Rupiah Banda, Sworn in as President

Rupiah Banda, vice-president to Levy Mwanawasa, whose death in office in August necessitated the election, narrowly won the hotly contested ballot by a single percentage point from his rival, veteran populist politician Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front (PF). Banda, who had been Zambia's acting president, drew the bulk of his support from the rural areas, where the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) has subsidised seed and fertiliser supplies to boost food security. He took 39 percent of the vote to Sata's 38 percent, who did well among urban voters in the two richest provinces: Lusaka, the capital, and the Copperbelt region, the country's economic hub. Banda was sworn in on 2 November, a few hours after being declared the winner.

Senegal: Government Celebration of Farming Initiative 'Premature'

Six months after President Abdoulaye Wade launched his agricultural growth initiative, small-scale farmers had mixed reviews even as the President on 27 October celebrated the initiative, touting record harvests for 2008.The Grand Agricultural Offensive for Food Security, or GOANA, was launched by President Wade in May 2008, with the aim of reaching self-sufficiency in Senegal's food production by 2015. Doubling rice production, and increasing maize and manioc yields to two million and three million tonnes respectively, is one part of the scheme. Senegal imports 600,000 tonnes of rice a year, or three-quarters of the country's food consumption, making its people vulnerable to high global rice prices.

 DR Congo UN Forces to be Strengthened 

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has called for the mandate of UN forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo to be strengthened. "We need different soldiers, and different rules of engagement," he said after briefing his EU counterparts about his weekend visit there. Rebels routed the army in the eastern North Kivu province last week, and are now threatening the regional capital. Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes in the area. The rebel leader, renegade General Laurent Nkunda, has declared a ceasefire and said he will guarantee "humanitarian corridors" through rebel lines. But his spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa told AFP news agency that the Congolese government was "waging war" by refusing to hold direct negotiations.

Watchdogs Criticise World Bank, IMF Mega Projects

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) came under fire last week for failing to adequately promote transparency in extractive industry operations in resource-rich countries where the two institutions work. Global Witness and the Bank Information Centre (BIC) carried out an assessment covering 57 countries where the two international financial institutions (IFIs) provided funding and other support to extractive industries (EI) -- such as oil, gas and mining -- from June 2003 until April 2008. The assessment found that while the IFIs have contributed to some improvement in transparency of these operations in some countries, "the approach is neither consistent across countries nor comprehensive." "Our study found that while the World Bank and IMF raise the issue of transparency in many resource-rich countries, disclosure of revenues is not always mandated, disclosure of contracts is largely lacking, and meaningful civil society participation often goes unaddressed," said Corinna Gilfillan, head of Global Witness's U.S. office.

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