Week # 107, Dated: 14 –2 0 February 2010POLITICS 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. §
________________________________________________________
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment