Zone 2- Africa Summary, week # 115

Week # 115, Dated 11^th – 17^th April2010

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES

West Africa: In Ghana President Mills is facing intensifying pressure to sack ministers as some top men in his administration have come under severe criticisms for purportedly neglecting party foot-soldiers, non performance, and in some cases downplaying the party's "Better Ghana" agenda.

In a statement by his spokesperson Nigerian former military leader Gen Ibrahim Babangida has announced his intention to run in the 2011 presidential poll. One of the country's wealthiest men - Gen Babangida has told the BBC he will not buy his way to power. Meanwhile as Nigerians called for credible polls ahead of the 2011 general elections, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar last week questioned the democratic credentials of the former military President Ibrahim Babangida, who he accused of banning him from contesting during his regime.

Acting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan met with US President Barrack Obama at the White House last week, to discuss issues relating to the Niger Delta, oil industry reform, electoral reform and Nigeria's role in global peace.

Lt. Gen. Masanneh Kinteh, current Chief of Defense Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces testified earlier this month as the tenth prosecution witness in the ongoing treason trial of former Chief of Defense Staff Lt. Gen. Lang Tombong Tamba and seven others. Meanwhile the European Union has expressed concern about the negative impact on freedom of assembly and expression in Gambia after the prosecution and imprisonment of the opposition United Democratic Party campaign manager, Femi Peters.

The US has accused two senior military men from Guinea-Bissau of drug running. Air force head Ibraima Papa Camara and former navy chief Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, have been named "drug kingpins".

South Africa: According to African Union Commission Chief Jean Ping AU sanctions against Madagascar's leaders are being undermined by the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Zimbabwe's constitution-making process has been derailed after donors delayed releasing funds for the process. This caused the first stage, of deploying outreach programme teams, to be abandoned last week.

Former president Thabo Mbeki has been roped into urgent diplomatic negotiations aimed at securing the release of four South African police peacekeepers kidnapped in war-torn Darfur, Sudan.

According to a military source Madagascar's army has given President Andry Rajoelina until the end of April to offer an acceptable way out of the 13-month political crisis on the Indian Ocean Island. Following the ultimatum Madagascar's leader vowed to disband his internationally rejected government and form an interim body with an ousted opposition leader.

Central Africa: Equatorial Guinea's main opposition party CPDS has accused national security forces of the kidnapping of several exiled Equatoguinean opposition members based in Nigeria in late January, disapproving a form of "state terrorism."

Rwandan President Paul Kagame received last week a delegation from Sweden that included Members of Parliament and officials from the United Nations Association of Sweden. The group, in its 3-day working visit to assess the country's development, held discussions with the President on issues including economic growth, the upcoming presidential elections, human rights and relations with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Hundreds of final year secondary school students have been unable to sit all their national exams due to fighting between a faction of the Mayi-Mayi militia and the armies in the territory of Fizi, South Kivu Province. Meanwhile (DRC) government has also opened a humanitarian corridor to provide safe passage for hundreds of civilians trapped by fighting between the army and rebel militias in Orientale Province, northeastern DRC.

Following a request from the Kinshasa government The UN peacekeeping mission MONUC has announced it will start pulling out from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in July. However fighting for control of the capital of Congo's Equateur province has revived concerns about the strength of Kinshasa's army. Meanwhile ICRC has said that eight aid workers have been kidnapped by armed men in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS

West Africa: Politicians in Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria are debating a bill aimed at curbing religious extremism. This Islamic Preaching Bill would outlaw preaching likely to cause a breach of the peace and will also require most clerics to obtain a preaching license.

Meanwhile Nigerian police has been found guilty by a court in Borno sect clashes case. The family of a man who died in police custody in Nigeria during an Islamist uprising last year has welcomed the court’s ruling.

In Cameroon Sex Workers convened an extraordinary general assembly last week to retaliate against the recent administrative decision to ban prostitution in the city of Douala. The band commonly called ‘liberal sisters’ intends to Boycott Labour Day.

South Africa: Last week Zimbabwe marked 30 years of independence from the UK.

The United Nations refugee agency last week urged the Zambian Government to halt the expulsion of refugees and asylum-seekers to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after 36 individuals were recently sent back.

According to a report released by Human Rights Watch, the government of Angola has not done enough to combat pervasive corruption and mismanagement. Even though the oil-rich country's gross domestic product has increased by more than 400 % in the last six years, Angolans are not seeing their lives improve accordingly.

Central Africa: Rwanda’s Media High Council earlier this week suspended Umuvugizi and Umuseso for six months on the grounds the two weeklies violated Rwanda’s media laws and provoked public order. The editor of Rwanda’s Umuvugizi independent newspaper has termed the decision as politically motivated.

According to a statement issued by the defense ministry the army has rescued nine women abducted by the Lord's Resistant Army (LRA) in the ongoing operations against the rebels in the Central African Republic (CAR). The women included Ugandans, Congolese and Central Africans.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Margot Wallström visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) earlier this month where both rebels and the national army have been accused of mass rape. The visit follows a new report, commissioned by Oxfam and conducted by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative that shows a shocking pattern of rape in Eastern Congo.

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS

West Africa: According to a recent official report in Cameroon projected from the results obtained from the third Population and Housing Census of November, 2005 and based on the average demographic growth rate of 2.6%, the country’s population as of January 01, 2010 stands at 19,406,100.

South Africa: Delegates from 42 countries in Africa, which along with Asia is the most vulnerable continent to disasters, held a United Nations-backed meeting last week in Nairobi to discuss ways to make their communities and citizens safer.

According to South Africa’s water minister the country will increasingly use desalinated seawater to meet growing demand for drinking water in coastal towns facing the worst drought in 150 years.

A new report by Zimbabwe's National AIDS Council (NAC), showing a dramatic rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among people aged 15 to 24 in the capital, Harare, has health experts worried that the country's success in reducing HIV could be unraveling.

Central Africa: In Rwanda the 2^nd phase of the Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) Food

and Nutritional Interventions Project (US$16m) project was launched aimed at tackling food insecurity among people living with HIV/AIDS and orphans.

POLITICAL ECONOMY

West Africa: In Ghana inflation continues its downward trend as the figure for March dipped to 13.3%, down from 14.2 %in February; the ninth monthly fall in a row. Meanwhile Some 60 companies from Ghana participated at the 5th Abuja International Trade Fair last week.

The last president of West African Bar Association (WABA) Mr. Femi Falana insisted in statements last week that the former Nigerian Military President Ibrahim Babangida has a case to answer in a $12.4 billion oil windfall scam. The report stating that the past Nigerian leaders stole more than $89.5 billion from the national purse over a period of 38 years, from 1970 through 2008, has cast a shadow on efforts by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to attract fresh foreign investment, which was part of his agenda in Washington. Meanwhile 80 persons, foreigners and Nigerians, including four former Heads of State and two of their wives, as well as former Governors and Ministers -the top echelons of the country's political and military establishments, including technocrats - have been indicted by the United States law enforcement officials over a N27 billion Halliburton bribery scandal.

According to news reports a top official of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission [RMAFC] in Nigeria State governments in this country may not be able to pay workers' salaries in the next two months when the $3.2 billion currently left in the Excess Crude Account is shared out.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the World Bank to support Nigeria's efforts to revamp its infrastructure and overcome the challenges of power generation. Meanwhile Nigeria's already unstable oil production might be affected by news that Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has shut down the SPDC Joint Venture-operated East Area (EA) oilfield offshore in the Niger Delta as a precaution to enable repairs on equipments.

South Africa: Zimbabwe's Cabinet has postponed the regulations for domestic and foreign companies to submit plans to hand 51 % of shares to black Zimbabweans.

Central Africa: Last week the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) celebrated the opening of its new regional parliament in Malabo, the Equatorial Guinean capital, with the presence of all presidents of the Central African region.§

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Zone 2- Africa Summary, week # 114

Week # 114, Dated 4-11^th April 2010

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES

West Africa: ECOWAS has launched an appeal to its European Union partners to help limit the influx into West Africa of small arms and light weapons which has contributed to more than a decade of instability in the region.

Acting Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan last week warned the new ministers not to allow their personal interests override that of the nation. He added that he will not tolerate any form of mediocrity and ministers who fail to measure up to expectation will be sacked. Meanwhile no substantive minister of power would be named for the time being following the decision of the Acting President to take charge of this critical sector.

Lagos Pastor and leader of the pro-democracy Save Nigeria Group, Tunde Bakare, has criticized the recent visits of Muslim and Christian clerics to President Umaru Yar’Adua as “the theatre of the absurd.” He emphasized that Nigerians deserve to know the state of health of their president.

U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, visited Abuja, Nigeria last week on the invitation of the federal government to assess steps taken so far to strengthen aviation security at the nation's international airports.

In Benin former military President General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) declared last week his intention to run for the 2011 Presidential election.

Meanwhile Angolan Head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, discussed bilateral cooperation with his counterpart of sGuinea Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanhá.

The US and some European countries have adopted new laws allowing the prosecution of war criminals from other countries who live in America or some European states. Under this officers from Mr. Charles Taylor's army are amongst those that British Immigration and security services will be searching for in the country for prosecution.

In Rwanda Victoire Ingabire, the controversial leader of FDU-Inkingi, an exiled group trying to register as a political party, has been deposed in a well-orchestrated move by her European-based colleagues. According to sources cracks began to appear in the shaky alliance after Ingabire's Assistant, Joseph Ntawangundi, was exposed as a Genocide fugitive.

South Africa: Bishop Abel Muzorewa, leader of a brief interim administration which paved the way for Zimbabwe's independence elections that swept President Robert Mugabe into power died last week at his Harare home at the age of 85.

South African President Jacob Zuma last week chastised the head of the ANC youth wing, who has stirred controversy with a series of racially tinged outbursts.

Central Africa: On Easter Day, rebels attacked Mbandaka, the capital of the Equatorial Province in the DRC. They crossed the Congo River and headed for the Provincial Assembly, the governor’s residence, and the airport but were eventually driven out by the Congolese army and UN MONUC troops.

Meanwhile the leader of the sMai Mai Kifuafua rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo has said that a new rebel coalition comprising over 17 different armed groups will be unveiled in the eastern part of the country. Didier Bitaki said the various armed groups decided to join forces after President Joseph Kabila’s government failed to fully implement several peace accords.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS

South Africa: The High Court in Western Cape Province, South Africa, originally set 6 April as the deadline for evicting the last remaining foreigners from the Blue Waters safety camp, set up outside Cape Town after xenophobic attacks drove them from their homes in May 2008; the police however are yet to carry out the eviction order.

Racial tensions remain high in South Africa following the recent murder of white supremacist Eugene Terre’Blanche. Meanwhile two suspects have been charged with murder. The charges were announced after hundreds of black and white supporters faced off outside the courthouse west of Johannesburg.

In Malawi the newly formed Anti Gay Movement (AGM) has said that it will conduct a general referendum to give Malawians a chance to choose if they want it or not. AGM Interim Chair, Grandy Chikweza, said that the referendum follows the arrest of the gay couple and the increasing number of gays in the country.

Central Africa: Members of the US Diplomatic corps, officials from the US government and members of the civil society last week joined the Rwandan Community in Washington DC to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

Meanwhile Hassan Bubacar Jallow, the Prosecutor of the Arusha-based United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has said that Kenya must arrest and hand over the fugitives for prosecution for their role in the 1994 genocide. The most sought after fugitive among eleven remaining key suspects is Felicien Kabuga, the businessman who owned a radio station which is claimed to have fuelled the massacre of over 800,000.

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS

West Africa: More than 1,500 Ghanaians, mainly from Kintampo, are participating in the third phase of a trial to determine the efficacy of the first vaccine for malaria.

In Niger, Aid agencies are asking donors for US$133 million to help the government feed millions of people at risk of going hungry, adding to $57 million already received or committed, seeking to improve the food security of 3.2 million people.

South Africa: An assessment at the beginning of April indicated that crops have failed in all seven districts of Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe, and an estimated 9,000 tons of maize would be required each month to mitigate the effects of the expected food shortages.

According to a review of 52 African countries’ health spending by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in the continent government spending on health care, as a percentage of national expenses, rose just 0.3 percent from 2001 to 2007, while donor funding of the sector during the same period increased from 15.3 to 20.1 percent,

Central Africa: According to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health about 530,000 children younger than five and more than a million women need urgent nutritional support in the country. Meanwhile according to reports at least 700 children under-five die each day in the five provinces where only 20 percent of children have a varied diet.

POLITICAL ECONOMY

West Africa: As of 6 April, 9800 km of the East African Submarine Cable System (known as EASSy) have been deployed to nine countries along the East African coast, offering more advanced internet and better connectivity to Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group in Ghana, has won an order worth over $13 million from the Volta River Authority, to supply equipment to improve the country’s power transmission network.

Central Africa: A high speed ferry between São Tomé and Cape Verde is planned for operations in June this year following the establishment of a joint ferry company Expresso LDA, which is to operate the new maritime link. §

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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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Zonal Summary on Africa for week # 113

Week # 112, Dated 28 March- 3 April 2010

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES
West Africa: In the first major bi-national agreement with an African country in a long time, the United States last week signed a historic comprehensive commission pact with Nigeria under which the two countries would be cooperating in four areas i.e. trade and energy; Niger Delta; electoral reform; and peace and security.
Security has been beefed up at the airports in Nigeria following last week’s incident in which a commercial driver rammed into an Abuja-bound Arik airplane.
The leader of Guinea's ruling military junta visited France last week for talks on how to proceed towards a general election, but his ministers were denied visas due to the massacre of opposition supporters in late 2009.
Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior of Guinea Bissau was detained last week and later released by soldiers who threatened to kill him if there are any solidarity rallies by his supporters. The military however has denied that it attempted a coup after ousting the army's chief of staff, Admiral Jose Zamora Induta, and briefly detaining the PM.
Meanwhile UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the military and political leadership of Guinea-Bissau to resolve their differences peacefully and to maintain constitutional order and the rule of law, after the incident. Security sector reform remains the most crucial element to ensuring stability in Guinea-Bissau, according to a new United Nations report released today, which calls on the international community to support the country's efforts towards this goal.
Senegal's president said last week that the West African country was reclaiming three French military bases to mark its 50th year of independence from France. In Paris, however, officials said the bases' future was still under discussion.

South Africa: Last week a farmers' rights group in South Africa seized a residential property in Cape Town belonging to the Zimbabwe government. The group, Afriforum said it has taken the Zimbabwe government property as part of a "civil sanctions" campaign against President Robert Mugabe's government.
Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe has said that he will not swear Bennett (a senior member of the Movement for Democratic Change) into office until courts clear him of all outstanding charges.
Zimbabwe's first human rights and electoral commissions were sworn in by President Robert Mugabe last week. The creation of the two commissions is seen as crucial in moving the country towards free and fair elections.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe's political parties last week failed to meet the deadline set by South African President Jacob Zuma to resolve a power-sharing dispute that threatens to tear apart the country's coalition.

Central Africa: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named a veteran United Nations official, Mr. Youssef Mahmoud of Tunisia, as his Acting Special Representative for the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT). Earlier this month the Security Council extended MINURCAT's mandate through 15 May.
According to a Rwandan military spokesperson attacks by the FDLR on the population of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have drastically reduced in the past months.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS

West Africa: Niger authorities arrested 618 suspects in raids last week aimed at curbing a crime wave in the capital, Niamey, where residents say serious food shortages and severe poverty have led to a surge in crime.
South Africa: According to reports thousands of construction workers are being laid off in Angola because the government has failed to settle over $2 billion in arrears to foreign firms rebuilding the African nation.
According to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) thousands of people living in the southeastern coast of Madagascar will have improved access to clean water when a new project launches in April to assist families affected by Tropical Storm Hubert.

Central Africa: A recent conference organized by the Congolese Women's League for Elections in collaboration with the UN aimed at boosting the efforts of women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and overcome decades of low female participation in politics.
Following the election of Rev. Mary Glasspool as the bishop of Los Angeles , Anglican Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda has warned that the approval of a second openly homosexual bishop in the U.S. Episcopal Church will further tear apart the 77-million-member worldwide Anglican Communion.

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS

South Africa: Many houses in the capital of Zambia have been submerged due to the heavy rains being experienced compounded with poor drainage system. Lusaka is said to be built on top of a rock making it difficult for water to sink.
Meanwhile extensive flooding along the rivers of central and southern Mozambique during March, in tandem with persistent drought in other parts of the same areas, have left 465,000 people in need of food assistance, where aid agencies warn they lack enough resources to help.
According to reports an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF), described as "large" by South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), has claimed the lives of two people and poses a significant threat to livelihoods in major farming areas.

POLITICAL ECONOMY

South Africa: Shell Oil said last week that it was considering selling most of its service stations and other downstream assets in 21 African countries, as part of a wider effort to reduce its global refining and marketing exposure.

Central Africa: The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a US$115.6m from the International Development Association to assist Rwanda implement its Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS). §

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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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Zonal Summary on Africa for week # 112

Week # 112, Dated 21-27 March 2010

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES
West Africa: the first United States and Africa command Inspector General (IG) outreach conference was conducted at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, Ghana. It basically aimed at providing a platform to discuss IG's missions, principles, organizational structures, operations, challenges and best practices of the system in various countries.
Ghana’s Northern Regional Police Command has refused to succumb to public pressure to name top politicians it claims were behind a recent cache of ammunitions seized from a Bunkpurugu bound vehicle.
Following the dismissal of the previous cabinet in Nigeria, President Umaru Yar’adua’s nephew Alhaji Murtala Yar’adua has been listed among the 25 ministerial nominees sent to the Senate by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan for screening and possible confirmation. However speculations, from top aids and family members, regarding the ailing president’s return to the office are being widely reported.
Meanwhile the Nigerian Senate has moved to adopt an amendment to Section 160 of the 1999 Constitution to remove the power of president to control activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Nigerian Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to meet former rebel leaders from the oil-producing Niger Delta, in a bid to get a federal amnesty programme back on track.
Meanwhile last week the Nigerian Federal Government gave a firm commitment on the country's intention to comply with all international requirements necessary for a safe implementation of a nuclear power programme.
The two Nigerian students, accused of being associates of Farouk AbdulMutallab (the alleged attempted Christmas airline bomber) arrested by Malaysian authorities in January were deported back to Nigeria last week.
Reportedly following the recent violence in Jos, Nigeria, revenge killings continue in the affected region. Police are planning for a speedy trial of 207 suspects arrested over recent large scale ethnic violence. Meanwhile Nigeria's white-collar oil workers union protested last week the murder of two colleagues in the restive oil hub of the Niger Delta.
Last week sea pirates off the shores of Nigeria attacked a Turkish flagged ship, Ozay-5, wounding two Turks and one Nigerian who were part of the crew.
Supporters of Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo said last week that the peace process is in danger since former rebels refused to tie disarmament to an election date.
According to reports the former speaker of Niger's parliament, Mahamane Ousmane, has returned to Niamey after eight months of exile in Nigeria. Meanwhile according to a visiting AU envoy former Niger leader Mamadou Tandja, under arrest since being toppled in a coup last month, is in "good shape".
According to military sources the Senegalese army and suspected separatist rebels clashed last week in the country's restive southern Camamance province.
Last week Togo's government outlawed further demonstrations against the results of a March 4 presidential election, which opposition leaders say was rigged to favor the incumbent.
South Africa: Last week a media hub was opened by the United States in Johannesburg, South Africa, reportedly aimed at making the US government message visible, active and effective in advocating US policies, priorities, and actions with African audiences.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said last week that he would only implement terms of an agreement he signed in 2008 with rival Morgan Tsvangirai if the West removed sanctions on his allies.
Central Africa: Rwanda and Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last week seeking to strengthen their defence and military cooperation.
Reportedly the Rwanda government has issued international arrest warrants against Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa and Patrick Karegyeya, who are believed to be behind recent terrorist activities in and around Kigali.
The Lord's Resistance Army now based in the Central African Republic has reportedly killed at least 10 people, injured more than 30 and abducted another estimated 50 people last weekend in Boka village in the CAR.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: Last week some 1,000 youths from across West Africa marched through the streets of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, to launch a new regional volunteer scheme, where volunteers spend time helping out in areas such as agriculture, health or education in a different country to their own.
Meanwhile the U.S. National Peace Corps Association launched “Africa Rural Connect”, an online global collaboration network where knowledgeable people, including African farmers, work together to communicate and respond to the needs of African farmers.
Last week a Nigerian Islamic Sharia court banned Twitter and Facebook debates on the country's first wrist amputation for theft which was carried out in 2000 under the strict Islamic penal code adopted by 12 northern Nigerian states.
South Africa: The European Union (EU) last week gave $10.6 million to Zimbabwe to buy textbooks for primary schools, promoting revival of an education sector which was reported to be in a dire state.
Central Africa: The leader of the Rwandan yet-to-be registered political party, Forces Démocratiques Unifiées- FDU-Inkingi, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, was intercepted last at Kigali International Airport, as she attempted to flee the country, as investigations into her FDLR activities continue.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) a recent upsurge in threats against aid agencies in the Kivu provinces of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has raised concerns that the humanitarian space in the region could shrink again.

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: World Water Day was celebrated on the 22nd of March around the world, where this year’s theme was Clean Water for a Healthy World.
Last week the organizers of a week-long African Rice Congress in Bamako, Mali, proposed that African countries can decrease hunger and save millions of dollars if they wean themselves off rice imports and increase local production; while experts favor a "drastic" move away from rice to native grains. Meanwhile Nigeria is expected to save about $500 million annually when the Federal Government implements a major strategy that has been designed to triple domestic rice production while also improving indigenous processing capacity as well as enhancing the marketability of rice grown and processed.
According to reports Rampant illegal fishing is hitting some of the poorest West African countries the hardest as this practice is globally most rife in the east central Atlantic Ocean area, which covers the territorial waters of some 15 African countries from Morocco and Mauritania in the north to Angola in the south.
This year the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners hope to eliminate the circulation of the polio virus in West Africa as soon as June by launching the first round of national synchronized immunization days against the debilitating disease. Nigeria would be the only country to curb the circulation of the polio-causing virus as late as 2011, according to the WHO.
Meanwhile The Tenth European Development Fund (2008 -2013) has allocated EUR 402 million to Ghana for development, especially for the improvement of the water and sanitation sector.
Relief officials say nearly 60 percent of families in Niger are facing food shortages because of poor rains, which has triggered a large scale migration towards the capital in search of sustenance.
Meanwhile according to officials a vital World Food Programme (WFP) project to feed more than 400,000 vulnerable Senegalese will be delayed since local authorities blocked imports of half a million metric tonnes of refined palm oil.
A recent comprehensive forest reviews conducted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization shows that the rate of forest loss had dropped by three million hectares every year between 2000 and 2010.
South Africa: Health officials are using this year's World Cup in South Africa to boost awareness of preventing malaria, which kills one million Africans each year.
Extensive flooding along the rivers of central and southern Mozambique during March, in tandem with persistent drought in other parts of the same areas, have left 465,000 people in need of food assistance

POLITICAL ECONOMY
West Africa: According to reports China is opening a factory in Cameroon to manufacturer buses for West and Central Africa. China is Africa's third largest trading partner with a ten-fold jump in commercial transactions over the last decade.
Meanwhile the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which includes 49 African countries, plans to implement several large-scale science and technology projects across Africa in the next three years. The details are to be discussed in a meeting this week in Beijing. These include the training of 2,000 Africans in agricultural technology;100 clean-energy projects to tackle climate change and the funding of 100 African postdoctoral students to undertake research in China.
Major petroleum products marketer, Conoil Plc, is continuing to post an impressive performance on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as investors continue to cash in on the expected favorable returns from the company's investment foray into the lucrative West African oil marketing industry.
A Senior Vice President of AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana), Dr. Toby Bradbury, has reiterated that the government should exercise the political will in fighting illegal mining activities (galamsey), which are diminishing the mining sector's contribution towards economic growth. Meanwhile as Ghana prepares to start crude oil production from its Jubilee deepwater oil field in the last quarter of 2010, the government has said it is determined to put measures in the place to avoid squandering oil revenues otherwise known as oil curse.
African cotton-producing countries are hoping that Brazil’s intended retaliation after last year’s success in the Brazil-U.S. commercial war at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement body will have a positive spin-off for them. The C4, a group of four cotton-exporting African countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad are optimistic that the episode has indirectly put the issue of “white gold" on the WTO agenda.
Last week Nigeria’s National Assembly approved a budget of N4.608 trillion for the 2010 fiscal year with an increase of N530 billion to the N4.079 trillion proposed by the executive arm.
Central Africa: Rwanda signed a 3 million loan agreement last week with the government of France to increase electrification in rural areas. §

________________________________________________________
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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Zonal Summary on Africa for week # 111

Week # 111, Dated 14-21 March 2010
POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES
West Africa: In Ghana last week a high-powered government delegation met with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as efforts to calm the mounting tension, following a recent chieftaincy row, between the Asante Kingdom and the Techimanhene gathered momentum.
Last week following a bomb threat issued through an email by The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), an explosion was reported at a government building hosting amnesty talks in the southern Nigeria oil town of Warri. Attacks by militant groups have slashed Nigeria's oil production by around a quarter from 2006 levels, allowing Angola to overtake it as Africa's biggest oil producer.
Nigerian Acting President Goodluck Jonathan dissolves the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last week as part of efforts to rejuvenate his government. Meanwhile Jonathan restated the administration's determination to ensure electoral integrity in the country in 2011.
Last week Libyan President Muammar Ghaddafi in a speech to African student in Tripoli, opined that the conflict between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria may be solved by division of the country into two nations. As an example he described the partition of India as a “historic, radical solution” which saved the lives of “millions of Hindus and Muslims”. Nigeria has recalled its ambassador to Libya while terming its leader’s statement as ‘irresponsible’.
Meanwhile the Nigerian parliament passed a motion last week urging the government to order an investigation by the African Union into whether Libya was supplying "infiltrators" to destabilize the country.
According to a Gambian Justice Ministry statement a group of senior military officials and businessmen have been charged with trying to overthrow Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.
In Guinea, interim military leader General Sekouba Konate has said he will not run in upcoming June presidential elections adding that leading members of the transitional government cannot stand in the June 27 elections. International pressure is believed to have precipitated the decision.
Last week two Senegalese soldiers were killed and two others injured during a clash with suspected separatist rebels in the southern province of Casamance, one of the country's top tourist zones.
Togo's Constitutional Court last week confirmed the re-election of President Faure Gnassingbe in the March 4 polls, whose provisional results were contested by the opposition. As a reaction Thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of Togo's capital to protest against the re-election.

South Africa: The African Union has put sanctions on Madagascar's leader Andry Rajoelina, after he failed to meet a deadline to set up a unity government.
South African President Jacob Zuma has survived a vote of no-confidence called by opposition parties on fathering of love child by him. The vote - the first such move since the ANC came to power in 1994 - was defeated by 241 votes to 84 with eight abstentions.
Meanwhile South African leader Zuma met Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe last week in a fresh bid to resolve a decade-long political crisis that has contributed to economic ruin in Zimbabwe. Following the meeting Zimbabwe's leaders have agreed to a "package of measures" to help rescue its fragile unity government
The African Union has put sanctions on Madagascar's leader Andry Rajoelina, after he failed to meet a deadline to set up a unity government. Mr Rajoelina and 108 of his backers will face travel restrictions and have any foreign assets frozen. In reaction Rajoelina has rowed back on concessions made to political rivals in power-sharing talks last year.

Central Africa: A U.S. Military Delegation including twelve students from Navy, Marine and Air force visited Rwanda last week in a bid to learn from the country’s ‘institutional development’.
Recent amendment to the Rwandan constitution include the authentic interpretation of law is now to be done by the Supreme Court unlike the previous arrangement where it was done by the Parliament. The current constitution has so far been amended three times since its official adoption in 2003.
The leader of the Federal Republican Forces (FRF) rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while accusing the national army of attacking FRF positions, has said that his group will continue its offensive against the national army. Meanwhile reportedly at least 11 civilians and eight troops have died in attacks by Ugandan LRA rebels in the northeast of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
François Bozizé, President of the Central African Republic, has announced his candidacy at the upcoming 25 April presidential elections. Meanwhile several opposition groups have announced to boycott the polls.
President Fradique de Menezes of São Toméand Príncipe, having failed to follow the original election schedule, has decreed that local and legislative elections will be held in July and August.
The runner-up to Gabon's 2009 presidential polls last week warned that the "general discontent" with President Ali Bongo within the year could lead to a "Niger-like coup." President Ali Bongo, who "inherited" the presidency from his father in 2009, now also followed late Omar Bongo's footsteps as freshly elected leader of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: A migration profile of Cameroon released last week by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shows that current migration flows continues to be mostly internal from the countryside to the cities, with increasing numbers of skilled and unskilled Cameroonians emigrating to neighboring countries and beyond to Europe and to the United States.
According to reporters At least 55 children have died of malnutrition in Niger since the beginning of this year out of 45 525 cases recorded. According to the Niger's military leadership the country needs $123 million in international aid to combat the risk of food shortages this year. The junta, having announced that its members are not eligible for elections, has earned approval for breaking from the policy of deposed President Mamadou Tandja by publicly addressing the risk of famine.
Meanwhile a recent journalistic piece revealed that forced child labour in Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa industry continues to be rampant.
Last week in Sierra Leone at least 200 people were killed when a trench collapsed at an unofficial gold mine.

South Africa: According to a survey in 2009 reported by (IRIN) (conducted with more than 1,000 citizens and 200 policy-makers, opinion leaders, media and business people in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) God, not global emissions, is to blame for climate change.
Reports have voiced fears of a flare-up of violent South African protests that could escalate ahead of the soccer World Cup as the country's angry poor press their demands for better housing and jobs.
Central Africa: According to aid workers a farming ban imposed on Rwandan refugees in southwestern Uganda is raising concerns for their food security, while proposed cash transfers, it is feared, could boost both food prices and theft.
Insecurity and poor access are hampering efforts to aid 114,000 refugees in northern Republic of Congo. A heavy militia and insurgent presence on the Ubangui River is complicating aid worker efforts.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ICTR having requested Kenya to produce all relevant information pertaining to the Genocide fugitive Felicien Kabuga, has complained of unsatisfactory level of cooperation.

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: The US$ 2.4 million UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) project funded by Germany has helped farmers in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone to cater to a growing organic food market.
A study conducted by Action Aid Ghana (AAG) and FoodSPAN indicates that the absence of comprehensive policy on biofuel production in the country is adversely affecting food security, environment and human rights in the affected communities.
Meanwhile Dr.Constance Bart-Plange, Programme Manager of Malaria Control Programme, Ghana, has called on the private sector to assist in bridging the gap of 6.4 million bed nets.
Recent report compiled by the Joint Monitoring Project (JMP) and WaterAid International, Nigeria has over 75 million and 98 million Nigerians lack access to quality water and sanitation respectively.

South Africa: United Nations aid workers in eastern Madagascar are helping local officials mount relief efforts in the wake of Tropical Storm Hubert, which has killed dozens of people and left an estimated 11,000 others homeless.
Meanwhile according to aid agencies Cholera has claimed the lives of over 40 people in Mozambique and ongoing flooding throughout the central and northern parts of the country could "aggravate" the problem. Eleven people have died of cholera in Zambia since the outbreak of the disease at the onset of rainy season in late 2009. Also officials reported at least 20 casualties following floods in Angola and neighboring Zambia.
Zimbabwe's food security has improved but is still "precarious" and "vulnerable to sudden shocks", according to the latest update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Malawi's government has announcing plans to more than double the number of people receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to half a million by the end of 2010.

POLITICAL ECONOMY
West Africa: In Ghana some farmers in the Ahanta West District have appealed for governmental support towards the payment of compensation for lands acquired for oil-related projects.
Ghana’s Western neighbor Ivory Coast is reportedly laying claims to portions of the huge oil wealth in the deep waters of the Western Region. Ghana has begun an urgent move to pass a new law that seeks to establish the Ghana Boundary Commission to undertake negotiations to determine and demarcate Ghana’s land boundaries and de-limit Ghana’s maritime boundaries. §
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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 # 110

Week # 110, Dated 7-12 march 2010

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES
West Africa: Last week President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo met with Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, to discuss the development of bilateral ties and military cooperation.
Nigeria’s former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has joined the growing number of Nigerians calling for the removal of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, maintaining that the only viable option out of the present political logjam in the country is for the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) to declare the President incapacitated and have him impeached.
Moreover in a recent opinion poll conducted by the Alliance for Credible Election (ACE) in Nigeria, on who between President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC) should appoint Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has indicated preference for NJC.
Meanwhile despite the fresh crisis that erupted in Nigeria’s Dogo Na Hauwa in Jos last week, former Heads of State, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Chief Earnest Shonekan were hosted to a peace conference in Jos where they called for peace. Meanwhile following the Jos crisis which led to the death of about 400 people, has led to the sacking of the National Security Adviser, Sarki Mukhtar, by the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. A former top spymaster Lt. Gen. Aliyu Mohamed Gusau (rtd) replaced Mukhtar.
Meanwhile last week protesters marched down the streets of Abuja to protest what is seen as a leadership vacuum in Nigeria. They demanded the sacking of the cabinet and a public appearance of President Umaru Yar'Adua.
Authorities have stated that Nigeria may seek the assistance of the United Nations to compel Cameroon to implement the Green Tree Agreement which set the implementation of the judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ceding the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.
The Security Council last week extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic and Chad until 15 May, as discussions continue on the future of the operation. Meanwhile Chad's prime minister, Youssouf Saleh Abbas, whose government has been rocked by a series of embezzlement scandals, has stepped down and been replaced by a former oil minister, Emmanuel Nadingar.
An opposition leader in Gambia has criticized a wave of arrests in the country, saying detainees - including a former minister - are being held without charge. High-ranking military and police officials are also reportedly among those detained.
Meanwhile Guinea's rulers have said they country will hold a presidential election on June 27, the first since a military coup in December last year.
According to police and opposition leaders in Togo, riot police used a water cannon and tear gas to attack the headquarters of the main opposition party last week as its leaders huddled inside following a disputed presidential election, in which the son of the country's former dictator was declared winner.
South Africa: A leading member of Malawi’s opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) party has said that President Bingu Wa Mutharika’s government acted irresponsibly when it “secretly” purchased a multi-million dollar presidential jet.
Last week Zimbabwe's unity government has suffered its worst blow since its formation a year ago when President Robert Mugabe stripped effective power from three ministries, and assigned them to ZANU-PF ministers.
Central Africa: The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Dr. William F. Shija, has officially invited the Rwandan Parliament to join the association. Also last week Rwandan President Paul Kagame joined celebrations in England as Rwanda was formally welcomed into the Commonwealth Club of Nations.
Meanwhile Rwanda's upcoming presidential elections have cast a spotlight on its democratic credentials, with observers warning that allegations of intimidation of opposition leaders could mar the process.
According to a United Nations official Democratic Republic of Congo army troops have killed 90 Rwandan Hutu rebels during recent operations in Congo's North and South Kivu provinces.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: A recent wave of arrests, negative media coverage, and announcements by political and religious leaders targeting Senegal's gay community has raised concerns of homosexuals in the mainly Muslim country. According to the penal code homosexuality is punishable by law.

African Union Peace and Security Council Chairman Ramtane Lamamra has said that former Niger President Mamadou Tandja should be freed on humanitarian and reconciliation reasons. The 71 year-old Tandja, who was overthrown in a February 18 coup d’état is being held in a presidential building in the capital, Niamey.
Over 10,000 residents in Lagos State have been displaced following the demolition of their houses and shops by men of the Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special Offences.
Christian villagers in Nigeria fled their homes fearing new attacks last week even as a senior official accused the country's military chiefs of ignoring warnings about the previous week’s massacre. Meanwhile the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has advised Nigerians to channel their grievances to the appropriate authority rather than take the laws into their hands. Meanwhile an archbishop of the area has termed the real issues as not religious rather political and ethnic in nature. Thousands of women protested the massacre of mostly Christian villagers by a Muslim clan last week. The demonstration coincided with the start of a three-day fast declared by the authorities in central Plateau State as a mark of reconciliation.
South Africa: Aid agencies in Zimbabwe are appealing to donors to support the $378 million appeal launched last December to support humanitarian and early recovery efforts in the country.
A report by the UN’s top official on indigenous rights has called for urgent action because of the Botswana government’s denial of water and services to the Bushmen and Bakgalagadi tribes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Central Africa: With at least 67,000 refugees in southwest Uganda, the government and aid workers are still battling inadequate resources in what a UN official described as a "silent emergency".
Meanwhile the United Nations last week started to airlift urgent food aid for tens of thousands of people who have fled ethnic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and are seeking refuge in neighboring Republic of Congo (ROC).
According to US and UN reports detailing war crimes Government troops - the FARDC - in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are to blame for much of the epidemic of sexual violence in the east of the country. Meanwhile one of the nation’s a cabinet ministers said that the administration is forming a competent national army to take over after the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (MONUC) withdraws by the end of next year.
HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
West Africa: According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, More than 200 million people in Africa are malnourished and the continent requires $620 billion to feed its people in the next 40 years. The number represents 26 percent of the entire population of the continent. Annually, Africa requires $6.5 billion to develop the sector.
In an international forest conference in Paris hosted by the French government President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed that 20 percent of the $30 billion in climate change funds pledged by rich countries during the next three years go to fighting deforestation particularly in the Congo and Amazon River basins in Africa and Latin America.
About 30 years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a new strategy is being launched called ‘Asking the Right Questions’, to better respond to the needs of women and children.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria reports nearly 5 million lives have been saved since 2002 through programs it has supported for the treatment of these three killer diseases.
This year there are less than half the reported meningitis infections than in the same period in 2009, but more patients are dying - 13 percent in 2010 versus 8 percent in 2009 - according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Multi-Disease Surveillance Centre in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which tracks 14 countries prone to meningitis outbreaks between Senegal and Ethiopia.
Reportedly a team from World Health Organisation(WHO) is in Ghana to assess the outbreak of Cerebro- Spinal Meningitis (CSM) in the country.
Niger says it needs $123 million of international assistance to make up for food shortages this year. Poor rains across Africa's Sahelian region have brought below-average harvests in Niger, northern Nigeria, central Chad and northeastern Mali and Burkina Faso. Niger is grappling with an acute food crisis and nearly a million children in the country are malnourished of which at least 200,000 are on the brink of starvation.
Senegalese children were among the 85 million African children vaccinated against polio this week, as part of an international campaign to halt an ongoing wave of the disease in West and Central Africa.
South Africa: According to an industry official Zambia is lobbying for support to sell its ivory stockpile to Japan and China and use the funds towards conservation.
Namibia has become one of the first African countries to launch the climate change adaptation programme, supported by the United Nations Development Programme –UNDP. It focuses on improved planning to help Namibia deal with climate change aspects such as, floods and drought risks. Meanwhile flooding in Mozambique and Angola has displaced thousands of families, prompting both governments to step up rescue operations
South Africa, India and Indonesia are vying to win the U.N.'s top climate change job, a key post to build trust between poor and rich in 2010 after the U.N.'s Copenhagen summit which set few binding targets.
An outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in two South African provinces has killed one person, while five were reported dead in Zimbabwe’s capital as a result of typhoid.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has said that a world where all children are born free of HIV infection is possible in only five years if donors continue to fund global efforts to combat the virus.
Central Africa: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) commended Rwanda's efforts to combat deforestation and promote forest conservation.
Meanwhile during the launch of "K-Light in Rwanda Project", a solar powered lantern project it was revealed that the use of environmentally unfriendly Kerosene to light homes, especially in rural areas, is set to reduce following the introduction of solar powered lanterns on the Rwandan market.
POLITICAL ECONOMY
West Africa: Two multi-national oil field service providers- Africa Oilfields Service Limited (AOS) and Orwell International (Oil & Gas) Limited, have committed $ 5million worth of equipment to Ghana's oil and gas industry. The two corporate entities plan to grow the investment to $ 15million, subject to demand expansion in Ghana.
The recent discovery of oil off the coast of Ghana has elicited claims on portions of the discovery by neighboring Ivory Coast.
Last week Nigeria's acting President Goodluck Jonathan ordered a probe into the controversies surrounding the recent sale of the Nigerian Telecommunication Company, NITEL, to a new generation telecom outfit at the cost of $2.5 billion.
South Africa: According to Finance Minister Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe will have to rely on its own resources to revive its economy because foreign donors are unlikely to provide nearly enough help. Meanwhile 3 South African businessmen, Nicky Oppenheimer, Patrice Motsepe and Johann Rupert, have been included in Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires.
Central Africa: Advocacy group Global Witness has voiced concerns that former rebels now integrated into the Congolese army have asserted "mafia-style" control over lucrative mining sites. The rich mineral resources of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have long helped fuel conflicts in the lawless area. §

________________________________________________________
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.