The Constitutional Court handed down a judgment in the case of NM and Others v Smith and Others, in which three HIV-positive women claimed that their right to privacy and dignity were violated by the publication of their names and HIV status in a biography of politician Patricia de Lille. The Court found in favour of the applicants, ordering the respondents to pay each applicant R35 000 in damages. In a majority judgment, Madala J held that the respondents were aware that the applicants had not given their express consent but had gone ahead and published their names, violating their privacy and dignity rights.

In light of the fact that the judgment did not extend the common law to include negligence in relation to the publication of private medical facts, there would be no chilling effect on freedom of expression and therefore the Court did not find it necessary to either agree or disagree with the FXI on this point. The FXI therefore welcomes this preservation of the common law status quo, which protects both media and individual defendants who unwittingly, but mistakenly, infringe the privacy of individuals in speech or in writing.

The FXI successfully applied to be admitted as amicus curiae in this case. The FXI argued that if the media were to be held liable for the negligent disclosure of private facts they would bear an intolerable burden that would unnecessarily and unjustifiably interfere with, and have a chilling effect on, the right to freedom of expression in South Africa. The FXI argued further it was neither necessary nor desirable for the common law to be developed to include negligence as a ground for fault in these situations, more especially because individual defendants would be particularly at risk of being held liable if this development took place, because they do not have the resources, skills or wherewithal to make any proper judgment on what constitutes negligence.

The World Bank will continue to support Burkina Faso's efforts to more directly and speedily reduce poverty by accelerating the pace of public transfers to rural areas and increasing the capacity of local governments to plan and implement essential development activities. World Bank support will include a US$74 million credit* approved by the Bank's Board of Executive Directors today. Continuing on the success' of the first project, the Second Community Based Rural Development Project will maintain support to capacity building and investment activities at the local level, although the support will now be channeled through all of the 302 newly created rural communes nationwide. Micro-projects implemented by the clusters of villages will increase the provision and improve management of basic services such as primary schools, health centers and water sources.



Burkina Faso's population is predominantly rural with only an estimated 19 percent living in towns, and the economy depends overwhelmingly on agriculture. As the result of unsustainable resource use and the effects of long-term changes in precipitation, land productivity is declining. To address these development challenges, Burkina Faso has developed the National Program for Decentralized Rural Development (PNDRD), a fifteen year program whose objective is to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in rural areas. "In line with Burkina Faso's national strategy, the project will strengthen the capacity of grass-roots organizations and interest groups by making available financial resources to support income generating activities, build socio-economic infrastructures, and further develop activities that contribute to improving the productive potential and sustainable management of natural resources," said Emmanuel Y. Nikiema, World Bank Team Leader for the project. Capacity building activities will help develop the technical and fiduciary skills needed at the different decentralized levels to implement local development activities. Rural communes and villages are expected to guide those activities by formulating and keeping up-to-date development plans and investment programs while being sure to include all the stakeholders involved. Support will also be provided for a national coordination unit that will be established for the overall management of the project.



Rural development is further complicated by a lack of definition of formally recognized and registered land tenure rights, which is directly linked to poverty. This further affects farmers' ability to make long term investments in land improvements and agricultural inputs. Building on the land tenure security pilot operation in the first project, the second project will also put in place the institutional and legal framework for the effective management of rural land tenure and create the enabling conditions for its implementation. "The first project (2000 to 2006) has achieved impressive results," said Mats Karlsson, World Bank Country Director for Burkina Faso. "Including establishing village committees in half of the villages in the country--four thousand in all--and building the local capacity to plan, implement, and monitor micro-projects through training and hands-on experience; and providing the equivalent of US$39 million for 12,000 micro-projects in the provision of water and other social infrastructure, as well as environmental management." "Communities have demonstrated that they are well capable of generating results if given the opportunity," said Mary A. Barton-Dock, World Bank Sector Manager for the project. "Micro-projects financed by the first project were found to be 30% less expensive compared to other similar projects, and these investments are fully functional thanks to communities' strong sense of ownership over them."



The project is expected to directly benefit over half of Burkina Faso's population--6.5 million--which is most of the West African countries rural population. Additional financing will be provided by the Government of Burkina Faso, beneficiary rural communes, the Global Environment Fund, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Exclusively breastfeeding until a baby is six-months old can significantly reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission, an African study says.

The South African researchers compared solely breastfed babies with those also given formula or solid foods. They say breastfeeding carries a low transmission risk, but protects against potentially fatal conditions such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. They say it is the best option for most women in the developing world. In the developed world, the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission has been cut from 25% to under 2% because of the use of antiretroviral therapies, exclusive formula feeding and good healthcare support. But these benefits are often unavailable in the developing world.



There, World Health Organization (WHO) guidance says HIV positive women who can afford to use formula, and who have the facilities they need to do so - such as a fire to heat water with - should do so. But the researchers, from the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, say this is not the case for the majority of women in developing countries. For this reason, and because exclusively breastfeeding protects against other diseases, they suggest it is the best option. It is also associated with fewer breast health problems such as mastitis and breast abscesses, both of which can increase the amount of the HIV virus in the mother's breast milk.



'Breakthrough'



The research, funded by the UK's Wellcome Trust, found that there was a 4% risk of postnatal transmission to infants who were just fed on breast milk between the age of six weeks and six months. Infants who received formula milk or animal milk in addition to breast milk were nearly twice as likely to be infected as infants who received breast milk only. And those given solids in addition to breast milk were almost 11 times more likely to acquire infection. It is thought that this higher risk is due to the larger, more complex proteins found in solid foods which may lead to greater damage to the lining of the stomach, allowing the virus to pass through the gut wall.



Professor Hoosen Coovadia, of the Africa Centre, said: "The question of whether or not to breastfeed is not a straightforward one. "We know that breastfeeding carries with it a risk of transmitting HIV infection from mother to child, but breastfeeding remains a key intervention to reduce mortality. "In many areas of Africa where poverty is endemic, replacement feed, such as formula milk or animal milk, is expensive and cannot act as a complete substitute. "The key is to find ways of making breastfeeding safe." Writing in the Lancet, Wendy Holmes of the Centre for International Health in Melbourne and Felicity Savage of the equivalent institution in London say the research is a "breakthrough". "It provides crucial confirmatory evidence that when HIV-positive mothers breastfeed exclusively, their babies have only a low risk of infection with HIV.



"This risk is lower that that in babies who receive other food or liquids in addition to breast milk before six months." Drs Holmes and Savage added: "The results emphasise that promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for all mothers and babies could prevent much paediatric HIV infection as well as deaths from other causes."

The California Rice Commission (CRC) has called for a moratorium on field tests of genetically modified (GM) rice within the U.S. state of California. Frank Rehermann, chair of the CRC board, says: "Based on the events of the last few months, it is clear that the federal regulatory process is not working for rice. It is imperative that those systems are evaluated and approved." Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued "emergency action notifications" preventing the planting and distribution of a long-grain rice seed from BASF because it may contain GM material not yet approved for commercialization. And last year, traces of Bayer's then-unapproved GM "Liberty Link" rice were found in some U.S. commercial supplies of long-grain rice. [According to its website, the CRC is a California state statuary organization that operates under the overview of the California Secretary of Agriculture. By statute, the commission represents the entire California rice industry, including all 2,500 rice farmers and handlers who farm and process rice produced on approximately 500,000 acres annually.

The article can be viewed online at: http://www.foodqualitynews.com/news/ng.asp?n=75134-gm-rice-gm-contamination

The Zimbabwe Government yesterday launched a year-long outreach programme that will see Zimbabwe expanding public awareness on the role of science and technology in national economic growth and development. Science and Technology Development Minister Dr Olivia Muchena launched the programme dubbed "Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and Achievement, Capabilities and Talents 2007", at the Great Zimbabwe Monument. "Science, technology and innovation are central to sustained national economic and social development," said Dr Muchena.



In order for Zimbabwe to register national and sustained economic and social development, she said, it was imperative for the nation to fully embrace science, technology and innovation. "This is the reason why our country places a lot of significance on investment in science, technology and innovation," she said. The aim of the STI-2007 was to enhance the policy, financial, legal and institutionalised environment, for the development and use of STI across all sectors of the economy focusing on niche areas and missions. Dr Muchena said the programme would enable the country to celebrate national achievements, capabilities and talents in STI. She also said under the programme the Government would take stock of the current status, potential and challenges of scientific and technological development and application in the country.



The programme is in line with the Africa Union Summit of Heads of State and Governments held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January this year. At the summit, African leaders agreed to increase funding and support for science, technology and innovation including establishing national and regional centres of excellence in STI. The Government set up a multi-stakeholders' taskforce co-chaired by the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Development, Cde Patrick Zhuwawo, and president of Zimbabwe Academy and Sciences Professor Christopher Chetsanga to drive the 2007 programme. Zimbabwe's national policy on STI was developed and approved in 2002. Masvingo Governor and Resident Minister Cde Willard Chiwewe, Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Cde Stan Mudenge and Deputy Minister of Education, Sport and Culture Cde Titus Maluleke attended the launch.

The Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria {MAN} Mr. Jide A. Mike has called on the federal government to provide a functional rail system for the movement of bulk cargoes from the sea ports. The MAN boss stated this while speaking at a workshop organized by Port -Anti Corruption Standing Committee on International Best Practices and the Nigerian Port Environment, which took place in Lagos recently.



According to him, priority attention should be given to improved network of roads around port areas to allow free flow of traffic. "Reports available to us indicate improvement, although a lot needs to be done to achieve the target of a 24 hour cargo delivery. Some concessionaries have since taken laudable steps that would enhance efficient port administration", the MAN boss said. He identified some of the steps taken so far by concessionaries to include gradual reduction in the cost of clearing cargo at the ports; reduction in turnaround period of shipscarriers for berthing to discharge cargo; reduction in block stacking of containers and the reduction in the number and elimination of about 10,000 illegal residents from the port. He noted that new computerization hardware are being regularly introduced and installed for modernization of port activities, adding that more handling equipment have been installed.



Mr. Jide Mike however noted that despite all these steps being taken so far by port operators in order to maximize the benefits derivable from the Ports reforms, port operations in the country is still being riddled with a number of problems. Some of these problems , according to him are corruption, security , inadequate provision for increasing Export trade, lack of knowledge for Export of perishable goods, Dock labour problems and the lack of enabling legal instrument as well as lack of co-ordination of activities.

He said that the major impediment resulted from overlapping functions adding that Port operators operate on extant laws. "Enabling legal and regulatory instruments arising from on-going reforms process to guide port operations and operators are still awaiting passage by the National Assembly. Stakeholders at the Ports work at cross -purposes with each protecting its own interest by taking actions leading to destabilization on the other players who similarly had to react with their own programme such as the imposition of levies, charges and taxes", Mr. Jide Mike said.

THE world is seeing the rise of resources nationalism, with potentially far-reaching implications for SA and Africa, which are richly endowed with natural resources. Countries in South and Central America, Europe and Asia are crafting and implementing strategies to maximise returns from their natural resources to promote development and prosperity for their own people. Africa, however, has thus far failed to leverage its natural competitive advantage as a force for prosperity and global competitiveness. It conspicuously lacks the appropriate strategic approaches to maximise returns from its mineral resources for the broader public good. African people constitute the majority of the world's poorest and yet their own backyards have abundant gold, platinum, diamonds, coal and other minerals. Even SA has about half of its population living below the poverty line, according to the United Nations (UN) Development Programme. This is a dismal and collective failure of leadership in government, business, academia and civil society -- which future generations would be right to judge harshly.



Resources nationalism runs contrary to the basic logic of the process of globalisation. Globalisation produces winners and losers. The rhetoric of resources nationalism revolves around the importance of maximising the winners and minimising the losers from globalisation. Globalisation as we know it is based on a minimalist and passive role for the state in economic affairs. It emphasises the primacy of market forces and the role of the state as an enabler of free markets and global competitiveness. Resources nationalism, on the other hand, entails a prominent and active role for the state in regulating the market in ways that are aimed at increasing the state's share of the profits from resources. Resources nationalism manifests itself in various forms in different countries.



It is redefining the landscape for multinational companies in significant ways. But what is resources nationalism? It is the notion that natural resources are an inextricable part of the national patrimony and, as such, the benefits that flow from them should, above all else, accrue to the nation. It is the confluence of this instinct and the global boom in commodity prices that has unleashed super profits for multinational resources companies, and it is this that underpins the new wave of resources nationalism. From Bolivia to Iran, Venezuela, Russia, China and even the UK and the US, we are seeing increasingly assertive governments implementing policies that are inimical to the basic logic of globalisation. It was the logic of resources nationalism that made the US congress veto the takeover of Unacol -- the third-largest US oil company -- by CNOOC (Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation) in 2005. The UK has higher taxes on profits from oil companies than Algeria, China, Ecuador and Russia. That's resources nationalism.



Resource-rich countries are pursuing policies designed to maximise the gains and benefits that accrue to their people from the wealth generated from their natural resources. Venezuela is currently renegotiating all contracts with western multinational oil companies which have not been overhauled yet as part of the process driven by the country's left-wing populist president, Hugo Chavez. Vladimir Putin's Russia has upped the ante against global resources giants such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell. No foreign mining company can dream of owning 100% of any mining asset in Russia. The same applies to China and India.



In Africa, the African Mining Partnership provides a platform for African ministers of mining to shape the way in which Africa's resources unlock lasting benefits for current and future generations. However, African countries lack effective strategic approaches that can leverage their massive natural resources to deliver lasting and tangible prosperity for generations. The recent African Indaba, held last month in Cape Town, is more of a talk shop and a platform for wheeling and dealing than a space to craft effective strategies that can make Africa leverage its resources to be a globally competitive winning continent. Africa's and SA's mineral resources need to be leveraged to deliver prosperity and development for current and future generations. Developed countries are the masters of resources nationalism. However, they always discourage it in developing and poor countries.



In Latin America, Venezuela and Bolivia are examples of the current tide of resources nationalism that has unleashed the winds of economic change across the resource-rich countries of the world. All countries and regions that are winners have mainly become so by deploying their comparative advantages. Africa is the only exception. It has unsurpassed comparative advantages in mineral resources, which it has failed to leverage effectively. As a result, it occupies the unenviable paradoxical position of being the world's most resource-endowed continent which is, simultaneously, the world's poorest. To add insult to injury, there are no signs of change, even after 50 years of independence in countries such as Ghana.



Why? It is because of a deficit in strategic thinking and planning on how best to leverage Africa's resources to lay a firm foundation for a better life for current and future generations. This must end. Oil-producing countries are doing it through Opec. Gas-producing countries might form their own Opec, an idea Putin said recently was "an interesting one". Ethanol-producing countries are formulating mechanisms to underpin the trade in ethanol as a commodity. That was central to US President George Bush's recent visit to Brazil. Africa is the world's leader in the production of gold, platinum, diamonds and other minerals and has huge untapped oil reserves. But Africa has no structures or mechanisms in place to ensure that the benefits from its natural resources accrue, in tangible and meaningful ways, to current and future generations. The case for an Opec of Africa's mineral producers is as compelling as it is strategically important if Africa is to assert itself in the mainstream of global economic affairs.



If others can do it in areas in which they have natural comparative and competitive advantages, why can't Africa? Bush's recent visit to Brazil was partly about crafting a strategic pact that would ensure that these two countries, which account for two-thirds of the world's ethanol production, also control the global ethanol market in ways that advance their respective national interests. In a world that is ruthlessly competitive, we must learn to leverage our core strategic advantages to advance our national interests.

Citing one of the worst cyclone seasons in recent memory in Madagascar as an example, the United Nations body that seeks to mitigate the impact of natural disasters called on the international community to invest more in programme to reduce the effects of extreme weather spawned by global warming. "We need to put in place mechanisms that can help our societies adapt to this new situation," UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) Director Sálvano Brice-o said of the impact of climate change, ascribed largely to human activities such as the emission of heat trapping gasses from the use of fossil fuels. "The Hyogo Framework for Action adopted in Kobe, Japan in 2005 offers recommendations that should be implemented and can be effective to reduce disaster risks caused by climate-related hazards," he added, referring to the Hyogo Framework for Action: 2005 - 2015, adopted by 168 Governments at the UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe.



What is currently happening in Madagascar is a good illustration of what can happen in many countries, with more than 6 cyclones since December, over 60 people dead and thousands forced to leave their flooded homes, Mr. Brice-o stressed. "The increased severity and frequency of extreme weather events prevents people from recovering before facing the next event, making them more vulnerable to disasters. This changing pattern will require increased investment in risk reduction activities," he said. People in Madagascar are well prepared to face cyclones, and the country has strong national mechanisms in place, he noted. A national platform for disaster risk reduction has been operating since 2002 and has put in place mechanisms to alert and educate people on all types of hazards. But the unusual number of cyclones makes the situation extremely difficult. In November, Madagascar's National Bureau on Disaster Reduction put in place a programme of sand bags that seems to have protected many houses from destruction. The bags were placed on top of the roofs to reduce wind impacts, saving a lot of people. "But we could not avoid the intensity of rains," Bureau Executive Secretary Jacky Randriaharison said. "Soils were completely saturated and many people died because of mud and debris avalanches that could not be stopped."



Last month the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that it is very likely that more hot extremes, heat waves and heavy rainfall will become more frequent, with tropical cyclones, such as typhoons and hurricanes, turning more intense. In some parts of the world, climate change will mean more intense and frequent hazards, in others, it will mean facing hazards that communities have not encountered before.

I was sad when I read the account narrated by Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, the Managing Director of MDS – a Division of the UACN Plc, in the Saturday PUNCH of March 17, concerning the appalling, and indeed pathetic, treatment that was meted to his wife by the Canadian Embassy in Lagos. The Ogunnirans are not alone in the saga of ill-treatment of Nigerians at the hands of foreign embassies.

Top on the list of these notorious embassies is the American Embassy on Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos. The visa section of the American Embassy is the revenue generation unit of the element and I can imagine that, like any profit-oriented enterprise, they start the year with a target of revenue and profitability which they must generate at all costs.

The modus operandi for extracting the targeted sums from Nigerians starts with the invitation for interview. The embassy exploits the desires of many Nigerians to visit foreign countries while on holiday, broaden their knowledge by attending seminars and conferences abroad and yes, even explore their destinies in other countries, by inviting them for these spurious interviews. It seems that they count the applications and decide how many must come per day and how many must have to reapply for the targets to be met.

In most cases, the letters of rejection have already been prepared in advance of the interviews. The candidates are invited, not to be heard, but for their N14,000 which is vital to the income and expenditure account of the embassy. Does the upfront collection of non-refundable application fees by these embassies not qualify as a definition of advance fee fraud? Can these embassies not collect a lower amount as non-refundable processing fee (say N1,000), while the N14,000 could remain as a visa issuance fee taken only from successful applicants?

I heard the case of a medical doctor whose son gained admission into Princeton and visited the American Embassy for a visa. Apparently knowing the penchant of consular officers to make instant illogical decisions on visa applications, he arranged to be at the embassy on the same day (perhaps to renew his visitor’s visa) so he could lend his voice to his son’s student’s visa interview. The visa official questioned him as to why he wanted his son to study in America instead of in a Nigerian university. What right does that American have to determine where a man wants his children to go to school? The answer is very simple – how many of the staff of the American embassy studied in Princeton or Harvard? It irks them to think that Nigerians are daring to exceed those mundane limits which they have set for us in their finite minds.

In my few years in the service industry, I have learnt that revenues are compensations for values which have been added to a customer’s life or business. The question that then arises is, what value is the American embassy (our typical example and the worst culprit) adding to the lives of Nigerians to justify the gargantuan amount of money that it milks from them? Is it the number of hours that people must spend in order to attend those grueling interviews? Is it the sheer rudeness of the security personnel at the embassy? Is it the degrading attitude of the insincere embassy staff? Where lies the value addition in all of this experience?

In today’s world of branding, where organizations of different characters are taking concerted steps to develop positive perceptions from the public relative to their brand image, the likes of the Canadian and American embassies are very brazen in their disregard for the views and perceptions of Nigerians. Or is that not the case?

The truth is that what is being meted to the Nigerian citizenry is a direct reflection of the degree of disregard and disrespect that these people and their nations have for our country and our governments. They treat this country as a pariah and pay lip service to relationships.

They treat our leaders as clowns and show no modicum of respect for them. It is probably for this reason that even our leaders show no form of concern at the treatment meted to our citizenry. It seems normal to them. It is in this bizarre abnormality that the mystery lies. We have mortgaged every iota of self-respect for a fee and sacrificed our national destiny on the altar of greed and unabridged corruption. The Nigerian high commissions in other countries cannot even dream of conducting business in any manner near what these people do here. Their governments will shout to the high heavens. If our embassies do not crawl in penitence, they will blackmail, arm-twist, and threaten to bring down sanctions or even worse.

I call on the leadership of this country, in the spirit of the national anthem and the Nigerian pledge, to shake itself free from all apathy and protect its citizenry by standing up against the injustices and maltreatment which are handed down to Nigerians by all hostile foreign embassies operating on Nigerian soil.


Ndu

“South Sudan has asked donor countries to speed up delivery of aid designed to help rebuild its devastated infrastructure and create a peace dividend after two decades of civil war. Following a January 2005 peace deal, $4.5 billion was pledged to Sudan by donors, who were meeting in the south on Thursday. After the deal they also put $400 million in a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) to monitor its expenditure. …. ‘We think that donor pledges are on track, but that delivery is slow, not just of the MDTF but everything,’ said Ishac Diwan, the World Bank representative for Sudan and Ethiopia. The Bank is one of the main partners directing the MTDF. Diwan said that processing cash through MDTF structures was bureaucratic but less open to corruption. … Southern finance ministry official Aggrey Tisa Sabuni told Reuters that Sudanese people hoped for faster aid delivery from donors, ‘...but given the capacity to deliver in Sudan, they are going in the right direction.’ With no formal banking structures and too few skilled workers in the southern government's ministries, the capacity of authorities to receive and spend the money has been limited. …” [Reuters/Factiva]



The Sudan Tribune further reports that “Participants in Sudan Consortium Meeting broadly called for accelerated action in carrying out certain key aspects of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with a focus on increased budget transparency and good governance, along with a sustainable end to the violence in Darfur. … With respect to Southern Sudan and the government of South Sudan (GoSS), the Consortium welcomed the establishment of institutions at all levels, along with evidence of more active accountability and expanded capacity building efforts. However, participants noted that the GoSS faces enormous challenges, and that financial management and accountability systems remain rudimentary as admitted by the president of GoSS, General Salva Kiir Mayardit. ‘We are indeed responsible for some of the problems given our lack of capacity and we regret that we have not been able to move faster on the capacity side.’ he said. He also urged donors to honor their pledges. … Among the achievements over the past year, was the work of a National Constitutional Review Commission in Khartoum, along with the establishment of a Civil Service Commission. In the South, ministries have been established and staffed, and certain basic services, including access to safe water, are improving. ‘We are pleased to see that the basic structures for sharing power and sharing revenues have been put in place, and that they are working,’ said Diwan. ‘But it is critical that we see measurable progress on some of the difficult remaining areas, without which the potential benefits of the CPA could be undermined.’ …” In a separate piece, The Sudan Tribune notes that “… In his speech at the Sudan Consortium Meeting in Juba [Fri]day, Kiir, strongly reaffirmed his commitment to fight corruption in the southern administration. He disclosed that his government is drafting a legal arsenal to this end, including the Public Financial Management Act. The First Vice-President urged all the Sudanese including civil society and the media to campaign against corruption ‘at all levels of our society’. He underscored that corruption is not limited to the south. … He also invited the donors to support the anti-corruption fight and to consolidate these efforts. …”