Congo Kinshasa (DRC) seems poised to fall victim to a new round of election violence as Vice President, Jean-Pierre Bemba, outrightly has rejected the published results which place his contender, President Joseph Kabila in a winning position in the ongoing count of the presidential elections. A group of politicians backing Mr Bemba's presidential bid declared Tuesday (14 November 2006) that their candidate was leading the bitterly contested second-round polls.

Transitional President Joseph Kabila has been declared the winner of the first democratic elections in Congo Kinshasa (DRC) in 45 years. The electoral commission said Mr Kabila had 58.05 percent of the vote, while Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba won 41.9 percent.

As campaigning for December polls gets underway throughout the island, Madagascar has the opportunity to show it can hold presidential elections that work. The polls are key to Madagascar's recovery after the last election in 2001, which descended into violence that split the country.

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Blacklooks.org, run by Sokari Ekine, has won the public choice for the Best Weblog in English by the Bobs Award (http://www.thebobs.com/). She is far too modest to mention this herself. But Pambazuka News is proud of this well deserved achievement! Congralutions, Sokari.

The Editors
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This is a well deserved award

'African Painters' - African Painters has a feature on ‘fantasy coffins’ made in Ghana which are fast becoming tourist attractions.

“Coffins crafted as hammers, fish, cars, mobile phones, hens, roosters, leopards, lions, canoes, cocoa beans and several elephants”.

However despite the fanciful wooden carved coffins, the business of death is still taken seriously at prices ranging up to $400.

'Jewels in the Jungle' - Jewels in Jungle http://jewelsnthejungle.blogspot.com/2006/11/china-africa-summit-2006-view-from.html reports on the China Africa summit which he heads as “The Battle for Africa’s Hearts and Minds… and Black Gold – Round 2.” His report focuses on the World Bank’s reaction to the summit:

“The World Bank on Thursday welcomed China's increased involvement with Africa but urged the rising Asian power to learn lessons from past donors when helping the impoverished continent. ‘My summary take on the Chinese engagement in Africa is that it is broadly positive,’ said John Page, the World Bank's Chief Economist for Africa. ‘We witnessed the emergence of one of the most significantly successful developing countries as a development partner for Africa, and therefore perhaps a source of ideas and innovation,’ he told reporters in Tokyo after attending China's weekend summit with delegates from 48 African nations.”

Jewels is very much on the pro-China/Africa investment side and though his report is highly informative and interesting it does not address issues of how China’s investments in Africa will filter down to the masses. Nor does he address China’s possible influence on national government policies, press freedoms and human rights.

'Kenyan Pundit' - Kenyan Pundit http://www.kenyanpundit.com/?p=247 comments on the growth of the ICT sector in Kenya where, as recently as 2003, VOIP and Wi-Fi were actually illegal in the country.

“In a case over the issuance of a competing gateway license, the Communications tribunal ruled that the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) was to ignore any policy guidelines of a specific nature coming from the Ministry as the [Communications] Act was clear that CCK was to give ‘due regard to policy guidelines of a general nature’. This means that CCK’s independence as a regulator has been reemphasized and underlined. This is HUGE. Most regulatory bodies in Africa suffer from a lack of independence due to constant interference from the government, ICASA is South Africa is a good case in point.”

'Grandiose Parlor' - Grandiose Parlor http://grandioseparlor.com/2006/11/nigeria-impeaches-the-fifth-governor-in-12-monthsreports on the fifth Nigerian Governor to be impeached in 12 months. The latest victim is the Governor of Plateau State, Chief Joshua Dariye:

“Dariye’s impeachment saga was a long-drawn battle that started sometime in January 2004, when he jumped bail following his arrest in London for money laundering. Since then he has been able to manipulate and checkmate all impeachment moves by the state legislature. His capitulation may not have been possible without the interference of the feds, particularly the EFCC.”

Increasing the drama is the Governor of Ekiti who has actually disappeared and is believed to be in hiding – is this really possible in a modern day democracy? What kind of leaders do we have in Nigeria?

'Kiuyumoja’s Realm' Kiuyumoja's realm shows how to make a water filter using alternative technology using every day household products.

“Almost all supermarkets in Kenya sell bottled water, and many also sell special water filters with about 1-3 filter candles inside. These filters are available in different sizes, often made out of stainless steel and will cost about Ksh. 1800/= (~ US-$ 25,- // EUR 20,-). To filter the water, all you have to do is put a litre of it on the top container and wait for it to percolate through the ceramic filter element into the container below which of course takes some time.

“I also wanted to have such a filter system to filter the tap water, but I wasn’t willing to invest so much money. Also, I’ve seen this alternative filter system at use in our office - so it became clear that I had to build my own and see that I don’t spend too much money on this DIY project. Many households all over the country use these water filter systems these days - which is good!"

Kiuyumoja provides full instructions, plus lots of diagrams, so if you need a simple cheap water filter I suggest you try this one out.

'This is Zimbabwe' - This is Zimbabwe http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/451reports that 129 out of 1000 children in Zimbabwe will not live beyond the age of five. In the US the number is eight out of 1000 and six out of 1000 in the UK.

"Those statistics are for 2004, and things have no doubt got worse since then. By contrast, in 1985 the rate was only 59 deaths per 1000…In human terms, that means that for every 1000 children born in Zimbabwe, only 871 will make it to their fifth birthday."

'Black Looks' - Black Looks http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/11/we_always_have_the_right_to_say_no.html[/ur] reports on a new documentary film called “NO” which highlights the realities of rape in the African American community and also focuses on the healing process for victims.

“This is one of the most important films on sexual violence against women which is endemic in our communities. Silence is no longer an option on sexual abuse in our communities and this film exposes the realities of rape but also addresses ways in which healing can take place. In South Africa the rape statistics are unbelievably high - where POWA reports that a woman is raped every 26 seconds. Rape in our communities speaks to how society perceives Black women’s bodies. The policy and system of Apartheid constructed the Black woman as the lowest of the low, denigrated and despised condoning our bodies to zones of violence and abuse.”

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, www.blacklooks.org
• Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

In October 2006, The Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome hosted the first-ever international Congress on Communication for Development. Scott Robinson from the Metropolitan University in Mexico City has attended and offers here a few indications on how he thinks the WCCD should be rethought. As part of his reflections, he offers new ways forward.

Donors have expressed "grave concern" over the Tanzanian government's commitment to combat corruption and fear that the fight against graft has been put off until 2006, when President Benjamin Mkapa will leave office.

ARTICLE 19 has published a checklist designed for civil society organisations who wish to conduct analyses of the implementation status of the African Union’s ‘Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa’.

417 people, including women, children and street children, who were arrested by the Congolese National Police (PNC) after the November 11 2006 unrest in Kinshasa, have been detained and will now be sent on national service against their will.

Swaziland's parliamentarians have embarked on an unprecedented stayaway to protest against Cabinet's inability to get grants paid to the elderly. "These people [Cabinet ministers] are well-paid to do some work, but they are doing nothing," said MP Marwick Khumalo during a raucous meeting of the House of Assembly on Wednesday night (8 November 2006), when the members of parliament (MPs) gave Cabinet one week to start paying out stipends to people aged 60 and over, and voted unanimously to suspend all parliamentary work until then.

Police in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have arrested 337 people, including 87 children, over violence that rocked the city on Saturday (11 November 2006), Interior Minister Denis Kalume said on Monday. At least four people died when fighting broke out between security forces and supporters of Jean-Pierre Bemba, the challenger to President Joseph Kabila in presidential elections on 29 October.

The African Union is to investigate the killing of at least 30 civilians on 11 November by hundreds of armed militiamen, who attacked a camp for internally displaced people at Sirba near Kulbus in the Sudanese state of West Darfur, a source said.

FEATURE: In the final article of a three part series on the Niger Delta, Ike Okonta goes to the heart of the democratic deficit in the region
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Libraries should be a centre of activism, not silence: Shiraz Durrani makes a case for information liberation
- What is the role of intellectuals in socio-political change? Henning Melber explains
- Miriam Madziwa says one women’s group is using love to unsettle Zimbabwe’s Mugabe
- Liepollo Lebohang Pheko remembers PW Botha
LETTERS: Oil and Angola
PAN-AFRICAN POSTCARD: Bush, looking left to Nicaragua, faces the music
BLOGGING AFRICA: Blogs to Botha: Goodbye and good riddance
BOOKS & ARTS: Have you seen my gender lenses?
AFRICAN UNION MONITOR: Protocol on the rights of women campaign update
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Using killers to catch killers in Darfur
HUMAN RIGHTS: Mozambique citizens mete out rough justice to criminals
WOMEN AND GENDER: Women send peace torch to Juba peace talks
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Failed UK asylum seekers sleep rough
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: DRC poll contenders urge calm
DEVELOPMENT: The lessons from China; African nationalism; To Bee or not to Bee
CORRUPTION: 2006 corruption index released
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: New frontiers in social policy?
EDUCATION: Globalisation, migration and education
ENVIRONMENT: Nairobi climate change conference opens
LAND AND LAND RIGHTS: Better land access for rural poor
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Enemies of the internet named
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: Software piracy creates jobs; free and open source software creates opportunities, says APC boss
FUNDRAISING AND USEFUL RESOURCES: Innovative South African education project embarks on international fundraising trip
PLUS: e-Newsletters and Mailings Lists; Fundraising and Useful Resources; Courses, Seminars and Workshops; Jobs.

The man who failed to cross his Rubicon, the architect of total onslaught and the leader of apartheid up until 1989, was buried on Wednesday. Curiously, PW Botha’s death has resulted in some surprising statements – including from President Thabo Mbeki – on how he contributed to the downfall of apartheid. Liepollo Lebohang Pheko gives her views.

The news arrived last week that the former president of Apartheid South Africa PW Botha had died, aged 90. Many people’s recollection of Mr Botha was of a mercurial man of iron will and a short fuse. For the younger generation he is the man who refused to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. However, for most of the African population recollections are more brutal, more sinister and altogether more harrowing.

The outpouring of grief has thus left me aghast at the rehabilitation of Botha into an anti-Apartheid icon. This, coming on the heels of the acres of column space dedicated to Adrian Vlok’s foot washing (Former Apartheid law and order minister Adrian Vlok washed the feet of Revered Frank Chikane as a show of remorse for his sins under apartheid), leaves hearts sore and emotions high.

One of the worst things about the reconstruction of Apartheid as a social construct rather than a colonial, imperial struggle like any other in Africa is that it places the perpetrators on par with the oppressed. In so doing it removes the culpability of the oppressor, thus revising a vicious and deliberate holocaust into an unfortunate misunderstanding which we all suffered and were equal victims of. This is completely false.

A profoundly disturbing feature of this dispensation is the indecent haste with which the African majority is expected, if not ordered, to forgive, forget and to move on. We are denied the right to grieve, to demand answers, to be angry, to be skeptical.

I am not a psychologist but I suspect that this fast tracked pseudo-healing is going to bear us bitter fruits. Anybody who has ever tried to live in denial is bound to trip up on the mountain of issues swept under the carpet. We deserve to be in the moment of our truth and face the reality of our pain, our anger, our loss and all our suffering.

Against this backdrop, moves to honour Botha are on a par with honouring any Nazi leader of the Third Reich. The Jewish holocaust has not been forgotten and even we who had no culpability in its architecture or doing are reminded of its significance by the victims. We deserve the same remembrance of self, of how we were brutalised, of the many children unborn because of Botha’s policies, of the bodies lying in unmarked graves buried on his watch, of fathers who never came home and of mothers who died of heartbreak. We deserve to recall the heroes slain in 1960, 1976 and all the years before and since then. We deserve to mourn and celebrate every drop of blood shed.

As the government made overtures to honour the dishonourable with a State funeral at our expense, yet another opportunity was missed to leave a priceless legacy of truth and self-knowledge to our children about the authentic heroes of the African liberation struggle.

As Botha is buried, I will spend time reflecting on the state of my country and all its contradictions. I will ponder on how a simple issue of freedom became so tied up in narrow class and white capitalist interests. I will think of new stories to tell my children about exile, identity and sacrifice, about what a truly African vision of this country looks like. None of my oppressors will be in that vision.

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

A massive democratic deficit is at the heart of the Niger Delta crisis, concludes Ike Okota in the third and final article in a series on the troubled Nigerian region. The previous two articles can be found at and [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

[1] Reuters, ‘Nigerian oil “hangs in balance,” 23 March, 2006.
[2] See Reuters article.
[3] George Oji, ‘US to increase Naval Presence in Gulf of Guinea,’ ThisDay, 20 March, 2006.
[4] Segun James, ‘Militants to US: Steer clear of Niger Delta,’ ThisDay, Lagos, 24 February, 2006.
[5] Jeffery Taylor, ‘Worse than Iraq?’ Atlantic, April, 2006.
[6] Professor Jeffery Sachs, a Columbia University economist and UN Sec Gen Kofi Annan’s adviser on Millennium Development Goals, developed the ‘Resource Curse’ theory to explain the seeming inability of resource-rich states in Africa and Latin America to industrialise and prosper like their counterparts in south-east Asia.
[7] Michael Watts, Petro-Violence: Some Thoughts on Community, Extraction and Political Ecology, Berkeley Workshop on Environmental Politics, Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, September 1999
[8] See ‘A Trip to Mend Headquarters,’ The Ijaw Voice, July 2006.
[9] See Constitutionality of the Ijaw Struggle, preface.
[10] Jimmy Carter, ‘Visit to Nigeria,’ The Carter Center, Atlanta, 25 February, 1999.
[11] See Anna Zalik, ‘The Niger Delta: “Petro-violence” and “Partnership Development”, Review of African Political Economy, 2004.

Congo's presidential contenders have called on their supporters to remain calm as the vast country awaits the results of a historic post-war election, but one candidate's camp cried foul. President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba issued a joint statement late on Tuesday following their first meeting since an October 29 vote to pick the Democratic Republic of Congo's first freely elected leader in more than 40 years.

For Siméon Konan of the non-governmental organisation Initiative for Peace (Initiative pour la paix), based in Côte d'Ivoire's financial centre of Abidjan, efforts to bring peace to the West African country leave something to be desired -- a recent United Nations Security Council resolution on Côte d'Ivoire notwithstanding. Resolution 1721, adopted unanimously last week in New York, gives President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny another year in office; this is in a bid to have authorities disarm militias and identify voters ahead of elections to be held before the end of October 2007.

Postponed peace talks for solving the crisis in Somalia, now scheduled to be held in mid-December, offer the best hope for the war-torn country, and neighbouring States must avoid interfering in its affairs and using it for a “proxy war,” a United Nations envoy has said. “We will continue to prepare the ground for the success of this round in mid-December with all the key actors,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative for Somalia, François Lonsény Fall, told reporters.

A professional, accountable and disciplined police force is indispensable to building democracy especially in countries recovering from protracted war, a senior United Nations official said in Liberia. “Lessons from the recent history of Rwanda and other conflict areas, including Liberia, teach us how things can go horribly wrong when there is a breakdown in the rule of law,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Deputy Special Representative Luiz Carlos da Costa said.

Rwanda and Burundi may be sworn in as new members of the East African Economic Community (EAC) when the grouping holds its next summit, Nov. 30, in the Tanzanian financial centre of Dar-es-Salam. The regional organisation presently comprises Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and is headquartered in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha.

The Community Development Resource Association (CDRA) will run a five-day course that explores the principles, values and practices of effective developmental supervision, mentoring and performance appraisals in Cape Town.