AU Monitor: Issue 132, 2008
Hakima Abbas
hakima at fahamu.org
Wed Apr 9 13:31:51 BST 2008
AU Monitor: Issue 132, 2008
Headlines – Weekly Roundup – Read More
Headlines
1. India Sets Up Duty Free Tariff
2. Africa Must Rise to the Occasion
3. Letter to SADC and African Heads of State
4. Russia Pledges Development Assistance
5. Climate Change and Health
6. India Lessons to Continent
7. Zimbabwe Parliament Short of SADC Gender Targets
8. Hungry and Angry
9. Elections at Upcoming Summit
10. Observers on Zimbabwe Election
11. Strong African Growth Continues
12. UN - AU meeting
Weekly Roundup
The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa has issued an open
letter on behalf of “the many people within SADC [the Southern
African Development Community] increasingly alarmed at unfolding
events in Zimbabwe” to heads of state and government, members of
parliament in the respective countries and senior leaders with the
SADC and African Union Secretariats, asking them to take urgent
action to ensure that the Zimbabwean people, who on the 29 March
exercised their right to vote, now have the results of that vote
recognised and respected. Although initiated by OSISA, signatures
from individuals and organizations within the region and globally
have been collected - the deadline for signing on is on Friday, 11
April. AU Monitor subscribers wishing to sign on should forward
their name and contact details to zimelection at osisa.org.
While the presidential election results are still pending in
Zimbabwe, the SADC Electoral Observer Mission was the first to issue
a preliminary statement on the day after the elections, stating that
these were "peaceful and credible" and calling on all parties to
accept the results. Legislators from East Africa joined other
observers in praising the elections as democratic and fair. Clarkson
Otieno Kalan, head of the observer mission from the East African
Community (EAC) and a Kenyan member of the East African Legislative
Assembly, said his country and region have much to learn from the
conduct of the polls in Zimbabwe. However, concerns have mounted
given the delay in issuing presidential results, prompting civil
society observers to draw parallels between the contested election
process in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Muthoni Wanyeki of the Kenya Human
Rights Commission notes that “the unfolding of events in Zimbabwe for
the last week, following polling the previous weekend, provoked an
alarming sense of déjà vu. The familiarity of being forced to wait
for official results to be released - for a week and counting. The
out-of-sequence release of results, with presidential results being
retained instead of being released first. The rise in public
expectations of change as parliamentary results showed a majority of
seats being won, finally, by the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change. The claims of victory by the MDC. And then the signs of
intimidation.”
Further, despite a high-profile campaign for election of women
candidates, only 28 were elected to the lower house, representing 13
percent of the total, a decrease from the previous 15.8 percent.
These figures fall short of the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and
Development which “proposes that by 2005 at least 30 percent of
positions in political and decision-making structures in the public
and private sector should be held by women. At the 2005 SADC Summit
in Gaborone, Heads of State and Government endorsed the African Union
position which provides for 50 percent target of women in all
political and decision-making positions by 2015.”
In economic news, the Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmahon Singh has
announced, during the India-Africa summit, that India has established
a duty free tariff preference scheme for Least Developed Countries
(LDCs) under which India will provide preferential market access for
exports from LDCs. Meanwhile, Alex Vines and Elizabeth Sidiropolous
provide analysis of India’s policies and interests in Africa noting
that “its Africa policy is driven by economic interests. But
competition, particularly with China, is also pushing New Delhi to
deepen its presence on the continent”. Considering India’s view of
Africa merely as a source of natural resources, the authors
underscore the need for investment in Africa’s human capital and
capacity building, exemplified by India’s funding of the Pan-African
e-Network Project in partnership with the AU. Also entrenching ties
with the continent, Russia has pledged 500 million US dollars in
development assistance to Africa. According to Ambassador M.
Afanasiev, who was speaking at the first session of the joint annual
meeting of the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa (UNECA), Russia also plans to write off half a billion US
dollars of African debt this year, having already forgiven US$ 16
billion.
Further, according to the Economic Report on Africa launched this
week by UNECA and the AU, forecast growth for African economies will
be an average 6.2 percent in 2008, however, the report “also notes
that economic growth has not yet translated into meaningful social
development and has not benefited vulnerable groups”. Indeed, the
price of basic commodities has risen by as much as 30 percent in some
countries, prompting strikes and protests. Hamadou Tidiane Sy
reports that these “protests against high fuel and food prices have
forced governments in West Africa to use repressive methods of
yesteryears, hence reversing the gains made in the democratic arena
over the past two decades”.
In peace and security news, the United Nations Security Council will
hold an unprecedented meeting with the AU Peace and Security Council
at which the proposal of UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, for
the formation of an AU-UN panel to consider how to support
peacekeeping operations undertaken by regional organisations will be
discussed. African heads of state have been invited to attend the
joint meeting and open debate which will be chaired by South African
President Thabo Mbeki.
As the World Health Organisation marked the global day for health on
April 7th, the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Thomas Hurley talks
of the “ever growing threats to global public health security” and
the need “to place health at the centre of the global dialogue about
climate change” pledging that the AfDB will strengthen key features
of member countries’ “public health systems such as the control of
neglected tropical diseases, primary health care (including clean
water, environment and sanitation) and enhance women’s and vulnerable
groups’ welfare”. It is under the theme of water and sanitation that
the upcoming AU summit is expected to take place in June/July in
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The Executive Council session of the summit
will decide on the election of new members of the African Committee
of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, members of the
African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and members of the
Advisory Board on Corruption. State parties are expected to submit
their proposed candidates to the AU Commission before April 30.
Read More
India Sets Up Duty Free Tariff
Fredrick Mugira (AfricaNews) -- The Indian Prime Minister, Dr.
Manmahon Singh has announced that India has set up a Duty Free Tariff
Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries under which New Delhi
will unilaterally provide preferential market access for exports from
all 50 least developed countries, 34 of which are in Africa.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1190/
Africa Must Rise to the Occasion
Muthoni Wanyeki (EastAfrican) -- Forty years ago last Friday, Martin
Luther King Junior was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1189/
Letter to SADC and African Heads of State
(OSISA) -- We represent the many people within SADC increasingly
alarmed at unfolding events in Zimbabwe. We issue this open letter to
all citizens of this region, and in particular to our heads of state
and government, members of parliament in the respective countries and
senior leaders with the SADC and African Union Secretariats, asking
them to take urgent action to ensure that the Zimbabwean people, who
on the 29 March 2008 exercised their right to vote, now have the
results of that vote recognised and respected.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1188/
Russia Pledges Development Assistance
(The Daily Monitor) -- The Russian Federation is to provide
development assistance amounting to over 500 million USD in Africa,
one of the main priorities of the Russian foreign policy, the
country's ambassador said on Wednesday.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1187/
Climate Change and Health
The AfDB [African Development Bank] will strengthen support to its
regional member countries to cope with the threats posed by climate
change. It will further strengthen key features of their public
health systems such as the control of neglected tropical diseases,
primary health care (including clean water, environment and
sanitation) and enhance women’s and vulnerable groups’ welfare, says
the AfDB Human Development Director, Mr. Thomas Hurley, in an
interview on the occasion of the celebration of World Health Day.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1186/
India Lessons to Continent
Alex Vines and Elizabeth Sidiropolous (allAfrica.com) -- China 's
inroads into Africa are well known, but India's approach has been
much quieter. Indian traders once sold glass beads to an eager
African market. Now its expertise centers on science and technology.
This week, the India-Africa Forum meets for the first time in New
Delhi, offering a fresh insight into this modern-day scramble for
Africa.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1185/
Zimbabwe Parliament Short of SADC Gender Targets
Bayano Valy (SANF) -- When the Zimbabwe parliament was dissolved to
make way for elections in March, the women made up 15.8 percent out
of the 120-seat House of Assembly.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1184/
Hungry and Angry
Hamadou Tidiane Sy (Africa Insight) -- The protests against high fuel
and food prices have forced governments in West Africa to use
repressive methods of yesteryears, hence reversing the gains made in
the democratic arena over the past two decades, evoking memories of
Gnassingbe Eyadema’s strong-arm methods in Togo.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1183/
Elections at Upcoming Summit
During the 13th ordinary session of the Executive Council of the
African Union, which will be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in June/
July 2008, the election of new members of the African Committee of
Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, members of the
African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and members of the
Advisory Board on Corruption will take place. State parties are
expected to submit their proposed candidates to the office of the
legal counsel of the AU Commission before April 30.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1182/
Observers on Zimbabwe Election
Richard Nyamanhindi (SANF) - The official results for the House of
Assembly in the 29 March Zimbabwe elections have been announced, with
the two main political parties showing equal strength and the
opposition parties in a majority.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1181/
Strong African Growth Continues
Tom Minney (The Namibian) - Forecast growth for African economies
will be an average 6,2 per cent in 2008, according to 'Economic
Report on Africa' (ERA 2008), an annual joint flagship publication of
the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the
African Union (AU).
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1180/
UN - AU meeting
(PANA) - The 15 Ambassadors in the UN Security Council will hold a
historic meeting on 16 April with the 15 members of the African
Union's Peace and Security Council, according to a statement issued
by the UN Information Centre in Accra Thursday.
Read more: www.aumonitor.org/comments/1179/
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Hakima Abbas
Policy Analyst, AU-Monitor
Fahamu - Networks for Social Justice
Email: hakima at fahamu.org
Skype: hakima_abbas
www.aumonitor.org
www.fahamu.org
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