East Africans support the creation of a United States of Africa, a recent research survey says. According to the Steadman Group study, Kenya has the highest number of people supporting the idea at 57 per cent, followed by Tanzania at 51 and lastly Uganda, at 50. The survey done on 500 respondents in each of the three East African countries was conducted between July 14 and 15, 2007. The survey also shows that a majority of Ugandans, or 66 percent, are optimistic that the recent discovery of oil in western Uganda will "extremely benefit or benefit more" Ugandans. Females, at 71 per cent, were the more optimistic, as opposed to 61 per cent males. Asked about how they hoped to benefit from oil production, the majority, 51 percent, said it was through "the creation of jobs".

Africa’s Peace a Distant Goal

A new strategy for Africa, which rests on peace, security, human rights, rule of law, and development, has been unveiled at the Fifth Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture. Delivering this year’s lecture at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg on 22^nd July 2007, the former Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan explained that Africa had seen real and measurable progress in peace and security over the past decade but condemned the situation in Darfur. He warned that although stability in Africa might be spreading, a peaceful Africa remained a distant goal. He called for peace that is accompanied by economic and social development. The annual lecture offers an opportunity for leaders of international standing to present their views on critical issues impacting society at large. The previous Nelson Mandela Annual Lectures were delivered by: Former United States President William Jefferson Clinton on 19 July 2003; Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu on 23 November 2004; Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Wangari Maathai on 19 July 2005; and President Mbeki on 29 July 2006. The annual lecture was part of a wide range of events to celebrate Mr. Mandela's birthday, which he celebrated last Wednesday.

UNEP and ECA to Tackle Environment Issues

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) announced their intent to work together on African environment-related issues, including the economic costs of climate change and financing the shift to a low-carbon economy. The heads of the two organs, ECA Executive Secretary Abdoulie Janneh and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, also decided to revise their existing agreement to cover such topics as environmental statistics, adaptation economics, sustainable production and consumption, during a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Zimbabwean Youth Protest against their Government

A Zimbabwean youth group in South Africa has begun a campaign aimed at pressuring universities to expel the children of top government officials in Zimbabwe, who they blame for destroying education and harassing students. The move was initiated by the Zimbabwe Youth Movement in South Africa. ZYM spokesperson, Remember Moyo, said that they will present a petition to the Wits University Vice-Chancellor, Loyiso Nongxa, calling for the South African government to expel the children of senior ruling party officials on the basis that they had destroyed education in Zimbabwe while their children were attending good schools in South Africa, America and Europe. He explained: "If you look at the situation in Zimbabwe, many students are being harassed and bulldozed by police because the ministers know there is no-one related to them at those Universities. ZYM officials estimate that there are over 600 children and close relatives of top Zimbabwe government officials studying at universities abroad. They believe that money from taxpayers, struggling to survive back home, is being diverted to pay their fees.

A Common Pastoral Policy to Support MDGs in Africa

African countries will soon be required to embrace a common policy on pastoralism to reduce rural poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.  Faced with challenges such as climatic change and conflicts, agricultural experts in Africa are concerned that the survival of pastoralism as a livelihood will depend on a comprehensive livestock development policy designed to increase productivity. Such a policy must also promote market access and ensure sustainable use of natural resources and protection of the environment. Consultations are currently going on among various organs of the African Union (AU) to formulate a pastoral policy for Africa to be adopted by the AU heads of state summit in July 2008. Pastoralist leaders, government officials and experts from 15 African countries met for a three-day workshop at Sarova Shaba Lodge in Isiolo, Kenya, to kick-start the process of coming up with a common pastoral policy for Africa.  The meeting was organised by the AU’s Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Participants included representatives from pastoralist groups, governments from across Africa, experts on livestock management, representatives from the East African Community, the Economic Community of West African States, the Central African Economic Community and Unicef.

Uganda Telecom Unveils a New Seamless Network

Uganda's telecom industry, Uganda Telecom, has struck an agreement with Kenya's telecommunications behemoth, Safaricom, to allow its customers to experience what it calls borderless roaming, a cousin of sorts to the well known borderless networks operated by Celtel and MTN. With ‘Keep it Ugandan’ as a marketing tagline, UTL's Communications Director, Mark Kaheru says the company's subscribers can go to Kenya and also keep their SIM cards, buy and load airtime, receive free calls, call at Ugandan rates and use all other cell phone functions as if they were at home.

Civil Aviation Decries ‘Carbon Miles’

African civil aviation authorities are opposed to the introduction of 'Carbon Miles,' an environmental tax being imposed by the European Union (EU) on the airline industry. The officials say Carbon Miles will undermine developing countries' enterprising export markets, which rely heavily on domestic airlines. An expert also complained that giant European airlines continue to dominate the African skies while protecting their own. They argued that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) should be the exclusive institution mandated to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation industry.

Africa Can Solve its Own Problems

Ghana’s outgoing Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiative, has stated that the destiny of the continent rests in the hands of Africans. “Africa can only be developed by Africans themselves,” he said while delivering a goodwill message at a panel discussion themed: “Mobilizing Africa’s Capital: A Conversation with Africa’s Leading CEOs”.  The panel discussion was organized by Coca-Cola Africa in collaboration with Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Whitaker Group and the Government of Ghana. Alex Cummings, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Africa, one of the panelist, observed that the biggest barrier to Africa’s growth and development was the challenge of capacity building and asked governments to find ways to harness the continent’s human resources.

Burundi Embraces Market Economy

Burundi is poised to transform its economy from subsistence agriculture to a market oriented economy that also takes environmental concerns into consideration. Addressing the nation during the national forum on the general state of agriculture and livestock for sustainable food security in Burundi at Sun Safari Hotel in Bujumbura, Burundi's Second Vice President Mr. Gabriel Ntisezerana said that the country should diversify agricultural and livestock production and control water use in order to transform from subsistence to market agriculture. According to Burundi's ministry of development planning and reconstruction, the agricultural sector accounts for 90% of employment in the country. But people practice subsistence farming, with only 15% of the total of farmers' produce accessing the market. Information also indicates that agriculture accounts for 51% of the country's GDP.

Lesotho Receives US AID

The United States on Monday signed an aid pact with Lesotho in which the impoverished African country battling HIV/Aids epidemic would receive $363-million to stem poverty. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lesotho's Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili witnessed the signing of the agreement between officials of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation and the African nation. The corporation is a pet project of President George Bush aimed at providing assistance to governments of developing countries that adopt democracy, sound economic policy and are determined to weed out graft. The aid pact "signifies America's enduring bipartisan support for Africa's development, our commitment to working together with the peoples of Africa to resolve conflicts, to combat disease, to fight poverty with economic growth, and to expand education for the poor", Rice said.

Compiled by Anne Mugoya
Inter Region Economic Network