THOUGHTS ON AFRICAN HUNGER!
Africa's hunger - a systemic crisis.
By Martin Plaut - BBC Africa analyst.
The number of Africans needing food aid has doubled in a decade More than half of Africa is now in need of urgent food assistance. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is warning that 27 sub-Saharan countries now need help. But what appear as isolated disasters brought about by drought or conflict in countries like Somalia, Malawi, Niger, Kenya and Zimbabwe are - in reality - systemic problems. It is African agriculture itself that is in crisis, and according to the International Food Policy Research Institute, this has left 200 million people malnourished.
It is particularly striking that the FAO highlights political problems such as civil strife, refugee movements and returnees in 15 of the 27 countries it declares in need of urgent assistance. By comparison drought is only cited in 12 out of 27 countries. The implication is clear - Africa's years of wars, coups and civil strife are responsible for more hunger than the natural problems that befall it.
In essence Africa's hunger is the product of a series of interrelated factors. Africa is a vast continent, and no one factor can be applied to any particular country. But four issues are critical: Decades of underinvestment in rural areas, which have little political clout.. Africa's elites respond to political pressure, which is mainly exercised in towns and cities. This is compounded by corruption and mismanagement - what donors call a lack of sound governance. "Poor governance is a major issue in many African countries, and one that has serious repercussions for long-term food security," says a statement by the International Food Policy Research Institute. "Problems such as corruption, collusion and nepotism can significantly inhibit the capacity of governments to promote development efforts."
Wars and political conflict, leading to refugees and instability. - In 2004 the chairman of the African Union Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, reminded an AU summit that the continent had suffered from 186 coups and 26 major wars in the past 50 years. It is estimated that there are more than 16 million refugees and displaced persons in Africa. Farmers need stability and certainty before they can succeed in producing the food their families and societies need.
HIV/Aids depriving families of their most productive labour. - This is particularly a problem in southern Africa, where over 30% of sexually active adults are HIV positive. According to aid agency Oxfam, when a family member becomes infected, food production can fall by up to 60%, as women are not only expected to be carers, but also provide much of the agricultural labour.
Unchecked population growth - "Sub-Saharan Africa 's population has grown faster than any region over the past 30 years, despite the millions of deaths from the Aids pandemic," the UN Population Fund says.
A decline in soil quality makes land less productive - "Between 1975 and 2005, the population more than doubled, rising from 335 to 751 million, and is currently growing at a rate of 2.2% a year." In some parts of Africa land is plentiful, and this is not a problem. But in others it has had severe consequences. It has forced farming families to subdivide their land time and again, leading to tiny plots or families moving onto unsuitable, overworked land. In the highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea some land is now so degraded that there is little prospect that it will ever produce a decent harvest. In sub-Saharan Africa soil quality is classified as degraded in about 72% of arable land and 31% of pasture land. In addition to natural nutrient deficiencies in the soil, soil fertility is declining by the year through "nutrient mining", whereby nutrients are removed over the harvest period and lost through leaching, erosion or other means. Nutrient levels have declined over the past 30 years, says the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Consequences - The result is that a continent that was more than self sufficient in food at independence 50 years ago, is now a massive food importer. The book The African Food Crisis says that in less than 40 years the sub-continent went from being a net exporter of basic food staples to relying on imports and food aid. In 1966-1970, net exports averaged 1.3 million tons of food a year, it states. "By the late 1970s Africa imported 4.4 million tonnes of staple foods a year, a figure that had risen to 10 million tonnes by the mid 1980s." It said that since independence, agricultural output per capita remained stagnant, and in many places declined. Some campaigners and academics argue that African farmers will only be able to properly feed their families and societies when Western goods stop flooding their markets.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Posted by: Mara at January 31, 2006 18:22 |
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LESOTHO MINISTER SHOT!
Shot Lesotho minister is 'stable'.
Lesotho's Foreign Minister Monyane Moleleki is in a stable condition in hospital after being shot in the arm outside his home by unidentified men. Police said the reason for the attack was not clear, but local media say it may have been politically motivated.
The incident is said to have taken place on Sunday hours after he was defeated by the prime minister in a vote to be leader of the ruling party. Mr Moleleki was tipped as a possible successor to Pakalitha Mosisili. Mr Mosisili will have completed his second term when the next elections are due in 2007.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
HIGH POWERED PROTEIN DOG FOOD?
Kenya rejects aid of 'dog food'.
Kenya has declared a national disaster because of food shortages. Kenya's government is outraged by an offer of food aid from a New Zealand dog food manufacturer to help the 4m people hit by drought. But Christine Drummond told the BBC she could assure Kenyans that the nutritional supplement she was offering was "definitely not dog food". It is "a high-powered food full of nutrients. It tastes yummy," she said.
The minister co-ordinating the relief effort, John Munyes, told the AFP news agency the offer was in "bad taste". Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper that any food aid must be up to standard. "Kenyan children are not in such shortage of food to resort to eating dog food," he said. The founder of the company which makes Mighty Mix dog biscuits says her freeze-dried Raw Dry Nourish is "like having a big meal in a teaspoon". "I have been formulating it for special people like in Kenya, the people who need it the most to keep strong," Ms Drummond told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. She was originally quoted in the Daily Nation as saying she wanted to send dog biscuits but when she heard how many people needed food aid, decided to send the powder. But she said that this was a misunderstanding and her only desire had been to help malnourished children in Kenya.
She said she was also sending 42 tons of maize. "I am offering a natural food supplement... I am donating this food out of the goodness of my heart and to try and show that New Zealand is a loving country," Ms Drummond said. She said she sprinkles the powdered supplement on her porridge every morning. Kenya's Director of Medical Services Dr James Nyikal said: "There is no way that the ministry can allow dog food mixture to be brought in for human consumption."
Kenya has declared a national disaster because of the food shortages, which follow poor rains across the north.
BBC NEWS REPORT
Posted by: Mara at January 31, 2006 17:24 |
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africa
NIGERIAN HOSTAGES FREED.
Nigeria militants free hostages
The hostages were flown to Abuja to meet President Obasanjo.Four foreign oil workers held hostage in Nigeria for nearly three weeks have been freed. The four men - an American, Briton, Bulgarian and Honduran - have now left the oil-producing Niger Delta region and met Nigeria's president in Abuja. "They are as well as could be hoped," a British diplomat said. Officials have denied that any ransom demand was paid.
The four were seized in an armed raid by militants demanding more control over oil resources for local residents. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta had also been demanding the release of two ethnic Ijaw leaders currently in detention and $1m in compensation for local communities affected by oil spills. It has also carried out several attacks on oil interests in the region.
Bayelsa spokesman Welson Ekiyor told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the four were "in beautiful condition... looking well-fed". He denied that any money had been paid for their release or that their other demands had been met. The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says that generally kidnappings in the Niger Delta have been settled with a cash payment, though the oil companies and government deny paying ransoms. The group, however, denied that the release meant they were softening their goal "to destroy the oil export capability of the Nigerian government". "We will shortly carry out significant attacks aimed at ensuring our February target of a 30% of Nigeria's export capacity," they said in an e-mail to Reuters news agency.
The group also denied that any money changed hands. "I am very pleased indeed for them and for their families, and for the oil companies concerned as well as for the Nigerian government," said British Foreign Minister Jack Straw in Brussels. The four foreigners were captured on 11 January when heavily armed militia riding in speedboats boarded their oil industry supply vessel. The boat's US skipper, Patrick Landry, British security expert Nigel Watson-Clark and engineers Milko Nichev of Bulgaria and Harry Ebanks of Honduras were held hostage in the swamps and creeks of the delta.
In the latest attack on oil companies in the Niger Delta, armed robbers attacked the offices of the South Korean Daewoo company near the region's main city Port Harcourt and made off with some $300,000 worth of cash on Saturday, police say. The incidents have led to Shell, the largest oil producer in the Niger Delta, cutting production capacity and withdrawing hundreds of staff pending discussion on security with Nigeria's government.
Nigeria is Africa's leading oil exporter and the fifth-biggest source of US oil imports, but despite its oil wealth, many Nigerians live in abject poverty.
The country's oil production has fallen 10% since instability worsened in the Niger Delta.
BBC NEEWS REPORT
CAIRO STADIUM SAFETY FEAR!
Fifa fears Egypt ground 'tragedy'
By Martin Davies - BBC Sport, Cairo.
Fifa has concerns over safety at Egypt's next game. Fifa security adviser in Egypt has warned that a "tragedy" could happen if stadium safety is not improved. Walter Gagg was speaking after chaotic scenes inside the Cairo International Stadium as host nation Egypt played the Ivory Coast on Saturday. "We do not want a tragedy but here there is a risk that something could happen," Gagg told BBC Sport. "There will be a full house at Egypt's next game, so it's absolutely necessary there are changes ahead of the match." Gagg added that he was speaking for many senior Confederation of African Football (Caf) officials when he outlined the need for an improvement in stadium safety. "We would all like change," he said. "Myself, the President and Secretary General of Caf and the local organising committee."
Gagg revealed that a committee met on Sunday to discuss plans designed to ensure that safety requirements are met at Egypt's quarter-final on Friday, 3 February. He was particularly concerned by several aspects concerning safety that he witnessed on Saturday. "At the game there were people sitting on the stairs," he added. "All the stairs were occupied by people and on the walls on the upper rings, thousands and thousands of spectators were sitting on the walls because there were too many people inside the ground."
The Pharaohs finished top of Group A and will play their quarter-final tie at the 75,000 Cairo International Stadium against as yet unknown opposition. Had Egypt finished second they would have played their last-eight tie at the Cairo Military Academy Stadium, which has a capacity of only 24,000. And Gagg admitted that he was relieved the Pharaohs would play their next match at the larger ground, saying: "Yes, this is a better stadium for Egypt's next game." But he ruled out any form of fine for the host nation, stating: "We don't think with sanctions we can help, we believe in educating."
BBC NEWS REPORT
Kenya rapped for luxury vehicles.
Two leading Kenyan lobby groups have criticised the government for its "extravagant" spending on luxury cars, when 4m people need food aid.
Kenya's government has spent more than $12m on new cars since 2002 - enough to send 25,000 children to school for eight years, their report said.
They groups said the government should buy smaller cars, possibly second-hand, to save money. The government is already under pressure from a corruption scandal. The government has launched an international aid appeal, for four million people going hungry in the north after poor rains.
"Conspicuous consumption makes a mockery of poverty alleviation efforts, besides creating resentment in society," said the report by the local branch of Transparency International and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.
KENYA'S LUXURY CARS
Mercedes Benz: 57
Land Cruisers: 42
Mitsubishi Pajeros: 17
Nissan Terranos: 13
Nissan Patrols: 3
Purchased Jan2003-Sept 2004
Source: Living Large report
"Additionally, the line between wasteful expenditure and grand corruption is very thin and because of this senior government officials continue to be perceived as corrupt." Half of the $12m was spent on 57 Mercedes Benz cars, the rest of it on four-wheel drive vehicles, said the report: Living Large: Counting the Cost of Official Extravagance in Kenya. The High Court spent more money on luxury cars than any other government department, the report said. The authors said Kenya should copy the example of neighbouring Rwanda, which has severely restricted the use of luxury cars by public officials. As well as buying cheaper cars, the authors recommended that Kenya use pool vehicles, rather than allocating cars individually. Corruption was widespread under Kenya's former government, with the elite known as "WaBenzi" for their love of imported luxury cars. President Mwai Kibaki promised to stamp out corruption.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
CATHY's weekly letter from Zimbabwe.
Thanks to the Warriors
Sunday 29th January 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a football fan or even a football follower but this week I found myself being swept along in the fever that seemed to have infected the whole country. After six years of deep political turmoil and dramatic economic collapse in Zimbabwe I didn't think that there was anything that could unite us as a country. I was wrong! This week all boundaries and differences were put aside and regardless of race, class, religion or politics, the whole country looked to football for relief. It didn't matter where you went this week or who you talked to, the only topic of conversation was The African Cup of Nations and the two games facing Zimbabwe's team - the Warriors.
The talk at first was about winning and losing but after we lost the first game against Senegal hopes began to fade. Football commentators on state TV said the Warriors would need divine intervention as the next match was against a much stronger team. Football talk reached frantic levels, everyone, everywhere was on about it and predicting the score became a national past-time and caused passionate debate. For a week Zimbabwe's Warriors gave us a diversion from the daily grind, they gave us something else to think about and forced us to look outside of our own struggles - no easy task in these desperate times.
In between electricity cuts and football games, it has been a very difficult week to follow events and politics in Zimbabwe. Every night this week the main evening news was cancelled on state owned TV - replaced by football games - all of them and not just Zimbabwe's matches. There was one diversion that raised a small ripple of attention and it came in the form of an announcement from the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. It was a strangely worded statement, that sounded more like a religious or marital pronouncement than a financial fact. It read: "We are pleased to announce that with effect from Feb 01 2006, a higher denomination of 50 000 bearer cheque will be added to the denominational family of bearer cheques so as to bring added convenience to the transacting public." For people unfamiliar with Zimbabwe's currency, we don't have coins or even conventional bank notes anymore as they were unable to keep pace with our almost 600% inflation. Instead we have bits of paper called bearers cheques which is the equivalent of money but has expiry dates which the government keep renewing as the economy continues to decline. So from next week we are going to have a new bearers cheque with a value of 50 thousand dollars and this just makes most of us laugh. Imagine your biggest denomination bank note not even being enough to buy a loaf a bread.
I'll end this week by saying thanks to the Warriors for trying your best, giving us a diversion and managing to do what no one else in Zimbabwe can do - uniting the country for a few days.
Until next week, love cathy
BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH
Garden bird survey gets under way.
Many of the common species are in decline, the RSPB says. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to play their part in this weekend's annual Big Garden Birdwatch. Households across the country are being asked to spare some time to count the different species they see, and pass the record on to the RSPB. The annual count, which has been going since 1979, will reveal the most common winter bird. The RSPB is hoping for an increase in overall numbers, despite some common species declining in recent years. Nearly 400,000 people around the UK took part in the survey last year, observing 6 million birds in 200,000 gardens.
Project co-ordinator Richard Bashford said that, although there is now less woodland in the UK than in the past, birds have adapted. "Gardens have a lot of cover and, of course, lots of people feed birds so birds are cottoning on to the fact that gardens are really good," he told BBC News. "There's shelter, there's food, there's water, so quite a lot of these things are moving from the countryside to where we live. "It's really good news because you can see wildlife very close to us."
But, despite this, he said many of the common species were in decline. The house sparrow was the most common winter bird in 2005 with an average of 4.6 sparrows seen per garden. This compares with an average of 10 per garden in 1979. To take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, watchers are invited to spend one hour over the weekend counting the birds in their garden or local park. They should record the highest number of each species seen at any one time. An online survey form together with more details can be found on the RSPB website.
BBC NEWS REPORT
Posted by: Mara at January 28, 2006 22:30 |
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A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH!
Early exit 'disgraces' S Africa.
By Justin Pearce - BBC News website, Johannesburg.
Bafana Bafana fans have little to cheer about any more. South Africa's early departure from the African Cup of Nations - beaten 2-0 by Tunisia - has been greeted with much disgust, but little surprise. As they prepare to host the 2010 World Cup, South Africans are facing the reality of a national side that cannot even make a continental impact. "Bye-bye Bafana! Team heads home in disgrace," was the outraged headline on The Star newspaper's sports pages.
Blame has fallen on frequent changes of coach and an inexperienced squad. Romanian coach Ted Dumitru has been in the job only a few months. South Africa captain Sibusiso Zuma expressed disappointment at the failure to progress beyond the group rounds, but offered the excuse that the team had not been playing together for long enough. "We did not have enough time to understand each other and today we made a few mistakes," he said. But commentators are unsympathetic. "The downward slide of South African football continued unabated last night," wrote journalist Sipho Mthembu, reporting from Egypt for the Sowetan newspaper. He pointed out that while inexperience may have cost South Africa the earlier defeat by Guinea, it could not be blamed for the loss of the Tunisia match. "That we will never score was clear from the 25th minute when Benni McCarthy, the most experienced member of the squad, hit the upright," he wrote.
Supporters in South Africa shared the sense of frustration expressed by Mr Mthembu. "I watched the first goal, and then gave up," muttered one disgusted TV viewer. As Bafana Bafana struggled through the first matches of the championship, South African Football Association president Molefi Oliphant said: "I don't want to sound defensive but remember that South Africa was re-admitted into international football in 1991." Yet Bafana Bafana's moment of glory came a mere five years after that, with their home victory over Tunisia in the final of the 1996 Cup of Nations. So the irony of being thrown out by a Tunisian victory 10 years later is all the more bitter - and the facts bear out the assessment that it has been downhill all the way since 1996.
The South Africans lost in the finals in 1998, and two years later went out in the semi-finals in 2000. In 2002, Bafana Bafana got no further than the quarter-finals and in 2004 were knocked out in the first round. Anyone who might have thought that after that, things could only get better, was proved wrong on Thursday evening.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
THE GREAT LAKES IN AFRICA!
UN condemns Great Lakes militias.
The 1994 Rwandan genocide still casts a shadow over the region. The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution condemning militias and other armed groups destabilising central Africa's Great Lakes region. The vote followed a marathon debate in which foreign ministers from more that 10 countries in the area took part. The vote came just days after eight UN peacekeepers were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army.
Civil wars in the Great Lakes have led to millions of deaths. In Rwanda alone, some 800,000 people were killed in the 1994 genocide. The Security Council debate heard also from diplomats and special envoys to the region. The murders of the UN peacekeepers from Guatemala by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) were condemned by several African foreign ministers. DR Congo's Foreign Minister Raymond Bayaramazani said the incident strengthened his government's determination to eradicate all armed groups along the eastern border.
The LRA has become notorious for its atrocities against civilians in northern Uganda and its abduction of children. Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa said there was "an historic opportunity" for the international community "to decisively deal" with the LRA. However, the BBC's Susannah Price at the UN says there were some positive notes, with speakers praising the continuing electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the progress made by Burundi as it emerges from years of civil war.
Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht said the Great Lakes region had the potential to become the motor of African development.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
MUGABE'S LOOK EAST POLICY
Zimbabwe planning Chinese lessons.
Education has suffered from the dramatic economic decline of recent years. Zimbabwe's government hopes to see Mandarin Chinese taught in universities as the school year starts in February. The plan is part of President Robert Mugabe's "Look East" policy. It is not clear whether Chinese will be a compulsory subject. The government is trying to build closer economic links with China amid worsening relations with the West. Education Minister Stan Mudenge said he had held talks with the Chinese authorities on the matter. He said the government wanted to offer a curriculum that would see students from all Zimbabwe's universities taking Chinese to promote tourism and trade between the two countries.
"At a recent meeting I held in Paris with my counterpart, the Chinese minister of education, we agreed to intensify our programmes in the field of education, cultural exchange programmes including language training," Mr Mudenge said, quoted by the Zimbabwean newspaper The Standard. The Zimbabwe National Association of Student Unions criticised the government's plans. "It seems they are trying every political gimmick to lure the Chinese into this country to bankroll their bankrupt regime," the association's president, Washington Katema, told the South African newspaper, The Star. "But they should not do that at the expense of students."
Observers say that offering Chinese to all university students would require many more Chinese teachers to be brought into the country. Investment and tourism revenues from the west have plummeted in recent years, prompting President Robert Mugabe to look increasingly to Asia to try to help his country's troubled economy.
BBC NEWS REPORT
BUY PRODUCT RED!
Bono bets on Red to battle Aids.
By Tim Weber - Business Editor, BBC News website, in Davos.
"We are not winning in the war against Aids." The rock star Bono has launched a new global brand, Product Red, with a share of profits to go to the fight against Aids in Africa. Launch partners American Express, Gap, Converse and Giorgio Armani announced a range of "red" branded products.
These will include T-shirts, footwear, sunglasses and a credit card. The hope is that profits from the venture will generate a "sustainable" flow of money to support the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria. Bono warned the world was losing the fight against HIV/Aids, with 6,500 Africans dying of the disease every day. He stressed that this was a commercial venture and not philanthropy. "Philanthropy is like hippy music, holding hands. Red is more like punk rock, hip hop, this should feel like hard commerce," Bono said.
Product Red wants to draw on the branding expertise and commercial might of its corporate partners, with plans that hundreds of companies could offer "red" branded products. Red partners, in turn, hope to broaden their customer base while doing something good at the same time. Product Red was launched on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountain village of Davos. Traditional philanthropic models simply cannot solve this problem said John Hayes, American Express.
"Here we are, fat cats in the snow," said Bono at the start of the launch, only to correct himself: "I should say winners in the snow." "I feel a bit of a fraud, a bit of a loser," he said, "because we are not winning in the war against Aids." Every day, about 6,500 Africans are dying of HIV/Aids and 9,000 more are infected. "I really, really hate losing," Bono said, adding that he had turned to corporate winners so that the Global Fund could make money "in the slipstream, in the wake of these companies".
The Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has so far raised $4.7bn, but only $5m of that had come from corporate donors, its director Richard Feachem said. Bono helps launch the Red product line at the WEF on Thursday. If Product Red was successful, the fund could count on an innovative, large and sustainable income stream. American Express, which will launch its no-fee "red" Amex card in the UK only, has promised that at least 1% of every pound spent will go to the global fund.
Clothing chain Gap will bring a range of "red"-branded T-shirts made in Africa into US and UK shops this spring. The autumn will see a global roll-out of a wider range of clothing products. Nike-owned Converse will sell a range of limited edition Chuck Taylor All Star shoes, while star designer Giorgio Armani starts out with sun glasses, but plans to expand into clothing, accessories, watches, perfumes and jewellery. On average Product Red's partners have pledged to channel about 40% of their profits to the Global Fund. All four companies have signed up for five years, and the Product Red team hopes to sign up many more partners. "It's going to be tough, it's a commercial venture that has to succeed," said Bobby Shriver, the driving force behind the venture and chairman of Bono's anti-poverty campaign group Data.
American Express chief marketing officer John Hayes said corporate marketing budgets were much larger than philanthropic budgets. "Traditional philanthropic models simply cannot solve this problem," he said. This is "conscientious commerce that will reward both our shareholders and the global community," Mr Hayes added.Bono rejected suggestions that he was being used by companies to restore their reputations. "We are not endorsing their products, these products endorse us," he said. He conceded that Product Red might make mistakes and link up with the wrong partners as the brand expanded. "But with 6,500 people dying every day, it's worth a rock star ending up with a little bit of egg on his face."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Posted by: Mara at January 27, 2006 01:27 |
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africa
TABLE MOUNTAIN FIRE
Mountain ablaze above Cape Town
By Peter Biles - BBC News, Cape Town.
Smoke from the blaze on Table Mountain shrouds Cape Town.
An elderly woman tourist from the UK has been killed in South Africa in a bush fire raging out of control on Cape Town's landmark Table Mountain.
The flames are being fanned by strong winds. Thick smoke has engulfed the centre of the city as the fire spreads rapidly across the lower slopes. More than 150 firefighters are struggling to fight the blaze, which is threatening residential areas nearby. A British man has been arrested in connection with starting the fire. He is due to appear in court in Cape Town on Friday morning.
Helicopters dropping water have been hampered by the winds and poor visibility. The Table Mountain cable car has been closed and people living nearby have been fleeing their homes as the flames advance. A number of houses are reported to have caught fire. This is the latest in a series of bush fires caused by dry conditions in the Cape Town area in recent weeks
Posted by: Mara at January 27, 2006 00:53 |
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africa
BRENDON COX'S DIARY IN KENYA!
Wajir diary: Hunger in Hungai.
Oxfam aid worker Brendan Cox is writing a daily diary during his short trip to Wajir in north-eastern Kenya, where failed rains have left millions without food.
TUESDAY, 24 JANUARY
Eaten by mosquitoes that stowed away inside my net and ambushed me in my sleep - a restless night. As people scavenge for food, even the animals are dying. Out early for the livestock market in the centre of Wajir. Dozens of people had gathered early to haggle over their remaining livestock amid swirling dust. The livestock are so weak that the sellers know they won't make it back to their grazing areas alive; it's sell them or lose them, and as a result it's a buyers market.
Prices have hit rock bottom, you can now buy a cow for around 300 Kenyan shillings - about £2. Sheep and camels are also on sale for paltry amounts. Even goats - which eat anything and are surviving better - have halved in price. You can see that the animals are suffering. There is now almost no pasture in the entire area and their hide is stretched tight over their protruding bones. The people too are stressed. They have little bargaining power. They either settle for the humiliating prices on offer or turn them down and risk losing everything on the long walk back. Either way a, descent into poverty is assured.
Later in the day we stop by one of the few boreholes still drawing water. People come here from over 80-km (50-miles) away in search of water. The scene around it is horrific. Carcass after carcass is strewn around the watering point - cattle, sheep, even camel. Some are now skeletons, others are having their scant flesh picked off by scavengers, and some are newly fallen, breathing their final breaths with their noses in the hot red dust. I see one family leading their herd of sheep to the water hole. One hundred metres away in the baking heat one of their sheep drops to its knees and, despite the best efforts of the family, refuses to get up. They have no choice but to leave it to die in the sun.
Now that so many animals have died, many families are dependent on aid. Oxfam is distributing food to 132,000 people in this one district. I go to help at one of the distribution points in a town called Hungai - loosely translated as "disappointment" - where the monthly distribution of 10kg of cereal, 2kgs of pulses and 600g of oil per person is under way. Water is a scarce commodity for both man and beast.The distribution is orderly and effective. There is a list of families in need and children getting special supplements. However with the United Nations appeal badly under-funded only around half of those who need aid are reached. That means the aid is shared between families, and no-one has enough.
More people are migrating to the town all the time. I speak to one family who have just arrived. They tell me they have lost all their cattle and have come here to find water for their camels. A local tells them there is none, and after unloading their camels they set off again in search of water. Hungai is living up to its name. I heard this evening that the UN is going to launch an emergency appeal for the area on 10 February. If donors don't respond generously - and immediately - what I'm seeing now will pale in comparison with what will come.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
William McGonagall.
SCOTLAND PRODUCED THE WORLD'S WORST POET
William McGonagall (c.1830-1902).
MCGONAGALL'S POEMS ARE NOW CELEBRATED THROUGHT THE WORLD FOR THEIR
POOR RHYMING SCHEMES, WEAK METAPHORS AND OUTRIGHT BANALITY!
KENYAN BUILDING COLLAPSES.
Four die as Kenyan building falls.
Passers-by joined professional rescuers in the search.
A four-storey building being built in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has collapsed on top of scores of people, leaving at least four dead. Kenyan TV said 200 people were in or around the building when it fell. Rescuers have been digging through the rubble with their bare hands to save those trapped inside amid what a BBC correspondent says are chaotic scenes. A doctor at Kenyatta General Hospital said 67 people had been admitted with chest, leg and abdominal injuries. The hospital appealed for people to go to the hospital to donate blood, while police called for people trained in rescue operations to make their services available. Various witness reports from the scene speak of more dead bodies having been found, but so far police have not given an official death toll.
Farid AbdulKadir, head of disaster operations with the Kenya Red Cross Society, confirmed four deaths. Calvince Omondi, a volunteer rescuer, told AFP news agency that contact had been established with "several" people trapped in the building's basement who were running short of oxygen. On TV footage, a hand could be seen waving for help from under a concrete beam at the site on the corner of Ronald Ngala St and Tom Mboya St, in the River Road area. Bulldozers and ambulances have arrived at the scene in central Nairobi, but the BBC's Karen Allen says army and rescue workers are getting caught up in crowds of onlookers and passers-by trying to search the debris.
'I felt a tremor' A local man said the lower floors of the building had been filled with construction workers, and that work had been going on to add additional floors to the top of the building. According to a Reuters news agency reporter, some of the concrete was still wet. Witnesses said at least 50 masons and 50 other workers were among those inside the building when it collapsed at about 1440 (1140 GMT). "We were working and then I felt a tremor... and then the building just fell," construction worker Patrick Otiyo, who escaped with minor injuries, told Reuters. According to witnesses quoted by AFP, a large crack appeared in the building before it collapsed.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Posted by: Mara at January 23, 2006 16:24 |
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africa
CATHY IN ZIMBABWE
I have been almost struck dumb from reading Cathy's latest letter. I know she writes how it is for the vast majority of people in Zimbabwe. I know she is a strong woman, but it pains me to see her in such mental pain, utterly exhausted and seeing no hope for the future, and, as I see it , we in the rest of the world just sit back and watch it all dispationately. (Maybe we have to for us to cope with her reports) I know the politicians in the world know what is happening in Zimbabwe, so shame on them FOR doing nothing. HISTORY WILL RECORD THEIR FAILINGS
Thing is that she is probably one of the very few lucky ones living in Zimbabwejust now! Certainly the life of the average man. woman and child there must be intolerable to say the least. However the politicians will be managing fine thank you very much. Mugabe still flies here there and everywhere, continues with his mansion at the expense of human lives, that are dying due to his policies and his lack of care for most of his fellow human beings. They of course are now so weak with the struggle to stay alive that there is little they are able to do to change things.
There are people who live on money invested as the interest rate is so high, so their lives probably hardly change., until they need urgent medical attention and they dont have the airfuel to fly down to South Africa ro get it.. Seems to me that living in Zimbabwe now for most is almost impossible and with such a high record of HIV AND AIDS -
MAYBE DYING WOULD BE A BLESSED RELIEF TO MANY!
CATHY's weekly letter from Zimbabwe.
Burn out
Saturday 21 January 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
A friend recently sent an email describing how activists manage to cope in circumstances where fear, stress, insecurity and unrest continue for long periods of time. Determination, principle and routine, seem to be about the most important factors to consider.
As the situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate, more and more activists seem to be falling silent or just disappearing from sight. The recent split of the MDC has left most Zimbabweans feeling alone, betrayed and desperate about how to cope and which way to turn. It is now very difficult to keep depression and despair at bay and prevent "burn-out". Our lives have been in turmoil for six years and many days it seems as if nothing will ever be the same again. Houses for sale are now quoted in billions of dollars, those for rent are in the multi millions, a visit to a doctor is two million dollars and the smallest handful of basic groceries carried in one plastic bag easily costs a million. The horror of this reality comes quickly when you know that an ordinary teacher for example, or a nurse, takes home only five million dollars. The men and women entrusted with educating our children and saving our lives can not afford to live in Zimbabwe any more.
In homes across the country municipal accounts for January have just arrived and they have left residents absolutely staggering in disbelief. In my home town the municipal charges have increased overnight by almost six hundred percent. We should be saying, in disgust and outrage that we will not pay for services not being provided - street lights that don't work, garbage that is not collected, water that is filthy or roads that are collapsing. But we do not; without brave and strong leadership we are a country and a population afraid and so instead we search desperately for ways to survive, to find the money and to pay for almost non existent services.
In the very early mornings you see the real people of Zimbabwe going out to do whatever they can in these wet January days. Men and women and even children who should be in school but can't afford to attend anymore. They go to little roadside gardens to dig and weed maize, beans and pumpkins - crops which are hungry for fertilizer and whose meagre yields will be dramatically reduced when the night time thieves start coming around and helping themselves. Other people go out into the bush to pull down tree branches for fuel wood or they go collecting mushrooms and wild fruits - to eat and to sell. One day after the other, one foot in front of the other we carry on, struggling, praying, hoping - we cannot afford to burn out.
Until next week, love cathy
KENYANS KIDNAPPED IN IRAQ!
Kidnapped engineers are Kenyans.
Civilian contractors are regularly targeted by insurgents. Kenya's government has confirmed that two engineers kidnapped in Iraq, west of Baghdad, are from Kenya. Moses Munyau and George Noballa were taken hostage after an ambush on Wednesday in which their 10 Iraqi companions were killed. It is not known who is holding the men, who work for Egyptian-owned phone company Iraqna, or their demands. In 2004 three Kenyan truck drivers held hostage for over a month were freed after a ransom was paid by their firm. Kenya has no troops in Iraq but their nationals have taken jobs for private companies. Dozens of foreign hostages are being held in Iraq, as well as hundreds of Iraqi citizens seized by insurgents and criminal gangs.
Kenya's foreign ministry says it is difficult to get reliable information. "So far we do not know who is holding them," foreign ministry official Binsai Chepsongol told AFP news agency. "They have not gone public with any demands so we don't know whom to appeal to for their release," he said. The engineers had been on their way to the western suburb of Abu Ghraib to repair a transmitter station with seven Iraqi bodyguards and three drivers when they were attacked, officials said. Eight engineers working for Iraqna - six Iraqis and two Egyptians - have been kidnapped in the past.
The company, owned by Orascom Telecom, has vowed to continue operating despite the security challenges.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Group B: Wounded Lions seek revenge
Compiled by Farayi Mungazi
Nickname: The Indomitable Lions
Coach: Artur Jorge
Captain: Rigobert Song
Cup record: Winners in 1984, 1988, 2000 & 2002; Qualified 14 times
CAMEROON
Despite the cataclysmic blow to morale inflicted by their failure to qualify for the World Cup, Cameroon remain highly-fancied to challenge for the Nations Cup title. Make no mistake, Cameroon will always be Cameroon. With four African titles to their name, the Indomitable Lions are a side accustomed to life at the top. The bitter taste of World Cup failure is bound to galvanise everyone connected with this team but they know that a fifth triumph is by no means a foregone conclusion.
Cameroon: BBC News Country Profile
They have the talent, the strength in depth, the individual brilliance in key areas and the mental strength required to win Africa's premier tournament.
They may have awesome attacking firepower with players like Samuel Eto'o and Achille Webo, but it is the enormous physique of their players that intimidates opponents. Samuel Eto'o has developed into a deadly marksman. Key players: One thing is certain: Cameroon possess one of the world's deadliest strikers in Samuel Eto'o. The Barcelona forward's eye for goal makes him one of the few exceptions to the saying that nobody is indispensable. "Cameroonians were so disappointed by our World Cup failure and now the pressure is on to deliver the Nations Cup. We have to conquer Africa," says Eto'o. Cameroon also have one of the most reliable goalkeepers in Idris Kameni who plays for Espanyol in Spain's La Liga.
Elsewhere, Geremi Njitap is the fulcrum of Cameroon's midfield despite being a bit-part player at English Premiership champions Chelsea.
Verdict: Although the luck of the draw favoured Cameroon, their Portuguese coach Artur Jorge has been around long enough not to view Group B through rose-tinted glasses. Failure would represent another nightmare for Cameroon football followers. The Indomitable Lions are, therefore, unlikely to take anything for granted. Always a threat, if the Indomitable Lions find their rhythm, they will be hard to beat. Only a catastrophic turn of events can prevent them from advancing to the second round. The Indomitable Lions should fight their way all the way to the final, and at worst finish among the top four.
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TOGO
Nickname: The Hawks
Coach: Stephen Keshi
Captain: Abalo Dosseh
Cup record: Sixth appearance in finals.
Once upon a time everyone knew what to expect from Togo's national team. The Hawks were always doing their utmost to hang on and avoid humiliating cricket score-line defeats. So who are these impostors not only on their way to the World Cup in Germany but also making a stop-over in Egypt? The Hawks have undergone something of a revolution and the tenure of Stephen Keshi as coach has seen them squeeze out enough results to reach their first World Cup finals. If you had told Togo's players at the start of the qualifiers that they would be going to Egypt, let alone Germany, they would have done cartwheels down the main street in Lome.
Togo: BBC News Country Profile
Having missed the last finals in 2004, they made it to Egypt 2006 by winning a tough pool which also included Senegal. Togo's mean defenders conceded just eight goals in 10 qualifying matches but they will be severely tested when Nigerian Keshi leads them into battle in Egypt. It is somewhat ironic that in three of the four African titles Cameroon have won, Nigeria were the beaten finalists, with Keshi playing a role either as captain or assistant coach. However, Keshi might take inspiration from his Togolese players. The Hawks beat Cameroon 1-0 during the group stages of the 2000 finals and he will be hoping the feat can be repeated once more.
Emmanuel Adebayor scored 11 goals in qualifying for the Hawks
Key players: New blood and fresh ideas have been introduced by Keshi over the past year or so as he looks to transform Togolese football. The predatory instincts of France-based Emmanuel Adebayor means that the Hawks can no longer be dismissed as easy pickings. The 21-year-old forward scored half of the 22 goals that ushered a new era for Togolese football. Cherif Mamam Toure and Abdel Coubadja were outstanding in qualifying and should also pose a few problems for the opposition.
Verdict: The Hawks go to Egypt confident of ending a miserable run of five consecutive first-round exits at African football's flagship tournament.
But there is little reason to suspect that they will win the biggest prize on the continent. However, there is also no reason to think that they cannot dent a few reputations in Egypt. Togo may be a lightweight football nation but they certainly hit their World Cup/Nations qualifying group with the power of a heavyweight.
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ANGOLA
Nickname: The Palancas Negras
Coach: Luis Oliveira Goncalves
Captain: Fabrice 'Akwa' Maeico
Cup record: Third appearance at finals
Although football is the main sport in Angola, it gets a good run for its money from basketball. But while the Palancas Negras never win anything, the national basketball team does. The baksetballers have won the African title eight times and qualified for everything from the World Championship to the Olympic Games. In contrast, the Angolan national football side does indeed have a dismal Nations Cup record - two appearances have failed to deliver even one victory. So Egypt 2006 is not just about showing the world that there is more to Angola than diamonds and war - it is also an opportunity for football to show why it should remain Angola's number one sport. But given their abysmal record over the years, no one could have anticipated Angola finishing top of a qualifying group containing a Nigerian side packed with big-name players.
Angola: BBC News Country Profile
But that is just what the Palancas Negras did, and they approach the Nations Cup in quietly confident mood. Perhaps for the first time in many years, they have assembled a well-balanced squad capable of coping with the demands of the three-week tournament.
Akwa's eye for goal is the key to Angola's success in Egypt.Key players: Qatar-based striker Fabrice 'Akwa' Maeico is a survivor from the 1996 and 1998 Nations Cup campaigns. He is a particular favourite with the crowd, thanks to a goalscoring touch that never seems to desert him. The powerfully-built striker has scored 31 goals in 67 international appearances. "The Nations Cup offers us a great opportunity to show off Angolan football. We want to prove to the rest of the continent that there is a lot more to our country than just war and poverty," Akwa said. Paulo Figueiredo is hardly a spring chicken at 33, but the Portuguese second division player was outstanding in the qualifying campaign.
Verdict: Having qualified for the World Cup at Nigeria's expense, the Palancas Negras have given the Angolan people high expectations for Egypt 2006.
They will certainly not win the Nations Cup but they may well make it difficult for others who do fancy their chances.
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DR CONGO
Nickname: Simbas
Coach: Claude Leroy
Captain: Lomana LuaLua
Cup record: Winners 1968 & 1974; Qualified 15 times
Okay, the then Zaire won the Nations Cup in 1968 and 1974, and the Congolese have qualified for their share of Nations Cups down the years. But many people today are most likely to identify the vast country with civil war, corruption and poverty. Since their last triumph in 1974, the Simbas have struggled to remain within the African elite but it says something about them that they have not missed out on a Nations Cup party since 1992. This will be the eighth consecutive Nations Cup appearance by the Simbas but, apart from an excellent third place finish in Burkina Faso eight years ago, they have underachieved. It will not be easy for the Congolese to survive this group, let alone progress further in the tournament, but this is a side with pretty much nothing to lose. In their favour is that their opening game is against Togo. Win that and they will go into the Angola fixture full of confidence.
DR Congo: BBC News Country Profile
Lomana LuaLua is the DR Congo's driving force Key player: With injury ruling Shabani Nonda out of a second consecutive Nations Cup, coach Claude le Roy will bank on captain Lomana LuaLua. The England-based striker is one of the most colourful characters in African football and is undoubtedly the DR Congo's driving force. LuaLua left the 2004 Nations Cup under a cloud after being sent off for abusing the referee. But the former gymnast says he has learnt to control his temper. "Everyone makes mistakes and we all say things out of anger. I let myself down partly due to inexperience. I believe you learn how to conduct yourself as you grow up," LuaLua said.
Verdict: A DR Congo supporter would have to be an outrageously optimistic soul to believe that the Simbas have any chance of winning the Nations Cup.
The last time they impressed in the finals was in 1998, finishing third and beating Cameroon along the way. The more probable outcome this time around is a first-round exit for Claude LeRoy's team.
BBC SPORTS NEWS REPORT
