The policies and conditions set down by the people in charge of development and the global economy are doing the opposite of what they claim - they are in fact anti-developmental. Far from breaking free from the neo-liberal paradigm of the last 25 years, the likes of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) are in fact giving it a facelift. Along with the world's leading donors, they are applying the same pro-poverty, pro-inequality, one-size-fits-all development straitjacket sported by a string of least developed countries the world over.

As President Bush prepares for his trip to Africa from July 7-11, trade is high on the agenda. The official speeches during the trip are sure to tout the mutual benefits of trade, as host countries hope to gain additional access to U.S. markets. At the same time, however, U.S. and African agendas are diametrically opposed on most issues being considered by the World Trade Organisation which will hold its summit in Cancun, Mexico in September. The trade summit is held every two years, with Cancun following four years after Seattle's protests and two years after the meeting in Doha that was labelled as beginning a "development round" of trade talks. Since Doha, in fact, the rich countries have fought a stubborn and so-far successful battle to block advances on priorities laid out by African and other developing countries, with the U.S. taking the hardest anti-African and anti-development line. The consequences, in areas ranging from agricultural subsidies to the availability of generic AIDS drugs, are matters of life and death. This set of two e-journal postings from Africa Action focuses on key trade issues, by highlighting recent African statements as well as analyses from the Third World Network, a group that closely monitors global negotiations on these issues.

Fighting has ceased between local residents and Sudanese refugees in north-western Kenya after leaders from the warring parties agreed to help stop hostilities, paving the way for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to resume its aid work.

U.S. and European subsidies and tariffs "support injustice," Mali President Amadou Toumani Toure told the House International Relations Subcommitteee on Africa, Tuesday, summarizing written testimony that he presented for the record. Toure said he was representing all African nations and the devastating effect of subsidies on Malian cotton illustrates the harm that agriculural subsidies - now totaling more that US$300bn in the United States and Europe - are causing to agriculture across the continent.

A court case against the election victory of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is continuing in the capital, Abuja. Four opposition parties are challenging Mr Obasanjo's victory in April's presidential elections.

The failure of years of emergency food aid to solve Africa’s problems has prompted the specialist development NGO FARM-Africa to propose an urgent and fundamental change of policy by donor Governments and organisations to get the beleaguered continent back on its feet. According to FARM-Africa, it is the millions of smallholder farmers of sub-Saharan Africa who hold the key to reversing the downward spiral of poverty and starvation now gripping large parts of the continent.

The problems around water are not only in Lesotho but also all over the world. It is for that reason that the masses should rise and raise their voices against this process. Everyone affected should stand up and come together for this fight. We all know that they will come with excuses about the government not having enough money to provide and at the same time put it on the shoulders of the public to provide for themselves. All this is done to make sure that the big companies coming from outside countries feel comfortable while the people who belong to this country continue to die of thirst.

The origins of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) lie in the United Nations Millennium Declaration which was adopted by all 189 UN Member States on 8 September 2000. The Declaration embodies many commitments for improving the lot of humanity in the new century. Subsequently the UN Secretariat drew up a list of eight MDGs, each of them accompanied by specific targets and indicators. This paper provides a view on Goal 8, which is to "develop a global partnership for development". As at November 2002, there are seven targets listed under Goal 8, as well as 17 indicators. The selection of indicators is subject to further refinement.

For the first time in almost a year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has repatriated hundreds of Eritreans from Sudan after restarting a voluntary relocating operation that had been suspended because of the rainy season and prolonged by heightened border tensions between the two countries.

Just 15 months after a cease-fire ended three decades of devastating civil war, Angola has taken two significant steps on its long road to recovery. Campaigns in health and education, backed by UNICEF and supported by all levels of Government, are proving vital in restarting the development of social services in Angola.

This workshop will help NGOs recognize the power of the Internet and use it more effectively as an easy and speedy communication tool. The main purpose of the workshop is to harness the power of technology to better serve the objectives of those NGOs, among which are networking and effective information sharing. The workshop will include extensive discussion, case studies presented by both participants and instructor, as well as recommended readings from Internet resources.

Civil Society could act as a watchdog by monitoring and evaluating the process of NEPAD implementation, noted a recent meeting intended to popularise Nepad amongst civil society. The meeting noted that although some progress was being made on civil society's participation in the implementation of the NEPAD process, challenges still remain, particularly on building trust and confidence between civil society and governments.

Somaliland's 2003 elections mark another historic step after the Local Elections held in December 2002, in the process of democratisation of a country still fighting for international recognition, says a new report from a team of South African Observers who monitored Somaliland's first democratic presidential elections, held on the 14th April 2003. "The National Electoral Commission of Somaliland is commended for its role in the conduct of the elections despite the challenging socio-economic conditions under which they took place."

Let me express my feeling on your organisation, of which I have had the opportunity to visit your website (www.fahamu.org). I really found many aspects of your activities interesting, especially the services for other organisations in Africa. Not only these, but also other electronic services that you are providing for others. It is a wonderful thing that an African organisation has the capacity to provide these kind of services.

I represent a Somali organisation called SOCDA (Somali Organisation for Community Development Activities) and I am living in Denmark, although the organisation is a very active in the country of Somalia, giving services to the community in the area of training, consultancy, lobbying and human rights activities.

I will keep in touch with you from now on and I hope we will exchange ideas, or perhaps other important things. Thanks for the opportunity to contact you.

Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya together with the National Development Agency (NDA) has donated R500 000 to the Msinga Peace and Development Committee (MPDC) to be used for poverty alleviation and job creation programmes.

The European Union (EU) has set aside R500 000 for building sports facilities for seven different towns in the Eastern Cape, reports the Daily Dispatch.

During his inaugural address on January 7, 2001, President Kufuor declared that his government would pursue a policy of "Zero Tolerance for Corruption". It was an effective sound byte which was immediately latched on to by the nation. But as the months roll by, we can begin to ask, says this commentary in the Accra Mail, whether it is feasible, or even desirable to predicate human development on just the total elimination of corruption.

I have heard Andrew Meldrum often on Radio France International from Harare in Zimbabwe, and he is a balanced, objective journalist. (Pambazuka News 113, Letters and Comments) Simon Hinds, visit Zimbabwe. Check out the situation for yourself. Do not spout conventional left-wing wisdom to support the right wing fascist dictator Mugabe.

Good editorial (Pambazuka News Editorial 115). Why couldn't individual parties run on a Jobs/Growth Ticket, detail corruption for what it is (it isn't rent), promote jobs growth and capital investment in manufacturing and services, and shake up government fat cat employment at all levels. Also a lot of the time corporate interests don't do right either for African countries or their stockholders. A lot more money can be made in Africa when the big emerging market begins to form here. That will happen when African incomes begin to rise to the point that Africans can buy the stuff that they want.

Don’t you think that Alex De Waal's suggestions (Pambazuka News 115 Editorial) for African regional integration is against the theme itself. Rather than an integrated Africa for the benefit of corporate business let us advocate for an integrated world government and start with integration between Europe and Africa. Then the colonial legacy, the real cause of under-development in Africa, will come to an abrupt end.

Haj Hamad
Director, SOCIAL & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT CONSULTATIVE GROUP , Sudan