Mauritania authorities have charged five men with plotting to overthrow this desert nation's military junta, which has pledged to restore civilian rule by next year. Prosecutor Ben Amar Ould Veta said the five, arrested June 19 for allegedly conspiring to sabotage a referendum that put term limits on future presidents, were charged with "plotting to reverse the constitutional order."

This Global Witness report highlights the corruption and fraud that plague mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo province of Katanga, one of the world's richest copper and cobalt producing areas. While the people of the Congo remain mired in poverty, government and security officials ignore or actively collude in smuggling large quantities of precious minerals out of the country.

The UN has run into difficulty in implementing its plan of issuing identity papers to the 3.5 million undocumented Ivorians ahead of the elections scheduled for October. Delays and allegations of fraud threaten to undermine the effort to remove one of the Ivory Coast conflict's most sensitive issues. The question of who is a "pure" Ivorian was behind the 2002 civil war and international observers see its resolution as vital for the elections to succeed.

This tool is a geographical information system (GIS)-based project that uses software to generate risk maps, graphs and tables about malaria, which are then posted online so users can consult them to determine malaria risk and plan malaria control.

African and black American leaders meeting this week (July 20) debated an unusual proposal to spur investment and interest in the continent - securing African citizenship for American descendants of Africans taken away as slaves. The idea came out of a summit bringing African governments and the US private sector together in search of partnerships to end Africa's poverty. Presidents from 12 African countries attended the four-day conference, along with former US President Bill Clinton and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.

One of Africa's richest men is due to appear in court in Harare today (July 24) to face allegations of economic crimes. John Bredenkamp, a Zimbabwean tycoon who has homes and offices in Britain, was arrested in a raid at his estate near Harare on Friday. The 66-year-old former Rhodesian rugby captain, whose fortune comes from enterprises including tobacco and the arms trade, had only just returned home to Zimbabwe from London.

A quarterly publication for professionals interested in the knowledge economy issues, including economic and institutional regime, education, innovation and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), this newsletter is published by the World Bank Institute.

The next issue of DemocracyNews will go out on August 9, 2006. Click on the link below to find out where to send submissions.

FEATURED: With days to go to the DRC elections, Yav Katshung Joseph assesses the threat to elections
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Onyango Oloo on showing solidarity with women in the run up to the World Social Forum 2007
- The rush to bio-fuel obscures a more sinister agenda, argues Mariam Mayet
- An update on the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights campaign
LETTERS: On preserving disorder, pressuring Mugabe and rejoicing Somalia
PAN-AFRICAN POSTCARD: Tajudeen Abdul Raheem asks: Who is the West to lecture Africa on China?
BLOGGING AFRICA: Sokari Ekine rounds up the African blogosphere
AFRICAN UNION MONITOR: Final statement from Banjul civil society meet
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Despite global outrage, Israel proceeds to flatten Lebanon
HUMAN RIGHTS: ICC inquiries jeopardized
WOMEN AND GENDER: Women in Ghana launch campaign against domestic violence
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: The politics of displacement to urban areas in Sudan
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Links to material from DRC, Nigeria, Somalia
DEVELOPMENT: Alternative G8 forum takes place in Mali
CORRUPTION: UK government launches anti-corruption fund
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: DRC faces forgotten illnesses
EDUCATION: Child support grants increase enrolment in South Africa
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Amnesty launches campaign against internet repression
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: Why internet governance matters
PLUS: e-Newsletters and Mailings Lists; Fundraising and Useful Resources; Courses, Seminars and Workshops; Jobs.

A new background report from the International Crisis Group, the first in a new series on Nigeria, states that: "Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation and perhaps also its most poorly understood. It has endured six successful and numerous failed military coups, a civil war that cost well over a million lives, three inconclusive transitions to democracy and recurrent factional violence. Despite more than $400 billion in oil revenue since the early 1970s, the economy under performs, and the great majority of citizens have benefited little. More effective institution building is imperative."

The Chadian parliament voted late on Wednesday to meet a demand by the country’s main union for a five percent wage hike, putting in sight an end to the strike which has closed down government offices and healthcare facilities in the capital since early June. “The ministry of finance, sharing the concerns of the finance commission and taking into account the unhealthy social environment, has agreed to a five percent wage increase, backdated to January 2005,” the parliament’s president, Nassour Guelengdouksia, said in a statement.

With higher petrol prices, biofuel has been touted as a possible answer to the world’s energy needs. But Mariam Mayet explains how the argument for biofuels can also be used to mask the introduction of genetically modified crops. In reality, biofuel would require massive state support – support that could be spent on other socio-economic priorities.

On the 12th May, Syngenta South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Swiss Agrochemical giant, Syngenta, notified the South African public of its intention to seek commodity clearance for its genetically modified (GM) maize, Event 3272, for use in the production of ethanol. [1] This precedent setting application, the first GM application for commercial approval in the world for a non-feed, non-food GM crop, (using a food crop), has simultaneously also been launched in the US, the EU and China.

The application by Syngenta illustrates its expediency and desperation: Syngenta hopes to cash in on a potentially lucrative burgeoning global bioethanol market, riding on the back of escalating oil prices and supply fluctuations, while at the same time, securing new markets for its GM products where there is little risk of consumer rejection.

However, Syngenta’s application is also mysterious, for two reasons. The application made to South Africa is for clearance to expedite imports and not for growing. It is a guarded secret as to where Syngenta hopes to grow the GM maize. South Africa does not import GM maize from the US, for several reasons, including the fact that the US has approved many more GM events (varieties) than has South Africa and contamination by unapproved GMOs cannot be ruled out or avoided. [2] In any case, the US will rely on its own domestic market to sustain the demand for ethanol from maize in that country. South Africa, does, however, import huge amounts of GM maize from Argentina. Will Argentina become the factory farm or will it be another developing country?

Second, the application seems to be superfluous in the light that Diversa Corporation, well known to anti-biopiracy activists, recently brought to the market, the same enzyme alpha-amylases, used in Syngenta’s GM maize. The enzyme is derived from a deep-sea micro-organism [3] and is meant to convert the starch present in maize into sugars for processing into ethanol. This same rationale is being given by Syngenta to the South African authorities as motivation to grant approval for the GM maize! What makes it all the more curious is that Syngenta owns substantial shares in Diversa.

Interest in ethanol as a biofuel is not new. It began during the oil crisis of the 1970s at that time when several countries, led by the US, began to phase out lead from gasoline. In 1978, the US Congress approved the National Energy Act, which included a Federal tax exemption on gasoline blended with 10% alcohol. Federal subsidies also reduced the cost of ethanol to around the wholesale price of gasoline. [4] Thus, in the US, ethanol relies heavily on subsidies to remain economically viable as a gasoline- blending component. The current Federal subsidy of 51-cents-a-gallon makes it possible for ethanol to compete as a gasoline additive. The US also imposes a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol, thus promoting its domestic ethanol production.

However, gleaning from the literature, the ethanol subsidy is due to expire in 2007/8, and it is not clear whether ethanol will continue to receive political support.

In the US, ethanol is derived mainly from maize and is blended in quantities up to 10% in gasoline (also called E10 or low-blend). In terms of the Energy Bill passed called “EPAct 2005”, the volume of ethanol will be increased from the current 4 billion gallons/year to 7.5 billion. It is reported that a booming ethanol industry will consume 20% of the 2006 US maize crop, cutting the maize surplus in half by 2007, or 1.14 billion bushels. Some 54 million tonnes of the 2006 maize crop is projected to go to ethanol plants, up 34% from 40.6 million tonnes). [5]

There are 97 ethanol plants in the US with a capacity of 4.5 billion gallons (17 billion litres) a year. There are 44 projects under way that will add 1.4 billion gallons of capacity this year. By early 2007, the US it is expected to be producing at a rate of 24.6 billion litres of ethanol, requiring 2.15 billion bushels of maize. [6] This implies an increase in maize production in the US to sustain the demand for maize. Currently, the US is the world’s largest maize derived ethanol producer, accounting for 33% of the global market. Brazil is the world leader in ethanol production, derived from sugarcane, accounting for 37% of the global market. [7]

At the beginning of 2006, South Africa phased out the use of lead, which created a boon to the ethanol industry, as ethanol can be used as an additive to boost the octane number of unleaded fuel. In addition, and following on from the lead of the US, at the launch of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa in November 2005, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said that the South African Cabinet had approved a proposal by the Departments of Minerals and Energy (DME), Agriculture and Land Affairs, and Science and Technology, to explore biofuels as an important component of South Africa’s energy mix.

Touted as a cleaner, greener fuel, by reducing CO2 emissions by 60%, ethanol is said to bring huge socio-economic benefits through especially job creation. According to Busi Nxumalo, South Africa’s Energy Development Corporation’s (EDC) business and market analyst, a strong local biofuels industry will also make a significant contribution to South Africa’s GDP. According to him, if a 10% blended bioethanol is achieved, it will add 0,25% to the country’s GDP. In addition, a 10% blending ratio will enable South Africa to save R2.5-billion a year in imports, which equates to a reduction of 1% in overall national foreign expenditure. [8]

Industry lobby groups are feverishly pushing the South African government to create the economic regulatory framework to do two things: to make the blending of ethanol into petrol mandatory for oil companies, and to allow a 30% reduction in the fuel levy to be extended to bioethanol industry, as it currently does, the biodiesel industry. Indeed, Ngubane has said very recently that the EDC was investigating the viability of adding a 10% ethanol blend to petrol. [9]

However, once maize is harvested, three energy expenditures in ethanol production raise the total costs. These include energy to the transport of maize grain to the ethanol plant, energy expended to provide the capital equipment requirements for the plant, and energy expanded in the plant operations for the fermentation and distillation processes. The effective energy balance of ethanol as a biofuels is therefore in doubt.

A study by Pimental and Patzek shows that turning plants such as maize, soyabeans and sunflowers into fuel uses more energy than the resulting ethanol or biodiesal generate. [10] Ethanol for example can’t be transported via pipeline - it has to be carried from distillation plants via truck and railraod, which creates additional energy costs. Thus, bio-ethanol from maize has a much worse energy balance and does not have environmental benefits.

Using maize for ethanol production is costly in terms of land use, fossil energy, and most importantly it subverts valued human food and animal feed from direct use. The fact that ethanol production has a negative energy balance further precludes its place as an alternative liquid fuel for the future. It must also be borne in mind that maize prices are the dominant cost factor in ethanol production, and ethanol supply is extremely sensitive to maize prices. Ethanol production will drop when maize is in short supply and prices are higher.

It is therefore apparent that bioethanol production for a fuel blend will require enormous government assistance and subsidies to be viable for the bioethanol industry as a whole, subsidies that can be more appropriately allocated to other pressing socio-economic priorities for South Africa.

* Mariam Mayet from the African Centre for Biodiversity. This article is based on a briefing document produced by the African Centre for Biosafety entitled “South Africa, Bioethanol and GMOs: A heady muxture”

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

References:
[1] Such clearance would be given by the Executive Council, Genetically Modified Organisms Act, and will therefore serve as a blank cheque, for the international grain traders, to ship the GM maize into South Africa in huge quantities.

[2] Personal Communication, National Department of Agriculture, February 2006.

[3] “It came from beneath the sea” Nature Biotechnology, Vol. 23, No.10, Oct. 2005, pp. 119-1201.

[4] Joseph DiPardo Outlook for Biomass Ethanol Production and Demand, Energy Information Administration.

[5] Ethanol, Biodiesel eats into Corn Stockpiles, 15 May 2006 http://www.planetarket.com/dailynewstory.cfm/newsid/36348/story.htm

[6] According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s chief economist, Keith Collins. Ethanol, Biodiesel eats into Corn Stockpiles, 15 May 2006 http://www.planetarket.com/dailynewstory.cfm/newsid/36348/story.htm

[7] Worldwatch: State of the World 2006, Chapter 4, Endnote 13.

[8] South Africa Sows Crops-to-Energy Seeds, Engineering News 5 December 2005.

[9] Energy body probes ethanol-mixed petrol, 17 May 2006 http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/July05/ethanol.toocostly.ssl.html

Strides have been made in securing peace and security for the DRC, writes Yav Katshung Joseph ahead of crucial July 30 elections, the first in 40 years. But threats remain to the electoral process from vested interested and rogue militia.

Violence and conflict have plagued the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since its independence from Belgium in 1960. Forty-six years later, could we attempt to say that violence and conflict are no longer the normal state of affairs in the DRC? The DRC has travelled a long and difficult way. It has faced thirty-two years of authoritarian regime with Mobutu, followed by the 1996-1997 war led by Kabila and then the 1998-2003 war, with its international and regional aspects.

While the dynamics of conflict and violence in the DRC are complex, we should recognise that the country has made - with the assistance of the international community - considerable progress in consolidating the peace process. Warring factions signed a peace-accord in 2003 with the “famous” 1 + 4 power sharing formula, with mandate, among others, to organise elections, to promote peace, stability and security and, to integrate the former warring parties into a single national army. At this moment, significant strides have been made in achieving the above mandate, but several threats remain.

Currently in the DRC, there is an overwhelming commitment to peace and security on the part of all the stakeholders, including those who will not be participating in the electoral process such as Etienne Tshisekedi. All stakeholders agree that the Congolese have endured instability and violent conflict for far too long and therefore peace and stability are inevitable for sustainable development, not only for the DRC but for the region and the continent as a whole.

However, there is concern firstly with regard to insecurity in some parts of the country, particularly North and South Kivu as well as Northern Katanga; and secondly with regards the electoral climate, as the transition period that began with the establishment of transitional national institutions in July 2003 is moving towards its conclusion. The elections will lead to the end of the negotiated transition by setting up an elected government. Thirdly, there is concern about the re-integration of the former warring parties (yet to be completed) into a unified national army. There is the existence of armed combatants that are loyal to and under the control of some of the political contestants. In sum, the ghost of violence and conflict continues to haunt the DRC.

Postponed for the third time, the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections is scheduled for 30 July 2006. However, as the DRC prepares for its first nationwide elections in 40 years, several obstacles are undermining prospects for a successful poll. In order words, although necessary for peace following years of brutal warfare, these elections could create more instability. Currently on the ground these are some of the threats:

1. High levels of insecurity and human rights abuse continue in the eastern part of the country and there is a heightened risk of violence in the approach to national elections in July, as well as in the immediate post-election period;

2. Some armed factions appear to favour a continuation of violence as a means of achieving their political and economic objectives ;

3. Some leaders of political parties and presidential candidates are seen to be linked with the area’s bloody past, and therefore, are not willing to give up power;

4. In the unstable eastern Kivu, fearing to lose the elections, some leaders are rousing hatred against their communities or encouraging violence against rival ethnic groups in an attempt to derail the polls;

5. Some opposition groups (round 50 political parties and associations in the DRC) demand political talks to be held before elections.

The army unification process was considered an essential precondition to the staging of national elections. As part of the process of transition, the integration of the various armed factions into the new national military, the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), referred to as brassage, was initiated early in 2005, and was intended to result in the creation of a unified, non-partisan, disciplined and efficient Congolese army that would address internal security problems, including the presence of foreign armed groups. The brassage process is complemented by the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme which aims to demobilise those unfit or unable to join the new army and support their return to civilian life. For children under 18, a special programme has been put in place. However, we should note that, currently, this integration of the army is incomplete. It will (the army unification process) only be partly complete by the time of national elections scheduled for July, posing major questions for the security of the elections.

Moreover, a number of armed groups continue to resist unification, encouraged by leaders who fear losing control of the ethnically-configured armed groups which form the basis of their power. Some political and military leaders continue to show extreme reluctance to dismantle their military structures in favour of a unified national army, because these structures are the foundation of their power. In areas like the Ituri district, the Kivus and Katanga, some of the most notorious groups known for abuses against civilian population still refuse to join the army integration process and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. (Large parts of Katanga, especially the northern and central areas, are still under the control of various Mai-Mai groups who have remained outside the official disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme. On 12 May 2006, however, an important breakthrough was made when Kyungu Mutanga, a Mai-Mai leader also known as Gédéon, operating in Katanga Province, surrendered in Mitwaba. He was accompanied by more than 150 combatants, 76 of whom were children.) These dissident and non-aligned groups constitute a serious threat to stability and may obstruct the electoral process. Also, some communities, manipulated by their leaders, remain deeply suspicious of the army unification process - fearing the loss of protection by local armed groups.

Conclusion

Significant strides have been made in the DRC in achieving peace and security. However, more needs to be done for sustainable peace and security. There is still the danger of wider insecurity present in the country after elections. That is true because it has been established that one third of all civil wars in Africa are restarts. This will impact negatively on the precarious human security situation in the country. But the DRC will see democratic elections being held on 30 July 2006. The hope is to see peace and security prevailing in the country. The people of this country have suffered for far too long.

* Yav Katshung Joseph is a Lecturer in Law, at the Faculty of Law, University of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. He is also the Executive Director of CERDH (Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche en Droits de l’Homme, Democratie et Justice Transitionnelle/Centre for Human Rights, Democracy and Transitional Justice Studies), and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace, Conflict resolution and Good Governance/University of Lubumbashi. He holds an LL.B and LL.M from the University of Lubumbashi; another LL.M from University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Diploma in Transitional Justice from the Transitional Justice Fellowship Programme (ICTJ & IJR joint programme), South Africa. He is also an Advocate of the Court of Appeal of Lubumbashi. For contact: [email][email protected] or [email][email protected] Phone: +243 9 970 21 758 Fax:+1 501 638 4935

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Anti-globalisation activists gathered in Mali on Sunday to condemn rich countries' trade and migration policies and call on G8 leaders meeting in Russia to do more to excuse Africa's crippling debt. The three-day meeting, due to conclude on Monday as Group of Eight leaders end their discussions, drew hundreds of people from non-governmental groups from across West Africa, the world's poorest region.

Major donors have pledged to increase aid for peacekeeping in Sudan's Darfur region, responding to warnings that the delicate peace process is in danger. The 7,000-strong African Union force in Darfur is running short of funds. At a donor conference in Brussels, the US pledged an extra $116m (£64m), while the EU offered $30m (£16m).

The Gambia's opposition has criticised the government's decision to sack the independent electoral commission head. No reason has been given for the dismissal, weeks before elections. Opposition leader Halifa Sallah told the BBC that the move confirmed what he called the commission's lack of independence and impartiality.

Several people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo after gunmen fired on an election rally. At the same time, the UN-backed committee overseeing the elections has called for the army to be confined to barracks during the poll on 30 July.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has been fined Z$130 million (£700) after using an offshore account to pay for the purchase of cricket balls from Pakistan. A magistrates court in Harare was told that the board paid £12,000 to Ishan Sports in breach of the country's Exchange Control Regulations. The board pleaded guilty to the charge.

It is not clear to me why IMF policy is called "free trade." (http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/34800) The IMF is an agency of governments. It is not an organization of private enterprise. If IMF policies are bad, why did the government of Kenya agree to the conditions? The government of Kenya should be blamed for causing poverty and borrowing from the IMF and agreeing to IMF policy. There is no free market or free trade in Kenya. If Kenya had true free trade, there would be no need for the government to borrow money. Private investment would employ people at good wages, and extirpate poverty. Hong Kong is a good example.

Thank you for sending me the Pambazuka newsletter. This has been a revelation, I have spent more than two hours online reading the articles and linking to related sites. This is life-changing material - my life will never be the same again.