wfn.org | All Africa News Agency June 9 2003 (c)

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY
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AANA BULLETIN No. 22/03, June 9, 2003 (c)

BOOK  REVIEW

Good Governance Is Key To A Better Environment

Title - UNEP In 2002 Environment For Development
Publisher: UNEP Division Of Communications And Public Information.
Director Of Publication: Eric Falt
Volume: 64 pages
Year: 2003

NAIROBI (AANA) June 9 - As the world marked the environment day on June 5, 
not many were probably aware of a thin but resourceful book that the United 
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) had published earlier in the year.

The small book highlights the activities of UNEP in 2002, with regard to 
environmental posterity.  Its content is clearly intended to invoke the 
spirits of environmentalists and governments to institute practical 
measures towards protection of the environment.

The book focuses on the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held 
in Johannesburg, South Africa, between August and September last year, 
where the need for environmental conservation was reiterated.

It identifies key areas that can be used for environmental development. 
These include good governance, information for decision-making, 
participation by the civil society and involvement of the private sector in 
policy making.

Acording to the book, good governance will ensure that environmental laws, 
both national and international, are enforced.	If not, then pollution, 
trade in hazardous wastes and other environmental catastrophes will 
continue unabated.

It is in this light that prior to the WSSD, UNEP organised a forum for 
judges to discuss effective implementation of environmental law. The 
Johannesburg Principles on the Role of Law and Sustainable Development was 
thus born.

In November of the same year, a book, Protecting the Ozone Layer: The 
United Nations History, was launched by UNEP, detailing the United Nations' 
resolve in tackling environmental problems.

The book under review reveals partnership activities of the UN agency and 
World Meteorological Organisation in efforts to discourage production and 
consumption of ozone depleting substances.

In the book, UNEP emphasises the power of information in environmental 
policy making, and calls for further research and policy design to ensure 
environmental protection is integrated into globalisation.

The book also identifies five priority areas for sustainable development. 
They  include water, clean and renewable energy, health and environment, 
agriculture and biodiversity.

UNEP addresses the need for proper water management and conservation 
because of its wolrd-wide importance.

The use of hazardous wastes poses a threat to health and the 
environment.  Mercury, a highly poisonous chemical still used in the 
manufacture of batteries, dental fillings, paint and other materials, is 
enlisted as extremely detrimental to a developing nervous system.

Other wastes that pose a threat to the environment have also been discussed 
in the book, and the UN environment agency urges governments to discuss the 
adoption of technical guidelines for "sound management and safe disposal of 
plastic wastes."

Reviewed by George Mboya

FEATURES  SECTION

Govt Reacts Angrily Over Neighbouring Critics

Beleaguered Zimbabwean government recently sent a strong-worded protest 
letter to South African authorities, accusing the media in that country of 
"continuing with a relentless campaign to demonise and ridicule President 
Robert Mugabe and his government". Kholwani Nyathi, reports.

T
he letter is probably one of the few times in the region, that a government 
has protested against the media in another country over unfair publicity.

Written by Zimbabwe's information minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo, and 
addressed to the South African Minister in the Office of the President, 
Essop Pahad, the letter brings to the fore strained relations between the 
two neighbouring countries over media issues.

The Zimbabwe government accuses South African media of colluding with local 
and international opposition forces to try to topple President Mugabe and 
reverse his agrarian reform programme.

Most media houses in South Africa, particularly The Citizen and Sunday 
Times, have come out strongly against Zimbabwe's land reform programme and 
President Mugabe's controversial re-election last March, raising the Harare 
government's ire.

Last year, the Sunday Times created a special page in each edition to 
report on political developments in Zimbabwe.  The page mostly featured 
efforts by the opposition and civic society to oust President Mugabe.

Earlier this year, Sunday Times attracted the wrath of Prof Moyo, after it 
published pictures claiming he had gone on a lavish shopping spree in 
Johannesburg, while most Zimbabweans languished in queues for basic 
commodities, currently in short supply.

The newspaper's crew had spent several nights spying on the goings-on in 
Prof Moyo's hotel in December last year, and later, upon his departure, 
combed through the hotel room.

The Zimbabwean minister reacted angrily to the report, and accused the 
South African press of misusing their privileges to unfairly spy and 
misreport on his personal affairs. This sparked off a diplomatic tiff, 
eventually calmed by the two countries' foreign affairs ministries.

The latest incident was trigerred by a Sunday Times column called Hogarth, 
which the Zimbabwean government claims, "disrespectfully attacked and 
attempted to ridicule a recent ceremony held to celebrate the return of the 
lower part of the historical Zimbabwe Bird from Germany.

The Zimbabwean Bird, the country's national symbol, was originally situated 
at Great Zimbabwe, outside the southern town of Masvingo.

Eight soapstone birds, created by an ancient Shona tribe, were stolen by 
white settlers during the colonial era.  The columnist allegedly said, 
"Mugabe's head too should be reunited with his body".

In his letter of complaint, Prof Moyo said the Sunday Times was at the 
forefront of demonising President Mugabe's government, and sought to divide 
Zimbabweans and South Africans.

He called on the South African authorities to intervene and stop the 
newspaper from writing material offensive to the person of President Mugabe 
or unfairly critical of his government.

"What makes the items particularly objectionable is that they are found in 
the editorial pages of a self-important newspaper, whose editors purport to 
be the champions of not only good ethics and professional media standards, 
but also of common decency among Africans.

"In the circumstances, to have President Mugabe... ridiculed and insulted 
by a newspaper such as the Sunday Times, which arrogantly claims to be 
officially connected and to represent South Africans, especially when it is 
attacked for its own misdeeds, is mind boggling to say the least," reads 
part of the letter.

Prof Moyo said he had not directed the letter to the Sunday Times editors 
because they would, "run away from the issue in question through the usual 
distortions, misrepresentations and outright lies."

Although the editorial of the newspaper is yet to respond to the latest 
incident, the paper has in the past claimed that the Zimbabwean government 
was attempting to muzzle its efforts to report factually on the situation 
in that country.

This week, analysts said the protest letter by the Zimbabwean government 
betrayed its intolerance towards media opposed to its policies, 
particularly on the land issue, press freedom and the political situation 
in the country.

Zimbabwe is at loggerheads with western countries, including its former 
colonial power (Britain) over the land issue and alleged human rights 
violations.

"If there was a way, the Zimbabwean government could have attempted to 
censure the Sunday Times in the way it has dealt with its own private 
press, they would have," says Denis Moyo, a local media expert, adding: 
"The draconian media laws being used in the country to rein the private 
press, cannot be applied to the media outside the country, and this does 
not go down well with the Harare government."

According to Denis, the letter of protest is expected to have little impact 
in South Africa, "as the government there is more tolerant of divergent 
views, and has policies on media freedom".

South African president, Thabo Mbeki, is part of the African Union troika 
that recently visited President Mugabe, reportedly to persuade him to relax 
tough media and state security laws that have allegedly been used to punish 
political opponents.

However, other analysts say the protest letter was long overdue, as the 
South African press, led by the Sunday Times had long demonstrated a 
planned campaign of contempt and ridicule towards the Zimbabwean 
government, and President Mugabe in particular.

"The Sunday Times has even set up a special page on Zimbabwe where various 
writers take pot-shots at President Mugabe, [his] government, the public 
press, and anyone who does not openly support the Movement for Democratic 
Change (MDC), says a media student in Bulawayo.

He continues: "Even if the South African government ignores the letter, it 
should have the effect of formally notifying that country of Zimbabwe's 
displeasure."

In the newspaper's Zimbabwe Section recently, President Mugabe was accused 
of living in a South African hotel, hoarding food supplies, and revelling 
around South Africa at the Zimbabwean taxpayers cost.

The president was then in South Africa to attend the funeral of the late 
Africa National Congress leader, Walter Sisulu.

  It's An Early Start For Uganda's Optimistic Opposition

Outsmarted for nearly two decades, Uganda's opposition is laying down 
strategies to weaken National Resistance Movement's (NRM) hold on 
power.	With about three more years to go, they have indeed risen early to 
reorganise themselves and study Museveni's weakest spots, reports AANA 
Correspondent Crespo Sebunya.

O
pposition politicians in Uganda no longer underestimate Museveni's 
political skills. They see him as a cunning leader, with qualities of a 
"street fighter" portraying hatred for organised groups that could rival 
his hold on power.  They have therefore risen early and seized a moment, 
which to them, is fertilised enough to thrive on.

For a start, NRM is currently suffering massive brain drain, and is said to 
be bereft of strategists. In addition, the movement is divided between 
those wanting Museveni's open-ended rule, and those who say "time is up", 
and want party politics.

Also, the general public is desirous of a change, only that many still 
think the opposing may not have the right disposition to unseat Museveni.

But the opposition is optimistic and wants to disprove them. Nine parties 
and pressure groups have already formed a National Coalition for Peace and 
Development (NCPD), to strategize for 2006 elections.  They want to engage 
in preliminaries early enough to select one among them to challenge Museveni.

"We need to take a closer look at 2006, to make sure we don't sleepwalk 
into that election as has been the case before," says Ronald Lutaaya, the 
London	branch chairman of Uganda's Democratic Party (DP).

And they have started early, taking advantage of any legal openings.  In 
April 2003, mainstream DP, led by Paul Semogerere, cheered when the 
Constitutional Court suspended a requirement in the Political Organisation 
Act (POA) that parties must be registered. It also equated movements to 
political organisations, which should be subjected to rules in the Act.

Elated Semogerere threw caution to wind and called a public rally in 
Kampala to demonstrate the new found freedom.  Conservative Party also did 
the same. Police dispersed the rallies.

NRM was thrown into confusion, and badly shaken. Attorney General, Francis 
Ayume, insists that parties are still banned, in spite of the ruling. 
Hussein Kashillingi, a lawyer in Kampala, agrees, saying, "Courts did not 
repeal the law on registration, but extended the deadline within which to 
register."

But, as NRM regains composure, it ponders over the outcome of another court 
action introduced by Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC), led by former 
president, Milton Obote. UPC wants POA to be dismissed in its entirety.

The Act also requires parties to be national in character and avoid 
sectarian tendencies. "We don't want sectarianism for it encourages tribal 
and religious animosities," says Fred Rwomushana, one of Museveni's aide.

Yona Kanyomozi, a UPC stalwart and a Legislator in the East African 
Parliament, thinks it is unrealistic to expect parties to become national 
overnight.

"The problem is that our leaders interpret politics through their lenses. 
Leave the parties to operate and they will gradually evolve into national 
organisations," he states, adding, "Even in developed democracies, parties 
are either regional or religious, but this does not stop them from being 
nation builders."

Observers say that the small victory by the opposition over POA masks the 
mountainous task they face ahead.  Museveni is a formidable opponent who 
describes himself as a cotter-pin, "unshakeable by a mere piece of (ballot) 
paper".

Indeed, some of Museveni's strategies are said to have had a neutralising 
effect on opposition unity over the years.  He suspected that public 
service and parastatals were dominated by UPC, and subsequently reformed 
public service in a process that saw trade unions severely weakened.  In 
1986, when he took power, 80 percent of the labour force was unionised. To 
date, less than 20 percent remain unionised.

Co-operative societies, with an estimated 500,000 members, vanished in a 
whirlwind of reforms. Political parties are still wrecked into divisions, 
which may affect their co-ordination.

Not many owe allegiance to leaders of DP, UPC and the Conservative Party. 
Moves by some factions to register their own entities have begun. A DP 
faction, led by Francis Bwengye, wants new leadership in the parties. 
Leander Komakech, leader of the pro-active DP youth group known as Uganda 
Young Democrats says: "We want internal democratic reforms in parties, and 
there should be new ideas presented to population."

He is opposed to an alliance, an idea that is favoured by the DP 
leadership. "Presenting NCPD before next presidential elections makes it 
easy target and subjects it to infiltration and disorganisation by the 
Movement (NRM)," he argues.

This divergence in opinion and strategy plays in the hands of Museveni, and 
increases doubts over the opposition's commitment and stamina to challenge 
him.  The president's loyalists are keen to emphasise his sharp wit, 
strong-arm tactics and ability to disorganise his opponents, as pointers to 
an effective man.  "Opposition says Museveni is tricky, but I say he is a 
strategist and an effective leader," states Naava Nabagesera, a district 
commissioner.

Winnie Byanyima, a member of Reform Agenda, recognises Museveni's 
formidable skills and advises the opposition to be keen.  The Reform Agenda 
is a breakaway NRM faction that now favours pluralism.

Another group of NRM think-tanks also recently parted ways with Museveni, 
accusing him of moving towards dictatorship. Several of them still hold key 
positions in the government and military.

Museveni's opponents living outside the country have also started an 
alliance called International Lobby for Democratic Reform.  Its 
co-ordinator, Sam Akaki, believes they have what it takes to bring Museveni 
down.  "We are aiming at forming a common front against movement 
[politics], and we will be able to use our different talents to present a 
formidable force, which Museveni and donors won't ignore," Akaki warns.

Though Museveni's popularity is still strong, he cannot take things for 
granted, given that it is apparent the opposition is in the ascendant. In 
1996 when the opposition alliance, led by Semogerere of the DP challenged 
him in the presidential elections, it garnered 25 percent of the votes. 
Museveni captured the remaining 75 percent.  In 2001, the opposition got 32 
percent, to the president's 68.

And there are reports that not all who supported Museveni were loyal to 
him, because among them are those who voted for Museveni simply because 
they did not have confidence in the opposition. Things could therefore 
change if the opposition became more convincing.

'Women Of Substance' And The Marriage Institution

As the world becomes a global village, some personalities are expressing 
concern that the identity of the African way of life is diminishing. In 
particular, African traditionalists feel that the institution of marriage 
is threatened with the changing roles of husband and wife. But some women 
argue that gone are the days when they were confined to "subordinate" 
roles, reports Joseph K' Amolo.

M
eldin Olunde, 36, is a lady many would refer to as a "woman of 
substance".  She is a university graduate and holds a high managerial 
position in a prestigious firm.

Talking to her, one gets to learn that she has an open dislike for men. Her 
strong condemnation of the opposite sex would make anyone wonder just how 
it so happened that she became a mother of two.

She admits being a single parent, but does not say why she cannot be in a 
matrimonial relationship, other than her reference to men as "beasts that 
one should not waste time with".

There are today many women like Ms. Olunde, who treat men with hostility. 
They feel men can no longer intimidate and consign them to the silence 
corner, where they are only to be seen and not heard.

"Long gone are the days when men exercised control over women, when a man 
promoted unto himself the image of the hunter, the protector, and the 
provider, and reduced the woman to a gatherer, nurturer and receiver," says 
Emily Atieno, an administrator with an international non-governmental 
organisation based in Kenya.

She accuses men of still entertaining a misleading concept that the 
masculine is of more value and more powerful than the feminine.  Such are 
outdated ideas, which have no place in modern world, she argues.

Elizabeth Njeri, a graduate from Daystar University in Kenya, shares 
Atieno's sentiments. She maintains that many men feel intimidated by women 
today such that they shy away from marrying.

Most men, she says, including the elite, would rather marry a girl of lower 
education to avoid the brave face the highly educated ones wear.

She is of the opinion that men should not expect women today to acquire 
formal education and remain in the same place their mothers and 
grandmothers were. They have to take up new roles, which men hitherto 
assumed were their preserve.

In the prevailing circumstance, some conservative African men have quietly 
complained that Western education is ruining "our cultures as our daughters 
who have attained it refuse to listen to us, they think they have become 
masters of their own".

The rising divorce cases in most parts of Africa have been attributed to 
this phenomenon.  John Baraza, a high school graduate, belongs to this 
school of thought. He is not comfortable with what Njeri says about men.

He claims there is a cultural revolution taking place as women now refuse 
to follow the norm in the African cultural set up.

According to him, the elite and professional women are becoming mesmerised 
by formal education to the extent that most of them are abdicating their 
roles as homemakers.

Pastor John Imbui is in Baraza's camp. He is a pastor in an indigenous 
church in Kenya known as Roho Musanda.

Imbui wonders what is so special about today's women that they cannot be 
like "our grandmothers who were tolerant and made good wives to our 
grandfathers."

Says he: "Every lady who had attained maturity was expected to be in a 
matrimonial home and any misunderstanding between her and the husband 
became a concern for the entire clan, leave alone close family members."

In respect to family life and different roles played by husband and wife, 
Rt. Rev. Pie Ntukamazina of the Episcopal Church of Burundi, says the 
Church bases its teaching from the Bible, which, from its beginning, talks 
about family life - the creation of man and of wife.

He points out that even though the Bible does not detail how family set up 
in terms of behaviour, attitude, and conflict resolutions should be 
approached, there are indications in the holy book that church is against 
divorce.

But the bishop admits that the Church has sometimes compromised on issues 
regarding family life due to change of times.

He explains that in the past, majority lived in communal rural set-ups, but 
today people are rushing to the cities. This has undermined the role played 
by the basic school -- the home -- where a person spent most of his or her 
time with parents.

In addition, the geographical movement, where children leave their parents 
at an early age to cross international boundaries, has made parents to no 
longer be the providers of basic teachings of life.

Another factor that has contributed to the erosion of cultural values 
include situations where both husband and wife have to leave home early for 
work and come back late. This leaves the children under the care of people 
who may not pass on certain values as the parents would.

The bishop observes that in the foregoing circumstance, Africa's culture 
has suffered in the areas of values, and beliefs.

His major concern is the depreciation of the identity of an African 
family.  "Are we to lose our African identity due to time changes?" he poses.

"I believe in a woman's freedom, having the status of a human being, 
enjoying the same rights, and equal values with man... But I do not believe 
in a woman becoming a man or  acting like a man because the two genders are 
created to complement each other and to make a family," he asserts.

According to Bishop Ntukamazina, the motive for the women's emancipation 
movements is not known and has a lot of question marks. "Can the life of a 
woman or a child improve by ignoring the institution of manhood?" he asks.

But Bishop Dr. Tilewa S. Johnson of the Anglican Church of Gambia and Dean 
of the Province of West Africa, blames resistance by some men to accept 
change occasioned by women's challenge due to their mind set.

He, however, admits that the trend could be threatening where the roles may 
appear to be reversing.

While further admitting that men have always ignored women, he cautions 
women not to think about dominating men just because they feel dominated.