Burundi: En bref ce 25 AVRIL 2006 ...

Two million face hunger in Burundi - aid group
25 Apr 2006 Source: Reuters

NAIROBI, April 25 (Reuters) - About two million people face hunger in drought-hit Burundi, aid group ActionAid said on Tuesday as it began food deliveries in the central African country.

Hundreds of people and tens of thousands of livestock in east and central Africa have died in one of the worst droughts to hit the region in years.

ActionAid said poor rainfall over the past six years in the north, northeastern and central provinces have brought starvation to areas traditionally regarded as Burundi's food basket, with crops of maize and sorghum failing.

"In the countryside, many families are picking and cooking wild leaves in an attempt to satisfy their hunger," ActionAid said in a statement.

Chronic poverty and 12 years of civil war, in which more than 300,000 people have been killed and many displaced, have compounded the effects of poor rainfall, the group added.

The anti-poverty organisation said it delivered 70 tonnes of food worth $35,800 last week to one of five provinces the government has declared to be in a state of famine.

It said malnutrition in the country of seven million people was widespread and hundreds are believed to have died. Diseases such as malaria were on the increase.

Millions across the region are in urgent need of assistance, the United Nations says, with Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia taking the brunt of the drought.

Other agencies such as the U.N. World Food Programme have distributed food aid in Burundi. An estimated $75 million of aid is still needed for the country, ActionAid said.

Africa countries fight malaria, Burundi ahead of rest
By Jack Kimball

BUJUMBURA, April 25 (Reuters) - Four-year old Jonathan Hitamwoniza wails as his index finger is pricked in a local health clinic in Burundi's capital.

A rapid test shows that he has malaria -- for the third time in his short life.

"I didn't see a problem, because he was sleeping under the nets. I don't see why he's sick," his mother Mazoya said.

She adds that even though her children sleep under mosquito nets, all four have had malaria.

More than one million people die from malaria every year, almost 90 percent are in Africa. The disease is most deadly for children under five, killing one child every 30 seconds.

As the continent celebrates Africa Malaria Day on Tuesday, activists say Burundi is one of the few countries making strides in combating the disease thanks to money from the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Out of a population of seven million, Burundi had 1.9 million cases of malaria last year, compared to the 3.1 million cases in 2000, according to the health ministry.

"The impact we're feeling is due to the Global Fund money," Dr Francoise Ndayishimiye, who coordinates Global Fund activity for civil society, told reporters on a trip to Burundi, seen as a model of success in the fight against Malaria.

The Global Fund, launched in 2002, makes up about two thirds of worldwide financing to prevent and treat malaria, and is the main financier of developing countries' scale-up of artemisinin-based combination drugs -- known as ACTs.

Its executive board meets this week to decide on whether to launch a sixth round of grants in what observers say is a key juncture for the young development financier as it decides its future size and ambition.

EMACIATED CHILDREN

Green nets encircle mother and child in the paediatric ward of Cibitoke hospital, 60 km from the capital.

Thin, clear intravenous lines (IVs) run along the nets entering the arms of emaciated children who have come down with severe cases of malaria.

Head nurse Alice Ndayishimiye says of the two hundred patients who come in with malaria per month, ten percent die, but ACTs are having an impact.

"We've seen a regression of malaria cases since more people started taking ACT drugs," she said.

In an effort to combat drug-resistant malaria, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya have recently switched to ACTs and have begun training local health workers on how to use them.

Burundi was one of the first countries to switch to ACTs as the first line of defence after finding that traditional malaria drugs were showing 70 percent resistance.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says a drug regime should be changed at 15 to 20 percent resistance.

The non-profit medical organisation Medicins Sans Frontieres said the change over to ACTs was a main reason for the decrease in deaths and cases in Burundi.

Fabio Pompetti, head of mission for MSF in Burundi, said during peak malaria months in Karuzi province, which has a population of 350,000, MSF deals with around 15,000 cases per month, down dramatically from 170,000 cases in 2001.

"Malaria is the first cause of death in Burundi, but now we can see the figures are going down. ACTs are not only treating you, but reducing the number of human reservoirs," he said.

Human reservoirs refer to a mosquito's potential to pick up the disease from an infected human and transfer it to others.

Burundi Tackles Malaria Using New Drug Treatment
By Cathy Majtenyi - Bujumbura - 25 April 2006

Africa Malaria Day, which falls on April 25, in part commemorates the many African countries offering a new drug treatment to fight the scourge of widespread malaria, the number-one killer of African children ages five and under. The tiny central African nation of Burundi was the first country on the continent to embrace the new drug and is starting to see its positive effects.

Yvette Hakizimana and her 11-month-old son Edmund wait to receive ACTs, to cure Edmund's malaria at the Kigobe Health Centre in Bujumbura
Yvette Hakizimana cradles her 11-month-old son Edmund while waiting for a nurse at the Kigobe Health Center in Burundi's picturesque capital Bujumbura.

The mother of three is about to have her feverish son tested for malaria, a disease that her other two children have had.

But thanks to artemisinine-based combination therapy, a new drug treatment commonly known as ACTs, Hakizimana is confident that her son will be cured quickly and effectively.

Hakizimana's other son was prescribed ACTs last month to cure malaria. She describes the treatment to VOA.

Hakizimana says the nurse gave her son two pills at one o'clock in the afternoon and instructed her to give her child the pills at the same time for three days. She says she and her neighbors think ACTs are good drugs and will keep them all safe from the scourge of malaria.

Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters the body through a mosquito bite. The disease, symptoms of which include fever, muscle aches, and headaches, is the leading cause of death among children five years and under in Burundi and across Africa.

Up to two million of Burundi's seven million people fall sick each year from malaria. Health officials estimate 80 percent of the country's people are at risk of getting the disease.

In the past, drugs called chloroquin and fansidar were used to treat malaria, but the malaria parasite developed resistance to these drugs.

Mother and her baby wait for treatment for the baby's severe malaria at Cibitoke Hospital near Burundi's capital Bujumbura
Researchers in Asia developed artemisinine-based combination therapy using a plant extract and another ingredient. In 2001, the World Health Organization recommended that countries having resistance to malaria drugs switch over to the ACT drug regime.

Burundi was the first African country to do so. By the end of 2003, ACTs were available to patients in hospitals and clinics across the country.

At the Kigobe Health Center, nurse Phinees Ntakiyiruta and his colleagues dispense about 80 ACT treatments each week.

He says he observes that almost all patients on ACTs are cured of malaria, whereas fansidar and other older drugs have a much lower success rate. He notes that malaria deaths among the clinic's patients have decreased from about two per month to zero and says cases of severe malaria have also decreased from about 10 cases per week to two per month.

"The difference is that when they take ACT, around 98 percent are treated by these medicines," he said. "But before, it was around 70 percent by fansidar, by chloroquin. So, with this new medicine, I did not see anyone who died here with malaria."

London-based malaria activist Louis da Gama says he is pleased overall with Burundi's anti-malaria program. But he says he is concerned that in a country where almost 90 percent of people live on less than $2 a day, the government is charging patients the equivalent of 30 cents for ACT consultation and treatment.

"Any sense of having to pay for treatment will act as an impediment to a rapid seeking of that treatment," said da Gama. "We should remove all charges to people in terms of accessing malaria drugs because malaria is the biggest killer of children, pregnant women, and people in general in Burundi."

Da Gama notes that the Burundi government does not charge patients for drugs to treat AIDS and tuberculosis, and says it is unfair that it charge for ACTs.

Burundi's Health Minister Barnabe Mbonimpa (l) consults with Dr. Baza Dismas (r), the manager of Burundi's malaria program under the Ministry of Health
health minister Barnabe Mbonimpa says the malaria program is still very new, unlike the drug programs for AIDS and tuberculosis, and that people pay a very small price for ACTs.

He says when there is a malaria epidemic, the patients are treated free of charge. He says if the government receives enough subsidies, it will be able to offer the malaria drugs for free as is the case for AIDS and tuberculosis.

The Burundi government purchases ACTs from a generic drug company in India with money from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an initiative created by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan that dispenses funds to countries worldwide to fight the three diseases.

Burundi has received more that $17 million from the Global Fund since 2003 to buy drugs and mosquito bed nets, train health care workers, purchase equipment, and take other measures to combat malaria in the country.

The Global Fund is meeting this week to determine the next round of funding for malaria and other programs in Burundi and elsewhere.

Activist da Gama urges Global Fund donors to maintain or increase its funding to Burundi's malaria program, especially since the country has just come out of a decade-long civil war and ACTs and bed nets are proving to be so effective.

LE MINISTRE DE L'INTERIEUR EVOQUE PLUTOT UNE TENTATIVE DE COUP D'ETAT ORCHESTRE PAR LE PARLEMENTAIRE MATHIAS BASABOSE
Bujumbura, le 24 Avril 2006 (RTNB)-La conférence de presse du député Mathias Basabose continue de faire couler beaucoup d'encre et de salive. En effet le ministre de l'intérieur et de la sécurité publique le Général de brigade Evariste Ndayishimiye cité par une dépêche de l'OMAC aurait fait savoir que le député en question n'animait pas une conférence de presse, mais plutôt la révélation d'une tentative de coup d'Etat contre les institutions en place. Le CNDD de Léonard Nyangoma par la voix de son porte-parole François Bizimana s'étonne qu'un auteur d'un putsch puisse prendre à témoin les journalistes avant de passer aux actes. Il réclame plutôt la convocation d'un congrès extraordinaire des deux chambres du parlement pour mettre en place une commission d'enquête parlementaire chargée d'étudier les cas de corruptions soulevés par les parlementaires Basabose et Hussein Radjabu. De son côté le politologue Elias Sentamba estime que le ministre de l'intérieur est une personnalité importante qui ne peut pas se permettre des affirmations sans preuves, des affirmations qui ne se réfèrent pas au verdict de la justice.

Le ministre de l’intérieur a encore une fois raté l’occasion de se taire

Philibert Nininahazwe Bujumbura, le 25 Avril 2006(Kirimba). Tel est pris qui croyais prendre. C’est juste cette phrase qu’il faut pour qualifier le Général de Brigade Evariste Ndayishimiye, ministre de l’intérieur et de la sécurité publique. Alors que tous les services de l’Etat ont condamné avec fermeté la récente séquestration des journalistes, le ministre de l’intérieur vient en effet de rater une occasion précieuse de se taire.

Dans une conférence de presse qu’il a animé le 21 avril de ce mois, ce Général de Brigade avait endossé la responsabilité de la police tout en indiquant que ce sont les journalistes qui ont tort. Ainsi, dans un français digne d’un élève de l’école primaire, il a déclaré que « les journalistes ont agressé la police qui faisait son travail. Bien plus, a-t-il souligné, les journalistes n’ont pas été séquestrés et qu’il ne couvraient pas une conférence de presse mais étaient en réception. »

De nombreuses questions se posent

Selon une déclaration publié par la maison de la presse, les propos du ministre suscitent quelques interrogations. Nos deux consoeurs de la Radio Isanganiro, Jeannine Nahigombeye et Chantal Gatore auraient donc attaqué la police ! D’où ont-elles bien pu tirer cette force herculéenne qui leur a permis de s’attaquer à une quarantaine de policiers armés de Kalachnikov ? Les journalistes étaient en réception ! Et pourtant les policiers ont cherché à leur confisquer le matériel de reportage et non les bouteilles vidées ! Pourquoi donc ? Le journaliste Charles Nshimiye, avait-il besoin de sentir l’odeur d’un canon pour étancher sa soif ? Comment peut-on ignorer que pendant plus de sept heures les journalistes ont été empêchés de sortir par les policiers armés pour aller faire leur devoir d’informer le public ?

Après la réception, c’est le coup d’Etat !

Comme pour tromper l’opinion et enlever tout le crédit que la population a, jusqu’à nouvelle ordre, pour les journalistes, le ministre de l’intérieur a déclaré sans mesurer ses propos, comme d’habitude, que les journalistes étaient dans une réunion qui préparait un coup d’Etat. C’était à Rumonge.. Il ne s’est pas arrêté sur cela. « Même le président de la République a promis une récompense au policier qui commandait ce jour-là ». Ce qu’il a vite renié quand il a entendu qu’un journaliste de la Radio Bonesha était sur les lieux. Il est allé jusqu’à demander des preuves. Ce que les journalistes ont prouvé aujourd’hui, enregistrement à l’appui.

Y aurait-il un pouvoir à Bujumbura ?

Comment peut-on comprendre qu’un porte-parole de la présidence regrette le comportement des policiers pour être contredis moins de deux jours après par le ministre de l’intérieur ? La porte-parole du président était-elle entrain de verser les larmes de crocodile ? Dans le cas où c’est le ministre de l’intérieur qui a tenu des propos mensongers, le président de la République a-t-il encore le pouvoir de le démettre de ses fonctions ? Sinon, l’opinion risque de soutenir la thèse de l’honorable Basabose selon laquelle le pouvoir ne se trouve pas entre les mains du Président Nkurunziza, mais qu’il se trouve quelque part ailleurs, … chez l’Honorable El Hadj Hussein Radjabu.

Editorial de la R.P.A / Lundi le 24 avril 2006 Source : RPA

La honte. Si cette signification revêt un mot, le Ministre de l’Intérieur devrait revoir la copie de son discours et se regarder dans le miroir pour dire « A Rumonge, l’allocution tenue devant le public tenait-elle du bavardage ou du délire ».

Bavarder en philosophie, c’est parler sans fondement alors que le délire relève de la pathologie. Le général de Brigade Evariste Ndayishimiye affirme mordicus, « nous allons décorer les policiers qui ont séquestré les journalistes. » de cette manière, il a été à contre courant des déclarations faites : par la présidence de la République, par le Ministère de la Communication et par la police nationale, laquelle a fait un méa culpa se désolidarisant des manquements de certains agents perdus.

Si nous revenons sur le bavardage, c’est que le mandataire public Evariste Ndayishimiye ne pouvait en aucun cas invoquer ses propres turpitudes. Dans un Etat de Droit, les arrestations arbitraires ou graves violations des droits de l’homme ne peuvent pas être brandies comme un toison d’or.

Le délire aussi vient, quand le pouvoir pense qu’il peut bafouer les libertés fondamentales, comme celles d’aller et venir ou s’exprimer en ame et conscience. Dire que les journalistes voulaient faire un coup d’Etat est plus qu’un bluff, un mensonge. Ils n’ont ni armes, ni boucliers seuls le micro et la plume leur servent de rempart. Les séquestrer chez l’honorable Basabose alors en pleine mission suppose le possible de toutes les dérives . Surtout quand un mandataire politique, parlementaire de surcroit interpelle l’assemblée sur l’affairisme comme mode de gouvernance au sommet, il se fera rabrouer par la présidente de l’Assemblée Nationale.

Le Burundi n’est pas alors encore sorti de l’auberge, cette auberge espagnole ou la cacophonie règne et gouverne dans le désordre. La police garante de la sécurité des personnes et des biens affirmant par son ministère de tutelle avoir procédé à la séquestration du deuxième pouvoir (le législatif « en la personne de Mathias Basabose » et du quatrième la presse burundaise). Finalement, qui gouverne ce pays ?

LES DIRECTIONS GENERALES DU COMMERCE, LE COTEBU ET LA SOSUMO DOTES DES NOUVEAUX DIRIGENTS
Bujumbura, le 24 Avril 2006 (RTNB)-Le président du Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza a signé des décrets portant nomination de certains hauts cadres de l'Etat. Ces nominations s'établissent comme suit :
Au COTEBU
- Directeur général : Festus Ntanyungu
- Directeur technique : Jean Hakizimana
- Directeur commercial : Aloys Katihabwa
- Directeur administratif : Eric Manirakiza
- Directeur des ressources humaines : Longin Nimubona
A la SOSUMO
- Administrateur directeur général : Alexis Ntaconzoba
- Directeur technique : Aloys Mbonihankuye
- Directeur commercial : Pascal Bindariye
- Directeur administratif : colonel Damien Nijimbere
- Directeur des approvisionnements : Rose Niyizobaza
- Directeur des ressources humaines : Célestin Hatungimana
Au ministrère du commerce et de l'industrie
- Directeur général du commerce : Jérémie Banigwaninzigo
- Directeur général Industrie : Chrysologue Mutwa
- Directeur général artisanat : Gervais Nkeshimana
- Directeur commerce extérieur : Marie Emmanuela Hakizimana
- Directeur de la propriété intellectuelle : Joas Katanga.
Le président de la République a également nommé Cyprien Hakizimana et Oscar Ndayiziga respectivement comme directeur général de l'IGEBU et comme directeur général de l'INECN.

LE PREMIER VICE-PRESIDENT DE LA REPUBLIQUE REMET UNE AIDE A LA POPULATION SINISTREE DE BUGABIRA
Bujumbura, le 24 Avril 2006 (RTNB)-Le premier vice-président de la République le docteur Martin Nduwimana vient de remettre une aide composée de vivres à la population de la commune Bugabira (de la province Kirundo). L'aide apportée par le premier vice-président du Burundi concernait 4000 ménages éprouvés par le famine. Cette commune de Bugabira a vu ces derniers jours une partie de la population active prendre le chemin de l'exil vers le Rwanda à la recherche d'un ciel plus clément.

Le HCR remet 7.100 maisons aux autorités burundaises
Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) 25/04/2006- Le Haut commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés (HCR) a remis mardi aux autorités burundaises 7.100 maisons, 14 écoles primaires et 5 centres de santé destinés aux personnes rentrant d'exil, a-t-on appris de source humanitaire à Bujumbura.

Don égyptien de 65 tonnes de vivres au Burundi
Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) -24/04/2006 Le gouvernement égyptien a fait don lundi de 65 tonnes de vivres d'une valeur de 35 millions de francs burundais (près de 35.000 dollars) destinées à venir en aide aux populations éprouvées par la famine consécutive à une longue période de sécheresse dans le pays, a-t-on appris de source officielle à Bujumbura.

Le FNUAP préoccupé par la santé des jeunes au Burundi
Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Quelque 40 jeunes pairs éducateurs et encadreurs viennent de terminer au Burundi une formation d'une semaine en matière de santé sexuelle et de la reproduction, avec un accent particulier sur la prévention contre le VIH/SIDA et les violences sexuelles, a-t-on appris lundi auprès du bureau local du Fonds des Nations unies pour la population (FNUAP).

Burundi: Rwanda-Burundi Road Good for Development

East African Business Week (Kampala) - April 24, 2006

The construction of a 60km road that will connect the Rwandan capital Kigali to the Burundian border town of Kirundi is yet another milestone that calls for applause.

Applause because for a landlocked country without rich natural resources, the only way out, naturally, would be to establish infrastructural development, particularly a rich road and possibly railway network.

Which is what Rwanda is exactly doing? And it takes some focus to pursue objectives like that and achieve them. That perhaps explains why President Paul Kagame has been quite impatient over the delay of the project.

Even when apparently there is no economic activity in the south near the Burundian border to write home about, a myriad of other opportunities are just waiting to explode with the new road.

Not only will the road link the two sister countries, increasing trade and other economic activities along the highway, it will also serve as a quick link to the proposed Bugesera Airport whose construction is expected to commence soon.

Besides, the project, being undertaken by a German construction firm, Strabag, is set to provide direct employment to hundreds of Rwandan construction workers as well as other developments in agriculture and settlement.

But the bigger picture is to set steps leading to the country's ambitious plan to make Rwanda the regional economic backbone through its Vision 2020.

The project is expected to cost over Frw 15.2billion (about US$ 28million) over a period of 14 months.

At the moment, a number of other projects are being undertaken jointly.

Rwanda and Tanzania have commissioned studies on the Isaka-Kigali railway line that will connect Dar es Salaam to Kigali.

In such a short period after the 1994 genocide, Rwanda stands out in defiance of the odds to count on a series of major infrastructure developments.

As sure as the sun rising from the east and setting in the west, infrastructure is a backbone to any economy, particularly as we gear nearer to economic integration for the countries in the region.

Such projects also serve to show that landlockedness is not inability to push away the pangs of poverty that have ravaged the African continent.

LES ETUDIANTS DE L'ENS EN GREVE POUR DES RECLAMATIONS DIVERSES
Bujumbura, le 24 Avril 2006 (RTNB)-Les étudiants de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) ont déclenché ce lundi 24 avril 2006 un mouvement de grève pour des réclamations diverses. Parmi celles-ci figurent la bourse des mois de décembre 2005 et de janvier 2006 pour une catégorie des étudiants, et la mise en place des programmes de licence conformément aux statuts de l'école. Concernant ce dernier point le directeur de l'ENS monsieur Samuel Bigawa affirme que le rapport y relatif a été envoyé aux responsables du ministère de tutelle.

L'ONG "FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY INTERNATIONAL" VA INTERVENIR POUR JUGULER LA FAMINE AU BURUNDI
Bujumbura, le 24 Avril 2006 (RTNB)-L'organisation non gouvernementale "Food for the hungry international" vient de conclure un accord avec le ministère de la solidarité nationale permettant à cette ONG d'intervenir au Burundi afin de juguler la famine et tout son cortège de souffrances découlant de cette famine. L'ONG en question va intervenir particulièrement dans les régions éprouvées par la famine au nord et à l'Est du pays.

LE BURUNDI CELEBRE LA JOURNEE DEDIEE A LA LUTTE CONTRE LE PALUDISME
Bujumbura, le 24 Avril 2006 (RTNB)-Le Burundi s'est joint aux autres pays d'Afrique pour célébrer la sixième journée africaine de lutte contre le paludisme. Les cérémonies ont été notamment marquées par une longue marche à partir du Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Kamenge (CHUK) laquelle s'est poursuivie jusqu'au terrain du département des sports où des compétitions sportives avaient été organisées. En marge de ces compétitions le ministre de la santé publique le docteur Barnabé Mbonimpa a indiqué que des moustiquaires imprégnées vont être distribuées à la population qui est victime de la malaria. Le thème de cette année était "L'accès au traitement efficace, un droit pour tous" . Le paludisme constitue la deuxième cause de décès au Burundi.

Burundi Initiates Free Primary Education for Children
By William Eagle Washington,DC 25 April 2006
One obstacle to improving enrollment in primary and secondary schools in Africa has been the cost. UNICEF says school fees consume nearly a quarter of a poor family’s income in sub-Saharan Africa. Often families must pay not only for tuition, but also for textbooks and uniforms.

After independence in the 1960s, many African countries guaranteed their citizens free primary and sometimes secondary education; but by the 1980s and 1990s fees were imposed to help balance national budgets and cut state expenses.

As a result, millions dropped out and education became the province of the small middle class and elites. The Paris-based Association for the Development of Education in Africa says in Mali, for example, attendance rates today for the poorest 20% of the people are three to four times lower than that of the richest 20%.

In recent years fees were dropped, with impressive results. UNICEF says after measures were taken guaranteeing free primary education, school enrollment grew in Tanzania by 50% – from 4.4 million in 2002 to 6.6 million in 2003. In Kenya, it grew from 6 million to 7.2 million in a matter of weeks in 2003; in Uganda and Malawi, enrollment grew by over one half after fees were dropped. Other countries that now offer free primary education include Mozambique, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Burundi.

Catherine Mbengue is UNICEF’s representative for Burundi. She told English to Africa reporter William Eagle that before dropping fees last year, nearly half of the country’s 1.2 million children aged 7 to 12 did not go to school. Today, things are different.

“We have a surge of all these children who had been deprived of education,” says Ms. Mbengue. “We are working actively (now) with the Ministry of Education and other partners, including NGOs to make sure children are sheltered – even in temporary schools – and that they have all necessary school materials. [And many donors are supporting these efforts providing financial contributions directly to the government or through UNICEF]. We are even bringing specifically-designed tents into the country to make sure kids who come to school are not sent back.”

But guarantees of free primary education have not only increased attendance, they have also put strains on school buildings, textbooks and human resources. Ms. Mbengue says UNICEF and the Ministry of Education are exploring ways to meeting the challenge, such as having double shifts or different classes or grade levels to share the time they use the school buildings.

The UNICEF representative says the government and donors are also working to train new teachers: “The Ministry of Education of Burundi has embarked on an initiative to recruit three thousand teachers and we and our partners are helping [to] train them. We are not going to do [teachers’ training]. [Instead], they’re taken for a short period [and] imparted with some solid but condensed knowledge so they (can go right to work)…and then later you can bring these teachers back and train them [further] on other issues [like child-friendly schooling methods, life skills education, HIV/AIDS and sexual and gender-based violence prevention].

Ms. Mbengue says recruiting teachers is not difficult. Burundi, like many other countries, has plenty of young people who have graduated from secondary school and are looking for work. She says it’s a golden opportunity for them to serve the country. Ms. Mbengue adds that the government and donors are also aware that pay must be adequate to keep teachers, who are after all entrusted with the country’s most important resource for development – its children.

Kagame seeks peace
Ignoring ethnic differences will reconcile country, he says
African leader seeks educational aid on first visit to Canada
Apr. 25, 2006 OLIVIA WARD

A dozen years after the genocide that ended the lives of almost 800,000 people, Rwandan President Paul Kagame says the only way to reconcile his country is a policy of ignoring ethnic differences between the Tutsi and Hutu people.

"You have to mobilize Rwandans who have lost their families, and those who have killed their neighbours and friends," he said in an interview at University of Western Ontario yesterday.

"It's a very difficult thing to cope with, but people are ready to pay the price for a better future."

Kagame's visit is the first he has made to Canada, and yesterday he toured the medical faculties of the university, which is involved in a project called Rebuilding Health in Rwanda.

He received praise from Western's president Paul Davenport as "a great African leader," and is to be presented with a peace medal this week from University of Sherbrooke.

But he faces protests from human rights activists who allege he played a role in the 1994 genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of mainly Tutsi people, a minority in Rwanda, died during a massacre led by Hutu extremists.

The charge comes from allegations that Kagame, then a senior militia commander, set the bloody event in motion by ordering a missile attack on a plane carrying Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira.

Kagame denies the allegations, labelling them propaganda circulated by people who themselves "have blood on their hands."

Amnesty International's Canadian office said Kagame should not be barred from the country, but "his visit is an opportunity to raise serious human rights issues."

The tall, lean, softly spoken leader, who resembles a professor more than the guerrilla fighter and soldier he has been for much of his career, has been surrounded by controversy since the genocide took place.

To some, he is a saviour who put an end to the bloodiest episode in modern African history when he drove Hutu extremists from power.

But he is also accused of allowing the revenge killings of at least 30,000 Hutu civilians.

More recently, he has been criticized for helping to destabilize neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo by sending troops into the volatile eastern part of the country.

"There is no question we were there between 1996 and 2002," he said.

"But nobody was concerned with asking what brought us there in the first place."

Kagame has said he tried to prevent Hutu perpetrators of the genocide, who had fled to the DRC, from coming back across the border and continuing the killings.

Now, he said, "there are problems, but they are less than they used to be. I see an improvement of the whole situation in the Great Lakes region (of Africa). So much effort has been put into settlement by the United Nations, regional governments and the European Union. They may not have always done the right things, but they have stepped up their efforts."

Attempts by exiled Hutu supporters to undermine his government have also lessened recently, Kagame said. But the murder of genocide fugitive Juvenal Uwilingiyimana, a high-level former government minister, in Belgium last December, was a sign they are still active.

Uwilingiyimana was reportedly planning to turn himself over to the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda and testify against his former colleagues.

But, Kagame said, "there are people who are willing to kill" to protect themselves from justice.

"They have found shelter in different parts of the world where there are still people sympathetic to them."

The Supreme Court of Canada last year said there was evidence Canadian resident Leon Mugesera, a former official in a hardline Hutu party, incited genocide by fanning the flames of hatred against Tutsis.

He is awaiting a pre-removal risk assessment to determine whether he is at risk if he is returned to Rwanda.

"He is without doubt one of the masterminds, one of the ideologues at the time. There is no doubt that he was directly implicated," Kagame said, urging that Mugesera be deported.

The Rwandan leader's relationship with the international tribunal has been an uneasy one, and he has established gacaca courts that are a cross between reconciliation commissions and criminal courts.

When the tribunal winds up in 2008, he said, "we are capable of dealing with cases in Rwandan courts. Community-centred justice is the most effective way.

It allows healing and reconciliation, involving communities so that they, in the end, are the ones who forgive each other. That is what I have urged."

Rwandan genocide victims have paid a huge price for peace, Kagame admitted.

"As a leader, you are asking a great deal, but you also pay a price.

"Imagine telling people who have lost their families, their mothers and fathers, to forgive. It is painful to accept, and just as difficult to ask it of them."

Some fuming as Rwandan president honoured in Sherbrooke
Apr 24 2006 CBC News
Some members of the African community in Sherbrooke, Que., are furious about the Université de Sherbrooke's decision to give a medal to the president of Rwanda.
Many believe Paul Kagame is guilty of war crimes.
The African community alleges Paul Kagame is guilty of war crimes
Over the span of 100 days in 1994, 800,000 Tutsis were systematically killed by Rwanda's extremist Hutu government.
The battle between Hutus and Tutsis spread into neighbouring countries.
After the genocide, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Rwanda, and many immigrated to Canada.
Henri M'Batika is one of those who came to Canada, and he's against the Rwandan president getting an award from the Quebec university.
"The Rwandan government is responsible for rebels who continue to kill people," M'Batika said in French.
M'Batika and other Hutus living in Sherbrooke allege the Rwandan president, who is Tutsi, is guilty of war crimes and should not be honoured in Canada.
The university has a long association with Rwanda, points out Jacques Viens, a spokesperson for the university.
Viens insists this medal of honour is not for the president, but rather for the people of Rwanda for their courage in overcoming the genocide.
Kagame is in Canada on an unofficial visit to take part in the conference on education and economic development in Africa.
The university will not hold an official ceremony to give him the award.

President of Rwanda arrives at UWO

Mon, April 24, 2006 By PATRICK MALONEY
http://lfpress.ca
The president of Rwanda arrived in London Monday in a manner benefiting a world leader and rarely seen before in this city.

A motorcade of up to a dozen cars arrived shortly after 11 a.m. at the University of Western Ontario's campus, where President Paul Kagame was greeted by Paul Davenport, UWO's president.

Kagame's visit brings with it a rare level of security. Four police forces - London police, the RCMP, campus officers and Rwandan officials — are flanking the president on his tour and keeping a lookout across campus during his time here.

The African leader plans to address the media before noon and will then be a guest speaker at a luncheon at 12:30 p.m.

Central Africa: 'Tripartite' Foreign Ministers Seek UN Intervention On Dissidents

The New Times (Kigali) - April 23, 2006 - Kigali

The Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Tripartite Plus Joint Commission have written to the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Alpha Omar Konare, expressing concern at the continued threat to security in the Great Lakes Region, posed by the armed groups in the Eastern DRC.

According to a communiqué issued in Bujumbura, Burundi on April 21 at the end of the two-day Tripartite Summit, the Ministers of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), urged the AU Chairman to approve and forward the names of the marauding militia to the United Nations Security Council for action, including possible sanctions.

Referring to UNSC Resolution 1649 of 2006 on sanctions against leaders of the armed groups, the Ministers blacklisted the Rwandan rebel group FDLR, Burundi's FNL, Uganda's LRA, ADF/NALU, PRA, 'and other negative forces in Eastern DRC' as candidates for sanctions. The Ministers also called for sanctions against those who violate arms embargoes in contravention of the UNSC.

'Committed to the restoration of security and stability in the Great Lakes Region, we hereby recommend to the African Union to adopt decisions that commit all member states of the African Union to enforce sanctions against the political and military leaders of the rebel groups operating in the Tripartite Plus Partner States' the Ministers, who were briefed by officials from MONUC, AU and EU about plans to disarm and demobilise negative forces in the region, wrote in the communiqué.

The Bujumbura meet came at a time when officials of the militia group, the FDLR, were enjoying support from other countries in the Tripartite in a bid to destabilise Rwanda.

It also followed the arrest of the group's leader Ignace Murwanashyaka, who was arrested in Germany after boarding from Entebbe in Uganda, in violation of UN travel sanctions imposed against him last year.

Meanwhile, the lists of the militia leaders destabilising the region will also be submitted to the Security and Defence Sub-Commission, which will convene in Kigali next month.

According to the 'Summary of Conclusions' by the four Foreign Ministers, 'the sub-commission will process and review these lists and submit one agreed list for approval to the Council of Ministers. The Sub-Commission will also consider arms embargo violations and the legal mechanisms for extradition agreements, prosecution, international court orders, and domestic laws.'

'The Tripartite will pursue a two-pronged approach to secure agreement from the African Union Peace and Security Council to apply sanctions on individuals on the Tripartite Plus Most Wanted Lists in the event that these individuals settle in or transit AU Member States,' the Ministers add.

The Tripartite Plus Joint Commission is facilitated by the United States Government, while the AU, EU and MONUC are observers.

Rwanda: Mufti Urges On Reconciliation

The New Times (Kigali) / April 23, 2006 / Charlotte Kyakwera
Kigali

The Mufti of Rwanda, Sheikh Swaleh Habimana, has urged Rwandans to confess and forgive each other for genocide crimes in order to fully foster unity and reconciliation.

Shiekh Habimana who was recently addressing people who turned up for a memorial ceremony in remembrance of American Embassy staff who died during the genocide, said this would rid the society of the deadly genocide ideology that is still harboured by some Rwandans.

"The genocide ideology still exists because people have not learnt to bury the bodies; we need to confess and ask for forgiveness, we need to forgive. If we don't ask for forgiveness and forgive then God will never forgive us and so we shall not learn how to bury and the genocide ideology will always prevail," Habimana said at American Club in Kiyovu.

The Mufti, who denounced the genocide, however urged the survivors to be tolerant and to forgive and unite with the confessed tormentors.

"Together we must ensure that 'Never Again' to genocide is realised. Survivors should not languish in pain and trauma, let them unite with other Rwandans to emphasize 'Never Again'; this is the time when Rwandans should come together to fight the consequences of the 1994 genocide," the Mufti said.

Catholic Priest Oreste Abbe Incimatata described what happened in 1994 as genocide against God.

"The murderers not only killed people but also God the Creator. I say so because

they killed His creation; they killed the people He made in His own image. A human being stands in God's image, therefore when you kill a person, you have killed God."

The sombre function was attended by, among others, the American Ambassador Michael Arrieti, the USAID Director Kevin Mullary, Evariste Kalisa, MP, and Charles Mugabo, the President of the American Embassy Employees Association.

UGANDA

Uganda: 100,000 IDPs Return Home

New Vision (Kampala) - April 23, 2006 - Patrick Jaramogi
Kampala

AFTER prolonged suffering in squalid internally displaced people's (IDP) camps, the people of Lango have begun to trek back home. This follows the return of relative peace to the region that has been rocked by Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacks for nearly 20 years.

Thousands in northern Uganda were uprooted from their homes by the rebellion, several youths were abducted and conscripted into the rebel ranks and many local people were maimed and butchered by the rebels.

At least 100,000 internally displaced people are estimated to have returned to their villages since the Government kicked off its resettlement scheme last month.

The 5th Division Infantry Commander Lira, Brig. George Etyang, who is overseeing the resettlement, on Friday said, "Unlike in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, where decongestion is taking place, here in Lango, people are heading home for resettlement and their security is guaranteed".

Etyang, who took the journalists to see the closed and decongested camps at Barr, Aloi, Abaka, Bata, Abia, Adwar, Aromo, Agweng, Agwata, Bar-jobi, Olit and Okwang, said, "What is left is for the Government to provide the required resettlement packages promised by the President."

At Barr IDP camp, 10km from Lira town, out of the original 48,000 IDPs, about 24,000 remained. The camp commandant, Lawrence Alot, said, "Most people have gone back to their villages basically to farm. Others still return and sleep in the camps after tilling the land."

At Aloi, one of the biggest camps in Lira District, an estimated 20,000 out of 60,000 IDPs had returned home.

The camp leader, Haji Sali Oryem, said, "At least 20,000 people have left since the month began, but this camp would be empty if people were provided with seeds, farming tools, food and iron sheets. People have gone of their own will but others are still stuck for lack of shelter at home."

Abako IDP camp was almost empty.

Alfred Ojang, the camp leader, said, "This camp had 20,000 people but today there are less than 1,000 people left here. People had returned to their homes but it is unfortunate that our MPs are now telling us to return to the camps, saying Museveni wants to massacre us for not voting him."

At Bata IDP camp, all the 32,000 people IDPs had left.

A returnee, 38-year-old Mildred Ayo, a mother of seven, said at Bar-jobi, "I am glad I am back at home after over 10 years. I came first to clear the way for my husband, who is still at Olit camp."

Uganda: Why the Queen Must Not Visit

New Vision (Kampala) - OPINION - April 23, 2006
Beti Kamya - Kampala

I am amazed at the simplicity of the materialistic pedestal from which many people have criticised the Forum for Democratic Change's (FDC) for lobbying to discourage the Queen of England from visiting Uganda. Endorsing, through her visit, a regime found by the Supreme Court, to have come into power after presiding over a non-free and fair election, would soil her credible status as Head of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth is a club of nations that proclaim and vow to uphold and promote the principles of democracy, good governance, rule of law, constitutionalism and respect for human rights.

As Head of the Commonwealth, it is the Queen's duty to call members to order when they stray and to do so decisively, as she did to Zimbabwe, an errant member that was expected to host the previous Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, until Tony Blair campaigned against it and got the Queen's ear.

Was anybody ever in doubt about the economic benefits that would accrue to the people of Zimbabwe out of that visit? But all members of the Commonwealth, including President Yoweri Museveni, (he is not on record for defending Mugabe's bid to host the meeting) were persuaded of the moral benefits to Zimbabwe of denying the Mugabe regime recognition.

If material gains were the most important factor of life, Judas Iscariot would be a saint (it is only the 30 pieces of silver that stood between him and sainthood), words like corruption, robbery and blood-money would have no meaning, we would be living in a sinless world, short-term gains would be glorified and everybody would be encouraged to grab anything on offer! However, we all know that long-term benefits come out of sacrifice and self-denial.

The people of Uganda need freedom to choose their leaders in a free and fair environment, to associate freely, to say what they want to say without looking over their shoulders, to be sure that when a leader is voted out of power, s/he will go gracefully, to demonstrate when they wish to, to access state scholarships when they qualify for them and to be treated equally under the law.

In Uganda, citizens are either beaten or bought into choosing a leader, lists are currently being drawn of people who should not get jobs because they did not vote wisely, civil servants are terrified of losing their jobs and people have to be careful whom they are seen with lest they lose their jobs.

The President even said that if Dr. Kizza Besigye had won the elections, he would not have allowed him to take power. The High Court, which is supposed to be an open, public court, is surrounded by military might during Besigye's court appearances, but this does not happen to other suspects before court.

Court released the 22 treason suspects on bail but President Museveni ordered their continued incarceration "as a precautionary measure", Hon. Hassan Akbar's State House scholarship hangs in the balance because he stood on the FDC ticket and won, most Ugandans think that only the gun can get Museveni out of power and when Ugandans choose to demonstrate against these ills they are tear-gassed.

If it takes the cancellation of the Queen's visit to create international awareness of the dictatorship in Uganda, it is a sacrifice worth making, after all, how much more did Museveni ask us to sacrifice to get him into power?

The Museveni regime has committed all the sins that Mugabe did and then some more. All we ask is that the Queen treats her members equally.

The writer is the MP-elect for Rubaga North and the special envoy in the office of the FDC president

Tanzania bans election handouts

Tuesday, 25 April 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk

Campaigners argued takrima was not limited to free food and drink
Tanzania has banned traditional African hospitality known by its Swahili name of "takrima" during election campaigns.
Under the country's electoral law, politicians were allowed to hand out food and drink to prospective voters.

But the High Court ruled in favour of three legal rights organisations that argued it was a form of corruption.

The BBC's Emmanuel Muga in Dar es Salaam says it is a blow to the government that legalised takrima shortly before the 2000 polls.

The three High Court judges ruled unanimously that the practice should be outlawed, our correspondent says.

Celebrating the landmark ruling, the legal rights organisations said as well as being unfair to politicians who could not afford to provide it, the hospitality was not limited to free food, drink and transportation.

"Takrima is a technical term which has been invented by the people who were in power to help them cling to power," one of the challenging lawyers, Julius Mashamba of National Organisation for Legal Assistance, said.

"During general elections it was observed that most of the candidates were providing a lot of things, including money, which influenced the electorate," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

In general elections last December, described by international observers as well run, Tanzanians overwhelming chose ruling party candidate Jakaya Kikwete as their leader.

He took over the presidency from Benjamin Mkapa who stepped down after two terms.

Turnout was 72% of the registered voters with 11.3 million votes cast.

Sapa-AFP Mon, 24 Apr 2006

Zanzibar - A group of Zanzibari opposition figures have filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the four-decade-old union between the Indian Ocean archipelago and mainland Tanzania.

Just two days ahead of the 42nd anniversary of the merger that created Tanzania from the Zanzibar islands and the mainland, then known as Tanganyika, the group challenged the existence of the 1964 articles of confederation.

"We have now filed the case. We hope the court will do us justice," said group leader Rashid Salum Addiy, after the suit was filed in Zanzibar High Court. "We believe this union is illegal."

A court official confirmed the lawsuit had been filed, but declined to comment on when it might be heard.

Many of semi-autonomous Zanzibar's population of about one million have long chafed under the current structure of the union, which they believe favours residents of the much-larger mainland.

Zanzibar - a favourited tourist destination with its idyllic beaches and colourful spice - and slave-trading past - has its own president and parliament, but calls have been growing in recent years for the dissolution of the union or at least major modifications to the confederation.

The movement gained steam in December when the government was unable to produce its copy of the original charter signed on April 26 1964, between Tanganyika's founding president Julius Nyerere and the late Zanzibari leader Abeid Amani Karume.

"We now have enough evidence to prove there was no legal agreement between Zanzibar and Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania," said Salum.

"Zanzibaris want to recover their sovereignty or have new agreement with (Tanzania)," he said, adding that the group would call United Nations chief Kofi Annan and numerous Zanzibar officials as witnesses in the suit.

"They must prove in court the legitimacy of the union, and we need to see the original articles of agreement," said Salum who represents 10 opposition figures named as plaintiffs in the suit.

Huawei Wins Turnkey GSM Contract

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17099.php

25-04-2006 Oasis, the Congolese operation of Millicom International, has awarded Huawei a turnkey contract to provide a brand new GSM network. Under the first phase of the contract, Huawei will supply and install its Huawei EnerG GSM technical platform and deploy more than 500 base stations across the country. Millicom DRC will be launching the network with a capacity of over 1 million subscribers with a new brand name in Q3 2006. The initial phase of the network will cover 85% the population in the largest 182 cities of the Congo.

Mr. Ga?Campan, Oasis Sprl CEO stated, "It's a milestone occasion for both companies. Millicom and Huawei's collaboration will open a new era for the cell phone industry in DRC. DRC is a pioneer in the mobile industry and deserves the highest standard of product quality and services. Our partnership with Huawei will enable us to create a more competitive market for better customer satisfaction."

"Huawei is honored to become Millicom DRC's partner offering a future-proof network and enriched communication experiences to DRC subscribers", said Mr. Jingwen Tao, President of Huawei South Africa. "We look forward to a close long-term partnership with Millicom DRC. With our vision of enriching people's life through communications, Huawei is committed to bringing excellent services and world-class innovative technologies to benefit DRC customers."

The Mobile World reports that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ended last year with just under 2.8 million customers - which represents a 4.5% market penetration.

Les sociétés civiles du Burundi, du Rwanda et de la RDC se concertent à Goma
Mardi, 25 Avril 2006 www.radiookapi.net

Les délégués des sociétés civiles des trois pays sont réunis au chef-lieu du Nord-Kivu depuis dimanche dernier. Ils se proposent de faire entendre leur voix auprès des décideurs gouvernementaux de leurs pays dans le cadre des préparatifs à la prochaine conférence des Chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement sur la paix, la sécurité, la démocratie et le développement dans la région des Grands Lacs, indique radiookapi.net

Il s’agit de la 4e rencontre du genre à Goma en trois ans. Quels résultats les 3 précédentes rencontres ont-elles produits? A ce sujet, Kambaza Sylvestre, président du Conseil régional, reconnaît que ces rencontres ont eu le mérite d’avoir fait prendre conscience aux peuples rwandais, burundais et congolais de la nécessité de vivre ensemble. Ensuite, un cahier des charges sur les attentes des populations a été pris en compte dans le projet intégrateur et les protocoles d’accord à soumettre à la signature des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement de la région des Grands Lacs, ajoute-t-il.

Parmi les propositions, M. Kambaza évoque l’impérieuse nécessité de réhabiliter le barrage d’Inga qui pourra alimenter toute la région des Grands Lacs.

Rwanda, Congo or ICC to try Hutu leader - minister

By Emma Thomasson / Reuters (IDS)

THE HAGUE (Reuters April 25, 2006 ) - Rwanda is prepared for itself, the Democratic Republic of Congo or the International Criminal Court to try a Hutu rebel leader arrested in Germany this month, a Rwandan minister said on Tuesday.

Ignace Murwanashyaka, political leader of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), is being held in Germany pending possible deportation after being arrested earlier this month for illegal entry.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande told a news conference in The Hague that Kigali had told the German government it would be happy to charge him in Rwanda, but said Berlin could also send him to the DRC or the ICC.

Murigande said Murwanashyaka's group had committed most of its recent crimes in the DRC and noted that the ICC was investigating war crimes there, so Kinshasa could consider sending him to stand trial at The Hague-based court.

"These people committed genocide in Rwanda but continued to kill, to maim, to rape people in eastern DRC but at the same time launching incursions from time to time in Rwanda," Murigande said.

Murigande is due to visit the ICC during his four-day visit to the Netherlands. Last month the ICC, set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent criminal court, received its first suspect, Congo militia leader Thomas Lubanga .

Murigande said Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Uganda were working together to gather the information the German courts would need to decide what to do with Murwanashyaka.

Murwanashyaka has been based in Germany for 15 years, but Berlin revoked his status as a registered refugee after the U.N. Security Council imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on him and 15 others accused of violating an arms embargo aimed at ending fighting in Congo.

The military wing of the FDLR is based in eastern DRC and is opposed to the Rwandan government.

It is accused of taking part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide in which bands of extremists from the Hutu majority killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

A five-year war in Congo involving six neighbouring states officially ended in 2003 but rebel groups, government soldiers and militias still plunder villages and terrorise civilians.

Murigande said the arrest showed that sanctions should be imposed on other rebel leaders.

"If these type of sanctions would be extended to other leaders of armed groups who have been wreaking havoc in our region, probably this would yield very good results.

"These are people who committed genocide and are just fighting to avoid being held accountable for the crimes they've committed and that is not a good cause to fight for," he said.

Murigande said he was happy with the cooperation of the DRC military in fighting Hutu rebels on its territory and noted that Rwanda was working closely with Congo, Uganda and Burundi to share intelligence.

"Maybe in the near future we will even be able to launch joint operations to deal completely with this problem," he said.

Democratic Republic of Congo More than 167,000 people displaced in five months

http://www.mmorning.com/ArticleC.asp?Article=3516&CategoryID=7
More than 167,000 people have fled fighting between the army and militias in Katanga Province in the Southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since mid-November, the UN has said, as violence continues ahead of this year’s crucial elections.

“The number of displaced people continues to rise because several thousand of them, who had stayed hidden in the bush because they were afraid to take the roads, are starting to reach villages where aid is dispatched,” said Alfred Gondo, head of the UN office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for the center of Katanga.
The wave of newly-displaced comes in addition to 121,000 others who had fled the war-torn region of the vast Central African state in 2005 following continued unrest.
“The situation is really serious”, said Thomas Mokake, head of the World Food Program (WFP) office in Lubumbashi.
“Our forecasts of food needs have already been exceeded because there are more and more displaced people arriving”.
The WFP began a food drop of 375 tons at the start of April in the Mitwaba region of Katanga, where bad roads and a lack of security guarantees for convoys had cut off supplies.
The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) organization has also opened clinics and reinforced local health centers in the north and center of Katanga, OCHA said.
“But some zones remain inaccessible to humanitarian operations, and current aid is insufficient”, Gondo said, also calling for a rapid deployment of some 1,400 UN peacekeepers who are due to be sent to Katanga by May.
The DRC is due to hold general elections in 2006 to put an end to a fragile political transition process begun in 2003 after a civil war which left more than three million people dead.
The first presidential and parliamentary elections, which had been due to take place on June 18, have been delayed for logistical reasons. The new electoral calendar has not yet been decided.
Meanwhile, fighting is continuing, heightened by competition for natural resources in the mineral-rich Katanga region and by military operations against Mai Mai rebels in the area.
One UN observer, who asked to remain anonymous, said the current electoral process “is an aggravating factor” in the violence.
“The displaced people who have electoral cards are considered by the militias to be traitors supporting the government, and those who have not been registered are considered as enemies by soldiers accusing them of supporting the Mai Mai”, the observer said.
The UN mission in DRC, known as MONUC, is made up of 17,000 blue-helmeted peacekeeping soldiers.

Kenya’s Eveready to list on Nairobi Stock Exchange
Panapress 25 Apr 2006 www.businessinafrica.net

Nairobi - East Africa's oldest battery maker, Eveready East Africa Limited, on Monday announced plans to list 30 percent of its stake through the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) ahead of its regional expansion phase expected later in the year.

The dry cell battery manufacturing firm, a subsidiary of the United States-based Eveready Battery Company, says the consumption of dry cells in the African market is expected to take a huge leap forward with the growth above 20 percent.

Eveready managing director Steve Smith said the company was counting on the success of some of the companies, which have recently listed at the NSE with huge returns.

“We are proposing to offer Kenyans shares in Eveready which is poised for growth through regional expansion on the back of enhanced regional economic integration efforts in the East Africa region,” Smith said.

Smith said the company was confident of penetrating new markets because of its current success in the East Africa market, where it currently sells 450 million batteries annually.

“The region has one market of 450 (million) and we see it growing. It could grow at 20 percent and we see it past 500 million over the next five years,” Smith said, adding that its market dominance in Kenya was a big boost for its expansion strategy.

“We are not raising any new capital. This is an offer for sale. We are dealing with interest and investment issues,” Smith said in Nairobi after announcing the company's plan to become one of the latest players in the NSE, which currently has 51 listed firms.

State-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company (Kengen), a hydroelectric and geothermal power generating entity became the latest to sell 30 percent of its stake through the NSE, which was oversubscribed by 10bn Kenya shillings (about $140mn).

The Kengen offer saw Kenyans jamming registered stock brokerage firms for a slice of the company's shares, something that Smith said partly motivated his company to venture into the NSE to dispose some of its stocks to Kenyans.

The battery maker says it posted a profit of 187mn shillings (about $2.6mn) in 2005, a slight decline from the previous year's 190mn shillings. The profits level rose up from 143mn shillings in 2003 after the firm's battery brand was rejuvenated to stave off competition.

“We saw a huge influx of products from China. Our response to dealing with low-priced products in the market was that we made a transition and we put it back on the market,” Smith explained. -

Angola prisoner dies after fight

Associated Press www.katc.com ANGOLA, La. An inmate at Angola collapsed and died shortly after a fight with another inmate.

Assistant warden Cathy Fontenot says Orland Stewart fought with Lonnie Bilbo just before his collapse yesterday.

Prison emergency medical staff tried unsuccessfully to revive Stewart.

Louisiana State Penitentiary investigators and the West Felciana Parish Sheriff's Office are investigating the death.

Steward, from Caddo Parish, was serving a live sentence for second degree murder and a two-year sentence for aggravated battery.

Seminar Analyses Management Of Electoral Conflicts

Luanda, 04/25 - ANGOP - An upgrading course on the prevention, management and transformation of electoral conflicts is being held from this Tuesday in Kuito city, south Bié province, promoted by Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) in co-operation with the Centre of Strategic Studies.

The seminar aims at analysing Angola`s experience and potential areas of conflict, obtaining lessons on the management of mechanisms in the SADC region, suggesting concrete measures that aim at preventing, managing and changing of misunderstandings during the forthcoming elections.

For two days, the following topics will be discussed: "Electoral Conflicts", "Expectation of Participants", "Legal and constitutional framework", "The constitutional framework, electoral law and other regulations related with electoral conflicts: the Angolan context", "Good practices", "Perspectives for peaceful elections in Angola", amongst others.

The themes will be lectured by members of the National Electoral Commission, Women Network, Bar Association, Journalist Trade Union, among other institution.

AFRIQUE DU SUD :

South Africa mulls relaxing visa norms for skilled Indians

International

Johannesburg, April 25 (PTI): In a bid to attract skilled Indian workforce, South Africa is considering giving special visa with relaxed norms to make it easier for them to work in the country and is close to signing an agreement with India.

"Currently, South Africa is facing shortage of manpower not only in the field of information technology, but also in areas of municipal management and education. We are looking at Indians to meet the shortage and who can act as mentors," South African Minister in Presidency for Government Communication and Information System Essop Goolam Pahad said here.

Pahad said South Africa was considering special visa for teachers, engineers and technically trained people with specialised expertise from India.

"Our ministry of Public Service and Administration is close to signing an agreement with the Indian counterpart," he added.

"The current visa condition does not allow businessmen to do business with other countries when they come here.We need to address that issue as well," he added.

Asked if there were any specific number of workforce that South Africa would like to attract from India and the number of visas that may be considered, he said the specifics were being worked out.

"Right now we are looking at the details and the specific areas where we would like to give preference," he added.

S.Africa's Cell C returns to EBITDA profit in 2005
Tue Apr 25, 2006 JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's third biggest mobile operator Cell C returned to a core profit in 2005 and boosted active subscribers by 32 percent to 2.9 million, the firm said on Tuesday.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the year to December 2005 was 442.4 million rand compared to a negative 46.6 million rand in the previous year, a statement said.

"Cell C has remained EBITDA positive on a monthly basis since May 2004," the unlisted company said.

Blended average revenue per user (ARPU), a key earnings grade for mobile telecoms firms, rose to 147 rand last year from 142 rand the previous year, it added.

Cell C said total revenue increased 34 percent to 5.5 billion rand and it achieved a 20 percent market share of net postpaid additions.

Its total market share at the end of 2005, was 10 percent, consisting of 9 percent of the prepaid market and 15 percent of the postpaid market.

South Africa's biggest cellular operator is Vodacom -- owned by fixed line operator Telkom and Britain's Vodafone -- followed by MTN.

S.Africa's Netcare buys control of UK's GHG; now a giant
Tue Apr 25, 2006 By Marius Bosch and James Macharia

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Netcare has acquired a controlling interest in UK-based General Healthcare Group (GHG) as part of a consortium in a 2.2 billion pounds deal, making it one of the biggest hospital groups in the world, it said on Tuesday.

But shares in Netcare fell as much as 3.31 percent to 9.05 rand after the transaction was announced on jitters that it was putting in a lot of capital in the deal, and underperformed the bourse's blue-chip Top-40 index which slipped 0.8 percent.

Netcare, confirming an earlier Reuters report, said in a statement that its share of the acquisition, along with private-equity partner Apax Partners and private UK property firm London & Regional, will be 2.3 billion rand or around 217 million pounds and the injection of its existing UK business.

A source familiar with the transaction told Reuters earlier on Tuesday it was the largest healthcare services deal ever in Europe, and the biggest globally in about a decade.

Netcare will own 50.1 percent of GHG, which is being sold by private-equity firm BC Partners.

"The key benefits to Netcare of the acquisition of GHG are that it establishes Netcare as one of the world's largest healthcare groups, with 120 hospitals and ambulatory day care centres and over 11,500 beds under management, the South African firm said in a statement.

"... (and) provides Netcare with a meaningful platform for future international growth in the longer term," it added.

Analysts said they were concerned by the magnitude of the company's investment in a market where it has previously operated without as much capital injection.

"Mainly there is uncertainty of going into the UK and putting in that much capital," one analyst who declined to be named said. "What I liked about the previous strategy was that they went into the UK with little cash spent and operated mobile units to treat patients."

Netcare's 217 million pounds share of the purchase price will be funded using new debt facilities provided by Dresdner Bank AG (London) that have been raised for the purposes of this acquisition, the group said.

"The balance of the purchase price will be provided by the consortium partners and debt financing raised at GHG on a non-recourse basis to Netcare South Africa," Netcare Chairman Michael Sacks said in a statement.

The analyst said there were also questions about how GHC operated, and whether it was able to win huge tenders or contracts for treatment of patients.

GHG is the leading provider of private acute care in the UK with a national network of 49 hospitals and about 2,400 beds. Netcare, whose full name is Network Healthcare Holdings Ltd., owns around 71 hospitals and the Medicross chain of 53 medical and dental centres.

In the UK it has opened a high volume surgery unit in Manchester, northwest England, and plans to perform over 44,800 orthopaedic, ear nose and throat procedures and general surgery operations over a five-year period.

Netcare's Chief Executive Officer Richard Friedland has previously said the group's UK unit would continue to explore international expansion opportunities within selected healthcare markets.

Netcare said the GHG acquisition is unconditional and is expected to be effective on or about May 12 this year.

Investment bank NM Rothschild advised BC Partners, while UBS and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein acted for the Netcare-led consortium.

Indonesia, S. Africa aim to increase trade

April 25, 2006 - Rendi Akhmad Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia and South Africa are seeking to increase bilateral trade and investment ties through direct facilitation in the banking and transportation sectors.

Business relations between the two countries are limited due primarily to the absence of banking and transportation facilities, Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said Monday.

"We cannot not directly export most of our products to South Africa because of the transportation problem, Most of our goods have to be reexported through Dubai and other countries. It is this sort of problems that we need to resolve soon," said Mari.

Mari was speaking after accompanying Vice President Jusuf Kalla to a meeting with visiting South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Mari said that more trade would be unlikely in the near future unless the trade and investment infrastructure between the two countries was improved in order to allow businesses to work together..

Mari will lead an Indonesian trade delegation to South Africa in May as part of the effort to establish such infrastructure and promote Indonesian products and firms at a trade exhibition there.

"We need to boost promotion and provide more opportunities for Indonesian businesspeople. In general, South Africa is a gateway for entering other African markets. That is why we will attend the trade exhibition there," she said.

Last year, two-way trade between Indonesia and South Africa was valued at US$577 million, with Indonesia mostly exporting palm oil and rubber products, while South Africa sent minerals to Indonesia.

Indonesia also sells garments, textiles and electronic products to South Africa and buys fertilizer from that country, although trade volumes are limited.

Indonesia hopes to increase its exports of other manufactured products to South Africa and other countries on the continent so as to reduce unemployment at home.

At present, unemployment -- both open and concealed -- stands at more than 45 million people.

The government is currently working to revive the country's labor-intensive manufacturing sector, which has yet to recover from the devastating impact of the late 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Meanwhile, during a joint press conference with Kalla, Vice President Mlambo-Ngcuka said there is "greater opportunity in open-cut mining in Indonesia than there is in South Africa" and that South African companies should explore coal-mining opportunities in Indonesia.

"I actually don't think that South African companies realize this. This is some information that we intend to take back so that we can encourage our companies to explore more business opportunities here," she said.

Vice President Kalla said Indonesia hoped to see the participation of South Africa in developing the country's coal-liquification industry.

AFRIQUE / U A :

Stand-by force formed to keep peace in region

By George Kebasso
http://www.timesnews.co.ke/25apr06/nwsstory/news3.html

A Standby force has been established to respond to both internal and cross border conflicts within the Eastern Africa region.

The Eastern Africa Stand-by Brigade was endorsed in Nairobi yesterday by the 13-nation Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), excluding Burundi, which opted out due to language barrier.

The security team will be required to intervene in conflicts arising within the region.

The establishment of the force is a culmination of a mandate given by the African Union (AU) for the regional stand-by forces to ensure maintenance of peace in their areas of jurisdiction.

The continental forces are expected to be fully in place and operational by the year 2010.

Speaking during the launch, Defence Minister Njenga Karume said it was in the pursuit of peace as a foundation for enhanced development in Africa, that the AU decided to establish an African stand-by Force aimed at ensuring quick intervention in conflicts arising within the continent.

The meeting bringing together all the region’s chiefs of Defence Staff, is expected to deliberate an institutional framework and agree on decisions required to guide activities of the force in conflict resolution.

The meeting will also deliberate on budgeting and staffing of the force, and will serve as a curtain riser for a regional Council of Ministers meeting to be held tomorrow at the same venue.

The brigade would be head quartered at the Defence College in Karen, Nairobi, while its logistics division will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia .

This chiefs of Staff 5th session which was also addressed by the chairman, Chiefs of Defence Staff of the Eastern African Region, Arunda Nyakairama, is also to draft rules of procedure for future meetings incorporating top military officers.

Besides finances and personnel, the force will require policy documents and a standardised uniform of operational procedures to be drafted by AU.

Kenya’s Chief of General Staff, Gen Jeremiah Kianga, praised the move saying it was particularly significant because the Eastern Africa sub-region has historically been one of the most conflict-prone in the continent that has created a great yearning for peace.

The meeting will also review the progress of the decisions at the 3rd session in Kigali which recommended that IGAD be replaced by a secretariat to be charged with conflict resolution.

African states meet in Malawi on bird flu
25 Apr 2006 panapress MALAWI

Lilongwe - Agriculture scientists from 19 African countries on Monday began meeting in Malawi to strategise on how vulnerable countries should react in case of an outbreak of avian influenza.

Mazlan Jusoh, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) country representative for Malawi, said although most countries in Africa are free of bird flu, there was an "urgent need to increase surveillance and early detection of any outbreak".

"In Malawi, as is the case in many African countries, inadequate medical, veterinary and laboratory services, limited animal and human health education and the high levels of poverty make more people vulnerable," he said.

Alongside surveillance therefore, Jusoh said "countries must step up public awareness campaigns and put in place rapid response mechanisms to reduce socio-economic impact of the disease".

The five-day conference gathers veterinary, wildlife and agriculture scientists from English-speaking African countries - Botswana, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and host Malawi.

The forum is jointly organised by FAO, the regional programme on Emergency Assistance for Early Detection and Prevention of Avian Influenza in Eastern and Southern Africa and the African Union Centre for Tick and Tick Borne Diseases.

Organisers said the objective of the workshop is to train participants "on recognising the disease in domestic and wild birds and analysing the impact of the disease in their countries".

According to the FAO, over 200 million birds have died or been destroyed in preventive culling in over 30 countries since the outbreak originated in South East Asia in 2003 and rapidly spread to the Middle East and Europe.

In Africa, Nigeria reported the continent's first case of bird flu in February, followed by Egypt, Niger, Cameroon and Sudan.

Bird flu is a contagious disease, which mostly affects birds, but can occasionally infect humans, according to the World Heath Organisation (WHO).

The highly pathogenic form, H5N1 strain, spreads rapidly through poultry flocks and has a mortality that can approach 100 percent within 48 hours.

WHO, which is co-ordinating the global response to the corresponding threat of an influenza pandemic, says almost 190 human cases are confirmed proving fatal to half of those infected.

WHO says the greater concern is if the virus changes into a form that is highly infectious for humans and spreads easily from person-to-person, noting that this "could mark the start of a global outbreak".

UN /ONU :

USA :

US likely to call UN Sudan sanctions vote Tuesday
Tuesday, 25 April 2006 Reuters

The United States was likely to call a U.N. vote on Tuesday to impose sanctions on four Sudanese accused of war crimes in Darfur, despite opposition from China and Russia, a U.S. official said.

The sanctions, a travel ban and a freeze on assets abroad, would be the first adopted against individuals involved in the Darfur conflict. They were authorized by the U.N. Security Council in March 2005 against those who thwart peace efforts, violate human rights or conduct military flights over Darfur.

"We very well could vote," said Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

Russia and China believe the sanctions could interfere with the two-year-old Darfur peace talks between the Khartoum government and two rebels groups, conducted in Abuja, Nigeria.

To ease the concerns of African nations, the Security Council expects to approve at the same time a Tanzanian-drafted statement supporting the Abuja talks. Africa Union mediators have set April 30 as a deadline for a new ceasefire deal.

Both Russia and China, whose envoys said they still had to receive instructions, abstained on the March 2005 resolution authorizing the sanctions and may do so again -- or use their veto power to kill the measure. Voting with them will be Qatar, the only Arab member of the 15-nation council.

"My concern is that this draft resolution proposed by the United States might in a way have some negative implications for the negotiations in Abuja," China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, told reporters on Monday.

China exploits oil and supplies weapons to Sudan. But Wang contended Beijing was consistent in opposing sanctions in general and not because of its economic interests.

The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 when mostly non-Arab tribes took up arms over land and water resources, accusing the Arab-dominated government of neglect.

In turn, the government is accused of arming mainly Arab militia, known as Janjaweed, who began a campaign of murder, rape, arson and plunder that drove more than 2 million villagers into squalid camps in Darfur and neighboring Chad. Khartoum denies responsibility.

Four men are named in the resolution, according to a whittled-down list that Britain drafted. They are:

-- Gaffar Mohamed El-Hassan, former commander of the Sudanese air force's western region. Council diplomats said he had direct operational command of Sudan's army in Darfur from 2004-2006. He is said to have coordinated operations between government forces and the Janjaweed that resulted in scores of attacks on non-Arab villages. He also supplied weapons to pro-government militia.

-- Sheikh Musa Hilal, chief of the Jalul tribe in North Darfur, the region's largest Arab tribe. He is a Janjaweed leader the diplomats say is behind some of the worst atrocities. His militia is blamed for storming countless villages, raping, robbing civilians and burning homes. He was jailed in 1997 for killing 17 people, the envoys say.

-- Adam Yacub Shant, a commander in the rebel Sudan Liberation Army. The diplomats say he violated a Darfur ceasefire in July 2005 by ordering his soldiers to attack government forces. Three soldiers were killed.

-- Gabril Abdul Kareem Badri, a rebel commander in the National Movement for Reform and Development. Diplomats say he kidnapped members of the African Union force in Darfur in October and in November threatened to shoot down AU helicopters.

Sponsoring the resolution are the United States, Britain, Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan, Peru and Slovakia,

CANADA :

Guyana asks Canada to help solve murder
Apr. 24, 2006 ASSOCIATED PRESS

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — The government of this violence-wracked South American country said Monday it has asked the United States and Canada to help solve the weekend murders of a