By Novell Zwange – Dramatic twists and turns to the ANC Youth League’s leadership wrangles continue, as the African National Congress again struggles to instill discipline in their junior cadres. In a press statement issued today, Jackson Mthembu, the ANC National Spokesperson, said the partys has been shocked and dismayed by the pronouncements made by the Mpumalanga Province ANC Youth League (ANC YL) spokesperson that our Treasurer General, Cde Mathews Phosa and other members of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee in that province, are responsible for destabilising the leadership of the Premier and the ANC Chairperson in Mpumalanga, Cde DD Mabuza. “It is... Continue Reading
NEW YORK, 9 August 2010 (IRIN) – Nearly two weeks after international donors pledged more than a billion dollars in aid to Kyrgyzstan, its caretaker government is busy working out how to turn the promises into hard cash, and experts say there is confusion about who will get how much aid, when. The US$1.1 billion in aid pledged at the 27 July high-level donors’ conference in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, is not a lump sum. It is made up of multiple pledges which, if they materialize, will be distributed on different terms and at different times. “Each international organization has its... Continue Reading
IRIN News – JOHANNESBURG, 9 August 2010 (IRIN) – Crops that mature faster and are tolerant of more frequent and intense droughts top the list of how most countries adapt their food production to climate change, says a new paper. The discussion paper, led by Jonathan Makau Nzuma from the University of Nairobi and produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), looked at adaptation in agriculture in 10 sub-Saharan countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The paper lists 26 adaptation strategies – two of which are common to all 10... Continue Reading
Hip-hop, more than most pop genres, is something of a pulpit, urban fire and brimstone garbed in baggy pants and backward caps. So it’s little wonder that one of the music form’s icons, Haitian-American superstar Wyclef Jean, is the son of a Nazarene preacher — or that he likens himself, as a child of the Haitian diaspora, to a modern-day Moses, destined to return and lead his people out of bondage. Haiti’s Jan. 12 earthquake, which ravaged the western hemisphere’s poorest country and killed more than 200,000 people, was the biblical event that sealed his calling. After days of helping... Continue Reading
By Novell Zwangendaba -JOHANNESBURG – I attendend the book launch, You Must Set Forth at Dawn: A Memoir by Wole Soyinka one of Africa’s greatest living writers, Wole Soyinka, at Xarra Books in Newtown. It was an incredible experience to witness scores of prominent African scholars, journalist, critics, published writers and notable artists descend on the Jozi’s literature hotspot. Soyinka exhibited youthful energy and strength throughout the panel discussion on his book. A compelling memoir by Africa’s first Nobel laureate for literature continues the story that began in his childhood autobiography Ake as Soyinka describes the it in captivating detail.... Continue Reading
