The Royal Bafokeng Nation

- independent, self-sufficient community
- How do they manage their money?
- Economic model
- Can it be replicated?

History

Diamond mining in South Africa started in the 1860s. Thousands of fortune seekers from around the world flocked to Cape Town, the capital of the British-governed Cape colony, before undertaking the 1,500 km trek north of the arid western and Northern Cape to the mining town of Kimberley.

At the same time Afrikaner farmers (Boers), who wanted to escape British rule, started to settle in Rustenburg valley. They ignored the traditional rights of ownership enjoyed by the Bafokeng and started to survey and register farms. Kgosi Mokgatle, great, great, great, great grand father of the current king, realized that ownership of traditional Bafokeng land was likely to be seized. In a remarkable act of foresight and collective sacrifice, he ordered units of young RBN men to walk to Kimberly to work and earn money that was accumulated in a central community fund. As funds were generated, Kgosi sought out the help of Lutheran missionaries to front the Bafokeng and buy up farms in the area. Some 900 hectares, or two thirds of the land currently owned by the Bafokeng, was acquired in this way over a twenty year period. Today, the Bafokeng continue to acquire land in the area.

In the 1920s, geologist Hans Merensky discovered in the Rustenburg valley the surface outcrop of arguably the world's greatest ore body, a geological wonder known as the Bushveld Igneous Complex. In particular, substantial reserves of Platinum Group Metals (PGMSs) such as platinum, ferrochrome, rhodium and palladium were discovered on land owned by RBN. And thus began the pursuit of platinum.

Over the next 70 years, various attempts were made by the governments of the day, aided and assisted by the major mining companies, to dispossess RBN of their land rights. All were ultimately unsuccessful and the mining companies thereafter agreed to pay royalties to the RBN in exchange for the right to mine on RBN land.

For many years, RBN leadership was in conflict with the national and regional governments. The authorities retaliated by neglecting the development of the region. RBN therefore spends practically all of the royalty income it receives on infrastructure. During the past two decades, over R2 billion of communal wealth has been invested in regional infrastructure such as roads, and bridges, water reticulation and reservoirs, electricity supply extensions, schools, clinics, civic buildings and sports facilities.

Today, the Bafokeng Nation numbers roughly 300 000 people. About 160 000 live in an area some 150 km North West of Johannesburg, South Africa, with the balance scattered primarily throughout South Africa. The Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) has retained its unique cultural identity and traditional leadership structures and is led by a hereditary Kgosi (king), currently Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi.

Economy

The Royal Bafokeng Nation comprises a number of entities, each of which has a crucial role to play in reaching the Nation’s goal of a sustainable and self-sufficient community, where people have the skills and the support to reach their highest potential:

* Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), an investment entity in Johannesburg, which is responsible for overseeing the growth and maintenance of the community’s income streams.

* Royal Bafokeng Sports, is an entity within the Royal Bafokeng Holdings and it is in charge of the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, an official venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

* Royal Bafokeng Administration (RBA) is principally a town planning unit charged with service delivery and monitoring the progress of the Master Plan across all the regions. It looks after the various wards (kgotla) within the Nation to ensure that infrastructure and services are in line with the long-term vision.

* Royal Bafokeng Institute (RBI) is aimed at uplifting the quality of education and learning in the Royal Bafokeng Nation.

Vision 2020

Even before his enthronement as King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi set in motion the vital next phase in the development of his people. His brother, Kgosi Mollwane Lebone Boikanyo Molotlegi, paved the way for the initiative by proclaiming Vision 2020. This boldly challenges the Bafokeng people to reduce their dependency on their diminishing mineral assets and to become a self-sufficient community within the first 20 years of this century. Kgosi Leruo's challenge is to devise a workable plan to realize Vision 2020.

Thus, the time has come for the Royal Bafokeng Nation, like the oil-rich Middle East, to reduce its dependency on natural resources and develop new sources of wealth. The Bafokeng, Kgosi Leruo has concluded, must diversify by securing interests in other sectors of the economy and develop a more balanced portfolio, as it were.

The main areas of emphasis of Vision 2020 fall into the following areas:

* Investment diversification
* Economic Development
* Education Planning
* Infrastructure Development/Master Plan
* Health and Social Planning
* Crime Free Environment

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The Somali Pirate Business Model

A piracy operation begins, as with any other start-up business, with venture capital. Each team requires a minimum of two attack skiffs, weapons, equipment, provisions, fuel and preferably a supply boat. The costs of the operation are usually borne by investors. The crew is responsible for organizing staff, finding a suitable ‘client’, negotiating the deal, and determining salaries based on duration of assignment and risk.

The Obama Praise Song

By Drew Hinshaw
9 May 2008

Since the beginning of the Democratic primaries 'a niche artform has blossomed in black diasporic music: the Barack Obama Praise Song.'

Obama Songs:

1. 'Barack the Magnificent', Mighty Sparrow (Trinidad)

2. 'Barack Obama',Coco Tea (Jamaica)

3. 'Obama', Extra Golden (Kenya)

4. 'Yes We Can', Makossa (Canada/Cameroon)

5. 'Obama', Blakk Rasta, (Ghana)

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Don’t Shoot

Riaan Cruywagen has been reading the news on television since it arrived in South Africa in 1976. He prides himself in the nickname “The face of news in South Africa” and his record of the longest serving Afrikaans news reader in the world. The film explores South Africa’s transformation through the eyes of an Afrikaans television reporter.

short film, released ’07, festivals ‘08

Stimela: The Search for the Missing Chord

A riveting look at one of South Africa's most important bands that went beyond the boundaries of the ordinary to urge those who listened to reach deep into themselves to reflect on their identity as well as to manifest their own destiny. Tracing the story from genesis to dazzling success, break up and make up, Stimela includes incisive interviews with band members as well as key roleplayers, archival material and music videos.

Screened 2008

Lost Prophets

Young South African filmmaker Dylan Valley presents the real scoop about legendary and influential hip-hop group Prophets of the City. Featuring a Molotov-cocktail of a soundtrack, and interviews with members Ready D, Jazmo, Ramone, Gogga and Ishmael, we are immersed in the life and times of a group whose discography could be read as a primer to the difficult art of making conscious music while not rendering the listener unconscious.

Inflation (2008)

2 min. Short feature

Inflation traces the birth, life and death of a Zimbabwean $10,000 note as the economy goes up in smoke.

Theatre of Reconciliation

‘The dominant theme in South African theatre over the last ten years seems to be the legacy of the TRC, which uncovered more in the way of truth than it accomplished in reconciliation. Yael Farber’s MoLoRa, Lara Foot Newton’s Reach, Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother, REwind: A Cantata by composer Philip Miller, and Truth in Translation by director Michael Lessac, all explored forgiveness.’

2008 also marks the ten year anniversary of the publication of the play Ubu and the Truth Commission.

[has their been a similar trend in the Rwandan theatre, or other areas faced with reconciliation?]



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Akekho Ugogo (Grandma's Not Home)

Directed by Tiny Mungwe
Released 2008

The film traces the clubbing and kwaito scene in Durban and shows that for many upwardly mobile young people in Durban , clubbing offers the only and simplest form of escapism; clubbing almost becomes a religion, a place where people can articulate their individuality. Out of this scene has emerged a music subgenre called Durban Kwaito Music. Filled with controversial lyrics, this music is taking over the country and creating a prominent entertainment industry in Durban.

Une Affaire De Negres (Black Business)

It is estimated that during a single year - 2000 - over 1,000 Cameroonians were killed by the Operational Command Unit, a special group of trained operatives, created by the President of the Republic of Cameroon, to tackle rampant banditry in the region of Douala. This, international commentators suspect, is merely a fraction of a far larger number of 'disappearances', over the preceding few years. Award-winning filmmaker Osvalde Lewat-Hallade's latest documentary is about the Cameroonian families, who have lost loved ones to the terrifying Unit.


2007 (2008 Cannes Cinema of the South and International Festivals)
French, Bamileke dialogue with English subtitles 90 mins

The City That Kills Somalians

Set in Cape Town, a city where socio-economic division exists largely on racial lines, The City That Kills Somalians documents the stressed lives of the city’s impoverished people. What starts out as an observational film, builds into a story that draws the viewer into the uncomfortable racial tensions of the city. Through intimate footage, this hard hitting film sensitively unpeels the tough layers of Cape Town, giving voice to the unspoken silence of a people in need to talk to each other.

Directed by: Riaan Hendricks

2007 (Screened at DIFF 2008)

Appeals court rejects Agent Orange suits

NEW YORK, Feb. 22 2008(UPI) -- A U.S. appeals court has upheld the dismissal of lawsuits by veterans, their families and Vietnamese nationals over the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York issued three opinions affirming lower court ruling that dismissed 16 civil actions against Dow Chemical Co., Monsanto Co. and other chemical makers.

The three-judge panel said makers of herbicides that comprised Agent Orange were protected by the "military contractor defense," which shields independent contractors from liability when fulfilling government procurement contracts.

In one of the cases the court rejected claims by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin that the use of Agent Orange was a violation of international law.

The court said the use of Agent Orange was lawful because the herbicide was not used as a weapon against people, but rather was used to clear vegetation to protect U.S. troops from ambush.


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Le Monde Selon Monsanto (2008)

The documentary The World According to Monsanto produced by French journalist and film maker Marie-Monique Robin paints a grim picture of a company with a long track record of environmental crimes, health scandals. It is also by far the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed, holding 70%–100% market share for various crops. It’s development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormones, as well as its aggressive litigation and political lobbying practices, have made the company controversial around the world and a primary target of the anti-globalization movement and environmental activists.

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Farmer Suicides

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) there were at least 16,196 farmers' suicides in India in 2008, bringing the total since 1997 to 199,132.

[Connections to food crisis, corporate farming, GMO seeds, etc.]

Cynthia McKinney: The Other Black Candidate

Running under the slogan ‘Power to the People’ former congresswoman Cynthia Mckinney secured the Green Party nomination for president of the U.S. alongside Rosa Clemente. Her candidacy was endorsed by Mumia Abu-Jamal, Noam Chomsky, and M1 of Dead Prez among others. In addition to health care reform, environmental reform, and wall street reform Mckinney also advocated for reperations and an end to to the prison industrial complex.

Faro: La Reine des Eaux

This assured debut from Salif Traoré is a portrait of the clash of modernity and tradition. The film follows the story of Zanga an engineer who returns to his rural village in Mali many years after having been cast out for being born out of wedlock. The fact that his arrival coincides with the drowning of a young villager alerts the village elders to confer and determine that Faro the water spirit has been angered by Zanga’s return. The only way to appease her anger is with sacrifice.

Written and directed by Salif Traore
96 min, Bambara with English subtitles

Showed at Cannes 2008

DP75 - Tartina City

Written, produced & directed by Issa Serge Coelo
Showed at Cannes 2008

The film is a scathing attack on media repression and governments that defy their own laws. The action is set in an unnamed African country (that closely resembles Chad) where a brutal government is in power. A journalist is detained on his way abroad to report on the situation in his country and thrown in jail.

[larger story: Media repression (murder of Deyda Hydara in Gambia and journalists in Somalia, Chad...)]

Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever

Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever is an in-depth exploration of the music made by two jazz icons, trumpeter Davis and saxophonist Coltrane: the recordings they made both together and separately and the ways each man influenced the other and the world.

Farah Jasmine Griffin and Salim Washington
Hardcover; 304 pages
ISBN: 0312327854
Thomas Dunne Books
2008

The Visitor (film)

This film, that was written and directed by actor Tom McCarthy, tries to give the hot political issue of illegal immmigration a human face. Tarek (Danai Gurira)and Zainab (Haaz Sleiman) rent a flat in Manhattan and are shocked when Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) comes to claim it as his own. It soon becomes obvious that the couple are victims of an unscrupulous real estate connection of theirs. Walter eventually, reluctantly, allows them to stay on with him. This leads to some cross-cultural bonding. Walter learns how to be a djembe drummer from Tarek. It all goes well until Tarek is arrested on a misunderstanding and is so discovered to be an illegal immigrant. Walter makes some radical life changes as he attempts to help his friend. The arrival of Mouna, Tarek's mother (Hiam Abass) in search of her son fans some romantic flames. The Visitor has the cliches that are usually attendant to similar tales but manages to win the heart of the viewer.

Read more at Suite101: ZIFF 2008 Opening Night: Zimbabwe International Film Festival 2008 Starts on a Good Note http://www.suite101.com/content/ziff-2008-opening-night-a67481#ixzz0zboJTRsU

Zimbabwe (film)

every day, 1000 people illegally cross the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa. Zimbabwe, the central character in the film whose patriotic name was bestowed upon her by her father in honour of the independence of the country, decides to jump the border and emigrate illegally to South Africa. The film chronicles her life as an undocumented domestic and the cyclical process of poverty, emigration, and violence.

Released 2008

Jerusalema and Depictions of African Cities in Film

Excerpt from Don Mattera’s NFVF review:

“In Jerusalema, the Hollywood spectre almost consumes the narrative of South Africa’s urban cities... The ’foreign’ characters receive fleeting stereotypical treatment – just like some photographs on a wall; no origins, no history; no soul; just money, drugs, women bloodshed and death.”

http://www.nfvf.co.za/content/jerusalema-south-africas-new-oscar-hope-review

Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)

Released 2007, International Festivals 2008

Mandala Bala is about the ubiquity of kidnapping and corruption in Brazil. It profiles such subjects as a businessman who bullet-proofs cars, a plastic surgeon who reconstructs the ears of kidnap victims, former Governor and Senator Jáder Barbalho, a powerful and corrupt politician, and a frog farm owner whose business is a money laundering front.

[larger story: the economics of kidnapping]

Triomf wins Best South African Feature Film at DIFF

Directed by Michael Raeburn

…”by immersing itself into the often sordid world where poverty, and the educational gaps that attend it, meet an arrogant sense of entitlement, Triomf exposes a series of universal truths. The dirty secrets of capitalism, of racism, of manipulative politics, of the human heart are mirrored in the secrets of one family, whose disintegration reminds us that a nation's history is written by individuals”

Famine and the GM Debate

Amid the efforts to cope with a famine threatening 30 million people, a row is raging over genetically modified (GM) food aid. Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa refused GM food aid calling it "poison". Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi are concerned that letting in food aid containing genetically modified material will lead to the planting of seeds and the contamination of domestic crops. Angola, Lesotho and Swaziland have not adopted positions on GM but have not refused aid containing genetically modified food.

Executive Outcomes: The Blackwater Prototype

Executive outcomes is the model on which all Private military companies (PMCs) operating in Iraq and Afghanistan are based. The mercenary firm formerly based in Pretoria, South Africa, and manned mostly by former members of the South African Defense Force, has proven to be a decisive factor in the outcome of several civil wars in Africa. Involved in forcing rebels to the negotiating table in Sierra Leone and more well-known for contributing to the Angolan government's success in forcing UNITA to accept the Lusaka Protocol in 1994, Executive Outcomes reportedly has a web of influence in Uganda, Botswana, Zambia, Ethiopia, Namibia, Lesotho and South Africa.

Even though the firm's expertise lies in fighting bush wars, it has diversified and reportedly operates 32 companies, whose interests range from computer software to adult education. The firm's tactic of quickly regaining control of a client country's mineral-rich regions is well-documented. Within a month of Sierra Leone's hiring of Executive Outcomes in May 1995, government forces had regained control of the diamond-rich Kono district, which produces two-thirds of Sierra Leone's diamonds. In Angola, oil- and diamond-producing regions were the first areas secured by government forces trained by Executive Outcomes. The firm also reportedly mines gold in Uganda, drills boreholes in Ethiopia and has a variety of interests in the other countries noted above.
Executive Outcomes claims that its sole purpose is to bring stability to the region by supporting legitimate governments in their defense against armed rebels. Nevertheless, rumors persist that the firm is connected to either the South African DeBeers Diamond Corporation or the South African government. These claims are denied by all parties, and the South African government has tried to restrict Executive Outcomes' business ventures.

The intermixing of paramilitary and commercial ventures makes it difficult to determine the number of mercenaries involved in various countries. Most reports indicate there were between 150 and 200 in Sierra Leone, while reports from Angola vary, indicating between 500 and 4,000 members in that country. At any rate, Executive Outcomes has proven to be a sound investment for the governments of Angola and Sierra Leone. Those successes may help to persuade other countries in the region to employ the firm's services. Increased involvement in regional security problems and an expanded portfolio of affiliated businesses suggest that Executive Outcomes will play a periodically visible role in sub-Saharan African affairs.

[source: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/executive_outcomes.htm
last updated 4/27/2005]

Executive Outcomes was dissolved on 31 December 1998.

Many of the company’s members went on to seek employment with other PMCs and PSCs such as Lifeguard, Sandline and Saracen. Despite numerous allegations in the media, these companies were never proven to be a reconstituted Executive Outcomes.

Browsing the Browse Mole Report

The leaking of the Special Browse “Mole” report arguably did more than any other event to tilt the balance of forces between the Scorpions and their foes in the Jacob Zuma camp.

Browsing the browse mole report
“browse” - research tactics used by security organisations
“mole” - influenced by fiction / spy story

relationship between fiction spy stories - Ronnie Kasrils: John le Carré
Spies for hire and information peddlers

The Ghost of Dollarization in Zimbabwe

Dollarization, the holding by residents of a significant share of their assets in the form of foreign currency-denominated assets, is a common feature of developing countries and some transitional economies. This phenomenon is also typical of many countries that have IMF-supported adjustment programmes. But as Zimbabwe’s dollarization experience has shown, dollarization can, and does occur, when the "flight from domestic currency" gets under way. Such broad conversion into hard currency actually can accelerate inflation, as people jettison their money at ever-faster rates.

Chronic inflation does not necessarily degenerate into hyperinflation. But in the five countries, preceding Zimbabwe, it did ensue, triggered by an uncontrolled expansion in the money supply that was fueled by endemic fiscal imbalances.

Xenophobia : social movement organisations

Investigation into how three social movement organisations responded to the xenophobia violence that broke out in South Africa in May 2008, reveals that participation in such organisations by ordinary working class people makes them to be less xenophobic and even likely to help the victims of xenophobia, rather than join in the attacks. Members of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee and the Anti-Privatisation Forum were positioned by their organisations prior to the xenophobia attacks to respond in a progressive way to these attacks. These two organisations were also central in the formation of the Coalition Against Xenophobia that publicly united different civil society organisations against xenophobia.
Political understanding provides the ideological framework within which individuals evaluate the world and respond to its challenges. Revolutionary Pan-Africanism or democratic socialism, tends to provide individual social actors with an ideological foundation for opposing attacks against African immigrants in a country like South Africa. Alternatively, an undeveloped political understanding or consciousness opens a person to being swayed by the self-serving and circular arguments of the xenophobes.

The Birth of Next

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Dele Olojede is setting up a media business in Nigeria, launching later this year.

If you, or someone you know, would love to work as a journalist in an organisation that will radically shake up the 4th Estate in Nigeria, and be one of the most exciting and rewarding places to work, click here.

Wiki War Ethiopia

The EPRDF has assembled a team of people with a task to edit and change wikipedia entries regarding Ethiopia, sources told Ethio-Zagol Post. The first target was Amnesty International. The EPRDF introduced an entry about Amnesty international's
involvement in helping the "extremist" private media in Ethiopia in Wikipedia. It was, however, re-edited by other contributors immediately.

Update on Wiki attacks
A lot of changes have been made by Ethiopians on the distorted Wikipedia entries about Ethiopia. That is great. I will update my readers when the EPRDFites make new entries and changes.

China in Africa

Books:

AFRICA IN CHINA'S GLOBAL STRATEGY
Kitissou, Marcel (Ed.)
ADONIS & ABBEY.
2007 9781905068883 Paperback

AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES ON CHINA IN AFRICA
Manji, Firoze & Marks, Stephen (Eds.)
FAHAMU & SOLIDARITY FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
2007 9780954563738 Paperback

AFRICA'S SILK ROAD: China and India's New Economic Frontier
Broadman, Harry G.
WORLD BANK PUBLICATIONS.
2006 9780821368350 Paperback

CHINA, AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA: South-South co-operation in a global era
le Pere, Garth & Shelton, Garth
SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL DIALOGUE.
2007 9781920216009 Paperback

CHINA IN AFRICA
Waldron, Arthur (Ed.)
USA. THE JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION.
2008 9780981690506 Paperback

CHINA IN AFRICA
Melber, Henning (Ed.)
SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE.
2007 9789171065896 Pamphlet
CHINA IN AFRICA

CHINA AND AFRICA: Engagement and Compromise
Taylor, Ian
UK. ROUTLEDGE.
2006 9780415397407 Hardback

CHINA IN AFRICA: Mercantilist predator, or partner in development?
le Pere, Garth (Ed.)
SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL DIALOGUE.
2007 9781919697963 Paperback LIMITED AVAILABILITY

CHINA IN AFRICA: Partner, Competitor or Hegemon?
Alden, Chris
ZED BOOKS.
2007 9781842778647 Paperback

CHINA INTO AFRICA: Trade, Aid, and Influence
Rotberg, Robert I. (Ed.)
USA. BROOKINGS.
2008 9780815775614 Paperback

CHINA RETURNS TO AFRICA: A Rising Power and a Continent Embrace
Alden, Chris, Large, D. & De Oliveira, Ricardo Soares (Eds.)
UK. HURST.
2008 9781850658863 Paperback

CHINA'S NEW ROLE IN AFRICA AND THE SOUTH: A search for a new perspective
Guerrero, Dorothy-Grace & Manji, Firoze (Eds.)
UK. FAHAMU.
2008 9781906387266 Paperback

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON? Africa and China
Naidu, Sanusha & Ampiah, Kweku (Eds.)
SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.
2008 9781869141509 Paperback

ENTER THE DRAGON: Towards a Free Trade Agreement Between China and the Southern African Customs Union
Draper, Peter & le Pere, Garth (Eds.)
SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.
2005 1919697802 Paperback

THE NEW SINOSPHERE: China in Africa
Wild, Leni & Mepham, David (Eds.)
UK. IPPR.
2006 1860303021 Paperback

TOWARDS CHINA INC? Assessing the Implications for Africa
Mills, Greg & Skidmore, Natasha (Eds.)
SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.
2004 1919969268 Paperback

AIDS at 26 in Uganda

It is 26 years since the first clinical case of AIDS was reported in Uganda and today, there are children born with the virus who are as old as the disease and now have to think about dating and relationships and futures they never expected to have.

Guinea: A Coup Brewing

A careful analysis of Guinea in the 21st century, will ascertained that the country is deeply divided between an elite group of citizens, a middle class and a poor majority that continue to suffer under the whims and caprices of totalitarianism. It is such a division that many scholars could contend, exists even within the ranks of the
armed forces. One can also confidently contend that elements of the Guinean Armed Forces have become powerful proponents of civil society. The current actions by mutinous soldiers following the sacking of the country’s Prime Minister are a living testament to that reality.

Mutinous soldiers have taken to the streets blockading administrative buildings and firing shots in demand for arrears of wages and the sacking of some senior commanders. It would therefore be foolhardy to claim that ailing President Conteh is not loosing his grip on power.

Grand Inga Project: Another White Elephant for Black Africa

The Inga Dams are a series of hydroelectric dams located on the Congo River in Inga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 225 km (140 mi) southwest of Kinshasa. The current two existing dams, Inga I and Inga II, are rated at 351 MW and 1,424 MW respectively. While the other two under development, Inga III and Grand Inga, are planned to rate at 4,500 MW and 39,000 MW respectively in installed capacity.

The current two hydroelectric dams, Inga I and Inga II, operate at low output due to lack of maintenance. The existing dams are famous white elephants of the former President Mobutu Sese Seko. They also served a political purpose, by allowing Kinshasa to control the energy supply of the sometimes rebellious Shaba province. The Inga Dams are part of the Inga-Shaba project. The largest dam project in the world being planned for Africa in a hydro-electric configuration “I find it interesting that for a project that would affect so many African countries, as it also involves 7 African countries with the intention of distributing electricity from DR Congo to Egypt in the North, Nigeria in the West and South Africa down South is coordinated by the World Energy Council in London.”

Animation in Kenya

"Kenyanimation blog was set up to bring together animators and animation fans who are from or work in Kenya, just to show people that there actually is such a thing as Kenyan animation, and hopefully be a launching point for bigger local projects, which haven’t had a chance so far coz people don’t really know that a scene exists!"

Video Halls

Video halls that cater largely to the Nollywood Film audience are springing up in Nigeria.

In Uganda: With only two mainstream cinemas in the whole country, video dens have sprung up to take care of the country’s growing appetite for African films— especially Nigerian...Referred to as Bibanda in Uganda, the video shacks easily attract over 120,000 viewers each day at a cost of 7 US cents (about five Kenya shillings) per ticket. The conventional theatres ask for $7 per ticket.So far, it is estimated that there are over 2,000 video halls in Uganda. In the video dens (simple makeshift cinemas that are poorly lit and mostly in the overpopulated estates), you will find VJs who narrate the films in local languages.

Emergency Healthcare Transport: Bicycle Ambulances

BEN Namibia launches bicyle ambulences manufacturing plant in Windhoek.

AIDS: 25 years on

ON MAY 20 1983, in a paper published in the U.S. journal Science, a team from France's Pasteur Institute, led by Luc Montagnier, described a suspect virus found in a patient who had died of AIDS.

Montagnier's groundbreaking work (see, The hunt for HIV,Cosmos Online) led to the determination by U.S. researcher Robert Gallo that the virus was indeed the cause of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

At last, a key had been found to understanding the mysterious immune-ravaging disease – the "gay plague" as British tabloids smugly called it – which had surfaced among American homosexuals two years earlier.

It took another three years to resolve a spat over the pair's rival claims to be the first to discover the AIDS virus, enabling the duo to share equally in the glory. The mood was upbeat.

Homosexuality in Nollywood: Sinful Saints

Restless and daring AMAA ‘Best Director 2005,’ Dickson Iruegbu is set for another first.
He is currently shooting Nigeria’s first gay movie entitled ‘Sinful Saints.’

“Sinful Saints is a very controversial movie. It deals with a very sensitive but neglected topic; homosexuality. The movie will explore homosexuality in Nigeria,” Iruegbu revealed.
According to him, the movie would seek answers to such questions as whether it is African or a burrowed culture.

How did it creep into our society? How do we discuss issues relating to sex with our children? Do we frighten them with or experiences. The family is the ultimate unit of society but unfortunately, most homes lack good ways of teaching sex relayed issues.

Sinful Saints is the story of a sheltered kid, whose over protective mum (Clarion Chukwura) sheltered him so much that at age 19, he’d had no contact with a woman.
Meanwhile his hormones were raging but Ignorance has set in and he clings unto his fellow man to satisfy his sexual needs. Soon he is enmeshed in homosexuality.

According to Iruegbu: “ This is a topic we all shy from but it is there. People experience it every day and we have to talk about it and enlighten people. Some of us are trying to summon the courage to discuss it. For me it is high time we discussed it.”
It features steamy scenes of man-to-man love. It is an intricate web of ignorance, jealousy, betrayal and ultimately murder.

KOK, Charles Waran, Maurice Nwabueze and Clarion Chukwura will star in this movie that would stretch the limits of censorship in Nigeria.
On the challenges of shooting such a movie, Iruegbu said: “It took a long time to convince the artistes to play the roles. I paid three times what is obtainable for Nigerian movies. I have sunk over N8, 000. 000 in the project. I know it will shock Nigerians but the story has to be told. It is happening everywhere and people want to talk about it.

According to him, he is not out to witch-hunt the homosexual click believed to be very influential in Nollywood.
For Charles Waran, one of the lead actors, who plays a capricious role under the ‘Fag Lord’ (Kanayo O. kanayo) as a pimp, “the movie is important to me. It is a tragedy that young men could find themselves gay and be proud of it. I feel challenged playing this role. It’s a love story on the fag side of life.”

Story by Tony ogaga Erhariefe
December 2007

via Nigeriafilms.com

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's threatens to behead homosexuals

Gay rights activists have condemned Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's threat to behead homosexuals. Last week he told a political rally that gay people had 24 hours to leave the country. He promised "stricter laws than Iran" on homosexuality and said he would "cut off the head" of any gay person found in the Gambia.

The Growing Nigerian Diaspora

IN US: Houston Chronicle - Nigerian immigrants have the highest levels of education in this city and the nation, surpassing whites and Asians, according to Census data bolstered by an analysis of 13 annual Houston-area surveys conducted by Rice University.

Effect of Diaspora on Nigerian politics.

Breeding toxins from dead PCs

Reports on dumping of electronic waste in Nigeria and Ghana

The UN Environment Program has stated that Western countries produce around 50 million tons of digital waste every year. In Europe, only 25 percent of this type of waste is collected and effectively recycled. Much of the rest is piled in containers and shipped to developing countries, supposedly to reduce the digital divide, to create jobs and help people. In reality, the inhabitants of dumps like Agbogbloshie survive largely by burning the electronic devices to extract copper and other metals out of the plastic used in their manufacture. The electronic waste contaminates rivers and lagoons with consequences that are easily imaginable. In 2008 Green Peace took samples of the burnt soil in Agbogbloshie and found high concentrations of lead, mercury, thallium, hydrogen cyanide and PVC.

Malawi's farming revolution

How Malawi turned around farming industry

A new government, led by Bingu wa Mutharika, believed the problem was straightforward. Farmers were using seeds that were highly susceptible to disease and weevils, and too few were using fertiliser. If farmers could afford high-yield maize seeds and fertiliser, the government argued, they would be able to grow enough food. At a cost of £30m, the government launched a subsidisation scheme. With a state coupon, the price of a bag of fertiliser fell from 6,500 kwacha (£23) to 900, while a 2kg bag of hybrid maize seed dropped from 600 kwacha to 30.Malawi's farming revolution sets the pace in Africa - Africa and the World - The Malawi's donors refused to fund the programme, arguing that subsidising farmers would not bring the desired results. They were wrong. Malawi needs about 2.2 million tonnes of maize a year to feed itself and from a low of 1.2 million tonnes in 2005, national maize production rose to 3.2 million tonnes in 2007, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Sarkozy makes racial comment in Tunisia

The Tunisian blogosphere was buzzing last week with responses to Nicholas Sarkozy's official visit.Cos-maux-polis has several posts about the trip criticizing certain statements made by Sarkozy as racist: Clearly the statements of Nicolas Sarkozy on African soil are worth questioning. On the occasion of his official visit to
Tunisia, the President of the Republic revealed his concept of a North-South partnership: “You have a workforce who do waiting to be trained, we have a lot intelligence and a lot of training(…).”

ongoing debate on Dakar speech

African seeds reach "safe-house" in the Arctic

Ten genebanks operated by CGIAR-supported Centers were the scene of frenetic activity in recent weeks, as staff rushed to finish packing samples of more than 200,000 crop varieties for shipment to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV), a new storage facility located on a remote island near the Arctic Circle. Twenty-one boxes filled with 7,000 unique seed samples from more than 36 African nations were shipped to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a facility being built on a remote island in the Arctic Circle as a repository of last resort for humanity’s agricultural heritage.

City Noise

Noise study concluded in Cairo

Egyptians in this capital city say it is harder and harder to be heard and to have a voice, but they are not talking politics. Well, not only politics. What they are talking about, or rather yelling about, is noise, the incredible background noise of a city crammed with 18 million people, and millions of drivers who always have one hand on the horn and a rules-free way of thinking. It is literally like living day in and day out with a lawn mower running next to your head, according to scientists with the National Research Center. They spent five years studying noise levels across the city and concluded in a report issued this year that the average noise from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. is 85 decibels, a bit louder than a freight train 15 feet away, said Mustafa el Sayyid, an engineer who helped carry out the study.

Free Software

Throughout Latin America the “Latin American Festival of Installation of Free Software” (FLISOL 2008) recently concluded. This event, which has been held since 2005, has as its main objective to promote the use of free software, presenting its philosophy, its scopes and development. During the event, the diverse local communities of free software (in each country, in each city/locality),
simultaneously organized events in which they set up, in a free and legal way; free software on the computers that the public brought to the event. In addition and simultaneously, lectures, presentations and workshops on local, national and Latin-American subject matters concerning the Free Software, in all its range of expressions were also provided.

Refugee reparations in Europe

32-year old Ebenizer Folefack Sontsa, the Cameroonian national whose violent repatriation caused a mini revolt last Saturday on a Brussels Airline flight to Douala and led to the arrest of Serge Fosso, a passenger on the flight, committed
suicide yesterday at the Merksplas refugee center in Belgium. According to news reports, Ebenizer, who was placed in isolation after Saturday’s failed expulsion attempt, used bedsheets to hang himself in a bathroom. Police had to be brought in to quell the ensuing riot by other detainees.

Controversy over Ebenizer Folefack Sontsa’s death: Was His Alleged Suicide a cover-up? Was Folefack a victim of police brutality or did he really take his own life? Friends say Folefack was so beat-up after the first expulsion attempt that he could barely walk straight, let alone be able to hang himself. Those who examined his corpse at the morgue claim that there was no sign of trauma around his neck. Inmates at the detention center say it is virtually impossible to hang oneself in the bathrooms.

Authorities at the Merksplas refugee center insist it was suicide, and that Folefack left a couple of suicide notes. An autopsy is ordered as lawyers file suit.

Marijuana in Brazil

After a long period of dictatorship, and since the political liberalization of the 80's, Brazilians have learned to value freedom of expression as a key democratic right. But the last weeks have shown that some issues such as marijuana legalization still don't hold the status of being entitled to a legally sanctioned public debate. This year's edition of the Marijuana March was prohibited by courts in 9 capital cities across the country due to allegations of illegal promotion of drug use.

Cannabis was brought to Brazil by the first Africans arriving from Angola, and it's use and cultivation was encouraged by the Portuguese, which resulted in it being culturally assimilated by the mestizos and by some Indian groups. Medical use was also common, mostly during the second part of the 19th century, and even advertised in Brazilian medical journals up to the first years of the 20th century.

Viewed by many as an insult to the meaning of the ethnic and cultural use of this plant, which is part of the African cultural heritage. Recently, the Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil presented a proposal to register Ayahuasca, an psychoactive mix of plants that composes the Santo Daime and Hoasca tea, as a National Cultural Heritage. If the ‘small death‘ can, why not the ‘Manga Rosa', the ‘Cabeça de Nego' and the ‘Cabrobó' [popular types of Brazilian marijuana]?...

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) is celebrated every May 17 around the world. It is coordinated by the Paris based "IDAHO Committee" founded and presided over by French academic, Louis-Georges Tin. May 17 was chosen as the day of the event because homosexuality was removed from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 17, 1990.

Israel: 60th Anniversary

(Reuters) - Israel marks the anniversary of its founding on Thursday, 60 years by the Jewish calendar since the declaration of statehood on May 14, 1948. Following is a list of key elements of planned public celebrations:

* At 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) on May 6, sirens and state ceremonies mark start of Remembrance Day for Israelis killed in conflicts. Sirens sound for further two minutes at 11 a.m. on May 7

* On May 11, Israelis turning 60 on Independence Day will attend a birthday party with President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem

* U.S. President George W. Bush visits May 14-16. He will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to review progress on peace talks with the Palestinians, address Israeli parliament on May 15 and also attend conference on "The Future of the Jewish People" hosted by President Peres that runs May 13-15

* Twelve other heads of state are officially listed to attend. They are from Albania, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Georgia, Latvia, Mongolia, Poland, Rwanda, Slovenia, Togo, Ukraine and the Pacific island of Palau. Other notable guests include media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Google Inc co-founder Sergey Brin and former Cold War statesmen Mikhail Gorbachev and Henry Kissinger.

* Last week's launch of Israel's Amos-3 satellite was made part of the celebrations -- it bears a 60th anniversary logo.

* Israeli children are collecting 1.5 million marbles -- for the number of Jewish children who died in the Holocaust.

* On May 8, voting ends to choose a national bird. President Peres will announce the winning emblem on May 29.

* Other anniversary events will be held later in the year. These include mass dancing on streets of Jerusalem, a mass wedding for new immigrants, restoring 60 war memorials, building a 60-km path round the Sea of Galilee, building 60 playgrounds, launching a children's theatre in Jerusalem and a march by some 45,000 youngsters that will pass through key battle sites.

* On May 15, Palestinians will mark the 60th anniversary of what they call the "nakba", or catastrophe when 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes at the creation of Israel. Public employees and students will stop work at 11 a.m. to join rallies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sirens at noon start two minutes' silence.

(Reporting by Avida Landau, Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Samia Nakhoul)

Nakba

Nakba Day, meaning "day of the catastrophe",is an annual day of commemoration for the Palestinian people of the anniversary of the creation of Israel. It is held every May 15, the day after the anniversary of Israel's Independence. The day marks the expulsions and flight of Palestinians from their towns and villages in the face of Jewish and later Israeli troop advances, their displacement from Palestine, and the loss of their property.