African Blog Review – 05/15/2008

Breaking News Kenya

Breaking News Kenya provides a link to an article in Business Daily about the increasing use of the Internet by Kenyan employers to screen job applicants:

“Local figures are hard to trace, but in a recent survey of executive recruiters by execunet.com, 77 per cent of respondents said they used the Internet to uncover additional information about candidates…

Job seekers who have more “presence” online are generally expected to be more believable as the employer can often verify content on an applicant’s CV, such as where they went to school or if they really worked for companies they lay claim to…

A third of the managers polled by execunet.com said they would eliminate applicants based on what they found out about them online, saying scandalous photos, political commentary or inappropriate videos found on websites such as Flikr, in blogs or on YouTube would have a negative impact on the candidacy of an applicant.”

Mother City Living
http://www.mothercityliving.co.za/20080514/food-gardens-on-the-cards-for-the-western-cape-its-about-time/

Mother City Living comments on proposed solutions to the burgeoning world food crisis:

“For the past week I’ve heard people debating the food crisis until they’re blue in the face. Increase the number of VAT-exempt food items, they said, issue food stamps, put a cap on food prices.

Not once did I hear anyone saying what I thought would be the most obvious option: get people growing their own food.

But, happily, today I read an article on Iafrica that gives me hope. In short, according to the report, Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool has proposed the launch of a “food security campaign” with “concrete initiatives” that would include:

‘…making state land at hospitals and schools available for community food garden schemes, setting up food co-operatives , distributing seed packs to vulnerable households, and increasing the school nutrition budget by R5-million.’

Hallelujah! Now, here’s hoping this gets off the drawing board, and out into the community. It’s about time.”

Magharebia
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The new federation's plan to raise awareness within parliament, political parties and the government is already beginning to see results. Some political parties now promise to give women greater participation during next year's elections.
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Voters disagree as to women’s ability to run public affairs. While many young people say they will make their choice based on clearly-defined criteria, irrespective of the candidate’s gender, older people make no secret of their preference for male candidates.

Think Ghana
http://blogs.thinkghana.com/2008/05/12/welcome-ghana-correctional-service/

Think Ghana comments on the state of correctional facilities in Ghana and plans to change the name of the Ghana Prisons Service:
“The Prisons Service, like many other public institutions, has over the years suffered under the proverbial ‘No funds’ syndrome and those who know the system very well, will admit that there is very little correction in our prison system.
Overcrowding, poor sanitation and lack of learning and training facilities have made the prisons more of concentration camps than centres of reformation...
In Ghana, very few can claim that they came out of our prisons better equipped than when they went in. Some claim spiritual development, which only confirms the physical deprivations they went through while in prison custody…
These deprivations and the stigma associated with prison life have seriously contributed to the situation where most convicts come out from the prisons ready to exert revenge on society…

We know the problems of the Ghana Prisons Service… So why do we think by giving an old institution a new name, everything will change for the better overnight?”

Omar Basawad
http://omar-basawad.blogspot.com/2008/04/kidepo-ugandas-hidden-wonder.html

Omar Basawad writes about one of Uganda’s ”hidden jewels”, the Kidepo National Park:

“Very few people visit the Kidepo National Park in Uganda. Even fewer tourists ever visit the rugged, breathtaking Ugandan hidden wonder, tucked away in the triangular North Eastern part of the country…

Of all Ugandan national parks and game reserves, Kidepo is the most remote and has the most unique wilderness and terrain. Karamoja too, is the most dry and the hottest part of Uganda; it has a most unique people too: the Karamojong, whose warriors, tall and black, still walk and graze their cattle while almost totally naked; they seem too, to have a liking for AK47 rifles. The Kalashnikov seems to be the only modern technology that Karamojong men have accepted; unlike in most parts of Uganda where the mobile phone is.

Sadly, semi arid Karamoja, though large and has great potential for development, is the poorest and the most undeveloped district of Uganda. I very much hope that the authorities concerned will do more for Karamoja and its people; and make the remote, isolated magical Kidepo more secure… Any one visiting Uganda and has the time and means, should visit enchanting, breathtaking Kidepo and experience not only some of the most spectacular sceneries Uganda and Africa has; but also feast on the abundant unique mix of wildlife that Kidepo boasts.”

Scribbles from the Den
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