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. §
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. §
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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.
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.
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