African Diplomats scorn Blocher`s statement

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THE
VOICE
OF
AFRICA
IN
July / August 2007 Vol. 8 No. 2
SWITZERLAND
Africa’s Iron Ladies of Berne
African Diplomats scorn
Blocher’s statement
Refugee Day:
Wilhelm Tell featured
Simphiwe Dana
at Afro-Pfingsten
Artifacts exhibited at
Africa Day Celebration
Swiss Investment Forum: Africa and Middle East
julyaugustendfassung.indd 33
27.06.2007 17:47:51
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27.06.2007 17:46:32
EDITORIAL
The Next Task Of Africa
ISSN 1661-44-29
IMPRINT
There is a saying among the Fulani of West Africa. You can take my money. Perhaps
AFRICA LINK
(Registered in Switzerland)
A service to Africa and Humanity
Published by AFRICA LINK ORG.
Postfach 156, CH-8914 Aeugst am Albis
Tel. +41 44 776 25 60, Fax +41 44 776 25 63
[email protected]
www.africalink.ch
you are stronger or cleverer than I. You can take my wife. Perhaps you are more handsome than I am. But for the power to decide how I shall live (political power), I will
fight you to the death.
Sayings like this lead some to conclude that democracy is an alien concept in Africa.
The many hot small wars that exploded all over the continent with the temporary
disappearance of the big cold war between the West and the East of the White Man’s
Editor-in-chief
Mr. Johnson Oduwaiye
Tel. +41 79 664 13 54
[email protected]
divide seemed to bear out this image. The brutality of the Rwandese massacre and
Editor
Mr. Atsen Ahua
Tel. +41 79 243 98 20
[email protected]
you see?”
Associate Editor
Mr. Mohomodou Houssouba
[email protected]
However, the reaction of the Nigerian people, both political office seekers and the vo-
Contributing Editor
Mr. Gerome Tokpa
[email protected]
While the superlative condemnations could have made the bile boil over and led the
Pictures
All by Africa Link,
except otherwise stated
the protracted civil war in Sierra Leone provided volumes of proof to the “barbaric
African” epithet. “They can only resolve issues by hacking one another to death, can’t
It is in the face of these prevailing images that we prefer to look at events like the just
concluded Nigerian elections; vilified to the nadir of hell and for justifiable cause too.
ters, millions of who were cheated out of their franchise has been most instructive.
volatile Nigerian citizens into blood-spilling orgies in the streets, the reactions have
demonstrated calm and maturity. The aggrieved have gone to court and the tribunals
are expected to move with dispatch to resolve pending cases at all levels. So far, the
Judiciary seems to be holding its own in the way the cases are being handled. We may
PR Officer
Mr. Carlson Ngwa
Tel. +41 76 548 80 01
see a few Daniels come to judgment yet.
Editorial Board Members
Mr. Peter Hevi, Dr. Sarah Kamau,
Mr. Carlson Ngwa, Mr. Dirk Visser,
Ms. Carole Soriceli
chosen servant-leadership, a very Christian concept as his watchword for service, won
Web Administrator
Henri Fogwe
Layout/Design
Gravenkamp PrePress GmbH, Zürich
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s brand new president, a devout Moslem, who has
a multitude of hearts at his inaugural. He decidedly parted ways with his gloating
party supremos when he admitted publicly that the elections that brought him to power were less than perfect; in fact deeply flawed. By calling all aggrieved parties to seek
redress in the courts, the graceful president seems to have tacitly indicated that if his
own election was found faulty, he would be ready to bow out. We are convinced that
this servant leader is capable of doing just that.
Account No. 0276-813239.40 N
UBS Bahnhofplatz 10
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The point however is that Africa and Africans are proving that they are capable, more
Opinions published do not necessarily
reflect those of the editorial board
can clash fiercely on the campaign trail and embrace after the victor has emerged is
All correspondence to
AFRICA LINK, Postfach 156
CH-8914 Aeugst am Albis
or E-mail to [email protected]
shown by some politicians, but we approve of any approach that promotes and supports
© by Africa Link Org
July / August 2007
than capable of resolving complex issues through peaceful means. That political rivals
indeed a good omen. We by no means whatsoever condone or approve of the impunity
peaceful dialogue and the rule of law over violence.
Entrenching this approach is the next important task of Africa.
3
27.06.2007 17:46:33
CONTENTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Editorial
3
Letters
5
Swiss-Line
6
Bishop suggests closer monitoring of mosques
Swiss parliamentary election holds October 21
Integration
8
African Ambassadors in Berne during the Africa Day Celebration.
L–r: Mrs. Safiatou Ndiaye Diop (Senegal), Nahid Zikry(Egypt), Dr.
Konji Sebati (South Africa)
Photo by Silvia Pfenninger
Call for solidarity with refugees
SOS to Zurich Councillor Maurer
Community
10
Benefit-concert for disable youth in Nigeria
Ambassador Baah-Duodu on familiarization tour
G8 Summit
11
“Commitments will be honoured”
Cover
12
South Africa: The most important Swiss partner in Africa
Celebration
14
Call for rededication to face Africa’s challenges
Politics and Diplomacy
18
A Drama Group at Refugee Day in Basel
page 8
Strengthening Africa’s place in the world
Summit falls short on aid
Health
21
New malaria drugs invented
New vaccine could end meningitis misery
Biz and Economy
22
Investing and producing in Africa
Interview
Africa Day Celebrations
page 14
Swiss Invest Forum 2007
page 22
24
Senegal’s priority in bilateral relations
Celebration
25
Senegal national day celebration
Religion
26
Lighthouse church int. 2007 women convention
Echoes
27
Entertainment
28
Simphiwe Dana: Behold a star is born!
Atongo Zimba riding high with Afro-Funky Jazz
Sports
30
Simphiwe Dana
4
page 28
Atongo Zimba
page 29
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:46:34
LETTERS
CHF 5.–
I € 3.50 I
£ 2.20
Mai / June 2007 Vol. 7 No. 7
YOUR POSITIVE INTERACTION AND NETWORKING MEDIUM
Racial discrimination and Xenophobia identified in Switzerland
Govt Outlaws Compassion
for the Needy
Page 16
Dialogue with
Basel Police
A Most Nigerian
Election
Respect
Investors’ Rights
Page 8
Page 14
Page 21
African Peer Review Mechanism: A Farce? Page 24
Of Doudou Diene’s Report
Dear Editor,
Your Cover story captioned “Govt outlaws compassion for the needy” is shocking
because it is the fi rst time I really understood
what Doudou Diene’s report on racial discrimination and xenophobia in Switzerland
contains.
I always believed Switzerland to be more
accommodating and generous when considered the assistance given to refugees who
want to return to their countries when the
situation there is safe.
Some of the provisions of the Swiss
law such as the Asylum Act, which UNHCR described as the strictest in Europe,
is a surprise to me. I hope the government
would accept the report, and make necessary
amendment.
By the way is the unique return assistance
the country gives to refugees mentioned in
the report? It should be mentioned if it has
not been.
Cyril Harris-William, Geneva
In the next Issue
Africa Link interview
with Kenya’s Minsiter for Information and Communications
Hon. Mutahi Kagwe during the
Swiss Investment Forum
on Africa and Middle East
in June 2007.
July / August 2007
I cannot believe this!
Dear Editor,
It was with utter disbelief that I read the
story about the United Nations Special Raporteur’s preliminary note on assessing the racial tolerance situation in Switzerland.
Mr. Doudou Diène, the UN Raporteur
on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, found deep-rooted cultural resistance
within the Swiss society to multiculturalism.
The examples mentioned seemed very harsh,
as the introduction of the story mentioned: a
Swiss citizen could even go to jail or be fi ned
up to CHF 500,000 for helping a rejected,
helpless asylum seeker.
I fi nd it hard to believe that one of the
world’s most liberal thinking nations can
have such discriminatory laws. As Switzerland has a very direct democracy I cannot
help but wonder if the average Swiss citizen
is aware of the laws they have voted into
place. I am sure the general public would
be repulsed to hear about the binary admission system!
I am looking forward to the fi nal report,
and I hope the Africa Link will keep us informed.
Aihende G., Kloten
regrettable disaster we cannot afford. Th is is
why I agree with your editorial of May/June
to urge our able leader President Gaddafi
and all our leaders and Africans in general
to be mindful of their utterances not to lead
to religious provocation.
G. Bello, Zurich
Gaddafi’s religious provocation
Dear Editor,
I fi nd President Gaddafi’s remarks stated
in your editorial of April/May issue over the
crucifi xion of Jesus very offensive. It was not
long ago that Muslims around the world reacted violently about the cartoons of Great
Prophet Mohammed. I wonder what would
have happened if a Christian had uttered
such statement about Prophet Mohammed.
Luckily the Christians are a very tolerant
and forgiving people.
What I fi nd even more disturbing is that
his comment was not given wide publicity
by the media as was given to the cartoon
incident. However we ALL should just learn
to live together peacefully.
Saddened Christian, Lucerne
Solidarity Awards
Avoid religious Provocation
in Africa
Dear Editor,
We are all a witness to the extent religious
confl icts can go. What happened between
Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland and what is happening in Iraq between
the two mainstream Islam adherents, are
some of the atrocities that could be seen even
within people of the same faith.
The Middle East confl icts and the prevalent acts of terrorism around the world are
all blamed on religion. Though every right
thinking person knows it is not true. They
are politically motivated rather than religious.
It is my belief that everybody has and
should have a right to his or her faith, and
protect it if need be. But at the same time
one should be mindful of one’s utterances
that they do not lead to, and seen as provocation. Africa has suffered much from political intolerance, and self-interest of many of
our leaders. To introduce religious crisis into
African body politics would be a great and
Dear Editor,
I was intrigued by your report on the 1st
Africa Link Solidarity Awards (March/April
2007). I think it is good and encouraging
to give people award for their positive contribution towards the well-being of others,
as you stated the awards were created “to
encourage the emergence of a more positive
perspective on Africa.” It is equally important to see that the awards do not become a
“cash and carry” aff air.
I fi nd the winners of the categories
(Champion of Democracy, African Envoy
of Excellence and the Africa Link Supporters) to be individuals who could inspire
others, Africans and Europeans, to tow a
similar road to uplift Africa and its people.
It is very encouraging to see also to Africa
Link promoting African interest in such a
unique way.
May Africa Link’s Solidarity awards go a
long way to promote public interest in bettering the lives of Africans. I am looking forward to the 2nd edition of the awards.
Nina Robinson, St. Gallen
5
27.06.2007 17:46:38
SWISS–LINE
Bishop Suggests
Closer Monitoring of Mosques
One of the Catholic Church’s leading ex- ligious freedoms as Muslims in Switzerperts on Islam says the Swiss authorities land. Was there any indication during
need to keep a closer eye on the country’s your visits to the region that this might
mosques.
eventually change?
Pierre Bürcher, assistant bishop of
Fortunately in Switzerland we have freeLausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, tells swiss- dom of religion and worship; in other couninfo it is what goes on inside mosques rather tries the situation is somewhat different. If
than the construction of minarets that poses you take some Gulf States, Qatar and the
a greater threat to peace.
His comments come just
weeks after a group of rightwing politicians launched a
nationwide campaign to ban
the construction of minarets.
Bürcher is president of
the Swiss Bishops Conference’s working-group on
Islam, which was set up in
2001. He says meetings with
Muslims both at home and
abroad – the body has visited
Iran and Syria – have led to
improved relations and better understanding between
both religious communities.
But he warns that the road Asst. Bishop Pierre Bürcher
Keystone pic
towards a truly peaceful coexistence remains long and rocky.
United Arab Emirates, Christians are free to
worship and it is often the emirs themselves
You say that relations are improving at a who provide land for the construction of a
religious level. But aren’t they constantly church.
being undermined by global political
But in Saudi Arabia there is neither freeevents?
dom of religion nor worship, yet there are
Inter-religious and inter-cultural dia- many Christians who live and work there.
logue is a major challenge at the start of the I hope the day will come when it will be
21st century and in recent decades the Cath- possible for Christians to worship in Saudi
olic Church has made a priority of establish- Arabia. We need to continue to put pressure
ing contacts with other religions. Pope Ben- on the Muslim authorities and the Saudi
edict XVI and his predecessor John Paul II government for this to change.
At the same time we now have this initiahave said this dialogue is vital for the future
tive in Switzerland against the construction
of our society.
At a political level, both at home and of minarets, which shows there is a certain
abroad in Iran and Syria, we have always amount of extremism here as well.
been well received by the various authorities. The difficulties stem from a very small Indeed, this initiative is clearly a reaction
extremist fringe, which poses enormous to the spread of Islam and Islamic law in
problems but does not represent true Islam. Switzerland. Where does the Catholic
Church stand on this issue?
It is essential that we respect the laws
Christians in some Middle East countries
do not enjoy anything like the same re- laid down in Switzerland and we cannot al-
6
low them to be fundamentally undermined
by another way of thinking, such as sharia
law.
It’s true that the minaret is a symbol for
Muslims but it is not an essential part of a
mosque and we should not get fi xated on
it. What goes on inside a mosque is much
more important, because it’s there that the
Koran is taught and where you can have people stepping out of line. It is in this place of
worship that the khutba [Islamic sermon],
which is often politicised, and all the antiWestern or even terrorist teaching can take
place.
Do the authorities really know what is
going on and whether it is legal? Th is seems
far more important to me than whether you
can build a minaret or not.
So you’re saying the authorities need to
keep a closer eye on what’s going on inside
mosques in Switzerland?
Yes, because one needs to be aware that in
Muslim tradition, politics, culture, society
and religion are all intertwined. We are
touching here on a fundamental difference
between two religious concepts and the
slightest tolerance in this domain will be
extremely damaging for peace and co-existence. It is because of this that mosques in
many Muslim countries are coming under
increased surveillance and the khutba is always monitored.
It is clear that there is a fear of Islam, not
just in Switzerland but also in other Western countries. How can this be overcome?
One of the reasons for this fear is that our
two religions are different and we still lack
a sense of mutual understanding. Secondly,
newcomers can often create unease or even
fear because they may upset the balance.
Therefore we need to learn how to live with
each other; otherwise we will run into major
problems.
But centuries have passed and we have yet
to find a solution. What makes you think
we can do so now?
The most fervent believer, whether Christian, Jew or Muslim, will never attain perfection and we are on a similar path when
it comes to inter-cultural and inter-religious
relations. The human being has its limits;
unfortunately we are not perfect and neither
are our societies.
swissinfo-interview: Adam Beaumont
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:46:41
SWISS–LINE
Swiss Parliamentary Election
Holds October 21
The most important political event in four
years will take place on October 21 when
the Swiss elect a new federal parliament.
How do citizens vote in a country often
believed to be as a model democracy?
The Swiss parliament is a bicameral
legislature composed of a House of Representatives (National Assembly) and a Senate
(Council of States). The House is the larger
chamber and represents the population,
while the Senate represents the cantons.
Elections to the House are held every
four years on the penultimate Sunday in
October. Senators may be elected on a different election cycle, determined by their
canton. All cantons except Zug and Appenzell Innerrhoden hold their senate elections
on the same day of federal election.
Parliament makes federal laws, oversees
the federal administration, and elects the
seven members of the Federal Council – the
Swiss government – as well as the members
of the federal judiciary.
Unlike in the United States though, there
is no equivalent of the impeachment procedure allowing for the removal of members of
the executive branch or the judiciary.
Each canton votes
On October 21 Swiss voters will elect all
200 members of the House and 44 of the 46
members of the Senate.
There is no national ballot. Strictly
speaking, the federal election consists of
26 cantonal elections held on the same day.
Voters are only allowed to vote for candidates in the canton where they are officially
registered. Candidates run in one canton
only.
All Swiss citizens from 18 years old are
automatically eligible to vote and to stand
for office.
There is no registration process for citizens living within the country. As Swiss are
obliged by law to officially register in the
commune where they live, the commune
has the necessary information for sending
out voting materials.
Swiss citizens living abroad have had the
right to vote and to run for national office
since 1977. They register either in their last
July / August 2007
place of residence or in their commune of
origin. Th is year, more than 100,000 Swiss
abroad are registered to vote. Several among
them are running for national office.
Proportionality
The principle of proportionality is applied to federal elections. Unlike majority
or “winner takes all” systems, proportionality allots mandates in a given district according to the share of votes each party receives. Th is is considered the fairest possible
distribution of seats.
Claude Janiak, Senate President
nzz pic
Each canton constitutes a voting district.
Candidates do not run individually, but on
lists, usually put together by political parties. Some parties run gender-specific lists
or lists based on regional criteria.
Voters have a variety of choices. They
can vote for a list, for individual candidates
only, or a combination of the two.
But the outcome of the election depends
on party strength, measured in votes received. Th is determines how the available
seats are divided up. The candidates with
the most votes on each list are awarded
available seats.
“In many foreign proportionality systems, a voter is at best able to give a preference vote for one candidate and a vote
for a party,” says Hans Urs Wili, chief of
the political rights division in the Federal
Chancellery.
Wili, who is about to direct his ninth
federal election, says that the Swiss system
is more sophisticated.
“Depending on the size of the canton, a
voter can further differentiate his vote, for
instance giving four-fi fths of it to one party
and the remaining fi fth to another one.”
Seat distribution in the House
The 200 seats of the House are distributed among the cantons according to the
size of the population, with each canton
having at least one seat. The general rule is
one seat for each 36,000 inhabitants. Accordingly, canton Zurich has 34 representatives, while canton Uri has only one.
The distribution of seats changes every
ten years, based on census results. Th is year
there are no changes because there has not
been a new census.
A disadvantage of the Swiss system is that
proportionality rules lose their relevance in
smaller cantons, owing to the small number
of seats available. Smaller parties are only
able to get elected in larger cantons, where
they can enhance their prospects by pooling lists.
“Large parties enjoy an advantage as
long as the smaller ones aren’t able to make
themselves big enough by pooling lists,”
says Wili.
Elections to the Senate
Size does not matter in the Senate, where
each canton has the same number of seats,
regardless of population. Switzerland’s 20
full cantons have two senators each, while
its six half-cantons have one each.
With the exception of canton Jura, senators are elected according to the majority
rule. Th is means the candidates with the
highest number of votes win.
Smaller parties have less of a chance
of being elected to the Senate than to the
House. At this time, only members of the
four parties that form the national government are represented in the Senate: 15
Christian Democrats, 14 Free Democrats,
nine Social Democrats and eight Swiss People’s Party members.
swissinfo, Christian Raaflaub
7
27.06.2007 17:46:42
SWISS-LINE
Call for Solidarity with Refugees
By Omo Abinuwaiye
BASEL: World Refugee Day offers emotional involvement and solidarity with refugees in their plight. Dr. Brigitta Gerber,
the president of Basel Upper Council, had
expressed while addressing the gathering
at Munsterplatz Basel on June 16 to mark
Refugee Day, though Refugee Day is celebrated on June 20.
She said refugees’
matter “is a complex
one” therefore there is
a need for support and
understanding of refugees. She was of the
opinion that asylum
seeking was informed
by globalisation, political
oppression,
Dr. Brigitta Gerber
ecological reason, the
search for better life and human right issue
among others.
The majority of 40 million refugees
worldwide, according to her, were from
South, adding that only one per cent received visa to migrate to West because of the
nature of immigration laws. In Switzerland,
for example, despite immigration laws have
been revised seven times since 1981, the situation has not improved. The last revision was
in 2006, and its interpretation “is still not
clear”, she explained.
Expressing that many of the refugees live
in camps for years, she appealed to the public not to look at them negatively, rather to
show them solidarity.
In his speech at the
occasion, Dr. Boia Effraime jr., Program
Manager
Children
& Talents, UBS Optimus
Foundation,
shed more light on the
traumatic situation of
refugees because of
what they had gone
Dr. Boia Effraime jr.
through. He told the
story of a seven years old boy who witnessed
the slaughtering of his father during the civil
Mrs. Renée Adolphine plaiting hair at the venue
Wilhelm Tell aiming at his son, on the extreme left
8
l–r: Jürg Schertenleib, Mrs. Muscheid of Radio X, Thomas Kessler and Claude Janiak
war in Mozambique. Th is led him to join
children army, but later ended up in a refugee camp for seven years.
There was also a panel discussion on
the issue. Public awareness of the true and
sincere plight of the refugees is being advocated to correct the negative impression
about them.
In attendance to thrill the audience were
some former refugees from Sri Lanka who
presented a musical drama based on William Tell story giving it a Sri Lankan touch.
It was well appreciated. The occasion was
sponsored by Caritas and HEKS and organised by SAH Basel region led by Mr. Jakob
Clement and assisted by Mrs. Lilian Keller
of Kulturmanagement.
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:46:43
INTEGRATION
Africa Freedom Integration Cultural Festival
SOS to Zurich Councillor Maurer
ZURICH: The organisers of Africa Freedom integration and cultural festival
have called on the Zurich city councillor
in charge of police, Mrs. Esther Maurer
to intervene in the alleged discriminatory
manner in which the city police authority
issues permit for street festival.
Mr. Louis Mombu, the president of the
Africa Freedom association told Africa Link
that the association had asked the police
authority seven times for more space to
hold the annual festival because of the high
turnout of visitors. The space allocated at
Helvetiaplatz is now too small for the festival. But on every occasion the request was
refused, while others, like the organisers of
Caliente festival were being given more areas
for theirs.
Mr. Mombu, who claimed that he started
such festival in Zurich city 11 years ago as
an integral part of integration, believes there
is a deliberate attempt to frustrate him so
that he will abandon the festival. He asks,
“where is the spirit of integration that the
government keeps sermonising?” He sees the
police action as an act of discrimination, and
an attempt to relegate anything led by blacks
to the background.
“If I were white, or gave the leadership of
the organisation to a white, they would not
have refused to give the permit”, he opined.
He added that he was not given the permit
last year until three weeks before the festival,
“just to make it impossible for us to hold
it.”
He therefore appealed to the councillor,
and other well-meaning Swiss people and
foreigners to come to the rescue of the festival, and to fight against any form of racial
discrimination.
Councillor Esther Maurer
HEALTH AND PREVENTION
AFRICA–BASEL
SANTE ET PREVENTION
AFRIQUE–BÂLE
GESUNDHEIT UND PRÄVENTION
AFRIKA–BASEL
Place: Aids Hilfe beider Basel, Time: 7:00 PM
Clarastrasse 4, 4058 Basel
Tel: 061 685 25 00, www.ahbb.ch
Lieu: Aide Sida Bâle, Heure: 19:00
Clarastrasse 4, 4058 Bâle
Tél: 061 685 25 00, www.ahbb.ch
Ort: Aids Hilfe beider Basel, Zeit: 19.00 Uhr
Clarastrasse 4, 4058 Basel
Telefon 061 685 25 00, www.ahbb.ch
Contact: Mohomodou Houssouba
Mobile: 078 602 58 19
[email protected], www.baserelles.ch
Contact: Mohomodou Houssouba
Portable: 078 602 58 19
Kontakt: Mohomodou Houssouba
Natel: 078 602 58 19
June 15
15 juin
Apéro
Presentation of program
June 29
Apéro
Vorstellung der Veranstaltungen
29 juin
Nutrition and Movement – Gsünder Basel
July 13
29. Juni
Nutrition et Mouvement – Gsünder Basel
13 juillet
Last UNAIDS Report
Guided Tour of HIV Test Station
August 10
10 août
August 24
24 août
September 7
Stress and violence
September 21
Immigration and addiction
MUSUB
September 28
Evaluation / Closing event
Mädchenbeschneidung in afrikanischer Literatur
24. August
Mooladé (film d’Ousmane Sembène, 2004)
Mooladé (Film von Ousmane Sembène, 2004)
7 septembre
7. September
Stress et violence
Stress und Gewalt
21 septembre
21. September
Migration et dépendance / Multikulturelle
Suchtberatungsstelle beider Basel (MUSUB)
28 septembre
www.radix.ch
Sucht in der Migration
MUSUB
28. September
Evaluation / Soirée
Fonds Support
July / August 2007
Letzter UN-AIDS-Bericht
Besuch der HIV-Test- und -Beratungsstelle
10. August
L’excision dans la litérature africaine
Mooladé (a film by Ousmane Sembène, 2004)
Ernährung und Bewegung – Gsünder Basel
13. Juli
Récent rapport de l’ONUSIDA
Visite guidée – Poste de dépistage VIH
Excision in African literature
15. Juni
Apéro
Présentation du programme
Evaluation / Abschlussfest
Projekt Gesundheit und Migration
AIDS HILFE
B A S E L
www.ahbb.ch B E I D E R
9
27.06.2007 17:46:50
COMMUNITY
Benefit-concert for
Disable Youths in Nigeria
ST. GALLEN: On this year’s mothers’
Day a group of musicians and artists from the
eastern Swiss Canton of St. Gallen thrilled
the audience in the Evangelical Reformed
Church in Linsebuehl in the medieval city of
St. Gallen. The sacred atmosphere captured
the spirit of the event.
The wonderful renderings of the Conbrio
women choir from Oberbueren, the exhilarating tunes of the music students of the
Kantonsschule St. Gallen, the rhythms of the
kids from the Oberstufenzentrum’s school
choir from Wittenbach made up some of the
wonderful menu that the audience had to
sample. The pulsating Saxophone sounds of
Les Saxoiseaux, the angelic melodies of the
Harfen-Trio and the compelling prayers of
the musical sisters of the Sister Act of St.
Gallen were simply amazing.
The event was initiated by Chika Uzor
and organized by his friends Mr. and Mrs.
A. and C. van de Laak Saleem to raise funds
for the Verein Amokwe Nigeria for its vocational school at Amokwe in Enugu State,
Nigeria. The school provides young people
especially the physically challenged from
the South-Eastern region of Nigeria an opportunity to learn a profession to improve
their own living conditions. It strictly aims
at taking them away from a life of begging
in the streets and empowering them for full
integration into the society.
The Verein Amokwe Nigeria (VAN) is a
Swiss association founded in January 2000
A cross section of the congregation at the concert
by a group of women and men from Austria
and Switzerland in accordance with Art. 60ff
of the Swiss Civil Law (ZGB). The seat of the
Association is Zollikofen BE. Currently it
has about 250 members and sympathizers.
Its aim is to support social self-help development projects in Nigeria. In pursuance of
its aim the Verein works closely with its local partner the Chibugwu Amokwe Nigeria
Foundation (CANF), a Nigerian NGO,
founded in December 2001 with its headquarters in Enugu. CANF is responsible for
the strategic and operational management
of the projects.
It is a basic conviction of both organisations that one of the central means to achieving the millennium goals of the UNO is
education and empowerment of women and
youths towards self-reliance, civil rights and
responsibilities to which both organisation
are committed.
For further information contact:
Chika Uzor, Dr. theol., Steigerstrasse 4,
9000 St. Gallen, Tel. +41 71 244 21 35,
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Uzor giving a vote of thanks
Amb. Baah-Duodu commends Basel Missionaries
SISSACH: Ambassador Kwabena BaahDuodu of Ghana had paid tribute to the
early Basel Missionaries to Ghana for their
collaboration with the country’s early farmers such as Tetteh Quarshie, which led to
the realisation of a vibrant cocoa industry in
Ghana. He said those pioneers would be forever remembered for having initiated those
people to people contacts which had paved
the way for the current fruitful bilateral ties
between Ghana and Switzerland.
10
The Ambassador who was on a familiarization visit of Sissach Community said
the relationship between Ghana and Sissach
began in the late 1820s when the fi rst group
of Basel Missionaries came to the then Gold
Coast. Among them was Johannes Haas,
from Sissach, who later became the fi rst
manager of the Akropong Agricultural Station.
H. E. Baah-Duodu who was invited by
the Executive Council of Sissach, near Ba-
sel, held discussions with the area’s Local
Council on ways and means to strengthen
relations between Ghana and the community.
He was accompanied by some staff of the
Embassy in Berne, and members of the ExGhana / Swiss Society, who facilitated the
visit. They visited among other places, the
community’s market, old people’s home and
ecological sites.
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:46:52
G8 SUMMIT
G8: “Commitments will be
honoured”
However, the G8 and the African partners agreed that Africans would also fulfi l
their commitments as regards democracy
and good governance. Now the task was to
see what had already been achieved in that
respect and what still remained to be done.
Speaking on behalf of the African Union
(AU), the Chairman, Ghanaian President
John Kufuor, said that African countries
were also prepared to play their part in making the Outreach Process a “true partnership”.
Kufuor proposed establishing a body
which would be responsible for supporting
and regularly reviewing the co-operation.
Chairman John Kufuor and Chancellor Merkel
HEILIGENDAMM: The discussions
with African representatives were “very honest, very open” German Chancellor Angela
Merkel said after the fi rst working session on
the last day of the Summit in Heiligendamm.
US$60 billion have been pledged over the
coming years to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria
and tuberculosis.
The Chancellor’s message to African
countries, according to German Government press release, stated: “We are aware of
our responsibility and we will honour our
commitments.” The G8 needed to “fulfi l the
promises we made.”
US$60 billion to combat
infectious diseases
Over the coming years the G8 will be
making a total of US$60 billion (around
€44 billion) available to combat HIV/AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis. Th is is to be used
to safeguard universal access to comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention programmes,
treatment and care, and to develop health
systems at local level.
Particular attention in the fight against
infectious diseases is to be paid to the needs
of adolescent girls, women and children.
Germany will be providing €4 billion to
support efforts to combat these illnesses.
A continent on the move
In their Final Declaration on Africa,
the G8 underlined again their strong interest in a stable, democratic and prosperous
Merkel with SA President Mbeki
African continent. The governments of the
G8 countries stressed their fi rm resolve to
implement the commitments made at the
2005 G8 Summit.
The historic debt relief is “well on the
way”, the document claims. Official development assistance (ODA) for Africa will be
increased by $25 billion a year by 2010.
A further set of measures is thus to be
introduced to promote sustainable development in Africa. The leading industrialised
nations have committed to “focus on promoting growth and investments in order to
combat poverty and hunger, to foster peace
and security, good governance and the
strengthening of health systems, and to assist the fight against infectious diseases.”
The G8 countries also pledged to support their African partners in meeting the
challenges they face when it comes to climate policy. They also want to contribute
to strengthening political structures, to promote investments and to development the
local economy.
The Summit Declaration “Growth and
Responsibility in Africa” lists the 63 commitments which cover a wide variety of issues.
A group foto with African delegates
July / August 2007
11
27.06.2007 17:46:54
COVER
African Diplomats Scorn Blocher’s Statement
South Africa: The Most Important
Swiss Partner in Africa
When our Editor-in-chief Johnson Oduwaiye expressed how disappointed the African community felt about the African
diplomatic community’s studied silence on
Mr. Christoph Blocher’s statement last year
about Africans that eff ectively amounted to
class defamation of their constituency. Dr.
Konji Sebati, the South African Ambassador
to Switzerland explained that they did not
keep silent, “a lot of us felt that we would not
bother to meet with Mr. Blocher himself and
rather treated the matter with the contempt
it deserved.” She was speaking with Africa
Link in an interview that covered a range
of issues including SA and Swiss economic
relations.
Read on:
Your Excellency, it is almost two years
since you assumed office as the South African Ambassador to Switzerland. What
would you say have been the main trends
in the direction and scope of South African Swiss bilateral relations since you
took over?
a. Improvements?
b. Challenges?
South Africa enjoys a very cordial and
collaborative political and economic relationship with Switzerland. I arrived in
Switzerland in July 2005 and a few months
prior to that, in May 2005, Switzerland singled out South Africa in its foreign policy “as
one of its most important partners outside
the EU and USA”. Over the past two years
we have seen tourism to South Africa grow
by huge figures for a country of the size of
Switzerland. We have also been very busy
and active in promoting business between
South Africa and Switzerland. In January
2006 we had a three-city business seminar
about investing in South Africa, we were
guest country at the Swiss Economic Forum
in 2006 and recently took 15 Swiss business
men and women to South Africa on a business tour. We have also been very active in
promoting arts and culture.
Regarding your question about challenges, we have been fortunate enough not
12
to experience too many challenges except
when there were some alleged negative statements about Africa and Africans in the media late 2006.
We understand that the total population of
Swiss people living in Africa as at December 2006 was 18,380, out of which 8,821,
zerland in favour of your country; CHF
1,261.7 million to CHF 729.5 million.
What are the main items of trade between
your country and Switzerland and would
you say there is scope for further expansion in this area?
The biggest contributor to this favourable
and increasing trade between South Africa
H. E. Sebati
about 48% are in SA. To what would you
attribute this high ratio of Swiss presence
in SA as compared to other African countries? (Total South Africans in Switzerland
is 1,207)
A lot of Swiss people have lived in South
Africa for years most having gone down
to work in the motor industry. A few own
homes and vineyards in the Cape Winelands. There are about 150 Swiss companies
registered and based in South Africa, and
that could be the reason that there are so
many Swiss people living in South Africa.
The statistics for last year show a healthy
balance in trade between SA and Swit-
and Switzerland is commodities like platinum, diamonds and gold. The agricultural
sector has also been improving with exports
of fruit and wines particularly. There is definitely scope for expansion and it is for that
reason that my team is so engaged in what
we call “Economic Diplomacy”.
South African Airways was reported to be
planning to stop its direct flights to and
from Switzerland. Are the reasons for this
re-routing purely commercial or are there
other policy issues involved? Considering
the high number of Swiss tourists visiting
the country, is there no viability for the
direct flight?
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:46:57
COVER
Th is recent decision to stop direct fl ights
to Switzerland, effective from May 1st, has
not been an easy one for us to accept because
we honestly believed it was a lucrative route
for SAA; however we are informed that due
to the Star Alliance partnership and launch
between South African Airways, SWISS and
Lufthansa, routes had to be split because
passengers would all be catered for no matter what European connection or destination they want to make. Th is is indeed very
sad for us South Africans living here in Switzerland. We want to support our national
airline, but now we have to support SWISS
to travel all the way to Munich or Frankfurt
to connect to SAA to Johannesburg.
sue, we have been able to mobilise ourselves
very quickly.
Last year, Swiss Minister of Justice, Mr.
Christoph Blocher, drew protests from the
African community when he was reported
to have disparagingly described Africans
A few years ago Africa Link reported that
SA realised about CHF 1 billion from European tourists annually. How much does
the country realise now and how much of
that comes from Switzerland?
Swiss tourists to South Africa contribute about 0,6 % and on average each tourist
stays about 18 days spending not less than
300 CHF daily, a growth of 3 to 6 % since
2005.
At the Women Dialogue Conference held
last year, you said your Embassy would
make it an annual event. What is the mission of the forum, and what achievements
does it look forward to in these annual
conferences?
The Women’s Dialogue held in August
2006 enthused so many ladies to make this
an annual event because it was evident that
Swiss women needed a platform like that to
discuss and debate issues that are pertinent
to women today. Th is year we are still in the
planning phase and will soon announce our
plans. We will however hold the dialogue
in partnership with Swiss women organisations.
How do you see the relationships within
the African diplomats’ community in
Switzerland in terms of cooperation in
dealing with issues that collectively affect
Africa and Africans in Switzerland?
The Africa Group of Ambassadors in
Berne works very closely together. We are
not a very big group and unfortunately some
of our colleagues have to do both bilateral
and multilateral work in Geneva, which
therefore keeps them out of Berne most
times. We do however try and meet as often
as we can and when we have an urgent is-
July / August 2007
H. E. Sebati
as “lazy”. Do you think this comment was
justified? If not, why did the African diplomatic community keep such studied silence to what effectively amounted to class
defamation of their constituency? What
would be your response to the feeling of
disappointment with African diplomats
that the African community has widely
expressed over this incidence?
Statements apparently made by Federal
Councillor Blocher outraged most of us
and we held several meetings to discuss the
matter. Naturally we wanted to confi rm
if indeed these statements were made and
under what context, but it has
proved very difficult to verify
them. We did however send
a letter to Federal President,
Mrs. Calmy-Rey as Minister of
Foreign Aff airs and our “host”
in this country. We expressed
our dismay and abhorrence of
such overtly discriminatory
remarks from a senior Government official. We did not
release a press statement since
we differed as to how far we
could go on these allegations,
with no real facts; however it is
not entirely correct to say that
the Africa Group kept silent on
the matter.
Besides our own personal
resentment at what could have
been said, we owed it to our fellow Africans in the Diaspora
and our continent to voice our
views – which as I say we did,
through a letter and an audience with Madame Calmy-Rey. A lot of us
felt that we would not bother to meet with
Mr. Blocher himself and rather treated the
matter with the contempt it deserved. As for
a statement of reassurance to our fellow Africans, I concede maybe we should have at
least informed people what we had done.
SANKOFA’s organised protest against the statement in Berne last year
13
27.06.2007 17:47:00
CELEBRATION
Africa Day Celebrated
Call for Rededication to Face
Africa’s Challenges
By Johnson Oduwaiye and Mohomodou Housouba
Africa Union Commission President,
Prof. Alpha Oumar Konare has called on
Africans and their global partners to build
partnerships that hinge upon equitable
and genuine foundations, whose scale, in
terms of both the advantages and disadvantages should not be tipped in favor of
either party.”
In an address presented on his behalf by
Ambassador Khadija R. Masri, AU Permanent Observer to the UN at the fi rst Africa
Day celebration to hold in Geneva and the
4th in Berne, President Konare reiterated the
vision for the future of Africa expressed in
July 2002 at the launching of the African
Union. He spoke of the collective goals and
challenges of the continent to effectively
deal with globalization.
Referring to the theme of this year’s celebration which is: Let’s strengthen Africa’s
H. E. Baah-Doudu
14
place in the world through strategic, balanced
and responsible partnerships, Prof. Konare
said it was in line with the vision and sevenfold mission of the AU. The vision, according to him, consists of building an
integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa,
spearheaded by Africans and constituting a
dynamic force on the international arena.
He said that Africa Day “is an opportunity for Africa to pride itself of her achievements, as a specific entity, endowed, more
than ever, with the will and determination
to realize integration.”
Organized by the African Missions and
Ambassadors based in the international city,
Africa Day celebrates the founding of the
Organization of African Unity, OAU on
May 25, 1963 with the aim of completing
and consolidating the liberation of the continent from outside domination. Having
fully achieved its mission with the end of the
apartheid regime in South Africa in1994, the
OAU transformed itself into a more development-oriented organization with the clear
vision to address the challenge of sustainable
development facing the continent.
President John A. Kufuor, the current
Chairman of AU, in his address at the occasions expressed his optimism in the march
of Africa, despite the enormous difficulties
still facing the continent at different levels.
He said the celebration affords Africans the
unique opportunity to take stock of their
achievements and to rededicate themselves
to addressing the challenges that confront
the continent. He added that the new organs
established by the AU, Africans have worked
collectively to accelerate the pace of the continent’s development.
The President pointed out that the adoption of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and its African Peer
Mr. Ambühl
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:02
CELEBRATION
H. E. Guédira
H. E. Masri
Review Mechanism (APRM) has also enhanced the political and corporate economic
governance of the continent.
Ghana’s Ambassador to Switzerland Mr.
Kwabena Baah-Duodu read the speech on
his behalf.
In Berne, Ambassador Mohammed
Guedira of Morocco, the Dean of African
diplomatic corps, addressed the gathering
of Africans and friends of Africa who had
turned up in large numbers for the occasion.
He said he preferred not to dwell on the bad
news about the continent, because “the bad
news is never missed by the media.” Without ignoring the problems, he argued from
a broader outlook on the developments in
recent years that Africa had much that was
positive and worthy of celebration.
He pointed to the African Peer Review
Mechanism, which although far from being
perfect, has the merit of submitting African
leaders to the scrutiny of their colleagues.
H E. Guedira also mentioned the sustained
growth of African economies — more than
5% in recent years — which can be attributed to the higher prices of raw materials and
increased agricultural and fi sheries production, and “a dynamic private sector.”
He added that the new entrepreneurial
spirit fi nds a parallel in the social area, with
the rise of a dynamic civil society, which
holds decision-makers to promises and expected outcomes. The Ambassador further
said that extreme poverty and diseases like
AIDS continue to pull African societies
downward. Africans therefore have to demonstrate self-reliance and solidarity through
south-south cooperation to improve the
situation in education, health care, and agricultural production.
He believes International cooperation
can help African countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals and expressed
his appreciation of Swiss cooperation with
Africa, especially through multilateral institutions like the African Development
Bank.
The Swiss Secretary of State Michael
Ambühl who also addressed the gathering
restated his country’s vision and commitment to help the AU translate further the
aspiration to strengthened unity, democratic
rule and increased well-being of the men and
women across the continent.
He disclosed that the 2007 traditional
conference of Swiss ambassadors will take
place in Africa, and will be chaired by the
Federal Councillor of Foreign Affairs, Mrs.
Micheline Calmy-Rey, who is also the President of the Federation.
Other programs to mark Africa Day
2007 included a conference in Geneva addressed by Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
(see page 18) and an African Arts Exhibition
that Ambassador M. Juan Somavia, Director General of ILO opened as a part of
the celebration. African Art Collector Dr.
Martin Sigam provided the pieces for the
exhibition.
In both Berne and Geneva, the evening
continued in a convivial atmosphere of reunions and informal exchanges facilitated
by the generous supplies of national foods,
drinks and delicacies catered by some African missions, among them Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and
Tunisia.
Africa Link, the Voice of Africa in Switzerland, congratulates our able ambassadors on the
impressive and successful organisation of Africa Day Celebration in Berne and Geneva this year!
July / August 2007
15
27.06.2007 17:47:03
CELEBRATION
Photo News
Africa Day Celebration in Geneva
Moroccan drummers performing
at the occasion
Mr. J. Somavia, cutting the tape
to open the exhibition, right is Dr. M. Sigam
A cross section of diplomats listening to an address
Bakuba Mask
from D. R. of Congo
Mother and child
from Mali
r–l: Zimbabwe’s H. E. Chipaziwa,
Mozambique’s H. E. Rodrigues,
Nigeria’s H. E. Uhomoibhi and his family
l–r: Mrs. B. Tusiime of AU Mission,
Rwanda’s H. E. Sebudandi,
Ghana’s H. E. Baah-Duodu
and Mr. Oduwaiye of Africa Link
H. E. Arsene of Uganda and Mrs. Aicha Pouye,
director at the International Trade Center
Chadian stand displaying some paintings and
craft works
r: Mrs. M. Loulichki, president of Ambassadors’
spouses, and wife of Moroccan ambassador at
Moroccan stand
Guests queue for North African cuisine
l: Mrs. Eya Nchama, Founder and Secretary of
Association Refuge (Burundi and Rwanda) and
Mrs. A. Abena Marion
16
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:04
CELEBRATION
Photo News
Africa Day Celebration in Berne
Front row: A cross section of diplomats
listening to Amb. Guédira’s speech
r–l: H. E. Houhou of Algeria, H. E. Masri,
H. E. Guédira and Swiss Secretary of State
Mr. Ambuhl
3rd and 4th from left, Mr. M. Fawzi Blout, Chargé
d’Affaires Tunisia Embassy and Mr. A. Jerbi,
Director Tunisia Tourism Office, Zurich
l–r: Mr. D. Ekeruche, Mr. A. M. Tonye, Chargé
d’Affaires, Embassy of Nigeria and Cameroon
respectively, Mr. H. Alentara, Mrs. S. Haul
and Mr. M. Wandeler
H. E. Astete of Peru with H. E. Diop of Senegal
r–l: Mr. K. Amrein, Mr. A. Ukoh
and extreme left Mr. A. Otaru.
r–l: Mr. Max Streit and Mrs. Maya Tissafi both
of SDC and Mrs. Esther Oester
l–r: Dr. K. Dankwa, Dr. F. Hyde-Antwi,
Mr. A. Schweizer, Mr. S. Tshivhula
and Mr. K. Twumasi-Fofie
Mr. Karl Schlumpf flanked, right,
by Mrs. E. Correia wife of Angola’s Ambassador
and her daughter Evinha
r–l: Mr. A. Ukoh, Mrs. C. Schmutz,
Mrs. J. Julmy and Mrs. R. Hoeck
l–r: Mr. Tshivhula Counsellor SA Embassy,
H. E. Baah-Doudu, Bra. Masekela SA jazz legend
l: Mr. B. Sedki, Minister Embassy of Algeria
and Mr. Roda Molembi of MBM Group
l–r: Mr. A. Adjei, Mrs. G. Loebell-Ryan,
Mr. C. Ngwa and Mr. A. Issa
Nigerian cuisine on display
July / August 2007
17
27.06.2007 17:47:08
POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY
Strengthening Africa’s Place
in the World
Keynote Address by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana,
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Mp at the Africa Day Forum. Geneva, on May 23, 2007
I am grateful for and honoured by the
invitation from you, Madam, the African Union’s Permanent Observer here, to
participate in this solemn ceremony commemorating Africa Day this year in this
old city of Geneva, for so long the venue for
major international transactions affecting
the destiny of humanity. The historic convention, that regulates the conduct of war
to ensure civilised norms are maintained
even in war, bears the name of this city, the
Geneva Convention.
Again, it was here in the early part of the
20th century that the fi rst great attempt at
global governance was made by the establishment of the ill-fated League of Nations,
precursor to the more tenacious organisation
of the United Nations. It is, thus, a fitting
place for Africans to meet to deliberate on
the quality of the relationships they need to
nurture within and outside the continent to
strengthen Africa’s place in the world, which
is the theme of this year’s commemoration:
“Lets strengthen Africa’s place in the world
through strategic, balanced and responsible
partnerships”.
To that end, I bring you also the warm
greetings of the Chair of the African Union,
the President of the Republic of Ghana, His
Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor.
May 25, has been chosen as Africa Day
for the most appropriate of reasons, for that
day in 1963, 44 years ago, saw the birth of
Africa’s fi rst continental institution, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in ancient Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa. The
organisation was put in place in the early
years of independence to coordinate the collective energies and efforts of the new African
states to wage the struggle for the complete
liberation of the continent from imperialism and racist rule. With the dismantling of
the inhumane system of apartheid in South
Africa in 1994, and the emergence of free
South Africa, that task was effectively accomplished in 1994.
We, who are the heirs of this glorious
struggle for freedom, can only on such a
18
day but salute the vision and foresight of
the great fi gures who led our independence
movements and founded the OAU, and
whose names are forever etched in gold in
Africa’s memory and roll call of honour,
amongst them, Haile Selassie, Mohamed
V. Gamal Abdul Nasser, Ahmed Ben Bella,
Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere, Felix Houphouet Boigny, Leopold Sedar Senghor,
Hon. Akufo-Addo, and H. E. Masri
Ahmed Sekou Toure, Modibo Keita, and
above all, if, as a Ghanaian, I may be so permitted to state, Kwame Nkrumah, the icon
of Ghana’s independence struggle, who, on
the night of our triumph on that historic day
of March 6, 1957, made the unforgettable
pronouncement that “Ghana’s independence is meaningless unless it is linked with
the total liberation of Africa.” The task is
done.
Africa is today free, sovereign and master
of her own fate. We owe that to him and all
the others who fought for our dignity as free
men and women. It is then symbolic that
a Ghanaian Foreign Minister should chair
the Executive Council of our Union in the
year in which Ghana, and dare I say it, all of
Africa, is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of
Ghana’s independence from British colonial
rule, the event that blazed the trail for the
liberation of Africa from imperialism and
colonialism.
The achievement of sovereignty has now
put squarely at the centre of the African
agenda the issue of the economic develop-
ment of our continent. For centuries, Africa’s huge human and materials resources
have been exploited for the benefit of outsiders and foreign interests. It is time to change
that paradigm and focus on the need to develop her resources for the benefit, fi rstly,
of her own peoples and, secondly, for the
benefit of mankind at large. It was in recognition of this compelling reality that, at
the instigation of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, our leaders decided to replace
the OAU with the African Union (AU) to
spearhead the struggle for the political and
economic integration of the continent and
to create thereby propitious conditions for
the economic development of our mighty
continent.
The challenge of globalisation, perhaps
the greatest challenge of our time, has necessitated for Africa the entry into strategic
partnerships with other areas of the globe
that share and support our ambitions. So in
2005, at Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, the
1st Asia-Africa Summit was held to signal
the determination of the two peoples of Asia
and Africa to work together to prosper in
the globalised world. Again in 2006, the 1st
Africa-China Summit was held in Beijing. It
was followed by the 1st Africa-South America Summit in Abuja, capital of the great
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Th is year, the long delayed Europe-Africa Summit will fi nally take place in Portugal during the Portuguese Presidency of
the EU in the second half of this year. To
that end, the AU Chair, President Kufuor,
has already met in Lisbon with the Portuguese leadership, President Anibal Cavaco
Silva and Prime Minister Jose Socrates, to
engage on the date and agenda of the Summit. The principal outcome of the Summit
will, hopefully, be to adopt a consensual
document outlining a joint strategy which
will govern the development of the future
partnership between Europe and Africa in
the circumstances of the 21st century.
It is clear that a new relationship, different from that of the last five hundred years,
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:10
must be forged between our two continents authoritarian rule, with its attendant conse- been consistently in the region of 6 % in the
if our partnership is to confront effectively quences of widespread violations of human last four years, with every indication that
the challenges of globalisation and the im- rights, is, happily, receding fast into history we can attain systematically the 8 % rates
peratives of our day. Africa can no longer to be replaced by an Africa of healthier body of growth which will enable us to reach our
continue to be, in short, a mere provider of politics, where democratic values and cul- national goal of becoming a middle income
raw materials to Europe, her main trading tures today hold sway. The predictable result nation within the next decade. Investor inand economic partner, or, indeed, to any is the gradual resolution of confl icts, as we terest in Ghana, both domestic and foreign,
other continent, if she is to escape the de- have seen in, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea has become very keen, which bodes well for
bilitating, dehumanising tentacles of mass Bissau, Burundi, and DRC. Côte d’Ivoire our future.
The limited good news from Africa canpoverty.
now looks set to join this group.
The major challenge confronting this
There are, however, still outstanding the not, however, obscure the grim fact that ours
generation of Africans is to accomplish the seemingly intractable problems of violence is the one continent the majority of whose
structural transformation of the African and instability in Somalia, the murderous countries will not on present projections be
economies so that we can compete success- violence directed at a defenceless population able to meet the millennium development
fully in the globalised economy and be, like in the Darfur region of Sudan, which has led goals. The case for large, coordinated inothers, beneficiaries of globalisation, not its to the killings of thousands and the tragic ternational assistance to Africa remains in
victims. The Summit, by the adoption of the displacement of some two million people, furtherance of our common humanity. We
Joint Strategy Document, will signal Eu- and the issues of democratic governance in note, though, that many of the promises
rope’s recognition of the exigencies of this Zimbabwe. The AU, our new continental made in this regard are honoured more in
new relationship and her decision to accom- organisation, and SADC, the regional or- their breach than in their fulfi lment. The fapany Africa down this new path of equality ganisation of southern Africa, have demon- mous 0.7 % of GNP pledge for official develand mutual benefit. The industrialisation of strated their determination to come to grips opment assistance was not respected; again,
the continent is the order of the day, and we with these problems. We remain confident the commitments made at Gleneagles have
also not been respected. On our
welcome Europe’s participation
part, we can only hope that whatin that project whose realisation
ever understandings are agreed at
will mean that, at long last, the
The major challenge confronting this genthe forthcoming G8 Summit in
long suffering African masses
eration of Africans is to accomplish the strucGermany at Heiligendamm on 8th
can be released from poverty
and backwardness.
June will suffer a better fate than
tural transformation of the African economies
The economic transformation
those of their predecessors.
so that we can compete successfully in the glowe envisage for the continent
One thing is clear and that is
balised economy and be, like others, beneficiwill occur with the improvement
that, ultimately, the prosperity of
of the quality of our governance,
the continent will be a function of
aries of globalisation, not its victims.
political and economic, and the
the hard work, ingenuity, creativacceleration of the process of poity, dynamism and entrepreneurial
litical and economic integration of the na- that, difficult as they are, we shall, with the acumen that Africa can summon for herself.
tions of our continent. There is little doubt support and cooperation of our friends and No one can or will build Africa for Africans.
that the future of the planet will be about partners around the world, fi nd acceptable We have to do it ourselves.
the interplay of continents, a fact which is solutions to them which will reinforce the
There is in this respect a hopeful develclear to us, and that is why the forthcom- growing peace, stability and democratic opment in the making. I refer to the South
ing AU Summit in Accra will be devoted evolution of the continent. Soon, the guns African inspired initiative to raise through
essentially to one issue – the Grand Debate will fall largely silent in Africa.
the pension funds of several African nations
on the Union Government for Africa, that
In the same vein, significant progress – South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana et
is the defi nition of the steps we need to take has been made in the management of Af- al – seed money of some one billion dollars
to strengthen and accelerate the process of rica’s economies. Greater awareness of the to fi nance the realisation of some sensitive
integration to achieve the unity of Africa. importance of economic fundamentals has infrastructural projects, which will open
The voice of a united Africa will defi nitely led to an improved macroeconomic outlook up the continent for internal trade and exenhance the weight of Africa’s intervention for many African economies. My own coun- changes, the lack of which is one of the most
on contemporary, global matters.
try of Ghana, for instance, has moved away serious impediments to our rapid developThere has been a remarkable improve- from the disequilibrium of seven years ago ment. So far, $600 million has been raised.
ment in the quality of governance in Africa when President Kufuor took office. A rate The prospects for reaching the target look
in the last decade. Democratic elections, in of infl ation of some 40 % has been reduced good. Its attainment will be a vital milestone
conditions of respect for the principles of to 10 %; prohibitive rates of interest of 50 % in Africa’s search for prosperity and progress,
democratic accountability, human rights have now come down to some 17 to 18 %; a progress which will enable her to make her
and the rule of law, are now the norm, not and a plummeting currency has given way own distinctive, independent contribution
the exception, in Africa. The process of dem- to the longest period in our history of ex- to the growth of world civilisation.
ocratic consolidation is currently so strong change rate stability for our currency. Acthat the Africa of yesterday, the Africa of cordingly, Ghana’s GDP growth rates have
I thank you for your attention.
“
”
July / August 2007
19
27.06.2007 17:47:12
Summit Falls Short on Aid
By Julio Godoy
The Group of Eight industrialised countries (G8) agreed to allocate 60 billion
dollars in new aid to Africa in “the coming years”, to beef up the fi ght against
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and
to improve primary education across the
continent.
But the summit of the heads of government of the G8 (Britain, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and United
States) failed to satisfy its own commitment, made at the 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, of doubling aid to Africa
by 2010.
The group also ended the three day meet
at this Baltic seaside resort without a compromise on establishing a binding code of
conduct for hedge funds, which, with their
highly risky speculative operations, experts
say, tend to destabilise international fi nancial markets, undermine growth in the real
economy, and have the potential to provoke
a major crisis among banks and other private
fi nancial institutions.
In a joint declaration on Africa released
on the last day of the summit, the G8 countries promised to “scale up their efforts to
contributing towards the goal of universal
access to comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention programmes, treatment and care and
support by 2010 for all.”
The statement says the aim is “developing and strengthening health systems so
that health care, especially primary health
care, can be provided on a sustainable and
equitable basis in order to reduce illness and
mortality, with particular attention paid to
the needs of those most vulnerable to infection, including adolescent girls, women and
children.”
In order to do so, the G8 promises to
“continue . . . efforts towards these goals to
provide at least a projected 60 billion U.S.
dollars over the coming years, and invite
other donors to contribute as well. These
contributions will supplement efforts by African governments.”
Half of the money will be allocated by the
U.S. government, and the other half by the
group’s other seven countries. Germany is to
increase its contribution to the fund by four
20
billion euros (5.4 billion dollars) by 2015,
Development Aid Minister Heidemarie
Wieczorek-Zeul said.
Future German contributions will be
equivalent to 500 million euros a year, up
from 400 million euros this year and 300
million euros in 2006.
Additionally to the funding to fight
AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, the G8
leaders confi rmed an extra 500 million dollars in 2007, as part of the “Education for
All” project for sustainable development in
Africa.
G8 leaders praised the agreement as “immense progress.” Outgoing British Prime
Minister Tony Blair told reporters that the
G8 has “recommitted (itself ) to all the commitments . . . made a couple of years ago at
Gleneagles. The important thing is we have
set out how we are going to do them.”
“Both of us (the G8 and the African leaders) know that we have got a long way to go
and a lot to do but the truth is there’s been
immense progress made and probably one
really important indication of that is that Japan has said that for next year’s G8, Africa is
going to be right at the centre of the agenda
and that’s got to be good news,” he added.
But the new aid package falls short of the
promise made at the G8’s 2005 summit in
Gleneagles to double official direct assistance for Africa by the year 2010. The G8
promised there to increase aid for all developing countries by around 50 billion dollars
a year by 2010, which would mean spending
at least 25 billion dollars a year in Africa
starting in 2005.
Minister Wieczorek-Zeul said, “Germany is going to fulfi l its promise; let’s see
how the others act.”
In addition, the group could not agree
on a common process for allocating the aid.
The United States insisted on maintaining
its bilateral programmes with African states
for the bulk of its aid. But Wieczorek-Zeul
said that a common process would be developed, “to avoid duplications.”
The G8 summit also concluded without
an agreement on establishing binding regulations for hedge funds, a particular disappointment for Germany’s Minister of Fi-
nance Peter Steinbruck, who had advanced
the idea of adopting a “code of conduct” for
such speculative investors.
The more so, since criticism of hedge
funds has become so widely accepted. In an
open letter, published just ahead of the G8
summit, a group of Socialist members of the
European Parliament, together with a U.S.
congressman, had called for more transparency and accountability of hedge funds to
international fi nancial markets, a strengthening of workers’ rights and the establishment of an international task force to draw
up recommendations for regulatory action
on speculative investments.
The group of European Parliament members, led by former Danish prime minister
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Democratic
U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, warned of
the risks that private equity and hedge funds
pose to “the real economy”, such as endangering long-term growth and job creation.
At a press conference in Brussels, Rasmussen pointed out that the top 20 private
equity fi rms employ around four million
workers and that their ownership of companies made them the “biggest employer in
the world”. “The problem,” he argued, “is
that they do not regard themselves as employers.”
He added that these funds were often
only motivated by short-term profit maximisation, with “no respect for jobs, workers or
long-term investment”.
Even hedge fund managers are beginning
to admit that the present state of deregulation and lack of taxation upon the funds’
transactions is unacceptable. In an article in
the London Financial Times, Nicolas Ferguson, chairman of investment group SVG,
revealed that he and his peers paid “less tax
than a cleaning lady.”
In a joint declaration, the G8 simply
said, “the assessment of potential systemic
and operational risks associated with these
activities has become more complex and
challenging. Given the strong growth of
the hedge fund industry and the increasing
complexity of the instruments they trade, we
reaffi rm the need to be vigilant.”
Inter Press Service (Johannesburg)
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:12
HEALTH
Four New Malaria Drugs Invented
After a seven-year search for the best drug
that can cure malaria, the Medicines for
Malaria Venture (MMV), a non-profit
making organisation has fi nally developed four new highly eff ective anti malarial drugs.
The NGO with headquarters in Geneva,
Switzerland is dedicated to reducing the
burden of malaria in disease-endemic countries by discovering, developing and delivering new affordable antimalarials through
effective public-private partnerships.
MMV’s Vice President Public Aff airs
Anna Wang told journalists in Kampala
recently that the four drugs are in the pipeline and would be ready within the next two
years.
“Clinical trials started three years ago and
we are now in the last stage of developing the
new and affordable drugs to ensure universal access. Almost half of people who suffer
from malaria don’t have access to drugs because they are expensive,” Ms. Wang said.
She said by mid next year, one of the
Last year alone, the organisation injected
drugs, pediatric coartem, a formulation for
children would be ready. Children under about $ 50 million in the development of the
five years and women are vulnerable to ma- drugs. Donors mainly fund its activities. The
new treatment could be an important devellaria because of their low immunity levels.
Ms. Wang said the other three drugs are opment in the fight against malaria, which
Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy is escalating mainly due to multi-drug rewith different formulations which include, sistance including the most frequently used
Pyramax, DHA-PIQ (Dihydroartemisinin/ and affordable treatments for malaria, such
Piperaquine), and LapDap combined with as chloroquine.
The available Artemisinin-based Comartesunate (CDA).
According to Ms. Wang, a patient is sup- bination therapy (ACTs) are relatively exposed to swallow one tablet for three days pensive, currently costing approximately
and afterwards he or she will be relieved of US$ 1.20–3.50 (Shs 8,000) per adult
course.
the disease.
Globally, malaria kills between one and
The drugs will be supplied in endemic
countries including Uganda. Th is will be two million people annually.
According to Unicef, malaria infects
done in collaboration with the ministries of
health, researchers and other stakeholders 350 to 500 million people each year, kills
a child somewhere in the world every 30
both in private and public sectors.
MMV’s goal will register at least four seconds, accounts for about one in five of
new antimalarials before 2010 and main- all childhood deaths, and is most prevalent
tain a sustainable pipeline of antimalarials in Africa.
to meet the needs of over 3.2 billion people
at risk from this deadly disease.
The Monitor (Kampala)
New Vaccine Could End Meningitis Misery
A new meningitis vaccine has proven effec- agers, and young adults will be saved by im- health arsenal, this vaccine will make a real
tive in West African children, trumping munization and that widespread suffering, difference in Africa,” said F. Marc LaForce,
any other vaccine currently on the market sickness and socioeconomic disruption can MVP director. “The vaccine will allow elimination of the meningococcal
in the region and providing hope that the be avoided,” said Dr. Marepidemics that have affl icted
epidemic will eventually be eliminated, a garet Chan, WHO Directorthe continent for more than
United Nations-backed partnership has General.
100 years.”
Meningitis – one of the
announced.
The trial was conducted
The preliminary results of the success- most dreaded infectious
in 12 to 23-month-olds in
ful trial of the vaccine – expected initially diseases worldwide – occurs
Mali and Gambia, and reto sell for 40 cents a dose – were released when the thin lining that sursults showed that the vaccine
by the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP), rounds the brain and spinal
is safe and produces antibody
a UN World Health Organization (WHO) cord becomes infected. Even
levels nearly 20 times higher
and United States-based nonprofit PATH with antibiotic treatment, at
than those obtained with the
least 10 per cent of patients
partnership.
polysaccharide vaccine which
The 21 affected sub-Saharan African die and up to 20 per cent are Dr. Margaret Chan
is being sold on the market,
countries, collectively known as the ‘men- left with permanent probingitis belt’, could witness the slashing of lems including mental retardation, deafness, which means the protection the new vaccine
the epidemic’s incidence due to the vaccine, epilepsy and necrosis which could lead to provides can last for several years.
The next phase of trials will take place in
limb amputation.
according to the results.
The partnership’s data shows how the vac- Mali, Gambia and at least one other country
Last year over 41,500 cases were reported,
while between 1 January and 6 May of this cine could block serogroup A meningococ- in the region, and the vaccine will be tested
year, an additional almost 48,000 cases have cus, which could lead to the entire popula- in 2 to 29-year-olds, which is the population
been reported, raising concerns of a new epi- tion, including those who are not vaccinated, that will be mostly targeted by mass vaccinato be protected as well in a phenomenon tion campaigns.
demic wave in the region.
“Th is important study brings real hope known as ‘herd immunity.’
“When it becomes part of the public
that the lives of thousands of children, teenUN News Service (New York)
July / August 2007
21
27.06.2007 17:47:13
BIZ AND ECONOMY
Swiss Invest Forum 2007
Investing and Producing in Africa
By Johnson Oduwaiye
ZURICH: Dr. George Malcotsis has said
Africa and Europe have all it takes to work
together in order to improve each other’s
economy.
The Managing Director of Swiss Organisation For Facilitating Investments (SOFI)
said this while presenting his welcome address at Swiss Invest Forum 2007 in Zurich
on June 19. “Africa and Middle East have
outstanding natural resources and workforces. Switzerland/Europe have advanced
technologies and excess capital for investment, so why not work together”, he said.
The subject of the Forum, “Investing
and Producing in Africa and Middle East,
adding value to local natural resources”.
Th is is very relevant to the current yearnings of Africans who are mapping out new
enabling strategies for the development
of their continent. One of such strategies
relates to the new form of partnership the
continent wants to enter into with Europe.
One that will recognise her as a producer
of goods and not a mere provider of raw
materials to Europe her major trading and
economic partner. Such partnership is necessary in order to get rid of the poverty that
is plaguing the continent, commented an
African participant.
Dr. Malcotsis said the focus of the
conference among others is to provide op-
portunities for participants to build new
business partnerships, and also to provide
information about the new opportunities
and incentives for
direct investment
in the regions and
sectors that are
not well known
to Swiss business
community.
He expressed
some of the benefits that could
be derived from
direct investment
in production of
goods
in
the
country where the
natural resources
are available. The
benefits include
value added, such
as creation of employment opportunities, enhancement of GDP, Dr. Malcotsis
transfer of technical know-how, and for the European investors, a higher profit.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former British
Foreign Minister in his keynote address
said, the world, especially Europe could
not leave Africa alone in its struggle to
consolidate her economic and political
sectors. “Europe has
historic, geopolitical and geographic
reasons for giving
greater priority to
Africa, and for seeking to assist it in the
realisation of its aspiration,” he said.
He then stated fi ve
reasons why Africa
matters to Europe,
“starting with an
ethical and humanitarian reason” which
relates to health
problem and access
to cheap drugs.
Another
reason is that a stable
and growing Africa
will provide a market of several hundred million people to which the rest of the world can
sell its goods and services, adding that
the continent has been described as ‘the
last great emerging market’.
Ms. Higashi
Mr. Seghezzi
Sir Rifkind
22
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:14
BIZ AND ECONOMY
Speaking about the injustice of globalisation, Sir Rifkind said the subsidies
the West gives to their agricultural sectors
make it impossible for Africa to trade and
export her agriculture products. He added,
in 2002 the amount the developed world
spent on subsidising its own agriculture
was equivalent to the income of all the people in sub-Saharan Africa together.
He pointed out that the problem of failed
states as seen in Congo, Somalia, Rwanda
and Liberia, and the assumption that there
was nothing the rest of the world could
do about it was a serious mistake. “Failed
states”, he said, “are now seen as a serious
threat to the stability, peace and progress of
the whole world. If Europe wants to deter
migration from Africa it must help create
the conditions of stability and prosperity
in that continent.”
Equally, he asked Europe and the world
at large to recognise the challenges facing
Africa, and to be part of the solution saying her successes and failures would have a
serious impact on the rest of the world. A
stable and growing Africa would be an asset
to Europe and the world, but an unstable,
violent, bankrupt Africa would be a dangerous disaster to all.
The 2-day forum, moderated by Mr.
Thomas Seghezzi, Marketing Manager
Embassy of South Africa Berne, featured
over 10 speakers who are experts in various aspects of business, investment and
regional economy. Among them was Ms.
Mariko Higashi, IFC Manager for Middle
East and North Africa. In her presentation
l–r: M. Lamsfuss, CEO of IMC, Hon. Kagwe with the guidebook and Mrs. L. Mastropasqua of IMC
on Regional Economy, she said North African economies have been enjoying unprecedented growth in the past three years. The
growths, 3 – 7 per cent, vary from country
to country. And that there has been no
major economic crisis, and infl ation was
at manageable level, creating conducive atmosphere for investment.
She, however, said unemployment was
serious in the region, and also that access
to fi nance and tax rates are top constraints
in many of the regional countries.
Over 20 countries presented papers
on the investment opportunities in their
countries, among them from Africa are:
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon,
Angola, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and
Tanzania/Zanzibar.
The Kenya’s Minister of Information and
Communications, Hon. Mutahi Kagwe
who also attended the conference launched
Corporate Kenya, a guidebook on Business,
Trade and Investment in Kenya published
by IMC GmbH of Switzerland.
Hon. Kagwe described his country as
“key center of stability and progress in
Africa.” He said the continent was better
than how it was being portrayed by media,
adding that the potential in Africa “is huge,
and the continent is changing rapidly for
better.”
He invited investors to take advantage
of investment opportunities and incentives in the continent to come and invest
there, “especially in Kenya which is African
Lion.”
Mr. Grabik, SOFI Director, left, presenting a gift to Ghana’s Deputy Minister Kwado Affram Asiedu at the end of the Forum
July / August 2007
23
27.06.2007 17:47:17
INTERVIEW
Swiss Support in Agriculture and Training
Senegal’s Priority in Bilateral
Relations
By Johnson Oduwaiye
Her Excellency Safi atou Ndiaye Diop presented her letter of credence to the Swiss Authority on 19 October 2006 as Senegalese
Ambassador to Switzerland. She was Senegal representative at UNESCO office, Paris
before the posting. In an interview granted
Africa Link she spoke about her country’s
expectation in the bilateral relations with
Switzerland, and some of the developments
President Wade brought to her country. On
the highly criticized refugee center agreement
with Switzerland in which Swiss government
wanted to keep the African asylum seekers in
Senegal pending the result of their applications for asylum, she simply said: “The asylum center in question has never been realized in Senegal.”
with federal authorities and potential private partners.
Before the re-opening of the embassy, how
would you describe the bilateral relations
between the two countries?
The relations between the two countries
have always been strong, as they are based
on cooperation accords in the areas of exchanges and training.
Are there Senegalese asylum seekers in the
country?
Most of the asylum seekers claiming
Senegalese nationality actually come from
neighbouring countries.
Some years ago Switzerland entered into
an agreement with your country to have
a refugee camp in Senegal where African
asylum seekers would be sent until deci-
Excerpt from the interview:
Your country re-opened her embassy in
Switzerland last year, why was it closed in
the first place, and what led to its re-opening?
The temporary closure of our embassy
in Switzerland had been decided along with
that of many other embassies of Senegal
across the world.
At the time, the main reason was that
Senegal was undergoing a program of structural adjustment, which aimed to bring
public expenses under control through
budgetary savings, among other measures.
The re-opening happened naturally once
the conditions for it had been fulfi lled.
Within this short time of your presence
here, could you point to positive developments between the two countries that have
taken place, if any?
In fact, our country has never been absent from Switzerland to the extent that our
ambassador in France continued to represent Senegal. But the re-opening off ers a
framework that is more conducive to the
reinforcement and development of bilateral
relations, which is our main task at the moment. In this regard, we have made contacts
24
H. E. Safiatou Ndiaye Diop
What is your country’s priority in its bilateral relations with Switzerland?
Our priority is in the areas of development of agriculture, and training. With
regard to agriculture, the “Reva Plan” is a
governmental project, which aims to settle
young people on lands, and is already in its
implementation phase.
sions were made on their applications.
Some alleged that the Swiss Government
effectively paid your country handsomely
for this controversial agreement affecting
your African brothers and sisters. What
would you say to the allegation?
The asylum center in question has never
been realized in Senegal.
As at last year there are 260 Swiss residents
in Senegal, do you have a rough idea of
how many Senegalese are living in Switzerland?
The number of Senegalese living in Switzerland is close to 1000.
The recent election in Senegal was relatively peaceful and fair according to observers’ reports. How was your country
able to achieve this success?
Senegal having experienced a great
many elections since its independence, its
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:20
CELEBRATION
people is quite used to the electoral process. We have to admit that the Senegalese
people have always been respectful of ballot
results, but it is also worth acknowledging
that its leaders have also committed themselves to organizing fair and transparent
elections.
What is your comment on the allegation
that President Wade used the power of
incumbency to be re-elected although he
had failed to fulfi l the most important
promises he had made, like creating job
opportunities, and fighting corruption?
Th is is a false accusation. President
Wade having been elected for the fi rst time
while he was in the opposition, one cannot
say that his re-election is due to the use of
public money whatsoever.
Could you tell our readers some of the
achievements of the President Wade administration?
Although much remains to be done,
significant progress is being made in many
sectors of the country since President Wade
came to power. Today the country devotes
40% of its budget to education with compulsory school attendance between the ages
of 6 and 16. In this sector, there is a notable
increase (about 250) in the number of middle and high schools. The number of girls
attending school has increased from 63% in
2000 to 80.6% in 2005.
In the agricultural sector, the Reva Plan
(return to the cultivation of land) aims to
create a breakthrough in specialized farming and stimulate agribusiness. In this regard the state has put all necessary apparatus into action to ensuring the success of
the plan. Eventually, the expected success
of this plan would trigger a decline in the
importation of various farm produce.
Other actions being taken by the government include an allocation of 13 billion CFA (about CHF 32 million) fund for
young people to engage in self-employed
projects; and 10% budgetary allocation to
the health sector.
In order to develop the infrastructures,
the Autonomous Agency of Public Works
has embarked on the construction of 3,000
km of roads out of which 1,500 have already been completed. Also a new international airport and the toll highway are
already under construction.
July / August 2007
Senegal National Day Celebration
All roads led to Intercontinental Hotel, Geneva on May 25 where a reception was
held to celebrate Senegal National Day. The reception organised by Senegal’s Permanent
Mission to the UNO was well attended by people from all walks of life. In attendance to
welcome the guests was the new Senegal’s Ambassador / Permanent Representative to the
UNO Mussa Bocar and his wife. Also there to add pep to the occasion were a number
of Senegalese women in their native attires of different fabric, colour and cut. They were
foods for the eyes. H. E. Safi atou Diop was there too. Below are some shots taken by our
cameraman at the occasion.
H. E. Mussa Bocar, and his wife welcoming
a guest to the reception
A shot with colleague diplomat
l: H. E. Diop with the couple
l–r: Dr. Sigam, H. E. Masri, H. E. Ba of Islamic
Conference to the UNO and Mr. Oduwaiye
Dr. C. Rodrigues, Mr. B. Silva, Chargé
d’Affaires Mission of Cap Verd and his wife
A cross section of guests
A group of women in Senegalese attire
A toast to the occasion by Micheline
25
27.06.2007 17:47:23
RELIGION
Lighthouse Church Int. 2007 Women Convention
Daughter You Can Make It
By Anthony Bello
“It's a man’s world", sings James Brown,
acknowledging the cultural and worldly belief, which has shaped how women are valued by their counterparts, the men and how
they value themselves and see their role in
the world. Th is belief has reduced the roles of
women to wives, mothers, housekeeper and
other stereotyped roles, but at the same time
sparked the fight for equality with man.
However this is not God’s original purpose for woman. God has made women
equal with men, but yet different with the
ability to give birth to life. A helper to her
worldwide. Th is year the annual ‘Daughter
You Can Make It’ (DYCMI) convention was
held on Friday, 18th – Sunday 20th May at
the Lighthouse Chapel international church
premises in Wallisellen, Zurich, whose residence Pastor is Rev. Jimmy Blavo. The theme
of this year’s convention was “You see me I
see you”.
In her message to the mammoth congregation, Lady Pastor Adelaide Heward-Mills,
encouraged women to realise that they all
have shortcomings, and any shortcoming
they see in another person, they also see in
A cross section of the congregation
husband, but yet with the ability to lead as a
woman in ministry and a professional.
The world has misinterpreted the God’s
purpose and the design of woman, which has
led to the devaluation of woman and cause
them not to function to their full potential
as God intended. Th is is one of the callings
of Lady Pastor Adelaide Heward-Mills to
minister to women and encourage them to
fulfi l God’s purpose for their lives and have a
strong personal relationship with God.
Th is call has resulted in her being responsible for a variety of tailor-made ministries
to women. These include: Women With Direction International; a ministry for women
with vision, Called-By-His-Side; a ministry
for Pastors’ wives, Women of Great Price;
a ministry for Lady Pastors, Women in
Ministry; a ministry for women who work
full-time for God; hostess and speaker of
the ‘Daughter You Can Make It’ Conventions organized annually in L.C.I. churches
26
themselves. Hence, they should not judge
others; rather they should accept one another in spite of their shortcomings.
She enjoined them to be aware of their
role both in the family and in God’s work,
adding, “We all have a calling, and we
should be ready to recognise it and play the
role God called us to play wholeheartedly.”
The convention was an eye opener for many
Pastor Adelaide Heward-Mills
women, who now realise that they have a
purpose in God’s plan, and are ready to play
their part accordingly.
Those, who attended the convention,
came from the various branches of Lighthouse Chapel International in Germany,
Italy, Zimbabwe and different parts of
Switzerland such as St. Gallen, Lausanne,
Winterthur, Geneva, Neuchatel, and from
different denominations across the country.
It was a spiritually awakening convention.
Lady Pastor Adelaide Heward-Mills is
a mother of four children, the wife of the
Presiding Bishop and founder of Lighthouse
Chapel international and a lawyer by profession. She reflects on her simultaneous roles
of a pastor’s wife, a mother, a woman in ministry and a professional, as being made possible only by the Grace of God. Her ministry
emphasis is therefore on a strong personal
relationship with God.
Africa Link brings comments from some
participants at the convention in the next
issue.
Simon Hansli and Roman Steudler, 4th and 5th from left, with their parents and siblings after
undergoing church confirmation ceremony on June 10.
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:38
ECHOES
Rwanda
$1 Million for Youth
President Paul Kagame is to provide seed money worth Rwf 600 million
(US$1.09 million) to boost the youth cooperative bank, COOJAD according to director general of youth cooperative bank for self
employment and development (COOJAD)
Mr. Cyprien Kananura, reported Business
Week.
“Th is money will help young people access loans without security. It will also help
the bank to give out loans and continue its
operations as it pursues a loan recovery process,” Mr. Kananura said.
The money is meant to promote youth
self employment and development in form
of a youth fund through COOJAD.
East African Business Week (Kampala)
Tanzania
Govt to Spend $8 Million on
Compensation for Road Project
Tanzania has allocated Tsh10 billion ($8
million) for the expansion of the Morogoro
road under the World Bank-funded Dar
Rapid Transit Project (Dart project).
The money will be used to compensate
land owners affected by the project especially along the Morogoro road, Minister
for Regional Administration and Local
Government Mizengo Pinda said. Th is is in
accordance with the condition given by the
World Bank.
Mr. Pinda said the fi rst phase of the
project will kick off this year, with the remaining five phases expected to be completed in the next six years.
The fi rst phase will cost Tsh 80 billion
($64 million) and will link Kilwa, Morogoro, Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Sam Nujoma roads.
East African (Nairobi)
Mauritania
Journalist Released On Bail,
Three Others Interrogated
Abdel Fettah Ould Abeidna, managing
editor of “Al-Aqsa”, a daily Arabic-language
newspaper, was granted bail on 28 May
2007 by a Nouakchott court after spending
four days in prison for allegedly defaming
a businessman, Mohamed Ould Bouammatou, reported the Media Foundation for
West Africa (MFWA).
July / August 2007
Bouammatou brought defamation charges
against the journalist following a 16 May
article in “Al-Aqsa” that linked him to a recent drug scandal. Abeidna was arrested and
subsequently detained on 24 May under a
court order. Meanwhile, three other newspaper journalists have been interrogated by
the police in Nouakchott in a defamation
case fi led by Ch’bih Ould Cheikh Malainnie, chairman of the opposition Popular
Front political party.
The newspapers had also linked the party’s chairman to the scandal.
Media Foundation for West Africa (Accra)
Niger
Airborne Survey of Uranium
Permits Commences
North Atlantic Resources Ltd. has commenced an airborne survey of its three uranium exploration permits in the Republic of
Niger. The projects are comprised of a 1,000
square kilometer block of mineral rights in
the Assaouas area and a 2,000 square kilometer block of mineral rights in the Abelajouad area, 80 kilometers northwest of the
Assaouas block, for a total of approximately
3,000 square kilometers of mineral rights.
Niger is the world’s 4th largest uranium producer with annual production of approximately 3,500 tonnes of U3O8.
Business in Africa (Johannesburg)
Eritrea
Potable Water Supply Project in
Godeiti Inaugurated
A potable water supply projects built at
a cost of 1 million Nakfa has been inaugurated in Godeiti, Dekemhare sub-zone of
the Southern region. The project sponsored
by development partners includes a water
tanker with a capacity of holding 40,000
liters and four distribution centers.
Shabait.com
Chad
Government Lifts Prior Censorship
for Privately-Owned Print Media
On 30 May 2007, Reporters Without
Borders was told by the Chadian government that the country’s newspapers could
again be published without having to obtain
prior approval for each issue from a censorship committee that was set up under a state
of emergency in November 2006.
“Th is is a great relief,” the press freedom
organisation said. “The Chadian government has fi nally realised that all censorship
did was to humiliate and undermine the
press, which was unfairly blamed for many
problems.”
The censorship was proclaimed on 13 November 2006 after a series of deadly clashes
between Arab and non-Arab communities
in the east of the country.
Reporters sans Frontières (Paris)
Botswana
Nigerian Movies Take Country
By Storm
The Nigerian movie industry or Nollywood as it is commonly known, is taking
Botswana by storm. Nollywood is regarded
as the third largest movie industry in the
world after Hollywood (United States) and
Bollywood (India).
The Nigerian fi lms, which are packaged
in DVDs, have found a good market in Botswana. Despite the poorly produced quality
of the movies mostly sold by Chinese traders
sell like hot cake.
Although it is clear that the DVDs are
pirated, people still go for them. The fi lms
portray Nigerian social life, about juju, love
life and, of course, the Naira (the Nigerian
currency).
The other side of Nigerian life or rather
culture that is portrayed in fi lms is bribery.
The police officers easily accept any fee to
release suspects.
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
Mozambique
Govt considers legalising abortion
to stem maternal death
Mozambique government is considering
legalising abortion because of a high rate of
maternal deaths due to illegal, unsafe abortions. The country may eventually become
one of the few Africa countries where abortion is available on demand.
The push for the new legislation, officially
introduced earlier this year, has come from
the Mozambican ministry of health, arguing that unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of death among pregnant women
in the country. Mozambique has one of the
highest maternal death rates in the world.
Botched abortions accounted for an estimated 11 percent of maternal fatalities.
IRIN
27
27.06.2007 17:47:41
ENTERTAINMENT
Simphiwe Dana:
Behold a Star is Born!
By Mola Ajisafe
One could hardly believe it that Simphiwe
Dana, an IT professional, started her professional music career just three years ago.
She is now the toast of the music industry
and music lovers of her native South Africa where she is regarded as heir apparent to the crown of Mama Africa, Miriam
Makeba. She has won SA Music Award,
equivalent of Grammy Award, two times
consecutively.
Last year, the South African Embassy
invited her to perform during the country’s
Freedom Day anniversary concert in Berne.
There and then, many saw in her a rising
music star. My effort to have a chat with her
after the concert could not materialise because of a long queue of people wanting to
meet and speak with her. She came back to
Switzerland this year, courtesy of Afro-Pfingsten festival in Winterthur which created
an opportunity for me not only to watch her
show but also to have a brief interview with
her. When I got to the venue of interview,
there were already eight reporters waiting
their turn.
She said of her music, “they classified it
in South Africa as African-Soul Jazz but for
me it is simply soul music rendered from an
African perspective.”
Speaking
of
Soul reminded me
of James Brown,
the Godfather of
Soul and the way
he danced on the
stage. His gyration
combined
with
fantastic footwork
was highly entertaining and admired by his fans.
He danced with
vigour like someone possessed.
She, unlike him, moves her body delicately and majestically in harmony with the
rhythm of the music. She is sometimes so
engulfed in the music that she hardly opens
her eyes while dancing or singing. Her sweet
Simphiwe, extreme right with her group performing
and captivating voice penetrates right into
one’s soul and transforms one into another
planet.
Simphiwe, the daughter of a priest and
a devout Christian mother described herself as a “humanist”; one who cares about
people and what affects
them. Commenting on
the effect of apartheid on
her life, she said, “it made
people lose their self-esteem, myself included.
It affected my identity,
what I was and was not.”
However she feels no
animosity towards the
perpetrators of apartheid
in spite of some of them
not being apologetic. “I
do not hate them because
hatred will destroy me.”
She added that she was grateful to some of
them who saw the error of their actions and
have tried to make amends by “helping us
back on our feet.”
After her concert in Winterthur, which
was a sellout, she left for London for another
concert, and she is expected back in Switzerland in July to perform at Locarno fi lm
festival.
“Apartheid made
people lose their
self-esteem, myself
included. It affected
my identity, what
I was and was not.”
28
Simphiwe admiring a copy of Africa Link
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:41
ENTERTAINMENT
Atongo Zimba Riding High
with Afro-Funky Jazz
Atongo Zimba a Ghanaian singer based
in London took Afro-Pfi ngsten festival by
storm with his Afro-funky Jazz sound. Hundreds trooped into the concert hall of the
festival in Winterthur to watch him playing
sounds that remind one of Afrobeat a la Fela
Anikulapo-Kuti though with an additional
local instruments to give it originality.
Atongo is not new to Switzerland. He
was here in 1996 from Ghana to perform
at the festival, the same that brought him
this year. He has since relocated to London,
with his band based in Holland where his
manager lives.
He fondly remembered his visit in 1996
when he had to extend his 15 days j30
Atongo in action
stay to 32 because of more demands for
him to perform in different places across the
country.
Though history did not repeat itself this
time around he was impressed by the turnout at his concert which shows his music is
being appreciated.
The band chorus girls at Winterthur show
Atongo in action
July / August 2007
29
27.06.2007 17:47:45
SPORTS
Uganda
Fufa, MTN Sign Shs 900m Deal
MTN and the Federation of Uganda
Football Association (Fufa) sealed a 3-year
deal in which the telecommunication company was recognised as the official sponsor
of the National team, Cranes.
The deal worths Shs 900m, was signed recently by MTN’s Chief Commercial Officer
Erik Van Veen and Fufa President Lawrence
Mulindwa on behalf of their respective entities.
Van Veen said, “We have had discussions
with Fufa for the last six months and because
of its transparency and its long term vision
for the sport, we have reached this conclusion.”
“Th is is a beautiful marriage,” Fufa head
of legal department Fred Muwema said of
the deal that also includes qualification bonuses for the MTN Africa Cup of Nations
in Ghana 2008 ($ 75,000) and World Cup
2010 in South Africa ($ 150,000).
“I hope this is a marriage for life not
only three years,” Fufa president Lawrence Mulindwa commented. “We shall be
transparent and promise to account for all
funds.”
Arusha
ADFA Gets New Leaders
Arusha District Football Association has
elected new office bearers.
The new leaders are: Hussein Lembrit
(chairman), Vice chairman Dunia Dionis,
Robert Munisi secretary general, assistant
secretary general – Seif Nassoro, and Sarubare J. Lendisa treasury.
Executive committee members are: Elisha Sironga, Abdul Razak Kondo and David
Nyambele.
The representative to the regional committee is Omar Walii Ally.
The newly elected officers will be in office
for a period of three years, they promised
to identify talents among the youth and develop them.
Arusha Times (Arusha)
Zimbabwe
FIFA to Continue Assisting ZIFA
World soccer governing body FIFA have
renewed their interest in assisting ZIFA to
complete work at their envisaged centre of
30
excellence – the ZIFA Village – which is still
to become fully functional six years after it
was set up.
Successive ZIFA executives have somehow failed to ensure the completion of the
Village in Mt Hampden, which is expected
to house a national academy as well as help
cut costs for the association by accommodating the various national teams whenever
they go into camp.
morning after being crowned World Cricket
League champions.
It was double joy when the cricketers who
had been following the game via sms learnt
that the football stars – Cranes – had gotten
the better of their highly rated Nigerian
counterparts with a 2-1 triumph.
Team manager William Kibuuka-Musoke, also Uganda Cricket Association
(UCA) chairman, said that it was a great
result for the team and a reward for “total
sacrifice.”
Uganda and runners up Argentina join
hosts Namibia, Oman, Denmark and UAE
in Windhoek in the Division II in November later this year and have a chance of playing in the 2011 World Cup.
Egypt
Fattah, the Finest Referee in Africa
Josef Blatter, FIFA President
Rushwaya, speaking from Zurich, said
the ZIFA delegation had seized the opportunity of the 57th FIFA Congress in Zurich
to also table their bid for continued support
from the international body to help them
complete work at the village.
ZIFA have been using part of the
US$ 250,000 annual grant they get from
FIFA through the world body’s fi nancial assistance programme to renovate the village
as well as build the capacities for junior football, the women’s game, referees, coaches
and sports medicine.
The Herald (Harare)
Uganda
Team crowned World Cricket
League champions
From two different time zones, the
cricket team and Cranes gave several sports
loving Ugandans across the globe a sense of
belonging when they achieved the unlikely
in contrasting circumstances.
In Australia, the cricketers ignited fi re
and burned down Darwin in typical Ugandan party style till the wee hours of the
The Egyptian referee who handled the
critical Nations Cup qualifier between
Uganda and Nigeria last month is the fi nest
Africa has to offer.
“He’s the best official without a doubt.
FIFA ranks him highly so is CAF. His credentials are truly impeccable,” FIFA referee,
Roberto Bukenya commented.
Bukenya’s comments are in harmony with
those of Egypt-based Ugandan striker Geoffrey Massa who described Essam Abdul-Fattah as “the best in Africa” pre-match.
The Egyptian Air Force pilot passed the
‘courage test’ the match posed by not only
awarding two quick penalties against Nigeria’s star-studded outfit but also booking African football icon, Kanu Nwankwo when
he dared question the fi rst spot-kick.
Abdul-Fattah was the only Arab referee,
and one of two Africans, in the 2006 World
Cup.
However, Fifa commended the Egyptian for his temperament and good-decision-making after reviewing the tapes and
concluding that Nakamura had been shoved
instead.
New Vision (Kampala)
YOUR VOICE
IN SWITZERLAND:
THE
VOICE
OF
AFRICA
IN
SWITZERLAND
July / August 2007
27.06.2007 17:47:47
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27.06.2007 17:47:48
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27.06.2007 17:47:49

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