Weekly anb03135.txt #7



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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-03-2003      PART #5/7

* Kenya. MPs give themselves a pay rise - 6 March: Members of Parliament in Kenya have approved plans to pay themselves large salary increases just a few weeks after a new parliament was sworn-in. But there is widespread public disapproval, with an opinion poll suggesting 85% of the public think the pay awards are unjustified at this time. The increases will see their pay packages rise from $5,000 to well over $6,000, in a country where the majority of the population survive on just $1 a day. They also come with the country's economy still struggling some three months since President Mwai Kibaki's opposition alliance won elections. But the MPs, in a debate that lasted for two-and-a-half hours, defended their action insisting the rises would strengthen the house and make members more effective in the performance of their tasks. The pay awards were recommended by a commission that examined the MPs pay package. The packages include salaries, allowances and benefits available to them in both parliament and in their constituencies. Finance Minister David Mwiraria told his colleagues that even though the additional expenditure would be a strain on the economy he would "pay the salaries from the same sources used to pay the salaries of other public officials". The Daily Nation newspaper which had conducted the opinion poll ahead of the debate found that Kenyans put a revival in the economy before MPs pay demands. Others thought the MPs pay came too early as they have not yet "even found their seats in the House". The pay rise is expected to come into effect when the National Assembly Remuneration Act is amended. (BBC News, UK, 6 March 2003)

* Kenya. Nairobi hunts for "ghost workers" - 10 March: The Nairobi City Council in Kenya has conducted a head count of staff at a huge stadium to determine the number of ghost workers on its pay roll. The council is worried about claims that retired, deceased or even non-existent staff are kept on the payroll fraudulently by officials who pocket their salaries. At the Nairobi City Stadium on 9 March, each council worker was required to bring an appointment letter, an identification card from the council and their National Identity Card in order to establish their eligibility. Nairobi City Council has 20,000 employees on its payroll, but many like Local Government Minister Karissa Maitha believes the genuine number is under 15,000. During the lengthy process, ambulance staff were called in to administer first aid to fainting city council workers stuck in long queues. 11 March: The headcount shows at least 4,000 "ghost workers" are on the payroll. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 March 2003)

* Kenya. Energy firms investigated - 11 March: The Kenyan government has launched an investigation into the running of four state-owned energy companies. Kenyan Energy Minister Ochillo Ayacko said the government would look into procurements made by the four firms, and claimed workers had "abused" business practices under the previous government. Mr Kibaki promised to stamp out corruption and rebuild the country's economy following the 39-year rule of president Daniel arap Moi's Kenya African National Union. Kenyan power costs are said to be among the highest in Africa. Mr Ayacko said he wanted to halve the tariffs charged by the country's two main independent power producers in an effort to reduce consumers' electricity bills. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 11 March 2003)

* Kenya. Qualifying for cricket's World Cup semi-finals - On 12 March, Kenya recorded a famous seven wicket victory over Zimbabwe to become the first non-test nation to qualify for the World Cup semifinals. Thomas Odoyo struck a powerful 43 off 40 balls with eight fours as Kenya easily reached its meagre victory target of 134 from exactly 26 overs in the Super Six match. He shared an unbeaten partnership of 73 with Maurice Odumbe (38 not out). Kenya, which has still to meet the unbeaten defending champion Australia in the second round, will play India in the semifinals. Zimbabwe was eliminated. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 12 March 2003)

* Liberia. New accounts of human rights abuses - n a Press Release on 6 March, Human Rights Watch stated that five nurses held for three months in 2002 by Liberians United for Reconciliation (LURD) rebels have now provided detailed accounts of their mistreatment. All of them were physically, sexually and psychologically abused. Refugees now resident in Sierra Leone who fled from Liberia between July and October 2002, also provided eyewitness accounts that LURD rebels systematically imposed forced labour on threat of wounding or death. Human Rights Watch also documented that armed forces loyal to President Taylor have continued to commit massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law. (HRW, 6 March 2002)

* Liberia. Liberia urged to probe UN deaths - On 11 March, Kofi Annan urged Liberia to investigate the deaths of three employees of a US-based relief group working in a part of the West African country torn by civil war. Annan issued his plea after the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) confirmed the deaths in eastern Liberia of Norwegian Kaare Lund, the director of ADRA Norway; Liberian Emmanuel Sharpolu, ADRA's country director for Liberia, and Sharpolu's driver, Liberian Musa Kita. UN chief spokesman Fred Eckhard said: "The secretary-general extends his deepest sympathy to the families and colleagues of these three humanitarian workers. He demands that the government of Liberia determine the exact circumstances under which the incident took place and bring the perpetrators to justice. He further calls on all parties to the conflict in Liberia to reinforce measures taken to ensure the protection of civilians, including relief workers." The three were on their way to visit a Norwegian-funded ADRA project at the time of a rebel attack on Toe Town in eastern Liberia two weeks ago. (CNN, USA, 11 March 2003)

* Liberia. 3 humanitaires tués - 7 mars. Deux travailleurs humanitaires libériens d'une ONG protestante qui travaille en collaboration avec le Haut Commissariat de l'Onu pour les réfugiés (HCR), ont été tués au Liberia au cours des combats près de la localité de Toe, frontalière de la Côte d'Ivoire. Une troisième personne était toujours portée disparue. - Le 11 mars, le HCR a annoncé que cette personne, un humanitaire norvégien travaillant pour la même ONG, avait également été tuée. - D'autre part, l'agence IRIN signale de nouveaux affrontements à l'ouest du pays entre les rebelles du LURD et les forces gouvernementales autour de la petite ville de Bo, à la frontière avec la Sierra Leone. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 mars 2003)

* Libye. Lockerbie: accord sur indemnités? - Le 11 mars, la Libye aurait conclu un accord avec les Etats-Unis et la Grande-Bretagne par lequel elle accepte sa responsabilité civile pour l'attentat de Lockerbie ainsi que le versement d'indemnités, a-t-on déclaré de source proche des discussions. Le montant des dommages accordés aux victimes serait en passe d'être fixé. L'accord prévoirait aussi la levée des sanctions onusiennes contre la Libye, en vigueur depuis l'attentat en 1988. Un accord mettrait fin à une longue dispute entre l'Occident et la Libye à l'approche du déclenchement éventuel d'une guerre contre l'Irak. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 12 mars 2003)

* Libya. No deal yet in Lockerbie talks - On 12 March, it was reported that Libya has moved closer to agreeing a settlement to compensate victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 people were killed, the US and UK say. Talks held in London end with progress, which will now be discussed by the individual governments concerned. Both the US and UK play down expectations of an imminent announcement of a final deal. Unconfirmed reports suggested Libya has provisionally agreed to pay about $2.7bn compensation -- about $10m to each of the families concerned. A final agreement will lead to the ending of United Nations sanctions against Libya, which were imposed following the bombing of the PanAm airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Talks on the compensation deal, which would mark the end of Libya's isolation following the bombing, have continued regularly since the end of the criminal trial of two Libyans. The trial resulted in one man, Abdel Basset Ali Mohammed al-Megrahi, being convicted of the attack. The second defendant, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted. The 270 people killed in the bombing were mainly US or UK nationals -- 259 were passengers and crew on board the airliner and 11 were killed on the ground. However, on 13 March, hopes that the Libyan government will accept responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing have been dashed. William Burns, a key member of the US State Department, tells American relatives of victims of the atrocity that no deal is yet possible. He says progress has been made but the Libyan government are still refusing to accept its officials were responsible for the atrocity in which 270 people died. Without that, United Nations sanctions imposed after the bombing cannot be lifted. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 13 March 2003)

* Malawi. Serious food shortage - For the second year running, a serious food shortage has struck Malawi. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), some 3.2 million people (about one quarter of Malawi's population) rely on international food aid for their survival. In 2002, the FAO estimated that the production of maize was 1,539,000 tonnes, i.e. 10 percent below last year's poor harvest. This reflects a late start of the rainy season followed by localised floods, a long dry spell, and early cessation of rains. Reduced input supplies, mainly fertilisers, also adversely affected yields. Consumption of green maize before the harvest, due to sever food shortages in the first months of the year, further diminished the output. The price of maize rose by 5-6% compared to last year. A bag of maize (sufficient for a family for three weeks to one month), costs 10 dollars, and the average wage in Malawi is 15 to 20 dollars a month. Drought has also affected tobacco the country's main source of income (70% of state income) which in 2002 was 140 million tonnes compared to 184 million the previous year. Due to the serious food shortage between February 2001 and February 2002, cases of malnutrition in children under five increased 80%, and between November 2001 and April 2002 a mortality rate of 1.9 for every 10,000 children, died every day. Many Malawians escaped starvation thanks to food smuggled from Tanzania and Mozambique, and hunting wild animals. The situation is so critical that the Malawi Ministry of Agriculture estimates that more than 45% of green maize has been consumed. (Fides, Vatican City, 7 March 2003)

* Mali. Allégement de la dette - Le Mali est admis à bénéficier d'une réduction de la dette pour un montant d'environ 675 millions de dollars dans le cadre de l'Initiative renforcée en faveur des pays pauvres très endettés, a indiqué le FMI le 7 mars. Un allégement de 365 millions de dollars sera accordé grâce à une réduction de 50% du service de la dette sur les crédits de l'Association internationale du développement (AID) du groupe de la Banque mondiale, de 2000 à 2014. Le FMI réduira d'environ $63 millions le fardeau de la dette par une réduction de 38% de son service de la dette de 2000 à 2008. Il est attendu que d'autres créanciers offrent leur part de réduction dans ce contexte. (IRIN, Abidjan, 10 mars 2003)

* Maroc. 14 jeunes condamnés pour "satanisme" - La condamnation par le tribunal de Casablanca de 14 jeunes amateurs de musique "heavy metal" à des peines d'un mois à un an de prison ferme pour "atteinte à la religion musulmane" a suscité de vives réactions. L'accusation les a présentés comme "adorateurs de Satan". Le procureur a tenté de justifier leur placement en détention depuis le 14 février, en raison de certains objets saisis et présentés comme pièces à conviction: des T-shirts noirs, un serpent en plâtre, des représentations de têtes de mort ou encore un cerveau en latex. La presse marocaine a dénoncé un jugement "absurde" et "liberticide". De nombreux intellectuels ont dénoncé dans les journaux marocains un "dangeureux dérapage sécuritaire" qui serait une concession aux nombreux appels à la censure contre les "actes attentatoires à l'islam" lancés par la puissante mouvance islamiste, dont le Parti de la justice et du développement (PJD) qui a fait une percée lors des législatives en septembre. (Ndlr. Le 11 mars, la cour d'appel a accordé la liberté provisoire à 11 des 14 jeunes, mais trois restent condamnés à un an de prison). (La Libre Belgique, 10 mars 2003)

* Morocco. Judge jails metalheads - Their heavy metal music not only shook the walls of Casablanca's nightclubs and their parents' middle class homes: it also "shook Muslims' faith", according to a judge who has jailed 14 young Moroccan metalheads. The nine members of the heavy metal bands Nekros, Infected Brain and Reborn, and five fans were given sentences of between three months and a year after being found in possession of skeletons, skulls, cobras, vipers and "a collection of diabolical CDs". The accused, aged 20 to 35, were arrested three weeks ago for allegedly disturbing public order and wearing satanic, "anti-Islamic" T-shirts depicting the devil and death. It was all too much for the judge, who found it "suspicious" that one of the musicians penned lyrics in English rather than Arabic, and declared that "normal people go to concerts in a suit and tie". Not even the heavy metal fans' court recitals of sections of the Koran were able to persuade him that they were not intent on undermining the country's official religion. (The Guardian, UK, 11 March 2003)

* Mozambique. Sécheresse et menace de famine - Des récoltes misérables ou presque inexistantes dues à une terrible sécheresse (interrompue inutilement par le violent cyclone Japhet) menacent de famine une bonne partie de la population du Mozambique, en particulier dans les provinces de Gaza, Tete et Inhambane. L'année passée on avait déjà noté une pénurie de pluie dans le pays, mais, selon Fews-net, la situation serait cette année aussi dramatique que celle des années 1991-92. Maputo aurait battu le record de sécheresse entre octobre et janvier dernier. Parmi la population, les uns ont abandonné leur maison pour la ville voisine, d'autres ont pris la route pour l'Afrique du Sud. Selon Fews-net, la situation pourrait atteindre son paroxysme dans douze mois pour les gens les plus vulnérables du centre et du sud du pays. (Misna, Italie, 10 mars 2003)

* Nigeria. Murder of Harry Marshall - 6 March: A reward of nearly $80,000 has been offered by Nigerian police for information leading to the capture of the killers of a senior opposition leader. Harry Marshall was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his home on the morning of 5 March the capital, Abuja. His death is dominating the country's newspapers which suggest it bears all the hallmarks of a political assassination. Speaking at a rally in the northern city of Kano, President Olusegun Obasanjo held a minute's silence for his former ally and urged supporters to rid the election campaign of the spectre of violence. He paid tribute to his murdered opponent as "our friend and until recently a staunch member of our party". But, flanked by a heavier than usual security presence, he also warned opposition politicians: "No death should be politicised." (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 6 March 2003)

* Nigeria. Poursuite des violences préélectorales - Le 5 mars, des jeunes ont attaqué à jets de pierres la caravane électorale du gouverneur de l'Etat d'Edo (centre-ouest), occasionnant la mort de deux personnes, a rapporté la presse locale. Plusieurs véhicules du convoi ont été détruits et des maisons brûlées à Urhoningbe. Les hommes de la sécurité ont tiré en l'air pour faire cesser ces attaques, provoquant une débandade au cours de laquelle deux personnes, dont une adolescente de 14 ans, ont été tuées. L'événement est survenu quelques heures après l'assassinat à Abuja de Marshall Harry, un des leaders de l'opposition. Au moins sept personnalités nigérianes ont été tuées au cours des 15 derniers mois, en dépit des efforts du gouvernement fédéral pour assurer des élections pacifiques. (PANA, Sénégal, 6 mars 2003)

Weekly anb0313.txt - #5/7