Mkapa: True friend of Zim
MANY will attest to this human failing: When one is in trouble, friends are few. The few who stick it out deserve true friendship for their faith. Cde Benjamin Mkapa, the outgoing President of the United Republic of Tanzania, is, indeed, a true friend of Zimbabwe.(07 November 2005)
Mkapa says new leadership will recover Africa's dignity
A new leadership is emerging in Africa that will stand together to recover the dignity of the continent, and will not be pushed around by northern countries, says the outgoing President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Benjamin William Mkapa. (01 November 2005)
Africa must find own solution
HOPES rose when UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, chair of G8, the club of the world’’s most powerful nations, put African poverty relief at the top of the G8 agenda. But after all the hype, what really emerged from the summit? Africa Today’’s Bunmi Akpata-Ohohe —— who was at Gleneagles —— gives her verdict. (28 October 2005)
Are NGOs the new colonialists?
KIGALI –– Henry Munene’’s article on NGO corruption in Africa (New Times, Wednesday, 24 August 2005) raises some interesting questions regarding foreign investments and developmental aid in Africa. (25 October 2005)
Zimbabwe a nation of many surprises
From the international media, you may be forgiven for thinking that Zimbabwe, demonized as a failed state, is about to collapse. Baffour Ankomah was there again in August, and reports that the rebuilding programme launched after the recent controversial clean-up operation is going pretty well, and though the economy is still struggling, the obituary writers had better suspend rushing to their computers. They may well have to praise rather than bury Mugabe’s country.
(October 2005)
Dangers of GMOs laid bare
AT the turn of this millennium, a raging debate on the importance of using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to fight hunger stormed the international arena. (29 September 2005)
African leaders should not compromise on UN reform
THE 60th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly is in session, the period preceding this summit was dominated by debate over proposed reforms to the world body, with discussions centering mainly on reforms to the Security Council. (15 September 2005)
Another look at privatisation: Conclusion
What privatisation has been able to achieve in Ghana is that, it has enormously contributed to redeployment, retrenchment, high cost of goods and foreign ownership. Of course, the inefficiencies in the public corporations need to be acknowledged, and an urgent measure to arrest the situation be sought. However, the solution is not privatisation. (15 September 2005)
Another look at privatisation: Part 1
ACCRA –– The government at present depends mainly on taxes and dues to raise revenue for development. (14 September 2005)
Finding gender in the MDGs
AS THE world’’s attention shifts to the Millennium Review Summit taking place in New York from September 12-14, southern African gender activists are asking a critical question: Where is gender in the MDGs? (14 September 2005)
Iran elections - disaster for imperialism
On 25 June 2005 the winner of Iran's presidential election was announced. It was a contest that had been followed with keen interest by the bourgeois media since there were very important differences between the two candidates. Although the picture we are generally given of Iran is that all politics has been hijacked by Muslim fundamentalists, all of whom are as bad as each other, and we are constantly being told that elections in Iran are unfair because all candidates have to be approved by Iran's fundamentalist clerical elite, the reality could not have been more different. Anthony Loyd in The Times of 24 June ('Cautious reformer v working-class hero') very pithily depicted the very real choice that the Iranian electorate were being offered: (07 September 2005)
US practises ‘‘telescopic philanthropy’’
FOLLOWING the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina on the United States’’ south-eastern Gulf coast, American citizens and the international community have been appalled by the US government’’s propensity to deal with humanitarian crises in other parts of the world while exhibiting incapacity to deal with disasters on its own doorstep. (04 September 2005)
