By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Dec 20, 2011 (IPS) – Duduzile Sibanda takes a break from preparing her long stretch of land for her maize crop in rural Mberengwa, in Zimbabwe’s Midlands province. She wipes her brow under the scorching sun and looks upwards. The sparse clouds are a cause of concern as she studies the sky and wonders aloud when the “heavens will weep.” Continue reading
The government’s confused strategy has made little headway against the Boko Haram militia’s shootings and bombings across northern Nigeria. The security services have turned the capital, Abuja, into an armed camp replete with spy cameras at major road junctions. On 13 December, President Goodluck Jonathan announced that the government would spend a staggering 921 billion naira (US$5.5 bn.) of the N4,749 bn. budget for 2012 on the armed forces and security services. This is a Boko Haram campaign bonanza for the generals and private security companies but the huge diversion of resources will not achieve its aims without a clear strategy to address the grievances that the militants exploit. Continue reading
A sign informing about the Belo Monte dam construction work The company behind the Belo Monte project says they are on schedule
A judge in Brazil has revoked a decision which had halted work on the Belo Monte dam in the Amazon region. Judge Carlos Castro Martins reversed the order he had issued in September, which had barred any work on the Belo Monte dam that interfered with the natural flow of the Xingu river. He said the company behind the project had subsequently shown its work would not harm local fishing. Continue reading
CAPE TOWN, December 16, 2011 (CISA) -The new secretary-general of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference views her appointment as a natural extension of the many tasks performed by women in the church. “I see my appointment as recognition from the bishops of the work that women are doing in this part of the world,” Sister Hermenegild Makoro said in a December 12 telephone interview, noting that “in parishes women are talking the lead. ” According to CNS the job “will be challenging, especially for me as a woman after the position has been held by men for so many years,” said Sister Hermenegild, who has served a term as provincial superior of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood. Continue reading
By KOIGI wa WAMWERE
Looking at all those aspiring for the presidency, I have an eerie feeling that next year’s elections may give Kenyans worse leaders than we have today. Several reasons cause this fear. Kenyans seem so used to having bad leaders that their desire for better leadership is more or less dead. Should thieves, ethnic warlords and con men vie for leadership next year, they will have better chances of winning elections than good people. Continue reading
By Amanda Wilson
WASHINGTON, Dec 15, 2011 (IPS) – As South Sudan maps out its economic future at the South Sudan International Engagement Conference (IEC) this week in Washington, women from the new country called on donors to invest in projects that ensure women benefit equally from development plans. Continue reading
FAQs on How Land Grabs Contribute to Hunger and Conflict
While individuals across the US and EU offer support to victims of famine and conflict in Africa, their countries’ energy policies and development agendas take food and other resources away from Africans–while also harming the environment. How are US and EU energy policies connected with land grabs in Africa? The trend of converting fertile African land to agrofuel plantations is accelerating as more governments and corporations promote agrofuels as a solution to climate change and dependency on fossil fuels. The United States and the European Union, for example, have set targets to replace 30 percent and 10 percent, respectively, of their gasoline with agrofuels. Continue reading
