Burundi: En bref ce 22 JUILLET 2006 ...

Le Gouvernement du Burundi encourage la Diaspora au service du Développement
samedi 22 juillet 2006. Severin Mbarubukeye & Jean-Charles Nkanganyi BURUNDI-INFO

En date du 17 au 18 Juillet 2006 s’est tenu à l’hôtel Source du Nil une conférence sur la Migration et le Développement. Le point central était l’implication de la Diaspora dans le Développement des pays d’origine.

A ce stade crucial de la reconstruction, le Gouvernement a un message pressant et puissant pour la diaspora Burundaise aux quarte coins du monde : "le Burundi est ouvert à votre participation et expertise au service du développement de votre pays". Ce message a été délivré au plus haut niveau par le Président de la République en personne, M. Pierre Nkurunziza à l’ouverture de cette conférence.

Au bout de deux jours de travaux, la conférence a été clôturée par le Deuxième Vice-Président de la République Mme Alice Nzomukunda.

Cette conférence était organisée sous le haut patronage du Ministère des Finances en collaboration avec le Ministère des Relations Extérieures et de la coopération, conjointement avec le Forum International des Praticiens du Microcrédit et la MGL, Mutualité des Grands Lacs en partenariat avec la Coopération Belge, l’Union Européenne, la Banque Mondiale et le PNUD (au Burundi), en collaboration avec l’Organisation Mondiale de la Migration, MIDA Grands Lacs et AQUADEV.

Il est à signaler aussi la présence de plusieurs autorités publiques qui ont pris la parole au cours des travaux : le Ministre des Affaires Etrangères, le Ministre des Finances, le Gouverneur de la BRB, l’ancien Président de la République du Burundi, le Sénateur Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, des ambassadeurs, des députés, des sénateurs, etc. Sans oublier les leaders du monde des affaires Burundais tels que les chefs des Banques (MUTEC, FINALEASE, BCB, INTERBANK, etc.), les sommités du monde académique (Vice-recteur de l’Université du Burundi, Recteur de l’Université Lumière, etc.) et autres personnalités tant du milieur politique que de la société politique.

Plusieurs associations originaires du Burundi, de la Belgique, du Rwanda, du Congo, du Canada, et autres. ont fait des exposés qui vont dans le sens du développement des pays des Grands Lacs en partenariat avec la diaspora. Des associations aux noms évocateurs comme "Partenariat International Jeunesse Positive", "Jeunesse et Promotion du Commerce Equitable", "Forum pour la Croissance au Développement", etc.

Les participants avaient pour objectif de rompre le cercle vicieux du manque d’opportunités dans nos pays, qui mène à la pauvreté, laquelle pauvreté est l’une des causes principales des migrations (la fuite des capacités humaines ou fuite des cerveaux) qui entretient le manque d’opportunités.

A la fin de la conférence, plusieurs solutions et recommandations ont été émises par les participants pour renforcer le partenariat entre le Gouvernement et la diaspora par plusieurs initiatives telles que la création d’un Département de la Diaspora au sein du Ministère des Affaires Etrangeres et de la Coopération, multiplier et intensifier les contacts avec la Diaspora, instaurer une journée nationale de la Diaspora, etc.

A l’ouverture de la Conférence, le Président de la République a indiqué que, grâce à l’expérience migratoire, la diaspora jouera un rôle important pour le développement du Burundi. Il a fait une comparaison avec les Etats-Unis d’Amérique qui se sont développés grâce à l’apport bénéfique de la migration. Dans son allocution de clôture, le Deuxième Vice-président de la République Mme Alice Nzomukunda a encouragé les participants à poursuivre la mobilisation de la diaspora pour partager l’expérience du monde extérieur et sensibiliser les décideurs des pays d’accueil à contribuer au développement de leur pays.

Rwanda: China Impressed By Anti-Corruption Drive in Rwanda
The New Times (Kigali) July 20, 2006 Jumah Ssenyonga & Charles Kazooba Kampala

A delegation from the Chinese government will soon visit Rwanda to study the success of anti-corruption drive involving public procurement, government expenditure and transparency in government business in the country.

"We are soon making an official visit to Rwanda to share skills in corruption management," said Qu Wanxiang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Supervision of the Peoples' Republic of China.

Wanxiang, who is on 'a skills learning tour of the Great Lakes' said the government of Rwanda under the leadership of President Paul Kagame had registered commendable progress due to zero-tolerance to corruption.

"The Rwandan model of zero tolerance for corruption has amazed many developing and developed countries. China has taken note of this development, necessitating the facilitation of the Rwandan trip on anti-corruption skills by officials of the Chinese Peoples Republic soon," Wanxiang told The New Times in Kampala July 20.

The Minister, who was leading a six-man delegation, further noted that corruption was a world wide phenomenon that required skills apprenticeship from all concerned parties all over the world.

"The Peoples Republic of China attaches great importance to learning from other countries that have excelled in curbing corruption," Wanxiang said.

The Minister disclosed that the maximum sentence for corruption in China is death by hanging, which has deterred many Chinese from participating in the vice.

He however, hastened to add that death arising from corruption charges only amounted to 1% of those convicted for corruption all over China.

"The world should realize the negative aspect of corruption to stunting development, that is the reason why China has got accelerated development programmes," said the Vice Minister.

Rwanda has won global acclaim for zero tolerance to corruption, with the President, the Senate President, Speaker of Parliament and other senior government officials finalizing their wealth declaration to the Ombudsman before June 30.

Efforts to contact both the Ombudsman and the foreign affairs minister were futile by press time but an official in the former's office said they would welcome the team.

"We are ready," the official said on phone yesterday.

UGANDA

Uganda refuses to sign truce deal with rebels
July 22, 2006, Guardian Newspapers By ANDnetwork .com

Hope for a historic Ugandan peace break through has crashed after government negotiators at the peace talks in Sudan refused to sign truce deal with the Lord's Resistance Army rebels.

The government delegation left the talks early on Tuesday, saying the rest of the agenda must be dealt with first.

But the LRA accused the government of putting obstacles in the way of a deal and insisted that a cease-fire should be in place first.

The discussions taking place in southern Sudan are considered north Uganda's best chance of peace in years.

Despite these differences, the talks in Juba are expected to resume shortly.

The head of Uganda's delegation, Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, told reporters that the LRA have used past cease-fires to recruit, reorganise, treat their sick and loot food.

"While we also want a cessation of hostilities, we think it should come after everything else has been concluded," he said.

The government wants rebel fighters to first gather in specific locations to disarm and be registered before a cease-fire is signed.

The rebels say they have never signed formal cease-fire agreements and the government is putting obstacles in the way of peace.

"We want to reach a conclusive peace agreement as soon as possible," LRA spokesman Obonyo Olweny told the media.

The LRA want to have safe cease-fire zones where their fighters will be able to move without being arrested.

The talks got off to an uneasy start on Friday, with the top rebel leadership refusing to attend, despite assurances of an amnesty from the government.

The LRA have been blamed for thousands of deaths and abductions of many children and for maiming civilians in a 20 year campaign of terror.

American evangelists robbed in Tanzania
July 22, 2006, By ANDnetwork .com IPP Media MP//JB//

Kilimanjaro police are holding five suspects in connection with an incident in which 33 visiting American evangelists and their Tanzanian hosts were robbed at gunpoint.

By Adam Ihucha

Regional Police Commander Venance Tossi confirmed the incident, which he said took place at Namwai in Hai district.

Tossi said the Americans are in the country at the invitation the Arusha-based International Evangelism Church.

He said incident took place on Thursday when gangsters who wore face masks pounced on an American family that was riding in a private car and robbed them of $30 000.

"A short while later the gangsters hijacked two minibuses carrying 33 other American evangelists, who were accompanied by Bishop Eliud Isangya of the International Evangelism Church,” Tossi said.

The thus who wielded sophisticated firearms reportedly ambushed a Costa mini-bus and grabbed property belonging to the Americans.

According to Hai District Council Chairman Daniel Sandawe, the gangsters struck at 12:00 noon as the bus headed to West Kilimanjaro, where the church is located.

According to eyewitnesses, the gangsters rode to the scene of crime on motorbikes and began unleashing terror on motorists upon pitching tent.

Among the items stolen were mobile phones, cameras and an unknown amount of hard cash.

Sandawe said further that the gangsters later left to unknown destination towards Tingatinga village in West Kilimanjaro.

The police boss identified the suspects as Adam Victory, Efford Ezekiel, who was found in possession of $500 000 - allegedly stolen from the Americans, Daudi Longoine alias Jangala, who was also being sought by police in connection with other crimes, Hussein Mberwa alias Mdogoo, who Tossi said is a hardcore criminal and Joseph Meresoroo alias Lisman Lukumai.

Tossi said the arrest followed a tip off by wananchi.

Uganda complains to DR. Congo on rebels
Xinhua 22 jul. 06 -
KAMPALA, Jul 22, 2006 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Uganda has complained to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the continued presence on its soil of Ugandan rebels, New Vision reported on Saturday.

Uganda also raised concern about DRC's lack of commitment to engaging rebels of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Garamba National Park and those of Allied Democratic Force (ADF) in Bundiguya forests and Eringeti National Park in the border areas of Ituri region and North Kivu.

The issue of the Ugandan rebels was high on the agenda in the two-day bilateral security meeting that ended in Kampala last week.

Army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye said the meeting was a follow-up of an earlier one in Kinshasa, during which it was resolved that the presence of the foreign armed groups on DRC soil would affect the general elections due on July 30.

He said Uganda expressed concern that contrary to what was agreed upon in Kinshasa, the Congolese army did not militarily move against the Ugandan rebels on its soil.

The DRC has turned down the Uganda's request of allowing its troops to pursue LRA rebels in Garamba National Park, a proposal failed to win the UN's support as well.

The Ugandan government has started the peace talks with the LRA in Juba, southern Sudan in a bid to end one of Africa's longest conflicts that has left tens of thousands of people dead and more than 1.4 million homeless in northern Ugandan.

Delhi bomber held in Kenya has Lucknow link
[ 22 Jul, 2006 ISTIANS ] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
LUCKNOW: Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Abdul Karim 'Tunda', who was picked up by Interpol in Kenya, has a Lucknow connection too.

Tunda, who was detained in Mombasa on Friday, had got his first passport issued from Lucknow way back in 1989, a senior police official said. His other passport was found to have been issued from Bangladesh, the official said.

A resident of Pilkuan village in Ghaziabad, near New Delhi, Tunda is wanted in connection with a series of bomb blasts in the late 90s that left 24 dead and many others wounded. He carried a cash reward of Rs 300,000 on his head.

While his real name is Abdul Karim, he acquired the nickname Tunda after one of his arms was blown off in the explosion of a bomb he was preparing.

Tunda, 64, is believed to have a hand in the 1993 Mumbai bombings as well.

"We would not rule out his indirect involvement in the Ayodhya and Varanasi blasts as well as he was among the key LeT masterminds in India," the official said.

Passport authorities in Lucknow admit that Tunda got his passport issued from here on April 26, 1989. "Since he was a resident of Uttar Pradesh, he applied in the normal course and got his passport issued from here. As his terrorist links were discovered only after 1990 he had also got a clean chit from the police."

Not very long ago, an aide of mobster Dawood Ibrahim too had managed to get his passport issued from Lucknow, a passport official admitted.

"That was Dawood's personal cook Khan Jabrail Khan, who got his passport issued from the Lucknow office as late as in 2004," the official said.

"But once again, the passport was issued after due verification by police and intelligence authorities who found nothing wrong with all the documentation attached by the applicant, who was a resident of Bahraich in the state," he added.

Angola: Exports To Belgium Exceed 400 Million Euros In 2005
Angola Press Agency (Luanda) July 20, 2006 Luanda

Belgium imported from Angola in 2005 diamonds worth 419 million Euros, ANGOP learnt on Thursday, from that E.U. country's Ambassador to this Southern African State, Hubert Coreman.

That diplomat, who was speaking at the eve of the celebration of Belgium's 176th anniversary, to be commemorated on July 21, stressed that with the achievement of peace four years ago, there has been an increase of trade co-operation between both countries.

Hubert Coreman said that the commercial balance is favourable to Angola that exports high quality diamonds to Antwerp (Belgium), what originated the opening of an office of the Angolan Diamond Trade Society (Sodiam) in that country in the year 2005.

Meanwhile, that European country exported to Angola in the same period, vehicle parts, vegetable products and machinery worth 133,9 million Euros.

He said his country reinforced its economic ties with Angola due to the current environment of peace, political stability and economic growth being experienced in this African country, as well as the creation, by the Angolan Government, of favourable bases for investments in areas such as agriculture, transport, energy, diamonds, infrastructures and others.

Angola and UNICEF Fight for Children
Luanda, Jul 21 (Prensa Latina) One out of four children dies before reaching the age of five in Angola, which is recovering from a three-decade civil war, said UNICEF, which is carrying out vaccination and literacy programs in this African country.

According to the United Nations Children´s Fund (UNICEF), the situation of children is disastrous just four years after the end of the domestic military conflict that plunged the country into social and economic crisis.

A UNICEF declaration issued in Luanda says that 45 percent of children suffer from malnutrition and 34 percent do not attend primary school.

It adds that the situation can only be reverted if children are prioritized the construction agenda.

Angola is a country of youths where people under 18 years of age account for 60 percent of the population, which approximately totals 13 million.

The task, however, will be difficult, not only because of the country´s low socio-economic indicators, but also because of the psychological and moral scars of the war, due to which one out of ten children is an orphan.

A few months ago, UNICEF asked the Angolan Government to allocate at least 16 percent of the national budget to health and educational services. Until 2003, those two sectors barely accounted for 4 percent of public expenditures.

AFRIQUE DU SUD :

Hopeful sign on AIDS in South Africa
http://news.scotsman.com 22/07/2006
JUST over 30 per cent of pregnant women in South Africa are infected with the AIDS virus, according to a government report released yesterday which estimated that 5.5 million South Africans are living with HIV.
The survey, conducted in October 2005 and released by the Department of Health, said the figures showed little increase over 2004 with numbers of new infections levelling out.
"This is encouraging to note, but a great deal of work still needs to be done to ensure that new infections no longer take place at all in South Africa," said health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang in the foreword to the report.

Gandhi's memorials to be built in S Africa
http://www.dnaindia.com Saturday, July 22, 2006

AHMEDABAD: Historically important places in the life of Mahatma Gandhi during his stay in South Africa, where he started his experiments with truths and developed 'satyagraha' as non-violent weapon against colonial rulers, will be turned into heritage sites.

The plan includes revival of Tolstoy Farm and Phoenix Ashram established by the Father of the Nation.

His place of stay in Noakhali district of Bangladesh is also one of the spots being planned to develop as one of his memorials. Secretary of Sabarmati Ashram of Ahmedabad Amrut Modi said all the three places, where Mahatma Gandhi had lived an important part of his life, will be revived with the help of local residents of that country and governments.

Efforts would also be made to include these three places as heritage sites in those countries, he added. "At present, these places are in ruins. After Gandhiji left South Africa, the two places established by him were destroyed. The base of the building and a printing press in the Ashram is left at those places," he added.

"It was in South Africa that Mahatma's course of life changed after he faced extreme humiliation at the hands of colonial rulers. There he developed satyagraha as a weapon to fight the British imperialism," Modi pointed out.

"He implemented satyagraha in his life, his family members's lives and encouraged others to take up the ways of
ashram during his 21 years stay in the African country", Modi added.

"It has become very important to reclaim this land, restore it in its original form and make a memorial there to pay tribute to the great soul", he said.

Talking about the Tolstoy Farm which was established by Mahatma Gandhi near Johannesburg, Modi said the Gujarati community based in South Africa has purchased the land of the farm.

"The farm has been completely destroyed and at present there is just a base of the building which was built by Gandhiji".

"The South African people and Nelson Mandela are grateful to Gandhiji as their freedom struggle was also inspired by the great leader. The government there is positive about the project," he said.

AFRIQUE / U A :

IFC supports East African telecom project
By BiA Online, July 2006

The World Bank and its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) were to join other partners in financing an underwater telephone system aimed at reducing the cost of telecommunications in Africa.

The IFC said that following extensive negotiations with stakeholders of the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy), it would mobilise other international organisations to provide technical assistance.
"The project structure has been agreed upon by governments, Nepad e-Africa Commission, telecommunications operators and the Development Financial Institutions represented at the Nairobi meetings by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the European Investment Bank (EIB)," the IFC added.

The French Development Bank (AfD), its allies PROPARCO, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), KfW Entwicklungsbank (KFW), the World Bank and the IFC were to finance the project, estimated to cost $300mn.

Technical assistance was also being provided by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Union (EU), the Information for Development Programme (infoDev), the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) and the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency.

A consensus was reached on the project at meeting in Nairobi, hosted by the Kenyan government.

A joint task force with representatives from each of the key stakeholder groups was also created to maintain continuous dialogue and channel governments' policy objectives into the Construction and Maintenance Agreement and the Shareholders' Agreement, the IFC added.

EASSy was an initiative to connect over 20 coastal and land- locked countries in East and Southern Africa.

The countries were: Burundi, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The countries were working to access cheaper telecommunication by March 2008 after the 29 private and state-run entities involved in the project planning agreed to undertake the regional underwater cable, linking the entire continent.

Shareholders of EASSy, which unites state-run telecommunication entities and private data companies operating in the Indian Ocean States, Southern Africa and East Africa have completed rollout plans for the project.

Thirteen East and Southern Africa countries, including Ethiopia, Rwanda, Madagascar, Sudan, Zambia, Uganda, South Africa, Burundi and host Kenya, were represented at the three-day meeting on the implementation of the project, which the IFC said would boost regional competitiveness and enable Africa to participate more actively in the global economy.

UN /ONU :

USA :

CANADA :

Canadian musicians release single for AIDS in Africa
Updated Fri. Jul. 21 2006 Canadian Press

Canadian musicians have recorded a benefit single to generate awareness about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Song for Africa features artists including Ian D'Sa of Billy Talent, Ian Thornley of Big Wreck, Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, Kyle Riabko, Titcomb and Damhnait Doyle.

It was released to radio earlier this week.

"With over 6,500 preventable deaths happening daily due to AIDS in Africa, and an entire generation of children being orphaned, it is time we shed some light on the matter," says Winnipeg music producer Darcy Ataman, who co-wrote the song with Rob Wells, Luke McMaster and Simon Wilcox.
Proceeds from the project will go towards helping Free the Children support a mobile health unit in Kenya.
A music video for the song will be played at the Aug. 13 opening ceremonies of the AIDS 2006 World Conference in Toronto.

AUSTRALIE :

EUROPE :

CHINE :

INDE :

BRAZIL: