Leaked information from South African sources reveals confidential plans afoot to permanently remove the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) project from under the remit of the Commission of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa and establish it as an autonomous legal entity to be located in the Republic of South Africa. A 17th November 2003 letter to the AU Commission from Professor Welshman Nkhulu, the South African chairperson of the NEPAD Steering Committee, proposes the establishment of a ‘Forum for the Implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development’ with its own legal persona that is separate from and independent of the AU secretariat.

The Monterrey Consensus recognises the strong links between trade, finance and development issues. The challenge is to make trade, trade policy and trade rules work for development. This is a big challenge because many trade rules, for example in the WTO, and many trade policies, for example in structural adjustment conditionalities, are not yet aligned with development needs in the South, says a discussion paper submitted by the Third World Network to an informal meeting on financing for development.

Tony Blair, the British prime minister, recently launched a commission for Africa to "take a fresh look at the challenges Africa faces in the context of the global forces in play in the 21st century". The new commission will discuss Africa's development challenges in the areas of the economy, education, conflict resolution, peace building, health, the environment, HIV/AIDS, governance and culture. The distinguished panel of commissioners includes prominent and respected Africans as members. The implications of the new British initiative on Africa are many and varied. First, all the publicly identified core "themes" have been the subject of studies, policy reviews or programmes by various African institutions, bilateral and multilateral agencies. Various United Nations (UN) agencies, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have spent most of the past 25 years studying these issues. It is difficult to predict what new facts the commission will unearth in 12 months, says this commentary in Business Day newspaper.

Panelists at a seminar on the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in Accra have welcomed the contribution that HIPC has made to the socio-economic development of the country. However, they all said that only debt cancellation would truly benefit poor countries. The panellists at the event comprised, Dr. Yao Graham of the Third World Network, Vitus Azeem, Director of the Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) of ISODEC and Okoh Ofori of the Ministry of Finance.

The Chairman of the Commission for HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA), Dr K.Y. Amoako, has opened a meeting of the Commission in Maputo, Mozambique, with a warning to Africa's governments that HIV/AIDS "poses the greatest threat to sustained economic development in Africa." "We have repeatedly stated that we are an activist Commission. It is time to go out and drive this message home to our governments and to those who can help us get it across," he told the meeting.

Ombudsman Enock Chibwana, whose contract expired on March 10, has been taken by his members of staff to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on allegations of abuse of office during his five-year term. ACB public relations officer Egrita Ndala confirmed on Tuesday that ACB is in receipt of a complaint against the Ombudsman.

Civil society’s recently expressed fears that next year’s parliamentary elections will not be free and fair were reinforced in the week under review by more news of politically motivated violence ahead of the Zengeza by-election, scheduled for this month-end, reports the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe. “Once again, only the private media reported this news,” noted the MMPZ. “SW Radio Africa was the only organisation to report three new incidents in the constituency, all of which blamed ZANU PF supporters, while MDC activists, including the party’s candidate, were reported as the victims.”.

This new textbook in development planning aims to provide a comprehensive and practically relevant guide to strategic planning at postgraduate and practitioner level. The author hopes that the book will help bridge the unfortunate gap that now exists between much development planning theory and planning practice. He also promotes a more value-based, action-centred and organisation-inclusive approach to development planning than is normally presented in textbooks on planning.

Visiting Research Fellowships are offered to established scholars from universities and research institutes in Africa and around the world. Visiting Fellows will normally spend six to twelve months at UCT. They will be expected to build local research and analytical capacity, conduct systematic research, analyse data and present findings. Applicants must possess a PhD and a demonstrated research record in the fields of political science or related disciplines. Interested researchers are invited to submit to the Director of DARU a curriculum vitae, together with a detailed proposal outlining the type of work to be conducted and the intended research output.

This paper looks at the role of parliaments in the implementation process of Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) in Africa. It describes the complex function of parliaments in national policy making and the way PRS processes have affected this function. It also suggests future approaches for strengthening national parliaments so they can play a productive role in enhancing good national governance.

United Nations schools in Lira district will be closed, the inspector of schools, Norman Okello, has said. "We are fighting to close down unregistered private schools," he said. Addressing parents, teachers and students at Ngetta Unity College in Lira recently, Okello said the schools were operating without authority from the Ministry of Education and Sports. "We have learnt of some 'brief case' schools that are operating in the municipality without authority from the Ministry of Education and Sports. We are fighting to close all the unregistered schools in the district and later a countrywide operation will be carried out," he said.

Samuel Opong can hardly believe his luck. The 15-year-old was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels last year, forcibly trained to fight and, soon afterwards, forced to fight. In three fierce battles with the Ugandan army last December, he was hit by bullets in the left leg and arm. The rebels had forced him and other recent recruits to attack an army unit near the Sudan border. "I lost so much blood I started fainting, so they left me," he told IRIN at Gulu Support the Children Organisation (Gusco) counselling centre for former LRA abductees. "I woke up from the cold next morning and then [government] soldiers found me."

Zimbabwe's economic crisis has seen deepening vulnerability in urban areas and an increase in the number of malnourished children attending clinics in the two largest urban centres. In its latest situation report the World Food Programme (WFP) noted that "there is an increased need for assistance for malnourished children under the age of five in the cities of Harare [the capital] and Bulawayo [the second city], as evidenced by an increased turnout at clinics".

Everjoice – I have always admired your courage and heart, and deeply salute you for this editorial (Pambazuka News 147: Open letter to Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and other women in the South African cabinet). And I pray for your sustenance.

Zimbabwe's economic crisis has seen deepening vulnerability in urban areas and an increase in the number of malnourished children attending clinics in the two largest urban centres. In its latest situation report the World Food Programme (WFP) noted that "there is an increased need for assistance for malnourished children under the age of five in the cities of Harare [the capital] and Bulawayo [the second city], as evidenced by an increased turnout at clinics".

An organisation seeking to promote and stimulate the ideals of good governance in the country has been established. The Liberia Organisation for Good Governance (LOGG) which is headed by Dr. Nathaniel R. Richardson as Interim President, was formed recently by a group of concerned Liberians. At a press conference to announce the formation of LOGG, Dr. Richardson said the organisation was not for profit, non political, non-governmental and represented no political group.

Morgan Tsvangirai has announced that the MDC is organising a national alliance with other "democratic forces" in Zimbabwe to force Robert Mugabe to come to reason, reports the website Zvakwana.org in their latest newsletter. This grouping of labour, women, activists and others will work out a "programme of rolling mass action designed to push the regime to the long awaited negotiated settlement." "It is impressive that, with two treason charges against him, Tsvangirai continues to speak out boldly and forcefully against the regime. But people - we have to transform these words into action! Last year's "Final Push" failed because neither the people nor the leaders were ready for it," says Zvakwana.

Acres International has snubbed the impoverished kingdom of Lesotho by not paying a R13 million fine after being convicted of corruption and bribery. Instead, the Canadian engineering and construction company wants to pay the penalty in instalments, according to Lesotho attorney-general Fine Maema, who said he had flatly refused the request. Parent company Acres Group had a gross revenue of R1 billion in 2002, the year Acres was convicted. On Friday, Acres seemed unaware that its offer had been rejected.

The World Bank President James Wolfensohn has urged President Olusegun Obasanjo to intensify the war on corruption and build a judicial system which would protect peoples rights. Speaking at a joint press briefing with President Obasanjo after a brief meeting, the World Bank boss said a clean financial system and an independent judiciary was essential to the success of the ongoing reforms in government.

* Remembering Rwanda: Pambazuka News Special Edition Due Out In April
* Conflicts and Emergencies: Mercenaries set to worry African Parliament
* Refugees and Forced Migration: Peace prospects pull refugees home in West Africa
* Women and Gender: Gender issues in the AU, Nepad and Pan-African Parliament
* Elections and Governance: Pan-African Parliament a voice for all Africans
* Development: MDG report casts gloom over Zambia’s development
* HIV/AIDS: TAC sends letter of demand to SA government
* Education: “Massive” gap between rights education theory and practice
* Environment: Water scarcity can be fixed, says NGO