20100105

BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - Congo Republic's biggest logging firm has almost halved its workforce because the global recession has cut demand for wood products, the firm said on Tuesday.

Congolese Wood Industries, known by its French acronym CIB, laid off 665 employees from a total of 1,500 in the central African country, where timber is the second biggest industry after oil.

The government has lowered taxes on timber firms in an effort to sustain the industry, but failed to counteract the dropoff in demand and consequently in revenue, the firm said.

"Government measures have been ineffective when ... prices have fallen by more than 50 percent for some products," CIB managing director Christian Schwarz was quoted as saying by local newspaper "Brazzaville Dispatches."

The firm estimated losses for 2009 at 9 billion CFA francs, Schwarz said.

CIB is a subsidiary of privately-owned international logging and wood products group tt Timber, based in Switzerland.

20100105

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk disclosed on Tuesday that it hired a Tanzanian navy vessel in late 2008 to keep pirates off its Brigit Maersk tanker in waters off Somalia.

Many shipping companies have tried hiring armed guards to protect their vessels against pirates, who have seized ships off Africa and in parts of Asia, but the practice of engaging warships would mark an escalation of efforts against piracy.

It could also mean an extra levy on shippers' earnings.

Maersk, the world's biggest container shipper and a large tanker operator, said it hired the Tanzanian vessel to escort its tanker to an East African port after an attack on another Maersk vessel in the Gulf of Aden in December 2008.

"We only paid salaries and bunker (fuel) for the Tanzanians. It was a one-off," Maersk spokesman Michael Storgaard said.

Maersk Tankers have not called in ports in East Africa in the past 13 months, and the company has no plans to resume tanker service to the area, he said.

Piracy has been rife in recent years off the Horn of Africa, Nigeria and in parts of Asia such as the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Jan Fritz Hansen of the Danish Shipowners Association said international navy escorts in the Gulf of Aden had helped ships through those waters, but sailing further south in the Indian Ocean where such arrangements do not exist can be dangerous.

"Down in the Indian Ocean, things are a little outside the normal procedures, and we have to find ways to protect our vessels," Hansen said.

20100105
africanews

A Zambian traditional leader has fumed over reports that a number of his female subjects who underwent a microbicide gel clinical trials have contracted HIV, the virus that cause AIDS. Close to a quarter of volunteers that took part in a microbicide gel clinical trials in Southern Zambia contracted HIV, 12 months after the commencement of the trial.
HIV_AIDS
Zambian authorities have remained mute over the development while officials from the Microbicide Development Programme in Zambia and United Kingdom have pains to explain what went wrong during the clinical trials.

Chief Mwanachingwala who presides over the affected site in Mazabuka of southern Zambia has expressed regret at the leaked results of the trials.

The traditional leader has claimed that the Microbicide Development Programme enrolled illiterate and uneducated women who did not understand the nature of the clinical trials and its consequences.

He has refused to offer audience to local officials from research site lamenting that it is pointless for him to engage in dialogue with the Microbicide Development Programme now the outcome of the clinical trials “cannot be reversed”.

Area legislator, Garry Nkombo has also called for a suspension of the trials until an investigation into the latest scandal is conducted and concluded.

Chief Mwanachingwala has also since asked the Lusaka government to be careful when granting authority for any research that involves human beings.

PRO 2000, a vaginal microbicide gel, had been hailed as the most promising microbicide in a decade of research on female-controlled prevention methods. The gel contains molecules that are intended to clump around HIV before it can penetrate vaginal walls.

Results of a clinical trial published early this month found no evidence that PRO 2000 reduces the risk of HIV infection.

Details related to the disastrous clinical trials have been scant as officials from the research site are desperate to conceal events that have led to a scandal that has since been coded “gel gate scandal.”

Zambia is among the nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa highly affected by HIV and any intervention to scale down the spread of AIDS is received with full blessings of government.

20100105

BLANTYRE (Reuters) - Rights groups in Malawi on Tuesday called for a referendum on legalising homosexuality, following the arrest last week of the first gay couple to wed in the conservative southern African state.

A Malawi court on Monday denied bail to the two men who were arrested on charges of public indecency over the symbolic traditional wedding in a country where homosexuality is illegal.

Magistrate Usiwausiwa said the ruling was meant to protect the men because "the public out there is angry with them".

On Tuesday the Centre for Development of People (Cedep), which works with homosexuals, said Malawi should hold a referendum to express the country's views on the issue.

"We cannot run away from the fact that we have homosexuals in our midst," said Cedep Executive Director Gift Trapeze.

"We need to rest this debate once and for all and we can do this through consensus," he added in a call backed by civil rights group Justice Link.

Police said the two men had been taken for medical tests to prove whether they had intercourse. They face a maximum prison sentence of 14 years if convicted.

20100105
africanews

As Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua's hospitalization in Saudi Arabia enters its second month, the country's opposition is getting more concerned. The Action Congress Party demanded visual proof that the ailing president was fit enough to govern after weeks in hospital overseas.
Yar'Adua
The party’s spokesman, Lai Mohammed said the Nigerian government should provide evidence of Yar'Adua's physical condition, suggesting a dated video recording of the Nigerian leader in his hospital room in Saudi Arabia, reported Reuters.

"It is necessary for President Yar'Adua, if indeed he is recovering as Nigerians have been praying he does, to move fast to reassure his compatriots that the rumors surrounding his ill health are unfounded,” Lai Mohammed said in a statement.

Yar’Adua, 58, is being treated for acute pericarditis (inflammation of the heart’s lining) since November 23 in Saudi Arabia.

Vice President Goodluck Jonathan has been presiding over cabinet meetings but he lacks executive powers, which political analysts and senior lawyers believe will affect affairs of State and push the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis.

But Jonathan reiterated over the weekend that President Yar'Adua would return soon and continue his job with renewed vigour and vitality.

However, there have been few updates on the president’s health.

20100105
africanews

The United States government has with immediate effect started allowing people living with AIDS to enter that country. This came as a great source of relief for most Africans living with the disease but have not been able to travel to that country.
Obama in Ghana
People living with AIDS were until January 4 not allowed to enter the U.S, a move that has attracted widespread criticism from human rights organizations worldwide.

But President Obama’s administration announced it was lifting the ban effective Monday January 4, 2010. The announcement was welcomed by organizations such as the International AIDS Society (IAS) which intends to hold its biannual AIDS Conference in this year in Vienna, Austria in July.

“It’s a good sign but it was long over due. The US should know that we are all humans and such disease can affect anyone,” Dr Abena Pobie told AfricaNews in Accra.

A noticed posted on the US Embassy website in Lusaka reads:

“The Department of State has announced that from January 4, 2010 HIV Infection will be removed from the list of communicable diseases of public health significance. This means that HIV infection will no longer be an inadmissible condition. HIV-positive applicants who are otherwise qualified and traveling to the United States on or after January 4 will no longer require a waiver of ineligibility before a visa can be issued. Immigrant visa applicants will no longer be required to undergo HIV testing as part of the immigrant visa medical examination process as of January 4”.

The removal of HIV infection from the list of communicable diseases restricting people living with HIV from entering the US comes at a time the international community is trying to tighten up their security system.

This follows the recent shocking incident in which a 23 year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, wanted to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas Day.

20100105
africanews

Somali radical group Al-Shabaab announced on Monday the national flag of the country has been changed from blue to black - the official colour of the insurgents.
al-shabaab flag
Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali Abu Mansour, senior official of Al-Shabaab said the black flag would be the only flag to be raised all over the nation, and added the flag stand for Islam.

The leader said they will not accept any other flag "than the black with the Towhid - No God but Allah - on it" adding "This flag is the Islamic one and it’s not imposed by UN or other countries like US.”

Last month Somali displaced people at Elsha Biyaha, 15 Km (9 miles) southwest of the war-torn and lawless capital Mogadishu, clashed with the insurgents after the group arrested a headmaster who raised a Somali flag over his school.

They stormed the Ibnu Kuzeima Secondary School at Elsha and replaced the blue Somali flag with a black Islamist one.

Al Qaeda Group and its allies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries use the black flag and argue that it belongs to Muslims but Somalis find it easy to accept that fact, AfricaNews reporter said.

Sheikh Abu Mansour pledged loyalty to Al-Qaeda and declared last Monday that they will send forces to Yemen to help Al Qaeda fight the Yemen military forces.

Abu Mansour said “We tell our Muslim brothers in Yemen that we will cross the waters between Yemen and Somalia to reach your place to assist you fight the enemy of Allah.” He added "Inshallah we shall win over America".

Western countries already warned that Somalia is becoming a haven for international terrorists.

Somalia has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

20100105
africagoodnews

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Tuesday launched a major tour of Africa, officials said, as energy-hungry Beijing seeks to reinforce ties with the resource-rich continent.

Yang, who headed on Tuesday to the Maldives, was also due to make stops in Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Algeria and Morocco, foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

The minister - who traditionally begins the year with a trip to Africa - was to visit Saudi Arabia before heading home to China on January 13, she said.

China has built up trade and economic ties with Africa in recent years, prompting critics to accuse it of taking a "neo-colonialist" attitude.

In November, at a meeting of China-Africa leaders in Egypt, Beijing pledged 10 billion dollars in concessional loans to African countries.

Commerce Minister Chen Deming said China was "committed to ... going all-out to assist African countries in improving their agricultural production and infrastructure".

20100105
africanews

The Karonga main hospital in Malawi is up on fire. Firefighters and people are trying to put out the fire that erupted in a kitchen in the hospital. The incident will highly affect victims of the recent Karonga earthquakes as this is where they are being treated.
Fire fighters trying hard to control the fire that razed the Nakumatt downtown Photo_TOM OTIENO and Nation Media Group
There are no news of any casualties yet and the extent of the fire. A report monitored on private radio Zodiak Broadcasting Corporation shows the cause of the fire is still not known.

Karonga has been hit by a series of earthquakes leading to more than 230 people being hospitalised.

20100105
africanews

2009 marked one of the worst years for Zambia in terms of economics and politics. The southern African state was not spared by the global economic crisis and the daily politicking.
Market in Zambia Photo: Sanday
However, a new year has dawned. 2010 has come and many Zambians have aspirations, expectations and projections. 2010 is particularly unique because it is the first time that the continent will be hosting the coveted FIFA World Cup.

For Zambians, 2010 is a year they look up to with a combo of expectations. On the eve of the 2010, as is per tradition, Zambians gathered at different locations to wait for the countdown to was 2010.They prayed, drunk, danced, dined, wined and jived until it was time for welcome 2010 through a splendour display or fire crackers, common referred to as fireworks.

But the people of Zambia, what are they really expecting from this 2010. Mavis Mumba, of Chelstone in Lusaka East, 2010 is a year she wants to improve on her past failures. She said she expects to change her approach towards social issues.

“For me really, all I expect from 2010 is a better place for all of us and a year that will provide good thing for me. I will definitely work towards meeting a set of resolutions that I have lined up. One of which is to consolidate my marriage with my husband,” said Mumba.

Central Bank Governor, Caleb Fundanga said he expected increased economic growth for Zambia. He is optimistic that with the right economic fundamentals in place, Zambia’s economy will perform better than in 2009.

“Last year, we were affected by a dip in metal prices. Our inflation tumbled into double digits and our growth projection had to be revised twice. This year, I expected better economic performance. This will result from rising metal prices, increased economic developments in the manufacturing sector.

“Mind you we closed last year with inflation in single digits. I expect a further decline in our inflation. I also expect a pick in metal prices and more jobs for our people,” projected Fundanga.

There has been a fusion of expectations from Zambians regarding what 2010 will offer them. Those in the social streams are blaming those in leadership for their failures while those in leadership contend they are doing everything possible to provide basic social services to every citizen.

Thomas Jones Mkandawire, a marketing executive says he expects improved social service delivery in the country. Mkandawire notes that many Zambians cannot afford to pay their medical bills, school fee for their children and utility bills. He says therefore that there is need for more political commitment towards social service delivery.

Mkandawire, franked by his colleagues at a local pub who refers to him as Tom Lee Jones says, “ Zambia is a reach and resourceful country. What I expect this year is to see that every Zambians has access to clean water, free primary education and affordable medical care. We have been suffering for too long but that is not the true picture of this rich country of ours”.

He added, “ I expect to see innovative marketing and business initiatives that will make us benefit from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. We are neighbours with South Africa, hence I expect to see a lot of foreign tourists in our country. The benefits of the World Cup should benefit the people of Zambia”.

The death of Zambian President, Levy Mwanawasa on August 19, 2008 in Paris France, was taken by come anti corruption campaigners as the demise of Zambia’s crusade against graft. Mwanawasa was internationally recognised for his bold stance against Robert Mugabe’s regime in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Locally, Mwanawasa’s stance against corruption was highly hailed. The election of Rupiah Banda as Zambian head of state to replace Mwanawasa has been embroiled in controversy. While his opponents attack him over his approach towards riding corruption in Zambia, his opponent argue he has done better in combating the scourge.

Anti graft watchdogs, Transparency International has not been very impressed with the way President Banda is driving the anti corruption crusade since he took over office.

Transparency International Zambia President Reuben Lifuka says he expects a renewed commitment to fight corruption in Zambia. He says the current lukewarm strategy used by the Banda administration should be re-enforced to an extent that the country can win back the confidence of donor partners, who funds part of Zambia’s anti corruption crusade.

Journalist, Collins Changwe Kabwe says he expected a more pluralistic media that is much free to delivery independent editorial opinion.

“As a journalist like you, I expect 2010, to be a year where journalists can publish burning issues as they are. I expect government and the media fraternity to reach a compromise over gridlock regarding media regulation. Viva 2010,” said Kabwe.

20100105
africanews

Thousands of Kenyans have been stranded after three day strike called by the Matatu operators entered its second day. Commuters were seen walking towards the city center to the job places very early in the morning while other opted for taxis, motorbike and bicycles to get to town.
kenya map
Experts argue that the strike is likely to cause downfalls in the economy since many businesses will be disrupted by the strike which uses the Matatus as means of a transport.

Its estimated eighty percent of Kenyans rely on the Matatus as form of transport. While more than half a billion shillings is earned in the Matatu Industry in Kenya daily.

The strike has also raised question about the government commitment to provide services to the people with the ordinary public calling for it to come in and avert similar problems in future.

However, Kenya’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Cyrus Njiru has termed the proposal as impossible saying the government doesn’t want to jeopardize the efforts to have a liberal economy.

20100105
africanews

About 50 police officers in Uganda have been arrested for holding suspects for over 48 hours in police cells. The suspects include Criminal Investigations Department Officers and officers in charge of police posts and stations. They were arrested by the Police Professional Standards Unit (PSU) and held at police headquarters at Kibuli in Kampala.
Uganda_map
This follows PSU's decision to visit various police stations and cells abruptly without notice.

The PSU Unit’s commandant, John Ndungutse, said that the police will not allow police officers who break the law.

He said it is unconstitutional for holding people beyond the 48 hours statutory detention limit and the officers arrested for doing so will be punished accordingly.

20100105

NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Three Mauritanian businessmen detained last month on charges of embezzling millions of euros of public funds were released on Tuesday after agreeing to repay the disputed money, a defence lawyer said.

National Bank of Mauritania director Mohamed Ould Noueiguedh, Islamic Bank of Mauritania owner Chrif Ould Abdalahi and entrepreneur Abdou Maham had been accused of embezzling the money from the country's central bank in 2001 and 2002.

The men, who have links to the Smassid tribe of former ruler Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, agreed to repay the money after six hours of negotiations in the central bank without legal representation, the defence lawyer said.

"This proves that it's not a judicial question, but a political one ... where negotiating is done in the shadows," said Maitre Ebetty, part of the group's defence team.

Mohammed Ould Maouloud of the opposition UPF party earlier said of the case that President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz "wants to manage the fight against corruption all by himself to be able to use it against his opponents".

Neither the three men nor representatives of the central bank and prosecuting authorities were immediately available for comment.

Former presidential guardsman Abdel Aziz overthrew the Islamic country's first democratically elected leader in an August 2008 bloodless coup he justified in part by accusing the former regime of corruption.

He was later voted in as head of state in July polls which his opponents disputed but which have marked the start of Mauritania's reacceptance into the international community after aid was suspended in reaction to the military takeover.

20100105

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan's vote on independence next year will lead to a new war unless key questions of the north-south border, nationality and external debts are resolved, a senior presidential adviser said.

Ghazi Salaheddin from President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) criticised the law governing the 2011 referendum passed in December after months of wrangling, saying it lacked any deadline to address outstanding problems.

"Imagine if we had the referendum and separation happened and we had not yet agreed on the borders? This is war," he told the small state-owned Blue Nile television, according to a transcript seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Most of Sudan's oil fields traverse the north-south border which has yet to be demarcated. Sudan's external debt is about $30 billion.

Salaheddin said hundreds of thousands of southerners in the north and northerners living in the south would be left in limbo if their nationalities were not defined.

He also warned of regional problems over what international agreements would be respected by a separate south, giving the example of an agreement over Nile waters with Egypt.

"The government cannot go ahead with this referendum until some of these issues have been discussed," he said.

"It is (now) possible that the ... southerners could vote for separation without us having settled the issues of the border, nationality and international agreements and this is a prescription for war," he said.

The southern former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), which signed a 2005 north-south agreement sharing wealth and power, called Sahaleddin hostile and said he wanted to rewrite the peace deal.

20100104
ft.com

As the Tullow Oil car zips past mango trees and down a dirt track that leads to a drilling site, the conversation inside turns to local Ugandan folklore.

Jane Nyendwoha, a company official born close to one of the tiny fishing villages on Lake Albert, says people there grow up being told there was once oil beneath their feet that attracted British colonialists.

“They say that when the white man came, he came with the Bible and told them to close their eyes to pray,” says Ms Nyendwoha. “By the time they opened them, their land had been taken.”

She bursts into laughter, then adds: “This time, the people are not closing their eyes.”

Chart showing the Uganda map and crude oil reservesInstead, the whole of Uganda is watching intently as foreign companies prepare to haul it into the billion-barrel league of African oil exporters.

In a country more accustomed to producing Nile perch and cassava, the change is generating both anxiety and excitement .

Oil has the potential to transform the jobs market, living standards, ethnic relations, the environment and the status of Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s veteran president.

But whether the changes will be for good or ill is the subject of a familiar but intense debate.

In Uganda, it is framed in extremes: will the country become like Nigeria, whose mismanagement is legendary, or Norway, a model of good stewardship from which they are already getting advice?

“You hear a lot of people saying it will be a curse,” says Peter Lokeris, minister of state for mineral development. “Those are the things we want to avoid.

“When they are shouting like that it is better for us to open our ears and say ‘We must attend to this’.”

Uganda’s reserves are not world-beating but two wildcat explorers listed in London – Tullow and Heritage Oil – say they have found 700m barrels in and around the nature reserves that line the placid shores of Lake Albert in the country’s west. They estimate there are up to 2bn barrels, which would put land-locked Uganda in the same production bracket as Equatorial Guinea and Chad.

Uganda’s emergence as a player on the global stage was cemented when Italy’s Eni became the first big company to signal its readiness to take the country through to commercial production by announcing a $1.5bn deal to buy Heritage’s Ugandan assets.

The deal has not yet been finalised. But Eni’s arrival has galvanised critics accusing the government of being both secretive and incautious.

Mr Museveni, who won power as a guerrilla fighter in 1986, is closely involved in plans for oil, but Kizza Besigye, leader of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change, rails against him for creating an “unaccountable” system of government.

“For such a system to superintend over resources like oil is without doubt bound to create a lot of problems rather than solutions,” says Mr Besigye.

Mr Museveni is expected to seek a fourth term in 2011 and although oil revenues are not likely to flow until 2012-13, critics fear that he will use the money to consolidate his grip on power.

The windfall – which Tullow says could be as much as $2bn a year – will reduce the government’s need to kowtow to western donors.

It could also help Mr Museveni realise his dream of turning Uganda into an economic hub, centred on a refinery that would serve Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya and southern Sudan.

But the expected production of 150,000 barrels a day is probably more than east Africa needs and the oil is 1,300km from an Indian Ocean port.

Paul Collier, an Oxford University development economist who has advised the president, says Uganda is well-positioned to make the right decisions.

“There are a whole group of technocrats who brought Uganda back from the dead,” after Mr Museveni took control of an economy ravaged by war, he says. “This is their biggest opportunity for transformation. They’re not going to blow it without a fight.”

Syda Bbumba, the finance minister, says oil money will be used to upgrade decrepit transport and power infrastructure, which has long stifled business, and to promote agro-industry. “This being a finite resource, we are going to make sure we invest in things that have long-term effects,” she says.

But Mr Besigye says the lesson of Uganda’s anti-corruption battle is that laws and institutions will not act as safeguards: “The people who are putting them there are the people who are going to abuse them.”

Frank Muramuzi, executive director of the National Association of Professional Environmentalists, argues the government needs to be more transparent. Environmental impact assessments at drilling sites have been too narrow, he says. He has also called on the government to publish its production-sharing agreements with oil companies.

In Uganda’s Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom, a traditional community that led the fight against British colonialism and counts the oil in its territory, tensions and expectations are rising.

Shopkeepers are looking forward to free-spending oil workers, while speculators are already driving up land prices. Fishermen and cattle herders, meanwhile, are worried about being ­displaced.

Henry Ford Mirima, the Bunyoro king’s press secretary, says local people expect a “special share” of oil revenues and resent government statements that “this is national wealth so it should be shared nationally”.

Ms Nyendwoha, Tullow’s community liaison officer, says that when the company burnt off oil from a well during flow tests some people living nearby were so scared they could not sleep.

“They thought the flames could jump and burn their houses,” she says. “It was something new for all of us.”

20100104
ft.com

TIAA-Cref has become the first large US asset manager to sell stakes in four Asian oil groups over concerns about human rights abuses in Sudan, a move that will increase pressure on other investors to sever ties with those companies.

TIAA-Cref, which has more than $400bn (£248bn, €279bn) under management, said on Monday that it had divested holdings in PetroChina, CNPC Hong Kong and Sinopec – three state-controlled Chinese oil companies, and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

The US pension manager had small stakes in the companies and its decision failed to damp immediate appetite for PetroChina’s Hong Kong shares – which gained over 5 per cent on Tuesday after the company reported that its parent group had been buying its shares.

However, the move is a victory for campaigners who have been urging financial groups to sell shares in companies that do business with Sudan’s controversial regime.

International bodies and foreign countries have condemned the Sudanese government for human rights abuses during the conflict with rebels in Darfur.

TIAA-Cref’s share sale, which raised about $60m, will fuel calls for other large mutual fund companies to follow suit. So far, only US state pension funds and not-for-profit groups have pulled out of companies with links to Sudan.

Calpers, the California’s giant state pension fund, banned investments in nine companies, including CNPC and Petrochina, three years ago, but has so far not divested stakes in other companies having potential links to Sudan.

TIAA-Cref, which manages pensions and supplies financial services for academic, medical and research institutions, said it had made good on its promise to sell stakes in companies that “refuse to acknowledge the genocide [in Sudan] and engage in a productive dialogue about it”.

Hye-Won Choi, TIAA-Cref’s head of corporate governance, said her organisation had decided to sell only after unsuccessful talks with the four companies. “Divestment is not something we take lightly and it was a measure of last resort,” she said. “[But] we could not see eye-to-eye with the companies”.

She said TIAA-Cref would retain its stake in Petronas, Malaysia’s national oil group, after the company engaged in “constructive dialogue” and “took some responsibility to remedy the situation in Sudan”. Roger Ferguson, TIAA-Cref’s chief executive, met his Petronas counterpart, Tan Sri Hassan Marican, in recent months, TIAA-Cref said.

Sudan is a controversial issue in energy-thirsty developing economies such as China and India. Some of the countries’ oil companies have turned to nations such as Sudan after efforts to purchase oil assets in developed markets had failed amid concerns over national security.

20100104
ALLAFRICA

Johannesburg — THE SABC's new group CEO, Solly Mokoetle, starts his first day on the job today amid fears that his tenure at the broadcaster could once again see a damaging battle between board and executive management.

A power struggle between previous group CEO Dali Mpofu and then board chairwoman Kanyi Mkonza paralysed the organisation for almost a year.

The board eventually disbanded after resignations, and it was replaced by an interim board led by businesswoman Irene Charnley.

The interim board appointed Mokoetle CEO as one of its last acts before the new board takes over on January 10.

Weekend reports suggested tension among designated board members about his appointment. Members anonymously criticised the interim board's decision to appoint him, and suggested that Mokoetle, the SABC's former chief operating officer, was tainted by a 2005 audit report.

These board members argued the appointment was supposed to have been left to the new board, which is expected to work with the CEO.

Mokoetle said yesterday he was cleared of all wrongdoing, and the Labour Court threw out the Gobodo audit report.

Charnley said the interim board followed due process when appointing Mokoetle, and did so transparently. She said the previous board short-listed three candidates, including Mokoetle, for the position, and the interim board opened the process, and advertised the position.

"We followed everything according to the articles of association," Charnley said.

She said the interim board obtained a legal opinion on whether the board-designate should be included in the decision, but as it had not been appointed it could not be involved. "If we had had to involve them, someone would now be challenging it," Charnley said.

She said Mokoetle did an excellent job during his previous tenure at the SABC.

In an interview with Business Day yesterday, Mokoetle said his main priority now was to stabilise the SABC and establish good relations with the board.

David Niddrie, a member of the board-designate, said yesterday that the board would apply its mind on the CEO issue only after it had met.

He dismissed suggestions that board members might take legal action against Mokoetle. "We weren't put in place to continue the soap opera," he said.

Kate Skinner, spokeswoman for the Save Our SABC campaign, said Mokoetle and the new board faced an "enormous task" in attempting to turn the organisation around.

"Let's not get diverted, let's look at the real issues," she said, questioning why a 2005 report should be leaked at this stage.

A source close to the process suggested that the leak could have come from an unsuccessful candidate for Mokoetle's job, or from a disgruntled member of management who would prefer to undermine Mokoetle from the beginning, in order to safeguard their own jobs.

The audit report, compiled by Gobodo Forensic and Investigative Accounting, was not released publicly , but was quoted extensively in a Sunday Times report yesterday.

Skinner said it appeared that the report contained "wild accusations" and "defamatory comments" but without any evidence to back up its accusations.

She said that at the time of its commissioning, legal action would have been taken if there had been evidence supporting its findings.

The Gobodo report, according to the Sunday Times, accused Mokoetle of corporate governance failures relating to content commissioning.

20100104
ALLAFRICA

The much-expected Ministry of Information audit has ended, concluding that the Minister, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Bropleh defrauded government of over US$200,000 via series of fraudulent schemes. Criminal prosecution against him has been recommended.

A forensic audit into a financial scandal at the Ministry revealed that the now suspended Minister was involved in fraudulent processing and payments of salaries and allowances to several ghost employees for his personal benefits.

To effect such criminal scheme, the General Auditing Commission (GAC), which conducted the audit, noted in its report that the Rev. Bropleh immensely interfered with financial transactions resulting into "system failure and complete breakdown of internal control".

"...Undeniably, calculated intent to defraud the Government was found with the transactions undertaken by the Minister from the onset of the transactions to the consummation of what is now known as fraudulent payroll transactions. In other words, the intent to defraud the Government began with the appointments of the questionable Foreign Mission personnel and these appointments were made solely by the Minister of MICAT. The placement of staff and approval of payroll were also done by the Minister.

"It is categorically concluded that the Minister is accountable for misappropriating for his personal benefits the total remuneration of US$262,772.73...." portion of the audit stated demanding him to restitute the embezzled amount and his prosecution too.

The GAC recommended that, Minister. Bropleh "should be made to immediately restitute US$262,772.73. This represents the funds he misappropriated from the fraudulent processing and payments of salaries to four ghost names in the amount of US$207,160.72, the US$21,807.08 he misappropriated from the salaries and allowances paid in the name of Bernard Waritay, the US$13,855.20 he misappropriated from the salaries and allowances paid in the name of James Essieh, US$9, 569.73 he authorized and paid to ghost worker Nathaniel Walker and US$10,380.00 he authorized withdrawn from the operating account of MICAT at the CBL.

Minister Bropleh should be made to restitute the total at an interest determined by the

Minister of Finance on the basis of prevailing market rate, compounded monthly since salary and allowances are paid on a monthly basis.

" The Government of Liberia, through the Minister of Justice, should institute the appropriate legal procedure to remedy the fraudulent payroll transaction committed by Minister Laurence K. Bropleh,".

The audit also recommended the extradition of former Assistant information Minister Sam Abu now in the United States to account for his role in the placement of ghost on the ministry payroll.

Besides the payroll audit, the Audit Commission discovered various questionable deals including fake foreign travels and companies involving Rev Bropleh and some deputies. That audit report is pending with indications that thousands of dollars were siphoned

20100104
ALLAFRICA

YOUNG WORKERS in the nation's Petroleum industry have once again expressed reservation on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), pending before the National Assembly, warning that, they would not hesitate to cripple the sector should all concerns of labour movement in the country are to accommodated in the bill.

Under the umbrella of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), posited that there are no provisions in the bill addressing the transitional arrangement for the Nigerians working with the International Oil Companies (IOC) with equity participation in the Joint Venture and declared that a new section should be inserted to take care of the Nigerians working with the IOC to be affected by the IJV.

PENGASSAN in a statement by its President and General Secretary, Comrades Babatunde Ogun and Bayo Olowoshile respectively, said as a strategic and major stakeholder in the oil and gas sector, the association was surprised that its concerns and issues raised about the industry in its proposals to were yet to be addressed by the National Assembly in the PIB.

PENGASSAN argued that over the years, workers in this industry had sustained the country at great costs, paying supreme price at some times, noting that "at this momentous time in the history of the country when this far reaching decision that will determine the members of the association lives and service, he said that the workers are still being denied our official and earned status as major stakeholder in the industry.

Members are agitated and concerned about their future with this impending bill that they can no longer hold back. We are aware that this Bill will be passed very soon without even any noticeable attempt by government to address their concerns or assuage their fears.

Therefore in the event that they react any moment before or after you passed this Bill in their bid to protect and guarantee their future, please hold us not responsible

There should be limit to human endurance. From a trade union point of view, we are concerned with job protection, best practices and improved condition of work, social responsibility and social development as key elements to improve relations with host community, improved profitability to companies as way of ensuring increased royalties to the Nigerian government, shareholding and improved package for oil, and gas sector workers.

Government must engage the two trade unions in the oil and gas industry on how it and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) intend to migrate from Joint Venture to IJV, as the PIB implementation process is unclear."

Association recommended that "from the effective date of this Act, all Nigerians working with any of the International Oil Companies to be affected by or with equity participation in the Incorporated Joint Venture (IJV) whether regular or contract staff: "(a) shall be regarded as having automatically transferred their services to the Incorporated Joint venture with effect from that date, on terms and conditions no less favourable than those obtaining immediately before the effective date, unless they indicate otherwise before the expiration of three months next following the effective date, and such services will be regarded as continuous for the purpose of pensions, gratuities and severance benefits and (b) shall unless he/she indicate otherwise before the expiration of three months next following the effective date, continue in the service of the Incorporated Joint venture for a period not less than five years on terms and conditions, including pension, gratuity and other severance benefits, no less favourable than those obtaining immediately before the effective date of this act and"(c) All existing pension arrangements for all categories of Nigerian staff regular and contract shall be maintained in line with the 2004 pension act."

According to the statement, the transition arrangement had been made for the Nigerians working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and some other companies as contained in Section 493 in the bill, saying that no such arrangement was made for Nigerians working in the IOCs with equity participation in the IJV/JV.

"It is important that no Nigerian shall lose his/her job as a result of this bill. Also all existing pension plans must be maintained," PENGASSAN stated.

Other recommendations

Other recommendations include "establishment of a Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board and that one representative each of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association Of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) should be on the board.

We demand that all boards in the PIB without any exception should have the representation of PENGASSAN and NUPENG. Every company engaged in any activities requiring a licence, lease or permit in the upstream and downstream sectors of the petroleum industry shall not discriminate against Nigerians in employment, promotion, remuneration and placement of its workers, ensure that it strictly adheres to all laws ,rules and regulations concerning the use of expatriates in Nigeria, ensure that it has received in writing a certificate of no objection from all the Nigerian professional bodies charged with the supervision of the profession for which the expatriate is required before engaging the services howsoever of such expatriate and before supporting howsoever the VISA/work permit of such expatriate. Such company should obtain the written consent of the National Petroleum Directorate in addition to the Certificate of No Objection (referred to in this section)from the relevant professional bodies in Nigeria before any expatriate is howsoever engaged to work in the downstream, mid stream and upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, ensure that expatriates carry out only the services for which they were engaged and no other; and that expatriate are only used for services which no Nigerian within and outside the organisation can render."

The workers also recommended that such company applying for licence should submit a quarterly report signed on its behalf by at least two of its directors to the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Federal Ministry of labour and productivity, the Senate and House of Representative Committees in charge of Petroleum (Upstream, Down Stream and Gas), the Joint Tax Board and the National Petroleum Directorate showing the names, current position, total emolument and all other benefits, Nationality, immigration status, age, state of residence in Nigeria, marital status, educational and professional qualification(s), date when first worked in Nigeria, details of work done, details of Nigerian understudy and their progress, and an affidavit that it has complied with all laws and regulation concerning the use of the expatriates.

20100104
ALLAFRICA

Sequel to revelations in yesterday's edition of Sunday Vanguard that the Senate is set to wade into the political impasse over the absence of President Umaru Yar'Adua from office for the past 41 days, there are strong indications that a series of intrigues and power play have ensued in the last 24 hours.

Also, it was learnt that a divide-and-rule approach is being engaged by some powerful forces comprising those who do not want the amendment of Sections 144 and 145 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Vanguard has been reliably informed that whereas some senators are having informal discussions on the way forward, specifically on how to amend Sections 144 and 145, and how to fine-tune their strategy when they resume tomorrow, some powerful individuals, including ministers and some very close aides to President Yar'Adua are attempting to frustrate the move.

Moves to cede power to Jonathan

The kernel of the move is the presentation of a bill seeking to transfer power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.

The bill, it was further learnt, would pass through the First, Second and Third Readings expeditiously.

The product of that process would then, most likely, be passed to the state governors to convince their legislatures at the state levels to pass it with the required two-third majorities in at least 24 of the 36 states of the federation.

One of the first steps towards frustrating the move, according to a reliable source, is to use the governors considered very loyal to Yar'Adua not to allow their state houses of assembly to pass the bill into law.

But, a senator (name withheld) insisted that "members of the Governors' Forum are Nigerians and are as concerned as we senators who are attempting to find a solution to the present problem.

"The way people are toying with the destiny of this nation, this matter that people think is a minor thing has the capacity to completely destroy this country.

"Well, we are very happy that Mr. President has signed the Supplementary Appropriation Act in Saudi Arabia. It is our hope and belief that he would also sign the letter handing over power to his deputy, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan."

Although no formal contact has been made with the Governors' Forum yet, the senator stressed that "all these are the things we would be discussing at our Executive Session when we resume next Tuesday.

"Mind you, we are not interested in the selfish calls in some quarters insisting that the National Assembly should impeach President Yar'Adua. No. That is not what we are trying to do. Anybody can fall sick; the error in this instance is that Mr. President did not write to the Senate President and the Speaker informing them of the necessary transfer of power.".

Attempts to speak with the Office of the President of the Senate and the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives were unsuccessful.

But a source in Aso Rock Presidential Villa denied that there was move by the National Assembly to amend the constitution expeditiously.

The source told Vanguard that: "it was for the National Assembly to do whatever it believes is within its purview as the legislative arm of government. Whatever they do, so long as it is within the bounds of legality, nobody would question it."

SERAP drags FG before UN

Meantime, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has dragged President Yar'Adua before the United Nations, UN, over his refusal to hand over power to Jonathan, in accordance with the law, following his inability to perform the functions of his office owing to ill-health.

Yar'Adua is reportedly receiving treatment at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia over acute pericarditis (inflammation of the heart lining).

SERAP, which tabled the issue before the UN, is contending that President Yar'Adua and his cabinet members, by their conducts, are deliberately raping the 1999 Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria contrary to the Federal Government's obligation to its citizens.

The non-governmental organisation cited the controversial signing of the 2009 Appropriation Bill and his inability to sign the 2010 Budget as part of the details of the wrongs being perpetrated by the Yar'Adua government.

SERAP seeks special session on Nigeria

In the petition dated January 3, 2010 and signed by SERAP's Executive Director, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation is consequently "urging the HRC to simultaneously hold a special session on the non-compliance by the Nigerian government with its obligations in relation to the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights."

It also wanted the UN to consider its petition under the HRC new Complaint Procedure, established pursuant to Resolution 5/1 of the HRC, and General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of March 15, 2006.

The petition meets the requirements of the new Procedure and raises issues of importance justifying the holding of a special session on Nigeria.

According to the organisation, "President Yar'Adua's absence from duty and his inability and failure to empower the Vice-President to act as president pursuant to Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, is obstructing the effective implementation of the 2009 Supplementary Budget and the 2010 budget.

"It also indicates a failure to invest the 'maximum of available resources' to realise economic and social rights and to meet core obligations regarding the rights to education, health, food, among others.

"At the beginning of 2010, retrogression in the realisation of these rights is apparent."

"President Yar'Adua was flown to Saudi Arabia on November 23, 2009, for medical treatment, and to date the president has not returned to the country.

"President Yar'Adua reportedly signed the 2009 Supplementary Budget from his sick bed in Saudi Arabia. The National Assembly had in November passed the N353.6 billion supplementary budget, which includes a capital spending of about N253bn, out of which about N114bn was earmarked for the critical "post-amnesty intervention" programmes in the Niger Delta," the organisation added.

Relying on Section 145 of the Constitution, the organisation also argued that "the President has so far failed and/or neglected to empower the Vice-President as required by the Constitution, thereby starving critical projects such as education and health important funds and precipitating unnecessary delay in addressing the deplorable conditions of our roads, and worsening the security situation in the Niger Delta.

"This situation is also undermining the effective utilisation of a $300million Word Bank (obtained from the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank) facility for gas to meet the 6,000 Megawatts target."

The organisation also argued that "Nigeria is a state-party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

"As such, the government has a legal responsibility to use the mechanism of the budget to allocate and spend maximum available resources to ensure the full enjoyment of the rights to health, education, food, water and housing by millions of Nigerians who continue to live in extreme poverty, with barely enough to eat."

"This situation is worsening the government's non-compliance with the fundamental principles of progressive realisation according to maximum available resources, prioritisation of minimum core obligations and the duty of non-discrimination.

"Millions of Nigerians remain extremely poor and lack access to basic economic and social rights. Nigerians have suffered and continue to suffer years of failed budgeting and implementation, a critical element of states' obligations to fulfil economic and social rights," the organisation stressed.

The organisation added that "the present situation in Nigeria is also contributing to the violation of the fundamental principle of non-discrimination and equality, which is essential to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.