The United Nations Security Council has said reforms must be implemented in the Central African Republic, while welcoming the government's efforts to stamp out corruption and establish good governance.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has accused former president Frederick Chiluba of numerous counts of corruption and fraud of more than $50m during his time in office and has asked parliament to lift Chiluba’s parliamentary immunity.

The government of Mozambique is breathing a little easier these days. In May, the Southern African nation was forgiven over $730 million in debt. Britain, Italy, Germany and oil-producing Opec nations cancelled the sum under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) programme administered by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

SciDev.Net is holding a four-day workshop in Entebbe, Uganda between 29 September and 3 October on Science Communication for Sustainable Development. It will bring together a group of scientists, public relations officers, print and radio/TV journalists along with professionals from academies of science, government departments, science and technology policy institutions and non-governmental organisations.

The first summit of the African Union ended Wednesday with lofty promises of a new era of economic development and good government on a continent plagued by poverty and oppression. Still to be seen is whether member states have the political will to turn those goals into reality.

Disagreements over command and control of the army constituted the factor causing talks on a transitional ruling body between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the former rebel Mouvement de liberation congolais (MLC) to stall on 5 June.

The African Union (AU) was launched with much pomp and ceremony in Durban, South Africa, on Tuesday. However, the crisis in Zimbabwe cast a shadow over the festivities. The leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai - unable to attend the launch - sent a videotaped message saying the biggest challenge for the AU was the "illegitimate" government of President Robert Mugabe.

The ruling Front populaire ivoirien (FPI) and the former ruling party, le Parti democratique de Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI) each took 18 councils in Côte d’Ivoire’s first-ever local elections. A total of 58 councils (called departments) were contested in Sunday's polls. Voter-turnout was however a low 30 percent and allegations of fraud have emerged.

Civil society organisations have urged that African Union (AU) leaders speed up the implementation of two key institutions, which will ensure the accountability and transparency of the AU following its launch. At a meeting on the sidelines of the historic summit, which has seen the AU replace the Organisation of African Unity, activists committed themselves to ensuring that the Union fulfilled its promise of being more "people oriented".

The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has no contractual relationship with any firm in its decision requiring businessmen to have electronic cash register (ECR) machines. TRA Director for Taxpayer Education, Protas Mmanda, said in Dar es Salaam that businessmen were free to buy ECRs machines from anywhere in the world provided they meet TRA specifications. He was reacting to allegations raised by one "disappointed businessman" that TRA was promoting ECRs being sold by a company he did not name.

Civil society have resolved that continued engagement with the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) must be an “ongoing priority”. “African unity and development have long been a vision of African people. African civil society, therefore, resolves to be vigilant in ensuring that African leaders remain true to their commitments as enunciated in both the Constitutive Act of the AU and the principles of the NEPAD process.” This was the conclusion of a meeting of representatives of African civil society organisations (CSOs), meeting in Durban, South Africa from 1 to 2 July. The meeting was held to discuss the role of CSOs with respect to the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Ratcheting up the debate over how and why Malawi sold its emergency food supply, the chief of the IMF has told British parliamentarians that the fault lay with the World Bank and the European Union.

The African Union must strengthen the region's human rights institutions if its promise is to become reality, Human Rights Watch says. The African Union's Constitutive Act pledges respect for human rights and rejects the widespread impunity that has characterized armed conflict and political repression in many African countries. In "grave circumstances" such as occurred during the Rwandan genocide, the Constitutive Act authorizes the African Union to intervene. But the existing regional human rights institutions the African Union will inherit have been crippled by a lack of resources and political will.

Church leaders and opposition politicians have described legislative and municipal elections held in Cameroon on 30 June as flawed. The politicians have also called for the polls to be annulled.

An estimated US$1 billion has been laundered over the past six years in Zimbabwe, according to the National Economic Consultative Forum.

Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi has said the army is seeking to achieve savings by eliminating wastage and corruption by instituting more efficient financial management systems. He said the army would prioritize its missions. Mbabazi was speaking at the opening of a South to South seminar meant to discuss the African experience on security sector transformations.

The chief director of the Department of Public Enterprises, Andile Nkuhle, has been suspended amid allegations he had received money from a company which won the bid for a R335million state forestry deal, the department said.

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The African Union must not be just a modified OAU. It must be a union of peoples and not a union of states and the parliament, for instance, should play a major role. Member states will have to accept the transfer to the Union of some of their prerogatives. Common policies will have to be put in place on priority questions such as reinforcing continental peace and security, the integration of African economies, the free movement of persons, goods and capital, food security, the fight against poverty, the coordination of
different initiatives in the realm of development, notably in trade, the environment, and the fight against pandemics, without forgetting external debt.

African foreign ministers were on Wednesday ready to begin refining the nuts and bolts for the launch of the African Union next week amid revelations that at least 10 states would be unable to vote at the inaugural summit because of debt problems.