Madagascar
The political roadmap in the country has left opponents seething with rage The Madagascar opposition said the new roadmap set by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to end to the political stalemate in Madagascar has not helped the situation. They have rejected the deal due to the powers it would give President Andry Rajoelina regarding appointments of members of the transitional institutions. The opposition parties are claiming it is suspicious and cannot work because Mr Rajoelina is not a democratically elected president. The document submitted on Monday to Madagascar's parties by SADC mediator, Dr Leonardo Simao, has stirred a heated debate. It stated that, the president of the High Authority of Transition (HAT) Mr Rajoelina, would remain the leader of the “true” transition and he would choose a prime minister from a list of individuals presented to him by the relevant parties. It added that the current members of the transitional parliament and the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) would maintain at their posts, though the structures would be enlarged to accommodate other interested parties.
Former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa winds up controversial firm
The former president Benjamin Mkapa and his wife Anna have finally decided to wind up a controversial company they formed when Mkapa was still holding public office. The company has been at the centre of controversy with some quarters claiming Mr Mkapa had used it to abuse his position. The two announced the voluntary liquidation of ANBEM Limited through an advert in a local daily on Friday 4. The advert did not give the reasons why the two decided to wind up the business associated with controversial dealings especially the sale and acquisition of the Kiwira coalmine. Under the Company’s Act, a company may voluntary wind up its affairs, if it is unable to carry on its business or if it was formed for a limited purpose. A company that is unable to meet its financial obligations can also wind up. The company was formed in 1999 by the former head of state and first lady while they were still at the State House and was officially registered with the Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA).
Uganda police warn of election attack
The Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura, said in the statement that Uganda has credible information that "terrorists" plan to attack the country on or immediately before its February 18 voting day. Mr Kayihura said that the police and Uganda's other security agencies are "stepping up vigilance to avert these evil plans”. The capital Kampala was struck on July 11 by twin suicide bombings at two separate sites that killed at least 76. Attacks, which targeted fans watching the football World Cup final, were claimed by Somalia's Islamist Al-Shaabab rebels as retaliation for Uganda supporting the Western-backed Mogadishu Government. In recent weeks Uganda has committed more troops to the Somali mission and has warned that operatives linked to Al-Shebab are anxious to attack the country again.
South Sudan may move new nation's capital
The Information minister said that South Sudan is considering moving its capital to a new site, as the region gears up for expected full independence in July." A ministerial committee will look into the possibilities, to see the best option," said Barnaba Marial Benjamin. "It is wanted to have a capital that befits the new nation to-be." The grossly underdeveloped region was left in ruins by decades of war with the north, and voted overwhelmingly for secession in last month's referendum on full independence that is expected to split Africa's largest country in two. The reaction to the new suggestion on the streets of the current capital Juba -- a rapidly growing ramshackle town on the banks of the White Nile river Jackson Hussein said that "it is good to have dreams, to make a new capital for our new nation, I think it would be good to have a capital right in the centre of the country."
World Social Forum opens in Dakar amid Arab strife
The leftist World Social Forum which seeks to change a capitalist world opens Sunday 6 as social ills cause upheaval in Arab countries such as Tunisia and Egypt, and protests in the host country Senegal. The 11th annual edition of the forum, which began as an alternative to the elite World Economic Forum held in Davos, last week, kicks off with a march through the streets of the Senegalese capital Dakar. The organisers said that, six days up to 50,000 expected participants will fan out across the city to debate and propose alternatives to "the crisis of the capitalist system", The presidents of Bolivia, Evo Morales, Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, Boni Yayi of Benin, Alpha Conde of Guinea and former Brazil leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are expected to attend the Forum, African Union head Jean Ping and French Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry will also be present.
Cote d’Ivoire: AU have sent a new mediation team
The new African Union (AU) team of experts left Addis Ababa on Sunday 6, for Abidjan in a fresh bid to resolve Côte d’Ivoire’s political crisis. The team consisting of security and diplomatic experts will be in the West African country from February 6 to 10 to meet the rival politicians and other stakeholders then prepare its recommendations to the AU high-level panel. The AU established a high-level panel last week during its annual summit in Ethiopia. The panel includes leaders of South Africa, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, Nigeria and AU commission chairperson. The Head of states in the high-level panel would then meet after a week in Mauritania to review the recommendations of the experts and then travel to Abidjan to meet the wrangling parties. Close sources to the AU said based on the body’s Peace and Security Council decision, that the team has set the target to install Alassane Outtara as the legitimate president following the disputed elections last year. However, some people from the incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo camp may also be included in the new government as a soft power-sharing deal. Jean Ping, the AU chief confirmed that the body would negotiate a peaceful political deal.
Cape Verde islands vote in parliament election
The Cape Verdeans began voting Sunday in parliamentary elections across the archipelago of sandy beaches and arid volcanic rock, which is lauded as one of Africa's success stories. Polling stations opened at 09 mornings and were to close at 1930 evening, with first results expected about an hour after the closure. Some 310,000 voters are expected to cast their ballots to fill 72 parliamentary seats. The main contesters are two political parties that have dominated the political scene of the former Portuguese colony for the past two decades. The Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves, 50, of the socialist African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde has been in power for a decade and is seeking to extend his mandate for another five years. His opponent is Carlos Veiga, 61, leader of the liberal Movement for Democracy who led the country from 1991 to 2001.Races have always been tight between the two and no clear favourite has emerged before the election. The publication of polls is banned by law. Cape Verde is a parliamentary democracy whose President Pedro Pires has held his ceremonial role since 2001. The country has the distinction of having more nationals living abroad (700,000) than at home (500,000). Lauded for its stable democracy, Cape Verde in 2008 became only the second ever country after Botswana to be promoted by the United Nations out of the ranks of the 50 least-developed countries.