Women Garner Majority of Seats in New Rwanda Parliament

In a world's first, women MPs have outnumbered their male counterparts resulting from a Parliamentary Election. Rwanda, emerging barely 14 years from the dark episode of its 1994 Genocide, had already made huge strides for women in policy-making by making it mandatory for 30% of its Parliamentarians to be women, but in the latest election the nation far surpassed that quota, bringing in 45 women MPs -56.25% of the 80 seat Legislature. Rwanda is the first country anywhere in the world to achieve this milestone and demonstrates that nation's desire to bring women into the forefront of decision making as well as its high prioritization of women's issues. The country had before this election already made very progressive and novel steps to ensure that every sector of society was well represented by reserving special seats in Parliament for women, the youth and the disabled. This development should, however, earn Rwanda more global attention in a world that has all too often despised the leadership potential in women.

All the parties fielding candidates in Rwanda's September 16 - 18th election had at least one woman winning a seat with the coalition Rwanda Patriotic Front taking the lion's share of 42 seats.

http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=736

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:joP82iqgUJ8J:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_parliamentary_election,_2008+Rwanda+Elections+2008&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1

Kenyan Park Sees The Return of Big cats

The East African nation of Kenya has many beautiful sites to see, from its idyllic coast to the wonders of its Mara Game reserve in the South West of the country, but probably one of its most fascinating locations is the Nairobi National Park where lions for a long time roamed in close proximity to the capital city providing an interesting contrast of the totally wild and cosmopolitan city in one portrait. The number of lions and other big cats had, however, by 2003 seen a sharp decline, largely because of being hunted down by Pastrolists with whom they share the Park. In 2003 alone, 11 lions were killed. This had be due to the fact that the big cats had been killing livestock and their Pastoral owners had not been compensated through a now terminated Lion Endowment Fund which had existed for this purpose. Thankfully, this crisis spurred some of the friends of the park into action to save the situation; Since 2004, African Heritage Day has been held, hosted by a Mr. Alan Donovan, co-founder of African Heritage, an African Art House, to raise money to encourage migration into and keep Big Cats at the park. The effort has received support from a wide array of people and organizations and now the park is beginning to see the return of lions and other Big Cats returning the park to its status as a most fascinating of sites.


http://allafrica.com/stories/200809220321.html

East Africa International Business Forum

Kigali, Rwanda will from October 29-30 host the East Africa International Business Forum which will bring together stakeholders in the East African Business Community as well as potential investors. The Forum is being organized by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the East African Business Council (EABC) with the support of the government of Rwanda and should be an important shop window for the five countries that make up the East African Community -Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The East African region has a market of approximately 100 million people. Already the US-based Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), Germany's Afrika-Verein and the French Council of Investors in Africa (CIAN) have announced their support for the forum, bringing with them representation of well over 250 companies. These organizations along with CBC will represent a huge number of Africa's leading investors - bringing together five of the G8 countries as well as India, Nigeria and South Africa. Their involvement is said to likely contribute to increased investment in East Africa. The forum is themed "East Africa: One Market One Destination".

Fighting Disease Through ICT

In Africa, the growth of mobile phone usage has been nothing short of phenomenal. The phone, because of its relatively low cost (in some cases), easy set-up and greater efficiency than land lines has brought many Africans into a high efficiency communication age enabling them to communicate with one another and the world with an ease they could not have imagined possible just a few years ago. Mobile phones have become an essential component driving business effectiveness and efficiency, over and above the primary help it has given to people to enhance communication. Modifications on the phones have also seen them being used for a number of business and non business applications. It is now beginning to catch on as well that mobile phone applications can be very powerful tools in the battle against disease on the Continent. With the ability to take and use the phones in even some of the more remote regions, mobile phones can truly be a potent force for health care. This fact has spurred a joint venture between the United Nations Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation - Technology Partnership - whose purpose is to help far-flung health workers share critical medical data. The venture will expand the use of an open-source application known as EpiSurveyor, which can be downloaded to mobile phones, enabling healthcare workers to track data on various health concerns, to 22 African countries by the end of this year.


http://allafrica.com/stories/200809220356.html

Trans-Saharan Pipeline Prospect Receiving Attention

Nigeria, which has the seventh largest reserves of Natural Gas of any country in the world is beginning to receive heavy attention because of its prospects of supplying some of its gas to Europe through a trans-Saharan pipeline. Gazprom, Russia's leading gas supplier has already held talks with the Government of Nigeria over the pipeline, signing a memorandum of understanding covering co-operation in the exploration, development and transportation of gas reserves. The European Union has quickly followed suit, expressing its desire to help build the pipeline which could take gas from Nigeria to Europe through Niger and Algeria. Gas from Nigeria would be a very crucial alternative supply source for the EU which has had differences with its current chief supplier, Russia. Nigeria (and the other countries along the pipeline route) would, of course, have to find a means of protecting the pipeline, with the presence of militants in Nigeria's gas-producing Niger Delta, Tuareg rebels in Niger, and Islamist groups in Algeria who may see the pipeline as a very tempting target.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7621500.stm

Voting Reform Recommended For Kenya

After six months of information collecting and review, the The Independent Review Commission (IREC), looking into the issues surrounded the disputed December 2007 Kenya Presidential elections, handed in their final report to the President and Government of Kenya. While handing in the report, IREC, headed by South African Judge, Johann Kriegler, made the submission that even with a thorough investigation of facts and circumstances surrounding the election, it was impossible to ascertain who really won the December 2007 polls. The Commission could, however, conclusively say that there was great need to overhaul the Electoral Commission of Kenya and its functions. This change, they said, was necessary to avoid a repeat of the confusion that surrounded the 2007 poll results and subsequent violence that followed. In effect, IREC has given Kenya one pillar on which to build a future of peace and stability and part of a road-map through which the country can avoid pitfalls of chaos. The country will do well to heed IREC's advice and the rest of the Continent would do well to look at the report for themselves.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7621777.stm

Zimbabwe: Historic Unity Pact Signed Today

In the most concrete step made towards political reconciliation and progress in Zimbabwe yet, the key players in the country's political crisis signed a Unity Government Pact in the country's capital, Harare, today. The signing of the pact was witnessed live by millions of Zimbabweans on TV and presided over by Thabo Mbeki in the company of 10 African Heads of State. The Pact inaugurates opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister, keeping Robert Mugabe as President with reduced powers. Arthur Mutambara is Deputy Prime Minister. The three leaders will be sharing power and the Cabinet will consist of 31 members, 16 from the former opposition party MDC and its breakaway faction led by Tsvangirai and Mutambara respectively, and 15 from Mugabe's ZANU-PF. According to Tsvangirai the top priority of the new government would be to bring food to food-scarce Zimbabwe. He urged parties to look past past wrongs. Mugabe, on his part, hailed the Pact as a triumph of African Diplomacy.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200809150833.html

Kenya: Acting Finance Minister Acts Tough on Port's Authority

Government seems to be working in an unprecedented fashion in Kenya; Roads are being repaired, laxity and inefficiency is being addressed, Members of Parliament are being held more accountable and the rule of law seems to be applying to the political elite more than it ever has before. This has probably come on the back of a pervasive mentality that the country must move forward from the dark, old era of bloated, inefficient government and the tighter media scrutiny of the work of Kenya's Coalition Government. Among the stand-out Ministers in this Government have been the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, and maverick Acting Finance Minister, John Michuki. Mr. Michuki is famous for bringing sanity to the transport sector while serving as Transport Minister in the previous Government. He now is bringing order to Kenya's port where cargo delays, mismanagement and inefficiency has hampered the work of the most important port along the Eastern shore of Africa. The Acting Finance Minister was exactly what the port needed after years of inaction on its many ills. Among the sweeping reforms ordered by the Minister was the destruction of 700 imported vehicles and cargo in 7,000 containers abandoned at the port. He also issued directives to various agencies to comply with and enhance the Port's 24 hour operation. The Port's reforms should serve to remove the virtual bottleneck that the Port had become to its clients.

http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/-/1006/468948/-/jixatcz/-/index.html

Tanzania: Country making use of Natural Gas Potential

Traditionally, it has been North, West, Central and Southern African countries that have been the energy and mineral giants of the continent with East African lagging far behind. The rest of the Continent's energy and mineral wealth has improved the standard of living of most of it's people very little (by and large) and has instead brought bloodshed and anguish as factions in these regions have fought over the resources. It is only now, decades after energy and mineral resources were discovered, that many of the countries in the rest of Africa are beginning to mend from resource mismanagement and war. Now East Africa is beginning to discover its own natural reserves of energy and mineral wealth. Hopefully, the troubles of the rest of Africa with mineral wealth has been a lesson to this region; Tanzania has found significant coal and natural gas reserves on its territory and already has plans to export some of its gas wealth to Kenya. This is in addition to its huge reserves in eleven key minerals which include gold, Nickel, Tanzanite, Diamonds, copper, Iron ore, coal, Limestone, soda ash, gypsum and phosphate. Whether the newly discovered Natural Gas and minerals' potential for creating wealth is fully exploited is a question that Tanzania's government and people will have to answer but they need not look far for wisdom on what not to do.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200809150569.html

http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/observer/2008/08/31/121629.html

Nomadic Skills Should Be Applied More To Fight Climate Change

The aid agency, Oxfam, has concluded that Africa could benefit greatly in its managing of the effects of climate change by applying age-old skills used by some of its nomadic peoples. In a new report released recently, the agency points out that pastoral communities such as the Maasai in Kenya and Tanzania could pass on very helpful survival skills to the wider African community as handling climate change has been a way of life for them for millenia. The Maasai have been particularly adept at farming deserts and scurbland, for example. However, many nomadic groups have had their way of life curtailed and criticized over the years, their lifestyle being seen as incapable of fitting into a modern civilization. It has been lost on policy-makers here, therefore, the benefits that could be derived from applying some of the wisdom pastoralists have to deal with challenging contemporary phenomena. Oxfam's report should be a strong wake-up call to them to use age-old, time tested and indigenous means to counter one of the most challenging problems of our time.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7568695.stm

Africa Welcomes Back Her Olympic Heroes

The Beijing Olympics, which was concluded on Sunday, was undoubtedly an Olympic games to rival any that had been staged throughout the history of the Olympics. Well organized and expertly hosted, these Olympics provided us with new heroes (Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps), astonishing stories and world records galore -all ingredients for a spectacle that should be remembered for years to come. For Africa, these Olympics were one to relish as well. African teams bagged a total of 39 medals from events as varied as judo and kayaking but mostly coming from the athletics track and field. Africa stamped its dominance in the men’s and women’s middle and long distance races winning most of the medals on offer with mainly the Kenyans and Ethiopians taking the honors. Kenya will be especially proud of its Beijing odyssey; she finished as the top African nation (and 15th overall) at the games with her largest ever medal haul at an Olympic games. Some of the medalists have already returned home with more expected today, including the largest contingent of the victorious Kenyan team.


http://allafrica.com/olympics/

Bakassi Nigerians promised safety

Cameroonian President, Paul Biya, assured Nigerians occupying Cameroon's newly acquired region of Bakassi of their protection under the law in an address carried on Cameroonian radio and TV. 300,000 Nigerians occupy this region which Nigeria ceded to Cameroon honoring an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling which determined that Bakassi belonged to Cameroon. Bakassi had just been handed over to Cameroon, August 14th, and the President's statements were aimed at reassuring the Nigerians who make up 90% of the region's population that they wouldn't be harassed by Cameroon's security forces, be displaced nor lose their civil rights. Bakassi is a potentially oil rich peninsula which for a long period was the subject of haggling-over between Cameroon and Nigeria before the case of its ownership was taken to the ICJ which ruled that it should go to the former. The court's judgment was based on an early 20th century colonial agreement between Britain and Germany.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7576253.stm

Zimbabwe can learn from Kenya's experience

These are the sentiments of Moses Wetangula, Kenya's Foreign Minister, who was recently interviewed by the BBC on whether this was really the case. Mr. Wetangula is part of a 'Grand Coalition ' Government set up in Kenya as a settlement to end the political impasse that was created after a flawed Presidential poll led to serious political, social and economic turmoil. The Grand Coalition government brought the two main political parties, opposed in their view of who won the election, into one government with the Electoral Commission announced President, PNU's Mwai Kibaki, remaining as President and his rival ODM's Raila Odinga taking up the post of Prime Minister with executive powers. The post of Prime Minister had not been in existence in Kenya for over 40 years but was a conciliatory arrangement made by the two main parties along with a cabinet inclusive of Parliamentarians from both sides. Other smaller parties are, by and large, also represented in Government and Parliament is without an official opposition. It could be argued that the Grand Coalition arrangement has united Kenya as a whole just as it has united it's politicians under one government. It has without doubt been the chief factor in quelling social and political unrest. Zimbabwe can definitely learn from Kenya's experience with crisis in it's quest to find lasting peace and Mr. Wetangula's interview may provide some insights.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7554929.stm

Kenya Plans to Harness more Geothermal Power

That energy supply is an essential component of a nation's drive towards development is a fact probably few discerning observers miss. For those who miss it it is a bridge that they will inevitably have to cross in their march towards development sooner or later. And when it comes to energy supply many African countries are still far behind in their harnessing of energy sources though the continent is rich in sources of electrical power. Africa is an abundant potential source of electricity with potential for almost everything between hydro-electrical to geothermal power. But some African countries are beginning to catch up with the fact that they need to look very seriously into making use of their energy sources even if they are unusual ones. In an earlier article on this blog, we showed how Rwanda was harnessing methane gas from a volcanic Lake it shares with the democratic Republic of Congo -Lake Kivu. Kenya too is taking a step in this direction. Its government is planning to spend almost US$ 75 million to drill geothermal wells into an area that prospectively could supply another 480 Mega Watts to the energy grid. A power plant is planned for the area which will supply 140 Mega watts when it is set up in 2013.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200808180035.html

Uganda: Chissano trys to Salvage LRA-Govt Peace Deal

Joachim Chissano, former President of Mozambique and United Nations special envoy to Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) affected areas in Uganda, was in Uganda over the weekend on a mission to lend his efforts to salvage the LRA-Uganda government peace process. He toured the conflict affected District of Gulu and spoke with LRA leader Joseph Kony. He had earlier held discussions with Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda, but it is his discussions with Kony that were most significant. The LRA leader who has been chided for not signing the Final Peace Agreement told Chissano he would do so after meeting with Peace mediator Riek Machar, the Southern Sudan President. Chissano said he was arranging a meeting between the two. According to Chissano Kony would only sign the Final Peace Agreement after a meeting with Machar and a Uganda Government Delegation at which details of the agreement would be clarified to him personally. He claims he needed personal clarification of some details he only had second hand information about. We hope that the next meeting will suffice.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200808181260.html

Young Somali Athlete to Grace The Olympics

The Olympics has always been an event to provide heart-warming stories and this year's edition in Beijing will be no exception. Among the thousands of sportsmen and women competing this year, some with a very high profile, celebrity status, will be a 16 year-old female Somali sprinter named Samiya Yuusf Omar. That she is a teenage female competing for that country in Beijing is remarkable in itself; Somalia is a deeply religious society where, traditionally, women have limited freedom to engage in such pursuits and where the infrastructure doesn't support much sporting activity. What makes Samiya's story even more remarkable is that she comes from a destitute family but has put all the odds her poverty and circumstances have pitted against her behind her to train and seize the opportunity to be in Beijing. In reality she won't really be in the running (pardon the pun!), having qualified by special dispensation, but her appearance at the Olympics could open up for her a multitude of opportunities should her and/or her caretakers recognize them. Go Samiya! Good luck in Beijing!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7492967.stm

Vote by US Senate to Increase AIDS Program’s Budget

The US Senate voted July 16th to triple spending for a program that has treated and protected millions in Africa and elsewhere from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The vote enhances the so called President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief championed by President Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address and passed by Congress the same year. The US$ 15 billion plan had helped bring lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs to about 1.7 million people and it had supported care for nearly 7 million, including about 2.7 million AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. Previously on 50,000 patients in Sub-Saharan Africa were receiving anti-retroviral treatment. This new expanded initiative is the most ambitious foreign public health program ever developed by the United States committing the country to spending up to $48 billion over the next five years. The fight against HIV/AIDS receives great boost with this measure.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/washington/17aids.html?_r=4&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=africa&adxnnlx=1218034837-K4hetNzbp2PK2tpekMgP5w

Zimbabwe: Rivals issue joint call to end violence

As talks between Zimbabwe's rival political parties, ZANU-PF and the MDC, over a possible post election settlement continue, the two parties have issued a joint statement calling for an end to violence by their supporters. Violence characterised Zimbabwe's election and post election period. The statement is a positive development that should help the country return to some level of normalcy as the rival parties work towards a deal. ZANU-PF and MDC officials have been hold-up at a secret location in South Africa for two and a half weeks trying to thrash out a settlement to their country's crisis in historic talks that saw their leaders Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Tsvangirai meet for the first time in a decade. This joint statement may also provide a sign that a spirit of cooperation is alive among the rivals which should augur well for the whole process.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7545683.stm

Nairobi, the next Palo Alto?

It's fair to say that Africa is largely a technological backwater; More often than not new technological innovations spring up from other continents, mainly Europe and North America. But could this trend be changing? For decades now, African students have graced highly rated technology institutes and colleges in North America and Europe leaving with stellar performances in their degree programs. Many Africans hold important jobs in Silicon Valley and other technology hubs. Some of these have been involved in the process of coming up with and rolling out some of the most important technological innovations of our time. A few of them have returned home to setup or work for technology driven companies, serving medium and high end clientèle. They may not be large in number but the pull for innovators to Africa is growing and especially to the large cities like Nairobi, Kenya; With its great openness to the world and what's new, Nairobi is fast becoming breeding ground for technology innovations and innovators. Inventors are creating applications for the low as well as high end cellphones and finding ways of bringing this city up-to-date with technological advances elsewhere. And to be sure, Nairobi is nowadays ahead of some cities in more developed nations in applying new technologies. A fiber optic cable has been laid connecting Nairobi to high-speed internet services in move that will only enhance the city's technology drive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/business/worldbusiness/20ping.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=africa&adxnnlx=1218034837-K4hetNzbp2PK2tpekMgP5w

Maverick repairing Nigeria’s image

Repairing a country’s image can be a difficult task especially if that country is Nigeria. Known more for its social ills like grand corruption and embezzlement as well as civil strife Nigeria has very often been the poster-child for what is bad about Africa and what can happen if greed were allowed to thrive. This bad image has been branded in the hearts and minds of many around the world over the years through accounts of colossal moral, social and economic disasters seen and heard through the media and through personal accounts. Nigeria definitely needs an image boost and one man has made this his steadfast aim. His methodology and style may be questionable in the eyes of those who are more conservative but there is no doubt that Nduka Obaigbena, the eccentric Nigerian media mogul, is showing the country in a much better light. Described by the New York Times as “part Bono part P. Diddy”, Nduka has used his considerable wealth and fame to highlight what is good about Nigeria –awarding those on the frontline against the scourge of corruption and poverty (with a lot of fanfare I might add!) and winning over the rich, the famous and the influential into a positive mindset about the country. His big parties and celebrity lobbying may not be conventional ways of cleaning the image of a nation but he in his own unique way is undoubtedly changing perceptions. Whether this will translate to greater investment in Nigeria remains to be seen though.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/business/worldbusiness/10nigeria.html?ref=africa

Côte d'Ivoire: Ivorian Leader Out to Clean Country's Cocoa Sector

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is the world’s largest producer of Cocoa accounting for 37.4 per cent of the total 3.5 million tones (1.3 million tones) harvested in the world according to 2007 estimates, far ahead of second place Ghana which produces 720 thousand tones. This despite the fact that it has been going through civil turmoil for the past six years. The cocoa sector has, however, been fraught with corruption and mismanagement since President, Laurent Gbagbo, undertook a restructuring of the cocoa sector when he came to power. The media have been reporting over and over again the scandalous manner in which the country's cocoa money was misappropriated by those Gbagbo put in charge of developing and managing this crop which is the pillar upon which the country's economy is built. But instead of waiting for the media storm to pass, as many of his counterparts might have done, Gbagbo, has undertaken the arrest of some of those he himself put in office in a move that shocked Ivory Coast. This clean up of the major sector is unprecedented, at least in Gbagbo’s reign, and should earn him high praise in the International Community.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200807090133.html

Modern Sports Complex for Entebbe, Uganda

In previous articles on this blog it has been highlighted that building of sports infrastructure can be pivotal in aiding the whole round development of communities. Investment in sports infrastructure is an aspect that has all too often been left out or deemphasized by countries aiming to climb out of a state of underdevelopment and poverty but as the previous articles pointed out, sports can do much for just such countries, and it should be a key aspect of their development plans. Local and international investment in this sector should be encouraged. This thinking seems to have caught on in Uganda; the World Sports Alliance (WSAU) and the NGO New Hope for Africa are to construct a modern sports complex in Entebbe, Uganda, to help groom future stars. This is only Uganda’s third Modern Sports facility and is envisioned to be a centre for youth development and community transformation. It will provide avenues to keep children off the streets and groom them into great leaders for tomorrow, on top of providing accommodation for over 250 orphans, from a New Hope for Africa orphanage.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200807090053.html

Congo-Kinshasa: Progress in Pacifying Ituri

Between 1999 and 2003 Ituri, in the Northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), became the theatre of a particularly bloody sideshow of DRC's wider civil war. Inter-ethnic and inter-rebel conflict there was rife leaving many displaced, killed and many children recruited as soldiers. With the wider DRC civil war largely over, pacifying the region was a task that still had to be done with rebel groups and militias still armed and suspicions between tribal groups still present. It has been an arduous task. Much has been achieved over recent years but, analysts and officials involved point out, the region is not yet out of the woods. UN agencies and other bodies have been overseeing a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme there which has been successful in demobilizing some 25,000 combatants and 10,000 children. Thousands of weapons have been collected. Programmes have been set up to help former fighters revert to civilian life. Hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians have returned to their homes. The reintegration process has been the most difficult phase to accomplish but there are a lot of good people on the ground trying to see to its success.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200807080792.html?viewall=1

Kenyan Woman wins Landmark HIV ruling

In a landmark ruling a 45 year old, HIV-positive woman has been awarded $35000 in damages for unfair dismissal by her employer. The 45-year-old waitress, whose identity has been withheld, also sued her doctor for revealing her HIV status without her consent. The High Court ruled that it was unlawful to end employment on the grounds of a person's HIV status. The woman's former employer, Home Park Caterers, said the company had not requested a medical test, and was not aware of her status when she was sacked. But the former waitress told the court that her letter of termination said she had been sacked on medical grounds, and for being unable to perform her duties. Her HIV status had apparently been revealed by her doctor to her employers, in breach of doctor-patient confidentiality, upon which she was sacked. Many HIV positive Kenyans are afraid to admit their status because of the discrimination they could face. About 2.5 million out of 32 million Kenyans are currently living with HIV/Aids. This is the first such ruling handed down by the Kenya High Court.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7499496.stm

Japan Economic Cooperation with Rwanda

Following up on deliberations at the TICAD IV Summit between African and Japanese leaders Japan made commitments to Rwanda at the fifth Rwanda-Japan annual policy dialogue which took place on Monday at the Rwanda Foreign Ministry offices. In line with the requests made by the Rwanda, including those by the President himself, Japan will be implementing programmes in education and training in science and technology, agriculture and community development, as well as improvement of public transport. The rehabilitation of Rusumo Bridge, solar and energy hydro-electricity, and agricultural projects were presented by Rwanda for assistance consideration. It also requested that Japan reconsider its position on the Kibungo-Ramiro road project due to its future importance in connecting Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. At TICAD IV President Paul Kagame had called for partnership between Japan and Africa in infrastructure and energy development, human resource development, science and technology, trade and investment and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda had committed to double Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) to Africa by 2012.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200807090480.html

Zimbabwe: MDC and Government Talking

In what could prove another fruitful development for peace in Africa it is reported that the De Jure ruling party in Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF, and the two factions of the opposition party, MDC, have met in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is a positive step in ending the political impasse that has existed since Robert Mugabe of ZANU PF went on to contest and win last month’s Presidential elections unopposed after the MDC had withdrawn its candidate citing an environment unfavourable for free and fair elections. UN, EU and US sanctions and embargoes seemed to be on the horizon for the Mugabe Government because of what appeared to be clear electoral malpractice sponsored by Mugabe regime to secure him another term in office. MDC had previously refused to negotiate with the Mugabe government, rejecting his presidency and calls by African leaders to form a unity government with him, but now seem to be warming towards a unity government arrangement or at least dialog. This development could stay the International Community’s hand and augur well for the people of Zimbabwe who would suffer the most from a sanctioning of their state and an atmosphere of social and political tension which is even now reigning over their country.

Some might object to the Opposition even giving the Mugabe government an ear but I think few would disagree that under the circumstances dialog may be the quickest way out of a looming period of greater suffering for the people of Zimbabwe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7500017.stm

Uganda: Kony Keeps Hopes for Peace Alive

In what could be termed as a concrete step towards peace, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony has ordered his negotiation team to start peace talks with the Ugandan government that could fast track the signing of a peace deal by July 13 or 14. Ferrying this message was reinstated LRA chief peace delegate Dr. David Nyekorach Matsanga. In a statement issued in Nairobi, Wednesday, Dr. Matsanga said "General Kony has instructed me to reassure the world…that he will work towards the peace negotiations," adding that the “LRA this time around is determined to prove its critics wrong by signing the Peace Agreement and wait for the implementation stages to begin in Uganda." This is a welcome sign in a peace process that seemed all but doomed when Kony chose not to sign the Peace Agreement in April. We had stated in a recent blog entry that this peace cause was very much worth fighting for with millions of lives at stake and we hope that the two parties in the conflict would go the extra mile in securing it.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200807100037.html

Uganda: Endeavour for peace in the North must continue

Here at New Growth we strive to bring to light positive steps being made and being planned to be made in this world to push forward the agenda to bring a very holistic kind of prosperity to every corner of the globe. We highlighted the Uganda peace process to end a 22 year old insurgency in the North of the country in April. Sadly, the process was cut short just as it was coming to a very advanced stage when Northern rebel leader Joseph Kony refused to sign a peace agreement that would begin a process of demobilization of his troops citing lingering queries and doubts about the whole peace deal. The Ugandan Government responded to this move with exasperation -refusing to engage with Kony on anything outside the set out peace process. The stage appeared set for the resumption of hostilities. But it needn’t go down that direction. There are those who think that return to the peace table is possible and positive; the relief agency World Vision posts a Press release in allafrica.com (which is worth a look by anyone concerned about Uganda!) in which it pushes for the case of non-abandonment of the dialog and endeavour for peace. Their argument is very much worth looking into, especially with the peace process having gone so far, and the destiny of millions in Uganda might depend on how much action is taken on their recommendations. Please read!

http://allafrica.com/stories/200807030034.html

Hazardous Waste Management Project for Côte d'Ivoire

In August 2006 Ivory Coast was visited with a horrible hazardous waste disaster under quite dubious circumstances; The naval vessel ‘Probo Koala’ chartered by a Dutch Company had 400 tons of toxic waste it was carrying offloaded from it and dumped on at least 12 sites in Abidjan some in residential areas. What followed were the deaths of 10 people and the poisoning of thousands allegedly resulting from waste. It became apparent that processes for the prevention and handling of such issues was needed, especially in Africa, and therefore the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), partnering with other agencies, has stepped in to do just that. On 16^th June 2008 it launched a project to address gaps in the international instruments controlling transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and waste generated on ships, unscrupulous behavior from some private operators, and the need to strengthen hazardous waste management capacity in many developing countries, including in Côte d’Ivoire. As part of the initiative, a hazardous waste management plan will be developed for the District of Abidjan, whose inhabitants were directly affected by the ‘Probo Koala’ incident. This project should go some way in protecting the lives of Ivorians who are all too vulnerable to whims of unscrupulous waste disposers.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200806160534.html

Cyberspace Resurrects Career of forgotten African Artist

The record industry might loathe it but cyberspace has become one of the main forces undercutting the traditional means of acquiring music. No longer do music fans have to go to the record store to purchase their favorite songs –they can download them, even for free, over the internet – and artists need no longer rely on the juggernaut record company machinery to sell their music and make a name –they can sell directly to their fans over the web. BBC online provides us with one such story of artist and fan getting their ultimate satisfaction via the internet. It carries the story of Ahmed Fakroun a Libyan musician who had seen his career all but buried in the mid 1980’s when his country became a pariah state following its alleged links to terrorism. This pioneer of world music saw his carrier resurrected when Western DJ’s recently unearthed his music, remixed it and popularized over the web opening up the door for Fakroun to reissue his music. He now sells his music online to a new generation of audience from the comfort of his home town, Benghazi, Libya. It makes an inspirational read for those seeking to make a break in the challenging music industry and for music enthusiasts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7434014.stm

Tanzania to Benefit from New Maize Variety

Tanzania is among several African Countries poised to gain from a project designed at developing drought tolerant maize varieties to help cushion peasants from famine and hunger. Dubbed WEMA –the Water Efficient Maize for Africa project –the project will also involve Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. Its aims are very much along the lines of initiatives being championed by major agricultural development bodies in recent months to counter the effects of global food shortage. The acting coordinator of the project in Tanzania, Dr Alois Kullaya said the Tanzania project will be implemented in 10 years with the first five being for valuation of the good land area for agriculture and the last five for project development. Targeted regions in the country are those with arid and semi-arid conditions such as Singida, Dodoma, and Lindi. Farmers will now no longer have to rely purely on weather conditions to bring in a harvest.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200806160464.html

Togo: New Phase of Unicef Campaign Begins

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has launched the second part of its multiphase campaign to detect and treat widespread malnutrition in children in the West African State of Togo. UNICEF has so far opened 134 nutritional rehabilitation centres, trained more than 1,750 health agents and supplied more than 200 tons of food, medicines and related materials in Togo but had focused mainly on large population areas. In this second phase the agency is targeting dozens of more isolated villages in the Savanes and Kara regions in the north of the country and the Maritime region in the far south. Eventually UNICEF expects to treat almost 77,000 children, provide nutritional supplements to more than 1 million children and offer awareness-raising about good food practices and breast-feeding to over 90,000 pregnant or new mothers.

At least 14 per cent of Togolese children under the age of five are currently estimated to be malnourished, with many parents so poor they cannot pay for transport for their suffering children to be treated at the nearest health-care centre.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200806160006.html

US Boost for African ‘Green Revolution’

The US agency United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has come in to an alliance with the Kofi Annan-led Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to boost food production and ensure food security in Africa. The MCC had already invested $1.7 billion in agricultural development over the years but is now partnering with AGRA which has made a name for itself by emphasizing the support of smallholder farmers and the development of ‘breadbasket’ areas as the key to winning the war against hunger in Africa. AGRA’s concept has received special attention in the midst of the Global food shortage and endorsement by major agencies dealing with agricultural development. MCC’s partnership with AGRA will provide additional funds for infrastructure development as well as the development of new seeds and fertilizers which are cornerstones of AGRA’s campaign to boost food production. Three 'breadbasket' regions will be the focus of the partnership’s drive.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7449989.stm

UN ambassadors end Africa tour praising Ivory Coast

UN Security Council Ambassadors ended their now annual tour of Africa with high praise for the progress made by Ivorians in their socio-political regeneration. In this tour of Africa the Security Council visited Sudan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Ivory Coast in an attempt to see for themselves developments in the Continent’s trouble spots and were particularly impressed with the progress made in Ivory Coast’s political process. South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo noted that rapid and groundbreaking political progress seen over the past year was achieved by the Ivorian’s working by themselves; In the past 12 months conflicting sides in the Ivorian crisis have managed to agree on a process leading to the holding an election at the end of November this year. Several U.N.-mandated agreements failed to produce concrete results in steps to come out of conflict and National disunity. A lot of work remains to be done to ensure free and fair elections but the Ivorians have proved that home grown solutions do work.

http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN023357.html

Global Crisis May Be an Opportunity for Africa!

This is the view of an expert at the World Economic Forum for Africa which concluded June 6th in Cape Town, South Africa, World Bank Vice-President for Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili. Her view is that the Global Food crisis has put the focus back on the food sector which in the past was Africa’s competitive advantage but which in recent decades has shifted to the background in favour of commercial agriculture and industrial development. “Agriculture is back on the agenda and with the right kind of public investment” and stands a chance of increasing productivity. The World Bank, for example, is doubling lending for Africa from 450 million to 800 million U.S. dollars starting with financial year 2010 and beyond. Other key agricultural development agencies are giving great effort and support to spur a green revolution in Africa having the support of smallholder farmers and the effective exploitation of “breadbasket” regions as its basis. Things are looking up for Africa’s farmers who have been long neglected in the push for economic progress.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/07/content_8325788.htm

Agreement on Disputed Sudanese Town Reached

Agreement on the destiny of what has been described as a ‘Tinderbox’ Sudanese town, Abyei, has been reached between the leaders of the two sides contending for it -Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir, and his southern counterpart Salva Kiir. Recent fierce conflict in the area had caused 90,000 of its inhabitants to flee prompting International outrage and fears that the North and South would fall back into the Civil War they had worked so hard to get out of. Abyei was one of the sticking points of the Civil War ending agreements as it is oil rich and on the Northern side of border between North and South Sudan but from which many Southern Sudanese hail. al-Bashir and Kiir agreed that international arbiters would decide how much of the region around the town would go to each side. Meanwhile the town has been placed under interim administration allowing thousands of displaced people to return to it.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International_Business/Sudan_rivals_agree_to_settle_differences_on_oil-rich_region_of_Abyei_/articleshow/3111948.cms

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7442872.stm

Budgetary Boost for Kenyan Agriculture

Kenya is a country that was amongst those in most danger of experiencing a full blown famine at the beginning of the year because of the double effect of a global food crisis and socio-political turmoil. The socio-political climate is now far more stable but the global crisis is still taking its toll. The good news is that the Grand Coalition Government has been alive to the fact that the agricultural sector was in dire need of support in order for it to effectively feed the country's population. Therefore, while it has been undertaking the process of resettling displaced farmers and their staff it has been moving swiftly to alleviate the cost of some farm inputs for farmers. News that the new financial year's budget (the fiscal year begins in June) will provide added support will be music to their ears -the agricultural sector is set to benefit from an increase of four per cent in the Agriculture ministry's budgetary allocation for the next year. The authorities in Kenya envision a vibrant agricultural sector even in the midst of a global crisis.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805191672.html

UN intervention in food crisis

The United Nations has pledged $1.2bn (£613m) of food aid for 75 million people in the 60 nations hardest hit by rising food prices. This was announced at the recently concluded FAO Summit in Rome. The pledge is just one of the many measures being put into place by leading world bodies and nations. Debate is still taking place, however, as to the extent that the use of biofuels is to blame for the current crisis. The US says that only 2-3% of the global food price rises has anything to do with biofuels while the International Food Policy Research Institute says biofuels are behind 30% of the rises. Nevertheless, as we stated yesterday global consensus is building to protect small holder farmers in poor nations and to boost food production in high productivity zones. Food aid will definitely alleviate suffering while other short, medium and long term initiatives take action. Some nations simply need food on the table immediately!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7435265.stm

Partnership to alleviate the food crisis

In April we carried an article where we talked about new approaches to agriculture that should be taken to meet the needs of a burgeoning world population. Some of these approaches are now likely to see the light of day following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between four key agricultural development bodies. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP) signed an agreement in which they would partner to boost food production in Africa’s ‘breadbasket’ regions, link local food production to food needs, and work across Africa’s major agricultural growing areas to create opportunities for smallholder farmers. The agreement marks a significant transformation in the way major global agencies work with smallholder farmers to assist them in solving Africa's chronic hunger and food problems. The new partnership announced today will work closely with other stakeholders in these breadbasket areas to rapidly improve food production, food security and rural incomes.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200806040548.html

New project to quench Rwanda’s energy hunger.

Poor exploitation of energy resources can be a major hindering factor to economic growth and is a problem that has all too often been associated with African States. This is despite the fact that many have an overabundance of energy resources. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a case in point –the country has the potential of meeting the electricity needs of the whole continent but yet has hardly enough for itself. In the midst of all this we learn that Rwanda is taking a step in the right direction. The tiny country has began to extract methane gas from a volcanic lake it shares with the DRC -Lake Kivu. The Lake holds an estimated 55 billion cubic metres of methane -the equivalent to 40 million tonnes of oil. A consortium is currently eyeing the extraction effort in the hope of setting up a seven-megawatt power plant and three other investors are hot on their heels. Should the process prove successful then it will go a long way in spurring Rwanda on to its economic objectives.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7426154.stm

Branding Deal To Fetch Higher Prices For Kenyan Coffee

We had just recently posted an article in which we talked about a development in which coffee growers were to receive more money for their produce by by-passing middlemen and now we learn that they are set to earn even more from their produce due to a branding deal signed in London over the past weekend. Kenyan coffee will be branded from now on and users of the coffee for blending and other purposes must now acknowledge their use of the coffees. This will cause the price of Kenyan coffee to rise. The development is an overdue acknowledgement of the high standard of Kenyan coffees which have been blended with other coffees from around the world without acknowledgement. This is good news for growers who can now market there high quality coffees directly to producers for fair prices. Over 80% of Kenya's coffee is specialty coffee.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805260106.html

AfDB Plans $500 million Fertiliser Subsidy

The African Development Bank (AfDB) continues to roll out initiatives to cushion farmers from the effects of the high price of some farm inputs occasioned by the high fuel prices: The Bank Group is launching a facility to subsidize farmers battling high fertiliser costs and help them boost production as food prices surge. In affirming that some sort of fertilser subsidy system would have to be put in place to curb the food crises in Africa the Bank’s President, Donald Kaberuka, also stated that this system would have to be market-smart and targeted and that it may require public finance supported by international institutions. The bank hopes to raise about $500 million in funding for the facility within six months.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7650&Itemid=5811

AU President Sells Continent to Japanese Investors

Africa Union President, Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania, used his opportunity at the podium at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) to sell Africa as an investment destination for Japanese firms. He said it was time Japan look past Africa’s turbulent history and see the great progress the Continent has made in establishing political stability and investment viability. Mr. Kikwete cited that Japan’s total investment of US $415 million in Africa – a mere 0.4% of Japan’s total Foreign Direct Investment flow (with US $352 million going to Egypt and South Africa alone) – was a clear indication that a lot needed to be done to improve Japan–Africa economic relations. Japanese Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda, had addressed the Conference earlier and pledged greater Japanese involvement in what he termed as 'The century of African Growth'. Among his pledges is the sending, by the end of the year, of a large-scale economic mission comprising leaders in the public and private sectors to explore business opportunities on the Continent. TICAD attracted a large number of African heads of State and representatives of international organizations.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805281254.html

Japan: Angola Stability Good for Investment

Angola’s political stability in recent years has made the country well suited for investment. These are the sentiments of the chairman of the Japan/Angola Parliamentary League, Senator Tetsuro Yano, who was welcoming the Angolan Prime Minister, Fernando dos Santos, to Japan as he arrived for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). He expressed his country’s desire for greater bilateral cooperation citing Japan’s need for some resources found in Angola as well as the benefits that Angola could gain from Japan’s technological expertise. He also told of his efforts to get Japanese companies to invest in Angola. The visiting Prime Minister in turn expressed the need to create a framework to identify projects that stimulate partnerships and enable the establishment of more efficient and positive co-operation relations. TICAD opens May 28th and ends May 30th, 2008. The conference aims at mobilizing efforts and know-how from the international community to accelerate the growth and sustainability of the African continent.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805270029.html

Namibia tests cash handout scheme

Can a scheme to handout cash to every non-pension receiving citizen of an African country prove effective in alleviating poverty? Conventional wisdom would have you think that it could never work, that such a scheme would only encourage an attitude of sloth among citizens and that the money would fuel social vices. Conventional wisdom is wrong –at least that is what a test run of such a scheme in Namibia seems to suggest; Namibians citizens in a settlement east of the country’s capital, Windhoek, have in recent months been receiving the equivalent of 13 US dollars a month each –whether they were employed or not- to use almost as they please and it has proven to lift the standards of living and alleviate poverty. The scheme, which is being run by civil society in Namibia, is a private initiative that was put into place when the government refused to act on recommendation by its own commission that would put all non-pension earning Namibians under a similar scheme. The pilot project has shown itself dramatically successful in uplifting lives. Much of the money has been used towards education, meeting basic needs, the launching of businesses as well as health care.

The success of the private programme may prove sufficient in changing the government’s mind and make the scheme country-wide and may provide food-for-thought for policy makers in other African countries.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7415814.stm

Spreading Profits to Coffee Growers

In prospering communities of the world there is a high appreciation for such dainties as Swiss chocolate and specialized coffees. They are usually very expensive to purchase but rarely ever do we hear complaints about their prices nor is much thought taken into how much money finds its way into the pockets of the cocoa and coffee farmers who cultivated the crop that produced those dainties. Truth is, they earn very little for their labours and a lot of them live in deplorable conditions. However, there is beginning to arise, in the conscience of the world, concern over the state of these farmers and governments and civil society have began to put a lot of effort to ensure that they enjoy some of the enormous profits of their products. One such initiative in Kenya is doing just that –at least to some extent- allowing coffee growers to negotiate better prices with buyers abroad and eliminate middlemen who kept most of their earnings. It is already paying dividends as the Business Daily Newspaper reports.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7649&Itemid=5811

Turning around the maternal and infant mortality rate

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provides us with staggering figures on maternal and infant mortality rates from birth in some parts of Africa: the organization reports that in Southern Sudan pregnancy-related death rates are about 2,030 for every 100,000 births, for example. These are the worst rates in the world but other African countries have not been fairing much better especially in comparison with rates on other continents. In the midst of this, however, some organizations are stepping in to turn around the tide of death from birth and bringing hope to communities ravaged by the phenomenon. UNFPA and White Ribbon Alliance - an international organization to promote safe motherhood with members in 91 countries –are finding success in Malawi (in Southern Africa) in ensuring that women get the sort of care that would prevent loss of life. They are eager to duplicate their success in other parts of Africa especially Southern Sudan, where UNFPA is aiding the capital’s hospital to provide better natal care.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080512/lf_nm/sudan_maternal_mortality_dc;_ylt=ArWnv7ajhu5s2mZqDhRQSdu96Q8F

Reverse ‘Brain Drain’ at East African Universities

For decades it has been very common occurrence to see a large number of High School and University Graduates from East Africa seek ‘Higher Education’ at overseas Universities and colleges mainly in the United Kingdom and the United States and now very commonly in Australia. A great amount of these students eventually take up residence in these countries leaving their mother countries without many of their best brains and talents. It hasn’t been common for the reverse to happen but it may be beginning to take place; Students from the United States, the UK and other developed countries are beginning to seek undergraduate level and graduate level degrees from East African Universities. There are also many students from these countries who have opted to spend a semester or two at local universities. For both these set of students there is a realization that the ‘university experience’ should be socially and culturally enriching just as much as it is academically enriching. The BBC carries the story of one such student from Britain, who opted to take his Master’s Degree at a Ugandan University rather than at home in the UK, in a recent online article.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7342706.stm

NEPAD Spurring Growth in Africa

At the opening of the 21st Century Africa was beginning to realize that decades of economic mismanagement and civil conflict had negatively impacted its potential as an investment destination and economic hub -putting it well behind other continents in the quest for a share in the riches of a vibrant global economy. In 2001, therefore, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was launched as an Africa-based and African-run initiative to bring Africa truly into the global economy and make it competitive. Non-Africa based actors pledged their support to the initiative. Seven years down the line NEPAD can look back and see that it has faced numerous challenges but it can also see some triumphs. An article posted on allafrica.com highlights some of NEPAD’s triumphs and successes in the arduous task of bringing Africa truly into the world economy. It exposes little known work being done by the organization as well as provides more insight into its more well known initiatives. It’s a must read for those seeking to know whether the oft maligned organization is playing any vital role for Africa.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805091086.html

Inventor Brings Affordable Power to Slums

An estimated 60% of Kenya’s capital city’s (Nairobi’s) population live in slums which cover only 5% of the total land area. Apart from the fact that these slum dwellers live in generally deplorable sanitary environments, that most of them do not have access to tapped water, that their environment is crime-ridden, they also have to suffer the indignity of having limited electrical power in a city where electricity should be for all. Those who do have electricity have it illegally while the rest have to find other means of lighting their houses, cooking, powering their radios and charging their all important mobile phones. A Kenyan engineer, Mr. Charles Rioba, would have them know he has good news for them, however; he has invented an energy storage device that can be recharged by solar energy, mechanical cranking or mains electricity. The device is cheaply available to be purchased or to be hired and provides a much safer means of powering slum households while the government looks into means of eradicating slums altogether. The device could mean that children in the slums can now read late at night and that households could have easier access to news via the radio.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805190090.html

Wild tree brings hope to subsistence farmers

More and more communities in (agriculturally and/or economically) marginalized areas of the world are finding hope in previously neglected plants that thrive in their regions. The Jatropha curcas and the Aloe Vera plants are recent examples. Here in Kenya, another such plant is gaining in popularity –the Moringa tree. The tree, whose salty leaves have for many years been used by some communities as part of their diet, is fast gaining popularity as a purely commercial crop -its seeds have found a place in the world’s markets as a raw material for cosmetics. Farmers who sold the tree’s leaves for a largely subsistence income are beginning to realize the far more economically beneficial practice of selling its seeds. The seed has high value in the cosmetics raw material markets of the United States, Europe and China among other places and until recently only Ugandan and Tanzanian farmers had caught on to the fact that it had great export value. Now a local oil processing firm, Earth Oil, is working with local farmers to boost the supply of the seed for export. The firm processes about 50 metric tonnes of the seeds, 30% of what it requires, and is looking to local farmers to help make up the deficit.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7115&Itemid=5811

Good Tidings for Banana Farmers in Kenya

A high yielding, pest resistant variety of banana has been developed in Kenya –good news for many Kenyan banana farmers who have in the recent past suffered from the onslaught of banana pests. A scientist at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Professor Esther Kahangi, is largely credited with the development of the ‘tissue culture’ banana. The high yielding tissue culture banana has already uplifted livelihoods of many Kenyans living in rural areas in close to 14 districts due to their rapid multiplication. The tissue culture is an improvement on tissue culture banana developed in 1997 which, although resistant to poor weather conditions, was vulnerable to pest attack. Apart from its value as a food crop, sales from banana output provide the much-needed household income for small-scale farmers in Kenya.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805090129.html

Ivorian ex-rebels begin to disarm

In a sign that further progress was being made in Côte d'Ivoire’s (Ivory Coast) march towards comprehensive peace and reconciliation, the rebel force ‘New Force’, based in the north of the country, began to disarm. Cote D’Ivoire Prime Minister and former rebel leader Guillaume Soro congratulated the fighters for starting the disarmament process and said the disarmament sent a “strong signal” that the peace accord signed in Burkina Faso last year was being implemented. About 43,000 rebels are expected to lay down their arms over a five-month period at six demobilisation centres in the northern and western parts of the country in a process Ivorian Defence Minister Michel Amani Nguessan termed as “irreversible” and move that should represent an end to the state of mistrust that has loomed over the country since the crisis began.

http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=05/06/2008&qrTitle=Cote%20D%E2%80%99Ivoire%20rebels%20start%20to%20disarm&qrColumn=FOREIGN

Kenya Launches Revolutionary US$ 50 Million Farm Programme

A major new partnership was launched May 6th, 2008, to provide small-holder farmers and small agricultural enterprises in Kenya with the financing they need to break out of poverty and build viable businesses. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), in partnership with Equity Bank Limited, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Kenya Ministry of Agriculture signed an agreement for a loan facility of US$50 million (3 billion Kenyan shillings) to accelerate access to affordable financing for 2.5 million farmers and 15,000 agricultural value chain members such as rural input shops, fertilizers and seed wholesalers and importers, grain traders and food processors. This timely development comes at a time when Kenyan farmers are still grappling with the effects of post 2007 elections turmoil which displaced many of them and their workers as well as the problem of inaccessibility to affordable seeds and fertilizer. The programme fills a gap in financial services for the farm sector and is expected to do much to alleviate the effects of the global food crisis on Kenya.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805060781.html

British Soccer Star Plans Soccer Academy for Sierra Leone

We just can’t seem to get away from stories about football (soccer) academies here at the NGI blog. We posted two such stories this April (April 2nd and April 7th) -about plans to set-up such academies in the talent-rich but accolade-poor country of Kenya- where we trumpeted about the social and economic benefits of putting up well run football academies in impoverished parts of the world. Here again is another story about an academy initiative -this time spearheaded by a well known star to English Premier Football League enthusiasts, the West Ham Football Club forward, Craig Bellamy. He recently visited the formerly war-torn West African country of Sierra Leone and was so impressed with the talent he found there that he vowed to improve the facilities for the game. He has now set up the Craig Bellamy Foundation, which will start to build an academy in the capital Freetown. He says his motivation is not profit making but to give Sierra Leoneans opportunities they may not otherwise have access to.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7385488.stm

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18077

AfDB Group Commits US$ 1 Billion More to Tackle Food Crisis

As part of a short term initiative to alleviate the effects of the global food crisis on Africa the African Development Bank (AfDB) has decided to raise its agricultural portfolio by US$ 1 billion to US$ 4.8 Billion. The announcement was made in a press statement to the media by the Bank Group’s President, Donald Kaberuka, in which the bank also commits itself to provide a rapid disbursement facility to the tune of US$ 250 million in its agriculture portfolio. The Bank’s president urged the cereal exporting countries of the world not to suspend their exporting for the sake of at least 12 highly food crisis vulnerable countries in Africa. The Bank Group would consider additional measures for budget support to assist countries in difficulty, he said.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805050726.html

http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business/&articleid=338353&referrer=RSS

Japan to Build 1,000 Schools in Africa

The Japanese Government recently announced an ambitious plan to build over 1,000 elementary schools in Africa over the next five years. Making the announcement in a policy speech Japan’s Foreign Minister, Masahiko Kuomura, said his government was looking to ensure sufficient places for large numbers of children to acquire basic education. In addition, Japan plans to undertake the training of 100,000 math and science teachers in Africa and to support local communities around some 10,000 existing schools on the continent to increase participation in school management. 400,000 students are set to benefit from the school building initiative in which a total of 5,500 classrooms will be put up.

This may be aimed at boosting Japan's international clout, but it is definately good news for African countries trying to provide a basic education to as many of their citizens as possible.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804291203.html

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080424a4.html

Africa’s poverty is artificial

“Africa’s poverty is artificial” -these are the sentiments of James Shikwati a columnist with Business Daily a daily business newspaper publishing out of Nairobi, Kenya. He had just recently participated in the launch of an initiative that is keen to popularize creative economy in Africa through the African Union in Accra, Ghana. He intimates that in Africa’s quest to become industrialized we have overlooked the fact that a lot of economic progress could be achieved through harnessing and developing our abundant artistic resources.

Shikwati cites the ‘Creative Economy Report 2008’ by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development which indicates that Africa Trade of Creative Products as a whole commands only 0.4 per cent of the world total of $424.4 billion. There is immense untapped wealth residing in the creative skills of the people of this continent but policy makers, leaders and parents haven’t yet began to truly perceive the enormous benefits that lie in harnessing them. The creative products and services industry drives ahead other important industries with it as it grows such as media, advertising and manufacturing and can be a significant source of foreign exchange.

We may be able to make our continent which is so creatively rich commensurately materially rich –a pleasant thought to ponder as we enter a new week, don’t you think?

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7298&Itemid=5848

Novel Concept Housing Complex for Mombasa, Kenya

A novel concept in housing is set to come to fruition in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa; A Holdings company plans to put up a massive housing complex, at the cost of about 100 million dollars, which will be run entirely on solar power. The complex, which will also have its own water supply system, will consist of housing units of two to four bedrooms and be situated 12 kilometres north of the city centre. The construction work is set to begin with five showrooms already completed. The project will be undertaken observing high environmental safety standards and represents part of a boon for the Kenya real estate market which had taken a slight beating due to the post 2007 General Elections turmoil.

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7305&Itemid=5810

Côte d'Ivoire: Presidential Polls date announced

Côte d'Ivoire has slated November 30th 2008 as the day on which it will hold its Presidential elections - a development which has pushed the country further down the road of political progress after years of turmoil and earned the country praise from the International community. Côte d'Ivoire has been in turmoil since 2002 but a 2007 Peace Agreement signed in Ouagadougou paved the way for an end to the conflict and included a provision calling for free and fair elections to be held. The election date has been agreed to by all Ivorian political parties. A lot of work still remains to be done to ensure that there will be a free and fair election as well as to maintain continued progress out of dark days of ethnic animosity but there now, more than ever, seems to be sufficient political goodwill to see this through.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804300013.html

Uganda: Mediator to Meet Kony Today

South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar, the chief mediator in peace talks between the Ugandan Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was to meet LRA leader Joseph Kony in Ri-Kwangba today, according to Uganda Government sources. This development follows the failed signing of a peace pact with the Government of Uganda by the LRA leader earlier this month. Kony cited insufficient information about the traditional court system under which the LRA would be tried in Uganda as the reason why he did not sign the agreement. He also needed assurances that he would not be handed over to the ICC. The meeting with the mediator should supply more assurances and hopefully bring a settlement to the on again-off again peace process.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804300004.html

A New Way of Looking at Agriculture

The way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse. That is the conclusion of a report by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), incorporating assessments and ideas of over 400 scientists.

The report found that the way to meet the challenges of combining production, social and environmental goals lies in putting in place institutional, economic and legal frameworks that combine productivity with the protection and conservation of natural resources like soils, water, forests, and biodiversity while meeting production needs.

IAASTD’s report was launched on 15 April 2008 in Johannesburg, South Africa, but was already engendering a lot of response a week earlier at a intergovernmental plenary in the same city where the assessment findings were reviewed ahead of its presentation.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804150171.html

http://adamsmith.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/388/

New Weather Resilient Rice Spells Hope For Africa

In the midst of the food crisis taking place around the globe fresh help is coming to African rice producers and their clients with the release of varieties of rice that are resilient to soil and weather conditions found on the continent. So far, varieties of rice grown on the continent have only been able to meet 54% of local demand with much of the rest being met by imports from Asia. In times of global rice shortage this is a dangerous situation. To mitigate the effects of current and future rice crises the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is backing the release of new resilient rice varieties in six African Countries. It’s a move that could see Africa self sufficient, to a great extent, in rice production –good news for a rapidly growing and increasingly rice hungry African population.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804241054.html

Never a better time to think positively

Unless you have decided to shut yourself off from access to World News and News about Africa it couldn't have escaped you that there is an almost overwhelming amount of bad going on here in Africa. You have probably concluded by now that the World, and especially the African Continent, is in major crisis -what with a global food crisis taking its toll, election related calamities in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, the failed signing of a peace pact in Uganda along with bad news from areas we are accustomed to receiving it from like Darfur, Somalia and the DRC. That there is a crisis it cannot be denied but to sit back and give ourselves over to despondency and fear would be tragic.

In the midst of all the wickedness and calamity taking place on the continent there is a lot of good being planned and implemented by people who refused to believe that they could do nothing about what is taking place. The primary purpose of this blog is to highlight the good that is being done in the hope of inspiring you to think of the possibilities that exist, even in the worst of times, to push the agenda of 'wholesome' prosperity forward. Our vision is that you would find our blog an oasis of good news, in the midst of a desert of bad news, from which you can be rejuvenated and refreshed to face a world with immense challenges. We are hoping that you can become a force for good inspired by the stories of the courageous we post on this blog.

You must remember that crisis often has a way of bringing out the best in people and forging great character. We need not look back far in history to see instances where as individual nations or as a global community we overcame insurmountable challenges; The Great global depression -1920's- comes to mind so does pulling out of the oil-shock of the 1970's and the very recent ending of the Sudanese Civil War. We can come out on top in this very challenging season and we (New Growth International bloggers) would like to feel that we played at least a small part -however small it was -in the turn-around.

Rolling Back Malaria in Africa

A 9th April, 2008 post on allafrica.com carries an interview with Dr. Awa Marie Coll-Seck the Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership in which she gives insight into the achievements of the Partnership in combating the malaria pandemic in Africa. Roll Back Malaria is a partnership launched in 1998 by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank. It has as its principal goal to mark 2015 as the year in which malaria is eliminated as a major cause of mortality and as a barrier to social and economic development growth anywhere in the world. So far, RBM has helped put malaria firmly on the development and international agenda bringing funding to fight the disease from $60 million to $1 billion (US dollars). It is currently in the process of establishing an Affordable Medicines Facility.

Zambian Government to sign NEPAD Agricultural Pact

Zambia will sign the NEPAD initiated Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) pact at the culmination of an Africa Agricultural stakeholders meeting set to be held in its capital, Lusaka, from April 29 -30. Established in July 2003, CAADP is the highest policy level framework for the development of agriculture in Africa. Zambia will be the second African country after Rwanda to sign onto the programme. CAAPD’s overall goal is to help African countries reach a higher path of economic growth through agriculture-led development that will see food and other agricultural related production increase by addressing some of the hindrances to growth in the sector. The framework intends to push agriculture growth rates to six per cent per year to create the wealth needed for rural communities and households in Africa to prosper.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804211573.html

Calling on social entrepreneurs in Kenya

If you are seriously thinking of starting a social enterprise in Kenya, or already have, and are looking for funding, we may have some good news for you. New Growth International brokers social entrepreneurs who are looking for funding from donor agencies. We seek out innovative social enterprises and link them with the donor community who are eager to invest in ideas that show great promise in terms of impact and sustainability. At the moment we prefer to deal with enterprises that are looking for an investment of between Kshs 500,000 to Kshs 1 million in their initiative. Interested social entrepreneurs may contact NGI’s Junior Programme Officer in Nairobi, Rocky Olende, at the email address rolende@newgrowthint.com for further details. We aim to chart innovative pathways to the prosperity of communities through this arm of our business.

Surfing the West Coast of Africa

Three South African surfing enthusiasts packed in their day jobs a few months ago to embark on an odyssey few (maybe none!) have ventured to undertake; a surfing trip along the West Coast of Africa. Tim Harris, Mike Sternberg and John Fleming took their trip through a long a coastline not renowned as a surfing destination and more ‘famous’ as a region that is civil war, poverty and corruption ravaged. They were pleased to report that they didn’t experience many of the negative stereotypes associated with the region but rather the world renowned African hospitality and some incredible surf! They didn’t pay a single bribe throughout their journey and they made friends among “tightly knit surfing communities” they met along the way.

Six months after they left South Africa they are still enjoying their odyssey along the Moroccan coastline. They encourage African and international surfers to seriously consider the West Coast of Africa as a destination.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7340506.stm

NEPAD Rolls out Africa E-school Plan

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is set to roll out a forward-thinking plan to take ICT learning and techniques to a large number of secondary schools in Africa. This will be an Africa-wide plan launched through the e-Africa Commission, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and scheduled to begin at the end of June. The plan aims to harness ICT in a bid to improve the quality of teaching and learning in African schools as well as to create a critical mass of African youths to bridge the ICT gap between Africa and the rest of the world. The initial phase of the e-schools project was run successfully in 11 African countries after African leaders agreed to the plan in 2003 and has high hopes of being successful in the rest of Africa. The project will rely on an Africa-wide satellite network to provide internet access to the 600, 000 or so schools projected to be covered by 2015 which will each be equipped with a computer lab of at least 20 computers, a server and network infrastructure, as well as peripherals.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/144664/nepad_rolls_out_africa_eschool_plan.html

Singer rewarded for shining light on sanitation

Feliciano dos Santos, a Mozambican musician, was recently awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for using his music star status to raise awareness about clean water and sanitation. The musician has held a longsuffering campaign in his native country to curb the effects of poor hygiene and water usage through the advancement of good water and sanitation practices in his music and through his NGO –Estamos. The UN says diarrheal diseases kill an estimated 1.8 million people each year around the world and in dos Santos’ country there has been much need for his services especially in Niassa, his home province, where he began his campaign in 1992. Dos Santos composed a song to promote the use of concrete slab latrines being advocated by the UN in his country in 1992 and never looked back -using his music from then on to tirelessly promote the safe use of water and cleanliness.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7342789.stm

http://www.africanloft.com/music-mozambique-artist-feliciano-dos-santos-receives-international-recognition-for-promoting-sanitation/

Unity Cabinet named ending a political deadlock in Kenya

The political deadlock in Kenya, brought about by conflicting ideas about how its coalition cabinet, scheduled to be formed under the terms of an agreement signed six weeks ago by President Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, should be constituted, was brought to an end yesterday with the announcement, by the President, of a cabinet encompassing Members of Parliament from both sides of the political divide. Raila Odinga was named Prime Minister and his party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) managed to acquire some key ministries. Nevertheless, the portfolio balance in the cabinet ODM was demanding was not attained. The cabinet does, however, have ODM’s full consent and in an ODM official’s own words “there had been concessions [made by] both sides” to end the deadlock. Compromises were made to pull the country from under an ominous shadow of political, social and economic disaster that had been hanging over the nation for the past three months.

We hope and pray this settlement holds and that it would be just but the beginning of an era of goodwill among the political class –the environment this country needs to heal and move forward from past injustices and the social and political culture which helped precipitate the violence and hatred which followed the announcing of the results of December 2007 Presidential election.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7345617.stm

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/world/africa/14kenya.html?_r=1&ref=africa&oref=slogin

Uganda rebels 'due to sign peace'

The final peace agreement to end the more than 20 year old conflict between the Ugandan Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group is set to be signed today and on Monday April 14th at separate locations by rebel leader Joseph Kony and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni respectively. The signing of the peace agreement is the culmination of a process which began in July 2006 to bring the two sides in the conflict together to chart a way forward for peace. As part of the settlement the LRA will disarm and demobilize its troops in the period within 30 days after President Museveni puts his signature to the agreement. This is good news for the victims and potential victims of the conflict in which almost two million people have been displaced and tens of thousands have died.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7340009.stm

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804091074.html

India forges closer ties with Africa at Summit

Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, opened the first India-Africa Summit in New Delhi, Tuesday, at which he committed India to greater engagement with Africa. Included in India’s commitment is a duty free tariff preference scheme for all 50 Least Developed Countries of which 34 are in Africa, provision of more than $500 million over the next five to six years in grants for development projects and the setting up of an India-Africa Voluntary Corps devoted to development work. Africa is also to benefit from India more than doubling its lines of credit to African countries and regional economic groups to $5.4 billion, up from $2.15 billion in the last five years. India is also set to gain from this relationship with the potential political support of 54 of the world’s nations, new markets for its goods and services and new source for goods.

14 African leaders including 10 heads of state attended the Summit.


http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=198601

AfDB: Good news towards progress on Paris Declaration

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group recently held a seminar in Tunis at which it was revealed that the Bank had made strong progress towards aligning its lending to national priorities of its member states as part of its provisions for reaching targets set in the Paris Declaration. The seminar was called to review the institution's progress towards the attainment of targets of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Bank's readiness for the Accra High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness scheduled to take place in the Ghanaian capital from September 2-4, 2008. It was also revealed that AfDB had made important headway in working with other donors on member country studies and that it had inspired increased respect in client countries.

Endorsed by more than one hundreds ministers, senior government officials, and heads of development agencies, including the African Development Bank Group, the Paris declaration lays out a roadmap designed to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development. It uses 12 indicators to measure improvements in aid effectiveness. Targets to be achieved by the year 2010 have been set for 11 of the indicators.


http://allafrica.com/stories/200803270650.html

Agricultural Institute’s work highlighted by the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Africalab is set to air a programme tonight highlighting the work of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in alleviating hunger and poverty in Africa. The show will centre around an interview with the Institute’s Director General Mr. Hartmann and include the thoughts of other staff members at IITA’s campus in Ibadan, Nigeria. Excerpts of the show, which served to show how agricultural solutions, come to on the ground in Africa, are doing much to win the war against hunger and poverty on the Continent, are available online. IITA uses conventional techniques rather than genetic modification to come up with crop breeds that are high yielding and disease resistant. It also seeks innovative ways to combat other enemies to food security such as parasites and weeds. The institutes hires some of the world’s best breeders and minds who produces sustainable results by being directly on the ground where they are able to see first hand what might work and what might not. This on a continent that has all to often had ‘solutions’ forced on it which really didn’t take into account the realities on the ground.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7330259.stm

South Africa: Black Empowerment Broadens Its Reach

Sasol, South Africa’s energy and mining giant, recently announced that it would sell 63.1 shares worth 25.9bn rand ($3.19bn; £1.6bn) to black staff and black investors, in the country's largest ever Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) deal. The deal represents a sale of a 10% stake in the energy giant’s business. The government-backed BEE scheme aims to increase black economic ownership encouraging broad based economic empowerment. Sasol’s Chief Executive Pat Davies says the company’s move…“will make a difference by creating significant economic opportunity for more than one million potential beneficiaries ranging from individuals to rural women's groups who can invest in Sasol.” Sasol’s deal is particularly significant as the company has had long-held reputation for being a white, male-dominated corporation that struck it rich during the apartheid years.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200803260269.html