Upper Nile, South Sudan: Anyuak refugees hope one good turn deserves another

From SRS - Sudan Radio Service, 15 December 2009:
Anyuak Refugees Hope One Good Turn Deserves Another

(Renk) – Nearly 300 Ethiopian refugees from the Anyuak ethnic group are hoping to settle permanently in Renk county in Upper Nile state.

Speaking on behalf of the refugees, Otak Ochoka Obala told SRS that they have been searching for a place to live in southern Sudan since 2003.

Obala described how they left their home in Ethiopia.

[Otak Ochoka Obala]: “I left Ethiopia in 2003, when the Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi ordered the killing of the Anyuak. Forty people were killed. In 2003, we went to Sudan, to Pochalla and continued to Pibor where we were unable to get a place to settle and then we came to Malakal. But in Malakal we couldn’t get medical assistance, there was no food and the food which was there was always delayed. So there was no adequate assistance given to us as refugees. We then decided to go to Kosti but the authorities in Kosti sent us back to Renk. Now we have spent three months here in Renk with no assistance from the local authorities. Fortunately, the UNHCR has begun to supply us with food.”

Obala said they had never received any humanitarian assistance from the government and international organisations.

[Otak Ochoka Obala]: “From Gambella we trekked to Pibor and during that period no-one offered any assistance. There were a lot of problems during our journey, we received no medical assistance. But we remember very well the Sudanese refugees we hosted during the war in Sudan, they were given a lot of assistance. For example there were thousands of refugees in our homeland in Gambella, in Itang, Pinyido, and Dima refugee camps, they were comfortable. But now we have been moving for the last 7 years in Sudan and we can’t even get a place to live as refugees. Yesterday, on 13th December, we marked the 7th anniversary of the Anyuak massacre in Gambella.”

Obala said there were 96 men, 57 women and 121 children among the Anyuak refugees.

Sir Bob Geldof for the first time in 25 years pays a 3-day visit in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region

From Sudan Tribune, by Tesfa-alem Tekle, Friday 27 November 2009:
Band Aid founder, Geldof back in Ethiopia

November 26, 2009 (MEKELLE) — Since his landmark visit 25 years ago for famine relief efforts, Irish rock star and activist, Bob Geldof for the first time pays a 3-day visit in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, one among worst-stricken region by the 1984’s devastating famine.

Yesterday, Sir Bob Geldof - Joined by Country’s UNICEF director, government officials and key humanitarian players, paid a visit in one of the then most affected village, Korom, where he was greeted by dozens of famine survivors, women, children and residents waving placards emblazoned: "No more deaths from hunger."

"It’s a miracle to come back after 25 years to this beautiful place and see you all in healthy shape" Geldof said to the crowd.

"What happened here deeply affected every human being outside of Ethiopia," he said adding "Nobody who was here 25 years ago doubted that you could rebuild your lives in the way you have now."

Geldof made a speech at a hospital site (under construction) funded by his Band Aid group, and other donors. Up on completion, the hospital is said to provide healthcare services to quarter a million people.

Few weeks ago, the Ethiopian government called for Nearly 160,000 tonnes of emergency food aid to feed 6.2 million of its 80 million people. The appeal was made on the 25th anniversary of the 1984 famine that killed an estimated one million people.

Following Ethiopia government’s appeal, a number of international Medias have related and compared the current drought situation with 1984’s disaster. But Ethiopian officials have reacted to the recent reports saying as incorrect and irresponsible reports.

In recent interview, Ethiopia’s state minister for agriculture and rural development told Sudan Tribune that the situation in Ethiopia was drought and not famine as stated in some media reports.

"There is definitely no famine in Ethiopia" Mitku Kassa, state agriculture and rural development minister said during the interview.

"What we are having is only the cause for famine, drought, and we have taken the current situation under control," the minister stressed.

However, Geldof’s visit is believed to be a witness to reveal the current humanitarian situation on ground and investigate the unfolding crises and challenges the horn of Africa’s country is facing to food-support itself and bring a long term development.

Following an Emergency aid call from Ethiopia, the international aid agency, Oxfam has called for a radical shake-up of aid system to break up the cycle of hunger in Ethiopia.

Oxfam argued that constant food flow from the West is failing to help starving Africans cope with ever-more frequent droughts and Called for a radical shake-up in the way the world tackled food crises

"No longer should we be chasing each drought with food; we should be acting before the next drought comes”. Oxfam statement said in October.

Instead, donors should support programs including weather early warning systems, improved roads, food and medicine stockpiles, cheaper than responding under the stress of urgent appeals, and irrigation schemes.

Sending such food aid "does save lives", Oxfam said. But it is a "knee-jerk reaction" and "the dominance of this approach fails to offer long-term solutions which would break these cyclical and chronic crises".

"Donors need to shift their approach, and help to give communities the tools to tackle disasters before they strike," said Penny Lawrence, Oxfam’s international director.

Geldof is widely recognized for his activism, especially in anti-poverty efforts concerning Africa

In 1984; he founded the charity super group Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

In total more than 150 million pounds were raised then, largest international appeal until the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. (ST)

Signing of MoU between African Union (AU) and the government of Germany

Signing of MoU between African Union (AU) and the government of Germany

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 18, 2009/APO

Invitation to a press conference for the Signing of MoU between African Union (AU) and the government of Germany

Where: AU headquarters, Media Center

When: Wednesday, 18 November 2009 at 3:30pm

Why: The AU will hold a meeting and signs an agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany on areas of development cooperation.

Who: The press conference will be addressed by the Deputy Chairperson of the AUC and the Deputy Director General for Economic Cooperation and development of the Government of Federal republic of Germany.

All media representatives are invited to attend the signing event and take part on the press conference.

SOURCE: African Union Commission (AUC)

Crossposted on Sudan Watch

IFJ deplores upsurge of attacks against journalists and media houses in Somalia

Radio Warsan and Jubba Radio in Baidoa are closed since 21 October 2009. Currently the compound of Radio Warsan is being occupied by the Al-Shabaab armed men.

From IFJ (MOGADISHU, Somalia) November 16, 2009/(APO):
IFJ deplores upsurge of attacks against journalists and media houses in Somalia

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the upsurge of attacks against journalists and news media organisations in Somalia.

The IFJ condemns the grave press freedom violations that have been committed by Al-Shabaab extremist group in Kismayo, Baidoa, Bardhere and Mogadishu.

According to the IFJ’s Somalia affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Al-Shabaab says there have been a number of oppressive edicts that the extremist group wants the media to implement. Radio Warsan and Jubba Radio in Baidoa are closed since 21 October 2009. Currently the compound of Radio Warsan is being occupied by the Al-Shabaab armed men.

The IFJ says these edicts are unacceptable and restrict the work of the media in Somalia. “We fully back the position of NUSOJ. These interventions are intolerable and have the effect of intimidating independent journalism,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.

Six journalists in Kismayo were forced to flee their town after they received from Shabaab threats ranging from arrest to expulsion working independently and reporting what is going in Kismayu.

A number of media houses in Mogadishu and Bardhere have been intimidated by Shabaab. There have been statements from politicians and diplomats saying the media in Somalia was “influenced” and is thus “compromised” by Shabaab.

“Our Somali colleagues and their media houses are doing everything they can to operate in line with their profession in the face of deadly violence,” said White. “We will give them full support against this deplorable intimidation.”

For more information contact the IFJ at +221 33 867 95 87
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide
http://africa.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-deplores-upsurge-of-attacks-against-journalists-and-media-houses-in-somalia

SOURCE : International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

Mo Ibrahim's mobile revolution - 'Africa must think big to thrive'

From BBC News 20:14 GMT, Sunday, 15 November 2009:
'Africa must think big to thrive'

Mo Ibrahim was speaking at a two-day forum in Dar es Salaam

Many African states are too small to continue to exist independently, Sudan-born magnate Mo Ibrahim has told a conference in Tanzania.

Mr Ibrahim said the idea that 53 small African countries thought they could compete with China, India, Europe and the US was a "fallacy".

Trade within Africa accounts for just 4-5% of the continent's international trade, something that is "not viable".

The tycoon said Africa "needs scale" to compete with the big economic players.

"We need scale and we need that now - not tomorrow, the next year or the year after."

The BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says Mr Ibrahim was referring to economic integration rather than political unification.

Mo Ibrahim's mobile revolution

Speaking to an audience that included Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Mr Ibrahim said Africans were poor, hungry and going without.

"Something is drastically wrong. I think we have the right to ask our leaders: are they really serious?" he said.

Mr Ibrahim surprised African leaders last month when the $5m (£2.9m) Ibrahim prize for good governance was withheld.

The prize is given to a democratically elected leader from sub-Saharan Africa who has served their term and left office.

South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and Ghana's John Kufuor had been among the favourites.

MO IBRAHIM

Sudan-born mobile phone entrepreneur

Moved to UK in 1974 to study

By 1983, director of BT Cellnet

Founded Mobile Systems International, which he sold to Marconi in 2000

Then set up Celtel, used by 25m Africans

2007: Started African leadership prize

2008: Named UK's most influential black person

Mo Ibrahim's mobile revolution

SEE ALSO

African leadership prize withheld 
19 Oct 09 |  Africa

Mo Ibrahim's mobile revolution 
16 Oct 09 |  Africa

Botswana's Mogae wins $5m prize 
20 Oct 08 |  Africa

African governance 'is improving' 
06 Oct 08 |  Africa

Is Botswana Africa's shining jewel? 
01 Apr 08 |  Africa

RELATED INTERNET LINKS

Ibrahim Foundation

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

Ethiopia rebels Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) 'capture towns'

Note, the reports could not be verified and Ethiopia has in the past dismissed rebel accounts of military gains.

From BBC News at 10:29 GMT, Saturday, 14 November 2009:
Ethiopia rebels 'capture towns'

Ethnic-Somali rebels in the south-east of Ethiopia say they have launched an offensive against government forces and captured several towns.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said it began attacking on several fronts on Tuesday.

The separatists said a "significant number" of Ethiopian troops had been killed and their equipment captured.

The reports could not be verified and Ethiopia has in the past dismissed rebel accounts of military gains.

"The operation involved thousands of ONLF troops and resulted in two days of heavy fighting," an ONLF statement said.

The group added that its forces had been "warmly welcomed" in the towns it claimed to have captured - Obolka, Hamaro, Higlaaley, Yucub, Galadiid, Boodhaano and Gunogabo.

The ONLF, formed in 1984, is fighting for the independence of ethnic Somalis in the oil-rich Ogaden region.

It says the Somali-speaking population has been marginalised by Addis Ababa.

Fighting has escalated over the past two years following an ONLF attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field.

More than 70 people died in the attack, including Ethiopian guards and Chinese workers.

Addis Ababa calls the rebels "terrorists" and has cut off all access to the region.

However, watchdogs have accused the Ethiopian government of human rights violations.

Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s first ever biggest power dam

From Sudan Tribune, Sunday 15 November 2009:
Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s first ever biggest power dam

November 14, 2009 (TEKEZE) — Ethiopia today officially inaugurated Tekeze hydropower plant, whose 44 meter concrete Arch dam is biggest of its kind in African continent.

The new power plant which went functional as of today was inaugurated in the presence of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, other senior government officials, Ambassadors and invited guests.

In the inaugural ceremony, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zemawi said that the new power plant will contribute a major role to the ongoing efforts to speed up development in the country.

He added that his government will put its utmost efforts to speed up the completion of other hydropower projects under construction to alleviate power shortage.

The premier extended his condolences to families of the 47 workers including two Chinese, who died in different accidents during the six-year long construction period of the power project.

Tekeze hydro power plant is expected to ease the sever power shortage that hit the nation. It has a potential of generating 300 MW. Country’s power demand currently stands at 1600 MW.

Ethiopia’s electric and power corporation (EEPCO) on June 2002 signed an agreement with Chinese National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Corporation for the construction.

The power project was entirely funded by the federal democratic government of Ethiopia.

The total project construction has cost the horn of African’s nation nearly 4 Billion Birr (about 360 million Dollars).

Land lock Ethiopia is a country with mainly high mountainous landscape which provides a vast hydroelectric potential up to an estimated 40, 000 MW.

After the current prime Minster Meles Zenawi led government came to power in 1991, it has made its top priority that of overcoming the environmental, financial and technical obstacles necessary for the implementation of several major hydroelectric developments.

Last week Ethiopia electric and Power Corporation announced that 3 among the 5 hydro power projects now under construction will go operational this year.

When Ethiopia’s hydro power projects go into completion, nation will begin power export to neighboring countries of Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya. (ST)

Ethiopia discovers Gold deposit worth $ Billions

From Sudan Tribune, Saturday, 14 November 2009:
Ethiopia discovers Gold deposit worth $ Billions

November 13, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia’s ministry of mines and energy this week announced that it has discovered more than 40 tonns of gold deposit in two sites in the western parts of the country.

According to Ethiopia news agency, A British firm has found 23 tons of gold deposit at a local area known as Tulu-Kapi, some 450 Km west of the capital near the border to Sudan. While a Saudi company discovered 18 tonns of gold deposit at Lege-Dembi locality.

When extraction is began from the new mine sites, Ethiopia’s annual income from the sector is said to jump to 1.7 Billion US dollar a year from what it is now, only USD105 Million.

However this will cost Ethiopia 200 million dollars to extract and process it within a period of 5 to 10 years.

Currently there are some 44 companies engaged in gold exploration. Statistics by the national bank indicates that the nation has earned 450.5 million dollars from exports of some 48 tons of gold over the past 10 years.

Studies indicate that Ethiopia’s mineral resources still remain unexploited. Geological surveys indicate that there is an estimated 500 tonns of gold deposit across the horn of Africa’s nation. (ST)

NEW PUBLICATION: Peace and Security Council Report - November 2009

Here is a copy of an email received

From: Security Council Report
Subject: Peace & Security Council Report
12 November 2009

Readers of Security Council Report may be interested to know of the recent launch in Addis Ababa of a similar publication designed to provide monthly information about the work of the AU Peace and Security Council. It is called the "Peace and Security Council Report" (To access the November 2009 edition you can click here).

Peace and Security Council Report is produced and published by the Addis Ababa office of the Institute for Security Studies of South Africa. Security Council Report has assisted ISS with the development of this concept and it is pleased that ISS has taken SCR's Monthly Forecast as a model. We are pleased to have been able to help.

You are able to subscribe to regularly receive the Peace and Securty Council Report by clicking here.

Further details may be obtained from the programme directly at:
Peace and Security Council Report Programme
Institute for Security Studies
PO Box 2329
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: +251-11-372-11-54
Fax: +251-11-372-59-54

_______________________________________________

Security Council Report
One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
885 Second Avenue at 48th Street, 31st Floor
New York NY 10017

Tel: 212.759.9429 • Fax: 212.759.4038

contact@securitycouncilreport.org
www.securitycouncilreport.org

Cross-posted to Congo Watch and Uganda Watch and Sudan Watch and Kenya Watch.

IMPORTANT NEWS: Some Sudanese living abroad may vote in elections - Ten arrested for impersonating registration officials in Rumbek, Southern Sudan

Report by Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, November 12, 2009:
Some Sudanese Living Abroad May Vote in Elections

(Nairobi) - Sudanese living in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Malaysia will now be able to register for the elections scheduled for 2010.

The National Election Commission had earlier exempted some countries from participating in the voter registration exercise which started on November 1.

The Sudanese Ambassador to Kenya, Majok Guandong, told Sudan Radio Service in Nairobi on Thursday that he had received a circular from the NEC instructing him to start the voter registration. exercise in Kenya.

[Majok Guandong]: “Yes it is true, the news came yesterday morning (Wednesday) that the NEC has allowed us to establish voter registration centers in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Malaysia. So since yesterday we have been informing the Sudanese who are residing here, starting from tomorrow (Friday). The registration process will start at the Embassy and the GOSS liaison office. This is good news, because it is a constitutional right for the Sudanese to vote in the elections.”

Majok Guandong said that the registration period will be extended to compensate for the late start. He emphasized that the exercise will take 30 days, as required by NEC.

[Guandong]: “If we start tomorrow (Friday), we will be counting the days we have missed since the official start day, because it should be 30 days as scheduled. Secondly, all the documents are available at the Sudanese Embassy, and all Sudanese have the right. Since 1997, more than 5000 Sudanese have managed to get official documents, the passport, identity cards etc. The process is still on. So they have the right, if they need any official documents, there is no problem at all.”

Earlier, the deputy chairman of the NEC, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, told Sudan Radio Service that NEC was only concentrating on the countries with large Sudanese populations.

The countrywide voter registration exercise is scheduled to finish at the end of November.

- - -

Report by Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, November 12, 2009:
Ten Arrested for Impersonating Registration Officials in Rumbek

(Rumbek) - Ten people posing as registration officers have been arrested in Rumbek, Lakes state.

The 10 are under police custody as investigations are going on. They are being held for registering voters, collecting people’s identification and convincing people not to register at the official registration centers set up by the state High Elections Commission.

Our correspondent in Rumbek, Mageng Wade, sent this report.

[Mageng Wade]: “These people said that they were being sent and given money by the NCP to come and register people locally in order to prevent them from registering for the elections next year. So that is the agenda behind the registration of people in their houses.”

Rumbek Central county commissioner Abraham Akol Bol also spoke to Sudan Radio Service.

[Abraham Akol] “They have been arrested by the police and they are now under police investigation and we have not yet received information from the police whether this group belongs to a political party. They were trying to register people and were telling them not to go to the registration centers because they had already been registered. They also took ID cards from the citizens, those who tried to register but the culprits were found by police and they are now under investigation.”

The deputy governor of Lakes state, David Ngok, said that the people are trying to sabotage both the voter registration exercise and the elections.

[David Ngok]: “If there are some people who are trying to sabotage the voter registration process then they are also sabotaging the elections. We will not tolerate this as the government because this is government policy and it’s part of the CPA and the constitution so we will not allow them to do it.”

The deputy governor of Lakes state, David Ngok, spoke to Sudan Radio Service on Thursday

Click on 'Election' label (here below at Sudan Watch) to read news report Nov. 10, 2009, entitled "SSDF to sue NEC for denying Sudanese in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia a chance to register as voters in the general elections"

Cross-posted to Sudan Watch and Kenya Watch and Uganda Watch and Egypt Watch and Congo Watch.
- - -

UPDATE: From Sudan Tribune by Ngor Arol Garang, Friday, Nov. 13, 2009:
National election board accepts additional countries for Sudanese Diasporas

November 12, 2009 (MALAKAL) — The National Election Commission (NEC) of Sudan today confirmed acceptance of additional countries to the previous list for registration and voting to enable Sudanese abroad to participate in the upcoming elections next year.

Following the publication of a list of countries comprised mostly the Golf countries where the members of the Sudanese Diaspora are from northern Sudan, the SPLM asked to take in consideration African countries where Southerners reside massively.

The initial list includes Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain, the UK, Belgium (for all Western Europe) and Washington, New York, Los Angles for the USA.

"We have allocated more registration and voting centers in Africa and Asia, said Abel Alier, NEC chairman at Malakal airport as he was en route to Khartoum after inspecting southern states voter registration centers.

Countries newly agreed upon for inclusion by the two parties in Africa includes Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa as well as and Malaysia, he said adding discussions are underway to add other neighboring countries.

Therefore, as commission, "we request Sudanese people residing in those countries to immediately establish contacts with the Sudanese embassies and other designated offices for registration," he emphasized.

Asked why being selective with countries hosting number of Sudanese people abroad to participate in the ongoing voter registration, he said, national election commission gets approval of countries to be included in the registration process from the presidency.

"The Presidency is the highest authority which decides on issues pertaining to country affairs such as voter registration," he commented expressing wishes all Sudanese people abroad open registration centers.

However, he was quick to say the Commission tries its best to ensure inclusion of more centers so that every Sudanese participates in the upcoming elections.

He said constitution allows participation of legally registered citizens to elect their leaders in the upcoming April 2010 elections.

"If you are not registered, it will be hard to vote for the person one sees as leader," he said adding voter registration remains opened to the last day of November 2009.

Alier also requested local authorities to give logistical supports to voter registration teams. He also acknowledged assistance being rendered by United Nation Mission in Sudan in transportation of voter registration materials and teams in where government supports is required.

"UNMIS is greatly supporting registration process in water zones and areas without good roads mostly in the southern part of the country and transitional areas," he stressed.

Meme: Joe Trippi's Eleven-Eleven 1111Campaign - America's and Britain's Veterans have given so much. Now, you can give back.

Joe Trippi, one of America's greatest bloggers, has launched Eleven Eleven Campaign. The objective of the Eleven Eleven Campaign is simple: to get 11 million Americans to donate $11 to support America’s Veterans. Here is a copy of Joe's latest tweet on Twitter:

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and now is our moment to encourage our friends, family members and colleagues to join us... http://bit.ly/9Iu9s
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November 11, 2009

SSDF to sue NEC for denying Sudanese in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia a chance to register as voters in the general elections

From Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday, 10 November 2009:
SSDF to Sue NEC over Foreign Voters

(Khartoum) - The South Sudan Democratic Front Party says it will mobilize other political parties in southern Sudan to sue the National Elections Commission for denying Sudanese in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia a chance to register as voters in the general elections.

In an interview with Sudan Radio Service in Khartoum on Monday, the Chairman of SSDF Party, David de Chand, said it is against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the National Elections Act to deny Sudanese living abroad a chance to exercise their rights to vote.

[David de Chand]: “Nowhere it is mentioned in the CPA that those in Nairobi, Kenya or Uganda and Ethiopia should not be allowed to vote. I think the right to vote is a democratic right guaranteed to every citizen by the constitution and it is an unalienable right to all people. We the political party leaders would also go to the NEC to challenge such a statement and they will have to prove to us beyond reasonable doubt. If not, we can file a case before the Constitutional Court to challenge such a statement. Why should southern Sudanese refugees in Kenya, Uganda and in Ethiopia be denied their legitimate right to be registered?”

De Chand said that if the National Elections Commission fears that non-Sudanese may register to vote as southern Sudanese, it should allow the United Nations to undertake the exercise abroad.

He urged southern Sudanese to register to vote in the elections next year because it is a step towards the possibility of self-determination offered by the 2011 referendum.

Cross-posted to Sudan Watch and Uganda Watch and Kenya Watch

US Secretary of State Clinton Remarks With Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin Before Their Meeting

Source: US Department of State
WASHINGTON, November 6, 2009/APO
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Treaty Room

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I’m very pleased to welcome the minister here. Ethiopia is a country with which we have very long ties, and have, in recent years, developed a very close working relationship on a number of important issues. And I’m looking forward to speaking both with the minister and his colleagues, who are here on a very important delegation to the United States.

FOREIGN MINISTER MESFIN: Well, Excellency, I’m very pleased to be here in Washington. Relations between Ethiopia and the United States are traditional and understanding. And I’m also confident and with full trust that my visit this time would be extremely fruitful in touching base on issues that are of crucial importance both to the United States and Africa and in Ethiopia.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, sir.

FOREIGN MINISTER MESFIN: Thank you. Thank you so much.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much.

FOCA: China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCA) starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Source: AFP report via Saudi GazetteFriday 06 November 2009. Copy:
China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

CAIRO - Leaders from China and Africa start a three day summit on Sunday that will again throw the spotlight on Beijing’s strategic sweep for energy, minerals and political influence in the continent.

China has over the past decade paid for dams, power stations, football stadiums across Africa and scooped up copper, oil and other fuel for its breakneck economic expansion from Algeria to Zimbabwe.

It has invested billions of dollars while raising eyebrows in the United States and its allies by pursuing the hunt for oil and other resources in Sudan, Somalia and other nations that the West has shunned.

Many African leaders praise China however for not preaching about rights and corruption. So despite neo-colonialist qualms, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

Some in the West have accuse China of worsening repression and human rights abuses in Africa by supporting countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe.

US intelligence director Dennis Blair told a Congress committee in March that US agencies are keeping close tabs on China’s expanding influence in Africa, especially in oil-producing countries like Nigeria.

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Congo Watch
Egypt Watch
Kenya Watch
Niger Watch
Sudan Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

AGI: Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative

From The Office of Tony Blair
November 05, 2009
Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative to create development through good governance becomes charity

The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative has become a registered UK charity after creating a unique 'hands-on' approach to development and poverty eradication over the past eighteen months.

The Charity Commission approved the application from this relatively new organisation, which is underpinned by the belief that good governance and sustainable development are key to poverty eradication in the long term.

Tony Blair, founder of the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), said:

"I'm extremely proud of our excellent project teams who are working in partnership with the governments of Rwanda and Sierra Leone to reduce poverty and develop new opportunities for growth.

"It is a privilege to work with leaders as talented and as committed to their people as President Koroma and President Kagame who represent a new generation of leaders in Africa with a commitment to building a new future for their people.

"The developed world needs to keep up its commitment to Africa expressed at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles. But lasting change in Africa will only come in the end from African solutions. By building the capacity to create sustainable long-term development through good governance and providing high level advice, we have already started to help deliver that change.

"And it won't stop here. Whilst developing our work in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, we want to launch new projects with other countries, sharing our knowledge, experience and expertise. We want more countries to develop sustainably, paving the way to a prosperous future.

"This work has reinforced my optimism about Africa's future, as well as my conviction that governance and growth are the key ingredients to effectively reduce poverty across the continent."

Commenting on Tony Blair and the work of the Africa Governance Initiative, Ernest Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, said:

"Mr. Blair has demonstrated an enduring commitment to Sierra Leone and its people. The work comes at a critical stage in Sierra Leone's development. I believe together we have an opportunity to ensure that Sierra Leone puts in place the policies, people and institutions to achieve real and lasting change."

Commenting on the work of AGI, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said:

"What I would like people to know is that the type of partnership we have with Tony Blair is totally different from the type of consultancy people are used to. We work in very strong partnerships whereby not only gaps are filled where they exist, but there's also the notion of transfer of skills, mentoring, actually doing things that are measurable such that over a period of time, we will be able to know what kind of impact was made."

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Congo Watch
Egypt Watch
Kenya Watch
Niger Watch
Sudan Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

Ethiopia, Sudan joint expo Afri Print

From Sudan Tribune, November Wed 04, 2009:
Ethiopia, Sudan joint expo opens tomorrow
By Tesfa-alem Tekle, November Tue 03, 2009

(ADDIS ABABA) - An expo jointly organized by the Sudanese, expo team services Co. Ltd. and Ethiopia’s Prana promotion will be launched tomorrow for two days.

A joint statement gave by the Ethiopian culture and Tourism state minister and Sudanese embassy said that over 25 Ethiopian, Sudanese and Egyptian printing organizations will take part at the expo named as Afri Print.

The Expo which comprises printing, packaging and advertising is organized based on past agreement signed between Sudan and Ethiopia to enhance culture, tourism, trade and investment.

The expo is said to have an important role to enhance international business trade investment and markets among national and international companies in printing publishing paper production.

It will further contribute to the development and upgrading of the printing industry by transferring best experiences, introducing new technologies, enhancing foreign investment and building the capacity of local entrepreneurs.

The expo, first of its kind in Africa, is believed to pave a way for publishers and printing organizations in the sector, to engage in a direct cooperation.

The fast growing Multi-lateral Cooperation between Ethiopia and Sudan is benefiting the two neighboring people on various areas. Currently both countries have signed-agreements on culture, trade, investment, security and road projects, among others.

Ethiopia :

• Ethiopia calls for emergency food aid
• Ethiopian political parties endorse controversial electoral code
• Ethiopia, Sudan exchanged experience on Civil Service

Ethiopia on brink of famine again as Midge Ure returns 25 years after Band Aid

Midge Ure returns to the Ethiopian villages he helped save 25 years ago with Band Aid only to find malnutrition is once again killing children.

From The Daily Telegraph
By Nick Meo in Ayub
Published: 31 Oct 2009
Ehiopia on brink of famine again as Midge Ure returns 25 years after Band Aid

Twenty-five years ago, the farmers of Ayub village were reduced to living skeletons with bloated stomachs, certain of death. When emergency food rations turned up - seemingly by miracle - they fell on them without ever being sure how they reached the remote mountain hamlets. What most assumed was the mercy of God was in fact the work of a softly-spoken Scottish pop star, a man who had never set foot in Ethiopia, but who helped organise one of the most remarkable acts of charity in British history.

This week Midge Ure, the lead singer of Ultravox and the producer and songwriter for Band Aid, returned to Ethiopia to visit the villages which had been swept by terrible famine in 1984. What he saw did not please him.

The crops were again withered - and once more, local children are dying because of drought and malnutrition.

"It is desperately sad to see hungry children in Ethiopia again," Ure, 56, told The Sunday Telegraph, as he toured an infant feeding centre where, in the past few weeks, four under-fives have died of diarrhoea and other hunger-related diseases.

Other babies were already painfully thin, and being fed on a vitamin-enhanced, sweet-tasting peanut paste called plumpy nut, which, it is hoped, will save their lives.

"Ethiopia has come a long way," he said. "At least children here have been caught in time and the images aren't like 1984, with mass deaths. But the fear is, if these people don't get more help, that's what we could see here again."

His trip, to mark 25 years since Band Aid, was planned months ago to show how life had got better in villages which were a once a byword for terrible poverty. Clinics and schools have been built, and a rudimentary system of modest welfare payments has been set up to give a modicum of security to the poorest, who always perish first in a famine.

But Ethiopia's rural population still depends on rain to grow crops, and now they have gone three years of drought in a row, just as they did during the early 1980s. As a result, villagers who survived 1984 and prayed it would never happen again are once more at famine's edge.

Back then, those with the strength to do so in Ayub village dragged themselves ten miles to a place called Korum, where they found an isolated feeding station.

Thousands were saved there - but for many of those already in the latter stages of starvation, it was too late. They died in droves. The horrific scenes of filth and death were recorded for a television broadcast by the BBC journalist Michael Buerk that shocked Britain and inspired an extraordinary relief effort.

"The bodies of my neighbours lay in their huts, with their families either dead, or too weak to bury them," said Shashe Fentau, 45, with a shudder of horror at the memory. We only survived then because of food aid.

"Now we have eaten all our stores and we are selling our cattle. It feels like the same thing is happening again. We are very scared. We have little to eat. In our village we know that hunger doesn't kill you quickly. It is slow to take effect."

Mrs Fentau, a mother of five, did not recognise the foreigner who turned up in her village last week with aid workers from Save the Children UK, asking questions about life and death in Ethiopia's highlands. She had no idea that Ure may well have saved her life a quarter of a century ago.

It was after watching the harrowing BBC broadcast that he and ex-Boomtown Rat Bob Geldof galvanised a group of pop stars to form Band Aid and produced the single "Do They Know it's Christmas?", which raised millions in famine relief donations.

The food they bought was sent to villages like Ayub, much of it hurled out of the backs of aircraft - the only way of getting it to mountain communities, which at that time had no proper roads.

Unlike 1984-85, when a million died, there are good roads now, while the Soviet-backed military regime has been replaced by a government which shows rather more interest in its peoples' survival. Yet Ethiopia remains the fifth poorest nation in the world, according to last year's World Bank GDP figures, and is once again at risk of mass starvation.

Ure arrived last week just as Ethiopia's government issued an urgent appeal for donors to feed 6.2 million hungry farmers and their families. The World Food Programme estimates that 125,000 metric tonnes of grain are needed, at a cost of £54 million, to fill the gaping hole in the nation's food supplies.

Aid groups fear the real number at risk may be more than double that - putting more than one in ten of Ethiopia's 80 million people at risk - because another 7.2 million depend on a government welfare scheme that is only intended to tide peasant farmers over for a hungry spell before the harvest. This year, the crops lie withered in the fields in much of the country, including Ayub village.

Dressed in a baseball cap and casual shirt, Ure looked more like an aid worker than the flamboyant rock star whose hit Vienna re-defined the New Romantic sound of the early 1980s. He visited without an entourage or PR executives, flew the 8-hour journey from London in economy class and stayed in a run-down hotel in the highlands with no hot water that cost £13 a night. He brought with him his 14-year-old daughter, Kitty, so she could see what life was like in an African village.

"I first came here in 1985 on a transport plane and stayed for 12 hours," he said. "I swore I would never return. I went to a feeding centre outside Addis Ababa for children who were supposed to be on the mend. Three babies had died that morning.
"It was full of skeletal children with extended bellies. It was horrifying - just too much to handle for a 29-year-old pop star."

But on this trip, he spent his time speaking to farmers, experts and officials, discussing crop yields, deforestation, rainfall patterns, and rural demography with a knowledge well beyond that of the average celebrity doing their bit for charity. One other star, who visited Africa on a private jet to promote a disease prevention campaign recently, was unaware that malaria was transferred to humans by mosquitoes.

Ayub village is typical of the Ethiopian highlands, with thatched, round mud-huts ringed by cactus and thorn hedges to keep out herds of long-horned oxen. The animals wander dirt tracks, kept in order by small boys with sticks who take them out to graze.

Groups of smiling schoolgirls with braided hair and patched clothes walk past on their way to the local school building - a sign of progress. Despite its tragic past, the region has become a tourist attraction, with backpackers drawn by its beautiful mountain landscapes.

Ayub took years to recover from the disaster of 1984; since then the population has doubled, as it has nationally. But that has forced farmers to divide their land into ever-smaller plots for their sons, and to cut down the surrounding forests for fuel, destroying a source of forage they had relied on at times of hardship.

The landscape is still surprisingly green; yet most farmers suffer real hardship because the rains did not fall at the right time for their crops.

"When the rains don't come, hope is lost," said Teshome Laile, a 48-year-old health expert with Save the Children.

"The government does care about the people, unlike the old regime, but they don't have enough resources, and the problem is big. Agriculture is not modernised, farmers are dependant on rainfall. So if rain doesn't fall, farmers are in trouble."

Mrs Fentau, a survivor of 1984, gestured at a sickly, thin crop of maize next to her hut, which had not received enough water to produce anything edible.

Ure admitted that the feeling of achievement he felt at visiting villages kept alive by Band Aid in the 1980s was tempered by the fear he could see in the eyes of farmers now.

"I think there is a good chance that a lot of people we have met survived years ago thanks to food paid for by Band Aid," he said. "They are alive because people in Britain simply bought a record.

"But these lands are still desperately poor. What could really change things here is long-term development, if money could be raised for that. Saving lives is newsworthy. Long-term development is boring."

Band Aid has raised £150 million since the record was released, and it still generates money every Christmas. Ure admits that it wasn't his finest song – the singer Morrissey, a critic of Band Aid who claimed the project was self-righteous, once described listening to it as "torture". Ure is more combative, however, over the claim that pop stars use charity work to promote their own careers.

"I do this kind of thing because I think it is important to try to help," he said. "You don't sell any more records by doing this, there is no ulterior motive. The charities ask celebrities to make these trips because they work in attracting public attention."

He added: "It did its job and has a place in many people's hearts. The money raised was a drop in the ocean really, but it still saved a lot of starving people. We made charity cool for a whole new audience – before Band Aid, giving had been a worthy thing, confined to do-gooders and Blue Peter."

Today, though, he is doubtful that its success can ever be repeated, partly because he believes rock stars no longer have the following or influence that they had in the early 1980s.

"I performed at the Live 8 concert in Edinburgh four years ago and the attitude was very different. People came for a concert, not for a cause."

"In 1984 there was something real and honest and genuine about what happened. People in Britain didn't want to see people in Africa starving to death. They wanted to help - and thanks to them there are thousands of people in Ethiopian villages who are alive today."

* Save the Children has launched an appeal to raise £20 million to feed hungry people affected by drought in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. To donate, go to www.savethechildren.org.uk or call 0207 0126400.

• Soaring food costs force Ethiopian children out of school

• Britain pledges £15m to Ethiopia starvation

• Ethiopia facing new famine with 4.5 million children in danger of starvation

• Bleak scenes as Ethiopia puts war before famine

Al-Shabab: Somali group with Al-Qaeda ties threatens Israel, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya

A militant Islamic group associated with al Qaeda has threatened to attack Israel, far from its normal base of operations in Somalia. CNN writes that Al-Shabab, which is fighting to control the east African country, accused Israel of “starting to destroy” the Al Aqsa mosque, where standoffs have recently been taking place between Israeli police and Palestinians.

The mosque is part of the complex that Jews called the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif. The group also threatened other African nations on Friday, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

Source: Afrik.com Monday 2 November 2009 - Somalia: Somali group with Al-Qaeda ties threatens Israel, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya
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(AFP photo) This still image provided by SITE, an organization which monitors Islamist websites, from a video entitled 'At Your Service Osama' released 20 Sep 2009, shows Abu Mansur al-Amriki (R) teaching mujahedeen small unit tactics

Source: Voice of America report by Alisha Ryu (Nairobi) 27 October 2009 - Uganda Tightens Security Following Al-Shabab Threat

Scientists unearth oldest human remains in Ethiopia

From Sudan Tribune, Saturday, 3 October 2009, by Tesfa-alem Tekle:
Scientists unearth oldest human remains in Ethiopia

October 2, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — A group of scientists have found a 4.4 million years old human ancestor in Ethiopia’s remote Afar area.

The uncovered remnant of a female, named "Ardi" is said to be the closest founding to the ’missing link’ common ancestor of humans and chimps, thought to have lived five to seven million years ago.

The discovery of the skeleton has allowed scientists to retrace the first evolutionary steps of our ancestors, after they split away from those of modern chimpanzees.

The fossil reveals our earliest predecessor to have been a stocky, stooping creature, covered in hair, with a protruding face, long arms and a grasping big toe.

Ardi lived a million years before the famous Lucy, the previous earliest skeleton of a hominid who was also found in Ethiopia’s Afar region, and was of the more human-like genus Australopithecus.

The first fossilized and crushed bones of Ardi were found in 1992 in the Great Rift Valley in northeastern Ethiopia of Afar region.But it has taken an international team of 47 scientists 17 years to piece together the skeleton which comprises 125 pieces. Ardi has a relatively small skull, suggesting a comparable level of intellect to modern chimps. Scientists said that, the angle of her head relative to her spine shows that she would have been able to walk upright in a stooped posture.

However they said she retains the "grasping" big toe of our more primitive ancestors, as well as long arms and big hands, which point to her being an able climber. Unlike chimpanzees and orangutans, though, she would not have been able to swing through the trees.

Dr. Berhane Asfaw, a researcher from the Rift Valley Research Service in Ethiopia, said that the latest finding is a landmark for the studies on human evolution.

According to the scientists, Ardi was a female, bigger in physical to Lucy, and weighed about 50 kilograms and stood about 120 centimeters tall.

The research, in the form of 11 detailed papers and more general summaries, is expected to be published today-in the Science journal’s 2 October, 2009, special issue.

Why is Africa poor? Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed

Quote of the Day
"Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed." - President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, 2009.

The following report also tells us that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says she underestimated the problem of graft.

From BBC News, Monday, 24 August 2009:
Why is the African continent poor?
By Mark Doyle, BBC world affairs correspondent

The desolate, dusty town of Pibor on South Sudan's border with Ethiopia has no running water, no electricity and little but mud huts for the population to live in.

You would be hard put to find a poorer place anywhere on earth.

I went there as part of a journey across Africa to ask the question "Why is Africa poor?" for a BBC radio documentary series.

I was asked to investigate why it is that every single African country - with the exceptions of oil-rich Gabon and Algeria - is classified by the United Nations as having a "low" broadly defined Human Development Index - in other words an appalling standard of living for most of the people.

In Pibor, the answer to why the place is poor seems fairly obvious.

The people - most of whom are from the Murle ethnic group - are crippled by tribal conflicts related to disputes over cattle, the traditional store of wealth in South Sudan.

The Murle have recently had fights with the Lol Nuer group to the north of Pibor and with ethnic Bor Dinkas to the west.

In a spate of fighting with the Lol Nuer earlier this year several hundred people, many of them women and children, were killed in deliberate attacks on villages.

There has been a rash of similar clashes across South Sudan in the past year (although most were on a smaller scale than the fights between the Lol Nuer and the Murle).

And so the answer to why South Sudan is poor is surely a no-brainer: War makes you destitute.

Why is there so much war?

And yet South Sudan is potentially rich.

"It's bigger than Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi combined," the South Sudan Regional Co-operation Minister Barnaba Benjamin, enthused.

"Tremendous land! Very fertile, enormous rainfall, tremendous agricultural resources. Minerals! We have oil and many other minerals - go name it!"

The paradox of rich resources and poor people hints at another layer of explanation about why Africa is poor.

It is not just that there is war. The question should, perhaps be: "Why is there so much war?"

And the headline question is in fact misleading; Africans as a people may be poor, but Africa as a place is fantastically rich - in minerals, land, labour and sunshine.

That is why outsiders have been coming here for hundreds of years - to invade, occupy, convert, plunder and trade.

But the resources of South Sudan, for example, have never been properly developed.

During colonial rule South Sudan was used as little more than a reservoir of labour and raw materials.

Then independence was followed by 50 years of on-off war between the south and north - with northerners in Khartoum continuing the British tactic of divide and rule among the southern groups.

Some southerners believe this is still happening today.

Corruption

On my journey across the poorest, sub-Saharan swathe of the continent - that took in Liberia and Nigeria in the west, Sudan in the centre, and Kenya in the east - people explored the impact that both non-Africans and Africans had had on why Africa is poor.

Almost every African I met, who was not actually in government, blamed corrupt African leaders for their plight.

"The gap between the rich and the poor in Africa is still growing," said a fisherman on the shores of Lake Victoria.

"Our leaders, they just want to keep on being rich. And they don't want to pay taxes."

Even President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia came close to this when she told me she had underestimated the level of corruption in her country when she took office.

"Maybe I should have sacked the whole government when I came to power," she said.

"Africa is not poor," President Johnson-Sirleaf added, "it is poorly managed."

This theme was echoed by an architect in Kenya and a senior government official in Nigeria.

Both pointed out that the informal sector of most African economies is huge and almost completely unharnessed.

Marketplaces, and a million little lean-to repair shops and small-scale factories are what most urban Africans rely upon for a living.

But such is their distrust of government officials that most businesspeople in the informal sector avoid all contact with the authorities.

Kenyan architect and town planner Mumo Museva took me to the bustling Eastleigh area of Nairobi, where traders have created a booming economy despite the place being almost completely abandoned by the government.

Eastleigh is a filthy part of the city where rubbish lies uncollected, the potholes in the roads are the size of swimming pools, and the drains have collapsed.

But one indication of the success of the traders, Mr Museva said, was the high per-square-foot rents there.

"You'll be surprised to note that Eastleigh is the most expensive real estate in Nairobi."

He added that if Eastleigh traders trusted the government they might pay some taxes in return for decent services, so creating a "virtuous circle".

"It would lift people out of poverty," he said.

"Remember, poverty is related to quality of life, and the quality of life here is appalling, despite the huge amount of wealth flowing through these areas."

Then the young Kenyan architect echoed the Liberian president, some 5,000km (3,000 miles) away on the other side of the continent.

"Africa is not poor," he also said.

"Africa is just poorly managed."

See blog: Why is Africa poor? Have Your Say

Prendergast's ENOUGH Project: Poker players Ante Up for Africa charity - Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Chad, and Somalia

Posted to YouTube by ENOUGH - Ante Up for Africa, June 25, 2008:

ENOUGH is the project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Focusing on the crises in Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Chad, and Somalia, ENOUGH uses a 3Ps crisis response strategy: promoting peace, protecting civilians, and punishing the perpetrators.

This year ENOUGH again joined the benefit poker tournament Ante Up for Africa, hosted by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke.

To learn what you can do to join the fight against genocide, go to ENOUGH.

© Center for American Progress
Category: Nonprofits & Activism
Tags: Cheadle Prendergast genocide Sudan Khartoum Uganda Somalia ICC advocacy Gayle Smith Africa war ENOUGH Ante Up Poker charity benefit Hollywood

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From usaplayers.com Thursday, 13 August 2009 by Bruce:
Full Tilt Poker's "Ante up for Africa" Charity Tournament

As part of Full Tilt Poker's FTOPS XIII online poker series, they are holding a special charity poker tournament known as "Ante up for Africa". The tournament will be held at 3 p.m. on August 15th [2009], and it will raise money for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The tournament will be hosted by actor and avid poker player Don Cheadle. The buy in for the tournament will be $100+20. The twenty dollar tournament fee will be donated to the charity. This charity tournament will be part of the FTOPS VIII online poker championships, which will feature more than $16 million in prize money over various tournaments. The last of the tournaments is known as the main event, and it will be held on August 16th with a massive guaranteed prize pool of $2.5 million.

Back in 2007, Cheadle co founded an Ante up for Africa Poker Tournament with Norman Epstein and Annie Duke. At the recent 2009 World Series of Poker, the third annual Ante up for Africa charity tournament was held. The tournament attracted some of the top celebrities from both poker and entertainment. Some of the stars in attendance were actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and they were joined by poker pros Erick Seidel and Jennifer Harmon. The tournament had a $5,000 entry fee, and the players were asked to donate 50% of their winnings to the charity. When the tournament was complete, over $600,000 was raised. Since the Ante up for Africa charity was formed a few years back, over $2 million dollars has been raised. The funds have been distributed to organizations such as "Not on Our Watch", "Enough Project", and "International Rescue Committee". The upcoming online charity tournament will help raise even more money for such a good cause.

The FTOPS XIII charity tournament will take place on a Saturday afternoon giving most players the opportunity to play and help raise money for a good cause. Even though the tournament is designed to raise money for the Ante up for Africa charity, there is plenty of money to be won as well. The tournament will have a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, with the winner guaranteed to walk away with at least $22,500. Players can take that their shot at winning some serious cash, while raising money for a great organization. Along with the chance to play with many well known poker professionals, players who play in the tournament will also get to play alongside celebrities such as Matt Damon. This will be another opportunity for poker players to help raise money for the ongoing crisis in Darfur.

To discuss this and other Poker articles like it drop by our brand new forum at: www.usaplayers.com

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From PokerNews.com Wednesday, 12 August 2009 by Elaine Chaivarlis:
2009 WSOP Ante Up for Africa Recap

ESPN’s third week of 2009 WSOP coverage aired last night with the Ante Up for Africa event. Dozens of celebrities and poker pros showed up for this event. This was the first time that Ante Up for Africa was aired on television.

The event had a $5,000 buy-in and attracted 137 players. The total prize pool generated for the event was $665,820. It was suggested that players donate 50% of their winnings to the charity.

Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Silverman, Montel Williams, Nelly, Cedric the Entertainer, Herschel Walker, and Charles Barkley were among the notable celebrities at the event. Several poker pros played the event as well, including Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, Peter Eastgate, and Dennis Phillips.

Let’s face it, there weren’t a lot of stellar players, or plays in this event, as the event was created more as a fun way to raise money and awareness for the Darfur region.

Charles Barkley and Herschel Walker were two celebrities that might be able to benefit a little from the PokerNews strategy section. They both made this event entertaining to watch with their interesting plays. In one hand, where he rivered trip queens, Walker doesn't even know what the minimum bet is, but was happy with the face time he got from his hollywooding. Charles Barkley got it all in post flop when he flopped a flush draw with his . He never got there and was eliminated.

Mike McDermott (or Matt Damon, whatever you like to call him) ended up at the feature table sitting next to Erik Seidel. This is significant, only in that because of the movie Rounders, Erik Seidel's second place finish to Johnny Chan in the 1988 WSOP has been seen millions of times. So maybe Seidel had it out for Damon a little. Damon, like every other celebrity in this event, didn't make it to the final table. Wonder what happened to all those tells he used to pick up on.

The final table was, not surprisingly, packed with poker pros. Jennifer Harman, Matt Kay, John Hennigan, Phil Gordon, Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Rafe Furst, Adam Richardson, and Alex Bolotin all made the final table of the Ante Up for Africa event. Five of the players at the table, Harman, Hennigan, Ferguson, Seidel, and Furst hold a combined 18 WSOP bracelets.

With the super fast structure, the final table saw its players drop rather quickly with Adam Richardson all but out the door at one point when he was all in and went runner runner clubs to stay alive. Richardson ended up going heads up against the eventual winner, Alex Bolotin, who won $176,449 for his first place finish.

There have been numerous opinions about whether or not there should have been more events from the 2009 WSOP aired on television. We're sure the minds over at ESPN had a reason for the lack of other coverage. We're not sure, however, if this will be the trend next year. What we can say is, in regards to this event, people watch what their favorite celebrities are doing, and if their favorite celebrity is playing poker, then they’re watching them play poker, bringing a more mainstream audience to the game, and that much we like. No matter what the broadcast schedule is next year, we definitely hope this event will be in the mix.

Be sure to tune into ESPN every Tuesday night for continuing coverage of the WSOP, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

Good luck to all.



ENOUGH was conceived in 2006 by a small group of concerned policymakers and activists who wanted to transform their frustration about inaction into pragmatic solutions and hope. Co-founded by Africa experts Gayle Smith and John Prendergast, ENOUGH launched in early 2007 as a project of the Center for American Progress. John Norris is Enough’s Executive Director. Read more about ENOUGH at http://www.enoughproject.org/about.

CECAFA U-17 football tournament: Ethiopia v Zanzibar (Juba, S. Sudan, 2.30pm on 19 Aug 2009)

From Pana via Afrique en ligne, Wednesday, 12 August 2009:
Fixtures of Cecafa youth football tournament in Sudan

(Kenya) - Below are the fixtures for this month's Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) championships taking place in Sudan.

The regional event, known as the Cecafa U-17 tournament, is slated for 19-31 August in three Sudanese cities - Khartoum, Juba and Medani. It is being sponsored by Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir to the tune of US$ 700,000.

Aug. 19 - Ethiopia v Zanzibar (Juba 2.30pm); Kenya v Uganda (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 20 - Somalia v Nigeria (Khartoum 5.30pm); Sudan v Tanzania (Khartoum 9.30pm )

Aug. 21 - Zanzibar v Kenya (Juba 2.30pm); Uganda v Ethiopia (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 22 - Nigeria v Tanzania (Khartoum 5.30pm); Somalia v Sudan (Khartoum 9.30pm ),

Aug. 22 - Eritrea v Rwanda (Medani 5.30pm); Egypt v Burundi (Medani 9.30pm).

Aug. 23 - Kenya v Ethiopia (Juba 2.30pm); Zanzibar v Uganda (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 24 - Tanzania v Somalia (Khartoum 5.30pm); Sudan v Nigeria (Khartoum 9.30pm ).

Aug. 24 - Rwanda v Burundi (Medani 5.30pm); Eritrea v Egypt (Medani 9.30pm).

Aug. 25 - Rest Day.

Aug. 26 & 27 - Quarter finals

Aug. 28 & 29 - Semi finals (Khartoum).

Aug. 30 - Rest Day.

Aug. 31 - Third place play offs/Finals (Khartoum).

Cross posted from Sudan Watch on Wednesday 12 August 2009: Fixtures of CECAFA U-17 football tournament in Sudan 19-31 Aug 2009

Click on labels here below for related reports and updates.

Microfinancing: Launch of new Mobile Money Transfer Directory will focus on Sub-Sahara Africa

A new Mobile Money Transfer Directory at http://creditsms.org launches in 2 wks focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (by @CreditSMS)

Source: White African Erik Hersman via Twitter 04 Aug. 2009
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Snippets from CreditSMS website:

In December 2009, CreditSMS will launch several pilots throughout Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Additional pilot requests have been submitted for Kenya, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. Uganda and DRC have 87% and 66% rural populations respectively, constituting a nascent market of as many as 76 million potential clients and consumers. By enabling MFIs [microfinance institutions] to reach and meet the demands of this market, CreditSMS will facilitate a form of 'bubble up' development whereby the income of microloan recipients will increase and the price of newly-available goods and services will trend toward market equilibrium. All pilot results will be made free and accessible via CreditSMS.org as they become available.
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The Beginning...
By Ben Lyon
Published: July 14, 2009

Formal banks were hesitant to give "the bottom billion" loans because they didn't have collateral. Today, microfinance institutions (MFIs) fill that void by providing collateral-free loans to micro-entrepreneurs. In order to compete with traditional moneylenders, however, those MFIs had to charge exorbitant interest rates, mostly to absorb the high transport cost of making weekly visits to rural areas to collect loan repayments. With teledensity penetration and mobile commerce growing faster by the day, one has to wonder: why are loan officers still making the trip? Read More...
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Increasing revenue and impact through technology
By Ben Lyon
Published: July 22, 2009
[article written for Project Diaspora]

Aaron Ewedafe wakes up every morning at least one hour before the sun rises. Donning his satchel full of client records and repayment schedules, he hails the nearest okada driver and races into the surrounding countryside to begin a long day of loan group meetings. The trip from headquarters in Oshogbo to the village of Ojudo and back can take all day. Aaron rarely makes it home before nightfall. Altogether, Aaron spends 112 hours and 5,000 naira a week to manage 350 microloan recipients. His profit is negligible. Read More...
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The 'Phone as Cow' Model
By Ben Lyon
Published: August 1, 2009

Mobile phones are quickly becoming the hottest topic in development. Everyday, waves of new innovations are rolled out to connect 'bottom of the pyramid' (BOP) entrepreneurs to markets and information. But many advocates and implementers seem to neglect a fundamental question: What good are mobile innovations if BOP entrepreneurs can't afford handsets? According to Iqbal Quadir of Grameenphone, the answer is to issue the handset as the first microloan. Read More...

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Follow Credit SMS on Twitter

Check out Mobile Money Africa - Africa's leading online resource for mobile financial inclusion: mobilemoneyafrica.com