New African articles from March 2008

New African archives from March 2008

Kenya: the truth behind the violence.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I am concerned with the biased reporting of the violence in Kenya by the Western media, especially in the UK and the USA. The media has mentioned many times over how the police "suppressed" ODM (read opposition) protestors, even killing some of...

We have a history!(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Carina Ray's column ("We have a History", NA Jan) certainly did not come across as might have been intended. She is well-learned in keeping a record of all the "negative" quotes from those who are anti-African, and yet there are no counter...

Carina goofed.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I am writing in response to Carina Ray's supposed answer to Dr James Watson's claims of black inferiority ("We have a History", NA Jan). I am at a loss as to how selecting only whites as source material on African history refutes the claims of...

Secret societies, not cults.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... This is the first time I'm picking up your magazine (New African) and I must say I was annoyed with some of your articles. First, the issue of the need for secret cults to run affairs of state, as allegedly happens in developed countries....

Stand up and unite.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Carina Ray's article ("We have a history", NA Jan) addresses the ongoing saga of racism. The energy used to address racist assaults in the struggle for solidarity does waste a lot of time. Unfortunately, the world is still plagued with the...

Keep up the good work.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I write to thank you for all the valuable services that you have been rendering to us (readers) all these years. You have indeed been very consistent. Please, keep it up! I have been enjoying New African since 2001. I very much appreciate...

Not fair on Ghana.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Kwaku's article ("In My Motherland", NA Jan) was not, in the least, a fair observation of what is happening in our motherland. Like him, I do not live in Ghana. But unlike him, I have had the chance to go back more frequently, twice (sometimes...

What happened in Lisbon (1).(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... Having picked up a copy of New African during a recent visit to Zimbabwe, I had the distinct displeasure of reading on my way back what can only be considered a fanciful and inaccurate article about President Robert Mugabe's presence at the...

What happened in Lisbon (2).(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I was indeed myself in Lisbon and I have attended many such summits. I am not an apologist for any party or leader, but I cannot agree with you that there was any kind of demonstration at the summit that warranted any headline, or which...

How the word 'tribe' stereotypes Africa: as a term deeply embedded in a colonial lexicon of racism, slapping the word "tribal" on African conflicts is not only analytically lazy and inaccurate, it is also irresponsible and dangerous. The use of the term obscures the complex nature of African identities and conflicts.(Lest We Forget)
March 1, 2008... There could be no more opportune time to have this discussion with New African readers than now, when the related concepts of "tribe" and "tribalism" have become the dominant lens through which the violence associated with the contested...

African Union: a long way to unity; Despite many drawbacks in the run-up to and during the just-held African Union summit, the greater good and credibility of the AU remains the vehicle to its success. Omar Ben Yedder was in Addis Ababa and he wraps up the intricate summit.(Conference news)
March 1, 2008... Plus ca change is not an exact description of the outcome of the African Union Summit held at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital in early February, but it is not inaccurate either. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many...

China in Africa: why the West is worried.
March 1, 2008... China is not an ordinary nation. With a population of over 1.4 billion, China has been in existence for over 5,000 years and is the world's oldest centralised state. Therefore discussing its relations with any region of the world, including...

Time for the West to practise what it preaches: when it comes to China and Africa, the European Union and the US want to have their cake and eat it, writes Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade (right).
March 1, 2008... In an echo of its past colonial rivalries, European leaders and donor organisations have expressed concerns that African nations are throwing their doors open too wide to Chinese investors and to exploitation by their Asian partners. ...

How China is speaking in figures: China has an African trade target of US$100bn by 2010. Here Regina Jere-Malanda tabulates how Chinese investment figures in Africa stand out, proving that China looks at Africa as a business opportunity and partner, not a charity case as has been seen with Western economic deals.
March 1, 2008... There is no doubt China is investing heavily in Africa for its own survival too. With its economy growing at a runaway speed in the past two decades, Chinas demand for raw materials is also growing exceedingly fast. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Sir, you don't need more time.(Nuggets in a Nutshell)
March 1, 2008... Time management is a popular topic well chronicled in leadership and sociological discourse. Yet, despite the large amount of ink it gets, many leaders still get stung by the time bug while ploughing through their leadership functions. Reason:...

Kenya: the soul-searching begins; As Kenyans begin to reconstruct their lives after the disastrous post-election violence, many questions have emerged that need urgent answers. A leaked ODM strategy paper appears to incriminate the opposition, reports Wanjohi Kabukuru from Nairobi.(Focus)(Orange Democratic Movement)
March 1, 2008... A midst much pain, death and destruction, normalcy has now returned to Nairobi and relative calm all across the country. The dust has now settled and the talk is no longer the veracity of the mess that was the 2007 general elections (which has...

Kenyan: crisis impacts on region: Bamuturaki Musinguzi reports on how events in Kenya have taken a regional dimension, affecting the land-locked economies of neighbouring Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the northern and eastern parts of the DRCongo, and Southern Sudan.(Focus)
March 1, 2008... According to the World Bank, a quarter of the gross domestic product of Uganda, Rwanda, and a third of Burundi's pass through Kenya. But since the post-election violence erupted in Kenya in December, these countries have been denied essential...

Fifty years of leadership in Africa.(United Nations Economic Commission for Africa)(Organization overview)
March 1, 2008... The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Over the half-century of its existence, this unique body has worked tirelessly, if often behind the scenes, in helping to shape the region's destiny. African...

Why regional integration is imperative: this is an edited version of the speech by Abdoulie Janneh (above), UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA, during the 11th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union in Accra, Ghana.(Speech)
March 1, 2008... Africa is once again at the crossroads. Instead of being marginalised, Africa is now firmly on the international agenda through its own initiatives like the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) as well as other international...

Sub-regional offices and programmes.(United Nations Economic Commission for Africa)
March 1, 2008... The ECA works at both the regional and sub-regional levels. Sub-regional offices are based in: Rabat, Morocco, for North Africa; Niamey, Niger, for West Africa; Yaounde, Cameroon for Central Africa; Kigali, Rwanda, for East Africa and Lusaka,...

The lonely aspect of pain: why hasn't a single one of the guys who jumped about and drank champagne with me when Ghana was doing well in the African Cup of Nations tournament, phoned to share my pain at the calamity of Cameroon turfing us out of it?(Under the Neem Tree)
March 1, 2008... We often laugh at cliches, especially when we accept the dictionary definition and take them to be "hackneyed phrases". But take a saying like "when you laugh, the world laughs with you, but when you cry, you cry alone". It's a "hackneyed...

Zimbabwe: at last, all prepare for elections.(Feature)
March 1, 2008... After the huff and puff of recent months, Zimbabwe's unified elections are due on 29 March, and the opposition is not staging a boycott as it threatened. And, as Mabasa Sasa from Harare reports, there is even a "new" face on the cards, Dr Simba...

Ghana: free cash for the poor? Stephen Gyasi Jnr reports from Accra on a new government programme (now at the pilot stage) to pay social welfare benefits to the poor.(Feature)(Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Programme)
March 1, 2008... President John Agyekum Kufuor's government has introduced a National Protection Strategy (NSPS) and the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Programme (LEAP), aimed at alleviating poverty among the populace. The five-year programme,...

South Africa: the saga of the former police boss.(Feature)(Jackie Selebi)
March 1, 2008... Until a few weeks ago, Jackie Selebi commanded all that he surveyed. As South Africa's police boss and head of international police (Interpol), he was a powerful figure held in high esteem. Today, all that has gone up in smoke as he faces three...

Copper boom, new tax rules.(Feature)(Zamibia's tax policy on copper mining)
March 1, 2008... Zambia is renowned for religiously implementing World Bank privatisation reforms to the letter, including that of its lifeblood--the copper mines. Amid an outcry of poor workers' pay and increased pollution in mining towns, foreign mining...

The real rulers of Cote d'Ivoire: Dr Gary K. Busch traces the control of Cote d'Ivoire by France and how the West African country has been sleep-walking for so long that it appears not to see the 15-ton elephant [euphemism for French control] that stands in the corridors of power in Abidjan.(Feature)
March 1, 2008... The late Arsene Usher Assouan, one-time foreign minister of Cote d'Ivoire, and later mayor of Grand-Lahou, served admirably on the UN Security Council and was responsible, to a large degree, for the formation of the UN "Blue Berets" as a...

Confronting: Africa's health crisis.(Spotlight on health)
March 1, 2008... The social and economic challenges triggered by poor health provision in Africa are a stark reality that provokes sombre reflection. In this special focus, Regina Jere-Malanda looks at a wide range of issues that encumber adequate provision of...

God save Jamaica, and "Iraq".(Not in Black or White)(Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation)(Column)
March 1, 2008... I hear that the Jamaicans, the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation to be exact, have "lost" their entire archive of music and sound recordings. Somebody or some people have walked off with the island's lifetime collection... "But that sums up...

Pan-Africanism is not a pipedream.(The African Nation - The State of the Nation, 2006)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... The African Nation--The State of the Nation, 2006, by Kwesi Kwaa Prah. Publisher: The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS). In the 1950s and 60s, African nationalist leaders made a clarion call to Africans to embrace...

Rwanda: genocide haunts France again.(Books)(The role of France in the Rwandan genocide)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... France has persistently denied it played a role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Now a new book claims evidence has been unearthed which shows that Paris not only had knowledge of the impending slaughter, but diplomatic and military capacity to...

USA: the Obama phenomenon.(Diaspora)(Barack Obama)(Viewpoint essay)
March 1, 2008... His first name "Barack" means "Blessed". He has gone further than any African-American presidential aspirant in seeking his party's nomination. His opponents--the formidable Clintons--are fighting dirty. But, so far, Barack Obama is walking...

USA: experience & the race to the White House; Dr Hippolyte Fofack takes Mrs Hillary Clinton's campaign to task for deceitfully claiming that Senator Barack Obama does not have experience enough to be in the White House. Yet, in reality, Obama has more legislative experience than Mrs Clinton.(Diaspora)
March 1, 2008... More than any other US presidential race, the ongoing primaries have put a lot of emphasis on the issue of experience. This emphasis has been particularly pronounced on the Democratic front, where Senator Hillary Clinton, the former First Lady,...

The best ever!(African Nations Cup)
March 1, 2008... The days when the world laughed at African football are long over. This fact was proved beyond doubt by the sumptuous display of high-quality football at the 26ty African Cup of Nations held in Ghana (from 20 January to 10 February), and the...

Bravo Egypt! Stephen Gyasi Jnr wraps up the memorable tournament and the deserving victory of the Pharoahs of Egypt.(African Nations Cup)
March 1, 2008... Egypt consolidated their position as the powerhouse of African soccer when they successfully defended their Nations Cup title by defeating four-time champions, Cameroon, in the final match of the Ghana 2008 tournament. The Egyptians,...

Good business, bad business: Stephen Gyasi Jnr and Kingsley Antwi Bosiako on how business fared during the three weeks of the Nations Cup fiesta.(African Nations Cup)
March 1, 2008... Ghana's business community was expecting a real windfall based on the number of visitors the Nations Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) had projected would turn up for the fiesta. But the visitors never came! Out of a projected one million...

Opening ceremony: where else ...(African Nations Cup)(Brief article)(Photograph)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: The choreography, artistry and cultural content of the opening ceremony were a sight to behold. And some kings even came to town... (from left) Issa...

Action replay.(African Nations Cup)(Brief article)(Photograph)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Main picture left: The Egyptian goalkeeper, EI Hadary, shows why he is No.1 in Africa. (Top) Not even the flying Sulley Muntari could stop the...

The full results.(African Nations Cup)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Group A (based in Accra) Ghana 2, Guinea 1 Namibia 1, Morocco 5 Guinea 3, Morocco 2 Ghana 1, Namibia 0 Ghana 2, Morocco 0 Guinea 1, Namibia 1 *Ghana and Guinea qualify for the quarter-final [ILLUSTRATION...