Africa – Page 116 – IDN-InDepthNews

Africa2016-03-102023-07-10

A Hotelier Sets Sights on Wangari Maathai’s Prized Forest

NAIROBI (INPS | GIN) – A unique urban forest, beloved by Nobel Laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement (GBM), Wangari Maathai, is reportedly in the sights of a hotel developer.

“Wangari is dead but not resting in peace,” said Kenyan Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, adding: “The proposed hotel in Karura Forest must be disturbing her spirit.”

According to Maathai’s Green Belt group, Ibis Hospitality Ltd, Nairobi-based, is hoping to build a five-star hotel on a 25-acre piece of forest. A spokesman for the group denies the group’s claim.

Africa2016-02-292023-07-10

Pineapples at Core of Land Fight in Kenya

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (INPS | GIN) – A foreign company – let’s call it Goliath – is battling two small counties in Kenya – we’ll call them David – over the rights to prime farmland from which the Kenyans are seeking a small slice for public use.

The two counties – Murang’a and Kiambu – were looking for a better deal from the Del Monte juice company which was looking to renew its contracts for farmland, expiring in 2022 in Murang’a, and 2019 in Kiambu.

But the proposal to set aside 3,000 acres for public use out of the approximately 22,500 acres leased by Del Monte was received with outrage. The company took their case to court.

Africa2016-02-292023-07-10

One-Family Rule in Gabon to Cross the Half Century Mark

LIBREVILLE (INPS | GIN) – Ali Bongo Ondimba, son of the Gabonese patriarch Omar Bongo Ondimba, has announced plans to seek another term in office – giving his family over a half century of rule in this West African nation if he wins.

Announcing his candidacy, President Ali Bongo pledged to fight “unwarranted privilege” even as he stands as one of the richest men in the region with 39 properties in France, 11 French bank accounts and 29 luxury cars in France worth more than $18.5 million, at last count.

Africa2016-02-292023-07-10

Will DRC’s Kabila Cling to Power in Re-election Bid?

KINSHASA (INPS | GIN) – Members of the Congolese opposition are pushing for elections this year, and for President Joseph Kabila to step down if elections are not held.

Seven senior members of the ruling coalition have already been expelled for urging the President not to cling to power after December 19, 2016, the official end of his second term. The planning minister was also sacked from his post reportedly on order of the president.

The fate of President Kabila is the central issue that consumes Congolese politics today. As frustration grows, the Kabila regime has restricted political space, clamped down on free expression and stepped up its jailing of Congolese youth. The U.S. State Department said it was “troubled by the harassment and detention of peaceful activists and opposition leaders” while Human Rights Watch issued a scathing indictment of the regime’s clampdown on peaceful protests and a spate of arrests countrywide.

Africa2016-02-232023-07-10

Grace Keen to Succeed Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe

NEW YORK | HARARE (INPS | GIN) – Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest president, turned 92 on February 21 without a clear successor. His wife, Grace, however, is grooming herself for the job but will Zimbabweans favour a family dynasty even as the idea seems to have fallen out of favour in the U.S.?

Political analysts say Mugabe has no clear intention of handing over power, even as the country’s dire economic situation and drought has worsened the plight of a country that has seen four million of its citizens flee to the diaspora.

Africa2016-02-232023-07-10

RTS Award for Sudanese-born Journalist But Diversity Still Lacking

NEW YORK | LONDON (INPS | GIN) – The Sudanese-Born Nima Elbagir scooped a distinguished media prize from the Royal Television Society (RTS) February 18 for her work highlighting the human rights plight of children and young people in Africa and beyond.

RTS wrote for the award ceremony last week: “The work of the Specialist Journalist of the Year took this journalist (Nima Elbagir) to some of the darkest and most difficult places to report on in the past twelve months. The judges thought the winner demonstrated great determination and bravery as well as deep humanity. She highlighted the plight of young people moving between continents and had the language skills to follow their journey in a way that no-one else could achieve.”

Africa2016-02-232023-07-10

Congolese Kids to Join U.S. Adoptive Parents Ending 2-Year Wait

NEW YORK (INPS | GIN) – After spending more than two years in legal limbo, 159 children from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be united with adoptive parents – from the U.S., France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The government agreed to grant long-stalled permits to the children and is working to resolve the remaining cases, said DRC Ambassador Francois Balumuene to Washington.

Africa2016-02-162023-07-10

Multilingual Proficiency Rarely the Case in USA

NEW YORK – We may all speak English on the internet but there are hundreds of thousands of languages spoken worldwide and a UN agency wants to protect them.

“Languages are who we are,” said UNESCO director general Irina Bokova in her message on the occasion of International Mother Language Day. “By protecting them, we protect ourselves.”

The international day has been observed every year throughout the world on February 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingual education. In most parts of the world, students leave school proficient in more than once language. But in the U.S., this is rarely the case.

Africa2016-02-162023-07-10

Ugandans Jockey for Place Ahead of Polls

NEW YORK | KAMPALA – A crowded field of candidates squared off with President Yoweri Museveni at a rare debate this week, just days before national polls slated to take place on February 18.

The debate was held at the glamorous five-star Kampala Serena Hotel Victoria Hall in the capital Kampala. It confirmed various opinion poll projections: that the upcoming contest is a two-horse race between President Museveni and Dr Kizza Besigye.

Africa2016-02-162023-07-10

Familiar Waste and Excess in Nigeria’s ‘Record Budget’

NEW YORK | ABUJA – Critics who examined Nigeria’s budget for 2016 are shaking their heads in disbelief at the sight of excess and waste so familiar from previous regimes.

A 37.8 million naira item appears over 369 times, and money for the presidential clinic exceeds that for all 17 of the country’s teaching hospitals combined, according to Oluseun Onigbinde, partner and co-founder of BudgIT, a Nigerian group that campaigns for transparency in public spending.

In some instances, BudgIT found, the same purchase of vehicles, computers and furniture are replicated 24 times, totalling 46.5 billion naira ($234 million), 795 million naira is set aside to update the website of one ministry, while no purpose is assigned to a 10 billion naira provision in the education ministry’s spending plan. A report on the budget appeared in Bloomberg News.