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Report: More than 100,000 asylum seeker children in UK trapped in poverty
Allow asylum seekers to
work, UK Govt urged
Continued on Page 3
COMMUNITY
UK deports
terminally ill
woman to
Ghana, rejects
plea for
her return P. 16
McFadden:
"Every worker
should earn a
fair wage" P. 4
Suzanna Lubrano releases
irresistibly danceable LP “Saida”
© AP PHOTO
A new report shows that
some 100,000 children are
caught in a 10-year backlog of UK asylum applications and are living in
poverty. The report "Like
Any Other Child?" published by children's charity
Barnardo's, shows that
these vulnerable children
frequently live in intolerably poor accommodation
from which they are
moved over and over
again. "There is a desperate need for a new approach and in particular a
moral and economic case
for allowing parents trapped in the backlog to work
and support their children. Often they have
skills the UK needs and
they have no wish to live
on government handouts.
They seek only the right to
give their children a better
life and to recover some
dignity for themselves,"
says Barnardo's Chief
Executive, Martin Narey.
IMMIGRATION
NEWS
Frattini
proposes
fingerprinting
visitors
P. 5
to EU
THE GUIDE
The famous Cape Verdean songstress Suzanna Lubrano is back with a new
LP "Saida", an excellent, sweet and irresistibly danceable LP with
powerful and relevant messages.
P. 21
How to deal
with relationship
problems
P. 6
Beckham: Act to save children
from dying from preventable causes
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
David Beckham visited Sierra Leone in
January to draw attention to the issue of
child survival. "We can't turn a blind
eye to the tens of thousands of young
children who die every day in the developing world mostly from causes that
are preventable. In Sierra Leone, one in
four children dies before reaching their
fifth birthday - it's shocking and tragic
especially when the solutions are simple
- things like vaccinations against measles or using a mosquito net to reduce
the chance of getting malaria,"
he said.
P. 8
ENTERTAINMENT
FOCUS
DJ Dubwise:
“Politics is a game
that can either
build or destroy a
nation”
Interview
with Flavia
Mbazima,
Miss Zambia
UK
P. 15
P. 20
2
UK IMMIGRATION NEWS
February 2008
UK now fingerprinting
all visa applicants
Anyone applying for a UK visa
from 133 countries covering three
quarters of the world's population
now have their fingerprints checked
against UK databases, Immigration
Minister Liam Byrne has revealed.
He said the new system has already
spotted nearly 500 cases of identity
swapping.
Addressing the staff of the Border
and Immigration Agency (BIA) in
early January, Mr. Byrne said: "The
public wants stronger borders. They
want us to shut down the causes of illegal immigration and hold newcomers
to account, deporting rule breakers
where necessary. They also want a
compassionate system, which makes
and enforces decisions fast when we
have obligations to honour - and lets
those we need contribute to Britain as
long as they speak English, pay tax and
obey the law.
"My goal therefore in 2008 is as
ambitious as it is urgent. There are four
themes to our work: protection, prevention, accountability and compassion.
By Christmas the system will look and
feel different. Every month the public
will be able to see us not talking about
change but delivering on our ten point
plan for change. The public is right to
demand a new system. We have listened. And we will act."
Mr. Byrne set out the government's
timetable to achieve ten milestones on
migration. He said that within 15 days,
the UK will check fingerprints before a
visa is issued anywhere in the world.
Within 60 days, the government
Overstaying students
in UK can be excused
UK's Immigration officers have been informed not
to deport foreign students
whose visas have expired
unless they have broken
other laws, a leaked Home
Office memorandum suggests.
The Daily Mail obtained a
note circulated to department
officials it claims was written
by Border and Immigration
Agency director Jonathan
Lindley after chief executive
Lin Homer took notice of one
student's case.
Ms. Homer said that if there
was evidence of corruption or
fraud, students would still be
removed. The Tories said a
blind eye was being turned to
those with no right to stay,
BBC reported.
Mr Lindley said the policy
on dealing with out-of-time
applications was currently
under review and asked that
officers did not proceed with
enforcing any student refusal
cases unless "deemed to be a
priority".
Ms Homer told BBC Radio
5 Live that the advice was triggered by the case of a Chinese
student at university in
Manchester who applied to
extend her leave in time but
got her bank details wrong, so
had to resubmit her application.
"She corrected and sent us
another form of payment,
actually an old fashioned
postal order,
which arrived a
day or two after
her leave expired and because
of a toughening
up of the rules
that was refused and enforcement action
was taken now that seemed to me to be
us taking our
toughness
a
stage too far,"
Ms Homer said.
According to
John Tincey of
t
h
e
Immigration
Service Union,
the memo was
"astonishing".
He told 5 Live
Ms. Lin Homer, hief Executive,
the main prioriBorder and Immigration Agency
ties were removing
foreign
rities have to be set."
national prisoners, followed
Shadow home secretary
by failed asylum seekers, BBC David Davis said: "It is astonireported.
shing that warped government
He said: "In an ideal world priorities are dictating that our
the Home Office would have immigration authorities turn a
enough money and enough blind eye to those with no right
immigration officers to actual- to stay in the UK. These revely go after everybody who lations reflect the continued
shouldn't be in the country.
chaos at the BIA, which is
"But the Home Office esti- already struggling to deport
mates there are some 600,000 foreign prisoners and remove
people in the country illegally hundreds of thousands of fai- to look for those people we led asylum seekers who are in
have less than 1,500 immigra- the UK illegally."
tion officers, so basically prio-
UK to ratify
anti-trafficking treaty
Home Secretary Jacqui
Smith has said UK intends to
ratify the Council of Europe
Convention
against
Trafficking by the end of the
year.
She said the ratification of
the
Convention
against
Trafficking will be yet another
milestone in the Government's
concerted strategy to protect
the victims of trafficking and
bring to justice those that
exploit them.
Ms. Smith said: "One of the
vilest crimes that threaten our
society is the trafficking of
human beings. This horrendous crime is the product of
organised criminality, whose
business is to make money
from human misery.”
The Home Secretary said
the UK will make the necessary legislative and procedural
changes before the end of the
year as part of its wider strategy to combat trafficking.
She said "Ratification is not
and should not be an end in
itself. Efforts to rescue victims
of trafficking and bring to
justice those that exploit them
will go on until we ratify and
we will continue to try to
improve our ability to combat
this horrendous crime after we
ratify.
Ms. Smith said: the UK has
already achieved a great deal.
“In March 2007 we launched
the comprehensive UK Action
Plan on Trafficking on the
same day as signing the
Convention. We have also
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Stephen Ogongo
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plans to introduce on the spot fines for
employers who don't make the right
right-to-work checks. The new points
system for managing migration is also
to be introduced within 80 days while a
single border force and police-like
powers for frontline staff will be introduced within 100 days.
The government also plans within
200 days to activate powers to automatically deport foreign national prisoners
and within 330 days to begin issuing
compulsory ID cards for those foreign
nationals who want to stay.
By Christmas UK will begin counting foreign nationals in and out of the
country and introduce compulsory
watch-list checks for high risk journeys
before they land.Mr. Byrne said the
Government is currently consulting on
proposals to overhaul how UK marriage and short term visas are issued.
"Taken together all these measures
make-up the biggest shake-up of the
immigration system in its history. They
allow the UK to continue to reap the
benefits of migration, while also preventing abuse of the system," he said.
established
a
dedicated
Human Trafficking Centre and
provided £4.5m over the last 5
years for victim protection
under the Poppy scheme,
which supports adult women
trafficked into the UK for
sexual exploitation."
The Home Office said criminalisation of all forms of
human trafficking has already
secured 68 convictions under
the Sexual Offences Act and
combating trafficking has
been made a priority for The
Serious and Organised Crime
Agency.
UK's decision to ratify the
Council
of
Europe's
Convention on Action Against
Human Trafficking has been
welcomed
by
Liberal
Democrat Shadow Home
Secretary Chris Huhne who
called on the Government to
step up its efforts to make sure
other member states of the EU
followed suit.
So far, only 10 countries
have ratified the convention
which enters into force on 1st
February this year. "I regret to
say that the signatories are
mainly
poor
countries.
Although we will be the
seventh European Union
country to sign up and ratify,
we will be only the third developed country to do so after
Austria and Denmark. I very
much
hope
that
the
Government will maintain the
pressure on other EU member
states to stop displacement,"
Mr. Huhne said.
CONTRIBUTORS: TAYO, Musah Ibrahim Musah,
Reggie Tagoe, Pauline Long, Kwaku Boatin, Eric Singh,
Stephen Oladipupo, Ekarika Nana 0bot
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UK IMMIGRATION NEWS
February 2008
3
More than 100,000 asylum seeker children in UK trapped in poverty
Govt urged to change law to
allow asylum seekers work
Some 100,000 children are caught
in a 10-year backlog of UK asylum
applications and are living in poverty, a new report shows.
These vulnerable children frequently live in intolerably poor accommodation from which they are moved over
and over again. Although their parents
are often desperate to work and pay
their way in the UK, the system does
not allow this, a report published by
children's charity Barnardo's shows.
Barnardo's has published the report
"Like Any Other Child?" as part of its
campaign to end child poverty in the
UK. The major children's charity is calling for asylum seekers to be given the
right to work, so they can lift their children out of poverty. The charity said it
welcomes new procedures introduced
by the Home Office which will mean
that from now on many more families
arriving in the UK will, if their claim
fails, be swiftly returned to their country of origin.
It, however, said that the asylum
backlog needs to be dealt with urgently
and, specifically, parents in the UK for
longer than six months should be allowed to work and support their children.
The report cites the appalling conditions experienced by asylum seeking
“Banning asylum seekers
from working condemns them
and their families to poverty
while they await the outcome
of their asylum claims. With
cases often taking months
and even years to resolve,
asylum seekers face the stark
choice of trying to survive on
meagre benefits, paid at a
lower rate than everyone else,
or of exploitation at the
hands of unscrupulous
employers in the informal
economy.”
TUC General Secretary
Brendan Barber
“There is a desperate need for
a new approach and in particular a moral and economic
case for allowing parents
trapped in the backlog to work
and support their children.
Often they have skills the UK
needs and they have no wish
to live on government handouts. They seek only the
right to give their children a
better life and to recover some
dignity for themselves."
Children's Charity
Barnardo's Chief Executive,
Martin Narey
families in the UK who are awaiting
decisions on their claims - in some
cases for up to ten years. It highlights
the shocking disadvantages asylum
seeking children are forced to endure,
living in families with incomes significantly below, already modest, normal
benefit levels; living in damp and unsafe housing; often suffering aggressive
racial abuse and frequently having to
change schools. On top of all that, asylum seekers also live with terrible
uncertainty for years on end, which can
create an unbearable environment for
children. Some children face deportation to countries they can't remember
or might never have lived in.
One asylum seeker, Kirsi, 29, fled to
the UK from Kenya in 2004 after being
tortured by rebels, who wanted information on her husband, as he was
involved in land rights disputes. Kirsi
and her three year-old son, Daniel currently live on the 12th floor of a tower
block in Glasgow in a damp, overcrowded flat. In Africa, Kirsi was a trained
accounts clerk and since being in
Scotland has passed her Scottish
Qualifications Authority in computing:
"The longer my application takes,
the more chances I miss. I want to be
contributing to society and providing a
better life for Danny, but I am forced to
rely on benefits. All my life I have
worked, where I come from
we're not used to getting handouts. I feel wasted and frustrated, it's so depressing, our
lives are on hold."
Barnardo's
Chief
Executive, Martin Narey,
said: "The Government's
New Asylum Model (NAM)
recognises the need for a
speedier process for asylum
seekers, which is humane and
fair, and we welcome its
introduction. We do not
oppose asylum policy and
recognise that under the new
procedures many families
will be removed from the UK
speedily. But for those whose
cases have been languishing
in the old system, often for
years, there is a desperate
need for a new approach and
in particular a moral and economic case for allowing
parents trapped in the backlog to work and support
their children. Often they
have skills the UK needs and
they have no wish to live on government handouts. They seek only the
right to give their children a better life
and to recover some dignity for themselves."
"Like Any Other Child?" is calling
for the Home Office to re-address the
current UK asylum process, focussing
on the needs of the children.
It recommends giving asylum seekers who have been in the UK for more
than six months the right to work. It
also recommends housing asylum seeking families with children only in conditions which would be acceptable for
UK families living in temporary
accommodation. The report asks the
government to ensure that asylum-seeking families with children are allocated to accommodation which they can
occupy for the duration of their asylum
applications. Another major recommendation of the "Like Any Other
Child?" report is that asylum-seeking
families should not be made to move
distances which entail children changing schools.
Reacting to the findings of "Like
every other child?" report, Donna
Covey, Chief Executive of the Refugee
Council said the report "adds a welcome voice to the debate about the treatment of asylum seeking children and
their families. The testimony contained
within it highlights the often shocking
conditions asylum seeking children are
forced to endure and the hugely detrimental impact government policy such
as detention and the restrictions on the
right to work has on asylum seeking
families."
The report was also welcomed by
TUC General Secretary Brendan
Barber who said: "Banning asylum seekers from working condemns them and
their families to poverty while they
await the outcome of their asylum
claims. With cases often taking months
and even years to resolve, asylum seekers face the stark choice of trying to
survive on meagre benefits, paid at a
lower rate than everyone else, or of
exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous employers in the informal economy."
The UK Government has intensified checks on those arriving in the
country. Now there are dogs sniffing
for drugs in hand luggage while
immigration officers check the passengers' passports at Gatwick.
Travellers suspected of carrying illegal substances are also being asked by
Customs staff to step into the 'Sentinel'
- a hi-tech machine which can detect
small quantities of drugs in the air
around them. The Home Office said
that ahead of the completed merger of
the Border and Immigration Agency
and Her Majesty's Revenue and
Customs taking place later this year,
Gatwick already has a single checkpoint to protect Britain from unwanted
people and illegal goods.
Immigration Minister Liam Byrne
explained why a single border force is
needed saying: "The Single Border
Force is the public face of the biggest
shake-up of Britain's border security
for 40 years.
"Our controls are much more visi-
© GNN PHOTO
Tougher checks at Gatwick airport
"Smuggling people and goods
into Britain is big business
and we have to stop the criminal gangs behind it. That's
why we are merging immigration control and customs and
creating the UK Border
Agency later this year.”
Immigration Minister Liam
ble. With officers in uniform and bold
signage, taxpayers can now see the
extra security they are paying for, like
fingerprint visas, which prevent people
lying about their identity to get to the
UK. Smuggling people and goods into
Britain is big business and we have to
stop the criminal gangs behind it.
That's why we are merging immigration control and customs and creating
the UK Border Agency later this year.
"In the meantime, customs and
immigration officers are sharing more
intelligence about threats to the country
and are increasingly making use of
each others' powers to protect the border."
The Government is also working
behind the scenes to control illegal
immigration and crime.
In order to stop unwanted people
before they reach UK's border, British
immigration officers are stationed at
the major European ports, like Calais,
Paris and Brussels. The number of
Airline Liaison Officers working out of
foreign airports to help travel operators
identify forged passports has also been
increased.
Over the next few years, ticket purchase information will be made available in advance to the UK Border
Agency, to stop would-be illegal immigrants, terrorists and criminals ever setting foot on a plane. At the UK's border, immigration officers are being
given stronger police-style powers to
make arrests and prosecute offenders
more often.
UK IMMIGRATION NEWS
4
Campaign launched to promote awareness of minimum wage
February 2008
The UK government has
launched a three-month
campaign to promote aware- “We want to make sure worness of the national minikers know their rights and
mum wage (NMW) and help employers know their responexpose cases of underpay- sibilities. The national miniment.
mum wage remains one of
The campaign was launched
on 10th January in East the most important new rights
London with the unveiling of a
introduced by this
minimum wage information Government. Employers who
tour bus. The '£5.52: Are you
on board?' bus will travel to don't pay the minimum wage
are not only cheating wormore than 30 towns and cities
across the UK, providing free
kers, they're undercutting
help and information to memhonest businesses.”
bers of the public - as well as
access to online and phone
Minister for Employment
support.
Relations, Pat McFadden
According
to
the
Department for Business, it is
estimated that 1 million people
earn a fair wage for a fair
in the UK currently earn the national day's work. We want to make
minimum wage, which increased in sure workers know their
October last year to £5.52 for people rights and employers know
aged 22 and over, £3.40 for 16-17 year their responsibilities.
olds, £4.60 for 18- 21 year olds.
"The national minimum wage
Launching the campaign, Minister remains one of the most important new
for Employment Relations, Pat rights introduced by this Government.
McFadden said: "Every worker should Employers who don't pay the minimum
© GNN PHOTO
McFadden: “Every worker
should earn a fair wage”
wage are not only cheating workers,
they're undercutting honest businesses.
This information campaign will help
provide those most at risk of underpayment with the advice and support they
need to take action where necessary."
The Department for Business, which
is funding the campaign, hopes the bus
will reach almost 800,000 people
during its journey. Workers visiting the
bus will be able to use the tools provided on board to work out if they're
being paid correctly, or to make a complaint if they have concerns, which
enforcement officers will investigate.
The confidential NMW helpline
(0845 6000 678) accepts calls and
enquiries from workers (which can be
anonymous), employers and any other
interested parties, such as independent
advisors. Lines are open Monday to
Friday 9am to 5pm. In Northern Ireland
the helpline number is 0845 6500 207.
The Government has also announced a range of tough new measures to
crack down on rogue bosses who refuse to pay the national minimum wage,
including potentially unlimited penalties for the most serious offenders and
stronger powers for inspectors to investigate evidence of wrong-doing. These
new reforms include a simpler, more
effective penalty regime where all
employers underpaying workers will
be fined.
Save into private pension for a
better future life, workers advised
average men only survived to
age 49 and women to 53.
Today, one in four babies is
expected to live to 100.
"People are living longer,
are more active and expect to
be able to enjoy the type of
lifestyle in retirement they had
while working."
Mr Hain noted that while
around three quarters of people say they will need more
than the State Pension to live
on, only around four in 10
working age people are saving
into a private pension.
"With increasing longevity,
if we don't tackle the challenge
of under-saving, by around
2050 we face the nightmare of
a pensions crisis with people
of working age struggling to
pay for an ageing population.
The state, individuals and
employers all share in the
responsibility to avert such a
crisis - so we must act decisively now to renew the social
contract between us," he said.
State Pension age in the UK
will increase gradually to 68
by 2046 so that future genera-
One hundred years ago few people lived long enough to collect a
State Pension - on average men
only survived to age 49 and
women to 53. Today, one in four
babies is expected to live to 100.
People are living longer, are more
active and expect to be able to
enjoy the type of lifestyle in retirement they had while working."
© GNN PHOTO
Individual workers in the
UK have been encouraged to
take personal responsibility
by saving for later life as
part of a renewed social contract designed to avoid the
nightmare of a pensions crisis in years to come.
Secretary of State for Work
and Pensions, Peter Hain said
action was vital so that future
generations of workers were
not left struggling to pay for an
ageing population.
Speaking ahead of the
second reading of the Pensions
Bill 2007 - which proposes
automatic enrolment from
2012 into good workplace
pensions with an employer
contribution of at least three
percent, Mr Hain said: "The
Government's pension reform
package is one of the most
radical changes in the 100
years since the first state pension was created by the Old
Age Pensions Act 1908.
"And radical change is needed. One hundred years ago
few people lived long enough
to collect a State Pension - on
Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions, Peter Hain
tions are not left footing the
bill for increasing longevity,
the minister said.
The new Bill would make it
easier for people to save
through automatic enrolment
into a qualifying workplace
pension scheme, including the
new personal accounts scheme.
Mr Hain said: "Automatic
enrolment will combat the
inertia which is such a barrier
to saving, while the minimum
employer
contribution and tax
relief will
mean individuals' contributions are matched £1 for £1.
"But it's crucial that individuals play their part in this
renewed social contract. To
achieve the type of lifestyle
they expect in retirement they
must take personal responsibility by participating in a pen-
sion. "For most, the downsides
of not saving far outweigh the
small risk of saving and later
regretting it. These reforms
will give millions of people
the means to fulfil their aspirations for a better and more
secure income in later life."
Communities urged to empower Muslim women
Communities and local authorities across the UK have been asked
to look for more ways of improving
the opportunities available to
Muslim women so that they can play
a bigger role in civic society as well
as in tackling violent extremism.
Communities Secretary Hazel
Blears said there was need to step up
work and increase the number of projects which are supporting Muslim
women to play a fuller role in their
communities - such as projects aimed
at increasing educational opportunities, employment, leadership training
and civic empowerment. She said that
for the country to create resilient communities, there was need to get better
at listening to Muslim women and
work together to open the door for
more women to get involved.
Ms. Blears said: "Public debate
about Muslim women too often reverts
to stereotypes and preconceptions. We
pay too much attention to Muslim
women's appearance - with the perennial debate about headscarves and
veils- and too little to what they say
and do.
"Resilient communities can only
exist where women are playing a full
and active part. There are 800,000
Muslim women living in Britain today.
They have a unique viewpoint on the
challenges faced by the communities
they live in and as such have a unique
role to play in tackling the spread of
violent extremism. That is why we are
putting our work with them centrestage - to give the silent majority a
voice and make it easier for more
empowered, confident women to play
a part."
EU IMMIGRATION NEWS
February 2008
5
Frattini proposes fingerprinting
visitors to 27-nation bloc
© AP PHOTO
"One of the main problems
we face now is overstayers -people who enter the EU
legally and then disappear
because they stay over the
allowed period. This cannot
be tolerated. Overstayers are
the factor number one of illegal immigration."
EU Justice Commissioner
Franco Frattini
The package, which European
Commission sources said would be
submitted to the EU executive on
Feb.13, is aimed to
make a "better use of
existing technology",
“We must evaluate what the
Mr. Frattini said.
"One of the main
advantages are. The
problems we face now
European
Union has the
is overstayers -- people
right
to
know
who enters, but
who enter the EU legalI am not sure that a large
ly and then disappear
because they stay over amount of information that
the allowed period. This
would be collected can be
cannot be tolerated.
examined
by each member
Overstayers are the facstate
...
we
need more infortor number one of illegal immigration," Mr. mation on the effectiveness of
Frattini said.
the system."
He said the new measures are absolutely
Luxembourg's Justice
necessary and should
Minister Luc Frieden
therefore be adopted as
soon as possible.
© AP PHOTO
The European Union Justice
Commissioner Franco Frattini has
proposed plans to fingerprint and
electronically record the entry and
exit of all visitors to the 27-nation
bloc.
He said the new system would make
EU borders more secure and stop foreigners from illegally entering the EU.
Mr. Frattini noted that the new measures would also prevent those entering
legally from overstaying the threemonth stay period, saying that those
overstaying their visas are the main
cause of illegal immigration.
The EU Justice Commissioner
would like the electronic register to
include viable biometric identifiers.
He plans to present the new measures this month. "I will present in
February a package of measures aimed
at improving the capacity of the EU to
protect its external borders," Mr.
Frattini said.
But Mr. Frattini's plans have been
met with resistance from some EU
nations and civil liberties' advocates,
who fear that collecting details about a
person's travel arrangements in and out
of the EU would violate their privacy.
Details about a traveler's airline ticket,
including how it was paid for, would be
shared among all EU
member states, as well
as with third countries
such as the US. The EU insists it will
not divulge sensitive information about
a traveler's ethnic origins or political
and religious beliefs.
Luxembourg's Justice Minister Luc
Frieden said more study was needed
before the bloc moved to set up such a
system, AP reported. "We must evaluate what the advantages are," Frieden
said. "The European Union has the
right to know who enters, but I am not
sure that a large amount of information
that would be collected can be examined by each member state ... we need
more information on the effectiveness
of the system."
Mr. Frattini urged them to put their
doubts aside, saying the data-storage
system was absolutely necessary. "We
have been dealing with the security of
Americans, (and) now the time has
come to deal with the security of
Europeans," Mr. Frattini said, adding
that "Terrorism remains the number
one threat."
Funding for English classes in UK to aid integration
The UK Government has published a set of proposals relating to
English language tuition for
migrants.
Secretary of State for Innovation,
Universities and Skills John Denham
announced that public funding for
English language teaching should be
targeted where it will have the biggest
impact on community cohesion and
integration. In practice this will often
mean the most deprived and socially
excluded groups who may find it hard
to find places on English for Speakers
of Other Languages (ESOL) courses
today.
Local councils would get more of a
say in how funding for ESOL is allocated. The consultation follows a report
published last year by the Commission
for Integration and Cohesion, 'Our
Shared Vision', which identified being
able to communicate in English as one
of the most important issues facing
integration and cohesion in Britain.
The report suggested that English language binds us together as a single
group and vulnerable communities are
being left without the English skills
they need to get by.
According to the consultation document, the national priorities for ESOL
include: legal residents expected to
stay in the country long-term; excluded
women, particularly those with children under 16; parents or carers in
families with multiple problems; those
Secretary of State for
Innovation, Universities and
Skills John Denham
identified as raising particular issues
for community cohesion; people with
low levels of literacy in their own language; those with no secondary education; refugees and asylum seekers still
in the country beyond six months awaiting a decision on their status or who
cannot return home.
Mr. Denham said:
"The
Government is committed to promoting community cohesion and integration and good English language skills
have a vital role to play in this work.
"Since 2001, spending on ESOL has
trebled and over two million people
have been helped to improve their language skills. But we must make sure
that ESOL makes the biggest possible
contribution to improving community
cohesion and integration.
"Recent reforms are already ensuring that those who can afford to pay
for English classes do so and are
encouraging employers to take more
responsibility for funding training for
economic migrants in their workforces.
"Now we must go further and ensure that the priority is to reach long-term
residents for whom poor English is a
real barrier to integration in work or in
the community."
In response to the publication of the
government consultation on the provision of ESOL classes, Donna Covey,
Chief Executive of the Refugee
Council said they welcome "the
Government's commitment to promoting community cohesion through the
provision of English language classes.
We also welcome the recognition that
refugees often face higher levels of
social isolation and unemployment.
Our own research and experience continually highlights ESOL as a key issue
for refugees and asylum seekers.
Learning English is vital to feeling
safe, retraining and getting a job in the
UK. We urge the Government to include refugees as a priority group for
ESOL funding.
"We're pleased the Government is
consulting on the role of voluntary and
community groups to support ESOL
learners. Many refugee community
organisations already provide English
language classes. We hope this will
mean they will get the funding and support they need to continue to provide
this essential service."
Darra Singh, Chair of the
Commission on Integration and
Cohesion, said he was pleased to
"endorse the Government's intention to
place community cohesion at the heart
of ESOL provision. I believe that
English language skills are fundamental to integration and cohesion for all
communities and help to create strong,
positive relationships between people
from different backgrounds in the workplace, in schools and other institutions
within neighbourhoods."
Communities Secretary Hazel
Blears welcomed the consultation
saying "Speaking English is the greatest asset you can possess for getting
involved in your community, and getting on and doing well for yourself and
your family. Research has shown that
60 per cent of people believe not speaking the language is the biggest barrier
to integration. Not speaking English
also reduces opportunities in the labour
market by 20 per cent. That is why we
need to put greater emphasis on learning English as well as ensuring a commonsense approach is applied to translation."
6
THE GUIDE
February 2008
Dealing with
relationship
problems
If you are having problems
in your relationship, acting
early and seeking counselling
may help prevent it breaking
down. If the relationship is
definitely over however, then
mediation can help make the
split less painful and less
damaging for all concerned.
Counselling
A counsellor can help you
discuss emotive issues and
will help couples that want to
save
their
marriage.
Counsellors are professionally trained, though some offer
their services voluntarily.
They are trained to listen and
to help you to work out your
own solutions to relationship
problems. They don't negotiate for you or tell you what to
do.
Family support is counselling that can help the whole
family to deal with problems
and prevent relationships
breaking down and families
splitting up.
Tackling problems early is
important in order to save a
relationship. The longer a problem is left unresolved, the
harder it usually is to deal
with it. Counselling can also
help a family to accept what is
happening to them and to deal
with the emotional stress that
separation or
divorce
can
cause within a
f a m i l y .
Attempting to
work things
out
through
counselling or
mediation
could lead to
better family decisions and
long-term relationships after
the divorce.
agreement without bias or
being on anyone's 'side'.
Public funding is available for
those who qualify for legal
aid. The funding is for mediation and for legal help, during
and after mediation, for legal
advice on any agreements reached.
You can find mediation
services in your area by calling the Family Mediation
Helpline on 0845 60 26 627.
Mediation
Mediation during a
Mediation is different from divorce, civil partnercounselling and is more con- ship dissolution or
cerned with dealing with the separation
practicalities of day-to-day
life following relationship
breakdown. It is more like
negotiating an agreement and
resolving a dispute without
involving lawyers or the
courts. You can ask a trained
family mediator to act as an
impartial third party; they will
help couples come to an
You can negotiate directly
with your partner and reach
agreement without any outside help about issues such as
your children's care and splitting property and finance.
That is usually the best way.
You may not be able to reach
agreement on everything, but
it can still help to make issues
easier to resolve even if you
go to court.
Mediation can be used
when you have decided to go
ahead with a divorce, dissolution or separation, by helping
you to work out solutions in
ways that reduce confrontation.
Tax credits and
relationship breakdown
If you received tax credits
as a couple but have now split
up, you can make a new claim
as a single person over the
phone. In most cases, there
will be no break in payments,
with new arrangements in
place within a week. For more
information, call 0845 300
3900.
By Direct.gov.uk
Getting a divorce
Getting a divorce starts with a form
called a 'petition for divorce'. Once
you have filled in a petition, which
you can get from a solicitor, some stationers, or the HM Courts Service
website, take it to a divorce county
court or to the Principal Registry of
the Family Division in London.
On the form you'll have to explain
why you want a divorce. You cannot
start divorce proceedings unless you
have been married for one year.
grounds for the divorce. They are
known as 'the co-respondent',
The courts will then post a copy of
the petition to your husband or wife
and any co-respondents named in your
divorce petition. This is known as 'serving the petition'.
Your husband or wife then has
what contact they will have with the
non-resident parent) before the divorce is granted.
The next and most important part
of the divorce process is known as 'the
Decree Nisi'. This is the first stage of
the actual divorce. It is granted only
when a judge has reviewed all of the
Reasons for a divorce
The court will only grant you a
divorce if a judge agrees that your
marriage is at an end. The legal term
for this is 'irretrievably broken down'.
You must satisfy the court that one
or more of the following is true as
proof that your marriage is over:
- adultery by your husband or wife
- unreasonable behaviour by your
husband or wife
- desertion for a period of at least
two years
- two years' separation, if you both
agree to the divorce
- five years' separation, if there is
no agreement to the divorce
The main stages of divorce
Once you return your petition to the
divorce county court you have started
the divorce process. From now on you
are legally known know as 'the petitioner'. Your husband or wife who you
are divorcing is legally known as 'the
respondent.'
You will need to supply copies of
your marriage certificate, details of
any children involved and also the
name and address of any person with
whom your husband or wife has committed adultery if you wish to name
them in the divorce proceedings as
Absolute, then your husband or wife
as the respondent can apply for it, but
only after a further three months have
passed.
When you receive the Decree
Absolute, you are no longer married
and are free to re-marry. The court will
only grant the Decree Absolute when
the judge agrees that all arrangements
for the children are now satisfactory. A
judge can make a final financial order
before the Decree Absolute is granted,
but the order will only come into force
after the decree has been made absolute.
Getting help with the process
eight days to acknowledge receipt of
the petition. If they don't do this, the
court will contact you and ask for
more details and, if necessary, arrange
for a court official - know as a bailiff to serve the petition in person.
Once the petition has been served,
what happens next depends upon whether or not your husband or wife contests the divorce or agrees to it. You
may be asked to provide more information by the court. If you have children then the court must examine and
agree with arrangements made for the
children (e.g. who they are going to
live with, where they are going to live,
papers and is satisfied that there are
proper grounds for a divorce. The
judge will also check that all financial
issues and arrangements for the children have been agreed or are in the
process of being resolved. You may be
required to attend court, but many
divorces happen entirely by post.
Decree Absolute
The final stage of a divorce is called 'the Decree Absolute.' You can
apply for the Decree Absolute six
weeks and one day after the Decree
Nisi. If you don't apply for the Decree
You do not have to use a solicitor;
many couples get divorced without
consulting a solicitor. But you may
need legal advice if you are not sure
whether you have grounds for a divorce, or if your husband or wife does not
agree to a divorce, or if you have children. You may also need legal advice
about financial issues, even if you
agree on how to divide up your property and finances. The process of sorting out the financial aspect of the
divorce is known as 'ancillary relief'. It
is not the case that property is automatically divided in a 50/50 split. If you
do go to court the judge will consider
a number of factors when deciding
who should get what, but the needs of
any children will always be the main
consideration.
The Citizens Advice Bureau can
help you fill in the necessary forms,
and can help you find a solicitor, if
you need one.
There are also many sources of free
advice and support available online
during what can be a very stressful
and difficult time.
By Direct.gov.uk
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IN AFRICA THIS MONTH
8
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham visits Sierra Leone
February 2008
We can’t turn a blind eye to
thousands of children who die
every day from preventable causes
"We can't turn a blind eye to the tens of thousands of young children who die every day in the
developing world mostly from causes that are
preventable. In Sierra Leone, one in four children dies before reaching their fifth birthday it's shocking and tragic especially when the
solutions are simple - things like vaccinations
against measles or using a mosquito net to reduce the chance of getting malaria.”
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David
Beckham
dying. Evidence shows that real progress has been made by providing
ongoing health care for women throughout their pregnancy and ensuring
immunisation and health check-ups for
the baby from birth to early childhood.
Empowering communities to participate in health care has also proven to
be an effective way to save lives.
Beckham saw an example of this by
joining two health workers as they travelled into a local community to vaccinate children who are unable to access
the clinic. At the same time the health
workers teach the communities about
the importance of good hygiene to prevent diseases. This is an important part
of the clinic's work - helping them
reach hundreds more children who
would otherwise miss out on these vital
lifesaving measures.
At a feeding centre for severely malnourished children
Beckham visited babies who had survived on water because their mothers
were malnourished and unable to breastfeed. These children weigh less than
70 per cent of their recommended body
weight. One seven-month-old baby
weighed less than the recommended
weight for a one-month-old. With supplies from UNICEF, the clinic provides
the children with fortified milk and
high protein biscuits. UNICEF also
encourages women to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six
months - globally this has had a tremendous impact on the health of children. The clinic has been successful in
curing over 90 per cent of the children
There has been a 60% fall in
child mortality rates since 1960
“All children have a
right to survival but
too many are dying
needlessly. But this
can be changed if
there is sufficient collective will to act with
determination and
urgency. Surely there
is no reward more precious than saving the
life of a child? Their
futures remain in our
hands."
UNICEF UK's
Executive Director
David Bull
can be changed if there is sufficient collective will to act
with determination and urgency. Surely there is no reward
more precious than saving the
life of a child? Their futures
remain in our hands."
UNICEF is calling on
governments for urgent political will, long-term funding
and improved health strategies
- on an unprecedented scale to reduce the number of children under the age of five that
die every day around the
admitted.
Mr. Beckham said: "We can't turn a
blind eye to the tens of thousands of
young children who die every day in
the developing world mostly from causes that are preventable. In Sierra
Leone, one in four children dies before
reaching their fifth birthday - it's shocking and tragic especially when the
solutions are simple - things like vaccinations against measles or using a
mosquito net to reduce the chance of
getting malaria. Saving these children's
lives is a top priority for UNICEF and
as an Ambassador I hope I can help to
draw attention to this issue across the
world."
Blair becomes advisor
to Govt of Rwanda
Former
UK
Prime
Minister
Tony Blair is to
become an advisor
to Rwanda, Dr
David Himbara, the
head of the Strategy
and Policy unit in
the Office of the
President revealed
to The New Times.
"It started with a
meeting he held with
the President (Paul
Kagame) where he
expressed his interest Former UK Prime Minister
in offering pro bono
Tony Blair
services as advisor to
Rwanda.
Shortly
after that, I met with him to played a significant role in
comprehensively brief him on Rwanda's reconstruction.
"For instance, it was during
the situation in our country,"
The Times quoted Mr. his tenure that the British
Government initiated the
Himbara to have said.
A team from Mr. Blair's direct budget support to
office reportedly recently visi- Rwanda and they were the
ted Rwanda for a week to first country to do so. He has
assess the challenges on the always believed in our goverground. Mr. Himbara said the nment's effort and ways to
former UK Prime Minister is identify what is best for our
expected to visit Rwanda this people.
"Now it is another chance
month. "His visit will mark the
kick-off of his involvement," for him to put his belief in
concrete practice. But it is a
said Mr. Himbara.
Mr. Blair's attachment to chance for our government as
Rwanda, according to Mr. well to work with a figure like
Himbara, dates back to the Blair whose influence is glotime when he was still head of bal and has good knowledge
the British government. At the about Rwanda," Mr. Himbara
time he and his government added.
© AP PHOTO
There has been a 60 per
cent drop in the rate of child
mortality
since
1960,
UNICEF's State of the
World's Children (SOWC)
2008 report shows.
The report outlines what
needs to be done to reduce
child deaths further. There
remains a long way to go to
achieve the Millennium
Development Goal on child
survival - which would mean
lowering the number of underfive deaths from 9.7 million to
less than five million by 2015.
Nowhere in the world is the
need for lifesaving measures
more apparent than in Sierra
Leone and the rest of subSaharan Africa.
UNICEF, however, maintains that attaining the goal is
still possible but the challenge
is formidable. UNICEF UK's
Executive Director David Bull
said UNICEF is grateful to
"Beckham for shining the spotlight on the unacceptable
number of young children
who are dying, often needlessly, in Sierra Leone and other
developing
countries.
Everyone can play a role in
changing this situation governments, donors and the
public. All children have a
right to survival but too many
are dying needlessly. But this
© AP PHOTO
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
David Beckham visited Sierra Leone
in January to draw attention to the
issue of child survival.
The "The State of the World's
Children 2008" published by UNICEF
reveals that every day more than
26,000 children under the age of five
die around the world mostly from preventable causes. Nearly all of them live
in the developing world.
The report also shows that in Sierra
Leone a staggering 27 per cent of children die before reaching their fifth birthday - the highest number in the
world. UNICEF is calling for child
survival to be placed at the heart of the
international development agenda and
to make it a top priority at the G8 summit. Mr. Beckham arrived in the capital Freetown on 18th January and travelled to Makeni, Bombali District in
the northern province of Sierra Leone,
which has the highest number of underfive child deaths in the country.
During his visit, Beckham spent
time at a health clinic learning about
the most common causes of these
deaths, like malaria which accounts for
33 per cent of child deaths. Diarrhoea,
malnutrition and vaccine preventable
diseases like measles and tuberculosis
are also major contributors.
UNICEF is working with health clinics in Sierra Leone, and across the
developing world, to reduce the number of children under the age of five
world. UNICEF is calling on
the public for urgent funds to
help prevent babies and young
children dying before the age
of five. A little can go a long
way. £1.50 could immunise 50
children. Just a few pence for
a vitamin A capsule would
prevent and treat vitamin A
deficiency, or pay for one
sachet of rehydration salts
which, when mixed with clean
water, helps children combat
dehydration and diarrhoea.
IN AFRICA THIS MONTH
February 2008
9
Raila & Kibaki meeting
rekindles hope for peace
The meeting and handshake between President Mwai Kibaki and
Orange Democratic Movement
(ODM) leader Amolo Raila Odinga
has rekindled hope for peace in
Kenya.
It was the first time the two met
since December's disputed presidential
election. On 27th December Kenyans
went to vote peacefully in parliamentary and presidential elections. In the parliamentary elections, 99 of the 210
seats were won by ODM while Mr.
Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU)
only got 43 seats.
The presidential vote count was
tampered with. The chairman of the
Electoral Commission of Kenya said
that he did "not know whether Mr.
Kibaki won the elections."
Mr. Odinga rejected the results. The
European Union Electoral Mission and
USA also expressed grave doubts about
the legitimacy of the presidential
results. The latest to cast doubt on the
results is the Commonwealth Observer
Group, stating that the polls did not
meet international standards. "The
Electoral Commission of Kenya has
not succeeded in establishing the integrity of the tallying process, thereby
bringing the validity of the election
results into question,” the report said.
Shortly after the results were
announced, Mr. Kibaki was swiftly
inaugurated for a second term. Shortly
after his inauguration the government
issued a circular banning all live broadcasts in the interests of public security
and good order, an order that is still on
as we go to press.
The announcement of Kibaki's win
provoked protests in many parts of the
country. All opinion polls showed that
Mr. Odinga was ahead of Mr. Kibaki.
Even the exit polls and local media
reports showed that Mr. Odinga was
leading with a big margin. But something that is yet to be explained happened. After suspending tallying of presidential results and taking unnecessarily
long to do so, it was finally announced
that Mr. Kibaki had won. It was so difficult to believe such a result that the
Kenyans who were ready to celebrate
the victory of their new president felt
that the least they could do was to protest against those incredible results.
They simply wanted to protest against
results they believed were manipulated
in favour of Mr. Kibaki.
But the police had been prepared
and strategically placed to deal with
rioters with overwhelming force. In
several cities the police used live
ammunition to disperse protesters and
disperse looters, killing and wounding
dozens. Some observers and even police have described the police response
as an unofficial "shoot to kill" policy.
© AP PHOTO
By Stephen Ogongo
Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki, left, shakes hands with opposition leader Raila Odinga, right
The ban on live broadcasts could have
been made to stop TV stations covering
the way the police dealt with people
very clear that they have not agreed on and its presidential candidate in the last
anything. Mr. Annan will continue election. As we wait and hope for good
meeting officials from both parties to news out of these talks, the only thing
work on an agreement.
Mr. Odinga holds that he is
ready to dialogue with Mr.
Kibaki as long as "truth and
want justice. There will
“I remain committed to dialogue justice are upheld". He wants "Kenyans
be
no
justice
before we sit down
and reconciliation at all levels of Mr. Kibaki to admit that he
to
talk.
We
are
ready to talk to
(Kibaki)
lost
the
elections.
"I
our society. The Government wel- won the presidency and it was
achieve
justice
and truth.
comes the eminent African state- stolen from me. Mr Kibaki must
Mheshimiwa
Kibaki
(Hon.
smen and woman and we shall accept the people's verdict," Mr. Kibaki) and I will talk until
this
have dialogue within the constitu- Odinga said, adding that "It is
matter
is
resolved.
There
is
no
hard
to
negotiate
with
someone
tional and legal framework.
need
for
bitterness."
you
know
very
well
has
stolen
a
We shall ensure we achieve hea- cow from you." He said the
ling, reconciliation and lasting right way of handling the issue Orange Democratic Movement
harmony.”
is: "The person who stole the
(ODM) leader Amolo Raila
cow must be told to return it
Odinga
first
and
then
negotiate."
Mr. Mwai Kibaki
But Mr. Kibaki has rejected
such calls. In fact after their first
meeting, in presence of Mr.
demonstrating against election results. Odinga, Mr. Kibaki said "As your duly they both seem to agree on is a commitAbout 1000 people are said to have elected and sworn in President, I will ment to peace. Both Mr. Odinga and
died in unrest which followed the poll, lead our country to promote unity, tole- Mr. Kibaki appealed to their supporters
while more than 250,000 have been rance, peace and harmony among to maintain calm as they continued the
displaced.
Kenyans. I remain committed to dialo- newly established dialogue.
Early attempts to broker a peace gue and reconciliation at all levels of
Mr. Odinga said "I said that
deal between Mr. Odinga and our society."
we're ready to walk the extra mile to
Mr. Kibaki failed. Ghanaian
Mr. Kibaki's remarks that he was the give Kenyans peace. Today, we take
President John Kufuor, head of duly elected Head of State provoked the first step. My party and I are ready
the African Union spent a few swift and strong criticism from ODM. for this long journey to restore peace in
days in the country to try to In a statement issued by the secretary- our land."
bring the two together but left general Prof Anyang' Nyong'o, the
He thanked the mediation team for
without success.
ODM leaders said Mr. Kibaki's state- responding swiftly. "I pledge that my
Now the former UN boss Mr. ment negated "the whole rationale for team and I will spare no effort to resolKofi Annan is in the country to international mediation."
ve this crisis. We urge our people to be
try to solve the political crisis.
ODM said "Mr. Mwai Kibaki abu- patient as parties work day and night to
He leads a panel of "eminent sed the occasion by attempting to legi- ensure that negotiations do not last a
Africans" set up by the African timise his usurpation of the presidency. day longer than necessary."
Union, which includes former His demeaning and unacceptable behaMr. Odinga renewed his call for
Tanzanian President Benjamin viour was meant to undermine the justice, saying "Kenyans want justice.
Mkapa and Nelson Mandela's mediation and prolong the suffering of There will be no justice before we sit
wife Graca Machel.
people of Kenya."
down to talk. We are ready to talk to
It is not easy to predict how
Prof Nyong'o said that as far as achieve justice and truth. Mheshimiwa
these talks will end. The fact ODM was concerned, there was no Kibaki (Hon. Kibaki) and I will talk
that the two agreed to meet is a government in Kenya. His party he until this matter is resolved. There is no
very good sign, even though it is said, was only having talks with PNU need for bitterness."
10
February 2008
IN AFRICA THIS MONTH
DR CONGO
“The rapists roam the streets”
Rape and other forms of sexual
violence remain prevalent in Northeastern Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), despite the cessation
of military activities and the disarmament of militias in the region,
according to aid workers. Before,
this was mainly attributed to men in
uniform, but now civilians comprise
a significant number of the perpetrators.
"The rapists roam the streets; [local]
customs allow them to pay a goat [as
recompense to the victim's family]
without serving prison terms. Even
worse, some of the rapists are HIVpositive or old and rape girls of around
12 and 13 thinking they will be cured
[of illness] or live longer," Marie
Pacuryema, the coordinator of a local
NGO, Solidarité Féminine pour la Paix
et le Développement Intégré en Ituri,
said.
A November 2007 report released
by Médecins Sans Frontières-Suisse
said that since 2003, between 30 and
500 patients reported sexual assaults
"The rapists roam the streets;
[local] customs allow them to
pay a goat [as recompense to
the victim's family] without
serving prison terms. Even
worse, some of the rapists are
HIV-positive or old and rape
girls of around 12 and 13
thinking they will be cured
[of illness] or live longer"
Marie Pacuryema,
coordinator of a local NGO,
Solidarité Féminine pour la
Paix et le Développement
Intégré en Ituri
each month in Ituri. At least 2,708 people were also raped in an 18-month
period, with 7,000 more having been
raped in a four-year period, according
to the report.
"The statistics do not give the real
picture on the ground," Marie-Louise
Uronya, head of the Office for Gender,
Family and Children in Ituri, said.
"Many have been raped but fear
reporting it due to shame, fear of reprisals or rejection by society, among
other reasons," Uronya said.
"There are mothers who were raped
three or four years ago who are continuing to visit us," she said.
While in the past the victims of
sexual violence were raped by two or
more aggressors
or sometimes in
the presence of
a third party,
from early 2007
rape tended to
be carried out
by a single
assailant.
"It does not
stop; we think
that the same
rapists
of
yesterday who
were released
from the armed
groups into the
community are
still carrying on
with the habit,"
F r a n c i n e
Mangaza, an
officer with the
UN Children's
Fund
(UNICEF), in the
district of Ituri,
said.
At
least
23,000 ex-combatants, in addition to 11,000
child soldiers,
have been reintegrated into the
community
under a national
disarmament,
demobilisation Rape is widespread in Ituri, despite the end to the
and reintegrafive-year conflict
tion programme.
along with some of his staff for
The main perpetrators of the crimes ment
killing
civilians, whom they then
include the military, the police, civi- buried in30a mass
grave. The female viclians, ex-combatants and even children. tims, both women
and girls, were
"The military and the police are sup- systematically raped first.
posed to know the law, which is well
perpetrator of rape behaves
explained in training centres. But I like"The
an
animal.
The aggressor is tranhave come to realise that they rape to sformed into a beast
attacks the
defy the law. None has claimed igno- prey. The rapist, oncewhich
sated, abandons
rance of the law. In court cases they the victim," Mayembe said.
claim not to have known the age of the
An 18-year-old woman, who was
victim, which cannot be right because a raped
soldiers in March 2007, agre13-year-old is easily identified due to ed. "Atbyabout
two o'clock in the morher physical development," Maj ning my husband
heard someone
Innocent Mayembe, the judge and pushing the door. We thought
were
chairman of the military tribunal in bandits. They continued to they
the
Ituri District, said in the regional capi- door and we also started to push
push the
tal, Bunia.
door from the inside," she testified.
"My husband opened the door holSevere judgements .....
ding a knife, but the attacker had a gun.
told my husband that was going to
The forms of sexual violence being He
be
the
last day of his life and shot him
perpetrated are more violent and dan- in the neck.
My husband fell and died
gerous than before, according to the on the spot. We
out for help from
judges. In February 2007, the comman- our neighbours called
but they did not come.
der of one of the regular army batta- When my husband
fell, I opened the
lions in the town of Bavi, 60km south door and saw a FARDC
[DRC army]
of Bunia, François Molessa, alias soldier with a rifle and wearing
army
Bozizé, was sentenced to life imprison- uniform. He told me he was going
to
© IRINN PHOTO
By IRIN
kill me if I refused to sleep with him.
He raped me, then asked me for food.
My lower abdomen is painful; I am
worried because my husband had
money but this was looted. I was left a
widow."
The military tribunal in Bunia has
sentenced the perpetrator, who was
charged with murder and rape, to death.
"We render severe judgments to
discourage the men in uniform. We
refer the rape cases to the army and
sentence perpetrators to life imprisonment if the victims were murdered. We
reject [any claims] such as [the rape
was due to] provocation by the victim
or the morals of the victim," said
Mayembe.
… but slow progress
However, Mayembe said the impact
of the strict sentencing had not been
very significant as few cases came to
court compared with the number of crimes reported.
"It is difficult to objectively say
there has been progress with the [rape]
statistics remaining constant. In 2007,
we rendered 17 judgments in the new
military tribunal; it was difficult for the
military justice system to flush out all
the cases of sexual violence," he said.
In a bid to reduce cases of rape and
sexual violence, the UN Mission in the
DRC, MONUC, conducts inquests into
all reported rape cases involving agents
of the state (police, military, FARDC)
and takes the perpetrators to court. In
addition, the mission is also involved in
awareness-building among the military.
According to the human rights division of MONUC, there had been a
decline in the number of state agents
committing rape, with current cases
mainly involving civilians and minors.
At least 30 boys of about 14 and 15
have been detained on rape charges at
the central prison in Bunia.
Culture of impunity
One of the causes of the chronic
rape was the culture of impunity,
Mangaza of UNICEF said. UNICEF
had helped at least 110 rape victims in
Ituri although 80 judgments have not
been rendered.
According to Mangaza, this was
sending a wrong message to potential
perpetrators of rape that they would not
serve sentences or pay fines. At least
50,000 people died in the five-year
conflict, which began in 1999, with
150,000 others still displaced due to
security concerns, according to the UN
Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in
Bunia.
South Africa
Zuma will be ANC presidential candidate
The
newly
elected
President of South Africa's
ruling African National
Congress (ANC) Jacob
Zuma will be the party's
presidential candidate in
2009.
Last December the state
prosecutors presented fresh
corruption charges against Mr.
Zuma but the party's National
Executive Committee expressed "its concern and grave
misgivings about the timing of
those charges, and the general
conduct of the (The National
Prosecuting Authority) NPA in
this case, including inconsistency in the application of its
mandate and leaking of information to the media."
Mr Zuma's corruption trial
will begin in August. In 2006,
he was acquitted on charges of
rape and previous graft charges were put on hold.
NPA charged him with corruption, fraud, racketeering
and
money
laundering.
According to BBC reports, the
charges are believed to be linked to a controversial $5bn
arms procurement deal by the
South African government in
1999. The new ANC president
who was first tried for corruption in 2005, has always maintained his innocence.
The party's NEC "reaffirmed its support for the ANC
President during these trying
times. It confirmed that the
ANC President will lead the
ANC election campaign as the
organisation's candidate for
president of South Africa in
the 2009 election."
The NEC said "the ANC
seeks no special treatment for
its President; only fairness and
justice."
Limpopo residents to have wireless internet access
The Limpopo government
plans to install the infrastructure for wireless broadband
technology so residents can
gain access to internet throughout the province.
BuaNews reported that the
project, which is expected to
be completed by March 2010,
involves connecting about 6,
000 sites around the province,
including 4, 400 schools and a
number of clinics and hospitals situated in some of the
more remote areas.
Lizel Bodenstein, an information and communication
technology (ICT) service
manager for the Department of
Local
and
Provincial
Government said so far they
had shortlisted 13 companies
to implement the project.
"This is a closed bid tender
for the 13 companies that have
been short-listed for the job,"
she said. The winning company will be announced on 23rd
February.
Bodenstein said that the
winning company will be
responsible for installing,
designing, maintaining and
strategically placing the provincially shared broadband
network.
235x355_SUPERCARD_AFRICA_News_36Page 1 16/01/2008 16:02:16
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12
February 2008
IN NIGERIA THIS MONTH
Govt: Poverty and poor
education behind child trafficking
Authorities in Nigeria have started identifying the parents of 105
children found packed on a lorry in
late January who they suspect were
trafficked to serve as beggars or servants after their parents allowed
them to go away with strangers who
promised to feed and educate them.
The children, all boys between four
and 18 years old, were coming from
Kano state in the north and had been
driven to a town close to Nigeria's political capital Abuja, when the police
stopped the lorry at a checkpoint on
17th January.
"The conditions in which the children were found made the policeman
suspect that these children were being
trafficked to serve as beggars or domestic workers," Orakwue Arinze, the
spokesperson for the National Agency
for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons
(NAPTIP), told IRIN.
"The children were packed like sardines in a lorry meant to carry goods
and that could contain a maximum of
15 persons," Arinze said. According to
"The fact is that once these
children are taken out of
their communities they will be
devoured by wicked people,
easily abused and molested"
Orakwue Arinze, the spokesperson for the National
Agency for the Prohibition
of Traffic in Persons
(NAPTIP)
NAPTIP, they were hungry, had
swollen legs and were traumatised.
Four men arrested by police said
they were taking the children to a
school in Suleja, 400 km away in
Niger state, to learn the Koran. If
found guilty of trafficking, they
could face up to 14 years in jail, the
NAPTIP said.
Globally, child trafficking is one
of the fastest growing organised crimes with an estimated 1.2 million
victims per year, of whom 32 percent are African, according to the
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
NAPTIP said the children all
came from Kuru village, 80 km
south of Kano.
"The parents didn't realise they
were doing something bad. There is
no school in that area," the head of
NAPTIP in Kano, Ahmed Mohamed
Bello, told IRIN by telephone.
"They decided to send their children away to Suleja because they
heard it had been raining there, so
the children would be able to farm in
the morning to feed themselves and
go to Koranic school in the afternoon," he explained.
The lack of education and the
poverty of the area are behind the
decision to send the children away,
Bello said.
Ruth, 13, doing her homework. From the age of five to nine she
In view of the clandestine nature
of the crime it is difficult to determi- was denied the right to go to school and had to work selling water at
a market in Gabon, after having been trafficked from Nigeria
ne how many children are trafficked
in Nigeria, but with between 50 and
Six million Nigerian children are will be devoured by wicked people,
70 percent of the population living on
less than a dollar a day, human traffic- estimated to be at risk of trafficking for easily abused and molested," said
king is believed to be widespread in the domestic and forced labour, prostitu- NAPTIP's Arinze.
tion and pornography every year,
The government agency to fight
country.
Last October, Nigerian police inter- according to a national survey conduc- human trafficking was created in 2003
cepted 57 children trafficked from the ted by the International Labour to help implement a then newly-created
law prohibiting all forms of trafficking
southern Cross River state to Lagos, Organization in 2003.
"The fact is that once these children in persons.
the economic capital, according to
are taken out of their communities they
NAPTIP.
Yar'Adua confident immunity
clause will be removed
due process punishable
by law. "We now have a
situation in which people award contracts
without caring whether
they have enough
money to complete the
project and because of
this, there are lots of
abandoned projects all
over the country, in fact
some going into billions
of dollars. This is the
kind of disrespect for
established regulations
and procedures that
feeds corruption.
"Our decision to
fight corruption properly and have respect for
law, order and due process will now make
such acts of omission or
commission punishable
President Umaru Musa
by law, and that will
clean the system and
Yar'Adua
make sure that whatethat is the only condition I ver business dealings govergave, that everything they do nment enters into, we have the
must be within the law establi- ability to abide by the coveshing them and within the laws nant we signed. In fact, that is
of the Federation," he said.
the path of honour, not only
As part of the war against for any government but also
corruption, the president said for companies that are operathe Federal Government ting in Nigeria," President
would soon introduce a legi- Yar'Adua said.
slation that would make all
violations and disrespect for
© AP PHOTO
President Umaru Musa
Yar'Adua has said he is confident that the immunity
clause
in
the
1999
Constitution will be removed
in the imminent amendment
by the National Assembly.
The clause protects the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies from
criminal prosecution.
Speaking
in
Davos,
Switzerland,
President
Yar'Adua said "I have confidence that the next constitutional amendment will strip these
public officials of this immunity and I am personally in
support of that,"
In a statement signed by his
Special
Adviser
on
Communications,
Mr.
Olusegun
Adeniyi,
Mr.
Yar'Adua said he expected the
removal of the immunity clause from the constitution to
greatly facilitate the work of
Nigeria's anti-corruption agencies.
"One thing I have done is to
give them total and complete
independence of action. The
institutions are directly under
me in the Presidency, so when
I assumed office, I called their
chairmen and told them that
they have total independence
to go and act within the law:
© IRINN PHOTO
By IRIN
Peace in Niger Delta imminent - Minister
There will be peace in the
Niger Delta very soon, the
Minister of State for Energy,
(Gas) Odusina Olatunde
Emmanuel, has told the international community. He said
that
President
Umaru
Yar'Adua has intensified
efforts with the cooperation of
all stakeholders to amicably
resolve all issues in the Niger
Delta that have made some
youths to embark on violent
and lawless activities.
Mr. Odusina told the
Ambassador of Portugal, Dr.
Maria De Fatima Perestrello,
who paid him a courtesy visit
that the Government is determination to use gas as an
effective tool for economic
development. He observed
that Nigeria's gas is enough for
Government's export programme and for domestic utilization.
The Minister assured the
Envoy that the December
2008 gas flaring deadline is
realizable in spite of previous
postponements. He remarked
that all stakeholders are aware
of Government's position on
the flaring of gas and said that
he is optimistic that there will
be total compliance this time.
Minister: Ban on importation
of bagged cement still in place
The ban on importation
of bagged cement in Nigeria
is still in place. The Ministry
of Commerce and Industry
refuted a recent report in a
Nigerian newspaper suggesting that the Federal
Government had lifted the
embargo on imported bagged cement.
The Minister of Commerce
and Industry Charles Ugwuh,
condemned the story as inappropriate, misleading and
capable of creating the wrong
impression that the country
has returned to the era of
importation of bagged cement.
He
said
Federal
Government has only granted
provisional licenses to some
local cement manufacturers
and stakeholders for the
importation of bulk cement for
bagging in Nigeria.
The Minister stressed that
there was no policy reversal in
this regard, as Government
was consistent in its commitment to encourage and promote local production of cement
to meet local demand, which is
currently ahead of local capacity.
IN GHANA THIS MONTH
February 2008
13
Rawlings appeals for
all inclusive governance
governance because of a selfish lust for power and money.
And so, we see emerging a
serious challenge to the meticulous adherence to constitu-
tionalism." He went to say that
such leaders are "busy attempting to prolong their stay in
power through fair or foul
means, to modify, sometimes
© GHP PHOTO
Ghana receives world
emerging economy award
Thomson
Financial's
International
Financing
Review (IFR) has given a
prestigious award to Ghana
as the most emerging economy in the world for the year
2007. Ghana emerged as the
winner following a year of
intense scrutiny and monitoring of the emerging global
economic
activities
by
Thomson IFR's independent, global team of expert
reporters and analysts.
The IFR award represents
the key industry benchmark of
global capital markets and
national economic excellence.
The Award was presented in
London at the 13th IFR
Annual Awards Gala Dinner
attended by over 1,500 senior
investment bankers, economists and representatives of
governments from around the
globe in mid January with Her
Royal Highness The Princess
Royal attending. Thomson
Financial's
International
Financing Review (IFR) is the
world's leading source of
international capital markets
and national economies intelligence
Published weekly through
International
Financing
Review, it is also in real-time
through ifrmarkets.com and on
Reuters, Bloomberg and
TradeWeb, IFR provides indepth coverage and analysis of
all international bond, syndicated loan, national economies, equity and convertible
issues, as well as developments in leveraged finance,
emerging markets interest-rate
and credit derivatives. It is
read by all major banks. IFR
which has its headquarters in
London with bureaus in New
York, Tokyo, Hong Kong,
Singapore, Sao Paulo, and
Sydney provides in-depth
coverage of developments in
global financing markets,
including analysis of all international bond, syndicated
loan, leveraged finance, highyield debt, emerging market,
equity and convertible issues,
as well as developments in the
derivatives market.
Other winners of the night
included, Bank of the Year Goldman Sachs; Bond House
of the Year - Deutsche Bank;
Equity House of the Year UBS Citi Group annexed the
Loan House of the Year, with
Securitisation House of the
Year award again going to
Deutsche Bank. The HSBC
bank was adjourned the best
bank in terms of loans granting
to the Asian economy.
Matthew Davies, Editor of
Thomson Financial's IFR,
commented: "Many economy
watchers - and many of its
rivals - had characterised
Ghana's economic strategy as
one suitable for a propelling
what he described as "bull and
The former president appealed for
respect of the electoral process saying
that it is the assurance of a peaceful and
constitutional transition from one government to another.
"As a leader
whose political party
has tasted defeats in
the polls before, I can
say that there should
be no need to tamper
with the rotational
principle in good
governance.
"However, evidence abound that the
Former President of Ghana overwhelming ambiJerry John Rawlings
tion of some political
leaders makes the
crudely, multiparty demo- acceptance of election results
cracy into a virtual one- rather difficult and has led
party state, to arrogantly some African leaders commitabuse the concept of the ting electoral crimes and the
separation of powers, to refusal to adhere to the peaceignore the rule of law, to ful and smooth change-over of
undermine judicial inde- government."
pendence, to interfere with
According to Mr Rawlings,
the fundamental human such deviant political beharights of political oppo- viour is usually prompted and
nents especially, and to capri- encouraged by certain outside
ciously use decentralization to powers for like certain African
promote parochial or sectarian leaders for their own selfish
interests."
national interest.
"Some of those very politicians who gained leadership
positions as a result of the
strict adherence to the norms
of democracy are now, and
at the end of their tenures,
the very people trying to corrupt the democratic system of
governance because of a selfish lust for power and
money. And so, we see emerging a serious challenge to
the meticulous adherence to
constitutionalism."
© AP PHOTO
The former President of
Ghana Jerry John Rawlings
has condemned the 'winner
takes all mentality' within
governments and called for
an all inclusiveness in government.
"The winner takes all mentality that we have inherited
from the Westminster and
other systems of western
democracy has led to the overt
rejection of the concept of
power sharing or the involvement of other party members
in a government of inclusion,
even when it is clearly in the
national interest so to do," The
Enquirer quoted Mr. Rawlings
to have said.
In a public lecture in
Nigeria in mid January, Mr.
Rawlings condemned the
manipulation of election
results saying democracy is
not only the observance of certain norms and traditions, but
the upholding of the integrity
of the electoral process itself.
"Some of those very politicians who gained leadership
positions as a result of the
strict adherence to the norms
of democracy are now, and at
the end of their tenures, the
very people trying to corrupt
the democratic system of
boomed economy".
He
noted
that
Ghana's economic
performance
in
2007 was remarkable. "Against a
background
of
unprecedented difficulties in world
trade and political
instability in certain
parts of the world especially
on the African continent,
which saw enormous write
downs across the many economies ousted, Ghana's economy
was able to grow." He added.
He said the lessons on
Ghana's economic progress
were very relevant to other
countries especially those in
Africa and third world countries. Ghana's Finance and
Economic Planning Minister,
Mr. Kwadwo Baah Wiredu,
who received the award on
behalf of Ghana, expressed the
delight that the Ghana's economic upturn has impressed the
world.
He said the vision of the
government of Ghana is to
help provide and maintain a
buoyant and robust economy
for her citizens. According to
him, Ghana has extended it's
arms to the world's investment
community to participate in
her economy and "I stand here
to say that the response has
been tremendous. This is
mainly due to the economic
and political stability we have
exhibited as a nation".
By Nana Sifa Twum &
Isaac Amo-Kyereme
WHO: Meningitis outbreak has
begun in West African region
There is an outbreak of
the deadly meningitis bacterium in three West African
countries, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has
said. Experts have warned
that this might be the worst
meningitis epidemic to hit
Africa in a decade.
"One district is on alert in
Burkina Faso, an epidemic
has been reported in a region
of Nigeria and there are two
cases in Niger, as well as
cases in the Democratic
Republic
of
Congo,"
Professor Kader Kondé,
director
of
WHO's
Ouagadougou-based MultiDisease Surveillance Centre
(MDSC) told IRIN.
Last October the WHO
warned that 80 million people
out of roughly 350 million
who live in 21 African countries stretching from Ethiopia
in the east to Mauritania in the
west might need to be vaccinated against the bacterium
this year.
The meningitis bacterium,
which usually reaches epidemic levels in the region often
referred to as Africa's "meningitis belt" between December
and May, could be especially
severe this year as the region
is heading toward the peak of
a 10- to 12-year cycle of
meningitis crises, health forecasters say.
Kondé said that the situation could be worse this year
because of high dust levels in
the region and the low level of
immunity among populations.
He said new research by
WHO and national research
centres also appears to have
shown a new strain of the bacterium.
"If you take into account
all these factors we find ourselves in a situation where the
risk [of epidemics] is high,"
Kondé said.
IRIN reported that preparedness for meningitis epidemics is notoriously difficult
because vaccines cannot be
administered until it is known
which of the many different
forms of the bacterium are
spreading.
Hans Ebbing, regional
health coordinator of the
International Federation of
the Red Cross, told IRIN the
Federation has already started
training 25,000 volunteers
across the region, and is educating people about how to
recognise meningitis and the
dangers.
"We know this is not really
going to prevent a major outbreak. But we're hoping that
early activity can prevent
some spread of the disease
and we do know that training
and preparedness can make
the response faster," he said.
Meningitis is an infection
of the thin lining around the
brain and spinal cord. Even
when meningitis is diagnosed
early and adequate therapy is
available, between 5 and 10
percent of patients die, typically within 24 and 48 hours
of experiencing the first symptoms. Many thousands of
survivors are left with brain
damage, hearing loss or learning disabilities.
14
AFRICANS IN UK
February 2008
Judge orders inquiry after Zim
asylum seeker gets job at UK Home Office
A Zimbabwean asylum seeker conned his way into getting a job in which
he processed dozens of immigration
appeals for almost a year, a UK court
heard in January.
Eugene Tawanda Mazima, 24, was
jailed for 12 months by the Leicester
Crown Court for holding forged papers
after he landed an administration job at
the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
"Why was he able to get a
fulltime job with the Appeals
and Immigration Tribunal
Service, of all people, who
are meant to be dealing with
people seeking asylum? No
proper checks were made and
yet he must have been on
their records."
Judge Hammond
Service (AITS), having supposedly
undergone background checks.
Madzima, who was well regarded
by work colleagues, gave staff presentations and even helped train staff at
Leicester's AITS - part of the Home
Office's Ministry of Justice department.
The Zimbabwean's con was not
revealed until he tried to open a bank
account at a Leicester HSBC branch in
December last year.
He presented a forged Zimbabwean
passport in the name of Nigel Mazima
and gave bank staff a bogus address at
Walton Street in the Leicester city centre which was found not to exist, said
Meena Evans, prosecuting. In fact, he
lives on London Road, Leicester.
Judge Hammond said the scandal
was "staggering" and "beggars belief".
He added: "Why was he able to get
a fulltime job with the Appeals and
Immigration Tribunal Service, of all
people, who are meant to be dealing
with people seeking asylum?
"No proper checks were made and
yet he must have been on their
records."
The judge also ordered an inquiry
into Madzima's claim that he was sold
the fake passport by a London solicitor
who handled his asylum claim in 2002
for £1000.
As no record exists of his asylum
decision, the judge also demanded to
know why the application had apparently never been processed. The court
heard that Madzima and his mother
came to the UK in 2002, after their
home in Zimbabwe was destroyed
during political unrest, and made a
joint application to stay.
His mother was refused and left the
country but there is no record of a decision on Madzima.
Judge Hammond said he was not
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up in the department,
and the situation was
now under review.
She said: "Before
he was employed,
Eugene Madzima did
undergo full preemployment checks in
line with civil service
procedures at the
time.
"From April 2007,
enhanced checks were
introduced, as they
were across the civil
service. Recruitment
staff are given detailed advice on how to
check the authenticity
of
documents.
Following his admission of a criminal
offence, Madzima's
employment has been
terminated."
The
opposition
Conservative party
called the situation
"shambolic".
Shadow
Home
David
Eugene Tawanda Mazima, 24, was jailed for Secretary
Davis said: "It is truly
12 months for holding forged papers
shambolic that in less
than three months the
recommending deportation because of
the situation in Zimbabwe. A decision Government has managed to employ
on Madzima's status will be taken later. illegal immigrants as security guards,
Jacqui Callam, defending said cleaners and now as part of its training
Madzima had "simply made up a staff at the heart of the immigration
National Insurance number" when he system.
"The Government waxes lyrical
acquired the immigration service job.
She said he had worked hard and about cracking down on firms who
employ illegal workers but yet again it
earned the respect of colleagues.
A spokeswoman for the Tribunals has failed to get its own house in
Service said checks had been stepped order."
© NEWZIMBABWE.COM PHOTO
By Newzimbabwe.com
Cartoonist, Illustrator and
Author TAYO Fatunla’s
book signing in New York
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TAYO
Fatunla
(www.tayofatunla.com), a cartoonist,
illustrator and author will be signing
copies of "OUR ROOTS", his illustrated feature on Black History and Black
achievers in the diaspora to celebrate
Black History Month in the US on 8th
February 2008 at A & B Books, 146
Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, 11201,
New York. TAYO will be available
from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
"OUR ROOTS" began as a school
project at the Joe Kubert School of cartoon and Graphic Art, New Jersey and
has been read around the world as a
newspaper strip, on web sites and in a
book
format.
CartoonArts
International was the first in the US to
syndicate "OUR ROOTS" as far back
as 1995.
"OUR ROOTS" has been featured
in New York Amsterdam News, and
Philadelphia Enquirer.
TAYO will also be holding a talkshop presentation of "OUR ROOTS"
as well as drawing caricatures of attendees.
In 2007, selected poster size drawings of "OUR ROOTS" were exhibited at the African Film Festival
Edinburgh, Scotland to very good
press reviews and also at the Studio
Museum, Harlem New York.
For further information, please contact Tasha, Tel- (718) 596 0872.
AFRICANS IN UK
February 2008
15
Interview with Flavia Mbazima, Miss Zambia UK
“Eliminate stigma and accept
AIDS as just another cancer”
disease in order to win the fight by
taking the disease seriously and
making sure that each one of us takes a
stand against HIV/AIDS. We also need
innovative ways and accelerated efforts
to raise awareness through extensive
campaigns and education programmes
on the impacts and how to prevent
HIV/AIDS in our communities.
By Stephen Ogongo
The society should stop considering HIV/AIDS a disease of shame
that is only contracted through
sexual promiscuity. "Removing the
stigma will go a long way in eliminating discrimination; thereby allowing sufferers to come out in the
open and obtain the necessary treatment on time," says Flavia
Mbazima, the Miss Zambia UK. In
this exclusive with Africa News, she
appeals to the society to eliminate
stigma surrounding the disease and
"accept the HIV/AIDS as just another cancer." Flavia was born on
22nd February 1981 in a town called Kitwe, on the Copperbelt of
Zambia. She moved to the UK in
2003 and lives with her father in
South East London. She is currently
studying for an ACCA (Association
of Certified and Chartered
Accountants) qualification in
London.
What's your advice to African governments as far as treatment of people
with HIV/AIDS is concerned?
My advice to African governments
is to make concerted efforts in ensuring
that funds donated to their governments for treatment of people with
HIV/AIDS are specifically used for
that particular purpose. African governments also need to embark on innovative and effective awareness campaigns
to sensitise their populations in the
effects and impacts of HIV/AIDS on
their communities and also to educate
the people on ways of preventing contracting HIV/AIDS. In addition to this,
subsidies should be made available to
make the drugs for the treatment and
prevention of HIV/AIDS more easily
accessible and affordable to everyone
who is in need more especially the people in rural areas of Africa. It would
also help if the stigma surrounding the
disease is eliminated and the society
can accept the HIV/AIDS as just another cancer rather than a disease of
shame that is only contracted through
sexual promiscuity. Removing the stigma will go a long way in eliminating
discrimination; thereby allowing sufferers to come out in the open and obtain
the necessary treatment on time.
What are the objectives of Miss
Zambia UK?
Miss Zambia UK Beauty Pageant is
a social responsibility and community
development initiative based on the
principle of "Beauty with a Purpose",
and is ultimately aimed at charitable
and community works. The Pageant
celebrates the beauty of every Zambian
woman and is dedicated to all Zambian
women who have died of HIV/AIDS.
As we celebrate the Zambian woman,
we remember our sisters who have died
of HIV/AIDS and in so doing we are
reminded of our responsibility to the
children that our sisters have left
behind. A percentage of the proceeds
from the event is donated to charities
for HIV/AIDS orphans in Zambia.
Winners and title-holders use their
position and influence to raise funds
for the welfare of Zambian HIV/AIDS
orphans during the period of their reign
and beyond. Over the years, Miss
Zambia UK Beauty Pageant has also
become a ground-breaking PR campaign to profile Zambia and its people,
and is a creative way to showcase
Zambia's beauty, pride and rich cultural
heritage to a global audience. Through
the Miss Zambia UK Beauty Pageant,
we revisit our roots and celebrate our
rich cultural heritage. By so doing, we
educate the world about our history,
traditions and cultures that identify us
as the Zambian people.
How does it feel to be considered the
most beautiful Zambian girl in the
UK?
Actually every Zambian woman, or
shall I say every African woman is
beautiful, but if you ask me how it feels
to be a representative of such beauty, it
is an absolute honour which has completely changed my life. First of all by
becoming Miss Zambia UK title-holder, I have gained a platform on which
to stand to be able to help vulnerable
and underprivileged children.
The past one year has been a whirlwind of endless social and charitable
activities. I have been receiving invitations to red carpet events, charity balls,
fundraisers and several other events in
the UK and Europe. Most people think
being Miss Zambia UK is just about
glitz and glamour, but in reality it is a
full time job in itself and a very deman-
What are the qualities of your ideal
man?
Miss Zambia UK with her father & Justina Mutale, the founder
of Miss Zambia UK Beauty Pageant after being crowned
ding one. Since my crowning I suddenly find myself being invited as a celebrity guest, VIP or Guest of Honour at
all kinds of events. It is definitely an
honour but you just have to be down to
earth and not let it get to your head.
What have you achieved so far as
Miss Zambia UK?
As part of my charitable obligations,
I have done a lot of public speeches at
charitable events at which I have officiated with prominent figures in the
UK and Europe. I joined the Zambian
High Commissioner to the UK, Mr
Anderson Chibwa; and the Mayor of
Bournemouth, at the Contesa Charity
Ball held in Bournemouth to help raise
funds for HIV/AIDS orphans and other
vulnerable children in Zambia.
As a model, I am signed to
INTSTYLES Model & Artist
Management, a division of Perryfield
Promotions, the organisers of Miss
Zambia UK Beauty Pageant in London.
In addition to other projects in the pipeline, I am now working on the launch
of a new black skincare and make-up
range for which I will be the lead and
spokes model.
Any particular charity projects you
are involved in?
Upon my crowning, I adopted the
Kalingalinga HIV/AIDS Orphanage in
Lusaka, which is the official Miss
Zambia
UK
charity
project.
Kalingalinga is a day care centre for
children living with HIV/AIDS. Miss
Zambia UK has so far laid the foundation stone to build the "HOUSE OF
HOPE" - a boarding house with classrooms and a clinic to provide the
orphans with a home of their own, an
education and access to health care.
During my reign I have helped raise
funds for two additional Zambian
Charities based in the UK - the Contesa
Charity based in Bournemouth, for the
benefit of HIV/AIDS orphans and
other vulnerable children in Zambia,
and also the Mugurameno Charitable
Trust which is building a school for
children in rural Zambia.
How can we reverse the impact of
HIV/AIDS in our communities?
I believe abstinence is the best medicine, and those in relationships should
stay faithful to one partner or use protection. The whole world needs to
speak with one voice if the HIV/AIDS
Pandemic is to be reversed. I believe
the solution to reversing the impact of
HIV/AIDS lies in the hands of each
and every one of us. We need to build a
strong global voice against HIV/AIDS
and consider seriously what role each
one of us can play in reversing the
He has to be intelligent, honest and
humble. He also has to be real with a
good sense of humour and be a man of
honour.
How can our readers support your
charity activities?
Readers can support our charities by
making any form of donations, whether
monetary or otherwise. They can email
me at misszambiauk@yahoo.co.uk or
call my manager on Telephone: +44 (0)
7791 692 490.
What's your advice to young girls
aspiring to become models?
Modelling is a very lucrative and
fulfilling job, at the same time it is very
demanding and requires a lot of hard
work. You have to be prepared to work
hard and to keep your head above your
shoulders and stay focused so that you
do not fall into all sorts of scams from
unscrupulous people who spoil the profession. Being a beauty queen is even
more remarkable as you get the opportunity to use your heart and your position to help other people.
Any advice to Africans in the
UK/Europe?
My advise to Africans in the UK and
Europe is to believe in themselves and
to be proud of who they are as
Africans. We should never forget
where we come from. Even though we
live in a Western culture we should not
lose our identity and cultural heritage.
16
February 2008
AFRICANS IN UK
UK deports terminally ill
woman to Ghana, rejects
plea for her return
first three months'
treatment. However,
he said the hospital
could not help her as
she had no source of
funding for the
ongoing
medical
care she required. A
Dutch woman living
in Wales has also
paid
her
three
months' treatment.
Ms.
Sumani's
plight made Ghana's
High Commissioner
to the UK Annan
Cato urge the government on Radio
Four's The World
Tonight to allow her
back to the UK. He
said the decision to
deport her was
regrettable.
Mr Cato said:
"Even now I don't
think it is too late for
them to reconsider
Ms. Ama Sumani, deported despite being
their position to
terminally ill
allow her to come
back and receive treAfter deporting a terminally ill atment. I would appeal to them to do
Ghanaian woman with an expired so.
visa, the UK government has said it
"I would plead that this lady come
will not reconsider its decision.
back and receive treatment in the UK.
On 9th January, Ama Sumani, suffe- The UK has in the past done this for
ring from cancer was taken from a many, many people and I am confident
hospital in Cardiff and flown back to they could do it again."
Ghana. Sumani, 39, and a mother of
The Commons home affairs comtwo, had been receiving dialysis treat- mittee chairman Keith Vaz described
ment three times a week to prolong her the deportation decision as "astonilife after her kidneys were damaged by shing". Mr. Vaz told BBC Radio Wales:
cancer.
"We know that there have to be rules
After her deportation to Accra, it governing immigration, we also know
emerged that she can't afford more than those who break rules have to be retur£3,000 needed for the first three ned, but there is also a question of
months of treatment. According to ministerial discretion.
BBC reports, a hospital official in
"This is a compassionate goverGhana said Ms. Sumani had been nment that needs to act on occasion in
accompanied by British immigration a compassionate way, while being
officials who had offered to pay for the extremely tough and ensuring the rules
are upheld."
"We understand her health is deteriorating, that is not a proper use of
immigration powers in my view. It is
far better to remove someone that is
able bodied than someone who is very
sick and receiving treatment."
Mr. Cato's appeal was rejected when
the Border and Immigration Agency
underlined the legal grounds for the
deportation. A spokesman said:
"Anyone seeking to remain in the UK
needs to ensure they have the legal
right to do so or face removal.
"We examine with great care each
individual case before removal and we
assess fitness to travel and whether the
necessary medical treatment is available in the country to which we are
returning.
"The UK cannot offer healthcare to
individuals with no legal right to
remain in the UK solely because they
would not be able to access a similar
standard of treatment in their country
of origin - this has been upheld in law.
"While it is preferable for those with
no right to remain in the United
Kingdom to return home voluntarily, it
is regrettable that not all choose to do
so and in those circumstances it may be
necessary to enforce removal, this is
carried out with courtesy and dignity."
The decision to deport the terminally ill woman was strongly criticised by
the Lancet medical journal. In an editorial, it said: "To stop treating patients in
the knowledge that they are being sent
home to die is an unacceptable breach
of the duties of any health professional.
The UK has committed an atrocious
barbarism. It is time for doctors' leaders
to say so-forcefully and uncompromisingly."
The head of the Border and
Immigration Agency defended their
decision telling MPs that the case did
not stand out from other difficult cases.
Lin Homer, the agency's chief executive, told the Home Affairs Select
Committee: "I think it is difficult to see
the circumstances in which this case
stands out from the many very difficult
cases we consider." Ms Homer said the
decision was backed up by previous
rulings in the domestic courts, the
House of Lords and the European
Court in Strasbourg.
"Even now I don't think it is
too late for them to reconsider their position to allow her
to come back and receive treatment. I would appeal to
them to do so. I would plead
that this lady come back and
receive treatment in the UK.
The UK has in the past done
this for many, many people
and I am confident they
could do it again."
Ghana's High Commissioner
to the UK Annan Cato
Bishops and politicians appeal for
Sumani’s return to UK for treatment
Reacting to the deportation of
Ama Sumani, a terminally ill
Ghanaian woman with an expired
visa, the Home Affairs Select
Committee member Gwyn Prosser
said: "Many people would believe
that this case is exceptional. If it's not
exceptional, good God, what is?"
Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris,
who
co-chairs
the
All-Party
Parliamentary Kidney Group, said he
was "appalled by the callous conduct of
the Home Office."
"If the Home Office is willing to pay
£3,000 for treatment plus thousands
more pounds for her removal, they may
well as well have paid for her treatment
here at least until they had confirmed
that she would get treatment in Ghana,"
Dr Harris said.
A former Home Office minister
defended Ms. Sumani's removal saying
that it is an issue about "health services
in her own country". Cardiff MP Alun
Michael told the BBC that he delayed
the removal of Ms. Sumani from the
city last year to ensure her status was
examined "in great detail".
Mr. Michael, the Labour MP for
Cardiff South and Penarth, was Ms
Sumani's local MP when she lived in
Wales, and the case came to him. He
said: "Isn't the debate really about the
quality of treatment and medical services available in her own country?
"The question anybody has to ask
themselves is whether it's right for
somebody who has no right to be in this
country to be given medical treatment
which would not be available to them
had they not become an illegal resident."
First Minister Rhodri Morgan compared Ms Sumani's case to that of
Watford footballer Al Bangura, from
Sierra Leone who has been allowed to
remain in the UK while he applies for a
work permit after the Home Office
heard his appeal against deportation,
BBC reported.
Mr. Morgan said: "It does make you
think if that's okay for a footballer to
have this treatment, shouldn't that
apply to this person in need of dialysis,
from Ghana? And perhaps the Home
Office will want to look at the comparison itself and perhaps draw a different
conclusion."
Wales Euro-MP Glenys Kinnock has
asked for an explanation from the
Home Office why Ms Sumani did not
qualify under the Border and
Immigration Agency's "exceptional circumstances" provision. Mrs Kinnock
said the "life and death" case should be
treated with "humanity and compassion".
She has also written to the UK high
commissioner in Ghana asking for his
"frank assessment of the treatment that
Ama can expect - and afford - in
Ghana". In a letter to Home Office
Minister Liam Byrne she said: "I don't
think that I am over-dramatising the
situation if I say that the continuation
of the status quo would constitute a
death sentence for Ama".
The Bishops in Wales have also
appealed to the government to be compassionate and allow Ms. Sumani back
into the country to resume life-prolonging dialysis treatment.
They said the decision to take Ms.
Sumani from hospital in Cardiff was "a
breach of her basic human rights", The
Press Association reported.
Archbishop of Wales, Dr. Barry
Morgan, said: "You cannot follow the
letter of the law when it comes to
immigration because we are dealing
with individual human beings, not
commodities.
"There has to be room for flexibility
of rules, a consideration of a person's
dignity, self-respect and basic human
rights. We need to exercise compassion
and understanding and act appropriately for each case. It is never appropriate
for a civilised, wealthy society to turn,
literally, a sick woman out of her bed
and put her on a plane to a very worrying future. What sort of moral example does that send to the rest of the
world?"
AFRICANS IN EUROPE
February 2008
17
Miss East Africa UK tours East African orphanages
Africans must take care
of needy African children
Miss East Africa UKMaureen Nyakaira has been
hard at work in her new role
as the voice of underprivileged children of East Africa.
The Ugandan beauty queen
spent Christmas and New Year
with orphans in Kenya,
Uganda and Tanzania from
18th December to 14th
January. She has given the
children a gesture of hope for a
bright future by campaigning
for their rights through the
media in the East African
countries.
Ms. Nyakaira's trip was
aimed at raising awareness of
the plight of children orphaned
through HIV/AIDS. While in
Kenya she visited Nyumbani
children's home where she
spent time with the orphans
sharing in their experiences
before awarding them with
Christmas
shopping.
"Throughout my time at
Nyumbani children's home, I
had a great time with the children. We did a bit of catwalk
and some of them were very
interested in my title asking
questions on how I managed to
scoop this prestigious title,"
Miss Nyakaira said.
She observed that "The
children are so happy but with
very little. They basically
depend on help from well
wishers."
Miss Nyakaira said it was a
very emotional moment bid-
that all the 100 children in
Nyumbani are not only
orphans but they live with
HIV/AIDS. They are aged between three and 17 years," she
said.
At Rafiki Care home of
Kenya, Miss Nyakaira was a
breath of fresh air to the children who like those of
Nyumbani are hoping for a
bright future. She delivered
Christmas shopping to the
children in time for the much
anticipated celebration before
finally heading to Tanzania to
spend Christmas day with
orphans at Forever Angels
baby home. Most babies here
are AIDS orphans and living
with HIV/AIDS.
Miss Nyakaira delivered
much needed nappies and
baby wipes to the home and is
appealing to the general public
to do the same. During her stay
at Forever Angels baby home,
she was involved in the daily
activities of the home from
bathing the babies, feeding
them, playing with them to
putting them to sleep.
One particular infant born
prematurely caught her attention. "On my fifth day at this
"My advice to fellow
Africans is, it's about
time we sorted out our
African children without
waiting for David
Beckham and the rest of
these so called celebrities to fly thousands of
miles away to do campaigns in Africa"
Ms. Pauline Long
The Miss East Africa
UK founder
ding the children bye at the
end of her visit. "After leaving
I later found out with shock
home, as I was preparing to
leave for my last league of the
tour to Uganda, this infant fell
very ill. She was born prematurely and on top of that she is
living with HIV/AIDS. The
hospital brought her to Forever
Angels home due to lack of
care facilities at the hospital.
There was a sudden rush that
morning to get this infant to
the nearest hospital to receive
urgent treatment. I wish I
could have stayed longer to
see the baby through treatment
and give much care," Miss
Nyakaira said.
Miss Nyakaira, a medical
physics student at the
University of Queen Mary,
London noted that Forever
Angels home needs not only
material stuff to help in caring
for the children but also volunteer nurses and carers.
She is appealing to wellwishers who travel to Tanzania
to volunteer their time and
skills if not money even just
for a day.
In Uganda, Miss East
Africa UK visited children's
hospital in Mulago on behalf
of anti-malaria organisation
CORE (Uganda). She visited
the children's ward
and
delivered
mosquito nets.
Miss Nyakaira
said she desires to
do more for the
East African children by reaching
out to well-wishers,
governments and
individuals who
have a heart to
give.
The Miss East
Africa UK founder,
Kenyan
born
Pauline Long said
the society mustn't
turn a blind eye to
underprivileged
children. She condemned the fact
that
celebrities
from the Western
world are being
used to campaign
for Africa's underprivileged children.
She cited the exam-
Miss East Africa UK- Maureen Nyakaira serving a
drink to children at Rafiki Care home in Kenya
ple of Mr. David Beckham into children's welfare states.
who was recently in Sierra "These children that Miss East
Leone campaigning for chil- Africa UK support are only a
dren on behalf of UNICEF. small number of children
"My advice to fellow Africans living in poverty as a result of
is, it's about time we sorted out being orphaned and I think
our African children without they are very lucky that
waiting for David Beckham someone is looking out for
and the rest of these so called them, but what about the ones
celebrities to fly thousands of that haven't found a voice to
miles away to do campaigns in represent them?" she asked.
Africa," said Pauline.
She urged all Africans
including the ones FOR MORE INFORMATION ON
living in the Diaspora to
HOW TO HELP THESE
play an active role in
CHARITIES
PLEASE VISIT
giving the African child
a bright future.
Pauline also urged www.foreverangels.org
the African gover- www.myspace.com/rafikischildren
nments to work towards www.pearlchildren.org
turning their countries www.misseastafrica.co.uk/maureen
SWEDEN
Immigrants in Älvsbyn praise 'Cafe' Mötesplats'
Immigrants in Älvsbyn, a
town
near Luleå,
in
Sweden's
Norrbotten
Region, have expressed their
gratitude for the weekly
Coffee Meetings organised
by the churches for them.
Immigrants are invited to
coffee meeting places three
times a week in Älvsbyn.
Svenska Kyrkan (the Church
of Sweden) organises it on
Mondays; the EFS Church
organises it on Wednesdays
and the Korskyrkan (the Cross
Church) does it on Thursdays.
During the meetings tea and
coffee, sandwiches and beverages are freely served. All
kinds of indoor games are placed at the disposal of the
immigrants where they enjoy
lively competitions among
themselves.
In a recent meeting, a
Deaconess of the EFS Church,
Margot Lundström encouraged immigrants to brighten
every place they find themselves. Margot was speaking after
she and Maria Karam (also a
leading member of the EFS
Church) joined immigrant
children to sing to entertain
guest at the 'Cafe' Mötesplats'.
Aguwa Olok Chame from
Ethiopia and Hagop Atamian
and Bashar Jamil, both from
Iraq who were all present at
the occasion expressed their
gratefulness to the sponsors of
Cafe' Meetings. They agreed
that the beauty of God is seen
when different cultures, races
and colours harmoniously
come together.
Cafe' meetings was an idea
hatched in the early 1990s
when the collapse of communism and the Golf War led to a
massive influx of immigrants
(to Sweden and) to Älvsbyn.
According
to
Mona
Hedman
Deaconess
of
Svenska Kyrkan and Sture
Lundström of EFS, the idea
was a compassionate response
by the churches in Älvsbyn to
a people who perhaps needed a
hug more than a place to sleep
and a clothe to wear. EFS före-
ning, Lutherska mission,
Church of Sweden and the Red
Cross are the sponsors of the
Cafe' meetings.
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COMMENTARY/OP-ED
February 2008
19
South Africa
ANC -Winnie Mandela
to the Rescue?
Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela,
ex-wife of former President Nelson
Mandela, has vowed to repair the split
that has haunted the ANC in the
period leading to their 52nd National
Conference in Polokwane from 16-20
December 2007. She made a sensational political comeback after an absence of five years. The delegates placed
her to occupy position number 1 in the
80-member National Executive
Committee. "In am going to return
the ANC to its former glory by 2009.
Watch me" she promised in an interview. Our correspondent Eric Singh
was in Polokwane and sent this report
the delegates began gathering in the
City of Polokwane, Province of
Limpopo, in the north of the country on
15th December when registration got
under way. It was obvious that there
were two distinct camps. The one camp
showing three fingers, meaning third
term. The other showed the sign of the
change used in football matches. The
situation was not helped by the heavy
deluge that greeted delegates at the
registration office. Except for the opening day of conference, it rained the
whole time making for very heavy
underfoot conditions on the lovely
lawn of the University of Limpopo.
The mood of the conference was
clearly going Zuma's way. In fact on
the second day Mbeki's advisers plea-
The 52nd National Conference of
the African National Congress (ANC)
is now history. The 4000 voting delegates placed the running of the organisation into the hands of Mr. Jacob Zuma,
the new president, and his National
Executive Committee (NEC), which
was enlarged from 66 to 86, and has
been charged with the task of renewing
the ANC and to successfully lead it into
the parliamentary general elections of
2009.
Speculation is rife. Media and other
political analysts are having a field day
following the humiliating defeat suffered by President Thabo Mbeki and his
supporters. Mr. Zuma made a clean
sweep of the top six positions. Never in
the history of the ANC have the delegates been confronted with such a situation. Normally presidents have stepped
down voluntarily and the new one elected almost by acclaim. Mr. Mbeki,
whose term as President of South
Africa ends in 2009, decided to retain
his place in the ANC where no such
rules apply. This split the organisation
from top to bottom. Canvassing began
months before the conference started.
This is a new phenomena in the ANC.
The situation was rather tense when
ded with him to drop out with grace.
He refused. He was very stubborn. He
failed to read the writing on the wall
and put the organisation in a very
embarrassing position.
Why did the delegates refuse to
endorse Mbeki for a third term? There
are many theories floating around. It
might be interesting to quote from a
reader's letter to the local press a few
days before the conference kicked off.
This reader, probably a Boer, judging
from his name, takes the press to task
for their vilification of Zuma. He said:
By Eric Singh
"Although Mbeki was lambasted by the
media despite his successes, no sooner
it was clear that Zuma was making
ground at the grassroots, this very same
media has suddenly found a champion
in Mbeki and are tripping over each
other in their praise of the man.
"Africans are not stupid. And are
aware of the Eurocentric agenda. The
truth is that the rank and file who make
up the strength of the ANC electoral
blocs, will support a presidential candidate who they feel will champion their
aspirations to go forward, and not a
stooge of the advantaged elite". The
results of the elections in Limpopo
confirmed that this reader understood
the situation more than the media who
received a well earned slap in the face.
The position of the ANC
President is a very powerful
one. That person can pull
the strings, with the help of
the NEC, as to who will
occupy which position in
government. Including the
national president. This is
precisely what the delegates
at Polokwane saw through
and voted against Mbeki.
They did not want a president for life.
A fellow scribe sees it
like this "In the end, I suppose, it was Thabo Mbeki's
obduracy that sunk him; he
was the architect of his own downfall".
Dr Pallo Jordan, Minister of Arts and
Culture in the second Mbeki cabinet
(he was kept out of the first cabinet
from 1999-2004. He also held cabinet
position under Nelson Mandela) is a
very outspoken person. He does not
belong to Mbeki's inner circle.
Jordan was of the opinion: "It would
have been preferable if Mbeki had
responded to the demand for change in
a different way: if he had not put himself forward for the ANC leadership
and, instead, left office gracefully like
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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The Editor, Africa News,
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Nelson Mandela. Thabo has effectively
been head of government since 1994.
The government's successes have been
his successes and it is sad that it should
end on this note".
Jacob Zuma, in a very passionate,
and wide-ranging speech to the delegates, made an appeal to work together.
He told them: "Irrespective of whom
you voted for, there is no place for a
Zuma camp or an Mbeki camp. There
is only one ANC," and promised to
work closely with the grassroots in
order to implement some of the resolutions which need urgent attention.
These include expanding the no fee
schools; HIV/AIDS programmes, and
support for victims and families; 30%
land redistribution by 2014; fighting
poverty and crime; to fight the patriarchal oppression of women thereby
making the gender question a high
priority; economy and foreign investments; consolidating the Tripartite
Alliance (ANC, COSATU- trade
unions, & South African Communist
Party) which has been dented under the
Mbeki leadership.
This is where Ms MadikizelaMandela's experience, talent and persuasive powers will be a great help to
Zuma. He would be well advised to
heed the lady's offer. He will need it.
The Polokwane gathering demonstrated to South Africa that the people
will make their presence felt. One cannot ignore them in the belief that they
will follow blindly. It is also hoped that
the lessons of Limpopo will be felt
throughout the continent of Africa.
This was democracy in action.
At the time of writing, it has been reported that Jacob Zuma has been indicted on
corruption charges and will appear in court
in August 2008. Further details are not yet
available.
Ghanaians, make Ghana a developed nation
By Mercy Bolus Adede
Ghana was already a nation even
in the times of the Gold Coast. We
had graduates. There was also a man
called Kwame Nkrumah and the Big
team of six bringing freedom to the
rest of Africa while black Americans
were denied a vote in their own country. These selfless people from
Ghana saw the future of Africa from
the keyhole.
A new nation was created to be a
symbol of Africa and the rest of the
world. Let's us keep that torch shining
wherever we are! Nationality of people
does not really matter, as we love unity
to rule our nation. Who is calling the
shots here? Is it not Ghanaians? This is
what makes Ghana so unique as compared to the rest of Africa and America.
We should try to emulate best practices
that improve lives and bring stability,
growth and technological development
to our nation.
We certainly have what it takes to
make a difference for our nation.
However, we need to value and respect
each other's capability no matter how
small those contributions could be.
Each and every one of us has something to share to make that difference in
Ghana. Those of us living in the current
developed world must not rest until our
nation matches the developments we
see and enjoy in these developed
nations. The slums we see in our country were here in Europe in 1800's until
1970.
Why then do we as a nation go for
loans and aid? Let us maximise our
own resources with new initiatives. As
a middle age country and still rising
from the Phoenix of colonialism we
should be at the height of our developments and even achieving greater
things by now. Why are we still struggling as a nation not performing to
make that difference like our brothers
in Malaysia? What is stopping us from
reaching the top level of our development since we started over five decades
ago? Ghana is an open-door country
and as such has Embassies throughout
the world. However, do we capitalise
on the advantages these opportunities
give us? Does it stretch us to strategically network Ghana with key stakeholders in areas that would be of interest to our country? For example, the
Ghana railways system could work in
partnership with the German, British or
the Spanish railway system in order to
provide an effective and efficient
system. Are our Ambassadors grasping
the knowledge of economic growth and
developmental know-how from their
host countries?
Such intelligence is badly needed
for our own development. Do we lack
the ability to ask vital questions necessary for our developments? Why are
we still struggling when we are over 50
years old and still cannot stand on our
own two feet? Surely, 50 years is quite
enough for Ghanaian citizens to be
seeing concrete outcomes, better educational system, health system, improvement of our cultural heritage, significant increase in our literacy rate and
growth and development with adequate
welfare system at least.
Why don't we then eradicate all the
slums springing up around strategic
spots in Ghana? These are not acceptable if we are aiming to be a tourist
destination in the near future. Let's
improve our sanitation around all our
towns, villages and cities.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea for
Assembly men and women to push for
basic amenities in all their communities to promote our tourism? One
would welcome the new initiative to
train local chiefs on management.
Marketing skills perhaps would encou-
rage all chiefs to promote their areas
and maximise the profits they would
get from natural resources.
How about inviting celebrities from
Europe to spend a week to eat local just
foof at the Kakum grounds hence
giving Kakum Parks etc the PR it needs
to boost our tourism. Why are our community leaders not doing their bit in
transforming all local beaches into a
pleasant surrounding to attract tourists?
Let's us keep this momentum going
and to get that Ghanaian feeling to
achieve against the odds. Let us value
each other as one body. Once we get
this right we would achieve greater
results in all angles. No one is an
Island, we need each other like a building project. Let's try and contribute
towards community developments in
our little way. Ghanaians in Diaspora,
let's continue to promote Ghana. Let's
help the children we bring up in
Diaspora to think of Ghana and invest
in business ventures to promote our
country. Everyone should walk tall and
be proud of being part of Ghana and
help in whatever ways they can.
Let's shame those who ridicule
Ghana by and kicking off this year with
key strategic objectives to make that
difference. We have a job to do!
20
February 2008
ENTERTAINMENT
Kenyan DJ's rise to popularity entertaining Africans in the UK
DJ Dubwise: “Politics is a game that
can either build or destroy a nation”
By Pauline Long
Africans in the UK are
embracing one of the most
talented Disc Jockeys who
has gradually became very
popular over the years in
the music and entertainment scene from hosting
gigs, playing at exclusive
clubs and parties to fronting
The Look East Show on
Voice of Africa Radio. His
love for music has been
there since he was a little
boy, growing up in the
eighties, listening to the hit
songs played at home by his
elder sibling. These would
either be soul classics from
the likes of Bee Gees, Kool
& the Gang or Michael
Jackson's music, Lingala
music or simply some
Reggae by Jimmy Cliff,
Alpha Blondy, UB40, Lucky
Dube and Bob Marley. In an
exclusive interview, Pauline
Long caught up with the
man in question, DJ
Dubwise who revealed how
it all started and his passion
for entertaining the African
community in the UK.
The chance came when I met a
good friend; DJ Collo at a
party in London, he allowed
me to try out the decks, of
course with a few errors but
eventually I got to learn the
game. I started collecting compilation CD's and going to
Clubs hoping to get a try out
and it eventually paid off. I
had to practice a lot in order to
keep up with the demands and
as they say the rest is history!
So, is this what you planned as a
career or what is just a hobby that
developed into a career?
This was just a hobby that
went on to become bigger than
main pointers and told me the
truth about being a DJ, I took it
on board and I'm still trying to
learn through what he does!
You have in the past been nominated for the best Kenyan DJ
Award in the UK by the Kenyan
Society UK, how did it feel to be
recognised even though you were
still relatively new in the industry?
Yes, I was nominated alongside other big Kenyan DJ's in
the UK in 2004, when I was
just getting better in the game.
Amongst them was DJ Edu,
who was the eventual winner.
It was a great honour to be
named alongside them and to
Everyone knows you as DJ
Dubwise, what are your real
names?
Haha! It's true everyone
knows the name Dubwise, a
name I was given by a friend
of mine years back due to my
knowledge of Reggae music. I
guess people liked the sound
of it and suddenly they started
calling me Dubwise and it
stuck. However, those who've
known me from before would
always call me by my real
name Frankie!
When did it all start for you and
how did you get into spinning?
Well, I'd say music has been
a part of me from way back,
when I was growing up, listening to the likes of Lucky
Dube, Bob Marley,UB40,
Them Mushrooms, Michael
Jackson etc. Hence it developed into a hobby of collecting
music and exchanging with
friends for what I didn't have
and just enjoying the music.
But the first time I went to a
club, I was amazed at how the
DJ's juggled the songs and
moved the crowds and I'd
always think to myself if I
could do the same just for fun.
NEW RELEASES
Kenyan. Being a resident DJ at
Club Afrique in Canning
Town, where different communities from around the
world come and chill out, I've
met people who would be looking for a DJ to entertain them
during wedding parties, birthday parties or even office
parties. I've played at a
Nigerian party, a Zambian
party, I've played at a wedding
with a majority of Polish
nationals. This has enabled me
to learn more about the different cultures out there!
You also own DJ Dubwise promotions, tell me more about it?
Dubwise
Promotions is
simply a name I
came up with to
use when I plan
my own gigs. I
felt that I needed
something
to
identify myself
with, together
with the team
that I work with
when planning
events. These
events could be
talent shows to
promote upcoming musicians
or
planning
events that promote the rich
African culture,
as well as simply
promoting the
music I love!
What are you currently listening to
on your ipod?
Oh! Am listeKenyan DJ Dubwise doing what he loves most: to make people ning
to a track
happy
'Know Yourself'
expected, because I've been
able to learn quite a lot and
made some good friends along
the way and I suppose it is now
turning into a career.
Who do you look up to and consider as your role model in the
industry?
Wow! The list could be long
but someone that encouraged
me when I was just beginning
to learn the game and the
tricks of the trade, and subsequently went on to do bigger
things himself is DJ Edu of
BBC 1Xtra. He gave me the
be a possible winner to walk
away with the coveted title. I
took it as an encouragement
and that people were actually
recognizing my input in the DJ
scene and this made me work
harder at it.
Being a DJ from Kenya in the UK
one would think that you only
spin for the Kenyan community
but I know that this is an assumption that doesn't apply to you, is
that right?
Yes, you are absolutely
right; I play for a wider
audience even though I am
by Levysill a
very talented young Kenyan
artist here in the UK, also listening to 'Kwaheri' by Jua Cali,
actually it's quit a long list!
Currently, you are the main man
behind the only radio programme
for East Africans in the UK - The
Look East Show on Voice Of
Africa Radio, tell me more about
this show?
Yes, I front The Look East
show on Voice of Africa Radio
and it's an interactive show
that mainly focuses on East
African music, covering
Kenya, Uganda , Tanzania and
newcomers to East African
Community Rwanda and
Burundi . The show strives to
promote East African culture
through music and also updated news concerning the day to
day lives of East Africans,
both here in the UK and back
in Africa. It goes live every
Wednesday night from 10PM
till 12 Midnight on 94.3FM or
online on www.voiceofafricaradio.com.
I listen to your show religiously
every Wednesday night and most
of the time you preach about
peace in Africa . What message do
you have for your fellow Kenyans
who are now experiencing postelection violence and tension?
As we all know the media is
a powerful tool in relaying
information, hence at Voice of
Africa Radio, we all try to put
across a message of peace and
love especially at this moment
when Kenya is going through
trying times. My message to
all Kenyans is to exercise
restraint in showing hatred
towards fellow Kenyans.
Politics is a game that can
either build or destroy a nation
as we've seen from many
examples out there, hence we
really need to learn from that
and maintain the peace and
togetherness that we've lived
by for so long.
Any gigs we should put on our
2008 Calendar?
There's quite a number
coming up, I will be featuring
at a show by London based
group Kasai Masai in early
February, as well as the annual
Valentine's party on 15th
February at Club Afrique,
which this time round is focusing on bringing together all
Kenyans and friends of Kenya
and promote peace and love.
For more details on these
events and more one can
always log onto my website,
www.djdubwise.com
or
www.myspace.com/djdubwise.
What does the future hold for DJ
Dubwise?
With God's grace, the sky
and beyond is the limit for me,
as I will strive to be the best I
can be, rip all the benefits and
hopefully use my skills to
make a difference in society.
ENTERTAINMENT
February 2008
21
Suzanna Lubrano releases
irresistibly danceable LP
"Saida" is a delicate, successful fusion of Zouk, R&B and traditional Cape Verdean music styles
By Stephen Ogongo
The famous Cape Verdean songstress Suzanna Lubrano is celebrating the release of her new album
"Saida".
This passionate song writer and
beauty queen has done what she terms
a "crossover LP" by venturing into a
new musical territory, bringing together the Sexy Cape Verdean Zouk
Love, the more traditional Cape
Verdean Batuku and the delicate R&B
ballads in English.
Suzanna is right to term this LP a
"crossover" because it is an intelligent,
successful fusion of Zouk, R&B and
more traditional Cape Verdean music
styles. The product is an excellent,
sweet and irresistibly danceable LP
with powerful and relevant messages.
For instance in the first track that gives
the album its name "Saida" which
means exit, Suzanna sings about the
courage to begin a new life after a past
terrible experience. Here she shows the
importance of being available and
ready to help the suffering. "I was locked up in my pain without feelings,
You gave me your hand and you saved
me, I was locked up in my sorrow
without consolation, You gave me your
hand and saved me, I never thought I'd
love again after all I've been through in
the past, I never thought I'd trust
someone to accompany me in my life,"
Suzanna says.
In the track "Sumara", Suzanna cautions against letting friends and
rumours interfere with your relationship. She warns against making decisions based on rumours and ill advice
from friends. Such
friends, Suzanna
says, only have the
aim of breaking
your love and after
succeeding, they
start to laugh
behind your back.
Before talking in a
bad way or hurting
the person you
love,
Suzanna
advises that you
give the partner a
chance to tell
his/her side of the
story. "Don't let
rumours break you
apart, your love is
stronger than bad
intent, let love and
trust be the foundation of your
relationship, from
there you can continue to build,"
Suzanna sings.
In this diverse
pop album containing 19 tracks
released by Mass
A p p e a l
Entertainment,
Suzanna is backed by a wide array of
producers, composers, musicians, and
rappers.
Suzanna is a musician who has continuously re-invented herself throu-
ghout her career. She won two prestigious awards (the Best Female African
Artist and Best Female Artist - West
Africa) at the Kora All African Music
Awards in 2003 in South Africa. Asked
how she feels about her success, she
says "I'm someone who is always with
both feet on the ground. I'm just a
mutual person. I don't see myself as an
artiste, I just see myself like any other
person."
The Cape Verdean pop diva who is
deeply saddened by the suffering of
many desperate children all over the
world, has a dream of building an
orphanage. She feels happy when she
receives a letter saying that her songs
made someone feel good. "That's what
excites me," she says.
Suzanna officially launched the new
LP on 31st January at the Cabo Verde
meets Brasil Party at Holland Casino,
Rotterdam, Netherlands. She plans to
stage many other shows in different
parts of the world to launch the LP.
You can order a copy of "Saida" and
obtain more information about
Suzanna's tour schedule from: René
Romer and Mical Ghebreab, TransCity,
The Netherlands, Tel + 31 10 414 04
64, Tel + 31 65 368-06-75: Email:
rene@transcity.com, or mical@transcity.com
Snippets of the album tracks can
be heard on
http://www.myspace.com/suzannalubrano and on http://www.suzannaonline.nl
Interview with Suzanna Lubrano
“Saida” is inspired by my personal experience
By Stephen Ogongo
Please share with us something about your new album.
The first track that gives the
album its name is "Saida".
Why have you named it
"Saida" and what does this
mean?
"Saida" is a good one. It is
not really something that happened to me, but might one
day. The song "Saida" is about
a girl who had a difficult relationship. Because of all the
pains, the sorrows, she got
stuck, got locked up in her
emotions. She couldn't see a
way out. Then someone come
along and showed her the exit,
because "Saida" means exit.
So it is not something that
really happened to me. "Saida"
can mean a lot of things also. It
can mean, for example, living
somewhere then choosing to
move to live somewhere else.
TOP CHARTS
It's like changing of moments
or things you are going
through so it's wider than what
I'm talking about in the song.
What inspired you to compose
this LP?
I think this one, except for
"Saida" is a more personal
album. You know a lot of
things are inspired from things
I went through, or things I
knew someone who went
through them, so it is a more
personal album.
Mass Appeal Entertainment,
so we had a chance to work
with some people who are professionals in doing some R&B
songs. We decided to make it a
crossover, that's why there is a
lot of R&B songs and English
songs on it.
What's the secret of being a
successful musician?
I think just being yourself.
And always trying to do better
than what you did before, and
trying to go with the time.
Is there a difference in sound
between your new album and
the previous ones?
What's your advice to young
Africans aspiring to become
musicians?
We've worked with different kinds of people this time.
This CD is like a crossover. I
always wanted to do a crossover CD but I had to wait for the
right time and this was the
right time to do it because we
have this label in America, the
I must say they have to continue building up. I would gladly do something for them to
help them record because they
need someone serious to
record with and to invest in
them. I would say keep the
faith and keep on doing what
you are doing. One day I'm
sure something will happen.
Apart from music, what else
do you do?
I do a lot of things. I'm a
mother so I do my best to be a
good mother, and that's very
important next to the music
business because it could be
very busy sometimes. I ensure
that I have plenty of time for
my little ones. That's very
important. I think being a good
mother is even more important
than being a musician. And
next to that, I love children and
one day I would love to do
something for the children all
over the world. This year I
hope we will do something on
that line to help children in
need.
What's your advice to African
women forced to make a choice between a family and a
career?
I would love to say that
nothing is impossible. I believe you can do both, that is
what I'm doing, of course you
need someone to help, but it's
not impossible. You should
never leave your family just to
go for a professional career,
I've never done that, I know it
is possible to do both because
I'm doing it.
22
SPORTS
February 2008
Blatter: Timing of Africa Cup
of Nations must be changed
Caf: There are no plans to change timing of Africa Cup of Nations
© AP PHOTO
for us and easier for the clubs
as well.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter wants
the timing of the Africa Cup of
Nations changed.
He told the BBC that by 2016, the
biennial tournament must be held in
June and July like other major tournaments.
"This is a tradition, but one should
have now the courage to go into the
international calendar and see if it's not
possible to deal with it," said Blatter.
"We put a target for 2016 that by that
time the international calendar must be
definitely in accordance with the interests of everybody."
Many African players and European
clubs who lose key players to the tournament have made frequent calls to
change its timing. El Hadji Diouf,
Senegal's former African player of the
year has in the past suggested that Cup
of Nations should not be held in
January and February, at the height of
the European season.
"We are not playing the African
Nations Cup at the right time. We need
to look at it again," Diouf said. "Why
can't we play when the Premiership is
finished? We can play the African
Nations Cup in a month at the end of
the season. This would make it easier
tion will continue to
kick off in January.
FRICA UP OF ATIONS
It said there are
no
immediate
FIXTURES
to change
"This is a tradition, but plans
timing of the
one should have now the the
Sunday, 03 February
tournament.
courage to go into the
"It is impossi- 2008
international calendar ble to move the Winner Group A v Runnerand see if it's not possible competition to up Gp B, Quarter Final,
because it is
to deal with it. We put a June
the rainy season Winner Group B v Runnertarget for 2016 that by
in most African up Gp A, Quarter Final,
that time the internatio- countries and it
will also be too Monday, 04 February
nal calendar must be
Caf general
definitely in accordance hot,"
secretary Mustafa 2008
with the interests of eve- Fahmy said.
Winner Gp C v Runner-up
rybody."
"We know our Gp D, Quarter Final,
continent better, Winner Gp D v Runner-up
can Europe orga- Gp C, Quarter Final,
Fifa president Sepp
nize the European
Blatter
Championship in
Russia
in Thursday, 07 February 2008
"It's normal that the clubs January?"
Winner Q/F 1 v Winner Q/F 4, Semi-Final,
Fahmy also said Winner Q/F 2 v Winner Q/F 3, Semi-Final,
don't want us to leave and go
and play in the African that despite suggeNations Cup, because they stions from some
European officials, Saturday, 09 February 2008
pay us every week.
"You can't leave the club and your Caf will not reduce Loser SF1 v Loser SF2, 3rd and 4th Place
team-mates like that, because the the frequency of the Play-Offs,
Premiership is very difficult. A team tournament, BBC
like Bolton may lose three or four pla- reported.
"I can confirm Sunday, 10 February 2008
yers.”
Around 40 African players in the that the Nations Cup Winner SF1 v Winner SF2, Final
English Premier League are in Ghana will continue to be
held every two years
for the Nations Cup.
we need to fulfil and marketing conBut the Confederation of African at least till 2014," he said.
tracts that we must respect.
Football (Caf) insists that the competi"We already have commitments that
"I am surprised that they say we are
the only confederation that organizes their Nations Cup every
two years"
"It is impossible to move
"The fact is, Europe and Asia
the competition to June
are exceptions, other confederabecause it is the rainy
tions like Oceania and North
and Central America apply the
season in most African
same duration system we have
countries and it will also
in our competition."
be too hot. We know our
Meanwhile Caf has confircontinent better, can
med that the 2010 Africa Cup of
Europe organize the
Nations will start 10 days earlier
than this year's edition in Ghana
European Championship
as a concession to Europeanin Russia in January?"
based clubs.
Caf said the tournament in
Confederation of
Angola would be held from
January 10-31, unlike this year's
African Football
which started on Sunday 20th
General secretary
January and run until 10th
Mustafa Fahmy
February.
A
C
N
Ghana is a bridge to South Africa as
it does everything possible to host a
fantastic African Cup of Nations. "For
us it is an African World Cup of
Nations in reference to 2010. People
are coming to Ghana not only to see
how Ghana is organised, but how
Africa is organised. And we are inviting all South Africans to come to
Ghana and we will do our best to host
them to the best of our ability. God
bless Ghana, God bless South Africa
and God bless Africa," said the former
Ghana international Anthony Baffoe,
who is the Ghana 2008 Director for
International Relations.
Baffoe played for Ghana's Black
Stars national team 16 times and made
his name in the German Bundesliga
with clubs such as FC Koln, Stuttgart
Kickers and Fortuna Dusseldorf.
"We all are looking forward to a
© AP PHOTO
Ghana 2008 a bridge to SA 2010
“(African Cup of Nations) is
a trophy and a tournament
that needs to be entrenched
in the hearts and minds of
all African people"
2010 LOC's Chief Executive
Officer Dr Danny Jordaan
wonderful experience in Ghana. The
expectation that this will be the best
ever African Nations Cup is huge.
Certainly from a playing point of view,
featuring players like Kolo Toure,
Samuel Eto'o, Didier Drogba, Michael
Essien and John Obi Mikel we're
expecting that it will deliver high-qua-
lity football. We have African players
who are now not only in the starting
line-ups, but who are stars at some of
the biggest clubs in the world".
The 2010 OC's Chief Executive
Officer Dr Danny Jordaan said "The
Ghana 2008 African Nations Cup will
further strengthen the character of the
game on the continent and we want to
wish you as the organisers of the tournament the very best. You will help us.
Because if you do a good job - and we
know you will - people will see that not
only are Africans good on the playing
field, they're good organisers as well."
Dr. Jordaan praised the Ghana 2008
LOC for their decision to take the
AFCON trophy to all the competing
countries in the Nations Cup.
"The trophy tour gives a connection
to the tournament to those people in the
competing countries. It gives those
countries the chance to experience the
symbols of the tournament and also
helps to market the African Nations
Cup. It is a trophy and a tournament
that needs to be entrenched in the
hearts and minds of all African people," said Dr. Jordaan.
SPORTS
February 2008
23
2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
By LOC
South Africa 2010 FIFA World
Cup™ Ambassador Abedi "Pele"
Ayew is one of the greatest and most
celebrated African footballers of all
time.
One of the first African players to
make a major impact on European club
football, he was the African Player of
the Year a record three-times in 1991,
1992 and 1993.
For all his outstanding personal
achievements, however, one honor eluded him in his illustrious career - winning the African Nations Cup on home
soil in his native Ghana.
He's 43 now and long retired, but he
is an omnipresent star in his own right
as Ghana hosts the 2008 MTN African
Nations Cup from January 20-February
10.
And while he won't physically take
part in the action on the pitch, he will
be well represented on the playing
front by his 17-year-old son Andre
Ayew.
Like his famous father, Andre is a
prolific striker who banged in the goals
at junior level and has only just embarked on what promises to be an exciting
international career with Ghana's Black
Stars.
And also like his father, Andre is
making his mark at France's
Olympique Marseille, a club where
Abedi won four Ligue 1 French titles
and made two European Champions
League final appearances, including
Marseille's famous Champions League
win in 1993.
With Ghana excelling at the Black
Stars' first FIFA World Cup appearance
at Germany 2006 and containing stars
such as Michael Essien and Sulley
Muntari, as well as exciting youngsters
like Andre, he is confident his countrymen will emerge victorious on home
soil in African football's showpiece.
"The Nations Cup in Ghana will be
contested by great players, great teams Preliminary Draw in
and it will be a great occasion. It is the Durban late last year furperfect platform for Ghana to show its ther showcased the contipersonality and its football. We've got a nent's many abilities.
great chance to win the trophy at
home, but the pressure is going
to be huge after Ghana's good
"We are hosting the
performance in Germany," said
World Cup on the
Pele in an interview with
FIFA.com.
African continent and we
With players like Essien, have to keep the African
Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o, Ivory
vibe and prove to the
Coast's Didier Drogba, Kolo
world that vibe is going
Toure and Salomon Kalou setting world football alight in
to be great. Everything
recent years at some of the wor- we do will be inclusive of
ld's biggest clubs, African foot- Africa and will be distinball is at an all-time high and
ctive, like nothing the
buoyant as the continent readies
world has seen before”
itself to host the first FIFA World
Cup on African soil in 2010.
And Abedi has been one of a South Africa 2010 FIFA
resurgent Africa's most respected
World Cup™
and important ambassadors, even
Ambassador Abedi
appearing at the G8 summit to
further the continent's case.
"Pele" Ayew
He was a member of the South
African delegation in Zurich on
"I think it's unbelieva14 May 2004 which presented a powerful and successful bid to FIFA to host ble that today all those
the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with Abedi who didn't have the confimaking an emotive speech to the FIFA dence in us are all very
executive that day which strengthened happy. That's why the say
this is the power of footSouth Africa's case.
"Africa has come a long way in a ball, football brings people together.
short time. Africa 20 years ago was There were a lot of people who didn't
populated by people who did not own believe in us, but today we have the
their own destiny, people didn't have a FIFA World Cup on our continent. We
means to make money, to own their have proved to the world that not only
own small companies. So democracy in can we play the game, but we can host
Africa is young but we are working it as well. As an African, you always
very, very fast to really achieve a long- have to prove things. But the strides
term sustainable democracy within our we've made in recent times shows that
continent," Pele said with great convic- we're on the right track," said Pele.
And he is confident his Ghanaian
tion.
And with Africa's first FIFA World countrymen will continue to send the
Cup now hurtling quickly towards the right signals to the footballing world by
continent in less than 900 days, Abedi hosting one of the best African Nations
was delighted that the extremely suc- Cups ever during the 2008 edition.
"Africa is blessed from 2008
cessful 2010 FIFA World Cup
© AP PHOTO
Abedi: Africa’s doing it in style
(African Cup of Nations in Ghana) to
2010 Angola (African Cup of Nations)
and 2010 (World Cup) South Africa.
We can't ask for more than this. We
have proved to the world that we are
not going to do things the same way as
Germany 2006, we are not doing the
same as Korea Japan, and we will not
be the same as France or America."
"We are hosting the World Cup on
the African continent and we have to
keep the African vibe and prove to the
world that vibe is going to be great.
Everything we do will be inclusive of
Africa and will be distinctive, like
nothing the world has seen before,"
said Pele.
China opposed to politicizing Olympic Games
China strongly opposes using the
Olympic Games to hype political issues
- such as Darfur - which only serve to
disturb preparation works.
"It is of apparent political intention and
purpose to link the Darfur issue with the
Olympics," Xinhua news agency quoted
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu
to have said.
"Such practice violates the Olympic
spirit and principle, and will never succeed."
China is firmly opposed to those persons or organizations that hype particular
issues in the name of the
Olympics, said Ms Jiang in response to a question asking whether
China would put more pressure on
Sudan.
Some foreign media believe
China's continued support for the
regime in Sudan could tarnish the
Olympics.
"I don't know whether those
organizations know China's role on
the issue and the current situation
in the Darfur region," she said.
Liu Guijin, Chinese special
envoy for African affairs, rejected
Western media accusations as
groundless, saying it was ridiculous to politicize the Olympic
Games.
"It is just some portion of
Western media and organizations
that stick to observing China
through coloured glasses," Mr Liu
said.
"The 2008 Games is not only
China's but also the whole world's.
The international community has
already achieved a consensus that
the Games should not be linked to
politics," Liu told China Daily.
"It is of apparent political
intention and purpose to
link the Darfur issue with
the Olympics. Such practice violates the Olympic spirit and principle, and will
never succeed."
Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Jiang Yu
China has been the first country to promise and then to dispatch soldiers to take
part in peacekeeping missions in Darfur,
Ms Jiang said.
A 140-strong advance troop of a
Chinese engineering unit has arrived in
Darfur, and the unit is gradually being
deployed.
The political process and peacekeeping deployment in Darfur has achieved
progress under joint efforts of all concerned parties, Ms Jiang said.
China says six nations have reached
consensus on the major elements of a
draft UN resolution on the Iran nuclear
issue, which says all sides will continue
diplomatic efforts and resolve the issue
through negotiations.
Puma renews
sponsorship deal
with GFA
Sports goods manufacturer
Puma has extended its sponsorship agreement with the
Ghana Football Association
(GFA) until 2012. According
to BBC reports, the deal is
estimated to be worth as much
as $25 million (£12.7 million).
Puma will give the GFA an
annual retainer, sales royalties
and performance bonuses, as
well as sports footwear and
clothing. The German company will also supply all national
team kits and construct a new
training pitch for the GFA in
Accra. GFA and Puma had a
deal which was due to expire
in January 2009. Puma opted
to extend the contract because
of the Black Stars' impressive
showing at the 2006 World
Cup finals.
"This commitment is convincing proof of the recent
progress we have made and
this will enhance football in
Ghana," said GFA boss Kwasi
Nyantakyi.
Puma has deals with nine
of the 16 teams at the Nations
Cup.
Egypt,
Angola,
Cameroon, Ivory Coast,
Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia
and Namibia all wear Puma
kit.
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