Few would dispute that civil society organisations (CSOs) have grown substantially in number and influence over the past decades. But, are these groups at a point now where they play a determining role, alongside government, in public policy-making? Not yet, says Tiberius Baraza, a researcher in the Governance and Development Department at the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research -- a non-governmental body based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

This report examines the complexities of defining inequality within and between countries. Using ethnic and gender disparities as case examples, the author argues that inequality can lead to short and medium term economic growth and development, but may come at a long run detriment to the marginalized group. The author calls on countries and development agencies to take into account the diversity of economic needs among different sectors of society and to make "growth and equity compatible."

One in 3 deaths of people with HIV/AIDS is caused by TB. There have been 21 new HIV drugs for every one new TB drug since 1986; the test for TB is 100 years old, and the vaccine being used today is the same as it was 80 years ago.

The Ministers of Education of the G8 nations met in Moscow in advance of the 2006 G-8 Summit set for July 15-18 in St. Petersburg, Russia. With 100 million primary school age children out of school, G8 members recognize that accelerated progress is required to meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goals set for education, reports the Development Gateway.

Good governance - the fair and transparent management of a country's resources and institutions - has become a key objective for European Union (EU) development assistance. Without practices that lead to good governance, donors are less willing to provide aid and for this reason the EU is supporting developing country programmes that focus on governance issues.

The private sector in Zimbabwe has been urged to exploit the various bilateral trade agreements that the country has signed with its trading partners. Industry and International Trade Minister Obert Mpofu said that the agreements gave business the leeway to expand markets to boost foreign currency earnings. It was critical that the government received feedback on the effectiveness of the trade agreements to allow the authorities to deal with operational problems that agreements might be presenting, he said.

The National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa has condemned the "flagrant breaches of international humanitarian law and the violations of the human rights of Palestinians further exacerbated by the latest attack by Israel on the residents of Gaza in Palestine". The group has called on the South African government to immediately recall the South African ambassador from Tel Aviv and to begin the process of ending diplomatic relations with Israel.
Related Links:
- Lebanon Diary

- "Open War" in the Middle East
http://lebanonupdates.blogspot.com/
http://siegeoflebanon.blogspot.com/
http://www.fromisraeltolebanon.org/

As the Internet becomes increasingly essential to politics, commerce and daily life, the debate over Internet governance has evolved from a niche discussion among technologists into a global controversy over who should set the rules for one of the world's most vital resources. As the US Government plots its path forward and reconsiders its special role in overseeing the Internet's addressing system, it is important to determine how the shifting global environment is likely to affect the outcome of any US decision about the future of Internet governance.

Governments, research and policy centres, NGOs and the private sector are abuzz with speculation over China’s influence in Africa. The tone of much Western discourse has been to warn Africa about China, with much emphasis placed on China’s poor human rights record, its disregard for the environment and its tendency to act only in its own interests. But aren’t these the very attributes of Western engagement with Africa? Who is the West to lecture Africa on the dangers represented by China? Tajudeen Abdul Raheem addresses the challenge of how to engage the Chinese.

Who is Afraid of China? It is difficult to read western papers these days or watch their televisions and listen to their radios without some Chinese feature, news, information, disinformation and mis information. Western policy makers are training future generations to learn Mandarin. Chinese studies is booming. Intelligence services are in a frenzy recruiting anyone who can help decipher the Chinese mind. Even retired old China hands are being recalled from their retirement back into active service.

China is being discussed in the West as a threat. A threat to Western hegemony across the world mostly in economic terms. Nowhere is this threat more orchestrated than in Africa. If China is a threat to the West, should we worry when the West has always been a threat to our very existence for centuries?

I was at one of those conferences on China in the United Kingdom a few weeks ago. It was organised by the highbrow New Labour policy think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The theme of the Conference was 'China and Africa'. I went to the conference with mixed feelings. I would have had no problem if the theme had been ' Britain and China'. But why would a British institution be concerned about China in Africa?

Should we not be having such meetings in Africa under the auspices of our own governments, research centres, NGOs and even the private sector?

Of course this question is very rhetorical on my part. I cannot plead naivety in these matters but still I cannot help asking the question even if I know the answers. Such is the ideological incapacitation (both structurally induced and by complacency and irresponsible leadership) of Africa these days that even the poverty that the majority of our peoples suffer from have their experts in the West and advocates in Western NGOs and other Western Do-Gooders who put our pictures in the background of their appeals. So bad is the situation that some African countries even have Western donor advisers to help them negotiate in forums like the WTO, where our countries 'negotiate' with Western governments. It is like the person whacking you also offering you a handkerchief to wipe your tears! Oh Africa! Can turkeys really vote for an early Christmas?

That puts the IPPR conference in context. The West has arrogated to itself the right to act, talk, interpret and define African realities. Slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism / cold war and the current recolonisation via globalisation provide the historical template from which these attitudes are drawn. They even define for us who are our enemies and who are our friends!

But at every stage they have had willing collaborators, apologists and active agents not only at the highest level of our political society but also civil society. Without African agency these inequities could not have lasted this long. China is an example of a country and peoples who have refused to give up shaping their own destiny. Not that various imperialist forces have not tried several times. But China has remained Chinese.

The current discourse in the West about China is very much reminiscent of the Cold war days where the West thought, acted and behaved as though Africa was its exclusive preserve for exploitation and domination. It's like a vulture scaring off other vultures from its perch.

So the West is now warning Africa to be wary of China. The alarm bells are sounded about many issues on which China is vulnerable. One, China is after Africa's energy and other resources needed for its vastly growing economy. Two, It does not respect human rights at home and therefore will not give a damn about it in Africa. Just check the list of China's new best friends in Africa! Three, it does not care about the cost to the environment of its energy and growth needs. Four, in international affairs China only seeks the protection of Chinese interests no matter whose ox is gored. For instance, China continuously either abstains from or prevents any vote of censure in the UN Security Council and General Assembly against governments it is doing business with, whether it is the killer regime in Khartoum killing its own peoples in Darfur or the illegitimate government of Idris Deby in neighbouring Chad.

There are many other reasons why the West thinks Africa should be wary of China. The interesting thing is that all of these charges and many more are true of China's foreign policy. But the bigger question is this: Are they not also true of Africa's relations with the West? Do we need Westerners to tell us about these when our physical body and body politic are still suffering from similar forced encounters with the West? How can the blackened Western pot really call the Chinese porcelain kettle black?

Does this mean that there are no legitimate issues that should concern Africans about China's deepening engagement with Africa? There are many but we do not need our former and current colonisers to give us lectures on them. They are serial re- offenders when it comes to exploiting Africa.

Africa can and should choose its own friends and enemies, though some enemies and friends may decide to choose you.

There are many concerns that we must address. The first one is China's bilateralism in relation to Africa. While this may suit the short-term needs of individual leaders, it undermines our sub regional and Pan African institutions and commitments. It replays the colonialist divide and conquer tactics. Most of our countries have no chance negotiating with China alone. They will be gobbled up one by one. Two, the influx of Chinese goods, services (including criminal gangs) and migrants, is undermining our local economies and attempts at regional integration. While the goods are much cheaper than those from the West they are also killing our nascent industries. Even areas where we have had much progress in the past like textiles are being killed off from the dumping of cheaper Chinese products. As a Funtua man I should know about this because the Chinese have taken over our biggest industry, Funtua Textiles. Three, in the cold war days China, like other Socialist states, used to have three principles governing their international relations. These were: People to People, Party-to-Party and Government-to-Government. These days China does only Business to Government and Government to Government. Where it has any links with parties they are not necessarily communist parties (since China is also any thing but communist in name only) but ruling parties that can facilitate access for their businesses.

This is where the biggest challenge is, both for African CSOs, NGOs, other pro-people forces and China itself: How do we engage with the Chinese and how can the Chinese engage with us outside of the framework of Government and Business, given the lack of institutional and historical knowledge on both sides on that type of engagement?

* Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem is General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Education often has inspired governments and donor agencies to promise dates by which all children worldwide will be in primary school, but such promises have yet to be realized, The Economist writes in this analysis. Twelve billion dollars already has been donated by the World Bank, and more has been promised, but a recent Independent Evaluation Group study found that despite increased enrollment rates and student incentives, school construction tends to be more successful than the quality of education.

Penknife Press is announcing its first annual Short Story Writing Contest. From the entries received, we will be creating an anthology of contemporary short stories that say something insightful about contemporary society. Compelling characters wanted, but compelling situations are required.

This is an open call for proposals to collaborate on an issue of id21 insights - published by id21 (www.id21.org/insights) at the UK Institute of Development Studies. We are inviting potential 'guest editors' from the international development research community to propose a topic for an issue of id21 insights due out in early 2007.

At a recent Democracy and Governance review conference in Pretoria, attended by researchers and policy analysts from Southern Africa, one issue that dominated the discussions of all presenters was the new role of China in Africa. Examples were generally drawn from the very visible role of China in Africa’s economy. This discussion is relevant because only in January 2006, China announced its desire to increase co-operation with African countries by issuing China’s African Policy, a paper intended to guide relations with the continent by continuing what it calls a “non interventionist and non ideological strategy.”
* Related Link
China, Africa and the G8: the missing link

QuickGuides are 24 page books, readable in an hour, covering the fundraising and management needs of both large and small organisations. QuickGuides are the perfect way to learn about a subject quickly and easily, and because they are written and reviewed by knowledgeable professionals from all around the world they will be useful wherever you operate as they are not country specific. And with 6 new titles to add to our current 22 and more planned for 2007 - from sources of funding to events planning, motivating staff to marketing – it’s all there. At £8 or US$14 per book, QuickGuides are accessible to all, and you can build your own library of expertise. And as a reader of Pambazuka News, you can take advantage of a special promotion of 3 books for the price of 2 until the end of October 2006. Or for £125 you can buy an entire library of all 28 titles. QuickGuides are a resource you can’t afford not to have. Quote ref: pambazuka and order online now at our online bookshop.

Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), now operational in sixty least-developed countries, open access to debt relief and are the basis for concessional lending by international financial institutions. Most PRSPs stress education and refer to Education for All (EFA) objectives. However, the strategy and the financing required to achieve them are unspecified.

Now available in Spanish and Arabic, this UNESCO publication focuses on strategies for meeting international targets and national goals for universalizing girls’ access to, retention in and completion of quality education. Published within the framework of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI), the Education For All flagship for girls' education and the principal movement to narrow the gender gap in primary and secondary education.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for greater ties between Africa and Brazil, as well as greater reform efforts at the United Nations, at the Second Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora. The conference, held in northeastern Brazil, seeks to promote greater cooperation between African countries and the African Diaspora in bringing about social development.

This manual describes the ideas, the techniques, the achievements, the standards of governmental behaviour and the means of implementing those standards that have emerged from the efforts of anti-torture activists around the world over the past 25 years and more.

African countries misuse development aid from donors because of "unclear" policies, Burundi 's first vice-president, Martin Nduwimana, said at an ongoing regional conference on gender and development in Bujumbura. “If we [African governments] set up clear policies, which would put an end to mismanagement, corruption and embezzlement, we will for sure give a chance to the integration of women in all sectors," Nduwimana said in his opening address at the four-day conference organised by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Burundi's ministry of national solidarity, human rights and gender equality.

Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle and other civil society leaders including the Secretary General of CIVICUS met on 4 July with Russian President Vladimir Putin to make recommendations on what he and the other G8 nations can do to promote accountability and fight corruption.