SWAHILI TEACHERS

Press release
For further information:
Tel: 020 7209 4751 Mobile: 07816 251377
Press launch:

Founding Charter of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
Thursday, 2 October, 11am
Crossroads Women’s Centre, 230a Kentish Town Road, NW5 2AB(Entrance on Caversham Rd, Kentish Town, wheelchair accessible)

The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) is launching its founding Charter in continental Europe, India, Israel, Latin America, Morocco, the US, Canada and the UK.

For the past two years IJAN has been building an international network of anti-Zionist Jews to support Palestinian resistance and seed new Jewish anti-Zionist organizing:

Our commitment is to the dismantling of Israeli apartheid, the return of Palestinian refugees, and the ending of the Israeli colonization of historic Palestine.

Selma James, one of the international co-ordinators of IJAN, said:

We intend to contribute to a growing international voice that challenges Zionism and its claim to speak on behalf of Jews worldwide; and to contribute to the movement to defeat US-backed Israeli imperialism, occupation and ethnic cleansing.

The movement against Zionist apartheid must be as uncompromising as was the movement against South African apartheid. Anti-Zionism is part not only of the movement against racism but also the movement against war. We are convinced that we speak to a great unexpressed, in fact censored sentiment of support for this perspective, including among Jewish people.

Professor Moshe Machover, co-founder in 1962 of Matzpen, the Israeli socialist organization, said:

I welcome this initiative in the name of those Israelis who, together with their Palestinian comrades, are struggling against Zionist oppression and for the de-Zionisation of Israel and the establishment of a progressive commonwealth, in which Arabs and Israeli Jews live together in peace and equality.

Michael Kalmanovitz (IJAN) said:

We are challenging the common myth that Israel wants peace. Zionists deny the truth: that the state of Israel was established by its massive ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people and this continues to be its policy. We therefore join the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel which the Palestinian resistance movement has called for.

The launch is part of a Month of Action <> in a number of countries, to strengthen support for BDS by targeting Israeli goods.

The UK Charter launch the will take place on Friday, 24 October, 7-9.30pm, Trinity United Reformed Church, Buck St, London NW1 ( Camden tube). The distinguished Professor Moshe Machover will be one of the speakers.

For a report & video footage of our very exciting July 2008 London meeting click here.
20 SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH ACTIVISTS ARRESTED DISRUPTING ISRAEL’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT
On 8 May 2008, for over two hours, 14 women & 6 men disrupted Zionist celebrations in the Jewish Community Centre before their arrest. Over 50 Jewish & Palestinian supporters held a support rally outside, to protest Israeli apartheid and support Palestinian resistance. The protest was organised by IJAN (SF)
INTERNATIONAL JEWISH ANTI-ZIONIST NETWORK
Email: uk@ijsn.net Tel: 020 7209 4751 Mobile: 07816 251377 website: www.ijsn.net

Dear All
I have twelve (12) fully funded youth leaderhip training opportunity starting on 22/10 - 28th October 08 for 1 week. Full details are below. The ideal candidate with be a youth leader from either a statutory or approved non statutory organisation who are actively working with young people on a regular basis. They will need to be willing to assist the the MPS blunt team in developing strategies to prevent young people becoming involved in knife crime.
Andy MACHIN Detective Inspector - 186009 MPS Anti - Knife Crime Unit"Operation Blunt"Violent Crime DirectorateTPHQ Mobile 07960 498154 Office 0207 321 (4)7232
Project Outline
Outlined below are proposals for a Youth worker-training project to give key individuals working in the top ten high knife crime / Serious Youth Violence areas the necessary skills to be able to continue their important role. I believe that the key players behind knife Crime and serious youth violence prevention initiatives are the youth leaders who work closest with the young people, who are most at risk of becoming involved in this violent culture. If there is to be any reasonable chance of influencing young people to withstand the peer pressure of joining gangs involved in such activity, it is reasonable to assume that youth leaders are likely to hold some of the keys to such influence. Their role must be a tough, and one, which is probably conducted with minimum support, and little relevant training. This programme is designed to support that group in the challenging, but pivotal role they play in preventing this cycle of violence continuing. It is important for the MPS to be supporting such initiatives. Operation Blunt have identified individuals working in this Key area and have recognized that little work has been done regarding the creating of a development programme which understands the needs of this group and creates a bespoke development programme tailored for each individual. A highly experienced external training provider has been identified to deliver this project, utilising a wholly qualified team who have a wide range of experience in working with young people in the field of adventure. The team also have experience in working with children at risk and in working with the Princes Trust. This training is both unique and bespoke to meet very different needs. If this proposed project meets with approval it would be implemented over three phases in August / September 2008.
Phase one would entail sending a qualified coach to visit each Youth leader in their work place. They will work with them to identify the exact nature of the support that they need.
Phase two would involve taking a group of ten - twelve individuals away from the work place and immersing them in to a completely challenging and alien environment way beyond their normal level of experience. From this point, new learning will emerge - new ways of thinking about leadership and their role and new ways of being as leaders. It is planned to take the group away for a week to a remote Scottish Island and to work with them in a distinctive wilderness environment. During this time we will be working with them in helping them to develop their personal leadership style. As part of this process we will be addressing the follow elements: -
· Achievement motivation · Active initiative · Hardiness resourcefulness · Locus of control · Self confidence · Time management · Productive teamwork · Social competence · Active environmental awareness · Judgement · Problem solving · Goals setting · Decision making · Conflict resolution · Self Awareness · Self concept · Self Efficacy · Self confidence · Coping strategies · Coaching skills
Phase three would offer further work place support and the costs have been budgeted for this process at the end of the programme. At the same time we will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of our interventions with a follow questionnaires. It is suggested that once these youth leaders have been through the training process they could be developed as coaches for other groups of potential youth leaders in the future.
Evaluation The success of the interventions will be measured by a specifically designed questionnaire and we will run this questionnaire with each person and with a control group before and after the programme begins.
Risk assessment and Insurance The company will take full responsibility for the group once they have been delivered safely to the training location. They will only be the responsibility of the MPS on the journey there and back. Full Risk assessments and generic assessments are available from the training provide. Site-specific assessments will be written prior to the event by the training provider and will be available for MPS scrutiny. The company has a current insurance policy, the Public Liability element of which has been increased to £5 million. Op Blunt are liasing with DCC8 (6) Insurance branch to ensure that this meets with MPS approval. An MPS risk assessor with experience in this area has been appointed to complete the necessary assessment and forms.
The Cost of the Programme On separate sheet.
Andy MACHIN A/Detective Inspector - 186009 MPS Anti - Knife Crime Unit"Operation Blunt"Violent Crime DirectorateTPHQ Mobile 07960 498154 Office 0207 321 (4)7232

Greetings from the Office of Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy!

We are pleased to announce a new round of the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program. This program is for Tanzanian English teachers whose native language is Kiswahili, and who have Bachelor’s degrees, are between 21-29 years old and would like to teach Kiswahili in the U.S. for a year while taking classes at a post-secondary institution. This program is similar to an internship opportunity and successful candidates will be required to sit for the TOEFL test, pay for their personal expenses and return to Tanzania to continue teaching English for two years.

People who do not meet the minimum criteria, are not residents of Tanzania or have extensive experience outside Tanzania (especially in the U.S. ) should not apply. In addition, successful candidates have strong communication and inter-personal skills, have a good understanding of Tanzanian culture and understand and are invested in the basis for the Fulbright Program. The deadline for receipt of online applications and all supplemental documents is October 20, 2008.

Two information sessions are being held at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 in the morning from 9:00 – 12:00 p.m. and in the afternoon from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. Those interested should only attend ONE session. Seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, with registration at the gate. Interested applicants should bring ID cards, something to write with and something to write on. Please note that bags, briefcases, cigarette lighters, weapons, and electronics of any kind including cameras and cell phones are not permitted into the Embassy and due to the large number of people that usually attend these sessions, there may not be enough place to store these items at the gate.

For more information, please visit our website http://tanzania.usembassy.gov/educational_exchange.html or email the Fulbright Program Coordinator at http://uk.mc274.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=drs_exchanges@state.gov.

With best wishes,

Educational Exchange Programs
Office of Public Affairs, American Embassy
686 Old Bagamoyo Rd., Msasani
Box 9123, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Voice: +255 22 2668001
Fax: +255 22 2668251
Email: http://uk.mc274.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=drs_exchanges@state.gov
Fellowship Programs: http://tanzania.usembassy.gov/educational_exchange.html

Kenya Prime minister Raila Odinga in Tanzania
Tanzania President Addresses the United Nations 2008 in his capacity as the chair of African Union

MWENYEKITI wa Umoja wa Afrika (AU) na Rais Jakaya Kikwete, ametoa rai kwa nchi zilizoendelea kutoa misaada waliyoahidi katika nchi za Afrika. Akihutubia mkutano wa Umoja wa Mataifa kuhusu mahitaji ya maendeleo ya Afrika mjini New York Marekani juzi, Rais Kikwete alisema anatumia nafasi hiyo kuelezea machungu ya nchi za Afrika kutokana na nchi zilizoendelea kushindwa kutimiza ahadi walizotoa katika kukabiliana na changamoto za kimaendeleo Afrika. “Naomba kutumia nafasi hii leo (juzi) kutoa changamoto kwa nchi zilizoendelea kutekeleza ahadi zao kwa kuwa ni jukumu lao la kihistoria kusaidia wahitaji Afrika, lakini huku tukikumbuka makubaliano ya Monterrey yaliyofanyika Machi 2002 na wakuu wa nchi duniani katika kusaidia kifedha nchi za Afrika,” alisema Rais Kikwete. Alisema ripoti ya Katibu Mkuu wa Umoja wa Mataifa inawakumbusha kwamba jambo linalozuia maendeleo ya Afrika ni kukosekana kwa mahitaji ya rasilimali kutokana na maendeleo kuhitaji kiasi kikubwa cha rasilimali, jambo linalosababisha nchi za Afrika kushindwa kujikwamua katika umasikini. Alisema serikali za Kiafrika zimekuwa zikichukua hatua katika kukabiliana na changamoto za kimaendeleo kwa kutumia rasilimali ndogo zilizopo na zinazotokana na misaada ya jumuiya za kimataifa, lakini zimeshindwa kujikwamua na umasikini. “Kwa bahati mbaya, rasilimali hizo zimekuwa hazitoshi kusaidia Afrika kutoka kwenye wimbi la umasikini huku rasilimali nyingi ambazo nchi zilizoendelea zimekuwa zikiahidi wamekuwa hawatoi hivyo nchi za Kiafrika kuzidi kuwa masikini,” alisema Kikwete. Alisema nchi za Afrika zinashukuru kwa juhudi zinazochukuliwa katika utekelezaji wa makubaliano ya Monterrey yaliyofanywa na viongozi duniani, hata hivyo Afrika imekuwa na shaka kutokana na utofauti mkubwa wa kilichoahidiwa na kilichotolewa.Habari Zote kwa Hisani Ya Daily News..

LAND ROVER APPRENTSHIPS

If you're looking for an apprenticeship that will really take you places, then look no further! As an apprentice in the Land Rover dealer network you'd be part of a team that achieves what are almost certainly the highest completion and pass rates for any apprenticeship in any industry. You'd be working exclusively with Land Rover vehicles – one of the world's greatest and most sought after brands.




These two students are from Nairobi kenya who have just joined the apprentship

And as part of the intensive training that would prepare you for a rewarding career in the motor industry, you'd get to go on the sort of adventure that money just can't buy, in our unique initiative, Apprentices are MAD. You'd be the envy of your mates!
No matter what type of automotive career you've set your heart on, we have an apprenticeship that will give you the skills you'll need to make the grade.
Ayoub mzee with the Head of the Apprentiship Academy in Warwickshire

Apprentices are MAD (Making a Difference) is a fantastic and quite unique adventure, which involves Land Rover final year apprentices participating in a community project in the African bush, Amazon rainforest or Indian subcontinent. The event is now in its fifth year, and past participants unanimously vote the eye-opening, character-building event the most extraordinary experience of their lives. This year's MAD Adventure parties have visited Tanzania and Peru!

Today's successful Land Rover dealership is a well-oiled business operation serving a customer base that demands the very best customer service, and we're constantly on the lookout for young, new talent that can assist with the future development of the brand.

Motor apprenticeships are available in all of the key dealership disciplines. Our most popular is service technician (car mechanic) and the fastest growing are the non-technical apprenticeships in effective communication and parts.
For 2008 we've introduced two all-new technical apprenticeships in body repair and paint refinishing. And now you can even get involved with a car apprenticeship as part of your school studies, with our exciting Years 10 & 11 motor apprentice programme, Young Apprenticeships.

Unlike most motor apprenticeships, which typically pack their students off to a local college on day release to learn their craft on whatever equipment they happen to have about, all Land Rover apprentice training is conducted in regular blocks at dedicated Land Rover training facilities by dedicated Land Rover instructors / assessors.

The Range Rover Launch Video
See The Range Rover, the most complete luxury SUV Land Rover has ever produced, exhibit its effortless power and peerless presence.
View The Range Rover launch video (17.6 MB - 1 min 47 secs)

PHOTOS: Ayoub mzee

THURSDAY OCTOBER 30TH – FRONTLINE STATES 1960-1990- Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Tanzania's role in the South African struggle against apartheid. Panel: Apollo Temu (Tanzanian Community - Edinburgh Community Association -TzECA), Lazarus Chiselal (Scotland Zambia Association) ; Norman Chipakupaku (ex Zambian Cabinet minister) Esther Mokhali (Glasgow South African ANC activist); and Rogerio Goma (Angolan journalist and A&CN Board member)
FREE ENTRY : TIME & VENUE: 6pm-8.30pm @ Gara offices, 30 Bell Street Glasgow G1 1LG

There are also many South African & Mandela 90 related events for BHM (including lectures talks, films organized by ACTSA Scotland, Glasgow Universities see http://www.gara.org.uk/ for the full BHM programme brochure online The highlight is on October 25th the Mandela/Tambo lecture and day conference 10.30am-4pm @ Govan Mbeki building, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Rd, G2 - with the Mozambican High Commissioner the UK, and Pallo Jordan ANC NEC and Cabinet member for Arts & Culture. (contact http://uk.mc274.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=john.nelson@actsascotland.org.uk for details)

Yours truly,

Graham Campbell (Chairperson African & Caribbean Network 2007-2009)

The wait is over!!. You don't have to believe the hype anymore...YOU BE THE JUDGE!! BONGOLAND II is now on DVD. Some have compared the movie to Ousmane Sembène films, some raved on its dramatic well thought provoking story...but now you will have a say. You can watch the movie and make your own call.

Yes, it is now available on DVD. You can order it today from here!!

Like the previous Kibira Film's movies, when you buy this DVD you get more than just a movie. You get an insight of what went on during production, you will meet the crew and how they dealt with the challenges of producing a movie in Dar-es-salaam. You meet the people of Dar...the spectators, the local crew and our many hosts. That is not all, you also get some deleted scenes not included in the movie.
But above all be prepared to enjoy the movie as acted by talented people from Tanzania. We can guarantee that the story will move and entertain you at the same time.
At the end of the movie you may agree that leaving home is sometimes much easier than returning home....

GET IT NOW!!

Spread the word tell the world!!

CREDIT CRUNCH

KENYA PRIME MINISTER RAILA ODINGA 'S TANZANIA VISIT 2008

Another Wall Street Collapse: Are We Surprised?
Experts' Comment -
Dr Paola Subacchi, Research Director, International Economics
Like a recurrent nightmare the collapse of yet another Wall Street institution is a reminder that the worst may not be over and perhaps other banks, in the US or somewhere else, are in line for a similar fate. Compared with when the sub-prime mortgage crisis erupted in the US in August 2007 the crisis has now moved from the financial and housing sector to the real economy, threatening jobs, consumption and investment - with the surge in commodity prices and inflation in early 2008 adding to the pain. And just as oil prices have fallen back, news of a sharply weaker Eurozone economy, rising US unemployment and further crises in the banks has turned hope to pessimism. How bad is it going to be?
We are now familiar with the chain of events which were sparked in a niche of the US mortgage market, spread out from the US markets in mortgage-related and other complex products and triggered a much broader 'credit crunch'. The current situation is one where credit problems, through various transmission channels, are also acting as a drag on global growth, causing the real economy to become itself a source of disruption - even reversing the causality chain. Nobody knows what to expect, but it is clear that the end of the tunnel is not in sight yet. Not surprisingly, then, all eyes are on central banks, regulators and supervisory authorities. The former are supposed to provide enough liquidity, and so to unblock the arteries of the banking system and reduce spill-overs to the real economy, while the latter should monitor the system to prevent similar crises in the future. Regulators, in their turn, are increasingly regarded as performing the critical tasks of setting the rules and 'guiding' the functioning of the market - and in the current market they even seem to be expected to prevent investors from taking hazardous decisions.
Because of the crisis's scope and intensity, all efforts have been concentrated on how to get out of the current mess while relatively little attention has been given to how to prevent future crises occurring. In particular there is little debate - especially in the current presidential campaign - on how the US has played and may continue to play the role of economic hegemon within the world economy. Its main contribution to global growth has come from consumption, with consumption increasingly more a function of indebtedness - fuelled by high house prices - than of disposable income. The result has been a large trade deficit and a household savings rate now at a record low. The crashing of the property market, the unsound growth of which fed the US consumption binge for almost a decade, has left American households loaded with unsustainable debt. This came as no surprise, though. As early as 2004 it had become clear where the imbalances were and where adjustments, soon or later, needed to come from.
So what to do next? Policy-makers seem to have run out of steam. All possible crisis-preventing measures have been applied to reduce the damage and avoid contagion to many different constituencies - from retail investors to tax payers. These measures stretch from emergency liquidity support to government-backed bailout of financial institutions. Such interventions rest on the widespread perception that the whole financial and banking system is too complex and integrated to fail. But this approach poses the question of to what extent a government is prepared to intervene to prevent a crisis which would wipe the savings and pensions of many individuals and families, and the signals this would send to markets. Any crisis-preventing intervention risks being perceived by markets as a 'macro bail-out', whatever the true intention and concerns of policy-makers may be, with the result that there may be excessive risk-taking, particularly when many systematically important and globally integrated institutions are in the same trade. A further complication in the current picture of integrated global financial markets is the 'globalisation' of risk.
Policy-makers now have to cope with the risks of turbulence in an environment that features universal financial intermediaries, widespread interstate and cross-border banking, complex instruments, and untransparently dispersed risks. Concerns about moral hazard and the resulting risk-taking are seen as being of little importance when the stability of the international financial system is at stake - and the alternative is a higher risk of systemic failure. Before the collapse of Lehman Brothers these measures had proved an effective way of keeping the situation under control and avoiding further deterioration in market conditions. They look less effective now and in any case it is too early to draw any firm conclusion. What seems clear, though, is that with governments having shown the ability and willingness to act as final rescuers, the case for moral hazard has become deeply rooted within the system. Whether this would make crisis prevention and crisis resolution even more difficult in future, it is, however, too soon to say.


UGANDA PRESIDENT ON ONE OF HIS ROUNDS IN LEICESTER UK
Clifton packaging managing directors showing something to the President of Uganda

London news last weekend

Professor Lyons, HRW and the Washington perspective again
Senator Feingold has not been alone in the last week or two in making highly inaccurate and ill-informed comments about Ethiopia . Professor Terrence Lyons of George Mason University entitling a piece ‘Ethiopia: Domestic and Regional Challenges’ virtually managed to ignore Eritrea's central role in the collapse of the Algiers Agreements making no reference to continuous Eritrean violations of the Temporary Security Zone and its enforced withdrawal of UNMEE, both central elements of the Algiers Agreements. These deliberate actions by Eritrea were carried out despite Ethiopia 's full and unreserved acceptance of the Boundary Commission Decisions in November 2004. It really shouldn't be necessary to repeat this fact again and again. Professor Lyons knows it very well. Since then it has been Eritrea which has consistently and repeatedly refused to agree to demarcate the Boundary Commission's Decisions in accordance with international norms or to open any discussions on demarcation or on the normalization of relations. We would remind Professor Lyons that normalization of relations was also an integral element of the Algiers Agreements.
Nor does Professor Lyons appear to have realized that the boundary issue now has nothing to do with the technicalities of demarcation or of territory, and everything to do with the one basic strategic issue: Eritrea is not prepared to negotiate with the present government in Addis Ababa; it is only prepared to do everything it can to remove it, using every effort to destabilize Ethiopia. This includes an alliance with the ICU in 2006, providing arms and support; the provision of arms, support and training to the ONLF and the OLF, and indeed to any other opposition movements prepared to commit themselves to armed struggle. Eritrea has even allied itself with terrorist organizations like Al-Shabaab and the small Asmara-based fragment of the Somali opposition Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, now led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir 'Aweys'. Incidentally, one glaring example of Professor Lyons’ capacity to ignore fact in favor of fiction is his claim that Ethiopia is “bogged down” in Somalia . It is not; it can, and probably will, withdraw at any time.
Professor Lyons makes much of the 2005 elections, an issue on which he has been equally inaccurate on other occasions. Whatever the claims of the Ethiopian opposition in the Washington Diaspora, no serious observer of the 2005 election, then or subsequently, doubts that the EPRDF won, and won convincingly. It is therefore very simple to see why the 2005 elections “failed to usher in an orderly transition based on peaceful multi-party competition” - the opposition lost. Professor Lyons claims that “cynicism and disillusionment with electoral politics have replaced the hope and optimism that characterized the period leading up the 2005 vote.” The hope and optimism he refers to are misleading. The opposition leaders believed in 2005 that if they participated in the election they must win. When they lost they immediately claimed this could only have happened through manipulation. They refused to accept one rather important fact – that parties can lose as well as win elections. Even today, when the evidence is clear enough, those opposition leaders who sent their followers out on the streets to cause violence in which people died, still claim they won. They didn't. The boycott of parliament by CUD leaders in 2005 wasn't just a “miscalculation” as Professor Lyons so carefully puts it. It was a deliberate betrayal of the constituents who elected them, a quite calculated and conscious denial of parliamentary democracy. Most of their own party actually rejected the arguments of their leaders. In meetings before the decision to boycott, 65% of the CUD central committee voted to join parliament. It was the leadership who insisted on the boycott, and it was their action which split the party, with one of the four groups in the CUD walking out. Revealingly, after the arrest of the leadership, almost all the CUD MPs, apart from the ten or so detained, quietly joined Parliament. Incidentally, to use a Gallop poll of a thousand people in Addis Ababa and quote its figures for honesty of elections, confidence in the judiciary, confidence in the government, is hardly meaningful. And hasn't Professor Lyons seen any of the figures for the US or the UK on how politicians (or academics or journalists) are regarded? It is difficult to see how 137/138 seats in Addis Ababa, won by the CUD in 2005 represents a firm basis of support for the CUD, while 137/138 seats won by the EPRDF in 2008 translates into “cynicism and disillusionment”, making the EPRDF's ability to govern “precarious”. It is certainly true that the EPRDF is far better organized than any of the opposition parties. It is, as Professor Lyons grudgingly admits, an extraordinarily effective party, but this does not mean a lessening of political space, though it would certainly be better if the opposition were more effective.
Professor Lyons, apparently quoting directly from HRW and AI, accepts their claim that the draft Charities and Societies Bill (it is not yet a proclamation) is an “assault on civil society” and a narrowing of political space. He appears not to have studied the proposed bill himself with any care, making a series of assumptions based less on the provisions of the bill than on HRW's own distorted view of Government policy and aims. HRW made another “analysis” of the bill last week. As usual it made little or no effort to obtain clarification or query allegations, preferring to reiterate them without qualification or query, a technique it has repeatedly used with reference to alleged abuses in the Ogaden or in Somalia . None of this reflects either the theory or the reality of Government practice or activity, and is simply not borne out by the facts, many of which HRW ignores, deliberately or inadvertently. Limiting political space is a nice catchy phrase, but the bill doesn’t do that. It lays down improved mechanisms to monitor NGOs, but given the casual, free-for-all, approach adopted by many NGOs that's hardly surprising. The bill requires NGOs to take a lot more care in planning and in carrying out activities, in drawing up its statutes, using proper book-keeping and proper audits. Most countries do this as a matter of course. Given that seventeen NGOs had to be closed down for irregularities last year alone, the bill is hardly surprising. Indeed the squawking of horror from NGOs faced by the prospect of stricter controls and oversight, or the need to be checked every three years through a process of re-registration, underlines exactly why the Government finds the bill necessary. Some of the provisions may sound tough, but the gratuitously offensive and cavalier approach of some NGOs, including HRW, makes the reason clearly understandable to any one who looks at the evidence rather than respond to HRW's usual hysterical reflex. Indeed, one of the reasons for HRW 's concern appears to be that the bill requires organizations like HRW, or AI and other international human rights organizations, to obtain permission to carry out activities in Ethiopia . In fact, for NGOs, the real problem with the Charities and Societies Bill is that it demands that NGOs recognize and respond to their responsibilities and are accountable. Given, for example, the efforts of HRW to move outside its own remit and deliberately attempt to interfere in the electoral process as it did with reports specifically designed to influence voting in 2005 and 2008, this is nor unreasonable.
It is deeply depressing to see that “the view from Washington ” as enunciated by Professor Lyons, by HRW, and by Senator Feingold, still continues to be based on a series of exaggerations, half-truths and inaccuracies, or, perhaps to be generous, even misunderstandings.
· A Japanese trade and investment mission in Ethiopia
A Japanese mission to promote trade and investment visited Ethiopia this week, from September 14-16. The delegation, led by Mr. Nobuhide Minorikawa, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, included 36 representatives drawn from both public and private sectors. The visit followed the commitment made by the Japanese government at the TICAD IV Conference in Yokohama in May, to dispatch economic missions to enhance its engagement in trade and investment in Africa . This Joint Mission, which is also visiting Kenya , Uganda and Tanzania , is to explore trade and investment opportunities. Three separate missions have been dispatched to various parts of the continent. During its stay in Ethiopia , the Joint Mission was briefed by Ato Sufian Ahmed, Minister of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED), by the Ministers of State of MOFED, of Trade and Industry, and of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as senior officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and Foreign Affairs, and the Ethiopian Privatization Agency. Discussions focused on the political and economic climate in Ethiopia and the investment incentives and opportunities available to Japanese Companies in the areas of agriculture, mining, power and energy and other sectors.
The Joint Mission paid a courtesy call on President Girma Woldegiorgis and visited the Japanese Garden at the National Palace . They also met with leaders of the Ethiopian and Addis Ababa Chambers of Commerce and members of the business community. The Joint Mission visited the site of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange and a flower farm in Holeta, and attended a dinner hosted by the State Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Mission arrived only a few days after the Japanese built 'Hidasie' Millennium Bridge over the Blue Nile was officially inaugurated. Described by Prime Minister Meles as a symbol and a living monument to Japanese-Ethiopian friendship, it is moving Ethiopia into its 21 century. The bridge, which cost $14 million, is part of a road upgrading project from Gohatsion to Dejen. Under a memorandum of understanding signed between the Ethiopian Roads Authority and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency in November 2003, the cost is fully covered by the Government of Japan. [Ethiopian mission uk]

The day I met Her Majesty Queen elizabeth II

taste of africa

cartoon from Albert Weidemann" albert@weidemann.fsnet.co.uk

Dialogue and African solutions: the Zimbabwe agreement.
In Zimbabwe an agreement was finally signed, on September 15, between President Mugabe and opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, under the aegis of South Africa ’s President Thabo Mbeki. The agreement marks a dramatic turning point for Zimbabwe . It provides for a government of national unity with Mr Mugabe to remain an executive president and Mr Tsvangirai as an executive prime minister. There is, of course, still room for problems to emerge and not all details yet appear to have been fully worked out. Indeed, implementation of the deal may prove difficult, but even to have reached this stage, an agreement between two groups who have long been bitterly at loggerheads, is a notable achievement to the credit of an African solution to African problems. It appears both sides are committed. President Mugabe was notably complimentary towards President Mbeki, praising his determination and his generosity, thanking Zimbabwe ’s neighbours for coming to its assistance once again, and describing President Mbeki’s work as noble. Mr. Tsvangirai referred to the agreement as “the best opportunity for us to build a peaceful, prosperous, democratic Zimbabwe ”. It should be remembered that President Mbeki had earlier come in for a lot of criticism especially from the western press and others for his “quiet diplomacy”, which was even described as “a method of conferring respectability on a policy of appeasing Mugabe’s domination” and claims that he was denying the crisis and preventing regional and international intervention in defence of human rights and democracy in Zimbabwe.
The most striking factor in this mediation is that it was achieved within the African context. President Mbeki was first given a mandate to mediate by the South African Development Community (SADC), and this was subsequently endorsed by the AU at its Sharm el Sheikh summit, at the beginning of July. It was notable that the AU Executive Council expressed its deep concern over the situation in Zimbabwe and its implications for political stability, supported the efforts to assist the parties to find a peaceful and lasting solution, called on all parties to exercise restraint and put an immediate end to violence and intimidation and urged the parties to refrain from any actions that might negatively impact on the climate for dialogue, and to commit themselves to a peaceful solution to the current situation through dialogue. The AU very specifically did not call for sanctions or resort to threats. This contrasted sharply in tone and intent with a UN Security Council draft resolution a few days later which demanded the beginning of a substantive and inclusive political dialogue, but called for condemnation and sanctioning of Zimbabwe under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, calling it a threat to international peace and security in the region. The draft would have imposed an arms embargo, and a travel ban and a financial freeze. Fortunately wiser councils prevailed, and the draft was rejected, allowing President Mbeki the space necessary to carry out serious and substantive negotiations that would have been impossible if the heavy handed approach of the international community had been adopted.
There are considerable lessons to be learnt from this implementation of an African approach to African problems. President Mbeki was emphasizing a peaceful, low key, approach based on dialogue and discussion, avoiding any sense of exclusivity and stressing the necessity of inclusively. He resolutely refused to demonize, something that certain elements of the international community have made the central element of their approach to Zimbabwe . President Mbeki consistently made it clear he was seeking the middle ground between the protagonists rather than trying to widen the gap which appeared to be the intent of those who proposed the UN draft resolution.
This use of an African style of mediation, and the particularly African insistence on dialogue rather than confrontation, provides a welcome lesson. It isn’t a question of parochialism, and it isn’t indicative of any necessary rejection, principled or otherwise, of other alternatives or an insistence on any uniquely African approach. What it emphasizes is that in such cases, African states are, perhaps, closer to the problem, in a position to understand the dangers and the implications of selected courses of action rather than others. There is no doubt, for example, that if the approach outlined in the UN draft resolution had been adopted, it would have done nothing to maintain stability in Zimbabwe , and done much to encourage instability.
This reminds us of the experience we had in Ethiopia in 2005 during the post election period when highly provocative, and inaccurate remarks by the head of the EU’s Election Observation Mission, and the leaking of documents, were largely responsible for bringing opposition supporters out onto the street and encouraging the opposition into violent confrontation. In other words, the violence that occurred was not solely the product of the Ethiopian political scene. There was external third party involvement by people whose knowledge of Ethiopia was minimal, whose sensitivity to potential problems was non-existent, and who had no attachment to the interests of Ethiopia , only to their own. In the end this meant that no dialogue proved possible, and led, almost inexorably, to the riots of November, and the totally unnecessary loss of life, both of police and civilians. It was a political crisis that could have easily been avoided by discussion and dialogue, as demonstrated last year when the efforts of the traditional Council of Elders provided mediation which allowed for the pardoning of convicted opposition leaders.
It is clear that the first approaches of the international community to the crisis in Zimbabwe had nothing to do with dialogue and everything to do with the threat of external intervention from outside Africa . Once this was dropped and a more conciliatory mode adopted, coupled with mediation by people involved in the region, knowledgeable and prepared to take the time, interest and energy to produce a settlement in the interests of the parties concerned, a peaceful solution became very possible. We might, at this point, ask what are the lessons we should draw from the experience we have had in Zimbabwe . First of all it is very clear that what was in the interests of Africa might not be supported by the international media. Prudent approaches that would help maintain peace in Africa and contribute to national reconciliation might be ridiculed. It is only when they succeed that their validity is accepted, and even then only grudgingly. All this means that any potentially effective methods of resolution of African problems must be pursued with patience, determination and consistency even in the face of what appears to be almost unanimous opposition from the international community. For Ethiopians, of course, this is confirmation of the soundness of the policy their government has been following both in domestic and foreign affairs. That is why we continue to insist that for Ethiopia and Eritrea there is no alternative to dialogue, and to consistent and determined commitment to peaceful resolution of the dispute.

”Taste of Africa”
Celebration of our charitable status come to our event.
This will be an evening of entertainment to raise awareness for the Hopeful Futures Foundation, come for a ”Taste of Africa”. This event is in collaboration with BrazenBunch and features live performances from: Imaani, Elisabeth Troy, Zena Edwards, Abdul Shyllon, Baby Sol, Jnay, Bianca Rose, Amanda Drummond and many others
Venue: The Halo317 Battersea Park RoadLondon, SW11 4TLDate: Saturday 27th SeptemberTime: 8pm-2amEntry: £10 (live music)(all proceeds will be donated to the Hopeful Futures Foundation)RSVP Essential: maito:info@hopefulfutures.co.ukTelephone: 0845 077 1189Purchase Tickets
”Taste of Africa” part II
This event will take place at Movenpick Hotel in Dar-es-salaam. Date to be confirmed in December 2008.




.

uganda president leicester-UK vist

ayoub mzee in Health and safety Gear before going in the factory

The uGANDA pRESIDENT [RIGHT BEHIND ME] VISITING THE FACTORY

The Uganda President helping the first Lady to put on her mask for health and safety

The President of Uganda Yoweri museveni visits Uganda Departed Asians Bussinesses in Leicester UK

The President tries one himself

President Yoweri Museveni has re-assured foreign investors willing to do business in Uganda that no one will ever again expel them from the country like dictator Idi Amin did in 1972 because they are securely protected by the constitution.

The President, who is currently visiting the City of Leicester in the United Kingdom, was yesterday meeting directors of LPC GROUP PLC, led by their Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Shaarif Tejani at their factory premises in Waterside Road Leicester.Other directors of the company included Mr. Amin Tejani and Salim Tejani whose family was expelled by the Idi Amin regime in September 1972 and later settled in Leicester, UK.President Museveni assured them that no leader would ever again boot them out of the country because they are well protected by the law.He further assured them of government incentives like tax holiday for 10 years, infrastructure and the energy which will be adequate in 20 months’ time.President Museveni assured them of the availability of raw materials explaining that government is encouraging homesteads in Uganda, through the Prosperity for All (PFA) programme, to engage in commercial farming in all areas of their interest

President Museveni, who thanked them for being resilient despite being dislodged by the Idi Amin regime and yet eventually succeeded in the UK, added that farmers in Uganda are prepared to support them as they are yearning for a ready market for their products. He, therefore, proposed to them to set up a coffee processing factory in Mbale, a fruit processing plant in Soroti and the rest in areas of their choice.

On pulp production, the President told them that trees will be planted on hill tops and would help in environment protection as well as providing employment to Ugandans.

The President also assured them of available rail transport to the sea including air transport with international runways in Entebbe, Gulu and Kasese.

Earlier, President Museveni toured LCP GROUP factories namely Rothley main automatic factory and Kamns Paper Pulp, among others.Present were State Minister for Investment, Professor Semakula Kiwanuka, that of State for International Affairs, Mr. Okello Oryem, the Executive Director of Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Dr. Margie Kigozi and legislators Mike Mabikke and Akol Rose Okullu

PHOTOS: Ayoub mzee