Sunday, January 15, 2012
Libertarian Illusions (Jefferey Sachs)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/libertarian-illusions_b_1207878.html
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
African Century (ANC)
An African century
The ANC is celebrating its 100th anniversary, but has little in common with the party of 100 years ago
William Gumede
This weekend the African National Congress celebrates its centenary. The party, which played a pivotal role in the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa, has much to look back on with pride, and the celebrations include concerts, church services and a political rally.
Compared with other African liberation movements, the ANC had the unique ability to unite diverse groups. The others were formed on the basis of one ethnic or regional group, and could never transcend this. The ANC created a broad alliance that spanned the ideological spectrum, from shopkeepers to communists, and became what was called a “multi-class” organisation.
Furthermore, the ANC turned the struggle against apartheid into a moral struggle – and a global one. By the 1980s the ANC had formed links with groups ranging from churches and youth groups in the west to ruling powers in the eastern bloc.
The ANC also produced pragmatic and visionary leaders with global appeal, such as Nelson Mandela and Albert Luthuli (the first African to received the Nobel prize for peace).
The ANC’s armed struggle did not dominate every aspect of the movement, as it did that of Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF or Angola’s MPLA. In the ANC there were democratic forces that opposed the domination of a violent guerrilla culture. In the main, the ANC’s operation ethos, whether in exile or in prison, genuinely attempted to emphasise internal democracy – consultation, inclusiveness, freedom of expression and the right to dissent – even if there were some appalling incidents to the contrary.
But as the ANC reaches its 100th birthday, anti-democratic groups appear to have a stranglehold on the party. Key ANC leaders wrote South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution – which sets a clear democratic, human rights and values framework for post-apartheid South Africa. Today, incredibly, some leaders are saying that the constitution, particularly its freedom of expression provisions, “undermines” development.
The intelligence and security forces, and the police are routinely used in ANC leadership battles to trip up rivals. Even corruption appears to be sometimes prosecuted to sideline opponents. The cloak-and-dagger style of operations of the rogue elements of the ANC’s military and intelligence wings has now become dominant within the party.
One of the fundamental clauses in the ANC’s guiding “strategy and tactics” document says members “must be informed by the values of honesty, hard work, humility, service to the people and respect for the laws of the land”. The current reality is embarrassingly opposite. This is illustrated in the contrast between the moral authority of a Mandela, an Oliver Tambo, or a Luthuli – all former presidents of the ANC – and the murkiness of a Jacob Zuma, who is seeking re-election as party leader this year.
In his 2007 campaign to become leader, many Zuma supporters were 100% Zulu in their support for the man from KwaZulu Natal. Out of the window went the inclusive, non-tribal and non-racial ethos of the ANC’s long struggle. The ANC Women’s League backed Zuma’s leadership bid even after he claimed he knew a woman wanted sex with him because she didn’t cross her legs. ANC leaders talk about efforts to tackle poverty, yet wastage of public resources and conspicuous consumption by elected officials have rocketed. The ANC in government runs the risk of making the same mistake as other failed African liberation movements – enriching the few, mostly politically connected, rather than the poor masses.
Increasingly, top leaders in the ANC are chosen by small cliques – selected for how best they can balance factional and patronage interests.
Despite all this, the ANC is likely to be in power for some time. Opposition parties at the moment are perceived to be largely irrelevant, too disorganised or too white. There is, of course, the possibility that disillusioned sections of the ANC can break away. However, most supporters will be reluctant to do so given the miserable performance of the most recent splinter group, the Congress of the People.
The lack of a credible challenger alone encourages complacency in the ANC – with leaders perceiving no reason to shape up. However, with the party seemingly assured of victory in elections for the foreseeable future, largely paying lip-service to the values that sustained it for a century, South Africa will struggle to reach its full potential – of becoming a global example for genuine democracy, equitable economic development and peaceful racial integration – unless truly democratic groups quickly take control of the ANC and steer it back to its roots.
William Gumede is author of Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC
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On the website
31 Dec 2011
ANC accused of airbrushing allies and rivals out of anti-apartheid struggle
28 Aug 2010
South Africa's unions turn on Jacob Zuma and the ANC
20 Apr 2010
ANC to discipline firebrand youth league president, Julius Malema
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Kenya (Guardian 2012)
Kenya struggles to exorcise old demons before elections
Clar Ni Chonghaile Nairobi
Karibu Kenya, hakuna matata – “Welcome to Kenya, there are no problems.” So goes the traditional greeting for visitors to east Africa’s top tourist destination.
But Kenyan wags have come up with a new version: Karibu Kenya, hakuna matata, hakuna maji, hakuna stima, hakuna gas – “Welcome to Kenya: no problems, no water, no electricity, no gas.”
This sarcastic take on the well-known slogan reveals the frustration felt by many in a country that is flexing its military muscles on the regional stage but failing to deliver on promises at home before critical elections in 2012.
Kenyans will go to the polls, probably in December, to choose a new president and parliament. The last election, in 2007, brought the country to the brink of civil war amid accusations of fraud. Around 1,300 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced.
Few analysts are willing to take a punt on whether the 2012 polls will be disrupted by the same toxic mix of ethnicity, politics and greed. Kenya is still fighting those demons, but it also faces new pressures.
Recent military incursion into Somalia has compounded a sense of uncertainty and insecurity. Heavy rains have displaced thousands, ruined crops, caused power blackouts and turned Nairobi into a gridlocked quagmire. There was a shortage of water in some places and for weeks, in an unrelated scarcity, no cooking gas.
Kenya’s current account deficit has reached double figures as a percentage of GDP, leading to comparisons with Greece
10%
The rains and floods, coming as drought continued to bite in the north, laid bare the weaknesses of east Africa’s biggest economy, which has long been at the mercy of endemic corruption and government lassitude.
“The economy has been blinking amber all year,” said Aly-Khan Satchu, a Nairobi-based analyst. “The current account deficit has crossed 10%, putting us on a par with Greece and Swaziland.”
The World Bank has revised down growth estimates, and the Kenyan shilling sank to a record low against the dollar in October, pushing food and fuel prices higher. The central bank raised rates repeatedly as inflation climbed to nearly 20% in November. The currency has strengthened since, but for many the damage has already been done.
Satchu says there are two economies in Kenya: the old one, which exists to serves the interests of a ruling elite, and a new economy based on IT and mobile technology. Overall, though, Kenya has shown resilience, bouncing back from the post-election crisis, thanks mainly to tourism and a thriving IT sector.
Nairobi embodies this dual reality: the city, where 60% of the population live in slums, is also a regional hub for IT development and entrepreneurship.
Politically, too, the picture is not uniformly bleak.
Last year, a new constitution was ratified in a peaceful vote seen as an important first step towards eradicating the dangers of poll-related violence. But the old demons persist.
“We must continue to work towards national unity rather than balkanise our nation along ethnic lines,” said the prime minister, Raila Odinga, who is the frontrunner to win the presidency.
J Peter Pham, director of the Africa Programme at the Atlantic Council in Washington, says Kenya needs strong political leadership to overcome the many hurdles it faces this year, but that has been in “critically low supply”.
The first test will come later this month, when the international criminal court rules on whether six political figures, including the deputy prime minister and presidential hopeful Uhuru Kenyatta, should stand trial for their alleged roles in the post-election violence.
The former UN chief Kofi Annan, who helped mediate the 2008 peace deal, said in December that Kenyans had moved on from the past and wanted no more violence, impunity or corruption. The question was whether their leaders wanted the same. “I think some of the politicians are behind the curve,” Annan said.
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Ruler’s opponents urge Coca-Cola to quit Swaziland
On the website
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Swaziland (guardian 2012)
Ruler’s opponents urge Coca-Cola to quit Swaziland
Mswati III accused of looting country’s wealth
Drinks firm ‘contributes to social welfare’
David Smith Johannesburg
Coca-Cola has been accused of propping up one of Africa’s most notorious dictators by human rights campaigners.
The multibillion dollar beverage company owns a concentrate-manufacturing plant in Swaziland, an impoverished kingdom ruled by Africa’s last absolute monarch, Mswati III.
The king has travelled to Coca-Cola’s headquarters in Atlanta in the US, much to the disgust of Swazi political activists who blame him for human rights abuses and looting the nation’s wealth.
Mary Pais Da Silva, co-ordinator of the Swaziland Democracy Campaign, urged Coca-Cola to pull out of the country immediately.
King Mswati III has a personal fortune of about £64m despite presiding over one of the poorest countries in the world
“Coca-Cola must know they’re doing business with the wrong people,” she said. “At the end of the day it doesn’t benefit the economy in any way. Their profits don’t help the average Swazi, while the king is getting richer by the day.
Mswati III has 13 wives and hosts an annual dance where he can choose a new bride from tens of thousands of bare-breasted virgins.
With a fortune of about $100m (£64m), he presides over one of the worst-off countries in the world, with most people living in absolute poverty. Political parties are banned and activists are regularly arrested, imprisoned and tortured.
Coca-Cola says Mswati III does not receive any profits or dividends from its Swaziland operation, its biggest in Africa. But some activists estimate that Coca-Cola, the world’s biggest beverage company, contributes as much as 40% of the country’s GDP. The company admits it cannot account for how the money it pays in taxes is used by the Swazi government.
Lucky Lukhele, a spokesman for Swaziland Solidarity Network, said: “Coca-Cola should find a way of directing the profits to the people of Swaziland. They should start supporting the pro-democracy movement.”
He compared the moral imperative to that of boycotting South Africa during the racial apartheid years. “Many supported the people of South Africa. There is no such thing as neutral ground – you’re for or against. The king is looting and destroying the economy. So either they support the people or they go into the dustbin of history along with the king.”
He added: “It has become crazy in Swaziland. The people are desperate. They are dying from HIV/Aids and TB as the result of the misbehaviour of the king. There’s enough evidence for the international criminal court to come in.”
Coca-Cola said it adhered to the “highest ethical standards” and aimed to be “an outstanding corporate citizen in every community we serve”. It set up in Swaziland in 1987 after leaving apartheid South Africa. It denies claims from some activists that it was motivated by Swaziland’s sugarcane fields – its concentrates do not contain sugar – or that the king personally owns shares in the Swazi factory.
Sherree Shereni, spokeswoman for the Coca-Cola central Africa franchise, said: “King Mswati III does not receive any profits or dividends from Conco Swaziland [Coca-Cola’s concentrate production plant].”
Conco, like all the Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) concentrate plants, is 100% owned by TCCC.
Shereni added: “Through the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, which was set up in Swaziland in 2001, the population of Swaziland has, however, benefited from Coca-Cola’s contributions to their social welfare in the areas of water stewardship, health, education and entrepreneurship.”
Asked if the king uses tax revenue from Coca-Cola for his personal benefit, Shereni said: “TCCC, like any other taxpayer, does not determine what the taxes paid to the governments of countries in which it does business are used for. This is the statutory prerogative of the governments themselves.”
Sunday, January 1, 2012
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