This panel responds to the recent efforts of tracing the historical roots of current divergence of incomes and occurrences of poverty in the world. It has been argued that the fundamental cause of current income levels is the lack of pro-growth institutions which originated under the colonial system. This session welcomes new research that suggests new evidence and methods to explain
long term economic and social change in African countries.

In its ongoing effort to bridge the digital divide, Nokia has introduced a range of affordable mobile devices and innovative new services specifically for people in emerging markets. In addition to Nokia's lowest cost handset to date, as well as its first handset for emerging markets with an integrated digital music player,
Nokia unveiled a range of services that leverage the power of the Internet.

The Elders is a group of eminent global leaders, convened by Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel to bring their experience and independent voices to the resolution of conflict and to innovative, cooperative efforts to address the great global challenges of our time. We are looking for a Policy Officer and a Communications Assistant to join The Elders’ busy team in London. Applications for both positions close on Friday 21 November 2008.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/404/China_in_Africa_tmb.jpgWith China’s ‘rise’ prompting new questions around the country’s strategy and the motivations behind how it conducts its international affairs and foreign policy, Stephen Marks considers the direction the country may take in light of new developments. Dispelling simplistic interpretations of Chinese indifference to human rights and environmental concerns in countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe, the author that the Asia giant has an essential interest in promoting peace, social stability, good governance and equitable development in its African partner countries.

A short term military operation without a coherent EU approach combining security measures, humanitarian aid, policing and reforming efforts would not be able to address the Congo crisis in the long term, participants at a joint hearing in the European Parliament learned on Tuesday (4 November). "If we take a dispassionate look at the situation in Eastern Congo these days, it is not difficult for us to realise that a consistent and coherent EU approach would provide a different panorama than the one we face today," Joao Gomes Cravinho, Portugal's secretary of state for foreign affairs and co-operation told MEPs.

In this essay Chris Colley of China’s People’s University argues that the Olympics will not change the foundation of Chinese foreign policy. He argues that the most important contribution to Chinese foreign relations will be less noticeable including a newfound confidence among Chinese in their dealing with the world and a greater interest in the road China takes towards modernization. He also explains how Beijing is becoming more practical in its dealings with its neighbors.

Chris Colley’s article ‘China’s Maturing Foreign Policy’ sets out a convincing argument that the underlying principles of Beijing’s foreign relations will not dramatically change and that a growing pragmatism based on “market rationality” will dictate relationships. Given that the increase in China’s economic and political involvement in Africa is arguably the most momentous development on the continent since the end of the Cold War, the implications for the continent are of profound interest. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is now Africa’s second most important trading partner; though behind the United States it is ahead of both France and the United Kingdom, with Sino-African trade hitting approximately $US74 billion in 2007.

Kenya will have to find new sources of funding to keep more than 200,000 people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment after the country's latest bid for support from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was rejected, a senior government official said. "We are too dependent on donor funding for programmes like these [related to HIV, malaria and tuberculosis], which are vital to the health of our people - we must start becoming more self-reliant," Danson Mungatana, Assistant Minister for Medical services, said on 27 October.

Widespread corruption scandals by judges and magistrates and inappropriate political interference in the judicial systems are denying people their right to a fair and impartial trial, said High Court Judge Stella Arach in an interview yesterday. Arach elaborated that the lower courts are the most affected with many magistrates receiving bribes from litigants.

It’s early days but the conventional wisdom so far has been that Africa will avoid the worst of the backwash from the global financial crisis. Its banks are less over-committed as lenders and its relatively small number of consumers still struggle to find credit. However, as everything is connected globally, Africa is bound to take a hit like every other continent and that hit will impact directly on Africa’s telecom’s sector.

Two weeks before U.S. President George W. Bush hosts an economic summit to address the six-week-old financial crisis that has wreaked havoc on the world's capital and stock markets, a coalition of nearly 600 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from 88 countries is calling for a "fundamental and far-reaching transformation on the international financial and economic system."

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, and the Chair of OECD's Development Assistance Committee, Eckhard Deutscher, have issued a call to the world's main aid donor countries to stand by their development pledges despite the economic slowdown. In a letter to heads of state and government of the countries that are members of the Development Assistance Committee, OECD invites these nations to join an "Aid Pledge" that would confirm existing aid promises and avert cuts in budgets for development aid.

The Skills Building Project Leader is responsible for the day-to-day project management of Tactical Tech's Skills Building projects, including the development of our toolkits, guides and training for advocates (see for details of these). Duties include planning, managing finances and negotiating supplier contracts. The role also involves supporting fundraising for future project development and providing strategic input on the application of digital advocacy tools to the broader fields in which Tactical Tech is working.

The North-South Institute is pleased to invite applications for its annual Visiting Researcher position. The Fellowship is named after Professor Emeritus G.K. Helleiner, one of Canada's leading academics on international development issues, who has dedicated many years to working in Africa and other developing countries and is a founding member and former Chair of the North-South Institute.

According to the newly-released State of the World's Cities report, South African cities top the list of the world’s most unqual cities, followed by Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico. Urban inequalities in this highly unequal region are not only increasing, but are becoming more entrenched, which suggests that failures in wealth distribution are largely the result of structural or systemic flaws.

Speaker: Yash Tandon, Executive Director, South Centre

Yash Tandon explores the possibilities for change in the architecture of aid in his new book ‘Ending Aid Dependence’. Developing countries reliant on aid want to escape dependence, and yet appear unable to do so. This book proposes ways developing countries can free themselves from aid that has had varying degrees of success. Tandon argues in his book that exiting aid dependence should be at the top of the political agenda of all developing countries.

Tuesday 4 November 2008, 17:00-18:00
At: Chatham House, 10 St James's Square, London, SW1Y 4LE
The book is available from

By coincidence last weekend saw a long-planned Asian-European economic summit in Beijing, at a time when many world leaders were looking to China to play a key role in .

Thailand’s Premier even called for the Chinese Yuan to be the world’s new reserve currency.

Much mainstream expert comment, while not going that far, nonetheless agreed that China had a key role to play.

‘In many ways, US and European policymakers are doing the opposite of what they advised Asian policymakers to do in 1997-98: do not rescue failing banks, raise interest rates, balance your budget. Millions of Indonesians and Thais would have been better off if their governments had been permitted to do what western governments are doing now. An apology from the west to Asia would not be inappropriate’ said Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of Singapore University’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

In his view the Chinese and Indian contributions to the Beijing summit set an example of maturity and calm. Asian governments had lost confidence in western models of good governance. ‘Asian minds have never been captured by the strange ideological belief that markets know best and government should step aside.’

George Soros agreed that ‘the financial authorities of the developed countries are in charge and they will do whatever it takes to prevent the system from collapsing. They are, however, less concerned with the fate of countries at the periphery. ... The so-called Washington consensus imposed strict market discipline on other countries but the US was exempt from it’.

Countries with large foreign currency reserves, including China, should contribute to a special fund to assist peripheral and emerging economies. ‘The US must show the way in protecting the peripheral countries against a storm that has originated in the US, if it does not want to forfeit its claim to the leadership position’.

Gerard Lyons, chief economist and group head of global research at Standard Chartered Bank , agreed that a statement launched by the Trans National Institute and Focus on the Global South.

CHINA AND THE CRISIS

Although China is not itself directly caught up in the credit crunch its export industries are already suffering from the resulting recession along with the rest of the ‘Asian tiger’ economies.

From China to Africa the financial crisis is also labour unrest continues to mount. In response, local party bosses are said to be considering special measures to assist laid-off workers.

DARFUR KILLINGS

China condemned the killing of a shift in policy.

Earlier Liu Guijin, the special Chinese envoy on Darfur said he was continuing to work with Western powers to lessen the fallout from the war crimes charges filed against Sudan's President Omar al Bashir.

ELSEWHERE IN AFRICA

A joint venture company including China Railway Construction Corp was falsely labelled fake Nigerian textiles.

But in a new twist, as Zambia goes to the polls in its Presidential election both parties are putting out the welcome mat to Chinese investment - a change of heart for the previously anti-Chinese opposition leader Michael Sata.

When capitalism fails the rich
(it always fails the poor), a jism
reinvigorates the corporate bitch:
let’s call it bow-wow socialism.
Good ol’ Uncle Sam, he saves the big banks
with tax-payers’ money, tax-payers’ sweat;
Wall Street billionaires, give him thanks
for winkling you fraudsters out of debt!
Dogknot socialism for plutocrats,
the broker-dealers’ contingency plan;
ill-gotten gains made by ill-gotten brats
devilling themselves in the frying pan.
Where Bob’s your uncle, the Reserve Bank feeds
cronyism, and the First Lady’s needs.

* John Eppel is a poet, novelist, and short-story writer from Zimbabwe. He won the MNet Prize in 1994 for his novel, D.G.G. Berry’s Great North Road (1992).
* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

In his work on the Sidis of India, Abdulaziz Y. Lodhi discusses the historical experiences of a group of prominent East African ancestry in the Indian sub-continent. Exploring linguistic developments and the role of Islam in their broader integration, the author discusses the new championing of the Swahili language of a group keen to revitalise their cultural links to Africa and reconstruct their heritage. With the group gaining wider scholarly and public recognition in recent years, Lodhi also reflects on Bantu linguistic data observable in contemporary Sidi speech and the effect of new efforts at cultural revival spearheaded by touring Sidi musical performers.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/404/China_businesses_lesotho_t… an engaging piece highlighting the inherent one-sidedness of Western media coverage of China’s presence in Africa, Stephen Marks explores the extent to which the Asian giant’s presence on the continent is primarily visible in its economic and diplomatic links rather than any military presence. While concerns over a so-called ‘Yellow Peril’ are scarcely predominant within US policy circles, the author argues, the Chinese presence on the African continent is primarily characterised as military, a characterisation that belies the essentially economic basis of the country’s relations with African countries. But with Chinese military expenditure now conspicuously on the increase, what will be the consequences for a changing relationship with Africa?