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Subject: [WASAN] FW: PAMBAZUKA NEWS 95 - BUSH NO-SHOW IN MAURITIUS REFLECTS
DEEPER DISDAIN
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Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 14:26:10 -0600
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Subject: PAMBAZUKA NEWS 95 - BUSH NO-SHOW IN MAURITIUS REFLECTS DEEPER
DISDAIN
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 95
A weekly electronic newsletter for social justice in Africa
CONTENTS: 1. Editorial, 2. Conflict, Emergencies, and Crises, 3. Rights and
Democracy, 4. Corruption, 5. Health, 6. Education and Social Welfare, 7.
Women
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1.EDITORIAL
BUSH NO-SHOW IN MAURITIUS REFLECTS DEEPER DISDAIN
William Minter
In mid-December, in the midst of the controversy over racist remarks by
Senator
Trent Lott, Bush administration officials intimated that a presidential trip
to
Africa in January would demonstrate the U.S. president's sensitivity to
African
American concerns. If President George W. Bush had followed through on his
plan
to visit five African countries, Africans would have posed hard questions.
Is
your policy "just another trip"? Or are you willing to commit real resources
to
responding to the deadly threat of AIDS, and to other urgent African
priorities?
An answer of a sort came just before Christmas, when a White House press
release curtly announced that the trip was postponed. Later Secretary of
State
Colin Powell also called off plans to fill in for President Bush at the U.S.
-
Africa consultation being held in Mauritius this week. Heading the U.S.
delegation instead would be U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, who
will tout the benefits to Africa of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act
(which mandated this second consultation), and pitch other U.S. policies
for
promoting free trade.
Both the reduced U.S. presence in Mauritius and the exclusive focus on trade
accurately reflect the realities of U.S. Africa policy. Washington
policymakers
are offering band-aids for the continent's gaping wounds, while pushing
policies that add to the damage and deprive Africans of resources to fight
back. This is evident in the U.S. willingness to use Africa as a military
staging ground for war in the Middle East, while ignoring Africans' concerns
for their own human security.
It shows up as well in the stingy U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to
Fight
AIDS, amounting to only a tiny fraction of the $ 3.5 billion a year that
would
be the fair U.S. contribution, Meanwhile, the administration proposes
handing
over some $36 billion a year to rich investors by abolishing the tax on
dividends. Last week U.N. Special Representative Stephen Lewis called rich
countries' failure to respond to the AIDS pandemic "mass murder by
complacency."
The administration brushes off findings that current "debt relief" programs
leave desperately poor countries paying more to foreign creditors than they
spend on the health needs of their people. And Bush refuses to act
positively
on global issues from women's reproductive rights to global warming, on
which
the penalty for failure falls most heavily on Africa.
Bush's balance sheet is also deeply in the red even in the realm for which
the
U.S. claims most credit: trade policy. It is true that AGOA has opened some
additional opportunities for textile exports from African countries. But the
benefits from this are estimated at only about $100 million to $140 million
a
year, and only go to a few countries. An International Monetary Fund study
estimates that these benefits could have been five times greater if the U.S.
had not imposed extremely restrictive rules of origin for the materials used
in
exported textiles. Meanwhile, African exports to the U.S. continue to be
dominated by oil.
In December Washington stood alone to block a World Trade Organisation
agreement to allow export of generic medicines from one developing country
to
another. African and other developing countries were outraged. The New York
Times commented that Washington's position was "so obviously influenced by
the
drug companies that America is alienating nations whose support it needs on
other trade issues."
As African countries face the combined impact of famine and AIDS, they also
see
their agriculture devastated by another killer: agricultural trade subsidies
in
the U.S. and Europe. Last year's U.S. farm bill, for example, added some $83
billion in new subsidies for rich U.S. farmers, whose exports already
undercut
developing country farmers who produce rice, maize, and other food crops.
Such
subsidies also undercut African exports. In a report last fall, for
example,
Oxfam calculated that U.S. cotton farmers received subsidies of $3.9
billion.
Oxfam estimated the damage to African cotton producers from these subsidies
at
about $300 million a year.
Most official speeches in Mauritius will undoubtedly extol the potential
mutual
benefits of expanded U.S. -African trade. But that potential stands little
chance of being realized with the current business-as-usual policy. When and
if
President Bush does visit Africa, he may seek to avoid answering the
question
of whether he values African lives. Two years into his administration, the
policy record leaves little doubt that the answer is "no".
* William Minter is a senior research fellow at Africa Action, the oldest
U.S.-
based advocacy group on African affairs. This commentary was originally
published in Le Mauricien (http://lemauricien.com), January 15, 2003.
* Send your comments for publication in the Letters and Comments section of
Pambazuka News to [log in to unmask]
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2.CONFLICT, EMERGENCIES, AND CRISES
AFRICA: IRAQ LOBBIES AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2646179.stm
Iraq has made a direct appeal to Africa for more help in preventing a war
with
the United States. The call came during the Afro-Arab Parliamentary
conference
currently taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
BURUNDI: ZUMA URGES AU TO DEPLOY PEACE MISSION TO BURUNDI
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=37&o=14377
South Africa's Deputy President Jacob Zuma urged the African Union's (AU)
conflict resolution body on Tuesday to deploy the so-called African Mission
to
Burundi as soon as possible to enforce the cease-fire in the region.
According
to a statement issued by his office from the AU's headquarters in Addis
Ababa,
Zuma said troops from South Africa, Mozambique and Ethiopia had all been
earmarked to take part in the mission.
DRC: U.N. DEMANDS CONGO REBELS HALT MASSACRES
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-2324989,00.html
The U.N. Security Council demanded Wednesday that rebel leader Jean-Pierre
Bemba, whose forces have been accused of cannibalism, rape and massacres,
ensure an immediate halt to human rights violations in eastern Congo. The
council statement was issued shortly after a U.N. investigation confirmed a
horrifying campaign of atrocities against civilians in the forests of
northeast
Congo, with children among the victims.
DRC: UN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER CALLS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF POWER-SHARING DEAL
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31705
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello has appealed
for
the speedy implementation of the power-sharing accord signed in the
Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) on 17 December 2002. "My principal concern on
this
voyage is the putting into place of the accord," he told IRIN in the DRC
capital, Kinshasa, on Tuesday.
ETHIOPIA: RED CROSS WARNS OF CRISIS
http://www.africaonline.com/site/Articles/1,3,51682.jsp
The International Committee of the Red Cross is warning that immediate
action
is needed to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Ethiopia. The Swiss-based
organisation says months of drought have left millions of people in urgent
need
of aid.
IVORY COAST: CALL FOR TRANSITIONAL AUTHORITY TO GUIDE PEACE PROCESS
An organisation called the Centre for the Defence of Peace and Democracy in
Africa has drafted a peace plan for the Ivory Coast calling for a resolution
from the United Nations' Security Council that would establish a United
Nations
Transitional Authority in Ivory Coast (UNTACI). The authority would assist
in
drafting a new constitution, initiate new electoral lists for presidential
and
legislative elections and transfer power to the newly-elected authorities.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12523
IVORY COAST: TALKS LAUNCHED WITH PEACE CALL
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/576510
Ivory Coast political leaders and rebel chiefs began talks near Paris on
Wednesday to end a war that risks plunging West Africa into turmoil, with a
peace call by ex-colonial power France ringing in their ears. Opening nine
days
of closed-door talks, Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told delegates
only they could end four months of bloodshed that has killed hundreds in the
world's top cocoa producer.
LESOTHO: RED CROSS DISTRIBUTE FOOD FOR FAMINE RELIEF
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=825
The Lesotho Red Cross Society has distributed 265 metric tons of maize seeds
and 410 metric tons of fertilizers to orphans. The distribution also covered
the aged and the disabled in the districts of Berea, Butha-Buthe and Leribe.
Seventy metric tons of maize seeds were distributed in the Mokhotlong
district.
MALAWI: MALAWI DECLARES FLOOD EMERGENCY
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2649805.stm
Malawi President Bakili Muluzi has declared a "state of national disaster"
and
called for international assistance following severe floods in several parts
of
the country.
SENEGAL: DOZENS DIE IN FIGHTING
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2638199.stm
Thirty rebels and four government soldiers have been killed in recent
fighting
in the troubled southern province of Casamance, an army source says. For the
past 21 years, a separatist movement has waged a violent campaign to create
a
separate state in southern Senegal.
SOMALIA: ANOTHER FACTION LEADER LEAVES ELDORET
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31703
A prominent Mogadishu-based faction leader Muse Sudi Yalahow left the
Eldoret
peace talks on Monday because he is unhappy over the progress of the
meeting.
Yalahow's departure follows that of another Mogadishu-based faction leader
Muhammad Qanyare Afrah and of Colonel Barre Hiiraale, the leader of Juba
Valley
Alliance, which controls the port city of Kismayo and much of the Juba
valley
area of southern Somalia.
SOMALIA: PEACE COMMITTEES TO CONCLUDE THIS MONTH, SAYS MEDIATOR
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31702
Technical committees discussing core issues of the Somali conflict should
conclude their work this month, Kenya’s special envoy for Somalia Elijah
Mwangale announced on Tuesday. This means that the power-sharing phase of
peace
talks should start early next month, he told a news conference in Nairobi.
SUDAN: ARMY TAKES OVER KONY CAMPS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301130051.html
Sudanese government troops will be deployed in camps which Joseph Kony's
Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group was occupying in southern Sudan to avert
any
attacks against Uganda.
ZIMBABWE: FOOD SUPPLY THREATENED
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=806
Zimbabwe appears headed for another season of food shortages in 2003-2004
with
poor rains and reduced plantings likely to dent output, a U.S. based food
monitoring organisation says. Although Zimbabwe was once the breadbasket of
southern Africa, sharply reduced domestic food production has forced the
country into dependence upon food aid, and nearly half Zimbabwe's estimated
14
million people now face starvation.
ZIMBABWE: WORLD VISION RESUMES FEEDING
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=796
A relieved World Vision says it has resumed its feeding programme in the
Beitbridge area in southern Zimbabwe, following a month-long delay in the
delivery of food aid from the United States.
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3.RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
AFRICA: DEFENDING DEMOCRACY - A GLOBAL SURVEY OF TRENDS
http://www.demcoalition.org/html/globa_survey.html
The first-ever survey assessing how democratic governments pursue a
democratic
foreign policy concludes that governments are doing a better job of
promoting
democracy beyond their borders, but still put other interests first when
dealing with dictatorships or responding to violations of democratic rights.
Defending Democracy: A Global Survey of Foreign Policy Trends 1992-2002,
conducted by the Democracy Coalition Project and funded by the Open Society
Institute, grades 40 countries on implementation of their pledges to protect
and promote democracy. Readers can download the full report or individual
country reports from the link provided below.
AFRICA: NEW LIFE FOR AFRICAN MULTILATERALISM
http://www.hrw.org/wr2k3/africa.html
The outlook for human rights in Africa at the close of 2002 was more hopeful
than it had been for several years, says Human Rights Watch in its World
Report
2003, released this week. During the year, there were significant moves
towards
resolving longstanding conflicts in Angola, Sudan, and the Democratic
Republic
of Congo (DRC) and African leaders made significant commitments to
transparent
and accountable governance and respect for human rights. But HRW notes that
African leaders had promised reform on many previous occasions while
continuing
to embezzle national funds and to violate human rights. New or ongoing
crises
and longstanding repression in some countries continued to undermine
progress
towards respect for human rights and the rule of law across the continent.
ANGOLA: ACTIVISTS URGE UN TO ACT ON ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31672
Allegations of human rights abuses in the northern enclave of Cabinda and
the
living conditions of some 80,000 demobilised soldiers should top the agenda
during UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello's visit
to
Angola next week, rights activists said on Friday.
CONGO: GOVERNMENT CREATES NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31708
The National Assembly of the Republic of Congo (ROC) has adopted a law
creating
a national human rights commission, as stipulated by the country's new
constitution, which was approved by referendum in January 2002 and entered
into
effect in August 2002 following a five-year transition period.
DRC: AMNESTY PLEADS FOR LIVES OF KABILA TRIAL DEFENDANTS
http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/AFR620012003!Open
Amnesty International is urging President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) to use his prerogative to immediately commute the
death
sentences passed on some 30 defendants for their alleged role in the
assassination of President Laurent-Desiré Kabila in January 2001.
DRC: MLC ARRESTS SOLDIERS FOR RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31706
The Mouvement de liberation du Congo rebel group (MLC) in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) has arrested five of its soldiers accused of
committing human rights violations in Ituri District, in the northeast of
the
country. Ituri has been the scene of heavy fighting in recent weeks between
the
MLC and its ally, the Rassemblement congolais pour la Democratie-National
(RCD-
N), against the RCD-Kisangani-Mouvement de liberation.
DRC: TWO MASS GRAVES FOUND IN MAMBASA
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31691
Two mass graves have been discovered in Mambasa, 50 km northwest of Beni, in
the Ituri district of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),
according to the United Nations Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC.
GHANA: TRUTH PANEL BEGINS HEARINGS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2656953.stm
A commission set up to investigate human rights abuses in Ghana has begun
hearing petitions from people who say they, or their families, suffered
during
past periods of military rule. The National Reconciliation Commission (NRC),
modelled on South Africa's truth and reconciliation commission, is looking
into
allegations of torture and killings.
KENYA: MAJOR CHANGES IN GOVT STRUCTURE
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301120140.html
President Mwai Kibaki is expected to unveil major changes in Government
structure after the completion of the reorganisation of his ministries next
week. The East African Standard has established that the President and his
staff were putting final touches to the exercise which targets bloated
ministries and departments as well as transferring "misplaced functions to
their rightful areas".
LIBERIA: INTEREST GROUPS SPELL OUT GUIDELINES FOR ELECTIONS
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31697
A three-day consultative meeting that brought together Liberia's 18
registered
political and other pro-democracy groups have recommended, among other
things,
that in the absence of a national census a thorough voters registration be
conducted in the presence of political party representatives.
NIGERIA: OBASANJO, BUHARI MEET IN PUBLIC AFTER PARTY CONVENTIONS
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/national/nr116012003.html
Celebrations at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day climaxed with the first
meeting in public of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) presidential candidate in the 2003 presidential elections, with his
rival, All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) presidential candidate, General
Muhammadu Buhari. Clad in white flowing agbada, Gen. Buhari caused a stir
when
he entered the venue after the national anthem had been played and as
President
Obasanjo was about to march forward and lay his wreath on the tomb of the
unknown soldier.
ZIMBABWE: CIVIL SOCIETY CONDEMNS CONTINUING REPRESSION
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=809
The Combined Harare Residents Association, together with other
representatives
of civil society, including the 350 members of the Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition, has strongly condemned the continuing repression of
democratically
elected representatives and the citizens of Zimbabwe in general.
ZIMBABWE: CONCERN FOR WELFARE OF ARRESTED ACTIVISTS
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has said they are concerned about the
welfare
of MDC MP Job Sikhala and NGO Human Rights Forum research lawyer Gabriel
Shumba, both of who were arrested and detained on Tuesday. The Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition is deeply concerned for the welfare of these two
individuals
and urges the police to release them immediately, the organisation said in
an
urgent alert.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12590
ZIMBABWE: CONSULTING WITH THE PEOPLE? OFF TO JAIL WITH YOU
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) this week strongly condemned
the
arrest of the Mayor of Harare, Engineer Elias Mudzuri on Saturday 11 January
2003. ZESN said the arrest, for holding a meeting without police clearance,
was "ridiculous" as the mayor was an elected representative who was supposed
to
know the problems and concerns of the people.
Related Link:
* Mayor released without charge
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31694
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12522
ZIMBABWE: FOOD RIOTS – A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME OR MEDIA FANTASY?
http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?2,40,5,150
The people of Zimbabwe are trapped in a leadership paradox. On one hand is
the
brutual authoritarianism of a government that is long overdue its sell-by
date
and has overstayed its usefulness. On the other hand is the apparent lack of
leadership from an opposition that they have to look up to for answers to
their
daily anguish. Those that had put all their cards on a new political scene
after the elections, feel the most pinch from the opposition’s lack of
leadership as they still look up to it for a solution. Unfortunately, the
opposition has not been pro-active and decisive in leading the people after
the
presidential election, says this commentary on the Centre for Civil Society
web
site of the University Natal.
ZIMBABWE: MDC CLAIMS MUGABE EXIT PLAN
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=813
A Zimbabwe private newspaper reported that Zimbabwean, South African and
British authorities have hatched a plan for embattled President Robert
Mugabe
to hand power to his chosen successor, before the end of his current term in
2006. The Zimbabwe Sunday Mirror said the plan, which it claimed had the
support of Zimbabwe's army commander, included the appointment of an interim
government with the support of the main opposition and the holding of
parliamentary and presidential elections in 2005.
Related Link:
* I won't step down just now - Mugabe
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301160214.html
ZIMBABWE: OPPOSITION MARCH BROKEN UP IN HARARE
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=799
Four opposition supporters in Zimbabwe have been arrested after
demonstrating
in support of the Harare mayor, Elias Mudzuri. The opposition Movement for
Democratic Change said it hoped to have 2,000 people at the demonstration,
but
the police banned the protest, and arrested those who turned up.
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4.CORRUPTION
DRC: BELGIUM TO PROBE CONGOLESE MINISTER ACCUSED OF MONEY LAUNDERING
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31644
Belgian judicial authorities are investigating possible money-laundering
activities linked to ore trafficking by a minister in the Democratic
Republic
of the Congo (DRC), state-owned Radio-Television Belge de la Communaute
Francaise (RTBF) reported from Brussels last Wednesday.
KENYA: KENYA HOLDS TALKS ON RESUMING AID
http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51292
Senior officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are due to hold
talks with the Kenyan government on Tuesday about resuming aid to the
country.
A spokesman for the Kenyan ministry of finance, Mohammed Lugh, said the IMF
would meet President Mwai Kibaki to discuss an anti-corruption bill. Both
the
IMF and the World Bank have told Kenya it must pass laws to tackle economic
crimes before lending can be resumed.
NAMIBIA: SOCIAL SECURITY CREDIT CARD USED TO BUY GIFTS FOR CABINET MEMBERS
http://www.transparency.org/cgi-bin/dcn-read.pl?citID=51297
Former Prime Minister Hage Geingob and Prisons Minister Andimba Toivo ya
Toivo
received gifts bought through the unauthorised use of a credit card issued
to a
manager at the Social Security Commission, it was alleged this week. The
information surfaced at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the
Activities, Management and Operations of the SSC.
NIGERIA: ABACHA'S 'SHADY DEALINGS' COME HOME TO ROOST
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1042558021828B252&set_id
=1
Swiss justice authorities will hand over to Nigeria files they built up in a
money-laundering investigation of the West African nation's late dictator,
General Sani Abacha, a leading official said on Tuesday.
SOUTH AFRICA: BENZ BROTHERS BACK IN COURT
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=11&o=14457
The fraud and corruption trial of former African National Congress chief
whip
Tony Yengeni and businessman Michael Woerfel was set to resume in the
Pretoria
Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday.
SOUTH AFRICA: SA COULD EXTRADITE KERN OVER SHARON CORRUPTION CLAIMS
http://www.sabcnews.com/politics/government/0,1009,50864,00.html
Justice Department spokesperson Paul Setsetse says South Africa will
consider
extraditing millionaire Cyril Kern of Cape Town, if there is evidence that
he
was involved in money laundering. Kern's gift of R15 million to Israeli
Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon is being used as political ammunition against him in
the
Israeli general election.
SOUTH AFRICA: WHISTLEBLOWERS MAY GET ADDED PROTECTION
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301130295.html
Key legislation designed to protect employees in the public and private
sectors
from persecution if they blow the whistle on corruption could soon be
expanded
to include anyone who observes corrupt practices.
ZAMBIA: FORMER FINANCE MINISTER NABBED
http://www.panapress.com/freenews.asp?code=eng034473&dte=15/01/2003
Former Zambian Finance Minister Katele Kalumba, who has been on the run from
his country's authorities since last October, has been arrested by police in
connection with investigations of the plunder of national resources. Kalumba
was arrested Tuesday in the northern border town of Chiengi, near the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
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5.HEALTH
AFRICA/GLOBAL: EU TRIES TO BREAK WTO MEDICINES DEADLOCK
http://www.europaworld.org/week111/euseeks10103.htm
The EU has launched an initiative to break the current WTO deadlock on
developing countries' access to affordable medicines. WTO members failed to
meet the end of a 2002 deadline to find a solution for developing countries
without manufacturing capacities, namely given the disagreement over the
disease coverage. In a letter addressed to all WTO Trade Ministers, EU Trade
Commissioner Pascal Lamy proposes a multilateral solution which is workable,
sustainable and legally secure, based both on the Doha mandate and on the
chair's compromise text of 16 December 2002.
AFRICA: 'MASS MURDER BY COMPLACENCY'
Special U.N. envoy to combat AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis warned at a
January 8
press conference in New York following a trip to Southern Africa that the
behaviour of rich countries towards AIDS in Africa could be summed up as
"mass
murder by complacency". Lewis stressed the sluggish response of
industrialised
nations to the Global Fund for HIV, TB and Malaria, and warned that a war
against Iraq would "eclipse" every other international human priority,
leaving
people with AIDS among its greatest sufferers. He said: "What is required is
a
combination of political will and resources," he said. "The political will
is
increasingly there. The money is not." Read the full press briefing by
clicking
on the link below.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12644
AFRICA: DRUG SUPPLY EFFORTS ONLY 'SCRATCH THE SURFACE'
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15509
Six companies involved with the UNAIDS- and WHO-sponsored Accelerating
Access
program said this week they would increase the antiretroviral drug supply to
Africa, "acknowledging that current efforts only scratched the surface" of
the
continent's epidemic, Reuters reports.
AFRICA: EFFORTS TO AVERT FAMINE IN AFRICA
http://www.planetwire.org/details/3691
More than 34 million Africans are threatened by starvation due to severe
food
shortages throughout the continent. The crisis is exacerbated by an HIV/Aids
rate averaging more than 20 percent in the affected countries. Those
infected
with the disease require 30 to 50 percent greater daily caloric intake.
AFRICA: HEALTH AND LITERACY COMPENDIUM IN AFRICA
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=805
This compendium describes and provides details for both print and web based
materials on the links between health status and literacy status. It also
explains how to access and develop easy-to-read health education materials,
and
how to teach health with literacy, using health content.
KENYA: GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS STILL NOT PROVIDING HIV/AIDS DRUGS
The international medical NGO Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) said last Friday
that just one of Kenya's provincial hospitals was dispensing antiretrovirals
(ARVs) to people living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs). This was despite government
funding allocated to five major hospitals last year to kick-start the
national
distribution of HIV/AIDS drugs.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12517
LESOTHO: HIV/AIDS INEXTRICABLY LINKED TO FAMINE
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=826
The current famine in Lesotho is further compounded by HIV/Aids as many
young
and able-bodied people who cultivate the fields succumb to HIV/Aids related
complications. According to the United Nations Resident Representative,
Scholastica Kimaryo, the current famine that has left many families
destitute
has an incestuous link with the high prevalence of HIV/Aids, which has put
Lesotho amongst the top four countries worst affected by the pandemic in the
world.
MALAWI: PROJECT AIMS TO REDUCE CHOLERA FATALITY RATES
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=812
The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office has granted MK27 million,
which
is equivalent to about E300, 000 to the United Nations Childrens Fund in
support of the Cholera Preparedness and Control Project. The project, which
is
scheduled to run for eight months, will cover areas in Central and Northern
Malawi.
SENEGAL: WHY SENEGAL'S BOLD ANTI-AIDS PROGRAM IS WORKING
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/005/focus/The_network_effect+.shtml
Prostitution was legalized in this predominantly Muslim country in 1969, and
today the government tolerates it as long as each prostitute registers with
the
state, is over 21 years old, and comes regularly to a center run by the
Ministry of Health for checkups, education, and medical treatment. And
that's a
big reason why this West African nation of 10.5 million, according to the
World
Health Organisation, has an HIV infection rate of about two percent while
many
of its nearest neighbors face rates several times higher.
SOUTH AFRICA: ACTIVISTS CHALLENGE INVITATION TO HIV/AIDS DISSIDENT
South African HIV/AIDS activists have condemned an invitation by Minister of
Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to a leading AIDS dissident to address
regional
health ministers later this month. "For the health minister to invite
someone
who has been castigated by the medical profession for his belief that HIV
does
not cause AIDS only reinforces our suspicion that Tshabalala-Msimang has
failed
as minister of health," Sipho Mthathi of the Treatment Action Campaign told
Plusnews.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12502
SOUTHERN AFRICA: HIV/AIDS AND FOOD INSECURITY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
http://www.oxfam.org/eng/pdfs/pp021127_aids_safrica.pdf
This policy briefing from Save the Children and Oxfam calls on the
international community to recognise the relationship between the HIV/AIDS
epidemic and the Southern African food crisis. The paper briefly provides an
overview of prevalence in the region and states that HIV/AIDS has a
particularly damaging relationship with food insecurity in that it impacts
most
heavily the key members of society who can produce food as well as health
workers, teachers and others of working age. The relationship between hunger
and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS is also discussed.
SOUTHERN AFRICA: JOINT EFFORT CAN TURN PANDEMIC AROUND - LEWIS
The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa could be turned around, despite the
devastating
toll on human lives, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in
Africa Stephen Lewis, says. Lewis noted that defeating the disease would
require a combination of political will and resources.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12473
SWAZILAND: NUMBERS IN NEED EXPECTED TO INCREASE
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=816
Preliminary figures from the latest vulnerability assessment indicate that
the
number of people facing hunger in the tiny kingdom of Swaziland has risen
significantly. News reports from the kingdom quoted national disaster task
team
chairman Ben Nsibandze as saying that 297,000 out of a population of 1
million
will require food aid to survive.
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6.EDUCATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE
AFRICA/GLOBAL: NGOS URGE ACTION ON CONFLICT CHILDREN
http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/IOR800012003?Open
Several NGOs this week lobbied the United Nations Security Council at its
open
debate on children and armed conflict to take immediate action to protect
children's security and rights in armed conflicts around the world. "The
lives
and futures of millions of children are at stake everyday in 35-armed
conflicts
worldwide. The major challenge for the Council is to ensure respect for
international law and commitments to protect children in specific
situations,"
the organisations said.
AFRICA: ACCELERATING PROGRESS ON GIRLS' EDUCATION - TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE
OUTCOMES
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=804
This review outlines a strategy for accelerating progress on Girls'
Education
in order to meet the goal of gender equality in primary and secondary
education
by 2005. This is an important challenge of the Millennium Development Goals
and
the Education for All goals and one which UNICEF feels is slipping.
AFRICA: EDITORIAL BLASTS WEAK POLITICAL WILL TO AVERT DEATHS
http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/2003/01/07/31264
Despite a drop in child mortality rates worldwide, rates in developing
nations
are on the rise or holding steady and international efforts to reverse the
trend remain unfocused, according to an editorial in the current issue of
The
Lancet.
ANGOLA: MORE THAN 800,000 CHILDREN TO BE VACCINATED AGAINST MEASLES
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301130179.html
More than 800,000 children from nine months to 15 years old will be
vaccinated
against measles in April this year in southern Huila province, in a joint
action of the Provincial Health Management and the United Nations Children
Fund
(UNICEF).
ANGOLA: REINTEGRATION OF CHILD SOLDIERS UNDERWAY
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31729
United Nations officials in Angola on Wednesday said the reintegration of
former child soldiers into civil society was underway despite the scale of
the
problem confronting the humanitarian community.
ETHIOPIA: WARNING OVER HIGH TOLL OF AIDS ORPHANS
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31681
A quarter of children in Ethiopia could be orphaned by the HIV/AIDS virus
within eight years, experts warned last Friday. The warning came during a
conference on HIV/AIDS in Addis Ababa, where it was also revealed that 2.2
million Africans are dying of the virus each year.
GHANA: FISHERMEN BACK FIGHT AGAINST CHILD LABOUR
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31656
A 15-month project initiated by the International Organisation for Migration
(IOM) and other bodies to help hundreds of child labourers in fishing
communities in Ghana has received a "fantastic response" from fishermen,
according to an IOM official.
KENYA: GOVT MOVES TO EASE CONGESTION IN SCHOOLS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301140124.html
The Government has moved to restore order in schools affected by congestion,
advising parents to seek admission for their children elsewhere. Education,
Science and Technology Minister, Prof George Saitoti said schools affected
by a
higher influx of admissions country-wide would "be de-congested".
LIBERIA: POVERTY, WAR DRIVE 800,000 CHILDREN OUT OF SCHOOL
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=14839
Poverty and war have driven more than half of Liberia's 1,628,726 children,
between the ages of 3-18, out of school, according to records at the
ministry
of education. Liberia, with its vast resources of diamond, timber, iron ore
and
gold, could be one of Africa's richest nations, with the best system of
education. But the brutal 1989-1997 war and the current insurgency, which
erupted three years ago, have obliterated all hopes.
SOUTH AFRICA: DEVISING SOCIAL SECURITY INTERVENTIONS FOR MAXIMUM BENEFIT
http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/cssr/papers/wp13.pdf
Is social security, designed to provide protection against various
contingencies, well suited to the elimination or redress of large-scale,
endemic poverty? This article attempts to contribute to the debate
surrounding
social security systems in South Africa, as the basic income grant system is
now considered not viable.
SOUTH AFRICA: SADTU IN THE RUNNING FOR LABOUR WEB SITE OF THE YEAR
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=803
A ground breaking South African Democratic Teachers' Union website
(www.sadtu.org.za) has been nominated as a finalist for Labour Start's Site
of
the Year 2002. It is the official web portal of the South African Democratic
Teachers Union. The web site, which incorporates the electronic Educators
Voice
newspaper, shot to fame when it broke the story of massive Aids fatalities
among teachers in South Africa.
SOUTH AFRICA: STATE PROMISES AID FOR SA'S STARVED THOUSANDS
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?
click_id=6&art_id=vn20030114055607162C863717&set_id=1
Bureaucrats are blocking attempts to dispense food relief urgently needed
for
thousands of poverty-stricken rural people, according to an NGO activist.
This
accusation follows the discovery of a horrifying statistic - 150 000 South
African families are starving. The audit may be just the tip of the iceberg
because the study covers only 13 areas that have been identified as
economically depressed.
TANZANIA: NORWAY BOOSTS EDUCATION FUNDING
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31725
Norway on Tuesday challenged the G-7 countries to follow its example and
significantly increase their commitments to education initiatives in the
developing world. Hilde Johnson, Norway's Minister for International
Development, said this would be the only way of meeting the Dakar
Declaration
commitments, through which the international community undertook to ensure
that
no country that attempted to provide education for all its citizens would
lack
the resources to do so.
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7.WOMEN AND GENDER
ETHIOPIA: YOUNG AFRICANS REJECT GENITAL MUTILATION
http://www.womensenews.com/article.cfm/dyn/aid/1176/context/archive
When Genet Girma and Addisie Abosie got married in Kembatta, Ethiopia, they
did
the unthinkable in their community. Genet wore a placard saying "I am not
circumcised, learn from me" and her groom wore a matching one that said "I
am
very happy to be marrying an uncircumcised woman."
KENYA/SOUTH AFRICA: NEW REPORT ON WOMEN WITH HIV/AIDS
http://216.122.213.218/pdf/Repro_Choice_HIV_AIDS.pdf
Women living with HIV/AIDS face obstacles in receiving reproductive health
care. Ipas, a non-profit agency focusing on reproductive health, has
completed
a report summarizing the available information concerning the discrimination
HIV-positive women face in exercising their sexual and reproductive rights.
Authored by Maria de Bruyn, "Reproductive Choice and Women Living with
HIV/AIDS" is based on an extensive literature review and interviews with key
informants in Australia, India, Kenya, South Africa and Thailand.
KENYA: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WIDESPREAD, SELDOM REPORTED
Although the Kenyan Constitution was amended in 1997 to guarantee equality
between the sexes, in reality discrimination against women persisted in both
the private and public spheres, says the World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT). Expressing its concern in an alternative report to Twenty-Eighth
Session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women
entitled "Violence against Women in Kenya", OMCT said attempts to draft
legislation ensuring equality for women had been thwarted, leaving women in
Kenya with few laws specifically protecting their rights.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12605
MAURITIUS: WOMEN'S ROLE IN TRADE NEEDS MORE RECOGNITION
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=3169
The role of women as an engine for trade and development in Southern Africa
needs better recognition, Mauritian Minister for Women's Rights Arianne
Navarre-
Marie told NGOs on Monday meeting to discuss US-African trade cooperation.
NIGERIA: THE PLIGHT OF NIGERIAN WOMEN UNDER SHARIA LAW
http://www.marxist.com/Africa/nigerian_women_and_islam.html
Events in the lives of two women in Nigeria once more focus our attention on
the position of women in class society. Safiya Huseini's face tells a life
story - a woman oppressed by her religion, her womanhood, her society. For
daring to challenge the dictates of a patriarchal society she was condemned
to
death. Amina Lawal is herself a no less "perfect" specimen of a Muslim
woman.
Neither was her crime any different from that of Safiya’s. They both had sex
outside wedlock. But, while Safiya has escaped punishment Amina’s fate still
hangs in the balance. Both women have more in common than a shared crime -
and
they share this with millions of women, particularly under the rule of
Islamic
law. To be sure the position of women in "Christian" society is not a
paradise
and much still has to be done to achieve genuine emancipation, but compared
to
her Muslim counterpart she has conquered more rights.
SENEGAL: WOMEN JOIN HANDS TO REVIVE A COMMUNITY RESOURCE
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301140783.html
Wolimata Thiao is a towering, one-woman, tour de force. She has mobilised
the
women of Popenguine and surrounding villages, north of the Senegalese
capital,
Dakar, to reclaim and protect nature. The dynamic village women of
Popenguine,
Popenguine Serere, Kiniabour 1 and 2, Guerew, Thiafoura, Soro Hassap and
Ndayane, persevered and proved their critics and detractors wrong. Slowly,
they
won over their husbands, and other villagers, proving that they could
regenerate and conserve their environment, encourage eco-tourism, ensure
reforestation and the survival of both flora and fauna.
SENEGAL: WOMEN'S INCOME GENERATION PROJECT IN SENEGAL
http://www.oxfam.org/eng/story_senegal_women_tiedyeing.htm
Siwre Thiambe is one of 49 women's groups under the umbrella organisation
PROFEMU, which was set up with Oxfam's support to help improve the lives of
its
2,000 members in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and in the nearby town of
Thiès. PROFEMU's wide-ranging programme includes a loan scheme, which has
enabled the women of the Siwre Thiambe group to borrow money and set up a
tie-
dyeing business.
SIERRA LEONE: SEXUAL VIOLENCE WIDESPREAD IN WAR
The widespread and systematic use of rape and other sexual violence during
the
ten-year civil war in Sierra Leone is documented in a new Human Rights Watch
report. The 75-page report, "We'll Kill You If You Cry:" Sexual Violence in
the
Sierra Leone Conflict, presents evidence of horrific abuses against women
and
girls in every region of the country by the rebel Revolutionary United Front
(RUF), as well as other rebel, government and international peacekeeping
forces.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12588
SOMALIA: ONE WOMAN'S FIGHT TO RESCUE THE ENVIRONMENT
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301130987.html
Somalia lost many things as a result of having no government for over a
decade
during the 90s, but one of the least obvious was an ability to protect its
environment. But one woman has been of critical importance in Somalia's
environmental crisis. Now in her mid-fifties, Fatima Jibrell has made it her
life's work to fight back. She founded the Horn of Africa Relief and
Development Organisation (Horn Relief) in the early 1990s and also
coordinates
the Resource Management Somali Network (RMSN), which includes environmental
groups throughout the Horn of Africa.
WOMEN CONNECT! THE POWER OF COMMUNICATIONS TO IMPROVE WOMEN'S LIVES
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=820
This document reports on the findings of a three-year program designed to
strengthen the ability of women's NGOs in Africa to communicate more
effectively. The initiative assisted these groups in using traditional media
(posters and brochures), mass media (newspapers, radio, magazines and
television) and ICT (e-mail and the Internet) to communicate and advocate
for
causes they deemed important. This refers to women's sexual and reproductive
health, inheritance rights for women and the reduction of all forms of
violence.
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8.REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION
AFRICA/GLOBAL: NEW INITIATIVE FOCUSES ON 'FORGOTTEN PEOPLE'
http://www.africanconflict.org/article.php?sid=602&mode=thread&order=0
The lives of tens of millions of people around the world are threatened by
conflict, ethnic violence, drought and natural disaster. But the response to
those needs varies tremendously. For example, Toby Porter, an independent
consultant, has calculated that in 1999 the United Nations spent $207 for
each
person in need in Kosovo, but only $16 per person in Sierra Leone and $8 per
person in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Refugees International
(RI),
a DC-based refugee and IDP advocacy organisation, has launched a new
initiative
entitled "Forgotten People" about humanitarian emergencies around the world.
BURUNDI: BURUNDIAN ARMY, HUTU REBELS WAGE BATTLES
http://news.yahoo.com/news?
tmpl=story2&cid=515&ncid=723&e=4&u=/ap/20030115/ap_on_re_af/burundi_fighting
Fighting between the Burundian army and two rebel groups has displaced more
than 30,000 people in two provinces, officials and aid workers said
Wednesday.
For two weeks, the Tutsi-dominated army has been fighting Hutu rebels of the
National Liberation Forces, or FNL, in Bujumbura Rurale province, forcing
more
than 20,000 to flee their homes, said Ignace Ntawembarira, the province's
governor.
CAR: UN AGENCY TRAINS REFUGEE WOMEN
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301150003.html
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has
launched a programme in the Central African Republic (CAR) to train 50
refugee
women in professional skills and provide another 550 with income-generating
possibilities.
CONGO: MANY IDPS GO UNAIDED AS RELIEF SUPPLIES DWINDLE
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31689
Aid agencies in the Republic of Congo (ROC) do not have enough relief
supplies
to assist the growing number of people displaced as populations in the Pool
region have been forced to flee repeated bombings, banditry and attacks on
villages, according to the United Nations.
ETHIOPIA: UN OFFICIALS GAIN ACCESS TO TROUBLED CAMP
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31680
UN officials have made their first visit to a troubled refugee camp in
western
Ethiopia where more than 40 people were killed during ethnic clashes two
months
ago. Increasing tensions between rival ethnic groups sparked the clashes,
which
broke out in late November.
SOUTH AFRICA: ORANGE FARM RESIDENTS TO MARCH AGAINST EVICTIONS AND FOR
DEVELOPMENT
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=798
Residents of the small informal settlement of Driziek, situated in the
Orange
Farm area southwest of Johannesburg, face eviction from the homes they have
lived in for the past nine years. The community has vowed to resist
the “unwarranted and unilateral” move on the part of the local authorities
and
sees the proposed evictions as part of an ongoing assault by the state.
SOUTH AFRICA: PEOPLE WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=797
“When one listens to a Congolese guy’s experience with our ‘government’, it
makes one think of the people who work for the Department of Home Affairs.
He
mentioned our government’s excellent policies on the rights and privileges
of
refugees. However, he did not get the service and support he needed. For an
example, he was told on enquiry that he couldn’t get government financial
support because it is only for South Africans.”
SOUTHERN AFRICA: SAN, LAND RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT: CAN SAN SURVIVE WITHOUT
LAND?
http://www.ciir.org/ciir.asp?section=news&page=story&ID=555
To counteract the difficulties facing their many dispersed and remote
communities across the southern African region regarding land rights, human
rights, capacity-building and development, the San decided to establish a
regional organisation that could represent them at all levels, hence the
establishment of the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern
Africa
(WIMSA) in 1996.
SUDAN: ETHNIC CLEANSING DISPLACES THOUSANDS IN NILE REGION
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=156920
The Sudan government has been accused of engaging in ethnic cleansing
operations in the vicinity of Talisman and Lundin oil installations in
western
Upper Nile. A senior official of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement
(SPLM),
Taban Deng Gai, who is currently in the affected area, confirmed that the
government launched a six-day offensive in Mayom and Leer counties last
December 31, involving approximately1,500 ground troops supported by
helicopter
gun-ships.
THE NANSEN REFUGEE AWARD
UNHCR and its partners are currently providing protection and assistance to
some 20 million people around the world, including refugees, internally
displaced persons and others of concern. Each year, numerous dedicated
individuals make enormous personal sacrifices while working to assist these
people. The Nansen Refugee Award recognises and honours this spirit and
dedication. The Award was instituted in 1954 and named after Fridtjof
Nansen,
the first League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the 1922
Nobel
Peace Prize laureate. It is awarded annually to an individual or a group of
individuals, whose support for the refugee cause has been demonstrated
through
an innovative approach to refugee protection or assistance. The deadline for
submitting nominations to be considered for the 2003 award is 31 January
2003.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12646
UGANDA: REFUGEES INCREASE
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301130278.html
The Uganda Red Cross (URC) at Mpondwe border in Kasese district have
expressed
concern over the rising number of Congolese refugees entering the country.
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9.RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA
SOUTH AFRICA: RIGHTWINGER TELLS COURT OF 'NIGHT OF TERROR'
http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?a=11&o=14378
An alleged rightwinger accused of planning to blow up the Vaal Dam testified
on
Tuesday in the Bloemfontein Regional Court with his Bible at hand. Leon
Peacock
(42) regularly quoted from the small Bible while testifying in his defence.
He
told Regional Court President WA du Plessis, who was presiding, that the
prophesies of the book of Revelations in the Bible were similar to those of
19th century Boer prophet Siener van Rensburg. One of Van Rensburg's
prophesies
is about the so-called Night of Terror, which some right-wing groups believe
will precipitate a rightwing coup d'etat in South Africa.
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10.ENVIRONMENT
AFRICA/GLOBAL: BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AND LOCAL LIVELIHOODS
http://www.id21.org/society/s2crg1g1.html
How can the world's bioresources be managed so that the social groups most
dependent upon them benefit from conservation efforts, or are compensated
for
negative effects? How can ecological concerns be included in rural
development
initiatives where conservation is not the primary aim?
AFRICA/GLOBAL: GREEN RIGHTS? A NEW APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
http://www.id21.org/society/s8bma1g1.html
Should a good environment be our human right? To date, recognition has been
given to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. This study
examines the background to current discussions and argues that the
environment
should be added to the list.
AFRICA/GLOBAL: PROGRESS LOCAL NOT GLOBAL
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-09-10.asp
Although the global community may not be making much progress on the
daunting
environmental and social problems humanity faces, local and grassroots
initiatives are providing cause for optimism, according to the Worldwatch
Institute's annual State of the World report.
AFRICA: TOXIC TANKERS SHIPPING SOUTH
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=14545
The industrialised North continues in its attempts to send its hazardous
waste
ships to be scrapped in the shipyards of the developing South, threatening
human health and the environment in those nations, charged activists as
delegates gathered this week for the conference of the Basel Convention on
hazardous waste trade.
GHANA: TOXIC SPILL FROM GOLDMINE POLLUTES RIVER
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-10-03.asp
A river and communities poisoned by a cyanide spill from a gold mine in 2001
may have been hit by another spill from the same mining company. Water from
an
abandoned underground mine within the mining concession of Goldfields Ghana
Ltd. has seeped into the Asuman River in the Wassa West District of the
Western
Region, sparking fears of contamination and a worsening health situation for
area communities.
KENYA: COOKING WITH SUNLIGHT
Sitting in a small compound of mud-brick houses, and shacks made of shrub
branches and plastic, 24-year-old Adey Hillow may not look much like a
trend-
setter, but she is actually at the cutting edge of some innovative
technology.
The wood-box solar cooker she is using to prepare lunch for her husband,
infant
and three other relatives holds the promise of saving forests by using
simple
sunlight - instead of scarce firewood - to prepare traditional African
meals.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12501
KENYA: GREEN BELT FOUNDER NEW ASSISTANT ENVIRONMENT MINISTER
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-14-19.asp#anchor2
Kenya's new President Mwai Kibaki has named Dr. Newton Kulundu as
Environment
Minister and Professor Wangari Maathai as assistant minister. Maathai was
elected to Parliament in Kenya on December 27 on the opposition National
Rainbow Coalition (NARC) ticket. Maathai is a world-renowned
environmentalist,
who rose to fame for her spirited campaigns against government backed forest
clearance.
KENYA: HONEY PRODUCER WINS INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20085007~menuPK:
3445
7~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html
Honey Care Africa, an IFC-supported small business whose supply chain has
doubled the incomes of some of Kenya’s poorest people, is the winner of a
prestigious United Nations sustainable development award. The firm has
received
the Equator Prize, a US$30,000 cash award honoring community-based poverty
reduction initiatives in countries on or near the Equator, home to the
world’s
greatest concentrations of both biological wealth and human poverty.
MALAWI: PLANS FOR ECOTOURISM
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-09-02.asp
Nowhere is southern Africa's food crisis more acute than in Malawi. Out of a
total population of 11 million people, more than three million run the risk
of
starvation due to a combination of flooding and drought. But Malawi has a
saving grace. Natural wonders of lake and mountain and wildlife are
attractive
to tourists, and the government is moving to enhance the country's tourist
drawing power.
SOUTH AFRICA: MAJOR CHANGES DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
http://137.158.131.188/edrclib.nsf/bf5b1710499bcb0b422566f900394756?
OpenForm&ParentUNID=542bc76c345fff9842256b99004e08a4
South African tourism could be affected due to loss of habitats and
biodiversity as a result of climate change, according to a study produced by
the Energy & Development Research Centre (EDRC), at the University of Cape
Town. The study said tourism, which contributes as much as 10% of GDP, was
the
biggest potential economic loss to the country as a result of climate
change.
Other findings included a warning that forests, small but locally valuable
in
terms of commercial production of timber and non-timber products, stood to
be “entirely lost”.
SOUTH AFRICA: TOXIC SPILL SICKENS RESIDENTS
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=810
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Environment Affairs Narend Singh is to
visit the scene of a toxic spill in the Stanvac Canal, Merebank, South
Durban.
Related Link:
* Residents overcome by gas
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=794
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11.MEDIA
AFRICA: CAMPAIGN TO IMPROVE HEALTH JOURNALISM
The African Women's Media Center has announced that its parent organisation,
the International Women's Media Foundation, has received a $1.5 million,
three-
year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a campaign to
enhance the quality of healthcare coverage in the African media with
responsible, accurate and relevant media messages.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12640
AFRICA: NOTICE FOR AFRICAN JOURNALISTS, MEDIA BASED AND FREE EXPRESSION
ORGANISATIONS
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and the IFJ promoting
Accountability Website (IFJ-PA), contains information on submitting articles
and reports on public accountability, corruption and democracy; information
on
the IFJ Journalism for Tolerance Prize; and links to journalism and advocacy
resources.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12503
GAMBIA: EDITORS GET DEATH THREATS
http://www.indexonline.org/indexindex/20030113_gambia.shtml
Editor-in-Chief Abdoulie Sey and Managing Editor Alagi Yorro Jallow, both of
the Banjul daily Independent newspaper have received a series of death
threats
from unknown persons, who vow to eliminate them in retaliation for reports
published by the paper.
MOZAMBIQUE: FINAL STATEMENTS IN CARDOSA CASE
Judge Augusto Paulino has set Friday 31 January as the date for the verdict
and
sentencing of the six men accused of the murder of Carlos Cardoso. The final
day of the trial ran into the early evening, as the three prosecution
lawyers
and five defence lawyers gave their final statements, and three of the
defendants also gave final statements. Carlos Cardoso was murdered "because
he
was a journalist who denounced abuses, who did not shut up, who would not
forget any matter, who insisted on following what he regarded as most
important, and who would not allow any of the illegalities he had written
about
to fall into oblivion," declared the Cardoso family lawyer, Lucinda Cruz, in
her final statement.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12641
SOUTHERN AFRICA: LET THEM EAT CAKE
http://www.fair.org/extra/0211/famine.html
A famine is raging through southern Africa--a famine that Doctors Without
Borders has called among the worst in Africa in the past decade. The
international relief organization CARE reports that the famine "is largely
the
result of one of the worst droughts in a decade" and that "severe
hunger--even
starvation--threatens millions, particularly among the most vulnerable:
children, the elderly, and pregnant and nursing women" in Angola, Lesotho,
Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This is occurring against the
backdrop
of an AIDS epidemic in Africa that has claimed 25 million lives and
counting,
leaving behind about 14 million orphans. It's a tragic story, full of
suffering, especially of children; it's also a story of the heroism of those
who relentlessly struggle against the odds under the harshest conditions.
But
it's not good television, apparently, shows this analysis of how major news
networks have covered the story.
UGANDA: EDITOR CHARGED WITH SEDITION
http://www.indexonline.org/indexindex/20030110_uganda.shtml
Vincent Matovu, managing editor of Mazima, a Ugandan weekly, was remanded in
custody on two counts of sedition on 6 January. Matovu denied the charges
before magistrate Suzan Kanyange. He was remanded until 21 January.
Prosecutor
Acio Marion alleged that Matovu, 34, published a seditious article about
Joseph
Kony and the Ugandan LRA rebels in November 2002.
UGANDA: GOVERNMENT CURBS LIVE RADIO BROADCASTS
Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has protested over the Ugandan government's
crackdown on live outdoor radio broadcasts of the views of ordinary
Ugandans. "This is just a means of preventing people from debating national
issues and making themselves heard," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard
said
in a letter to Information Minister Basoga Nsadhu, while calling on him to
allow the broadcasts to continue.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12504
ZIMBABWE: ANZ CHALLENGES REGISTRATION LAW IN ZIMBABWE
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=824
The Associated Newspapers Group has lodged a constitutional challenge of
sections of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This
requires media houses to be registered by the Media and Information
Commission
appointed by the Minister of Information.
ZIMBABWE: JOURNALIST ACCUSED OF SPYING
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=801
A Zimbabwe correspondent for the BBC, Lewis Machipisa, has been accused of
spying for the broadcasting station in Zimbabwe. The state owned weekly
newspaper The Herald says that Machipisa is now working for the BBC and a
London-based community radio station, SW Radio Africa. This was happening
despite the "fact" that the government banned the BBC from operating in
Zimbabwe, after accusations that the station was peddling "falsehoods". The
paper says that Machipisa is now going "underground" in the rural areas,
shooting images for the BBC, writing stories and sending them to Britain.
ZIMBABWE: PAPER SUED FOR Z$10 MILLION
Beatrice Moyo, the wife of the Minister of Information and Publicity, has
instructed her lawyers to sue The Daily News for $10 million (US$182 000)
for
damages allegedly caused by an article that appeared in the paper on Monday
13
January 2003.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12592
ZIMBABWE: POLICE DEMAND REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE FROM PUBLISHER/EDITOR
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=827
In a move that signals the beginning of the harassment and arrests of
publishers and journalists over non-compliance with the Access to
Information
and Protection of Privacy Act, officers from the Criminal Investigations
Department visited the publisher of The Sun newspaper, and requested that he
produce his registration certificate.
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12.DEVELOPMENT
AFRICA/GLOBAL: HOW GATS COULD AFFECT YOUR LIFE
http://www.tni.org/george/articles/gats.htm
European trade commissioner Pascal Lamy has got a hold of your future and is
doing all he can to hand it over to the transnational corporations. The
vehicle
for Lamy's villainy is an obscure trade agreement called GATS, or the
General
Agreement on Trade in Services. The agreement itself may be a less-than-
riveting read, but its significance is relatively easy to grasp. All human
activities are to become, in the fullness of time, profit-oriented
commodities
that can be invested in and traded, says this article on the web site of the
Trans-National Institute.
AFRICA: AGOA - AN INSTRUMENT OF THE US RULING CLASS
The US has acquired a new colonial device to get African States to submit to
US
imperialist rule, with the active support of African ruling classes. The US
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), enacted in the year 2000, gives
President Bush king-size powers to decide which African State he will open
the
US market to, and which African State he will close the US market to. AGOA
is
ridden with conditionalities that African States have to submit to in order
for
President Bush to favour them by opening the US market to their goods and
services. AGOA, argues this essay written by Rajni Lallah of Lalit,
Mauritius,
in the context of the AGOA Business and Head of States Forum being held in
Mauritius in January 2003, is really just a method of carving up Africa in a
new kind of colonialism. Lalit states that the role of the African ruling
classes in using AGOA to dispossess peoples in Africa of their collective
property, economic, social, civil, political rights, and sovereignty, must
be
exposed. Postings from Africa Action on the AGOA meeting can also be found
through clicking on the link below.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12550
AFRICA: SECTOR WIDE PROGRAMMES AND POVERTY REDUCTION
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=793
Improving the access to services by poor and marginal groups is a strong or
central objective of most sector wide programmes, which are reviewed by the
Overseas Development Institute. The review presents findings from the
collection of information on how the sector wide approaches are tackling
poverty reduction objectives.
MALAWI: IMF TEAM TO ASSESS ECONOMIC PROGRESS
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=31715
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team arrived in Malawi on Monday to
assess
whether to unfreeze US $47 million in vital aid to the country, news reports
said. In May the IMF said it would withhold the US $47 million earmarked for
Malawi under its Poverty Reduction Growth Facility due to government
overspending beyond targets set by the Fund.
NAMIBIA: LAND REFORM AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION: EXPERIENCES FROM NAMIBIA
http://www.nepru.org.na/Publications/NWP/PDF/NWP78.pdf
Redistributive land reform in Namibia is widely regarded as a precondition
for
sustainable rural development and poverty alleviation. This paper briefly
discusses the development of thinking on land reform and the development of
land reform models prior to Independence. It refers to progress on land
redistribution since 1990 and discusses some of the problems experienced,
concluding that land reform in Namibia has progressed at a very slow pace.
TANZANIA: BURIED ALIVE
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=2&ItemID=2824
When a Canadian multinational took over control of a peasant gold mine in
1996
they had one problem - it was the lifeblood of a local community of peasant
miners. Since then, what happened to the local miners who were deep in the
shafts of the mine when the Vancouver-based company sent in the bulldozers
has
been a matter of controversy. The evidence that has surfaced since 1996 -
ranging from a firestorm of memos and reports to disputed photographs and
videos which may show the dead bodies of exhumed peasant miners - has
inspired
human rights lawyer Tundu Lissu to lead a growing number who say an
independent
inquiry is the only way to put this matter to rest, says this investigative
piece from www.zmag.org.
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13.INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY
AFRICA: NETWORKING IN AFRICA: USING ICTS TO EXCHANGE RESEARCH AND POLICY
KNOWLEDGE
http://www.id21.org/society/s8bpb1g1.html
How can African research become more accessible to both African and external
policy-makers and researchers? How can African researchers exchange
knowledge
and expertise? Research by the International Institute for Communication and
Development (IICD) for Comunex explores ways in which policy-makers in
Africa
can network and share knowledge between research networks.
CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT SENT TO WSIS SECRETARIAT
A statement from the Civil Society Co-ordinating Group, comprising
representatives of groups participating at preparatory committee meetings
for
the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), has been sent to the
WSIS
Secretariat as input into plans and preparations for PrepCom 2 in Geneva,
February 14-28, 2003.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12574
DISCUSSIONS ON SOFTWARE AS A PUBLIC GOOD
The Internet Society has started a new discussion list: [log in to unmask]
Description of list: "Discussions on software as a public good. Free
software
and open source software applications on third world development and
Internet
access. Open standards for interfaces and communications." Please visit
http://www.isoc.org/members/discuss/pubsoft.shtml if you'd like to join the
discussions.
EAST AFRICA: EAST AFRICA SETS UP SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL
http://www.scidev.net/frame3.asp?id=1001200315373019&authors=Deodatus%
20Balile&posted=9%20Jan%202003&c=1&r=1&t=NB
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have set up a joint Science and Technology
Council
for East Africa in an attempt to boost science and technology in the region.
The council is intended to allow the three countries to share and exchange
their skills in science and technology. It will also seek funding from
foreign
donors, and co-ordinate science and technology training in the region to
ensure
that new developments are distributed evenly between the three countries.
GOOGLE LANGUAGE TOOLS
http://www.google.com/language_tools
This page, full of language tools and developed by Google, will be most
helpful
to persons looking to translate short passages of text or entire Web pages.
First, the page provides an engine that allows users to search for pages
composed in over thirty languages. The most helpful feature, though, is a
translator that lets users translate text passages and Web pages from
English
into five different languages, and several different European languages back
into English. As of November 2002, the Web-based tool is a beta release.
SIMPUTER TO BE LAUNCHED IN AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST MARKETS
Simputer, a hand-held computing device developed in India to take Internet
to
the rural masses, is set to be launched in the Middle East and African
markets
soon, its promoter said Monday. "We are looking at the market potentials of
Africa and the Middle East to give out Simputer for contract manufacturing,"
said Vinay Deshpande, chairman and chief executive officer of Encore
Software.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12571
ZIMBABWE: EMAIL SYSTEM CRASHES
http://zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=5943
The technical problems which have been brewing in Zimbabwe’s email system
for
months came to a head this week, with widespread failures affecting
subscribers
at almost all internet service providers in the country. People outside
Zimbabwe reported that email sent to Zimbabwe email addresses were returned
with the message "user/domain unknown". Those sending email from Zimbabwe to
international addresses had messages bounced back to them, and access to
Zimbabwean websites from outside the country has also been difficult, or
impossible at times, reports ZWNews.
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14.eNEWSLETTERS AND MAILING LISTS
AID WORKERS EXCHANGE
http://www.aidworkers.net/exchange/
Aid Workers Exchange is a weekly e-mail bulletin for knowledge sharing
amongst
field personnel working in humanitarian relief and international
development.
It covers a wide variety of topics with the format alternating between
questions/responses and short, practical articles. Visit their web site if
you
would like to join.
BALANCING ACT NEWS UPDATE
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/
Balancing Act’s News Update covers connectivity developments in Africa and
this
week goes out to 5496 subscribers in government, the private sector, civil
society and education. It has subscribers in almost all African countries
and
its web site has regularly recorded over 8000 individual visits a month.
Visit
their web site for the current issue, back issues or if you would like to
subscribe.
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15.FUNDRAISING
COMMUNITY REACH ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF NEW REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
Pact's Community REACH team is pleased to announce the release of Request
for
Applications (RFA) #03-C-1. Under this RFA, Pact anticipates awarding on a
competitive basis between five to seven subgrants focusing on Reducing
Stigma
and Discrimination through Innovative and Proven Effective Approaches for a
total of US$ 750,000. The purpose of the RFA is to disseminate information
about Pact's Community REACH Project for the management of HIV/AIDS
sub-grants
to prospective PVO and NGO grant recipients in order to provide them with a
fair opportunity to submit applications for funding.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12639
KENYA: $2.5M UNICEF BOOST FOR NEW SCHOOLS PLAN
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301150589.html
The free primary education programme has received a boost from a United
Nations
agency. Unicef is to give $2.5 million for learning and teaching material
for
the lower classes in eight districts and in Nairobi. Some 450,000 pupils in
Standards One to Three are expected to benefit from the grant.
KENYA: EU GIVES 170M EUROS GRANT FOR UPGRADING OF MAJOR ROADS
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301150592.html
The European Union has donated 170 million euros (Sh13.8 billion) to
rehabilitate the country's dilapidated road network.The money will be used
to
rehabilitate the Sultan Hamud-Mtito Andei section of the Nairobi-Mombasa
Highway and Mai Mahiu-Naivasha-Lanet road. Roads around Mt Kenya will also
be
upgraded under the five-year project.
SOUTH AFRICA: ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR MANDELA’S MUSICAL SOS FOR AIDS
http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=145
Names of contracted artists have been released for the exclusive music
concert
organised to raise awareness and much needed funds for the fight against
AIDS,
the City Press reports. The concert will be held at Robben Island on
February
2, 2003. Musicians from the US, Europe and Africa have been billed to
perform
in the Mandela SOS Aids benefit concert which will be globally broadcasted.
SOUTH AFRICA: KZN AIDS CHARITY DENIED UN FUNDS
http://www.bday.co.za/bday/content/direct/1,3523,1261174-6078-0,00.html
A KwaZulu-Natal Aids charity has been excluded from the list of recipients
of
the R1.8-billion grant from the United Nations' Global Aids Fund - for the
second time. In May last year, the Enhancing Care Initiative was prevented
from
receiving R712-million of the R1.8-billion grant after Health Minister Manto
Tshabalala-Msimang lambasted the group for not making its application
through
the state's South African National Aids Council.
SOUTH AFRICA: PROJECT IRKED OVER FUNDING
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2003/01/16/easterncape/EIRKED.HTM
A sum of R30 000 allocated to Whittlesea's anti-Aids campaigners for
capacity
building by the National Development Agency (NDA) in 2001 has not reached
the
activists. The money was supposed to be deposited into the bank account of
the
Whittlesea Anti-Aids Youth Campaigners (WAAYC) on April 2, 2002. WAAYC is an
NGO educating people infected and affected by the virus, and also provides
home-
based care to those living with the virus.
SOUTH AFRICA: THEMBA LESIZWE TAGS R5 MILLION TO EMPOWER VICTIMS OF CRIME AND
VIOLENCE
http://www.thusanang.org.za/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=144
In response to the recent upsurge of violent and sexual crimes, Themba
Lesizwe
this month approved R5 million in funding to over 35 non-governmental and
community based organisations providing victim empowerment services to poor
communities. The funding was made available by the Embassy of Ireland
through
their development cooperation programme with South Africa.
SOUTH AFRICA: US/SA DEAL PROMISES 90 000 NEW HOMES
http://www.sabcnews.co.za/south_africa/social/0,1009,50832,00.html
About 90 000 houses are to be built for needy South Africans thanks to a
R200
million deal between the National Reconstruction and Housing Agency (Nurcha)
and an American investment company, Nurcha announced. The money, made
available
by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic), would be used by
Nurcha
to underwrite the loans of emerging housing developers and contractors
borrowing money from partner banks and micro-financing organisations.
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16.COURSES, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS
A TRAINING MANUAL ON EFFECTIVE WRITING AVAILABLE ONLINE
A major training resource designed to help those working in the
not-for-profit
sector hone their writing skills in order to influence, persuade and bring
about positive social change has been made available free of charge on the
internet, thanks to the support of IDRC. “The CDROM version has been so
popular,” said Firoze Manji, Director of Fahamu, “IDRC and Fahamu decided to
make the resource available in the public domain as well.” Writing for
Change,
originally published as an interactive CDROM by Fahamu and Canada's
International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is designed primarily for
people working in the not-for-profit sector, including researchers,
scientists,
project managers, team members, campaigners, fundraisers, social activists
and
writers. Available in English, French and Spanish from Fahamu's web site
(http://www.fahamu.org) the resource is thought to be one of the most
comprehensive available, running at about 900 pages per language.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12594
ACCESS TO CARE AND TREATMENT FOR WOMEN, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
Khartoum, Sudan, 26 - 29 May 2003
The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) is pleased to announce its
IXth
International Conference: Access to Care and Treatment for Women, Children
and
Families in Africa. Since 1989, SWAA has successfully organized eight pan-
African conferences in venues from Harare to Kampala. These meetings bring
together advocates, practitioners, scientists, community groups and People
Living With HIV/AIDS from across Africa and around the world.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12498
ANNUAL WORKSHOP: PROCEDURES OF THE AFRICAN REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM
Fajara, The Gambia, 11-20 August 2003
The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa is a pan-African
NGO
that works towards the promotion and protection of human rights and
development, through the implementation of African human rights treaties.
The
Institute will hold its Fifth Annual Workshop on Procedures of the African
Regional Human Rights system.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12607
BUILDING SKILLS FOR IMPLEMENTING HEALTH REFORM AND STRENGTHENING HEALTH
SYSTEMS
April 28 - May 10, Cape Town, South Africa
Abt Associates Health Policy Training Institute (AAHPTI) is pleased to
announce
its Global Core Course, "Building Skills for Implementing Health Reform and
Strengthening Health Systems," to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, April
28-
May 10, 2003. The course, designed for middle and upper level technical,
management and policy staff, develops practical skills in resolving specific
problems and issues that policy makers and managers confront when they reach
the implementation phase of health reforms. For more information please
contact
us at:
[log in to unmask]; www.abt-train.org
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12500
MA IN SUSTAINABLE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The Heller School For Social Policy And Management
The Poverty and Development (PD) Fellowship for the Master of Arts in
Sustainable International Development will be awarded to an early to
mid-career
planner committed to poverty alleviation and community development within
Southern Africa. Nationals of the following countries may apply: Angola,
Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South
Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Fellowship begins August 2003.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12499
MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN GENDER AND PEACE BUILDING
Department For Gender And Peace Studies, University For Peace
The Department for Gender and Peace Studies at the University for Peace is
pleased to announce the Master of Arts Degree in Gender and Peace Building,
beginning in September of 2003. The Programme has been designed to address
the
interaction between Gender and Peace Building when discussing topics such
as:
The Study of Peace and Nonviolent Transformation of Conflict; Cultures and
Cultural Transformation: from a Culture of War to a Culture of Peace;
Strategies of Inclusion and Exclusion: Diverse Human Groups; Peace
Processes:
Conflict Analysis, Resolution and Transformation; Human Rights, Democracy
and
Governance.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12606
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17.ADVOCACY RESOURCES
A RIGHT TO A LIFE
Demand That GlaxoSmithKline Put Lives Before Profits
Five million adults are carrying the AIDS virus in South Africa, making it
the
most infected country on earth. However only a fraction of these people can
access essential treatment because the multinational pharmaceutical
companies
are keeping the prices of their drugs artificially high. Please sign our
petition demanding that GlaxoSmithKline puts lives before profits at
http://www.actsa.org/action.htm. We need your help to get as many signatures
for our petition as possible. If you can, we would be very grateful if you
could include the message below as part of your email signature or send it
on
to family and friends: 'Every day, 1000 people in South Africa die of
HIV/AIDS
because they cannot afford treatment. Sign ACTSA’s petition now
(http://www.actsa.org/action.htm) to stop GlaxoSmithKline, the world’s
largest
pharmaceutical company, from putting profits before lives.'
BARCLAYS TO BLAME FOR CAPE DELAYS
Tell Barclays To Face Their Social Responsibility
Despite agreeing a settlement in December 2001 of £21 million for 7,500
claimants exposed to asbestos by its mining operations in South Africa, Cape
Plc has still not yet paid a penny. The delays have in large part been due
to a
lack of co-operation by Cape’s bankers, including Barclays Bank. Please find
time to write to the Chairman of Barclays to urge him to ensure that the
bank
faces up to its social responsibilities at
http://www.actsa.org/Cape/action_intro.htm
DRC: SAY NO TO THE DEATH SENTENCE
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is urging activists to write
to
the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo urging them to repeal
the
sentences of those found guilty and sentenced to death for taking part in
the
assassination of former President Laurent-Désirée Kabila. OMCT is also
advocating an amnesty for political crimes and a guarantee that human rights
will be respected in the country.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12554
THE $6,000,000 QUESTION
Take Action
http://www.maketradefair.com/spage/english/action14.asp?
subcat=1&cat=1&select=1&special=yes
Take action now to stop Nestlé, the world's largest coffee company,
demanding
$6 million from a country where 11 million people are facing famine. What
are
Nestlé doing to help fight hunger in Ethiopia? They are demanding the
Ethiopian
Government pay $6m in compensation for a company that was nationalised 27
years
ago, a company that they didn't even own at the time.
THE COMMERCIALISATION PROGRAMME IN SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL PARKS
Online Petition
http://www.mylittleblackbook.co.za/Petitions/
The commercialisation and concession process recently embarked on by the
SANP
should be a matter of disquiet for all environmentalists and
conservationists
and South African citizens who are all shareholders in the National Parks of
South Africa, says this petitions web page. The link to the web site below
presents a synopsis of the matter and includes some of the many concerns
raised
by various parties involved in the issue.
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18.JOBS
AFRICA: PROGRAM DIRECTOR AND TWO DEPUTY PROGRAM DIRECTORS
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is seeking a Program Director and two Deputy Program
Directors to manage the Africa Program of its International Secretariat,
responsible for research and campaigning on human rights issues in Africa.
The
Africa Program has around 50 staff based in London, Kampala, Dakar, Paris
and
Pretoria. Each of these positions requires an experienced manager with a
proven
track record in motivation of staff and in the provision of the direction,
support and systems to enable them to perform to their full potential. You
should bring astute political judgement, a clear vision of how the human
rights
agenda can be taken forward in Africa and the ability to communicate this
persuasively to individuals and groups at all levels.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12648
ANGOLA: PROGRAM COORDINATOR
CARE
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/8189B930D79CDAF1C1256CA60059BD32
The Program Coordinator (PC) for the Consortium for Development Relief in
Angola, based in Luanda, will ensure day-to-day management of the
Development
Relief program, serving all consortium members in their planning,
administrative, logistical, reporting and representational needs. The PC is
accountable to the Consortium steering Committee (SC), and will inform the
SC
of critical program issues and assist in the implementation of SC decisions.
IVORY COAST: MEDICAL COORDINATOR
Merlin (Medical Emergency Relief International)
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/1BF0736FC3E6216DC1256C92005F79DE
Merlin has just finished an assessment in the west of Ivory Coast in the
government held areas and has identified locations where vulnerable IDPs,
displaced by the fighting, have settled or are in transit. It proposes a
three-
month emergency programme of mobile clinic health care and water and
sanitation
provision for which we need to put together an experienced medical and
logistical team.
KENYA: AFRICA DIRECTOR OF HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS
World Relief
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/res.nsf/wDocs/6D6DF75B1E7EE5FEC1256CA90067EB5C
To provide technical supervision and support to World Relief's HIV/AIDS
programs in Africa and guide in the development of new strategic
initiatives.
The Africa Director will be resident in Nairobi, Kenya and report to the
International Director of HIV/AIDS Programs.
SUDAN: PROJECT ASSESSOR
Sudan Organisation Against Torture
SOAT requires an individual with at least 5 years experience of working on
human rights or international development projects, to conduct a short
independent assessment of SOAT projects in Sudan, London and Egypt. Relevant
knowledge or some experience of working in the region is essential. Fluency
in
Arabic and English required. The assessment visit is expected to last for
approximately 10 days, and will take place in early 2003. The assessment is
funded by the UK Community Fund. All travel, accommodation and other costs
will
be paid for, and remuneration for the assessor is negotiable.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12513
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19.BOOKS AND ARTS
AFRICAN STUDIES
Volume 61 Number 2/December 01, 2002
The issue includes:
* Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Making of Democracy in Kenya: An
Introduction
p. 205
James Ogude
* Political Ethnicity in the Democratisation Process in Kenya p. 209
Ken Omolo
* Can Moral Ethnicity Trump Political Tribalism? The Struggle for Land and
Nation in Kenya p. 269
Jacqueline M. Klopp
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12589
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: A SECOND CHANCE
Save The Children
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/functions/wedo/pubsbookshop_childrights.ht
ml
The past decade began with genuine optimism for the world's children. But
what
has happened since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child
(UNCRC)? Children's Rights: A second chance looks at the impact that local,
national and international policies and practices have had on children over
the
last decade. As the stories of Liberia, Jorge, Nancy and Mustajab show, the
lives of millions of children across the world have barely been touched by
the
UNCRC. For many the situation has actually got worse. Yet, as this report
demonstrates, the four key principles of the UNCRC - non-discrimination,
acting
in the best interests of the child, survival and development, and
participation - remain the key to progress.
GATHERING SEAWEED: AFRICAN PRISON WRITING
Edited By Jack Mapanje
It was striking to read Jack Mapanje's deeply impressive collection of 20th
century African prison writing at a time when British newspapers were
devoting
so many columns to the vaporous 'prison diaries' of one Jeffrey Archer. The
contrast, not least in the likely respective financial rewards for Mapanje
and
Archer, is stark, and not one which reflects well on either our society or
its
values. Jack Mapanje, Malawi's foremost poet, was imprisoned for over 3
years
by Life President Banda for his elliptical depictions of life under a brutal
dictatorship in his first book, Of Chameleons and Gods. His subsequent,
post-
prison writing (The Chattering Wagtails of Mikuyu Prison and Skipping
Without
Ropes) brilliantly portrayed life in that claustrophobic and fear-ridden
society. Gathering Seaweed - whose title is derived from a piece by Nelson
Mandela about Robben Island - is a collection of writings by political
prisoners from across the African continent. The authors are an
interestingly
varied lot - prisoners who became presidents (Nkrumah, Kenyatta, Kaunda,
Neto,
Mandela); politicians (Kariuki, Odinga) who were imprisoned both by
colonialists and by ex-prisoner presidents turned jailers; and poets,
playwrights, novelists, sculptors, lawyers and political dissidents. Some
are
writers who wrote in order to survive, creating poems in their heads or
writing
novels on hidden scraps of toilet paper. Others were activists who wrote
simply
to record their captivity for posterity. What shines through this book is a
common, radical vision of what Africa might and should become.
Further details: http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?id=12496
JOURNAL OF REFUGEE STUDIES - TABLE OF CONTENTS ALERT
December 2002; Vol. 15, No. 4
http://www3.oup.co.uk/refuge/hdb/Volume_15/Issue_04/
* Refugees in Western Tanzania: The Distribution of Burdens and Benefits
Among
Local Hosts
Beth Elise Whitaker, pp. 339-358
http://www3.oup.co.uk/refuge/hdb/Volume_15/Issue_04/150339.sgm.abs.html
* On the Threshold of Africa: OAU and UN Definitions in South African Asylum
Practice
Anais Tuepker, pp. 409-423
http://www3.oup.co.uk/refuge/hdb/Volume_15/Issue_04/150409.sgm.abs.html
* Book Reviews
Caroline O. N. Moser and Fiona C. Clark, eds.
Victims, Perpetrators or Actors? Gender, Armed Conflict and Political
Violence
Reviewed by Fiona Wilson, pp. 424-425
http://www3.oup.co.uk/refuge/hdb/Volume_15/Issue_04/150424.sgm.abs.html
* Book Reviews
Anne F. Bayefsky and Joan Fitzpatrick, eds.
Human Rights and Forced Displacement
Reviewed by Hannah R. Garry, pp. 426-427
http://www3.oup.co.uk/refuge/hdb/Volume_15/Issue_04/150426.sgm.abs.html
* Book Review
Rotimi T. Suberu:
Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria
Reviewed by Youssef Kamal, pp. 432-434
http://www3.oup.co.uk/refuge/hdb/Volume_15/Issue_04/150432.sgm.abs.html
THE CDM GUIDEBOOK: A RESOURCE FOR CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM PROJECT
DEVELOPERS
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=822
This practical guidebook is directed at smaller-scale local partners in
Clean
Development Mechanism projects -small businesses, non-governmental
organisations and community based organisations - to empower them to put
forward project ideas, particularly ideas with a development focus.
THE TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY: NEW EUROPEAN FRONTIERS AND GLOBAL NETWORKS
Deborah Fahy Bryceson (editor)
http://www.bergpublishers.com
Families living outside of their original national boundaries have had, and
continue to have, a profound influence over the flow of people, goods, money
and information. More in-depth perspectives reveal how immigrants face
troubling issues of cultural identity, economic change, political
uncertainty
and social welfare. From an examination of 19th century transnational
families
emigrating from Europe, to the Ghanaian Pentecostal diaspora in Europe
today,
this book combines broadly based analysis with more unusual case studies to
reveal the complexities that immigrants and refugees must contend with in
their
daily lives. This book, wide-ranging in its geographical and thematic scope,
is
a highly important and timely addition to debates on transnational families,
immigrants and refugees.
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20.LETTERS AND COMMENTS
A WASTED YEAR
Sibanze Simuchoba
Zambia has had a new president for the past 12 months. During this time, the
country has achieved nothing worth writing home about.
There is wide-spread starvation. The government in its dubious wisdom has
rejected GM grain. The sad thing is that it has failed to bring non-GM grain
for the masses. People are surviving on wild roots, some of which are so
poisonous that they have to be boiled for hours on end. One wonders why the
government prefers the people to eat these roots to GM maize.
There is loud noise about a zero tolerance approach to corruption. So far
the "fight" has been ineffectual. A task force has been formed, without
legal
foundation, to bring the culprits to book! So far it has been a sham.
The economy is dying and there is no hope for improvement on the horizon.
Truly, it has been a squandered 12 months.
MR. NYARWAYA ISAAC
World Vision, Kigali, Rwanda
I like Pambazuka News because it keeps development issues in the limelight.
NO SYSTEM IS PERFECT
David Jamieson, United Kingdom
I refer to Ledum Mitee's editorial on the democratic process in Nigeria
(Pambazuka News 94), and I'm sure he's right that there are flaws, but don't
let any of us get too carried away with criticising the nations of Africa.
Democracy is very new in Africa and the old nations of Europe and America
don't
have a flawless record. In the UK we have a government with an overwhelming
majority based on less than 50% of the vote, and in the USA we have a
President
elected with fewer votes than his opponent by virtue of a deeply flawed
process
in Florida, a state run by his brother.
No system is perfect. The important issue is that we continue to hold all of
the systems up to the light of public scrutiny.
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Next WASAN meeting is Wednesday, January 22, 2003. Location: Safeco Jackson Street Center, 23rd Ave and E Main St, 2nd Floor.
7:00 pm Business meeting
7:30 pm Program: (none in Jan, next one is in February - watch this space for details.)
Everyone is welcome).
We usually meet the fourth Wednesday of the month. For a calendar of local Africa events see http://www.ibike.org/africamatters/calendar.htm . To post a message: [log in to unmask] To subscribe send a message to [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe send a message to [log in to unmask] . All past postings are archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa-afr-network
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