If the war crimes trial of Liberia's ex-president Charles Taylor is moved from Sierra Leone to The Hague, the international community must shoulder the increased financial costs and address the likely negative impacts for Taylor's victims, the Open Society Justice Initiative has warned. The warning comes as the UN Security Council is widely expected to consider a resolution to relocate the trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone from Freetown to The Hague because of concerns over the potential impact of the trial on security and peace in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
* Related Link
Charles Taylor on Trial

A gunfight that broke out at the headquarters of Egypt's oldest opposition party on Saturday served to underscore the plight of Egypt's political opposition, in a state of disarray since parliamentary elections were held three months ago. "The incident is proof that none of the secular opposition parties are capable of resolving their rapidly growing internal differences," said veteran local journalist Gamal Essam El-Din. "It comes as little surprise that people resort to violence when they're prevented from engaging in free political activism."

Following a recent spate of political killings in South Africa's east coast province of KwaZulu-Natal, an independent monitor has called for an overhaul of the police force. The ANC claimed it had lost 11 of its officials since local government elections on 1 March this year. "We have lost many more since the beginning of the election campaign, mostly in former IFP strongholds. The fact that all [those] killed are ANC members, and that all [those] arrested are IFP members can only let us believe that it is an IFP campaign," alleged ANC spokesman Mtholephi Mthimkhulu.

For 5 years, Professor Jonathan Moyo was President Robert Mugabe's strident defender as Information Minister. Today, he is an Independent MP and sitting on the other side of the fence, tearing into the man he loathed, then liked, and now loathes again. On Tuesday night, he spoke to SW Radio Africa's top inquisitor, Violet Gonda. Visit the URL provided for a transcript of the interview.

The first United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) could arguably be seen as the mother of MDGs, as a country's ability to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty will be a determining factor in whether it attains the other seven goals. But there are concerns about whether enough is being done to achieve MDG one.

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the National Department of Health are set to lock horns again - and this time it is over the exclusion of the activist group and its allies from the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS (UNGASS). The TAC and Aids Law Project (ALP) has been excluded from gaining accreditation to the critical meeting because the South African government had objected to its participation. It is two of only six international organisations who were denied accreditation.

I am a 25yr old lesbian woman. I have been in one committed relationship for the last five years. I call this marriage, since some heterosexual couples who cohabit for many years regard themselves as married. But what I have really failed to understand is why all HIV/AIDS activists always preach about safer-sex measures for men and women in heterosexual relationships and not same-sex relationships. I know you are all going to say that it’s because homosexuality is illegal. Many acts are illegal in Uganda, but still exist. Corruption, for instance, is illegal, but it’s rampant in the highest positions of government. Don’t use this reason when defending the exclusion of homosexuals in the fight against HIV/AIDS. As much as many of you will pretend that homosexuals do not exist, they do and they live, work and eat with you.

There is a myth that gay men are infected with this disease the most. Let’s say this is true. Do you know how much that is harming Ugandans? Many gay men are forced to marry because that’s what society wants them to do. But remember you cannot keep your feelings to yourself forever. So these gay men will marry, but may still have boyfriends. Because they do not receive proper HIV/AIDS prevention education, they will have unprotected sex. Even if you say use condoms, condoms given out in Uganda are not meant for anal sex, but vaginal sex. So it will definitely break during sex. If they cannot have one partner because their secret affairs will be revealed, they may have multiple partners. If they are married, they may have unprotected sex with their wives. In this cycle, gay men can transmit any STIs, including HIV.

Suicide is another tragedy that homosexuals face daily. You may wonder why a rich and handsome married man would kill himself. It’s simply because he is not happy about not being able to be who he really is. He may also fear stigma and discrimination if he came out as gay. He would rather take his life than suffer for the rest of his life in a forced marriage. Next his parents will be among the people calling into Radio Simba and blaming it for hosting gays who make the public aware about their existence.

Many lesbians think they cannot get AIDS, as the risks are very low, but that does not mean they should have unprotected sex. AIDS activists should supply lesbians with dentals dams or latex gloves. This will protect a man who is also living a false marriage with this lesbian woman from contracting STIs and HIV.

But how will homosexuals get all this information of how to protect themselves? The only way they can get this information is if the government accepts that homosexuals exist and starts helping them. Already the rights to which they are entitled as any other citizen of Uganda are violated, but if their right to health is violated, not only will it affect them, but also the whole country because they are hidden everywhere due to fear of prosecution. If gays were given freedom, they may not hide in forced marriages. It could help all Ugandans from living false lives. Imagine spending the rest of your life in a marriage with a woman who sleeps with other women. Her feelings are not with you, but with a fellow woman. This woman is married to you because she wants to be accepted in society. Who would like to spend the rest of their lives with someone whose heart is somewhere else? Of course, no one would. But I can assure all Ugandans, even those who think they have happy families, are living false lives all because of one law. This law not only affects homosexuals, but also all Ugandans. Since it was made by a human being it can be changed by a human being. Yes, it certainly can be changed with the help of all Ugandans.

I hereby call upon all those who believe in equality for all to join hands and put a stop to homophobia against homosexuals for the good of all Ugandans. If Ugandans could just admit that homosexuals exist and tackle issues like HIV/AIDS, maybe this scourge would subside. Discrimination against homosexuals is affecting all Ugandans.

The UN children's agency, UNICEF, on Saturday kicked off a massive education campaign in southern Sudan aimed at doubling the enrolment in primary schools in the war-ravaged region, officials said. UNICEF deputy director Rima Salah said education was vital in efforts to spur growth in the region, which has been ravaged by more than two decades of deadly war between ex-rebels, the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM), and the Khartoum government.

Last July, debt relief was all the rage. The Live 8 benefit concert in London was one of almost a dozen taking place worldwide. The leaders of the G8 nations met in Scotland to negotiate a response to the issue. The leaders unanimously declared that providing relief, especially for sub-Saharan Africa, was a moral and economic imperative. Fast forward to the present. Public attention has shifted elsewhere, the G8 deal has only been partially implemented, and much more work remains to be done to eliminate unjust debts that stifle countries in the developing world.

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland has met with Uganda’s President and other top officials in wide-ranging talks that covered the need to improve the conditions in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) uprooted in the 20-year rebellion by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Mr. Egeland also discussed with President Yoweri Museveni the need to do more to protect civilians, and also the idea of a Special Envoy for Northern Uganda.

Researchers and campaigners welcomed a new report issued on 29 March by UK parliamentarians which argues that the British government is failing to fulfil its international obligations against bribery, corruption and money laundering; and highlights the role of UK-linked tax havens in laundering the proceeds of African corruption. The report, launched in London by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Africa, argues that the UK is not doing enough to tackle the 'supply side' of corruption: limited financial transparency and weak corporate regulations which allow UK multinational companies to be involved in corruption, and for allowing dirty money to be channeled through British banks, shell companies, trusts and financial professionals.

On the Ugandan dance troupe's visit to the United States, it is a hell of a thing that the AIDS-orphaned children of a nation that has been bled dry by imperialism then go to that bloodsucking empire's home base and "grin and skin," as Black folk put it.

Another, more extreme version of that is when the US GIs took a smoke break from raping and killing in My Lai, some of them then gave chocolate bars to some dazed, surviving children (whose parents, again, the US soldiers had just been slaughtering).

This dance tour is a little more removed, roundabout. But it's much the same thing. On the other hand, if a big part of why they are on tour is to raise money, who else has money but the populace in the imperialist powers? If it is to promote some sort of nebulous "good will" (a highly questionable proposition), then in some sort of perverted logic, it is most important to try to achieve this, uh, 'better will' precisely in those countries who have long rained down hatred on Uganda, Africa, the Third World.

But looking at it thusly makes it look ridiculous, a total farce. You have kidnapped my ancestors, steamrollered my country and its institutions, pillaged our resources and left us in ruins -see me dance!

But governments are overwhelmed by this enormous AIDS crisis. Despite the greater picture and all the historical perspective one might bring to bear, here and now people need help. So how can we say anything to undercut the effort these good young people are making? We have to applaud and support their tremendous effort, despite all our misgivings about them being used by those with a more sinister, imperialist agenda. Yes, it is a trap, but it is one we cannot avoid. All we can do is try to attack these problems on every front. And if somehow this dance troupe, besides raising some funds for one particular project, laudable in itself, manages to raise awareness of the African AIDS crisis - inseparable from its other problems - here in the center of this world empire that has its hand in everything, then it is a good thing. The main thing is the people, always the people.

This is a brilliant piece. Truly, the ordinary people's suffering in Zimbabwe is unbearable. Comrade Mugabe is right on the land question. But he needs to change tactics to ensure that Zimbabwe's people survive to enjoy the fruit of the land reform.Why should restoration of land necessarily lead to the continuing impoverishment of the people of Zimbabwe as though uncle Bob has already quit the stage? Comrade Mugabe, please deliver the people to the promised land of plenty.

I wish to express my concern and my solidarity in the very crucial situation faced by my global brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe. I wish there were some way in which the international community could intervene. I feel sorry to be just standing by and watching the situation unfold. I am wondering if Amnesty International of which I am a member could have a role to play in the situation in Zimbabwe. Yours in solidarity.

I personally find you as annoying and irritating as the ones you criticise for being anti-gay and lesbian. (Is homosexuality really unAfrican? My sexuality is my private business and I do not go round trumpeting it into your head. So why can't you keep yours private for goodness sake! Whether you are attracted to goats or pigs and I am attracted to dogs and cats, let us respect ourselves and keep our prefernces personal and private. That way we do not irritate each other and refrain from over bearing attitudes towards each other. Civilised, isnt it?

Editors reply: You are right. Your sexuality is a private affair. But when the state puts it in the public domain through legislating against non-heterosexuals, when the state or church or police attack or harass such people, then they are putting the matter in the public domain. Gays, lesbians and others have a right to respond to such attacks in the public domain and to organise publicly to proclaim their own humanity. Pambazuka News has a duty to offer space for their voices.

This is to inform all that the dates for World Social Forum 2007 are January 20-25,2007. The venues are Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Uhuru Park and Central Park. Negotiations are at an advanced stage to have the Youth Camp at University of Nairobi. Registration process begins in a few weeks.

In solidarity!

Every March for the last four years, Pambazuka News has carried articles describing the situation in Zimbabwe and looking at options for the future. In 2006, is there any hope for Zimbabwe? What do developments such as the split in the Movement for Democratic Change mean for the future of the country? Can Zimbabwe be put back together again?

Every year since 2000, Zimbabweans have wondered: “Will this be it, will this be the year when it all ends, when Humpty Dumpty finally totters off the wall?” And if it is, what will it mean for each one of us, and for the nation as a whole – healing, restoration and return to “normality”, or deepened chaos, insecurity and catastrophe? We listen to talk about elections in 2008 and 2010 and deep down nurture a hope that there will be no more ZANU PF elections. But even deeper down we fear that even if there aren’t, things will never come right again, not in our life-times, unless we are still very young.

Several years ago, as Zimbabwe left the gentler rapids and began its headlong rush towards the precipice, some people declared loudly that we had reached the bottom and could now only go up. How deluded they were. We then began to hear an unfamiliar word tossed around by commentators – “meltdown”. We couldn’t really imagine what this might be, having associated the term mainly with nuclear reactors. When they overheat they meltdown, self-destructing in a spectacular display, lethal to anyone in the vicinity. Is this what happens when an economy or an entire nation melts down? Is this the year in which we will find out?

Certainly we know that the multiple crises which embody Zimbabwe’s millennium experience are intensifying, making life barely livable for the majority of the population. The crises have engulfed the working world, the learning world, the consumer world, the world of the supermarket and even of sport. The economy limps along, agriculture crawling, tourism virtually defunct, manufacturing crippled, and mining, the one still flickering light of the economy, under recent assault from government policies. Electricity comes and goes at will, water likewise in many places; fuel supplies (black market only) are erratic and prices exploitative. Schools are places of confusion, teachers demoralized, pupils unable to afford textbooks if they manage to pay fees, and only finding bus fare for half the school days. Courts barely function, police cells are filthy putrid hell holes, prisons even worse. The Commissioner of Prisons admits the entire prison system has no drugs as they have been stolen before reaching the system; prisoners simply die for want of treatment. Hospitals have no doctors, no medicines; their mal-functioning mortuaries overflow and the stench from too many bodies wafts through into some of the wards. All government “services” are riddled with nepotism, incompetence and corruption.

Living conditions are abysmal, with several families crowded into most houses, even in low density areas, each taking a room and sharing cooking and bathing facilities. It is hardly surprising that skilled personnel flee the country, not only for greener pastures, but for the opportunity to function as genuine professionals.

Year-on-year inflation has just reached the official figure of 782%. Imagine the daily trauma suffered by the working father who realizes he cannot pay for medicine for his sick child, the student in his final year who cannot raise the 1000% increase in fees imposed mid-year, the pensioner forced to sell his possessions in order to eat. And what of the estimated 80% who do not work? A thriving informal sector in which hundreds of thousands of people managed to survive through trading, cottage industry, deal-making, and personal services, was wiped out in June and July by brutal police attacks. A large percentage of them also lost their homes in the assault on the urban poor. Although many have resurfaced, enormous numbers had their livelihoods destroyed and will not be able to recover. How do they live in the environment which defines Zimbabwe today? Many don’t, and die quietly of malnutrition, exposure, cholera, pneumonia and broken spirits.

Is this it? Is this meltdown? While this is the question occupying most Zimbabweans, the more interesting question to political analysts and observers is what various actors on the stage are doing about the situation. Is there any hope of a solution emerging from this complete disaster?

Most governments confronted with such a situation, whether of their own making or otherwise, would either resign or scramble frantically to find solutions, but the Zimbabwean government is doing nothing of the kind. While blaming everyone from white farmers to the British Prime Minister and crowing constantly about the “turn-around” of the economy, our current band of ministers are fully occupied by two major activities:

1. Amassing wealth. This is done simply by pursuing purely private interests while in government offices, or more obviously, using their government contacts and positions to secure for themselves contracts, housing and land to which they arrange access. Price controlled goods in short supply offer welcome opportunities to make black-market fortunes.

2. Staying in power. ZANU PF must stay in power for two reasons: one is clearly to continue appropriating the little remaining wealth of the country for their own personal use. The other is to avoid the inevitable unpleasant consequences of their past and present illegal activities, should another government take power.

But staying in power takes a lot of effort when economic collapse has made the people so clearly discontented and desperate. It requires energy and resources to be channeled not to solve the problems created, but to systems of control: police, army and youth militia need support; tens of thousands must be given benefits for infiltrating “opposition” organizations and informing on others. Patronage must be supplied to the multitude of individuals whose loyalty is purchased, including the uniformed forces. The electoral machinery must be manipulated to ensure victories for ZANU PF, no matter what the ballots say. Operations such as Murambatsvina to disorganize the urban masses divert resources from elsewhere.

A substantial portion of legislation over the past few years has been repressive in nature; the constitutional amendment number 17 effectively nationalised land and made possible the denial of passports; the only Bill which has passed Parliament this year is the Education Amendment Bill, a mean-spirited piece whose prime aim seems to be to control, and therefore no doubt destroy, private education. Newly announced is another Bill to legalise government interception of telephone, email and postal communications, a practice previously declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile are they doing anything about the economic meltdown? A lot of verbal energy is expended in insisting that the crisis either doesn’t exist, or exists only in the imaginations of “enemies”, or crowing about the “turn-around” which is taking place.

Gideon Gono, the only government official who ever in any way seems interested in solving the economic problems seems to be on a lonely road to nowhere. All his attempts to manipulate exchange rates, interest rates, prices, money supply, and the banking sector lead us round in circles like someone lost in the desert. Each time we return to where we started, with our resources further diminished. His attempts to re-engage the IMF by paying off the outstanding loan have back-fired, fuelling inflation further with the printing of trillions to buy forex on the black market. Of course it flopped as the IMF understood that with current policies the Zimbabwean economy is not going to revive, and no new loan could be negotiated. Currently, in spite of the announcement in November that price controls would be lifted and the dollar would be allowed to seek its own market-determined rate, we still have price controls and already by January the exchange rate was controlled. We have effectively returned to yet another failed policy.

The fact is, that as long as government is not able to restore productive activity and seriously tackle corruption, then the economy cannot be rescued. Inflation is not the number one enemy, it is merely a symptom, produced by both absence of production and corruption. Corruption cannot be tackled because it is the life-blood of the patronage system which keeps ZANU PF in power and production cannot be restored without major injections of foreign investment, impossible without a return to protected property rights sustained by the rule of law. Government is meanwhile hopelessly divided on whether to retreat from the brink.

It is not only the succession issue which has created open paralysing splits within ZANU PF: while Gono woos the IMF, Mugabe launches tirades against them. While Gono, backed by Msika, says no more farms must be invaded, Mutasa declares that all whites will be driven out. While Gono tries to accommodate the mining sector, the party floats legislation to effectively nationalize half the industry. Government appears to have check-mated itself. There is no longer a free square to move to.

The opposition has a golden opportunity to capitalize on ZANU PF’s paralysis and the people’s desperation and misery. But how? The normal election route has been closed by fraudulent manipulation. Calls for mass protests have in the past met with a poor response from the people. And the opposition itself is now paralysed by division.

Although MDC had enormous support through the early years of the decade, its failure to translate its mandate into success at the polls or to lead mass protests has made many people sceptical of its capacity to bring about “a new Zimbabwe”. Not surprisingly, the malaise led to a split in the party. Popular opinion describes the split as a policy dispute about participation in elections for the newly created senate; however, it reflected rather a dissatisfaction with the leadership style of the President, Morgan Tsvangirai, with the issue of the senate being merely the specific point at which the Gibson Sibanda group chose to take a stand.

What we have now is two versions of the MDC, which have held separate congresses. While one faction retained Tsvangirai, the other brought in a new personality, Arthur Mutambara, a well-known student leader of the 1980’s, to breathe new energy and perhaps new ideas into the struggle against ZANU PF. While Tsvangirai has clearly retained the loyalty of a larger percentage of the party members, both factions draw support from all parts of the country, belying the myth that this is a tribal split. It is sad, and inauspicious for the future, that those choosing to part ways with Tsvangirai’s leadership were viciously attacked as tribalists and sell-outs.

Intolerance of differences of opinion, resulting in insults and name calling, is a hallmark of ZANU PF politics, and it is alarming when opposition members in both factions begin doing the same. The position is not helped by the fact that both insist that they are the real MDC and are already battling over party assets. But the split itself does not necessarily mean that political opposition is hamstrung. If the two factions can get over the divorce and allow each other to go their separate ways with renewed vigour, it could even be a positive development if they desist from attacking and frustrating each other and get on with the real struggle.

It is unlikely that the two factions will reunite – probably the best that can be hoped for is that they agree to a loose alliance. In terms of policy, Tsvangirai has called once again for massive street demonstrations. Mutambara’s faction has not ruled out any activity which will bring down ZANU PF, and includes both elections and street protests within their possible tactics; however they are yet to show the public their true colours in terms of policy and capacity.

Many feel that now the time is ripe, and this time street protests may be successful. Since Tsvangirai has apparently abandoned national elections in spite of participating in some local government contests, he has staked his leadership on bringing people onto the streets. If he fails this time, he may not get another chance.

Some sections of civil society are also waking up to the desperation of the people and looking at ways to make a greater impact on government. The National Constitutional Assembly, Women of Zimbabwe Arise and the national students organisation are the only organizations that have so far succeeded in putting meaningful numbers in the streets to protest. But there are other stirrings. A new Christian Alliance has been formed from churches radicalized by the experience of tending to those affected by Murambatsvina; several meetings have taken place grouping various civic organizations and churches to find a collective way forward. If these combine with the efforts of both factions of the MDC, then perhaps a hitherto doubtful populace will come onto the streets in support.

And if they do? What is the mechanism whereby mass street protests lead to a collapse of the ZANU PF government? One of the reasons people have so far been reluctant is that they can’t envisage how mass protests will achieve their goals. Tsvangirai and others seem to believe that if masses of people get into the streets on a continuing basis, government will have no alternative but to capitulate and agree to a constitutional conference. A new constitution will be devised, followed by free and fair elections which will replace ZANU PF.

They are vague about the answers to important questions such as: What will make ZANU PF resign? Is power to be seized peacefully, and if so how and by whom? Who will be administering the country while the new constitution is written and elections organized? What legitimacy will any government have which is installed under such conditions? Is there a role for the international community?

All of this makes the assumption that ZANU PF will indeed give up. That is hugely unlikely. The government has given notice that it will crush any protests, and we have no reason not to believe them. Already we see signs everywhere of further repression – fake arms caches, road blocks searching for weapons everywhere, draft legislation to search our communications. ZANU PF will certainly fight.

To date there has indeed been harassment, arrests, torture and killings of opposition members. But to date there has not been any court conviction which has led to a lengthy term of imprisonment. Armed with new legislation with even stiffer penalties and new categories of illegal activity, if ZANU PF feels itself seriously threatened it will surely not hesitate to use every means to defend itself. As long as the police are prepared to arrest, the courts are prepared to refuse bail and to sentence, and police and army are prepared to use violence to suppress street demonstrations. Crushing of protests will be relatively easy for the government.

ZANU PF will only give up and run away in one circumstance: the law enforcement agents and soldiers on which they depend refuse orders to crush the protests. The economy can meltdown or blow up, but ZANU PF will only be defeated when meltdown strikes their own instruments of repression. Is this going to happen? We can’t yet know. The upper echelons of the services have been brought on board the ZANU PF train with the normal perks of patronage, especially farms, but there are signs of serious discontent in the lower ranks of the army and police, especially over their low salaries. How long will it take for the constables, the privates, the sergeants to decide that their interests are better served by listening to the people rather their bosses? No one knows, but when they do, that is when ZANU PF’s moment of truth will have arrived.

But supposing ZANU PF does give up the fight. That does not automatically mean the battle is won. The chaos of a collapse of government in the midst of economic meltdown and shortages of goods does not necessarily lead to the restoration of democratic practice. A disintegration of the law enforcement agencies would certainly lead to looting and lawlessness; who would restore order and how?

The army could easily fracture into rival factions or into gangs under political and military ZANU PF warlords who look after their own interests and live off the people. There is no magic wand to wave to ensure that pumpkins turn into coaches. We are in a very dangerous situation, and anyone calling for mass protests has the obligation to have a clear strategy for translating them into valid solutions. Certainly a concerted effort of all democratic forces is required, whether they be political parties, civic organizations or churches, but it will not be the easy walk to freedom that some would have us believe.

Once again we wait – wait to see what economic meltdown looks like and how many can survive it, wait to find out whether enough Zimbabweans are prepared to take to the streets to make their discontent known, wait for the inevitable intensified repression. And then wait to see what happens after that - a political meltdown to match the economic? A surrender by the government and turning over to some interim body to conduct new elections under a new constitution, or a fragmentation and disintegration into civil conflict?

The cracking of an egg does not always hatch a chick. Humpty Dumpty could not be put together again; perhaps Zimbabwe will not be so easy to put together again either. The tension of expectation is building as the people’s misery becomes unsustainable. Will this be the year, and if it is, will it hold hope for the future, or will we simply all fall down together?

* Mary Ndlovu is a Zimbabwean human rights activist.

* Please send comments to

* Previous editorials from Mary Ndlovu in Pambazuka News:

- Zimbabwe’s March: The struggle continues

- Zimbabwe’s March: Pambazuka News 105, 2003

FEATURED: Can Zimbabwe be put back together again?
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Remembering the father of the Kenyan trade union movement
- Women on their way to the top of African decision making
- HIV/AIDS: Making a case for strong public health systems
LETTERS: Thanks from afar and on the IMF
BLOGGING AFRICA: Blog columnist Sokari Ekine wraps up the blogosphere
BOOKS AND ART:
- Children of Uganda, international touring dance and music troupe, reviewed
- Philanthropy in East Africa, by Connie Ngondi-Houghton, reviewed
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Explosion in Addis, calm in Mogadishu, new UN resolution on Darfur
HUMAN RIGHTS: Charles Taylor drama continues
WOMEN AND GENDER: South Africa rape trial dashes hopes for change
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Fuel alternatives for IDPs
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: News from Benin, Burundi, Chad, DRC, Kenya
DEVELOPMENT: WTO negotiations go underground
CORRUPTION: New report on corruption in health
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: Ugandan musician uses tunes to tackle HIV/AIDS
RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA: Comparing Israeli apartheid and South African apartheid
ENVIRONMENT: Don’t sell suicide seeds, say activists
LAND AND LAND RIGHTS: Issues of land ownership, management and rights
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Concern in South Africa over coverage of Zuma trial
ADVOCACY AND CAMPAIGNS: Act now to end torture and displacement in Northern Uganda
PLUS: Internet and Technology; Fundraising and Useful Resources; Courses, seminars and workshops; Jobs.

* French speaking? French friends?

Read the Pambazuka News French edition by visiting Subscribe online at http://www.pambazuka.org/fr/subscribe.php or send an email to [email][email protected] with 'subscribe French edition' in the subject line. Please forward widely!

* Can trade in the era of globalisation be 'just'? Read our issue on the subject (http://www.pambazuka.org/en/issue/240) and send your feedback to [email protected]

In the 1980s, HIV/AIDS was a “distant” disease represented by statistical data. Now, it is the “undisputed equalizer”, infiltrating all aspects of life. Jennifer Chiriga looks at the reasons for its spread, provides some pointers on fighting it and argues for the urgent need to defend and justify the public sector and public ownership of resources when it comes to health care.

In the mid 80s when I was a student at the university, HIV/AIDS was nothing more than statistical data, which had nothing to do with me. Then I heard that one of our lecturers was HIV positive. The disease and the people afflicted with it ceased to be a distant phenomenon and it stared me right in the face when the lecturer came into the lecture theatre looking weak, thin, and shockingly unfamiliar. Over the years since then, I have watched friends and family infected and affected by this disease. It is about human beings - not only facts and figures, and it is an undisputed equalizer. Rich or poor, illiterate or educated, the impact is the same.

The aggressiveness with which AIDS has insinuated itself into our lives leaves one no choice but to reflect on the colossal cost and burden of HIV/AIDS on the individual, the family and governments. HIV/AIDS is no longer just an issue for health authorities as it affects all aspects of life and has a devastating impact on all population groups and sectors of the national economy. What is even more worrisome is the regional dynamic where HIV/AIDS does not just affect individual countries in the region but whole regions.

I personally agree with the view that the problem of HIV/AIDS in the region is not just a health issue but has fundamentally become a development issue, mainly because the disease exacerbates existing problems such as poverty, food insecurity, shortage of skilled manpower and strained and dysfunctional social and economic institutions. The fact that most economies in the region are weak and largely dependent on donor funding further aggravates the situation.

A number of policy challenges present themselves, especially in the current scenario of political and economic disintegration. The frighteningly high levels of inflation and unemployment, erratic or stagnant economic performance and declining currency values all symbolize the economic crisis which is affecting people’s capacity to look after themselves and their health. For examples 80% of Zimbabweans are living in poverty and are unable to cope. Poverty is therefore worsening an already bad situation.

Within the health sector, increases in health fees as part of the effort to recover costs and improve efficiency in service delivery, has pushed the cost of health services beyond the reach of most vulnerable households, and health insurance costs continue to escalate inexorably. The informal sector and the notion of home-based care have absorbed the shocks of the epidemic. This has allowed the government and the private sector to sit back and pretend that the situation is under control. In essence, governments have abdicated (whether voluntarily or involuntarily) their responsibility to be in the forefront of service delivery. The private sector needs to work in tandem with government to create a vision beyond the profit margin, and to start getting involved in community service in a meaningful way.

At the broad policy level, it would appear the early post-independence experience of African countries has unfortunately been ignored. In most African countries there were state-led models of development and it is clearly established that there were major strides in this time – educational development and reduction of illiteracy through public-led education drives, huge improvement in health indicators, child mortality etc, and housing and transport was provided by the state. After governments in the region adopted cost recovery under IMF and World Bank austerity programmes, this led to increasing social inequalities (e.g. private hospitals and private schools becoming accessible to only the few who can afford them). Given the pre-dominance of AIDS, the health sector is one of the main areas through which there is an urgent need to defend and justify the public sector and public ownership of resources.

There are a number of important interventions (but by no means exhaustive) that policy makers need to reflect on:

1. There is need for a number of interventions to establish the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS crisis as well as investigating why despite many attempts to contain the scourge, the disease has gathered momentum in SADC to a level of being one of the biggest challenges to policy making and intervention. Why is there a higher rate of infection in Botswana than in Nigeria or Angola? What have Ugandans done to gain prominence as having achieved a measure of success in containing the virus?

2. Assessment of drug utilisation, availability, and cost are critical factors for policy formulation. So is assessment of impact of AIDS on food security and agricultural production. We must know the impact on the youth – the most productive sector, as well as the impact on women and children who bear the burden of home-based care.

3. The private sector has the capacity to make inroads through a number of interventions, e.g. provision of medicines, support of home-based care, instituting feeding schemes for the vulnerable e.g. young children at risk of malnutrition. Banks and private industry are making super-profits at the moment but are not ploughing any of those profits back into the communities that need propping up. There are many companies that one can think of – that would be the basis for a meaningful intervention.

4. In all this there is also a role for civic society. The Church, religious groups and other social movements can and should lead a campaign for behavioral change, and open dialogue at family and community level about the disease.

5. People providing home-based care, are doing so largely without proper training or equipment and so are at risk of infection or re-infection. People providing home-based care must be provided with knowledge and the necessary protective measures. Poverty reduction is also a pre-requisite for home-based care initiatives because we do know that a good diet is vital for boosting the immune system.

6. Is there anything being done to deal with the trauma and psychological impact on people, particularly children, of watching their parents dying slowly? People providing care also need care. Children are assuming adult roles and nothing is being done about the psychological effect.

7. What is the role of indigenous knowledge systems in traditional medicine? A lot of Africa’s people believe in traditional methods of treating illnesses. Governments should therefore support joint initiatives by traditional practitioners and scientists in an attempt to merge the traditional and conventional systems. This is already happening in some countries in the region, e.g. Zimbabwe, where there is collaborative research and development of medicines.

8. It is critical to empower young people with knowledge and awareness of HIV prevention. An informed youth will be able to negotiate a safe sex life to ensure good health.

9. Culturally relevant prevention information can be disseminated through the media, faith-based organizations, community groups, schools, and the workplace. To be effective, information must be packaged in an accessible manner, for example, showing sensitivity to rural folk’s taboo approach to sex, and finding the acceptable means to put the message across.

Over 40 million people were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2001, and more than 20 million have died since the virus was discovered in the 1980s. If these statistics do not make policy actors sit up and do something, HIV/AIDS will continue to decimate the world’s productive population.

* Jennifer Chiriga is Unit Coordinator at the Globalisation and Alternatives Unit at the Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC), Cape Town

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Makhan Singh is considered the father of the trade union movement in Kenya. In 1935, he formed the Labour Trade Union of Kenya, and in 1949, the East African Trade Union Congress. In this article, a foreword to ‘Unquiet: The Life and Times of Makhan Singh’ by Zarina Patel, Steve Ouma and Makau Mutua remember Singh and what his life means for present-day political life in Kenya.

Makhan Singh is among a select pantheon of Indian settlers who not only made Africa home but also became leading anti-colonial freedom fighters. But what distinguished Singh from many legendary leaders – including even the great Mahatma Gandhi – was the conscious multiracialism of his politics. He refused to accept a trade union movement segregated by race and poisoned by the colonial apartheid that classified black Africans and Asians in a humiliating hierarchy. He demonstrated for the first time in colonized Kenya that Asians and black Africans were bound in the same fate and that their liberation was inextricably linked. In this powerful example, he properly argued that both colonialism and imperialism were the enemies of the people. That is why Singh’s enduring legacy to Kenya must continue to be the basis for construction of a society free of exploitation and racial animus.

Singh’s political work in the trade union movement was a response to the repressive colonial state generally, and the labor law regime in particulars. Under the colonial state – and its post-colonial successor – Kenya was imprisoned in labor laws that were designed to cheapen and exploit so-calledthe labour from the natives labor. This was the trend worldwide in the relationship between labor and capital. No wonder workers have been at the forefront of the human rights struggle over the centuries. This epic biography of Singh demonstrates how the struggle for the rights of workers was planted in Kenya. In it, Zarina Patel, an indefatigable Kenyan freedom fighter herself, has comprehensively analyzed how Singh created the building blocks and pillars of the trade union movement in Kenya.At the

The life of Makhan Singh is an object lesson on how class formation developed in Kenya. It is a powerful example of worker s solidarity based on both racial and class-consciousness. Even though Asians were economically stratified, the colonial state still considered them a single class. ButR realizing that the trade union by 1937 was still an exclusive Asian affair, Singh went set out to involve African workers in the labor movement. The African workers had organized isolated strikes in the past but Singh managed to convince them that a united non-racial approach was essential if the workers were to succeed in their demands. The cClass-consciousness was crucial in galvanizing and consolidating the struggle by labor against capital. In fact, Singh made trade unions very so formidable that the colonial administration devised ways to undermine and curtail their influence and powerregulating . For example, Ordinance No. 35 of 1939 required that all crafts organizations apply for registration that could be denied unless their dealings were considered “legitimate” by the state. Cancellation of registration under the ordinance was not subject to judicial review or appeal in a court of law.

Singh led workers to assert their right to strike, a key achievement in the struggle for labor and human rightsthe . By organizing and mobilizing workers to strike, Singh not only ensured the implementation of a cardinal right but also legitimized the right of workers to withdraw their labor as a of bargaining tooling. This effort contributed to ensuring full and universal respect for trade union rights in their broadest sense. This struggle and legacy reaffirmed that strike action s areis the most important and fundamental tool that the workers have against capital. Even so, the rigid control of trade unions that was maintained by the colonial colonial government persists to this dayuntil the end. Industrial confrontation arose not merely from traditional trade union activities, but also from the movement’s political role in the struggle for freedom from colonial domination, particularly after individual political leaders had been arrested and detained. This notwithstanding, the movement was able to grow both in numerical strength and power. That is how workers became the lone African voice in the colonial wilderness, challenging white supremacy, demanding independence, and defending the interests of the workers.

The legacy of Makhan Singh points to the centrality of trade unions as one of the major epicenters of democracy. Singh sought thatwanted workers to get organized on theirboth practical and strategic issues. The practical issues varied from housing, wages, working conditions, health, and and safety, among others. HoweverStrategically, he was conscious of the fact that political andcolonialism and crude capitalism were the key foundations for the privation of workers. imperialism That is why in 1950, Singh proposed a resolution urging complete independence and sovereignty of the East African territories as the only viable solution to suffering of the people. a legacy In tThis biography challenges, the trade unions in Kenya today. It should receive the challenge the awakening that forreminds workers that they must control and be central to the trade union movement if it is to succeed.organizing Indeed one of the major challenges toproblems in the trade Union union movement today is the chasm between the leadership of the trade union movement and the workers. Most unions are lead by individuals and oligarchicy groups whom which do not share the interests or the vision of the workers. This augurs very poorly for the future of democracy in Kenya. constitutions Kenyan workers must overthrow bumbling, corrupt, and compromised leaders if the legacy of Singh is to be kept alive.

Finally, we would like to congratulate Zarina Patel for her illuminating work on this towering Kenyan patriot. We know that writing a good book is a daunting task. But we believe that Patel has risen to this enormous challenge and written an account for the ages. This wonderful account also reminds us why it is critically important for Asians and Africans to tell their own stories. This is a book that every Kenyan – and particularly those still in school – must read.

* Steve Ouma is Deputy Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission; Makau Mutua is Chair of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.

* This article is the foreword to ‘Unquiet: The Life and Times of Makhan Singh’, by Zarina Patel, Nairobi: Awaaz, 2006. For further details, contact Awaaz Magazine, P O Box 32843 00600, Nairobi, Tel: 0722 344900, 0733 741085, Alternative email: zand.graphics (at) gmail.com

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