Zone 2-Africa Summary- week # 108

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES
West Africa: Last week the top United Nations envoy in Côte d'Ivoire met with the African mediator seeking to end the political crisis threatening the much-delayed elections in the divided West African country.
Ambassador J. Anthony Holmes, Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Activities to AFRICOM, condemned last week’s Niger coup, insisting that AFRICOM’s role is to professionalize the various militaries of Africa and assist them to know their roles in the democracies of their countries
As its promised transition to democratic rule begins, the military junta that overthrew Niger’s president Mamadou Tandja on February 18 has named a former information minister, Mahamadou Danda, as the new prime minister while retaining legislative and executive powers for itself.
Meanwhile West African states are expected to provide a multinational force to help police next month's elections in Togo, where violence during a 2005 vote left at least 400 dead.
Britain on last week threw its weight behind Nigeria's acting president, Good Luck Jonathan after the surprise return from a hospital abroad by ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua sparked fears of a fresh leadership crisis.
Liberia’s Anti-Corruption Commission last week called for the support of Nigeria's anti-graft body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, in its efforts to fight the menace of corruption in Liberia.
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy is expected to travel to Chad this week after the African country called for the withdrawal of the military component of the UN mission that was set up over two years ago after tensions increased along the border with Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.
Mauritania has temporarily recalled its ambassador to Mali, angered over the release of four militants from al-Qaeda's North African branch.

South Africa: South Africa told a U.N. Security Council committee last week that it intercepted a North Korean weapon shipment bound for Central Africa, which diplomats said was a violation of a U.N. ban on arms sales by Pyongyang. Meanwhile members of the National Assembly approved a request by Defence Minister Charles Namoloh to send 800 soldiers to Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) for a UN peacekeeping mission.
Meanwhile China announced last week that its embassy in Zimbabwe had thrown a birthday party for President Robert Mugabe, a rare sign of foreign support for a leader reviled by many Zimbabweans and criticized by the United States and Europe.
Pro-democracy groups from several southern African nations gathered last week in South Africa to launch a campaign for democracy in Swaziland, considered one the few remaining absolute monarchies in the world.

Central Africa: A leader of the Mai Mai Kifufua armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo has voiced discontent at his group being excluded from President Joseph Kabila’s latest cabinet reshuffle. In response the Information Minister has stated that they must register their party to enter the political arena.
Meanwhile French Premier Sarkozy visited Rwanda last week for the first time since the 1994 genocide. Previously Rwanda has accused France of aiding the perpetrators of the genocide, in which some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates were killed.
A United Nations war crimes court sentenced a former Rwandan officer to 25 years in prison for crimes related to the 1994 genocide.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: At least 24 people including a number of civilians and one soldier were injured in Cameroon during clashes last week an incident involving members of the BIR Delta (a rapid response unit in charge of security in the region) and civilians. Meanwhile according to officials the Cameroonian security forces have been deployed in the economic capital Douala, to keep the opposition and civil society from holding demonstrations to mark the second anniversary of the February 2008 hunger riots in which forty people were killed
The Committee to Protect Journalists has voiced its concerns regarding ‘politically’ motivated censorship in Ivory Coast after authorities banned international French broadcaster France 24 last week against allegations of unprofessionalism over coverage of political unrest in the West African nation.

Meanwhile several people have been killed in Ivory Coast during clashes between security forces and demonstrators. The violence in the town of Gagnoa is the latest in a series of protests against President Laurent Gbagbo. Last week, Mr Gbagbo dissolved the government and the electoral commission following a row over voter registration. The opposition accuses him of stalling on presidential elections, which have been delayed every year since 2005. However in a latest development Ivory Coast announced the formation of a new electoral commission, a key step towards resolving a political crisis. Opposition leaders in Ivory Coast too have voiced their consent to join a new unity government, ending a standoff that has threatened the country's peace process.
Twenty-six people, mostly women and children, were killed in a crush at the famous Djinguereber mosque in Timbuktu, in a stampede during the festival to mark the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
The United Nations health agency warned last week that more than 7 million people in Niger, which last week saw its Government overthrown in a coup d'état, are facing food insecurity.

South Africa: According to a new report by a United Nations independent expert Botswana’s Government must step up efforts to tackle the challenges faced by many indigenous communities, such as land rights.
Meanwhile Human Rights Watch demanded last week that the Angolan government should promptly release three human rights defenders who were arrested on apparently political grounds following the January 8, 2010 attack on Togolese footballers.
Meanwhile according to reports on 23 February 2010 the High Court of Swaziland ruled that some married women will be allowed to register property in their own name.
Last week a South African High Court confirmed a ruling made by a Southern African Development Community Tribunal that the farm seizures of white farmers were illegal. The decision came with efforts of a South African civil rights group, AFRIFORUM.
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: In Nigeria a meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee on Agriculture, environment and Water Resources, comprising Ministers responsible for Agriculture, Livestock, Health and Trade of ECOWAS Member States was held last week to validated three draft Regulations and one Directive on plants and animal health safety as well as the management of veterinary drugs.
Meanwhile the 2009 AIDS Update has reconfirmed Africa as the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS global epidemic. The continent represents 10 percent of the global population but accounts for 67 percent of all individuals living with HIV/AIDS, 68 percent of all new adult infections in 2008 and 91 percent of all childhood HIV infections.
Ghana has been selected to host the second working group meeting on World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in April this year.
The Nigerian Federal Government has announced intentions to establish experimental medicinal plant farms in the six geo-political zones to provide raw materials for the research and production of traditional medicine.

South Africa: In Malawi unofficial figures estimate that due to the drought, over 30,000 hectares of crop fields have been affected and that up to 120,000 families (an average of 720,000 people) could need food assistance in the region. Government has now allocated 76 million dollars in the annual budget for food relief.

Central Africa: According to a recently published study by United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Sub-standard ant malarial medicines are still sold widely in Madagascar, Senegal, and Uganda.
POLITICAL ECONOMY
West Africa: The African Development Bank (ADB) has received applications from regional financial institutions for about 1bn of trade finance since launching its new facility a year ago to stimulate African trade flows after the global financial crisis.
Ghana’s Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu has announced that the Economic and Organized Crime bill is currently before Parliament awaiting approval to be passed into law. The bill, when passed, will lead to the establishment of the Economic and Organized Crime Centre to fight organized crimes and other business-related crimes in the country.
The university Students Association of Ghana (USAG) has called on the government and other institutions related to the country's oil find, to come out and explain to the people of Ghana, how much revenue, in percentage terms, will accrue to the state. Meanwhile a consortium, LUKOIL Overseas, (56.66%), US Vanco (28.34%) and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, GNPC (15%), has discovered a significant hydrocarbon accumulation in the Dzata structure of the Cape Three Points Deep Water Block in the Gulf of Guinea offshore the Republic of Ghana, Lukoil said in a press release.
Meanwhile in Nigeria the Federal Government disclosed last week part of the sweeping reforms it plans in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to make it a viable business concern.
Also according to company officials Victoria Oil and Gas has signed offtake agreements with 14 Cameroonian firms for gas from its Logbaba project, due to begin production later this year.

South Africa: South African trade unions are threatening strikes after the country's government allowed state-owned power firm Eskom to raise prices by 24.8%.
According to an official statement The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week restored voting rights to Zimbabwe; however any new loans for the cash-strapped country will only be considered once its arrears of about US$140 million to the Poverty Reduction & Growth Trust (PRGT) are paid.

Central Africa: The Paris Club of creditor nations has agreed to restructure the external debt of the Democratic Republic of Congo amounting to nearly $7 Billion.
Meanwhile the Governments of Rwanda and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) signed an agreement last week to cooperate in the Energy sector at the ministry of infrastructure. According to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning Rwanda's trade balance widened by over 20 percent in 2009 and more than tripled in the last five years, increasing aid dependency. §

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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.
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Zone 2-Africa Summary- week # 107

Week # 107, Dated: 14 –2 0 February 2010

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES
West Africa: Following the recent coup in Niger the country is now being led by a group called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD). Meanwhile the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa as well as representatives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) lead a joint mission last week that met with relevant parties regarding the recent coup d'état.
More endorsements came last week for Acting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Former Head of State and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) presidential candidate in the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd); former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and other politicians under the aegis of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) backed Jonathan’s emergence and called on him to confront the challenges facing the country.
The recent resignation of former presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP,) General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), from the party, has significantly affected Nigerian politics. The relationship between Buhari and the ANPP leadership went sour immediately after the 2007 presidential poll, when Buhari challenged the outcome of the election won by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, President Umaru Yar’Adua in court, while his party chose to form an alliance.
Ghana’s National Identification Authority (NIA) noted last week that its registration data could help to put to rest disagreements over the credibility of electoral polls, which have been a major challenge to elections in Africa.
A week after Ivory Coast’s President Laurent Gbagbo dissolved the government and the electoral commission, thousands marched in the city of Bouaké, damaging cars and shops. There have been almost daily demonstrations in cities across the country as Côte d'Ivoire's political crisis deepens.
South Africa: The African Union gave Madagascar's diplomatically isolated leader an ultimatum last week, saying he will face sanctions if previous power-sharing agreements are not in place by March 16.
The European Union's council of ministers met in Brussels, Belgium last week to endorse a proposal to extend the sanctions against Zimbabwe until 20 February 2011, a move that Mugabe has criticized as punishment against his land reforms.
Meanwhile according to embassy statements Iran and Zimbabwe are seeking to strengthen ties between the two countries.
According to a newspaper report Mali authorities have released four Islamist prisoners in an apparent deal with al Qaeda's North African wing to save a French hostage.
Central Africa: Last week Rwanda’s Defense Forces RDF officially received a JMC 4000 weapons destroyer, a machine that will be used by the RDF to destroy illicit small arms.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: Last week’s reports indicate that archaeologists have unearthed dozens of clay figures in Ghana, shedding light on a sophisticated society which existed before the arrival of Islam. According to BBC News, experts from the University of Ghana found 80 sculptures believed to be between 800 and 1,400 years old.
Speaking at the opening of the 37th Summit of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments acting President of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, called on leaders of the West African sub-region to collectively fight against drug trafficking and terrorism.
Meanwhile last week Nigerian soldiers moved in to halt a confrontation between Christians and Muslims at a cemetery near the city of Jos, where religious tensions are high. Christians were trying to stop Muslims from burying a dead child in the disputed Naraguta area. More than 300 people died last month during days of rioting in Jos between the two religious groups.
Nigeria’s House of Representatives has shot down a bill seeking to repeal the Child Rights Act of 2003. The bid to repeal the legislation was premised on the argument that there were procedural errors in the passage of the Act and that the said errors contravened certain provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
Human Rights Watch said last week that the arrest of a former Liberian warlord in the United States underscores the need for prosecutions of serious crimes committed during Liberia's civil war. George Boley, whose arrest was announced last week, is the former leader of the Liberian Peace Council, one of several armed factions implicated in heinous abuses during 14 years of armed conflict that ended in 2003.
South Africa: The Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), a civil society network of 91 NGOs in Malawi working to promote governance, accountability, and human rights has questioned the government provision of MK500 million (about 2,314,814 Euros) to president Bingu wa Mutharika as administration costs of chairing the African Union (AU).
Giving its final report on Mozambique's general and provincial elections held on 28 October, the European Union Observation Mission last week praised the organization of the polling, but condemned serious incidents of fraud, notably the significant number of polling stations that claimed an impossibly high turnout.
Meanwhile a German task force arrived at the Simon's Town naval base last week for a month-long exercise with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
Zimbabwe government workers marched through the capital last week, scaling up a job boycott against low wages, in a sign of growing impatience with the country's year-old unity government.
Central Africa: Rwanda’s Victoire Ingabire, the embattled leader of the yet-to-be registered political party, FDU-Inkingi, was again summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)last week following controversial remarks regarding a ‘Double Genocide Theory’ in the 1994 crisis.
Rwanda’s Electoral Commission is expected to announce the list of candidates contesting for the forthcoming presidential seat on July 7 this year. Meanwhile in a press release Amnesty International has strongly condemned a worrying attack on a Rwandan opposition group as the country prepares for presidential elections in August 2010. Also Rwanda’s National Human Rights Commission (NHCR) has dismissed a report recently published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in which the organization claims that the government's policy on land may lead to increased poverty amongst the population.
Religious leaders, football stars and actors have been backing the ‘Candles for Rwanda’ initiative this week as Rwanda marks the 15th anniversary of end of 1994 genocide.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Congo-Brazzaville has said it is expecting more displaced people to transfer in from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. The UNHCR said that more than 120,000 refugees escaping ethnic violence are already crammed into camps in Congo-Brazzaville and Central African Republic.
According to a UNICEF report youngsters are still being recruited within the ranks of both the rebels and the national army, despite efforts to end the use of child soldiers in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
South Africa: While the South African government has reconfirmed its commitment to reducing its emissions trajectory - business in the country remain in the dark regarding detail on what they will be asked to do.
Central Africa: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) announced last week that Rwanda will play global host to celebrations for the 2010 World Environment Day, observed annually on 5 June.
POLITICAL ECONOMY
West Africa: Last week a stakeholder’s meeting in Ghana organized by International Business Event Management (IBEM) concluded with an agreement to seek better networking in order to boost business.
Meanwhile technology firm, Hewlett Packard (HP) has announced plans to step up its battle against counterfeits in Nigeria and the region this year, in response to the increasing incidents of fake printing supplies.
South Africa: International Monetary Fund member countries agreed unanimously last week to restore Zimbabwe's voting rights after a seven-year suspension, in a step toward normalizing relations with major donors.
The South African government expects the country's economy to grow by 2.3% this year, helped by the football World Cup in the summer. Meanwhile the South African rand weakened last week after China toughened bank regulations aimed at reducing loan growth, raising concern that the measures would cool the world's fastest-growing economy and reduce demand for commodities.
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has threatened to quit the Kimberley Process (KP) - the body which ensures diamonds do not fund conflicts. Meanwhile Zimbabwe's two home affairs (Interior) ministers earlier this month told a gathering of successful Zimbabwean businessmen in Johannesburg that the government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai wants them to return to help revive the economy.
The cash-strapped government of Botswana has agreed to spend US $150 million (P1 billion) in helping to cut De Beers' debts which currently stand at $3 billion.
Malawi has launched an international tender for a fourth cell-phone operator, in a bid to reduce tariff rates that are among the highest in Southern Africa.
Central Africa: Rwandan Auditor General's (AG) report released last week, revealed very many loopholes within the Government financial procedures, with over Rwf 4.3 billion unaccounted for.
Meanwhile Rwandan farmers have adopted new varieties of climbing beans to replace bush beans, recognizing greater potential in this market. On 15 January, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) released eight different climbing bean varieties to farmers. §

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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.
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Zone 2- Africa Summary week # 106

Week # 106; Dated 7 to 13 February 2010

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES
West Africa: Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office as acting president last week as President Umaru Yar'Adua’s 10-week hospitalization in Saudi Arabia has sparked political turmoil at home.
In Côte d'Ivoire demonstrators went on a rampage last week, burning down a sub-prefecture building in protest at the possible striking off of the electoral roll of people of foreign descent. Following the crisis President Laurent Gbagbo dissolved the government and dismissed the electoral commission.
Last week’s clashes between Christians and Muslims in eastern Guinea have left one person dead and two missing. Meanwhile following the exile of former junta leader, Guinea's interim president has named a union leader to head a council charged with managing a transition from military to civilian rule.
Mali has announced that it will not give in to demands from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to free Islamist radicals held in its prisons in exchange for a French hostage as the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived unexpectedly in Mali a week ahead of the deadline set by the group. Meanwhile two Malian negotiators met leaders of al-Qaeda last week in a bid to free six European hostages.

Central Africa: The United States Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes, Stephen Rapp, has said that his office has intelligence reports confirming that the alleged financier of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Felicien Kabuga is still in Kenya. Meanwhile in Rwanda visiting United Nations Police Commissioner General, Ann-Marie Orler, has urged the government to contribute more police personnel for UN peacekeeping missions.
Idriss Deby, Chad’s president visited Sudan in a thaw in relations that deteriorated in 2008 amidst accusations against both sides of supporting anti government fighters.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: Liberia's ex-information minister Laurence Bropleh has been charged with corruption after being accused of pocketing the salaries of fictional employees.
Talks between Niger's government and the opposition to end a political crisis were suspended last week.
After 18 years of successful multi-party democracy, Ghanaians are bracing themselves to review the Fourth Republican Constitution. Following cabinet’s approval of a memorandum on the consultative review, government has established an independent body to spearhead the process.
The Nigerian government has ordered investigation into a video clip aired on Al-Jazeera, showing extra judicial killings of defenseless cripples and underage citizens by the Nigeria Police Force, during the Boko Haram sectarian violence in Borno State, last year.
With 7.8 million people in Niger - or three fifths of the population - facing moderate to severe food insecurity, the United Nations has appealed for international aid to help the impoverished nation.

South Africa: Following the scandal regarding Jacob Zuma’s adulterous relationship, the South African president has issued a public apology. Zuma's state of the nation speech last week was overshadowed by the scandal.
According to a new report from the South African Institute of Race Relations, violent crime is not necessarily linked to high poverty rates.
As Zimbabwe's Unity Government marked a shaky first year in power, former opposition party the MDC says that fresh elections may need to be called as political parties have failed to resolve their deadlock.
A case involving U.S.-based multinational companies and South African victims of apartheid is making its way through the U.S. court system. The claims totaling hundreds of billions of dollars allege the multinationals helped the pre-1994 racist apartheid government perpetuate human rights abuses.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe's unity government has been plunged into another crisis as new regulations designed by President Robert Mugabe's loyalists demand that 51 percent of all companies be given to blacks.
A study done by MISA-Mozambique on behalf of UNESCO on media development in has found that Mozambique has a political and legal framework favorable to freedom of expression, pluralism, and diversity in the media. However, constraints still persist in the practical application of media-friendly laws and policies. For example all print media in Mozambique operates exclusively in Portuguese and are thus not accessible to the majority of the population.
Malawi introduced free basic education in 1994, and the number of pupils enrolled in primary schools rose from 1.9 to 3.2 million; how ever current figures from the ministry of education indicate that up to 20 percent of children aged between six and 13 still do not attend primary school.

Central Africa: In Rwanda Joseph Ntawangundi, an assistant to presidential aspirant Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza has been arrested against charges of genocide. Meanwhile Human rights reports that in advance of Rwanda’s August 2010 presidential election opposition party members are facing increasing threats, attacks, and harassment.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) internally displaced people (IDPs) are still being abducted by armed groups for forced labor in several territories in North Kivu Province, even as authorities beef up security in IDP camps. Eight months after the end of joint military operations by (DRC) and Uganda, many parts of Orientale Province, in northeastern DRC, are still in turmoil. Meanwhile in the western Equateur Province, parents are keeping children at home amid security fears.
According to fresh estimates released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) the number of women raped in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where sexual violence committed by warring factions has reached endemic proportions, topped 8,000 last year.

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS

South Africa: South Africa and Australia have signed an agreement that will frame future bilateral cooperation on climate change issues.

Central Africa: In Rwanda the Environment Management Committees at the sector levels have been tasked to become vigilant in curbing down activities leading to environmental destruction.

POLITICAL ECONOMY

West Africa: A United Nations Panel of Expert has indicted Liberia for ‘abuse of internal control’ for failing to comply in the implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification (KPC) system accusing it of exporting diamond valued over US$7.4m.
In line with efforts to meet its last quarter of 2010 time line to start pouring Ghana's first commercial oil from the jubilee fields, Tullow Ghana Limited has began the installation of a number of sub sea equipment required for siphoning oil from under the seabed.

South Africa: Last week Southern African parliament ratified an agreement of the International Monetary Fund, an agreement on the Establishment of Zambezi Watercourse Commission (Zamcom), and the SADC Mutual Defence Pact. Meanwhile the issue of the border between Malawi and Tanzania remains unresolved.
South Africa's unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2009 remained virtually unchanged at 24.3 percent.

Central Africa: A special summit dealing with the issue of illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is to be organized seeking to boost the peace process in the country.
The Government of Rwanda signed six agreements with the World Bank (WB) seeking finances for various government programs to the tune of $120.3 million. The government will also be getting Euros 38.5 million loan from a German development bank, the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) (Reconstruction Credit Institute).
Meanwhile the Japanese government has given Rwanda Television (RTV) a grant of 46.1 million Japanese Yen (approx $0.5m). §

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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.
Please Preview your comments before posting.