Africa

Photo: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with DRC President Joseph Kabila during a brief bilateral meeting after they signed the COP21 Climate Change Agreement on Earth Day, April 22, 2016, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, N.Y. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

The Fate of The New Congo Deal Is Anybody's Guess

By Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - The West African state of the Congo has always been taking one step forward, two steps back. This goes back to the days when Congo became independent from Belgian rule in 1960.

Now we see it again. There were supposed to be elections at the end of last year. But President Joseph Kabila has clung to power. After months of negotiations led by the Catholic bishops a deal has been agreed on December 31. If Kabila is given one more year in office then he will call elections in a year’s time.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 04 January 2017

Photo: Input operators in DR Congo receive electoral kits from the office of the Independent Electoral Commission. The material will be deployed to the different electoral centres in Goma. Photo: MONUSCO/Alain Wandimoyi

DR Congo Deadlock Ends Leaving Kabila In Office For Now

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | KINSHASA (IDN) – Difficult negotiations have succeeded in bridging the differences between President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and opposition parties who wanted the President to abide by the constitution and step down, having served the two terms he is legally allowed.

President Kabila had sought to stay until 2018 but will now step down by the end of next year. The deal was concluded on New Year’s Eve in the capital Kinshasa, according to negotiators, ending a lengthy stalemate in the country.

: Global Information Network; NEWSBRIEFS; 03 January 2017

Photo: Betar Illit, one of the four biggest settlements in the West Bank. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Israel Suspends Ties With Africans For Anti-Settlement Vote

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Israel lashed out at its African and other allies, suspending aid and other relationships in retaliation for their votes on a UN resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.

Senegal and Angola were the primary targets of Israeli fury. The two countries were non-permanent members of the UN Security Council when the resolution was adopted on December 23. Both voted with the entire council on the measure which passed unanimously and which Israel had furiously lobbied against.

: Global Information Network; NEWSBRIEFS; 03 January 2017

Photo: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

UN Partners With Africa’s Development Agenda 2017-2027

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) - The then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Alpha Konare, Chairperson of the African Union Commission at that time, signed the Ten-Year Capacity Building Programme (TYCBP) for the African Union in 2006 as recommended by the UN General Assembly the previous year.

With that programme due to expire end of the year, the General Assembly has adopted on December 23 a new joint United Nations-African Union (UN-AU) proposal for a successor programme enshrined in the draft resolution titled Framework for a Renewed United Nations‑African Union Partnership on Africa’s Integration and Development Agenda 2017-2027 (document A/71/L.50).

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 31 December 2016

Photo: Women barbecuing fish. Credit: Ngala Killian Chimtom | IDN-INPS

Chinese Fishers Going Off With Cameroon's Catch

By Ngala Killian Chimtom

LIMBE, Cameroon (ACP-IDN) – Henry Maloke is disentangling a couple of black catfish from his fishing net at the wharf in Limbe, a seaside locality in Cameroon’s South West Region. It is a day’s catch after spending close to 24 hours at sea.

Back when the ocean was healthy and teeming with life, the 64-year old fisherman could return home after just a few hours with a full net. The situation has changed.

“Chinese fishermen are going away with everything, leaving our waters empty,” complains Maloke. “It’s a catastrophe,” he adds, casting an uncertain glance out to the ocean’s limits.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 28 December 2016

Photo. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) with Joseph Kabila, President of the DR Congo, at the Secretary-General's residence in New York on 23 April 2016. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

DR Congo President Ignores UN and Citizen Protests

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | KINSHASA (IDN) – Considering that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world's largest producer of cobalt ore, and a major producer of copper and diamonds, has never had a peaceful transfer of power since independence from Belgium in 1960, the current political crisis does not come as a surprise.

But the killing of a peacekeeper from South Africa deployed with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in North Kivu on December 19 has precipitated the situation.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing and called on the country's "authorities to ensure that this attack is investigated and its perpetrators are brought to justice". Attacks against UN peacekeepers are unacceptable,” according to a statement issued by Ban’s spokesperson.

: Global Information Network; UN INSIDER; 20 December 2016

Photo: Tanzania is one of the sub-Saharan African countries which have attracted growing interest from foreign investors. Credit: Kizito Makoye Shigela | IDN-INPS

Tanzania Adopts New Policy to Curb Land Grabbing

By Kizito Makoye Shigela

DAR ES SALAAM (ACP-IDN) – Tanzania has adopted a new national land policy which, among others, lowers the ceiling under which foreign investors can lease land from the current 99 to 33 years.

The new policy comes barely months after the East African nation embarked on a campaign to seize “idle” land and deter “rogue investors” from using it for speculative purposes.

The government has repeatedly accused some investors of hoarding swathes of land without developing it, while using the land as collateral for securing bank loans or selling it later at a higher price.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 17 December 2016

Photo: President Uhuru Kenyatta meets Mrs Jumwa Kabibu who after 50 years of misery underwent a successful UN supported fistula surgery. Credit: Newton/UNIC

Kenyan President’s Engagement with the UN a Big Deal

By Siddharth Chatterjee

NAIROBI (IDN) - President Uhuru Kenyatta warmly welcomed dozens of U.N Agencies, development partners and senior Government officials to the State House on November 2, 2016 to discuss the joint development plan from 2014-2018.

He is perhaps the only head of state in Africa to take on this responsibility personally and believes in the transformational power of the Government-UN partnership to address national priorities for sustainable development. (Speech/audio)

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) is a critical document that guides government and U.N, partnership, ensuring the UN system is fit for purpose and contributes effectively to national development priorities.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; UN INSIDER; 14 December 2016

Photo: President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo. Credit: GhanaClass.com

UN Praises Ghana Polls as New President Awaits Inauguration

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | ACCRA (IDN) – In a surprise upset for incumbent President John Dramani Mahama, Ghanaian voters turned out strongly for opposition candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, whose campaign for the presidency gave hope to thousands of jobless.

While Akufo-Addo bagged 54% of the vote, Mahama took 44% on December 7. It was the first time in Ghana that an opposition candidate defeated an incumbent President at the ballot box – a reason strong enough for outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to congratulate Akufo-Addo on his election as President of Ghana.

Ban thanked outgoing President John Dramani Mahama for his role in defusing tensions and preserving peace during the election period. According to a statement issued by his office on December 9, Ban reiterated UN’s commitment to continue assisting the Government of Ghana in consolidating democratic and development achievements.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 14 December 2016

Photo: South Africa's mine dumps have over the years heavily contributed to climate change impacts, consequently endangering many lives in the Southern African nation. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo | IDN-INPS

Mining Deepening South Africa’s Climate Change Crisis

By Jeffrey Moyo

JOHANNESBURG (ACP-IDN) – Mariette Lieferink has been dubbed South Africa’s climate change hero and she is prominently featured as the country's leading environmental activist in South African media.

Now, moved by the heavy contribution of the country's mines to climate change, Lieferink, who heads the Federation for a Sustainable Development (FSE), is working flat out to clean up the hugely polluted mining areas of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city, which is also one of the world's 50 largest urban areas.

According to Lieferink, climate change is a potential disaster, poised to trigger the 'toxic time bomb' left by over 120 years of mining, particularly across Johannesburg, which is also South Africa’s industrial hub.