Chuma Nwokolo invites Pambazuka readers to view his film , which is 'dedicated to one of the most hospitable people in the world'.

Following Barack Obama's recent visit to Ghana, Ihechukwu Njoku tells Pambazuka News of his hope that the choice of destination will be seen as a celebration of a laudable government rather than a political snub.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/443/57905_Maumau_poster_tmb.jp… the Talais' history and experiences under British colonialism, Bill Rutto discusses the plight of a Kenyan group still suffering under the weight of a colonial-era expulsion order. The ruling clan of the Kipsigi people, the Talai were the victims of a wholesale round-up once it became apparent to the British authorities that they could not be simply controlled, Rutto writes. Following their expulsion the group came to squat on the outskirts of Kericho town, where they remain over half a century later, the Kenyan and British governments oblivious to their cause. But with their compatriots the Mau Mau bringing legal action against the British government, will the Talai be able to pursue justice themselves, Rutto asks in this week's Pambazuka News.

In light of the sustained problems of mismanagement and corruption burdening South Africa's provincial authorities, many have called for these institutions to be scrapped entirely. This, argues William Gumede in this week's Pambazuka News, would be a step too far and likely to make matters worse. Far more important, Gumede contends, is the need to dismantle a culture of cronyism and political impunity. The provinces in fact need greater power, the author argues, but this must be under the authority of figures genuinely motivated by tackling poverty and creating jobs.

We at Google.org (the philantrhopic arm of Google) are working with our Google colleagues to try and improve our machine translation abilities in a variety of African languages (where we're currently under-represented). To start, we're hoping to improve our ability to translate English text to Swahili and visa-versa. We currently support a host of European languages and Asian language, link available here.

Our corpus of identical text in English and Swahili is pretty limited. We typically like to have at least a million words of high quality translated text for our machine learning tools to get going in earnest. It could be academic papers, books, laws, stories, dictionaries, etc, that are available in both language. Happy to give attribution where it makes sense but this is not a revenue driving priority for us. It's part of what we do to try and provide a valuable service to users. Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

More than 100 magistrates and judges in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been sacked as part of President Joseph Kabila’s campaign to clean the judiciary of greasy dealings. Making the announcement this week, the Minister of Justice, Luzolo Bambi Lessa said the move was only the beginning as other sectors, including the military, were also to feel the pinch of the anti-corruption whip.

A recent evaluation of the World Bank’s health work is damning in its criticism of the lender’s approach, particularly in Africa. Meanwhile, the Bank is continuing to push privatisation in public services such as health, education and water, despite fierce criticism

With at least one election result annulled and several candidates arrested, Moroccans are seeing courts take a more active role in dealing with cases of electoral fraud. On Monday (July 13th), the Marrakech administrative court annulled election results in the Menara district, following an appeal by the Front of Democratic Forces (FFD) over irregularities. The ruling overturned the election of PAM candidate Fatima Zahra Mansouri as Marrakech mayor.

Ghana will receive around $1.1 billion in resources from the International Monetary Fund, as the country tries to reduce its widening budget deficit, a senior IMF official has said. The IMF resources include a $600 million loan over three years approved on Wednesday and another $452 million in IMF special drawing rights, IMF mission chief to Ghana, Peter Allum, told reporters on a conference call.

MDC activist Patrick Danga, who was arrested by the police while restraining ZANU PF MP Patrick Zhuwawo from manhandling an MDC MP, is still detained at Harare Central police station. Zhuwawo is also Robert Mugabe’s nephew. The MDC MP for Mutare Central, Innocent Gonese, told us on Thursday that Danga has not been taken to court and is still detained, and yet the real criminals, who threw bottles and disrupted proceedings at the All-Stakeholders constitutional conference, remain free.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti used a budget presentation Thursday to announce that civil servants will now be paid salaries, in place of the current flat US$100 allowance. He also scrapped import duty on all Information Communication Technology (ICT) products like computers and cell phones. Duty on capital investment equipment will be scrapped while duty on basic commodities will be waived until November this year. Those importing passenger type motor vehicles of 15-20 passengers will pay duty of 15 percent beginning August.

Angola's move to hold its elections this year are doubtful following the absence of a Constitution. Media reports in the rich oil nation said the country's body in charge of drafting a new constitution said preparations of the document would take longer than expected.

The United Nations agency tasked with promoting adequate shelter for all has committed to ensuring better protection of land and property rights for people uprooted from their homes in Africa, which hosts nearly half of the total number of displaced persons worldwide. UN-HABITAT and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding last week committing them to this common goal.

United Nations humanitarian agencies have stepped up their relief efforts in the West African country of Benin, where more than 20,000 people have been displaced or affected and numerous farms destroyed by floods. Mosquito nets, water purification tablets, blankets, tents and mats are being distributed and assistance is being provided with water and sanitation and with maternal health care in the wake of the floods.

The Somaliland government's disregard for the law and democratic processes threatens the territory's nascent democracy, Human Rights Watch has said in a report. The administration of President Dahir Riyale Kahin has committed human rights violations and generated a dangerous electoral crisis.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has criticised a Swiss court's decision to release the assets of its late ex-leader Mobutu Sese Seko to his family. Information Minister Lambert Mende told the BBC that Switzerland had not done enough to ensure the money was given back to the people of DR Congo. He said his country could not appeal because the legal process had ended.

The Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso has won another seven years in office, according to preliminary results from Sunday's election. The electoral commission said Mr Sassou-Nguesso took 78.6% of the vote. His nearest rival gained just 7.5%. About 2,000 opposition supporters came on to the streets of Brazzaville to protest. They were dispersed by riot police firing tear gas.

Kenyan manufacturers have lamented the decline in their export volumes to the US since the introduction of trade rules that do not offer exclusive access to textile products to the American market. The Apparel Sector chairman of the Kenyan Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Jaswinder Bedi, said Kenya's exports to US under the US African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) had continued to decline over the last six years.

The Spokesman of the Gabonese government, René Ndemezo Obiang, on Thursday said the country would go to the polls on 30 August to elect a new president following the death on 8 June of President Omar Bongo Ondimba

In 2001 the United Nations announced the Millennium Development Goals, pledging to end global poverty by 2015. Paul Collier argued then that it needed to focus its concern on a much smaller group of countries than it had identified. There is, as he argued in The Bottom Billion, an essential difference between a poor family in China and an equally poor family in Chad. Although both enter into the global headcount of families living in extreme poverty, the poor family in China has credible hope that its children will grow up in a society of transformed opportunities: China will be part of the future global economy.