In the course of my departure from Pambazuka News, I have been overwhelmed by the number of letters I have received from readers – too many for me to thank individually. Thank you to all of you who wrote or called.??

I also want to give thanks to the contribution, talent, tenacity and commitment of the small team of editors who worked with under great duress recently to ensure the regular publication of this unique pan-African e-newsletter and website. ??

The team, comprising of Patrick Burnett (South Africa), Tidiane Kassé (Senegal), and Henry Makori (Kenya), has decided to continue publishing Pambazuka News for as long as they are able to. ??

I write to urge all contributors and readers to support the team in their efforts. There continues to be a critical need for a platform such as Pambazuka News to support the struggle for freedom and justice.?

PAMBAZUKA NEWS STAFF REPLY: As the staff of Pambazuka News who have worked under Firoze Manji, in some cases for many years, we would like to pay tribute to his enormous commitment to the publication and what it stands for.??

Firoze worked tirelessly and passionately on Pambazuka News since it began over 10 years ago. He has signed off on nearly 600 English editions and nearly 300 French editions.??

When Pambazuka News began, it was a tiny email list with a handful of subscribers; against the odds it is now a major platform for news, views and activism. Firoze's time at Pambazuka News spanned global events that have changed our world: under his editorship activists from all backgrounds and causes, civil society professionals, Pan-Africanists, academics, global justice advocates, bloggers, tweeters and more have been able to come together and share views and opinions on these events in a way that was not possible to do before. In the process they have enriched their work and critical alliances and exchanges have been forged, taking forward the movement for social justice. The extent of this achievement should not be underestimated.??

On a personal note, we would like to publicly thank Firoze for sharing with us his fierce intellect and his willingness to transfer skills and in the process impart knowledge and learning to those around him. Pambazuka News will sorely miss, but not forget, his leadership.

Dear Comrades, Colleagues and Friends,

I hope this finds you well.

I'm afraid that I have sad news to convey. As a result of irreconcilable differences with the Fahamu board of trustees about the future, I will not be able to continue my work as editor-in-chief of Pambazuka.

I am deeply disappointed and saddened by this development. I am heart-broken.

Nevertheless, I want to assure you that my personal commitment to the vision, mission and values that Pambazuka represented remains as deep as ever. I intend to find other means for continuing to contribute to the struggles for freedom and justice, building on the achievements and aspirations that I have shared with my Pambazuka News colleagues and the large and growing Pambazuka community of contributors, readers, and supporters.

In the meantime, I will continue to share information on Twitter (@firozem), Facebook (www.facebook.com/firoze) and at my blog (www.daraja.net).

Please accept my gratitude for the support you have provided to Pambazuka and myself in the past and please accept my appreciation for the work that you are doing.

I am sending this from my personal email address - [email][email protected] - which should be used for all future correspondence. I would welcome hearing from you.

Firoze Manji

Entrevista com Firoze Manji, redator-chefe de Pambazuka News - Panafrican Voices for Freedom and Justice

The president of Mali, Amadou Toumani Touré, has formally resigned after soldiers ousted him in a coup in March, with power set to be transferred to Mali’s National Assembly after elections later this month. The soldiers say they seized power because of Touré’s alleged mishandling of a rebellion of ethnic Tuareg rebels, who have succeeded in capturing several key northern cities, declaring their independence and now calling for international recognition. Officials claim the rebels are a mix of Tuareg separatists and Islamists with links to al-Qaeda. We speak with Firoze Manji, editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News, a pan-African social justice website. He was formerly the Africa director for Amnesty International. Manji recently co-edited a book called "African Awakening: The Emerging Revolutions." Manji argues the political unrest in Mali, Senegal, and beyond is "driven by the fact that over the last 30 years our people have lost all the gains of independence," due in large part to what he calls neoliberal policies imposed on many African countries by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. "People feel that their governments are more accountable to the banks and to the international multinational corporations than they are to their citizens," Manji says.

What do Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA have in common?

As we enter a period of a profound crisis of capitalism, as working people and the poor are being forced to pay the costs of that crisis, the challenges facing Pambazuka are greater than ever. Our task in the coming period will be to expand the capacity of Pambazuka to support the growing movements for social and political transformation. We want you to join us in helping to build and support those movements. If you think that Pambazuka is important, if you find what we do useful, if you like the materials we publish in Pambazuka News, then join the Friends of Pambazuka with a donation today. Together we will dare to invent the future.

As we enter a period of a profound crisis of capitalism, as working people and the poor are being forced to pay the costs of that crisis, the challenges facing Pambazuka are greater than ever. Our task in the coming period will be to expand the capacity of Pambazuka to support the growing movements for social and political transformation. We want you to join us in helping to build and support those movements. If you think that Pambazuka is important, if you find what we do useful, if you like the materials we publish in Pambazuka News, then join the Friends of Pambazuka with a donation today. Together we will dare to invent the future.

Nothing in international law allows regime change and the assassination of a leader, says Firoze Manji, editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News, in

This week the international news has been dominated by two distinct yet not unrelated events – the international financial crisis and the eruption of young people onto the streets of Britain. Two features of these events are worth pointing out, observes Firoze Manji.

The social unrest that has swept through Africa in 2011 has its roots in the stripping of African economies by international finance, argues Pambazuka News editor-in-chief Firoze Manji, in a speech delivered for the Beyond Juba Distinguished Lecture on 22 June. Now is the time to map out a path towards emancipation, he writes.

Produced by a community of some 2,800 writers, bloggers, activists, intellectuals, poets, artists and representatives of social movements, Pambazuka News is committed to nourishing and supporting the building of a strong, progressive, pan-African social movement for freedom and justice. To do that, writes Firoze Manji, Pambazuka News must remain free and independent. The generosity and solidarity of our community of readers and authors is what makes Pambazuka News possible. Pambazuka needs your support to thrive! If you value what Pambazuka News has achieved over the last 10 years, if you appreciate what Pambazuka News is and does today, make a donation now. Make the donation you can afford. But make it now.

In

As part of a Global Information Network panel on 23 March 2011 at the Left Forum in the US, Pambazuka's editor-in-chief Firoze Manji .

Firoze Manji, founder and editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News,

Northern Africa is not the only part of Africa where uprisings are taking place. In countries like Swaziland, Gabon, Cameroon, Djibouti, and Burkina Faso we've seen massive student uprisings and worker demonstrations brutally suppressed in most cases. Editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News Firoze Manji talks to the Real News Network about what's happening in Southern Africa. Watch the .

African governments, once the product of our liberation struggles, are ‘more accountable to Northern governments and to the international financial institutions than they are to citizens’, says Firoze Manji.

In an interview with Azad Essa for Al Jazeera, Firoze Manji, editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News, discusses the rise in protests across Africa and the extent to which the events inspire people’s demands for greater political representation and self-determination.

In an interview with Basta! at the World Social Forum (WSF), Firoze Manji, editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News, discusses the problems of the ‘aid industry’, the resurgence of Africa’s popular movements and the need for a new people-centred ideology.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/500/10_500.gifPambazuka News has a 10-year track record of publishing articles that present a direct counter to the status quo. Moving beyond its 500th issue and into its second decade, the Pambazuka News community will be able to connect and share information on an unprecedented level, thanks to a forthcoming new web platform. This, believes editor Firoze Manji, makes Pambazuka News well placed to reflect a mood in Africa that is one of ‘discontent, of a search for alternatives to the ideology of looting and personal enrichment’.

‘It’s one thing to have a secret manual for Nigerian rulers,’ writes Firoze Manji, ‘but quite another to have one that provides the recipe for class rule by the rogues and rascals that roam the rest of the continent. This short pamphlet should have been banned long ago.’