The notion that the truth will set you free has enduring appeal in developing countries that are newly free of repressive governments. But Kenya is discovering that setting up a truth commission to probe human rights violations is less straightforward than it might appear.
In the latest attempt to curb the circulation of small arms in Africa, foreign affairs ministers and other representatives from eleven countries signed a protocol on weapons control recently in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. But, the jury is still out on whether this initiative really has the ingredients for success.
Africa’s Anglican archbishops have vowed not to receive donations from western churches which support the ordination of gay priests. ”We do not want any money from the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. This is not rhetoric. It is not a matter of a joke. We mean what we say,” the chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa, Nigeria’s Archbishop Peter Akinola said, as the other clergymen nodded in affirmation.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has renewed his appeal to the West to open up its markets to enable Africa to achieve food security. He was speaking to delegates attending an international meeting on food security, organised by the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute.
The International Monetary Fund has welcomed Kenya back into the fold after a three-year suspension and has approved a -million loan to the country. Good news for some? Yes — but for others, a source of dismay. A number of civic groups in Kenya say good governance should have been rewarded with debt relief, not more loans.
Kenya has found itself grappling with a political crisis this week, after the national constitutional conference voted to have the country’s new Constitution strip the president of his powers -– and transfer them to a Prime Minister.
Member states of the East African Community have signed a protocol for establishing a customs union that is expected to boost growth in the region. The agreement was initialled on Tuesday in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha by the presidents of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It will take effect in July this year.
Civil servants in Kenya have threatened to go on their first-ever strike at the end of March if the government fails to award them a 600% pay rise. The Kenya Civil Servants Union, which has been in existence for a year, says it has been negotiating with the government on behalf of about 250 000 workers.
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/ 27 February 2004
A report launched in Kenya this week indicates that levels of bribery in the country decreased last year. The third Kenya Bribery Index was issued on Tuesday this week by the Kenyan chapter of Transparency International, a Berlin-based NGO. It says that monthly expenditure on bribery in 2003 was about ,8 per person, compared to per person in 2002.
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/ 25 February 2004
Connoisseurs have long appreciated the merits of Kenyan coffee, typically described as having a fruity, acidic flavour. But now coffee farm output has seriously declined — something attributed to rising production costs, mismanagement within cooperative ventures and poor policies on the part of the government.