The UN has reportedly toned down a document detailing 10 years of gruesome attacks by Rwandan and Ugandan troops against civilians in the Democractic Republic of Congo (DRC) after both countries angrily protested a draft version describing the slaughter of tens of thousands of ethnic Hutus during the 1990s. But according to the Associated Press, the report continues to suggest that Rwandan troops and others may have engaged in genocide and crimes against humanity.

This report on the electoral commission of Ghana is part of a broader project on 'Modelling Success: Governance and Institution-building in West Africa', being implemented by the Consortium for Development Partnerships (CDP). This report demonstrates that there are governance institutions in Africa that perform creditably well, referring to Ghana's electoral commission as an example.

Following the 1 October bombs in Abuja, suggestions have been made that northern interests in Nigeria were attempting to convey a message to President Goodluck Jonathan in response to his 2011 presidential ambitions, writes Cameron Duodu. While political declarations around responsibility for the bombing confuse the public, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ‘elders’ are in discussions over whom to endorse as the 2011 party candidate.

is a great article and has great questions. South Africa is an elite world driven by pure capitalist motives largely advanced by whites and a growing number of blacks. The poor will remain relegated to the dustbins of economic and social growth. Unfortunately this will remain like this for a while. The poor need to continue fighting.

Pemberai Zambezi
Research & Knowledge Management
Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT)
12 Robert Mugabe Way
Box 970
Mutare, Zimbabwe

Neighbour of mine, I see your pain is growing. I think to cook today would be too much for you. Come sister, share mbebe and nshima with me.

The mature maize stalk with a golden tuft full like a fine beret
took fullest responsibility for starting the mutiny of the plants…

Tidiane Kassé

Steve Sharra

Jean-Marie Moukam

On the eve of their Independence Day Guineans are uneasy as tensions threaten a political transition many had hoped would end decades of repressive rule. Concern over delays to a second-round presidential election merged this week with pain and anger stoked by the anniversary of the 28 September 2009 military crackdown on demonstrators in the capital Conakry, in which hundreds were killed, wounded or raped.

As Nigeria marks 50 years of independence on 1 October, Horace G. Campbell surveys both the country and the African continent’s ‘struggle to create a society where humans can live in dignity.’ The Nigerian people’s search for ‘a new mode of politics, and new forms of economic relations’, says Campbell, is ‘part of the larger struggle for unity and peace in Africa.’

The promise of legal aid is an empty one for most people in Africa, thanks to a shortage of lawyers, many of whom are located in capital cities rather than in rural areas. But a new approach that uses paralegals to provide frontline services could make legal aid a real option for people across the continent, writes Adam Stapleton, with plans underway for the establishment of ‘an international alliance of organisations to promote primary justice services to the poor.’

Perhaps Somali pirates were fisherman until their fish were destroyed by the West dumping toxic waste on their fishing grounds, writes Lugo Teehalt.

Ethiopia’s central bank announced a devaluation of national currency the birr by a fifth on 1 September, reportedly on the instructions of a macro-economic team chaired by President Zenawi. Placing the devaluation within in a wider political context, Seid Hassan outlines what the move means for the country’s economy and why it might please the IMF.

With Nigeria marking 50 years of independence on October 1 and campaigning for the 2011 elections already kicking into action, Sokari Ekine presents posts on the country’s controversial political scene, in this week’s round up of the African blogosphere.

To be really effective, South Africa’s new National Planning Commission must operate like the command centre of a country in war, meticulously planning, not against invaders, but the transformation of the economy, sector by sector, as if the country’s existence depended on it – which it does, writes William Gumede.

The United Nations initiative to boost the number of female police officers deployed in peacekeeping missions around the globe has made real progress since it was launched a year ago, according to the world body’s top police official. The so-called Global Effort was launched in August 2009 with the aim of more than doubling the proportion of women comprising UN Police (UNPOL) to 20 per cent by 2014.

The World Bank and IMF will hold their 2010 Annual General Meetings (AGM) and the accompanying Civil Society Policy Forum in Washington, DC, between 6 -10 October. Civil society will be sponsoring and participating in several events on issues ranging from access to information at the World Bank and the importance of contract transparency in extractive projects, to the dual imperative of tackling energy poverty and climate change concerns.

Proposals to place climate funds at an institution like the World Bank, over which developing countries have limited ownership, have undermined the process of negotiations through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, G77 countries have stood against the World Bank and have firmly supported placing climate finance under the UN, despite a diversity of positions. This briefing note from the Bretton Woods Project examines concerns that a significant role for the World Bank in disbursal or management of funds could limit developing country calls for direct access, recreate damaging donor-recipient aid dynamics, and hinder effectiveness.

The discussion on World Trade Organisation (WTO) compatibility in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and ACP countries has so far been very narrowly defined, and largely from the perspective of the European Union. This analytical note from the South Centre presents a matrix providing a comparison of the EPA commitments the EU is asking ACP countries for, and treatment of these issues in the WTO, including where appropriate, the type of flexibilities available for the different developing country groupings at the WTO.

Commenting on largely disappointing statistics about Tanzanian children’s reading and arithmetic levels, Uwezo Tanzania stresses that the country must focus more on learning outcomes rather than mere educational facilities.