Zone 2- Africa Summary, week # 140

POLITICS OF SECURITY AND CONFLICT ISSUES

West Africa:

Nigeria: President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday met with top ex-militants, former commanders and foot soldiers of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) numbering 100, who unanimously dissociated themselves from last week’s twin bombings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), an umbrella of major militant groups in the Niger Delta has said that former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, contacted it to carry out the bomb attacks. Meanwhile as Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out that rebels from his own Niger Delta region stood behind the car bombs on Independence Day, government has directed suspicions towards the Muslim north.

A coalition of 60 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based associations under the aegis of Arewa Youth Forum, has called for the total support of the Goodluck Jonathan and Namadi Sambo ticket in the forthcoming presidential election.

Meanwhile Nigeria dropped further in the ranking on governance index. The country ranks a distant 40th out of the 53 countries in the continent and 13th out of 16 countries in West Africa.

Ghana: a Political party proclaiming to bail Ghanaians out of poverty, the Trades Congress Party (TCP) formed by technocrats, would be launched in Ghana in October this year. They intend to contest in future elections to be able to direct national development with Socio-Capitalism.

Ghana is ranked 7th out of 53 African Countries in the latest MO Ibrahim assessment of governance on the continent.

Liberia: Liberia has registered the biggest improvement in governance on the African continent, jumping from 32 to 44 points in 4 years, according to the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance.

Arab and African leaders met in the Libyan town of Syrte for an Afro-Arab summit to discuss increasing mutual cooperation in various domains on the heels of an Arab League summit just one day earlier. Also the Afro-Arab Summit hailed AMISOM and affirmed the need to support its efforts reiterating the call for the international community and the UN Security Council to assume its role in war-torn Somalia.

African Union sources said the continental organization has chosen former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings as its new envoy for Somalia. The reports said Mr. Rawlings will help promote peace and reconciliation, as well as focus more international attention on the war-ravaged country.

Elections: Ivory Coast: Ivory Coast said it would distribute electoral identity and cards last week in the main commercial city of Abidjan, before its Oct. 31 presidential poll.

Guinea: Guinea will hold the delayed second round of its presidential election on Oct. 24, the presidency of the military-ruled West African minerals producer said last week. Diallo, a former prime minister, won the first round with 43.69 % of the vote. Conde placed second with 18.25%.

East Africa/Horn of Africa:

Sudan: There are some pending key challenges like Voters registration, Fears of fraud, Deployment of observers, North-South tensions, possible delays and demarcation problems Ahead of Voting Sudan's landmark referenda in 3 months time. Meanwhile Sudan's foreign minister told the U.N. Security Council that his government is "fully committed" to holding a referendum that could result in the south of the country seceding from the north and has warned against interference in the January 9 vote.

Also Sudan's president has warned of a return to civil war unless the country's north and south resolve key issues involving water, debt, wealth-sharing, citizenship and the north-south border before the plebiscite ahead of a referendum on southern independence.

A former south Sudanese envoy has rejected Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi suggestions over the weekend that south Sudan’s secession will be a disease that will spread throughout Africa.

Sudanese officials rejected the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers on the border between the northern and southern Sudan saying such a request is unacceptable and contrary to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Central Africa:

Congo: The International Criminal Court reversed an order to release alleged Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga; the trial now resumes.

Meanwhile Congolese forces have moved into the southern Pool region, which witnessed several civil wars between 1998 and 2003, in a move aimed at helping to restore state control ahead of plans to rehabilitate basic infrastructure, say officials.

South Africa:

A group of respected South Africans from across the spectrum have formed a group aimed at making the constitution more relevant for the country's citizens; they claim the Constitution is not helping the poor.

Zimbabwe: Residents of the Zimbabwean capital of Harare are expressing anger at the postponement of constitutional revision outreach meetings canceled last month and continued confusion as to when they will be rescheduled.

Meanwhile Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said his MDC party refused to recognize a string of senior appointments made by President Robert Mugabe, in a fresh row set to strain their fragile coalition.

Botswana President Ian Khama, one of Africa's most outspoken leaders critical of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, has called for a lifting of sanctions to help prod the country to greater openness.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES IN DOMESTIC POLITICS

West Africa:

Mali: Drought is recurrent in northern Mali and many pastoralists will inevitably find themselves in crisis mode in the future, say aid agencies.

Central Africa:

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has made significant progress in education and child survival in recent years, but much more needs to be done to achieve the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a new United Nations-backed study.

HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT AND DOMESTIC POLITICS

West Africa:

Nigeria: Gombe State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Mohammed Isa Umar, has declared that no fewer than 122 people have been killed by cholera out of the over 1,700 cases recorded since the outbreak of the disease few months ago.

Meanwhile two international aid groups say that as many as 400 children have died of lead poisoning-related illnesses in Nigeria since March, and as many as 30,000 people could be affected by lead contamination.

Central Africa:

Rwanda: A group of 14 medical doctors from the U.S. in the country for a one-week Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme have commended the progress the country has registered in improving the health sector.

POLITICAL ECONOMY

West Africa:

Nigeria: A former Nigerian bank chief has been sentenced to six months in prison for fraud and ordered to hand over $1.2bn (£786m) in cash and assets.

Senior workers in Nigeria’s oil industry, under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), have accused the International Oil Companies (IOCs) of deliberately engaging in practices to ambush and sabotage the newly-enacted Nigerian Content Act.

Meanwhile Nigeria is building a multi-billion dollar free trade zone with Chinese investors on the edge of its commercial capital Lagos to try to develop a local manufacturing base and help reduce its import dependence.

Ghana: vice president of Russia's No. 2 oil producer, LUKOIL said last week its offshore oil exploration project in Ghana will almost certainly lead to commercial exploitation.

Meanwhile the Services sector has displaced agriculture as the biggest contributor to GDP that’s according to the first ever half-year national income estimates released by the Ghana Statistical Service.

The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, has warned the ruling NDC that should they impose further taxes on petroleum products in order to generate more revenue to complete their projects and programs by IMF advise, they will have to bring in IMF officials to vote for them in the 2012 elections, since Ghanaians will never forgive the NDC.

Liberia: The World Bank has announced additional development funding of US$39 million for Liberia in the coming year and the Ministry of Finance said 30.8 million US Dollars of the amount will go towards the Monrovia–Ganta road project. The remainder of the amount will be applied to power and other key economic sectors.

According to Burkina Faso’s premier the country expects its Essakane gold mine, opened last week, to boost its public finances and enable it to seek more borrowing for development projects in the future.

Since the launch of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation in 2000, bilateral trade has grown at an annual average rate of 33.5%, from $10bn in 2000.

East Africa/Horn of Africa:

Kenya's economy grew at the rate of 5.4 % in the second quarter of the year powered by improved productivity in the key agriculture, construction and financial services sectors.

Central Africa: The soundness of Rwanda's financial sector has significantly improved from the tight credit conditions experienced in 2009, enhancing stability within the sector, the Central Bank has said.

South Africa: Zimbabwe: The World Bank says it is not yet ready to fully re-engage Zimbabwe though it may provide nearly US$3 million to help rehabilitate the Southern African country's failing water and sanitation infrastructure.

Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti and Economic Planning Minister Tapiwa Mashakada were set to meet with US and top international financial officials in Washington last week seeking development aid and debt relief. §

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