Zone 2- Africa Summary, week # 134

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES

West Africa:

Nigeria: Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar last week alleged that the inordinate ambition of General Ibrahim Babangida to remain in office "indefinitely" was the primary reason he annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Bashorun MKO Abiola.

Meanwhile all is now set for the endorsement of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2011 presidential election by governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the south west zone of the country.

Elections:

Liberia: The National Elections Commission (NEC) has declared that all is now set for the conduct of Liberia's second post war democratic elections following more than two years of rigmarole leading to setting the process on pace.

Cote D’Ivoire: Ivory Coast election may not resolve its conflict and the prospect of peace in the country after the government announced an election date has left Ivorians cautiously optimistic about the future.

Nigeria: Barring last minute adjustments, the forthcoming Presidential and National Assembly elections are to be held on January 8, 2011, while January 15, 2011 is fixed for the governorship and state house of assembly polls.

Central Africa:

In Gabon: The President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba says he will continue working closely with the African Union as well as the United Nations Security Council to resolve conflicts on the African continent.

Congo-Kinshasa: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that the recent savage rape and assault of scores of civilians in the remote and troubled far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a "brutal reminder" of the obstacles faced in keeping the peace in conflict zones. The Secretary-General also urged the U.N. Security Council to consider new measures to protect civilians in Congo, where more than 150 villagers were raped by rebel groups in late July.

Elections:

Burundi: Amnesty International has called on Burundian authorities to investigate allegations that state security officials tortured 12 opposition politicians during the country's recent elections.

Rwanda: Congratulatory messages for President Paul Kagame's landslide victory continue to pour in, the latest being from the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.

Southern Africa:

A Madagascar court sentenced deposed leader Marc Ravalomanana in absentia to forced labor for the deaths of dozens of protesters during a march on the presidential palace last year.

Zimbabwe: Just few days after hopes were raised at the Southern Africa Development Community summit that Zimbabwe is set to make substantial political progress, President Robert Mugabe has once again turned his back on reforms he signed to nearly two years ago.

Elections:

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's electoral body does not expect elections planned for next year to take place because it still needs to carry out reforms and is not adequately funded to hold a credible vote, its chief told state media last week.

While in Malawi according to reports the nation’s November local government elections are to be postponed yet again, a development that has hit female candidates hard – and mostly in their pockets. It could mean that the country will have less female candidates to vote for when they finally go to the polls.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS

West Africa:

Nigeria: Two Chinese workers abducted in southwest Nigeria's Ogun state last week were successfully rescued by police, according to an official of the Chinese Consulate in Lagos. Meanwhile a recent report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has ranked the Nigerian Police extremely high on corruption, extortion, brutality and rights' abuses.

In Northern Nigeria Members of the outlawed Boko Haram sect appeared to have resorted to guerrilla warfare as they waylaid and shot dead three policemen in Damaturu and Maiduguri, centers of the deadly violence sparked by the group in July last year.

Mauritania: According to the Spanish government two Spanish aid workers were freed after being taken hostage by al Qaeda in North Africa nearly nine months ago.

Niger: The population of Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, is growing at an unsustainable rate, according to the authorities and civil society groups. If current growth rates of 3.3 % per year remain unchanged, by 2050 Niger’s population will have reached 50 million. The current population is 15.2 million - and even at this level there is widespread malnourishment.

Central Africa:

Central African Republic: The United Nations World Food Program says tens of thousands of people in Central African Republic face malnutrition if the WFP cannot secure urgent funding. According to the UN World Food Program, it needs an additional $15 million in funding over the next eight months to continue feeding 600,000 peoplein the country.

Southern Africa:

Malawi: A new study by the Journalists Union of Malawi (JUMA) says over 80 % of the journalists employed in the country’s media houses work under “demeaning and exploitative” conditions.

Zimbabwe: In a pre-dawn raid last week, Zimbabwe Republic Police bashed down an informal settlement in Harare making scores of people, including children, homeless. Many of those whose shacks were destroyed by police were refugees from similar massive attacks on urban dwellings five years ago.

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS

West Africa:

Ghana: according to reports USAID supports Ghana Health Service with $ 4 million, projecting a four-year programme during which it would assist the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in three regions.

Nigeria: President Goodluck Jonathan has assured that Nigerians should expect stable electricity supply by December 2012. Meanwhile CBN has released a N130b intervention fund.

Lead poisoning has killed at least 160 in Zamfara State since June, when visiting doctors’ realized children in the region were dying in unusually large numbers. Investigating scientists traced the source of the poisoning to soil contaminated with lead which had been dumped in water sources by miners.

Chad: In parts of Chad acute malnutrition levels far exceed the international emergency threshold, according to a new study – fallout, partly, from crop failure hitting already fragile communities where access to basic health services is low and aid agencies are scarce. Also Flooding across Chad has destroyed homes, crops, livestock, wells and latrines in communities already pummeled by food shortages and high malnutrition, according to the UN.

Mali: Nomadic communities in northern Mali's desert regions are facing one of the most serious droughts of the last twenty years.

Niger: Further heavy rains in Niger have caused the number of people displaced by flooding to soar from 111,000 last week to 198,740 this week, says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which is calling on donors and aid agencies to urgently send shelter materials, blankets and mosquito nets.

UN Aid Agencies Responding to Cholera Outbreak in the three neighboring West African countries of Cameroon, Nigeria, Lake Chad Basin and Niger have reported that the epidemic has infected nearly 4,000 people and killed more than 260 others since May; the United Nations health agency blamed the epidemic on poor hygiene and inadequate access to clean water.

According to an aid monitoring group AidData a recently launched geo-coded global map outlining how much individual donors have given to which aid projects and where, will highlight aid gaps, imbalances and duplication, and through this, improve donor coordination.

Southern Africa:

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has welcomed a new campaign launched by the Angolan Government to reduce maternal and infant mortality, and encouraged authorities to ensure the necessary budget resources to improve health for women and children.

A new type of migration is taking place in Zimbabwe. While in the past people crossed the borders into South Africa and Botswana seeking work and fleeing from their repressive circumstances, now according to reports, a silent migration of HIV-positive children seeking antiretroviral treatment (ART) is taking place.

Mozambique: the United States says it will provide $1 billion over the next five years to help fight AIDS in Mozambique, where some 1.5 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

POLITICAL ECONOMY

West Africa:

Liberia: Moving closer to joining the growing ranks of African oil producers, Liberia has selected one of the world's largest oil companies as lead partner to explore potential offshore reserves. The Government has signed up Chevron as its oil exploration partner.

Another report revealed that Liberia has reason to celebrate US$4.8 billion Dollars debt waiver coupled with the improvement of its investment climate propelled by the UP led administration, with another multi-million dollar company, SFR, a lubricant oil company, has expressed interest in doing business in the country.

Cameroon: Cameroon, China Cooperation has intensified as both countries are devising new ways of partnership through which industrialization and particularly the mining sector could receive a boost for their mutual benefit.

Nigeria: NSE Probe; the forensic investigations into the financials of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) may have claimed its first casualty, as the Assistant General Manager in charge of Management Services, which includes Administration and others, (names withheld) has been placed on an indefinite suspension.

Meanwhile market capitalization, which measures the value of equities listed in the market, fell from N6.108 trillion to N5.992 trillion, while the NSE All-Share Index went down by 1.9 % from 24,976.65 to close at 24,503.61.

According to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Josephine Tapgun, Federal Government of Nigeria is now working on a new tariff regime to protect local industries in the country. Meanwhile the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has lamented the high interest rate charged on credit in the country.

Some good news came the way of Nigeria’s aviation industry last week as the country attained the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) certification, known as Category 1 Status. Meanwhile the management of the nation’s apex maritime regulatory authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has started a partnership with the United States of America (USA) on safety and security exercise to protect the country’s asset in the Gulf of Guinea.

Central Africa:

Rwanda: A long awaited mega commercial centre project by the US in the country slated to cost 200m dollars (approximately Rwf 117.6bn) was launched last week in Kigali city. Meanwhile President Paul Kagame has called on investors to add value to what they produce prior to exporting, since it will not only improve the quality of the country's exports, but will bring in higher revenues for investors and the country.

Gabon: A special adviser to Gabon’s leader has said the construction of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) forms part of President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba’s plan to make the country competitive and provide jobs to thousands of Gabonese.

A south Sudan official said in statements to Bloomberg the only way for China to retain its millions-worth of oil assets in Sudan is to cultivate a “strong” relationship with the semi-autonomous region of south Sudan and recognize the outcome of a referendum due in January 2011 on the region’s possible independence.

Southern Africa:

In South Africa, Striking South African state workers defied a court order to return to work last week and police fired rubber bullets to disperse strikers who were blocking the entrance to a Johannesburg hospital. More than 60 protesters were arrested nationwide for obstructing roads and destroying property in violent demonstrations. President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has accused striking state workers of abandoning the sick at hospitals and said he expected a deal to be reached soon to end the labor action by about 1.3 million. Meanwhile the army has deployed more 1,800 medical staff to 47 public hospitals throughout South Africa to substitute for striking doctors and nurses as the nine-day industrial action becomes increasingly ill-tempered.

Zimbabwe: An auction of Zimbabwean diamonds has created an air of expectation that the country's economic plight will be eased or even improved, but the stones realized as little as a fifth of their value, and most of the proceeds are expected to benefit controversial mining companies.

A delegation of Chinese business people from Shanghai announced in Maputo last week that they intend to invest 13 billion US dollars in a number of projects in Mozambique over the next five years. §

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