2010-04-14


Yar'Adua's health status remains a mystery in Africa's most populous country as the president has not made a public appearance since receiving treatment for a heart ailment last November.

Jonathan, who has assumed executive powers in Yar'Adua's absence, has quickly asserted his authority in the oil producer by installing a new cabinet and replacing some of Yar'Adua's key allies.

"He left in the early hours of the 24th of November, then on the 26th we spoke extensively. Since then, we have not really had any sustained discussion," Jonathan, who is in Washington on his first foreign trip as acting president, told the BBC in a report published on Wednesday.

Asked if he has seen or spoken to Yar'Adua since his return to Nigeria two months ago, Jonathan said "No, I have not."

Yar'Adua's inner circle, led by his wife Turai, has allowed select groups of guests to meet the ill leader, including two religious delegations this month.

But Jonathan and the heads of parliament have yet to have their own meeting with the president, reviving concerns of a possible power struggle in sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy.

2010-04-14
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced an executive order on Tuesday blocking the U.S. assets of an Islamic Somali insurgent group that professes loyalty to al Qaeda, and 11 individuals he linked to conflict and piracy in the anarchic country.

Obama targeted al-Shabaab, whose control of much of central and southern Somalia has left the Western-backed government in possession of little more than the capital, Mogadishu.

Gangs operating from Somalia have seized dozens of ships in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden in the last few years, defying western powers and the United Nations.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United Nations on Tuesday urged Somali troops, African Union peacekeepers and Islamist militants not to indiscriminately shell densely populated areas of the capital Mogadishu.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in fighting between the Western-backed Somali government and Islamist rebels in the last several years in the Horn of Africa nation, which has been mired in civil war since the ousting of a dictator in 1991.

The death toll from the latest bout of violence on Monday rose to at least 26, a rights group said, with scores wounded.

"These are clear violations of the law of war," Mark Bowden, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said.

"I am deeply disturbed by the plight of civilians in Mogadishu, who are caught amidst the warring parties," he said.

Monday's fighting saw shelling by insurgents, triggering return volleys of artillery from the A.U.-backed Somali forces. A school, a crowded market, a U.N. compound as well as residential areas were hit, the United Nations said.

Al Shabaab rebels, who profess loyalty to al Qaeda, have been fighting Somalia's government since 2007 and Western powers say the anarchic nation is a breeding ground for extremism.

The U.N. World Health Organisation (WHO) said that medics in Mogadishu's hospitals were being overwhelmed by casualties.

"STRETCHED TO LIMIT"

"In March 2010 alone, at least 900 conflict-related injuries and 30 deaths were reported at Mogadishu's three main hospitals," WHO spokesman Paul Garwood told reporters in Geneva.

The United Nations estimates some 100,000 people have been displaced from Mogadishu since the beginning of the year.

Children aged under 5 accounted for 10 percent of reported injuries which included shrapnel and gunshot wounds, fractures and crush injuries, he said.

Garwood told Reuters: "Health care workers are struggling to cope, they are overwhelmed with the huge increase in wounded. It is stretching an already weak health care system to the limit."

Only 250 qualified doctors, 860 nurses and 116 midwives work today in Somalia, home to the lowest number of health workers of any country in the Horn of Africa or Middle East, WHO said.

Somalia had 300 doctors as recently as 2006, but some have fled the country, part of a "brain drain", while others have been victims of violence, including some killed by a blast at a graduation ceremony last December, Garwood said.

2010-04-14
NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's state power company said on Tuesday it was investigating the cause of a power cut across the west of the country that has ground business in the capital to a virtual standstill.

The blackouts since Sunday have added to public frustration in the impoverished West African country, already facing severe food shortages and ongoing political upheaval that culminated in a military coup in February.

"Our teams have been on foot, working day and night to identify and fix the problem," Abdoulaarim Noma Kaka, head of the state power company Nigelec told Reuters.

Some 90 percent of electricity supply in Niger comes from power plants in neighbouring Nigeria, and is moved through a 264-km (164-mile) transmission line.

"We've been in touch with our counterparts in Nigeria and have verified that the problem is not on their side," Noma Kaka said. "I'd bet on a technical problem somewhere on the line."

Bakeries, cybercafes, laundromats and other businesses in Niamey have closed down since Sunday, while retailers have made losses on stocks of milk and fish.

"We can't continue like this punishing people," said Maman Abou, who runs a printing shop.

The government said it has been able to continue minimal power supplies to hospitals and other essential services using local generators.

20100413
CAIRO (TheEastAfrican) - The Common Market for Eastern and Southern African states converge in Cairo this week with more than 500 industry leaders, international investors and ministers from more than 19 countries in the continent to weigh emerging opportunities and challenges for doing business among member states.

The Comesa Investment Forum, whose primary aim will be to identify and assess the investment opportunities and implications associated with doing business in East and Southern Africa, will seek to encourage investment in these regions by addressing issues that are critical for doing business and define action-oriented strategies to mitigate risks facing it.

According to the Comesa Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya, the business landscape in Africa is continuously undergoing change, and the Comesa region, as a vibrant emerging investment destination, is the least understood market, where information is generally scarce or even stale.

“It is this that the investment summit will intend to address, specifically the opportunities on offer,” he said.

Mr Ngwenya said the Comesa region and Africa in general could be the last frontier for development since the continent will soon be driving the world’s economic expansion.

He cites the expanding level of consumption and per capital income as some of the drivers of growth.

With a population of more than 430 million as at 2008 and an annual import bill of around $152 billion and an export bill of over $157 billion, Comesa forms a major marketplace for both internal and external trading.

Research shows that by 2015, Comesa which is Africa’s largest economic community will be commanding a market size of over 500 million customers.

Despite the squeeze on world economies from the global financial crisis, Comesa economies last year grew by an average of five per cent, way above the world’s average of one per cent.

For the past 10 years, though, the region’s economy has been between six and seven per cent, a clear indication that the fundamentals are on track.

A year ago, a conference on the North-South Corridor was held in Lusaka where more than $2.5 billion was raised to finance road and energy projects.

Currently, studies are being carried out on the establishment of the Central Corridor that will run through Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Eastern Congo.

The Northern Corridor is expected to cover Djibouti, and Addis Ababa.

Only last month, Comesa and the European Commission, during a meeting in Nairobi, committed more than $23 million to support the region’s infrastructure.

JOHANNESBURG, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Up to 60,000 members of the South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU) continued their strike in South Africa's major cities on Tuesday, overturning dustbins and setting refuse alight.

In some towns which are trying to spruce themselves up ahead of the FIFA World Cup, strikers overturned dustbins.

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) failed in its labor court bid to prohibit the industrial action. Its application was withdrawn and SALGA ordered to carry the strikers' costs of opposing the application.

In Port Elizabeth, a FIFA World Cup host city on South Africa' s east coast, a group of SAMWU members overturned dustbins and scattered litter around the municipal office.

However, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported that police kept their distance as there was no damage to property.

In Durban, another FIFA World Cup host city further north on South Africa's east coast, about 30 people picketed outside the city hall,dressed in red union t-shirts, dancing and singing with placards cannot afford to pay for their water and electricity, salaries not affording" and "municipalities must pay same salaries for grades."

They marched into the city's treasury department and demanded people in the building stop working, but a security guard closed the doors, leaving them singing outside.

According to SAPA, about 12,000 people are expected at Durban's SAMWU march, planned for Thursday.

In Kimberley in South Africa's Northern Cape province, municipal spokesman Sello Matsie said streets were again strewn with litter and other services such as meter reading and vehicle registration services disrupted.

Northern Cape Samwu provincial secretary Duma Lebakeng said after handing over a memorandum at the municipality refuse was set alight before police put out the fire.

In South Africa's biggest city Johannesburg, refuse was not collected, and commuters who used council buses had to make alternative arrangements.

SAPA reported that the strike is a bid by Samwu to resolve seven-year negotiations to make middle and lower income municipal workers' salaries market related.

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Two voters were killed and a candidate was wounded in the Unity State in South Sudan on Tuesday, the third polling day in Sudan's general elections, an opposition leader said.

"Two voters were killed and a candidate was wounded when the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers opened fire on the voters at a polling station in the Unity State," Lam Akol, the chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Democratic Change (SPLM-DC), told Xinhua here on Tuesday.

The SPLA is the military arm of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the dominant party in South Sudan.

Akol, the only candidate contesting against SPLM Chairman Salva Kiir Mayardit for the post of South Sudan government president, went on saying that "the SPLA opened fire randomly, which resulted in the deaths of two voters and injury of one candidate."

Akol slammed at the SPLM, saying "the ministers and commissioners belonging to the SPLM and SPLA are intervening in the polling operations and threatening the citizens."

He added that commissioners of western and eastern Bahral- Ghazal states took the ballot boxes to their homes.

He called on Sudan's National Elections Commission (NEC) to take necessary measures to protect the voters and prevent the harassment made by the SPLM supporters.

No comment so far has been made by the South Sudan government or the SPLM on the incident.

The former rebel SPLM in South Sudan signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with Khartoum in 2005 to end a two-decade civil war between the north and the south, and has become a partner of the ruling National Congress Party in the current Sudanese government.

2010-04-13
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's anti-corruption police said on Tuesday it wanted to question former Delta state governor James Ibori, one of the OPEC member's most influential politicians, in its probe into money laundering.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it was investigating allegations from the Delta Elders Forum that 44 billion naira was looted from the Delta state government while Ibori was governor.

"Following persistent public enquiries over the status of the case involving the former governor, we will like the public to know that Chief James Ibori is wanted by the Commission for interrogation," the EFCC said in a statement.

Ibori, a senior member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and close associate of President Umaru Yar'Adua, said he not been contacted by the EFCC for questioning.

"Ibori maintains that EFCC's action is just political and not criminal," said Ibori's spokesman Tony Eluemunor.

He is among several former state governors to have been charged by the EFCC since 2007, and several of his associates are facing money laundering charges in the United Kingdom.

A Nigerian court in December dismissed charges against Ibori of looting more than $85 million during his eight-year tenure. The EFCC has said it would appeal the ruling.

Nigeria's 36 state governors have discretionary powers over millions of dollars of public funds. Critics say they sometimes behaved like feudal monarchs, doling out cash as perks to political supporters and persecuting opponents.

The cases against the former governors were seen as a test of Nigeria's commitment to fighting graft, but they have made little progress, moving from one adjournment to another in the past two years.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, who assumed executive powers in the absence of ailing President Yar'Adua, has made fighting graft one of his top priorities.

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Four peacekeepers belonging to the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur, a UNAMID source told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The anonymous source said the four South African peacekeepers, two male and two female, were stopped by some 10 gunmen when they were driving from their working site to their private accommodation near Nyala, the capital city of the South Darfur state, on Sunday.

The source quoted witnesses as saying that the four policemen were forced to step off their vehicle at gunpoint.

No armed group in Darfur has made contacts with the UNAMID to claim responsibility for the kidnapping, the source noted.

UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni has refused to confirm or deny the kidnapping, noting that the four peacekeepers were reported missing since Sunday.

"I can not confirm or deny this report (of the kidnapping), I have no confirmations on what had happened," the spokesman said on Tuesday.
Earlier, the UNAMID said four peacekeepers of the mission were missing since Sunday evening in Darfur.

"The peacekeepers' last movement was reported at 4:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) on April 11, 2010, as they departed their team site just outside of Nyala, South Darfur, on a 7-km journey back to their private accommodation," the peacekeeping mission said in a statement.

"There have been no sightings of our staff and we are deeply concerned for their well-being," said UNAMID Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari, who had held direct contacts with Sudanese government officials over this issue.

UNAMID has mobilized its resources in the region and is working closely with the Sudanese government and local authorities in the search for the missing peacekeepers, according to the statement.

More than 20 peacekeepers of the 26,000-strong UNAMID have been killed since the UNAMID took over from the African mission on Dec. 31, 2007.

The incident occurred while a three-day polling has been taking place since Sunday in the troubled region as part of the multi-party general elections, the first of its kind in the country in more than 20 years.

KHARTOUM, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations-African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said on Tuesday that four peacekeepers of the United Nations-African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) are missing since Monday evening in the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur.

"The peacekeepers last movement was reported at 16:00 (1100 GMT) on April 11, 2010, as they departed their team site just outside of Nyala, South Darfur, on a 7 km journey back to their private accommodation," the peacekeeping mission said in a statement issued in Khartoum.

"There have been no sightings of our staff and we are deeply concerned for their well-being," said UNAMID Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari, who has held direct contacts with Sudanese government officials over this issue.

UNAMID has mobilized its resources in the region and is working closely with the government of the Sudan and local authorities in the search for the missing peacekeepers, according to the statement.

The 26,000-strong UNAMID have been the target of several attacks where more than 20 soldiers were killed since the African Union United Nation operation took over from the African mission on Dec. 31, 2007.

The incident occurred while a five day polling is taking place in the troubled region like the other parts of the country.

2010-04-13
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African municipal workers will expand their national strike over a pay dispute, further disrupting public services in Africa's biggest economy and increasing fears of chaos in cities ahead of the World Cup.

Thousands of members of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) took to the streets on Monday, hitting basic services like street sweeping, rubbish collection and vehicle licensing, and reminding worried residents of last year's action when streets were littered with trash and burning tyres.

"Workers want to see matters resolved speedily," SAMWU Secretary General Mthandeki Nhlapo said on Tuesday. "But there will be no compromise from our side."

SAMWU said it planned to intensify existing strikes and to organise strikes in new areas in addition to the present ones.

It has put forward a number of demands including changes in the way the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) evaluates employees and its disciplinary codes.

The municipal workers' strike is not expected to have a major economic impact, but it will embarrass the government at a time of international scrutiny, when preparations are under way to host the soccer World Cup in June.

Workers began striking after the Labour Court dismissed on Saturday a legal attempt by SALGA employers to block the stoppage. SALGA withdrew its case earlier on Tuesday.

SAMWU said its second major protest march in Johannesburg would take place on Thursday.

2010-04-13
KAMPALA (Reuters) - A Ugandan court has blocked the local subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC from selling its assets in the country until it pays about $16 million to settle debts with Mercator Enterprises Limited, legal papers showed.

Earlier this month, Royal Dutch Shell said it was considering selling most of its service stations and other downstream assets in 21 African countries as part of a wider effort to reduce its global refining and marketing exposure.

The court order, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, was obtained by Mercator Enterprises, a real estate management firm, which has been locked in a longstanding dispute with Shell Uganda Limited over unpaid rent.

The order, dated April 9, prohibits Shell Uganda from transferring majority control of its shareholding or majority control of its assets until it pays Mercator Enterprises at least 35 billion Uganda shillings.

Shell Uganda country manager, Ivan Kyayonka, said that he was aware of the dispute but would not comment on an ongoing court case. There was no immediate comment from Shell UK.

A source familiar with the case told Reuters the money was for rent and interest accrued since 1972 for use of a property by Shell. The two parties agreed in 2001 to settle out of court but have never arrived at a common figure.

2010-04-13
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congo army commandos rescued a Spanish doctor held by rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo, army spokesman Colonel Leon Kasonga told Reuters on Tuesday.

Mario Zarza Manresa was seized on April 1 while travelling down the Congo River on a boat that was overrun by rebels, who later attacked the capital of northern Equateur Province. During his captivity, the rebels shaved all of Manresa's body hair in the hope it would give them magic powers in battle, a Congolese government minister had said.

2010-04-13
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Genetically engineered crops are profitable for farmers and may help protect people and the environment from an overload of pesticides, a panel of experts reported on Tuesday.

But there is a risk that weeds are developing resistance to Roundup, a weedkiller that is used to treat fields planted with certain genetically modified crops, the researchers said.

And genetic engineering is not being exploited enough, given its potential benefits, the National Research Council panel concluded.

"We do see good, hard evidence that weed resistance is growing to glyphosate. That needs serious attention," said David Ervin of Portland State University in Oregon, who chaired the panel.

Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Monsanto's widely used Roundup herbicide. The weedkiller is considered safer for people than other pesticides. "It in general replaces more toxic chemicals," Ervin, a professor of environmental studies, said in a telephone interview.

Monsanto also has genetically engineered a range of crops to resist its effects.

That means farmers can use more Roundup without fear of damaging their crops. But the practice may have allowed weeds to develop their own natural resistance, the expert committee found.

Nine weed species in the United States have developed resistance to glyphosate since the introduction of genetically engineered crops, compared with seven in areas where genetically modified crops are not used, the report found.

But in general the use of gene-engineered crops is beneficial, the experts found.

LOWER COSTS, HIGHER YIELDS

"Farmers who have adopted genetically engineered crops have experienced lower costs of production and obtained higher yields in many cases because of more cost-effective weed control and reduced losses from insect pests," reads the report from the Council, one of the independent National Academies of Science that advise the federal government.

"Farmers and their employees not only face reduced exposure to the harsh chemicals found in some herbicides and insecticides used before the introduction of genetically engineered crops but have to spend less time in the field in applying the pesticides."

Ervin said the panel did not address safety or health issues, which were covered in previous reports. "We attempted to navigate a middle ground on this. We were not intending to be pro or con," Ervin said.

Using crops engineered to resist pesticides allows farmers to rely less on tilling the soil, a practice that can reduce soil quality and worsen erosion, the report found.

Other types of genetic modification have also been helpful, the experts found. "Insecticide use has decreased with the adoption of insect-resistant crops," the report reads.

So far, these engineered genes have not spread to the wild to create super weeds, the report found -- at least not in the United States. But the risk remains.

The National Research Council report said that crops engineered for pest control now cover more than 80 percent of the acres planted to soybean, cotton and corn, or almost half of U.S. cropland.

If anything, genetically engineered crops are not used enough, the report said.

"With proper management, genetic-engineering technology could help address food insecurity by reducing yield losses through its introduction into other crops and with the development of other yield protection traits like drought tolerance," it concludes.

2010-04-13
LONDON (Reuters) - A new generation of well-organised Somali pirates is targeting ships and aims to use ransoms from hijackings for further criminal activities, a senior ship industry official said on Tuesday.

Seaborne gangs have already increased their attacks in recent months, making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships, including tankers and dry bulkers, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

Better weather is expected to lead to further attacks.

Jan Kopernicki, president of the UK Chamber of Shipping industry association and also vice president of Shell Shipping, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, told Reuters an "industrialisation of piracy" was taking place.

"It certainly seems from the shipping industry point of view that it's a more structured and organised approach that is developing and that is worrying because it's much more in the area of solid criminality," he said in an interview.

Kopernicki, who was appointed UK Chamber of Shipping president last month, said there had been a "substitution" of groups involved.

"The first generation pirates have been succeeded by a second generation which are different and from different groups and from what I understand connected differently," he said.

"I absolutely don't want to suggest this is linked to terrorism from what I am aware of."

The previous generation of pirates had divided up ransoms to fund their villages in Somalia, Kopernicki said, adding there was better-organised use now of mother ships and small speed boats known as skiffs.

"We are now seeing structured organisation with material apparently being brought down a supply line to supply these boats and skiffs," said Kopernicki, who leads Shell's shipping business.

"The impression we have is that the money flows are leaving Somalia and going into criminal elements."

WEST AFRICA

Foreign navies have been deployed off the Gulf of Aden since 2009 and have operated convoys, as well as setting up a transit corridor across dangerous waters. But their forces have been stretched over the vast waterways, leaving ships vulnerable.

While West African pirates have not attracted the same amount of international attention as their Somali counterparts, maritime analysts say they pose an increasing risk in a region with weak surveillance and a growing number of oil finds.

Cameroon's state oil company said last week crude oil production fell by 13 percent last year in part because piracy off the coast cut investment.

"The situation in West Africa is beginning to have the elements that would give concern of a copy cat developing more generically in that area," Kopernicki said.

Shell declined to comment on how many vessels the group had operating off East and West Africa citing "security reasons".

Kopernicki said consultation on "an urgent basis" was needed between governments, the military and industry to review plans for protecting merchant traffic off West Africa to ensure the situation did not escalate. "We are early enough in the piece to be able to do something constructive."

2010-04-13
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's anti-corruption police said on Tuesday it wanted to question former Delta state governor James Ibori, one of the OPEC member's most influential politicians, in its probe into money laundering.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it was investigating allegations from the Delta Elders Forum that 44 billion naira was looted from the Delta state government while Ibori was governor.

"Following persistent public enquiries over the status of the case involving the former governor, we will like the public to know that Chief James Ibori is wanted by the Commission for interrogation," the EFCC said in a statement.

Ibori, a senior member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and close associate of President Umaru Yar'Adua, said he not been contacted by the EFCC for questioning.

"Ibori maintains that EFCC's action is just political and not criminal," said Ibori's spokesman Tony Eluemunor.

He is among several former state governors to have been charged by the EFCC since 2007, and several of his associates are facing money laundering charges in the United Kingdom.

A Nigerian court in December dismissed charges against Ibori of looting more than $85 million during his eight-year tenure. The EFCC has said it would appeal the ruling.

Nigeria's 36 state governors have discretionary powers over millions of dollars of public funds. Critics say they sometimes behaved like feudal monarchs, doling out cash as perks to political supporters and persecuting opponents.

The cases against the former governors were seen as a test of Nigeria's commitment to fighting graft, but they have made little progress, moving from one adjournment to another in the past two years.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, who assumed executive powers in the absence of ailing President Yar'Adua, has made fighting graft one of his top priorities.

2010-04-13
KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) - Sudanese politicians said on Tuesday poor logistics were preventing hundreds of thousands of voters from taking part in the country's first full election in 24 years, with some early turnout figures below 10 percent.

Voting began on Sunday and had been due to last three days, but authorities announced a two-day extension until Thursday to allow more time for the complex presidential, legislative and gubernatorial polls in Africa's largest country.

The vote seeks to transform the oil producing nation, emerging from decades of civil war, into a democracy, but several major parties announced a boycott on grounds of fraud.

The election looks likely to confirm the 21-year rule of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court to face charges of war crimes in Darfur.

"The elections (in south Sudan) so far have been a slow process with many pockets of confusion and polling stations facing major obstacles," Anne Itto, a senior member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), told reporters.

South Sudan's heavyweight SPLM sparked a crisis of confidence in the polls this month when it withdrew its presidential candidate, seen as the main contender to Bashir. It is boycotting most of the votes in the north.

The former rebels ended more than two decades of north-south civil war by signing a peace deal with Bashir in 2005, and are now part of a tense national coalition government.

The elections have been free of violence, a major achievement for a country whose history is full of conflict.

On Tuesday an al-Arabiya television cameraman was punched in the face by a police colonel in Khartoum, a staff member said.

"We took it to the police and we met two colonels who offered an official apology," said Bassim al-Jamal who was with the cameraman who was attacked.

"This was just one crazy man," al-Jamal said of their attacker, adding the cameraman was not injured.

NAMES MISSING

Officials and observers said in both the south and north missing names in the electoral register was a major problem.

"People are too impatient to walk to seven different locations and not get their names ... In (one area of) Torit town for example, the total number of registered voters was 1,323 but the number of people who voted (on the first day) was 29, only two percent." Itto listed six other areas where she said the first day's turnout was between three and 10 percent.

The SPLM's boycotting presidential candidate Yasir Arman said his party and opposition groups would hold rallies after the results protesting against government fraud and logistical mix-ups leading to poor turnouts in some states.

Election officials and monitors across Sudan said early voting had been affected by missing ballot boxes, poorly trained staff and confusion over the location of voting centres.

Tamam, an alliance of more than 100 civil society groups in Sudan monitoring the elections, said the turnout was very low on the third day and there were numerous cases of missing voters' names and ballot paper mix-ups.

"We are advocating to stop the elections and repeat the process. (The problems are) so widespread that the whole process, the whole election has to be repeated," said Shamseddin Dawalbeit, deputy head of Tamam.

"The turn out is going to be very low. I don't know if they are going to reach 50 percent," International Crisis Group analyst Fouad Hikmat told Reuters.

The elections are seen as a test of stability as Sudan prepares for a referendum on southern secession in 2011.

Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) acknowledged there was low turnout in some regions, particularly in the south, but said participation in Khartoum and other areas was encouraging.

"I think that in some areas in the south the turnout may be a bit weaker ... with the logistics problems and transport problems and the high illiteracy rate," senior NCP official Ibrahim Ghandour told Reuters.

"But overall, the voting process is going on very well. There is a very peaceful atmosphere and a considerable rush from the voters in some areas."

HERALD

HARARE City Council could lose 33 trucks to its chief accountant, Mr Tendai Kwenda, who wants to attach the cars to recover US$650 000 he says the municipality owes him in unpaid salaries and benefits.

Mr Kwenda’s lawyer, Mr Joel Mambara, yesterday said he was working on the issue and the Deputy Sheriff of the High Court would soon be duly informed.

The High Court awarded the city chief accountant Z$3,1 septillion, which was to be paid by any legal tender, for the two months of December 2008 and January 2009 when he was unprocedurally suspended from work.

Mr Kwenda demanded US$650 000 arguing it tallied with the official exchange rate of the time.

The Labour Court — on its part — has said the payment of foreign currency awards to workers unprocedurally dismissed during the Zimbabwe dollar era would need a Supreme Court ruling.

Labour Court Senior President Mr Andrew Mutema said though giving the workers local currency was like "giving them stones to buy bread", they could not impose forex payments on companies.

"It would have been better if there had been a precedent like a Supreme Court ruling that the workers be paid in forex, but there is none," said Mr Mutema.

He said it was up to companies and workers to agree on forex restitution.

Management and Mr Kwenda reportedly agreed on a foreign currency package, but the municipality feels US$650 000 is too much.

Should Mr Kwenda have his way, city operations could greatly be compromised.

The vehicles earmarked for attachment include Mazda BT50 and Toyota trucks, all with 2,2-litre engine capacities.

Three of the vehicles have been attached with one already removed from council premises.

A public auction for the removed vehicle was stopped at the 11th hour when Mr Mambara said he wanted the matter resolved "amicably".

However, Mr Kwenda now says he is fed up with town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi, human resources director Mr Cainos Chingombe, chamber secretary Mrs Josephine Ncube, and the chief legal officer.

"I have never had faith in the management mandated to resolve this issue as they have exhausted my patience and willpower as they are waiting for some divine intervention," he said in his letter.

Mr Kwenda said scheduling more discussions was just "buying time".

At the weekend, Mr Mambara postponed the sale of the removed vehicle but warned that any further delays in settling the matter would result in instant disposal.

In a letter to a Mr F. Gumunyu at the Deputy Sheriff’s Office he said: "We are in the process of trying to resolve this matter amicably.

"In the circumstances, will you please suspend the sale of the attached motor vehicle scheduled on Saturday, 10 April 2010 until further notice from ourselves.

"If no meaningful progress is made in this matter, we shall insist on the removal and sale of the other motor vehicles you attached."

HERALD

INVESTIGATIONS into the alleged unlawful eviction of tenants from council houses in Harare end today with councillors giving evidence.

Senior council officials, including chamber secretary Mrs Josephine Ncube, director of urban planning services Mr Psychology Chiwanga, and human resources director Mr Cainos Chingombe yesterday gave their evidence.

Senior housing officials were also interviewed.

Members of the public continued to give evidence with some alleging council officials were harassing them by daily coming to the houses and telling them to move out.

Ms Spiwe Nyamadzawo, who stays in Room 502m at Trafalgar Court, said: "I have told city officials to allocate me a residential stand but they are refusing.

"Where do I go? My husband worked for the city but unfortunately he died."

The media were not allowed into the interview room with investigators saying they wanted officials and members of the public to freely give evidence.

The investigating team, headed by lawyer Mr Pisirayi Kwenda, had initially said it would conduct public hearings.

Mr Kwenda said they might recall some people who gave evidence following revelations that required further clarification.

Last week, the committee interviewed Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and town clerk Dr Tendai Mahachi.

The committee also visited Glen Norah to meet district officials and affected families.

Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo will get a report of their findings and will subsequently take appropriate action.

In a statement, Mr Kwenda said: "All interested persons are invited to give oral evidence during the interviews."

The interviews start at 8:30am and end at 4pm.

Several councillors and council officials have been implicated in the clandestine eviction of tenants.

Dr Mahachi’s role in the evictions and allocation of houses to councillors has come under the spotlight.

Harare residents have demonstrated against councillors and officials on two occasions.

About 13 MDC-T councillors have so far been implicated in the house takeovers, but some of them are now blaming management for misleading them.

HERALD

US-BASED Operation of Hope has embarked on its seventh programme in Zimbabwe to assist children with cleft lip and palate conditions.

Dr Joe Clawson is leading the team of doctors, nurses and various assistants comprising of 17 health professionals.

The team started operating children on Monday at St Anne’s Hospital with eight undergoing successful operations.

Operation of Hope executive director Ms Jennifer Trubenbach said they were targeting at least 70 children.

"We have 70 children at hand who need to be operated and we hope that by the end of our visit in two weeks time, we would have undertaken the operations successfully."

Most of the children to be operated on are referrals from provincial hospitals around Zimbabwe.

Two-year-old Rutendo Chinodya from Hurungwe had a successful palate operation on Monday and is expected to leave the hospital in two days.

Mrs Elizabeth Mutukwa, whose four-month-old son Wonderful was also operated on, expressed gratitude for the programme.

"I never expected that my child would get help and many thanks to Operation of Hope for helping these innocent souls.

"Now my son can eat properly and grow up healthy."

The team said it would return in October this year.

The organisation is working with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and has urged people to disseminate information on its mission to rural areas.