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Development
HEALTH
Compulsory HIV Tests for Malawi Girl Scholars 9mins. 12secs. 3 Church's
decision to screen girls seeking bursary for its all-girl
secondary school for HIV controversial.
Condom Adverts Deemed Too Explicit 7mins. 6secs. 5 Zambian state-broadcaster
pulls condom advertisements off air.
Deemed too explicit by the government.
WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Child Rape On the Rise in Zimbabwe 10mins. 5secs. 5 Child sexual abuse
is on the increase in Zimbabwe, a phenomenon the
southern African nation is deeply divided over its cause and how to handle
it.
AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY
Famine Looms Again As Army Worms Strike 5mins. 7 As Tanzania emerges
from one of its most severe food shortages, the country
is in danger of another cycle of famine following an outbreak of army worms.
Environment
WEATHER
Better Weather Network in 2002 for Kenya 6mins. 6secs. 3 Kenya will
be linked to a more sophisticated weather satellite network
next year, to ensure efficiency in weather forecasting and boost the effectiveness
of early warning systems.
POLLUTION
Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria Probes Oil Spill 3mins. 8secs. 4 The Akwa
Ibom State Government in the Eastern part of Nigeria has
constituted a 12-man technical committee, to investigate the alleged November
2000 oil spill in the state.
Used Engine Oil Creates Problems In Urban Areas 6mins. 7secs. 7 The
closure of the British Petroleum Zambia Plc has led to improper disposal
of used oil threatening the environment in Zambia.
CONSERVATION
Camels Moved To Mt Kenya 5mins. 4 A call has been made for the immediate
removal of hundreds of camels
from the Mt Kenya Forest to avoid an ecological disaster.
Wetland World-A World to Discover 9mins. 10 Thirty years after the
Convevention on Wetlands, Ramsar declares
2 February 2001 as the World Wetlands day.
Seychelles' Nature Reserve in International Spotlight 5mins. 5secs. 6
By being the first nature reserve in Africa to feature in the International
Biodiversity Observation Year, Cousin Island in Seychelles has obtained world-wide
recognition for eco-tourism and coastal management. 1
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Point of View WOMEN
Gender Equity Good for Democracy 17mins. 6secs. 8 Yvonne Malhunge,
Zimbabwean lawyer comments on the future of women
in a democracy and encourages greater participation in government.
Noted WOMEN
Our People O! Grant for Better Understanding. 6mins. 9 Four women
writers have been awarded the first "Our People O!
Grant for Better Understanding".
FOOD
DRC Introduces New Cassava Varieties 3mins. 5secs. 10 The National
Institute for Agronomic Study and Research of the Democratic
Republic of Congo has introduced 200 new varieties of cassava, tested at
the International Tropical Agriculture Institute of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Dateline ENERGY
Renewable, Sustainable Energy Critical In Millennium 4mins. 5secs. 10 According
to the Executive Director of UNEP, Klaus Toepfer, green
environmentally friendly energy, such as solar, wind and wave power, is one
of the most pressing issues facing mankind in the new millennium.
Children's Section
The Hunter 17mins. 11 Jamina wants to be a hunter but when
she gets lost in the forests, she makes
new friends that change her mind and the way she sees the world.
Parting Shots
Celebrate the joy of the African experience with some unforgettable
proverbs 13 2
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News
Compulsory HIV Tests for Malawi Girl Scholars 9mins. 12secs. Controversy
now surrounds Malawi's second-largest church's decision to screen girls seeking
bursary for
its all-girl secondary school for HIV. The Church of Central African Presbyterian
(CCAP) says whoever wants the church's all-inclusive bursary, which will cover
tuition and boarding fees including toiletries and
other school accessories, will have to undergo a mandatory HIV test. The church
authorities went on to mandate that those who pass the first test and are admitted
to the school, will have to undergo yearly tests
in all the four years they will be at Neno Secondary School in the border district
of Mwanza. Those found to be positive at any point of their four-year study
will automatically lose their bursary. If they want
to still be at the school, says the church, they will have to bear the full
cost of their education.
The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) has described this as "repulsive
and discriminatory". NACP Director, Owen Kalua told journalists it was government
policy that nobody should be discriminated
against because of their HIV status. "This will only stigmatise those who will
fail to qualify for the bursary," he said. But the Reverend Daniel Gunya, General
Secretary for CCAP's Blantyre Synod, insisted the
bursary conditions are not discriminatory. "In fact, those who don't want it
will be asked to pay for their education but those who want the sponsorship
have to consent to the conditions so it's not discriminatory
at all," he said. But Kalua of the NACP insists that the church seems to tie
HIV to wayward, promiscuous behaviour. He said those innocent girls who might
have contracted the deadly virus through rape or blood
transfusion will suffer unfairly.
Charles Gunsaru, director for secondary and higher education in the Ministry
of Education, Science and Technology, said the ministry was surprised by the
church's stand. "We are surprised because nobody has
ever used HIV status as a yardstick to offer anything, even employment, in Malawi,"
he said. But the ministry, whose role is merely supervisory, can only advise
the church. They cannot force it to change its
stance.
Reverend Gunya said he was actually surprised his church's stand has excited
such an uproar, not praise, for its pro-active stance on the national HIV/ AIDS
fight. He said church leaders thought this was one way
making young girls sexually pure and deterring them from contracting the deadly
disease. "The annual blood tests will discourage promiscuity among our girls
and give our girls an immediate reason to avoid any
dangerous behaviour that could result in their contracting the killer disease,"
he insisted.
Malawi has one of the highest HIV/ AIDS prevalence rates in the world. According
to the latest figures from the National AIDS Control Programme, up to 14 per
cent of Malawi's 10 million people are living
with the virus that can cause AIDS. Africa Online
Better Weather Network in 2002 for Kenya 6mins. 6secs. Kenya will be
linked to a more sophisticated weather satellite network next year. The new
network,
serving 45 developing countries, will be launched on the Guyana Islands, off
the West African coast. It is expected to ensure efficiency in weather forecasting
and boost the effectiveness of early warning systems.
"We will be able to give our consumers information that is more accurate and
tailored to suit their specific requirements," Mr. Ayub Shaka, an Acting Assistant
Director of Meteorology, said. Speaking to the
Nation in his office, Mr. Shaka said the new forecasting technology would provide
weather data twice as often as the current system, enabling more precise tracking
of weather changes. 3
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The new satellite network, which will serve Europe and Africa, will generate
data every 15 minutes and not every half-hour as is the case currently.
Kenya's Meteorological Department will manage the preparatory phase of the project
in the participating African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. According to
Mr. Shaka, the European Community has approved
funds to enable the countries to update their weather stations. Kenya will install
a new satellite receiving station and re-equip its 35 data-collecting stations
in various parts of the country to make them compatible
with the new technology. The project will also train weather scientists and
technicians as part of a programme that has been going on for the past three
years. Kenya's Drought Monitoring Centre, which serves the
IGAD region, will likewise benefit from enhanced technical and technological
capacity. According to Europe's Organisation of Meteorological Satellites, the
new network is expected to provide at least 20
times more information than is currently given by the Meteosat satellite. It
will have 12 channels of data instead of Meteosat's three, which will broadcast
clearer images of evolving local weather events. The
European weather body says the data generated could be used to strengthen air
traffic control and security in marine transportation.
The new satellite network, expected to be fully operational by 2005, will
for the first time contribute to the monitoring of environmental phenomena like
desertification, climate change and fires.
The Nation
Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria Probes Oil Spill 3mins. 8secs. The Akwa
State Government in the Eastern part of Nigeria has constituted a 12-man technical
committee,
headed by Prof. Etie Akpan, a marine geologist, to investigate the alleged November
2000 oil spill in the state. Environment Commissioner, Obong Isidore Akwan-Ebe,
briefing newsmen, said, "reports reaching
this ministry indicate that there was actually a massive oil spill on the shores
of the state".
He said the committee had been given six weeks to submit its report to government.
"In addition, the committee is also working on the satellite imageries obtained
from radar stations strategically positioned to
monitor the sensitive environment of Akwa Ibom", he said.
The Exxon/ Mobil authority had last November, after conducting newsmen on a
high-sea coastal tour, denied there was a spill in the state. The Commissioner,
who identified Exxon/ Mobil, Elf and Shell as the
three major companies doing oil business on the shores of Akwa Ibom said the
Technical Committee on the spills would soon come out with a confirmation on
who owned the facilities where the reported spills
took place. Obong Akpan-Ebe assured the public that as soon as the Professor
Etie Ben Akpan's committee completed its assignment, the entire findings would
be made public.
allAfrica. com
Camels Moved To Mt Kenya 5mins. The co-ordinator of the Greenbelt Movement,
Prof Wangari Maathai, has called for the removal of hundreds
of camels from the Mt Kenya Forest. Prof Maathai has written to the Head of
Civil Service, Dr Richard Leakey, demanding action on the pastoralists. She
says the animals will upset the mountain's vital ecosystem,
which, being a water catchment area, should be preserved at all costs. "The
movement of the animals into the forest is very telling that Kenya's desertification
has reached alarming rates. Camels are desert animals,"
she said.
Famine and hunger, she said, would become a permanent feature in Kenya if forests
were not preserved, as they attracted rain, which supported agriculture to a
large extent. She was reacting to press reports that 4
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pastoralists have been driving hundreds of camels into the Gathiuru section
of Mt Kenya forest in search of pasture. Similar protests came from the Kieni
MP, Dr Chris Murungaru, in whose constituency Gathiuru
falls. But the government quickly responded, saying it was closely monitoring
the pastoralists' movements. Nyeri police boss Elijah Shamalla visited the area
to assess the security situation following reports that
clashes were likely to occur between the pastoralists and farmers living on
the edge of the forest.
Prof Maathai took issue with Laikipia Deputy District Commissioner Omar Sallat
for saying the pastoralists were only moving in animals in desperation. "He
should know that they are others who are desperate to
save the forests. Rainfall and crops have failed due to destruction of forests
and that's why Kenyans are very hungry," Prof Maathai said.
The Nation
Condom Adverts Deemed Too Explicit 7mins. 6secs. The campaign to combat
HIV/ AIDS in Zambia hit a snag when the state-broadcaster pulled condom
advertisements, deemed too explicit by the government, off the air. Church leaders
from the Christian Council of Zambia, a powerful lobby group comprising a number
of influential churches, had protested
loudly that anti-AIDS campaign material aired in recent months by the Zambia
National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) was misguided and encouraged promiscuity.
The government itself appeared divided over the issue. Health Minister Enoch
Kavindele last week urged Christian leaders to "face reality" over the extent
of the AIDS epidemic, but Education Minister Godfrey
Miyanda backed the clergy. President Frederick Chiluba, who in 1991 declared
Zambia a Christian nation, controversially said that he felt the use of condoms
was a sign of lax morals. The decision by ZNBC to
cancel the advertisements -bowing, the company said, to public sentiment -has
been sharply criticised by anti-aids campaigners. Masauso Nzima, country coordinator
for the UK-based AIDS Alliance said it
appeared that "people do not know how badly hit this country is by HIV/ AIDS".
He added: "Condoms are one of the major ways of preventing the spread of AIDS
and I think they should not be dismissed just
like that without as much as an offer of an alternative."
An estimated 20 percent of Zambian adults are HIV-positive. According to the
government's own figures, more than 700,000 people have died from AIDS-related
causes since the early 1980's, and more than
650,000 children have been orphaned. Currently, between 25,000 to 30,000 children
are born with HIV/ AIDS, while 7 out of every 10 children in this category are
not expected to celebrate their fifth birthday.
Acknowledging cultural taboos over open discussion of sex, Nzima said he believed
the condom outcry has largely been due to the fact that the commercials had
been aired during prime time, "when parents are
having dinner with their children. Perhaps the timing has been wrong but even
then, I believe there's a thing called parental guidance." The church has urged
abstinence as a solution to the AIDS epidemic.
Nils Gade, Chief Executive for the Zambian Society for Family Health pointed
out that the UN AIDS programme UNAIDS has "endorsed the condom as the most effective
way of avoiding AIDS ... especially
for many Zambians who do not know their status, whether they are positive or
negative." Integrated Regional Information Network
Child Rape On the Rise in Zimbabwe 10mins. 5secs. Upwards of the 2,000
rape cases involving children as young as three months old were brought before
the
courts last year in Zimbabwe. Authorities and civic groups believe this figure
is a mere tip of the iceberg. Child sexual abuse is on the increase in the country,
a phenomenon the southern African nation is deeply 5
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divided over its cause and how to handle it. In most of the cases, the children
are raped by relatives in whose custody they would have been entrusted, making
the abuse difficult to detect. But most worrying to
the authorities and women pressure groups is the emerging trend in which the
crime is increasingly being committed by people advised by witch doctors to
rape a minor to be cured of illnesses not responding to
treatment. The belief among the rapists and witch doctors is that the sexual
purity of a young girl's soul and body has medicinal value, and in some cases,
the crime is committed in the belief it would bring luck.
The result has been devastating to both the victims and their parents: Many
of the children raped are infected with sexually transmitted diseases, including
AIDS. Studies show as much as 70 percent of child
rape victims in Zimbabwe are infected with a sexually transmitted disease of
one form or another. Estimates indicated that among 5,000 people who are infected
weekly by AIDS in the country, 30 percent are
children who would have suffered sexual abuse. Delays in detecting child sexual
abuse, because of the home environment in which most of the rape cases occur,
make the victims particularly vulnerable to
disease infections. A pressure group, Child and Law Project, estimates that
most of the rape cases only come to light after one year, if the victim does
not suffer immediate physical harm or disease infection from
the abuse. Other studies indicate child sexual abuse cases are so widespread
in the country that most girls in Zimbabwe were becoming sexually active at
the age of eight, which is just half the country's legal age of
consent. A commission of inquiry set up by President Robert Mugabe two years
ago found most young girls lived under the constant threat of sexual abuse,
and suggested stringent laws to protect the children.
"Such a development (growing child sexual abuse) is of great concern because
of the risk of these children contracting STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections)
and HIV," said the commission in its report.
But the nation is still unsure, despite the various studies on child sexual
abuse, of the exact causes of the increase in the number of rape cases involving
minors which occur even in remote corners of the country.
While court evidence from child rape cases point to a growing involvement of
witch doctors in the crimes, the traditional healers argue instead that the
expanding influence of Western culture was the main culprit.
Women pressure groups say the crime is becoming prevalent because of sentences
passed by the courts on offenders were not stiff enough to deter people from
child sexual abuse. They are advocating death
sentences for rape offenders, or better still castration, two possible punishment
forms which they feel would be proportional to the gravity of the crime and
also serve as a sufficient deterrent.
PanAfrican News Agency
Seychelles' Nature Reserve In International Spotlight 5mins. 5secs. Cousin
Island in Seychelles has obtained world-wide recognition for eco-tourism and
coastal management
after being the first nature reserve in Africa to feature in the International
Biodiversity Observation Year. Reports reaching Port-Louis said that Cousin
Island Special Reserve was recognised as the best example
of how eco-tourism is practised as well as for coastal and marine management
in two recent publications released by international organisations.
The special reserve, managed by BirdLife Seychelles, is the only example in
the Book, " Sustainable Development of Tourism Compilation of Good Practices
from East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean
region". In a letter to the Seychelles Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Simone
de Comarmond, WTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli said: "I am sure it
(the book) will add prestige to the tourism
industry in Seychelles." The second book -Marine and Coastal Protected Areas
-A Guide for Planners and Managers is published by The World Conservation Union.
Cousin Island featured in two prominent
case studies in the new book. The first one, which covers the operation of the
island is entitled "Cousin 6
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Island -A Sea and Island Reserve scientifically managed by an NGO". It describes
the research, monitoring, education, conservation management and administration
achievements.
Nirmal Jivan Shah, the Chief Executive of BirdLife Seychelles, said that the
Cousin success story reflected on Seychelles as a whole and that all Seychellois
should be justifiably proud of these accomplishments.
"People have all kinds of opinions about things, but one of the best measures
of success and achievement is validation and recognition by well known international
organisations," Shah said. "We will not rest on our
laurels but will continue to set new standards on Cousin and elsewhere," he
added. allAfrica. com
Used Engine Oil Creates Problems In Urban Areas 6mins. 7secs. Used
engine oil is posing a new threat for the environment in Zambia. In the past
British Petroleum Zambia
Plc used to buy back this used oil for re-processing at their plant that was
sited in the central copper mining city of Kitwe. But with the closure of the
plant, industries and motor repair workshops are now having to
dispose of used oil in a manner most suitable to them that connect to sources
of drinking water.
"Used oil should be a matter of intense environmental concern as its chemical
and physical constitution renders it to be potentially hazardous to soils, water
and air quality," Jewitt Masinja, the Permanent Secretary
in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, says. It is for this reason
that the Zambia chapter of the Institute of Waste Management in Southern Africa
recently held a workshop at which the scope of
disposal of used engine oil was the main topic of discussion. Also attending
were workers from motor repair workshops and the oil marketing companies. The
aim of holding the workshop was essentially to
examine the environmental impact of oil spilled from motor repair workshops
and fuel dispensing service stations.
After the closure of the BP Zambia oil refining plant in Kitwe and its relocation
to Zimbabwe, workshops and service stations were left pouring used oil carelessly
in drains and trenches. In some instances, this oil
has found its way to sources of drinking water, sewerage ponds and even spread
to farmland as well as plots adjoining the workshops. The result is that the
oil has contaminated water used by both humans and
domestic animals and has devastated aquatic life, including fish and mosquito
eating frogs.
The Institute is now joining hands with branches in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe
and Botswana with a view of working out mechanisms for encouraging re-processing
of used oil so that it is refined into a
usable commodity. It is hoped that a sustainable way of minimising waste and
the subsequent indiscriminate degradation of the environment, through dumping
of used engine oil, will be avoided or cut drastically.
PanAfrican News Agency
Famine Looms Again As Army Worms Strike 5mins. As Tanzania emerges
from one of its most severe food shortages, the country is in danger of another
cycle
of famine following an outbreak of army worms. The government has issued an
alert that five out of 20 Tanzania mainland regions have already been invaded
by the destructive army worms, and six more regions
are in danger of being infested. The five affected regions are Dodoma, Arusha,
Mbeya, Iringa, and Singida, where the caterpillars are reported to be multiplying
at an alarming rate. Three of the regions -Arusha,
Kilimanjaro and Tanga -border Kenya to the north, and it is feared the infestation
may spill over into Kenya. It is also feared infestation from Mbeya could spill
over to neighbouring Malawi and Zambia.
Although the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security could not state the
exact extent of damage in terms of tonnage, it is estimated to be in the hundreds
of thousands of tonnes of grain in farms occupying some 7
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7,780 hectares in the five regions. The Tanzania government is preparing to
request the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome for $1 million to combat
the army worm threat. Tanzania has at the same
time been facing attacks from red locusts, rodents and quelea birds, which,
officials say, could greatly aggravate Tanzania's food security if they are
not checked.
An official of the Plant Protection Unit, Mr. Sergei Mutahiwa, warned countries
sharing borders with some of the affected regions to be prepared, as the movement
of the worms could be enhanced by weather and
winds. The East African
Point of View
Gender Equity Good for Democracy 17mins. 6secs. Voter apathy
has characterised every election in Zimbabwe since 1985, hence the admission
that the
officials responsible for conducting last year's parliamentary election were
"overwhelmed" by the turnout of the electorate. After the 1980 election, the
euphoria of Independence fizzled away as disenchantment
and reality settled in. People just did not see the need to vote. Women as part
of the electorate naturally also followed this trend. Women's numerical advantage
over men makes them fertile ground for any aspiring
member of parliament in an election. But have women been taken seriously as
an electorate? Or have they been assigned the role of chorus singers in the
political campaigns of men? Are they to be perpetually
relegated to singing and kneeling on the tarmac at the Harare International
Airport, donning the head of someone's husband? Surely the time has come for
women as potential king-makers to be taken much
more seriously. Should political parties not be energetically seeking their
votes?
As an electorate women must now sharpen their skills to examine a political
party's record and its gender policy. It is therefore an unavoidable consequence
that the longer a party has been in existence, the longer
a record it will have of disregarding or paying attention to the gender issues
in its election campaigns. The brutal reality in Zimbabwe is that if all Zimbabwean
women eligible to vote were registered voters and they
all voted for one party, that party would not need a single man's vote to win
a simple majority in parliament. This of course assumes that there will be no
constitutional provision guaranteeing the presidential appointment
of 30 (male) members of parliament. The sad reality in Zimbabwe is that because
of party structures, women have not been able to feature as prominently as men
do in this country's political life.
The most important issue in Zimbabwe is that the environment is not friendly
to women. Politics the world over has been labelled a "dirty" game and one which
is the preserve of men. A self-respecting woman is
not expected to join this game. Generally, once one makes the choice to become
a public official that person makes a deliberate choice to have their dirty
laundry not only washed in public but, with the
"assistance" of their political opponents, to have the same not-so-clean laundry
hung out in the open for public inspection.
It has been argued that the participation of women in politics should have
the effect of making politics more honest and focused on issues and not personalities.
In Zimbabwe, the dirtiness of the campaign trail manifested
itself in a rather uniquely grotesque manner. This was through political violence
throughout the country. There were allegations that the governing party unleashed
the war veterans on the opposition. The cruel
reality is that the whole environment emphasised that only the fittest will
survive. The fact that women who were active in the opposition were targets
of this political violence served as a reminder to those women
that they should not be involved in politics. The fact that these women were
only involved in the lower echelons of the opposition parties and were therefore
not candidates serves only to emphasise their
powerlessness. 8
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Another factor, which in my assessment has been used to the disadvantage of
women and results in less women seeking political office is the cultural norms
and value systems. These are either misconstrued
purposely or unknowingly to the disadvantage of women. Hence women are viewed
first as women and then as potential candidates. Examinations into their status
are made: is she single or married? And if single
why is she? Is she divorced or not? Does she have children and by how many men?
These questions are not asked of male politicians. In fact, it is perfectly
acceptable for a male politician to be on to his second
or third wife. He is still perceived as being respectable. The status of a woman
candidate is made the election point and not her ability to address the constituency's
problems. In the ideal world it should be
vice versa. In fact, some female candidates do not even make it past their respective
party's selection process because of these misconstructions.
Through my involvement in the parliamentary election I realised just how expensive
an election campaign is. In Zimbabwe most funding is accessed through the candidates
political party. In an ideal Zimbabwe any
Zimbabwean should be able to freely donate their skill, cash or other possessions
to a political party of their choice. Unless a party has an assured source of
income such as that guaranteed under the Political
Parties (Finance) Act, it will be difficult for it to access funds. Even then,
the fact that a political party has acquired funds does not automatically mean
that the female candidates within the party will receive equal
funding as male candidates. This is why it is essential that women position
themselves strategically within their parties.
A government that is committed to creating an environment of gender equity
along with good governance and democracy is indispensable. Hence if a government
only has one female cabinet minister, the warning
bells of the women's electorate should be clanging louder than the sound of
the presidential motorcade. A government should feel duty bound to promote not
only a gender-sensitive environment, but one that
emphasises the importance of an equal partnership between men and women in a
free and democratic society.
Abridged opinion of Yvonne Malhunge, in the Zimbabwe
Independent
Noted
Our People O! Grant for Better Understanding 6mins. Four women
writers have been awarded the first "Our People O! Grant for Better Understanding".
The
grant was funded through proceeds from "Our People Oh!", the book written by
internationally renowned Indian journalist, Alka Raza and wife of the former
US ambassador to Nigeria, Susan Twaddell to mark
the United Nations Year of Older Persons. It recounts the life stories of a
cross section of older Nigerians, from a veteran journalist to a traditional
female drummer. As described by the Chief Guest, Regional
Director of the Ford Foundation, Dr. Akwasi Aidoo, the grant is "an occasion
to build a bridge between the young and the old Nigerians, those who go beyond
art for arts sake… those interested in
development… excellent and talented female writers… interested in telling the
Nigerian story" the initial grant for the book was given by the Ford Foundation.
Daniele Landry, a representative of the United Nations Population Agency,
echoed his sentiments, saying "International guests can, indeed, sometime be
more observant about the surroundings than their hosts.
For one always searches in vain for publications that give uncoloured and unbiased
impressions about people in their country…( the book) shows what has been achieved
by very ordinary and very distinguished
individuals in Nigeria." 9
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Grantees were chosen to represent the major geographic regions of the country.
Nneka Osakwe is an Eastern lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, and
is the recipient of many national and international
academic awards as well as a dedicated crusader for children's rights. Northern
efforts were acknowledged through the poet and writer of short stories, Binta
Muhammed. Florence Inokweje was the Middle belt
woman chosen for her work in poetry, drama, history and youth campaigns. Mrs.
Kemi Wale Olaitan, an actress, columnist and radio producer who is a loud voice
in African feminism, represented the West. Each
of the grantees was given N100,000 to support their efforts and publish their
works in socio-economic awareness.
CFC
DRC Introduces New Cassava Varieties 3mins. 5secs. The National Institute
for Agronomic Study and Research of the Democratic Republic of Congo has
introduced 200 new varieties of cassava, tested at the International Tropical
Agriculture Institute of Ibadan, Nigeria. The varieties likely to adapt the
best to local conditions will be reproduced and distributed to local
farmers. The institute said that in this regard, the testing of two nurseries
in Mvwazi and Mbakana, in the outskirts of Kinshasa, have started. The first
nursery was set up with the assistance of the institute, while
the second is supported by the Mbakana Agricultural Centre for Integrated Development
where 100,000 healthy cuttings have been planted. The introduction and testing
of these new varieties are in line with the
efforts deployed by the Congolese government to eradicate cassava pest.
Cassava is the staple food for over 70 percent of the Congolese population,
particularly in the Bundundu and Lower-Congo provinces and in the city of Kinshasa.
These efforts, backed by the UN Food and
Agriculture Organisation, are deployed within the framework of a project aimed
at promoting a lasting approach for the improvement of food security.
PanAfrican News Agency
Dateline Renewable, Sustainable Energy Critical In Millennium
4mins. 5secs.
Green environmentally friendly energy, such as solar, wind and wave power,
is one of the most pressing issues facing mankind in the new millennium, the
Executive Director of UNEP, Klaus Toepfer told a meeting
on renewable energy in Paris. "Green energy must be put at the heart of sustainable
development if the threats of climate change and the need to tackle poverty
and ill health in the developing world are to be
truly addressed," Toepfer warned. "Sustainable development, or not cheating
on your children, means things like ensuring our ever-growing cities function
as stimulating and vibrant places to live and work; to
ensuring that the poorest people in the world are not forced to chop down forests
full of precious wildlife for wood to cook or keep warm," he added.
The views, were delivered at a January meeting of the G-8 Task Force on Renewable
Energy, comes as ministers from some ten African countries at UNEP's Nairobi
headquarters to agree on a common position
on sustainable energy use. The ministers will submit their conclusions to the
ninth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development scheduled in April.
Toepfer's exhortations also come in the run-up to UNEP's
21st session of its Governing Council in which ministers from around the world
will meet in Nairobi 5-9 February when renewable and sustainable energy will
be among the key issues on the Council's agenda.
PanAfrican News Agency
Wetland World-A World to Discover 9mins. The pioneers who managed to
bring the representatives of 18 countries to the small city of Ramsar, Iran,
on the shores of the Caspian sea at the end of a cold month of January should
be genuinely proud of what they accomplished then and there. The Convention
on Wetlands was concluded at that meeting on 2 10
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February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001
February. Today 30 years later the treaty has become an effective instrument,
being used by its 123 Contracting parties to ensure conservation and wise use
of their wetlands. These few pages with only 12
articles that constitute the text of the Ramsar Convention have managed to create
a worldwide movement to safeguard one of the most productive and yet threatened,
ecosystems of the planet.
The past years have proven that the Convention on Wetlands goes beyond a typical
instrument of international law, it embodies a movement with its very dedicated
followers in government agencies, the scientific
community international organizations indigenous people, national and international
NGOs, community based groups and even private sector executives. It is in this
constituency that rest the vitality and effectiveness
of the Convention on Wetlands, a very special feature that needs to be cherished
and strengthened while also respecting the rules of the game of any intergovernmental
treaty.
123 member countries, 1042 sites on the list of Wetlands of International
Importance covering nearly 800,000 square kilometers of prime wetland areas,
a good number of countries with national wetland
policies or action plans in place, a significant array of technical and policy
instruments developed within the convention's framework and formally adopted
by its conference of parties. This is the encouraging reality
of the Ramsar Convention today.
Yet we cannot relax. Many Ramsar sites are under threat and a considerable number
of them do not have effective management plans in place. Some national wetlands
policies exist only on paper and the Ramsar
Administrative Authority in some countries are too weak to influence the policy
and action of other government agencies that de facto have the upper
hand on the wetland resource in the country.
To address these weaknesses, we need to bring into the Ramsar movement more
people and other sectors of the society. We need to do more to help people discover
the true value of wetlands and their functions,
so that we can count upon more defenders when it comes to electing governments
and influencing decisions on natural resources management. This is the main
aim of the World Wetlands Day 2001, riding on the
theme, "Wetlands World -a world to discover". February 2, 2001 is a day for
people to discover the values and functions of the wetlands. By doing this,
a major contribution will be made to maintaining the
ecological health of our planet, our common and, so far, only home. Delmar
Blasco, Secretary General, Ramsar.
Children's Section
The Hunter 17mins. In the early morning, Jamina went with her
grandfather to collect honey. They followed the honey bird far
into the bush. "I want to see elephants! Jamina cried. "Grandfather, do you
think we will?" 'You'll be lucky, ' said the old man. We don't see many now.
Not since the hunters came. '
Hunters! Jamina's eyes lit up. 'I'm going to be a hunter'. Jamina played hunters.
She shot the mighty elephant; she tracked a rhino deep into the forest; she
stalked a pride of lions.
Then she turned back to look for her grandfather. But she had wandered too far
into the bush and the old man and the honey bird were nowhere to be seen. She
called out but there was silence. Then, far away on
the wind. Jamina heard a sound. A sad and desperate cry that tugged at her heart.
She held her breath and listened. Jamina looked up. Vultures hung high in the
heavy noon heat, and all around she could sense
danger. 11
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February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001
12
'Never go alone into the bush, ' her parents had warned. But the sound was so
mournful she couldn't help but follow. Further and further she went… until she
came to a clearing. There she found a tiny elephant,
trying in vain to wake his mother. The hunters had been and, like Jamina, he
was lost and afraid. 'Don't cry, little one, ' she whispered. Jamina tilted
her head to listen. Perhaps the rest of the heard was nearby. But all
she could hear was the endless rasping of insects in the heat. She knew the
baby would not survive alone. She could try to lead him home with her and perhaps
they would find his family on the way. But the baby
was frightened.
'I am not a hunter, ' she said softly. For a long time she spoke to the elephant
until he grew calm and nuzzled her with his trunk. Jamina stood up and walked
a few steps. The baby followed, tottering weakly in the
blazing heat. Then the rain came and cooled by the water, the elephant found
strength to go on. At times they slipped and struggled. But they kept on walking,
right through the storm. As the skies cleared, the
baby grew excited and for a moment Jamina thought she could hear elephants.
But when she stopped to listen there was only whispering of the wind in the
grass. For a long time the elphant would not move. Then,
sadly and silently, he carried on
'If you are lost, ' her grandfather had told her, 'follow the afternoon herds;
they will lead you to the river. Home is on the other side. ' It was a long
time before Jamina and the elephant found the herd of zebra
making its way across the plain. They traveled with the thirsty animals all
through the hot afternoon. As the sun dipped low in the sky, they finally reached
the river. But hidden eyes watched them from the water and
Jamina sensed danger there. 'It is not safe to cross here, little one, ' she
said. 'We must travel on. ' As Jamina turned, she thought she could see elephants
on the horizon. She blinked and strained her eyes, but
there were only acacia trees, shimmering in the hazy heat. Jamina and the elephant
set off again, but soon the baby began to slow down.
'Just a little further, ' begged Jamina. But he was too tired to go on. As
Jamina waited with him, she thought of her mother. If only she could call her.
Soon people would worry; soon they would come searching. The
baby whispered. She stroked him gently. He had no mother to call. 'Listen! '
Jamina hushed the elephant. They could hear voices. My parents! She thought.
But the dark shadows in the distance were not her
parents.
'Poachers! ' she gasped under her breath. Now Jamina felt she too was one of
the hunted. She prayed that the baby would not whimper. But the elephant sensed
evil and stayed as still as a stone until the danger
passed. Darkness fell and the whoops and howls of the night creatures sent
a shiver down Jamina's spine. She huddled close to the baby, then clung to him
in fear as the deep and terrifying groan of something
hungry sounded nearby.
As Jamina waited to be hunted, the words of her grandfather came to her again.
'If ever you are in danger, ' he had said, 'never lose hope. ' So Jamina listened
for her parents. She closed her eyes and wished for
them. But instead she saw elephants. Her mind was filled with the great herds
of long ago. The mighty tuskers her grandfather had seen when he was young.
Giant elephant shadows moving like ghosts across
the plains. She could hear their deep and gentle murmurs close by. When she
opened her eyes, there were elephants all around, as if she'd called them in
her dream. Jamina wasn't afraid.
'Take this little one, ' she said. 'And keep him safe'.
By the first light of dawn, Jamina's mother found her sleeping in the grass.
'I was playing hunters and I got lost, ' Jamina said. She stayed very close
to her mother all the way home. 'I will never be a hunter', she said
softly to herself as they reached the village. Paul Gerarty in the book
"The Hunter" 12
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February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001 February, 2001
Parting Shots
Celebrate the joy of the African experience with these unforgettable
proverbs
On wisdom Do not spend an evening in a house where you are not willing to
spend the night
Ethiopia
Do not abuse a crocodile when you are near the river Uganda
On patience A chicken does not scratch the ground with both legs
Equitorial Guinea
Patience is the egg that hatches large birds Zimbabwe
More African Proverbs
…And a word on conservation
He that plants trees loves others besides himself Thomas Fuller
1723
Remember …
The heart is like a plant, it grows where it wants to Zimbabwe
African Proverbs 13
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