Burundi: En bref ce 14 AVRIL 2006 ...

Burundi : 34 ans après, le couvre-feu est levé
tf1.lci.fr / 14 avril 2006

Le gouvernement du Burundi a décidé de lever le couvre-feu en vigueur depuis 1972, en raison de l'"amélioration" de la sécurité intérieure dans ce pays qui tente de sortir de 12 ans de guerre civile. Désormais, "tout le monde est libre de circuler quand il veut et où il veut pendant la nuit", ont expliqué les autorités.
Ce couvre-feu, qui avait été instauré à la suite des massacres interethniques de 1972, était appliqué strictement depuis 1993 et le début de la guerre civile qui frappe ce petit pays d'Afrique centrale.

32 millions de dollars pour relancer l'agriculture
PANAPRESS / vendredi 14 avril

BURUNDI
Le Fonds international pour le développement agricole (FIDA) et l'Organisation des pays exportateurs du pétrole (OPEP) ont accordé au Burundi un crédit de 32,6 millions de dollars US pour relancer dans ce pays le secteur de l'agriculture mis à mal par plus d'une décennie de guerre civile, a appris la PANA jeudi de source officielle à Bujumbura.
Le crédit du FIDA s'élève à 16,37 millions de dollars, tandis que celui de l'OPEP est de 14,6 millions de dollars.
Quant au gouvernement burundais, il participe à cette relance de l'agriculture avec une contribution de 1,6 million, alors que les populations bénéficiaires doivent s'acquitter d'un montant symbolique de 80.000 dollars, a indiqué jeudi à la presse Damase Ntiranyibagira, coordonnateur national du Programme transitoire de reconstruction post-conflit au Burundi.
"Près de 1.350.000 personnes des provinces du Sud et de l'Est, qui ont été les plus durement affectées par la guerre, bénéficieront des bienfaits du projet de relance agricole qui s'étend sur sept ans", a indiqué Ntiranyibagira.
A côté des secteurs prioritaires comme l'agriculture, l'élevage, la restauration et l'environnement, le projet aidera aussi à la réhabilitation ou à la construction de nouvelles pistes rurales, à l'adduction en eau potable et à la bonne gouvernance locale, selon toujours Ntiranyibagira.
"Les crédits du FIDA et de l'OPEP seront remboursés sur 50 ans et à des taux d'intérêt presque nuls", a affirmé Ntiranyibagira.

BURUNDI: Demobilisation camp for FNL rebels opened
IRIN / 14 Apr 2006

BUJUMBURA, 14 April (IRIN) - A demobilisation camp that is scheduled to host combatants of Burundi's remaining rebel group, the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) has been opened in the northwestern province of Bubanza, a stronghold of the rebel group.
The decision to open the camp, to be manned by the Burundi National Defence Force, was made at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
At the same time, preparations are on going for FNL-government negotiations, a communiqué issued after the cabinet meeting said. The government has sent a team to Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania, where the talks are set to be held.
The emissaries have been sent to hold separate discussions with two factions of the FNL - one led by Agathon Rwasa and the other by Jean-Bosco Sindayigaya. Rwasa recently offered to hold unconditional peace talks with the government.
Following Rwasa's offer, security has improved in parts of the country where the rebel group is active. Subsequently, the government has lifted a 12-6 am countrywide curfew it had imposed. "The government continues to implement its plan of combating any form of insecurity disturbing order and tranquillity of the citizens," the communiqué said.
Bubanza Governor Pascal Nyabenda confirmed that security had improved in the province. "Local residents have helped the administration and security forces to track down FNL combatants and other people involved in subversive activities," he said.
However, the government urged the public to remain vigilant, as the FNL was still active in parts of the country. An FNL combatant, Emmanuel Harumukama, was captured Thursday at Matara in Bujumbura Rural Province. "I entered Burundi from Musigati [Commune] while coming from Kamanyola in the Democratic Republic Congo," he said on national television.
Nyabenda said FNL combatants operate from Kibira Forest, notably in Musigati and in Rukoko Park in Gihanga commune. He said eight other armed FNL combatants were captured in recent weeks at Mpanda. Nyabenda said the public had helped in the capture of the FNL combatants.

RWANDA - Génocide de 1994 : Un ancien maire condamné à 15 ans de prison
lequotidien.sn / Vendredi 14 avril 2006

Un ancien maire rwandais a été condamné à 15 ans de prison, jeudi, par le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (Tpir), pour son rôle dans le massacre d’un millier de personnes lors du génocide de 1994. Paul Bisengimina, 58 ans, a accepté de plaider coupable de deux chefs d’inculpation pour meurtre et extermination en échange de l’abandon par l’accusation de huit autres chefs. Il a déjà purgé quatre ans de détention provisoire. L’ancien maire de Gikoro, près de la capitale, est impliqué dans le massacre d’un millier de Tutsis qui avaient trouvé refuge dans une église.
La présidente du Tpir d’Arusha (Tanzanie), Arlette Ramaroson, a observé que «l’accusé se trouvait dans l’église Musha et savait que cette présence encouragerait le meurtre de civils, notamment de réfugiés tutsis». Il «savait également que des armes avaient été distribuées pour attaquer les réfugiés». Plus de 500 000 Tutsis et Hutus modérés ont été tués lors du génocide de 1994 orchestré par les autorités. Paul Bisengimana a été arrêté au Mali en 2001 et transféré en Tanzanie en 2002. Le Tpir a condamné 23 personnes et prononcé trois acquittements depuis sa création en 1994.

ANGOLA

Retour au pays du Président de l`UNITA
Angop. / 14/04

Luanda - Le President de l`UNITA, (principal parti de l`opposition), Isaias Samakuva, a regagné Luanda ce vendredi, en provenance de Windhoek, en Namibie, où il a participé à la Xème Conférence internationale dénommée "Windhoek Dialog".
Se confiant à la presse, à l`aéroport international, le chef de l`UNITA a déclaré que la conférence avait adopté diverses résolutions, notamment pour les "Conflits en Afrique", "les Processus de Démocratisation", "la Bonne Gouvernance" et "la lutte contre la corruption".
"Pour l`Angola et le Zimbabwé, la conférence a recommandé la promotion d`une grande ouverture, en ce qui concerne la libre expression des personnes, la réalisation des élections et les aspects liés à la bonne familiarité sans intimidation de la partdu pouvoir", a-t-il révélé.
Les participants ont également recommandé que l`Union Africaine, les Nations Unies et l`Union Européenne continuent en faveur de la libre circulation de personnes, de l`assistance humanitaire et principalement pour que s`établisse la paix en Afrique.
Le forum a discuté des questions relatives à la situation en Côte d`Ivoire, à Darfur (Soudan), avec le conflit de l`Ouganda, et a dressé un bilan des dix années de l`Organisation, ayant constaté une augmentation du nombre des membres.
Isaías Samakuva a fait état du "Déclin de la lutte contre la Corruption dans quelques pays d`Afrique", thème qui a suscité certain débat, pour être une question qui préoccupe les dirigeants africains.
"Il a été intéressant de voir la contribution des divers pays et délégués, surtout les formes dont se présente la corruption ou le détournement des biens publics pour satisfaire les intérêts personnels", a dit le président du plus grand parti de l`opposition.
"Windhoek Dialog" est une conférence internationale qui regroupe vingt-cinq partis politiques de centre et gauche du continent africain.

Planning Minister Defends Training Of Cadres As 2006 Priority
Angop / 04/14

Luanda- Angola`s Planning Minister, Ana Dias Lourenço defended on Thursday, here, that the technical and specialised training of cadres are the sector`s main priority for the year 2006.
According to the government official, who was speaking at the end of the 2nd Consultative Council of the Planning Ministry, opened on Tuesday, said that the training, sharing of data between technicians in order to strengthen the statistic of information system must be the elements for the strategic development of the country.
In her point of view, there is a need for a dialogue and exchange of ideas amongst cadres, because they are the ones who will control all the statistic information of the country, and for the effect, they need to control it.
Ana Dias concluded her speech auguring that until the end of year, the sector will have a satisfactory result of the work being carried out.
The forum gathered experts of statistics of various Ministerial organs and aimed at reinforcing the methodological bases for the re-launching of the planning process, in order to enable the sensitisation on the importance of statistic information for development.
Held from April 11 to 13 under the motto "Economic programming and the importance of statistic information for development", the event debated other matters related to the subject.

Cholera in Angola: Almost 500 new cases every day. MSF urges Government to take much stronger action
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - International / 14 Apr 2006

MSF: Luanda - As the outbreak of cholera is rapidly spreading in Angola's capital Luanda and into other parts of the country, the international humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges the Angolan authorities to officially declare the outbreak and immediately take all the necessary measures needed for controlling it.
Today, the total number of confirmed cases of cholera stands at 8,930, with 413 people reported to have died from cholera. At the end of last week, almost 250 new patients were arriving daily in the cholera treatment centres of MSF. This week that number has doubled to 500 new cases per day.
"We are afraid the outbreak is out of control," says Richard Veerman, MSF's Head of Mission in Angola. "Cholera was already spreading at a very fast rate. Yesterday it started raining, which will only make it more difficult to stop the epidemic."
MSF is concerned about the apparent lack of urgency on the side of the Angolan authorities. Says Veerman, "The government should officially declare the cholera outbreak as an emergency and request immediate international assistance."
According to Veerman, "the authorities must dramatically increase the medical supplies and the number of health workers they make available for fighting cholera. They must do much more in providing safe drinking water to the population in and around affected areas. And they will have to dramatically step up their information campaign towards Angolans to increase awareness of what people can do to prevent infection, including in provinces that have not yet been reached by the outbreak."
Though collaboration with the Ministry of Health for administrative issues has been good, MSF urges the authorities to facilitate rapid clearance from customs of additional relief supplies. Materials such as Ringer lactate and chlorine need to be available immediately as MSF's stock is running low.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, almost 5,000 people have been treated by MSF in its five cholera centres in Luanda. MSF is currently stepping up its activities in response to the outbreak by sending additional medical staff and materials to the provinces of Bengo, Benguela, Cuanza Norte and Malanga. In Bengo MSF opened a cholera centre yesterday.
"So far we have been able to treat all cholera-infected people that came to our centres," says Luis Encinas, Medical Emergency Coordinator. "But the current trend of the epidemic suggests that we will see many more cases in the coming days and weeks. Our cholera centres are running at maximum capacity. Without a dramatically increased effort from others, starting with the authorities, we will probably see many more people fall ill and die."
Only selected MSF documents are posted on Alertnet. For a complete selection of MSF news, please visit the MSF International website

Angola : Multisectorial Commission Devises Strategies Against Bird Flu
By Andnetwork .com / April 14, 2006

The Multsectorial Commission Against Bird Flu, co-ordinated by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gilberto Lutucuta, met yesterday in Luanda to discuss the National Contingency and Emergency Plan Against Bird Flu (Pncega).
According to the director General of the Institute of Veterinary Services, Filipe Vissesse, the meeting aimed at discussing the master-lines of the programme and the actions to be taken.
The current proposal, he referred, is mainly focused on the training of personnel and technical component, as well as on actions to be carried out at local and central level.
As concrete actions, Mr Vissesse said that, at the moment, the commission is following up the development of the disease in the continent, where countries like Nigeria, Niger, Egypt, Burkina Faso and Cameroon have already been affected.

Angola Supreme Court Aspires For Greater Performance In Time Of Peace
Andnetwork .com / April 14, 2006

The Chief Justice, Cristiano André, said on Wednesday in Luanda that the 16 years of the existence of the judicial organ were difficult periods, in which it was only possible to improve the situation in the last four years, with the attainment of peace in the country.
The judge made this conclusion while speaking on the occasion of the 16th anniversary of this State institution`s existence, being celebrated on Wednesday.
Mr André said that those dark periods have also been reflected in the performance of the daily duties, since there are not yet created the desired conditions, pointing out as reference the lack of skilful staff.
He advocated that with the setting up of the National Institute of Judiciary Studies (INEJ), that trains judges and prosecutors, the situation will get better, but he referred that it is needed the collaboration of the Government, in providing good wages, working conditions among other presuppositions.
According to the interlocutor, now the main challenge of the institution is the solid training of staff, in order for them to better serve the citizens and the country.
The Angolan Supreme Court started functioning in April 12, 1990, having as its first Chief Justice, the late judge João Felizardo Muvimba, who was then replaced by Cristiano André in 1997.

UGANDA

L'Ouganda cherche à engager des enseignants de swahili depuis le Kenya
XINHUA / 14 avril 2006

OUGANDA
L'Ouganda envisage de recruter des enseignants de swahili, une langue largement employée dans les pays d'Afrique de l'est, depuis le Kenya, où l'on compte un bon nombre d'enseignants de cette langue non embauchés, a rapporté vendredi la presse locale.
"Nous cherchons à faire de souahéli un sujet examinable, mais nous sommes affrontés à un manque d'enseignants", a déclaré Tony Mukasa, président de l'institution "Inter-Capital Cities Federation of Headteachers Associations of East Africa".
L'an dernier, le ministère ougandais de l'Education a décidé d'introduire le swahili au programme d'éducation des écoles primaires, mais ce projet s'est heurté à un manque du personnel.
M. Mukasa a demandé au Kenya de lui fournir 300 enseignants de souahéli dans le cadre d'un projet pilote, alors que les autorités kenyanes ont affirmé un grand nombre d'enseignants de cette langue inactifs, qui pourraient travailler en Ouganda.

Uganda : Museveni speaks on Besigye ruling
The Monitor / ANDnetwork .com / April 14, 2006

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has said the Supreme Court ruling which validated his February 23 re-election victory cemented his conviction that opposition leader Kizza Besigye was - right from the outset destined to lose. He also expressed surprise that “one or two” judges could have ruled in favour of Besigye.
Speaking at a party he threw for his lawyers on April 6 largely to celebrate the Supreme Court victory, Mr Museveni dismissed the Forum for Democratic Change leader’s election petition as a frivolous project. He took a swipe at the FDC establishment, saying his win confirmed that he had not lied when he said the party did not have it within their means to win the February 23 polls.
“In fact during the campaigns, when I was campaigning somewhere in the North, I said, ‘You can be sure, FDC will not win the elections. This is because you can tell from the way they were talking…If they were sure, there is no way they could talk the way they are talking,’” he said.
Museveni said some of the claims on which the petition was based were far divorced from reality.
“Some of the arguments I was hearing in the courts were really frivolous; like this statistician who just engaged in some fiction, trying to equate voters with people who were enumerated in a given area during the census of 2001 or other censuses.”
Dr Jonathan Odwee, a Makerere University statistician, basing on his analysis which involved 38 percent of the results for which he had tally sheets, swore an affidavit saying the incumbent could not have polled more than 48 per cent of the valid votes.
His affidavit, which was later discredited by other statisticians, was one of the highlights of the hearing of the FDC leader’s petition.
Museveni attempted to make a joke of Odwee’s affidavit, saying the voting patterns of Ugandans were much more complicated than Odwee had claimed. “It is however [a] good experience for you, and very good for our democracy to engage in all these brain battles to distill the truth,” he said.
On April 6, by a 4/3 majority decision, the Supreme Court justices concluded that the alleged malpractices and non-compliance with electoral law did not affect the results of the election in a substantial manner.
However, by unanimous decision, the Supreme Court faulted the Electoral Commission on the issue of non-compliance with the electoral laws, and concurred that the electoral process was deficient in fairness. Museveni, though, said the EC did a “commendable” job and suggested that the commission’s erroneous ways may have benefited all the candidates.
“In this argument of non-compliance, if there was any, it actually affected the Movement more than anybody else. I am therefore surprised that the FDCs are talking about non-compliance,” he said.
“For somebody to stand there and challenge Dr [Badru] Kiggundu’s work and say this work was not good, to the extent that the outcome of that work be nullified, is really not serious.”
Following the Supreme Court ruling, the future of the EC has been under the spotlight, with most opposition politicians calling for a review of its status and resignation of the commissioners. They have argued that the commission’s employees must enjoy security of tenure and that the opposition must be involved in the constitution of a new commission. The Uganda Peoples Congress, like FDC has called for disbandment of the EC.
But top EC officials have remained resolute; EC secretary Sam Rwakoojo recently told Daily Monitor that they were not taking the FDC’s complaints seriously. “I think that Ugandans are better judges and all the court reports are available,” he said.
“We do not have to get concerned about what the FDC have to say.”
Museveni won the February 23 elections with 59 percent of the vote, while Besigye, who has been his most credible challenger since 2001, polled 37 percent.
It was the second time in five years that Besigye was losing a petition in which the judges concurred that there was no fairness in the electoral process.
Museveni, however, expressed surprise that some judges have sided with the petitioner. “And I am surprised that there are one or two judges who took that line,” he said.

Uganda : Museveni declines job at UN
New Vision / ANDnetwork .com / April 14, 2006

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has disclosed that Western ambassadors accredited to Uganda were pressurising him to retire and get a UN job, which he declined.
Museveni said he declined the job because his politics is based on conviction and is mission-oriented. “To do what in the UN? To be a clerk?” Museveni asked, while meeting members of the NRM task force committees from Lango and Acholi regions at his country home in Rwakitura.
First deputy premier and disaster preparedness minister Moses Ali and state security minister Betty Akech led the delegation. Moses Ali is also the vice-chairman of the NRM.
Museveni is currently meeting NRM task force members from all regions.
Tamale Mirundi, the deputy press secretary, said Museveni told the members that the Europeans look down upon Africans because they think that they are all job-seekers. Museveni said if he retired, he would continue working for his people until death and would never take up a UN job.
He said he was ready to retire but the people who were telling him to retire like Bidandi Ssali and Eriya Kategaya had already deviated from the NRM mission and could not retire when the mission was insecure.
He said from his school days, his mission was to change the lives of his people from nomadic life to modern farming, which he said he had accomplished.
“My decisions have always been made in order to achieve a mission. In the early seventies, I temporarily joined UPC because it could help people and, secondly, because Milton Obote was pretending to be Pan-Africanist but was double-faced. That is why I decided to fight Idi Amin because I wanted to achieve Pan- Africanism,” Museveni said.
He blamed UPC stalwart Adoko Nekyon and Obote for undermining the East African federation, which should have been achieved in the early 1960s.
“When Obote realised that the East African federation was about to be realised, he replaced Grace Ibingira, Uganda’s chief negotiator in the East African federation talks, with Nekyon to frustrate the efforts.
Museveni advised NRM leaders to develop their areas, national and continental missions. He appealed to them to give guidance to peasants for development.
Museveni attributed the rampant wrangles in NRM to lack of committed conviction and mission. “If they share the same ideas, why should one quarrel after losing to the other?” he asked.
On the rehabilitation of northern Uganda, Museveni said NRM cadres would take the lead. He said the war had taken long but had ended with better results.
“The whole of northern Uganda and southern Sudan are going to be permanently peaceful,” said Museveni.
The leaders attributed the dismal performance of NRM in the region on lies, intimidation and unfulfilled pledges by the Government. They told the President that although the Movement should receive new cadres from the opposition, this should be done carefully because it could demoralise those who have served it longer.
The leaders said people masquerading as State House employees were intimidating their people. They demanded money collected by Kakooza Mutale under the Kalangala Action Plan for loans be returned.

UGANDA : Tightens noose around NGOs
Xinhua / Andnetwork .com / April 14, 2006

The Ugandan government has issued tough guidelines on the operation of local and international non- governmental-organizations (NGOs) in the country.
The Minister of State for Information Nsaba Buturo told the weekly press briefing in Kampala on Thursday that security agencies will be included in the vetting process of local and international NGOs.
The Ugandan government accused NGOs of undermining the country' s national interest by introducing values that are contradicting with that of the Ugandans.
He said among other things they exaggerate the effect of the war in the northern part of the country.
"These NGO have been undermining the country's security interests by telling lies on what is going on in the northern Uganda. This time round they will not have space to propagate their ideas," said Buturo.
A group of NGOs recently issued a stunning report in which they indicated that the number of people who die in the war-torn northern Uganda is three times higher than that recorded in Iraq on a daily basis. But the government refuted the reports as unture.
Buturo also accused the NGOs of fronting external interest and abandoning the work they were licensed to do.
"We have found out that some of these civil society organizations are not actually doing what they are supposed to do but advance external interests. This is not going to work, we are not going to allow them ride on the backs of Ugandans for their selfish interests," he said.
President Yoweri Museveni was due to meet NGO leaders at his country home in Rwakitura, western Uganda on Thursday, according to the state-owned New Vision daily on Thursday.
The country's parliament passed the NGO Registration bill about a week ago in which legislators endorsed NGOs to be vetted by security agencies before they are licensed.

UGANDA : To benefit from Lake Victoria research
ANGOP / Andnetwork .com / April 14, 2006

Uganda is among the six African countries that are to benefit from a 1 million U.S. dollars Lake Victoria grant from Belgium`s Flemish Community.
Henry Ntale, an official at the African Ministers Council on Water Kampala office told Xinhua on Wednesday that the Flemish Community has given the Nile Basin countries 1 million dollars to carry out research of the utilization of the Nile waters by the six African countries along the Nile.
The other countries that will benefit from the fund are Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.
Ntale said the research project will be launched in Egypt in August this year and will last for four years, adding that various committees have been formed to coordinate the research.
Six committees have been formed and each country will have an opportunity of sending two representatives to each of the committees," said Ntale.
The research will look at issues like the ever changing climate along the Nile and find out its implication on the river, the effect of heavy soil erosion in Ethiopia and the effect of the changing rainfall pattern along the Nile among others.
He said a committee to coordinate the research was already in Kampala to meet government officials and draw up a program for the research findings to be linked to decision-makers for effective implementation.

Triple treatment cuts malaria in HIV patients
Patricia Reaney / 14 April, 2006

LONDON - Combining anti- AIDS drugs, an antibiotic and bed nets treated with insecticide could cut the rate of malaria infections in people infected with HIV by up to 95 percent, researchers said on Friday.
Malaria and HIV are leading infections in sub-Saharan Africa. In adults and children with HIV, malaria is more common and can be more severe.
"Our study was able to show that with the implementation of a few interventions the incidence of malaria can be dropped considerably," Dr Jonathan Mermin, of the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe, Uganda, said in an interview.
The researchers found that antiretroviral drugs, the antibiotic co-trimoxazole and bed nets are each effective in combating malaria in HIV patients but when combined their impact is cumulative.
Malaria, a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes, kills more than a million people a year, mostly young children in Africa.
HIV weakens the patient‘s immune system making it more vulnerable to opportunistic infections such as malaria and AIDS.
Mermin and his team studied the impact of individual and combined treatments for malaria in about 1,000 HIV positive people in Uganda.
Co-trimoxazole, which is a standard treatment worldwide for patients infected with HIV, reduced the incidence of malaria in the patients by 76 percent. When combined with anti-AIDS drugs it hit 92 percent and cut cases by up to 95 percent when the bed nets were included.
The researchers, who reported the findings in The Lancet medical journal, believe the impact of the anti-AIDS drugs was due to its effect in strengthening the immune system rather than any direct effect of the drugs on the malaria parasite.
"Although these interventions work separately, the prime message is that together they are associated with a 95 percent reduction in malaria," said Mermin.
"Malaria then becomes a rare event among this population whereas before the interventions it was quite common," he added.
Most malaria deaths occur in Africa where the disease kills a child every 30 seconds, according to the World Health Organization .
More than 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS. The majority, more than 25 million, are in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2005 about 2.4 million people in the region died from HIV/AIDS, according to the UNAIDS , which is leading the global battle against the illness.

UGANDA: Army stops escorting aid workers in the north
IRIN news / 14 Apr 2006

KAMPALA, 14 April (IRIN) - The Ugandan army has stopped providing military escorts to convoys delivering non-food aid to war-ravaged northern Uganda but relief workers say the decision is premature because the security situation in the region is still fragile.
"There is no longer need to give escorts to whoever travels on the roads. We are moving from a bad situation to an improved security situation," army spokesman Lt Chris Magezi said by phone from Gulu, 380 km north of the capital, Kampala. "The situation is much better as most major roads are now motorable without any threat of ambushes."
Aid workers in the northern region said negotiations were going on with the army to reverse the decision. "We are asking them to reconsider," one aid worker said.
Magezi said the decision had been conveyed to all humanitarian agencies working in the region. The move would free up more troops to secure thousands of displaced civilians who are being relocated to smaller camps nearer their homes. It does not affect agencies that deliver food aid such as the United Nations World Food Programme, he added.
"Our advise to the traveling public is that they should travel between 9.00am and 5.00pm [0600 and 1500 GMT] as after that time the units that patrol the roads pull back from the roads to return to camps to undertake night assignments," Magezi said. "They are back on the roads at 7.00 am [0400 GMT] to secure the passages so that people can start to travel again at 9.00 am."
In October 2005, several agencies reduced activities in the region after two relief workers were killed in ambushes by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Three weeks ago, the rebels killed a government soldier in a raid to steal food on the outskirts of Patongo, Kitgum District. This week, sources said, two incidents happened in Pader district in which some people were abducted
However, Magezi said the security situation in the region, where a rebellion pitting the army against the LRA has been raging for nearly 20 years, had improved.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 1.7 million displaced from their homes in northern Uganda and forced to live in camps since the LRA rebellion started. Rebel leader Joseph Kony and his forces have been accused of massive abuses in the region including the abductions of at least 20,000 children who are used as porters, fighters and sex slaves for rebel commanders.
A joint report by 50 aid agencies working in northern Uganda, published on 30 February, said that some 146 people die each week in the region.

Le Pakistan confirme que les forces pakistanaises tuent un membre d'Al-Qaïda
XINHUA / 2006-04-14

ISLAMABAD-- Un membre égyptien d'Al- Qaïda qui était recherché par les Etats-Unis a été abattu par les forces pakistanaises, a annoncé jeudi un responsable.
L'opération, menée contre une cache dans un village près de Miranshah, dans le Nord-Waziristan, a été lancée mercredi soir sur la base de renseignements, a indiqué le porte-parole de l'armée, Shaukat Sultan, cité par la chaîne Geo TV.
Les autorités américaines avaient fixé une récompense de 5 millions de dollars pour la capture ou la mort de Mohsin Musa Matawalli Atwah, âgé de 45 ans, qui est accusé d'avoir participé aux attaques contre les ambassades américaines en Tanzanie et au Kenya qui ont tué sept Américains et plus de 200 Africains le 7 août 1998.
Huit personnes, dont trois Pakistanais, ont été tuées au cours de l'opération dans les régions tribales du Nord-Waziristan. Fin

Tanzania : We will stop brain drain - Kikwete
IPP Media / Andnetwork .com / By Bilham Kimati / April 14, 2006

President Jakaya Kikwete has said his government would make Tanzania a conducive country to live and work in order to retain and attract qualified brains.
He said he was ambitious to retain academics and reverse the current brain drain trend.
The President made the remarks in Dar es Salaam yesterday when he inaugurated the College of Engineering and Technology of the University of Dar es Salaam.
The President said he was aware of the human resource management challenges the University of Dar es Salaam had been facing in recent years.
’For many years, university lecturers have left the country looking for better paying jobs,’ he said.
He also said decline of interest in engineering sciences among university students is a problem that could be addressed more effectively through establishment of a strong base in science subjects in secondary schools.
’I call upon the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology together with other relevant ministries and institutions to address the challenge,’ said the president.
He said viable proposals put forward, would be taken seriously by the government and various stakeholders as the country needs to harness the wealth of expertise for socio-economic development.
Commenting on the relevance of the College of Engineering and Technology, the President said Tanzania had no option other than embracing science and technology as a vital tool to accelerate development.
’If a society lacks the indigenous capacity for research development or the capacity to manage technological changes, it becomes totally dependent on the outside world.
Development in science and technology is not only an important determinant of a country’s socio-economic development, but enhances the country’s international competitiveness and its position in the world economy,’ Kikwete said.
He pledged the government’s support for the new college of Engineering and Technology.
He also promised the requisite support for institutions to promote relevant and high impact research and set up centres of excellence in specific technological fields in the country.
For the country to reduce poverty and achieve the objectives stated in the Millennium Development Goals, the President said, the existence of good physical infrastructure is essential.
The President also warned the College against complacency in the quality of education offered as more similar private colleges are being established to produce the best professionals required by both local and international labour market.
He commended the leadership, the management and the university community for its efforts to make the university, a centre of excellence in Africa.
’It is comforting to note that the expansion of the University of Dar es Salaam has gone hand-in-hand with efforts to improve quality of education offered, which is paying dividends. You should know your competitors and continuously sharpen your competitive edge,’ said the President.

Uganda to recruit Swahili teachers from Tanzania
Patrick Jaramogi / Friday, 14th April, 2006

UGANDA is to recruit Swahili teachers from Kenya and Tanzania, following their shortage in the country.
The Inter-Capital Cities Federation of headteachers Associations of East Africa chairman, Tony Mukasa, said this at a conference for headteachers from city schools in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania at the Kenya College of communication Technology in Mbagathi on Monday.
“Uganda needs Swahili teachers from Kenya and Tanzania. We want to make kiswahili an examinable subject but we lack teachers,” Mukasa said.
Last year, the Ministry of Education through the National Curriculum development Centre, included the teaching of Swahili in the primary schools’ curriculum.
The proposal, however, hit a snag following the shortage of the teachers.
Mukasa said Uganda recognised the role Kiswahili could play in strengthening the East African Community and was willing to include it in the schools’ curriculum.
He asked Kenya to give Uganda 300 Kiswahili teachers for a pilot project that would see the subject examined nationally.
Kenya’s assistant education minister Wekesa said Kenya had many unemployed Kiswahili teachers, who could be sent to Uganda.
A statement issued by the association yesterday said the headteachers also endorsed a proposal by primary school heads that the three countries’ curricular be harmonised.
The more than 300 school heads shared their experiences, including the management of free primary education and HIV/Aids in learning institutions.

Kabila, candidat critiqué
dhnet.be / 14/04/2006

Les adversaires du président congolais tentent de remettre en cause sa candidature

KINSHASA La campagne n'est peut-être pas encore ouverte pour les élections en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), mais chaque jour amène déjà son lot de critiques et de contestations.
La dernière en date concerne le président Joseph Kabila, ex-général-major des forces congolaises. En effet, plusieurs partis politiques ont récemment introduit une requête en invalidation de sa candidature à l'élection présidentielle, déclenchant une polémique sur l'appartenance du président aux forces armées, exclues du vote par la loi.
Partisans du chef de l'État et opposants ont multiplié ces derniers jours les interventions dans les médias, les premiers pour dénoncer une cabale inutile et les seconds pour fustiger une violation de la loi électorale.
Cette requête en invalidation, déposée par le député de l'opposition Jean-Pierre Lisanga Bonganga, également président de la Convention chrétienne pour la démocratie (CCD), a toutefois peu de chances d'aboutir: le général-major Kabila n'occupe plus ses fonctions au sein de la hiérarchie militaire depuis plus d'un an.
Le député Lisanga accuse la Commission électorale indépendante (CEI) d'avoir «inscrit comme électeurs deux officiers généraux», le général-major Joseph Kabila et le général d'armée Norbert Likulia Bolongo, tous deux candidats à la présidentielle, «sans preuve de leur démission» de l'armée.
Le CCD estime que «le général-major Joseph Kabila Kabange s'est fait enrôler sans au préalable obtenir de la haute hiérarchie militaire, en l'occurrence le Conseil supérieur de la défense (CSD), la preuve de sa démission acceptée par ledit organe qui par ailleurs n'a jamais été saisi de la question». Ce qui, d'après cette formation politique, constitue une violation de la loi n°04/028 du 24 décembre 2004 portant identification et enrôlement des électeurs.
La CEI a rétorqué que, conformément à la loi qui interdisait l'enregistrement comme électeurs de militaires «en fonction», elle a exigé du ministère de la Défense une liste de ces officiers, sur laquelle ne figurent ni Joseph Kabila ni Norbert Likulia.
Par ailleurs, un décret du 15 mars 2006 «portant acceptation de la démission volontaire» de Joseph Kabila des Forces armées congolaises (FARDC) a été publié le 1er avril au Journal officiel. Ce décret indique que le général Kabila avait introduit un an plus tôt, le 14 mars 2005, une requête dans ce sens.
Deux autres partis, le Front patriotique et la Cides, ont également déposé des requêtes dans le même sens. Si ces démarches ont peu de chances d'aboutir, elles sont significatives de l'ambiance générale qui entoure le futur scrutin et soulignent les difficultés à venir dans ce pays peu coutumier - doux euphémisme - du passage par les urnes.

La Cour Suprême rejette les requêtes en annulation de la candidature de Kabila
LE SOFT INTERNATIONAL2» / 14 AVRIL

La Cour Suprême de Justice a rejeté jeudi 13 avril tous les requêtes en invalidation de la candidature de Joseph Kabila Kabange à la Présidence de la République introduites par plusieurs dirigeants politiques d’opposition notamment ceux du dirigeants du Front patriotique. La Cour Suprême de Justice a invoqué le «défaut de qualité» des plaignants pour rejeter en bloc ces requêtes invoquant l’article 25 de la loi électorale.
La veille mercredi 12 avril, le Parquet avait jugé les recours «recevables» mais l’avis du ministère public ne pouvait engager les juges de la Cour.
L’avis du ministère public avait été «considéré à tort par certains comme une décision qui engageait la Cour», a commenté un proche de la présidence de la Présidence de la République.

POLEMIQUE.
À la présidence de la République, on explique que le décret portant mise en congé («démission») de l’armée de Joseph Kabila Kabange date du 15 mars. Il ne pouvait être pris plus tôt étant donné que la loi électorale n’a été promulguée que le 9 mars.
«C’est elle, la loi électorale, qui fixe les conditions pour être candidat à la Présidence de la République», a soutenu la même source. La procédure de recours en annulation de la candidature de Joseph Kabila Kabange a donné lieu ces derniers jours à des commentaires frisant la polémique dans les médias kinois.
«Le Phare» a fait état d’une déclaration du ministère public selon laquelle «Joseph Kabila s’est fait enrôler en tant que militaire». Il est vrai que cette opération d’enrôlement du Chef de l’État est intervenue bien avant la promulgation de la loi électorale. Nombre de journaux de Kinshasa font état de l’édition du journal officiel parue le 1er avril dernier dans laquelle est publié un décret signé par le président de la République.
Dont «article 1er: Est acceptée la démission volontaire du Général-major Joseph Kabila. Le présent décret entre en vigueur à la date de sa signature. Fait à Kinshasa, le 15 mars 2006. (Signé) Joseph Kabila». Le décret d’où est extrait ce texte est enregistré sous le n°06/012. Il porte «acceptation de la démission volontaire d’un officier général des Forces armées de la Rdc».

Processus électoral : Kofi Annan : « L’Onu sera avec les Congolais dans l’organisation des élections»
L’Observateur / Luc-Roger Mbala Bemba /Vendredi 14.04.2006endredi 14.04.2006

« Les Nations unies n’entendent pas lésiné sur les moyens pour aider à la réussite des élections en Rdc», a déclaré Kofi Annan

Kinshasa

Dans une déclaration faite mercredi 12 avril 2006 à la presse à New York, le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, Kofi Annan a salué la décision du Conseil de sécurité relative au déploiement de la force de paix des Nations Unies dans la région des Grands Lacs dans la perspective des élections en République démocratique du Congo. « Les Nations unies n’entendent pas lésiné, sur les moyens pour aider à la réussite des élections en Rd Congo », a dit en substance le Sg Kofi Annan.
Le lundi 10 avril 2006, le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies a voté le déploiement temporaire d’une partie de la force de paix des Nations Unies au Burundi vers la République démocratique du Congo pour renforcer la sécurité et la supervision des prochaines élections congolaises.
Adoptant à l’unanimité cette résolution, le Conseil de sécurité a approuvé le transfert d’un bataillon d’infanterie, d’un hôpital de campagne et de 50 observateurs militaires vers la mission de l’Onu en Rdc, comme propose la semaine dernière par le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, Kofi Annan.
Il faut rappeler que dans une précédente lettre au Conseil, M. Annan avait demandé un déploiement pour une période initiale s’étendant jusqu’à la fin de 2006.

Le redéploiement

Dans sa décision, le Conseil a autorisé ce transfert jusqu’au 1er juillet 2006, mais également exprimé son intention de prolonger cette durée en fonction du renouvellement des mandats des opérations en Rdc et au Burundi.
Le 7 avril dernier, la France a fait circuler au Conseil de sécurité de l’Onu un projet de résolution visant à renforcer temporairement la Mission des Nations Unies en Rdc (Monuc) pendant la période électorale, en puisant dans les effectifs de leur mission au Burundi (Onub).
Aux termes de ce projet distribué à la presse le week-end dernier, le Conseil a autorisé le transfert d’un bataillon d’infanterie, d’un hôpital militaire et de 50 observateurs militaires de l’Onub à la Monuc, jusqu’au 1er juillet 2006, avec possibilité de prolonger cette mesure.
Cette décision, conforme à la résolution 1650 du Conseil de sécurité de décembre 2005, concerne au total plus de 800 casques bleus de l’Onub. Le rôle de cette force sera d’aider à sécuriser la période électorale.

L'armée congolaise, appuyée par la Mission de l'ONU en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), a lancé hier une nouvelle opération contre des rebelles rwandais présumés dans la province du Nord Kivu, dans l'est du pays.
« Cette opération entre dans le cadre des efforts actuellement déployés, en vertu du chapitre VII du mandat de la Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République démocratique du Congo (MONUC), pour contenir ces éléments étrangers et encourager leur retour dans leur pays d'origine en exerçant sur eux une pression militaire » a déclaré le porte-parole du Secrétaire général, Stéphane Dujarric, lors de son point de presse quotidien, au siège de l'ONU, à New York.
« Aucun blessé n'a été à déplorer jusqu'à présent ».
L'opération implique 750 soldats congolais et 100 casques bleus. Elle fait suite à une augmentation des pillages dans la région ces dernières semaines.
Plusieurs opérations conjointes de l'armée congolaise de la MONUC ont eu lieu ces derniers mois en vue d'assurer le calme à l'approche des élections prévues en juin prochain, les premières élections démocratiques dans le pays depuis 40 ans.
La MONUC est la plus importante opération de maintien de la paix des Nations Unies, avec 17 000 casques bleus déployés dans le pays. Une brigade est déployée à Kinshasa, la capitale, et les trois autres dans les provinces du Nord et du Sud Kivu, dans l'Est, ainsi que dans la région d'Ituri, au Nord-Est.
La MONUC a en outre annoncé hier que deux autres bataillons seraient envoyés d'ici un mois dans la région du Katanga, au sud-est du pays, où des combats entre la milice mayi-mayi et les forces armées de RDC ont causé de nombreux déplacements de populations.
Ce renforcement de la MONUC a été autorisé en début de semaine par le Conseil de sécurité via le redéploiement de casques bleus actuellement au Burundi.

Crimes contre l’humanité à Songo Mboyo : La perpétuité pour sept militaires ex-Mlc
digitalcongo.net / vendredi 14/04/2006 VVVVvendredi 14.04.2006

Une réparation de 10.000 dollars américains est prévue pour la famille de la victime décédée. Les autres victimes des viols recevront 5.000 dollars chacune

Le Tribunal Militaire de Garnison à Songo Mboyo (600 km au nord-est de Mbandaka) a condamné, ce mercredi 12 avril 2006, à la prison à perpétuité sept militaires des Forces armées de la RD Congo (FARDC), accusés de crimes contre l’humanité. Les cinq autres accusés ont été acquittés de ces charges.
Le tribunal a mis en application le statut de Rome qui a créé la CPI en juillet 2002.
Le verdict a été rendu en présence des victimes qui se sont dit satisfaites de la décision de la justice quant aux peines prononcées ainsi qu’à la réparation des dommages et intérêts.
Une réparation de 10,000 dollars américains est prévue pour la famille de la victime décédée. Les autres victimes des viols recevront 5,000 dollars chacune. Des réparations dont les montants sont compris entre 500 et 200 dollars sont prévues pour les commerçants et villageois victimes des pillages.
Pour Luc Henkinbrandt de la Division des Droits de l’homme de la MONUC, avec cette décision, « le tribunal a mis en application le statut de Rome qui a créé la CPI en juillet 2002, et selon lequel les viols massifs sont considérés comme des crimes contre l’humanité qui sont passibles de la prison à perpétuité ». C’est la première condamnation de militaires des FARDC pour des crimes contre l’humanité à cause de viols massifs.
Le tribunal militaire a acquitté cinq autres militaires poursuivis pour viols massifs, crime contre l’humanité, pillages, incitation à s’armer, complot militaire, dissipation d’armes et munitions et usurpation de commandement. Selon le tribunal, l’insuffisance de preuves a motivé l’acquittement de ces cinq militaires.

L’état congolais condamné

Le même verdict condamne solidairement l’état congolais, qui doit assurer, en cas d’insolvabilité des militaires condamnés, le paiement des réparations aux civils.
Pour rappel, une équipe d’enquêteurs de la Division des droits de l’homme de la MONUC s’était rendu dans la province de l’Equateur, du 7 au 12 avril 2004 pour y conduire des enquêtes sur des allégations de viol à grande échelle.
L’équipe avait établi que dans la nuit du 21 décembre 2003, le bataillon des FARDC basé à Songo Mboyo, composé des troupes de l’ex-Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC), avait procédé au viol collectif d’au moins 119 femmes et filles dont un nombre important de filles de moins de 18 ans.
Le bataillon, qui s’était rebellé contre son commandant accusé d’avoir détourné une partie de leur salaire, avait pillé presque toutes les maisons des villages de Songo-Mboyo et Bongandanga.

La RDCongo accueille favorablement l'arrestation du chef des rebelles rwandais en Allemagne
XINHUA / 2006-04-14

KINSHASA-- Le chef de la diplomatie de la RDCongo, Ramazani Baya, a favorablement accueilli jeudi l'arrestation en Allemagne d'Ignace Murwanashyaka, président des Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR, aile politique des rebelles rwandais basés dans l'est de la RDCongo).
Dans un communiqué de presse parvenu à Xinhua, il a indiqué que l'arrêté se trouvait sur la liste des individus les plus recherchés ainsi que des entités faisant l'objet de sanctions en rapport avec les crimes commis spécialement en RDCongo, en vertu de la résolution 1533 adoptée en 2004 par le Conseil de sécurité de l'Onu.
M. Ramazani a ajouté que la résolution 1596 du Conseil de sécurité en 2005 a repris cette liste ainsi que les sanctions envisagées contre les concernés à savoir les mesures de restriction d'entrée et de transit à travers les pays membres de l'Onu, le gel des comptes bancaires et des avoirs ainsi que les poursuites judiciaires.
Les rebelles rwandais regroupent des ex-FAR (Forces armées rwandaises) ainsi que des miliciens Interhamwe de la communauté Hutu rwandaise, accusés d'avoir perpétré le génocide rwandais en 1994 dans lequel 800 000 Tutsis et Hutus modérés rwandais avaient été massacrés.
Ignace Murwanashyaka est aussi accusé d'avoir participé au trafic d'armes en RDCongo, en violation de l'embargo imposé sur les armes en RDCongo.
Parmi les 16 autres personnes recherchées de la liste onusienne, figurent des seigneurs de guerre de l'Ituri dans le nord-est congolais, comme Thomas Lubanga, arrêté le 17 mars dernier par la Cour pénale internationale, Khawa Panga Mandro et Germain Katanga, plus deux officiers supérieurs insurgés de l'armée congolaise, le colonel Jules Mutebusi et le général Laurent Nkunda issus de la communauté Tutsi. Fin

Le Phare / Ndobo Dita / Vendredi 14/04/2006 VVendredi 14.04.2006Vendredi 14.04.2006

Vendredi 14.04.2006
Favorisés par une gestion correcte et saine, les services postaux sont en train de renaître de leur cendre à l’Office congolaise des postes et télécommunications (Ocpt), afin de favoriser la réhabilitation effective de cet office
Kinshasa
La République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et le Japon, représentés, respectivement, par M. Sesanga Hipungu, ministre du Plan et M. Seiichi Higuchi, responsable du projet « Japan International Cooperation system », (Jics) ont signé le mercredi 12 avril 2006 dans la salle de réunions de ce Ministère un protocole d’accord relatif à l’aide alimentaire.
Le gouvernement du Japon octroie ainsi à la RDC, une aide financière, non remboursable de Yen 380.000.000, soit environ 3.240.000 dollars américains pour la fourniture de riz, l’embauche d’un agent indépendant et compétent pour les opérations d’acquisition et d’expédition du riz jusqu’au port de Matadi, dans la province du Bas-Congo.
C’est en conformité à l’échange de notes signées le 11 janvier 2006 entre le gouvernement du Japon, représenté par son Ambassadeur en RDC et le ministère des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération internationale de la RDC.
C’est dans ce cadre, que le ministère du Plan, chargé de l’exécution de cette aide a conclu ce jour un contrat avec Jics, agent retenu pour le faire.
Les services de la mission japonaise « Jics » peuvent se résumer en :

- préparation des dossiers de l’aide (contrat des services entre le gouvernement de la RDC à travers le ministère du Plan et Jics (dossier d’appel d’offres pour la fourniture de riz d’ici la fin de l’année en cours);

- organisation matérielle et administrative de la soumission à Tokyo;

- supervision du fournisseur (à partir de l’adjudication jusqu’à l’expédition des produits vers le port de débarquent, Matadi;

- secrétariat du comité (Jics assure le secrétariat du comité composé des ministères des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération internationale, du Plan et de l’Ambassade du Japon.

Le ministre du Plan remercie le gouvernement japonais

A l’issue d’une brève cérémonie de signature du protocole d’accord, le ministre Sesanga a salué le gouvernement japonais qui peut aider la population congolaise, à travers le fonds de contrepartie, à résoudre les problèmes liés à la pauvreté.
Avec ce financement, a dit l’homme d’Etat congolais, les projets en eau potable et en infrastructures communautaire.

La Belgique finance la réforme de la Fonction publique au Congo
7sur7.be / 14/04/06

La Belgique finance à concurrence de trois millions d'euros jusqu'en décembre prochain la réforme de la Fonction publique en République démocratique du Congo (RDC).

Réforme
Cette intervention s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'aide aux institutions de la transition dont le montant global est évalué à plus de 10 millions d'euros, selon la représentation à Kinshasa de la Coopération technique belge (CTB), l'organe d'exécution de la coopération gouvernementale belge. La Belgique contribue donc à cette réforme avec l'aide d'autres bailleurs de fonds. La réforme passe par un recensement général des agents de l'Etat, exécuté avec l'aide de l'Afrique du Sud, tout en mettant parallèlement en place des ministères efficaces, professionnels, de bonne gouvernance et exempts de corruption.

Simplification
Elle implique la mise en oeuvre de cellules de réforme pour cinq ministères (la Fonction publique, le Plan, le Budget, les Finances et l'Agriculture) pour lesquels des études préalables ont déjà été réalisées, puis pour l'ensemble des services de l'administration publique, regroupés selon le modèle classique des Nations Unies. Ces cellules de réforme ont pour mission, selon la CTB, de procéder à une analyse critique des organisations, afin d'en simplifier les structures pour ensuite passer aux études de faisabilité dans les différents ministères.

Fonds d'études
Elles doivent servir par ailleurs de relais entre le ministère de la Fonction publique, responsable du pilotage de la réforme et chaque ministère concerné. L'aide permettra également le financement d'une expertise au gouvernement congolais d'un montant de cinq millions d'euros déjà engagé. Il s'agit de mettre à la disposition de certains ministères et entreprises publics des experts de haut niveau. Un fonds d'études d'un million d'euros permettra le financement d'études d'identification, de faisabilité ou d'autres aspects techniques ou sectoriels d'intérêt national.

Zambia/DRC Joint Permanent Commission Committee meets in Congo
zana.gov.zm / Friday, Apr 14, 2006

Ndola, ZANIS—The equal representation committee of the Zambia/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Joint Permanent Commission is meeting in the DRC to discuss urgent issues which have arisen since the last Joint Permanent Commission meeting in Congo last October.
Copperbelt Acting Permanent Secretary Mrs. Jennipher Musonda confirmed to ZANIS on Wednesday that the Zambian delegation to the two-day meeting left on Tuesday.
Copperbelt Zambia Army Brigade Commander General Wari Liboma is leading the Zambian team to the meeting.
She said the committee, which comprises security personnel, officers from provincial administration and other Government agencies like the Zambia Revenue Authority is meeting near Kasumbalesa on the Congolese side.
Mrs. Musonda said the equal representation committee is tasked to discuss urgent matters on security and economy and any other issues that may arise from time to time before the main meeting.
The Zambia/DRC Joint Permanent Commission has among its major objectives to promote matters of mutual interest between the two countries.
At the last meeting in October last year, issues of trade, motor vehicle thefts, border passes, agriculture, security and cultural were discussed.

Huit premiers cas de chikungunya
XINHUA / 14 avril 2006

COMORES
Huit premiers cas de chikungunya ont été enregistrés dans l'Union des Comores, archipel de l'océan Indien, selon une information en provenance de Moroni, capitale comorienne.
"Huit cas de chikungunya ont été confirmés", a déclaré à la presse à Moroni le docteur Ahmed Bedja, directeur comorien des endémies et de la lutte contre les épidémies.
Il s'agit des premiers cas de chikungunya constatés pour l'année 2006.
Selon ce haut fonctionnaire comorien, sur les 16 sérums prélevés au début du mois à Anjouan, l'une des trois îles de l'Union des Comores que sont la Grande Comore, Anjouan et Mohéli, et analysés au Kenya, huit se sont révélés positifs au chikungunya.
"Nous attendons que les autorités sanitaires d'Anjouan nous fassent un point de la situaiton parce que la maladie a pu progresser depuis un mois", a ajouté le docteur.
Le chikungunya a sévi dans l'Union des Comores de janvier à juin 2005. Quelque 5 049 cas avaient été enregistrés sur cet archipel.

Menace de catastrophe humanitaire dans la Corne de l'Afrique (Secours
Belga / 14/4/2006

Islamique) WASHINGTON 14/04 (BELGA/AG) =L'organisation humanitaire Secours Islamique (Islamic Relief) a lancé jeudi un appel à l'aide internationale pour la Corne de l'Afrique, indiquant que 11 millions de personnes étaient menacées de catastrophe humanitaire après une sécheresse sans précédent dans la région. Dans une conférence au centre Woodrow Wilson, le directeur de cette organisation non-gouvernementale, dont le siège est en Grande-Bretagne, Hany Abdel Gawad El Banna, a estimé que le Kenya, l'Ethiopie et la Somalie affrontaient depuis trois ans une grave sécheresse qui mettaient des millions de personnes en danger. Plusieurs organisations internationales se sont alarmé récemment du risque d'une nouvelle famine dans la Corne de l'Afrique s'il ne pleut pas suffisamment dans les prochaines semaines.

KENYA : Mistrust keeps refugees from seeking medical attention
Relief Web / Andnetwork .com / April 14, 2006

A Kenyan medical official says the provision of health services to refugees living in Kenya is hindered by the perceived misconception, mistrust and the language barrier that the refugees have to contend with when seeking medical services.

"We have faced low utilization of our services by the refugee community due to some perceived misconception and mistrust and also due to language barriers especially among those who have recently migrated," said Irene Mukui, a district medical officer in Pumwani, where one of the health facilities serving both local and foreign residents is located.
She said the lack of identification documents was another factor turning the refugees away from the health centers.
In a country where health facilities are limited and overstretched and refugees living outside the designated camps are routinely rounded up and locked in detention, most refugees have resorted to finding alternative means of accessing health services.
"We do not require or demand for any form of identification from clients. We are open to all races and religions contrary to belief," Mukui reiterated during a visit to the Eastleigh Health Center in the outskirts of the Nairobi city Thursday.
The area, inhabited by refugees, mainly from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, is heavily populated but the extent of its population is yet to be determined as most of the refugees are usually in constant migration in and out of the area.
Mukui further said that due to the nature of population living in congested quarters, the area has had high prevalence of communicable diseases.
Early this month (April), Kenyan medical authorities declared a measles outbreak after nine children died of the disease in the area.
Last year, some 10 people died in the area after a cholera outbreak.
Medics say the area inhabited by the refugees' accounts for about 50 percent of the measles and about 30 percent of the Tuberculosis (TB) cases reported.
"With the increasing workload, one of our greatest problems has been lack of proper medical waste disposal facilities. The facility lacks incineration facility forcing us to sometimes dispose waste in a way that could endanger the staff and others," Irene said.
Relief agencies have stepped forward to give the much-needed financial support to the health facilities in the area which serves a population of about 500,000.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and German Development Corporation (GTZ) officials who visited the health facilities in the area confirmed the release of additional funds to bolster the provision of health services.
"We have offered small assistance to help reopen the center and expand its services to help citizens. We have offered basic equipment, reconnected water and electricity which was not connected for 10 years," said the UNHCR Deputy Country Representative Eddie Gedalof during a tour of the health center.
He said the two agencies have spent some 1.2 million US dollars to facilitate the provision of health services to the refugee community.

Kenya police hold suspected coke smuggler
Sapa-AFP / April 14 2006

Nairobi - Kenyan police have seized a haul of cocaine worth 41 million shillings (about R3,5-million) at Nairobi's airport and arrested a woman suspected of trafficking the drugs, officials said on Thursday.
The cocaine, which was stashed in two suitcases and weighed 8,2kg, were seized after the woman arrived on a flight from Nigeria, according to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's police commandant Beatrice Nduta.
"We arrested the woman at the baggage claim area at 7am (0400 GMT on Thursday) after she looked suspicious," she told reporters.
"She was in the Kenya Airways flight from Lagos. She is in custody and will appear in court soon," Nduta added.
Last month, Kenyan authorities destroyed about 1,2 tons of cocaine seized in two separate hauls in December 2004 in the capital Nairobi and the port town of Malindi. The size of the hauls later became the subject of corruption and evidence-tampering allegations.
In addition to the cocaine seizure, thousands of kilograms of cannabis have been seized in recent months in Kenya in another indication that the drugs trade is booming in a country where more than 60 percent of the 32 million-strong population lives on less than one dollar a day.
Police have also discovered and destroyed several acres of marijuana farmland on the high-altitude slopes of Mount Kenya. -

Kenya: Oil Pipeline Can't Meet Demand, Says PS
The Nation (Nairobi) / Jeff Otieno / April 14, 2006

Nairobi

A section of Kenya's 895 km oil pipeline may be condemned due its inability to meet the sharp rise in demand for fuel, the Energy Ministry has said.
According to the ministry, the 12-year-old section between Nairobi and Western Kenya will be rendered useless in the near future, because of its low pump capacity that has made it hard to meet demand.
To avert the impending crisis, the Ministry of Energy is pushing for the construction of a new 44 km pipeline which PS Patrick Nyoike says would cost the exchequer between $80 million (Sh5.6 billion) and $90 million (Sh6.3 billion). "The six inch in radius only meets 60 per cent of the demand for areas west of Nairobi, and the neighbouring countries and it will be a problem to supply all our customers in the near future," said Energy PS Patrick Nyoike at a workshop on energy policy held in Nairobi on Wednesday.
Apart from western Kenya, the pipeline also supplies Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and parts of Northern Tanzania.
"We will have no alternative but to replace the section with bigger pipes, if we are to meet the local and demand abroad," Mr Nyoike added.
The ministry will forward the proposal to the cabinet for approval as a matter of urgency. The 44 km section in question was constructed in 1998 and has a smaller radius than the one from Mombasa to Nairobi whose radius is 14 inch. The Nairobi-Mombasa pipeline was constructed in 1978, and has a higher pumping capacity than the other piece.
"Kenyans must now be made to understand the need to expand the pipeline, which is cost effective in oil transportation," he added.
The pump volume between Mombasa and Nairobi will be increased from 440,000 litres an hour to 880,000 litres an hour by building more pump stations. .
According to Kippra executive director Moses Ikiara, such a study would take between one and two years. Dr Ikiara said the major weakness in formulation of energy policy in Kenya was that it focused more on electricity, whose consumption was only nine per cent, and petrol ( 21 per cent) leaving out wood fuel at 70 per cent. "The focus on electricity is because of its advantages like efficiency in terms of supply and cost," said Dr Ikiara.
Due to uneven terrain and human settlement, the Government had decided to supply solar energy equipment to schools and health centres in arid and semi-arid areas rather than extending the power lines. Already, 16 schools had been supplied with power generators costing Sh5 million each. "We are planning to supply 21 more schools in the next financial year," the PS added. Garbatula was one of the schools that had benefited from solar energy equipment at a cost of Sh8 million.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Pipeline Company lost oil estimated at Sh20 million when a farmer inadvertently damaged the pipeline.
The flow of petroleum to western Kenya was halted for more than 10 hours as KPC engineers tried to repair the pipeline after the Sunday incident near Marula Farm in Naivasha. Permanent repairs were to be undertaken this week. The interruption caused a shortage of petroleum products in western Kenya, said the operations manager, a Mr P.M. Mecha.

Kenya: Good Policies And Good Politics Will End Clashes
The East African Standard (Nairobi) / April 14, 2006

Nairobi

There was a feeling on Monday that the death of 14 leaders on a peace mission in the marginalised eastern Kenya would spur a peace chorus.
That the tragedy would jerk the war-mongers in the warring communities into sense and make them realise the futility of fighting one another. Even the Government and MPs who never think outside their comfort zones said never will any part of the country be held to ransom by ethnic strife.
Now it appears that we spoke too soon. As you read this, it is business as usual in the warring fields of Samburu, Laikipia, Marsabit and Baringo districts. It is evident that 42 years of peace rhetoric has borne no fruit. This begs the question: Are our eyes trained on the wrong target?
Granted, we are living in times of intense change, and change naturally creates conflict. While we cannot choose to eliminate this conflict, we can choose how we handle it. As Prof William L Ury once said, conflict is like rainfall. Properly controlled, it can be a boon; too much at once and in the wrong place can cause a destructive flood.
The challenge is to build a flood control system. The challenge with the rising flood of disputes is to create a dispute resolution system or a conflict management system - not mere rhetoric.
It is only once it has been contained and effectively managed that conflict can be transformed from being a potential source of negative occurrences into positive resourcefulness. This is because when left unmanaged, conflict usually leads to internecine wars, deaths, wanton infrastructural and institutional destruction - as is the case in northern Kenya.
One of the Government's main objectives should be to prevent, pre-empt and transform conflicts in the country. Transformation would help us to initiate far-reaching reforms that offer hope of breaking the vicious cycle of conflict and marginalisation.
In other words, we must rethink our conflict resolution strategy, because the problem in the east is more than just clan rivalry. It is about poverty, social and economic emasculation.
Pour resources in the marginalised parts of the country and offer the pastoralists alternative sources of livelihood and 80 per cent of the causes of conflict would have been resolved. The remaining 20 per cent can be taken care of with politics and dialogue.
Can good policy and good politics go together? When you've tried everything else, it's worth a shot.

AFRIQUE DU SUD :

South Africa: Govt Pulls Back On Barring Civil Society From UN Session On HIV/Aids
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks / April 14, 2006

Johannesburg

South Africa's health ministry has reversed its decision to block the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), an AIDS lobby group, from attending the upcoming UN General Assembly Special Session on AIDS.
On Wednesday the health department released a list of groups invited to take part in the UN meeting, which included a representative from the TAC.
Minister of Health Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said in a statement, "The civil society representatives have been selected with the aim of representing a broad spectrum of sectors involved in the response to HIV and AIDS in South Africa."
The authorities had barred the TAC and its affiliate, the AIDS Law Project, and several other NGOs from attending the session in New York from 31 May to 2 June, on the grounds that they could use the platform to vilify the government.

SOUTH AFRICA: Health minister blames media for risking AIDS awareness
IRIN/PLUSNEWS / Friday 14 April 2006

JOHANNESBURG, 13 Apr 2006 () - South Africa's health minister is holding the media responsible for publicising former deputy president Jacob Zuma's testimony in his rape trial, saying it might reverse gains made in HIV/AIDS awareness.
A 31-year-old HIV-positive activist has alleged that Zuma raped her at his home in Johannesburg in November 2005. Zuma claimed he had consensual sex with the complainant, and told the court last week that he did not use a condom because he believed that the risk of a man contracting the virus from an HIV-positive woman was "minimal".
Zuma, who chaired the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) when he was deputy head of state, also told the court that he had taken a shower straight after having sex with the complainant to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.
Both Zuma's claims have been slammed by concerned HIV/AIDS activists as "irresponsible" and "inaccurate". South Africa has the world's highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS: around six million of an estimated population of 45 million are believed to be infected.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who has been in the spotlight for her support of President Thabo Mbeki's controversial views on HIV/AIDS, reportedly accused the media of misleading the public by publicising Zuma's claims.
In turn, local media and NGOs have criticised the government and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) for their silence on Zuma's misinformed pronouncements on how HIV is spread.
The Business Day newspaper commented in an editorial on Wednesday, "what is extraordinary, or perhaps tragic, is the silence from the ANC and its leaders and heavyweights as Zuma (their leader), by his own words and deeds, reveals himself as a moral fraud and an intellectual charlatan. Nothing that Zuma has said or had done in his defence in this trial is sub judice. It can be commented on, criticised and analysed. Yet what have we heard from the ANC?"
Dr Saadiq Kariem, the ANC's national health secretary, who has been under considerable pressure from certain sections of his party for supporting conventional views on HIV/AIDS, told IRIN that he was concerned with "the message [on HIV/AIDS from the trial], particularly to the youth, who are misinterpreting the claims [made by Zuma]."
Since the trial, Kariem said, he had also had to field several calls from "ANC comrades enquiring whether a shower could help get rid of HIV".
Senior ANC leaders have attributed the party's silence on the matter to internal divisions over support for Zuma. Mbeki dismissed Zuma as the country's deputy president last year after he was implicated in a high-profile fraud trial. Zuma had been regarded as a possible successor to Mbeki, who completes his final term in office in 2009. Zuma's supporters claim he is the victim of a smear campaign.
"He [Zuma] was originally part of the Mbeki camp, who were AIDS dissidents, but it was Mbeki who dismissed him. So a statement critical of Zuma's claims could immediately slot you into the pro-Mbeki camp, when one is in neither camp," said a senior ANC official.
Mazibuka Zara, a former activist with the AIDS lobby group, Treatment Action Campaign, and an official of the South African Communist Party, the ANC's alliance partner, pointed out that at the height of the controversy over the government's position on HIV/AIDS, "when there was a need for leaders to challenge the dissident views from within the movement", Zuma, who then headed SANAC, had failed to rise to the occasion.
[ENDS]

DZL imports 50 milking cows from South Africa
Tawanda Chigwaza / Friday,April14,2006

DZL Holdings has imported 50 milking cows worth $10 billion from South Africa under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) programme with the aim of enhancing local milk production.

The funds were made available through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Agricultural Sector Productivity Enhancement Facility (ASPEF). Under the BOT scheme, DZL assists under-resourced A2 farmers with dairy infrastructure, technical expertise and professional management training. The 50 cows, which have been sent to Wooler Farm, Glendale, comprise the first batch of a targeted 500 dairy cows required to rebuild the country’s ailing dairy industry. Wooler Farm is the first among nine dairy farmers earmarked to benefit from the BOT programme. Farmers will undergo intensive training in dairy production under the programme, which is expected to run for five years. The training will assist the farmers to stand on their feet once DZL pulls out. As soon as the company has recouped its investment, DZL will hand over total control of dairy operations to the farmers as a going concern. DZL group manufacturing director Mrs Theodora Nyamhande said the programme was initiated on realisation that the dairy industry was in a continuous state of decline. Milk production went up from 150 million litres in 1980 reaching a peak of 256 million litres in 1990 before declining to 97 million litres last year. In the last 10 years, the dairy herd slumped from 104 483 to just 35 000 at present. "There is potential to increase milk production to 140 million litres by the end of 2006 through concerted efforts by key stakeholders," Mrs Nyamande told journalists during a media tour at Wooler Farm, about 30km north-east of Harare. Zimbabwe could exploit regional opportunities for export purposes thereby generating the much-needed foreign currency. In recent years, the country has been spending earning millions in hard currency on raw milk imports.

AFRIQUE / U A :

Afrique Centrale: Alerte : stopper la circulation des armes
Le Quotidien Mutations (Yaoundé) / Dippah Kayessé / le 14 Avril 2006

Un séminaire sous-régional sur la question s'est ouvert hier à Douala.
D'après les résultats d'une étude sur la prolifération des armes menée par Control arms, un institut américain basé aux Etats-Unis en 2005, on estime à près de 500 millions les armes légères qui circulent dans le monde, dont un cinquième en Afrique. Pour les observateurs, ceci constitue une menace grave pour un continent où les guerres naissent et font chaque jour de nombreuses victimes. Et, la Sierra Léone, Libéria, République démocratique du Congo, Tchad, Rwanda, Somalie sont autant de foyers de tension qui ont pendant longtemps favorisé l'expansion et la circulation des armes. Pour les responsables des sociétés civiles, il n'est plus question de laisser les Etats tout seuls agir face à l'obsolescence de certaines législations en Afrique qui réglementent l'importation, la vente, la détention et le port des armes à feu et des munitions.
C'est donc pour cette raison que s'est ouvert hier, 12 avril 2006 à Douala, un séminaire sous-régional sur le thème Mobilisation de la société civile d'Afrique centrale contre la circulation des armes légères et le phénomène de coupeurs de route. "Actuellement, l'Afrique a besoin d'une architecture sécuritaire pour prévenir et gérer les conflits car le combat contre la pauvreté ne peut se gagner que dans une région pacifique et stable", a déclaré Pierre Titi Nwel, socio anthropologue et coordinateur du Service national "Justice et paix", organisateur de la rencontre en collaboration avec la Fondation Friedrich Ebert de Yaoundé. "En tant qu'acteur libre et indépendant, la société civile représente un moyen par lequel les Etats peuvent, à travers des informations recueillies, lutter contre cette circulation des armes qui provoque des souffrances insondables", a expliqué Reinhold Plate, représentant résident Mali/Cameroun de la Fondation. C'est à ce titre que les deux organismes promettent déposer en juillet prochain les différentes recommandations qui sortiront de ce séminaire.

L`Afrique mise en garde contre le risque de perdre ses avantages
Angop / 14/04

Nairobi - L`Afrique risque de perdre son marché préférentiel si elle continue de réclamer une ouverture complète de ses marchés, a déclaré jeudi, à Nairobi, un haut responsable de l`Union européenne (UE), Karl Falkenbe.
"Je ne crois pas à l`existence d`un plan de limitation de marché. Je ne crois pas à l`existence d`un plan visant à rendre l`Afrique moins ambitieuse par rapport à sa demande", a-t-il déclaré.
S`adressant à la presse en prélude de la conférence des ministres africains du Commerce, vendredi à Nairobi, M.
Falkenbe a estimé que l`Afrique "se tire une balle dans le pied" en continuant de faire pression pour la levée des barrières commerciales protectrices.
L`Afrique exporte la plupart de ses produits agricoles vers le marché européen dans le cadre du régime préférentiel visant à promouvoir l`intérêt économique du continent.
Selon un consensus basé sur l`accord parvenu au sein du système de l`Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC), la conclusion des négociations de Doha devra mettre fin aux systèmes préférentiels.

OMC: l'Afrique critique le manque de flexibilité des pays riches
Reuters / David Mageria et Helen Nyambura-Mwaura / 14/04/06

NAIROBI - Les pays africains reprochent aux pays riches de manquer de flexibilité dans les négociations en cours au sein de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce et expriment des doutes sur le respect du délai fixé à fin avril pour parvenir à un accord sur le cycle de Doha.
Pascal Lamy, directeur général de l'OMC, a lui aussi reconnu qu'il serait difficile de s'entendre à temps sur les échanges de produits agricoles et industriels, étape cruciale vers un accord commercial global.
"Les négociations se trouvent à un stade avancé; ça bouge, mais ça ne bouge pas assez. Elles ne sont cependant pas bloquées et nous ne sommes pas dans une impasse", a dit Pascal Lamy au Rwanda, en route pour la réunion au Kenya de l'Union africaine, qui compte 53 membres. Il a précisé qu'il prendrait une décision la semaine prochaine.
Selon des experts, l'Afrique pourrait être la principale bénéficiaire d'un succès du cycle de Doha. Mais bon nombre d'Africains estiment que les négociations ont été pour l'instant trop lentes et ne prennent pas en compte les intérêts des plus pauvres.
"Les avancées des négociations ont été insuffisantes sur les principales questions qui intéressent l'Afrique", a souligné Elizabeth Tankeu, commissaire de l'UA au Commerce et à l'Industrie.
"Les pays développés n'ont pas eu la volonté politique" (nécessaire), a-t-elle ajouté lors d'un discours à Nairobi.
Le cycle de Doha, lancé en 2001, vise à abaisser les barrières commerciales mondiales afin de stimuler l'économie mondiale et de sortir de la pauvreté des millions de personnes.
Les 149 membres de l'OMC sont censés s'accorder d'ici le 30 avril sur la manière de baisser les subventions et les droits de douane dans l'agriculture sur fond de querelles entre l'Union européenne, les Etats-Unis et le Brésil pour savoir qui doit en premier ouvrir ses marchés agricoles ou industriels.
Les pays riches disent souhaiter un abaissement des droits de douane pour leurs produits et services industriels afin d'accéder aux marchés des pays en développement les plus avancés comme le Brésil, l'Inde, la Chine et l'Afrique du Sud.
Mais ils ne sont pas pour autant prêts à laisser les pays les plus pauvres ouvrir leurs propres marchés.
Dans une déclaration élaborée à l'occasion de la conférence de Nairobi, les ministres africains se disent "profondément inquiets" face à l'absence de progrès sur les deux questions et rendent une nouvelle fois les pays riches responsables des retards.
Pessimiste quand à la conclusion d'un accord fin avril, le kenyan Mukhisa Kituyi, nouveau président du groupe des ministres du Commerce de l'UA, a jugé que les pays développés semblaient "plus soucieux de la protection de leurs propres intérêts".

"LE NORD DOIT DONNER PLUS" - LAMY

L'Afrique, continent le plus pauvre du monde, se plaint depuis longtemps d'être marginalisé. Elle exige que les pays riches suppriment les subventions à leur agricultu