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Latest news/ viewsWITH NIGER FACING THE WORST HUNGER CRISIS IN ITS HISTORY, FLOODS DELIVER ANOTHER DEVASTATING BLOW. As a result of drought, crop failure and soil erosion, Niger is facing its worst ever famine with nearly 20% of its children under 5 acutely malnourished and more than half its population hungry. Into this desperate situation the worst ever floods in 80 years have struck leaving 100,000 people homeless and destroying hundreds of tonnes of food held in reserve. The United Nations and international NGO's, Oxfam and Save the Children, reckon the scale and magnitude of the problem is immense and are urgently seeking US$300 million to avert total catastrophe. To date they have only collected US$150 million. Niger is the world's poorest country and once again its people are begging the international community come to their rescue. Politically, Niger does not have its troubles to seek either, after a military coup toppled its former leader Mamadou Tandja, in February. Into the vacuum stepped a military junta led by Major Salou Djibo which stated that it will not hold elections until March, 2011. To be born in Niger is undoubtedly to have drawn the shortest straw that human life can offer. For people there suffer on the edge of misery day, day out; week in, week out; year in, year out; life in, life out. The question arises then, that after this double pounding from natural disasters, can Niger ever be a viable state? INTERVENTION IN GUINEA-BISSAU SHOULD ONLY BE A START Like many African nations, Guinea-Bissau has been a failed state for far too long. But if foreign troops from Ecowas and the African Union (AU) are going to enter the country, apparently at the request of the president, it is important, before they do so, to agree just what their mandate is. There is no point in entering the country just to restore the authority of the president for unless the army is purged of its troublemakers its influence will soon creep back after they have gone. But re-empowering the government and sacking the generals is not enough either for that leaves the thorny issue of the narcotics industry which pervades the country. Unless this is also tackled and the ringleaders imprisoned the country will never be stabilised. So any intervention force would have to be there for some time and in some numbers. And to pay for all this it is unlikely that Ecowas or the AU will have the necessary funds. So that will require the need for the rich countries of the world to back any comprehensive action with funds from their overseas aid budgets. But stabilising the country should not be the ultimate aim either. For after that has been done there will be a need to lay the foundations for economic growth, tackle corruption and enforce the rule of law. That will best be accomplished by inviting Portugal, the former colonial power, to come and run the country as a protectorate with a proviso that this will last no longer than 10 years. With the expertise and organisation brought in by the Portuguese, the economy should begin to move forward, nationals would gain a first hand knowledge of how to run a modern state and the people of Guinea-Bissau could at last look forward to a better future. AFGHANISTAN - a long way to go Despite US$40bn in international aid, Afghanistan is still one of the poorest countries in the world. 95% of Afghans are without safe water or electricity. A child dies every 2 minutes making Afghanistan the worst place in the world to be born. And it costs US$1 million a year to support one US soldier. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AT 50 YEARS It is tempting to use the words 'DRC celebrates 50 years' but that would be going way too far. But, 50 years ago, unbelievably, there was much to celebrate, when the Belgians left. According to Tim Butcher, in his book 'Blood River', in 1960, DRC was a country making progress. It was integrated with the rest of Africa and the wider world. The capital Leopoldville was the hub of one of Africa's largest airline networks and the country's main port Matadi was served by a fleet of ocean-going liners. Railways criss-crossed the country, there were bus links with Zimbabwe and ferries moved goods across Lake Tanganyika. The country's road network spread right across the rainforest and lorries would move freely along these roads, for example, picking up cotton to be taken to a factory for processing. The roads were kept in good shape by an army of cantonniers (workmen) who were responsible for every kilometre of the national road network. They were paid a monthly wage to keep the roads free of debris and the bridges in good repair. In 1950 the country boasted 112,000 kilometres of roads; in 2010 there is perhaps 1,000 km. Today, outside the capital there are no banks or post offices and there are no civil servants. Schools, where there are any, are financed by parents and hospitals are non-existent. Meanwhile, in Kinshasa there is the world of the Congo super-elite on whom no expense is spared, whilst millions starve. Nobody should dispute that the Belgians exploited the natural resources of DRC but they did bring advancement to the country. Today the government just exploits the natural resources. HEATING EUROPE FROM THE SAHARA DESERT According to scientists it would take solar panels covering only 1% of the Sahara Desert to provide ultimately enough energy to power the entire world. Plans are currently being drawn up to build a massive solar farm with a huge energy potential which, one day, will power most of Europe. At the same time engineers are investigating the new transmission methods needed for moving so much electricity over the Mediterranean. This mega project - Desertec Industrial Initiative - which has already raised billions of dollars and is backed 12 large European companies - is set to provide tens of thousands of welcome jobs in North Africa. BOTSWANA PRESIDENT LASHES OUT AT POOR GOVERNANCE Ian Khama, President of Botswana, has suggested that African leaders start to speak out against those leaders guilty of poor political leadership and bad management. Speaking at the 46th Zambia International Trade Fair in Ndola, President Khama said that 'the time was long overdue for Africa to rid itself of the ugly past of political instability and poor governance. Leaders owe a duty to their citizens to uphold the principle of good governance, democracy and the rule of law as a guide to deliver on their mandate. All of us need to work together in promoting democracy and maintaining political stability in the region as this quality creates the conducive environment for trade and investment. In this day and age we can no longer afford to patronise one another and watch and do nothing while people suffer as a result of poor political leadership and bad management of national resources.' Strong words from the leader of one of the best governed nations in sub-Saharan Africa. But this long time opponent of the likes of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe is unlikely to gain much support from his peers for they know only too well that he is undoubtedly referring to most of them. NO MO IBRAHIM FOUNDATION PRIZE AGAIN IN 2010 The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, for the second year running, has been unable to find a suitable candidate to award its annual prize for African leadership. The Ibrahim prize celebrates excellence in African leadership and was set up to award a 'democratically' elected former African head of state who has served his/her terms according to the constitution and has left office in the last three years. Starting in 2007, the first winner was Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique followed by Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana, in 2008. Commenting on the decision to withhold the prize this year, Mo Ibrahim stated that 'the standards set for the prize are high, and the number of potential candidates each year is small. So it is likely there will be years when no prize will be awarded. In the current year, no new candidates emerged.' The lack of contenders who can win this prize is no surprise for few African leaders are prepared to step down when their term in office expires. The failure to award the prize again then should come as no surprise and underlines again the paucity of good govenance throughout Africa. Perhaps, in future years to avoid similar embarrassment, the aim of this prize should be changed. As the Ibrahim Foundation draws up the Ibrahim Index based on governance in Africa every year, why not give the award to the most improved government. That really would be a worthwhile gesture. AFRICANS NO BETTER OFF DESPITE COMMODITY BOOM Two recent reports confirm that ordinary people living in the world's poorest continent have yet to see the benefits from Africa's massive export boom and higher commodity prices. The reports were issued by the Africa Progress Panel (APP) and DATA. The APP report welcomed Africa as the new frontier in trade and that trade with China in particular was having a substantial impact on Africa, through infrastructure projects. However, overall, beyond ruling elites, Africans are not benefiting sufficiently. The two reports criticise both the West for failing to keep to the promises they made at Gleneagles in 2005 to double aid to Africa by 2010 and African leaders for failing to deliver on corruption and good governance. As far as overseas aid is concerned DATA calculates that G8 nations will only provide 60% of what they promised. No figure, however, was forthcoming from DATA about the percentage improvement in African governance in the last 5 years. Perhaps that is because a figure of 0% might look embarrassing. AN APT DESCRIPTION OF WAR War is not dealt with on this website but having come across the following poem we felt it captures, in a few lines, the utter futility of war. But that does not mean some wars don't have to be fought. Waste of
Muscle, waste of Brain, The poet
was Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929) who trained as an Anglican priest.
On the outbreak of the First World War he volunteered as a chaplain to
the armed forces on the Western Front where he was nicknamed Woodbine
Willie for giving out Wills Woodbine cigarettes along with spiritual aid
to wounded and dying soldiers. MO IBRAHIM CONDEMNS LOUSY AFRICAN LEADERSHIP Ex cellphone magnate, Sudan-born Mo Ibrahim, lambasted the quality of governance in Africa in a speech at the University of Accra in Ghana in March. He asked why 'Africa is a rich continent yet it has the world's poorest people?' 'And after 50 years of independence blame cannot now be put on former colonialists. We, Africans, are responsible for the mess we are in. Half a century ago, even with the former colonial powers extracting natural resources, most Africans still had a reasonable living standard. In fact countries like Ghana and Sudan were way ahead of China, India, Malaysia, S Korea and Singapore at that time. Today we are way behind them. My father's generation has failed Africans. My generation has failed Africans. It is now up to the next generation to move this miserable continent forward.' Pulling no punches about who was to blame, he asked 'how did we go wrong?' 'Catastrophic governance, lousy leadership, megalomaniacs, thieves have made Africa a miserable continent. Yet the people of Africa are not failures but are able to hold their own in running, jumping, boxing and in the football grounds of Europe.' Ibrahim, then, has identified Africa's gigantic problem and with his Mo Ibrahim Foundation will undoubtedly continue to campaign for change. But how to bring in the next generation of better, more conscientious leaders, is going to be a huge task on a continent where governments cling remorselessly on to power. |
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