Dec 22, 2009  Congo (Kinshasa): Militarization of Mining Well-Entrenched http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/gw0912.php
    "The illicit exploitation of natural resources is not a new phenomenon in eastern DRC. It has characterised the conflict since it first erupted in 1996 and has been well documented by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the United Nations Panel of Experts and Group of Experts, journalists and others. Twelve years on, the patterns remain the same, and despite abundant evidence of these activities, no effective action has been taken to stop this murderous trade." - Global Witness

Dec 18, 2009  Africa: New Books from AfricaFocus Subscribers http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/sub0912.php
    This AfricaFocus Bulletin has recent books (2008 and 2009) from AfricaFocus subscribers, including authors, editors, contributors, and publishers. It's a very substantial list, but I'm sure some have escaped my notice. If you are an AfricaFocus subscriber, check this out for your own books and those by the your fellow subscribers. If you are an author or editor and don't find your recently published book here, do let me know (at africafocus@igc.org), and I'll add it below.

Dec 15, 2009  South Africa: 30+ New Books http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/sab0912.php
    The most popular of these new books from and about South Africa is undoubtedly that by John Carlin on Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation, now available in two editions as well as in the newly released Clint Eastwood movie. But probably the one most in need of greater international attention is the one edited by Tawana Kupe and colleagues - Go Home or Die Here: Violence, Xenophobia and the Reinvention of Difference in South Africa. This photographic and analytic portrayal of the xenophobic violence of 2008 poses fundamental questions about the shape of today's South Africa.

Nov 15, 2009  Eritrea: No Welcome in Italy http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/er0911c.php
    "We were fortunate to spend two days in a small coastal town of Agrigento where in the central part of the city stands a Catholic church with the figure of a black priest carved in stone perched high above in the church tower. It is a statue of Saint Calogero, an African priest who came to Sicily around the 14th century and is revered as the town's patron saint. But in the 21st century, African refugees who traverse the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean Sea find Calogero's city, indeed the entire country, unwelcoming, even hostile to them. A well-known Italian Bishop is said to have remarked that if the saint-priest were to arrive in Agrigento today, he would find himself in similar circumstances as the refugees who are detained and disdained." - Nunu Kidane and Gerald Lenoir

Nov 15, 2009  Eritrea: Perilous Journeys http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/er0911a.php
    "On 20 August 2009, off the Italian island of Lampedusa, the Italian coastguard rescued five of the remaining 78 Eritrean passengers aboard a rickety boat set sail from the Libyan capital, Tripoli. While a number of European sailing vessels had passed their boat in the three weeks it had spent at sea, only one stopped to give them life jackets, bread and water. But it soon went on its way ... Seventy-three of the Eritrean refugees died from thirst, hunger and heat. ... The five survivors now face a fine of 5,000 to 10,000 Euros for illegal immigration under an Italian law that took effect in early August." - Yohannes Woldemariam

Nov 15, 2009  Eritrea: Press Freedom Updates http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/er0911b.php
    Eritrea ranks at the very bottom of Reporters without Borders index of press freedom for 2009, released in October (see http://www.rsf.org/en-classement1003-2009.html), accompanied in the bottom five by North Korea, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Burma. In this report, Reporters without Borders lists 28 journalists as imprisoned in the country, more than any other country.

Oct 29, 2009  Africa: Climate Change and Natural Resources http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/clim0910.php
    On the eve of the climate change summit in Copenhagen this December, momentum for action still falls far short of that needed to avert catastrophe. Africa will suffer consequences out of all proportion to its contribution to global warming, which is primarily caused by greenhouse gas emissions from wealthy countries. But Africa can also make significant contributions to mitigating (i.e. limiting) climate change, by stopping tropical deforestation and ending gas flaring from oil production.

Oct 27, 2009  Africa: Green Power for Mobile http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/gpm0910.php
    "The GSMA's Green Power for Mobile (GPM) programme estimates there are 485 million mobile users without access to the electricity grid, a factor which severely limits usage opportunities. The report identifies a range of charging choices available that, if implemented effectively, will extend service availability and could boost average revenues per user by 10-14%." - Balancing Act Africa News Update

Oct 27, 2009  Africa: ICT Access Updates http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ict0910.php
    "Tanzania Telecommunication Company Ltd customers will from this month enjoy a 50 per cent cut in Internet charges, making Tanzania the first East African country to lower Internet charges. TTCL chief executive officer Said Amour Said, told The East African that the lowering of charges follows the firm's connecting to the Seacom submarine fibre optic cable." - Balancing Act Africa News Update

Oct 4 2009  Africa: Wind Power in Global Context http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/pb0909.php
    "Wind is .. abundant, low cost, and widely distributed; it scales up easily and can be developed quickly. Oil wells go dry and coal seams run out, but the earth's wind resources cannot be depleted. ... harnessing one fifth of the earth's available wind energy would provide seven times as much electricity as the world currently uses. ... At the heart of Plan B is a crash program to develop 3,000 gigawatts (3 million megawatts) of wind generating capacity by 2020, enough to satisfy 40 percent of world electricity needs. ... Indeed, the idled capacity in the U.S. automobile industry is sufficient to produce all the wind turbines the world needs to reach the Plan B global goal. " - Lester Brown, Plan B 4.0, October 2009

Oct 4, 2009  Africa: Home-Grown Wind Power http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/wind0909.php
    Malawian William Kamkwamba, who was forced to drop out of school in 2002 at the age of 14 because his parents couldn't pay the school fees, is now the author of an inspiring book on how he built a homemade windmill out of bicycle parts and other scraps to power his parent's home in the small village of Masitala. His invention attracted international attention, and he is now on a U.S. book tour after completing his secondary education at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg.

Sep 28, 2009  Africa: Financing Global Health http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/fin0909.php
    The G20 Summit meeting in Pittsburgh last week marked a significant expansion of international fora on global problems, with the official announcement that it was replacing the more restricted G8 as the primary venue for coordination of the world's major economic powers. The Summit's conclusions, focused on macroeconomic and financial issues, offered little for Africa, apart from generic expressions of support for development and protecting the most vulnerable. But the changing policy climate was also reflected in the parallel release of incremental proposals for new financing mechanisms for global needs that would be more consistent than promises of "aid" from rich countries.

Sep 28, 2009  Africa: G20 in Focus http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/g20_0909.php
    The G20, which has now officially replaced the G8 as the major coordination forum for the world's major economic powers, significantly expands representation beyond the previous "rich countries" grouping, for the first time including large "emerging" economies from all continents. However, the G20 still lacks either country-level or regional representation from less developed countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Sep 22, 2009  Africa: Reading for All http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/rfa0909.php
    Shortly after sending out yesterday's AfricaFocus Bulletin on the Global Fund for Education, I received an e-mail from a reader alerting me to reports from the recent 6th Pan African Reading for All Conference, held in Dar es Salaam in August. The conference attracted over 500 delegates from 34 countries, and featured two keynote addresses by Kenyan author and activist Ngugi wa Thiong'o, in addition to sharing of research and experience in more than 200 sessions.

Sep 21, 2009  Africa: Global Fund for Education http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/educ0909.php
    "A Global Fund for Education holds the key to delivering on the world's commitment to education for all by 2015. Evolving current mechanisms into a more independent, inclusive, and accountable institution can catalyze the resources and performance needed to achieve universal education. [Because of the strong effects of education on other development goals] this would make a major contribution to reducing global poverty, empowering women, and promoting economic growth in low-income countries around the world." - Center for Universal Education

Aug 18, 2009  Cape Verde: Transnational Archipelago http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/cv0908.php
    As regular readers of AfricaFocus Bulletin know, this publication relies on selected "reposted" material. When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose Cape Verde as her last stop on her 7-country African tour, I was hoping to find some analysis on-line of the unique history and position of Cape Verde that I could share with readers. Surely someone would be commenting on-line on the long history of Cape Verdean immigration to the United States, or on the significance of Cape Verdean liberation leader Amilcar Cabral for Pan-African thought on both sides of the Atlantic. But apart from brief pro-forma tributes to the country's multi-party democracy and economic stability, I could find almost nothing in recent on-line reports to pass on to AfricaFocus readers. So I had to dig a bit deeper.

Aug 10, 2009  Angola: Failed yet Successful http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ang0908s.php
    "In recent years [Angola's] economy has grown at a feverish annual rate of 18 percent. Its government has successfully ended 40 years of violent conflict, consolidated its political base and negotiated profitable deals with major public and private bodies of the United States, Europe and China. [Yet oil revenues may begin to decline by 2015] ... the current development model is thus a ticking political time bomb. The coming decade will reveal whether that bomb will be defused or not."

Aug 10, 2009  Angola: Oil & Housing http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ang0908.php
    "Government revenues from oil and gas are set to rise strongly, giving [the top ten oil-exporting countries in Africa] the means to speed up economic and social development and alleviate poverty. The government take in the top ten oil- and gas-producing countries is projected to rise from some $80 billion in 2006 to about $250 billion in 2030. Nigeria and Angola account for 86% of the $4.1 trillion cumulative revenues of all ten countries over 2006-2030." - World Energy Outlook 2008

Aug 4, 2009  USA/Kenya: What Kind of Partnership? http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ken0908s.php
    "Many people had hoped that Kenya's 2007 presidential elections would cement Kenya's democratic progress and would provide a solid foundation for the country to break out of its economic doldrums and begin to achieve some of its enormous economic potential. Instead, the 2007 elections brought trade and commerce to a halt, polarized the country along regional and ethnic lines and for a brief moment nearly brought the country to the edge of civil war." - Johnnie Carson, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa

Jul 21, 2009  USA/Africa: Trade Profile http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/usa0907b.php
    "In 2008, U.S. imports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) were $66.3 billion, 29.8 percent more than in 2007. ... Petroleum products continued to account for the largest portion of AGOA imports, with a 92.3 percent share of overall AGOA imports. ... The top five AGOA beneficiary countries in 2008 were Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Chad and the Republic of Congo." - U.S. International Trade Administration, July 2009.

Jul 21, 2009  USA/Africa: After the Speech http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/usa0907a.php
    President Obama's speech met with mixed reviews. In Africa as well as in the United States, there was applause for the criticism of corrupt African rulers and the inspiring rhetoric calling for Africans to take responsibility for their future. But many commentators also called for a reality check.

Jul 10, 2009  USA/Africa: Obama in Ghana, What Kind of Change? http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/usaf0907.php
    President Barack Obama's trip to Ghana, beginning today, will be rich in symbolism. But those hoping for a new direction in U.S. Africa policy are tempering their hopes with skepticism. The issue posed, parallel to that in other policy spheres, is to what extent change will remain symbolic or reflect substantive shifts, even if small, away from U.S. policies based on unilateral geostrategic goals or unexamined economic policy assumptions.

Jun 24, 2009  USA/Uganda: Recovery from Conflict? http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ugan0906.php
    "We applaud the commitment of the bill [in the U.S. Congress] to bring about stability and development in the region. However, we as the Acholi religious leaders whose primary concern is the preservation of human life, advocate for dialogue and other non-violent strategies to be employed so that long term sustainable peace may be realized. Let us learn from the past experiences where we have seen that violence only breeds more violence." - Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative

Jun 18, 2009  Africa: Climate Change Action, Who Will Pay? http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/cc0906.php
    "The global climate is changing rapidly. The science is clear: the process of industrialisation has caused the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to rise steadily. ... Environmental impacts have begun and will continue to be felt first and hardest by some of the poorest people in the world. By 2020, parts of Africa will see crop yields from rain-fed agriculture fall by up to 50%. The costs of mitigation - that is, changing our activities to decrease our use of greenhouse gases - and adaptation, adjusting to and paying for the additional developmental consequences of increased temperatures - will run into tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars each year. But where will the money come from?" - Stamp Out Poverty report, May 2009

Jun 12, 2009  Nigeria: Midterm Results Disappoint http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/nig0906a.php
    "Every Nigerian hopes Yar'Adua's administration will start delivering those political goods which every society is entitled to, and what Yar'Adua promised in his Inaugural Address. But the strength of the hope dwindles with each passing day. As Nigerians, we must raise our voices to demand for these goods, and pray for our leaders to appreciate that they are in office to solve societal problems - not just to make a few friends, relations and cronies better off." - Nasir El-Rufai

Jun 12, 2009  Nigeria: Delta Violence Past & Present http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/nig0906b.php
    "It is impossible to separate the actions of the oil multinationals operating across the Niger Delta from the actions of the Nigerian government in the region. ... In exchange for the oil removed from the Niger Delta, the oil companies, with the support of the Nigerian state, have left behind an ecological disaster, reducing whole towns and villages to rubble, causing death by fire and pollution, and the guns of the Nigerian military." - Sokari Ekine and Firoze Manji

Jun 8, 2009  Africa: Innovative Global Financing http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/tax0906.php
    "Innovative financing ... is no longer in the experimental stage. It has already produced over $2 billion dollars in three years. But there is still an enormous need for financing: to ensure primary education for all, improve maternal health, combat hunger and the great pandemics, guarantee environmentally-friendly development, etc. We know that $175 billion is needed every year at the global level to finance climate mitigation policy. We all know that $35 billion is needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in the health sector alone." - Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, France

Jun 1, 2009  Africa: Economy and Human Rights, 1 http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/hr0906a.php
    "Our first demand in our new campaign ["Demand Dignity"] is to the G-2 leaders, USA and China. The United States does not accept the notion of economic, social and cultural rights while China does not respect civil and political rights. We call on both governments to sign up to all human rights for all." - Irene Khan, Amnesty International

Jun 1, 2009  Africa: Economy and Human Rights, 2 http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/hr0906b.php
    "There is still an enormous gap between the rhetoric of African governments, which claim to protect and respect human rights, and the daily reality where human rights violations remain the norm. ... So many people are living in utter destitution; so few of them have any chance to free themselves from poverty. Their dire situation is exacerbated by the failure of governments in the Africa region to provide basic social services, ensure respect for the rule of law, address corruption and be accountable to their people." - Amnesty International, 2009 annual report

May 25, 2009  Africa: Arms & Air Transport http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/arms0905.php
    "Air cargo companies involved in illicit or destabilizing arms transfers to African conflict zones have also been repeatedly contracted to deliver humanitarian aid and support peacekeeping operations, according to a report released today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The report reveals that 90 per cent of the air cargo companies identified in arms trafficking-related reports have also been used ... to transport humanitarian aid, peacekeepers and peacekeeping equipment." - SIPRI

May 20, 2009  Zimbabwe: 100 Days Plus http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/zim0905.php
    "We all knew this was going to be a fragile, tenuous, very uneasy relationship but one where the MDC had little option. Having said that, it was also very clear from the beginning that this kind of arrangement was going to be a battle for the State between the two parties from its inception and indeed that's what it's turned out to be ... But I think we've also seen a kind of new hope that emerged in the 100 days, a sense that something else was possible and the beginning of, at least the first steps of accountability of the ruling party." - Brian Raftopoulos on SW Radio Africa

May 14, 2009  Africa: New Books 2009 http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/nb0905.php
    This issue of AfricaFocus features brief notices of 15 books published so far in 2009 that I think AfricaFocus readers are likely to be interested in. This listing, including 10 on continent-wide issues or countries outside South Africa and 5 on South Africa, is far from comprehensive. But it includes a good selection of thoughtful analyses by both African writers and experienced non-African observers of the African scene.

May 10, 2009  USA/Africa: Underfunding Global Health http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/gh0905.php
    President Obama's global health budget plan, pegged at $63 billion over six years and announced on May 5, one day in advance of the full budget statement, met with predictably mixed responses. The administration spin was that it was a major new commitment to a comprehensive approach; health activist groups charged that it actually marked a cut from prior commitments made in campaign promises and by Congressional pledges.

May 5, 2009  Africa: Mobile Internet Taking Off http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ict0905.php
    "The number of people in Africa using their mobile to access the Internet has rocketed over the last year. In many instances the number of mobile Internet subscribers far outstrips their fixed line equivalent. ... By the end of 2008, South Africa had 1.35 million Internet subscribers, of which, according to World Wide Worx, 794,000 were wireless Internet subscribers ...I hear you saying that this is South Africa and the rest of Africa is different. [But similar proportions hold in Uganda, Tanzania, and other countries] - Russell Southwood, Balancing Act Africa

Apr 29, 2009  Africa: Education on the Brink http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ed0904.php
    "Investments in education and training were signaled in the G20 Communique as a priority to stimulate the economy - and as a key strategy to get out of the global recession. However, these warm words about education were focused on the G20 countries themselves -- and most of the children out of school around the world are in low income countries (LICs)." - Global Campaign for Education

Apr 14, 2009  USA/Nigeria: Halliburton Fallout http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/hal0904.php
    Fallout is continuing from the long-drawn-out case of Halliburton and Kellogg Brown & Root bribery of Nigerian officials for contracts for a liquefied natural gas plant in Nigeria. In February the two companies agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and Security Exchange Commission, including payment of a total of $579 million in fines. Further investigations are under way in five countries; and a detailed expose in Nigeria's Next newspaper has accused three former heads of state of being involved with the payments.

Apr 2, 2009  Africa: Global Economic Crisis, 2 http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/gec0904b.php
    "The Group of 20 (G20) is making a big show of getting together to come to grips with the global economic crisis. But here's the problem with the upcoming summit in London on April 2: It's all show. What the show masks is a very deep worry and fear among the global elite that it really doesn't know the direction in which the world economy is heading and the measures needed to stabilize it." Walden Bello, Foreign Policy in Focus

Apr 2, 2009  Africa: Global Economic Crisis, 3 http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/gec0904c.php
    "The welfare of developed and developing countries is mutually interdependent in an increasingly integrated world economy. ...Without a truly inclusive response, recognizing the importance of all countries in the reform process, global economic stability cannot be restored, and economic growth, as well as poverty reduction worldwide, will be threatened. This inclusive global response will require the participation of the entire international community; it must encompass more than the G-7 or G-8 or G-20, but the representatives of the entire planet, from the G-192." - United Nations Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System

Apr 2, 2009  Africa: Global Economic Crisis, 1 http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/gec0904a.php
    "There is a need for developing countries to examine the options for national policy on each aspect of the economic crisis and to seek the appropriate policies. However, only some policy measures can be taken at national level, especially if the country is too small to rely on the boosting of domestic-led growth. Regional-level measures are important. And most critical are the reforms, actions and cooperative measures required at the international level." - Martin Khor, South Centre

Mar 1, 2009  USA/Africa: Waiting for Change http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/usa0903.php
    "While low visibility for Africa policy may not be entirely unexpected, considering the multiple crises the President faced entering office, it has disappointed many who had hoped the administration might quickly mobilize the high level attention that is needed to spur action on vital issues." - Reed Kramer,

Feb 4, 2009  Africa: Internet Growth Accelerating http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/int0902.php
    "Until recently, the experience of the internet in Africa has been like having to eat a three-course meal by sucking it through a straw: time-consuming, unreliable and expensive. .. [but prices are dropping] and cheap international bandwidth is an essential component for any developing country to remain competitive in a changing world." - Russell Southwood, in Global Information Society Watch 2008

Jan 22, 2009  Africa: Subsidies that Work http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/sub0901.php
    In the 2008/2009 agricultural season, Malawi is spending $186 million to subsidize fertilizer and seeds for poor farmers, tripling the previous year's figure of $62 million. Malawi's success in this program, against donor advice, has made the country a grain exporter and helped contain food costs. The emerging consensus is that such subsidies are essential for African agriculture. In November the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization rewarded Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika, who also serves as his country's Minister of Agriculture, with the Agricola Prize.

Jan 22, 2009  Africa: Agricultural Knowledge http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/ag0901.php
    "The key message of the report [by the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)] is that small-scale farmers and agro-ecological methods provide the way forward to avert the current food crisis and meet the needs of local communities. More equitable trade arrangements and increased investments in science and technologies and in sharing knowledge that support agroecologically based approaches in both small farm and larger scale sectors are urgently required." - Civil Society Statement, April 2008

Jan 13 2009  Ghana: Economic Challenges http://www.africafocus.org/docs09/gh0901b.php
    Incoming Ghanaian President John Atta Mills faces high expectations on coming into office this month. Visitors to the candidate's official website (http://www.attamills2008.com/site) made their priorities clear: 63% said he should focus on economic issues, 18% on national unity, 13% on education, and 6% on health care. But he also faces demands from international financial institutions; the World Bank country director warned in a January report that despite recent growth, both the fiscal and balance of payments deficits of the country were "unsustainable."