{jcomments on}OMAR, BXL, AGNEWS, le 21 juillet 2010 — Rwanda kicked off the campaign for its second presidential elections on Tuesday, with four candidates vying for the top post of the Central African nation.

BURUNDI :

Burundi: Journalist Who Criticized Military Is Charged With Treason
By JOSH KRON/www.nytimes.com/July 21, 2010

A journalist has been arrested and charged with treason for publishing an article suggesting that Burundi’s military was not capable of defending the country against terrorist attacks, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. The group condemned the arrest on Saturday of Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, the editor of the online news agency Net Press, for writing in a July 12 article that the Shabab, a militant Islamist insurgency in Somalia, could easily attack Burundi. The Shabab have claimed responsibility for bombings in Kampala, Uganda, that killed 76 people, many of whom were watching televised soccer matches on the last day of the World Cup. The terrorist group has threatened to next attack Burundi, which contributes troops to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

Burundian infrastructure minister quits party management
July 21, 2010/Source: Xinhua/english.peopledaily.com.cn

Burundian Infrastructure and Equipment Minister Anatole Kanyenkiko has quit his party management, saying he is going to be a simple member of the Front pour la Democratie au Burundi (FRODEBU), local media reported on Tuesday.

In a letter sent to FRODEBU Chairman Leonce Ngendakumana dated July 16, Minister Kanyenkiko said he is resigning from higher organs of the party because he has been advising his party mates “to rejoin the electoral process but in vain.”

Kanyenkiko told local media that FRODEBU members who were elected in the May 24 communal elections “should have accepted to join their seats in communal councils at least to respect those who elected them.”

“I have thus decided to resign from the FRODEBU managing team because they refused my advice,” said Minister Anatole Kanyenkiko.

FRODEBU is one of 12 opposition parties which pulled out the electoral process alleging that the May 24 communal elections, the first in a series of five polls, were rigged.

RWANDA

Rwanda kicks off presidential election campaign
Source: Xinhua/July 21 2010

Rwanda kicked off the campaign for its second presidential elections on Tuesday, with four candidates vying for the top post of the Central African nation.
Electoral officials said the campaign will end on Aug. 7 and that voters will go to the polls on Aug. 9.
However, analysts say the incumbent president, Paul Kagame, from the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) should easily dominate his challengers as there are no serious threats from the opposition parties: most of their leaders are subject to judicial proceedings related to “serious accusation of crimes.”
In a press briefing released on Tuesday in the capital Kigali, Kagame told reporters that he “was ready to accept 110 percent results of this upcoming ‘credible’ elections.”
Since Tuesday morning, most of the candidates have centered on their ambitious program to improve the economy, fight corruption and resolve unemployment.
However, some of the candidates turned to celebrities power such as Kagame, who has hired famous African singers to sing or dance for his supporters during his campaign rallies.
“My re-election will largely depend on what the Rwandan population will say, and I am ready to accept at 110 percent results of this election,” Kagame said.
In Kigali, presidential campaign T-shirt and hats featuring the slogan of the four candidates and their political agenda were hung in most of the popular shops.
The Rwandan police had pleaded for calm among the population ahead this presidential campaign, after a series of murders. The victims include a journalist and one leader of the non-registered opposition party.
The spokesperson of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, said on Tuesday the European Union urged the Rwandese authorities to clarify the exact circumstances of this horrific killings and bring the perpetrators rapidly to justice.
“The European Union also wishes to express its deep concern that three assassinations of public figures have now taken place in Rwanda within the last month. These assassinations have contributed to the deterioration of the political climate and to the emergence of a feeling of fear among the Rwandan citizens,” Catrherine said.

Rwanda: PL’s Higiro Launches Campaign, Promises Support to Farmers
Bosco Asiimwe/The New Times/21 July 2010

Ngoma / Kirehe — The Liberal Party (PL) Presidential contender, Prosper Higiro has promised residents of Ngoma and Kirehe Districts in the Eastern Province introduction of modern farming methods once elected which will compete favourably on the world market.

Higiro was yesterday addressing hundreds of party supporters in the two districts where he kicked off his campaign trail.

“Agriculture will be modernized into a profession for those who practice it, and this will help farmers to grow crops for sale rather than subsistence consumption only,” Higiro said

He promised to help Rwandan investors to venture into small factories to mainly process their agro-products and build more vocational institutions to get manpower to work in these factories.

Higiro, who commended the steps the country has taken in development since 1994 in areas like security, unity and reconciliation, economic development, education, health and people’s welfare, promised to continue strengthening all these systems to achieve the development a country desires.

“There is a lot that was done, but there is still a long way to go. PL has the capacity and zeal to address some of these challenges that remain,” he said

He singled out injustice, poverty, corruption, and lack of enough infrastructures as some of the challenges still faced by the country “and together all these will be ironed out. There will be no more queuing before the President to have their issues solved when there are leaders supposed to solve them.”

All villages will have clean water, electricity and feeder roads connecting to the main ones, are other things, he said, will be put in place to ease the transportation of produced goods.

PL President, Protais Mitali, who officially launched the campaign in Nyakarambi Sector in Kirehe District, where the campaign started before heading to Ngoma, dismissed claims that PL is unable to compete in the Presidential elections.

“One of the objectives of PL since it was formed 19 years ago was to win the top post (President). We prepared ourselves for all these years and this is the time,” Mitali who is also the Minister of Youth said.

Rwanda: Repatriated Refugees Were Security Threat – Uganda
Gashegu Muramira/The New Times/21 July 2010

Kigali — DAYS after close to 2,000 Rwandan refugees were repatriated from Uganda, the country yesterday said that the group had proved to be a source of insecurity.

Uganda’s Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Tarsis Kabwegyere, pointed out that the group was acting that way because they had no one to mind them.

“They were neither under any authority nor were they being assisted by UNHCR and partners,” he told reporters at the Uganda Media Centre yesterday.

“Indeed, over this weekend, a Rwandan who had been denied asylum, was arrested in Bushenyi with a stolen gun from a police post in Nakivale Refugee settlement,” said the Ugandan minister.

Kabwegyere denied a United Nations reports that his country deported the refugees, adding that it had only turned away asylum seekers who were unsuccessful in their bid for refugee status.

“Various agencies have come up to misinform the public that refugees were forcefully repatriated – this is false,” he said.

‘The difference between an asylum seeker, refugee and illegal immigrant should be very clear to these champions of refugee rights”.

The Minister’s remarks confirm comments made by Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Uganda, Frank Mugambage, early this month, that some refugees had criminal records and some were running away from justice.

DR Congo to repatriate more than 27 Rwandan rebels
July 21, 2010 /Source: Xinhua

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) will soon repatriate more than 27 Rwandan rebels to their country of origin, according to the Congolese News Agency.

DR Congo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Adolphe Mulenda agreed to the compulsory repatriation of more than 27 members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which is linked to the 1994 Rwanda massacre, the report said on Tuesday.

The coordinator of the Action Program for Peace and Reconstruction (PAREC), Ngoy Mulunda, affirmed that they were among the 300 ex-FDLR fighters relocated by PAREC from North Kivu bordering Rwanda to Kisenge in South Katanga.

“There’s no problem of co-existence with the natives. The issue is that the concerned men have refused to go back to the camp where they were staying,” PAREC coordinator said when he tried to justify the decision by the national authority.

Many FDLR members who put down their arms under a demobilization operation going on in North Kivu province refuse to be repatriated, the news agency said.

The relocation to South Katanga from North Kivu was aimed at totally separating them from those still fighting in North and South Kivu provinces in the east of the DR Congo.

FDLR elements have been holed up in North Kivu after the massacre, causing conflicts between DR Congo and Rwanda and inside the Congolese territory. In recent years, the two neighboring countries agreed to join hands in dealing with the FDLR, a root cause of the regional trouble.

Rwanda: Country on High Alert After Kampala Bombs
Bosco Hitimana/East African Business Week (Kampala)/allafrica.com/21 July 2010

Kigali — Rwanda is on alert after the July 11 twin bombings in Kampala, Uganda’s capital in which 74 people died and many more injured.

Somalia’s terrorist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility of the deadly bomb blasts at two different venues at which soccer fans had gathered to watch the world cup finals.

An unexploded bomb was recovered at another discotheque a day later.

The Islamic group vowed to stage similar attacks in Burundi.

Burundi and Uganda have sent their troops in a peacekeeping mission in the war- torn Somalia, which radical Islamic groups have objected.

In a telephone interview last Thursday, Rwanda Police Spokesman Eric Kayiranga confirmed Rwanda had intensified security operations.

“Security operations have increased in numbers and people are on alert,” Kayiranga told East African Business Week. Military and Police patrols had been intensified in the capital Kigali. He said Rwanda was closely monitoring the situation in the region. Kayiranga said sensitization had started in the masses in a bid to ensure a good flow of information sharing.

Most people who spoke to East African Business Week in Kigali were not worried of any attacks.

“Bomb blasts in Kampala have not slowed my pace of doing business in Rwanda,” said Seth Mugabo, a businessman who had just arrived in Kigali from the Southern city of Butare. Business activities were running smoothly and people were moving in numbers in public places as usual.

A few weeks ago Rwanda’s capital Kigali suffered grenade attacks.

A journalist was shot dead but the motive of the killing was yet to be discovered.

UGANDA

Dominion says Uganda well finds no significant oil
Wed Jul 21, 2010/Reuters

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Dominion Petroleum said on Wednesday its Ngaji-1 well on the Ugandan side of the Lake Edward basin yielded no significant hydrocrabons, but added the result would not deter additional planned exploration activities in the area.

Dominion holds exploration rights on both the Ugandan and Democratic Republic of Congo sides of the basin.

“The results were inconclusive as it did not identify any significant hydrocarbons,” the company said in a press release.

Chief Executive Officer Andrew Cochran said exploration plans would continue.

“While stronger indications of hydrocarbons were hoped for, the well supports our planned exploration program for the whole basin in both countries over the next couple of years,” Cochran said the press release. Drilling could resume next year, he added.

A handful of oil companies are jockeying for position to develop energy resources believed to lie in formations straddling the two countries after Uganda made a big find on its side of nearby Lake Albert.

Uganda: Why Naads’ Activities Have Been Suspended Yet Again
21 July 2010/The Monitor

Naads (National Agricultural Advisory Services) is back in the news following two rather conflicting reports; one to the effect that President Museveni had once again suspended its activities in the country, and the other saying the President had only directed its suspension in just those districts that failed to provide satisfactory accountability for the funds.

We have since established that it’s the latter which is actually correct after Mr Museveni’s personal clarification during his meeting with a delegation from Rakai District at State House on July 12, 2010. The president blamed the confusion on the usual suspects, the press, for misreporting what he had said about Naads at Boma Grounds in Fort Portal Municipality on July 6, 2010.

We have no idea yet how many districts will suffer the Naads funding suspension due to inappropriate accountability. But we know for certain that the President is suspecting foul play in the activities of this national anti-poverty initiative into which every year Shs120b is sunk. In September 2007, he suspended its activities over similar fears, and it had to be restructured before resuming operations in April 2008. Some of the mysteries to wonder about, for instance, are the funds reportedly released by Naads to districts where people were still in internally displaced people’s camps and how the money somehow got used up. The President has called for an independent audit of all the organisation’s projects and wants the thieves arrested. But, we must ask, has Naads met our expectations, so far?

The formation and suspension

Formed in 2002, and mainly donor funded, Naads began its operations in some selected districts before rolling out over the years to the rest of the country. Its target was to uplift farming practices and to improve farmers’ incomes. It was conceived as an alternative intervention to provide the services of the traditional agricultural extension workers, which had declined due to lack of facilitation, and a shrinking technical staff as a result of control measures in government’s manpower recruitment.

t hired private service providers (PSP) to meet the specific needs of farmers’ groups such as making demonstration gardens, multiplication of high yield seeds, and improved animal breeding. However Naads had loopholes in its system which subjected its services to abuse, leading to a temporary halt to its services by the President in September 2007. The loopholes had to do with typical Ugandan vices; fraudulent procurement, corruption in the selection of PSP, bribery, forgery, and delayed payments, among others.

Naads restructured

In September 2008, the restructured Naads had to deal with farmers more directly and they were supposed to do all procurement of their selected crop seeds and animal breeds. It was also tailored to implement what is generally perceived as an NRM political gimmick; the Prosperity for All (PFA) programme. Some selected farmers were stratified into such categories as demonstration farmer, model farmer, and nucleus farmer in the various sub-counties and parishes in the hope that other farmers would copy from them.

Naads and politics

However what originally started as an agricultural development initiative is now increasingly being viewed as bearing an intricate political agenda. Questions are raised about the selection of the farmers to be granted PFA and Naads support. The PFA selection committees must as a rule have an NRM chairman which leads many to think the model farmers are selected according to their political affiliation other than their farming skills. When the president visits their farms during his Naads and PFA supervision and makes a donation to the farmer of, say, a Friesian cow, a pick-up truck, a water pump, or some cash, many interpret the gestures as a tactic to woo voters and campaigners for the ruling NRM in future elections.

Another hurdle is that traditional agricultural extension workers and the district production department officers were retained as its technical supervisors although most of these were members of the district committees whose corruption tendencies failed Naads work in the first place and led to the president’s suspension of the organisation’s activities in 2007. So, who is surprised that Naads today has accountability gaps in some districts?

Another challenge is that most farmers groups are not adequately sensitised about the role of micro finance in production and they have no saving culture. But whenever you speak about absence of a saving culture you have good reason to doubt the presence of a loan payment culture as well! Yet it is through Saccos that farmers under Naads and PFA are expected to obtain credit. The initiative is apparently still viewed like the failed entandikwa or ‘rural farmers’ scheme’ where borrowers relaxed and slumbered in the belief that the government could not really harass its own people over money it lent them.

Ex-minister Ssendaula to head URA board
Wednesday, 21 July 2010/BY FARIDAH KULABAKO, KAMAPALA/thecitizen.co.tz

Former Finance Minister Gerald Ssendaula has been appointed new head of the Uganda Revenue Authority board of directors for a six-year term.

Mr Ssendaula, who is also the chairman of Private Sector Foundation Uganda, will serve with five other officials.

Other directors are Mr Juma Kisaame, the managing director DFCU Bank, Ms Theodora Mondo who lectures information technology at Mbarara University, Ms Allen Kagina, the URA commissioner general, Mr Julius Onen, the permanent secretary ministry of trade and Secretary to the Treasury Chris Kassami.

Inaugurating the new board at her office in Kampala yesterday, the Minister of Finance, Ms Syda Bbumba, told the team to introduce more efficiency enhancement measures that will enable URA do “more with less”.

“You have come in at a time when the government is emphasising the need for greater compliance, efficiency in revenue collection and greater vigilance against fraud related activities,” she said. “I expect you to continue with the objectives of curbing tax evasion to control revenue leakages.”
The board takes over from Mr Ibrahim Kabanda’s team, which served from 2004.

She said the reforms undertook during Mr Kabanda’s tenure grew revenue collections by 125 per cent while local revenue contribution to the national budget rose from 56 per cent in 2003/4 to 66 per cent in 2009/10.
The GDP ratio grew from 11.8 per cent during the same period to 12.5 per cent in 2009/10.

“Even when set targets were not met, the system has been able to yield increases in tax revenues year after year,” Ms Bbumba said.
The revenue body fell short of its 2009/10 revenue targets of Shs4,474.4b by Shs160b.

Fresh ideas
But Ms Bbumba said there was need to increase the revenue per GDP ratio from 12.5 per cent to 18 per cent and beyond. Although increasing tax rates is impossible under the Common Market setting, the minister said additional revenue can be realised by improving economic incentives to taxpayers for greater compliance, widening the tax base and reducing the cost of administering the tax system.

Mr Ssendaula said the new team will work together with the ministry of finance to improve the tax base and increase revenue collection.

TANZANIA:

Tanzania at 49, still a dependent ‘baby’
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 /BY DENIS MAIRA /thecitizen.co.tz

It is called tough love. That is what it is when you give your four year-old little one a good spanking for being naughty. You do it with a heavy heart and guilty conscious mind, but you do it anyway. Not a punishment but another lesson about the facts of life.

Tanzania is a donor dependent country. That is a fact if not THE fact. Forty-nine years since independence about 40 percent of the country’s budget is financed by foreign assistance and Tanzania stands at number three of aid recipient countries in the African continent.

By now every concerned Tanzanian knows the facts and figures by heart. The country boasts the highest and lowest parts of Africa; Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Tanganyika; the former is the highest peak in the continent and the second in the world and the later is the deepest lake in the world. Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks needs no introduction to the world, with Ngorongoro crater had been featured in Seven Wonders of the World. There is Lake Victoria and a network of rivers flowing into half a dozen other lakes and the Indian Ocean all year around that makes the country virtually a water main. Tanzania is sole source of Tanzanite in the world, currently the fourth producer of gold in Africa, ranks number three in the continent, behind Ethiopia and Sudan in number of cattle. With an area of about 945,000 square kilometers, (Larger than France and German combined or Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi combined, and still have enough area left to make another country, like Sierra Leone!)

Tanzania is endowed with beautiful beachfronts on the low-laying eastern coastal area, a high central plateau and proportionately scattered mountainous areas that is semi-temperate zone – pleasant in the day time and soothingly cool at night. In the country that claims agriculture to be the lifeline of the people’s livelihood and the backbone of the nation’s economy, it is almost schizophrenic that over 70 percent of the arable land is underutilized while Tanzanian children get through school on empty stomachs.

During colonialism, Tanzania (Tanganyika then) was not subjected to the burden of settler colonialism but like in the rest of African countries, colonialism was touted as a ‘civilization mission,’ a quest to bring law and order, economic prosperity and education to territory devastated by inter-tribal warfare and depredations of the slave trade. That is what in this modern age we could call the colonization manifesto.

However, evidences shows that despite the effects of the slave trade and of warfare occasioned by population movement, Tanganyika saw a period of stable growth and relative prosperity in the 19th century. This included development and innovations in agriculture and manufacturing. Without the colonialists to crack their whips and boss everyone around, the people of Tanganyika were building a stable and economically independent nation.

Inevitably colonialism came and Tanganyika became an exporter of cash crops while Kenya and Uganda got considerable investments in industry, communication and services. This is not necessary a justification of why Tanzania is still playing catch-up with her East Africa Community partners but it is a justifiable explanation.

Independence came in December 1961 but, looking back now, it is obvious that the new ‘independent’ government did not have a clear conception of the country’s future economic direction therefore lacked the understanding to prioritize and strategize development programs. The Arusha Declaration of 1967 was the result of the failure of the first five-year Development Plan to attract the projected investment capital from foreign sources. This reflects the paradox in the pursuit of the policy of socialism and self-reliance. It is no accident that socialism hardly took root as the country’s economic system de jure and de facto. The 1992 Zanzibar ‘declaration’ sealed the fate of socialism and the once cherished dream of self reliance.

Socialism or otherwise, Tanzania has been donor dependent from day one. Free education, free healthcare and what-have-you were not really free. Money was borrowed and money had to be paid back, with interest, a hefty one in that matter. That is what the third phase government did, getting a few debt write-offs in the process. With almost clean books and surging revenue collections, the country seemed to be on good track, in the eyes of donors at least. So Tanzania qualified for debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. (Somehow that is an achievement!) About $6 billion worth of debt were canceled following implementation of the Paris Club VII Agreement.

The borrowing continued. Throw in the goodwill aids and grants, the party was on. Except for the fleet of salubrious big cars and obscenely large castles tucked in swanky neighborhoods within the city and the earlier mentioned mountainous breezy zones, there was hardly anything to show for the borrowed money, unless one wants to talk about the twin towers, the presidential jet and the famed radar. At one time the servicing of the external debt absorbed about 40% of total government expenditures while one-third of the population living below the poverty line.

Obviously the donors are not impressed and the government is getting a good old-fashioned spanking; a 30 percent cut from the general budget support. This happens in the election year, preceded by the global economic crisis. But cheer up children, they say. The decision to withhold funds was done in good faith and for the sake of Tanzania’s long term benefits. It is hard to understand that when one is contemplating the prospects of life without the big boy’s toys and the monthly shopping trips to ‘motherland.’ That is tough love, kiddies!

Cellular firm assures Internet users of uninterrupted services
Wednesday, 21 July 2010/By Victor Karega /thecitizen.co.tz

Vodacom Tanzania yesterday assured Internet users that its services will continue to be available despite a bandwidth disruption.

Corporate affairs managing executive Mwamvita Makamba said in a statement in Dar es Salaam yesterday the company would remain connected to the Web, thanks to its considerable investment made over the years.

She added that access to the Internet was vital. “In order to cater to different customer needs, Vodacom has made its Internet services cost-effective, reliable and easy-to-activate from any corner of the country.”

She noted that, by default, subscribers were having an Internet browsing rate of Sh120 per MB [inclusive of taxes] which is actually billed at Sh0.12 per KB.

To benefit from lower rates per MB, she called on customers to buy any MB/volume based bundle that suits their needs and pockets.

Phone Internet users can get Internet for the day at a super-low of Sh500 by simply sending a text message saying ‘Cheka Internet’ to 123. Upon activation, the usage of up to 15MB is available up to midnight.

Computer users can get Internet for a little as Sh1,000 per month with usage of up to 250MB. Other volume bundles tailored for computer users include 500MB at Sh20,000, 1GB at Sh40,000, 2GB at Sh70,000, 3GB at Sh90,000 and 5GB at Sh140,000.

Small office users may opt for 10GB at Sh270,000 and 20GB at Sh450,000, which can be shared by up to eight users using a wifi router.

CONGO RDC :

Problems in the Congo for First Quantum Minerals
By Cameron Chai /www.azomining.com/21/7/2010

First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM), a Vancouver, British Columbia based mining and metals company, is facing a drop in production over the political uncertainty of its future of mining in Congo.
Copper output was down 8.3% to 85,400 tonnes in the second quarter for First Quantum Minerals. This is a direct result of limited investment in the Frontier mine in Congo.

Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) state-owned mining agency, Societe de Developpement Industriel et Minier du Congo (Sodimico) had challenged the mining rights given to First Quantum. This resulted in the Congolese Supreme Court annulling rights at its Kolwezi, Frontier and Lonshi projects.

While the mining at Frontier copper mine continues as there has been no direct action taken by the authorities to shut down the mine, the uncertainly of the situation has led the company to reduce capital investment in the mine at this time.

The company has lowered its 2010 copper production forecast by 6.5% due to the 7.7 % drop in copper production. The shares of the company also came down 1.1% as a result of the lowered production forecast.

More than 40,000 IDPs face dire humanitarian situation in DR Congo
2010-07-21/www.apanews.net

APA-Kinshasa (DR Congo) The humanitarian situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is appalling, with some 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Beni, North Kivu, following clashes between the Armed Forces of DRC (FARDC) and some Ugandan rebels.

Speaking Tuesday in Kinshasa, the governor of North Kivu, Julien Paluku, voiced out his concern with the DRC Social Affairs, Humanitarian and National Solidarity Minister, Ferdinand Kambere.

“The unassisted IDPs have fled the clashes, from their villages and regions in Oicha Eringiti, Kambere confirmed.

Early last week, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Congo reported that the number of IDPs in the wake of the clashes was insignificant, compared to the groups of 1.85 million IDPs camping in the country.

Since June, the government troops have been hunting the Ugandan rebels, who were said to have been trained in Uganda in 1966 and gradually expanding their operations into eastern DR Congo. After almost being mopped out in the mid-2000s, the group has subsequently resurrected.

It is among the several foreign rebellions operating in DR Congo, including the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Senator Paudie Coffey salutes Waterford’s Congo heroes
www.waterford-today.ie/21072010

Senator Paudie Coffey salutes Waterford’s Congo heroes 50 years on Fine Gael’s Waterford bye-election candidate, Senator Paudie Coffey, has praised the heroism of Irish soldiers who served in the Congo fifty years ago, and called for the City and County to honour the Waterford men who took part in Ireland’s first-ever United Nations mission.

“The crisis in the former Belgian Congo blew up out of nowhere. Britain and France were granting independence to their African colonies, so the Belgians decided to cut and run in June 1960. But Belgium did nothing to prepare the Congo, and within days the new state fell apart and begged for United Nations help.”

“1960 was the height of the Cold War and American and Russia were rivals for influence in Africa. So there was pressure on neutral countries to supply troops. That’s how Irish soldiers suddenly found themselves jetting to the Congo in July 1960, fifty years ago this month.”

“A Waterford City man, Chief Quartermaster Sergeant Michael Kennedy, from St John’s Park in Lower Grange, volunteered to go even though he had only a few months left to serve.”

“Days after arriving, he caught a tropical fever, and was so dangerously ill that he lost two stone.”

“Asked later how he felt, he joked that he’d needed to lose a bit of weight, adding: ‘I’m delighted with myself. I feel I could fly up the stairs.’ Irish soldiers needed their sense of humour.”

“Just weeks earlier, nobody had heard of the Congo, so there was no time for military planning. Irish troops were sent to the Equator wearing heavy duty greatcoats. It was so hot that it’s said one unit paraded in their UN blue berets – wearing pyjamas!”

“Other Waterford men in that first contingent included Corporal Arthur Colclough from Dominic Place in the City, Private Martin Dingley (Dunmore East), Sergeant Peter Dignam (Passage East) and Private John Murphy (Cappoquin), all serving at the Curragh.”

“But Waterford men also went from other units. Southern Command was big in Clonmel, and many local youngsters joined up there. We need a Roll of Honour to remember them all.”

“Lieutenant Cathal O’Rourke, from Griffith Place in the City, went out in August with 2nd Motor Squadron. He’d got married just four days before!”

“Irish soldiers did not go to Africa to fight a war. They risked their lives to build a peace. In 1961, Corporal John Power from Market Street in Tramore was wounded when an Irish unit was attacked by rebel forces in Katanga.”

“47 Irish soldiers lost their lives in the four-year mission. Sadly, one of them was a native of Waterford, Corporal John McGrath, who was killed in an accident in 1963. His body was flown home and buried with military honours at Glasnevin.”

“When fresh troops were sent out in 1963, they were commanded by a Dungarvan man, Lieut.-Colonel Patrick Dempsey. Another Waterford man, Sergeant Patrick Frehel of the 3rd Armoured Car Squadron, was part of that relief force.”

“A former De La Salle student, Lieut.-Colonel Pearse Barry, served in the Congo and went on to command Ireland’s next UN mission, in Cyprus.”

“I’m proud to have a relative who served in the Congo. My late uncle, Sergeant Richard (Dick) Coffey spent six months there in 1961-62, and later served twice with the UN in Cyprus. He came from Killowen, Portlaw. Many Waterford families have the same pride in a father or uncle or cousin who wore the blue beret. This anniversary is a time to remember them all.”

“In the past half century, hundreds of Defence Forces personnel, men and women, have served with distinction on UN missions in places like Cyprus, Lebanon and now Chad. Their courage and skill have won international respect for Ireland.”

“But pride of place stays with those Congo pioneers, who joked their way through the jungle in their hot, heavy greatcoats.”

“Fifty years on, I hope Waterford will honour our Congo heroes.”

KENYA :

No and Yes supporters face off in Suswa
Written By:Agencies /www.kbc.co.ke/ Wed, Jul 21, 2010

Anxiety is high at Suswa in Narok district where the No camp was scheduled to hold its meeting Wednesday.

Security is said to be tight as Yes and No supporters face off with the meeting yet to kick off.

Leaders from the region are said to have warned that they would not allow the No team to hold its meeting in the area.

On Tuesday, MPs allied to the No camp called on the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to take action against the politicians who threatened to block the No campaign rally in Suswa.

MPs Kiema Kilonzo (Mutito), Joshua Kutuny (Cherangany) and Charles Keter (Belgut) said utterances by three prominent Maasai leaders called for prosecution to avoid escalation of ethnic intolerance.

Church leaders also called for stern action against leaders who had threatened to disrupt the Suswa meeting.

Under the umbrella organization, the Kenya Christian Church Leaders (KCCL), the church leaders accused some politicians in the Yes team of issuing direct threats against those planning to attend the Suswa meeting.

“Suswa belongs to all Maasais, including the majority who have rejected the proposed constitution. We challenge the Minister for Internal Security to take responsibility for the security of all Kenyans including those rejecting the proposed law,” said Canon Peter Karanja, KCCL Chairman.

AFD grants Kenya KES2 billion for power production
Wednesday, July 21, 2010/www.istockanalyst.com

(Source: Datamonitor)The French Development Agency, or AFD, a public institution providing development financing, has agreed to grant Kenya KES2 billion credit for private organizations looking to generate electricity from natural resources such as solar, biomass, geothermal and wind, reported Business Daily.
The money will reportedly be disbursed through financial institutions as loans, and is expected to be made available at the end of 2010. Following the success of pilot projects in Kenya, the credit line is likely to be extended to Tanzania and Uganda.

According to the news source, Kenya has an overall installed capacity of 1,200MW, with hydropower accounting for 56%, thermal for 36% and geothermal sources for 8%.

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ANGOLA :

Commercial exchange with Spain reaches 936 million euros
7/21/10/www.portalangop.co.ao

Luanda – Commercial exchange between Angola and Spain, in the year 2009, reached 936 million euros, on Tuesday said the economic and commercial counsellor of the Angolan Embassy, Mariano Muela.

The source also said that 279 Spanish firms exported to Angola an amount equal to over 50.000 euros each one and that the products were industrial goods and equipment.

On the other hand, he said that the cultural, friendship and commercial relations between the two states are good. Currently, Spain has been granting to Angola commercial and insurance credit.

Mariano Muela also said that there is 25 Angolan firms constituted in partnership between Angolan and Spanish people in the sectors of health, agriculture, building, manufacturing, commerce and real estate.

According to the source, some 22 proposals for investment in various sectors were handed over to the National Private Investment Agency.

Spain is represented in the edition 27 of the Luanda International Fair (FILDA/2010) with 24 firms.

Angola now China’s top crude supplier; Iran regains 3rd spot
July 21/ (Reuters)

CHINA-CRUDE/TRADEBEIJING, July 21 (Reuters) – Angola became the top crude supplier to China in the first half of 2010, overtaking Saudi Arabia, detailed customs data showed, as China’s total crude imports jumped 30 percent in the period.
Iran, under heightened sanctions from the United States and Europe, clawed back to the third spot with sharply rebounding sales in June, though total supplies from Tehran in the first-half remained nearly a third below the year-earlier level.
Chinese traders have repeatedly stressed that prices, not politics, were the main factor behind the significant cut in Iranian oil purchases.

Between January-June, state refiners bought three-quarters more oil from Angola, or roughly 880,000 bpd, as the sweeter and lighter crudes from the West African exporter offered better refining margins relative to the heavier, high-sulphur grades from the Middle East, traders said.

The start-up of PetroChina’s new 200,000-bpd Qinzhou refinery in southern Guangxi region, which borders Vietnam and is close to the consuming hub of China’s Pearl River Delta, also bolstered the requirement for lighter crudes. [ID:nTOE64D03B]

While cutting back on Iranian shipments, imports from Iraq more than doubled in the first six months, in line with an earlier Reuters report.

China, the world’s second-largest crude buyer, also boosted imports from Venezuela and Brasil, up 170 percent and 200 percent respectively in the first half, spurred by government-initiated loan-for-oil pacts.

Meantime, crude exports fell by more than a half to 1.136 million tonnes, or just 46,000 bpd, the data showed, with the largest chunk of sales going to North Korea at levels steady from year-ago levels and cuts made mostly to South Korea and the United States.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Ken Wills)

Government acknowledges church’s contribution to education process
7/21/10/www.portalangop.co.ao

Luanda – Churches have been contributing significantly in the process of education and participating actively in the reduction of illiteracy in Angola, the acting national director for general teaching, Alberto Sobrinho, asserted today.

Addressing Angop on “The Churches contribution in the Teaching and Education Process”, Alberto Sobrinho stated that the church has been the state closest partner in the process, adding that the angolan government has established partnerships with some religious
institutions as the Catholic Church with teaching centers in the 18 angolan provinces.

He said that churches provide an invaluable aid to the state in the construction of classrooms and promoting education both in urban and rural areas, while the government takes the responsability for the payment of the teachers wages and providing educational materials and mentoring and in many cases the churches create their own programs.

Mr Sobrinho stressed that the church teaching and educative actions are extensive to the innermost corners of the country, in order to fulfil its partnership role with the state pointing out the Catholic, Methodist, Pentecostal and Universal churches.

Portuguese President to visit Huila on Wednesday
7/21/10/www.portalangop.co.ao

Lubango – The President of Portugal, Anibal Cavaco Silva, is visiting on Wednesday the southern Huila Province, under his five-day official stay in Angola, which started on Sunday, ANGOP has learnt.

Cavaco Silva, who is being accompanied by 135 people, among them government officials and businesspeople, is to reach in Lubango airport at 09:00 am, afterwards he is to go to the local palace to hold a courtesy meeting with governor Isaac dos Anjos.

In that locality, Cavaco Silva will attend a business forum that will count on the participation of Angolan and Portuguese entrepreneurs, as well as attend an official lunch hosted by the governor.

The agenda comprises tours to tourism sites, such as Cristo Rei and Serra da Leba monuments, the latter being located in Humpata district, 45 kilometres off Lubango City.

SOUTH AFRICA:

Researchers in South Africa Announce a New Weapon in AIDS Fight
21 July 2010/www1.voanews.com

This is the Special English Health Report.

South African researchers at the international AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria have announced major progress in the fight against the disease. The researchers say their study shows a vaginal gel substance reduced the risk of HIV infection among women who used it.

The gel contains tenofovir. This is a common anti-retroviral drug used to treat people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The study was done by South African scientists with the Center for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa. It involved almost nine hundred sexually active women between the ages of eighteen and forty.

All were from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Half were given the gel containing tenofovir. The other half were given a gel without an active substance. They were told to use the gels twelve hours before sexual intercourse and again within twelve hours after sex.

Both groups were told the gels were experimental. They were advised to use another form of HIV prevention.

The study lasted thirty months. Women who used the tenofovir gel reduced their risk of HIV infection by thirty-nine percent. And the study found that the women who used the gel more often had even better results. Women who used the gel more than eighty percent of the times when they had sex had fifty-four percent fewer HIV infections.

The scientists say the tenofovir gel was also effective against another sexually spread disease. The gel reduced the rate of infection of herpes simplex-two by fifty-one percent.

Health experts say the results of the study show that tenofovir gel can empower women. They say it will enable them to protect themselves from HIV infection when involved with sexual partners who refuse to wear condoms.

However, researchers say they will study why the gel did not protect in all cases. Some scientists say the amount of tenofovir in the gel may be too low. Others say some women may have had sex with infected men who had very high amounts of the virus. Still others said some women may have had vaginal conditions that made them more likely to become infected. The researchers also say they will carry out more studies to confirm the results.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report written by Caty Weaver. Transcripts, MP3s and archives of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Fritzi Bodenheimer.

South Africa Sends Troops to Johannesburg Suburb After Foreigners Attacked
By Franz Wild /www.bloomberg.com/Jul 21, 2010

South Africa sent troops into Kya Sand, a suburb of Johannesburg, to prevent an escalation in recent attacks that may have targeted foreigners, police spokesman Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said.

The deployment of army and police reinforcements came after 10 people were arrested for assaulting and robbing 11 people, six of whom were Zimbabwean or Mozambican, Mariemuthoo said by phone from Johannesburg today. Three of the victims needed hospital treatment, he said.

“We’re not saying it’s xenophobia, because South Africans were also victims there,” Mariemuthoo said. “We’re treating it as criminal acts.”

After human rights groups reported threats against foreigners living in South Africa toward the end of the soccer World Cup on July 11, the government has sought to quell fears of a repeat of xenophobic violence that left more than 60 people dead in May 2008.

OECD: South Africa Should Be More Proactive Against Bribery
21 July 2010/ Dow Jones /By Samuel Rubenfeld/Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES/www.automatedtrader.net

South Africa has to do more to detect, investigate and prosecute cases of bribery in international business deals, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Working Group on Bribery said Tuesday in its latest review of the country’s implementation of anti-corruption measures.
There have yet to be any prosecutions in South Africa for foreign bribery, which the OECD says could be addressed if the country adopted a more proactive approach and raised awareness of the fight against bribery in both the public and private sector. Further, the OECD recommends that South Africa spend more money and expand law enforcement resources and training dedicated to fighting complex crimes such as bribery offenses, as well as enhancing coordination among police and prosecutors to combat bribery more effectively.
Despite the lack of prosecution, the OECD praised South Africa’s legislative framework for combating foreign bribery, saying its Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004 upheld a “generally high standard” that meets all elements of the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention.
“The reporting obligation of suspected foreign bribery imposed on a broad range of persons under this Act could be a useful tool in uncovering foreign bribery instances,” the OECD said in a statement.
“South Africa’s legislation regarding the prevention and detection of money laundering should also help detect attempts to launder funds related to foreign bribery,” the OECD said.
Global Integrity, a non-profit research group that scores countries’ anti-corruption governance measures against implementation, gave South Africa an 86 out of 100 for its legal framework and a 70 out of 100 for implementation in 2008, the last time the organization rated the country. Overall, Global Integrity scored the country at 79 out of 100, giving South Africa a “moderate” rating that tied it with Italy and Costa Rica, while putting it slightly behind Canada’s score of 80.
The OECD conducts regular reviews of its 38 member countries who belong to the Working Group on Bribery. South Africa will submit a written report to the group by 2012, which will form the basis of an OECD evaluation of the country’s implementation of the recommendations.

Accident at north South Africa mine kills two workers
www.islandcrisis.net/2010/07/21

RUSTENBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (BNO NEWS) — Two miners were killed after a mine accident in north South Africa on late Tuesday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday.

The accident happened last night at Northam Platinum’s shaft 2, section 42, in Rustenburg, a city in north South Africa. “The workers died due to a fall of ground,” the NUM said in a statement.

The union condemned the mine operator for allegedly trying to hide the mine deaths. “The NUM condemns Northam Platinum’s attitude in going the extra mine to hide the accident from the NUM branch,” the statement said.

According to NUM, the deaths came only to the attention of the NUM when the Department of Mineral Resources informed them that a section 54 notice of the Mine Health and Safety Act had been issued, suspending operations.

The NUM called for stiffer penalties and measures against companies and executives that attempt to hide mine deaths in order to ’score safety bonuses.’

Tuesday’s fatalities bring the total number of mineworkers killed in the South African mining industry since January to 70. “It is shocking that the 70 that died is what the Chamber of Mines calls safety progress,” said Peter Bailey, the NUM’s chairperson for Health and Safety.

Bailey earlier called for serious intervention from both the state and the mining industry to lower the number of mine fatalities. “Workshops alone cannot help resolve the spate of mining accidents. Action should speak louder than words,” Bailey said.

Also on Tuesday, a miner was killed at Goldfields’ Driefontein mine outside Carletonville, in west South Africa, when he was crushed by a box front shutter.

And earlier this month, on July 6, five mineworkers were killed and another was critically injured at a mine belonging to Aquarius Platinum in Rustenburg. The NUM attributed their deaths to ‘a fall of ground.’

(Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

AFRICA / AU :

Africa mulls response to Somali threat
BY AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE/Jul 21

KAMPALA, Jul 21 – African leaders gathering in Kampala days after Somalia’s Shebab carried out deadly suicide attacks in the Ugandan capital are expected this weekend to mull sending more troops to war-torn Mogadishu.

The venue for the African Union summit was picked long before the July 11 attacks that killed 76 people but the unprecedented bombings were expected to inject renewed urgency in the continental body’s approach to Somalia.

The Al Qaeda-inspired group Shebab who claimed the attacks, the region’s worst in 12 years, said they were in retaliation for Uganda’s leading role in the AU’s mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

But instead of being bullied into a pull-out, Uganda looked set to take advantage of the 53-member organisation’s summit to muster support for a beefed-up deployment and more aggressive mandate.

Heads of state meeting from Sunday to Tuesday are expected to endorse a decision made earlier this month by the regional body IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development) to send an extra 2,000 troops to Mogadishu.

While Uganda, which already provides more than half of the existing contingent, has called on its neighbours to chip in, Kampala looks once again set to contribute the bulk of the reinforcements.

“We are capable of providing the required force if other countries fail to do so,” Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said last week in the aftermath of the attacks.

AMISOM’s more than 6,000 troops are better trained and equipped than the Shebab but their mandate has restricted them to protecting Somalia’s weak western-backed transitional government.

Uganda has said it was seeking a “license to kill” for AMISOM forces to make an impact but the force’s defensive mortar shelling has caused many civilian casualties and analysts argue the Shebab are trying to draw it into a trap.

“We are quite worried about the consequences of such an operation, because if they are engaged in quite an indiscriminate manner, they run the risk of playing in the hands of the Shebab,” said the International Crisis Group’s Ernst Jan Hogendoorn.

Somalia’s seemingly inexorable descent into chaos and the rise of a group affiliated to Al-Qaea that has proved its ability to strike beyond Somalia’s borders are likely to overshadow the summit’s official theme of maternal and child health.

The continent’s leader are also expected to discuss the future of Sudan, where the oil-rich south is due to hold a referendum on independence in January.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, whose movements have been under close scrutiny since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant against him over the war in Darfur, is not expected to attend.

In a year that saw a raft of elections, Africa’s top officials and diplomats are also expected to reflect on the progress of democracy and accountability in member states.

Elections in Burundi are being boycotted after opposition claims of fraud, polls in Ethiopia were marred by similar accusations and Rwanda’s ongoing campaign has been tarnished by murders and arrests.

The only recent elections that met international standards were those in Somaliland, which is not a state.

The northern Somali breakaway territory has been asking for international recognition for years and hopes that its smooth and democratic transfer of power will boost its case with the African Union.

Rights groups want Habre trial to move forward
21 July 2010/(Source: Human Rights Watch)/www.rnw.nl

The Nobel Peace Prize winners Bishop Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi, as well as 117 African human rights groups from 25 countries, call for Senegal and the African Union (AU) to move forward with the trial of Hissène Habré. The exiled former Chadian despot is accused of thousands of political killings and systematic torture.

African heads of state will come together in Kampala from July 25 to 27 for an AU summit, four years after the AU mandated Senegal “to prosecute and ensure that Hissène Habré is tried, on behalf of Africa.” Senegal has not yet begun proceedings against Habré, claiming that it is still waiting for international funding.

“The victims of Mr. Habré’s regime have been working tirelessly for 20 years to bring him to justice, and many of the survivors have already died,” says a petition to Senegal and the AU signed by the groups, the Nobel winners, and other prominent figures. “Instead of justice, the victims have been treated to an interminable political and legal soap opera.”

Habré ruled Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990 by President Idriss Déby Itno and fled to Senegal. His one-party regime was marked by widespread atrocities, including waves of ethnic campaigns. Files of Habré’s political police reveal the names of 1,208 people who were killed or died in detention. A total of 12,321 victims of human rights violations were mentioned in the files.

Habré was first indicted in Senegal in 2000, but after political interference denounced by two United Nations rapporteurs, Senegalese courts said they had no jurisdiction to try the case. His victims then turned to Belgium and, after a four-year investigation, a Belgian judge charged Habré in September 2005 with crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture. After Senegal rejected a Belgian extradition request, President Abdoulaye Wade accepted an AU request to put Habré on trial in Senegal.

On July 1, after years of discussions on the budget, the AU and the European Union announced that a donors’ meeting had been set for sometime in October. Agreement has not been reached yet on the final budget, however.

Among the signatories of the petition are Richard Goldstone of South Africa, the first prosecutor of the UN war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda and head of the Gaza fact-finding commission, as well as the leading human rights organizations in Chad and Senegal, the Foundation for Human Rights of South Africa, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, and the Association Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (DRC).

Chad: Kadhafi arrives N’Djamena for 12th CEN-SAD summit
Pana /21/07/2010

Community of Sahel-Saharan States – Libyan leader Mouammar Kadhafi, who is the chair of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), arrived Tuesday in N’Djamena, the Chadian capital, to attend the 12th summit of the Organization, holding Thursday and Friday.

Kadhafi was received at the N’Djamena airport by Chadian President Idriss Deby, accompanied by members of government, including several members of parliament, and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

The 12th summit of CEN-SAD will discuss several topics, including harmonization of positions of member countries regarding efforts to transform the African Union (AU) commission into an authority.

CEN-SAD was established 4 February, 1998, by founding members — Mali, Chad, Niger, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Libya, but since then its membership has grown to 28.

One of its main goals is to achieve economic unity through the implementation of the free movement of people and goods in order to make the bloc occupied by member states a free trade area.

At the international level, CEN-SAD gained observer status at the UN General Assembly in 2001 and concluded association and cooperation accords with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) as well as with UN specialized agencies and institutions such as UNDP, WHO, UNESCO, FAO, and the Permanent Interstate Committee for drought control in the Sahel.

All CEN-SAD member countries are also participating in other African economic unions, that have the aim to create a common African Economic Community.

Beginning in 2009, CEN-SAD member states will take part in planned periodic international sporting and cultural festivals, known as the Community of Sahel-Sahar an States Games (Jeux de la Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens).

The first CEN-SAD Games were held in Niamey, Niger, from 4-14 February, 2009 during which 13 nations competed in Under-20 sports (athletics, basketball, judo, football, handball, table tennis and traditional wrestling) and six fields of cultural competition (song, traditional creation and inspiration dancing, painting, sculpture and photography).

The second CEN-SAD Games are scheduled to take place in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, in February 2011.

Apart from the founding members, other members of the Organization are Central African Republic, (joined in 1999), Eritrea (1999), Djibouti (2000), Gambia (2000), Senegal (2000), Egypt (2001), Morocco (2001), Nigeria (2001), Somalia (2001),Tunisia (2001), Benin (2002), Togo (2002), Cote d’Ivoire (2004), Guinea-Bissau (2004), Liberia (2004), Ghana (2005), Sierra Leone (2005), Comoros (2007). Guinea (2007), Kenya (2008), Mauritania (2008), and Sao Tome and Pri ncipe (2008).

N’Djamena

Somalia Centre Stage Ahead of AU Summit
Wednesday, 21 July 2010/By Joshua Kyalimpa, KAMPALA/thecitizen.co.tz

The African Union summit opened in Kampala on Monday amid heightened security following twin bomb attacks a week earlier.

The official theme of child and maternal mortality will likely be overshadowed by discussion of the AU’s mission in Somalia.

The blasts, which killed at least 74 people and wounded 82 others watching the World Cup finals on big screens at the Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kampala’s Kabalagala neighbourhood, and at the Kyaddondo rugby grounds.

The attacks came just two days after a spokesperson for Somalia’s al-Shabaab group, which is fighting against the weak Transitional
Federal Government (TFG) for control of the country, said Uganda would be targeted for its role in the conflict.

Targeting the AU mission in Somalia Uganda contributes the majority of the 5,000 troops in the African
Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which has helped the TFG maintain a tenuous hold over parts of the capital, Mogadi
shu, but little more.

“We are sending a message to every country who is willing to send troops to Somalia that they will face attacks on their territory,”
said al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamoud Rage following the attacks. He added that Burundi, the second-largest troop contributor to AMISOM after Uganda, “will face similar attacks if they don’t withdraw.”

Mr Bahoku Barigye, spokesperson for AMISOM, told IPS that the mission’s mandate should be expanded from peace-keeping – its terms of reference originate in a UN resolution authorising a “training and protection” mission – to one of peace enforcement, for which more soldiers would be needed.

“We have troops guarding the airport, the presidential palace, the port and other key installations this leaves us with few men to defend the civilians,” says Mr Barigye.

Security personnel in Uganda have so far made 20 arrests; two men have also been detained in neighbouring Kenya in connection with the bombings.

Despite previous commitments by members of the African Union to contribute to a force of 20,000 peacekeepers, there are only about 5,000 troops in the Somali capital in support of the weak transitional federal government. Over 3,000 of these are from Uganda, the rest are from Burundi.

Uganda undeterred
At a meeting called after the Kampala bombings, the Inter Government Authority on Development, a regional bloc of countries in the Horn of Africa, agreed to send an additional 2,000 soldiers.

Uganda has indicated it will send in more of its own troops if other countries are not willing.

Addressing a news conference at his private home in Ntugamo, western Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni said: “It was a very big mistake on their side; we shall deal with the authors of this crime.” He is also reported to have assured the U.S., which takes an active interest in Somali Islamist activity, that Uganda would not try to disentangle itself from the conflict in Somalia.

The US ambassador to Uganda, Mr Jerry Lanier, said: “We believe the Uganda mission is more important than ever now.”

The ambassador said the U.S. planned to increase assistance to Uganda and AMISOM.

Political scientist Yassin Olum says the Ugandan president needed more time to reflect on the matter before making statements.

“What this means is that we are no longer neutral in the conflict and we are fighting on the side of the Transitional Federal Government which is dangerous. This is not conventional warfare where you need more troops to defeat the enemy.”

Fred Bwire, a Kampala city resident, voices the attitude of many ordinary Ugandans towards the Somali mission. “What are we doing there? Our people are being killed for nothing. Why aren’t Kenyans – who are neighbours with Somalia – bothered?”

Mr Hussein Kyanjo, an opposition member of parliament, believes the main beneficiary of Uganda’s continued involvement in Somalia is President Museveni himself. “He knows that the United States of America opposes the al-Shabaab and so he fights U.S. enemies to blind them to his dictatorial tendencies.”

Mr Amama Mbabazi, Uganda’s minister for security, responds that Kyanjo forgets that Uganda was suffered terrorist attacks long before it sent troops to Somalia.

“The Allied Democratic Forces – another rebel outfit with links to Al-Qaeda – killed many people in the past and my friend Kyanjo seems to have forgotten this.”

In their struggle against the government, the Islamist ADF rebels attacked police posts, schools and trade centres in the west of the
country beginning in 1996; in 1998, it carried out several bombings in Kampala, killing five and wounding six others. Military action by the Ugandan army largely destroyed the group the following year.

AU delegates say dying mothers and children shame African leaders
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 /By Rukiya Makuma/www.independent.co.ug

Delegates to the 4th African Union pre-summit on Gender met on July 19 at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala to discuss “Maternal, Infant and Child Health: African Youth Call for Action”.
The three-day discussion ending July 21 sought solutions to the failure by African countries to attain targets set by Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to protect the lives and health of women and children.

Improving maternal health and reducing child mortality are some of the eight MDGs adopted by the international community at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000.

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) Maternal Mortality Report of 2005, every day 15,000 women die from pregnancy or child related complications in pregnancy, childbirth or the postpartum period. The major contributors to 80 percent of deaths are severe postpartum bleeding and infections, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and obstructed labour. Complications after unsafe abortion cause 13 percent of maternal deaths.

Among the indirect causes (20 percent) of maternal death are diseases that complicate pregnancy or are aggravated by pregnancy such as malaria, anemia, and HIV/AIDS. Women also die because of poor health at conception and a lack of adequate care needed for the healthy outcome of the pregnancy for themselves and their babies. Most of these deaths are avoidable.

The maternal mortality ratio in developing countries is 450 maternal deaths per 100000 live births compared to nine in developed countries.

Bience Philomina Gawanas, the Commissioner of Social Affairs on the African Commission, said it’s a shame considering that 18 African countries will be celebrating 50 years of independence but they have not done enough to protect women and children’s health.

“Losing a life of a woman or child is an indictment for Africa if most of these causes can be prevented,” she said, “Our societies have not valued life, women have been put on the back banner and yet they are the givers of life. The African Union should not only be known for peacekeeping and observing elections, it should also value women and children’s lives.”

She said that resolutions and declarations will not solve the Africa‘s problems. Policies already in place like the Maputo Plan of Action 2006/7, CARMMA (2009) are enough to drive the continent in achieving maternal and infant health development. “If we take charge, we can save a woman dying next door,” she said.

Dr. Kassama Yankuba, the Director for African Union Medical Center, said governments need to commit at least 15 percent of their GDP to health.

Regional Bribery Index set for launch
By crocodila Nairobi : Kenya /www.allvoices.com/ Jul 21, 2010

Transparency International-Kenya will tomorrow launch the much-awaited ‘East African Bribery Index’ on Thursday 22ndJuly, 2009 at Serena Hotel, Nairobi from10.00 am. It will be presided by an assistant Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Hon. Alfred Khangati.
The East African Bribery Index measures the prevalence and impact of bribery in public and private service delivery institutions in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The index covered Kenya for seven years before its extension to Uganda and Tanzania in 2009, and Burundi and Rwanda this year.
The commencement of the of the East African Common Market Protocol on 1st July 2010 is expected to boost trade across the five East African countries by promoting free movement of goods, services and capital. However, corruption threatens to hold back the attainment of the objectives set out by the member states. Key governance and enforcement institutions as well as service institutions continue to dominate the list of bribery-prone institutions in the region, compromising accessibility to and the quality of services offered.
According to Sheila Masinde, the launch will be attended by the executive directors of the regional Transparency International chapters, Government officials, Donor organizations, Civil Society Organizations and Private sector representatives.

UN /ONU :

UN boosts Niger food operations
21 July 2010/www.cafonline.org

The UN World Food Programme is increasing its efforts to tackle food shortages in Niger, as the effects of prolonged drought continue.

Alongside a drive to deliver more food aid to the people of Niger, aid agencies operating in the country have launched a new bid to raise funds for the emergency, the UN confirms.

A new bid, requesting more than $371 million in aid to respond to the situation has been put forward. In April, humanitarian agencies put forward a request for $190.7 million to tackle the crisis.

Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Josette Sheeran, said: “The drought in Niger is an unfolding catastrophe for millions of people and we are struggling against time to scale up quickly enough to reach the escalating number of hungry.”

Those under two years old are in particular danger, Ms Sheeran added, noting that the bodies of the young face “permanent damage” if they are malnourished.

Jonathan meets UN Adviser, reiterates Nigeria’s commitment to MDGs
Pana/ 21/07/2010

Abuja, Nigeria – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, reiterated his administration’s total commitment to the full implementation and successful attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

President Jonathan said, during a meeting with Professor Jeffrey Sachs, the Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on MDGs, that he had already scheduled a meeting with stakeholders as part of efforts to ensure a massive reduction in child mortality and improving maternal health within the next six months.

He stated that adequate power supply for the country remained a major focus of his administration, and welcomed a suggestion that Nigeria should host an infrastructure investors’ conference in the near future.

President Jonathan said the money saved from the debt relief was being faithfully applied to the implementation of the MDGs, even though the huge sums were inadequate to meet the needs of the huge Nigerian population.

The President thanked Professor Sachs for his ‘sustained commitment to Nigeria’ over the past 10 years.

Earlier, Professor Sachs had told the President that he was very optimistic about Nigeria’s growth in the next decade, after being involved with the country since 2000, when the debt relief discussions began.

The UN Special Adviser said Nigeria was on the threshold of a historic breakthrough, and advised that continued attention should be paid to infrastructural development, fibre-optic network, agriculture and electricity supply.

Professor Sachs commended Nigeria for faithfully utilizing the debt relief funds for the MDGs.

Abuja –

UN-led action plan for maternal and child health promising, but must address gaps at ‘the last mile’ to reach households
21 Jul 2010/www.alertnet.org

Renewed funding commitments needed to keep efforts from stalling: World Vision

Staying the course to fight HIV&AIDS is integral to this global effort, agency affirms

Vienna, 21 July 2010 �The new United Nations initiative for global maternal, newborn and child health is a promising step toward reinvigorating progress, but neglects to adequately address some important action points, according to World Vision, the world’s largest international humanitarian organisation focusing on the well-being of children.

Stopping parent-to-child transmission of HIV, providing universal access to treatment for all children and mothers who need it, and ensuring safe pregnancy and childbirth are all essential to improve overall health and survival, UN leaders and health experts emphasized this week at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna. World Vision also underscores the importance of strengthening family and community care, a cornerstone of successful public health interventions.

“This UN-led plan will help build on the progress made in reducing needless deaths of children and mothers so far, and we commend the leadership that has made this health catastrophe a priority,” Stefan Germann, director of global HIV and health partnerships for World Vision International, said today at a panel discussion in Vienna with officials from UNAIDS, UNICEF and other groups.

“However, some critical gaps remain – particularly when it comes to ensuring that life-saving interventions make it the last mile to the people who most need them,” said Germann.

The Joint Action Plan, first introduced in June, calls for all countries to revitalize efforts to meet Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 by further reducing preventable deaths of mothers and children worldwide. Millennium Development Goal 6, which includes reducing HIV and AIDS, calls for universal treatment access and a stop to new infections of children.

“To succeed in achieving these goals, health care options must be brought closer to households, and barriers to using these services must be reduced,” said Germann. “Even the poorest countries can deliver on their pledges if supported with the right kind of technical expertise and appropriate levels of funding, as we’ve seen in several examples.”

Wealthy countries must be held accountable to deliver on aid pledges they have already made and urged to ensure an additional US $42.5 billion in health investment by 2015. G8 and G20 leaders at last month’s summits in Canada fell far short of this. Any global plan should also press mid- to low-income country governments to move toward dedicating 15 percent of their national budgets to health, as African countries pledged in the Abuja declaration, and include maternal and child health in their national poverty reduction strategies.

World Vision’s own Child Health Now campaign, launched in November 2009, has recommitted the organisation to aligning its health work to prioritise maternal and child health, with US $1.5 billion over the next 5 years to help priority countries improve their health systems reaching the community and household level. World Vision responds to HIV and AIDS-related needs in nearly 60 countries.

“Children still lag far behind adults in access to HIV prevention and treatment, while many mothers face pregnancy and childbearing without access to ways to protect their babies from HIV, and we must close those gaps,” said Germann.

“We have good technologies, good treatme
nts,” said Germann. “Getting those within a mile of people is easy, but to cover the ‘last mile’ is the hardest part. That is why we need to focus on strengthening community systems-local faith groups, churches and community health groups-anyone who is able to make sure that health care options reach those in need.”

AU appeals to UN, international community for assistance to stabilize Somalia

Source: Xinhua/ July 21 2010

The African Union (UN) has appealed to the UN Security Council and international community to help in capacity building and resources mobilization to stabilize war-torn Somalia.
Erastus Mwencha, deputy AU Commission chairperson, told reporters on the sideline of the ongoing AU summit that kicked off here on Monday amidst tight security, that many African countries have courage and commitment for peacekeeping missions in the Horn of the African country but lack capacity.
“We appeal to the international community to put more resources and funds,” said Mwencha at a media briefing.
Uganda and Burundi are the only countries contributing about 4, 300 peacekeepers to Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somali (AMISOM). Security experts have recommended a 27,000-strong peacekeeping force to pacify the situation in the country.
He said the situation in Somalia is very critical for the peace, security and the stability of the continent and the world at large.
“The issue of Somalia is so critical. Children can’t go to school; women can’t access health services and several people are being killed daily. For how long can we continue with this situation?” asked Mwencha.
He said the commission is also lobbying funds for peacekeeping missions in the Darfur region in Sudan and stabilizing Madagascar.
The summit under the theme “Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa”, entered the second day here at Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo, in a Kampala suburb. Others to be discussed in the nine-day summit include peace and security, infrastructure, energy, agriculture and food security.
The 20th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council convenes on July 22-23 and the 15th Ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government will be held on July 25-27.

SG at Kabul Conference, Spokesperson responds to outgoing OIOS USG, Guterres in DRC and Uganda and more from the UN
UN Direct/www.undispatch.com/ July 21, 2010

SG: today the SG opened the International Conference on Afghanistan in Kabul (a follow-up to the London Conference in January), in which he appealed to Afghan citizens to unite in the national interest and told participants that they were there, not to revise strategies, but to support the Afghan government and its priorities. He also emphasized the need for Afghans to take greater responsibility for security, including accountability for human rights.

OIOS: in response to the end-of-term report issued by former USG for OIOS Ahlenius, the Spokesperson said the Secretariat is examining the report to draw lessons learned and welcomes constructive advice to strengthen the UN. A successor to Ahlenius is expected to be named soon.

Kyrgyzstan: today High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for close monitoring of reported human rights violations occurring in Kyrgyzstan, involving torture after being detained by police and military.

Refugees: Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees, is currently in DRC and Uganda to highlight those displaced due to the conflict in the region.

USA :

Sen. Russ Feingold: Renewing the fight against al-Qaida in east Africa
Russ Feingold, D-Wis/host.madison.com/Wednesday, July 21

On July 10, horrific bombings in the capital of Uganda killed scores of innocent people, including an American, and wounded many others who had peacefully gathered to watch the World Cup. Shortly after this cowardly attack, a group called al Shebaab claimed responsibility. This group is based in nearby Somalia, on Africa’s eastern tip, and has ties to al-Qaida.

For months, al Shebaab has been threatening to carry out attacks in eastern Africa, and if in fact they did commit this attack in Uganda, it would be their first attack outside Somalia’s borders. Confirmation of their responsibility would demonstrate that this terrorist group’s threat is expanding throughout Africa and could soon impact the United States.

To reduce and ultimately eliminate this risk, we have to address the conditions in Somalia that have bolstered al Shebaab, and by extension, al-Qaida.

Somalia has not had a functioning central government for almost two decades and has been beset by lawlessness and instability. The country has been in a state of outright war since neighboring Ethiopia invaded several years ago, resulting in at least 21,000 deaths and more than 1.5 million persons being displaced. Thousands of Somalis continue to pour into overcrowded camps in the region in what some United Nations officials call the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile, al Shebaab has used increasingly brutal tactics to maintain its control over local populations in southern Somalia — carrying out executions, chopping off hands and legs, and forcibly conscripting youth. They have sought to impose repressive social controls in the name of Islamic law, reportedly banning dancing at wedding ceremonies, listening to music on the radio, and playing or watching soccer.

To make matters even worse, al Shebaab has recruited some Americans to travel to the region and join their fight.

In October 2008, a Somali-American from Minneapolis, in a coordinated attack by al Shebaab in Somalia, reportedly became the first-known suicide bomber with U.S. citizenship. Late last year, the New York Times reported that roughly 20 young men from Minnesota had been recruited by al Shebaab to join the fight in Somalia. The Justice Department has since brought terrorist charges against more than a dozen people for recruiting and raising funds for these Americans. This is very troubling news and shows that Somalia’s ongoing crisis has very real implications for our national security.

Under President Bush, our approach toward Somalia lacked an understanding of local dynamics and was shortsighted at best. Although the Obama administration is paying greater attention to Somalia, we still don’t have a strategic, long-term vision for the country.

Targeted strikes against some individuals in Somalia can be part of our counterterror strategy, especially if those individuals have clear ties to al-Qaida and pose a direct threat to the United States. But we cannot just rely on a strategy of killing the bad guys. We also must work to address the local conditions and divisions that allow al Shebaab to succeed. In Somalia, this means working to encourage political consensus and reconciliation among different groups, and supporting inclusive and functional governance at both the national and local levels.

Fighting terrorists is more than just a manhunt — you can pull out some weeds, but until you’ve addressed the conditions that enable them to grow, they will keep coming back. Weak states, chronic instability, vast ungoverned areas, and unresolved local tensions have created idyllic safe havens in which terrorists can recruit and operate. These are the underlying problems we need to address.

In Somalia and elsewhere, we need to place counterterrorism within a broader framework that includes support for a sustainable and inclusive peace, as well as the promotion of human rights, economic development, transparency and the rule of law. We cannot afford to focus so much of our attention on Afghanistan, where CIA Director Leon Panetta has said there are at most 100 al-Qaida members, while overlooking the gathering threat in places such as Somalia.

By implementing policies that address local problems and resolve related conflicts, we’ll have a better chance of reducing the instability that makes Somalia, and other countries in the region, a safe haven for al-Qaida and its affiliates. With this, we can finally get at the root of the problem, and strengthen our national security.

Russ Feingold, a Democrat, represents Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate. He is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chairs its Subcommittee on African Affairs. He’s also a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

U.S. Keen On Extending Support To African Union Forces In Somalia
July 21, 2010/by AHN / gantdaily.com

AHN News Staff
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Just a week after suicide bombings in Uganda made headlines across the world, the United States has expressed its willingness to expand support to African Union peacekeepers in Somalia.

U.S. Africa Command’s top officer William “Kip” Ward disclosed Pentagon’s plans to expand its aid in the form of training, equipment, transportation and logistical support to the A.U. mission.

Speaking at a function at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Ward stressed on the need to take immediate actions against violent extremists else it could attack U.S. personnel and their interests across the globe.

The U.S.’ commitment came in the wake of July 11 suicide bombings on an Ethiopian restaurant in the outskirts of Ugandan capital Kampala – an incident which killed 76 people and injured hundreds others. A day later, al-Qaeda linked al Shabaab rebels from Somalia claimed the responsibility of the attacks and warned future attacks on all African nations, which continue to provide support to U.N. peacekeeping forces in Somalia.

However, the Ugandan government pledged not to bow down to such terrorist activities.

In Nairobi, an international maritime body, Ecoterra International, claimed that Somali pirates hijacked some 21 foreign vessels along with one barge and kept some 387 seafarers as hostage.

“Today July 20, 12h00 UTC, still at least 21 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 387 seafarers – suffer to be released,” a statement from Ecoterra International said.

The development came after the pirates freed two vessels – a Kenyan-flagged fishing vessel and a chemical tanker – after keeping its crew of 15 members for two months in captivity.

CANADA :

BP $9.6b closer to paying cleanup bill
Jul 21, 2010/www.todayonline.com

LONDON – The troubled oil giant BP announced yesterday that it had agreed to sell US$7 billion ($9.6 billion) of onshore oil and gas assets in Texas, New Mexico, western Canada and Egypt to the Apache Corporation.

The move goes a long way toward raising the US$20 billion that BP pledged to put in escrow over four years to pay claims for the gulf oil spill. The company has already suspended its dividend to come up with some of the money and is expected to announce more asset sales soon.

But the Apache deal is also an important signal about the shape of the new BP now that the runaway well in the gulf appears to be capped and under control. Analysts say that BP is clearly committed to deepwater drilling.

“The Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, Brazil, Egypt – these offshore areas are where you have significant deposits, and this is what BP will continue to go after,” said analyst Bruce Lanni. “BP has an opportunity to become a little leaner and meaner by selling some of its non-core assets on the periphery and emphasise the deepwater production.”

In a statement about the Apache sale, BP said: “The board believes that there are opportunities to divest assets which are strategically more valuable to other parties than they are to BP.”

Apache will pay US$3.1 billion for 10 natural gas fields in Texas and New Mexico, US$3.25 billion for natural gas assets in Canada and US$650 million for BP fields and an exploration concession in Egypt. NYT

Fighting Zimbabwe’s ‘blood diamond’ greed
Wed Jul 21 2010/www.thestar.com

MUTARE, ZIMBABWE—Diamonds are blinding, their glitter fuelling greed and corruption and war.

Farai Maguwu says he was trying to pry eyes open.

For that, the human rights activist was arrested, thrown into jail for 39 days and released on bail Monday only after an international outcry — a gesture of appeasing compliance by Zimbabwe.

“I turned myself in after I learned that they had taken

my nephew into custody, that they’d spent four days beating him in the jail cells, Maguwu, 36, told the Star during an interview at the ransacked offices of his Centre for Research and Development.

“The police had been hunting me military-style. They camped at my house. They terrorized my relatives. When I went to the police station, I was expecting the worst, and that’s what I got — threatened with torture, denied blankets and made to sleep on the floor. It was hellish.”

Maguwu was charged with spreading falsehoods prejudicial to the state. He claims he was simply speaking the truth, with supporting documentation — naming names — to prove assertions of appalling human rights violations against ordinary civilians by the military and diamond syndicates.

A country economically and politically deranged, soaked in violence for the past decade, has now fallen under the diabolical thrall of gem lucre.

Zimbabwe is sitting on vast diamond resources, potentially one-quarter of the world’s unmined stones lying beneath the weird geological rock formations of the Marange diamond fields, 48 kilometres from Mutare and discovered only four years ago.

But a government with much blood on its hands had been barred from legally selling its “blood diamonds” on the international market, with Canada, the United States and Australia — an “axis of evil” as described by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe — leading the opposition to global trade.

Now Zimbabwe has triumphed, at least conditionally, with the announcement of a deal allowing for the export of stockpiled diamonds — estimated worth: $1.7 billion — under monitoring regulations devised by the World Diamond Council and a voluntary group known as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

Abbey Chikane was the first chairman of the Kimberley Process. Last year, KP appointed him to review and monitor Zimbabwe’s bid to receive certification for its diamond extraction at militarized mining fields widely condemned for smuggling by soldiers and human rights abuses against impoverished panners, hundreds reportedly killed.

It seemed not to matter that Chikane is South African and South African companies are involved in the only two joint government syndicates thus far licensed to mine the Marange deposits.

Maguwu’s calculated error was delivering his documentation to Chikane. For reasons he has not explained, Chikane promptly reported Maguwu’s approach to Zimbabwean security officials. He has made no apology for doing so. His tattling might presumably expose the Kimberley Process’s pre-existing favouritism toward the Zimbabwe regime.

Maguwu has pleaded innocent to the charges against him. The Star has been made privy to the contents of the documentation allegedly turned over but has agreed not to publicize them at this point, since they constitute the thrust of the defence.

Meanwhile, there is glee in government circles at the Kimberley Process caving — there’s no other way to describe it — to Zimbabwe’s will, though human rights organizations remain leery of transparency as promised by the government. Partnership Africa Canada, one of the leading advocacy groups skeptical of Zimbabwe’s commitment to fair practices, released a cautious statement saying the agreement was “far from perfect, and it will take considerable efforts by all parties to the Kimberley Process, especially Zimbabwe, to make it work.”

In his May report to KP, Chikane said only that the two mining companies already at work in the Chiadzwa sector of the Marange fields — Canadile Miners and Mbada Diamonds — met “minimum KP standards.”

At the meeting last week in St. Petersburg, Russia, International Diamond Manufacturers president Moti Ganz stated: “The claim is that there was, or is, illegal mining there, that the local population is being abused and that atrocities are being perpetrated while the government gains wealth. Now two serious companies have come and established serious mines that meet all the stringent international standards regarding alluvial mining. They created jobs for local residents, provided them with good working conditions and paid — and are still paying — reasonable wages.”

Ganz added: “Do the governments of the United States, Canada and Australia want to provide an opportunity for thousands of miners in Zimbabwe to make a legitimate living or do they want the illegal mining to continue?

“Do they want legal activity or do they want to encourage those who are corrupt, who are inevitably found in a place where diamonds need to be smuggled under the noses of legitimate government and international organizations? What do we want — Abbey Chikane or Al Qaeda?”

Military authority over Chiadzwa sector has reportedly been given to Brig.-Gen. Douglas Nykiaramba, the man who covertly took control of the electoral machinery that was to make damn well sure Mugabe would win a runoff vote in the 2008 presidential election. That preposterously rigged election ultimately resulted in a reluctantly shared power arrangement with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, installed as prime minister.

Nykiaramba got the Chiadzwa assignment, it’s rumoured, not only as a sinecure for his loyalty to Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party but also to rein in junior officers who’ve been making out like bandits as diamond profiteers at the mining fields. Cynics note that party “chefs” — big-boy officials — resent profits siphoned out that should accrue to them. And those under-the-table profits have been huge.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti recently admitted the government treasury had not recovered a single cent from $30 million worth of Chiadzwa diamonds sold earlier this year by the state’s mineral corporation, without the international imprimatur.

At the opening of parliament just over a week ago, Mugabe boldly declared Zimbabwe would go ahead and sell its diamonds, with or without KP approval. That struck fear into the heart of the diamond industry, which depends on strict control of supply to keep stone prices high. A flood of illegal diamonds would have caused chaos in the markets.

It is, as usual, all about the markets and the money. Those boosting Zimbabwe’s cause, in particular other African nations, insist the world diamond agency shouldn’t be in the business of monitoring human rights abuses associated with stones — a process long championed by Canada, which was integral in establishing an international agreement for certification of rough diamonds as originating from non-conflict regions, requiring documentation proving their origin and legitimacy.

Technically, it’s been argued, Zimbabwe’s gems aren’t conflict diamonds because they won’t be sold (as in neighbouring Congo) to fund wars. But they’ve certainly caused a great deal of violence, as in 2008, when the military moved in, using helicopter gunships to eliminate poor locals panning for gems.

The fear is, with KP certification, none of those diamond profits will be put toward salvaging Zimbabwe f
rom its desperate economic plight, going instead to Mugabe and his cohorts.

“I was hoping international pressure would compel this government to demilitarize the diamond fields,” says Maguwu. “No, the situation is not like the Congo or Angola. In Zimbabwe, what you’ll have is profit from diamonds being used to sustain a certain cabal of people who want to stay in power. I’m defending the illegal panhandlers who were there before — but should we kill them for it, these poor villagers?”

Maguwu is urging KP and the World Diamond Council to expand their definition of human rights abuses to include governments exploiting profits in order to maintain power and military control.

“Blood diamonds are used by rebel groups to unseat a government they don’t like. In Zimbabwe, the government will use diamonds to stay in power. If this isn’t stopped, what you will see is the slow death of a people.”

The sluices haven’t been opened completely. The St. Petersburg agreement allows Zimbabwe to export batches of rough diamonds before Sept. 6 under supervision of KP monitors. There’s been no indication that the entire diamond stockpile can be sold. Monitors will visit Zimbabwe twice to review proceedings. Their report will determine whether KP would give its stamp of approval to further Zimbabwean sales of rough diamonds on the international market.

“The agreement is temporary,” emphasizes Maguwu. “This is a stopgap measure because the government is pleading that they need to sell the diamonds to help restore our economy. But the KP is well aware of the issues we’ve raised.

“Our cause has not been lost.”

World’s big energy users agree to steps on clean energy
By RENEE SCHOOF/McClatchy Newspapers/www.kansascity.com/2010/07/21

As political agreements on clean energy remain elusive, the countries that use most of the world’s energy launched steps Tuesday to get more clean energy into the global market, including moves toward TVs that waste less electricity, more cars that don’t need gasoline, and buildings and factories that use power more efficiently.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the agreements at the first gathering of energy officials from countries that use 80 percent of global energy: the U.S., Russia, China, Canada, Australia, Brazil, India, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Mexico, European countries and the United Arab Emirates.

Chu said the plans would eliminate the need to build more than 500 midsized power plants worldwide over the next 20 years. They also could smooth the way for international agreements on how to reduce the risk of climate change, he said.

Negotiations failed in Copenhagen in December, largely because the United States had no national policy to reduce its share of carbon pollution. The plan is still stalled in the Senate. The global talks will resume in Cancun, Mexico, in November.

“What happens is in any long journey, there’s always the fear of the unknown,” Chu said. “And as we all know, once you start down this path and make progress in very concrete ways, that always alleviates a lot of the unknown.”

Gunther Oettinger, the commissioner for energy of the European Commission, said that the world would need groundbreaking technology in the future to shift from using fossil fuels. However, “the goal today is to put existing technologies into the market,” he said.

The U.S. helped lead several of the plans, including:

-Promotion of high-efficiency appliances, starting with TVs and lighting, which together make up 15 percent of household electricity use.

-Advances in efficient buildings and industry. An international certification program would recognize methods of reducing energy use and pollution.

-Development of electric vehicles. The International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization, estimated that the electric vehicle portion of the plan would result in 20 million electric vehicles by 2020 and would reduce oil consumption by 1 billion barrels over the next decade.

Other plans announced at the meeting included getting solar lanterns to 10 million poor people around the world and improving technologies for storing carbon dioxide underground, the main heat-trapping gas that accumulates in the atmosphere and remains there for thousands of years.

Another called for encouraging young women around the world to go into clean-energy careers.

“When you want to win the green revolution, you need to draw upon the entire pool of talent,” said Lykke Friis, Denmark’s minister of climate and energy. “And that’s not what we’re doing right now.”

On Monday night, on the first day of the two-day conference, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said that all countries faced immediate needs for reliable energy and a long-term need for clean energy.

“Over the longer term, we must focus on conversion from a fossil fuel-dominated global economy to one that depends much more on renewable resources and maximizes energy efficiencies,” Lugar said.

“Each of our countries can work on energy independence though domestic efforts, but energy security is highly dependent on the decisions, investments and political attitudes of other countries,” he said. “Consequently, there are few topics on which the international community has a greater responsibility to engage.”

AUSTRALIA :

EUROPE :

Rwanda: The EU is Right On the Money, We Can Do It On Our Own
Sunny Ntayombya/The New Times/21 July 2010

Kigali — A piece of news was published in this publication which, I believe, was not highlighted enough. To paraphrase the Good Book, “the piece of news that could have best represented what Rwanda is all about was ignored, and not made the foundation stone a.k.a the lead story”.

One had to go all the way to page four to read something that I absolutely find fascinating. The ‘screaming’ headline was “EU chief clarifies on election observer mission”.

The head of delegation of the European Union, Michel Arrion, said that his organisation would not send observers to Rwanda during the presidential polls next month because of limited financial resources.

That reason totally made sense; the Greek and Spanish financial crisis has made the EU less willing to fund each and everything they choose to. Again, this makes total sense to me. I mean, one takes care of his own before becoming the benefactor of all and sundry.

Mr. Arrion explained the EU decision saying”we fixed the priorities to make sure that there’s a balance in Africa and we decided eight priority countries in Africa, and Rwanda did not come on our priority list. If you missed it, let me reiterate. “Rwanda did not come on our priority list”.

What did he mean by priority list? I will hazard a guess and say that the ‘priority’ nations were the ones’ that couldn’t hold a credible election even if they tried. Therefore, the EU observers’ job was to make sure that these countries made a proper go at it, and when they failed, the EU bureaucrats would write long exposes on how certain countries are too immature to hold credible elections.

So, in my rather unschooled logic, I guess that the EU took stock of the Rwandan situation and decided that we would do alright on our own. While I could rail against the arrogance that presumes that we Africans cannot do a single thing correctly without Big Brother watching over our shoulder, I will hold fire and go back to that topic when, and if, I ever have to.

Instead of looking at the different incidents that occurred over the past few months as unfortunate occurrences, the majority of the foreign press along with their unnamed ‘Rwanda experts’ chose to tar the country with a brush that made it seem like we were on the verge of implosion.

This weekend I watched as a friend of mine had to, patiently, explain that there wasn’t a mob in front of her door waiting to pounce. I never realized just how misunderstood Rwanda was until I heard her try to explain that the tragic death of the unregistered Green Party official, Andre Kagwa Rwisereka, would not cause a ‘peasant’ uprising.

How is it possible that it came to this? How have lies been allowed to spread in such a viral manner that well-read people in London can’t tell the truth even if it hit them on the backside?

Are there some evil conspirators in high places that wish the worst for us? Would the world blame us if we, paranoid though it might seem, thought so?

I want to do my bit for equity’s sake. I want to highlight this story that I believe wasn’t properly analyzed. It seems to me that ever since I could comprehend the electoral process in Africa the presence of foreign election observers from either the EU or the Carter Centre has become such a ubiquitous presence that it is almost unfathomable for me to imagine elections without elderly white men and women walking about, wearing khaki with knapsacks hanging over their shoulders.

I had become brainwashed. The concept of an election without some people telling us whether ‘we did good’ was foreign.

I want to thank personally, the bureaucrats in Brussels for showing us Rwandans just how far we’ve come. From a country that was called a ‘no-hoper’, to one that isn’t an EU election ‘priority’ is quite a jump in only sixteen years.

The fact that there is acknowledgment of our progress, despite the condensing tone of it all, should give us more confidence in ourselves and our institutions. After all, the EU didn’t get us where we are today, we did.

Envoy pledges support to EAC
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 /By The Citizen Reporter, Arusha

The Netherlands has pledged full support to the East African Community Secretariat.
The Netherlands ambassador to Tanzania Dr Ad Koekoekk made the pledge here on Monday when he presented his credentials to the EAC secretary general, Juma Mwapachu.

He singled out the recently-enforced EAC Common Market protocol, saying it was bound to enhance further integration of the economic bloc.

Affirming that integration portends several benefits for the region, the envoy remarked that the Netherlands attaches great value to a process where “East African countries set on the same road to what we consider prosperity” and added that regional integration was an important first step to global integration.

Dr Koekoekk also assured the EAC boss his country’s readiness to share its experiences of integration with the EAC. The Kingdom of Netherlands is a founding member of the European Union.

Ambassador Mwapachu said the EAC “values this relationship” and noted that the nomination of the Netherlands envoy to the EAC adds value to the bloc since the former is a driver of integration in Europe.

The SG spoke of the usefulness of the EU in general and the Netherlands in particular as a case study in the benefits of regional integration saying: “There is a lot we can learn on how the various participants (in a bloc) can be able to build a win-win situation.”

He remarked that the EAC was keen to take lessons from the EU on building of robust intra-regional trade, which stands at over 60 percent in the case of the European bloc compared to 11 percent in the EAC.

However, addressing challenges ranging from infrastructure to agricultural production and peace and security was key, Ambassador Mwapachu added.

The SG further praised the Netherlands envoy for his country’s ongoing efforts to shore up the Customs Union, ensure peace and security and engender principles of good governance in the region with a view to enhancing trade.

Speaking specifically about peace and security, Mr Mwapachu said: “We are very much seized about these security challenges and we’llcontinue to work with EU and the US to ensure our region deals with these security threats.”

He also invited the Netherlands to join the Partnership Fund, a basket fund with contributions from Development Partners to support activities in the EAC.

The Dutch ambassador is the fifth to be accredited to the EAC. Democratic Republic of Congo, Turkey, Denmark and US have also nominated representatives to the bloc.

CHINA :

Chinese firm eyes East Africa opportunities
July 21, 2010 /Source:Xinhua

China Crescent Enterprises is to invest in mobile cash transfer and wireless solutions business in East Africa in a plan that involves transferring similar technologies used in China to East Africa, the company has said.

China Crescent has partnered with two companies, NuMobile – a mobile software and security provider and Savanna East Africa – a company with multiple investments in the region ranging from pharmaceuticals to housing to set up a range of businesses in the newly integrated region. “Savanna East Africa is working with China Crescent to offer high quality, affordable technology solutions sourced from China in the emerging market of East Africa,” said the company in a statement received here on Wednesday.

The companies – NuMobile – are operating under a business initiative known as the NewMarket Greenfield Program that endeavors to develop a broad variety of early stage, emerging market businesses opportunities with a high growth potential.

Savanna East Africa CEO Philip Verges announced in a statement the consortium will hold a summit in Nairobi, Kenya, and make announcement of their investment strategy on Friday.

China Crescent is a system integration service provider that markets technology outsourcing services in China.

Following a strategic acquisition last year, the company expanded its business line to include original design manufacturing.

China Crescent reported 45 million US dollars in profitable revenue in 2009 after reporting over 40 million dollars in revenue for both 2007 and 2008 and has set a goal of reaching 100 million dollars in revenue in 2010.

INDIA :

Build Its First Overseas Hotel
By Jay Shankar/www.bloomberg.com/ Jul 21, 2010

Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd., an Indian franchisee of the Ramada brand, is reviving a plan to build its first overseas hotel and acquire a property at home as economic growth boosts travel and tourism.

Royal Orchid based in Bangalore plans to build the hotel in Dar Es Salaam, the largest city in the East African nation of Tanzania, in the next two years, Managing Director Chender Baljee said. The company also plans to spend 100 million rupees ($2.1 million) to acquire a hotel in India in the year ending March 31, he said. Shares gained as much as 2.7 percent in Mumbai trading.

“Tanzania is a politically stable nation compared with other African countries,” Baljee said in an interview today. “Things are improving and we expect a better performance for the company.”

Royal Orchid is trying to tap rising business travelers to Africa as Indian and Chinese companies invest in a continent that sits on the world’s biggest deposits of platinum and diamonds. Companies including Bharti Airtel Ltd. are expanding in Africa as economic growth boosts demand for products from motorcycles to mobile-phone services.

“This is the right time for expansion because right now real estate is in doldrums around the world,” Abhishek Jain, an analyst at Shah Investor’s Home Ltd., who rates the stock a “buy” said from Mumbai. “Their capital expenditure will be lower now than in a boom cycle. I believe it is a good strategy for the company.”

Seven Indian Cities

Tanzania’s economic growth will probably accelerate to 6.2 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Bharti Airtel, India’s biggest mobile-phone company, last month spend $9 billion to acquire the African assets of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co. to enter the continent’s market including Tanzania.

Royal Orchid had put its plan to build the hotel in Tanzania on hold since 2008, Baljee said. Royal Orchid, which has declined 2.9 percent this year, rose 0.7 percent at 79.05 rupees at 1:36 p.m. in Mumbai.

Royal Orchid, with 13 hotels in seven Indian cities, will open two more in the southern Indian cities of Hospet, Shimoga and northern town of Mussoorie by December, Baljee said. The company is also building a 135-room hotel in Jaipur and another 230-room hotel in Hyderabad to be ready before March 31, he said. Royal Orchid is also planning a hotel in Mumbai.

The company runs the Ramada hotel, which is franchised by Wyndham Worldwide Corp., in Bangalore.

Tourist Arrivals

Baljee’s company raised two billion rupees by selling shares in 2006 and took three billion rupees through bank loans last year. The company’s consolidated revenue fell 14 percent to 1.2 billion rupees in the year ended March 31 and net income plunged 77 percent to 49 million rupees.

Tourist arrivals in India last year declined 3.3 percent to 5.11 million because of the worst recession since World War II, terror attacks on Mumbai and H1N1 virus, according to the Ministry of Tourism. The fall was the first in seven years.

India earned foreign exchange valued at $11.39 billion from tourism last year, three percent less than the previous year. Arrivals increased 10.8 percent for the four months to June of the current year compared with the same period last year, according to the tourism ministry.

BRASIL:

Brazil to set up Afro-Brazilian university
Editor: Zhang Xiang /English.news.cn /Xinhua/2010-07-21

BRASILIA, July 20 (Xinhua) — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday signed a law to create an Afro-Brazilian university aiming to consolidate the country’s role in dialogue with African countries.

The Federal University of Portuguese-Brazilian-African Integration is created to promote international cooperation between Brazil and African countries through cooperation programs in accordance with related agreements and conventions, and provide academic training for students from partner countries in Africa.

The university is to be established in Redencao, Ceara state, in Brazil’s northeastern region.

Academic activities will start this year in temporary facilities provided by the local municipality, and construction of the university’s headquarter is scheduled to begin in mid-2011.

Jose Romero Junior, professor of international relations at the Catholic University of Brasilia, said Brazil’s initiative strengthens the country’s interests by consolidating its image as a major player on the international arena.

“In my point of view, it is a project that seeks to take advantage of Brazil’s cultural proximity with African peoples to consolidate its role and its growing participation in dialogue with African countries,” the professor told Xinhua.

The university is the 14th federal university created by the Lula administration since it took office in 2003. It is expected to enroll 5,000 students from Brazil and some African countries.

EN BREF, CE 21 juillet 2010… AGNEWS /OMAR, BXL,21/07/2010