DAKAR, 31 August 2009 (IRIN) - Across West Africa residents are crossing streets in canoes, carrying babies overhead in suitcases and navigating waist-high water to find shelter.

This rainy season as of 27 August at least 37 people are dead from flooding across West and parts of Central Africa, more than 20,000 displaced living in shelters or with relatives and some 3,600 families homeless, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) West and Central Africa office.

The figures change daily as heavy rains continue. Two children were reported drowned in Mauritania from 28 to 29 August flooding that affected some 3,500 families, according to local authorities.

“I don’t even know what to say,” a woman in the Coronthie neighbourhood of the Guinea capital Conakry told IRIN on 28 August, a day after the area flooded. “We are trapped by water.”

Mohamed Diaby, 19, of Coronthie said: “We put my brother’s nine-month-old twins in a suitcase to bring them to a safer area. That was something you saw all over the neighbourhood.”

He said people were in tears as sacks of rice lay saturated in some homes. A 50-kilogram sack of rice generally costs 160.000 Guinean francs (US$32) – about half of some civil servants’ monthly pay. Prices commonly rise during Ramadan, the Muslim month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, which much of the region’s population is observing.



Response

IFRC, which is working with governments and local volunteers to provide emergency aid to stricken families, said in a 28 August statement that the agency must urgently restock relief supplies to face needs in the region. Red Cross volunteers are distributing mosquito nets, tarpaulins, jerry cans, blankets, water purification tablets and soap.

The Federation on 10 August launched an appeal to help 25,000 people in 16 West African countries better prepare for floods.

Emergency relief is just one part of the answer to the annual flood damage, said Youcef Ait-Chellouche, disaster response coordinator for IFRC West and Central Africa. As with every year, many of the flooded areas are wetlands zones, where people settled during decades of drought, but where – with the resumption of normal rainfall in the 1990s – the ground is again saturated.

In the Pikine department of the Senegalese capital Dakar – once a swamp – as years pass, entire homes have been abandoned to the water. “We have not used these areas for several years,” said one woman, pointing to three rooms under about 10cm of water. In the same courtyard, another woman sopped up water from her bedroom, where furniture is propped up on bricks.

“In some areas flooding can be mitigated and the impact reduced significantly,” IFRC’s Ait-Chellouche said. “But in other urban areas…construction has taken place in known flood areas. This kind of urban extension has to be considered in a development framework.”

He said considerable investment by the government is needed to avoid flood disasters.



Action

Residents across the region are also demanding action from their governments. In recent days prime ministers, mayors and junta leaders have visited flood-affected areas and promised help.

“If they do not come through we will be in the streets again,” Diaby in Coronthie told IRIN. He was among at least 100 youths who on 27 August blocked traffic, burned tyres and marched to the presidential palace demanding the authorities act to prevent communities from being submerged. Junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara visited affected families in Coronthie hours after the demonstrations.

In Pikine traffic on a main road was blocked for hours on 30 August as youths burned tyres, protesting what they called negligence on the part of the government.

Senegalese Prime Minister Souleymane Ndéné Ndiaye visited some affected areas on 27 August, announcing that the government was activating its national emergency response plan, putting $4.3 million toward relief and mitigation efforts.

The Senegalese government has helped families relocate from flood zones as part of a programme launched after severe flooding in 2005.

In the Chad capital N’djamena, homes have crumbled in recent days as 100mm of rainfall fell within hours, leaving neighbourhoods inundated despite recently installed gutters and pump stations. “This exceptionally heavy rain allows us to draw lessons, to test what has already been put in place and see what is not working”, Prime Minister Youssouf Saleh Abbas declared on state media after a 28 August visit to affected areas.

Health experts point out that the danger to flooded communities is not over once the rains stop, as ensuing conditions can trigger malaria, cholera and diarrhoeal disease. “In flooding situations like this hygiene degrades rapidly,” Racine Kane, water and sanitation expert with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Senegal, told IRIN.

In Senegal UNICEF is supporting an awareness campaign including radio spots, home visits and other activities to educate about prevention of waterborne diseases, as well as supporting the Health Ministry in anti-cholera efforts, Kane said.

In Pikine a young girl shouted repeatedly to IRIN: “We do not sleep well at all.” Another girl nearby said: “Too many mosquitoes,” and pointed to tiny bumps all over her arm.

irinnews

30 Jul 2009

Thousands of South African workers are expected to continue striking for a fourth day on Thursday after failing to resolve a wage dispute with employers.

The strike follows days of violent protests by residents of impoverished townships who complain about the lack of healthcare, water and electricity.

South African President Jacob Zuma has warned against any unlawful action during the strikes, saying he would crack down on unrest in the country.

The 150,000-member South African Municipal Workers Union began an indefinite strike on July 27, accompanied by rallies in major cities.

The strikers want President Zuma to fulfill his promises to improve the living standards of the poor.

Economists believe that violent demonstration over poor public services and higher wages could damage Africa's biggest economy as it is suffering from its first recession since 1992, but the hard-pressed workers are steadfast in their demands.

presstv

September 1 2009

I HAD EXPECTED TO SEE COMMERCIAL banks moving quickly to lower interest rates in line with changing monetary policy conditions, and especially after Standard Chartered Bank, one of the largest in terms of assets, set the tone by lowering its lending rates.

The other big banks have stubbornly refused to respond to several recent decisions by the Central Bank of Kenya to lower the cost of lending to customers.

I will not go into the complicated jargon of explaining the significance of what happens when the Central Bank either lowers the cash ratio requirement, brings down the Central Bank Rate, or consistently pumps billions of shillings into the market through the so-called ‘‘reverse repos’’.

As a matter of fact, the Central Bank has been pumping billions into the market consistently since April 24, this year. The effect of all these decisions has been to reduce the cost of funds and make liquidity management easier for banks.

But instead of passing the benefit to businesses in lower interest rates and more credit, the big banks prefer to spur with the Central Bank governor, Prof Njuguna Ndung’u, over whether what he has done so far is good enough for them to respond by lowering lending rates.

The standard refrain from chief executives of major banks is that the Central Bank should do more to lower further the cash ratio requirement.

The matter is beginning to polarise commercial banks. In a rare display of sycophancy, one middle-sized bank recently put out an advert in the newspapers in which it not only announced that it had lowered lending rates, but also declared support and loyalty to the governor — as if what was at stake was a popularity contest between Prof Ndung’u and the intransigent commercial banks.

Several issues arise. First, credit is the lifeblood of business. We will not start seeing the effects of the much-vaunted green shoots of economic recovery until the lending activity starts picking up in a significant way.

The big companies have the option of going to the market directly and borrowing through corporate bonds. The power utility company, KenGen, has just launched a Sh15 billion bond. Safaricom has also sent notice that it will shortly be coming to the market with a bond.

But how about small businesses which depend on commercial banks for working capital? Or companies like retailers or flower farmers whose fortunes change with seasons?

The fact of the matter is that many retailers will lose money for most of the year only to make bumper profits as we approach Christmas.

TODAY, FLOWER FARMING MAY NOT look very good, but fortunes will change when the predicted El Niño rains come, and when expenditure on irrigation falls drastically. How do they finance their operations in the meantime if credit is either too expensive or unavailable?

If commercial banks continue to shun such borrowers or cause them to borrow expensively, perfectly viable businesses may go down.

If credit dries up for a long time for medium-sized businesses, the economic slump we are witnessing right now will get worse.

At stake here is not just an academic argument between Prof Ndung’u and the bankers over pricing of credit. The argument is about how to stop the biting recessionary conditions — how to stem any further closure of businesses, how to deal with the problem of depressed profitability, and how to pre-empt more redundancies and job losses.

Why are the big banks reluctant to play ball? What we are dealing with here is a deeply ingrained mindset within our banking system.

We have a commercial bank system that traditionally suffers an acute case of risk aversion — concentrating on lending its money to profitable businesses.

Our banking system prefers to reproduce existing wealth, rather than supporting risk-takers and creators of new wealth. Most of the money the banks lend will be in the form of short-term overdrafts. Investment in government paper is also another preferred channel.

The system’s oligopolistic structure, with half a dozen commercial banks holding close to 60 per cent of the banking system’s total deposits, has impeded effective competition.

Today, half a dozen CEOs of banks can meet at a golf course and make decisions with grave ramifications for the whole economy.

The only person who came close to rattling these banks was former Gem MP Joe Donde.

nation.co.ke

September 1 2009

THE FACT THAT THE RECENTLY launched Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) has received fairly muted response is not really surprising. Most Kenyans feel so overwhelmed by problems that they just want to get through the hassles of the day.

Also, over the years, many Kenyans have become used to viewing government-sponsored proposals with jaundiced eyes since what is promised and actually delivered are often far apart.

But that said, it is important to accept that some considerable thought has gone into putting this proposal together, and so it should be examined on that basis.

As the global economic mayhem has hit country after country, many governments have embarked on a variety of economic stimulus packages. These are often tailored to revive or rescue certain areas such as the banking sector, consumer spending or house mortgage defaulting.

The ESP’s key dual objectives appear to be to boost economic and social activity. Kenya has been hit by the global recession in no small way, but this is only one of several economic hammer blows the economy has suffered in the past 18 months or so

Some of the other main ones are the post-election mayhem, a succession of deficient rains, rampant inflation, coupled with high food prices and rising hunger. So when looking at what is proposed, one should not only ask about how it is going to work but also how or whether it dovetails into existing emergency and other projects.

The ESP is strictly a short-term project with a six-month timeline largely aimed at giving the economy a vitamin injection as well as identifying key areas that are under-performing. Food self-sufficiency is one. Infrastructure is another.

HOWEVER, WHEN ONE LOOKS AT THE actual activities proposed, one sees that they are largely public policy projects to do with education, public health and gainful activity creation such as constructing Jua Kali sheds and fish ponds. The main bias is towards the rural areas where the majority lives.

There is no real problem with either the objectives or the proposed activities. Its rural bias thrust is also commendable. But for it to truly work, some key questions and issues have to be addressed.

First, do any of these proposals and activities duplicate what is already being done? It is fair to ask the question as to whether some or much of what is proposed is just a repackaging of existing projects.

A second question is, bearing in mind the very tight budgetary straightjacket the government is in, will the money actually get to these far-flung places? How much of it has been disbursed?

Third, and most crucial, who will oversee and implement the projects ? Overall the government gives fairly poor value for the money it spends.

nation.co.ke

September 1 2009

THE MAU FOREST PROBLEM is a multi-dimensional conundrum that provides important pointers about tensions in policy approaches and outcomes which often result in non-action.

First, Mau raises serious questions about the nature of property rights in Kenya. It is inarguable that presidential discretion in the control and allocation of public land is at the heart of the current problems in the Mau.

With both presidents Moi and Kibaki having issued titles to various groups and individuals in the Mau, the property rights of these title-holders comes into focus.

On the one hand, Rift Valley legislators have argued that the sanctity of title requires that the property rights of the Mau owners be honoured and any eviction preceded by adequate compensation and relocation to land of equal value.

THE CONTENTION OF MAASAI LEGISLATORS and other pro-eviction supporters on the other hand, is that the titles issued are dubious and no compensation should accrue to title-holders, particularly the beneficiaries of large acreage. Forgotten in this contest of the titans is the aboriginal claim of the Ogiek.

These irreconcilable positions suggest the need for policy to remove the trusteeship of public land from Executive control. Indeed, such has been the proposition of the Draft National Land Policy which vests public land in the yet-to-be-established National Land Commission.

Second, the Mau has become the metaphor for indiscriminate environmental destruction that has prejudiced various sectors of the national economy, including agriculture, energy and tourism, among others.

The Prime Minister’s effort to reclaim the Mau is largely focused on reasserting State control over an environmental resource of immense strategic importance to the entire country and the region. The policy actors in the environment sector, however, are a multitude, and each appears to pull in a different direction for political mileage, creating serious coordination problems.

The notices issued by the Forestry Department which were later quashed by the Prime Minister epitomise this coordination problem. It could also suggest the existence of an asymmetrical information problem, with some of the policy organs having more information than others, leading to disparate decisions.

Third, the Mau issue has further emphasised the relationship between State power and issues of identity, ethnicity and cultural hegemony. Clearly, the State has appeared to pander in the wake of unyielding pressure from Kalenjin MPs.

What this demonstrates is that small homogeneous groups with strong communities of interest are more effective suppliers of political pressure than larger groups whose interests are more diffuse.

For instance, 23 MPs gathered in Eldoret last week could afford to issue ultimatums to the State – in a language laden with negative innuendo – due to the high level of unanimity they exhibited.

nation.co.ke

September 1 2009
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe (L) and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma (R) arrive at the Harare Agricultural Show in Zimbabwe capital Harare, August 28, 2009. Zimbabwe teachers refused to return to class when the new school term began on Tuesday as the inclusive government insisted that it was broke to improve on their salaries.

Zimbabwe teachers refused to return to class when the new school term began on Tuesday as the inclusive government insisted that it was broke to improve on their salaries.

Unions representing about 90,000 primary and secondary school teachers said their members would not resume work until government gives them salary increments of US$100 and equivalent amount in allowances.

In July, the seven month old government formed between President Robert Mugabe and his archrivals led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai started paying civil servants salaries of at least US$155 in an effort to revive the collapsed health and education sectors.

The crisis in Zimbabwe’s state run-schools is threatening gains made so far by the fragile coalition, which is still struggling to get meaningful outside assistance.

Educationists also fear it would pose a danger to the country’s status as one of the most literate societies on the continent.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Zimbabwe’s economy, which has been in reverse gear since 1997 did not have capacity to accommodate another increment for civil servants.

Mr Biti said in July the government recorded its highest revenue inflows this year of about US$90 million and 65 percent of this was gobbled by salaries.

“Our main priority is to pay the civil servants and from the time we announced salaries for the civil servants, about 70 percent or two thirds of the budget has gone to pay our workers,” he said.

“We paid around US$52 million for civil servants’ salaries and the rest has to go to hospitals for drugs, the various embassies across the world, food and inputs for agricultural activities.

“Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the economy and revenue improves by 300 percent, we have no fiscal space for a salary increment at the moment.”

Last year, Zimbabwean schools and hospitals remained claimed closed for long periods due to unending strikes.

nation.co.ke

August 31 2009
Imported sugar being off-loaded at the port of Mombasa. Kenya will allow in duty free sugar to ease the current shortage.

The government will allow importation of duty-free sugar in a few days to ease a local shortage and to curb the rising domestic prices.

Agriculture minister William Ruto said on Monday that Kenya plans to let business people to buy the commodity from overseas without paying a 100 per cent duty.

“We have already presented our position to Treasury and the Minister of Finance has assured us he is discussing it with the East African Community so that we are able to import duty-free sugar,” Mr Ruto told reporters in Nairobi on Monday.

He termed the shortage and high price of the household item as a crisis, which has to be resolved urgently. A kilogramme of sugar retailing at Sh70 before July has now shot up to between Sh120 and Sh150 depending on the outlet.

Outside Comesa

In a swift reaction, Mumias Sugar Company, which controls 60 per cent of the local market, said the product coming from outside Comesa trading bloc should not be allowed in duty-free.

Under Comesa, Kenya is allowed to import 260,000 tonnes duty-free sugar and any amount above this attracts 70 per cent duty. Sugar coming outside the region is charged 100 per cent.

“As taxpayers, we request the Kenya Revenue Authority to ensure a fair playing ground for all sugar producers and sellers,” said Mumias Sugar managing director Evans Kidero.

“If any sugar comes from non-Comesa countries it should attract full duties as required under East African Community.”

Sugar Campaign for Change lobby chairman Peter Kegode separately told the Nation that although the minister’s move was laudable, it could be hijacked by what he called sugar cartels.

“The key challenge is how the sugar will be distributed so that consumers get it at a lower price,” he said. “But if we use the same brokers and cartels who have caused this shortage, then prices will go further up.”

Second window
This is a second window to allow sugar importers to bring in duty-free sugar besides the quota allowed by Comesa.

Kenya has since 2000 been enjoying a safeguard on sugar imports aimed at creating a conducive environment for the industry to be competitive. This safeguard allows the country to limit duty-free sugar imports annually.

Mr Ruto said the product imported under the duty-free safeguard had failed to meet local demand, further worsened by closure of local sugar millers for annual maintenance.

Mr Kegode said the government might have to subsidise sugar importers if they are to bring in sufficient amounts. “They have to import huge quantities to be able to stabilise prices otherwise we would be benefiting the cartels,” he said.

While opening a four-day All Africa Horticulture Congress at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Mr Ruto said he will soon gazette rules making it mandatory for farm owners to put 10 per cent of their land under trees, such as mangoes, bananas, oranges and other indigenous types.

“It is a way of managing climate change,” he told delegates.

nation.co.ke

September 1 2009

Nearly 700 soldiers from the South African defence force have been sent letters of dismissal following last week’s strike action.

A spokesman for the South African National Defence Union (Sandu) said members who had received letters of dismissal had 10 days to defend their actions, even as the government denounced the strike.

Up to 3,000 military personnel clashed with the police on the streets of Pretoria during demonstrations over pay and working conditions.

The action was condemned by both the Defence minister and the secretary-general of the ruling party, the ANC.

Sent shockwaves

The soldiers’ union says the sackings are illegal and will inflame tensions.

The image of demonstrating soldiers clashing with the police in the heart of South Africa’s administrative capital sent shockwaves throughout the country, said BBC’s Karen Allen in Johannesburg.

The troops left their barracks and marched to Union Buildings on August 26, insisting on seeing President Jacob Zuma to seek 30 per cent more pay.

Police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the marchers, who reportedly became unruly and attacked police cars.
Now 697 soldiers have been sent letters of dismissal from the Defence department, for what the government claims was an illegal protest.

Defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu has condemned their protests as “disgraceful” and a threat to national security.

The union is seeking an urgent injunction in the high court to stop soldiers from losing their jobs.

nation.co.ke

September 1 2009
President Mwai Kibaki (right) talks to the head of civil service and secretary to the cabinet Francis Muthaura at a past event. Muthaura formally resumed duty on Tuesday after undergoing surgery in South Africa. PHOTO/ FILE

Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura has resumed duty after a two-month absence due to sickness.

Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said in a statement that Mr Muthaura, who is also secretary to the Cabinet, reported to his Harambee House office on Tuesday.

“Mr Francis Muthaura resumed his full duties today (Tuesday). He worked from his office in Harambee House,” read the statement.

Mr Muthaura was taken ill at his residence in late June and admitted to the Nairobi Hospital for three days before he was flown to South Africa for specialist treatment.

He was treated at Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg for a heart condition, a problem characterised by narrowed arteries.

Treatment for such a problem involves repairing blood vessels in and around the heart which may have narrowed or got blocked due to a combination of factors, among them age and lifestyle.

Mr Muthaura has been recuperating at his in Ongata Rongai home since his return from South Africa on July 25.

He spent the better part of Tuesday in meetings with senior officials. One such meeting was with National Security and Provincial Administration permanent secretary Francis Kimemia, who had been acting in his position.

A senior official at the Cabinet office, Mr Sam Mwale, acted as secretary during some Cabinet meetings.

Intense speculation

He was secretary in the crucial meeting that resolved that the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission will preside over post-election violence matters instead of a special tribunal.

Mr Muthaura is expected to resume his duties as secretary to the Cabinet at this week’s meeting.

nation.co.ke

September 1 2009
James Mwamu Vice Chairman of the Law Society of Kenya (left) with Council Member Evans Monari and Lillian Omondi during a press conference at LSK offices Nairobi on Tuesday. The society condemned the re-appointment of Justice Aaron Ringera and his two Deputy Directors at the helm of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission. PHOTO/ William Oeri

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission Advisory Board has challenged President Kibaki’s reappointment of Justice Aaron Ringera as the director of the anti-graft agency, and vowed to go ahead with its own meeting scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the position.

The board accused the President of making an illegal appointment, as outrage spread over the manner in which the Head of State had ignored the laws and public opinion to renew the term of an anti-graft chief widely seen to have failed in his duties.

Without approval

In Parliament, angry MPs threatened to paralyse House Business in protest against Mr Justice Ringera’s reappointment to a second five-year term without their approval.

One of the main partners in the governing coalition, Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s ODM also waded into the controversy, rejecting the reappointments of Mr Justice Ringera and his two assistants, Ms Fatuma Sichale and Dr Smokin Wanjala.

However, the KACC came to the defence of their embattled boss, insisting his re-appointment was within the law.

The commission also defended its performance, saying it was “impressive”.

Spokesman Nicholas Simani said in a statement that the process of appointing the director and his assistants was different from that of re-appointing the officers, adding more confusion to the saga.

In the House, MPs rejected all government business, including a Motion of Adjournment to grant them a two-month break. They also rejected a motion to reduce the period to debate a Bill that gives the government the authority to spend money allocated in the Budget, and refused to extend the sitting from the normal 6.30pm to complete business on the Order Paper ahead of the adjournment.

Outside the House, groups such as the Law Society of Kenya, Transparency International, Council of Imams and Preachers, the African Centre for Open Governance and the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) expressed displeasure with Mr Justice Ringera’s reappointment and urged President Kibaki to reverse his decision.

They termed the Head of State’s move illegal, contemptuous and a sign of impunity.

The KACC Advisory Board complained that it had not been consulted by the President before he made the announcement.

nation.co.ke

01 Sep 2009
A powerful commander in western Somalia has stepped down from his governmental post, saying Ethiopia has renewed military involvement in his country.

Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, the de facto governor of Hiraan province and an influential member of the ruling Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), announced on Monday that he would no longer back the transitional federal government (TFG).

"As of today, we clearly state that we are withdrawing our backing and can no longer be considered pro-government," Sheikh Ma'ow told reporters at a press conference in the town of Beledweyn, the provincial capital of the Hiran region.

The top commander called the TFG "weak", adding that it was incapable of implementing "Shari'ah law" across the war-torn Horn of Africa country.

Sheikh Ma'ow made no secret of his irritation over the deployment of Ethiopian troop in Somalia.

"I am not happy with the intervention of foreign forces, particularly Ethiopian forces in Somalia," he said.

Hundreds of Ethiopian forces poured into Beledweyn over the weekend, with more than 20 military trucks, driving west towards the Somalia-Ethiopia international border, Radio Garowe reported.

The deployment follows a joint military effort by pro-government forces and Ethiopian troops to retake southwestern Somalia form al-Shabaab militants.

According to Somali officials, the Ethiopian soldiers have now retreated from bases around Beletwein. However, unconfirmed reports say some Ethiopian army units have not yet withdrawn.

Addis Ababa has repeatedly rerjected the presence of its forces on Somali soil.

presstv

30 Aug 2009
The Ukrainian crew of a cargo ship hijacked by pirates off Somalia have reportedly pleaded for speedy negotiations for their release after three months in captivity.

The urgent call on Sunday also sought help to ensure the immediate evacuation of a female hostage who is ill. The nature of the illness has not been made public.

"We are exhausted and desperate," the Ukrainian captain of the MV Ariana, Captain Voronov, told AFP by phone from the ship.

In a similar phone call to a Ukrainian doctor in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the sick female crewmember asked for medical help.

The pirates hijacked the ship and its 24 crew on May 2 north of Madagascar en route to the Middle East, according to an environmental watchdog. The ship was carrying 10,000 tones of soya beans.

The bandits, who are keeping the ship and the hostages against a ransom, have refused to free the woman separately.

So far this year, 114 merchant ships crossing the crucial but dangerous trade route have come under attack, 29 of which were successful. The pirates continue to defy an international naval anti-piracy presence in the region.

presstv

30 Aug 2009
Somali Islamic fighters have accused the French government of sending new spies to the capital city of Mogadishu, threatening to kill them.

Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal, the chairman of the Islamic Council of Amal, told Press TV correspondent on Sunday that the rebels were ready to kill the new 'so-called military advisers.'

Earlier on Friday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner announced that Paris would send new advisers to Mogadishu although one French security agent remains in the hands of kidnappers.

Earlier this week, one of two French security advisers escaped from his Somali kidnappers.

The agent, Marc Aubriere, escaped Tuesday night after he and his colleague were kidnapped from their hotel room in Mogadishu on July 14. The other agent is still in custody.

Bilal also urged France's President Nicholas Sarkozy to stop meddling in domestic affairs of Somalia.

presstv

South Africa is terminating the services of thousands of soldiers whose protests over a pay rise turned violent last week and resulted in clashes with the police.

A court has ruled the protests as illegal and dismissal letters are being sent to the soldiers, the ministry of defense said on Monday.

The soldiers' union was demanding a pay rise of 30 percent.

"There are about 1,500 to 2,000 people that we are interested in. So the letters have started going to them," SAPA news agency quoted a union adviser as saying, Reuters reported.

About 460 soldiers have already received dismissal letters, said the adviser who was not named.

However, South African National Defense Union's legal adviser Michael Thekiso said that the soldiers "have 10 days to motivate to the minister on why they should not be dismissed. It is only final after 10 days."

Some Niger's former members of parliament who attempted to reinstate the Parliament which President Mamadou Tandja squashed in May were brutalised on Sunday by the police. Tear-gas, whips and batons were employed by police in Niamey (capital) to hinder these ex-MPs from opening the Parliament house.
Niger protesters
The Parliamnet is in the central Poudriere district and that country’s police hindered the MPs from holding this symbolic section.

About 65 former MPs were severely tortured, resulting in bloody wounds and deep cuts, according to eyewitnesses quoted by AFP.

About 1000 sympathisers of the embattled MPs who were marching down for rescue were beaten back by the police with tear-gas. They retaliated with hurling of stones and boos.

President Tandja dissolved the Parliament and Supreme Court to enable him organise the widely condemned August 4 referendum which he won in a landslide and now ensures his limitless terms in office.

The European Union has suspended aid to the West African uranium-rich nation.

The president of the African Union (AU) holds Israel responsible for all the woes facing Africa, calling on member-states to cut diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.

Israel is "behind all of Africa's conflicts," Muammar Gaddafi said on Monday and demanded the closure of all Israeli embassies across Africa.

The Libyan leader, who holds the rotating AU presidency described Israel as a "gang" which uses the "protection of minorities as an excuse to launch conflicts."

Gaddafi made the remarks at a meeting of 30 African leaders, who had convened in Tripoli for a one-day summit on the continent's trouble spots, including Sudan's Darfur and Somalia.

Israel has acknowledged operating what it called a forward policy in Africa between the 1960s and 1980s, intervening in wars from Ethiopia to Uganda and Sudan, he stressed.

"As African brothers, we must find solutions to stop the superpowers who are pillaging our continent," the president of the AU added.

The one-day meeting ended without any agreement on concrete steps. The leaders merely adopted a 'Tripoli Declaration' and a plan of action 'to find urgent solutions to crises and conflicts' in Africa.

That plan urges member-states who have pledged to contribute troops to reinforce the AU peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM) to honor their promises "rapidly".

A powerful commander in western Somalia has stepped down from his governmental post, saying Ethiopia has renewed military involvement in his country.

Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, the de facto governor of Hiraan province and an influential member of the ruling Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), announced on Monday that he would no longer back the transitional federal government (TFG).

"As of today, we clearly state that we are withdrawing our backing and can no longer be considered pro-government," Sheikh Ma'ow told reporters at a press conference in the town of Beledweyn, the provincial capital of the Hiran region.

The top commander called the TFG "weak", adding that it was incapable of implementing "Shari'ah law" across the war-torn Horn of Africa country.

Sheikh Ma'ow made no secret of his irritation over the deployment of Ethiopian troop in Somalia.

"I am not happy with the intervention of foreign forces, particularly Ethiopian forces in Somalia," he said.

Hundreds of Ethiopian forces poured into Beledweyn over the weekend, with more than 20 military trucks, driving west towards the Somalia-Ethiopia international border, Radio Garowe reported.

The deployment follows a joint military effort by pro-government forces and Ethiopian troops to retake southwestern Somalia form al-Shabaab militants.

According to Somali officials, the Ethiopian soldiers have now retreated from bases around Beletwein. However, unconfirmed reports say some Ethiopian army units have not yet withdrawn.

Addis Ababa has repeatedly rerjected the presence of its forces on Somali soil.

29 Aug 2009

The war in Sudan's troubled western region of Darfur has apparently ended despite many obstacles still remaining in the way.

The UN peacekeepers say that the war between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels has finally ended although they admit that many problems are still to be resolved.

However, the rebel groups believe that the war will be over only when a comprehensive peace agreement between the two sides is achieved.

"I don't know how they can consider that war is over in Darfur. The war is not over. The war is over when there is a comprehensive peace agreement," said Tahir al-Faki, spokesman for leading rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

In the wake of several surges of violence, the number of deaths attributable to the conflict has dropped below 100 a month, say leaders of the joint UN-African Union (UNAMID) peacekeeping forces in Darfur.

"As of today, I would not say there is a war going on in Darfur," Martin Luther Agwai, the outgoing UNAMID military commander, told reporters.

presstv

Aug 29 2009
ABUJA (AFP) - The Nigerian army Saturday commuted to seven years the life imprisonment earlier imposed on 27 soldiers for mutiny after they protested over pay, an army spokesman told journalists.
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"The sentence of life imprisonment given to all the convicted soldiers has been commuted to seven years imprisonment," Brigadier General Christopher Olukolade said.

A military court had last April 27 sentenced the soldiers, including three women, who had served as UN peacekeeepers in Liberia, to life imprisonment following their protest.

The soldiers had staged the demonstration in Akure, capital of southwestern Ondo State in July last year.

The court found them guilty of mutiny for protesting over not getting paid their foreign mission allowances when they served in Liberia between 2007 and 2008.

Olukolade said the commutation of their sentence was based on the "plea of mitigation" by the soldiers' lawyers and "army's attempt to achieve justice and equity in the delivery of justice."

The soldiers still have the right to appeal the army decision, he said.

Their lawyer, Femi Falana, said the commutation was "a confirmation that their sentence was a charade."

"We shall challenge this at the court of appeal when the court resumes from break and when the record of proceeding at the trial is made available to us," Falana told AFP.

The lawyer accused some Nigerian officials of diverting the allowance money.

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LUSAKA , 28 August 2009 (IRIN) -

Zambian president Rupiah Banda has signed legislation regulating the operations of civil society, sending shock waves through the sector, which fears its independence will be severely compromised.

Presidential assent means the 2009 NGO Bill, withdrawn in 2007 after widespread protests by civil society and opposition parties, now only needs gazetting to become legislation that will require "the registration and co-ordination of NGOs" and can "regulate the work, and the area of work, of NGOs operating in Zambia".

Dickson Jere, a special assistant to the president for press and public relations, confirmed in a statement: "His Excellency the President Mr Rupiah Banda has assented to 13 Bills, which were recently passed by the National Assembly, including ... the Non-Governmental Organisations Bill."

The new stipulations will compel NGOs to re-register every five years and submit annual information on their activities, funders, accounts, and the personal wealth of their officials; failure to comply could result in the suspension or cancellation of registration.

On 28 August civil society organizations held an emergency meeting in the capital, Lusaka, to plan a response to the looming regulations, which the NGOs have termed "unconstitutional".

"We have already resolved to carry out a peaceful demonstration next week on Friday [4 September 2009] in Lusaka, and there are arrangements going on so that people in the provinces also carry out the protests. I think the court action [a proposed injunction] is a definite intervention as well, but we are still talking," an NGO worker, who declined to be identified, told IRIN.

Unconstitutional

Engwase Mwale, executive director of the NGO Co-ordinating Committee [NGOCC], an umbrella body for civic organizations promoting gender issues, told IRIN after the emergency meeting: "We wish to register our dismay and shock at President Rupiah Banda's assent to the NGO Bill.

''We still find it upsetting and retrogressive that in a democratic society such as Zambia, the president could see it fit to assent to a proposed law that has brought constitutional encroachments on our well-entrenched constitutional rights of freedom of association and expression''
"Although we appreciate the constitutional obligation that he has to assent to any proposed bill that he wishes, we still find it upsetting and retrogressive that in a democratic society such as Zambia, the president could see it fit to assent to a proposed law that has brought constitutional encroachments on our well-entrenched constitutional rights of freedom of association and expression," she said.

Mwale said the law was conceived without consultation with civil society, and government's "micro-management" of the sector would impact negatively on Zambia's social development.

"As NGOs, we recognize the legality of our existence and therefore we are resolved not to allow any unconstitutional means, let alone illegal legislation, to regulate the existence of NGOs ... and have requested an audience with the president so that we can put before him some of the development challenges as well as constitutional deviations of the NGO law that he has just assented to," Mwale said.

"As president, he's still got an opportunity to reconsider his decision ... before it finds its way into the gazette," she said. A bill can take from a few days to a few weeks to come into effect after the president has signed it.