Africa News Digest
In Southern Africa, HIV/AIDS, Not Drought, Is Chief Cause of Hunger
UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis, emphasized that the diseasenot droughtis the primary cause of hunger in Southern Africa, in discussion at the Global Health Council's Annual Conference, held in Washington on May 28. He quoted from his recent report: "HIV/AIDS is the most fundamental underlying cause of the Southern African crisis.... The link between food security and HIV/AIDS must be fully recognized." The prevalence of AIDS is decimating the agricultural economy, he said.
"You need no more empirical evidence, [than] your own eyesight, your own common sense, to understand what is happening. When one travels through those [African] rural villages and hinterlands, as I have done for the last two years, the human toll is desolating. The immune systems of huge numbers of women farmers are desperately weak; 7 million agricultural workers have died of AIDS since 1985; FAO estimates that another 16 million may die by 2020; the household assets have been exhausted by attending to parental illness; children have been pulled out of school to care for sick and dying parents, losing, in the process, the one meal a day that might have been available from a school feeding program.
"Malnutrition is everywhere evident; fields are left untended; crops aren't grown; food isn't taken to market, and if it is, no one has money to pay for it. What we're talking about here is the way in which this virusthe cause of the most appalling communicable disease in human historyattacks the fabric of every sector, making the interplay of health and agriculture but one more shortcut to carnage." He summed up the situation: "When the body has no food to consume, the virus consumes the body. That's the essential meaning of the New Variant Famine. For millions of Africans already infected by HIV, the onset of full-blown AIDS and the rapid descent to death is the inescapable finale of a shortage of food. And the shortage of food, in its turn, opens up new pathways for the virus to spread."
U.S. To Oppose French Plan To Set Floor on African Commodity Prices
In the run-up to the Group of 8 summit in Evian, France, the Bush Administration was working to defeat French President Jacques Chirac's plan for putting a floor under African commodity prices. Chirac's plan is in line with the proposal that he made in February 2003, at the Franco-African Summit, for providing at least 10 years of favorable terms of trade for Africa.
President Bush's counter-proposal to "help" Africa "is believed to be a vast expansion of its subsidized food-aid program, allowing it to pump even more money into American farms under the guise of aid," according to the London Guardian on May 23. Speaking at the Coast Guard Academy May 21, Bush said he was urging the European Union governments to cut their $4 billion in agricultural-export subsidies, to open trade to African agricultural products. But the White House is working behind the scenes to prevent any mention at the G-8 summit of U.S. agricultural-export subsidies, estimated at $3.5-4 billion.
A G-8 official told the Guardian, "America's opposition to this plan is so strong, they will be negotiating ... right up until the wire. We might end up with nothing."
The Bush Administration launched an attack on Europe in mid-May, by filing an action with the World Trade Organization against Europe's moratorium on imports of genetically modified (GM) foods. The Administration is recalling that some starving African nations have rejected U.S. GM food aid, and has blamed Europe's refusal to accept GM imports, for Africa's fear to take GM food.
South Africa's Foreign Minister Addresses Iran Conference
Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Foreign Minister of South Africa, in her capacity as the chairperson of the African Union Executive Council of Foreign Ministers, addressed the 30th session of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), in Tehran May 28.
"I wish to reiterate that we, of the African Union and the Islamic Conference, should be in constant consultation on global issues," Dlamini-Zuma told the conference. "Our collective strength can create a world of peace and security and a world free from poverty." She added: "We, from the African Union and the OIC, have contributed to the rich social, cultural, and religious legacy of humanity. This legacy, which has nourished civilization for thousands of years, continues to underpin the fabric of our societies. It is this rich tapestry that must continue to be shared and celebrated amongst all humanity." She also emphasized the importance of continuing to engage the rest of the world: "We must also engage the North to make them realize that their peace and security is inseparable from ours." Her participation was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen relations between Africa and the Islamic world.
Pahad Stresses 'Common Vision' in Meetings in Damascus and Beirut
President Thabo Mbeki's point man for the Mideast, South African Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad, was in Beirut, Lebanon on May 27, where he met with the Acting Foreign Minister and Minister of Information, Michel Samaha. He also met with the leadership of the Hizbollah. The day before, May 26, Pahad was in Damascus, where he met with Syria's Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In all the meetings, according to SAPA news agency, "it was reiterated that South Africa shared a common vision regarding a number of multilateral issues with Syria and Lebanon, and that conditions should be created for increased interaction" between the two sides. The aftermath of the invasion of Iraq and consequences for the region were discussed, as was the Road Map for Middle East peace. Concern was expressed regarding the volatility of the overall situation. It was mentioned that "it is essential to distinguish between terrorism and legitimate struggle accepted by international law and the UN Charter."
South Africa will shortly be opening a mission in Damascus "to give impetus to the bilateral relations between the two countries."
Nigeria: Obasanjo Sworn in as President, as Challenges Continue
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in for a second term May 29, and a remarkably large U.S. delegation was present, led by Secretary of Education Rod Paige. The delegation was to include Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Pamela Bridgewater, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Claude Allen, National Security Council Senior Director Jendayi Frazer, Reps. William Jefferson (D-La.) and Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Howard Jeter, and Salvation Army National Commander Todd Bassett.
The election results have been contested, but on May 27, the Nigerian Court of Appeals unanimously rejected opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari's petition to suspend the inauguration, pending legal challenges to Obasanjo's reelection. The Court did order the electoral commission to provide Buhari with certified copies of election documents.
Buhari was restrained by Akure Federal High Court May 27 from staging a mass protest against the inauguration.
Just for good measure, the ruling People's Democratic Party issued a statement in Abuja, accusing Buhari and his running mate of planning the assassination of President Obasanjo, based on information printed in a national daily newspaper it didn't name.
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) decided May 21 to hold rallies nationwide to build support for the overturning the results of the April 2003 general elections, but the police have refused all applications for rally permits, and promise to arrest and prosecute demonstrators.
The Arewa Consultative Forum, the northern sectional body, said May 27 it would not recognize Obasanjo as President for his second term because the elections "cannot be the foundation upon which to erect any governmental authority for the country."
Vietnamese PM Invokes Independence Struggles in Forum with African Nations
In his opening address to a forum on cooperation and trade between Vietnam and Africa, in Hanoi May 28, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said, "Our President Ho Chi Minh and the African revolutionaries have laid the foundation and fostered that close relationship since the early years of the last century. The struggle for national liberation and the aspiration for independence and freedom have bound us together." Two-way trade between Vietnam and Africa in 2001 reached US$215 million, up from US$16 million in 1991, according to an official of the Ministry of Trade quoted by Sapa-AP. South Africa is Vietnam's largest African trading partner.
Participating in the three-day forum were South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Zambia, Ghana, Guinea, Libya, Morocco, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Sudan, and Sierra Leone.
Investment Analyst Says South Africa Should Avoid U.S., European Models
In a Business Day column May 29, veteran South African investment analyst David Gleason warned against adopting U.S. or European monetary models: "What we need is a permanently stable and competitive exchange rate. This must be managed so that it is not foolish. The best examples are provided by China and Japan. There was a time when the yen stood at 400 to the dollar, and that massive undervaluation produced continuously rising reserves. The Chinese take a no-nonsense approach, and they do not employ foreign (Western) advisers.
"The experiences of Europe and North America do not provide a template on which to build the management of monetary policy for South Africa. China, marching along its own route, has delivered 8% growth for some years now, with minimal inflation.... [T]here is now a perceptible move towards a return to fixed exchange rates around the world."
Gleason was viewed as controversial even before writing this column, because he has insisted for some time that the SA Reserve Bank could lower interest rates without incurring inflation, and that lowering them would greatly benefit the poor and the jobless.
Zimbabwe Diplomat: Africans Must Gain Control of Their Economies
Speaking on May 23, in anticipation of African Freedom Day May 25, Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Zambia, Cain Mathema, expressed his government's views in saying, "We [Africans] are preparing now for the next phase which is economic liberation." He said this was dangerous because Westerners were determined to retain control of Africa's economies, and this was evident from the unending wars on the continent: "In Zimbabwe we have an opposition party openly funded by Britain to champion goals of a colonizer, and Zimbabweans are fighting each other at the expense of national development." He said that multinationals were milking Africa's resources by using the IMF/World Bank to privatize government assets, but "the state, just like in the USA, Britain, Malaysia, and China, should remain a shareholder in the economy, but should allow parastatals to run commercially." There is no way Africa could develop through aid, he said.
Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Morgan Zvangirai Calls Mass Marches To 'Topple Mugabe'
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Zvangirai says he will lead a week of mass marches, beginning June 2, which he hopes will topple President Robert Mugabe. From the government side, the only visible result of the visit of the Nigerian, South African, and Malawian Presidents to Harare May 7, is a wire from the African Church Information Service, claiming that "Mugabe's government has bowed to international and national pressure to hold a dialogue with Zimbabwe's opposition."
South African President Mbeki is still not playing the role defined by London and Washington. That role was spelled out by Harvard University's Robert Rotberg in a Financial Times opinion column May 19: "What in the world is Thabo Mbeki's game plan for dealing with Robert Mugabe?" Rotberg's "game plan" would be South African tanks against Mugabe. He writes that if Mbeki's "generals told Zimbabwe's army commanders and palace guard that the game was up, Mr. Mugabe's protectors would quickly fall into line. Mr. Mbeki must be prepared to make the case for military intervention on humanitarian grounds. Alternatively, Mr. Mbeki might be able simply to order the 79-year-old autocrat to go into exile, or else.... Mr. Mbeki would then be kingmaker and savior combined."
But Zimbabwe's government-run newspaper, The Herald, on May 8, the day after the three Presidents' visit, made clear that this scenario is not Mbeki's: "South African President Thabo Mbeki yesterday said the solution to Zimbabwe's problems rests in the hands of Zimbabweans and will not come from South Africa, England, or any other country in the world."
Think-Tanker Charges Nigeria Is Facilitating U.S. and French Designs on Africa
Nigeria is "bidding aggressively for dominance at the continental level," charges Francis Kornegay, an African-"flavored," but British-influenced strategist at the Centre for Africa's International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. In his column in Business Day May 27, Kornegay claimsin a rather large leapthat Nigeria "has effectively taken over the direction of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) with the appointment of UN Undersecretary General and Special Adviser on Africa [former Foreign Minister of Nigeria] Ibrahim Gambari, as head of the UN Office on NEPAD."
Kornegay also makes the accusation that "Nigeria could become the pivot at least in West Africa between the prospective U.S. military imperium in the Gulf of Guinea and an emerging French-led European military identity with its own African agenda." What Africa gets in return, Kornegay does not say.
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