17 August 2009

Federal Government of Nigeria has proposed a five-year jail term without an option of fine for importers of counterfeit products, as it partners India in the war against fake drug.
Already, a special legal framework to put the proposal into practice to ensure compliance by the importers is being worked within the context of the Standard Organization of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Program (SONCAP).
A statement from the Ministry for Commerce and Industry through its Minister of state for industry Mr. Humphrey Abah, enumerated the problem which importation of fake and sub-standard products caused in the country. He attributed escalation of fake drugs in the country to leniency posed by the laws prohibiting the importation.
SONCAP is a scheme introduced by the SON in September 2005, to ensure that certain regulated imports comply with the approved technical and other specifications acceptable in the country.
Importers bringing in goods into the country were supposed to collect a SONCAP certificate, being a mandatory customs clearance document, without which their goods would be delayed and possibly prevented from entering the country.
Abah added that government had taken note of this shortcoming as well as the many dangers of counterfeit and substandard imports into the country. He said these include loss of lives, closure of industries, huge loss of revenue and impairment of the country’s economic policies.
He stressed that it would be better to slam stiff penalties on culprits as a deterrent.
The minister, who was obviously troubled by the extent of the problem, said that in the interim, government would demonstrate its readiness to combat the problem by strengthening the internal mechanisms of SON and the other agencies to fight the problem.
Abah disclosed that this was to ensure that if not totally eradicated, importation of sub- standard and counterfeit products into the country should at least reduced to the barest minimum.
The presence of other key government agencies at the forum, including the Customs, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as well as the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) underscored the government’s seriousness to contain illegal imports.
He said some of the fake products in circulation in Nigeria originated from India and China .
He added that if importation of sub-standard products attracted death penalty in China , then there was no reason why Nigeria should not enforce stiffer penalty for the perpetrators of the crime in the country.
His words: “The Federal Government is gravely concerned about this issue and that was why it approved the introduction of the off-shore Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) a few years back to ensure that goods are not allowed to leave their countries of origin to Nigeria without undergoing assessment to confirm their conformity to acceptable standards in Nigeria.”
He said the importation of sub-standard goods was a disincentive to the Nigerian economy and that Nigerians must commit themselves to laws that would help in stamping it out.
The minister said it was worrisome that Nigeria was losing hard-earned foreign exchange to other nations that were on sound economic footing because of the crime of fake goods’ importation and urged SON to make propositions to government on ways of checking the problem.
Abbah said some importers were actually making it difficult for goods to be cleared promptly at the ports, due to their dubious plans.
He said that the Customs and SON should work together to ensure that a few people in pursuit of their selfish interest did not jeopardise the nation’s interest.
Abah said SON should now strengthen its strategies in order to checkmate such unpatriotic people.
The Federal Government had in the recent times expressed its displeasure with the manner in which fake and sub-standard products flooded the country.
Some of the agencies had embarked enlightenment campaigns pointing out the evils of importing counterfeit products into the country, while they had declared their intention to combat the menace.
One of such efforts took place recently inside the Alaba International Market in Lagos. The market was believed to be the landing point for many of the electrical imports into the country. It was organised by the Consumer Protection Council in association with Nokia.
Also the India government had proposed a life jail term on producers of pharmaceutical products meant for Nigeria, if current moves by the country’s Drug Regulatory Agency succeeds at the parliament.
At the prompting of a high powered delegation of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to India, led by its Director-General, Dr. Paul Orhii, the Indian drug regulatory authority was currently pushing through the parliament, a draft legislation that would impose a life jail on anybody who manufactured and exported fake and sub-standard drugs to Nigeria.
Similarly, any Nigerian drug importer who connived with an India drug company to produce fake drugs would also be jailed for life upon conviction by the law court.

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Past News
The Ukrainian cargo plane impounded in Kano by officials of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) in June, this year, has been released from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.
The plane, along with its eight-member crew, was allowed to leave for Malabo, Equatorial Guinea’s capital, after the Federal Government was satisfied that the 18 crates of arms and ammunition aboard it truly belong to the Equatorial Guinea government.
“Following top level meetings between officials of Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea and documents examined, which all confirmed that the weapons belong to Equatorial Guinea, the plane was ordered to be released by the Federal Government,” a statement obtained from a security source said.
All the ammunition were said to be intact aboard the plane as it left the airport.
Security agents at the Mallam Aminu International Airport, Kano had impounded the cargo plane loaded with 18 crates of arms and ammunition following the suspicious movement of the cabin crew and their clearing agent after the plane made a stop-over at the airport as a result of technical problems.
No reason was given by the government for the release of the plane, but an official of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) told reporters that the release of the plane was directed from Abuja.
At the time the plane took off for Malabo, no top government functionary was sighted at the airport.

17 August 2009

The leadership of the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCTA) Administration in Abuja at the weekend swooped on beggars, street hawkers and commercial motorcyclists, saying it was part of plans by the administration to sanitize and entrench orderliness in the city.
The exercise involved a combined team of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), the police, the Peace Corps, the Department of Development Control and officials of the Vehicle Inspectorate Office (VIO) who combed the Garki Modern Market, Wuse 11 mosques and old Federal Secretariat complex in Durumi, Area 1, all within the vicinity of the Abuja city.
Buses conveying beggars to Wuse market and Yoruba Mosque in Wuse 11 were intercepted, while the beggars were arrested and whisked away.
Speaking on the exercise, the Director of AEPB, Mr. Abubakar Yabo, explained that the operation was divided into three: Evacuation of beggars, removal of commercial motorcyclists and clearing of the Garki Modern market.
“I took part in the removal of beggars in Wuse 11 market and the Yoruba Mosque. It was a very successful operation. It is not true that we raided worshippers in the mosque, we did it in an orderly manner and we did not enter the mosque. We (stopped) buses coming with beggars inside and we arrested them, while those moving freely were arrested and taken to Area 3,” he said.
Yabo said the arrested traders and commercial motorcyclists operators would be taken before the Abuja Mobile Magistrate Court .
“The mobile courts sit every day except on Sunday. The goods seized at Garki Market have been taken to Area 3. The court will fine them (culprits) and they will pay and get their goods back,” he added.
On the destitute and beggars removed from the mosques, he said the FCT Secretariat for Social and Human Development had created some programmes for them at the FCT Rehabilitation Centre.
But many people condemned the act especially the masses.

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Past News
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday clarified areas of misunderstanding on the full disclosure requirement by banks.

The Governor of the CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had on assumption of duty last June made Full Disclosure by banks one of his four-point agenda.

Subsequently, the concept became a subject of interpretation by internal and external auditors of banks as well as regulatory organs such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB) among others. The development led to different interpretations of the purposes and requirements for full disclosure. According to the clarifications on the policy as posted on the CBN website yesterday and titled: “The CBN’s Disclosure Requirement for Banks: The Facts,” the apex bank stated that the full disclosure requirement is a the mandatory financial, operational and management information, which financial institutions are required to disclose in the rendition of their periodic returns to the regulatory authorities and the public.

It added that the process has to do with ensuring the integrity of data in the rendition of reports to the supervisory authority and the public in order to enable them ascertain the true financial position and performance of deposit money banks.

“The objectives of introducing the full disclosure requirements are essentially to provide economic agents and other stakeholders with appropriate information to assist them in evaluating the financial positions and performances of banks and to enable them obtain better understanding of unique characteristics of the operations of banks,” the apex bank further stated. According to the CBN, the provision of adequate information enhances the integrity of banks and reduces the reputational risks that could lead to loss of confidence and patronage.

It stated it will also help to reduce market uncertainty and limit the risk of unwarranted contagion adding that the effort of the CBN at enhancing the current regime of information disclosure by banks will help to further promote market discipline. Obviously the banks, said the CBN, will be better off with full compliance and implementation of the additional disclosures since the merits of full disclosures far outweigh the demerits.

“The banking sector, like every other segments of the financial system thrives on trust and confidence. The full disclosure option will assist all stakeholders to evaluate the true and fair positions of the banks and confidently take informed decisions about them. The issue of de-marketing among the banks would have been systematically and permanently addressed.

“The intention of the CBN is to provide users, including investors and depositors, with requisite information to enable them evaluate the financial position, performance and operations of banks. The measure is in tandem with best practice and in pursuant for the attainment of the world acclaimed requirements of BASEL 11and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)” it further stated.

Past News
The militants groups in the war-tone Niger-Delta region where the Nigeria’s oil reserves are situated have recently made allegation that some of the security operatives are a party to their illegal oil bunkering in the region.
Specifically, the allegation by the militants groups stated that the Nigerian Navy was on their pay-roll as far as illegal oil bunkering was concerned.

Following this, the Federal Government has warned that the Nigerian Navy need to correct that impression and ensure that they do everything possible to stop the bunkering and show to the world that they are not a party to it. This warning was issued by the Minister of Defense, Major General Godwin Abbe (rtd).

The Minister said that during interaction with some of the militants groups, they emphatically said illegal oil bunkering was done in conjunction with the Nigerian Navy.

“There are series of allegations here and there, series of stories all about the militants trying to divert attention. “The militants say they are smuggling oil because the Navy are on their same payroll and all those rubbish and I said I will mention it to you. Between now that the amnesty has started and onward, it is your business to use the little you have to stop the smuggling in the Niger Delta region. It is your business to make sure that you don’t allow anybody to throw any red oil on this your brilliant dress that you are wearing," he said.

17 Aug 2009
Following the much call for a total reactivation of Nigeria’s railway lines in the country, the federal government has agreed to meet with the railway experts from the United States of America on her railway lines rehabilitation.

Already, a team of railway construction experts from the US is presently in Nigeria to work out modalities that would assist the country to rehabilitate existing railway lines across the country, rather than embarking on new construction.

Experts in the field are of the view that the development would among others, go a long way in helping the Federal Government to reposition the railway system and reduce carnage on the roads.

The team was led to the Ilorin Terminus over the weekend by Mr. Jim Blaze, as part of effort to appraise the viability of the North Central Zone. The group has started the evaluation from Lagos axis and had visited Oyo and Ogun states in the South-West Nigeria.

Mr. Blaze after the tour of Ilorin terminus, said their mission in Nigeria was to determine estimate of materials needed to make the Nigerian Railway System work again. He said report of the assessment have been presented to the New Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation for onward submission to the federal government.

He said, "This report was submitted to the MD NRC’s desk hopefully, and he is expected to have some serious discussions with Nigeria’s political leaders on what should be done. The federal government will determine how fast we will move."

It has also been reported that the team who undertook the appraisal exercise of the rail system had so far shown that there are no supporting structures which is a prerequisite for a safe rail system. The group however said that how far the project would go would be determined by the Nigerian government.

The US team further assures that though the rails and tiles in the first 20 to 28 kilometers from Lagos to Abeokuta will be replaced completely because they are old, fatigued and fractured yet the entire rehabilitation would not be expensive to complete.

Although the team refused to mention the cost of the rehabilitation, the leader of the team, however, said, "I am not sure I want to tell you, because even a normal engineering contract could have a 30 to 40 per cent contingency fee, so the number I have in my head should really not be made public, because it might raise false expectations, but we are not talking about billions of dollars."

Past News
The opposition leaders in Nigeria under the auspices of the Mega Summit Movement (MSM) have concluded arrangement to hold a National Political Reform Summit otherwise known as National Summit on Democracy (NASDEM) on October 1, this year.
This development came up after the leaders of the movement went to the National Assembly last week to canvass support for the much demanded electoral reform. The proposal for the reform of the electoral matters in the country have been submitted some months back but the National Assembly is yet to decide on it.

The summit, according to MSM, would be an avenue to harmonize all the proposals and recommendations gathered in its consultations for popular political reform and the establishment of a formidable Peoples Mega Party.

The MSM represented by its Head of Secretariat, Chief Olu Falae, former head of state, Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), Chief Rasheed Shitta Bay, Mallam Sule Hamma, Chief Victor Umeh, Senator Sulaimon Salawu and Olawale Okunniyi, had attended the public hearing on constitution review organized by the House of Representatives last week to canvass unlimited electoral reform.

According to a statement yesterday by the Media and Publicity Coordinator of MSM, Alhaji Hamisu San Turaki, the planning committee of the Summit led by Prof Pat Utomi, who also contested for the Presidency in 2007 may have decided to recommend the October 1 date to the leadership of the MSM given the political significance of the date and also to prevent the event from clashing with the Muslim Ramadan fast.

According to Turaki, the group still enjoying its renewed alliance between the Presidential Candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2007 General Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice-President and Presidentia Candidate of Action Congress (AC) also in 2007 Atiku Abubakar, had also intensified talks with labour and civil societies for a mass rally on electoral reform.

He said the rally is scheduled for Abuja on a date the group would formally hand its private member’s bill to the National Assembly.

“Mega Summit Movement is leaving no stone unturned in its mobilization for political change in Nigeria and therefore will work with all stakeholders and groups genuinely committed to unlimited political reform in the country,” the statement said.

On the composition of Mega Summit on Democracy, Turaki said it would include eminent Nigerians, leaders of thought, elder statesmen, distinguished sectoral and constituency leaders, foremost scholars and academics.

Others, he said, would include delegates from all political parties in the country, civil society organizations and labour leaders, professional bodies, Nigerians in Diaspora, indigenous groups, political mass movements, artisan platforms, gender constituencies, women, youths and persons living with disabilities among others.

Past News
Nigeria’s President Umar Yar’adua assured the country’s teeming bank customers that their deposits are safe and secure and promise that the federal government would do everything possible to make sure no bank is distressed or allowed to go under.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had on Friday last week sack five banks’ chief executives over what the apex bank described as gross violation of the process of issuing loans by the banks. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua said the action would lead to the sanitization of the nation’s banking sector and prevent fresh bank failures with their attendant negative effects on the national economy.

The president in a statement from the State House also assured all Nigerians that their deposits in Nigerian banks are safe as the Federal Government will continue to act in concert with the CBN to ensure that no bank is allowed to fail or become distressed.

He has already approved the injection of N420 billion into the five affected banks to ensure their continued viability and to be able to meet the demands of their respective depositors and to ensure that all necessary action are in place to ensure the stability and well-being of the country’s financial sector.

“Along with stricter supervision and regulation by the CBN, the Administration will continue to do whatever is necessary to guarantee the safety of deposits in Nigerian banks and entrench best corporate practices and better credit administration processes in the management of banks,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the President has directed all law enforcement agencies to give their fullest support to efforts by the new management teams of the five banks which have received bailout funds from the CBN to recover the huge loans, the non-servicing of which placed the banks at risk of distress.

Equally, the country’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been directed by the Presidency to ensure that all those that have collected loans from the banks are investigated and fully return the monies to the banks.

On the other hand, the new managing directors of the five banks whose management teams were axed over the weekend by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have assured their customers that they are ready to meet their respective obligations.

The CBN has, meanwhile, been working throughout the weekend, pulling all the stops to prevent a crisis of confidence in the affected banks as well as the entire industry. The apex bank has worked on key steps to protect the industry from systemic crisis in the aftermath of the shake-up in the banks.

The new chief executives of the five banks therefore said “We assure our customers that the safety of their deposits is in no doubt. Customers are requested to transact their normal businesses with the bank as the new management is committed to the safety of their deposits. We will continue to provide leading edge service delivery, which the Bank is known for.”

They also assured the banking public that there was no need to panic as the bank remains solvent with capacity to discharge its obligations to them. They added that the banks have no doubt grown to become a household name in the banking industry with rich history and culture of quality banking services.

August 5, 2009

Following the recent religious crisis in the North-eastern of Nigeria which resulted in the death of over 800 people, President Umaru musa Yar’Adua yesterday ordered his Chief Security Adviser to commence a probe into the death of religious sect ‘Boko Haram’ leader, Mohammed Yusuf, an incident that has raised questions of extra-judicial killing by security agents.
The order by the President also follows another revelation that comes from the security sources who alerted on the possible existence of a similar group opposed to Western education which according to the security has been traced to Niger State, another northern state. The state has shared boundary with the Nigeria’s capital Abuja.
The death of the Boko Haram sect leader, Yusuf was surrounded with controversy as there were conflicting reports regarding the circumstances that led to his death. While the police claimed he died in a shoot-out, a BBC photo of the sect leader in handcuffs proved he was taken alive and might have been slain by security agents. This was described by the Human Rights Groups as extra judicial killing and has already been condemned by many.
But President disclosed at the State House yesterday in Abuja that the National Security Adviser (NSA) had been directed to commence an investigation and submit the report before the end of the week, reiterating his government’s adherence to the Rule of Law. He hoped that the investigation will reveal the truth of the situation and expose the culprits.
“This is an incident that will be investigated together with all the events that have happened. Yesterday, I directed the NSA to carry out a post-mortem with the security agencies as a first step, so that we can have a full report of what happened during the crisis, including how the leader of Boko Haram was killed, the circumstances under which he was killed,” he added.
The president said the report would be examined and appropriate actions taken. Describing the incident as a “serious issue,” he stated that the report would determine if further investigation is needed.
Yar’Adua added: “I have been emphasizing since this administration came into power on our uncompromising stance on the rule of law. And everybody in this country, and all the officials, are aware, clearly and unambiguously of the stance of this administration on the rule of law and indeed my personal commitment and firm belief that it is rule of law that will anchor good governance and progress in this country.”
At the pick of the sectarian violence, President Yarádua went to Brazil on official trip. This move called for doubt from various quarters suspecting whether Yarádua is not serious about the country’s security. However, on his arrival back to the country, he met with all security agencies on the matter following which he ordered for the investigation. He stressed the importance of having the facts rather than acting impulsively.
Meanwhile, the name of the group that has been traced to Niger State cannot be immediately identified. However, a reliable security source disclosed that the joint security networks of the security agents are keeping tabs on members of this sect.

29 Aug 2009
A train with some 1,000 passengers on board has derailed in Cameroon's economic capital of Yaounde, leaving at least five people dead and 275 others wounded.

The incident came when the train, having set off from the northern town of Ngaoundere, went off its tracks early on Saturday.

Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary put the casualties at five dead and 275 injured, but noted the death toll could increase as some of the wagons had crashed into ravines.

Bakary said that the cause of the accident was not yet known, adding that a rescue operation was searching for survivors or bodies.

A day earlier, flames engulfed a train carrying petroleum products in Yaounde after the 30-car freight train derailed.

The train's wagons which were carrying diesel burned in the blaze, which killed one person and badly injured another. It took firefighters four hours to stop the fire.

press tv

The son of the Libyan leader says Scotland's decision to release the Lockerbie bomber has opened the way for future business between Tripoli and Edinburgh.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi's release "could put Lockerbie behind us," Muammar el-Qaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, said in an interview with The Herald on Friday.

"We want to talk about business and oil and health and more productive projects. This is history."

He called for a clean slate in relations with the UK

Al-Megrahi, the 57-year-old convict who is a former Libyan intelligence officer, was sent home last week on compassionate ground given his terminal prostate cancer.

He was imprisoned in 2001 having been found guilty of the 1988 bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people.

The Libyan leader's son said the release was decided on by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and was irrelevant to a prisoner transfer deal (PTA) between Britain and Libya.

"They are two completely different animals. The Scottish authorities rejected the PTA. It did not work at all, therefore it was meaningless," he said.

"People should not get angry because we were talking about commerce or oil. We signed an oil deal at the same time."

International pressure, meanwhile, has been bearing on Scotland.

British Premier Gordon Brown has denounced the reception al-Megrahi received in Tripoli while FBI director Robert Mueller has blasted Scotland for releasing the Lockerbie bomber.

His freedom also triggered an uproar among the families of the 189 American victims. Families of some British victims, however, said they believed he was innocent.

Saif al-Islam, for his part, praised the Scottish justice secretary as "a great man."

"He made the right decision. So many of us think, including so many of the relatives of the victims, because Mr. Megrahi is innocent. One day, history will prove this."

presstv

28 Aug 2009
Failure of power-sharing talks in Madagascar has fueled fears of more political instability in the country despite agreement on minor government posts.

International negotiations meant to settle on the power crisis in the West Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar closed inconclusively on Friday after African mediators announced that they have been unsuccessful to form an approved transitional administration.

"The international joint mediation team regrets to inform ... (that) the heads of the movements have found it impossible to come to a consensus on the key posts of the transition," AFP quoted the mediator's statement issued in Maputo, Mozambique after the mediation efforts intended to decide on top government jobs including the president, the prime minister and the vice-president remain unresolved.

The latest development comes in the wake of a Wednesday statement in which opposition leaders had agreed upon 70 percent of administrative positions in the government.

During earlier discussions, Madagascar's opposition leaders, the deposed Marc Ravalomanana and the incumbent President Andry Rajoelina, had along with former presidents Zafy and Didier Ratsiraka, agreed to hold elections by the turn of 2010.

They have also agreed to set September 4 as the final date to introduce a transitional government before the elections.

Rajoelina, who toppled Ravalomanana in a military-brokered coup earlier this year, has recently reignited controversies for his comments in which he had deemed himself as the sole leader capable of piloting the state through the current political crisis.

Uncertainties about the interim government have sparked concerns of new unrests in the country as Madagascan political rift deepens.


presstv

27 Aug 2009
Madagascar's ousted president, Marc Ravalomanana, has refused to endorse the leader of last March's coup as head of the new transitional government.

Stalled power-sharing talks in Mozambique were extended to Thursday with the former leader pledging to reject Andry Rajoelina's nomination, as the country tries to re-emerge from months of political crisis.

Mediators said Wednesday that while more than 70 percent of the key posts had been appointed by consensus, the nomination of the main three positions -- president, prime minister and vice-president -- remained deadlocked in a dispute.

Rajoelina, the 35-year-old ex-mayor of Antananarivo, has also not changed his presidency demand after toppling Ravalomanana following a series of deadly protests that started late January and finally erupted into a military-backed coup in March.

The meetings, attended by Ravalomanana, Rajoelina, and ex-presidents Didier Ratsiraka and Albert Zafy, began Tuesday in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, and where originally scheduled for two days.

Rival political parties signed a power-sharing agreement earlier this month to form a transitional government.

Under the regionally brokered deal, the residential elections are due to take place in 2010.

Rajoelina, who is six years younger than the current constitution's permitted age for presidency, says he has plans to call for constitutional amendments that would allow him to participate in the upcoming election.

presstv

OUAGADOUGOU, 28 August 2009 (IRIN) - The Burkina Faso government has shut down more than 20 health clinics that operated illegally in the capital Ouagadougou and is launching a nationwide campaign to eliminate any others, according to the Ministry of Health.

The country has more than 400 private health centres, half of which are based in the capital.

Prosper Djigmdé, the regional health director who oversees Ouagadougou medical facilities, told IRIN the government has sent a team to root out any clinics operating without licenses. “The quality of health care [in these clinics] is not guaranteed.”

Suzanne* told IRIN she barely survived a miscarriage after seeking care at a neighbourhood clinic that turned out to be illegal. “I was weak and could not go alone to the maternity ward or any hospital in town.” She lives in Prissy neighbourhood, 10km from the nation’s primary referral hospital located in Ouagadougou.

She said her brother took her to Yalgado Ouédraogo hospital after she nearly lost the use of her legs following what she said was a protracted illness. “At first I was getting better, but all of a sudden I started bleeding and losing consciousness.”

A doctor in the hospital’s maternity ward, Christian Darga, told IRIN some patients develop infections after receiving treatment in unlicensed clinics. “When patients arrive, we do not even ask them where they sought care because they will never tell where they have been before coming to the hospital.”

He said uterine cancers and pregnancy complications worsen while patients seek inappropriate care, often coming to the hospital only when it is too late.

“Most deaths happening here are patients who arrive terminally ill after they spend their money elsewhere,” Darga told IRIN.

Operators of illegal clinics may be licensed doctors, but do not employ licensed staff, said Théophile Tapsoba, chairman of the national association of doctors. “We have appealed to doctors to stop transforming their homes into medical hubs.”

But most of the time people illegally offering medical care are not licensed, Tapsoba added.

Gap-filler

Many are drawn to any place offering health care – regardless of licensure – because public health centres are overflowing, maternity ward doctor Darga said. “The clinics are warm, inviting [and] clean and patients do not have to sleep in the alley because of insufficient space, unlike the situation in some public health centres.”

Long waits and poor services lead patients to seek what can be dangerous care, said nurse Adama Korogo, who also works at Yalgado Ouédraogo hospital. “Most of the time patients have to wait up to four hours to see a doctor. And what can one nurse alone do to face 30 patients?”
''What can one nurse alone do to face 30 patients?''

Based on the most recent government statistics, Burkina Faso had one doctor for every 29,000 residents in 2005, about one-third the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation. The country has one nurse for every 7,800 residents versus WHO’s recommended threshold of 5,000.

Regional health director Djigmdé told IRIN the public health system is not meeting patient needs, which leaves a large gap for private licensed clinics to fill. “The government needs to make sure that the services at private clinics are of quality.”

Burkina Faso had 10 private clinics in the 1970s versus more than 300 in 1994, according to the country’s current health development plan. Though the average distance for residents to reach a public health centre is 10km, there are wide disparities across regions, according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry aims to build primary health centres in communities of at least 10,000 and within 10km of areas with fewer than 10,000 residents.

But finding workers for those centres will be another challenge, according to the health development plan. “On average 30 doctors, 15 pharmacists and some 800 paramedics graduate annually, which is insufficient for the Health Ministry’s needs, but budgetary constraints do not permit even employing those who are trained.”

irinnews

DAKAR, 27 August 2009 (IRIN) - In Chad oil wealth – poorly managed – has stoked conflict and corruption rather than boost the economy and living conditions, says a new briefing paper by International Crisis Group.

Oil exploitation has contributed to the deterioration of governance in Chad, and the government has progressively cut civil society out of the management of petrodollars, the paper says. “The government must work to establish a national consensus on the management of oil revenues,” ICG says, calling on Chad’s principal external partners – China, France and the United States – to “condition their support for the regime on such a consensus”.

Chad must reform its management of oil revenues – now used largely for paying cronies and building up the military – if it is to avoid further impoverishment and destabilization, ICG says.

The 1,070-kilometre Chad-Cameroon pipeline, which yielded its first oil in 2003, was hailed as a unique effort to make large-scale oil production a driver of sustainable development. Integral to the World Bank’s support of the project was a revenue management scheme that would provide social and economic benefits for the poor including future generations. Chad eventually scrapped the provisions and the World Bank pulled its support for the pipeline.

irinnews

ZIGUINCHOR, 26 August 2009 (IRIN) - Residents of Senegal’s Casamance region are shaken by some of the heaviest fighting in years between the army and alleged separatist troops, staying away from their plantations and closing shops before nightfall, residents and aid workers say.

On 25 August automatic weapon and rocket-propelled grenade fire was heard in the main city Ziguinchor from 9pm for about three hours, residents told IRIN. “It sounded as if it was just behind the walls of our home,” said a local NGO worker who requested anonymity “because the situation is delicate”.

“We have not seen fighting like this here since 2002," he said.

The clashes, between Senegalese soldiers and fighters thought to be with the Movement for the Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), came four days after similar fighting took place some 10km south of Ziguinchor. Residents and local authorities told IRIN the earlier fighting forced scores of people to flee their homes; as of 26 August aid workers and authorities said it was not yet clear how many people had been displaced.

Casamance is the site of one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts, sparked when MFDC separatists launched a rebellion in 1982. The region – where agriculture is the main source of local income – has been gripped by sporadic violence as a definitive settlement has yet to be achieved. In recent months a spike in armed attacks on civilians prompted a government dusk-to-dawn curfew on major roads. Landmines have killed and injured hundreds of people since 1990.

Despite the dangers families have been gradually returning to their home villages where fighting drove them out some 20 years ago, desperate to return to their land.

“We are quite preoccupied about the current situation,” said Christina de Bruin, UN area security coordinator and head of the UN Children’s Fund sub-office in Ziguinchor. “Last night’s [25 August] incidents in the area of Diabir are quite alarming. This is an area just behind the Ziguinchor airport and only about 2km to 3km from the centre of town.”

She said the UN has temporarily reduced some of its movements in the south of Ziguinchor “until we have a better reading of the situation”.

Residents told IRIN fighters calling themselves MFDC warned people not to go to their fields around Ziguinchor.

“The fighters were in groups of five,” resident Ibrahima Goudiaby told IRIN. “They came and blocked all the exits from the neighbourhood, stealing [bicycles, mobile phones and identity papers] from residents and from people returning late from the fields.”


He added: “They told us not to go to our plantations because they will suspect us of being army informants. This jeopardizes our crops because we were just in the middle of turning the land and transplanting.”

The NGO worker said: “People are afraid. In some neighbourhoods shopkeepers are closing down early for fear of armed looting.” Many people in the region are observing the Muslim month of Ramadan when people fast from dawn to dusk.

Buildings of the University of Ziguinchor were hit by bullets and an explosive from a rocket-propelled grenade, according to university personnel and students.

Observers say the latest events underscore the need for a sound peace agreement that would bring permanent stability to the region. “These incidents point to the importance of negotiations to reach a definitive peace in Casamance,” the UN’s de Bruin said.

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JOHANNESBURG, 27 August 2009 (IRIN) - A suspected cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe's eastern province of Manicaland has proved a false alarm. About a dozen people reported suffering from cholera-like symptoms between 6 and 20 August in Chipinge district, about 300km southeast of the capital, Harare.

However, a report by the World Health Organization representative in Zimbabwe, Custodia Mandlhate, said "Samples taken from ... five cases tested negative for cholera."

A cholera outbreak that lasted nearly a year, claimed more than 4,000 lives and recorded nearly 100,000 cases of the waterborne disease was declared at an end in July 2009, but the conditions causing the epidemic - broken water and sanitation systems - have been keeping aid agencies on alert as infrastructure remains dilapidated and the disease is expected to return.

The cause of the diarrhoeal illness in Chipinge district was suspected as "severe food poisoning, as a number of the patients reported attending local beer parties prior to developing symptoms," Mandlhate noted.

"This is in agreement with a report from the District Nursing Officer and District Environmental Health Officer, who indicated that the patients seen had yellowish diarrhoea, or mucoid diarrhoea, and not whitish 'rice-water' diarrhoea consistent with cholera," the report commented.

Investigations into the cause of the illness are ongoing.

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JOHANNESBURG, 27 August 2009 (IRIN) - A new labour migration centre at the Beitbridge border crossing between Zimbabwe and South Africa will be the first step in implementing an agreement between the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa to reduce irregular migration and promote safe, legal migration options.

The new centre, run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), was opened on 27 August, when the two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation and support in the fields of labour and employment.

Erin Foster, the IOM information and communication officer in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, said the pilot project would facilitate the temporary migration of seasonal workers to South Africa's northern Limpopo Province from three districts in Zimbabwe: Chiredzi, Masvingo and Beitbridge.

The goal of the project was "to reduce the dangers for migrants ... [and] limit the risks that exist for individuals". Zimbabwean job seekers – initially some 5,000 - would register with their local district labour centres, while South African farmers would register their labour requirements.

After a matching process run by the centre, workers will be issued with passports and work permits allowing them to travel for the duration of their contract.

"This development comes at a critical time when South Africa has announced a Special Dispensation Permit for Zimbabweans wanting to live and work in South Africa," An IOM statement said.

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NAIROBI, 27 August 2009 (IRIN) - Two months after food deliveries to Somalia's south-central town of Jowhar were halted, several thousand internally displaced persons (IDPs) are facing a food crisis, sources said.

"The little food we were given in June is gone; we have had nothing in the last two months," Asiyo Jilibey, a community leader, told IRIN on 27 August. "I don’t know what will happen next but if help does not arrive soon we are in trouble."

An estimated 9,000 IDP families (49,000 people), live mostly in seven camps in the town, 90km north of the capital, Mogadishu. The camps are Dayah, Kalagoye, Bada Cas, Baryare, Bulo Matuuni, Biyafo and Sheikh Omar Camp.

Jilibey said most of the IDPs had been in the camps since early 2007, when an upsurge in violence in Mogadishu sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing, "but we had a new influx in May, June and early July [2009]".

Food distributions were stopped in Jowhar after June due to insecurity, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

"We last distributed 124.46MT of assorted food assistance to 8,190 Jowhar IDPs in June," Mahamud Hassan "Guled", a spokesman for WFP Somalia, said. "But due to the insecurity, our local partner could not distribute the planned July food rations to the IDPs and the situation remains the same this month."

The Islamist al-Shabab has been in control of Jowhar since May 2009. The group raided and looted UN offices there. Jowhar was the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) main hub for the southern and central regions of Somalia.

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HARGEISA, 28 August 2009 (IRIN) - Only nine years old, Ahmed Nour-Mohamed, from Ethiopia and living in Hargeisa, capital of secessionist Somaliland, has big plans – to make enough money from shoe-shining to take his father and siblings back home. Nour-Mohamed is one of dozens of Ethiopian children who have crossed into the Somaliland side of Tog-wajale town on the Ethiopia-Somalia border to undertake petty trade in Hargeisa. An immigration official based in Tog-wajale said children such as Nour-Mohamed were allowed to cross the border without question over their legal status "because they are children and they do not have travel documents". Nour-Mohamed spoke to IRIN on 26 August:

"I am the second-oldest child out of my five brothers and sisters. We live with our father in Sheedaha settlement in Tog-wajale but we are originally from Babuli [in Ethiopia's Oromo region].

"My mother died four months ago and since we did not have anything to eat, my father decided to bring us to Hargeisa; I used to go to school in Ethiopia but now I don't, I have started work as a shoe shiner.

"A big problem for me is that I do not speak enough Somali and I am often misunderstood by some of my customers. However, most of the time my friend, Mubarik, accompanies me and interprets for me as he speaks good Somali.

"When I started shining shoes, the stronger street children often took advantage of my small size and at times robbed me of all that I had made but I am now wiser, I have made friends who are also shoe-shiners and we look out for one another.

"I was robbed of all my earnings and polish by a street gang in Ida'ada district on 26 June and now I have decided to operate within Kodbur district of Hargeisa, which I believe is a little more secure than other parts of the city.

"On average, I earn about 10,000 Somaliland shillings [US$1.50] daily. I always take what I earn to my father who then saves it for us. Since my father collects food donations from our neighbours, we try to save as much as we can because our plan is to go back to Babuli where we originally lived."

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