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By Paul Ndiho
December 29, 2010
Mali is one of West Africa’s poorest countries, but it has started a solar power revolution in the countryside, promoting clean energy to improve the lives of women, reduce poverty and safeguard the environment.
These women in rural Mali are involved in effort to meet the country’s energy needs while protecting the environment. They’ve left their old jobs of cutting down forests, and started their own community plant nurseries instead.
“Now the forest is re-growing and our work does not take as much effort as chopping down trees.”

Fanta Cisse and other women in Mali’s remote forest regions are receiving financial and technical assistance to start the plant farms through a government project, backed by the World Bank. The project has placed about 874,000 hectares of land under the management of community groups to produce a sustainable supply of wood for cooking and heating.
“Most of the women are leaving the exploit of forest wood for the nursery which is producing trees and vegetables and they make more with less effort and the forests are preserved.”
Toure Cheick, a Malian Energy and Electrification official, says the project is also making life safer for women and children around the country.
“Cooking fumes are a major health problem for one point six million women and children around the world who get sick or die from them annually; this corresponds to 38,100 women and children in Mali a year.”
Mali’s energy project is broad-based, supporting the production of improved cooking stoves. And this solar power station in Kimparana is the first of its type and scale in West Africa. Solar power now provides light for nearly nine-thousand homes and buildings in Mali. 40-year-old welder Sinna Bagayogo lives in Kimparana.
“It’s made it possible to work here; we used to have to go to another town.”
The solar power station, he says, is providing the energy he needs to operate his business closer to home. Analysts say that Mali’s renewable energy initiative will improve the lives of more than 70 percent of Mali’s people who depend on subsistence agriculture.

By Paul Ndiho
December 29, 2010

Kenya, facing an acute energy crisis, is expanding its use of geothermal energy, with the help of multi-national cooperations.
Outside of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, the landscape around Naivasha town looks like a modern day snakes-and-ladders set. It’s all part of the steel infrastructure of the Olkaria Geothermal Power Station, located in a national park where giraffes graze close to the fence, unfazed by the whirr of power-producing turbines. The power stations here at Olkaria produce 163 megawatts, 13 per cent of Kenya’s total generating capacity.
“The project started by United Nations Development Program that funded the first exploration; the service exploration which means geochemistry, geology, geophysics, environment and heat from measurements. And it is from that study that Olkaria was identified for the first exploration wells.”

In Africa’s vast landscape, finding the best places to drill for geothermal energy can be challenging.
“We have encouraged the scientists working in the geothermal development to come up with more accurate data and data that can be combined so that the risk of a fail drilling is now less; and that greatly reduces the cost of geothermal exploitation.”
With its high oil prices, coupled with drought and population spikes, much of Africa is facing an acute energy crisis.
“The longer Rift Valley of East Africa, there are thousands of megawatts of proven potential for geothermal power generation. It is a clean and increasingly cheap source of energy that also provides countries with inability to become less dependent on world plus a few markets and to develop their domestic capacity to generate power for their people and their economies in the future.”
Olkaria Geothermal Power Project is next to farms that produce some of the finest flowers in the world.
“Here in Kenya we have very hot days but also very cold nights, so when we get the cold nights the relative humidity is rising in the early morning so we pass the heat through these pipes basically to push the humid air out of the vents so that we don’t need to use fungicide because we are controlling the relative humidity in the green house and preventing condensation of the leaves or on the flowers. Here you can see a pipe where we are going to basically in the future using this pipe to inject carbon dioxide into the green house to enhance the growth of the plant and increase the photosynthesis of the crops itself which should increase the production capacity, and that’s basically ‘part and parcel’ of the geothermal project that we are doing will extract the C02 source from the geothermal well and inject it to the green house to convert that C02 into oxygen.
The “Oserian” flower farm makes good use of energy from existing geothermal wells, but better power generation is on the way:
“The geothermal prospects of Kenya itself will in the next years be developed. But the success of the project is even over and beyond because it showcased also to the other countries in the region that geothermal is not a risky technology any longer but a credible addition, a credible completion to the existing power mix.”
Analysts say geothermal energy is the most economical power generation option for Kenya, and they say this innovation is a boon for Africa, and will attract foreign investment and expertise to the region.

By Paul Ndiho, Washington D.C
December 21, 2010
Tens of thousands of migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East attempt to cross by boat to Greece’s Patras city each year, with many ending up in squalid camps or living on the streets and others are crammed into abandoned buildings.
Patras Greece, a Port City and major transit point for hundreds of migrants from across Africa and Asia into Europe. Mojahed from Sudan arrived here a few months ago after a perilous journey through Libya, Cyprus and Turkey after escaping the violence in his native Darfur.
“I left Darfur by force, because of the Janjaweed and the government came to shooting us, killing our grand sister, grandma, burning our houses.”

He fled to nearby Chad and stayed for a year in a camp, but he wanted a better life, he wanted a future. These days his better life means scrounging in the city’s garbage. He skips along with his friends also from Sudan looking for food.
“It’s so hard for me. It is very difficult to search from the garbage because I feel hungry so much. It is very difficult.”
The pickings are slim and local people seem not to believe what they are seeing.
In Patras, officials say there could be as many 1,000 homeless migrants; Afghans, Sudanese or Somalis who left their homes in fear of their lives.
“Greece is one of the countries that is chosen by the immigrants in order to pass to Europe.”
Many of the migrants, including Mojahed, end up here at the Patras train station.
“Let me show you the place where people are sleeping. This is our rooms, our houses, everything. When we come back from the garbage from eating the food we come back here to sleep.”
Mojahed hasn’t applied for asylum, nor have his friends. The process is long and rarely brings a positive result, he says. He would rather take his chances smuggling himself into Europe. Some migrants say they have been here for nearly a decade living rough times. Day or night they try to board the transport trucks that can get them onto the ships. They hide under the carriage or the wheels or inside if they can all in the hope of getting onto a ferry that will cross over to Italy. The journey is risk and some people die trying. Yet they refuse to give up.
Mojahed has tried to cross a few times but has been unsuccessfully. He will try again, he says. He also says his claim to asylum should be given more consideration.
“Give us the right to live; we are human beings. No fighting, listen to us. Give is our rights.
It’s a life of dreariness and yet they keep coming. Since January more 44,000 migrants have crossed into Greece from Turkey most with the same dream as Mojahed. But reality has not lived up to their hopes. UNHCR has urged the government to speed up the reform of their asylum process but system remains broken leaving asylum seekers little chance of having their refugee claims heard.

By Paul Ndiho
December 14, 2010
In Kampala, Uganda, traffic can be bad – and the roads can be worse. The city suffers not only from bad traffic jams, but potholes make the going difficult, even when the traffic is fine.
Residents of Kampala have protested against the state of the roads by going fishing in potholes and others pretended to be fishmongers, selling their “catch” from the water-filled potholes. The protesters say the poor state of roads in the capital causes accidents and traffic jams. Kampala resident David Odele says that politicians are using money meant for roads for personal gain.

“They are not using money on roads, they are not making good use of the roads, they are just making roads in their pockets and as we talk, i cannot fail to mention the president himself. He talks of roads, but the roads he talks of… Since 1996, I was in primary, I was a kid but up to date, those roads are being campaigned each and every year, each and every year.”
Protesters say that the state of the roads in Kampala is so bad that the city has been nicknamed ‘Kampothole’. And residents are photographing some of the city’s most spectacular road problems, which are on display at an exhibition called ”Kampala’s finest potholes.”
“We came as members of the private sector after being affected by this problem for a while, and we realized that our leaders were not doing what we expected them to do, I mean promising every other time that they are going to fix this potholes once and for all, but we realize after every other elections they tell us the same story, promises and more promises”
John Nasasira is Uganda’s long serving Minster of Works and Transportation, and is arguably one of Uganda’s most powerful politicians and richest men. His critics say he has used tax payer money meant for roads for personal gain. Nasasira denies the allegation, saying that he does not have jurisdiction over Kampala’s roads. But he assures the protestors that Uganda National Roads Authority, or UNRA, will take over all the maintenance of roads in Kampala next year.
“We will eventually take over Kampala city as central government and the ministry of works together with UNRA, will take over the roads, we will establish a complete unit that will that will deal with Kampala roads under the Uganda roads development.”
Kampala residents question whether the latest move by the government to take over Kampala’s road maintenance will produce results. In the meantime, they will keep trying to negotiate the city’s numerous potholes and budgeting for the maintenance costs of their vehicles.

By Paul Ndiho, Washington D.C
December 9, 2010
Children make up approximately 50 percent of the population in Benin, and one-fifth of these children are under five years-old. Without proper safeguards and schooling, it leaves them vulnerable to perils of the streets such as forced labor and child trafficking. But a new program aims to improve education in Benin. Reporter Paul Ndiho has more:
Nearly half of Benin’s population lives on less than a dollar a day. A recent United Nations study shows that over 40 percent of children ages five to 14 are working and not in school. For Mamatou Nee Wassgui Orou Yo and her husband, Gnansi, going to school was never an option.

“I’ve never set foot in a school. My parents were farmers and I’m a farmer.”
But today, the Orou Yo’s see an opportunity for their children. UNICEF and the Government of Benin have created community kindergartens in remote areas such as Sinende, so that children such as four-year-old Wahi Wrou Wo have a strong foundation going into primary school.
“Before the commencement of this UNICEF-supported program, the education system in Benin was in a poor state. In addition to low access of schooling for children, three other issues affected the state of Benin’s educational system. First, the enrollment of children into schools was very low. Second, the rate of children completing primary school was low. And thirdly, there was a large gender gap in enrollment. Many more boys than girls were being sent to school.”
Children in the kindergarten program sing, play, and develop their identities in child-friendly spaces.
An extension of this initiative empowers mothers such as Mamatou with income-generating activities such as making shea butter and food items.
“I do feel empowered participating in this program because the profits I get from it help me do some household expenses, give some allowance to my children and help me with financial organization.”
Today there are over 200 community kindergartens in Benin. Sizable results have been achieved, but more work needs for the hardest to reach children, not only to enroll them in school but ensure that they stay in school.
“The educational program is indeed a program aimed to achieve educational equality, gender equality in particular, equality to address the Benin’s education system, where there was and there is still an important gap between boys and girls and to provide them plenty of chances to be able to have access to school.”
In addition to helping mothers, UNICEF is providing more training for teachers and has already built latrines and supplied equipment, furniture, and learning tools for the students and teachers.
“The kindergarten program is very positive for me. It’s helped me find a place to keep my children, do my housework, go to the farm and participate in income generating activities. More importantly, it’s helping prepare my children for primary school.”
The kindergarten program may help Benin to achieve U.N. Millennium Development Goal number two: ensuring that all boys and girls complete primary school by 2015.
Mamatou and Gnansi see their children’s education as a way out of poverty. They are also optimistic that with this kind of education, their child will be the first in their family to graduate from university.

By Paul Ndiho, Washington D.C.
December 2, 2010

Since 2008, more than 60 albinos have been killed in Tanzania, forcing hundreds of people with albinism to go into hiding. And even Tanzania’s newly elected Member of Parliament, Salum Khalfan Barany, fears for his life. He’s one of millions of people in Africa with albinism who have come under threat from illegal body parts traders.
In Tanzania and Nigeria there has been an unprecedented rise in witchcraft-related killings of albino people in recent months. In Tanzania, where superstition is deep-seated, albino body parts are thought to bring good luck. Activist Peter Ash says that even Member of Parliament Salum Khalfan Barwany is being pursued by albino hunters.
“Police have reported that there are five men pursuing the life of Mr. Barwany they have been following him around with criminal intentions. We don’t know if they want Mr. Barwany because of his body parts or if there is some other motives for their following but he is under security protection of police at this time.”

An organization founded by Canadians with albinism is trying to protect albino children. For these children in northern Tanzania, a move to private boarding schools may have saved their lives.
“We have taken children from over-crowded government school, Mitindo where there was at one point one hundred and five children with albinism living in over-crowded conditions and now we have transferred those kids to into high quality private boarding school and at Lake View and Jelly’s we saw a tremendous example that children with albinism are intelligent, they are smart, and they’re capable and we saw great teachers.”
People with albinism face social challenges commonly have vision problems and need sun protection. Mike McGowan is President of the National Organization for Albinism and Hypo pigmentation, NOAH. He says he was horrified to hear about the reports of killings of African with albinism, but he urges them to stay strong:
“There is a need I think for fellowship because we share this experience of being different and we need to learn how to deal with being different and looking different and NOAH provides that place for people that share the condition to come together and to be understood because a person that shares the condition also shares all the experience. “
Activist Jack Epelle says he is concerned about the plight of albinos in Nigeria. He says Albinos on the continent have long been ignored, mocked and hunted.
“My classmates in trying to create fun would drag me to the sun and then hold my hands and hold my face, and face me to the sun, it was very excruciating for me so, now I know why I have a lot of freckles on my face.”
42 year-old Nigerian Feme Khainde has albino children. She has kept her family intact, but says it has been a struggle.
“Some people even told me when I had the first and then the second child that I should go and hide them so that the remaining people will not be like that. Or that maybe I should give them maybe to my mom. I said, how I hide my own children because of that, let them be.”
NOAH President Mike McGowan says his group is committed to making sure that the world knows about the plight of albinos in Africa.
“we’ve mounted a letter writing campaign the United States Congress and we want the congress of the United States to condemn this and we want to bring to bear pressure the governments of Tanzania and other places in Africa where this happening to ensure that the people that who committee these horrific crimes are brought to Justice .”Globally, about one person in 20-thousand has albinism.

By Paul Ndiho, Washington DC
November 30, 2010
Top Ugandan reggae artist Moses Ssali, better known as “Bebe Cool,” is literally getting back on his feet after life-threatening encounters that included a shooting and a car accident. He was recently in the U.S., where he was receiving treatment.
Bebe Cool is big in Uganda and East Africa, where his mix of reggae and bongo flava, have made him one of the region’s biggest stars. He recently claimed the coveted 2010 Pearl of Africa Music “Artist of the Year” award, which catapulted his music to the top of the Ugandan music charts. But awards have been the least of Bebe Cool’s concerns after several brushes with death. He almost died a few months ago, after being shot four times in the legs.
“I was shot four times with an AK 47, then two months later I was involved in the worst car accident with my wife, and then two months later I was involved in a bomb blast while I was performing at a concert during the World cup finals and all the people just around me and behind me died but me and my wife survived. These are not things that I would have expected to be part of my life today.”
Bebe Cool says his recovery has been slow, but credits his doctors in the United States.

“My legs are stable, and my bones are right back in shape. My muscles are gaining some energy. Overall, my legs can support all my weight, but I can’t run, and I can’t jump.”
The close-calls have left the Ugandan artist very reflective about his faith, and even more driven to succeed in life and music.
“Today as I speak so many singers are working world wide and I’m proud to be one of those guys who started it. So the main thing that has really made me who I am is the belief in me. No one can stop me, not even the five bullets when I was shot, and not even the bomb blast that I was involved in. I don’t think that anybody can stop me, maybe apart from God.”
Bebe Cool started performing in Nairobi, Kenya in the late 1990s when he was very young. He says he was inspired by reggae icons Bunju Bunton and Wyclef Jean.
But the Ugandan artist has drawn controversy too. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni gave what critics say is taxpayer money for Bebe’s treatment in the U.S. The reggae artist plans to campaign for President Museveni’s re-election. One of the opposition candidates hoping to unseat Mr. Museveni is Bebe Cool’s own father, Bidandi Ssali. The musician is unapologetic about his political allegiance.

“When it come to who I’m going to work with in Uganda today… it’s obvious and I don’t want to lie to you that the people will see me as good person if I don’t support the president. He was instrumental in giving me my life back but how do you appreciate somebody who has done you a good thing? Do you want me to stand on stage and tell that people that the president must go? Of course not.”
Bebe Cool says young upcoming artists should stay focused.
“You cannot start a journey when you don’t know where you want to end. Look out and say that I want to be big in Africa and then work towards being big in Africa. You will find it very easy if you have a goal then the question will be very simple. Where do I go to become an African artist? Ugandan reggae artist Bebe Cool says young artists should also work to create friendships in music, an industry he says can be very tempting.

By Paul Ndiho, Washington D.C
November 27, 2010
Africa has been characterized by many conflict situations that have resulted in the loss of millions of lives, widespread displacement and a wide array of human rights abuses. Today, Africa accounts for about 70 percent of the United Nations’ peacekeeping operations. But is the African Union and its sub-regional organizations, doing enough to prevent and resolve conflicts on the continent.
Africa continues to suffer from violent conflicts. In Somalia, in Sudan’s Darfur region, in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo the toll has been devastating. There scarce resources are diverted to buying arm; insecurity, displacement, and destruction follows. Still Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda, Uganda’s permanent representative to the UN and former president of the Security Council sees hope.
“There has been a lot of turbulence in Africa. About 20 years ago there were about 20 wars going on simultaneously in Africa as I speak now there are only four going on. Although they are still going on, the fact of the matter is it’s a very significant improvement from about 20 to about four. And which are these four that I’ m talking about? They are Sudan in Darfur, DRC there is still some insatiability, Somalia definitely requires some attention and the region the Lord’s Resistance Army they were a rebel group unique rebel group with no clear political objectives.”

Ambassador Rugunda says the Africa Union, in response to internal demand and international pressure, has begun to focus their attention on these regions and is trying innovative ways to resolve differences by nonviolent means.
“African Countries have said, we want the continent to be stable, we want to be democratically ruled, we believe in the rule of law and we also want to respect the human rights of people and to ensure that there are no unconstitutional changes of government.”
Commenting on the fragile situation in Somalia, Ambassador Rugunda said there is a difference between the way Africa and the rest of the world sees the situation there.
“In Africa we think the rest of the world has put more attention on piracy than dealing with piracy at its source and its base is main land Somalia. Africa firmly believes that we should deal with the main land piracy by it and his problem will disappear.”
Some analysts say that the Africa Union has adequate mechanisms to deal with its problems, to resolve conflicts and all it needs is reinforcements in terms of resources and capacity building.

My encounter with Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who helped fuel some of Africa’s bloodiest conflicts. Bout was arrested in Thailand in March 2008 on an international arrest warrant following a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operation aimed at suppliers of weapons to Farc which the group uses to defend its extensive drug trafficking operation.In the late 90s, Bout ran a weapons pipeline in to the war ravaged east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and shipped out minerals, such as the coltan used in making mobile phones, plundered by rebel groups and foreign armies. He also helped arm the Liberian rebel leader, Charles Taylor, who later became president and is now on trial before the international criminal court for war crimes.

By Paul Ndiho,Washington D.C.
November 2, 2010

The International Monetary fund (IMF) says Sub-Saharan Africa’s accelerating economic growth is expected to be broad-based this year and next. Strong domestic demand and resurgent exports are projected to boost growth as high as 5.5 percent.
Economists say sub-Saharan Africa was in a strong economic position going into the global financial slowdown. This allowed fiscal and monetary policies to be put in place to soften the impact of the global downturn. For countries that were hard hit by the crisis, Antoinette Sayeh, IMF regional director for Africa, offers this advice:
“Now that the growth seems to be in hand and returning, the recovery is returning, it’s important that the authorities now work to rebuild those savings that they used in the course of the crisis so that when the next crisis hits they’re able again to draw on their reserves and their savings to respond. So that’s really the challenge ahead to continue good macroeconomic policies to rebuild, as we call them, the policy buffers that have helped so much during this crisis,”

In Africa, domestic demand is expected to remain strong on the basis of rising real incomes and investment. And many African governments have implemented investment-friendly frameworks to attract more foreign capital.
“Sub-Saharan Africa needs investment. A large part of that investment in the social sectors and some infrastructure investments will depend on the public sector. But most investments should come from the private sector. And so the challenge going forward will be for Sub-Saharan African governments to improve the enabling environment for private investments so that they continue to attract capital from abroad and so that investments in infrastructure in other manufacturing and other facilities help to sustain growth,”
Antoinette Sayeh says that there is still work to be done in Africa to enable business and business startups.
“There is still work to be done on the overall enabling environment and regulatory policies and how long it takes to register businesses, how easy it is to import. Despite the fact that there’s been tremendous progress in these areas it still takes too long to establish new business in many countries and there’s still significant work to be done to make sure that the private sector is able to make the long term investments and commitment that are needed to sustain growth,”
Analysts say that in recent years, international trade has increased exponentially, but Africa’s share in world trade has remained low. Africa accounts for only about 3% of world exports, partly due to trade protection outside Africa against African products.