New African articles from February 2006

New African archives from February 2006

Rubbing salt in our wounds?(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... Please allow me to rebuff the contemptuous and patently offensive letter written by Dirk Hoffmann (NA Dec). One wonders what he meant by "Tippexing"? Did he mean erasing Africans from the globe, as doing away with the mother continent would be...

Sorry, Mr Hoffmann.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... Responding to Dirk Hoffmann's sarcastic comments (NA Dec), I say every nation and culture talks about their history and any oppression that was part of it. It is no exception with Africans. So why do Europeans feel threatened or guilty when we...

40 years and counting ...(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... New African, under its hardworking editor Baffour Ankomah, has witnessed tremendous growth in content and circulation. I send you felicitations in your 40th anniversary year. There have been a lot of good and quality articles lately in your...

Open our eyes the more.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... New African (NA), in no pejorative manner, you are a Native Authority on which we can proudly count: indigenous, ingenious, endogenous, original. The likes of Kaj Bouic (NA, July 2005) who wanted you banned in Britain must live long to read the...

A let-down.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... It is difficult to describe my excitement when I discovered your beautiful and informative magazine for the very first time at the Johannesburg airport (Nov issue). I was seeing a friend off, who was returning to our native country (USA) for...

Never again! ... 40 years after the coup that derailed Africa's progress.(Cover Story)
February 1, 2006... Forty years ago this month (24 February 1966 to be precise), a coup d'etat in Ghana disrupted the country's (and by extension, Africa's) forward march. It was a day of veritable infamy, and, arguably, one of the darkest spots in the annals of...

Kaunda: 'I don't think we will ever recover from the 1966 coup'; Kenneth Kaunda, former president of Zambia, writes about the impact on Africa of the 1966 coup in Ghana. "I was a great admirer of Nkrumah. One of the most shocking incidents in Africa was the overthrow, in February 1966, of that great man. I don't think we will ever recover from those events.".
February 1, 2006... I will always remember Kwame Nkrumah. He did a lot for Africa. He was a great pan-Africanist. He inspired many people of Africa towards independence and was a great supporter of the liberation of Southern Africa from apartheid and racism....

The coup that disrupted Africa's forward march: June Milne the former research and editorial assistant to Kwame Nkrumah and later his literary executrix, on the coup that set Africa back. "It is not difficult to imagine the greatly improved condition of the African people today if Nkrumah had continued in power in Ghana to lead the pan-African movement," she writes.
February 1, 2006... In the history of most countries, there are decisive dates of events that have far-reaching, momentous effects. One such date in the history of Ghana and Africa is 24 February 1966. On that day, the government of the Convention People's Party...

Nujoma: 'heroes beget heroes'; Sam Nujoma, the founding president of Namibia, on the lessons Africa must learn from the 1966 coup in Ghana. "Nkrumah was, and remains, a great inspiration to me, and to many other progressive Africans the world over," he writes.(Kwame Nkrumah)(Biography)
February 1, 2006... I congratulate New African magazine for dedicating so many pages of its precious publication to a great pan-African hero, the late Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. In particular, I am glad that you are focusing on the tragic event...

Julius Nyerere: 'without unity, there is no future for Africa'; This is how the late president of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere saw Africa's future in the 21st century (adapted from his speech delivered in Accra on 6 March 1997 on the occasion of Ghana's 40th independence anniversary).(Speech)
February 1, 2006... "Forty years ago, the people of Ghana celebrated the raising of the flag of their independence for the first time. Throughout Africa people celebrated--in solidarity with Ghana but also for themselves, for the liberation of Africa was a single...

Addai-Sebo: "Nkrumah created the conditions for me to be what I am today".(Kwame Nkrumah)
February 1, 2006... The Ghanaian founder of Black History Month UK, Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, tells how the 1966 coup brought his own young life, and the future of Ghana and Africa crashing down. "I am still filled with grief when I recollect my personal experience of...

The marriage that sent the West into a panic.(Kwame Nkrumah and Miss Fathia Halen Ritzk)
February 1, 2006... When Kwame Nkrumah married his Egyptian bride, Miss Fathia Halen Ritzk, in a surprise wedding, British and American authorities were sent into a panic as they feverishly sought to determine what the political implications were. Carina Ray...

Nkrumah: 'we must unite now or perish'; An abridged version of Kwame Nkrumah's historic speech delivered on 24 May 1963 at the founding conference of the OAU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.(Organization of African Unity)(Speech)
February 1, 2006... "I am happy to be here in Addis Ababa on this most historic occasion. I bring with me the hopes and fraternal greetings of the government and people of Ghana. Our objective is African union now. There is no time to waste. We must unite now or...

Nkrumah and the forgotten Anglo-Portuguese Alliance.(Lest we forget)(Kwame Nkrumah, Portuguese colonialism)
February 1, 2006... Nkrumah recognised the double condition of Portugal as "coloniser and colonised" when he wrote in 1963 that "a form of financial and diplomatic dependence, accompanied by political independence, is presented by Portugal [which] is an...

Liberia: a new beginning; After 158 years of "imperial" male rule, Liberia has just seen the inauguration of its first female president. Now President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf must set the pace for other African women to follow. Jarlawah A. Tonpo reports from Monrovia.(Around Africa)
February 1, 2006... Monday, 16 January 2006 will forever be remembered. It was a cloudy day, but the rains surprisingly held out. Surely the heavens were on Liberia's side. And gorgeously dressed in her African attire, the first democratically-elected woman...

Nigeria.(InBrief)(British Airways to help modernise Nigerian airlines)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... British Airways is to help the Nigerian aviation industry modernise in the wake of several recent air disasters that have claimed hundreds of lives (see story on p53). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to a Nigerian government statement...

South Africa: it's boom time down south but for whom? In an unexpected increase in fortunes, the South African economy has exceeded all expectations by registering a whopping 5.1% growth in 2005. But how to translate these figures into real benefits for the majority black polulation remains the problem. Kgomotso Nyanto reports from Johannesburg.(Around Africa)
February 1, 2006... It came as a pleasant surprise to all economic pundits, even Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, who had forecast 4.3% growth in 2005. Now the race is on for an annual growth rate of 6%, expected to be the panacea to South Africa's poverty and...

Ghana.(presidential elections)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Major (rtd) Kojo Boakye Djan (above), who led the 1979 uprising that freed Jerry Rawlings from jail and paved the way for democratic elections won by President Hilla Limann, has become the first candidate to announce his intentions for the 2008...

Kenya: post-referendum blues; Although the government lost the referendum on the new constitution back in November, political normality is yet to return. Wanjohi Kabukuru reports from Nairobi.(Around Africa)
February 1, 2006... In the run-up to the constitutional referendum in November, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a disgruntled partner in the ruling National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), jumped ship and joined the opposition Kenya African National Union (KANU) to...

Who was the best footballer ever?(Under the Neem Tree)(George Best)
February 1, 2006... "Pele called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life... If you had given me a choice between beating four defenders and smashing in a goal from 30 yards, or going to bed with Miss World, it would...

Congo: a nation in intensive care; Antoine Roger Lokongo, a London-based Congolese journalist, has just returned from a three-week trip to his homeland. This is what he saw.(Feature)
February 1, 2006... Stepping out of the aeroplane at the N'Djili International Airport, I was taken aback by a massive portrait of our slain leader, Laurent Desire Kabila, still hanging in the arrival entrance. Kabila was allegedly shot by one of his bodyguards on...

Malawi: urban explosion is choking capital city to death; Residents of Lilongwe are worried that chaotic development, fuelled by rapid urbanisation, will turn their well-planned city into a mega slum if nothing is done to tackle the problem. Santorri Chamley reports.(Feature)
February 1, 2006... Vitima Ndovi, a journalist who lives in Lilongwe, partly blames the government of former President Bakili Muluzu for its laisser-faire attitude to urban planning and law enforcement, and thus allowing the current chaotic development to occur....

Liberia: turning swords into ploughshares; The youths who fought for various rebel groups in Liberia's 14-year civil war are now engaged in constructive work, producing food under the sponsorship of the Foundation for African Development Aid. Jarlarawah A. Tonpo toured their project sites in six of Liberia's 15 counties, and sent this report from Monrovia.(Feature)
February 1, 2006... Two years after the guns fell silent, the young men and women who fought the destructive 14-year war that brought Liberia to its knees are being put to work, this time in what is described as "a battle for food production", thanks to the...

Nigeria: aviation misery.(aircraft accidents)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... After the third devastating air crash in two months, one of Nigeria's most experienced administrators, Idika Kalu, has severely criticised the country's aviation sector, reports Peter Ezeh. In an article in a Lagos newspaper, Sunday Vanguard,...

Laying the foundations for Africa's future: the African Capacity Building Foundation is enhancing African development by training some of its people. Stuart Price travelled around Africa visiting some of the Foundation's projects.(Feature)
February 1, 2006... Over the years, African thinkers have tried to find a panacea for African development, but their efforts have often been over-shadowed by outside meddling. Today, while donors continue to provide advice--sometimes perhaps out of...

Tanzania: Kikwete takes the hot seat; Tanzania's new president, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, faces a gigantic task as he starts his five-year term of office following a myriad of electoral promises that he made. Ramadhani Kabale reports from Dar es Salaam.(Feature)
February 1, 2006... As was highly expected, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, 55, won the presidential elections held on 14 December, and has therefore replaced President Benjamin Mkapa who stepped down after finishing his two five-year constitutional terms. ...

Zambia: all sweetness as debts are cancelled; Zambia's creditors have taken turns in cancelling the country's debt. But will the savings trickle down to the people? Austin Mbewe reports from Lusaka.(Feature)
February 1, 2006... Zambia's attainment of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) completion point has triggered a wave of debt cancellation from multilateral creditors that include the IMF, World Bank and the African Development Bank. Several bilateral...

February is Black History Month USA: "whites' accounts of the origins of sharecropping never mention the never-realised idea of giving the ex-slaves 40 acres and a mule for each family." Now it's the south of USA that is attracting young black professionals and college students.(Not in Black or White)
February 1, 2006... "You can't have your cake and eat it, too." I've never understood that saying. It's peculiar. You've probably gone and bought your fancy cake, paid good money; or even baked it yourself: laborious, hard labour, no easy, instant mixes. The least...

Haiti: the suffering continues under UN noses.(Feature)
February 1, 2006... Almost two years have passed since Haiti's elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was put on an American army plane and declared not welcome in the Western hemisphere by Washington. It was time to "turn the page in the history of Haiti",...

The Africa channel: two new TV channels, recently launched in the USA and Brazil, hope to change how the world sees Africa and people of African descent. Leslie Goff in Washington and Osei Boateng in London report.(Diaspora)
February 1, 2006... Starving children, tribal warfare, and disease are all that most Americans see of Africa on their television sets. Whether by design or by accident, US television stations present Africa, when they bother to cover it at all, as a "dark...

Our Roots is your roots too: Osei Boateng on a cartoon sketchbook by a Nigerian illustrator that every discerning African, both continental and diasporan, should buy. It is worth every penny of its [pounds sterling]9.99 price tag.(Books)
February 1, 2006... Tayo Fatunla, the Nigerian cartoonist, designer, illustrator, caricaturist, storyteller and cartoon tutor is much the story as his cartoons. He has developed over the years into a fine professional whose work now commands international respect....