Good People! Is it true that Raila was offered special envoy post to do dirty job trading on deals of "Land Grabbing" to Canadian, Chinese, South Africa and US unscrupulous Special Business Interests who want Kenya's land for free and giving bribery hand-out for the goodies instead of paying taxes to boost Kenyas economy and provide sustainable development programs to improve the situation of employment and economic progress in Kenya??? Whose interest, gain and profit was this idea going to serve ?? Is public mandate in the New Constitution going to be followed by the 11th Parliament ??? Are the people watching for reality of governance, transparency and accountability???? Will the people let go their land to "Land Grabbers" for free ??? Wake up people and stand up to protect your rights with those of public mandate so that your honor, dignity, value and virtue shall be guaranteed. You must fight harder than ever before to save the face of African.........Africans were never created with a begging bowl, but God blessed us with brains that we must use to better the whole world. It is only from Africa that the world will know Peace, Unity and True Love. Africa is the answer to Happiness......Exercise the Wisdom God gave us all for free........We are the custodians of Wealth and Resources that World Economy needs to excel in the Global Emerging Markets. It is only from Africa that the world need its raw material to meet competition and challenges every business in the world need for its economic supremacy, excellence and power. We must stop being stupid to rely on those leaders who time and again dont get it........ I love you people.....lets meet and chat through facebook... or chat on blog click......... http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com and follow link to see whats new Judy Miriga Diaspora Spokesperson Executive Director Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc., USA http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com Watch This !!! World News: African Land Grab The Great Global Land Grab -- Hedge Funds & UN REDD Programme The Right to Food: Corporate, Foreign Gov't Land Grab Causing Hunger in Poor In Focus Kenya: Uhuru Offers Raila Special Envoy Post 13 April 2013 PRESIDENT Uhuru Kenyatta has asked former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to become a special envoy for Kenya. The initial offer was made on Easter Monday at a private evening meeting at the home of a city businessman in Muthaiga. The meeting was also attended by Deputy President William Ruto. On Thursday morning Ruto called Raila to repeat the offer and spoke to him for more than ten minutes. He reportedly told Raila that it was important that he worked with Uhuru's administration to unite the country. The Deputy President emphasized that he and Uhuru were keen to have Raila play the role of an eminent Kenyan locally, in Africa, and around the world. "He appealed to Raila to consider the role because the Kenyatta administration did not want his experience and international connections to go to waste," said an associate of the Deputy President. Raila reportedly wished Ruto and the President success as they start their term in office and promised to do whatever he could to help them succeed. Ruto and Raila agreed to speak again on Thursday evening together with President Kenyatta and agree on a possible second meeting with a clear agenda. It is not known if they did in fact speak again on Thursday evening. Raila's spokesman Dennis Onyango has confirmed that the two spoke and said the discussion on the issue was ongoing. "The Deputy President thanked the former PM for his statement on arrival from South Africa to the effect that he and the CORD team were ready to engage constructively. He told Raila that he personally has no hard feelings against the former PM and neither does Uhuru," said Onyango. Yesterday Raila's aides were in meetings ahead of the Cord retreat this weekend at Great Rift Valley lodge. The retreat will discuss how CORD will conduct itself inside and outside of Parliament as the official opposition, as well as the role of Raila for the next five years. At the Easter Monday meeting, the President reportedly wanted to hold a joint press conference with Raila to assure their supporters that they would work together to unite the country. Uhuru and Ruto were concerned about an interview by Raila broadcast by the BBC shortly after the Supreme Court ruling on Easter Saturday. Raila told the BBC that Uhuru's victory on March 4 was "predetermined and manipulated by a few technocrats". "It is a replica of what exactly happened in 2007. What is the point of going to polls if results are going to be pre-determined? Voter apathy will be high in the next five years and Kenyans may look for other ways. We want to avoid people looking for other means," Raila told the BBC. Uhuru and Ruto won the election with 50.07 percent, just 8,000 votes more than needed for a simple majorit, but a considerable 800,000 votes ahead of Raila who received 43.7 percent. How Rev Jesse Jackson sealedRaila meeting with UhuruPosted by admin on Sunday, April 14, 2013 · Leave a Comment Nairobi, Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta's Saturday's meeting with Mr Raila Odinga at State House was the culmination of two hush-hush meetings, both in homes of influential personalities close to the two leaders. The Saturday meeting was the second directly between the two fiercest rivals in the March 4 elections, and also the first to be acknowledged by the two sides, complete with television footage. But inquiries within the President's and Raila's side revealed that the influential force bringing the two hitherto bitter rivals together was America's civil rights and towering religious figure, the Reverend Jesse Jackson. April 1 was characterized by two key events; it was Easter Monday as well as April Fools Day, when people the World over get half-a-day to pull pranks on each other. In Kenya, it was no different as families got out to enjoy the fun-day together, either in church, friend's homes or even entertainment joints. But behind the scenes, something else was taking off, and as it turned out, it wasn't a prank at all. That Easter Monday ended with Uhuru, whose victory the Supreme Court upheld the previous Saturday (March 30), sharing a dinner table with Raila at the home of a mutual friend. This first meeting took place at the home of the youthful wealthy businessman in the Muthaiga Estate. Second meeting The businessman, whose name we withhold for legal reasons because he usually doesn't brook any linkage to politics, was close to the late Prof George Saitoti, and when the former Internal Security minister died in a chopper crash, he shifted camp to Uhuru. Both Uhuru and the businessman had been close and the youthful billionaire's business and political ties to Saitoti had not strained this relationship. The second meeting wasn't Uhuru's, but was a shared dinner table between Raila and Jackson at the home of Dr Evans Kidero, the new Nairobi Governor, and close ally of the former PM. Again as with the first meeting between the leader of Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) and Uhuru, this too was in Muthaiga where Kidero lives. It took place the day following Uhuru's inauguration on April 9, and confidants of the former PM told The Standard that Raila headed straight to Kidero's home on arrival from South Africa that Wednesday. Raila had gone to South Africa for 'holidaying' with his running mate in the March 4 race — former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka — and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula. It is believed that Jackson sought out Raila after meeting Uhuru on the day of his inauguration with the message that it was in his (Uhuru's), Raila's and Kenya's interest for them to build a rapport and demonstrate mutual respect for each other. Civil rights Jackson, thought not a member of President Barack Obama's administration, was the most familiar American public figure at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, when Uhuru was sworn-in. It was not clear if at all he could have had a message from Obama to Uhuru and Raila, even though it is not very much unlike American tradition for a private message of their leader to be delivered by a senior and respected citizen. But even without Obama's prodding, Jackson's role as a civil rights activist has given him immense contacts and good rapport with many African leaders, and he could have put these at play. Having been close to the presidency, polling 5.3 million against Uhuru's 6.1 million, the American cleric exhorted Uhuru to appreciate the fact that he needed to send out a message of goodwill and reconciliation to the considerably big constituency that did not vote for him. Raila's aides, on condition of confidentiality so as not to be seen to be spilling the beans on secret talks between their boss and the new President, said of the ex-PM's meeting with Jackson: "He went there (Kidero's home) alone and expressed his willingness to work with Uhuru for the good of the country." The sources explained that after the Supreme Court ruling, the youthful businessman, who is also a son of a former influential minister in retired President Daniel Arap Moi's Cabinet, tried reaching out to Raila using one of his long-serving personal assistants. It wasn't clear at this stage whether he is the one who initiated the meeting, or was acting on Uhuru's behalf. However, the businessman also happens to be close to Uhuru's deputy, Mr William Ruto, who would later tell the country after assuming office, that he had had lengthy meetings with Raila. "This was the first attempt towards arranging for a meeting between Uhuru and Raila. The meeting took place on April 1at the businessman's residence in Muthaiga,'' confirmed the PM's aide. Another of the PM's advisors also confirmed both meetings that the former PM attended in the two Muthaiga homes. "Mr Odinga denied the first meeting took place and that is his position. But the truth is that the meeting did take place at the home of the businessman,'' he said. In a Facebook posting earlier in the day another of Raila's advisors had revealed to his string of online friends that Reverend Jackson, who like the late Martin Luther King is a renown black American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, was the key player in the Uhuru-Raila talks. The advisor played down media reports that the Uhuru-Raila meeting, where both Kalonzo and Ruto featured, discussed the number of security guards the CORD leaders should be left with and the amount the State would pay them as retirement benefits. Real issues "…You can safely laugh at reports in sections of our media that Raila went see (sic) Uhuru about security detail and chase cars and retirement benefits,'' Raila's advisor who is also former top UN media personality, Mr Salim Lone. Lone then threw in the revelation: "The meeting was actually negotiated by the Rev Jesse Jackson and focused on real issues facing Kenya." He then referred his friends to the Sunday Standard story yesterday quoting Raila saying he had turned down the offer of a UN envoy role because his "plate was full''. Speaking in Khwisero constituency on Saturday after meeting with Uhuru, Raila explained his focus would be to strengthen CORD and urged those still sympathising with him for losing the presidency to stop because it was unnecessary. Tell me sorry "Do not tell me sorry for what happened. I do not wish to hear this. When a cooking stick breaks, do you stop preparing your meal? Certainly not! And that is why we want to state that we have enough work to do," said Raila. "Raila when invited for dinner by the businessman, sought to know what it was all about. He was assured there was nothing underhand, and all the cards would be on the table. Because he was also keen to be part of healing the country (after the divisive elections), he accepted the invitation,'' said another of Odinga's aides. When Lone was contacted, he confirmed Jackson did meet Raila at Kidero's home. "I can only confirm the meeting took place between Raila and Reverend Jackson at Kidero's home and that they discussed a possible meeting between him and the President (Uhuru)'' was Lone's response to our questions. Source:standardmedia.co.ke James Gomez Director for International Affairs Rainbow/PUSH Coalition 727 15th Street, NW, Suite 1200 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 393-7874 Fax: (202) 393-1495 Email: jgomez@rainbowpush.org butch wing rainbow push coalition Siaya Governor warns public on land deals Siaya County Cornel Rasanga. Mr Rasanga has warned officers of defunct local authorities against engaging in unscrupulous land deals. Photo/FILE NATION MEDIA GROUP By NATION CORRESPONDENT Posted Thursday, April 18 2013 at 15:54 Residents of Siaya County have been warned against engaging in land transactions with former local authorities without consulting the office of the governor. It is fraudulent for anybody to buy or sell government land through the former local authorities, said Governor Cornel Rasanga. He said land transactions should have stopped when the county government came into force. The governor warned officers of defunct local authorities against engaging in such deals. He said he had established that such transactions were still being carried out and appealed to relevant government agencies to take stern action. "Those transactions are null and void. We are warning those involved that the long arm of the law will catch up with both the sellers and buyers," Mr Rasanga said. He told the public that the plots were now under the county government and nobody should purport to sell them on behalf of the local authorities. According to the Transition to Devolved Government Act, 2012, anybody who transfers assets without obtaining the approval of the county government or contrary to the mechanism provided by the Transition Authority commits an offence. Kidero interdicts officers over Sh180m graft claims Nairobi county governor Evans Kidero inspects a parade by City Council workers. Photo/FILE Nation Media Group By EMMANUEL TOILI etoili@ke.nationmedia.com Posted Wednesday, April 17 2013 at 13:15 Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has interdicted four senior City Council officers over the loss of Sh180 million and ordered investigation of 25 firms involved in graft claims. The officers have been accused of misappropriating Sh180m in the infamous 'air supplies' at the City Hall. 10 more officers from the departments of Procurement, City Engineering, Treasury and Inspection and Acceptance Committee are also being investigated. Also, 25 firms allegedly involved in the 'air supply' together with their directors are being investigated over the misappropriation. "Am in the process of initiating necessary legislation on governance with special focus on tackling corruption within the county. Within three months, I will have sealed all revenue leakages and all financial malpractices," he said. "I also intend to set up the County Ombudsman's Office with a clear mandate to handle all aspects of integrity and corruption within the rank and file in the County," Kidero added.
House team to vet Cabinet nominees to be unveiled MPs wait for the address by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Parliament on April 16, 2013. Photo/JOHN NGIRACHU By JOHN NGIRACHU jngirachu@ke.nationmedia.com Posted Thursday, April 18 2013 at 16:57 The House Committee that will vet the nominees to the Cabinet will be unveiled on Tuesday, Majority Leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale has told MPs. Mr Duale said MPs would also be asked to approve the membership of the Committee on Appointment. The 28-member committee will be chaired by Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi and will have the Deputy Speaker with the leaders and deputy leaders of the majority and minority parties. Its sole mandate will be the vetting of the people President Uhuru Kenyatta will nominate as members of the Cabinet. Its quorum shall include 14 members, excluding the Speaker, who shall also not be entitled to vote. Members to this committee shall be nominated by the House Business Committee on the basis of proportional party membership in the House while also considering the interests of independent members. There are four independent MPs in the National Assembly, with three reported to be allied to the Jubilee Coalition, which forms the majority in both the Senate and the National Assembly. Mr Duale said the members of the various other committees would be named on Wednesday. MPs have been quietly lobbying for membership in the 26 committees that are yet to be formed and Mr Duale's announcement is likely to lead to an intensification of this. The Garissa Township MP encouraged his colleagues to start proposing motions they would want the House to discuss and to start preparing to seek statements from committee heads. Under the new House rules, MPs will have Wednesday morning to discuss the issues they originate. The day is reserved for business not sponsored by either the Majority or Minority Leaders and the committees. EU envoy wants open tender for Karuma dam Journalists take pictures of Karuma Falls recently. Construction of a 600-Megawatt dam at the site has stalled over allegations of corruption in the bidding process. By TABU BUTAGIRA Posted Thursday, April 18 2013 at 01:00 In Summary Top EU envoy says unlike a grant, Ugandan tax payers will have to repay the loan for the project and its intended works must offer the best value-for-money. Kampala The government should re-open up the tender for construction of the 600-megawatt Karuma hydro-dam to all interested "competent" firms irrespective of which country finances the project, the Head of the European Union Delegation in Uganda has said. Ambassador Roberto Ridolfi told the Daily Monitor on Tuesday that handpicking a firm from a country offering a $2.2 billion loan for the construction works, would amount to "breach of the public procurement rules". "Public procurement rules are very simple and are at the core of good governance: transparency, free and open access to everybody to the tendering and no discrimination," he said. Government urged "I hope the government will abide by the court ruling and the (Inspectorate of Government's) recommendations without breaching the public procurement laws because a loan, even if it's a very soft loan or concession loan, will have to be paid back by Ugandans." The considerations, he said, would however be different if Uganda received a grant. The envoy's comments come weeks after the largely state-owned New Vision reported that China has agreed to deploy resources and firms to build Karuma dam. President Museveni and his new Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping reportedly sealed the deal during the recent BRICS summit in South Africa, the newspaper reported, quoting unnamed sources. In the Tuesday interview, Mr Ridolfi made no mention of China but said it would be unfair for the Ugandan government to exclude other "competent" companies and only favour firms from country bankrolling the project. Call for respect of the law "The laws of public procurement must be respected. If we are talking about loans, Ugandan tax payers have to pay it back, which means ultimately that the infrastructure will be paid for by Ugandans tax payers, he said, "Therefore, Uganda has the right to get the best value for money. The laws of public procurement were not invented to delay projects, they were invented to give value-for-money to the tax payers, avoid corruption and collusion." The process of procuring a contractor for the already delayed Karuma dam has been rife with allegations of corruption, bidders falsifying work records and violation of procurement rules, prompting a plethora of lawsuits and investigations by police, the statutory public procurement entity and Ombudsman. The Inspectorate of Government cancelled the initial process that placed China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) in pole position to win the $2.2 billion tender, and advised government to restart the process but through restricted international bidding. Salini, an Italian company, has fought hardest, including through the courts, over the Karuma dam deal. tbutagira@ug.nationmedia.com KTN editors threatened over Saitoti expose SHARE THIS STORY
By Standard Reporter Celebrated KTN journalists John Allan Namu and Mohammed Ali have received death threats over George Saitoti death exposé that aired on the station two weeks ago. Yesterday, the Standard Group management expressed concern over the threats that appeared aimed at intimidating its journalists. Group Chief Executive Sam Shollei said the Group supports Press freedom and will not allow its journalists to be intimidated in the course of their duties. The exclusive stories dubbed Ghururi ya Saitoti and Death in Ten Minutes by Ali and Namu respectively showed that there could have been foul play in the death of then Internal Security minister George Saitoti. âThe threats are coming from Internal security. We have been informed that there is a police squad out to teach us a lesson. We were also informed to watch our backs, where we go and the routes we take because of the story,â the journalists said. Threats Mr Shollei said the Group was informing the authorities of the threats for investigation and to assure its journalists of their security. He said Standard Group will stand by its journalists, and will remain steadfast in discharging its duties as a media house, without fear or favour. On June 10, a police helicopter carrying Saitoti, who had declared interest in vying for the presidency in the March 4 General Election, crashed in Kibiko area, Ngong. Saitoti, together with his deputy Orwa Ojode, had been scheduled to preside over a harambee in Ndhiwa Constituency, Nyanza, on the fateful day. Two bodyguards and two pilots also died in the early morning crash. According to the story, the commission set up to investigate the crash failed to address gaps that emerged during the proceedings, among them that Saitoti and Ojode could have been killed. According to a post-mortem report, there were cherry-pink discolourations on their bodies, which could have suggested cyanide or carbon monoxide poisoning. It is the fourth time that the journalists have received threats due to the stories they have meticulously researched aired in the past. Rogue importers They were first threatened in 2009 when they aired the Rogue Tracker, which ran on KTN Leo as Wizi wa Ngawira. They again received threats from rogue importers who felt threatened by the story, Port of Impunity or Zengwezengwe Baharini. Namu also received threats after airing an exposé on Felicien Kabuga, In the Footsteps of Kabuga. Similarly, Ali and his colleague Dennis Onsarigo were threatened after running Paruwanja ya Mihadarati or Untouchables in 2011. East Africa: Half a Million Kenyans, Ethiopians Face Conflict, Hunger Due to Dam - Report15 April 2013 Half a million Kenyans and Ethiopians are likely to be displaced, go hungry and face conflict due to a controversial dam linked to a forcible resettlment programme 'bankrolled' by British taxpayers, the lobby group Survival International said on Monday. The Gibe III hydropower dam, due for completion in 2014, is being built on the Omo River in southern Ethiopia. It will reduce the flow of water to farmers and pastoralists living downstream, including those 600 kilometres to the south in Kenya, where the river flows into Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake. The British government's Department for International Development (DFID) is one of many international donors funding Ethiopia's Protection of Basic Services (PBS) programme, which subsidises basic services and local government salaries. This includes areas where people are being relocated to make way for the dam, part of a wider programme to resettle people into designated villages - known as villagisation - begun in 2010. Survival argues that the forced resettlment of thousands of tribal people could not be carried out without the DFID-funded PBS programme. "UK money is bankrolling the destruction of some of the best-known pastoralist peoples in Africa," Stephen Corry, director of Survival said in a statement. "The UK government is renowned for only paying lip service to human rights obligations where tribal peoples are concerned. When it comes to human rights in Ethiopia, DFID's many commitments are worthless." It is not the first time that the PBS programme has come under fire. Last year, the London-based law firm Leigh Day began legal action against DfID on behalf of an Ethiopian man, known as Mr O, who claims he suffered severe abuse under the villagisation programme. DFID visited the Lower Omo, where it heard reports of rape and intimidation, but it has not been able to substantiate the claims. Survival International cites three recent reports by Oxford University, International Rivers and the Africa Resources Working Group to support its case. The Africa Resources Working Group report warns of "an impending human rights and ecological catastrophe" and a "very real threat of mass starvation and armed conflict in the border region." The International Rivers report says that those who lose their homes and livelihoods are "likely to seek out resources on their neighbours' lands in the Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan borderlands." "Well armed, primed by past grudges and often divided by support from different state and local governments, these conflicts can be expected to be bloody and persistent," it said. The Ethiopian government is planning to use the water to develop large-scale irrigation schemes, create jobs and generate huge amounts of electricity to power the region.  Photo: Y AndersonCanada's parliament building in Ottawa: The current conservative government has voted down several attempts to increase corporate accountability abroad. Foreign companies from a range of countries compete in Africa's mining sector. But according to a number of measures, those from one country dominate: Canada. When asked to think about foreign mining contracts in Africa, many people's minds will jump to China, or perhaps one of the former colonial powers such as the UK or France. China's construction and agricultural projects in particular are at the core of the 'Africa Rising' narrative, as are the Asian giant's more than 1.3 billion consumers. Some readers might be surprised therefore to learn that Canada - with a population less than one-tenth that of China's and geographically about as far from Africa as one can get - has quietly grown to become one of the largest stakeholders in Africa's mining sector - possibly the largest, depending on how you quantify it. A grizzly competitor "We certainly are one of the biggest players [in Africa] in several respects", Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada, told Think Africa Press. "It's a largely undeveloped, unexplored continent, which makes it interesting... .A new frontier. Our industry is often one of the first to go where no-one has gone before." Countries competing with Canada in African mining include the UK, France, Australia, China, and South Africa, but ranking their relative dominance is all but impossible; countries measure and declare assets and investments using different methodologies and with varying levels of transparency. However, documents provided by Natural Resources Canada seem to portray a relatively accurate picture of the country's activities in Africa. According to these documents, in 2011 - the most recent year for which statistics are available - 155 Canadian companies were operating in 39 African countries. Their combined assets* totalled more than $30.8 billion, up from $26.5 billion in 2010. analysis
Canadian firms were most active in East Africa, with $12.7 billion on the ground in 2011. West Africa came next with $9.9 billion invested, followed by Southern Africa ($4.9 billion), Central Africa ($3.4 billion), and North Africa ($36.7 million). Ranked in descending order by value of assets, Canada's most important mining partners in 2011 were: Zambia, Mauritania, South Africa, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Tanzania, Mali, Senegal, and Eritrea. While Canada is a major force in African mining, current projects on the continent actually only comprise a minority of Canadian companies' operations overseas. According to Natural Resources Canada, assets in Africa accounted for just 21.5% of Canadian mining companies' cumulative assets abroad. The majority are in Latin America. Taking stock However, those numbers describe just the interests of companies headquartered in Canada. Expand the picture to take into account other country's projects financed on Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the TSX Venture, and Canada's role in mining around the world grows even more substantial. According to a December 2012 report drafted by the TSX, during the first nine months of 2012, 89% of all global mining equity financings were done on the TSX and TSX Venture (up one point from 2011). The document states that only 7% of mining projects traded on the TSX are located in Africa, but that does not diminish the fact that a lot of money for mining sites in Africa is going through the exchange in Toronto. "There are approximately 315-20 listed [mining] companies that are not African but are doing business in Africa", says Bruce Shapiro, president of Mine Africa, a Canada-based business and marketing company. "Of those, over 50% are Canadian. So in terms of the companies that we would normally look at, we certainly dominate that market." Shapiro explains that what sets Canada apart is the level of access to finance available on the TSX, where there's a tradition of an appetite for risk. "Capital, at the moment, is impossible to raise", he remarks, in reference to struggling developed economies. "But if it wasn't, it would be relatively easy in Canada, compared to some other markets." Shapiro notes that Canada has vast deposits of mineral wealth within its own borders, a long history mining those deposits, and is now taking this expertise to Africa. Looking to the future, he continues, prospectors tend to be moving either into less-explored low-risk areas with stable governments or high-risk regions that tempt miners with the potential of very high rewards. Rocky relations? But in addition to a favourable private sector, mining companies are also attracted to Canada for a less-flattering reason, suggests Jamie Kneen, a coordinator for advocacy group MiningWatch Canada. "There are hardly any Canadian laws of international application", he says. "If something goes wrong, people may be able to sue in Canada, but that's not entirely clear - it hasn't worked yet." Kneen explains that while countries such as the US have passed domestic laws that govern corporations' activities abroad, Canada has not done the same. The current Conservative government has actually voted down several attempts to increase accountability abroad. One of those attempts to regulate the mining sector overseas was initiated by Member of Parliament John McKay. In April 2009, he proposed a bill that aimed to increase corporate accountability in developing countries, but to no avail. "It died a glorious death", McKay recalls on the phone from the Canadian capital of Ottawa. "They [mining lobbyists] don't play to lose." He notes that without such legislation, international corporations based in Canada are left to self-regulate their conduct and adhere to the domestic laws of the countries in which they operate as they see fit. "We have no ability to tell any mining company what to do, when to do, where to do, or how to do it", McKay emphasises. In much of Africa, that creates potential for abuse. "Canadian companies are venturing into areas they've never ventured before", he says. "There doesn't seem to be any hesitation to go into conflict zones and areas where you know darn well you're going to have some difficulties of some kind." Indeed, as Pierre Gratton from The Mining Association of Canada notes, Africa's mining sector is expected to continue to expand, and Canadian interests on the continent to grow with it. "There's a recognition that this is something that we do well here, that we're good at mining", he says. "It's one of the exceptions to the Canadian economy - we tend not to necessarily dominate sectors, but in mining, we do." *Natural Resources Canada defines mining companies' cumulative "assets" as "calculated at acquisition, construction or fabricating costs, and includes capitalized exploration and development costs, non-controlling interest, and excludes liquid assets, cumulative depreciation [sic], and write-off." Travis Lupick is a freelance journalist currently living in Monrovia, Liberia. His work has appeared in al Jazeera English, the Africa Report magazine, and Canada's Toronto Star. You can follow him on Twitter at @tlupick. Burundi: UN Experts Warn of Negative Consequences of Coffee Privatization18 April 2013 The World Bank-led privatization of the coffee industry in Burundi that began in 2008 is having a negative impact on farmers, two United Nations independent experts warned today, calling for the suspension of the policy pending an assessment based on human rights. "There are worrying signs that the interests of coffee growers have been shut out of the reform process, despite coffee producer organizations showing themselves open to reform of the sector in a way that allows them to climb up the value chain," said the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, and the Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Cephas Lumina. "In Burundi - the third poorest country in the world - coffee revenues represent the difference between food security and hunger for much of the population, and yet the country is in the process of reforming the sector in ways that risk undermining their livelihoods." Coffee accounts for 80 per cent of the country's export earnings and provides the livelihood of 55 per cent of the population - representing some 750,000 families - many of whom are small-scale farmers. Mr. De Schutter and Mr. Lumina called on the World Bank to consider the human rights implications of privatization, adding that it must not repeat errors made in the 80s and 90s, when developing countries were encouraged to sell off State assets without taking into account the social consequences on the population. In 2007, the Burundian President declared that coffee was owned by the growers until it was exported, an arrangement that allowed them to manage the supply chain and entitled them to 72 per cent of revenues from coffee sales on international markets. However, in 2008-2009 the Burundian Government moved towards full privatization of the industry under alleged pressure from the World Bank, whose support for public health programmes was reportedly tied to coffee sector reforms. Since then, less than 5 per cent of Burundian coffee was processed in the country, with the higher value-added operations taking place abroad. "States must not confuse their own priorities with those of corporations," Mr. De Schutter and Mr. Lumina stressed. "Institutional actors like the World Bank must support States in their attempts to reform key economic sectors in ways that do not expose vulnerable farmers and growers to the uncertainties of the market." The experts also expressed concern that, after six months of exchanges with the World Bank, the information provided to them falls short in scope and transparency, and fails to acknowledge disagreements between the Bank and the Burundian Government. "We expect fuller cooperation from the World Bank with the independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council," they said. "In appropriate circumstances such as these, international law imposes on the Bank a duty to consider the human rights implications of its activities." Africa: Sustainable Agricultural Intensification - Tackling Food Insecurity in a Resource-Scarce WorldBy Lindiwe Majele Sibanda and Katy Wilson, 18 April 2013 Today, the world is searching for solutions to a series of global challenges unprecedented in their scale and complexity. Food insecurity, malnutrition, climate change, rural poverty and environmental degradation are all among them. A recent meeting hosted by the Irish government and the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice (MRFCJ) in Dublin convened experts and practitioners from around the globe to discuss how the next iteration of development goals following the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can respond to this set of challenges, as part of the so-called "post-2015" development agenda. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to these threats as both supply-side and demand-side challenges are putting additional pressure on an already fragile food production system. Indeed, current systems of production will only be able to meet 13 percent of the continent's food needs by 2050, while three out of four people added to the planet between now and 2100 will be born in the region. Improving agricultural yields efficiently and sustainably must be central in addressing Africa's food insecurity challenges. This calls for "sustainable intensification". Sustainable intensification offers a framework for producing more food with less impact on the environment, intensifying food production while ensuring the natural resource base on which agriculture depends is sustained, and indeed improved, for future generations. Unfortunately, in recent years, the term has taken on a highly politicised meaning, with some arguing it is synonymous with industrial agriculture reliant on a high use of fertilisers and pesticides. But this does not have to be the case. The term's original scientific intent was for it to be relevant to all types of agricultural systems, including smallholder farmers in Africa. It is now time that the term is re-embraced to help meet the challenges we face as a global population of 9 billion people by the year 2050. REPORT POINTS THE WAY A new report from the Montpellier Panel, an eminent panel of international experts led by Sir Gordon Conway of Agriculture for Impact, provides innovative thinking and examples of how sustainable intensification can be used by smallholder African farmers to address the continent's food and nutrition crisis. Africa: Invest in Water Storage to Secure the Future of AfricaBy Ben Braga, 19 April 2013 guest blog Water and energy are fundamental to poverty reduction and economic transformation on the African continent. When experts, policymakers and high-level representatives met this week in Addis Ababa at a conference to discuss water storage and hydro development, the World Water Council was there to call upon them to take actions to prepare the world, as the past is now a poor guide to an uncertain future. Indeed, as the world population continues to increase and that population strives for higher standards of living, demands on our limited usable water resources grow. As a consequence, we are failing to keep up with water demands for the most basic human needs and, at the same time, we need to start having a different look towards water from a perspective of an engine for social and economic development. The World Water Council has been advocating for global recognition of water security as a milestone for beyond the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. During the 67th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York in October last year, we called on all countries in the word for a Pact on Water Security. The current efforts made by the UN to set a global definition of water security for next General Assembly are a promising objective. An enormous challenge lies ahead of us to improve water security in Africa. An effective investment framework must be adapted to different levels and contexts, as water provides a useful basis for discussion and engagement between policymakers, investors and stakeholders in water and other sectors in Africa. Since 2008, the World Water Council has been working on a programme on water for growth and development in Africa and presenting the need for investment in water in Africa as leverage for growth and shared development. Wise investments in managing and developing Africa's water resources are essential to the future growth and prosperity of the continent. Foremost, this is a policy choice, but it must also be seen as an imperative. These investments are a necessary part of Africa's development, but need to be conditioned effectively within overall infrastructure improvements. Forecasts say that five percent of Africa's GDP is lost annually due to poor access to water and sanitation, two percent due to power cuts, and five to 25 percent due to droughts and floods in affected countries. A further five percent could be lost in the future because of climate change. Africa: UN Experts Urge World Bank to Adopt Human Rights Standards in Its Policies18 April 2013 Ahead of a key meeting to review the World Bank's social policies, a group of United Nations independent experts called on the organization to adopt human rights standards to ensure its measures do not unintentionally harm the world's most vulnerable populations. "All activities supported by the World Bank, not only its investment lending, should be included in the review to ensure consistency with international human rights standards," said the group of experts in a news release. "Doing so would improve development outcomes and strengthen the protection of the world's poorest from unintended adverse impacts of activities financed by the Bank," they said. The group consists of: the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter and the Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Cephas Lumina. Their call was made ahead of the conclusion of the first consultation period this weekend of a two-year review of the World Bank's social and environmental policies - also known as safeguard policies. The review is an opportunity to broaden the World Bank's scope in areas related to human rights such as disability, gender, labour, land tenure, and the rights of indigenous people. A first draft of the revised policies, which will be open for public comment, is expected in the next few months. "Unfortunately, economic development can have negative as well as positive impacts," said Ms. Sepúlveda. "Often, the poorest of the poor do not benefit from development, or even worse, it is undertaken at their expense." For Mr. Anaya, the review "is an opportunity for the World Bank to heed the call of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which provides that States, intergovernmental organizations, and UN specialized agencies, including the World Bank, shall promote respect for full application and realization of, its provisions." Mr. De Schutter said that large-scale World Bank projects often have a negative impact on land used by small-scale farmers, affecting their right to food. "The updated safeguard policies must ensure that the voice of affected communities is more effectively heard, through inclusive and participatory impact assessments and through effective accountability mechanisms that provide effective remedies for any harm caused," he said. Mr. Lumina said it was no longer acceptable to use the excuse that the World Bank is precluded by its Articles of Agreement from taking human rights into consideration in the design and implementation of its policies and projects. "The Articles allow, and in some circumstances, enjoin the Bank to recognize the human rights implications of its development policies and activities," Mr. Lumina said. "We should not forget that States must also adhere to their international law obligations when they act through international organizations. The World Bank is no exception Human Rights Group Demands Stop to Mining in Tanzania The Legal and Human Rights Center has called on the government to halt uranium mining until proper legislation is in place, citing unknown effects as reason for caution. Read more » Tanzania: Tanzania Grants First Uranium Mining Licence Sabahi, 10 April 2013 The Tanzanian Ministry of Energy and Minerals granted its first uranium mining licence to Mantra Tanzania, a subsidiary of Australia-based Mantra Resources, Tanzania's The Citizen ... read more »
Claims of African 'land grab' spark controversyJune 12, 2011 4:36 a.m. EDT   Claims of African 'land grab' !!CLAIMS OF AFRICIAN 'LAND GRAB' SPARK CONTROVERSY:USA HANDS Uploaded on Jun 11, 2011 No description available. The Right to Food: Corporate, Foreign Gov't Land Grab Causing Hunger in Poor Uploaded on Oct 28, 2010 The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, speaks to Democracy Now! about his recent warning that some 500 million small farmers in poor countries are suffering from hunger, partly because foreign countries and corporations have bought up large tracts of land. We're also joined by Smita Narula, author of a new study suggesting that many of the land deals in Africa and South Asia lack transparency and could threaten local communities with eviction, undermine their livelihoods, and endanger their access to food. CNN) -- A new report published this week claims farmers in Africa are being driven off their traditional lands to make way for vast new industrial farming projects backed by European hedge funds seeking profits and foreign countries looking for cheap food. But some firms named in the study are hitting back, saying they are providing desperately needed jobs and cash to impoverished regions on the continent. The Oakland Institute, a left-leaning social development think tank, says investors have bought up nearly 60 million hectares (148 million acres) since the financial crash in 2009 -- land equal to the size of France, in what it calls a "land grab" in Africa. "The same financial firms that drove us into a global recession by inflating the real estate bubble through risky financial maneuvers are now doing the same with the world's food supply," said Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute. "It's kind of shameful that while we in the Western world paint Africa as a basket case -- we talk about its hunger, we talk about its corruption -- but we are responsible for trying to steal the land and turn it into a breadbasket for the North" Mittal said, referring to developed economies. The report, "Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa," focuses on seven African nations and claims to uncover a tangled web of deals being obscured by shell companies and governments. It concludes that the alleged "land grab" is leading to the potential displacement of hundreds of thousands of farmers, often in deals with far-off government bureaucrats or naive local tribal chiefs. "We're told over and over that the key to development is by helping small farmers," Mittal told CNN. "But instead, in this rush for mechanized farming, for growing bio-fuels, for growing grains for export, we seem willing to sacrifice women farmers and indigenous communities with no solutions for what happens later to them in Africa." The study by the California-based group pins much of the blame on London-based Emergent Asset Management, which runs one of Africa's largest land acquisition funds, and is headed by former JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs currency traders and investment bankers. European and U.S. agribusinesses are singled out for buying hundreds of thousands of hectares for future biofuel development. And the report says the current rush for cheap land is also backed by China, Libya and other Mideast and Asian investors looking for ways to secure food sources and farming for their growing populations. But Mittal says she was most surprised to discover deals by U.S. universities that she claims are investing in deals set up by hedge funds buying up some of the continent's best farmland on promises of annual returns of 25% or more. Universities such as Harvard "have chosen to go ahead just so they can see their endowments grow," Mittal said. She called on university backers to honor goals of socially responsible investing and to hold back money in a campaign similar to the one that helped bring down apartheid in South Africa. "It's time to get out of these funds and invest in ways that build communities and don't devastate them," she said. Some of the companies and investors named in the report are disputing the claims. "The allegations set out in the Oakland Report are grossly inaccurate," wrote Emergent's CEO Susan Payne in a statement e-mailed to CNN. "We are consulting our lawyers and will be issuing a full statement rebutting the allegations." A spokesman for Harvard said he was unable to find any direct documentation for the claims in the study, and was seeking clarification for any involvement on its part from the firm that handles its endowment. The report essentially says investors are being promised cheap land with no questions asked while the hedge fund buyers are searching for ways to displace traditional farms that often have no clear formal ownership for small fees and promises of employment. The study's authors say that land in the war-torn Sierra Leone sometimes leased for as little as $2 per hectare. "Foreign investors often employ local 'agents' or 'coordinators' to identify land for lease and negotiate leases with local communities, chiefs and landowners," the report charges. "There is evidence that these 'agents' take unfair advantage of local traditions, perceptions and vulnerabilities in order to convince local populations that they will benefit from the lease deals, while refraining from discussing potential risks such as loss of farmland or negative environmental impacts," the report says. Mittal pointed to Zambia, where she claims that 94% of the country's land is held informally through customary rights, and where land use and ownership must be negotiated with local chiefs. "I was told that you would go with a bottle of Johnnie Walker, sit on the ground with him and clap three times and make your offering of whiskey," Mittal told CNN. "Then you have secured the title to the land with no problem." The study also points to programs in Ethiopia where hundreds of thousands are being driven off their traditional lands and placed in new government-planned villages, while foreign investors move in to start new export-driven farms. "We have seen cases of speculators taking over agricultural land while small farmers, viewed as 'squatters,' are forcibly removed with no compensation," Frederic Mousseau, policy director at the Oakland Institute, said in a press release. "This is creating insecurity in the global food system that could be a much bigger threat to global security than terrorism," Mousseau added. "The majority of the world's poor still depend on small farms for their livelihoods, and speculators are taking these away while promising progress that never happens." However, one investor group tied to Emergent in South Africa says that the projects it backs are boosting incomes and market access in places once totally cut off from anything beyond growing enough food for themselves. "We've really created something out of nothing in Africa," said Anthony Poorter, Africa director for EmVest Asset Management. "There are no shady deals." He pointed to three land projects his firm backs in Mozambique, including a $12 million, 1,000-hectare farm (2,471 acres) that employs 350 people and provides rising income to the surrounding area. "Our projects in Mozambique have caused a real boost to the income of local communities," Poorter said, pointing out EmVest tries to source as much of its labor and supplies locally as possible. "The GDP of Matuba village has risen significantly and we are the biggest employer." Poorter summed it up by saying, "We have people lining up for jobs every day, so it can't be that bad a place to work."
Are African land grabs really water grabs? updated 12:19 PM EDT, Fri March 22, 2013  Women in Kenya's Tana River delta, where there have been tensions over land and water access. STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Editor's note: Dr. Jennifer C Franco is coordinator of the Agrarian Justice program at the Transnational Institute, Netherlands, and an adjunct professor at the China Agricultural University in Beijing. (CNN) -- Millions of hectares of land have been acquired in the past few years across Africa by investors who are moving into large-scale agriculture to take advantage of potential windfall gains. Popularly these deals have become known as "land grabbing," but they could just as well have been framed as "water grabs." The current global rush for agricultural land grew partly in response to increased global food prices since 2007. Global capital is finding its way to agricultural investments on the basis of expectations of high returns, either through increased production or through speculation on further rising land prices.  Dr. Jennifer C Franco  Dr. Lyla Mehta  Dr. Gert Jan Veldwisch. Photo courtesy pixed.nl (There are serious socioal Justice questions) Optimistic promises that such investment would also reinvigorate depressed rural economies, by virtue of employment creation and improved livelihoods, have proven to be vastly overstated, if not unfounded in many cases. But one of the untold stories of the global land grab is the quest to capture one of the most vital resources: water. As land is grabbed and earmarked for development, this often has implications for the water nearby, for local people's land and water rights and environmental sustainability.
All around the world powerful actors (transnational as well as national) are pointing out that the lands in which they invest are "marginal" and "unproductive" lands. This has been shown to be untrue for many cases; either the land is already used by small-scale food producers, or is of prime quality and associated with good (potential) access to water.
Read this: The myth of Africa's land grab In the Tana Delta for example, the Kenyan government marked the Tana river basin for development, designating the floodplain area as "unused" and the adjacent terraces as "empty dryland" with irrigation potential.
But this region has long been home to small peasant farmers, fishers and pastoralists from different ethnic groups, whose cooperative sharing of fragile land and water resources over the years has been possible because of delicately balanced customary use rights agreements amongst themselves. In most countries where land deals are taking place it is no use having land without also having access to water. Jennifer C Franco, Lyla Mehta and Gert Jan Veldwisch The violence last year in the Kenya's Tana region demonstrates the perils -- and tragedy -- of ignoring more complex social realities that exist on the ground.
In most countries where land deals are taking place it is no use having land without also having access to water. Research published in a special issue of Water Alternatives has shown water to be one of the prime drivers of the global rush to acquire land. Despite this, many land deal contracts -- or the prior environmental assessments upon which they ought to be based -- do not explicitly mention water requirements, let alone quantify them.
The issue of water grabs is a particularly slippery one. Unlike land, water flows and moves from one place to another; its availability goes up and down, affected by the seasons, human use, or climate change; it can be visible on the surface and invisible underground. It can be a source of food, or disease and pollution. Rights, access and uses are complex and varied. Who has the right to the water in a river -- the people who live beside it in a given place, the farmers who depend on it for irrigation, or those upstream or downstream?
Read this: One woman's mission to fix water crisis Water's elusive nature makes it a prime target. The boundaries between legality and illegality are often fuzzy, and questions of jurisdiction over water can be unclear. Grabbers often take advantage of this legal complexity. In Ghana, according to research by the International Water Management Institute, the separation of land and water rights created the space for water grabbing: pre-existing customary water rights were abolished and instead ownership, management and control of water were placed under authority of the state. Similarly, water-quality impacts reach far beyond the place of pollution. A case in point is a large-scale land deal in the Iringa Region of Tanzania under a lease-agreement with the government. According to a paper published by Italian NGO Acra, fertilizers, pesticides and faeces of cattle led to the contamination of downstream drinking water sources serving a population of some 45,000 people.
Questions of jurisdiction over water can be unclear. Grabbers often take advantage of this legal complexity. Jennifer C Franco, Lyla Mehta and Gert Jan Veldwisch Proponents of large-scale land deals deploy powerful narratives of underutilized land and water resources that "require" investment to "unlock" their potential, or an abundance of water and land, ready to be woken up by commercial agriculture. But it is at least debatable if the targeted land and water resources are indeed unused or even underutilized.
The narratives of "unexploited resources" provide justification for governments to displace existing users of resources and the ways in which smallholder farmers use their water remain unrecognized some can create new scarcities for others.
The hidden aspects of water grabbing do not just make it a very "slippery" terrain, but also imply that large-scale land acquisitions all around Africa actually can be understood as "water grabbing." That we call this a process of grabbing does not mean that these deals are strictly illegal, but there are serious underlying social justice questions.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jennifer C Franco, Lyla Mehta and Gert Jan Veldwisch. |
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