African ministers said on Sunday it was time the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stopped "imposing" economic policies on the continent without consultation. Trevor Manual, the South African finance minister, told an economic conference in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, that there should be "nothing about us without us. I think it is time for decisions in the IMF to no longer to be imposed on us, but to derive from consultation with us."

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern on Tuesday that thousands of Burundian refugees returning home from Tanzanian camps may not be doing so voluntarily. In a statement, the agency that many of those who were going back home had complained that the level of food aid in the Tanzanian camps had steadily declined.

Finnish cartoonist Leif Packalen is using comics to fight corruption in Africa. He leads a small voluntary organisation, World Comics, which has organised workshops for artists in India, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique for 10 years.

Of late, I have come to realise that, unlike the positive feedback, the few negative responses I have received to my articles have not been targeted at the substance of my opinions; rather they appear resentful of my decision to express them. Speaking only for myself, I can accept, and even understand, why others may wish to quarrel with my views. However, criticisms motivated by a desire to cover up problematic issues have now been aimed at Shadows of the Past as Human Rights Deteriorate, a discussion paper on Somaliland issued by African Rights on 26 May. The paper is based on testimony from people in Somaliland who have, in one way or another, been victimised. In this case, a public response is required.

Under the general direction of the Project Field Team Leader in Ghana, the candidate will provide technical assistance on local development for the CIDA Community-driven Initiatives for Food Security (CIFS) project. This project seeks to achieve a sustainable increase in household food security in the 7 districts of the Eastern Corridor, Northern Region of Ghana.

This collection of papers brings educational research to the central topics of environmental sustainability and economic development, and highlights the importance of education in linking, and achieving these dual objectives. It is related particularly to the role of education for sustainable development in Africa. Contributors examine the roles of indigenous knowledge and non-formal education in equipping people to sustain their own lives and livelihoods, and assert the imperative to recognise the contribution of local knowledge and culture to sustainable development - often against the trends of globalisation.

In the first bit which mentions African states (PAMBAZUKA NEWS 112: THE CHALLENGES BEFORE AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN UNION), I wondered why Angola was not included in the list of the ten most corrupt countries. The editorial says: "...Of the ten most corrupt countries in the world, five, Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Kenya and Tanzania, are African..." The record of the current Government's elite in Angola is easily a competition for the worst excesses of the Abacha regime in Nigeria. Sorry to be so pedantic, but I was concerned that Angola's reputation should not improve on the world stage until such time as the government actually does something to clean up the mess - something that is eagerly waited for. We would also be the first to congratulate them for such moves. Thanks for all - love your stuff.

Editor replies: You are quite right - we stand chastised for relying only on Transparency International sources. Thanks for the correction.

Thanks for the good job. We must continue to put pressure on our leaders to take people more seriously and facilitate their development. (PAMBAZUKA NEWS 112: THE CHALLENGES BEFORE AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN UNION)

Is globalisation undermining the policy autonomy of developing countries? Are democratic deficits being created when the demands of internationally organised neo-liberal elites conflict with popular preferences and concerns? What are the implications of this for the poor? A paper by the Institute of Development Studies reviews the debates on the impact of globalisation on the role of the state in development. Arguing that globalisation has to be understood historically and as a political process, it warns against simplistic assumptions about northern ‘winners’ and southern ‘losers’. Options may be constrained, and there may be more policy choices for some governments than for others, but states are likely to retain some autonomy and capacity to determine the organisation of national economies.

NEPAD is an influential discourse but civil society groups have not yet had much opportunity to become involved. For example, NEPAD espouses participation with “organised” civil society groups, although no civil society groups were included in its drafting process. There seems to be a clear intent from its founders that governments will attempt to hold onto the reins and hope to manage citizen participation on their own terms. The role of civil society seems to be seen as educating the public about NEPAD, acting as a watchdog for implementation and best practice, and facilitating economic integration. Because NEPAD is no more than a guiding macro-political strategy, civil society organisations could also provide independent, critical critique, help set the development agenda in partnership with governments and contribute towards implementation.

Civil wars attract much less attention than international wars but they are becoming increasingly common and typically go on for years. Where development fails countries can become trapped in a vicious circle: war wrecks the economy and increases the risk of further war. This draft Policy Research Report, ‘Civil War and Development Policy’, challenges the belief that civil wars are inevitable and proposes an agenda for global action.

Seventy representatives of civil society groups in Africa from the southern, eastern, western and central African regions met over two days in Johannesburg, South Africa on May 26-27 to discuss questions of how to strengthen democracy through NEPAD. The conference identified a number of concrete strategies for tackling the challenges confronting civil society in its engagement with the African Peer Review Mechanism. These strategies will address the need to publicise and share research findings, the need to establish civil society 'nodes' to improve co-ordination, the need for the establishment of a working group and the need to establish a Pan African Civil Society. The major task of the working group will be concerned with setting of norms and standards for credible democratic governance, with special focus on elections and accountability of public representatives.

The top United Nations human rights official has applauded the unanimous decision by the Security Council to authorize the deployment of an international emergency force to the Ituri district in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Related Link:
* Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, interviewed on DRC violence
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/jan-june03/congo_5-28.html

Civil society organisations are becoming increasingly sceptical about the value of the G8 summits to Africa. More energy has gone into non-African issues such as the aftermath of the Iraq war than into matters of vital importance to Africa, says Ezra Mbogori, executive director of Mwengo (Mwelekeo wa NGO). The organisation serves NGOs in East and Southern Africa.

The June G8 meeting in Evian, France may not, after all, feature the once-anticipated spoils-of-war squabbles between the warmongering coalition (US, UK and Italy) and their ephemeral opponents (Germany, France, Russia, Japan and Canada). But China's invitation to attend will distract attention from a promise by French premier Jacques Chirac to loosen up Northern agricultural barriers to trade which hold back African exports. Where, then, asks Patrick Bond from Wits University, does the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) fit? Is it, as many commentators now agree, yesterday's news?

Corruption is costing Kenya as much as $1bn a year, which new anti-corruption measures will hopefully recoup to help provide better public services to Kenyans, the government believes. Despite rich natural resources, Kenya's growth has stagnated for years, with the economy expanding by just 1.1% in 2002, said Planning Minister Peter Anyang' Nyong'o.

The G8 goal is to halve the number of people without safe drinking water by 2015 and a £4bn figure will be held up as real progress on a problem that claims two million lives a year in deaths from water- related disease. But aid agencies say the figure underlines the gross disparity between the world's rich and poor when compared with the £31bn spent on bottled water in developed countries last year. The brand that sold the most was Evian. The amount spent on 500ml bottles of Evian by 10 customers at the Mur Blanc restaurant in Evian - the host town of the G8 summit - at lunchtime would have funded the water and sanitation costs of one child in the developing world for life.
Related Link:
* Evian water plan undrinkable, say activists
http://www.foei.org/media/2003/0528.html

The Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) is pleased to announce the launch of a new version of its website www.scidev.net that will significantly boost its ability to provide news, views and information about science and technology relevant to the developing world. SciDev.Net was launched in 2001 with the backing of the journals Science and Nature – which provide free access to selected articles every week – as well as the Third World Academy of Sciences. Since its launch, SciDev.Net has established itself as a unique and authoritative online source of information and debate about the way that science and technology can meet the social and economic needs of the developing world. It seeks to achieve this by providing news coverage through a network of science journalists in the developing world, and in-depth 'dossiers' on key topical issues including intellectual property and the ethics of medical research.

The role of African civil society in the development of Africa has been recognised for a long time. This is based on the fundamental premise that Africa's development must be about development of people. In view of the forthcoming Summit of the AU in July in which African civil society has been given a full opportunity to participate, the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development, AFRODAD, is organising a meeting in Maputo during the last week of May to fully prepare and secure the full participation of African civil society in the African Union Summit. Comments on draft documents are invited. Click on the link below for further details.

The challenges facing the African continent are enormous. On every front: economic and industrial development; scientific and technological know how; electrification; agriculture; education; healthcare; housing; telecommunications; transport; peace and stability; institutional respect for social, economic, political and human rights, and all other indices of modern society the continent is yet to fulfil its potential. The reasons for this have been articulated extensively – four hundred years of vicious slavery and colonisation including the murder of millions of Africans in their prime, decades of military coups and dictatorships of all sorts backed by both ‘eastern and western bloc’ countries in the cold war battle for strategic interests and resources etc. These are terrible events, which would have undermined the development of any continent

Nevertheless, present day African governments are still failing in their duty to break the shackles imposed on their countries by the injustices of the past and guide their countries into the 21st century.

On the 25th of May the African Union celebrated the 40th anniversary of Africa Liberation Day and the formation of the Organisation of African Unity. The 26th of May was also the second anniversary of the formal creation of the African Union. In his anniversary message, the current Chair of the Union President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa saluted “the distinguished leaders of the continental struggle such as Kwame Nkrumah, Gamel Abdel Nasser, Haille Selassie, Mmandi Azikiwe, Sekou Toure, Modibo Keita, Kenneth Kaunda, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Augostino Neto, Samora Machel, Amilcar Cabral, Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela and many others” and their “Pan-Africanist vision of a Union of African States sharing common aims of multicultural unity, socio-economic and political co-operation and development, the promotion of human rights, the protection of human rights and freedoms, the promotion of peace and stability and the removal of the remaining yokes of colonialism and apartheid on the continent.”

He also acknowledged that “there are new issues on our agenda today such as democracy, peace and stability, human security, good economic governance as well as sustainable development, human rights, health, gender equality, information and computer technology, integrated regional development, cultural and heritage preservation and promotion.”

More importantly, he admitted that “The international community is eager to see whether we will be able to live up to the conditions that we have set ourselves in NEPAD and its African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in which we have designed measures to assist states where capacity gaps exist and to set benchmarks of excellence for a vibrant and progressive Africa.” “We, in Africa,” he said “are optimistic that a new dawn is breaking and that prosperity, peace and human security will be a reality rather than a figment of our imagination.”

But rather disappointingly, the first tasks that African Union has set for itself do not take account of President Mbeki’s fine words. Instead, the Executive Council meeting of the AU attended by Foreign Ministers of all 53 member-states of the African Union met last week to “consider issues” relating to the implementation of decisions taken by Heads of State and Government during the launch of the African Union” regarding: “Common African Defence and Security Policy; the new structure of the Commission; progress report on the election of the AU Commissioners; scale of assessment for member-states; and the link between the AU and the African Diaspora.”

This distinguished gathering of Ministers did not think it necessary to respond to the urgent issues such as warnings by the World Food Programme of looming food shortages and famine in several African countries including Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, where various estimates of between thirty million to forty million people are at risk of starvation.

By no coincidence, the governments of these countries have been identified by several international and African press freedom and freedom of expression organisations as suppressing press freedom and freedom of expression. In almost all cases, the rights to association, assembly and political participation have also been curtailed.

There also seems to be no collective awareness of other grim facts and statistics hanging like a sword of Damocles over of millions of Africans:

* Of the ten countries in the world spending the least on healthcare, only one [Tajikistan] is not African. Liberia, Burundi, Somalia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Central African Republic and Chad top this list.
* Of the ten most undernourished nations in the world only three Afghanistan, North Korea and Haiti are not African. The other seven are Somalia, Burundi, Eritrea, Dem Republic of Congo, Liberia and Niger.
* The ten countries in the world with the highest death rate, and lowest life expectancy are all African: Botswana; Mozambique;’ Zimbabwe; Swaziland; Angola; Namibia; Malawi; Niger; Zambia; and Rwanda make up the first list with Sierra Leone, Burundi, Djibouti, swapping places with Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe on the second list.
* Of the ten countries in the world with the youngest populations [normally characterised by high death rates and high birth rates] nine are African: Uganda; Dem Rep of Congo; Chad; Niger; Sao Tome and Principe; Ethiopia; Burkina Faso; Mali and Benin.
* Of the ten most corrupt countries in the world, five Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Kenya and Tanzania, are African.
* The ten countries in the world that are worst for education are all African: Niger; Burkina Faso; sierra Leone; Guinea; Ethiopia; Angola; Mali; Mozambique; Senegal; Burundi and Guinea Bissau.
* Not surprisingly, eight of the ten countries on the planet with the highest rates of illiteracy are African: Niger, Burkina Faso; Gambia; Ethiopia; Senegal; Mali; Mauritania and Sierra Leone [the other two being Afghanistan and Haiti]
* Yet, Africa seems to be heading full steam towards a housing catastrophe with ten of the fastest growing countries in the world being African: Niger; Somalia; Angola; Uganda: Liberia; Burkina Faso; Mali; Ethiopia and Dem Republic of Congo.

It is therefore no surprise, that malaria, HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality are estimated to kill one million per year [or 2800 per day in Africa], an estimated two million per year, and forty percent of an estimated annual world total of 585,000 women year respectively. Add to these the numerous ongoing conflicts claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every year (estimnated at more than 3 million in DRC alone over the last three years) and it will be no exaggeration to say that Africa may well descend into a wasteland of conflict, disease and poverty if the trend is not revered over the next few decades. But 2020 or 2040 this is not so far away. It was only ‘yesterday’ that the 1970s and 1980s targets for ‘everything for all’ by the year 2000 were set without any clear arrangement to achieve these targets, and today it is 2003.

The ongoing SARS epidemic is yet to take a thousand lives globally but was placed at the fore of a recent meeting of Asian countries. The Canadian authorities were reported on the 29th of May to have decided to quarantine 5000 persons at risk from the SARS virus. Yet the AU does not think the healthcare crisis facing Africa deserves to be fast tracked to the fore of its Agenda. The right to life is after all the most important of all. To describe the African healthcare crisis as a result of criminal negligence will not be an exaggeration.

To anyone familiar with the political and economic history of Africa, the surprise is not that these statistics exist. The surprise is that there is no cohesive plan to reverse the trend.

The task to rebuild the continent must therefore begin immediately. Improved education, healthcare, dealing urgently with the tragedy of HIV/AIDS, agriculture, scientific and technological development, housing, conflict resolution, peace and stability, and so forth must be accelerated to the fore of the AU’s agenda. Unfortunately, this seems unlikely to happen unless African civil society makes every effort to ensure it is done.

But before any of these can happen, freedom of expression and freedom of association needs to be institutionalised. Nothing can happen without these. Only last week we witnessed the absurdity of a Moroccan editor being sentenced to four years in jail for publishing a satirical weekly which ‘insulted the King of Morocco.’ Such absurdities belong in the feudal past of humanity and have no place in the modern world. Yet Morocco is not alone. Eritrea one of the first few countries to sign the constitutive Act of the African Union has imprisoned 18 editors and journalists and banned the entire private media. In July, 53 African heads of state will gather in Maputo for a meeting of the African Union. At least two thirds of them possess a plethora of anti media and anti freedom of expression laws in the armouries employed to stifle debate and alternative opinion.

Last week, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Africa Liberation Day, CREDO wrote to President Mbeki asking him to “call on fellow African leaders to release all incarcerated journalists, repeal all anti media and anti free-expression laws and legislation in their countries and end the persecution of journalists, civil society and peaceful democratic opposition.” The letter also urged him to “act speedily and decisively on these issues and to ensure they are firmly on the agenda of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union planned for Maputo, Mozambique in July 2003.” The letter stressed that “an end to the suppression of press freedom, freedom of expression and the rights to assembly, association and political participation will be a first and crucial step” towards solving the problems facing Africa.

In order to ensure that these issues are placed on the agenda of the AU, CREDO in collaboration with FAHAMU, is today launching a forty-day campaign in PAMBAZUKA NEWS aimed at presenting a petition to the African Union assembly of Heads of state in Maputo [see link below]. The petition calls for among other things, the release of all journalists incarcerated in all African countries and an end to the suppression of press freedom and freedom of expression. We urge you to support the campaign.

Rotimi Sankore is Coordinator of CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights an NGO focussing on rights issues in Africa. He is Contributing Editor of Pambazuka News. Firoze Manji is Director of Fahamu.

Organisations and persons wishing to sign this petition should send their name, name of organisation and country to [email]info@credonet.org and editor@pambazuka.org with the title Africa Union Campaign to media freedom and freedom of expression. Please state clearly if you are signing in your personal capacity or on behalf of your organisation.

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

His Excellency
President Thabo Mbeki
President of Republic of South Africa,
And
Chair of African Union

Dear Mr President

Call for African leaders to release all incarcerated journalists and repeal anti media and anti freedom of expression legislation

We are writing to express our concern over the continued incarceration of and harassment of journalists in the majority of African journalists for no other reason than carrying out their legitimate duties. We are also very concerned about the persistent violation of freedom of expression in Africa, which denies Africans the opportunity to participate in democratic debate towards solving the many problems facing the continent.

The multitude of challenges facing Africa includes improving, education, healthcare, HIV/AIDs, agriculture, building centres for scientific and technological, provision of adequate housing, conflict resolution - peace and stability and so forth. These challenges cannot be met without the active participation of the citizens of African countries.

Active participation of citizens in shaping policy and decision making of their countries is however impossible if their own governments continue to deny them the rights necessary to ensure such participation. These include the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, association and political participation, as well as media freedom to facilitate a free exchange of information, ideas and opinion.

However these rights continue to be violated by numerous government despite the fact that virtually all African countries have signed up to or ratified the constitutive Act of the African union, the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other similar documents.

May 25th 2003 marked 40 years of the celebration of Africa liberation day and the formation of the Organisation of African Unity. Similarly May 26th 2003 marked the second anniversary of the formal establishment of the African Union

It saddens us greatly therefore to note that more media houses have been shut down, and more journalists have been imprisoned, killed and driven into exile in the last forty years of independence of African countries than in the same period during the anti-colonial struggles that proceeded independence. With the exception of very few African governments, most have retained pre independence anti-media and anti-freedom of expression legislation that the colonial governments used to legitimise their incarceration of journalists in that era which remains one of the most shameful for the human race. Some have even managed ‘improve’ on such repressive legislation.

It was with great hope and expectation that all Africans and friends of Africa welcomed the launch of the African Union and looked forward to a new future based on its constitutive Acts. However two years into this bold experiment, no significant progress has been made. Even worse, two of the first five countries to sign up i.e. Eritrea and Zimbabwe having been turned into living hells for the media by the governments of those countries.

We therefore lend our voice to the numerous calls that have been made by regional and international organisations to the concerned African leaders to without delay release all incarcerated journalists, re-open all closed media houses, repeal anti-media legislation and recognise the importance of a free press, freedom of expression and other associated rights as vital ingredients necessary to build free, democratic and prosperous societies.

Only when this is done will the NEPAD initiative and any future similar initiatives have any real meaning for the peoples of Africa.

Yours Sincerely

Sign [List of signatories]

CC: Governments of the member countries of the African Union C/o African Union secretariat