Week # 92- Dated 1st - 7th Nov., 2009
POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES
West Africa: A coalition of Guinean opposition leaders has presented President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, the mediator named by the 16-member Econ
omic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a set of proposals they believe will end the political crisis precipitated by a military takeover last December. In the meanwhile Nigeria's plan to give Niger Delta residents a slice of the national energy company is expected to be a major deterrent to militancy in the oil-producing region.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who is being tried by the UN-back court for Sierra Leone in The Hague for crimes he allegedly committed in the neighboring country, has confessed to sending fighters to help rebels inflict mayhem on civilians during the 11-year war. He further accused Britain of transporting arms to Sierra Leone in violation of a United Nations arms embargo on the country, and also denied widespread press and investigative reports that Al Qaeda traded diamonds with Sierra Leonean rebels under his supervision in Liberia.
South Africa: Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika is likely to take over African Union chairmanship from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi next January according to African Union sources.
Also Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) ended its boycott of the new unity government, last week but has give President Robert Mugabe a month to fully implement a power- sharing deal.
East Africa/Horn of Africa: With this month's (October) transition from non- extendable five (5) years' term of Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to two (2) years' term of Transitional Federal Unity Government (TFUG), Somalia is now under the authority of United Nations Transitional Administration -Neo-Trusteeship. Meanwhile the East African Community (EAC) Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation, Beatrice Kiraso, has called on politicians to embrace the idea of having foreign policies harmonized among EAC partner states.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed a power-sharing agreement reached by Madagascar’s current and former leaders bringing an end to months of political wrangling. Also the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur has participated in a reconciliation ceremony in the north of the region aimed at halting a spate of recent inter-tribal clashes that have killed at least two dozen people.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: Over 100 newspaper and magazine publishers and broadcasting chiefs from 48 African countries attended a two-day African Media Leaders Forum (AMFL) in Lagos that called upon media organizations to embrace the digital revolution.
Meanwhile in Nigeria the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER) is expected to commence a massive voter enlightenment to sensitize Nigerians on the need to defend their votes in subsequent elections.
South Africa: Botswana has been ranked the most peaceful nation in Sub-Saharan Africa followed by Malawi during a Global Symposium of Peaceful Nations in Washington DC.
Meanwhile more than 500 Congolese refugees have been repatriated to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Zambia, bringing the total number of refugees that have left the country since May to 15, 660. Also at least 2,250 tents and other non-eatable goods are to be supplied by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the purpose of helping to alleviate the situation of Angolans who came from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
East Africa/Horn of Africa: Muslim and Christian leaders meeting in Mombassa last week failed to break an impasse over the inclusion of kadhi courts in a new constitution. Also in Kenya an audit report of the IDP fund indicates that high ranking government official flouted the rules in disbursing the IDP funds leading to a loss of nearly Sh200 million. Meanwhile the Eastern African Commissioners on human rights met in Rwanda to discuss measures aimed at enhancing human rights in the region.
Somalia's insurgent group Al-Shabaab has banned the UN World Food Program from distributing humanitarian foodstuffs bearing the US flag in the southern region.
Central Africa: Reportedly a total of 63,441 Rwandans are still living as refugees in twelve countries on the African continent. Also at least 16,000 civilians have fled deadly clashes in western Democratic Republic of Congo and are now languishing in neighboring Republic of Congo, according to the UN and local officials.
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: United Nations climate talks resumed last week in Barcelona after African nations agreed to return to the table negotiating emissions targets for 37 industrialized countries.
West Africa: A coalition of Guinean opposition leaders has presented President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, the mediator named by the 16-member Econ
omic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a set of proposals they believe will end the political crisis precipitated by a military takeover last December. In the meanwhile Nigeria's plan to give Niger Delta residents a slice of the national energy company is expected to be a major deterrent to militancy in the oil-producing region.Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who is being tried by the UN-back court for Sierra Leone in The Hague for crimes he allegedly committed in the neighboring country, has confessed to sending fighters to help rebels inflict mayhem on civilians during the 11-year war. He further accused Britain of transporting arms to Sierra Leone in violation of a United Nations arms embargo on the country, and also denied widespread press and investigative reports that Al Qaeda traded diamonds with Sierra Leonean rebels under his supervision in Liberia.
South Africa: Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika is likely to take over African Union chairmanship from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi next January according to African Union sources.
Also Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) ended its boycott of the new unity government, last week but has give President Robert Mugabe a month to fully implement a power- sharing deal.
East Africa/Horn of Africa: With this month's (October) transition from non- extendable five (5) years' term of Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to two (2) years' term of Transitional Federal Unity Government (TFUG), Somalia is now under the authority of United Nations Transitional Administration -Neo-Trusteeship. Meanwhile the East African Community (EAC) Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation, Beatrice Kiraso, has called on politicians to embrace the idea of having foreign policies harmonized among EAC partner states.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed a power-sharing agreement reached by Madagascar’s current and former leaders bringing an end to months of political wrangling. Also the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur has participated in a reconciliation ceremony in the north of the region aimed at halting a spate of recent inter-tribal clashes that have killed at least two dozen people.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: Over 100 newspaper and magazine publishers and broadcasting chiefs from 48 African countries attended a two-day African Media Leaders Forum (AMFL) in Lagos that called upon media organizations to embrace the digital revolution.
Meanwhile in Nigeria the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER) is expected to commence a massive voter enlightenment to sensitize Nigerians on the need to defend their votes in subsequent elections.
South Africa: Botswana has been ranked the most peaceful nation in Sub-Saharan Africa followed by Malawi during a Global Symposium of Peaceful Nations in Washington DC.
Meanwhile more than 500 Congolese refugees have been repatriated to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Zambia, bringing the total number of refugees that have left the country since May to 15, 660. Also at least 2,250 tents and other non-eatable goods are to be supplied by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the purpose of helping to alleviate the situation of Angolans who came from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
East Africa/Horn of Africa: Muslim and Christian leaders meeting in Mombassa last week failed to break an impasse over the inclusion of kadhi courts in a new constitution. Also in Kenya an audit report of the IDP fund indicates that high ranking government official flouted the rules in disbursing the IDP funds leading to a loss of nearly Sh200 million. Meanwhile the Eastern African Commissioners on human rights met in Rwanda to discuss measures aimed at enhancing human rights in the region.
Somalia's insurgent group Al-Shabaab has banned the UN World Food Program from distributing humanitarian foodstuffs bearing the US flag in the southern region.
Central Africa: Reportedly a total of 63,441 Rwandans are still living as refugees in twelve countries on the African continent. Also at least 16,000 civilians have fled deadly clashes in western Democratic Republic of Congo and are now languishing in neighboring Republic of Congo, according to the UN and local officials.
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: United Nations climate talks resumed last week in Barcelona after African nations agreed to return to the table negotiating emissions targets for 37 industrialized countries.
A pivotal efficacy trial of RTSS, the world's most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, is now underway in seven African countries: Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. Also officials from the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) are at work in Cape Verde to help local authorities battle the country's first reported epidemic of dengue fever.
Severe erosion over many years in Anambra, southeastern Nigeria, has cut off or destroyed hundreds of homes, businesses, farms and schools, prompting the governor to call for a state of emergency in the area where he says thousands of people now risk being displaced.
South Africa: As the world prepares for the historic climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark in December a group of eminent global leaders brought together by former South African president, Nelson Mandela, have put their weight behind seeking a credible and decisive strategy for environmental protection.
In the meanwhile the international medical and humanitarian organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned that wavering international support for HIV/AIDS efforts is resulting in funding shortfalls that could wipe out a decade of progress in rolling out AIDS treatment.
Zimbabwe's major pharmaceutical companies are facing collapse owing to the influx of cheap donor drugs.
Mozambique is to become the latest country to receive assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat to prepare a claim for additional areas of seabed.
East Africa/Horn of Africa: The world's largest malaria conference was convened in Kenya last week with a call for substantial and sustained support for research to guide evidence-based policies and the development of new malaria tools. Meanwhile the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) in Uganda has ordered the immediate closure of Leather Industries Uganda Ltd, for alleged failure to adhere to the authority's guidelines.
POLITICAL ECONOMY
West Africa: Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has stated that there is no going back on the planned deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
Meanwhile Ghana stands the risk of being blacklisted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) if the country adopts a financial regime characteristic of a tax haven.
South Africa: In a move with damaging implications for investment, Zimbabwe plans to grab a 51% stake in foreign-owned firms within 60 days of the gazetting of the Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act regulations. While in Namibia the Erongo region has been experiencing a uranium boom due to increases in the price of uranium over the past few years.
East Africa/Horn of Africa: Trade within the East African Community has reportedly grown by over 49% since the commencement of the East African Customs Union in 2005.
NORTH AFRICA
The Egyptian government has expressed its readiness to cooperate with other eight countries under Nile Basin to resolve their disagreements on the usage and access of River Nile water.
Meanwhile a giant solar energy project in the Sahara Desert sponsored by Germany's main power companies and expected to provide Europe with 15% of its electricity needs, has commenced.
Morocco has expelled a Swedish diplomat, accused of delivering Moroccan state documents to "separatists" from Western Sahara. Meanwhile the party congress of the Swedish Social Democratic Party has demanded that Sweden recognize Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara becoming the first country in Europe to do so.
Tunisia was ranked respectively first in North Africa, third in the Arab world and fourth in Africa by the 2009 edition of the UK based Legatum Prosperity Index.
Algerian authorities have signed a framework agreement with Great Britain in the defense sector to formalize and legalize relations between the two countries.
Severe erosion over many years in Anambra, southeastern Nigeria, has cut off or destroyed hundreds of homes, businesses, farms and schools, prompting the governor to call for a state of emergency in the area where he says thousands of people now risk being displaced.
South Africa: As the world prepares for the historic climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark in December a group of eminent global leaders brought together by former South African president, Nelson Mandela, have put their weight behind seeking a credible and decisive strategy for environmental protection.
In the meanwhile the international medical and humanitarian organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned that wavering international support for HIV/AIDS efforts is resulting in funding shortfalls that could wipe out a decade of progress in rolling out AIDS treatment.
Zimbabwe's major pharmaceutical companies are facing collapse owing to the influx of cheap donor drugs.
Mozambique is to become the latest country to receive assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat to prepare a claim for additional areas of seabed.
East Africa/Horn of Africa: The world's largest malaria conference was convened in Kenya last week with a call for substantial and sustained support for research to guide evidence-based policies and the development of new malaria tools. Meanwhile the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) in Uganda has ordered the immediate closure of Leather Industries Uganda Ltd, for alleged failure to adhere to the authority's guidelines.
POLITICAL ECONOMY
West Africa: Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has stated that there is no going back on the planned deregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
Meanwhile Ghana stands the risk of being blacklisted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) if the country adopts a financial regime characteristic of a tax haven.
South Africa: In a move with damaging implications for investment, Zimbabwe plans to grab a 51% stake in foreign-owned firms within 60 days of the gazetting of the Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act regulations. While in Namibia the Erongo region has been experiencing a uranium boom due to increases in the price of uranium over the past few years.
East Africa/Horn of Africa: Trade within the East African Community has reportedly grown by over 49% since the commencement of the East African Customs Union in 2005.
NORTH AFRICA
The Egyptian government has expressed its readiness to cooperate with other eight countries under Nile Basin to resolve their disagreements on the usage and access of River Nile water.
Meanwhile a giant solar energy project in the Sahara Desert sponsored by Germany's main power companies and expected to provide Europe with 15% of its electricity needs, has commenced.
Morocco has expelled a Swedish diplomat, accused of delivering Moroccan state documents to "separatists" from Western Sahara. Meanwhile the party congress of the Swedish Social Democratic Party has demanded that Sweden recognize Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara becoming the first country in Europe to do so.
Tunisia was ranked respectively first in North Africa, third in the Arab world and fourth in Africa by the 2009 edition of the UK based Legatum Prosperity Index.
Algerian authorities have signed a framework agreement with Great Britain in the defense sector to formalize and legalize relations between the two countries.
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Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and jointly developed by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and jointly developed by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
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