United Nations Webcast - Press Conference: High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing

United Nations Webcast - Press Conference: High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing

The Cuban swing

If there is ever a sharp turn of events in a country's internal policy, the recent Cuban government action taken to save the country from bankruptcy should stick out from the crowd. It is a typical example of a government over expansion proving to be a disaster. It is the first time when an acting communist system abruptly gave up its major principle of command economy managed by the doctrine of so called proletarian dictatorship. What happened in this case is the system reaching its final stage where it literally fails because the state nationalized every sector of business where the total working population depended on a government salary coupled with the ever crippling subsidies and benefits widely delivered equitably. The reason is evident; it is about giving away more than one takes and making the cycle not only monotonous but also damaging in nature. A state without an efficient taxing system will definitely have its budget compromised. There needs to be a vibrant middle class that can enhance growth as the back bone of the economy. 

The new development must create a growing curiosity in most of us tempting to question what this means to the globalization of the world economy. It seems Cuba has learned the hard way, mainly from the Chinese transformation, that it is possible to contain, manage and even create accelerated growth of privately owned businesses under a command economy with a communist leadership at the top. Apparently, emerging world  economies have come to understand this fact in a dramatic speed while it is still hard to predict the future prospect of this venture.

The USA has been criticized for being too harsh on Cuba citing the expansion of trade relations with China, a country that is no less communist in structure than Cuba. It may be that the impending soul search by Cuba may bring about the expected improvement in the dire relations of the two closely watched neighbors. This is a good time to utterly say Cuba has been the best laboratory to test and prove the unavoidable failure of a controlled system. However, this development will not sway the focus from the internal politics that is becoming ever controversial in the US, namely, the role of the government in running the country's business environment. It is widely debated the problems a big government can cause are bound to be damaging in terms of spending. At the same time, we don't hear much about what a large sized corporate world can do to its own people. As good as entrepreneurship sounds like a daunting solution to bring about a successful economic growth, the devil is in the details of doing it. A reasonably sized government can be a shelter not only for those who need protection but also to smoothly integrate the business world to function in a way the rule of law prevails. But who is to say what size is the best? As the world moves to the center, no one should be left behind.

Updated 10/28/10 from the Editor's desk

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RSF: African journalists still seeking freedom

2010 World Press Freedom Index 

Five decades after independence, African journalists still seeking freedom

Horn still worst off, censorship hits Sudan and Rwanda, prison death mars Cameroon

With many African countries marking the 50th anniversary of their independence, 2010 should have been a year of celebration but the continent’s journalists were not invited to the party. The Horn of Africa continues to be the region with the least press freedom but there were disturbing reverses in the Great Lakes region and

East Africa. Eritrea (178th) is at the very bottom of the world ranking for the fourth year running. At least 30 journalists and four media contributors are held incommunicado in the most appalling conditions, without right to a trial and without any information emerging about their situation. Journalists employed by the state media – the only kind of media tolerated – have to choose between obeying the information ministry’s orders or trying to flee the country. The foreign media are not welcome.

In Somalia (161st), the media are not being spared by the civil war between the transitional government and Islamist militias, and journalists often fall victim to the violence. The two leading Islamist militias, Al-Shabaab and Hizb-Al-Islam, are gradually seizing control of independent radio stations and using them to broadcast their religious and political propaganda.

The temporary lifting of prior censorship on the print media in Sudan (172nd) was just a smokescreen. It has fallen 24 places and now has Africa’s second worst ranking, partly as a result of the closure of the opposition daily Rai-al-Shaab and the jailing of five members of its staff, but above all because of the return of state surveillance of the print media, which makes it impossible to cover key stories such as the future referendum on South Sudan’s independence.

Rwanda (169th), where President Paul Kagame was returned to power in a highly questionable election, has fallen 12 places and now has Africa’s third worst ranking. The six-month suspension of leading independent publications, the climate of terror surrounding the presidential election and Umuvugizi deputy editor Jean-Léonard Rugambage’s murder in Kigali were the reasons for this fall. Journalists are fleeing the country because of the repression, in an exodus almost on the scale of Somalia’s. Surveillance of the press and a decline in the climate for journalists during the May elections account for Ethiopia’s continued bad ranking (139th).

Violence against journalists, arbitrary police arrests and intelligence agency abuses explain why Nigeria (145th) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (148th) are still in the bottom third. Uganda (96th) fell a relatively modest 10 places but the murders of two journalists in separate incidents in September and the recent increase in physical attacks and arrests of journalists are fuelling serious concerns about the climate for the media in the run-up to next year’s elections.

Cameroon (129th) fell 20 places as a result of newspaper editor Bibi Ngota’s death in prison and the continuing detention of two other editors. Côte d'Ivoire (118th) also fell a few places due to the harassment of newspapers such as L'Expression and Le Nouveau Courrier d'Abidjan and the temporary ban on local retransmission of French TV station France 24 in February.

Gambia (125th) and Niger (104th) were neck and neck last year at a 137th and 139th thanks to the predatory behaviour of their respective presidents, Yahya Jammeh and Mamadou Tandja. But press freedom in Niger has improved markedly since Tandja’s overthrow in February, accounting for its 35-place jump, although the situation is still very uncertain.

Uncertainty is also the dominant feature of another country in transition, Guinea (113th). It fell 13 places because of a massacre on 28 September 2009 but a new government that could show more respect for press freedom is still seen as a possibility.

After two difficult years, Kenya (70th) has recovered a respectable position.

Chad (112th) is also leaving behind the fraught period in 2008 when a state of emergency was imposed, but the level of freedom allowed the press is still insufficient.

Angola (104th) has an acceptable ranking although the situation has been soured by a Radio Despertar journalist’s still unsolved murder in September 2010.

After sharp falls in 2009, Gabon (107th) and Madagascar (116th) have recovered some of the lost ground thanks to a decline in tension. But Madagascar’s transitional authorities need to show more respect for the press by ceasing to jail journalists (such as those of Radio Fahazavana) and ceasing to close down news media.

Zimbabwe (123rd) has again made some slow progress, as it did last year. The return of independent dailies is a step forward for public access to information but the situation is still very fragile.

Two more African countries have entered the ranks of the world’s top 50 nations in terms of respect for press freedom. They are Tanzania (41st), although certain stories such as albinism continue to be off-limits for the press, and Burkina Faso (49th), even if justice still has not been rendered in the case of Norbert Zongo, a journalist who was murdered 12 years ago. The relative positions of the African countries in the top 50 have also changed. They are now led by Namibia (21st), which has recovered its former pre-eminent position, while Cape Verde (26th) has caught up with Ghana (26th) and Mali (26th). South Africa (38th) has fallen five places, in part because of attacks on journalists during the Football World Cup but above all because of the behaviour of senior members of the ruling African National Congress towards the press. ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, for example, expelled BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher from a news conference on 8 April, calling him a “bastard” and “bloody agent.” And the government plans to pass two bills that would endanger press freedom, one creating a media tribunal and the other restricting the disclosure of information.

-- In the rest of the world : Europe falls from its pedestal, no respite in the dictatorships “Our latest world press freedom index contains welcome surprises, highlights sombre realities and confirms certain trends,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said as his organisation issued its ninth annual index today. “More than ever before, we see that economic development, institutional reform and respect for fundamental rights do not necessarily go hand in hand. The defence of media freedom continues to be a battle, a battle of vigilance in the democracies of old Europe and a battle against oppression and injustice in the totalitarian regimes still scattered across the globe. “We must salute the engines of press freedom, with Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland at their head. We must also pay homage to the human rights activists, journalists and bloggers throughout the world who bravely defend the right to speak out. Their fate is our constant concern. We reiterate our call for the release of Liu Xiaobo, the symbol of the pressure for free speech building up in China, which censorship for the time being is still managing to contain. And we warn the Chinese authorities against taking a road from which there is no way out. “It is disturbing to see several European Union member countries continuing to fall in the index. If it does not pull itself together, the European Union risks losing its position as world leader in respect for human rights. And if that were to happen, how could it be convincing when it asked authoritarian regimes to make improvements? There is an urgent need for the European countries to recover their exemplary status. “We are also worried by the harsher line being taken by governments at the other end of the index. Rwanda, Yemen and Syria have joined Burma and North Korea in the group of the world’s most repressive countries towards journalists. This does not bode well for 2011. Unfortunately, the trend in the most authoritarian countries is not one of improvement.” European Union loses its leadership status Reporters Without Borders has repeatedly expressed its concern about the deteriorating press freedom situation in the European Union and the 2010 index confirms this trend. Thirteen of the EU’s 27 members are in the top 20 but some of the other 14 are very low in the ranking. Italy is 49th, Romania is 52nd and Greece and Bulgaria are tied at 70th. The European Union is not a homogenous whole as regards media freedom. On the contrary, the gap between good and bad performers continues to widen. There has been no progress in several countries where Reporters Without Borders pointed out problems. They include, above all, France and Italy, where events of the past year – violation of the protection of journalists’ sources, the continuing concentration of media ownership, displays of contempt and impatience on the part of government officials towards journalists and their work, and judicial summonses – have confirmed their inability to reverse this trend. Northern Europe still at the top Several countries share first place in the index again. This year it is Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. They have all previously held this honour since the index was created in 2002. Norway and Iceland have always been among the countries sharing first position except in 2006 (Norway) and 2009 (Iceland). These six countries set an example in the way they respect journalists and news media and protect them from judicial abuse. They even continue to progress. Iceland, for example, is considering an exemplary bill, the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI), that would provide a unique level of protection for the media. Sweden distinguishes itself by its Press Freedom Act, which has helped to create a particularly favourable climate for the work of journalists, by the strength of its institutions and by its respect for all those sectors of society including the media whose role in a democracy is to question and challenge those in positions of power. Ten countries where it is not good to be a journalist In recent years, Reporters Without Borders drew particular attention to the three countries that were always in the last three positions – Eritrea, North Korea and Turkmenistan. This year, a bigger group of ten countries – marked by persecution of the media and a complete lack of news and information – are clumped together at the bottom. The press freedom situation keeps on deteriorating in these countries and it is getting harder to say which is worse than the other. The difference between the scores of the “best” and worst of the last 10 countries was only 24.5 points this year. It was 37.5 points in 2009 and 43.25 points in 2007. It is worth noting that, for the first time since the start of the index in 2002, Cuba is not one of the 10 last countries. This is due above all to the release of 14 journalists and 22 activists in the course of the past summer. But the situation on the ground has not changed significantly. Political dissidents and independent journalists still have to deal with censorship and repression on a daily basis. Freedom is not allowed any space in Burma, where a parliamentary election is due to be held next month, and the rare attempts to provide news or information are met with imprisonment and forced labour. Finally, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Mexico, countries either openly at war or in a civil war or some other kind of internal conflict, we see a situation of permanent chaos and a culture of violence and impunity taking root in which the press has become a favourite target. These are among the most dangerous countries in the world, and the belligerents there pick directly on reporters such as French TV journalists Stéphane Taponier and Hervé Ghesquière, who have been held hostage in Afghanistan for the past 300 days. Economic growth does not mean press freedom The BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India and China – may all be at a roughly similar stage of economic development but the 2010 index highlights major differences in the press freedom situation in these countries. Thanks to favourable legislative changes, Brazil (58th) has risen 12 places in the past year, while India has fallen 17 places to 122nd. Russia, which had a particularly deadly preceding year, is still poorly placed at 140th. Despite an astonishingly vibrant and active blogosphere, China still censors and jails dissidents and continues to languish in 171st place. These four countries now shoulder the responsibilities of the emerging powers and must fulfil their obligations as regards fundamental rights. Heavy falls The Philippines, Ukraine, Greece and Kyrgyzstan all fell sharply in this year’s index. In the Philippines this was due to the massacre of around 30 journalists by a local baron, in Ukraine to the slow and steady deterioration in press freedom since Viktor Yanukovych’s election as president in February, in Greece to political unrest and physical attacks on several journalists, and in Kyrgyzstan to the ethnic hatred campaign that accompanied the political turmoil. The changes are unfortunately often deceptive. Some countries have risen sharply in the index this year but in fact all they have done is recover their traditional position after a particularly difficult if not disastrous 2009. This is the case with Gabon, which rose 22 places, South Korea (+27) and Guinea-Bissau (+25).

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RSF: African journalists still seeking freedom

Ethiopian Dam Controversy

So far detailed news and research reports have come from third parties such as the BBC and those closely associated with making studies on the environmental aspects of the Gibe III Dam project. The most recent on YouTube video is titled "Ethiopian Damns Controversy". I hope it is not meant to pass any derogatory message other than a mere spelling error. Be that it may, the Ethiopian side, including the interviewees from the Salini company presented their views in a somewhat unprofessional manner if they meant to defend their planned project. To refer to a few, the Salini Construction Company spokesperson concluded by saying the river basin dwellers will simply die when the project is done, while the other rather more dignitary representative of the government mentioned about the fact that even insects being in harms way when one walks. The prime minster stated the building  of the Gibe Dam(s) will protect the lower river basin residents from the life threatening impacts of the perennial flood. I don't know how much of a detailed environmental study was made from the Government's side but understandably, based on the history of donors for such projects, the possible end of such a study is usually the killing of the project. Ethiopia has major internal pressures not to abide by that assessment due to not only the fact that this would delay the construction by a matter of years, but also it may cost the ruling party its handle on power.

The controversy is apparent but in my inadequate knowledge to say the least, the Ethiopian government could have handled this matter in a more diplomatic manner. It has secured the displacement of 10s of thousands of the population before starting the Gibe I and II(according to the study report). The government could have made its own assessment about what it takes to prevent the lower river basin residents who make their livings by making use of the spoils of the seasonal  flood. Guaranteeing a way to protect the population, I believe could have paved the way to building the dams without major hurdles. If the planing is based on the feasibility of doing it, this could also be shared with the concerned to produce a common ground. If the government is reading the signs that the study group is geared to stop the over ambitious project due to the hasty attitude of the government in terms of time, there is still room for in depth discussions on how to tackle the issue, unless of course, the study group is politicizing the matter, which I think most probably is the case. Things have changed since the times of Gibe I and II era. The clear cut but controversial stands of the government specially from the stand points of the external viewers has changed the otherwise warm relations between the current government and the west. As such, the regime is inclined to look to the east, specially China. This may have triggered the disagreement over such a grandiose project that is believed to outlive any government in terms of its contribution to the betterment of the poverty stricken population. I give credit to the tireless effort made by the government to make this a reality. I am also impressed with the donor environmental study group by the level of knowledge they demonstrated about the Omo river and its impacts to the population that depends on it. My suggestion to both sides is to understand the urgency that they need to work closely for the ambitious progress to be materialized.


From the Editor's desk.

Ethiopia: Official says climate change causing migrations

Ache warned, at the Seventh African Development Forum, that the situation would become critical in coming years as the impact of global warming worsens.

'We want people to understand that this impact (migration and displacement) was taking place now and that our efforts to mitigate climate change should be for to day and not for tomorrow' he said.

According to him, more and more climate change-related disasters, such as flooding and drought, were striking Africa, throwing increasing numbers of people on the move in search of new livelihoods.

He noted that the migration was causing many problems, including conflicts over scarce resources and security risks.

Ache cited the Mbororo tribe in the Congo basin, which had become nomadic because of climate change-related disasters and migrated widely within the region, even across borders.

'In some countries, they (Mbororo people) are accepted but in others, they are not because of security and conflict issues,' he said.

'Climate change is already undermining the livelihoods and security of many people, exacerbating income differentials and deepening inequalities. Over the last two decades, the number of recorded natural disasters has doubled from some 200 to over 400 per year. Nine out of every ten natural disasters today are climate-related,' he said.

He warned that as temperatures rose further and land became increasingly less pr oductive, urbanization in Africa will also accelerate, generating additional competition for scarce resources and public services in cities.

Other experts at the forum also warned that incidences of vector-borne diseases will increase as a result of climate change, as will the cost of food and energy.

In the end, this will cause increased social and political conflicts, which on the surface will be difficult to trace to climate change, they said.

Addis Ababa - Pana 16/10/2010

Ethiopian leader doubts usefulness of climate conference

By Olu Jacob

Next month’s climate conference in Cacun, Mexico, “will be a total fraud,” the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, said yesterday in Addis Ababa.

Mr Zenawi, who heads the Conference of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change, shocked particpants at the ongoing Seventh African Development Forum when he said the massive deficit in global leadership guarantees that the proposed conference would end badly.

In words devoid of diplomatese, the Ethiopian leader, who is also co-chair of the High Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing, also suggested that, ‘it is possible the following one in South Africa will also be a failure.’ Guests at the high table which included Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Jean Ping, chairperson of the African Union Commission; Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana and Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank, appeared stunned by Mr Zenawi’s words. The thousand- strong audience however clapped in support of the frank assessment.

Mr Zenawi said in the face of such clear failure in global leadership, African leaders must find the means to react adequately to the situation irrespective of what happens in the international community. He said a lack of global leadership shows that structural issues are at stake, including an unwillingness to stand up to vested interests and to challenge myopic views.Publish Post

He said the promise that $100 billion will be made available for Africa by 2020 to fight climate change is only feasible if leaders from developed countries responsible for most of the climate damage are willing to face up to their responsibilities. He also rejected the notion that the money is to be given as aid, saying it is rather a “downpayment on reparation” to a continent suffering from problems it did not cause.

He said African leaders, however, “are not going to wait until these guys are converted to sanity. We will just continue to use the limited resources we have. Leadership in our case means fighting for every cent they owe us, but in the meantime doing all we can on our own.”

Change of strategy

Mr Stoltenberg, who co-chairs the advisory group on climate change financing, agreed with Mr Zenawi that there are reasons for concern that the conference in Cacun will be disappointing.

He said it is impossible to expect that the so-called comprehensive legally binding agreement on climate change, which failed to materialise in the last conference, will be reached in Cacun, or even in the next conference in South Africa. He suggested reduced expectations in the form of short-term goals that are possible, such as progress on staving off deforestration and on some aspect of the financing.

Mr Mogae said even though Africa is the least guilty of climate crimes and suffers disproportionately, it is incumbent on the continent to find projects it can self finance to mitigate the effects, rather than wait indefinitely for succour from abroad. He also blamed African leaders who fail to use the advantage provided by the last climate conference to press home their advantage.

“I hope that, as leaders, in future when we agree on a position that serves our interests, we would be heard to be supporting that position. We need to crystallise our tactics,” he said.

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Deepak Chopra "Conquering Your Shadow"

Kenya to Spend $1.2 Billion Doubling Power Grid, Building Wind-Farm Link

Kenya Electricity Transmission Co., the state-owned power-grid operator, plans to spend $1.2 billion by 2014 expanding the network to import energy from neighboring Ethiopia and provide a link to a wind farm in northern Kenya.

The project, which mainly will involve the installation of high-voltage lines, will more than double the size of the national grid, Joel Kiilu, chief executive officer of Ketraco, said in an interview from Nairobi, the capital, yesterday.

“The capital requirements and planning required to build transmission lines as demand increases is massive,” Kiilu said. “We are working to get access to as many people as possible, at the cheapest rates.”

Ketraco was created by Kenya’s government in December 2008 to build and maintain new electricity-transmission lines as East Africa’s biggest economy looks for ways to provide power to areas where it’s in high demand and short supply. The company took over the job from Kenya Power and Lighting Co., the monopoly distributor that still controls 3,400 kilometers (2,113 miles) of power lines built before Ketraco was set up.

Kenya, with a population of 39 million, aims to increase installed power capacity by almost nine-fold to 9,000 megawatts over the next 20 years, while targeting a sustained annual economic growth rate of 10 percent. The government expects to grow by at least 4.5 percent in 2010 from 2.6 percent a year earlier. Nairobi generates more than 60 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, has the capacity to generate about 40,000 megawatts.

Ethiopian Reporter Survives Jail to Receive Prize

Special to the NNPA from the Global Information Network –

Dawit Kebede, one of the first journalists to be jailed for independent reporting on Ethiopia's 2005 election violence and among the last to be released under a presidential pardon nearly two years later will receive the International Press Freedom Award on Nov. 23 from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Other prizewinners are Nadira Isayeva of Russia, Laureano Márquez of Venezuela, and Mohammad Davari of Iran.

Unlike many of his colleagues who went into exile, Kebede chose to stay in Ethiopia after receiving his freedom from jail in Addis Ababa, where he had been crammed into a communal cell with 350 political prisoners.

In 2008, he was detained for an article titled “freedom of writing should be respected” in the Awramba Times. Today, it is the country's only Amharic-language newspaper that dares question authorities, notes CPJ.

"Here are three things people should know about me," the 30-year-old Kebede says. "First, it is impossible for me to live without the life I have as a journalist. Second, unless it becomes a question of life and death, I will never be leaving Ethiopia. Third, I am not an opposition. As a journalist, whatsoever would be a governing regime in Ethiopia, I will never hesitate from writing issues criticizing it for the betterment of the country.”

Ethiopia frees opposition leader

By Aaron Maasho (AFP) – 4 hours ago

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia freed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa on Wednesday, saying it had granted a plea for pardon from her.

The 36-year-old Union for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) leader was first jailed in 2005 when the opposition protested poll results that year, leading to unrest that resulted in the death of some 200 people

Birtukan and other opposition figures were charged with plotting against the constitution in connection with those skirmishes, but were released in 2007 after being pardoned.

But she was sent back to prison in December 2008 after claiming she had never asked for pardon.

"It was very hard in jail. I found it very difficult to be alone for all that time. I am very pleased that I have been released," she told AFP Wednesday...Full story