wfn.org | All Africa News Agency 36/03 September 15, 2003 (b)

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

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AANA Bulletin						Bulletin APTA
  Editor -Elly Wamari					Editor - Silvie
Alemba

AANA BULLETIN No. 36/03 September 15, 2003 (a)

SPECIAL  REPORT

Appointment Of Woman Chief Breaks New Ground

RAMOTSWA, Botswana (AANA) September 15 - The coronation of Mosadi Seboko as 
a paramount chief in Botswana has opened a new leaf in the history of the 
country, as it symbolises the strides the country is taking in empowering 
women.

Seboko was on August 30 garbed in a leopard skin (a symbol of honour) as a 
traditional leader of the Balete people in southern Botswana, becoming the 
first woman to officially assume the powerful position of paramount chief.

The Balete, a small ethnic group, migrated from South Africa into modern 
day Botswana in the 1850s, and settled at Ramotswa, a small rural town 
situated 30 kilometres south of the capital, Gaborone.	According to the 
2001 population census, they number just over 30,000.

In the traditional history of Botswana, women have only served as regents 
while a male heir is being brought up.

Seboko, a 54-year-old single mother of four, served as regent since 2000, 
following the death of her brother, Kgosi Seboko II.

Another woman, Rebecca Banika, is currently serving as a lesser chief of 
Chobe people in north-western Botswana.

Seboko's coronation also saw her becoming the first female chairperson of 
the powerful 16-member House of Chiefs, whose main purpose is to advise 
both Government and parliament on issues relating to custom and tradition.

Previously, women were not allowed to attend chiefs' court meetings, unless 
they were giving evidence in a case.

The ascension of Seboko to paramount chief has broken this ground. "The 
traditional role of women  being in the kitchen all the time has been 
overturned," says Peter Tsukudu, the information officer of Emang Basadi, a 
women's rights lobby organisation.

In villages, where the bulk of Batswana live, chiefs play the pivotal role 
of counsellors, judges in customary courts, and as mediators.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Justice, 80 percent of all 
civil and criminal cases are handled by chiefs.

Seboko has listed the increasing number of disintegrating families, 
communities terrorised by crime, domestic abuse and violence, alcoholism, 
unemployment and HIV/AIDS, as some of the challenges she will strive to 
tackle.

"You were able to transcend the gender imbalance that many are still 
grappling with and installed me, not because I am a woman, but rather on 
the basis of birthright equality," she said as she paid tribute to her 
community on the day of her coronation.

But Botswana has made great strides in empowering women. The country was 
this year ranked 15th in the world in terms of Gender Empowerment Measure, 
by the latest United Nations Human Development Report.

The report also stated that Botswana had made remarkable progress in the 
percentage of women occupying senior positions.

At position 16, the country ranked alongside Canada and Estonia in terms of 
total percentage of female legislators, senior officials and managers.

Of the 47 members of parliament, eight are women. Two women have also made 
it to the High Court, while the governor of the country's central bank is a 
woman.

The head of Botswana Export Development and Investment Agency, which is 
tasked with attracting foreign direct investment in the country, is also a 
lady.

"The institution of Chieftainship and the installation of Botswana's first 
woman chief cannot be [viewed] in isolation of the tremendous 
socio-economic changes that have taken place in our country and the whole 
world," says Justice Athaliah Molokomme, a High Court judge and a women's 
rights activist.

She adds: "The Balete people have shown us that culture and tradition are 
dynamic and not static, and that they can be adapted to suit socio-economic 
changes, for the benefit of the same culture."

Molokomme pays tribute to Seboko for preparing herself to claim her 
birthright and making herself available for scrutiny by both the Balete 
people and Batswana in general.

"It is well and good to have a right to something, or a perceived right, 
but sometimes it will not come to you unless you claim it," she says.

Even though Botswana has made great strides in empowering women, 
organisations championing the interests of women acknowledge that the 
country is still grappling with various issues that continue to marginalise 
women.

In July, a controversy emerged when the Supreme Court ruled that rape did 
not exist in marriages. This was after a woman, who had sought shelter at 
an organisation for battered women, had taken her husband to court seeking 
divorce on grounds that he raped her whenever he was drunk.

Women organisations have cried foul of this judgement, saying that the 
Government has failed to deal with the macho character of men.

The Women NGO's Coalition, a fusion of the country's many women's rights 
organisations, is lobbying the Government to criminalise marital rape.

Other issues of concern include the fact that married women in Botswana 
cannot open bank accounts without the consent of their husbands. Neither do 
they have access to loans if their husbands have not placed signatures on 
the applications.

Reported by Rodrick Mukumbira

FEATURES  SECTION

How Sam Kobia Made It To The Helm Of WCC

It is a new dawn in Africa.  A continent once regarded as "dark" is now 
demonstrating intellectual capability, as affirmed by a gradual emergence 
of prominent Africans to key leadership positions in global institutions. 
One of the latest of such acknowledgement is the appointment of Rev Dr Sam 
Kobia, a Kenyan, as General Secretary of the giant World Council of 
Churches. AANA's Joseph K'Amolo profiles Rev Kobia's ascension to the helm 
of the world ecumenical body.

O
nce again, another of Africa's sons has been chosen to steer a global 
institution. Rev Dr Sam Kobia was recently elected the new General 
Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), for the next seven years.

His journey to this achievement, was however, long and winding, but made 
possible by a consistent commitment to serve the Christian community.

Rev Kobia, thus, has a long history in the Christian faith. He was born in 
1947 in some remote village in what is today called Meru North, near Mt
Kenya.

His parents were among the first generation of Christians in the area. He 
grew up just like any ordinary Kenyan child, carrying out domestic chores 
in the house and looking after his father's livestock.

After completing his basic education in 1967 in his home district, young 
Kobia was set to start his journey in the world of theology.

In 1969, he joined St. Paul's College in Limuru town, about 30 km from 
Nairobi, for theological studies. He graduated in 1971 with a university 
diploma in theology. To expand his knowledge in this field, he immediately 
joined McCormic Theology Seminary, in Chicago, USA.

Rev Kobia then decided to fine-tune his career by blending his theological 
knowledge with another discipline. He studied city planning at 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the USA.  This was in 1976.

In 1993, he was awarded a Doctor of Divinity by the Christian Theological 
Seminary in Indianapolis, USA.	He completed studies for a PhD in Religious 
Studies in June this year, at Fairfax University in Louisiana, USA.

So much for his studies.  Rev Kobia's involvement in the ecumenical 
movement stretches a long period.  It started while he was at the 
theological college in Limuru, where he was involved in both the Student 
Christian Movement and the World Students Christian Federation.

He had the opportunity to broaden his horizon when he joined Tema Urban 
Industrial Mission in Ghana, under the auspices of the Christian Council of 
Ghana. Here, he was part of a team involved in industrial chaplaincy work, 
as well as in urban development work of the port city of Tema.

In 1974, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) hired him on full 
time basis as the industrial advisor to the council. This marked the 
beginning of his full-time involvement in the ecumenical movement.

Four years later, he joined the WCC as executive secretary for urban rural 
mission. He did not stay there long, for in 1984, he returned to Kenya to 
work as director of development co-ordination at the NCCK.

Destined to climb up the ladder, he was elected the NCCK General Secretary 
in 1987. He served in this position until 1993, when he returned to the WCC 
to take up a position as Executive Director of Unit III on Justice, Peace 
and Creation.

He then served as Director of Cluster on Issues and Themes between 1999 and 
2002, after which he became Special Representative of the General 
Secretary, for Africa.

With this vast experience, it came as no surprise therefore, that WCC 
recognised him as the most suitable for the position of general secretary, 
which he officially assumes in January next year.

But what does Rev Kobia say about his appointment as the new WCC leader, 
and what this means for Africa?

"I consider my appointment as WCC General Secretary not as an individual 
honour. It is an honour to Africa, since I am the first African to assume 
this responsibility. I hope it will be a source of inspiration for many 
Africans within the ecumenical movement and beyond," he says.

Indeed, his sentiments are apt. That an African has been honoured to lead 
the umbrella body of the faith community that comprises a fellowship of 342 
churches in more than 120 countries, is a pride to the continent.

Rev Kobia now counts among several Africans holding high profile global 
positions, both in the secular and ecumenical fronts.

Kofi Annan from Ghana is in charge of the United Nations as its General 
Secretary, while in the ecumenical circles, Rev Dr Setri Nyomi, also a 
Ghanaian, is the General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed 
Churches.  Others are Rev Dr Ishmael Noko from Zimbabwe, and Kenya's Dr 
Musimbi Kanyoro, who head the Lutheran World Federation and the Young Women 
Christian Association respectively.

Rev Kobia notes that his greatest challenge will be how to respond to the 
world that is becoming increasingly violent.  He intends to build on the 
work already done through WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010) 
initiative, and blend it with his personal involvement in the peace process 
for Sudan, in particular, and for the Great Lake region in general.

His other challenge will be to nurture inter-religious dialogue. He 
concedes that religion is assuming a central role in the affairs of human 
beings, hence the need to use faith to create harmonious living in various 
aspects of life.

For him, the persistent poverty afflicting Africa and other Third World 
continents is of great concern.  He acknowledges the huge challenge in 
fighting poverty, but notes that WCC will seek to promote abundant life for 
all.

The outgoing WCC General Secretary, Rev Dr Konrad Raiser, shares these 
sentiments. According to him, the growing importance of inter-religious 
dialogue and the response of the Christian community to the situation of 
religious plurality and tension are among the challenges during the decade 
ahead.

As he leaves office, he acknowledges that Africa will be the continent 
where the future of Christianity will be decided in the 21st Century. This, 
he says, is because a new face of Christianity is emerging in the 
continent, which could have far-reaching implications for the ecumenical 
movement.

For this, he notes, it is important that the WCC is led into this period by 
a general secretary from Africa.

Are Generic Drugs As Cheap As They Are Priced?

Ask a common Kenyan what generic drugs are, and the likely response will 
be, "I have no idea".  Others simply know them as "cheap drugs", while some 
consider them "poor quality medicine". This comes as no surprise, for there 
is still insufficient information on these drugs, that are slowly but 
surely finding their way into the shelves of pharmaceutical companies and 
chemists. AANA Correspondent, Janet Adongo, provides some insight.

I
saac Okello, a primary school teacher in western Kenya remarks: "I recently 
went to purchase some amoxycillin from a nearby chemist, and I was 
surprised when the lady asked me if I wanted the cheaper one or the more 
expensive one.	The price difference was over Ksh 100 (US$ 1.33), but 
everything else [appeared] the same."

Seeking some explanation, Okello was informed that the cheaper medicine was 
generic. "But that was all she could tell me. Not trusting the cheaper one, 
I went ahead to buy the more expensive one," he says.

Like Okello, many Kenyans, except in very desperate situations, prefer to 
buy what they believe is the "original" product, and this, they determine 
by the price.  What turns out to be far much cheaper than expected, is 
often regarded with suspicion. Generic medicine falls in this category.

According to Encarta Reference Library, all drugs have three names, these 
being, a chemical name, which describes the exact structure of the drug; a 
generic name; and a brand or trade name as given by an authorised 
manufacturer.

If a company holds the patent on a drug, thereby having exclusive rights to 
make and sell it, the commodity is available under one brand name only. 
After the patent expires, typically after 17-20 years, other companies can 
also manufacture and market it under the generic name, or give it a new 
brand name.

As raised by Okello, a major confusion posed by generic drugs is the broad 
difference in pricing, which create suspicion over their efficacy.

Professor Isaac Kibwage of the University of Nairobi, an expert on medical 
drugs, observes that generic medicine is as safe as branded equivalents, 
since the latter have already passed the safety tests.

Sophie-Marie Scouflaire of Medecins Sans Frontieres, reiterates that "a 
generic drug is interchangeable with the original product. The difference 
between the two is that generics are no longer covered by patents."

According to pharmacists, the gap in pricing between generics and branded 
drugs is because the former, having already been marketed under their 
original names, do not require research and development costs like the 
latter.

Thus, several manufacturers can produce them, and the competition will 
significantly reduce the price. Patents create market monopolies and keep 
prices high.

That could explain why about a third of all prescriptions written in the 
United States are for generic drugs. In certain states, pharmacists must 
issue a generic drug unless the doctor states otherwise.

In Kenya, the Pfizer manufactured drug, flucanozole, for cryptococcal 
meningitis, has a wholesale price of US$ 6.36 a capsule.  Generics of the 
same quality are available outside Kenya for only US$ 0.2.

In Brazil, the price of AIDS drugs fell by 82 percent over five years, as a 
result of competition brought about by introduction of generic medicine. 
About 100,000 people are now on antiretroviral therapy.

At present, only a staggering 0.001 per cent of the 25 million people 
infected with HIV in Africa receive anti-retroviral drugs, which are now 
known to significantly prolong the lives of people with HIV.  In contrast, 
the same are freely available in most of the West.

As a result, an Indian based pharmaceutical company, Cipla, has created a 
generic version of Combivir, a combination of AIDS drugs, AZT and 3TC, in 
one pill.

Cipla is offering a cocktail of drugs for about US$ 600 per person per year 
to governments.  The same drug combination would cost US$ 10,000 - 15,000 a 
year from manufacturers in the West.

A major drug company, GlaxoSmithkline, has already contested the Indian 
proposal, threatening legal action.  Interestingly, the world's top five 
drugs companies' income is equivalent to twice the combined GDP of 
sub-Saharan Africa countries.

One of the fears expressed over the sudden influx of generic drugs into the 
Kenyan market is the country's lack of strong surveillance and regulatory 
procedures, that may leave loophole to fake generics.  The United States 
had a similar experience.

In the late 1980s, the United States Justice Department conducted an 
investigation on charges that generic drug manufacturers falsified test 
results and bribed government employees in order to get their products 
approved.

To reassure the public of the integrity of the drugs, the government 
undertook to inspect the country's 20 leading generic drug manufacturers, 
and re-analyse samples from the 30 top-selling generic drugs to ensure that 
they were indeed what they claimed to be.

The agency also revamped its generic drug approval procedures to prevent 
possible further deception. As a result, more than two-dozen generic drugs 
were recalled from the market, and the sales of well over 100 others 
temporarily suspended because of proven or alleged fraud and irregularities.

But unlike the US case where generic drug companies have been put to task 
to ensure that the drugs are of high quality, Kenya's National Drug Quality 
Control Laboratory has once been charged by parliamentarians as being 
moribund and understaffed.

In 2001, the then health minister, Prof Sam Ongeri, had to rush to its 
defence after a fellow legislator, Dr Newton Kulundu, said the laboratory 
was ineffective, thereby making Kenya the second largest dumping ground for 
cheap generic drugs, after Nigeria.

Officials at the laboratory affirm that importers and pharmaceutical 
companies are exploiting the poor surveillance mechanism of the Government.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, they point out that the first drug 
batches presented to them would in most cases pass the quality test.

This gives the drug a clean bill of health.  However, once cleared, some 
companies alter the drug's quality in subsequent batches as a way of 
maximising profits.

  Turning Point For Church-State Relations In Malawi

Relations between the Church and the Government of Malawi have taken a new 
dimension. The long-standing acrimonious relationship between the two 
institutions may soon wane, following President Bakili Muluzi's recent 
positive reaction to sustained attacks launched on his Government by an 
outspoken church leader. AANA Correspondent Hamilton Vokhiwa reports.

R
ecent newspaper headlines shouting, "Muluzi, Gunya spar at CCAP Meet" and 
"Muluzi, Gunya mince no words", in two major morning daily newspapers on 
August 14, reflected mending of fences of the fragile and sour relationship 
between the Church and the State.

The papers were reporting on a bi-annual meeting of the Church of Central 
African Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Blantyre.

The event came into public limelight after it turned out to be a penitence 
podium for the country's President, Bakili Muluzi.

The meeting's agenda, as customary,  was to review CCAP matters and to 
elect office bearers in various committees, including the key post of 
general secretary, which Rev Daniel Gunya won for a second time.

The acrimonious Church-State relationship has basically been reflected in 
exchanges between President Muluzi and Rev Gunya.

The two stalwarts in their respective realms, are seen as arch-rivals 
because of outspoken remarks they make against each other.

Indeed, Rev Gunya played an instrumental role in efforts that thwarted 
proposals seeking to change the country's constitution to allow Muluzi a 
third presidential term.

The announcement therefore, that the president was to attend the opening 
ceremony of CCAP's three-day bi-annual conference on August 13, left many 
Malawians gasping for speech and crossing their fingers in fear of what 
might ensue.

Fears were even more pronounced, especially that the meeting was being held 
only a few days after Rev Gunya declared that opposition parties should 
work together to vote out the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) in next 
year's general elections.

In a speech welcoming President Muluzi, Rev Gunya said to him: "As you 
retire as state president and assume the role of national chairman of your 
party, we advise you to minimise your derogatory remarks and emotive 
outbursts that you sometimes make."

This comment drew murmurs and laughter from the audience. Continuing with 
his remarks, Rev Gunya said the Church wanted President Muluzi to be a 
symbolic and significant statesman of Malawi, like former South African 
president, Nelson Mandela, and Tanzania's founding president, Julius Nyerere.

Denying allegations that he has been campaigning against the ruling UDF 
party, the CCAP churchman maintained that people in the country were not 
happy with the current regime, pointing out that multi-national donors were 
withdrawing aid because of poor governance.

Rev Gunya accused Muluzi's Government of trying to corrupt the Church by 
offering money to various congregations, and, in some cases, to individual 
church leaders, to lure them into supporting its political initiatives.

His remarks were in contrast with what President Muluzi had been saying, 
that no church or any church leader should be involved in politics.

When his turn came to officially open the conference, the president 
digressed from his prepared speech and said he accepted Gunya's advice, as 
long as it was made in good faith.

Unexpectedly, President Muluzi accepted the blame, but not without 
retaliating with a strong challenge.

"I should also advise my good general secretary that he should also not be 
the first one to make sarcastic remarks," said President Muluzi, before 
shaking hands with Gunya and drawing a loud applause.

This comes against a background of intense public focus on the state and 
church relations, particularly after Rev Gunya reportedly called for an 
opposition alliance to oust UDF in polls slated for next May.

Press reports had earlier quoted Rev Gunya as having said that there was 
need for another party to take over the reins of power in the country in 
the 2004 general elections, to correct what he termed as "failures" of the 
UDF Government.

But the face-to-face meeting between the two rivals at the bi-annual 
meeting of CCAP demonstrated the benefits of  contact and dialogue.

Muluzi turned a potentially hostile situation to one of laughter, when he 
good-humouredly told Rev Gunya that his advice was taken, but that he 
should stop making sarcastic remarks in newspapers.

Sources in both the Government and the ruling party praised President 
Muluzi for playing down Gunya's allegations and stressing partnership 
between the Government and religious organisations for the promotion of 
social harmony in the country.

President Muluzi, who is a Muslim, switched from English to vernacular 
during his speech, to assure the large gathering that they should not 
listen to people who preach that he will Islamise the country.

On his part, Rev Gunya denied reports that he was pushing an 
anti-government position.  He asserted that he was only expressing 
dissatisfaction with the economic and social policies of the ruling party.

Political analysts say co-operation between the Church and the Government 
is crucial, especially with the scheduled general elections.

The general feeling is that irrespective of which party people support, 
there should be a violence-free and peaceful campaigning in the run-up to 
the 2004 polls.

Many are of the opinion that this can only be done if the Government 
listens to critical views of religious leaders and representatives of the 
opposition.

The assurance given by Muluzi that his Government would listen to the 
voices of the Church and the opposition, has thus, been received well.