26 October 2009

Abuja — The much-awaited impro-ved power supply - for which a target of 6000mw was set for December by the Federal Government - will be mainly to the benefit of the manufacturing sector, according to the Minister of State for Commerce and Industries, Mr. Humphrey Abah.

According to the plan unveiled by the minister in an interview with THISDAY, the manufacturing sector would top the priority list of power supply, in line with a proposal which had already received the blessing of the Ministry of Power.

Ultimately, the manufacturing sector would enjoy uninterrupted power supply, Abah said.

A recent report showed that Nigerians spend about N796.4 billion on fuel to generate their own power every year, with industries operating under the aegis of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) spending over N350 billion of the sum to fuel their power plants.

A breakdown shows that N540.9 billion is used to buy diesel and N255.5 billion goes into the purchase of petrol annually.

Abah said the idea of putting the manufacturing sector at the top of the priority list is to address one of the critical cost components of manufacturers in the country, which had led to the closure of a number of companies in the past.

Abah stated that he had received the audited power needs of the key manufacturing companies in the country grouped in clusters and obtained from the president of MAN.

The essence, the minister said, was to use the profile in the next phase of his ministry's discussions with the Ministry of Power to source bulk energy to deliver to industrial layouts so that they could have uninterrupted power supply.

"Energy is being addressed by the Federal Government as you are aware. The president has said it several times and I do know that by the grace of God, the 6,000mw will be met by the end of the year. We are in talks with the Ministry of Power and the Minister has assured me of his ministry's readiness to partner with us.

"I received only yesterday upon request from the president of MAN an audit profile of the power needs of our industrial clusters across the nation and the essence is to use that profile in the next phase of our discussion with the Ministry of Power so that we can source bulk energy and deliver to industrial layouts so that they can have uninterrupted power supply.

"We recognise that power is an essential cost component that is distorting the cost of production i.e. making production uncompetitive for Nigerian industrialists and manufacturers at present," Abah said.

The minister, who estimated that power constitutes about 35 to 40 per cent of production costs in the country as against the industrialised countries' average of about 10 to 15 per cent on the maximum, added: "We want to be in a position to assist producers/industrialists to remove that cost element from their productive bills."

He further stated that once "we can achieve that, we will help to make their products competitive and the savings they make from there can go into improving on the quality of their products".

This, according to Abah, "is because quality is one issue we have discussed with them and once we achieve the delivery of power to them and improve in other infrastructures like roads and rail transport and they can also be in a position to invest in further research and development to bring their goods to competitive quality standards with similar products anywhere in the world".

The minister also addressed the issue of uncontrolled imports from the industrialised countries, saying: "I think the proper thing to address is the issue of cost of local production because once we can achieve effective cost management in their unit cost of production, we can then put them in a scale to enable them compete internationally."

He noted that "once Nigerian manufacturers have a common platform for production with their peers elsewhere in the world and we have an inherent advantage in terms of the source of materials that is with us and labour. These are advantages people elsewhere might not have access to. So, we can leverage on those advantages and compete internationally.

"The first issue to address for the productive sector of our economy is infrastructure because once we can get the infrastructures right for them, then they will be in a position to compete globally. You are aware that we are members of the WTO and that within the ambits and provisions of the WTO rules there are certain things we cannot do by legislations so that we do not infringe on the treaties we have consented to. So, we expect that the way out of it is to make them to be competitive and the way to make them to be competitive is to leverage on the cost of production and bring the cost down."

allafrica

26 October 2009

Lasting respite seems to have returned to the restive Niger Delta as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has finally declared an "indefinite ceasefire" following President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's meeting with one of its former leaders, Mr. Henry Okah.

MEND, in an email yesterday by its Spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, where it declared an indefinite ceasefire, also announced the replacement of Ms. Annkio Briggs with Mr. Amagbe Denzel Kentebe as the group's liaison officer.

By agreeing to engage in dialogue with the group, Gbomo said the Federal Government had demonstrated readiness to engage in meaningful discussion with every group or individual towards achieving a lasting peace in the region.

In the meantime, it has emerged that in order to regain the allegiance of the ex-militants in the Niger Delta, they will be made to swear to an oath of allegiance to the country and openly sign the renunciation form at the rehabilitation centres.

Defence Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Amnesty Programme, Major-Gen. Godwin Abbe (rtd), who made the disclosure at an interactive session with journalists yesterday in Lagos, said with the expiration of the amnesty period on October 4, 2009, the amnesty programme for repentant militants had entered the critical stage of rehabilitation and reintegration.

He also said the amnesty committee would soon approach the United Nations (UN) over the programme particularly with regards to the need for stiffer sanctions against illegal oil bunkering, comparable to what is in place against illegal mining of diamonds.

Gbomo said the position of the government, which informed its declaration of the indefinite ceasefire, was conveyed to them by one of its former leaders, Okah, after his meeting with President Yar'Adua on October 19, 2009 when it agreed to engage its Aaron Team led by Vice-Admiral Mike Okhai Akhigbe.

The position is a reversal of its earlier threat to take on the oil sector and military targets in the region after the expiration of its extended ceasefire deadline by October 15, 2009 unless the Federal Government engaged its negotiators, which includes Prof. Wole Soyinka in a dialogue on how to resolve the issues of the Niger Delta.

Gbomo said in the statement: "On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, the Federal Government of Nigeria expressed its readiness to engage in serious and meaningful dialogue with every group or individual towards achieving a lasting peace in the Niger Delta.

"This welcome shift in position conveyed to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) by Mr. Henry Okah after his meeting with President Yar'Adua on Monday, October 19, 2009 indicated the willingness of the government to negotiate with the MEND Aaron team.

"To encourage the process of dialogue between the government and the team that MEND has selected to negotiate its demands for a lasting peace in the Niger Delta region, an indefinite ceasefire has been ordered and takes effect from 0000Hrs, Sunday, October 25, 2009.

"The Aaron Team has been modified with the exit of Ms. Annkio Briggs by mutual consent. She has been replaced as the group's liaison with immediate effect by Mr. Amagbe Denzel Kentebe."

Gbomo had earlier said MEND would have no reason to commence attacks if the Federal Government demonstrated sincere commitment in engaging in dialogue to address the root cause of militancy.

He had exclusively told THISDAY that the genuine issue of fiscal federalism was being swept under the carpet and that it would no longer tolerate such.

Abbe told journalists the amnesty committee had already met with the international community in Nigeria over issues concerning the Niger Delta and the amnesty programme and that the Federal Government expected cooperation from the diplomats.

The Defence minister was responding to a question at the session on a report in a national newspaper that Nigeria had not invited the UN to play an active monitoring role in the amnesty process.

He put the number of ex-militants who have surrendered their arms and ammunition at 15, 260, though he stated that based on the committee's initial projection, the figure of all true militants in the Niger Delta was estimated at 17,000.

The minister said two rehabilitation centres in Aluu, Rivers State and Agbarho, Delta State were fully ready to be occupied.

"Both rehabilitation centres have capacity for 3, 000. In the face of accommodation problem, it is intended that ex-militants will be rehabilitated in batches. The rehabilitation will last for a period of about four weeks for each batch and will entail reorientation, counseling and moral/spiritual regeneration of the ex-militants," he said.

In preparation for the training/skill acquisition of the ex-militants, he said a survey of the need of the youths in the Niger Delta region was conducted by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

allafrica

TUNIS, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Tunisians started voting on Sunday in the country's presidential and parliamentary elections which are expected to give a new term to incumbent President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

The 73-year-old head of state, who came to power in 1987 when doctors declared his predecessor unable to continue his duties, won the last election five years ago with 94.4 percent of the vote.

Three opponent candidates run for Sunday's poll, including Mohamed Bouchiha, general secretary of People's Unity Party, Ahmed Brahim, the head of Ettajdid (Renewal) Movement, and Ahmed Inoubli, the candidate of Unionist Democratic Union.

"Ben Ali is the best choice for us Tunisians. It was unthinkable to have stable and developed country two decades ago but look now everything he pledged to do was done," said Khaled Chihi, a 45-year-old teacher who was heading to the polling station.

In a television address on Saturday evening, Ben Ali said he ensured all necessary steps to guarantee transparent presidential and legislative elections and to consolidate democracy.

"I am convinced that when you go to the polls and exercise your right to choose, you will place, with freedom and conviction, Tunisia's interest and future above all other considerations," he added.

Tunisia's neighbors and partners had praised Ben Ali for ensuring political stability and strong economic performance.

Growth stood at an average of 5 percent over the past decade due to reforms to boost the private sector and improve investment climate.

Economists said the North African country has outperformed its neighbors as it becomes less dependent on volatile farming sector and more reliant on fast-growing service business and sectors with high added value.

KITGUM, Uganda, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The military forces from the five East African countries and the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) on Sunday ended the ten-day joint military exercise aimed at strengthening the cooperation among countries during complex humanitarian emergencies.

Over 1,200 troops from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and the United States participated the exercise codenamed "Natural Fire 10" at Pajimo Military Barracks in Kitgum district in northern Uganda aimed at better responding to complex humanitarian disasters like floods, landslides, earthquakes.

"This exercise has reinforced our forces capacity in the reduction of negative impacts of natural disasters on civil population, life and security," said Yves Sahinguvu, first vice president of Burundi while closing the exercise.

He noted that it will further develop the capacity of regional defense forces to participate in the resolution of serious defense and security challenges facing the region like the consequent attacks on Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers in Somalia deployed under the African Union.

"In Somalia, Ugandan and Burundian forces are confronted with suicide attacks. The list is unfortunately not exhaustive. These exercises will allow us to develop our Defense Forces capacity to participate in the resolution of these challenges," he said.

Beatrice Kiraso, the East African Community (EAC) deputy secretary general in charge of political federation, said as the EAC celebrates the 10th anniversary next month, the bloc should own its destiny and agenda.

"We need to build more capacity not only among military forces but also security agencies and government institutions. Peace, security and political unity are pre-requisite," said Kiraso.

"Along with developing its own common defense mechanism and internal conflict prevention, management and resolution, East Africa needs to explore ways of ensuring economic independence," she said.

Eriya Kategaya, Uganda's first deputy prime minister and minister for East African affairs said with the cooperation between the EAC military forces, rebellions and genocides like the one in Rwanda in 1994, will never occur again.

"With the level of cooperation within the armies, it's not possible for genocides and killing of people to happen again," he said.

John Hoover, deputy Chief of Mission of U.S. Embassy in Uganda, said the six countries should continue working together to meet the cross border, cross-cutting challenges that face all the countries.

"You have better prepared yourselves at national, regional and international levels to confront natural disasters by working smoothly and productively," said Hoover.

The joint exercise will also test the multinational command and control systems within the EAC and between the EAC states and the United States in responding to disasters.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Former South African president Thabo Mbeki said he was hurt and could still not figure out why Judge Chris Nicholson implicated him in plotting against President Jacob Zuma, the Sunday Independent newspaper reported.

Speaking for the first time about circumstances around his controversial recall from the government over a year ago, Mbeki exclusively told The Sunday Independent how he was angered and hurt by the claims made by Nicholson which were later rejected by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Nicholson had implicated Mbeki and his cabinet in a conspiracy to thwart Zuma's attempts to become the president of the ANC and later of the country.

"It made us very angry," Mbeki said. The former president has mentioned the political management of the process of his recall in court documents, but never about how he personally felt about the recall.

He told the newspaper that Nicholson's judgment hurt him and made him feel bad. "Why would any judge want to do that? I don't know - I don't think he will ever explain himself because judges don't explain themselves. I mean that was bad."

Banging a sidetable, a visibly irritated Mbeki added, "We said it was not sufficient merely to release a press statement (repudiating comments by Nicholson) because this judge must produce the facts which led him to this conclusion. And we couldn't understand why a judge would sit on a bench and go out of his way to say this."

Mbeki explained his understanding of the meaning of Nicholson's judgment. He felt that Nicholson "really sought to impugn our integrity", and presented Mbeki and his cabinet as "dishonest people" who "for whatever reason want to intervene in ways that are illegal and unconstitutional".

He said he, like his cabinet colleagues, took the oath of office seriously and the oath was, for him, not just a formality.

"For somebody to pop up from somewhere with absolutely no basis ... to come to a conclusion that these are bad people, dishonest people, acted in violation of their oath, this and that and the other; that was bad," he said.

At the time Nicholson took the decision, Mbeki had just been defeated at the Polokwane ANC conference by Zuma, whose faction in the ANC felt that Msholozi was a victim of political machinations.

About four weeks later, the ANC national executive committee took a decision to recall Mbeki. ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told reporters at a press conference after the decision was taken that the Nicholson judgment played a major role in the discussion that led to the recall.

Mbeki sought not to blame the ANC for having recalled him using a flawed premise, "That was a decision not made by the ANC but by Judge Nicholson and the ANC acted on it. But it's okay, that's the past".

KISUMU, Kenya, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- As the world prepares to celebrate children's universal day on Nov. 20, dark clouds hung over Nyanza, an expansive province in western Kenya, where child abuse has been on a sharp rise in the recent past.

In many parts of this province that straddles Lake Victoria, children have nowhere to hide. Child rapists are everywhere -- in schools, homes, churches, in market centers and on the streets.

Police and child rights activists say incest was on the rise. Even teachers and church leaders who would have been expected to protect the child have been accused of defiling children under their care, some as young as five years.

The little girl broke into sobs when the teacher called out her name. She appeared terrified and struggled to cover her malnourished face with an exercise book.

Courts across Nyanza are teeming with defilement, incest and assault cases. Records from the provincial police headquarters in Kisumu indicate that Suba, a semi-arid district lying along the shores of Lake Victoria, has the most cases of child abuse.

This report is corroborated by Esther Soti, a community social worker who has founded an organization -- the Development Links Initiative Kenya(DEVLINK) to rescue and rehabilitate abused girls.

"The children in Nyanza are under siege. They have suddenly become the target of rapists. The trend is worrying because even fathers have turned against their children," Soti told Xinhua in an interview.

He said that in Suba District, where she works with the vulnerable groups, an average of five children are defiled every day.

"Many of the cases at the Homa bay law court which handles legal matters from Suba are linked to child abuse. If it is not defilement or incest, it is assault," she explained.

Three months ago, Soti helped to rescue a 14 years old orphaned school girl who had been forcefully married by her class teacher.

"The teacher, a 60 year-old polygamist lured the girl to his home by pretending he would sponsor her to a secondary school and buy her clothes.But he detained the girl and sexually assaulted her until I alerted the police," said Soti.

Just last week, a teacher was arrested and charged before the same court after he defiled a nursery school pupil.

Senior police officers who have handled many of the child abuse cases but who cannot be quoted because he is not allowed to speak about his work in the media says only a small fraction of the child rape cases were reported to the police.

"Majority of parents are still ignorant of the law and opt to keep to themselves whenever their children are raped. Others opt to remain silence after being threatened by the culprits.

Other parents, he said, opted to settle the rape cases out of court after being offered money by the rapists.

Although Kenya's new Sexual Offences Act outlaws out-of court settlement of rape cases, many sex pests still escape justice after using money to silence the complainants.

"Something must be bone to save our children from the rising number of sex pests. We have to educate our people to know their rights. Many parents still take up to one week before reporting rape cases. By the time they get to the police, all the key evidence had been wiped out," said Soti.

The matter has been worsened by the high poverty index in Nyanza. Some parents are too poor and desperate to turn down offers from people who had defiled their children.

Government's recent poverty survey showed that more than 90 percent of Nyanza residents live on less than one U. S. dollar per day.

A children's rights activist Ben Owala says the government should investigate why older men were defiling children young enough to be their great grand children.

He says some of the rapists have been diagnosed with HIV, the deadly virus that causes Aids, an indication their young victims could have been infected.

"Reports we get from the villagers indicate men are turning on the children allegedly for sexual healing. There is a belief that those suffering from HIV/AIDS can be healed if their had sex with virgin girls," Owala told Xinhua.

"Other men, we have been told, go for the children because they were free of HIV/AIDS. They feared sleeping with older women for fear of contracting the disease," said Owalla.

In 2007, a 52-year-old primary school teacher from a school in Nyando District was acquitted by a Kisumu court where he faced charges of sexually abusing 20 of his female pupils all aged between eight and 13 years.

Most of the pupils, some of whom dropped out of school after being impregnated by the same teacher, told the court how the teacher lured them to his house with food and money before raping them.

Human rights activists staged a protest after the court released him for alleged lack of evidence.

One barefoot girl aged 13 told the court: "Yes he lured me to his house and raped me three times. He promised to buy me shoes."

A document prepared by the authorities at Radhiang Primary School indicates up to 20 girls, half of them orphans, were raped by one teacher.

The youngest was in Class 3 and the oldest in class 6.

The girls were taken in by a local philanthropist, Hezekiash Nyaranga, who runs an orphanage.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- South African environmental activists took to the streets of the country's major cities over the weekend, urging the government to be proactive at December's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In Johannesburg, the World Environment Day on Saturday saw a giant statue of former President Nelson Mandela being draped with a banner, urging current President Jacob Zuma to attend the Copenhagen summit in person.

In Cape Town, the famous Table Mountain Cableway was also surrounded by large banners.

Although there has been no official word on whether Zuma will go to Copenhagen, South Africa has mapped out a comprehensive response to climate change.

The country, which is Africa's greatest emitter of greenhouse gases, is widely expected to commit to a carbon emission reduction roadmap at Copenhagen meeting. It will not be a simple rubber stamp when South Africa joins approximately 190 other parties updating their commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

While there is almost a universal agreement on the need to cut carbon emissions, South Africa sides with other developing nations in asking that developing nations be compensated if they set limits.

The crux of the argument is that developed nations have already caused most of the environmental damage to get where they are now, and they are still the major polluters. They can not reasonably expect nations which are still trying to develop their infrastructure and other facets, to cut back on carbon emissions, at least not without compensation.

Graciela Chichilnisky, an economics professor at Columbia University who helped design the Kyoto Protocol's international carbon market, said earlier this month that 60 percent of all carbon emissions come from rich industrial nations that house only 20 percent of the world's population but use most of its resources.

In Africa, South Africa is the most industrialized country and its economy is also the largest economy on the continent. Most of South Africa's electricity is generated from coal-fired power stations. Thus the government has identified electricity as providing the greatest potential for mitigation, which here means reducing carbon emissions.

In notes prepared for a video-link discussion before December's summit, the South African government said the country, like other emerging and developing countries, has not been spared from the potentially severe impacts of climate change.

For example, in the last two decades or so, South Africa has experienced a number of climatic hazards. The most serious ones have been dry spells, seasonal droughts, intense rainfall, riverine floods and flash floods.

In fact, droughts and floods have increased in frequency, intensity and magnitude over the past two or three decades in the southern African region.

They have adversely impacted on food and water security, water quality, energy and sustainable livelihoods of the most rural communities. Currently, the majority of rural communities are experiencing chronic food deficits in many parts of the region on a year-round basis because of the effects of floods and droughts.

This increasing prevalence of recurrent floods and droughts has had far-reaching consequences for poor people in terms of food, water, health and energy in South Africa both in rural and urban areas.

The plight of the poor who dwell in informal settlements on the Cape Flats, near Cape Town, is, according to the government, "indeed a stark reminder of the fact that the world's poorest people are the most vulnerable to the increasingly frequent natural disasters such as flooding and droughts attributed to climate change."

Thus, climate change poses a serious threat to sustainable development in South Africa, largely due to the lack of capacity to manage the impacts of global climate change on the most vulnerable that sadly appear to constitute the vast majority of the South African population.

South Africa has acknowledged its role in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) through its excessive dependence on coal. It has noted the immediate need for the country to move from being an energy-intensive economy to a low-carbon growth economy.

Current and proposed interventions on the ground for mitigating climate change have mainly focused on the energy sector due to the increasing realization that energy production is the primary and major route for GHG emissions in South Africa.

This has culminated in the formulation and adoption of various interventions, including the White Paper on the Renewable Energy Policy for South Africa, by the Department of Minerals and Energy, which aims to realize energy security through progressive switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources such as biomass, hydro, solar and wind.

The National Climate Change Response Strategy for South Africa does not only perceive energy-induced climate change as a threat to sustainable development, but also as an opportunity for realizing sustainable development, especially when activities for climate change mitigation are linked to poverty eradication and human capital development.

The collaborative approaches proposed for mitigating and/or managing the impacts of climate change in the National Climate Change Response Strategy for South Africa, reflecting such a perception in the government.

The investment opportunities created by the Clean Development Mechanism projects and the associated skills development initiatives and recruitment offers provided by these projects demonstrated the strategic opportunities that South Africa has for harnessing sustainable development through appropriate climate change interventions.

Having signed the convention, South Africa was obliged to fulfill certain commitments, including the launching of a Country Study Programme, which it did in 1997.

South Africa prepared an Initial National Communication on Climate Change in 2000, as required by Article 12 of the UNFCCC. Right now it is preparing its Second National Communication which is expected to be submitted by 2011.

MOGADISHU, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- A court in the northeastern Somali region of Puntland on Sunday sentenced 12 men to various prison terms after being convicted of piracy activities off the Somali piracy-infested coast.

The judge of the court of first instance in Bossaso, the commercial hub of Puntland, gave eight of the 12 men the prison sentence of eight years each, with the possibility of an appeal against the ruling.

The eight men were handed over to the local authorities by the Egyptian government after they were overpowered by the crew of an Egyptian fishing boat they have been holding hostage for nearly four months off the region.

Two of the pirates were reportedly killed in the struggle in mid August while the rest were taken to Egypt by the crew aboard the boat that was seized last May.

The court also sentenced three years in jail each of the four men accused of an attempted piracy after they were allegedly caught with weapons around the coastal Mareero village outside Bossaso and planning to carry out seajacking.

Judge Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Aware, who presided over the trials, said the men could lodge an appeal against the court ruling.

The men were expected to appeal against the sentences as they denied all the charges leveled against them

The authorities in the region of Puntland, a hotbed of piracy in Somalia, have carried out similar trials against suspected pirates in the past after some of the international naval forces patrolling the Somali coast handed over some suspected pirates.

The French navy force patrolling the Somali piracy-invested coast this month handed over five suspected pirates to the authorities in Puntland.

Several warships from a number of countries patrol the Somali coast and the Gulf of Aden where piracy has been rife for the past years when dozens of commercial ships were abducted but most were released after the payment of hefty ransoms.

Since the start of the restless situation in Somalia in 1991, the coastal areas near the war-torn country and the Gulf of Aden were frequently infested by pirates.

KINSHASA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Central African countries are set to attend a summit on Saturday on peace, integration and environment in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), organizers have said.

The 14th ordinary session of the heads of state and government of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) will tackle issues affecting the region, including peace and security, the free movement of goods and people, integration, the development of road infrastructure, energy and the new information technology.

Environment and water will also feature in the debates, especially the question of protecting the Congo Basin forests, which is shared by most CEEAC countries.

On this matter, the CEEAC leaders will launch a program to assist in the conservation of the ecosystem of Congo Basin (PACEBCO), which is being co-financed by the African Bank of Development (BAD) to the tune of 23 billion FCFA (49 million U.S. dollars) and CEEAC to the tune of 3.5 billion FCFA (7.5 million dollars).

They need to adopt a common position on climate change in anticipation of the world conference on climate which will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

On security, the CEEAC leaders are expected to launch their project of creating a multinational force for central Africa (FOMAC).

Following other regional organizations like SADC, CEEAC envisions a deterrent force that can rapidly intervene to guarantee peace and security for the people and their goods within the region.

The leaders will also reflect on ways and means of promoting regional integration and encourage the free movement of goods and people.

Central Africa is today the only sub-region on the continent which is lagging behind in regional integration and the free movement of goods and people.

The obstacles, including multiple controls and harassment in the border points of different countries, and multiple taxes imposed on business people, economic operators and other travelers, make the free movement of goods and people impossible and hamper the development of regional commerce.

It Kinshasa, the CEEAC leaders will try to remove all these obstacles to make the bloc an investment zone like Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Arab Maghreb Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

They will also examine the effects of the international financial crisis on the economies of CEEAC countries. The financial crisis "has rendered hypothetical the achievement of priority programs of the three main strategic areas that were discussed during the 13th conference of the heads of state and government by the year 2015 which were peace, security and stability, modern infrastructure especially in transport, energy, water and environment," said Congolese Regional Cooperation Minister Raymond Tshibanda.

According to sources close to the Congolese Foreign Ministry, Angolan President Jose Eduardo Santos will not attend the Kinshasa summit because of his busy schedule.

Some observers link the absence of Angolan leader to by the current misunderstanding between Luanda and Kinshasa, following the recent expulsion of Congolese nationals from Angola, and then the Angolan nationals from the DRC.

The exchange of expulsions was reportedly accompanied by cases of violence, chilling the relations of the two neighboring countries.

The DRC has hosted a series of key regional meetings this year with its domestic situation improved in the recent months.

xinhuanet

25 October 2009

Kinshasa — Former Tutsi rebels integrated into the Congolese army have warned of a possible return to conflict.

The warning, made public on Friday, comes nearly a year after a peace agreement was first signed.

The National Congress for the People's Defence termed the humanitarian situation in eastern Congo "catastrophic", adding that "hopes of peace were more distant than ever".

They warned DRC President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame over the "indisciplined" Congolese troops, adding that they risked faltering the peace agreement.

The proclamation, dated October 15, comes days after a document written by their former leader, Gen Laurent Nkunda, before he was arrested, was published.

Gen Nkunda, whose forces threatened the Congolese political establishment last year with a series of resounding victories in the east of the country, was arrested in January by Rwandan troops.

allafrica

Somalia's Al Shabaab Islamist movement on Sunday executed two young men for alleged spying for the Somali government in the southern town of Marka.

The radical group has been waging insurgency for two years against the Somali government and the African Union peacekeeping forces in the capital Mogadishu.

After the execution was carried out in central Marka town, an official from the group told crowds of local people who gathered to watch the punishment that the men were convicted of spying for the Somali government after "they confessed to the crime."

"The men were executed because of apostasy and for spying for the apostate government. After three months of investigation and their confession to the crime they were executed in accordance with the Islamic law," said Sheikh Sultan, an Al Shabaab official in Marka.

Residents said that the young men were executed by firing squad of Al Shabaab fighters as crowds, mainly women and children, looked on the capital punishment.

The hardline Islamist group of Al Shabaab controls much of southern and central Somalia and usually carries out amputations, executions, and floggings of criminals and opposition individuals in areas under their control, including parts of the Somali capital.

The Islamist group, which is considered by the Somali government and the United States as a terrorist organization, declares a fight to establish an Islamic State in Somalia.

2009-10-25 .xinhuanet.com

Nigeria's main militant group in the oil rich Niger Delta region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has announced an indefinite ceasefire with immediate effects.

Jomo Gbomo, the group's spokesperson, said in a statement reaching here on Sunday that the decision is to encourage the process of dialogue between the government and the team that MEND has selected to negotiate its demands for a lasting peace in the Niger Delta region.

"On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, the Federal Government of Nigeria expressed its readiness to engage in serious and meaningful dialogue with every group or individual towards achieving a lasting peace in the Niger Delta," the statement said.

"This welcome shift in position conveyed to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) by Mr. Henry Okah after his meeting with President Umaru Yar'Adua on Monday, October 19, 2009 indicated the willingness of the government to negotiate with the MEND Aaron team," it added.

"To encourage the process of dialogue between the government and the team that MEND has selected to negotiate its demands for a lasting peace in the Niger Delta region, an indefinite ceasefire has been ordered and takes effect from 0000Hrs, Sunday, October 25,2009," the group said.

"The Aaron Team has been modified with the exit of Ms. Annkio Briggs by mutual consent. She has been replaced as the group's liaison with immediate effect by Mr. Amagbe Denzel Kentebe," it added.

On Tuesday, President Yar'Adua and MEND leader Henry Okah met to defuse the threat by the group to resume attacks on oil installations at the expiration of a ceasefire on Oct. 15.

The group's spokesperson had said in a statement that MEND would resume its hostilities against the Nigerian oil industry, the Nigerian armed forces and its collaborators.

"The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) will resume attacks on the oil industry at the expiration of our ceasefire," the statement said.

"MEND considers this next phase of our struggle as the most critical as we intend to end 50 years of slavery of the people of the Niger Delta by the Nigerian government, a few individuals and the western oil companies, once and for all," it added.

"In this next phase, we will burn down all attacked installations and no longer limit our attacks to the destruction of pipelines," it declared.

In June, the Nigerian government offered amnesty to gunmen in the oil rich Niger Delta region, urging them to lay down their weapons by Oct. 4 in a bid to end unrest which has cost Africa's top oil exporter billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Over 8,000 Nigerian armed youths gave up their weapons and embrace amnesty offered by the Nigerian government in the most concerted effort yet to end years of fighting in the oil-rich producing region.

The Niger Delta is an unstable area where inter-ethnic clashes are commonplace. Access to oil revenue is the trigger for the violence.

Over 300 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed after paying a ransom.

Attacks and bunkering on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta have cut Nigeria's output by around a fifth in recent years, helping push world oil prices to record highs since the beginning of 2006.

The unrest in the region has forced many international firms to flee the area. The government mobilized the Nigerian army and coast guard in an anti-banditry operation.

2009-10-25 .xinhuanet.com

Tunisians started voting on Sunday in the country's presidential and parliamentary elections which are expected to give a new term to incumbent President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

The 73-year-old head of state, who came to power in 1987 when doctors declared his predecessor unable to continue his duties, won the last election five years ago with 94.4 percent of the vote.

Three opponent candidates run for Sunday's poll, including Mohamed Bouchiha, general secretary of People's Unity Party, Ahmed Brahim, the head of Ettajdid (Renewal) Movement, and Ahmed Inoubli, the candidate of Unionist Democratic Union.

"Ben Ali is the best choice for us Tunisians. It was unthinkable to have stable and developed country two decades ago but look now everything he pledged to do was done," said Khaled Chihi, a 45-year-old teacher who was heading to the polling station.

In a television address on Saturday evening, Ben Ali said he ensured all necessary steps to guarantee transparent presidential and legislative elections and to consolidate democracy.

"I am convinced that when you go to the polls and exercise your right to choose, you will place, with freedom and conviction, Tunisia's interest and future above all other considerations," he added.

Tunisia's neighbors and partners had praised Ben Ali for ensuring political stability and strong economic performance.

Growth stood at an average of 5 percent over the past decade due to reforms to boost the private sector and improve investment climate.

Economists said the North African country has outperformed its neighbors as it becomes less dependent on volatile farming sector and more reliant on fast-growing service business and sectors with high added value.

2009-10-25 xinhuanet.com

At least 22 people were killed and 42 injured when two trains collided at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday near Garza village, some 50 km south of Cairo, a police officer told Xinhua.

A passenger train driving from Cairo to Fayoum, hit from the behind another passenger train heading for Asyout from Cairo, which stopped to check when it hit a big animal. The collision damaged two carriages of the front train, where at least dozens are still trapped, the police source said.

Rescue teams are trying to cut the damaged carriages open to pull more passengers out.

The policeman said no foreigners had been found among the dead and injured so far.

Traffic accidents are quite common in Egypt. It's estimated that about 6,000 people were killed in traffic incidents annually.

In July 2008, 44 were killed and 35 others injured when a number of vehicles collided with a speedy train at Foka level crossing in the northern governorate of Matrouh, about 430 km northwest of the capital.

2009-10-25 xinhuanet.com/

Many of the officials seeking accreditation to take part in the Under-17 World Cup tournament in the Lagos center had to spend Friday night at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, journalists, security personnel and volunteers were among hundreds of officials who had been besieging the stadium for accreditation since Oct. 19, when the exercise opened officially in Lagos.

As they waited patiently for accreditation, the Chief of Security at the Lagos Sub-seat, Lateef Junaid, announced through Tayo Balogun, Venue Manager, Accreditation, that nobody would be allowed to remain at the complex beyond 5 a.m. on Saturday.

"FIFA's security instruction must be respected. Nobody must be allowed to stay in the complex beyond 5 a.m. If you do not have accreditation nobody will allow you to enter the stadium complex," said Junaid, a Deputy Commissioner of the Police.

Balogun's assurance that everybody would get accreditation for the tournament was temporarily threatened by a downpour which started around 2 a.m, forcing the organizers to switch off the generator.

However, the accreditation process commenced after the rain stopped and most of the officials had their photographs taken and were asked to report later for their accreditation cards.

Reacting to the experiences of the officials seeking accreditation for the tournament, some members of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) attributed the slow accreditation procedure to the slow nature of the server and scarcity of cards.

According to Amanze Uchegbulam, Chairman, LOC Lagos Sub-seat, the situation was not peculiar to the Lagos center alone.

2009-10-25 xinhuanet.com

Zambia is marking its 45th year of independence from Britain with its leader calling on all Zambians to "secure the peace and unity", local newspaper the Times of Zambia reported on Saturday.

Zambian President Rupiah Banda on Friday delivered pre-independence remarks on state radio and television, saying securing peace and unity was cardinal if the country was to continue enjoying political stability and development.

Banda said Zambians should use the independence celebration to remember the country's founding fathers who worked together in unity to secure the country's freedom.

"I call on each and everyone of you to rededicate yourselves to jealously guard our political stability and emergent economic gains," Banda said.

Acknowledging that there would be difference of opinions, the Zambian leader said there was need for constructive dialogue to establish "common ground" and reach amicable solutions to differences.

He said his administration would continue to be receptive to constructive criticism and suggestions while remaining accountable to the public. He commended civil society organizations for the role they had played in supplementing government's efforts in providing social and economic services.

The theme for this year's independence celebration which falls on Saturday is "Reconciliation and Good Neighborliness". Banda said the theme must remind Zambians that they need each other to forge ahead.

2009-10-24 .xinhuanet.com

Somalia's Al Shabaab Islamist movement on Sunday executed two young men for alleged spying for the Somali government in the southern town of Marka.

The radical group has been waging insurgency for two years against the Somali government and the African Union peacekeeping forces in the capital Mogadishu.

After the execution was carried out in central Marka town, an official from the group told crowds of local people who gathered to watch the punishment that the men were convicted of spying for the Somali government after "they confessed to the crime."

"The men were executed because of apostasy and for spying for the apostate government. After three months of investigation and their confession to the crime they were executed in accordance with the Islamic law," said Sheikh Sultan, an Al Shabaab official in Marka.

Residents said that the young men were executed by firing squad of Al Shabaab fighters as crowds, mainly women and children, looked on the capital punishment.

The hardline Islamist group of Al Shabaab controls much of southern and central Somalia and usually carries out amputations, executions, and floggings of criminals and opposition individuals in areas under their control, including parts of the Somali capital.

The Islamist group, which is considered by the Somali government and the United States as a terrorist organization, declares a fight to establish an Islamic State in Somalia.

2009-10-25 .xinhuanet.com

KAMPALA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Africa is now in a much better position than over four decades ago to manage its own affairs like resolving the refugee and internally displaced persons (IDPs) crisis that it is facing, a top Ugandan government official said here on Tuesday.

Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere, the minister of relief, disaster preparedness and refugees, told Xinhua in an interview that the formulation of an African Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa is a major initiative to show the continent's commitment to solving its own problems.

Over 600 delegates from the 53 African countries and major international organizations are meeting in Uganda at a special AU Summit, the first of its kind focusing on forced displacement on the continent.

The meeting, which started on Monday, will culminate into a summit on Oct. 22-23 when African leaders are expected to adopt the Convention.

"The Convention that is going to come out is going to be of huge importance as it affects the behavior of states in addressing this problem," Kabwegyere said.

According to the Draft Convention, which was adopted by the Executive Council of AU that consists of ministers from the member countries, states have decided to develop by 2011 national strategies for the full implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.

Experts say bad governance is mainly responsible to the big number of refugees and IDPs in Africa, the largest in the world, numbering over 17 million people.

In the Draft Convention, the states also commit to establishing high-level national mechanisms to address the problem of forced displacement with particular focus on the root causes.

Kabwegyere said a major campaign will be launched to ensure that countries do abide by what they have signed.

SANAA, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Up to 170 Somali refugees who were forced to flee from the war-torn Somalia have arrived in Yemeni territories on Tuesday, Yemen's Interior Ministry said.

After their arrival in the coast of Hadramout and Taiz province,the security authorities gathered them and sent them to a camp for Somali refugees in southern country, said a statement on the Ministry's website.

The main camp for Somali refugees in Kharaz area, Lahj province, was set up in association with the Yemen Red Crescent Society. About 3615 Somalians have arrived in Yemen to seek refuge since September.

NAIROBI, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan rescuers have retrieved 11 bodies as they are stepping up the search for about 20 builders trapped after a building collapsed on the outskirts of Nairobi over the weekend.

Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) Public Relations Manager Titus Munguo confirmed on Wednesday that three more bodies were retrieved on Tuesday night, bringing the number pulled from the wreckage in Kiambu town to 11.

"The rescuers retrieved three more bodies last night from the multi-storey building which was under construction in Kiambu town. They have retrieved 11 bodies so far," Monguo told Xinhua by telephone.

The Red Cross official said more people are still trapped under the building and the rescue efforts are expected to go on throughout the day.

"The rescue teams continue digging into the rubble in search of people who were communicating to others outside. We expect to zero in where communications was coming from and expect to call the rescue efforts by the end of the day," said Mongou.

It is not clear what caused the building collapse in Kiambu, about 25 km northwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Monguo said some of the eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud bang when the building cracked before collapsing.

However, the Kenya Architectural Association has accused building companies of flouting safety regulations.

The architecture association had warned in a report released last week that about 65 percent of the country's buildings do not meet the required standards.

Mungou said counseling centers have been set up near the collapsed building to assist the survivors and the relatives of those still trapped.

"We have tents there. One of them is for tracing of missing persons. Until yesterday night 30 names had been presented by families as missing people and we now that this can also change," he explained.

Relatives of people feared trapped have gone to the site hoping to see their loved ones pulled out alive.