New African Union commissioner, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said she was recently shocked to find that nearly all of the AU’s programmes are funded largely by foreign donors. She told a Business Unity South Africa banquet in Johannesburg that no “liberated” mind could think their development agenda could be funded by donors, yet more than 97 per cent of programmes in the AU were being funded that way. She challenged African governments to put more money in the AU.
Swazi PM sues paper
Swaziland’s Deputy Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, has demanded E950 000 from The Times of Swaziland newspaper, which published alleged defamatory articles about him and his wife, Dimpho.
In papers filed at the High Court recently, Masuku said the newspaper published an article insinuating as a DPM he paid a sum of E90 000 for a first class ticket for a security officer, who had accompanied his wife to New York on a private visit.
Zuma spy tapes
Zuma’s legal team has confirmed possession of the 2009 spy tapes and transcripts that got the SA leader off the hook on corruption charges, but said they would not be released to anyone – in spite of a recent court ruling. The existence and authenticity of the tapes have been in question since April 2009, when the NPA claimed that it had listened to them, but Michael Hulley, Zuma’s lawyer, conceded that he had them in his possession.
Renamo secret contact
Mozambique’s main opposition party and former rebel movement, Renamo, claimed recently that it was in “secret contact” with the government, but declined to give any details.
On October 16, party leader Afonso Dhlakama moved from his house in the northern city of Nampula to a hut in the bush in the central district of Gorongosa and demanded that President Armando Guebuza visit him personally to discuss a string of Renamo demands.
War of words
A public war of words has erupted between South African cartoonis, Jonathan “Zapiro” Shapiro and President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman, Mac Maharaj, who labelled as “racist” a cartoon in which Shapiro depicted Zuma as being about to rape “Lady Justice”.
Maharaj has challenged the cartoonist to a face-to-face public debate, as Zuma’s withdrew a defamation case against the cartoonist. The Presidency said the cartoon was a product of “ingrained prejudices” about African male sexuality.
Diarrhoea vaccine
Malawi has become the latest in a growing number of African countries to introduce rotavirus vaccine into its national immunisation programme. The vaccine is believed to offer the best possible protection against the primary cause of severe diarrhoea, a leading killer of children and a cause for about 11 percent of deaths in children below five years of age in the country.
Police rescue dogs
South African police have rescued 13 dogs illegally being taken to Angola. They were seized at Cape Town International Airport. According to SA media, two men from Angola were arrested in a sting operation on Monday, and face charges of theft. Their export documents were incomplete and their passports were false. Captain Frederick van Wyk said eight dogs were found in the cargo section at the airport and the other five in the baggage hall – in small crates and luggage bags.
Post published in: Africa News