Society

Zimbabwe’s new leader Emmerson Mnangagwa told a cheering crowd in Harare on Wednesday that the country was entering a new stage of democracy following Robert Mugabe’s removal as president after nearly four decades in power.

Mnangagwa returned to the country earlier in the day, having fled for his safety when the 93-year-old former leader sacked him as vice president two weeks ago to smooth a path to the succession for his much younger wife Grace.

“The people have spoken. The voice of the people is the voice of God,” Mnangagwa told thousands of supporters gathered outside the ruling ZANU-PF party’s offices in the capital.

“Today we are witnessing the beginning of a new and unfolding democracy.”

Zimbabwe was once one of Africa’s most promising economies but suffered decades of decline as Mugabe pursued policies that included the violent seizure of white-owned commercial farms and money-printing that led to hyperinflation.

Most of its 16 million people remain poor and face currency shortages and sky-high unemployment, something Mnangagwa promised to address.

“We want to grow our economy, we want peace in our country, we want jobs, jobs, jobs,” he told the crowd, adding: “The will of the people will always, always succeed.”

Mnangagwa’s dismissal was the trigger for the army and former political allies to move against Mugabe, feted as an independence hero when Zimbabwe broke with former colonial power Britain in 1980 but later feared as a despot. He resigned as president on Tuesday as parliament began an impeachment process, after resisting pressure to do so for a week.

People danced in the streets following his downfall, some brandishing posters of Mnangagwa and army chief General Constantino Chiwenga, who led the takeover.

Parliamentary speaker Jacob Mudenda said on Wednesday that Mnangagwa would be sworn in as president on Friday after being nominated by ZANU-PF to fill the vacancy left by Mugabe.

‘LET‘S GIVE HIM TIME’

The demise of Mugabe leaves Zimbabwe in a different situation to a number of other African countries where veteran leaders have been toppled in popular uprisings or through elections.

The army appears to have engineered a trouble-free path to power for Mnangagwa, who was for decades a faithful lieutenant of Mugabe and member of his elite. He was also in charge of internal security when rights groups say 20,000 civilians were killed in the 1980s.

“Mugabe has gone but I don’t see Mnangagwa doing anything different from that old man. This is not the change I expected but let us give him time,” said security guard Edgar Mapuranga, who sat by a bank cash machine that was out of money.

Restoring the country’s fortunes and international standing will be a challenge. Alleged human rights abuses and flawed elections prompted many Western countries to impose sanctions in the early 2000s that further hurt the economy, even with Chinese investment to soften the blow.

Staging clean elections next year will be key to winning fresh funds.

‘OLD ELITES’

Although Mnangagwa is almost certain to win any vote, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s personal representative for Africa, Guenther Nooke, said it would be a victory for Zimbabwe’s “old elites” with the help of China.

“He will manage to get elected using fear or many tricks, and then we’ll have a succession from one tyrant to the next,” Nooke told broadcaster SWR2.

China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday it respected Mugabe’s decision to resign.

In London, Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain wanted Zimbabwe to rejoin the international community now that Mugabe has resigned. Mnangagwa met neighbouring South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma before his return on Wednesday.

Mugabe is one of the last of a generation of African leaders who led their countries to independence and then ruled, among them Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya, Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Ivory Coast and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.

The African Union said he would be remembered “as a fearless pan-Africanist liberation fighter and the father of the independent Zimbabwean nation” and that his decision to step down would enhance his legacy.

But he also stifled democracy en route to winning a series of elections. His government is accused by the opposition and human rights groups of persecuting and killing opponents.

The forced takeover of white-owned farms from around 2000 aimed to bolster his popular support but crippled foreign exchange earnings from agriculture.

Mnangagwa’s human rights record also stirs hostility in many Zimbabweans.

“The dark past is not going to disappear. They will be following him around like a piece of chewing gum on his shoe,” International Crisis Group’s southern Africa senior consultant Piers Pigou said.

“For him to really be seen to be doing the right thing, he’s going to have to introduce policies that fundamentally undermine the power structures of ZANU-PF, through a shift to genuine political pluralism and a decoupling of the party and state.”

Reuters

Details

23.Nov.2017

Hits: 1540

Write comment (0 Comments)

Media reports in Cameroon suggest the Biya regime has pulled back some 20 diplomats from abroad.

Details

Tasha S.T

23.Nov.2017

Hits: 2089

Write comment (0 Comments)

The secretary general of the United Nations Organization has condemned the sale of humans, especially black Africans in Libya.

Details

Tasha S.T

22.Nov.2017

Hits: 1566

Write comment (0 Comments)

Some 250 Cameroonians who  wanted to cross over to Europe are being flown back home.

 

Details

Tasha S.T

22.Nov.2017

Hits: 1867

Write comment (0 Comments)

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has resigned, parliament speaker Jacob Mudenda says.

A letter from Mr Mugabe said the decision was voluntary, Reuters news agency reports.

The surprise announcement came as lawmakers debated an impeachment motion against Mr Mugabe in a joint sitting of parliament.

Mr Mugabe had previously refused to resign despite last week's military takeover, and days of protests.

He has been in power since independence in 1980.

BBC

Details

Rita Akana

21.Nov.2017

Hits: 1545

Write comment (0 Comments)

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, November 21, 2017/ -- Abidjan, the economic capital of the Republic of Ivory Coast, will host the First Africa-Europe Forum of Local and Regional Governments at the Abidjan District Hotel on November 27, 2017.

The Forum will be organized as part of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa - http://AfriqueLocale.org) initiative; the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR- www.CCRE.org); and PLATFORMA (http://PLATFORMA-dev.eu/fr), the European voice of local and regional governments for development, with the support of the European Union, the African Union, the Assembly of Regions and Districts of Ivory Coast (ARDCI- www.ARDCI-rd.org) and the Union of Cities and Local Governments of Ivory Coast (UVICOCI- http://UVICOCI.ci).

This first forum will be held as a side event at the 5^th African Union (AU) - European Union (EU) Summit, which will take place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, November 29-30, 2017, with the objective to redefine the strategic orientations of the AU-EU Partnership for the years ahead. Local and regional government leaders from Africa and Europe will meet around the theme of rebuilding Africa-Europe relations for sustainable human development in the territories.

The Forum will discuss key issues such as economic development and employment, investment in youth, migration and human mobility, climate change and access to energy. It will also discuss the contribution of local and regional governments to the structural transformation of Africa and the implementation of Agenda 2063, as well as the contribution of these governments to the implementation of the European Consensus on Development and Agenda 2030 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Finally, it will address the issue of the renewal of the cooperation framework between Africa and Europe at a time when negotiations for a new agreement will succeed the Cotonou Agreement, which has structured Europe-Africa relations since the year 2000 and will expire in 2020.

The Forum will adopt the Abidjan Declaration of the Africa-Europe Forum of Local and Regional Governments, which will be presented to the Summit for Heads of State and Governments of the two regions to be held on November 29 and 30, 2017 in Abidjan.

The official opening of the Forum will be chaired by His Excellency Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, in the presence of:

• His Excellency Mr. Barnabé Dassigli, Hon. Minister of Decentralization and Local Governance of Benin and Chairman of the Specialized Technical Committee of the African Union regrouping the African Ministers of Public Service and Urban Development, Local Governments and Decentralization (CTS No. 8);
• Ms. Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Political Affairs for the Commission of the African Union;
• Mr. Neven Mimica, Commissioner for Development and International Cooperation of the European Union;
• Mr. Mpho Parks Tau, President of the South African Association of Local Governments and President of the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG);
• Mr. Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Region of Emilia-Romagna, President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR);
• Mr. Jeannot Ahoussou-Kouadio, President of ARDCI;
• Mr. Gilbert Kone Kafana, President of UVICOCI.

The national and international press is invited to attend the Forum, notably the opening ceremony scheduled to take place at the Abidjan District Hotel on Monday November 27, 2017, at 9:00 am, as well as the closing ceremony scheduled to take place at the same venue at 06:00 pm.

Details

Rita Akana

21.Nov.2017

Hits: 1783

Write comment (0 Comments)