20091211

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe will next week take a 59-member delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, while Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's delegation will comprise 19 people putting a further strain on the country's financial resources.

The conference started on Monday this week with delegates working on a complex draft treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, while environment ministers and heads of state are due to arrive next week when major decisions will await them.

Delegations from the two Zimbabwean leaders will join an advance party which is already at the summit, bringing the country's total representation to more than 80 people.

The two leaders and their delegations are scheduled to travel separately with President Mugabe using the national airline -- Air Zimbabwe -- while Tsvangirai will connect to the Danish capital from Johannesburg and go via Switzerland or Germany.

This comes at a time when Finance minister, Tendai Biti, when presenting the 2010 budget decried the country's total expenditure on foreign trips which was put at US$28 million at the end of November.

This amount was used during the short life -- 10 months as at the end of November -- of the inclusive government giving an average of US$2,8 million per month.

While this figure covers all government officials, it is usually the president and the prime minister who travel with large contingents with the former averaging 60 delegates on the last two foreign trips.

President Mugabe has taken at least seven foreign trips since the inception of the Government of National Unity. Some of the countries he has visited include Italy for the UN World Summit on Food Security, Mozambique for the Sadc Troika meeting and South Africa for the inauguration of President Jacob Zuma.

He has also visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the Sadc summit, Egypt and Libya as well as Switzerland for the International Telecommunications Union Summit.

Apart from the cost government incurs paying for the transport for such large delegations, there are also allowances which are paid out each member of the entourage.

Any delegate travelling on government business is entitled to daily allowances which are based on their level or grade.

allafrica

20091211

United Nations staff members gathered today to pay tribute to the 17 colleagues killed two years ago in a terrorist attack at the world body's offices in the Algerian capital.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York, having earlier told staff that the attack in Algiers on 11 December 2007 "has caused suffering and grief that will never go away."

He said that no cause could "ever justify wanton killing and destruction" and stressed that it is "by persevering in the face of such adversity that we demonstrate yet again the greatest strthey were devoted to helping the people of Algeria to build better lives for themselves and their children. I salute them, as well as those who are continuing their work with dedication and professionalismength of the United Nations: the commitment of our staff."

Seventeen staff were killed and 40 others were injured when a car bomb destroyed the offices of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and damaged those of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Just 20 minutes before that attack, terrorists also struck the Algerian Constitutional Court, killing at least 14 people there.

"Our colleagues who died were working on the full spectrum of UN issues, from food security to human rights and industrial development," Mr. Ban said. "In every case, they were devoted to helping the people of Algeria to build better lives for themselves and their children. I salute them, as well as those who are continuing their work with dedication and professionalism."

The Secretary-General said the Algiers bombing, as well as the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad in 2003 and this year's attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, underlined that the UN was now a target of terrorist groups.

"This is rightfully a cause of great concern to all United Nations staff. I am working with the Department of Safety and Security (DSS) and with Member States to ensure that you have the safest conditions possible in which to live and to carry out your important work."

During today's ceremony at UN Headquarters, a moment of silence was observed and the names of the 17 victims were read out.

The staff members killed included seven UNDP personnel: Saadia Boucelham, Hind Boukroufa, Samia Hammoutene, Chadli Hamza, Mohamed Khelladi, Djamal Rezzoug, all of Algeria, and Steven Olejas of Denmark.

Three Algerian staff members for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) died - Mustapha Benbara, Kamel Sait and Adnane Souilah, as well as two Algerian nationals who worked for UNHCR: Karim Bentebal and Nabil Slimani.

Babacar Ndiaye of Senegal, who worked for DSS, and the Philippines' Gene Nunez Luna Maria, who worked for the World Food Programme (WFP), were also killed.

The other victims, all Algerian, were: Hakim Si Larbi of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); Mohamed Lasli, of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and Abderrahim Hanniche of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

allafrica

20091211

YOUTH organisations of several political parties that contested the 2009 Presidential and National Assembly elections plan to stage protest marches countrywide, as a sign of their rejection of the results of the elections.

Members of these political youth leagues intend to petition the courts in this regard and to demand nullification of the 2009 election results. These youth groups have made it clear that they do not want a recount of the ballots. All they want is total nullification and a fresh start of the elections.

They are accusing the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) and the ruling party, Swapo, of everything under the sun from mismanaging the electoral process to vote rigging. The parties are, however, yet to provide substantive evidence of their claims. And, we can only hope that they will do so during their court bid to overturn the election results.

What baffles us though is not their stance but the timing of their planned protest marches. Granted these youth leagues, like anybody else, have the right to make their demands and to protest if they so wish.

However, the timing of their protest marches vis-à-vis their court action is mind-boggling. These parties have a pending case before court but are again piling pressure on the courts through petitions and protests perhaps to try and influence the outcome of the case. Petitioning the courts while proceedings of the court case they instituted are ongoing is a sign of bad faith and makes little sense. One would understand the move if the matter was not before court.

Their motive for instituting legal action while at the same time engaging in street protests and petitioning the courts therefore raises serious questions about their game plan, which is two pronged - argue the case in court while applying political pressure on the courts and whip up public emotions countrywide with the calculated effect of mass opposition to the status quo - a.k.a. - the Nyamu doctrine.

We repeat, the move casts doubt on the real intention and genuineness of opposition demands. Unless otherwise explained, these parties may be playing for time while trying to shift goal posts from electoral contestation to the attainment of power at whatever cost and through other means.

The tone of some members of the youth groups at their press conference last week gives us the more reason to doubt their real intention and motive.

One of the youth leaders at the press conference said "they can take us and throw us in jail, but we want to start afresh".

Yet another member added "die mense speel met vuur", which stands for "these people are playing with fire".

It is this inflammatory language about "jails" and "fire" that has us worried and we ask - could this be an open invitation for trouble.

Well, we hope there are no plans for mischief behind the façade of marches. We pray that this is not an excuse to try and create political anarchy and chaos.

Namibia is a democracy where the rule of law reigns supreme. No citizen has ever been arrested because of his/her political beliefs. Every political group in this country is free to profess and practise its political beliefs as long as it is within the law and we pray that these marches will be staged within the law.

allafrica

20091211

Dakar — Malaria deaths in children under five have increased "significantly" in the past four months in Sierra Leone, where this preventable disease kills a child every 30 minutes. Aid agencies are urgently appealing for medicines and other supplies to stem the trend.

"This current trend of one in five children in Sierra Leone dying before the age of five due to easily preventable diseases is unacceptable, and calls for immediate and concerted action," said a joint communiqué by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 10 December.

The two agencies are "urgently" appealing for 1.3 million bednets, as well as anti-malaria drugs, at a cost of US$16.9 million. "The situation is now considered as constituting a potential emergency," said the statement.

The UN agencies said the rising number of deaths was due mainly to a shortage of anti-malaria medicines and other supplies. "The fundamental thing is to strengthen the procurement and supply system," Rumishael Shoo, head of child survival and development at UNICEF-Sierra Leone, told IRIN.

A procurement problem in mid-2008 caused a shortage of medicines, but the drug supply problem aside, the agencies noted that prevention and rapid response also needed to be strengthened.

Only 26 percent of children sleep under treated bednets, and just 30 percent receive malaria drugs within 24 hours of onset. "This means the approach to malaria in Sierra Leone is still more curative than preventive," the communiqué said.

The 26 percent of children sleeping with nets represents a five-fold increase from 2005, UNICEF's Shoo told IRIN. "Still, it is not enough. It is mostly a question of availability; surely, promoting bednet-use is part and parcel of what we must do, but if we have sufficient nets we will be able to mobilize people to use them."

allafrica

20091211

Lubumbashi — Crimes committed by members of the police force against the public have become a significant problem throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.

Almost every week, rumours circulate of abuses committed by policemen - largely theft, extortion and physical abuse - but most are not officially reported, and investigations of alleged offending officers are rare.

This creates the perception that the police are above the law, even though senior officers insist that they will not tolerate abusive behaviour from their men.

One resident from the Kigoma neighbourhood in Lubumbashi says that, on the evening of November 3, he was assaulted by two policemen who demanded money.

With his arm still in plaster and an anxious look on his face, he told IWPR, "I was coming back from the guest house where I work, when two policemen stopped me and asked for my ID. I showed it, but they weren't satisfied. They asked for money. When I refused, one of the policemen pointed his weapon at me while the other searched me."

The victim says that he had 500 US dollars in a bag, which they tried to take.

"I was not going to let them have my bag so we started fighting," he said. "Since there were two of them, they won and beat me until they broke my bones. They took the money and my cell phone."

In Lubumbashi, officers hope a new Katanga province police academy, which will open early next year, can put an end to such behaviour, which damages the image of the DRC police.

The academy, which will run in cooperation with the criminology school of Lubumbashi's university, will offer retraining for existing members of the national police service.

Colonel Dati Kapend, Lubumbashi's deputy provincial investigator, says those who attend the academy will be instructed in the importance of upholding the law.

"We believe that, with well-trained policemen, the damage they do to society will be limited," he said. "The police force is no place for crooks. We want a police of intellectuals."

However, not everyone believes that better training gets to the heart of the problem.

Jean-Marie Yamukabo, a Katanga-based civil society activist, argues that what is really needed is an improvement in the living conditions of those who work in the police force.

"The police are civil servants," he said. "The Congolese government must grant the police a realistic budget as well as decent living conditions. This will guarantee the effectiveness of the services that they expect from the police. The police should also be given basic rights as outlined in the constitution, such as membership of trade unions."

Like civil servants throughout the DRC, members of the police force often complain that they are under-paid and lack the resources needed to effectively carry out their jobs, such as the means to cover transport costs.

Tales of police abuse and harassment are widespread throughout the neighbourhoods of Lubumbashi.

One young student says policemen tore off her jewellery and her cell phone while she was walking through the Gambela neighbourhood one evening.

"Don't we have the right to walk around when it's dark anymore?" she said. "The trouble caused by policemen is bothering us. I already feel insecure when I walk around my neighbourhood at night."

She complains that, instead of protecting people and their property, police steal and seem to feel no shame in doing so.

"It's as though a curfew has been decided," she said. "If you dare to walk around Gambela during the late hours, you will lose any valuable items on you. Sometimes, policemen even take your shoes and clothes, if they are in good condition."

A shopkeeper from Bel Air neighbourhood in the city says that his store was recently raided by police whose only purpose was to steal money.

"As I was about to close my shop for the night, I heard gunshots," he said. "Ten policemen, who were patrolling the area, entered my shop and asked for money. They took everything, the whole day's takings."

He says that the government should do more to control the activities of policemen, "Many members of the police seem to have forgotten that they are primarily civil servants and have a mission to protect the population and their belongings."

Colonel Henri Bashizi, the Lubumbashi police commander, insists that he takes a zero tolerance policy towards any abusive behaviour by his staff, although he accepts that "policemen are not saints".

"If a policeman bothers you, you should take your complaint to the military prosecution office," he said. "Policemen must uphold the law. Any policeman found to have abused people's property will go to jail immediately."

Bashizi said police behaviour is "a reflection of society", and that the alleged abuses by the police are a blight on the whole country, not just Lubumbashi.

He urged citizens of the DRC to report any unlawful behaviour by the police immediately, and firm action will then be taken.

"The police have rules that must be respected," he said. "If someone is a member of the police they must abide by the law."

allafrica

20091211

Kigali — The 7th National Dialogue (Umushyikirano) yesterday kicked off with a key agenda of assessing the country's progress and plotting new strategies that will guide the country towards a fast-tracked development path.

The high level meeting convened annually was opened by President Paul Kagame and brought together the country's leadership, civil society, the Rwandan Diaspora, diplomatic corps, development partners and special visitors from 26 countries.

In his opening remarks, President Kagame told his audience that it was important to review goals and targets set for the past year, and design new and more ambitious goals for the coming year.

He urged the dialogue, which for the first time was held interactively with a live call-in telephone line and a direct SMS line, that the achievements registered at the end of each year, call for new and more challenging demands to improve the lives of Rwandans.

Among these, he singled out good governance and democracy, economic growth, food security and doing business reforms as some of the areas in which the country performed well in 2009.

He also noted that a lot was achieved in the health sector in 2009 as well as regional integration efforts with the EAC Common market and Customs Union coming into force.

Kagame also highlighted the country's accession into the Commonwealth and restoring relations with France as some of the key milestones.

He said the need to consolidate all these achievements is more challenging.

President Kagame urged leaders to shun self-centred practices like corruption and embrace selfless values that benefit all Rwandans, insisting that where leadership is not good, society in general loses out while the country's development is put on hold.

Prime Minister Bernard Makuza presented an assessment report on what was achieved within the 24 priorities and goals set during the 6th National Dialogue to be implemented between January and June 2009.

The PM said Rwanda embarked on a number of initiatives to support long term economic growth through improving the investment climate and projecting the country as a major investment hub as well as regional integration to support growth.

Infrastructure development, investment in the agricultural sector, land consolidation, crop intensification programmes, value addition to agricultural products and urging Rwandans to form cooperatives, were some of the key achievements over the year.

Other areas include consolidating the fight against corruption and improving service delivery and promoting good customer care values.

The PM noted that all key government institutions merged efforts to address the issue of corruption, noting that 404 cases of corruption were tried and punished by the Supreme Court between January and September 2009 and 226 files are being investigated.

He also noted was the progress of the National Civic Education Taskforce (Itorero) as well as efforts to eliminate the Genocide ideology.

The saving culture among Rwandans also improved through the 'Umurenge SACCO' savings cooperatives which to date have about 675,000 members.

Population growth remains a major challenge calling for an urgent need to reduce the annual rate from 2.7 percent to 2.4 percent by 2010 and at least 2 percent in the run-up to Vision 2020.

A large Balance of Payments deficit and low private investment continue to be key constraints within the economy.

Major focus will be directed towards Small and Medium scale Enterprises and increase access to finance.

Access to credit by farmers is also a key constraint, standing at 4 percent despite several initiatives, including putting in place the Agriculture Guarantee. The plan is to increase access to 15 percent by 2010.

Electricity and energy sources remain short of expected figures, low secondary school enrolment levels and high levels of soil erosion are some of the major challenges tabled during the meeting that ends today.

allafrica

20091211

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe will today officially open Zanu PF's congress at a defining moment following its defeat in last year's general election. There have been explosive internal clashes recently which have exposed simmering regional and ethnic hostilities threatening to tear the party apart.

The watershed congress, coming at a time when Zanu PF has lost its majority in parliament and battling infighting with tribal undertones, could leave Mugabe and his party further fractured and weak, signalling an acceleration of its decline. Mugabe yesterday denounced factionalism at a central committee meeting, saying the party should unite as they prepare for the next elections to be held soon after a positive constitutional referendum expected at the end of next year or early 2011.

He said factionalism cost the party an outright victory in the 2008 harmonised elections and should therefore end immediately if Zanu PF is to claim its ruling party status.

For the first time since 1980 the Zanu PF congress will come under a cloud following its decisive defeat by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC and the prospect of further casualties in future elections -- which may come sooner than the expected 2013 date.

There has been open wrangling that has triggered resignations and threats of demonstrations by disgruntled party officials and their structures.

The congress could be a theatre for political drama as rival factions battle it out for power and control. State and Zanu PF security officials were this week working flat out to suppress looming protests.

Manicaland chairman Basil Nyabadza resigned during the week in protest against what his region saw as tribal sidelining of party stalwart Didymus Mutasa, currently secretary for administration, during the recent leadership nominations. Mutasa was gunning for the party chairmanship but his region attributes his defeat to tribal and factional alliances in the party.

The election of the new Zanu PF top four leaders from Mashonaland and Matabeleland provinces -- which put Zezurus and Ndebeles in charge -- has left Karangas and Manyikas mainly from Masvingo, Midlands and Manicaland regions boiling with anger.

Karangas wanted to recapture one of the positions of vice-president which was left vacant in 2003 by the late vice-president Simon Muzenda, a Karanga, but was taken over by Joice Mujuru, functionally a Zezuru.

Manyikas wanted to seize the chairmanship, arguing Ndebeles are overrepresented in the presidium to complete an ideal tribal balancing act.

Nyabadza told the Zimbabwe Independent that failure to strike a tribal balance in the party's top four positions is going to leave Zanu PF deeply divided.

By refusing to address the issue and endorsing the nomination of two Zezurus and two Ndebeles to the presidium, he said Zanu PF was now at its most divided with serious threats of regional divisions.

"This issue is getting entrenched because of sinister motives for political expediency," said Nyabadza. "This turn of events is dangerous and short term. It is self-destructive and we cannot carry on this way. It is our right to raise these issues so that we do not get used to this bad idea.

"As a party we should not continue to take others for a ride -- we don't want to remain permanent guests of the party. We need to strike a tribal balance within our party. We are referring to the positions of first secretary, the two second secretaries and chairman -- these positions should be circulated within five regions -- we need to strike that balance."

The regions which Nyabadza was referring to are Mashonaland, Matabeleland, Midlands, Manicaland and Masvingo.

The Karangas, who mainly occupy Masvingo and Midlands provinces in the south, also agree with the Manyikas that there was need for the tribal balance.

Sources in Masvingo's top leadership said there was no tribal balance, with the Zezurus holding the top posts in the politburo, government, army, airforce and public service commission.

"People are starting to complain that only one region holds most of the power," said one top Masvingo official "Are they then saying that they are the most learned; hence others are incapable of holding top posts? We want to raise these issues and seek clarity on the party's position."

They feel that since power fell into the hands of Mugabe, he has ignored their contribution during the liberation struggle, sidelined their leaders and promoted members of his own clan.

Sources said the latest stream of problems in Zanu PF was discussed at the party politburo meetings on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday Mugabe clarified the issue of chairmanship, saying it was not reserved for Zapu officials only, by extrapolation Ndebeles.

On Wednesday Zanu PF was confronted with Nyabadza's resignation which has fuelled the spectre of regionalism and ethnicity in the party. Senior Zanu PF officials wanted the issue openly discussed at the central committee yesterday.

Senior party officials interviewed this week over the issue said they feared the party could rapidly start disintegrating along regional and tribal fault lines. A top Zanu PF politburo member attacked the recent nominations, claiming they amounted to "village politics".

"What happened during the recent nominations was not new in the party but it smacked of crude village and tribal political manipulation," the politburo member said. "Zezurus who were facing a serious challenge for power ganged up with Ndebeles to sideline Karangas and Manyikas. This recent ethnic mobilisation approach started in Mashonaland West and spread across the country."

Mashonaland West was recently hit by a wave of tribal tensions as Zezurus mobilised to push Karangas from their province.

However, another Zanu PF official defended the new leadership line-up, saying it was due to dynamic alliances in Zanu PF.

"In 2004, the Karangas, Manyikas and Ndebeles all ganged up against the Zezurus but were defeated. Nothing has changed except that this time around the Ndebeles just joined the winners -- Zezurus!"

In 2004 Joice Mujuru, with Mugabe's Zezuru faction support, defeated the grouping of Karangas, Manyikas and Ndebeles -- often described as "south-south cooperation" -- led by Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The Mnangagwa faction had secretly proposed that the presidency of the country must be circulated among the four main ethnic groups of the country -- Zezurus, Karangas, Manyikas and Ndebeles -- to avoid ethnic hegemony and defuse political tensions. The plan failed.

Nyabadza's resignation, out of bitterness, followed a vicious fight for the position of Zanu PF chairmanship left vacant after the elevation of John Nkomo who has replaced the late vice-president Joseph Msika as co-deputy party leader and state vice-president. The Zanu PF top four to be endorsed by the congress includes Mugabe, Mujuru, Nkomo and Simon Khaya Moyo.

Reports say the Mnangagwa faction or Oppah Muchinguri, who was nominated by Masvingo province to replace Mujuru, acting with the backing of some of her disgruntled supporters could mount a challenge from the floor at congress, although this is seen as unlikely.

Anger has been building up and complaints loudly echoed in the run-up to the congress in Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands. Nyabadza took the protest to new levels by quitting, insinuating Mutasa's failure to rise to the top four smacked of regional and tribal marginalisation.

"Manicaland has never participated in the (Zanu PF) presidium since Independence in 1980," he said.

Zanu PF insiders say Nyabadza was expressing a popular sentiment in Manicaland. There are reports of looming threats of more resignations by officials in Masvingo and Manicaland.

Before 1973, Zanu PF was mainly seen as Manyika-dominated. Zezurus had been disgruntled by lack of control and formed their own party in 1971. After the 1973 controversial Zanu PF external elections, the results were interpreted by party officials to mean a Manyika defeat and a Karanga victory. Five out of eight Dare reChimurenga members were presumably Karangas.

allafrica

20091211

PARIS (Reuters) - France handed back four fragments of an ancient tomb mural to Egyptian antiquities authorities on Friday and President Nicolas Sarkozy will return the fifth piece next week, the French culture ministry said.

Sarkozy will deliver the fifth fragment to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during a lunch at the presidential palace on Monday, according to the ministry.

France has said that the fragments were acquired in good faith by the Louvre between 2000 and 2003, but their provenance was called into doubt in 2008 after the discovery of the tomb from which they were believed to have been taken.

France said in October that it would return the five fragments held by the Louvre museum as a way of showing the country's determination to fight the illegal traffic in cultural objects.

Under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) convention of 1970, countries agreed measures to prevent the illegal export of national treasures.

20091211

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's state-run oil firm NNPC on Friday reassured ONGC Mittal Energy (OMEL), Oando and other oil firms that it fully supported building the OPEC member's first crude refinery in more than 20 years.

Mohammed Barkindo, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., said NNPC will partner investors to develop the Lekki Greenfield Refinery near the commercial capital Lagos with the aim of starting production in 2017.

Nigeria's four state-owned refineries have failed to keep pace with surging domestic demand for electricity and gasoline, forcing Africa's biggest energy producer to import 85 percent of its fuel needs.

"OMEL ... and some of the other investors needed some commitment from the state to be able to continue with the investment," NNPC spokesman Levi Ajuonuma said in a statement.

OMEL, a joint venture between India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Mittal Group, has already completed feasibility studies and formed a steering committee for the new refinery.

Nigeria's fuel retailer African Petroleum and Oando were also investors in the project. Other possible partners included French oil major Total, Italy's Eni and China's Tianjin Energy Resources, NNPC said.

Nigeria's refineries have a nameplate capacity of 445,000 barrels per day but have never operated at that level. Even if they were able to operate at full capacity, they would produce only a fraction of the needs of Africa's most populous country of 140 million people.

20091211

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Friday condemned internal fighting over leadership posts, saying this was tearing apart his ZANU-PF party and emboldening its opponents.

Mugabe was forced to share power with rival Morgan Tsvangirai in February after an election stalemate last year, which saw ZANU-PF lose its majority in parliament for the first time to Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

A fierce battle over who will eventually succeed the 85-year-old leader -- now in the twilight of a political career spanning more than half a century -- threatens the future of the former liberation movement, although a split is not imminent.

"The reason why we lost last year was because of factions in many provinces. This is how the party has suffered damage," Mugabe told thousands of supporters at a ZANU-PF congress which opened in Harare on Friday.

"The party is eating itself up. The more intense the internal fighting is, the greater opportunity we give to the opposition to thrive," said Mugabe, who read only briefly from a prepared speech he said was too long.

Mugabe will get the nod to lead the party for another five years but tensions are running high over what members see as the imposition of weak candidates to serve in the policy-implementing central committee.

By balancing competing factions and through a political patronage system, the veteran leader has kept a tight grip on ZANU-PF since becoming party leader in the mid-1970s and spearheading a guerrilla war against white minority rule.

Mugabe is unlikely to contest the next election, expected in 2013 if the coalition government lasts its full five-year term, and his lieutenants have stepped up an internal fight for prime positions to take over the party when he retires.

20091211

JIJIGA, Ethiopia (Reuters) - A rebel group's claims to have captured seven towns and killed 1,000 soldiers in fierce fighting in Ethiopia's oil-producing Ogaden region are almost certainly exaggerated, foreign aid workers in the region say.

Ethiopia's Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) staged bold raids on government positions last month and aid workers say several hundred people were probably killed on both sides.

But while the guerrillas are capable of causing instability in the vast Somali region, which includes the Ogaden and accounts for one-fifth of the country's landmass, experts say they cannot hold territory.

"They attacked more than twenty places," one aid worker, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters in Jijiga, the regional capital. "But they only managed to take one town, not seven."

A culture of secrecy and suspicion has surrounded the volatile Ogaden region ever since the ONLF overran a Chinese oilfield in 2007 and killed 74 people.

Now that foreign firms including Malaysia's Petronas

and Vancouver-based Africa Oil Corporation are back at work in the region, some are wondering whether the investment will be worth the risk.

Ethiopia is offering up to 14 more exploration permits over the next three years, and the government is keen to make sure the guerrillas do not attack again.

20091211

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - The diversification of Gabon's economy is still a distant prospect and the nation will remain dependent on dwindling oil reserves for some time despite a raft of reforms promised by President Ali Ben Bongo.

Ben Bongo, who replaced his late father Omar in October, has vowed to invest billions of dollars to turn the Central African nation into a regional hub for industry, services and emerging environmental business sectors before the oil runs dry.

Ben Bongo's efforts to root out graft has won him early praise. But cutting red tape, developing infrastructure and nurturing industries are all long-haul tasks which mean the country and its leaders are in a race against time.

"Unless new discoveries are made in the very deep water in the next 15 years, there will be no more oil," Olivier Fremond, the World Bank's resident representative in Gabon, told Reuters.

"There is an urgent need for economic diversification. But this takes a long time and you have to do it prudently."

The former French colony once produced in excess of 350,000 barrels per day bpd but many of the wells are maturing and current output stands at around 240,000 barrels per day.

Nonetheless the government still hopes to boost output with a new licensing round next year and the International Monetary Fund estimates oil will still account for 45.7 percent of government receipts this year.

Ben Bongo has put diversification at the heart of ambitious reform plans that include spending at least 4.88 trillion CFA francs on investment projects over seven years.

20091211

CONAKRY (Reuters) - A swift crackdown on rogue elements in Guinea's military by Defence Minister Sekouba Konate has restored some order and offered cautious hopes that the West African nation will not tip further into chaos for now.

The veteran fighter, known as El Tigre for his ferocity on the battle field, stepped into a power void left in the mineral-rich nation last week after junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was shot by his own soldiers and evacuated to Morocco for medical treatment.

Since temporarily taking the reins, Konate has directed a violent purge of rogue elements in the military -- centred on those believed to have been sympathetic to the assassination bid -- and toured army bases giving speeches on military discipline.

"In the capital Conakry, security forces are actively searching for the author and accomplices of the attempted assassination of the president," said Foreign Minister Alexandre Cece Loua during a press conference Thursday.

"It is an issue of national security."

Despite sometimes brutal tactics, Konate's swift action on the army has sparked cautious hope among residents that his efforts could bring an end to the decades of violence they have suffered at the hands of belligerent and unruly soldiers.

"He wants to restore military discipline. If he succeeds, it will greatly help this country," said Ousmane Sylla, a student. "If he fails, it will be a catastrophe for civilians."

Guinea is the world's top supplier of aluminum ore bauxite and is seen as a lynchpin of stability in a region recovering from three civil wars this decade.

20091211

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Britain said on Friday it had banned more than 20 Kenyans, including senior civil servants, from visiting the UK because of corruption, but that it would much rather see those individuals prosecuted at home.

Ending endemic corruption and a culture of impunity in east Africa's biggest economy is seen by donors as a crucial step towards avoiding a repeat of last year's post-election violence.

British High Commissioner Rob Macaire said London issued travel bans as a last resort because no senior figure had ever been successfully prosecuted for corruption by a Kenyan court.

"But this policy is not something we want to do, it isn't something we relish," he told reporters. "We would far, far rather see people being credibly investigated and prosecuted."

Anger over graft was one of the contributing factors to the 2008 turmoil, which killed at least 1,300 people, drove another 300,000 from their homes and shattered the country's image as the region's stable business, tourism and transport hub.

A coalition government formed to end the bloodshed is under increasing pressure from Kenyans and donors to stamp out graft and impunity, and to try the masterminds of the violence.

Macaire hailed the passing of an anti money laundering law by parliament on Thursday, saying it could help Britain freeze corruptly obtained Kenyan assets and return them, as happened with more than $100 million of illegally gained Nigerian funds.

"It's fantastic news ... If properly implemented, this could make a significant impact and also allow greater cooperation with the UK and other international partners," Macaire said.

20091211

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The family of a man held at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison camp on suspicion of carrying out militant attacks has sued the Kenya government for 2.25 billion shillings for wrongful detainment and torture.

In a petition to the High Court in Nairobi, Mohamed Abdulmalik's family said he was arrested on February 13, 2007 and held for longer than Kenyan law allows before he was handed over to the U.S. authorities.

"We submit that the above figure is commensurate compensation for the callous, unfeeling, inexcusable treatment that the Kenya police meted out against the subject," the petition said.

It went on to denounce his "long and unlawful detention without trial in what is now reputed to be the worst detention facility on earth".

Abdulmalik is held at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. naval station in Cuba, for his alleged involvement in a 2002 attack of an Israeli-owned Kenyan beach hotel and an unsuccessful attempt to shoot down a plane headed for Israel from the resort of Mombasa.

The case, which has the Attorney General and Commissioner of Police listed as respondents, will be heard on January 14, 2010.

U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to close Guantanamo Bay -- set up afer the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and a focus of controversy because of torture and rights abuses -- and move suspected militants for trial on U.S. soil.

20091211

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suicide bomber who killed 22 people including three government ministers in Mogadishu last week disguised as a veiled woman was a 26-year-old Danish citizen of Somali descent, Somalia's parliament speaker said.

Western security agencies say young Somalis abroad are abandoning the relative safety and comfort of their homes in the West to join the ranks of Somalia's insurgents groups.

"It is unfortunate that a child whose parents escaped Somalia's conflict and raised him in Europe came home with extremist ideologies and blew himself and innocent people up," Sheikh Aden Mohamed Madobe told reporters late on Thursday.

Western nations and Somalia's neighbours say the failed Horn of Africa state has become a safe haven for militants -- including foreign jihadists -- who are using it to plot attacks across the impoverished region and beyond.

Last Thursday's blast was blamed on hardline al Shabaab rebels who are battling the Western-backed government to impose their harsh interpretation of Islamic law across the country.

Washington accuses al Shabaab of being al Qaeda's proxy in the nation. Somalia has lacked a functioning central government since 1991, and the U.N.-backed administration of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed controls just a few sites in the capital.

The father of the Danish man said to be the suicide bomber was quoted as denying that his son, Abdulrahman Ahmed Haji, had carried out the attack, saying he had been a guest at the ceremony.

"My son was invited to the graduation ceremony by his friend and apparently both of them died. Since no one recognised him, they assumed he was the suicide bomber," Hassan Haji told Voice of America (VOA) radio's Somali service from Denmark.

20091211

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's leader said on Friday it was no longer possible to negotiate with his political rivals, apparently ending hopes for a power-sharing government on the crisis-racked island.

President Andry Rajoelina, who seized power in March, accused opposition leaders of attempting their own coup d'etat this week after they struck a deal on the make-up of a unity government without him in Mozambique.

"It has become impossible, and it is no longer envisaged, to collaborate (with the opposition)," Rajoelina told supporters in Fianarantsoa, 400 km (250 miles) south of the capital Antananarivo.

In comments broadcast live by local media, the former disc jockey said it was clear that Madagascar's 20 million people no longer supported efforts to build a consensus government.

"I get the message. We will now decide what is best for the people," Rajoelina said.

African nations and foreign powers say frozen aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars will only be released once a power-sharing government is established and a road-map to fresh elections on the Indian Ocean island is in place.

The prolonged crisis has created uncertainty for foreign investors such as mining groups Rio Tinto and Sherritt International and oil firms Total and Exxon Mobil.

Former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano mediated this week's talks and called them a step in the right direction. France said the resolutions had been regrettable.

LAGOS, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Energy Commission of Nigeria (ENC) has urged Nigerians to use household energy efficiently to help reduce heat and gas emissions which contribute to climate change.

Abubakar Sambo, the commission's director-general, gave the advice on Thursday in Abuja, at a national workshop on household energy savings.

"As the world is currently grappling with the impact of climate change, it is imperative that we do the little we can to reduce heat and gas emissions which contribute to climate change," the News Agency of Nigeria quoted him as saying.

"We can achieve that by using household energy in an efficient manner," he said.

"For instance, turning off lights when not in use, using efficient lighting lamps and other household appliances, and using improved woodstoves," he added.

According to him, saved energy can be deployed to other uses and in the event of waste it could be harmful to the environment.

The challenges of energy crises are so enormous that solutions to them have to be multi-faceted, he said.

"Saving what we currently have will go along way in reducing the need for more generation of energy with its accompanying cost," he added.

20091211

(Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government on Thursday affirmed support for Iran in its right to possess the nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

"We support Iran's right to possess nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. It is a right granted for all countries by international laws and legislations," Sudanese Presidential Adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters after a meeting with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Khartoum.

Ismail expressed his country's appreciation for Iran's supportive stances to Sudan at regional and international forums, affirming that the Sudanese-Iranian political, economic and commercial ties are strategic, deeply-rooted and progressive.

"We are working to develop further our relations and hope that Iran will contribute to development and rehabilitation in Darfur and south Sudan," he said.

He said his talks with the Iranian foreign minister focused on bilateral relations and the current political issues in Sudan, in particular the Darfur issue and progress in implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between north and south Sudan.

The Iranian foreign minister, for his part, told reporters that his country "stands alongside Sudan and supports Khartoum's efforts to achieve peace and stability in Darfur."

Mottaki further expressed confidence that the political parties in Sudan would overcome issues of difference and agree on national resolutions to the country's political issues.

"We are confidant that the Sudanese will give a lesson for the world to follow suit in resolving their issues without international guardianship," he said.

The Iranian Foreign Minister arrived in Khartoum Wednesday and he would meet a number of Sudanese officials, including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

20091211

Harare — OK Zimbabwe Limited, the country's second largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) supermarket group, predicts economic recovery to be slow and lengthy owing to challenges related to liquidity, low aggregate domestic demand and excessive import dependence arising from local supply constraints.

Based on empirical industrial realities, this forecast obtrusively confutes the robust outlook projected by the 2010 national budget, which revised upwards the initial growth rate of 3,5 percent for 2009 to 4,7 percent and forecast a near two-digit growth rate next year.

This variance implicitly shows the forecasting by the fiscal authorities, who have traditionally missed their own targets, may be fraught with inaccuracies and a high margin of error.

OK says the next six months to February 2010 would show progressive growth in sales and merchandise stocking, with imports maintaining a dominance over local products until the domestic flow makes a phenomenal rise and closes the supply gap.

Though recovering, the local manufacturing sector remains fragile and under pressure from input shortages, high overheads, capital refinancing constraints and import competition, which is also feeding on itself in the retail and other consumer-sensitive sectors.

By restricting credit terms to a maximum of 14 days compared to South African third-party suppliers who have advanced facilities of up to 30 days, local merchandisers have further pushed themselves out of the game.

In the half year to September 30, the retailer -- which operates Bon Marché, OK, OK Express and Pax Cash & Carry -- relied on short-term third-party facilities to restock after opening the financial period on a low working capital base that aggravated in the second quarter of the year after the economy multi-currencied in February.

To jump over the hurdle and cordon off competition from larger retailers from South Africa, who have shown a strong interest in squeezing into the local FMCG retail space, OK had hoped to strike a strategic alliance deal with South Africa's retail giant, Shoprite Holdings, to drive its strategic plan, dubbed Vision 2020.

The strategy targets recapturing the market share the supermarket chain had lost to an agglomeration of small players that sprouted during the period of shortages and hyperinflation and annexed over 50 percent of the local FMCG market from under the nose of larger retail chains.

But the partnership talks collapsed in October when Shoprite withdrew from the table citing excessive political risk and economic uncertainty, soon after a due diligence.

"We hope that the signing of the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with South Africa will unlock direct credit facilities for us since we are likely to be reliant on imports for some time," OK chief executive officer, Willard Zireva, says. "At the moment we are relying entirely on third parties who buy and then supply us."

During the review period, the retailer reported a net profit of US$1,8 million or US$0,25 headline earnings per share with no comparative. Revenue from core operations reached US$76 million with US$2,8 million of this translating into profits.

Compared to the last full-year financial period ending March 31, the ratio of costs to income as measured by the increasing ratio of operating profit to revenue, dropped during the review period, driving operating profit higher.

The ratio is likely to decline further in the second half as borrowings to fund operations gradually come down inversely with the increase in the ratio of cash retained from operations to finance trading.

The bulk of the group's current assets are dominated by inventories worth US$18 million carried over from the first half, which show a health stocking level.

Spending on capital equipment, which was restricted in the first six months, would be released slightly as the company refurbishes its branch in Masvingo gutted by fired some two years ago.

allafrica