New African articles from June 2003

New African archives from June 2003

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... Why Cross is cross I couldn't stand the nonsense Eddie Cross put across to your readers for consideration as 'simple facts" (Letters, NA, April). In fact, I'm nor surprised that the nonsense is coming from the very same men and women who...

Africa: the Union takes shape. .(Cover Story)
June 1, 2003... Gradually, the African Union is taking shape, a year on from the launch in Durban. But there is still plenty of unfinished business as the leaders meet at the Second Summit in Maputo, Mozambique, from 4 to 14 July. Implementation will be the...

Making the African Union succeed: the greatest issue in Africa from now to 2010 will be the African Union's consolidation and development or its failure to do so. .(Cover Story)
June 1, 2003... If Africa succeeds in consolidating and developing the African Union (AU), it will make the continent more cohesive than ever before. Africa will be able to speak with one powerful voice in protecting and advancing its own interests. The...

NEPAD: a partnership of unequal partners.(New Partnership for Africa's Development)(Cover Story)
June 1, 2003... Partnership implies a certain amount of reciprocity, mutual respect and equity. But what happens when you have such a huge gap between the partners? Will NEPAD achieve anything other than tying Africa too closely to the West at precisely the...

Africa and the post-Iraq world: only by standing up as UNITED communities and nations can the Arab and African defend themselves. (Guest Column).
June 1, 2003... If the Gulf War in 1991 was more about a demonstration of power by America in establishing a new world order, the just-ended invasion of Iraq is even more so--as its overriding objective is to show how "awesome" the technology of war has become...

The Africa that never was. (Dossier).("The Hearts of Darkness")(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... For decades, Africans have wondered why the continent gets such bad press in the West. In the last four years, New African has tried to explain why. Now, thanks to a brilliant new book by the New York-based Ugandan journalist, Milton Allimadi,...

Regime change - is Zimbabwe next? Since when did Britain and America care for the human rights of Zimbabweans? When the land issue exploded in 2000? Or when Ian Smith ruled a semi-apartheid Rhodesia? (Lest we Forget).
June 1, 2003... As far as imperialism is concerned, England-cum Britain reminds me of the old men's saying: "Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it." I say this because, as a Portuguese, I am well aware that Portugal has been England's oldest ally...

Ghana: no hiding place for former oppressors; the national reconciliation commission (NRC), modelled on South Africa's truth and reconciliation commission, is now in full flight. And what harrowing tales are coming out! (Around Africa).
June 1, 2003... Since the NRC began its public hearings at the Old Parliament House in Accra on 14 January this year, many tears have been shed by victims, witnesses and some members of the public as gory stories of abductions, killings, tortures and seizure...

Sudan: is peace imminent? At long last Sudan's president, Omar Beshir, held a landmark meeting with the SPLA leader, Dr John Garang in Nairobi. So is peace imminent? (Around Africa).
June 1, 2003... The two rivals met in the Kenyan capital while President Beshir was on a one-day state visit. They expressed hope on reaching a final agreement by the end ofJune, and reaffirmed their commitment to honour the previous peace agreements reached...

Nigeria: "Operation Earthquake" sweeps the polls. (Around Africa).(presidential re-election campaign of Olusegun Obasanjo)
June 1, 2003... President Olusegun Obasanjo, in a military fashion, code-named his presidential campaign "operation earthquake". And when the earthquake hit his opponents in the April elections, it reduced them to rubble. Against all predictions, Olusegun...

Togo: buy me, I'm still the best; Cote d'Ivoire's descent into anarchy has frightened the Togolese into thinking of voting for "the devil they know" Ebow Godwin reports from Lome. (Around Africa).
June 1, 2003... "I will not remain in power one day more than necessary when my mandate comes to an end in June 2003. And I shall not do anything to touch or amend the Constitution because if I do I will be accused of trying to prolong my tenure like some...

South Africa: goodnight good knight. (Around Africa).(Walter Sisulu)(Obituary)
June 1, 2003... He was the heart and soul of the ANC during apartheid's most brutal years. At 9pm on 5 May, two weeks short of his 91st birthday, Walter Sisulu, one of Africa's greatest sons, died in the arms of his equally famous wife, Albertina, whom he...

Senegal: time for revenge; now it is tit for tat, as Senegal throws out French illegal immigrants in retaliation for the humiliation suffered by Senegalese illegal immigrants in France. Paul Michaud reports from Paris. (Around Africa).
June 1, 2003... Rarely does an African country go to great lengths to defend the trampled dignity of its people living abroad. But Senegal has had enough! After decades of watching its nationals humiliated in France, in the name of illegal immigration, Dakar...

Zimbabwe: regime change was not discussed; contrary to media reports, Presidents Thabo Mbeki, Olusegun Obasanjo and Bakili Muluzi did not discuss "regime change" or an "exit plan" for Mugabe when they went to Harare on 5 May. (Around Africa).
June 1, 2003... Much has been said, and reported, about "regime change" or an exit plan" in Zimbabwe, but when the three African presidents went to Harare on 5 May to meet with President Robert Mugabe and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, "regime...

Honour, where art thou gone? (Under the Neem Tree).(war in Iraq)
June 1, 2003... It is sad indeed that women, children, the aged and the infirm, should have been mown down by bombs and tank-fire, in order that some greedy individuals and their corporate friends should laugh all the way to the bank. I cannot believe the...

Building success in Africa. (Spotlight Construction).(construction projects )
June 1, 2003... On a continent with so many weak economies, the construction industry could be expected to be one of Africa's weakest sectors. But it is not. Growth rates in the sector of 6-10% are not uncommon and look set to be sustained over the coming...

Winnie downed, but not out. (Feature).(Winnie Mandela)
June 1, 2003... In our last issue, we predicted that where apartheid failed, the democratic order might just succeed in silencing the ex-wife of Nelson Mandela and a remarkably courageous woman who contributed in no small measure to the demise of apartheid. It...

Tanzania: the Maasai predicament. (Feature).
June 1, 2003... Over the years, the Maasai people of Tanzania have been pushed off their land to make way for game reserves and national parks, to the delight of the tourism industry. But what have the Maasai got in return? "almost nothing". The map drawn...

Tanzania: land is becoming a hot issue. (Feature).
June 1, 2003... Land and who gets it, is becoming a hot potato in Tanzania Herald Tagama reports from Dares Salaam on how the government's attempt to change the land laws in favour of foreign investors is arousing passions in the country. The president of...

Zimbabwe: the ugly reflection in the mirror. (Feature).
June 1, 2003... One of the new black farmers empowered by the government's controversial land reform programme, Alexander Kanengoni, writes about his new white neighbour, Peter Fleming. And what a good neighbour he is. In April, I had an extraordinary...

Botswana: diamonds or development? (Feature).
June 1, 2003... James Suzman lays bare the facts in what has now become an intractable struggle between the Botswana government and the London-based NGO, Survival International, over the relocation of the San from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (see New...

Kenya's castaways. (Feature).
June 1, 2003... It is a familiar problem. Marginalisation, eviction, forced assimilation--the story of land rights across Africa. It is a pattern that the Ogiek of Kenya know well, having suffered the loss of ancestral land since colonial times. First,...

The reality in South Africa. (Not in Black or White).
June 1, 2003... Don't mention the "A" word. You see, it has become rude to remember Apartheid these days. It ended such a long time ago, well over nine years. And we have to "move on". Easy to do when you are being driven in a limousine, or driving your own...

The human right for health & life. (Spotlight Health).
June 1, 2003... "The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being..." preamble to the WHO Constitution (1948). This is Part I of our two-part special report on health in Africa, written by ...

The Bahamas let the good times keep rolling. (Diaspora).
June 1, 2003... The Islands of the Bahamas celebrate 30 years of independence on 10th July. The 700 islands that make up the country have had its shady characters of yesteryear (Christopher Columbus and the lot), but if three decades of independence can...

Books good news for African writers. (The Arts).
June 1, 2003... The days when African writers roamed the world looking for non-existent publishers interested in African and black issues, may be coming to an end. A newly launched publishing house in London, Adonis & Abbey Publishers, promises to be what...