Group President, Donald Kaberuka, while meeting with non governmental organisations, focused on the impact of Bank operations on the lives of small-scale farmers and rural populations in accessing drinking water, sanitation and electricity.
In peace and security related news, the AU Panel of the Wise welcomed resolutions adopted by the Peace and Security Council of the AU to balance the fight against impunity and the promotion of reconciliation in the Sudanese region of Darfur. The Panel further called on Sudanese parties to extend their full cooperation to the AU, the United Nations and the League of Arab States efforts to restore lasting peace in the region. The organ Troika of SADC heads of State and government met in the Kingdom of Swaziland in an extra-ordinary summit to review and consult on the political and security situation in Zimbabwe, the Kingdom of Lesotho and in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In the meantime, SADC postponed a crisis meeting on the political instability in Zimbabwe after the government refused to renew the passport of Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai for him to travel to Swaziland. However, crisis talks continued in Zimbabwe in a bid to save the Kenya-style power-sharing deal in danger of collapse over cabinet-sharing disagreements between President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai. A spokesperson for Somali insurgents admitted responsibility for attacks on AU forces, telling local media that they have killed at least seven soldiers, but, the Somali military deny the claim. During a round table discussion of the AU-UN panel on the support of regional peacekeeping operations, the AU was urged to find sustainable mechanisms to support Africa’s mediation, peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights will hold the 44th ordinary session in Abuja, Nigeria from November 10-24, and the Forum on the Participation of NGOs in the Ordinary Sessions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights will be held from the 7-9 of November. In other news, former president Festus Gontebanye Mogae of Botswana is the winner of the 2008 Mo Ibrahim Prize for good governance in Africa. The annual award is given to former sub-Sahara African heads of state or government who were democratically elected and demonstrated good governance.
Finally, a report presented to the second session of the conference of African ministers of culture announced that the great museum of Africa will be built in Algeria and must express the present and the future of Africa’s freedom from colonialism and racism as well as the characteristics that realise African unity.
By coincidence last weekend saw a long-planned Asian-European economic summit in Beijing, at a time when many world leaders were looking to China to play a key role in .
Thailand’s Premier even called for the Chinese Yuan to be the world’s new reserve currency.
Much mainstream expert comment, while not going that far, nonetheless agreed that China had a key role to play.
‘In many ways, US and European policymakers are doing the opposite of what they advised Asian policymakers to do in 1997-98: do not rescue failing banks, raise interest rates, balance your budget. Millions of Indonesians and Thais would have been better off if their governments had been permitted to do what western governments are doing now. An apology from the west to Asia would not be inappropriate’ said Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of Singapore University’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
In his view the Chinese and Indian contributions to the Beijing summit set an example of maturity and calm. Asian governments had lost confidence in western models of good governance. ‘Asian minds have never been captured by the strange ideological belief that markets know best and government should step aside.’
George Soros agreed that ‘the financial authorities of the developed countries are in charge and they will do whatever it takes to prevent the system from collapsing. They are, however, less concerned with the fate of countries at the periphery. ... The so-called Washington consensus imposed strict market discipline on other countries but the US was exempt from it’.
Countries with large foreign currency reserves, including China, should contribute to a special fund to assist peripheral and emerging economies. ‘The US must show the way in protecting the peripheral countries against a storm that has originated in the US, if it does not want to forfeit its claim to the leadership position’.
Gerard Lyons, chief economist and group head of global research at Standard Chartered Bank , agreed that a statement launched by the Trans National Institute and Focus on the Global South.
CHINA AND THE CRISIS
Although China is not itself directly caught up in the credit crunch its export industries are already suffering from the resulting recession along with the rest of the ‘Asian tiger’ economies.
From China to Africa the financial crisis is also labour unrest continues to mount. In response, local party bosses are said to be considering special measures to assist laid-off workers.
DARFUR KILLINGS
China condemned the killing of a shift in policy.
Earlier Liu Guijin, the special Chinese envoy on Darfur said he was continuing to work with Western powers to lessen the fallout from the war crimes charges filed against Sudan's President Omar al Bashir.
ELSEWHERE IN AFRICA
A joint venture company including China Railway Construction Corp was falsely labelled fake Nigerian textiles.
But in a new twist, as Zambia goes to the polls in its Presidential election both parties are putting out the welcome mat to Chinese investment - a change of heart for the previously anti-Chinese opposition leader Michael Sata.
In response to: : On the eve of the emergence of South Africa as an independent country, Mr. Mandela was summoned to the US embassy where he met with a representaive of the US Chamber of Commerce who instructed him that the US was opposed to the nationalization policy of the ANC. Indeed, the ANC abandoned the principles for which so many paid with their lives.
The ANC government adopted the IMF and World Bank favoured neoliberal economic principles which advocate for privatization, austerity and deregulation of the so-called "free market". These policies have, indeed widened the gap between the rich and poor in the country.
The process of "manufacturing" millionaires was expedited in order to dangle phony possibilities and opportunities to a people emerging from a brutal system that had dehumanized them and systemically ensured that only white people were entitled to citizenship and all the rights that accrue thereof.
The "cadre deployment" system allowed the ANC to appoint only its members to plump positions in the public and private sectors of the economy. This has resulted in the creation of oligarchs who, a decade ago were "revolutionaries" purporting to fight for the "masses". Go figure!
The author neglects this critical and significant development which has resulted in the paralysis of initiative in favor of mediocrity and incompetence. The so-called masses have no jobs, no means of survival while the ANC leadrship swims in milk and honey. Tokyo Sexwale and Cyril Ramaphosa have joined the ranks of the filthy rich in a country that can't afford to feed all its people or adequately take care of its guests and neighbours. I am referring to the xenophobic insanity that targeted fellow African brothers and sisters while the richest immigrants, who come from the west were sipping champagne in the rich white suburbs.
The deposition of Mbeki and the formation of the new party by followers of Terror Lekota, former minister of Defence, will not give rise to any palatable and meaningful change. The squabble among the factions within the ANC is in keeping with the Stalinist tendencies of the organization which have been widely documented. The prospect of senseless violence is looming in the horizon as the fight for the wealth that belongs to all South Africans threatens to engulf the entire country.
One of the major stumbling blocks towards progressive governance is the existence of two constitutions and two constituencies. The ANC abides by, and is loyal to its constitution. Everyone else clings to the hope that the constitution of the country is the supreme document that everyone has pledged allegiance to. Not so! Policies that have national implications are passed during ANC conventions and end up as laws arising from such a charade.
Mr Zuma is not supposed to be under consideration for any national office given his history of breaking the laws of the land. Let's remember that he was fired for corruption by Mbeki. Contrary to what Mr Gumede has stated, Mr Zuma was not exonerated by judge Nicholson. The issue before the judge was whether Mr. Zuma's rights were violated by not allowing him to make representations to the National Prosecuting Authority as required by the constitution in instances where an accused has been previously informed that he would not be prosecuted. Why the judge veered into the internicine strife within the ANC by implicating Mbeki in some conspiracy to have Zuma prosecuted is ludicrous and ridiculous.
South Africa is on an irreversible path to anarchy and self-destruction. The ANC has made sure that it does, so to speak!
Thank you for profiling my blog, . You're right, Cairo isn't the best place to find anything even vaguely resembling sanity. LOL I have lived here the sum total of two and a half months and was in Kenya and India prior to that. Sadly my sanity was not to be found in either of those places either.
I have chosen not to comment on the political situation here until I am more familiar with it. Any thoughts I chose to share at this early juncture would not be sufficiently informed by my own observations and experiences as opposed to those fed me by various media outlets. I hope you will check back with me in the future.
The entire world is in crisis, a crisis with multiple dimensions. There is a food crisis, an energy crisis, a climate crisis and a financial crisis. The solutions put forth by Power – more free trade, more GMOs, etc. – purposefully ignore the fact that the crisis is a product of the capitalist system and of neoliberalism, and they will only worsen its impacts. To find real solutions, in this open letter argues we need to look toward Food Sovereignty.
Elisio Macamo - 2008-10-26
Reflecting on social spaces and politics within Mozambican cities and the legacy of the colonial period, Elisio Macamo calls for greater study of the role of urban environments in the development of local political cultures. Citing the example of protestant churches of various denominations in the creation of local responsibilities and identities, the author contrasts this process of self-determination with the ‘culture of dependency’ underpinned by the continual support of the development industry.
Pambazuka News 403: Resisting free trade and global finance
Pambazuka News 403: Resisting free trade and global finance
Now in its fourth year, World Challenge 08 is a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. Heiveld Co-operative is a collective of small-scale farmers who produce fine quality organic and fair trade certified rooibos tea. Heiveld has been selected as one of 12 finalists in the 2008 BBC World Challenge competition. Please take a few minutes and vote for the Heiveld. Each person may vote once (and only once), and everyone's vote will help the Heiveld to achieve a better future.
Reporting to the Director of Programmes, the Manager for the Governance Institutions and Processes Department will assist in running EISA's Governance Department. Closing date for submission of applications is Friday, 31 October 2008. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. EISA reserves the right not to appoint.