Weekly anb10034.txt #6



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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 03-10-2002      PART #4/6

* Ethiopie. Aides diverses - Les Pays-Bas ont accordé une subvention de 1,7 million d'euros à des entreprises éthiopiennes des secteurs de l'industrie manufacturière, de l'exportation et de l'agriculture, au titre de l'assistance technique. Cette subvention financerait aussi des programmes de formation. Les compagnies potentiellement bénéficiaires doivent soumettre des propositions de projet qui seront évaluées par une équipe technique. -- La Banque mondiale a approuvé une subvention de 132,7 millions de dollars pour financer le Projet d'accès à l'énergie de l'Ethiopie, qui est destiné à élargir l'accès de la population à l'électricité. Et le FMI a approuvé le décaissement d'un prêt de 14 millions de dollars dans le cadre de la Facilité pour la croissance et la réduction de la pauvreté. Ce montant fait part d'un prêt de $115 millions consenti à l'Ethiopie en mars 2001. (PANA, Sénégal, 27/9-1/10 2002)

* Ethiopia. Unprecedented crisis - An early warning network financed by the United States says the failure of rains in Ethiopia has left the country facing the prospect of drought on an unprecedented scale. As many as 14 million people could need feeding by early next year. The US warning network says that "timely delivery and distribution of additional food aid is crucial for maintaining minimum nutritional levels". "Delivery of basic food aid now will avoid the need for widespread and expensive supplementary and therapeutic feeding later," it said. The World Food Programme (WFP) says that six million Ethiopians will need food aid in the next few months. WFP warns that it is facing a shortfall in its pledges of food from major donors of tens of thousands of tonnes. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 1 October 2002)

* The Gambia. The Gambian government to refund Jawara 400,000 dollars - The Gambian government will pay former president, Sir Dawda Jawara, about 400,000 US dollars as a rent refund package on his landed properties, the Finance and Economic Affairs department disclosed on 25 September. Jawara, who recently returned home from exile in Britain, was denied rental on his properties following his overthrow in 1994. The government's decision to effect the payment came shortly after Jawara announced his formal resignation from the Peoples' Progressive Party under which he ruled the Gambia for nearly three decades. Jawara's deal with the current administration, however, does not conclusively signify the return of all of his assets. After the last presidential election, the current head of state, Yahya Jammeh granted Jawara unconditional amnesty and asked him to return home. (PANA, Senegal, 25 September 2002)

* Ghana. President Kufuor names Dagbon committees - President John Agyekum Kufuor has appointed 11-member committees to run the affairs of six Dagbon districts in northern Ghana, where a state of emergency has been in force since the murder of the Dagbon king, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, in March. On 27 March, assailants overran the Dagbon palace in Yendi, killing Yakubu Andani II and other members of his Andani clan, after tension with the Abudu clan in the Dagbon traditional state spilt over. Elections for new district assemblies took place throughout most of Ghana in August but were postponed indefinitely in Tamale municipality assembly, Yendi, Tolon/Kumbungu, Savelugu/Nanton, Zabzugu/Tatale and Gushegu/Karaga districts due to the state of emergency prevailing there. However, assemblies in the six districts had been dissolved, creating a vacuum in district and local government administration, according to officials. It was to fill that vacuum that Kufuor issued an executive order appointing the committees, which have the same powers as elected district assemblies and are intended to help district mayors administer the affairs of the Dagbon area until elections can be held. Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, said that major decisions taken in the interim -- the awarding of contracts, for instance -- would be declared null and void because mayors had acted "ultra vires" (against the law). Baah-Wiredu hoped that the state of emergency would end before long, allowing proper elections to be held. Once the emergency is lifted, he said, the election process in the Dagbon area would start all over again, and include fresh nominations. (IRIN, Kenya, 30 September 2002)

* Guinée équatoriale. Recensement électoral - Le recensement électoral en vue de l'élection présidentielle, prévue au premier semestre 2003, a été lancé le 27 septembre à Malabo par le président Teodoro Obiang Nguema, candidat à sa propre succession. Ce recensement obligatoire, qui doit prendre fin le 16 octobre, concerne tous les Equato-Guinéens de plus de 18 ans, ainsi que ceux qui auront atteint la majorité au moment du scrutin. D'après un récent recensement de la population, la Guinée équatoriale compte 1.014.999 habitants. (PANA, Sénégal, 28 septembre 2002)

* Kenya. Teachers hold firm - 30 September: Many students are starting a second week without lessons, as the country's state teachers continue to strike. The teachers are demanding that the government implement a 1997 salary deal, but the Education Ministry has refused and declared the strike illegal. The press and public seem to be firmly on the side of the teachers. Newspapers are calling the government's strong-arm tactics detestable and illegal. Some 240,000 Kenyan teachers are observing what is a disciplined and well-coordinated protest. Classrooms across the country remain empty, with important exams coming up for hundreds of thousands of pupils. The teachers want the government to continue raising their salaries in line with the pay deal. But the Education Ministry says it simply does not have the cash, and points out that it has already doubled some teachers' wages. With a presidential election due in December, the authorities are anxious to end this strike and the bad publicity it is generating. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 30 September 2002)

* Kenya. Call to boycott courts - Kenya's law society has called for a total boycott of the country's courts as part of a growing campaign against establishment efforts to curtail debate on a new draft constitution. The constitutional review commission is expected that day to answer contempt charges for ignoring a recent court order against discussing the draft's calls for judicial reform. The draft constitution -- due to be discussed at a conference at the end of the month, ahead of general elections -- calls for a big overhaul of Kenya's system of government. (Financial Times, UK, 2 October 2002)

* Malawi. Opposition leader against third term - John Tembo, the leader of one of the factions of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) says the mood of the country is now against a third term in office for President Muluzi. He says that he had supported the bill for a third term in July, but the mood of the country has now changed and so he would now oppose it. Although the bill presented to Parliament in July failed to get the two-thirds majority to change the Constitution, the government plans to try once more to change the laws to allow Presidwent Muluzi to remain in office. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 2 October 2002)

* Mali. Lutte contre la pauvreté - Le 30 septembre, le Premier ministre malien Hamed Ag Hamani, entouré des membres de son gouvernement, a procédé à Bamako au lancement d'une vaste campagne de lutte contre la pauvreté et l'exclusion au Mali. Baptisée "Mois d'octobre, mois de solidarité et de lutte contre l'exclusion", cette campagne, d'un coût de 240 millions de FCFA, s'étalera sur les quatre semaines du mois d'octobre et ciblera les couches les plus vulnérables de la société (handicapés, indigents, personnes âgées). On a annoncé des consultations thérapeutiques gratuites en faveur des personnes cibles et la remise de dons en nature aux indigents. Faisant de la lutte contre la pauvreté une priorité absolue, le gouvernement a créé le 16 septembre une Banque malienne de solidarité, dotée d'un capital de 2,3 milliards de FCFA. L'institution, qui a pour mission principale la promotion des petites et moyennes entreprises, s'adresse à une clientèle constituée de petits entrepreneurs qui souvent ne bénéficient pas de crédit bancaire dans le système financier classique. (PANA, Sénégal, 30 septembre 2002)

* Mali. Aide américaine - Le 1er octobre, le gouvernement des Etats-Unis a accordé au Mali une aide de près de 250 milliards de FCFA (quelque 375 millions de dollars) entrant dans le cadre du nouveau programme de coopération 2003-2012. Cette aide américaine sera destinée aux secteurs de la santé, de l'économie, de l'éducation, de la décentralisation et de la communication. (PANA, Sénégal, 1er octobre 2002)

* Morocco. Parliamentary elections - 27 September: Moroccans go to the polls, today for parliamentary elections. 26 parties are standing. These are the first elections since King Mohammed VI came to the throne in 1999, and the authorities promise that the poll will be free of the corruption and interference of the past. But they fear voter apathy in a country suffering from high unemployment and growing poverty. 1 October: Final results confirm the ruling socialists as the biggest winners in the elections, but an Islamic party does unexpectedly well, tripling its seats in parliament. The socialists of Prime Minister Abderrahmane finish on top with 50 seats in the 325 seats of the lower house. It is followed by the conservative Istiqlal Party with 48 seats. In a measure of toughening Islamic sentiment, the Justice and Development Party post the biggest gains with 42 seats. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 1 October 2002)

* Maroc. Elections législatives - Le 27 septembre, 14 millions de Marocains étaient appelés à élire 325 membres de la Chambre basse du Parlement pour un mandat de cinq ans. Au total, 5.855 candidats de 26 partis politiques se présentaient dans 91 circonscriptions électorales. Les élections se sont généralement déroulées dans le calme, malgré quelques incidents locaux et quelques tentatives de fraude dénoncées. - 28 septembre. Selon les premiers résultats annoncés par le ministre de l'Intérieur, la participation au scrutin pourrait s'établir dans une fourchette de 52 à 55% des inscrits. Les islamistes du Parti justice et développement (PJD) auraient enregistré une "importante progression", doublant au moins le nombre de 14 députés qu'ils avaient dans la Chambre des représentants sortante. L'Union socialiste des forces populaires (USFP) de l'actuel Premier ministre Youssoufi, qui comptait 57 sièges, devrait s'en tirer raisonnablement. - 30 septembre. Le PJD a cherché à rassurer le pays quant au rôle politique qu'il entend tenir. "Nous défendons un islam modéré", a expliqué son chef de file, Saad Eddine Othmani, cherchant ainsi à démentir les affirmations de nombreux hommes politiques marocains qui ont vu dans la percée du PJD le spectre d'une dérive fondamentaliste au Maroc. - 1er octobre. Le ministre de l'Intérieur a donné les résultats officiels exprimés en nombre de sièges obtenus sur un total de 325. Voici les résultats des principaux partis présents à la Chambre des représentants: l'USFP 50 sièges; l'Istiglal 48; le PJD 42; le Rassemblement national des indépendants (RNI) 41; le Mouvement populaire (MP) 27; le Mouvement national populaire (MNP) 18; et l'Union constitutionnelle (UC) 16. Au total, 22 partis seront représentés à la Chambre. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 2 octobre 2002)

* Namibia. Pressure on foreign TV shows - Namibian state television station, NBC, has replaced imported programmes with local wildlife documentaries, after a presidential directive. On 1 October, President Sam Nujoma told NBC to stop broadcasting foreign soaps, films and series that "have a bad influence on the Namibian youth", according to The Namibian newspaper. Instead, the president, who is also the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, asked staff members at the state broadcaster to show films that portray Namibia in a positive light. Immediately after the order local productions made several years ago began being aired. A staff member told The Namibian that they were confused about how to carry out the order and "began pulling old tapes off the shelves almost at random". NBC were then reportedly bombarded with telephone calls from angry viewers complaining about the non-showing of regular programmes like the US-made soap Bold and the Beautiful and the sci-fi series Dune. (BBC News, UK, 1 October 2002)

* Nigeria. Ruling party clears Obasanjo of alleged misrule - An 11-member panel set up by Nigeria's ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to examine allegations of constitutional breaches against Olusegun Obasanjo has given the President a clean bill of health. The committee was set up following allegations by the lower legislative chamber, the House of Representatives, that President Obasanjo had committed 17 constitutional breaches and should be impeached. But in a report submitted to PDP national chairperson Audu Ogbe this week, the panel said the President was not guilty of any misconduct as alleged by the House. (PANA, Senegal, 26 September 2002)

* Nigeria. Annulation des lapidations? - Le 1er octobre, le président Olusegun Obasanjo a assuré que les plus hautes juridictions du Nigeria annuleraient les peines de mort par lapidation prononcées par les tribunaux islamiques contre les personnes convaincues d'adultère. Le chef de l'Etat a indiqué que plusieurs personnes condamnées à mort en vertu de la charia, la loi coranique, pourraient faire appel devant la Cour suprême du Nigeria. (Le Figaro, France, 2 octobre 2002)

* Rwanda. Genocide suspect arrested - 29 September: A leading Rwandan genocide suspect, the former prefect of the city of Kigali, has been arrested in Congo RDC. Colonel Tharcisse Renzaho was immediately transferred to the International Tribunal for Rwanda in the Tanzanian city of Arusha. In his capacity as prefect of Kigali, Colonel Renzaho had control over the city's police force and local councillors. It is alleged that, far from using his position to prevent the genocide, he was zealous in coordinating the planning of the slaughter in the city. After fleeing to Congo RDC at the end of the genocide, Colonel Renzaho is reported to have been among the most active of the Rwandan genocide suspects in exile. He served as divisional commander of the former Rwandan army in exile until 1996. The following year the colonel seems to have spent time in Nairobi where he dodged a big round up of genocide suspects conducted by the Kenyan police. He is also reported to have been active in supplying his men with arms during his time in the Kenyan capital. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 29 September 2002)

Weekly anb-bia - anb1003.txt - File #4/6