Studio 7 VOA

Equatorial Guinea Defends Execution of 4 Would Be Assassins

Equatorial Guinea is defending the execution of four men found guilty of trying to assassinate the president. The execution has been criticized by the Obama administration and Amnesty International.

Equatorial Guinea says there was nothing wrong with its speedy trial and execution of four men convicted of trying to kill President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

Former military officers were executed within an hour of their verdict before a military tribunal.

Amnesty International said the confessions of the military officers were extracted through torture after the men were abducted in Benin in January. The human rights group also criticized the speediness of the trial and execution.

Equatorial Guinea's delegate to the United Nations, Anatolio Ndong Mba, says the men returned to the country on their own with plans to overthrow the government.

"Some say that these people were abducted from Benin," said Anatolio Ndong Mba. "You will find that they say that they are from Nigeria, or they will say that they reside in Cameroon. Where were they? In Cameroon, in Nigeria, or in Benin? And because they came back to Equatorial Guinea to try to perpetrate other action they were captured and judged."

The executions come at a moment when Africa's only Spanish-speaking country is trying to reform an image of corruption and repression.  President Obiang has led the oil-exporting nation autocratically, outlasting numerous botched attempts to unseat him since the 1979 coup that brought him to power.

One quarter of the country's population live in exile. In Madrid, opposition leaders released a statement saying they were revolted by the court's refusal to offer the men a chance for appeal.

Mba says this was a military tribunal and should be judged differently than a civil case, given the severity of the accusations.

"The legislation set out in the constitution specifically article thirteen sub-section eight, paragraph two of this basic law provides for the application of capital punishment for crimes such as judged in this cause," said Mba. "That decision and actions have complied with applicable legal provisions in the country."

The Obama administration says it respects Equatorial Guinea's right to defend its national security but believes the trial failed to meet minimum human rights guarantees. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says Equatorial Guinea must commit itself to upholding the rights in its own constitution and its obligations under international human rights law.

Mba says foreign governments are naive about the dangers facing President Obiang.

"Unfortunately, those who criticize my country most of them they don't know the country," said Anatolio Ndong Mba. "I question even many of them, they don't even know where it is situated. They haven't been there. They have not been in Equatorial Guinea, all what they read in some presses. They don't even know what is going on. "

In a written statement, President Obiang says the men were convicted and executed immediately due to the imminent danger to him, his family, and his government. He says he greatly laments what he calls "estimations of faults in the legal process and the prompt execution of the convicted."

The president says he hopes the United States and other donors understand the severity of the danger to national security and his personal security because Equatorial Guinea still needs assistance to implement ongoing reforms.

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Koranic Teachers Arrested for Forcing Children to Beg in Senegal

Senegalese authorities have arrested seven Koranic teachers for forcing children to beg in Dakar.

Senegalese police arrested the seven Koranic teachers, also known as marabouts, after the government announced a crackdown on begging in the capital.

Human Rights Watch Researcher Matt Wells said police interviewed more than twenty young boys who were under the care of the Koranic teachers.

"Apparently they used the testimony of a fair number of kids that they rounded up to find these seven marabouts and then they arrested them and quickly prosecuted them," he said.

The teachers have admitted to forcing their students to beg. The verdict and sentencing is scheduled for next Wednesday.

News reports say each teacher admitted to forcing the students, known as talibe, to beg on the streets each day. The teachers said they have been doing this for a long time and did not think they would be arrested for the practice.

Last week, Prime Minister Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye, said the government would enforce the country's law prohibiting voluntary and forced begging.

Human Rights Watch released a report earlier this year that described how thousands of children are forced to beg in the streets by the marabouts.

Wells, who authored the report, said these arrests signal positive efforts to stop the practice of forced begging among children. "The prosecution of these seven demonstrates certainly some level of engagement and will on the part of the government to really combat this problem more at its root," he said.

The teachers said they each had between 10 and 50 students in their care.

UNICEF estimates that there are nearly 100,000 talibe in Senegal who are forced to beg. Wells added that what happens to the children is equally as important as arresting the marabouts.

"The government needs to make sure that the kids that are being rounded up, that the kids that are still left in these daaras, that there are adequate protection mechanisms in place to get them back to their families but to make sure in the meantime that they are adequately provided for," he said. "But if that's done, I think clearly this represents a positive step on the part of the government."

Some of the talibe who were under the care of the arrested marabouts have been taken to a government-run center known as the Ginddi Center. The center's director, Sarata Diallo, said the children are now in good hands.

The Koranic teachers will be sentenced next Wednesday. Prosecutors has asked they serve six months in prison with two years of probation. The defense has asked for leniency, because the law was never applied in the past.

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China and Nigeria Building Huge Free Trade Zone in Lagos

China and Nigeria are building one of Africa's largest free trade zones in the commercial capital, Lagos. Chinese companies will use the facility to manufacture goods for export throughout Africa.

On the tip of the Lekki Peninsula in Lagos, Nigeria and China are building a 16,000 hectare free trade zone to develop local manufacturing and reduce Nigeria's dependence on imported consumer goods.

It is one of the fastest growing areas in Lagos State and will soon have a new deep water port, an international airport and new hotels as part of a 60-40 partnership between the Chinese government and Lagos State.

Adeyemo Thompson is deputy managing director of the Lekki Free Zone Development Company. He says construction is on schedule for Chinese shareholders that include the China Railway Construction Corporation and the China-Africa Development Fund.

"In accordance with the master plan and the projections that we have made, I think, the first phase of the zone, that is the 3,000 hectare zone, will probably be close to a $5 billion investment, that is inclusive of the infrastructure we going to put on the ground, the roads, the power plants, the water plants," Thompson said.

The global financial crisis has reduced demand for Chinese goods in the United States and Europe. Thompson says the Nigerian free trade zone gives Chinese companies greater access to growing African markets for consumer goods, electrical equipment, and industrial products.

"Part of the reason why Lekki Free Zone is so attractive to the Chinese is that, the Chinese government is encouraging those companies which are shutting down in China to move out," he added. "There are funds which the government has provided for these companies to encourage them to move out to come and set up their factories in other parts of the world. We have that market. Now the Nigeria government is also encouraging investors to go to China and probably buy those factories, which are shut down, maybe at a quarter of the price and bring them into Lekki, set it up and manufacture those goods which you know you have 100 percent market right here."

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola says the free trade zone will help develop Nigeria's manufacturing sector while cutting prices for consumers.

"There is a huge market immediately waiting, when you look at the how much our people spend importing goods from across the world, or for how much they pay in excess baggage at major airports, bringing this here is like bringing home prosperity," said Fashola.

Nearly 90 percent of products used in Nigeria come from outside the country. The free trade zone will allow Nigerians to buy many of the same products now produced in China without the cost of importing them, while creating jobs for Nigerian workers.

Chinese firms gain both more immediate access to African markets and far cheaper routes to ship their "Made in Nigeria" exports to Europe.

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Fuel Industry Strike Threatens to Plunge South Africa into Chaos

Thousands of fuel and motor industry employees in South Africa have joined a national public service strike in the country, but many others continue to resist union calls for them to stay away from work.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, or Numsa, is demanding a 20 percent wage increase for its members.  But fuel and motor sector employers are offering workers a mere six percent salary hike.

Economists say a prolonged deadlock will lead to widespread petrol and diesel shortages.  This, they assert, will result in severe inconveniences to private citizens and great damage to South Africa’s economy.

Fuel workers paid ‘peanuts’

All over the country, fuel stations, motor manufacturers and car dealerships are closing.  Many of those that remain open are severely short-staffed and are operating at minimal capacity.

Negotiations between Numsa and employers’ associations are ongoing, but there’s little sign of an agreement being reached soon.

“The Numsa demand is just too huge; we can’t meet it; not even close,” says Reggie Sibiya, chief of South Africa’s Fuel Retailers’ Association.

But Numsa’s convinced it’s justified in demanding such a significant increase as it asserts its members – especially fuel pump attendants – are paid “peanuts.”

“I take home about 2,000 rand ($ 280) a month,” says Johannesburg attendant Dumisa Biyela.  “How can we be expected to survive on wages like that?  I have three kids.  It’s inhuman.”

At protest gatherings all over South Africa, fuel sector workers have urged Numsa to “fight” employers for a better deal for laborers.  Unionists are urging all South African fuel industry employees to join the strike.

Some workers defy strike orders

Some fuel pump attendants, however, continue to report for work…. but in civilian clothes.

“If we wear our uniforms, the strikers will victimize us.  We may even lose our lives,” A Johannesburg attendant, who asked to remain anonymous, told VOA.

Police have arrested a number of striking petrol pump attendants after they allegedly assaulted their colleagues who had reported for duty in defiance of the union call to support the industrial action.

Another worker at a Johannesburg filling station, Moses Nhlaka, told VOA he and his colleagues would not join the strike, as they were not Numsa members.  But another attendant, Bryan Phaahla, says a “full blown” strike in the fuel sector could happen at anytime, although there’s “confusion” amongst workers about this.

“Yesterday we were on strike.  We just came (to work) today.  We don’t know what’s happening, whether this strike is still on or it’s still off,” says Phaahla.

Fuel supply in jeopardy

Some workers at fuel supply depots are now also on strike, boosting concerns that pumps across South Africa could run dry in the near future.

“This would cause chaos in all sectors of our economy.  Basically, the country would come to a standstill.  But we are hoping at all costs to avoid such a situation,” says Numsa spokesman Castro Ngobese.

Yet chaos there is in some parts of South Africa.  In Johannesburg, petrol station owner Dave Hutchings, assisted by two relatives, was hard at work filling customers’ cars.  He said some of his staff had reported for work on Thursday morning, only to be “intimidated” into leaving their posts by striking colleagues.

Hutchings is convinced he’ll suffer “incredible losses” because of the strike.

“We have to close all our (fuel pumps).... for the night shift.  There’s no way we can stand here and man the forecourt, just two or three of us, for 24 hours,” he said.

Transport disrupted

Private South African citizens are also suffering.  Nanny and domestic worker, Maria Mnguni, works in Johannesburg, but returns by means of minibus taxi every weekend to her home village 200 miles away, in Mpumalanga province.

Clutching the crying baby she’s paid to take care of, she says, “I can’t go home because the taxis they don’t have the petrol.  It’s very bad for me because I am staying far from Joburg; I can’t see my kids; I can’t see my children so it’s bad for me.  It’s very bad!” she exclaims.

Economist Paul Roodt says the fuel and motor industry strike has the potential to “cripple” South Africa’s economy.

“We’re still dealing with the effects of the global economic recession in these industries, especially the motor industry.  We’ve just seen an upturn in the motor sector, but this strike will probably undo all this good work and see us going back to square one, which is not a good place to be at all,” he maintains.

“It is up to the employers to end this strike; our position is clear but we are willing to negotiate in good faith,” says Ngobese.

He adds, “We are going to spend the next few days to go back to leaders of the union, to go back to members, and have a proper discussion, about the current offer that’s on the table.  We’re hoping that by the end of the coming weekend, we (will) find a clearer way forward about what to do with the offer and what to do with the strike.”

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South African Strike Could Affect Next Presidential Race

In South Africa, the public service workers strike continues following union rejection earlier this week of the latest government wage offer.  However, there’s much going on behind the scenes, not only about a pay hike, but also about political maneuvering within the ruling party and trade unions.  The outcome could play a major role in whether Jacob Zuma has another term as South African president.

What next?

VOA reporter Delia Robertson, in Johannesburg, says on the surface, attention is focused on the next round of negotiations.

“At the moment, no further meetings between the government and the public servants unions are expected until Monday.  One of the largest unions, which represents health workers, has said it is busy explaining the finer points of the government offer to its members, suggesting perhaps that it’s looking for ways to reconsider its rejection of the government offer,” she says.

Pay and politics

While the government and union workers differ on the size of a pay hike, others are weighing how the walkout can be used for political gain.

Robertson says there are “political elements to the strike, “adding, “These relate specifically to power struggles within the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), and issues around who will lead the party in the future and difficulties among the various factions within the party and the party’s alliance partners.”  Those partners include the powerful trade unions.

This time of year is typically considered South Africa’s “strike season.”  But this time it’s particularly stormy, with between 500,000 and one million workers on strike.

Robertson says the difficulty in finding a resolution “comes back, I think, in a measure at least, to these factional disputes within the ruling alliance.   There are people…who are working towards removing Jacob Zuma as president of the ANC and of the government come 2012, 2013.”

Later this month, the ANC holds its mid-term meeting in Durban.

“There [are] a lot of…factions putting themselves in kind of positions as to where they’re going to vote and who they’re going to support at this meeting,” she says.

It’s politics at the highest level, she says, “and pressure for power.”

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Darfur Rebels Say Dozens Killed in Army Attacks

Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region say dozens of people have been killed in attacks by the Sudanese army.

A faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army says troops attacked the rebel-controlled Tabra district on Thursday and that fighting continued into Friday morning.

Spokesman Ibrahim al-Helwu says more than 50 people were killed and more than 150 others wounded.  Al-Helwu represents the SLA faction loyal to Abdelwahid Nur.

The French news agency quotes a Sudanese army spokesman as saying the SLA claims are "completely baseless," and that there have been no clashes between the army and the rebels.  

The United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur said it received reports that armed men on camels and horses rode into a Tabra market on Thursday and began firing randomly.

A spokesman said peacekeepers are trying to reach the area.

Darfur has endured more than seven years of violence since rebels rose up against Sudan's government, accusing it of neglecting the region.

The United Nations says more than 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million displaced from their homes.  Sudan puts the death toll much lower, at 10,000.

The International Criminal Court has indicted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in the region.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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Burkinabe President Tries to Mediate Differences between Guinea’s Presidential Candidates

The president of Guinea’s Research Institute on Democracy and Rule of Law, a non-governmental organization, says  Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore is mediating talks between Guinea’s two presidential candidates.

Attorney Thierno Balde said the ongoing talks are aimed at preventing violence, as well as resolving all outstanding issues, ahead of the September 19 second round presidential vote.

“When President Blaise Compaore came to visit General Sekouba Konate two weeks ago, they agreed that he will invite the two leading candidates to Ouagadougou to hold talks and to agree on the process which will lead to the elections on September 19th,” he said.

Backed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Compaore is helping Guinea’s efforts to return to constitutional rule.

There has been reported tension between the two presidential aspirants and their supporters during campaigns ahead of the vote.

Long time opposition leader Alpha Conde accused some members of the electoral commission of violating the country’s electoral code and demanded their removal ahead of the vote.

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Former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo also accused Mr. Conde of having an agreement with the transitional Prime Minister, Jean-Marie Dore, to help manipulate the results of the vote.

Attorney Balde said the presidential candidates are expected to sign an agreement after the talks pledging to use legal means, not violence, to address their concerns over the results of the September vote.

“According to close [aides] of the two candidates, the idea is to have an agreement between them so that, when the elections will be organized, both of them will accept the results. And that, if they have any issue, they will use the legal means and, that no matter what happens, they will avoid using violence as a means of expressing their views,” Balde said.

He said officials in the transitional government have announced that they have been able to resolve the controversial issues surrounding the first round of voting to ensure a better second round.

International poll observers have concluded the June 27 first round vote was credible despite isolated reports of voter irregularities. It was Guinea’s first democratic vote since the country gained its independence in 1958 from France.

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Comoros Official Says Government in Control Following Army Assassination

The director of the Cabinet of Comoros Islands President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi said the government is in firm control following the removal of the head of the military, suspected of involvement in the assassination of the army’s chief of staff.

Ahmed Ben Said Gaffar said, despite concerns expressed by Comorians as well as the international community, the general elections scheduled for November will be held according to the agreement signed with opposition groups.

“The Justice Ministry is working on this matter and some information we got [suggests] that three persons from the army have been implicated,” he said.

Opposition groups have criticized President Sambi’s government for creating tensions ahead of November’s vote by removing the head of the military, General Salimou Mohammed Amiri. He is accused of assassinating Commander Combo Ayouba, the army’s chief of staff, in June, a charge he denies.

Cabinet director Gaffer said President Sambi’s administration will continue with its mandate to protect Comorians.

“Every time we have problems in the army, it is normal that people will be uncomfortable. But, I can assure you that since [Wednesday], the situation is under control and the [army general] has agreed to [cooperate with] the Justice Ministry, so there is no problem, really,” Gaffer said.

He further said President Sambi wants the judiciary to be independent and devoid of any official interference.

“He [Mr. Sambi] has said that, for this assassination, let the Justice Ministry do its work. And, since that time, the investigations have been going on very well. So, for these last two days, the Justice Ministry decided to hear from the general. So, we will now let justice do its work.”

Comorians have expressed concern that tension within the army could destabilize the country. But, Cabinet director Gaffar said the administration will continue to work with its international partners, as well as various opposition groups, to ensure the country’s stability ahead of the November vote.

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Militant al-Shabab Fighters Bear Down on Somali Capital Mogadishu

A top United Nations official, Lynn Pascoe, the U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs, says he is "hopeful" for Somalia, where the government is trying to fight off an offensive by Islamist militants. This comes as Uganda is offering to send more troops to the beleaguered nation if the United States provides funding.

The militant group al-Shabab in late August launched an offensive aimed at toppling Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia know as AMISOM. Mogadishu has come under heavy shelling. More than 100 people are dead.

Uganda says it will send more troops if the United States provides more funding. The State Department has responded by saying it will continue to provide equipment, training and logistical support, and encourages other donors to step forward with additional help.

Walid Phares from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies says the U.S. is already doing too much in other parts of the world. "We are now overseeing the withdrawal of troops in Iraq. We are engaged in escalation in Afghanistan. There is an issue of concern in Yemen just across from Somalia," Phares said.

But given the urgency of the present situation, Phares proposes an alternative. "Let's keep in mind that Somalia is a member of the Arab League. So we need a lot of financial support from the oil rich countries Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait…all the emirates. They have to pour in some money if they consider Somalia as a member of the Arab League," Pharea said.

Author Bronwyn Bruton, who writes regularly about the Horn of Africa and visited Somalia in April, advocates what she calls a new approach to Somalia. "The Shabab appear to be a very unified and directed organization, but, in fact, it's a very loose conglomeration of a lot kinds of people. Currently they are unified to get rid of Amisom, the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia and the TFG, the Transitional Federal Government, but without that unifying purpose, there is actually not a lot of cohesion there," Bruton said.

Bruton adds that some fears about al-Shabab are unrealistic. "These fears we have about the Shabab becoming the new Taliban in East Africa are very much overblown…. In this particular situation, it's worth asking if we didn't have this sort of artificial government in name only sitting in Mogadishu, then would the Shabab have a nationalistic reason to attack outside of the country," Bruton said.

But a spokesman for the Ugandan Army, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye, says critics should not be so harsh on the TFG. "I mean, how can it be capable when it is just building from scratch? And dealing with an international terrorist group that is being funded by remnants in Afghanistan and Pakistan," said Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye.

Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed continues to enjoy U.N. support, but Kulayigye says the U.N. must do more. "One may ask why the U.N. appointed a permanent person for Darfur, for DRC, for Burundi, but there is no permanent person for Somalia. Isn't that a bit suspicious?," Kulayigye said.

Walid Phares from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies says something drastic has to be done because of repercussions for the Horn of Africa region. "What they need to do is the crafting of political national unity even with forces they don't agree on everything with… The second stage is for the United States to be very active not just with the government but with non government organizations with popular organizations in Somalia. That's the best we can do at this time," Phares said.

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Nigeria’s Rivers State to Jail Parents who Keep Children out of School

In Nigeria, the governor of Rivers State is set to implement a measure that will jail parents who keep their children out of school. Governor Chibuike Amaechi says it’s necessary because of the large number of children not attending school.  Critics say the measure is too extreme but the governor says it’s necessary to train the next generation of leaders. The governor has promised that primary and secondary education will be free.

Ibim Semenitari is the state information commissioner. She says that Governor Amaechi takes the future of the youths seriously.

“The truth of the matter is that development is consequent upon education and if people do not have an appropriate foundation they cannot even be participants in their own development," she said. "Democracy means that the people must know, but how will they know if they don’t have the basic tool by which they know. Societies are enhanced   because people   have knowledge and because people are empowered to earn an income. It is that that drives the administration of Gov. Amaechi to ensure that   Rivers people have access to free, qualitative and compulsory education.”

“Gov. Amaech is only obeying the law”, she says to critics who suggest he is being too extreme in his plans to keep children in schools.

“Indeed the Child Rights Act of Nigeria makes it a crime as a parent not to make sure your child is in school. He is someone who takes the law very seriously. So it is a crime if your child is not in school. That is the only way we can protect the most venerable of our population,” she said.

She says government is targeting the most important phase of a child’s life in implementing the free education program.

“We are talking about the primary and secondary level because the Nigerian and Africa charter insist that all children must be educated up to that age, they must have basic education,” she said.

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South African Public Servants Strike Continues Amid Confusion

South African public servants have rejected the government's latest pay offer, but union leaders have hinted that could change. The strike continues to cripple government services, particularly education and health services.

There is confusion about how serious public service unions are about their rejection of the government's latest wage offer of a 7.5 percent pay rise, and a $110 housing allowance. The general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Zwelinzima Vavi, said the decision was overwhelming.

"And the overwhelming majority of them have rejected the government, and therefore the strike continues from their point of view," said Vavi.

But then the National Health and Allied Workers union said they had not fully polled their members. Vavi too appeared to suggest union leaders had come to the realization the government was struggling to identify the funds for its latest offer.

"We know that message and we know it has been there forever," added Vavi. "But also we know that government has been pushed and has been forced to scrape to the bottom of wherever they are taking the money from. But we also know everything else."

Public Services Minister Richard Baloyi says the government will have to cut other expenditures, saying one area would be to freeze planned new appointments. Unions have complained important services such as health and education are struggling to fulfill their mandate because there are too many vacancies.

Last year the salary increase for public servants was higher than the inflation rate; and this year, with inflation hovering between three and four percent; it will be more than double. Tony Twine, director of Econometrix, tells VOA that ratings' agencies are warning that if it continues, this trend will be very dangerous for the economy.

"It is what happens if we have four or five years of government wage increases at double the rate of inflation," said Twine. "That is when the ability to continue to service that expenditure on salaries and wages could become a genuine problem."

Meanwhile, workers in the motor manufacturing and related service industries are also out on strike, demanding a 15 percent pay hike. The employers have offered six percent.

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Zimbabwe Refugees to Be Deported From South Africa

The South African government has decided to end special dispensation for undocumented Zimbabwean refugees and will deport those who do not have permission to stay by the end of the year. At least one group representing  Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa described the decision by President Jacob Zuma's Cabinet this week as "tantamount to a death sentence" for those who will be deported.

The South African Cabinet has decided that Zimbabweans must be properly documented to remain in South Africa.

It said that it has been in contact with the home affairs ministry in Harare to ensure that proper documentation is supplied to Zimbabwean nationals living illegally in South Africa.

A small percentage of Zimbabweans in South Africa fled from their country to avoid political persecution from President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF.

The Solidarity Peace Trust said recently it estimated there were about 1.5 million Zimbabweans illegally living in South Africa.

Most Zimbabweans in South Africa say they left home for economic reasons as the economy collapsed over the last 10 years.

The South African government said the special dispensation had ended because the 18-month-old unity government had ended the Zimbabwe crisis.

South African government spokesman Themba Maseko said those who wanted to stay in South Africa must obtain documentation from Harare.

"Zimbabwe nationals who are working, conducting business or studying in South Africa, will be issued with a working permit, a business permit or a study permit respectively, provided they have valid Zimbabwean documents," said Maseko.

Maseko said the government was aware that some  Zimbabweans had illegally obtained South African identity documents, but that they would not be prosecuted provided they handed them in.

"There will also be an amnesty for Zimbabweans, who may have obtained South African identification documents fraudulently, on condition that such documents are returned to the Department of Home Affairs with immediate effect.   Those who return the illegal documents, will be issued with the relevant permits," said Maseko.

Refugee rights organization Passop said deportations of Zimbabweans who had been allowed into South Africa without documentation since April 2009 was "tantamount to a death sentence."

Passop said it would try and meet with South African immigration authorities but if this failed it would reserve its rights to take action to oppose what it described as  "draconian tactics of deportation."

Zimbabweans began flooding across the border to South Africa after the Movement for Democratic Change nearly beat Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in 2000 elections. Those elections sparked violence against MDC supporters in most parts of Zimbabwe.

By 2007, with little food in the shops, and a worthless Zimbabwe currency, many more Zimbabweans fled to South Africa in search of work.

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Obama Global Health Initiative Targets Maternal, Child Health, Disease

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently announced a new $63 billion Global Health Initiative with an emphasis on maternal and child health, family planning and programs to fight infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.  

"We need a comprehensive, effective global system for tracking health data, monitoring threats, and coordinating responses," announced Clinton.

World health experts previously have worked together to combat various respiratory diseases, polio and other global outbreaks. The administration's aim now is to tackle health problems that can be eliminated with relatively little investment, and to ensure health care for women and girls.

Terry Miller, an economist at the Heritage Foundation, agrees with some aspects of this approach.

"The focus of international and even public health services in many of our countries have always been primarily on infectious diseases and there has not been in way of resources moving internationally into non-infectious diseases like cancer or heart disease," said Miller.

But Miller says the focus should go beyond improving the health of women and girls.

"I would like to have seen a little more emphasis on improving outcomes for a society as a whole in an equitable way across all genders," added Miller.

Dr. Peter Hotez at the George Washington Medical Center wants the Global Health Initiative also to focus on medical research.

"A very important piece that I think is missing from the Global Health Initiative that I would like to see, and that is research and development for new drugs and new vaccines," said Dr. Hotez.  "GHI is extremely important providing life saving technologies that are already available, but who is going to be developing the next generation of those drugs and products?"

Secretary Clinton says the United States is standing by its commitment to fight HIV-AIDS.  AIDS activists are concerned there is a waning interest in the disease.

"The AIDS epidemic is still an emergency. It hasn't gone away and it will not go away," said  Sharone Ekambaram, a spokeswoman with Doctors Without Borders.

AIDS activists say if funding for HIV/AIDS is not increased, more children will be orphaned as their parents die from the disease and AIDs will once again devastate entire villages.

Dr. Hotez calls for a broader balance to public health. He says that along with HIV/AIDS, and maternal child health problems,  there is a need for more funding in dealing with some of the other very important global health threats like neglected tropical diseases affecting billions of people worldwide.

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Rwanda Tackles Top Killer of Children

For more than a year now, Rwanda has been immunizing its children against pneumonia.  Its goal is to save the lives of 6,000 kids every year.  This week, health officials and others are checking on the program’s progress.

Pneumonia is the leading killer of children under age five worldwide.  Over one and a half million die every year from the disease, mostly in developing countries.

Rwanda takes the lead

In April 2009, Rwanda, with help from the GAVI Alliance and other partners, started a vaccination program against pneumococcal disease.

Alex Palacios, GAVI’s special representative, says, “Rwanda itself has ensured, first of all, that public health is a top priority.  I think that that is a commitment and a decision made at the highest levels.  And it has maintained that special priority over the years.  It also happens to be a country which just about a year ago introduced the first pneumococcal vaccine in Africa.”

Palacios says the two top killers of kids can be prevented with modern medicine.

“If you consider that the combination of pneumonia, mostly from pneumococcal disease, and diarrhea, generally the result of rotavirus infection, are the major causes of child mortality -  you’re looking at globally about 8.8 million children dying each year from often preventable disease.  And about 40 percent of those are dying from just two causes: pneumonia and diarrhea,” he says.

Pneumococcal disease is also a major cause of bacterial meningitis, which is often fatal.

Millions could be saved

Malaria used to be the top killer of children in Rwanda.  But a campaign against the disease has seen at least a 27 percent decline in children suffering from malaria.

Palacios says great success can also be made against pneumonia and diarrhea.

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“The good news is that when GAVI was first created in 2000 we didn’t have those two particular vaccines against a form of pneumonia and rotavirus.  Today we do.  So we have the opportunity, over the next 5 years or so, in particular if you’re thinking about the Millennium Development Goal of reduction of child mortality by two-thirds, to make a very major contribution to achievement of that goal and save many lives,” he says.

He says the lives of well over four million children could be saved over the next five years.

Currently, immunization against pneumococcal disease is only in its early stages in Africa, with Rwanda at the forefront.  But that’s about to change.

“Over the next four or five years, we will see 47 countries, based on their own expressions of interest in applications for support, introducing the pneumococcal vaccine and actually over 40 countries introducing the rotavirus vaccine,” he says.

Palacios adds immunization has the power to bring dramatic improvements in health in a relatively short time.

“It’s not easy to do that across all of development or across all of health, but immunization luckily has that capacity,” he says.

The GAVI Alliance special representative says an “enormous opportunity” exists to improve health.  But to do that takes money.  Palacios says to save the lives of millions of children over the next five years will cost $2.6 billion in additional funds. It’s a serious “resource challenge,” he says, but one that can be overcome.

Categories: News

Flooding in Niger Threatens Next Harvest

Flooding in Niger is devastating livestock and destroying crops, lowering expectations for the next harvest in a country where more than half the people do not have enough to eat.  

Flash floods are making it harder to feed an already hungry population in Niger with thousands of people driven from their homes and off their fields by high water.

Modibo Traore heads the United Nation's humanitarian office in Niger.

"The country is facing floods almost everywhere in all regions of the country, including the capital city which is Niamey," said Traore.  "Up to now we have more than 200,000 people who have been affected by the floods.  All families are staying in the public infrastructure such as schools.  And in the regard to the forthcoming school are resuming activities and this is causing serious concerns for all authorities."

Rains that began in June are expected to continue for at least another month.

"The rainfall is continuing almost throughout the country and we may expect much more victims of the flood," he said.

The River Niger has flooded fields of vegetables and rice in some of the country's most fertile areas.  That is lowering expectations for the next harvest and increasing concerns among relief officials that this humanitarian crisis may last longer than initially thought.

Traore says heavy rains have already killed more than 100,000 cattle in a country dependent on subsistence agriculture.  Dead animals can contaminate drinking water.

"Some areas have started burning dead bodies of animals or burying them.  But we have to acknowledge that in some remote areas, nothing has been done so far because of problem of accessibility to those areas due to the rainy season," he added.

Traore says relief operations are shifting supplies in response to the flooding.

"We have to divert sometimes some food to address the urgent needs of people affected by floods.  And one of the aspects is the middle term impact in term of the harvest.  A lot of farms and gardens have been destroyed because of the flood and that will have an impact in terms of the upcoming harvest," said Traore.

Another below-average harvest means less food aid can be bought locally and farmers will continue to be unable to feed themselves.

The U.N. World Food Program hopes to help feed nearly eight-million people during the next five months with enriched feeding programs for almost one million malnourished children under the age of two.

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UN Delays Congo 'Genocide' Report

The United Nations human rights office says it will delay a report that accuses Rwandan troops of committing war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 1990s.

Human Rights commissioner Navi Pillay said Thursday that she is postponing the report's release to October 1 to allow "concerned states" time to comment on the findings.

She says she has offered to publish these comments alongside the report.

Rwanda has protested the report, a draft of which was leaked to several news organizations last month. The draft said Rwandan Tutsi troops may have killed thousands of Hutus in the DRC during a cross-border Central African war.

Rwanda said Tuesday it is ready to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from Sudan if the U.N. published what it called the "outrageous and damaging report."

U.N. spokesman Rupert Colville has said the final report will differ in a number of ways from the draft leaked to media outlets.

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Mainstream US Media Criticized for Ignoring Positive Developments in Africa

The president and CEO of the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa says that important stories about Africa continue to feature less prominently in mainstream American media outlets.

The Africa Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that strives to educate Americans about the richness and diversity of Africa, as well as the economic opportunities that the continent offers.

Bernadette Paolo said, despite the fact that the month of August featured many Africa-related events in Washington, those events did not make the mainstream American media.

She said there is a need to demand positive coverage of Africa by providing the media with information that contrasts with the usual negative stories.

“When you ask students throughout the United States, the first four images that come to mind when they hear the word “Africa” is war, disease, starving children and animals. And, I think that the reporting in the media is primarily negative,” she said.

Paolo said, although there are challenges facing African countries, Americans need to know the contributions the continent is making and the potential it holds.

“When you think about it, many of the mineral resources in the entire world are from the continent of Africa, never mind the fact that the African diaspora in the United States is the highest educated among all immigrant populations. These are facts that never come to the fore through the media,” Paolo said.

She said changes in U.S. foreign policy toward Africa over the years suggest that Africa is getting the attention it warrants from the U.S. government.

But, Paolo said much more needs to be done to improve the negative coverage of the continent in the mainstream U.S. media.

“I think that, with journalists, you have to feed them with information and make them aware of these changes, of the economic development, of a country such as Botswana and others that are making great strides economically, of the number of democracies that are on the continent now, as opposed to 20 years ago,” Paolo said.

Paolo said the responsibility of disseminating positive information about Africa is not solely that of the media, but also the duty of all Africanists through the use of modern technology.

“I think it’s a combined effort of getting more information out there using social media, people who are Africanists, people from the African diaspora, putting things in newspapers, writing letters to the editors. So, the responsibility isn’t solely journalists. It’s all of ours,” she said.

Paolo said she lamented the fact that millions of Americans did not get the chance to meet and see the young people from Africa who attended President Obama’s Forum with African Youth Leaders.

“We had heads of state. We had foreign ministers. In Africa, in August, we had the AGOA Forum. We had these youth leaders that President Obama had here, 115 extraordinary young people with contributions already in their lives that were just mind-boggling. All these things are missed opportunities to have a different picture of African leaders. And so, I think, we seldom have reporting on positive developments such as these,” Paolo said.

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Nigerien Activist Urges Regime to Replace Anti-Graft Commission

A human rights activist has petitioned Niger’s military junta leader, Salou Djibo, to dismiss and reconstitute the anti-graft commission of bias and ineffectiveness in rooting out corruption.

Alhaji Iddi Abdou said a majority of Nigeriens have lost faith in the ability of the anti-graft body to investigate and prosecute public officials who are alleged to have stolen state funds.

“Even the president [General Djibo wrote] to this [leader] of this commission to tell him [that] he is not happy with the work of the commission [since its formation]. They have been carrying out their activities very, very slowly.  The transitional regime has six months [before handing over] and Nigeriens are waiting to see the result of the work from this commission,” he said.

Abdou further said that a majority of Nigeriens embraced the anti-graft commission believing that it would effectively deal with corruption before a constitutional administration takes over from the transitional government.

Recently, Niger’s police arrested Seini Oumarou, a former prime minister close to deposed President Mamadou Tandja and three other senior officials on corruption charges. This came after the junta gave the anti-graft commission special powers to seize the assets of suspects ahead of a trial.

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Shortly after taking over, the military junta vowed to investigate corruption during deposed President Tandja's tenure and promised elections within the year.

Junta leader Djibo recently said the anti-graft commission was able to recover more than $4 million only two months after its formation.

Meanwhile, in July, the anti-graft body published the names of 200 people it accused of embezzling and ordered the suspects to pay the monies they allegedly stole from the state.

Rights activist Abdou said Nigeriens are disappointed over the poor performance of the anti-graft body’s ability to decisively deal with corruption.

“People are saying that they are not happy [about the commission]. So now, it’s time for the president to change the composition of this commission. Otherwise, we are wasting our time. We are launching a call to the president to change this commission,” Abdou said.

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Ugandan Opposition Leader Warns Credible Vote at Risk

The leader of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has called on Ugandans to resist what he said is President Yoweri Museveni’s plan to rig next year’s election, a day after he withdrew from an opposition coalition.

Ambassador Olara Otunnu, who was also a former U.N. Undersecretary-general for Children’s Affairs, said he will continue to demand an overhaul of the electoral commission to ensure the vote scheduled for February is free and fair.

“The reason for the opposition parties coming together [were] to press for genuinely free and fair elections in Uganda. That is the glue that held us together. That was the reason for being of this umbrella organization. We went from a demand for free and fair election to taking very specific position. We said the current electoral commission is part and parcel of the Museveni rigging fraudulent machine,” he said.

Ambassador Otunnu pulled out of an opposition coalition formed to challenge President Museveni in next year’s vote saying some of the parties reneged on an agreement that stipulates that they demand the electoral commission be replaced before next year’s vote.

Ugandan opposition groups have rejected previous election results saying the electoral commission is biased towards President Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) party – a charge supporters of the ruling party deny.

Otunnu said the opposition group failed to adhere to stipulations of the agreement that led to the formation of the coalition.

“We said we will have non-cooperation, non-participation, non-recognition with regards to the electoral commission. Then, we said that the voter register, which is being put together by this electoral commission, could not be the basis for organizing free and fair election. It turns out that four of the five parties…planned to participate in the election organized by that same [electoral] commission,” Ambassador Otunnu said.

President Museveni’s opponents have expressed concern that his re-appointment of the same members of the electoral commission that organized the previous two elections will undermine the credibility of the 2011 vote.

Analysts say the withdrawal of the UPC from the coalition will undermine opposition efforts at providing a stiff challenge next year. Otunnu said next year’s vote will be rigged unless there is an independent electoral commission that is determined to organize a credible vote.

“Part of the opposition getting together was to ensure that we could have a regime change in Uganda through the ballot box [and] through a democratic process. I can tell you there is no way on earth that you could have a regime change in Uganda as long as you operate on rules which are put in place and controlled by [Mr.] Museveni.”

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Nile States Work to Improve Quantity, Quality of Waters

The countries along the Nile have been at odds recently over how to share its waters. But beyond the issue of quantity is the question of quality, and how well states use what they have.  

Egyptians are fond of saying that without the Nile, there wouldn't be an Egypt.   The river provides some 95 percent of the country's water and, for thousands of years, an intricate series of canals and irrigation channels have turned the desert along its banks into farmable and now densely-populated land.

The only problem is that Nile water is unclean.  "Water is a basic right for every human being and, once we all agree that it is a basic right, we all should work to providing this basic right in a decent way.  I mean better quality, good quantity and so on," said Mahmoud Abu Zeid, president of the Arab Water Council and a former minister of water.

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He says both industrial pollution and agricultural run-off harm the quality of Nile water.  But the most pressing issue, he says, is the wholesale dumping of human waste.  

In the cities, only 60 percent of human waste enters a sewage system. In the villages, less than 40.  Dirty water is blamed for the deaths of about 17,000 children a year from dysentery alone.  The chlorination system can break down or people actually drink from the Nile.

One of Egypt's rivals for Nile waters is Ethiopia. Ayman Shabana, professor of African Affairs at Cairo University, says the situation there is even worse.

"Ethiopia has abundant water, but 76 percent of its population lack fresh water or clean water for one main reason - not its shortage, but to due to bad administration and the lack of financial resources," said Shabana.

Poor governance and insufficient funds in the Nile states seem to be at the core of the problem. Sewage systems are expensive and are just one of many infrastructure projects needed.  Officials say international aid has helped, but falls short.

Abu Zeid says one short-term way to improve quality is tied to quantity. "The river is more than 6000 kilometers long.  If we have some pollution in the upper areas, by the time it gets here, this quality will be improved a little bit," he said.  

Which means if less water is wasted along the way, the larger volume will help dilute pathogens and pollutants.

Authorities in Egypt are not optimistic. "We have a lot to do, to accomplish," said Mahmoud Abu Zeid.  "And until we accomplish that, in fact, it will take actually about 20 years for Egypt.  So we'll suffer the deterioration of the quality of both the canal[s] and the river and drainage system, too."

The government is trying to raise awareness about water use and pollution.  But until it can build enough waste-disposal infrastructure, the Nile will continue to hold the promise of life, just not a clean one.

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