Such as these refugee camps in the DRC, camps in neighboring Uganda are thousands of people's last resort, Copyright: UN Photo/Marie Frechon

Once more the Great Lakes Region is shaken by enormous clashes between rebel forces and official soldiers of the Congolese army. For days, the border region of the DRC and Uganda is the scene for heavy fighting. Meanwhile tens of thousands fled the war zone and seek refuge in neighboring Uganda. It remains to be hoped that the new clashes in the DRC’s forests will not push the region into another disastrous period of long-lasting warfare.

Ein Antiheld? Kann jemand, der Drückebergertum, Dinge aufschieben und Decke-über-den-Kopf-ziehen besingt unser Held sein? Ja, verdammt, ja! Kann er! Und zwar genau deshalb!“

In „Morgen“ besingt Chima Ansichten eines Tagediebs, der den nächstbesten Tag immer wieder aufschieben kann. Der Blick aus dem Fenster zeigt die rastlose Welt da draußen, Arbeit und Funktionieren bestimmen das Leben der Menschen. Chima hat genug von den „werbungs-verseuchten Idealen der eierlegenden, drei-Kinder-habenden, vollbeschäftigten, Tennis spielenden, 13tes Monatsgehalt beziehenden Wollmilchsau“. Stattdessen singt er:

Ich mach mir ‘n Kopf und träume von Dingen, die ich mir fürs Leben wünsch’, für die ich brenne, aber sonst nichts weiter tue“.

Seine Worte erinnern an die Lustlosigkeit des Alltags. Doch dann setzt der Refrain ein und der eingängige Beat, die erfrischenden Streicher fangen an, die eigene Lethargie aus dem trägen Leib zu schütteln.

Seit seinem Solodebüt 2002 und ist es um den Frankfurter mit nigerianischen Wurzeln ruhig geworden. Die Zeiten des jungen Millenniums, als Chima, mit bürgerlichem Namen Chimaobinna Enyiakanwanne Onyele, zu den Brothers Keepers um Xavier Naidoo und Samy Deluxe stieß, sind vorbei. Mit den Dreads verschwand auf seinen Solopfaden auch allmählich der Reggae-Sound.

Am 1. Juni erscheint die Single über Universal, produziert von den Berliner Beatgees. Dann ist Chimas neuer Sound auch auf Tour im Vorprogramm von Tim Benzdko zu hören.

Heute schon mal das brandneue Video zu „Morgen“

The news reports of the last days in Malawi concerning the Shire-Zambezi Waterway are highly contradictory. While People’s Party (PP) Director of Economic Affairs Jerry Jana still said end of April that long term projects would be pigeon-holed, news from Mozambique report the opposite. According to these mediums Malawi’s new president Joyce Banda and Mozambique’s head of the state Armando Guebuza agreed on reviving the prestige project of late president Bingu wa Mutharika.

Mozqmbique's Armando Guebuza stopped all freight in 2010 passing Mozambique, Copyright: World Economic Forum

Malawi's new President Joyce Banda travelled to Maputo last Saturday for a three-day visit, Copyright: tlupic

In April, shortly after Banda’s assumption of office in Lilongwe, Jerry Jane announced:

Long term projects like the Nsanje port will be shelved for a while so that we address issues that need immediate response … We need to look at the merits and demerits of some projects. As government we need to discuss with our neighbouring countries especially Mozambique to see if they accept the viability of the project.

This move of the new government would be quite frustrating for the area’s inhabitants. In 2010, the government came up to them via the local authority in order to grab their land, which was needed for the new site of the port. That time, compensation was offered to the approximately 300 families. While some families received 5000 MKW (about US$20) for one hectare, other families are still waiting for their compensation payments. Meanwhile these village communities lost their ancestral land that was essential for their subsistence farming. But the promised enormous regional development resulting from external investments did not appear. A local villager is reported having said:

Those families affected had to uproot maize that was already planted … Some were old people who left crying – that was their only source of income. People are worried that if they can grab land without paying, what will stop them removing more people from the area.

The large infrastructure project of Nsanje Inland Port was one of late president Mutharika’s prestige objects during his second term. In total the project cost US$6 billion. It is aimed at linking landlocked Malawi with the Mozambique harbor of Chinde at the Indian Ocean. With that Malawi could save US$175 million for transport costs per year. Instead of 1200 kilometers for a round trip to the harbor of Beira, Chinde is only 238 kilometers away.

But since the official inauguration in 2010, no freight had been transported to Nsanje since the government in Maputo refused to let any ship pass its territory. The Guebuza administration demanded environmental and feasibility studies before the new Shire-Zambezi Waterway could be used. In 2007, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia signed an agreement for such studies. The African Development Bank (AfDB) for its part made US$3,5 million available in order to conduct these studies.

After the diplomatic matters were settled between Lilongwe and Maputo, it still remained unclear what would happen to the regional infrastructure project. Now it seems progress is being made. Joyce Banda visited Mozambique for a three-day state visit last Saturday. It was reported that the Shire-Zambezi-Waterway project was high on the agenda during the meeting between Banda and Guebuza. Mozambique media reported during the last days that the two heads of state successfully picked up the important topic. Among other things they agreed on a full navigability study exercise.

These efforts of the Banda administration to revive the waterway project occur in contradiction to the party’s agenda. Since the study exercises that were now agreed on, were already signed in 2007 by Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, it still remains to be seen how the Nsanje Inland Port project will continue to develop in the future. The new efforts made by the administrations in Lilongwe and Maputo are definitely to be judged positively.

Maj. Gen. Caesar Achellam, one of the most important major generals among the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was captured in the Central African Republic. The Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) announced the successful blow last Sunday. The capture may be quite devastating since the army now expects more soldiers to come out of the bush and abandon the LRA.

A UPDF spokesman said:

The arrest of Major General Caesar Achellam is big progress because he is a big fish. His capture is definitely going to cause an opinion shift within LRA

Ugandan soldiers, who were backed by US Special Forces, tracked Achellam for several weeks. He was finally captured in an ambush of the Ugandan forces at the River Mbou. Achellam was about to cross from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Central African Republic.

Experts assume that the capture of an important ally of Joseph Kony who is wanted by the International Criminal Court will seriously weaken the LRA.

LRA-analyst Angelo Izama commented on the seizure:

From whichever angle you look at it, the loss of Achellam should be very troubling for Kony and a big boost for his manhunt.

Meanwhile, the African Union plans to form a joint guerilla coalition consisting of army forces from the DRC, South Sudan and CAR. They will be part of the general efforts to hunt Kony and the other left over LRA rebels down.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Bei den Parlamentswahlen in Algerien hat die Partei des amtierenden Präsidenten Abdelaziz Bouteflika einen deutlichen Wahlsieg errungen. Unabhängige Beobachter von AU, Arabischer Liga und EU attestieren dem Land zwei Tage nach dem Urnengang eine “freie, transparente, reguläre und gerechte Wahl”. Die Wahlbeteiligung blieb auffallend niedrig.

Die Front de Libération Nationale (“Nationale Befreiungsfront”, FLN) kam auf 220 der 462 Sitze im algerischen Parlament. Zweitstärkste Kraft wurde Rassemblement National Démocratique (“Demokratische Nationale Sammlung”, RND) mit 68 Sitzen. Die RND ist die Partei des amtierenden Ministerpräsidenten Ahmed Ouyahia.

Die Allianz Algérie Vert (“Grünes Algerien”) – bestehend aus drei Parteien mit gemäßigt islamischer Referenz – gewann 48 Sitze. Vertreter des religiös-konservativen Bündnisses warfen den Kräften hinter Bouteflika in ersten Reaktionen Wahlbetrug vor. Zusammen mit den übrigen Religiösen aus der algerischen Parteienlandschaft erhielt das Bündnis lediglich 61 Mandate.

“Die Wahlen haben ruhig und unter guten Bedingungen stattgefunden und die Organisation war allgemein gut“, zitierte die “Deutsche Welle” die Stellungnahme von EU-Chefbeobachter José Ignacio Salafranca im algerischen Rundfunk. “Es gab zusätzliche Transparenzkriterien im Vergleich zu den vorangegangenen Wahlen.” Es seien zwar einige Unregelmäßigkeiten registriert worden, diese hätten das Wahlergebnis jedoch nicht in Frage gestellt. (dw.de: “EU-Beobachter zufrieden mit Wahl in Algerien” 2012)

Die FLN regiert seit der Unabhängigkeit von Frankreich vor 50 Jahren. Die Wahlbeteiligung blieb gering: Offiziellen Angaben zufolge hatten sich lediglich 43 Prozent der Wahlberechtigten an dem Urnengang beteiligt.

Es waren die ersten demokratischen Wahlen seit Aufhebung des langjährigen Ausnahmezustands vor 15 Monaten in dem flächenmäßig größten Land Afrikas. Wahlberechtigt waren 21 Millionen der 39 Millionen Algerier. (dw.de 2012)

Analysen zur Lage in Algerien:

Martin Gehlen für zeit.de: “Islamisten wollen algerische Revolution an den Wahlurnen”

Mary Casey and Jennifer Parker for foreignpolicy.com: “Algeria holds parliamentary elections amid massive boycotts“

Until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes  – me say war. That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to race  – dis a war. (Bob Marley and the Wailers: “Rastaman Vibrations” 1976)

Note: _Check ya Mziki: … is a fresh series on eufrika.org to celebrate and share new and/or influential moments in music.

© genvessel

Malawi has announced a sharp, 33% devaluation of its currency, the Kwacha. The move follows pressure for the Southern African state, particularly upheld by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in order to restore ties with the donor community.

The IMF pulled aid from Malawi after its former leader, Bingu wa Mutharika refused to allow the fall of the Kwacha, citing fears that devaluation would hike the cost of living for the country’s poor population. The new government under president Banda however has sought to regain foreign aid which contributes 40% of Malawi’s budget by accepting the IMF directive.

The policy change has been met with mixed views with many expressing disappointment but little surprise. According to Tiwonge Kampondeni, a Malawi news reporter and analyst,

the country has had no forex except on the black market where it’s been trading unofficially at MK280 to the US-Dollar, and many businesses had already raised prices as a result.  Why then is it such a big deal that the Kwach is now officially devalued to trade at K250 to the US-Dollar? Buyers, does an official diagnosis make a sick person more sick? Sellers, is an official diagnosis a good enough reason to give the patient a second dose of the same medicine he’s already been taking on his own? Are you going to raise prices again by another 50% in good conscience? Where is your business ethics when you need it?’

The IMF has since announced new plans for loan programmes.

© Steve Evans

The non-governmental organization Save the Children ranks the West African state of Niger ahead of its annual list which monitors the worst places in the world to be a mother. Summing up statistics from the fields health, education, economic status and nutrition, the crisis-hit country which currently suffers from a regional food shortage replaced Afghanistan in the NGO’s ‘State of the World’s mothers report’.

The food crisis in the Sahel region is threatening lives of million youngsters, according to Save the Children. The report warns that if a mother is “impoverished, overworked, poorly educated and in poor health, she may not be able to feed the baby adequately, with largely irreversible effects.”

The BBC quotes director of policy Brendan Cox:

We urgently need global leadership on malnutrition that results in key nutrition projects being rolled out for mothers and babies to ensure health and survival.

The bottom lists eight sub Saharan African countries. The top ten includes Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden. USA ends up on the 25^th place this year; six places higher than last year.

2012 Mother's Index Ranking, Source: Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers 2012

The gap between Norway and Niger is tremendous on the availability and accessibility of mother and child services; In Norway skilled health care workers are present during almost every partum, while health care workers in Niger attend only a third of the given births.

On average 1 of 30 women will die from pregnancy related causes and 1 child out of 7 will die before its fifth birthday, making it likely for mothers in Niger to loose a child.

According to BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut

the Save the Children report shows that wealth is not the sole criterion for a nation’s position in the survey (..) a poor country like Malawi has done significantly better than might have been expected for one key reason: Children are breastfed by their mothers within an hour of their birth and continue to be breastfed for up to two years.

According to own statements, the organization helped 550,000 children to survive the food crisis since 2010, treating 50,000 ‘severely malnourished children’ at the peak of the crisis.

Article by Jamila Kluvers and Marius Muenstermann

Der neue Gegner von Demonstranten fast jeder Gesinnung ist seit Mubaraks Sturz vor 15 Monaten der Militärrat, der in den Wirren der Tahrir-Revolution die Macht übernahm. Die Generäle um Feldmarschall Hussein Tantawi – Hassobjekt der Revolutionäre vom liberalen Blogger bis zum Salafisten – haben versichert, einen geregelten Übergang der Macht zu ermöglichen. Nach dem jüngsten Blutbad versprachen sie gar, die Macht nach der Präsidentenwahl noch früher als ursprünglich geplant zu übergeben, nämlich schon Ende Juni oder sobald ein Kandidat die absolute Mehrheit erreicht hat. (Schareika 2012: “Wahlchaos in Ägypten”)

Der erste Wahlgang beginnt am 23. Mai. Die Wahlkommission hat offiziell 13 Kandidaten zur Wahl zugelassen.

Unter ihnen sind zwei Islamisten, zwei ehemalige Funktionsträger aus der Mubarak-Zeit und ein Linker. Umfragen deuten darauf hin, dass die Wahl zwischen dem ehemaligen Muslimbruder Abd al-Munim Abu al-Futuh und dem ehemaligen Außenminister Amr Mussa ausgemacht wird. (ebd.)

Allerdings, so Schareika weiter, lägen die die bisher veröffentlichten Umfrageergebnisse teils sehr weit auseinander. Das meiste Misstrauen im Volk schlage jedoch den alten Eliten entgegen.

Der Link zum Beitrag bei n-tv.de:  “Jeder gegen jeden: Wahlchaos in Ägypten”

Die Kandidaten in der Übersicht: “Ägypten wählt: Langbärte, Superreiche und alte Nostalgiker“